Then the officials put a general ledger of all the miscellaneous labor in the county, and then distributed it evenly to everyone in the county.

This is the "miscellaneous labor into silver" after the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the origin of the so-called "poll tax".

But there is a big problem here, the conversion of miscellaneous labor into silver is a policy, not a law. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty stipulated that the "official body" was exempt from miscellaneous labor, so the officials naturally did not have to pay the exemption money! And this non-payment is legal.

However, the land endowment of the official household is unavoidable, and everyone has to pay it. Only the clan and the nobles are also exempt from tax. Because their property was given by the emperor, they did not have to pay taxes to serve. Similarly, the emperor gave a minister 1,000 acres of land, which was also not subject to tax or miscellaneous labor. But the rest of the fields have to pay taxes and serve!

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, issued an edict: "The family of Shilu and the common people are equal to the noble and low, and those who tend to serve in the service are also the affairs of the common people." If a wise man and a gentleman are noble to their families, and their bodies are restored, then there is no difference between gentlemen and savages, and it is not the way to persuade scholars to treat virtuous people. From now on, those who have land in the homes of the officials will be exempted from forced labor in addition to the rent tax. (Records of Ming Taizu, vol. 111)"

From this it follows that officials and gentry were not exempt from taxes. But don't forget, a huge part of the power of the Ming Dynasty was in the hands of the gentry and officials, who began to confuse the concept after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, and gradually expanded the exemption of officials to the common people! In the end, it became a rule recognized by the "people of the world", that is, the gentry and officials were exempt from taxes! And this "people of the world" naturally refers to the gentry and officials who have the right to speak, as for why do the people know so much, just pay taxes and serve honestly!

Then after He Lishui finished speaking, Liu Fangyuan's face was as pale as earth! And the people on the riverbank who heard the news were even louder! "It turns out that all the money in the world has been taken away by these officials!" There are endless discussions like that, and it's even more noisy!

On the riverbank, Xu Wanjiang felt extremely excited, he never knew that the original martial artists also had a day when they raised their eyebrows in the face of civil officials! Although the hundred households on the opposite side were Wu Ninghou's subordinates, he felt honored!

Xu Wanjiang, as a Jinyi guard, should be proud of his martial arts! But this show off also needs the strength behind it to support! If the Emperor is strong or trusts the Jinyi Guard, they can run rampant in the world! But if the emperor is weak and the civil officials are strong, then things will be reversed!

And at this time, it is the time when the power of civil officials is at its peak, that is, thousands of households like Xu Wanjiang who are dressed in brocade clothes and have to accompany the smiling faces when they see the civil officials, otherwise they will be handed over by a bullet and make a disgraced face, and it will be a pity if they lose their official position!

What's more, their command made Liu Shouyou unable to stand up at all, seeing Zhang Ju was like a mouse seeing a cat, not to mention these people below him! Therefore, after Xu Wanjiang saw the scene in front of him, he felt that he would never let go of the opportunity to humiliate the civil officials!

Therefore, with the desire to learn and the idea of watching a good show, he asked He Xianli and the others, "Three, what the hundred households said is true?"

He Xianli's faces turned red when they heard this, but they were speechless for a while! Jiang Yuzhong's face turned red because he was born in imperial history, and if he wanted to impeach others, he always had to know some laws. So he was in a trance and had the impression that the facts were just like what He Lishui said, but he couldn't remember it at all!

And because of listening to He Lishui's words, he felt as if he had been stripped of his clothes, exposing the fact that he had evaded taxes!

As for He Xianli and Wu Yunshan, their faces turned red because they didn't know that there was such a thing! But when they saw that He Lishui dared to tell these things in public, they expected that it would not be fake! So they actually have a feeling that their knowledge is not as good as that of a vulgar martial artist, which makes them feel ashamed for a while!

In fact, the situation of the two like He Xianli is not uncommon among the officials of the Ming Dynasty. Because for these people, the only way for them to make progress is the Four Books and the Five Classics, and everything else is miscellaneous, which does not help to promote officials and make a fortune, so naturally no one wants to read it, even if it is read by chance, it is also used as a pastime.

Anyway, they went out to become officials after entering high school, and naturally there was a master who led those "turbid officials" to deal with those "dirty" "mundane things".

Just sing! And you don't even have to pay for the money yourself.

Xu Wanjiang couldn't help but feel relieved when he saw that the three of them were flushed! By the way, after despising the three people in his heart, he turned his eyes to the canal.

At this time, Li Feiyu also realized the seriousness of the problem now, and he definitely believed that what He Lishui said should be true! Otherwise, if he said such things at this time, it would be tantamount to offending the officials of the whole world! If you tell a lie, you are afraid that you will die and have no place to be buried! Even Wu Ninghou can't protect him! Only if he tells the truth can many officials pinch their noses and ignore him.

He Lishui saw that Liu Fangyuan didn't speak, so he deliberately gave him a step down and said, "Lord Liu, the words have been said here, shouldn't you also let the tax collector go on the ship to inspect the goods, so as to collect the tax silver!" Look at the book

It is said that since He Lishui gave the steps down, then Liu Fangyuan should go down the donkey. But Li Feiyu has been an official for a long time, and he is extremely arrogant, especially when he is a martial artist, he feels superior! So when he saw that there were steps down, he felt humiliated!

And he felt that since the other party could give in, he would give in even more! So for the sake of his own face at the party, he actually said sharply: "You martial artist is a bunch of nonsense! It is clearly demagogic and ruining the reputation of the scholars! Today, I want to see what you can do to me."

He Lishui's face immediately became gloomy when he heard this! He saw Liu Fangyuan put on a look of not being afraid of heaven and earth, so he said with a cruel smile: "It's really true that there is a way in heaven that you don't go, and there is no door to hell, you can vote for yourself!" Someone!"

With his shouting, a team of brocade guards immediately ran over from the tea shed. Liu Fangyuan felt chills when he saw this situation, but he still didn't believe that the other party dared to arrest him, and said stiffly, "What, you still dare to arrest this official?"

He Li smiled and said, "You will know right away if you dare or not!"

After speaking, he took a step back and said loudly: "Liu Fangyuan violated the laws of the dynasty, used his power to entrap goods for personal gain, fabricated tax exemptions, and tried in vain to evade taxes! And stop the Jinyi Guard from enforcing the law, take it down!"