After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is the time for the collection of summer taxes and grains. The tax collection system of the Ming Dynasty was formulated entirely according to the preferences of the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Especially in the middle and early stages of the Ming Dynasty, most of them were strictly implemented in accordance with the system at the beginning of the founding of the country. Zhu Yuanzhang was born as a bitter child, so he naturally understood the tricks of those corrupt officials who took advantage of the opportunity to collect taxes and grain. Therefore, he came up with the method of "good people governing good people", according to the level of taxation, a prefecture and county are divided into a number of grain areas, among which the rich households with the most land production and the best reputation are the grain chiefs, who are fully responsible for tax collection.

A state like Juzhou has a registered population of nearly 200,000, and there are seven or eight grain chiefs. Each grain chief is responsible for the collection of taxes and grains from a few thousand stones to ten thousand stones. He Shaoyun is in charge of dozens of districts, and 10,000 stone of grain needs to be collected, so the task of collecting grain is very heavy.

As soon as August began, the yamen sent the task of collecting the grain from each grain area to the grain chief. He Shaoyun informed the lieutenant chiefs of various villages to organize the villagers and began to collect taxes and grain in Zhuchendian on 17 August. During this period, the state government office was assigned to act as an accountant, and in fact, it also served as a supervisor. This semi-official method of collection is naturally not very efficient, and it can collect up to two or three hundred households in a day. In a large area of 10,000 stones like this, it is difficult to complete the task in ten days and a half months.

Zhuchendian is a town, and there is a grain warehouse of the state government in the town, so the grain collection twice a year is in Zhuchendian. The surrounding people pushed carts before dawn and drove their livestock to Zhu Chendian to pay taxes and grain. As soon as the fifth watch was handed over, before dawn, He Shaoyun took seven or eight family members, came to the door of Zhu Chendian's granary early, set up the table, spread out the account book, and set up the abacus and waited for the villagers to pay the taxes and grain.

At this time, the villagers who paid the tax and grain gathered outside the gate of the warehouse, and they could not enter the courtyard to pay the grain until the door was opened at the hour. Taking advantage of this time, Yu Debing, the clerk of the household, picked up the account book on the table and looked at it. After flipping through a few pages, my face became ugly. He is the old secretary of the household, and he is clear about the collection of taxes and grain.

The Ming Dynasty implemented the Lijia system, each of the 11 households, every 10 households for a mile, a total of 110 households, the 100 households are divided into nine grades, the higher the grade, the higher the tax rate. The highest grade is ten taxes one, and the lowest level is thirty taxes one, so the same number of acres of land is not the same grade, and the difference in taxes and grains paid is as much as three times.

Every year, two accounts are collected and released, one is called the yellow book compiled by the government, and the other is called the white book compiled by the household in collusion with the grain chiefs. Generally, the white book of the year is compiled every spring, and this time is a gluttonous feast for the grain chief and officials.

Those who have a way to find a doorway naturally rely on connections to find a doorman and bribe the grain chief and officials. Those who have made money may not adjust the rank of the household, but those who have made more money shall be downgraded to the rank of the household. There is no nature that makes silver give an upward grade.

If you collect more and solve less, each district will collect almost 20% more tax and grain than the official yellow book. In an area like He Shaoyun's responsibility, an additional 2,000 stone of grain will be levied this season. According to the unspoken rule, these two thousand stones are divided into 28 accounts, 20% to the grain chief, and 80% to the state government.

And what He Shaoyun brought today is indeed a yellow book, not a white book that has been formulated a long time ago. Doesn't this directly cut off the financial routes of dozens of large and small officials in the house? Cutting off people's financial routes, such as killing parents. Of course, Yu Debing was unhappy at this time, but He Shaoyun's family was deeply favored by Lord Liang, so Yu Debing naturally didn't dare to attack immediately, but reminded He Shaoyun: "Chief He Liang, the account book you brought today is not right." You may not know much about the first time you collect taxes. In previous years, taxes and grain were levied according to the white book. ”

How could He Shaoyun not know that in previous years, taxes and grains were levied on the basis of the white book. But he still continued to pretend to be confused, and said: "Yu Shuban, didn't the court stipulate that all localities should collect taxes and grain according to the yellow book?" ”

"Ouch, what is the grain chief. You now have a big family and a big business, and you don't care about this bit of grain, but more than 100 people up and down in our yamen count on this little bit of tax grain in summer and autumn every year. Although the regulations are so, where is the entire Ming Dynasty to collect and release two accounts? If you do this, you're ruining our jobs! ”

Yu Debing's words made He Shaoyun difficult. I'm sorry for the villagers for collecting grain in the white book, and I'm sorry for the villagers with the yellow book. Naturally, they will offend the entire Yamen, and they will have to be counted on to cooperate in many things in the future. Don't look at Lord Liang's obedience to their family now, but if it comes to the point of working against the officials of the whole yamen, Lord Liang may not support him, at most it is a mud.

After thinking about it, there was only the Dafa of procrastination, so he said: "Yu Shuban, I didn't bring a white book today, how about we collect it according to the yellow book from tomorrow?" ”

"It doesn't matter, I've got the blank book ready." Yu Debing replied.

Now He Shaoyun couldn't delay it any longer, so he had to change it to a white book.

Actually, Yu Debing was not wrong. Like these officials and servants in the yamen, they have no salary, and the government only pays a little living allowance every month. The official system of the Ming Dynasty was very strange, and the officials who worked in the yamen every day only had a meager living expenses, which was far from enough for a family's expenses. However, most of the officials who solicit and accept bribes turn a blind eye and close one eye. In this way, these officials are thinking of the law to generate income. The annual tax on grain has become their main source of income. I don't know how Zhu Yuanzhang, who formulated this kind of policy at the beginning, would feel when he knew this situation in later generations.

As soon as the hour arrived, the family members opened the courtyard door, and the people cheered and cheered around. At this time, a family leader shouted: "Don't squeeze, don't squeeze, come one by one." ”

The people began to line up under the shouts of the family. At the top of the list is the head of Chao Li of Houtuanlin Village. He Shaoyun asked: "Chief Chaoli, have all the people in your village arrived?" ”

"It's all here, and there are a lot of households."

"Okay, then the upper class will come first." Yu Debing interjected.

"We don't have any upper class households, the highest class is the middle class." Chao Li replied.

"There are five of you in the upper class, three in the upper class, and six in the upper class. How could there not be? Yu Debing replied on behalf of He Shaoyun.

Chao Li looked at He Shaoyun and said, "I've never heard of it, isn't it levied according to the yellow book this year?" ”

He Shaoyun sat on the side and did not speak. Yu Debing then replied: "It's not too late to hear about it. This year is still the old rule, and it is levied according to the white book. It's the rule! ”

This kind of thing can only be done by me for fish and meat, and for people to kill people. Since the government stipulates that it is like this, it can only come according to the regulations, and if you resist and do not pay, it is the villagers who will suffer in the end. Not long ago, He Shaoyun was like this, and Chao Lichang could only admit it.

After the mayor of Chao Li and the head of the household in his own house explained this rule, the villagers who were designated as high-class households immediately stopped doing it.

"What? How is it still a superior household? I've used the money this year! Hearing that his family was designated as the top class, Wang Mancang shouted directly. The villagers are so direct, and they don't shy away from bribery, and they shout directly, which makes Yu Debing and He Shaoyun embarrassed for a while. Obviously, Yu Debing did not take this benefit less. He Shaoyun was more wronged, this time the compilation of the white book was done by Qi Hongfu, the former grain minister, and it had nothing to do with him.

However, the other villagers around them relieved the siege: "Wang Mancang, you gave the money to Qi Hongfu, Qi Hongfu spent money and didn't do anything, if you want to find him, you can only go to the prison to find him, and you can only blame you for being unlucky." ”

The crowd burst into laughter, and since then, no one has spoken out against it.

He Shaoyun saw that everyone no longer objected, so he began to roll call and pay the grain according to the book.

"Jiang Defu, high-grade wheat is one stone, seven buckets, four liters, and three liters." He Shaoyun sang first.

"I don't have enough food to pay." Jiang Defu was straightforward, and he paid a lot more grain than in the yellow book, but he didn't dare to say that he wouldn't pay.

"Pay as much as you want today, and come back tomorrow to make up for it." He Shaoyun said.

When the Ming Dynasty collected taxes and grains, a number of wooden tools of one bucket, two buckets, five buckets, one liter, two liters, and five liters were prepared on the spot, and these numbers could be combined to create any number.

Jiang Defu poured wheat into a dendrobium with a stone written on it in his pocket, until the grain exceeded the wall, and a round pile of grain was piled up above the bucket, until it was too full to be full.

Yu Debing grabbed a handful of grain, and immediately said: "The grain is too trendy, nine percent off, and one stone, nine buckets and four liters are paid." ”

This is the standard open-eyed nonsense, from the wheat harvest to the payment of taxes and grain, there is an interval of almost three months, at this time it is summer, the grain has been dried, where will it be too damp? But the villagers have long been accustomed to the practices of these filthy officials. This is already very "fair" to give a nine-percent discount, and naturally there is no longer any objection.

After measuring the grain, He Shaoyun commanded the family Ding to carry the bucket into the warehouse, and at this time Yu Debing stopped and said: "Slow, this is not good." ”

The two families stopped moving, and Yu Debing took out a copper ruler and scraped it on the Hukou, and the grain on the Hukou was scraped to the ground. Then he pulled up his robe, took a dozen steps back, luckily dantian, ran forward, flew up and kicked at the bucket, and the grain in the Hu fell a part, and after this kick, some of the grain in the Hu fell below the Hu edge. The villagers went to pick up the grain that fell on the ground, and Yu Debing shouted: "Don't pick it up, don't pick it up, it's all loss." ”

These are all old rules, and villagers are used to it. Jiang Defu had to make up for the fallen grain.

Yu Debing said to the two family members: "See no, so that the grain is dense and the measurement is accurate." ”

This is the legendary "drenched kick".