On the first day of September, the sky was overcast, and the bleak autumn wind blew by, adding a bit of coolness.

In the land of Cangguo, the common people put on a coarse linen coat on their bodies, complaining about the weather in their mouths, but their faces were full of smiles.

Because, today is the day to pay taxes.

A very strange scene, on this day in previous years, the entire Cangguo is not said to be a mourning, at least it is also gloomy, sad and desperate, those whose wives are separated, and those whose families are broken and deceased, can see a lot in every village, even if they have some fields at home, gritting their teeth and being able to pay taxes, they have paid such a large sum of money in vain, and it is like being stripped of their heart, and it hurts so much.

But this year, it's a different story!

Due to the exemption of the tax, so the people who have no land and no property at home do not have to pay taxes at all, how to live in normal times, how to live now, seeing that the days are getting better day by day, this year's winter may be able to add two clothes, and the days have hope.

And some of the fields and industries in the family also paid nearly 30% less tax because of the exemption of the per capita tax, and felt that they had taken a big advantage.

In addition, some families whose harvest is not good, or what has happened to them, and they are unable to pay the taxes can also register with the government, and the taxes can be paid in arrears for next year, and interest will be charged according to 10% of the taxes.

In short, this huge tax payment did not drive any family to a dead end, nor did it make a young man a slave.

On the contrary, the imperial court issued a proclamation that all families who have lost their main labor force and are old, weak, sick and disabled can apply for a grant of assistance and get through this year's difficulties with the help of the government.

As a result, this year, the small officials who went from village to village to collect taxes had a new duty: after collecting the taxes, they went from house to house in the villages, and after verifying that they were correct, they distributed a sum of money to poor families.

There is not much money, a family of 500 copper coins to one or two pieces of silver, placed in a family with fields and young and strong laborers, may only be half a month's income, but for those families who have no source of income, it is a big drought and rain, and it is not a problem to survive this cold winter.

So much so that when the little officials carried a large cloth bag full of copper coins to visit from house to house, they were followed by a group of ordinary people watching the excitement, a group of dirty mud dolls, laughing and playing, with excitement flashing in their eyes, hoping that these little officials would enter their homes as soon as possible.

Of course, in the process of distributing the money, there were also some ironic things.

The reason is that many old people don't dare to accept the money sent over at all, and their cowardly eyes are full of doubts, even if the little official explains repeatedly, they still can't believe it, and finally the little official began to plead, so he accepted it in doubt.

After all, after living all my life, I have never heard of such a grotesque thing, and it is already a great thing that the government has reduced taxes, so how can I still give money to the people?

Not to mention in Cangguo, even in the history of the major vassal states, this is the first time!

If the previous subsidy was only an encouragement from the government to some policies, in order to better implement the reform, then this aid is a complete act of helping the people.

The sun is coming out in the west?

There are many people who follow the lively people to see if this is true.

Obviously, it's true!

For example, in Shanghe Village, there are more than 80 households in the village, more than 500 people, and two small officials have been busy all morning with bags of money and grain, and finally ran all over half of the village, and they are so tired that they are sweating profusely.

Seeing this, a young and strong young man stepped forward and was about to help, but he was clapped by the clerk and said solemnly: "This is money, and we can only handle it!" If something goes wrong, the above will be held accountable, and if you are caught by the Ministry of Supervision, you will be put in prison! ”

"So serious?" The young man was startled, and quickly retracted his hand, a little dazed, he just felt that the officials in the government were much kinder during this time, so he wanted to help, but he didn't expect such serious consequences.

"Of course!" The little official was straight, his face showed palpitations, and said: "Don't you know that a few days ago, our county master was found to be greedy for three hundred taels of silver by the Ministry of Supervision, guess what?" ”

"What's wrong?" The young man was curious, and the people around him also cheered up and listened with bated breath.

"Peel!" There was a deep fear in the eyes of the little official, and he said: "In front of the whole city, like killing a pig, the county was hung on the shelf at the entrance of the vegetable market and skinned alive!" When peeling, the knife is cut from the backbone, and the skin on the back is divided into two halves with a knife, and the skin and flesh are slowly separated with the knife, tearing it apart like a butterfly flapping its wings, making people feel that their legs and feet are weak when they look at it! ”

"Whew-"

Suddenly, the sound of inhaling cold air sounded all around.

"It's so terrifying, let's catch up with Ling Chi!" Some people don't believe it, after all, it sounds so creepy.

"Of course! Many officials were directly frightened and fainted, shouting no, no, but it attracted the attention of the Ministry of Supervision, and when they went back to investigate, they found a few more among these people! ”

"Skinned too?"

"Not really." The little official shook his head and said: "The imperial court stipulates that only officials who embezzle more than one hundred taels of silver can be punished by skinning, and those officials are all new officials, and there is not much silver for greedy ink, and now they have been escorted to the imperial city to wait for the verdict of the criminal department." ”

"That's a lot of fun!"

"These corrupt officials should be killed, they used to always bully our poor people, but now that Your Majesty is in charge, their good days are over!"

"Good!"

The common people clapped their hands one after another, and the atmosphere suddenly became warm.

The two officials looked at each other and smiled bitterly, words such as corruption and bribery were not dared to say in the past, but now not only can they discuss it loudly, but they also look like they want something to happen to the lord of the government, which makes them feel that the contrast is too great.

In the future, you can't make any more oil and water...... The little official thought to himself......

But if you think about it carefully, in fact, although the imperial court has been investigating and dealing with corruption and bribery these days, in general, it is still an example to kill chickens and monkeys, and it is impossible to kill every official, the purpose is only to curb the atmosphere of corruption.

Correspondingly, under the pressure of this anti-corruption, it is also an opportunity for the small officials, I heard that the Ministry of Officials is establishing an assessment system, and in the future, a group of people will be selected from the subordinate personnel of the government to be promoted, even if it is a small official, there is a chance to become an official.

In this way, it seems to be worth it!

"Huh? Does this sound sound familiar? Suddenly, a little official raised his eyebrows and looked at the east of the village suspiciously.