Quyang, Old Street.

Huo Bao and Shui Jin came out of the magistrate's yamen and walked around the street, without escorts behind them.

The force of the two, in this small county town, there is nothing to fear.

Before I could get in front of the sauce meat shop, I smelled the smell of meat.

Huo Bao's nose moved, remembering the flatbread and meat, and he was hungry again.

Although he ate very well at the reception banquet in the Zhixian Yamen before, but the exquisite banquet, he really had a bottom on this amount of food.

Seeing this, Shui Jin couldn't help but laugh: "Why are you still thinking about this?" ”

Both of them had been in Quyang, and Huo Bao had brought water into the sauce butcher shop.

Huo Bao swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, "I can never forget that meal of bread and meat...... After eating that meal, I realized how wonderful it was to be full! ”

This is the time when I went south from Nanshan Village in March.

On the way, he met Jia's family, and Jia Yan went to the city to buy a lot of sauce meat flatbread.

Shui Jin couldn't help but be surprised: "The fifth master hurts you so much, can it still make you hungry?" ”

"At that time, I had just gained strength, and the amount of food grew every day, and my father didn't know how much I should eat, even I was confused......"

As he spoke, the sauce and meat shop arrived.

"Five catties of sauced meat, two sauced ducks, two smoked fish!"

Huo Bao touched two silver beans in his purse and ordered a few.

"Sauce meat is 60 wen per catty, 5 catties 300 wen; One sauce duck is fifty Wen, two are one hundred Wen, one smoked fish is 30 Wen, two are 60 Wen, a total of 360 Wen! ”

The shop's fat proprietress used dried lotus leaves to fill the meat while calculating neatly.

Huo Bao frowned when he heard this: "Why has the price increased?" Not at that price last month? I remember that the sauce meat was only forty wen at the time! ”

Although the current price, compared with March, is only 30% of the original.

But March is after the catastrophe, when there is no harvest, and food is the most scarce, which is incomparable.

On the contrary, in September, Chuzhou was stable, the peasants basically resumed production and life, and prices fell and tended to stabilize.

The proprietress sighed and said, "There's no way to add it, isn't this a tax increase for the yamen?" ”

"Raise taxes, what taxes? Quyang County's commercial tax is not one of ten taxes? ”

Huo Bao's heart trembled, but his expression remained unchanged, and he seemed to ask casually.

The commercial tax stipulated by the imperial court was "30 taxes and 1", but in the actual local implementation, the local officials exploited the local government, did not dare to touch the gentry class, and mostly attacked the merchants, and the actual tax paid increased by more than 10 times and 20 times.

Under the rule of the Chuzhou Army, this issue was specifically discussed.

Others don't know the profits of businessmen, but Huo Bao and Xue Biao are familiar with each other.

Huo Bao suggested that the commercial tax should be set as "ten taxes and one", and a certain amount of tax exemption should be given according to the cost of buying and selling profits.

For a small snack shop like a sauce and meat shop, it is necessary to calculate the rent and population, deduct 20% or 30% from the running water, and the remaining flowing water is "10 taxes and 1".

In this way, the tax is very thin.

As for the high-profit businesses of brothels and wineries, this "ten taxes and one" is one percent of the real flow.

The proprietress said: "Our Chuzhou army has fought Jinling...... If you don't need money in this war, the commercial tax will be doubled......"

Shui Jin stood beside Huo Bao, and he also heard that something was wrong, and his face couldn't help but change.

Huo Bao took the lotus leaf bag, handed the silver beans over, and said, "When is the price?" ”

"September 19...... I remember clearly, my mother's birthday, I originally wanted to honor my mother for 300 yuan, this time I heard the tax increase I honored 200, leaving 100 yuan, my mother still blamed me for being stingy...... The daughter who married outside, the meat is carried, the longevity peach is prepared, and two hundred wen is not less, isn't it? There's really no place to reason......"

The proprietress chattered while looking for a handful of copper coins.

Huo Bao was depressed in his heart, but it didn't affect his appetite, and with that handful of copper coins, he directly bought four flatbreads in the shop next door.

Compared with the previous month, sure enough, the price of flatbread has also increased.

Eating and carrying food, you can't eat on the street, so Huo Bao picked a clean restaurant and went in.

The guy who greeted the guests at the door looked at the big bags in Huo Bao's hand and was very entangled, not knowing whether to beckon the guests to come in or dissuade the guests from bringing out to eat.

Huo Bao said: "Come to a private room, ...... table at the table"

"Hey! Two guest officers, please! ”

The guy immediately smiled on his face, beckoned Huo Bao and Shui into the restaurant, went directly to the private room on the second floor, and called Dr. Tea to serve tea.

"A pot of white peony!"

Huo Bao casually ordered tea and sent Dr. Tea down.

"What's going on? Quyang County order to exploit the place? ”

The water is incomprehensible.

Huo Bao was also confused.

If a certain county in Luzhou, Hezhou or Taiping Mansion is not properly employed, it is understandable to take advantage of the exploitation of the place or something, and the emperor is far away.

Quyang is only a few dozen miles away from Jinling, and it is the foundation of the Chuzhou army.

This Quyang Zhixian has eaten leopard gall, dare to be so yin and yang?

Among them, there must be an inside story.

Quyang is Deng Jian's hometown, and he left Quyang to stand on his own as early as when Deng Jian was an apprentice.

When Huo Wu won the Chuzhou army, he did not interfere in the affairs of Quyang.

It is one thing not to interfere in Quyang's personnel, and it is another thing for Quyang not to listen to Chuzhou's military decrees.

Slow things down.

Huo Bao was not in a hurry, wiped his hands and rolled a flatbread with meat first.

After eating one, he was happy.

The big biscuits are babbling, and the sauce meat also has a slightly fishy smell.

Time has passed, and it may still be the original taste, but there is no longer the original satisfaction.

Then the banquet at the bottom of the restaurant came up, the side dishes were exquisite, and the hot dishes were also delicious.

The two of them ate the noodles, and the sauce meat and smoked fish were left, and they didn't waste it, and they carried it back to the Yamen of Zhixian County.

……

Zhixian Yamen.

The owner of the horse village tilted his body, sat on the couch, and was listening to a small song.

The magistrate sat at the bottom of the head, saying something funny, and the atmosphere was just right.

There were two prostitutes in the hall with delicate eyebrows, one stroking the piano and the other holding the lute in their arms, plucking the strings and singing in their mouths.

The master of the horse village beat the beat and listened attentively.

Seeing Huo Bao and Shui coming in, the body of the owner of the horse village was straight.

In front of juniors, he is not easy to let go.

Otherwise, Huo Bao would have done the same, then he would have cried.

Na Zhixian stood up and said courteously: "Little Master Bao is back, General Shui is back!" ”

Speaking of which, he is not an outsider, he is the brother-in-law of Wang Qianhu who stayed in Quyang before, born as a child, and he followed Wang Qianhu earlier.

When Wang Qianhu was transferred to Hezhou, Juxian did not avoid his relatives and recommended this brother-in-law to take over Quyang to stay behind.

Huo Bao looked at Nazhi County, but did not answer.

The owner of the horse village looked at Huo Bao, then looked at Shui Jin, noticed that the two looked different, and waved his hand to send the two prostitutes down: "What's the matter?" ”

Huo Bao said directly: "Sixth uncle, Quyang County Ya has doubled the business tax!" ”

"Huh!"

The owner of the horse village was surprised, looked at the county order of Quyang, and was speechless for a while.

In his thirties, he is also thoughtful in his treatment of people and things, and he is bold.

The Quyang County Order was panicked and unexposed, and said calmly: "It is a commercial tax...... This year, Quyang has exempted the summer tax and the autumn tax has also been reduced by half, and if the business tax is not increased, there is no money in this yamen! Shang Jia is thick, there are no miscellaneous, only double the tax, and it is less than in previous years! ”

"What do you want money from the yamen? According to the rules, the salaries of the upper and lower people in the yamen have already been allocated! Huo Bao was puzzled.

"That'...... That's not ...... That's not ......"

This time, Quyang County's eyes flickered, and he didn't dare to speak out.

Huo Bao said to the master of Ma Zhai: "Sixth uncle, send someone to report to the old supervisor, and let the professional people investigate!" ”

Naquyang County was shocked, and hurriedly begged: "Little Baoye raised his noble hand...... Xiaguan didn't want to do his best for the Chuzhou army......"

Huo Bao Zhengse said: "You are guilty of one crime by adding commercial taxes in the name of the Chuzhou Army; The money collected is not named, and it is the second sin, how can I lift up my noble hand if I want to? ”

This Quyang County Commander said honestly: "The lower officials want to honor Lord Deng...... Deng Ye is going to marry a daughter in a few years......"

Huo Bao smiled angrily.

dared to pull the banner, and even Huo Deng's marriage became an excuse for him to exploit the place.

The master of the horse village snorted coldly: "What about the foolish ghosts? Deng Ye has no money, Deng Ye has no money, you dare to double the business tax formulated by the fifth master, Deng Ye is a businessman, you have no scruples, pick a businessman to open the knife, this is your filial piety to Deng Ye? ”

Quyang County Ling said with a bitter face: "Sixth master, little treasure master, it's really not a subordinate lie...... This is not my idea alone, it was decided after discussion by the county government, and it is not easy for me to stop it alone! Speaking of this, he paused: "This is another marriage of Major General Ma, and everyone is still discussing where to collect another ......."

The owner of the horse village also laughed angrily this time.

Well, the foal's marriage has also become an excuse for them to collect money and raise taxes.

Huo Bao and Ma Zhai were horrified.

If a person ascends to a high position for the first time, he can't hold it, and he is greedy, there is no accident, and a yamen colludes up and down to collect money in one go, which is too exaggerated.

The Chuzhou army fought as an excuse to accumulate wealth.

The marriage of Deng Huo was an excuse to accumulate wealth.

Even the foal's marriage became an excuse.

But what about the silver?

Jinling City has been beaten, and I haven't seen any silver offerings from Quyang.

The people are ignorant and will not care if it is the Zhixian Yamen who makes their own decisions, and they will blame the Chuzhou army for these things.

"Check! Let the old monk strictly investigate! ”

The owner of the horse village is also angry.

Is it easy for the Chuzhou Army to get to where it is today?

It's not going to be a big deal, and the people down there are messing up?

What I see now is only Quyang, but what about the dozen or so counties that I can't see?

What kind of life are the people living?

Seeing the expressions of the two of them, the Quyang County Commander was puzzled: "Isn't it just a commercial tax?" This is not an uncommon thing, didn't the county government often add it before? And they didn't exploit the gentry and peasants, so why can't they do it? ”

The owner of the horse village sneered: "That's the county government of the imperial court, are you the county commander of the imperial court?" Whose job is served, whose rules are kept, you don't remember this, and you are still a fart official! ”

Huo Bao was too lazy to break with this person.

The lowliness of businessmen is the cognition of these readers, and it cannot be reversed in one sentence or two.

A secret worry arose in his heart.

In the previous official examinations, the appointment needs to be cautious.

These nerds, dealing with government affairs "on paper", have become a scourge.