After Wei Qi and the others drank the wine in their glasses, they asked Zhang Dafu: "Mr. Zhang, the criminal official is so powerful, what about money and food, is the official Xu so arrogant?" ”

Zhang Dafu picked up a mouthful of food and ate it, and said unhurriedly after eating: "The attitude may not be so arrogant, but the ability and influence are not as good as that." ”

The officials in charge of money and grain are the money and grain clerks, who are basically passed down from father to son, relying on a secret fish scale book, which records the real land conditions and actual owners of a place, and with it can the collection of taxes be successfully completed.

The collection of large taxes is mainly completed at the county level, and the most important achievement of the county is the completion of the tax. There is a fixed amount of taxes paid in a county, and in principle, it will increase or decrease with the number of land and population, but in fact, it is a common practice for households, especially large families, to conceal the increase in land and population.

The other is the transfer and sale of land. In order to save the money of the tooth deed, the real purchase and sale of land often do not go to the county to go through the formal procedures, but only sign the contract privately, and the strange thing is that this kind of private contract is as effective as long as there is a Chinese person, a guarantor, and a lawsuit. In order to avoid paying taxes, many small households voluntarily donate their land to large families, and then rent the land, and pay land rent to the large families every year, which is better than the various exploits they receive when they pay taxes in the county.

After a long time, the real situation of the land is only clear to these officials who have been in one place for a long time, and it is impossible to smoothly raise taxes without relying on them. When encountering shrewd and capable county officials, they can still get along with each other without trouble, and each takes what he needs, and if the county officials are unconscious, the officials will take the opportunity to feast on their own pockets.

Wei Qi asked, "How does the official deal with the county official?" ”

Zhang Dafu said: "One way is to add taxes to those big families, once you offend them, often a letter can make the county officials unlucky." The other is to add to those lawsuits or strong sorghum, these people either report to the government or county, or gather people to make trouble, resist taxes and do not pay. If you don't dare to offend these two kinds of people, you will not be able to pay taxes, and you will be punished as well. ”

Wei Qi sighed: "It's really difficult to prevent villains, what should we do to deal with these officials?" ”

Li Zhiqing said: "Actually, it is easy to do, as long as the officials themselves are strong, these problems are not a problem." The difference between officials and officials is heaven and earth, and the status of officials is low, and they have to kneel and bow when they see officials. If the officials themselves are honest and upright, these officials will not be able to get the handle of the officials, and they will not find the weaknesses that can be used. On the other hand, if an official wants to deal with the officials, if he finds a crime, he can be dismissed from the errand, sentenced to exile, and even killed in court. ”

Wei Qi nodded and said: "It seems that the so-called problem of official governance is actually the officials themselves, as long as the entire officialdom is upright, the problem of official governance will be easily solved." ”

Everyone clapped their hands and laughed: "This is the correct solution." ”

Wei Qidao: "I also want to ask Mr. Zhang, what is the overall situation of Dasui's land and taxes?" ”

Zhang Dafu thought for a while and said: "At present, it can be said that it is beyond one's means, and Yin eats food. During the Hongzhi period, the amount of land in our dynasty reached a maximum of more than 7.9 million hectares, but in recent years it has dropped to about 6 million hectares. The amount of land is less, but the tax has increased by 30%, of course, the output of various materials has also increased a lot, but on the whole the tax burden has increased, and most of the increased burden is on the heads of ordinary households. In order to complete the collection of taxes, some places have to increase taxes in advance, such as some counties in Yuejun, where taxes have been collected for 5-6 years. In recent years, the problem of displaced people in the southeast has become more and more serious, that is, the collection of taxes is unreasonable, and the land of ordinary households has either been annexed by large families or actively donated to large households in order to evade state taxes. ”

Wei Qi asked, "I would like to ask the three gentlemen, is there any good way to solve the problem of national taxation?" ”

Li Zhiqing glanced at Wei Qi and said, "Brother Wang is very concerned about the politics of my dynasty." ”

Wei Qidao: "I usually don't have the opportunity to understand this, but today I was fortunate to meet three gentlemen, so I wanted to ask for more advice." ”

Yuan Xiaoxiu slapped the table and said: "Good policy is also very simple to say, just two words. ”

After speaking, they looked at Li Zhiqing and Zhang Dafu, and the three of them said in unison: "Junfu!" ”

Wei Qi's eyes lit up, and he said: "Divide the taxes evenly on the land, so that the big families can neither avoid taxes nor merge land unscrupulously." ”

Yuan Xiaoxiu said to Wei Qi in disbelief: "Brother Wang, you have heard us say this, and you can actually think clearly about the key point of Junfu, what a master." ”

Wei Qi hurriedly said: "I don't dare to take this false praise in my later life. To tell the truth, a friend who was born late in the past once mentioned the idea of Junfu, and today's words of the three gentlemen are even more sudden. ”

Li Zhiqing and the other three all paid attention, and Li Zhiqing asked, "Who is Brother Wang's friend?" ”

Wei Qi sighed and said, "I'm sorry for the three gentlemen, it's really hard to talk about it, and it's inconvenient to talk about it." But in the future, if I have the chance, I will definitely bring my friend to talk to the three gentlemen. ”

A few days later, Wei Qi mentioned to Zuo Zhenkun that Diao Qiming was investigating in the restaurant, Zuo Zhenkun was very concerned, and asked Wei Qi to explain the situation in detail, and after a long silence, he said to Wei Qi: "Your Highness, in the future, when you go out in micro-clothes, you must pay attention to safety." ”

Wei Qidao: "Master Zuo, don't worry, one is in the Hanlin Academy, and the other is accompanied by Miss Ye, there will be no problem." ”

Zuo Zhenkun shook his head and said: "Although the capital is the best place, it is also a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger, Your Highness must not be careless." Miss Ye's kung fu is naturally high, but a good man is difficult to defeat with four hands, and it is inevitable that there will be places where she can't take care of it. In the future, there must be guards around His Highness. ”

Wei Qidao: "It's easy to expose your identity with a guard. ”

Zuo Zhenkun said: "You can let the guards be a certain distance away, so that if there is an accident, Miss Ye can resist it, and the guards will have time to arrive." ”

Wei Qi was a little unimpressed, but he couldn't say anything, so he nodded perfunctorily.

Zuo Zhenkun saw what Wei Qi meant, and didn't say anything more. Before leaving, he deliberately found the leader of the prince's guard, who was the capital of the guard. Zuo Zhenkun told him that as long as Prince Ming went out, 10 guards would be arranged to protect him on the periphery.

Du Si was embarrassed and said: "Lord Zuo, I originally arranged it like this, but after Prince Ming found out, he didn't allow us to follow him anymore." ”

Zuo Zhenkun said: "First of all, try not to let the prince find out, if Prince Ming finds out, and then stop it, just say that it is my order and Lord Xue." ”

Toji said happily, "According to the orders of the two adults, I will definitely protect the prince." ”

Now the entire Ming Prince's Mansion is under Ye Qi's control, although she often accompanies Wei Qi to go out, Xiaohong and Xiaoxi quickly figured out the people inside and outside the palace and told Ye Qi. Ye Qi is extremely smart, and he has also experienced many years in the Qing family, so it is indeed not a problem to manage a prince's mansion.

In addition, the people who dialed to the prince's mansion were all discerning, and they soon knew Ye Qi's identity, and some simply regarded her as the future princess, and naturally bowed to her, and it was too late to flatter, who would dare to go against her, so everything in Prince Ming's mansion was quickly in order.

That night, Ye Qi came to Wei Qi's room with a letter, and Wei Qi saw her face heavy and asked, "Seventh sister, what's wrong?" ”

Ye Qidao: "After we arrived in the capital, I sent a letter to Sister Xiangyun to tell her about the situation these days, and now her reply has arrived." ”

Wei Qi said happily: "Okay! Or thoughtful as you think. What did the letter say? ”

Ye Qi said in a heavy tone: "Daddy Mao died in prison. ”

Wei Qi froze for a moment, and only after a while did he ask, "How did you die?" ”

Ye Qidao: "Sister Xiangyun said that after Daddy Mao was thrown into prison, although Lu Bangjie was dismissed, the relationship is still there, so he did not suffer." But his health was not good, and he knew that Mao Xiang was coerced by the Five Bucket Rice Sect, his life and death were uncertain, he was worried day and night, and he didn't eat and drink, so he soon died. ”

Wei Qi was very sad in his heart, and after a while, he said, "Tomorrow, I will tell Aunt Gui to go to the temple in the capital to do seven days of Dharma for Daddy Mao." Daddy's funeral has been arranged, right? ”

Ye Qidao: "Sister Xiangyun and Sister Mao have been arranged. After Lu Bangjie was dismissed, the original house could not be lived, Sister Xiangyun originally wanted the couple to move to her house, but Lu Bangjie decided to move out of Xiangyang City, first live in the nearby township for a while, and then plan to return to his hometown in Hedong County. ”

Wei Qidao: "I talked to Master Xue about Lu Bangjie, and Master Xue said that it is not good to help talk for the time being, and it is best to wait for the matter of the Wudou Mi Sect to be calmed down, and Mao Xiang has nothing to do, so that he can help him recover." ”

Ye Qidao: "Waiting for Mao Xiang to have nothing to do?" One is who knows when, and the other is that even if the Wudou Mi Sect is defeated, it is difficult to predict whether Mao Xiang will die or live. Even if you are alive, it is difficult to clear the suspicion. ”

Wei Qi said solemnly: "As long as Brother Mao lives, I will definitely do my best to help him clear his relationship with the Five Dou Mi Sect." Let's not say that the Mao family has a great favor to me and Aunt Gui, Mao Xiang is a great talent, that day we were in Lu Bangjie's mansion, he talked about national affairs after drinking, pointed out the disadvantages of the tax system, and put forward the idea of equal payment. ”

Ye Qi suddenly said: "The friend you told the three gentlemen that day was Mao Xiang?" ”

Wei Qi nodded and said, "Yes, so the hero sees the same thing." ”

Ye Qi couldn't help but admire: "Mao Xiang is young, and he has never been in contact with government affairs, so he can see the disadvantages of Dasui by reading, and he thinks of the practice of equal endowment, which is indeed rare." ”

Wei Qidao: "Talents are rare, if I can have the help of Mao Xiang and Mr. Li, Zhang, and Yuan, I will definitely be able to make a career." ”

Ye Qi looked at the high-spirited Wei Qi, smiled and didn't make a sound. Wei Qi couldn't help but hold Ye Qi's hands, his voice became a little hoarse, and he muttered, "Seventh sister, if my mother is still good, I will immediately ask her to help us make the decision." ”

Ye Qi's heart couldn't help but thump, but he deliberately asked, "What does my aunt help us do?" ”

Wei Qidao: "Let me marry you immediately, and you will accompany me to do a career for Da Sui." ”

Ye Qi pulled out his hand and said angrily: "You said something that you didn't have, but you asked me to go back to Shu County at the beginning." I accompanied you to the capital, but it's not what you think, I'm just afraid that grandma will worry, so I'll protect you by your side for a while, and when you're safe, I'll immediately go back to the Qing family to accompany grandma. ”

Wei Qi said anxiously: "Good sister, I told you everything in my heart in Luchuan, from the first time I saw you, I knew that there would be no one else in this life." It's all for my grandmother to let you go back to Shu County, outside Xi'an, I saw you coming on horseback, and my whole body was about to fly. Don't worry, when I entered the palace, my uncle said that he would be the master of my marriage, and he also said that Concubine Li praised you. It's just that we have just arrived in the capital, and everything has just begun, so I can't go and ask my uncle right away. ”

Ye Qidao: "I have something to worry about. After thinking about it, he felt that it was wrong, and snorted Wei Qi and said: "Whoever told you this, I told you, I am now temporarily protecting your safety, if you say something bastard, I will go back to Shu County immediately." After that, he stood up and left.

Wei Qi hurriedly grabbed her, and said again and again: "Good sister, good sister, I don't dare to say it anymore, if I talk nonsense again, you just smack me and beat me, just ask you not to leave me, I am a relative of you." ”

After hearing this, Ye Qi's heart couldn't help but soften, he stopped and turned back and said: "You are now the Prince of Ming, and you are more likely to be the emperor in the future, don't say some frivolous things casually to a folk girl like me." You're my cousin, I'm your sister, so I can live in your prince's mansion, remember? ”

Wei Qi couldn't help but froze, Ye Qiyi fell his hand, turned around and walked out of the door.

Ye Qi walked for a while, and Wei Qi was still standing there in a daze, as if he hadn't woken up from Ye Qi's words just now. Indeed, after returning to the capital, he had not seriously thought about these issues. My identity is different now, not to mention that marriage is not autonomous, and there are various rules and considerations for royal marriage. At that time, my father was demoted to Shu County because of the emperor's honorific title, so that he could marry his mother, and I heard my grandmother say that even then, the imperial grandfather did not agree to my father's marriage, and finally relied on the support of my grandmother to keep my parents together. Finally, after returning to Beijing to inherit the throne, it was not until three years later that his mother was made queen. All this is because the Qing family is a businessman, even if the Qing family is a count, after all, it is not a noble family.

Wei Qi walked out of the door, stood on the steps outside the hall, raised his head to look at the bright moon in the sky, and said in his heart: "Seventh sister, no matter what kind of difficulties you encounter in the future, I will not let you down." ”