Nanhai Jukou II, Shimizu scholar

After 400 years of development, the tax law of the Zhengyang Empire has been nearly perfected, and the empire is divided into five regions, with agricultural tax, Ding tax, commercial tax and Shi tax as the main items, and the Ministry of Finance under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs in their respective regions accounts for various taxes, and the Ministry of Warehouse is responsible for collecting and counting the converted tax silver and grain.

There are only two things that the Zhengyang Empire can use to pay taxes, coins, silver, copper, and grain, wheat and rice.

The agricultural tax is one of the thirteen taxes, which is the lowest tax burden. And you can pay taxes and grains.

The purpose of the tax is to more accurately record the information of population changes, which is the new policy of Zhengyang in 294, known as one of the two major reforms of the tax law, and is deeply supported by farmers, and is also one of the foundations of the Zhengyang Empire.

The commercial tax is one of ten taxes, and the statistics are net income, and the tax money must be used to pay taxes. The Zhengyang Empire has established a money village for more than 200 years, and has been constantly exploring and improving, and has built the empire money village very well, and the money village is state-owned. But the person in charge is not the emperor, but the great Zongzheng of the Zongzheng Mansion, endorsed by the entire imperial family. And because the royal princes have changed from hereditary to hereditary, the number of princes has been maintained in the hundreds, compared to the centennial birthday of the Zhengyang Empire, the royal family filled the entire Nanjing City, and the situation of the royal family everywhere was much better. As a result, the number of Huangzhuang has increased by dozens of times. Under the control of the royal family, the value of silver money has been depreciating, and barter is also forbidden between merchants, and even if goods are to be used as payment, they must be mortgaged and borrowed. And the businessmen who can only pay taxes with silver money, so they dare not falsely report their accounts and pay less taxes, once they are discovered, it is a big crime to raid their homes.

The tax is not levied on the scholars, but on those who exceed five acres, and the more land they own, the higher the tax rate, and the same only the silver tax is collected, which is one of the two major reforms of the tax law together with the Ding tax. For the people, this is that the emperor can't get used to the old wealth of those landlords, and the scholars are too rich, thinking of ways to suppress them. Although for a real big family, the tax is dispensable, but it seems very disgusting. The most important thing to say about tax was in the fertile southern part of the empire......

Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Households, Zhejiang Gold Department, and Qin Kuijie of Lang Lang.

Born proficient in arithmetic, he became a talent at a young age, and after ten years, he got a talent fame, and then for another ten years, he no longer made an inch.

Through his father's relationship, he still entered the officialdom, and although he was the lowest-level eight-rank planner, he was very satisfied.

On a summer night in the year 473 of the Zhengyang calendar, Qin Kuijie, who was the planner at the time, was calculating a tax rate in his study, because it involved a granary of the Du family, so he was extremely careful.

This Du family is one of the best wealthy families in Zhejiang, and the eldest brother of the head of the Du family is now Du Weizhong, the secretary of the Criminal Department!

He calculated this tax rate three times when he returned to the Yamen, and when he returned home, he still felt uneasy, so he calculated it again.

"Last year, there was a surplus of 99,353,2410 yuan in the granary of Dujiahe Valley, and 1 of the 13 taxes on agricultural taxes, so the tax payable was 7,642,2570 yuan.

Whew, the total is right, that's right. ”

Closing the account book, Qin Kuijie let out a sigh of relief, leaned back, raised his head and closed his eyes to recuperate.

Suddenly, Qin Kuijie opened his eyes, and his body suddenly straightened back.

"Agricultural Tax...... Commercial Tax ...... To put it bluntly, the granary of the Du family is actually a business, and commercial behavior should be subject to commercial tax, but because the Du family is powerful, the benefit of the official family to his family is to change the commercial tax to agricultural tax. The year before last, a special decree was issued in Zhejiang Province, what is this decree, I remember seeing it......"

got up suddenly, and the official chair behind him fell to the ground with a bang because Qin Kuijie got up too quickly.

Qin Kuijie muttered to himself, pacing in a quick circle in the study.

"Where did you see it...... Where? ”

When the day broke, Qin Kuijie, who had been walking all night, finally thought of where he had seen the news from.

"Yes, yes, the fourth year of Xuyang's Zhejiang Mansion in early March!"

Qin Kuijie had a pale complexion, but there was a crazy smile on the corner of his mouth, coming out of the Qin Mansion, the housekeeper and the old lady Qin all saw him along the way, but no one showed concern about his state, because this was really his normal state.

In the early morning, the gate of the Jinbu County Ya had not yet opened, Qin Kuijie slapped the gate almost frantically, and the porter came to open the door for a long time, and the originally impatient look suddenly dissipated when he saw Qin Kuijie.

"Qin Langjun came so early today, did he find a terrible tax case?"

"Lao Li is really sorry, I came early today."

"It's okay, it's okay, public affairs are important, public affairs are important."

"See you later!"

Qin Kuijie hurried to the public house where the newspaper was stored, while the porter Lao Li looked at Qin Kuijie's back and said twice:

"There are really not many young people like this now!"

"Found it!" Qin Kuijie was overjoyed to hold a copy of the newspaper, the large content on it was ignored by Qin Kuijie, and the content he was looking for was just a short three-line word in a corner square.

The content is probably:

From the date of dispatch of the newspaper, the basic unit of agriculture, its warehousing and transportation, can be implemented according to the agricultural tax.

A few simple lines of words can make the commercial tax of 10 taxes and 1 change to the agricultural tax of 13 taxes and 1.

In order to curry favor with the Du family, the Zhejiang government specially set up this rule, and even hid it in the corner of the newspaper. That is, the whole of Zhejiang. Except for the Du family, almost no one knows this rule.

The government will not lose much, but it will also gain a great favor.

In just four years, just the dozens of words on this newspaper have saved more than 100,000 taels of tax and silver for the Du family!

Qin Kuijie didn't know if this edict was issued by the Zhejiang Inspector or other adults, after all, the Inspector and the Criminal Department were nominally at the same level......

But in any case, that's a loophole. This news from the Di Bao is a piece of evidence left behind when they laid down the hole, and if anything happens in the future, it is a proof of escape.

But now, this loophole has also been mastered by Qin Kuijie!

In fact, in addition to Qin Kuijie's talent in arithmetic, he is not known in other aspects. But he was diligent, hardworking, aware of his flaws and working hard to make up for them.

This public house dedicated to archiving the mansion newspaper, he was the one who came the most, and the official in charge of cleaning the room even exchanged the key with him for the obligation to clean this room, Qin Kuijie can be said to be the owner of this room.

He has been called a nerd for a year, but he always feels that what he needs must be in these newspapers, and the emperor has paid off, and now he has really found it!

In fact, for a year, since he entered the gold department and became an eight-pin planner, he has been doing things for his own heart.

He is busy, crazy, and what he learned in the book, opening peace for all generations. He wants to change the world through arithmetic.

He believes that it was taxes that changed the world and made the empire what it is.

The emperor's military attaché, the martial arts that only existed in the script a hundred years ago now really exist around everyone.

Chivalry is forbidden with martial arts!

There are these existences that can trample on the law at any time, bully the weak, and let ordinary people survive. is also because of the emphasis on martial arts and light on literature, how rough the current tax law is, and the Hubu Shangshu is a corpse vegetarian meal in Qin Kuijie's heart.

Because of the tax law, in the entire southern provinces of the empire, the scholars were in charge, and the farmers were miserable, and the so-called agricultural tax became the benefit of the scholars. The so-called commercial tax became a means for the nobles to oppress the merchants.

The whole south was divided by the scholars, where the emperor's decree became secondary, only looking at the dignified Zhejiang province, in order to please one person, and arbitrarily formulated tax laws, doing obscure, disgusting, and losing conscience!

In Qin Kuijie's heart, these words no longer roared like thunder all the time.

So he chose to do things for the people, using his own means and his own identity.

For example, Lao Li, the porter, had to pay a high tax amount on a few acres of thin land in his family, but under Qin Kuijie's calculations, he gave the land to Lao Li's sons and grandsons, and finally he was able to leave half of the tax silver. A few taels of silver a year more, and life suddenly became much better.

And the neighbors and villagers who are good friends with Qin Kuijie, he also tried his best to come up with the best tax plan for them, even if he was the head of the Ministry of Gold, he once asked him for advice.

His popularity has always been good because of this.

And when he found a big loophole, he became cautious instead, because he knew that this was a hole in the sky, and if it was pierced, there might be unexpected and terrifying changes.

So he started to take his time, and in the first year, he cashed in some of his family's properties, and then bought a lot of agriculture-related properties. At the same time, he contacted many of his trusted relatives, who in turn sought out relatives. In addition to his own family, he also contacted many businessmen, almost all over Zhejiang Province, these businessmen were all he had helped, and he trusted Qin Kuijie very much, but at the same time, he was also oppressed by the government, and his life was very sad.

Through these merchants, he was able to get in touch with many peasant households, and then further expanded to the relatives of these peasant households, as well as the relatives of the relatives.

As a result, Qin Kuijie formed three lines, one based on the Qin family, and one for the farmer, the former is trustworthy, and the main layout is completed by the Qin family. The latter was numerous, and in one year, a total of 3,000 households were contacted, and more than 10,000 people joined his plan. The other line is the merchants, who are in the center and act as a bridge between the two sides.

In the second year, Qin Kuijie went step by step, the merchant went first, and when he paid taxes, the merchant left the goods in the farmhouse and collected the agricultural tax. After getting the tax payment certificate, it will be transported to the warehouse or workshop, at this time, the official family will come to collect the business tax, and the businessman will naturally take out the agricultural tax certificate, and the official will naturally not recognize it at this time. At this time, the Qin family came forward and took out the newspaper.

This year, the officials were caught off guard, and they all acquiesced to this loss, because there was no way, Di Bao did stipulate that, and if you want to report the situation, you must also have a procedure and process.

So in the second year, it was peaceful, and all the businessmen who cooperated with Qin Kuijie saved at least more than 20% of their taxes. There may not be many single families, but dozens of businessmen together have saved more than 10,000 taels of tax and silver!

And because there is a rule for agricultural tax, the higher the agricultural tax paid, part of the tax in the second year can also be reduced, so the three thousand farmers actually benefited, if converted, Qin Kuijie is sure that this is not a small amount, the key is the discount of the farmers, and the next year is equivalent to the discount of the businessmen.

In the end, the government did discover the problem, but the Department of Household Officials in Zhejiang did not realize the seriousness of the problem. And this newspaper is indeed true, the imperial court stipulates that the decree cannot be changed overnight, and once all the decrees are issued, they cannot be changed within ten years, so the loss of this ten thousand taels of silver. The head of the household department pinched his nose and recognized it.

And all this is in Qin Kuijie's calculations, because he knows that the four hundred years of Guozuo, although the Zhengyang Empire is not yet old, and the operation of the empire seems to be stable, but in fact, this huge imperial machine has rotted internally. Those officials have long lost their ambition and sense of responsibility, because as long as Xiao Gui Cao Sui can keep this empire running basically, who will care, besides, who really cares about those Yulu?

At the same time as the officials entered the office, they basically became the scholars, and the welfare of the scholars should be enjoyed. And for every additional official who joins the office, more than one common man will suffer.

With the compassion to save the people, Qin Kuijie began the third year of his journey. This time, there were more than 100 merchants and more than 8,000 farmers.

In the third year, the government was anxious and did not want to recognize the agricultural tax of 13 taxes and 1, but at this time, the merchants and farmers were outnumbered, and even more people were involved in the fight against the government, because they wanted a piece of the pie in the coming year. Moreover. The content of the newspaper is true, starting from the fourth year of Xuyang, it can be exercised until the fourteenth year of Xuyang, and this decree cannot be abolished during this period. And now, it is only 11 years ago. There are still three years of tax money to save, which is not a small amount of money!

This is indeed not a small amount of money, in order to appease the anger of the public, the government pinched its nose and admitted it, but this year, the gap in taxes and silver suddenly expanded to 80,000 taels! And after the calculation of the Household Department of Clearing Officials, if this continues, the tax and silver loss in the following year will be more than 200,000 taels!

So Shi Langzhong, the official of the household department of Zhejiang Province, personally supervised and sent officials to the gold department. Investigate and plan Lang Qin Kuijie's corruption and favoritism.

But Qin Kuijie has not been lit for ten days, and the Qin Mansion is also empty, and the huge Zhejiang Province can no longer find this person.

Qin Kuijie, who was hidden in the city, hid in the sea of people, and continued to look for people with lofty ideals through the Qin family to find loopholes in the tax law, and when his name appeared on the sea fishing documents, Qin Kuijie made a decision.

On this day, on the rivers and lakes of Zhejiang, there was a huge rich man nicknamed Qingshui Scholar, it is said that he was rich enough to rival the country, and he attracted many martial arts heroes at once.

Poor and rich in martial arts

Most of the men who practice martial arts are poor ghosts, and there is such a huge rich person, it is like iron filings meeting a magnet, and they hit it off.

In a deep and secluded place in Ningbo, there is a mansion with a cave.

There was a study at the end of the corridor through the rockeries of the stream, and Qin Kuijie was alone in it, splashing ink, and a white carrier pigeon flew in from the window and landed on the ink that had not yet faded.

Reaching out and grabbing the pigeon, he took out the letter box that was set on his paw, and a small piece of paper appeared in the palm of his hand.

"The bandits in Dongting Lake are so poor that they can't open the pot, are the bandits who don't have rice to put in the pot still considered bandits? It's just a bunch of hungry villagers. ”

Three days later, in the wee hours of the morning.

The Lion City is the largest city in the Dongting Lake area, and on this day, the mist outside the city rose, and several soldiers guarding the city gate were napping.

There is no curfew in a small city like the Lion City, and since this is the Central Plains region, the city gates are not closed.

As for the group of bandits in Dongting Lake, the water bandits.

Hehe, it's just a group of refugees who escaped after being oppressed by the landlords and gentry, and their combat effectiveness is extremely limited.

And even if they wanted to do something, they wouldn't look at a place like the Lion City.

There is no head of a family in the entire Lion City, this is a pass of the imperial court, where soldiers are stationed, but there is no grain hidden.

There are giant crossbows at the head of the city wall, and even four red-coated cannons.

There are more than 3,000 troops stationed here!

Therefore, they will not be afraid of the little water bandits in Dongting Lake.

Even the commander of the Lion City wished that the bandits in Dongting Lake would come up and give credit.

In the early hours of the morning, the convoy appeared from the mist, and the soldiers guarding the city gate were awakened by the movement of the convoy, but when they opened their eyes, the convoy had already arrived at the city gate only ten feet away.

"What people! Stop it! A chief flag officer in light armor shouted, picked up the scabbard from the side, and clenched it tightly in his hand.

The convoy continued as if it hadn't heard.

The chief flag officer's face changed slightly, and he burst into tears again:

"Stop, or you'll be killed!"

While exploding, the chief flag officer pulled out the long knife in his scabbard, and the soldiers around him also picked up their weapons one after another, and several people looked nervously at the convoy in front of them.

And with a few people like this, the convoy finally came to a slow stop, and on the carriage headed by the driver, wearing a huge hat, his face could not be seen clearly.

But the chief flag officer saw the curtain of the carriage slowly opened, and it was a paper folding fan that opened the curtain.

"Tut-tut, in this place with beautiful mountains and rivers, there is such a city that is an eyesore."

When the chief flag officer saw this scholar-like person walk out of the carriage, the jealousy and vigilance in his heart were suddenly relaxed, but before he could react, a few streams of shadows suddenly shot out of the mist, and the chief flag officer knew that something was wrong, but the distance was too close, he didn't have time to react, and he was hit by an arrow in the neck!

The chief flag officer grasped the tail of the feather arrow with one hand, and blood oozed from his mouth, and he opened his mouth unwillingly, as if he wanted to say the word enemy attack, but he couldn't say it anyway.

With a bang, he fell to the ground, and the chief flag officer looked at a few more people who fell in front of him, all of whom were his subordinates.

However, the chief flag officer held out for several breaths, but still did not wait for a counterattack on the city wall.

It was as if they were killed by crossbow arrows, which could not be seen or heard from the walls.

The scholar got out of the carriage, and immediately in the mist behind him, several men with short crossbows came up behind him.

The scholar held a folding fan and walked gracefully towards the city gate.

He passed past the chief ruler and his men, and walked through the open gates, and came into the city.

At this time, on the steps on the inner side of the city wall, a middle-aged man wearing a hundred households of armor walked down quickly, his armor had fresh blood stains on it, and the long knife in his hand was still dripping blood.

When he came to the scholar's side, the hundred household officials stood aside respectfully, and the long knife in his hand was taken away by one of the scholars behind him.

"Second Prince Qin, according to the orders of the eldest prince, the Lion City Guard has completed the purge, and is waiting for the eldest prince to settle in!"

The scholar known as the second son of Qin patted his palms with a folding fan, glanced at this military city that was purely used as a pass, frowned and said:

"The hour is just right!

The eldest brother said, all the barracks here have been demolished and rebuilt, I have brought enough materials, and at the same time I have cut timber in the nearby mountains, and the eldest brother will see a lion city capable of living 100,000 people within ten years. At the same time, the Lion City was renamed Hecheng!

Is there a problem, this hundred? ”

The hundred households immediately bowed their heads and took the order to go.

The second prince of Qin continued to walk towards the city.

The soldiers guarding the city gate were the last targets of his visit.

And this Lion City, Abu, Hecheng, has already undergone a great purge last night.

This pass of the imperial court, the private soldiers of those clan gentry in Zhejiang Province, has quietly changed hands with ease.

Qin Ergongzi led his men all the way to the city, and the sides of this main road were empty, only a layer of mist like a thin veil floated in the city.

Moving all the way, Qin Ergongzi finally came to his destination.

Looking at the plaque of the Lion Chengwei on the magnificent building in front of him, without waiting for Qin Er Gongzi to speak, there was a person behind him with a big bow on his back, jumped up two or three feet, and the last punch hit the plaque, the plaque broke into two pieces in response, and then fell down heavily.

Second Prince Qin watched this scene with satisfaction, and walked towards the building with his feet raised.

Unlike the empty streets of the city, the original Lion City Guard Yamen was covered in blood, and a group of soldiers in blood-stained armor were silently standing in various corridors and nodes inside the yamen.

Last night, they were the ones who washed the blood here, killing one of the commanders of the Lion City Guard, three thousand households, six hundred households, and their henchmen.

And all this, just by money.

The eldest prince of Qin, that is, the scholar of Qingshui, spent 100,000 taels of silver to buy off more than 2,000 people in this lion city.

As for those who have not been bought, it is the Shimizu scholars who are unwilling to pay, or rather, feel that they are not worth buying.

Then after a night of fighting, the Lion City changed hands.

The commander of the Lion City Guard, Qianhu and so on, could not have imagined that their subordinates would be bought collectively.

Coupled with the poisoning, the sneak attack of the three masters, etc., the change of ownership in the Lion City seems very simple.

"Second Prince Qin, you're here!"

Just as Qin Ergongzi entered the backyard, three murderous and bloodied men walked out.

"Qin Shen, I've seen three seniors!"

The second son of Qin bowed and saluted, and his words were sincere.

Those three are the three masters who took the initiative to follow their eldest brother.

According to the level of the martial artists, these three are all powerful cultivators of the mid-grade Dacheng realm.

In the rivers and lakes, he is also a ceiling-level character.

But such three strong men are willing to become the subordinates of their own eldest brother who does not know martial arts and has no power to restrain chickens.

And swear to follow!