Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 598
Zichuan.

The county sent people to put up a list everywhere, announcing the greatness of the emperor's grace, this year the land tax will be exempted, and the tax will start next year.

However, the newly built township offices and Baogong offices of various insurances were still crowded with people.

It was all the people in the villages who spontaneously brought grain to pay the imperial grain.

"Fellow townsman, the land tax is exempted this year, and there is no need to pay it."

An old man was standing beside his rack cart, on which was the wheat he pulled, which had been completely dried. He said loudly, "It's only natural to plant the land and pay for food. We also know that the Holy Emperor is kind, but we can't take advantage of the imperial court. If this year Naturally, we will not be able to pay for disasters and bad harvests.

But this year, although affected by some locust disasters, the disaster is not serious and the production reduction is not much.What's more, as soon as this sage's master came, he exempted us from all kinds of exorbitant taxes and taxes, and exempted us from various donations and levies. We are really grateful in our hearts.

Now that we are fighting on the front line, we have to contribute, and nothing else. Turning in some of the food grown in the field is also considered a gratitude to the Holy Emperor for his benevolence. "

In front of the township office, the head of the township wearing a silk gown felt a little uneasy when he saw the people who came to pay for the food.

He is the patriarch of a big family in the township, and he has a reputation for raising people. The county asked all the townships to elect the head, deputy head, and Baozhang. Everyone recommended him to be the head of the township, but he was actually very unwilling to be the head of the township.

The soldiers were in a panic, especially after Sun Zhixie's incident, now he was always afraid, gritted his teeth and let out blood, and finally got permission from the imperial court to build a memorial archway for them, and even gave them a special gift One of these squires sent his son to the Imperial Academy.

It's finally over.

He really wanted to hide for a while with peace of mind, but everyone recommended him to be the head of the township, and Gu Zhixian called him by name, and he couldn't refuse, and he didn't dare to refuse.

That thief Xie Qian is still at the foot of Mount Santai.

Wen Huo is also stationed in the county seat.

He had no choice but to drive the ducks to the shelves, and the county pulled out money and food, and asked each township to build township offices, security offices, etc., and build granaries.

He didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, and he ran around all day, which was more energetic than when he was young and immersed himself in writing stereotyped articles.

Even in order to complete the task, all the family members were transferred over.

The gentry even discussed in private, since they wanted to build a granary, should they build a free warehouse in addition to the official warehouse?

The free warehouse is an old practice in the past. During the good year, the local government donates grain to the warehouse. When it is in a disaster year, it opens the warehouse to release grain to the victims of the disaster.

It's just that it's long gone.

Now everyone is proposing, should we simply set up a free warehouse, and everyone will donate two liters of grain per mu to deposit in according to the number of acres of land?
The two liters per mu of grain in the righteous warehouse is actually the old practice of the righteous warehouse in the Tang Dynasty.

The country gentry are all scholars, many of them have been officials, and basically have fame and fame, so they are no strangers to these things.

Although some people would like to suggest that grain donations should be made by household, five stones should be donated to each household. In this way, there is an upper limit. You get ten stones per mu.

But at this time, it’s not easy to stand out. I originally proposed to set up a charity warehouse because of lingering fears. The county magistrate Gu Xianshou specially asked a craftsman to make a pair of cast iron statues. They are Sun Zhixie and Han Wen. Sun Zhixie is the head plant. The back of the bristle looks like a dog's hair, and Han Yuan, who was still a traitor to the Tartars in Beijing, is carved into the shape of a bird's feather.

The two kneeling like a pair of animals are not as good as pigs and dogs, and they are specially placed under the archway built for them.

This made the gentry, who had felt relieved, tremble slightly again.

There is no way, let's dig out some more.

So, it was finally agreed that two liters of grain would be paid per mu. Anyway, the land, silver and fire consumption of two buckets, four liters and two liters per mu had been paid, and the two liters would no longer be short.

Everyone hurriedly transported the grain to the newly built righteous warehouse, and even specially asked someone to write an announcement, made an account book, and then made a backup copy and sent a copy to the county government for archives.

The Yicang is managed by the township chief and deputy township chief, and the county government is invited to send people to assist in supervision, full of desire to survive.

When Gu Xianshou heard about this, he clapped his hands in approval.

It's not what he proposed. It's amazing that the local gentlemen can have this kind of awareness. Of course, they should be encouraged and supported.Of course he also knew that these people were scary, but he didn't care about it.

The first batch of food in Yicang was all donated by gentry and landlords, who were most afraid of being liquidated.

The gentry did not dare to ask the people to donate, for fear of causing trouble.

But during this period of time, the people ate a lot of melons and watched a lot of excitement, and they were very happy. They were very supportive of the Shaotian court and the emperor.

Especially after Master Wang recovered Zichuan, he abolished all kinds of tax increases, etc., and even reduced rent and interest, and announced new taxes. Only those who have land can pay taxes. You don't even have to pay Ding Yin.

There is no such thing as labor and handyman.

Even if you have land, you only pay two buckets, four liters and two liters per mu, and you still have to convert the acres into large acres of fertile land according to their fatness and thinness, and their size and weight, which is the tax amount.

In fact, the burden was not reduced a little bit, at least it was reduced several times.

Even tenants have reduced rent and interest.

In the previous usury or something, the maximum interest rate was stipulated to be no more than three cents per month, and the maximum interest rate could not exceed the principal.

Here comes the rescue.

Originally, according to the tax increase levied when the Tartars occupied Zichuan, at least half of the people's grain after the autumn harvest had to be handed over.

It is even worse for the tenants. Although they do not have to pay the land tax, the landlord will pass the land tax on to them, and they have to pay the rent. In the end, they have to work hard for a year without even being able to eat a full meal.

But what can I do?
If it is not done well, strong men will have to be arrested to repair the city and build embankments, or even serve as civilian husbands to transport grain and grass to guard the city.

But now, when Master Wang came and announced a benevolent government, the people couldn't believe it. After all, it was also ruled by the Ming Dynasty a few years ago, but the taxes collected by the court at that time were no less than those of the Tartars, and they couldn't live on.

But now they see those high-ranking gentry and powerful landlords in the past, all of them disheartened and honest, and they feel that the court is different this time.

Seeing that the gentry and landlords are paying land silver and donating grain for charity, the people who have just harvested the autumn grain are always a little uncomfortable.

In the past, at this time, the landlords and the officials started to go to the countryside to press for rent and taxes, but now no one comes.

Everyone is uncomfortable.

In the end, the old and young men in the village gathered on the drying ground to discuss for a few days, and finally decided to pay the imperial rations.

After all, according to the latest land and bank regulations, only two buckets, four liters and two liters are paid for one mu of land. Mountainous slopes and dry land can also be converted into good farmland. Dry land can also be converted to two shi grains per mu, which means that the actual tax paid is about one tenth.

Especially in the past, although it was said that the tax was one for thirty, in fact, the regular tax was only a small amount. The real burden was all kinds of floating revenue, fire consumption, apportionment, additional levy, consumption and consumption, etc., so the actual burden of the people often accounted for ten percent. Tax five, or even higher.

It would be even worse for the people who did not have their own land. Even if the land tax was not paid on the surface, all kinds of labor would be exchanged for silver, and even the additional levy would have to be calculated on the basis of the head.

"We have to pay the royal rations."

"It's only natural to pay the imperial rations!"

"Thank you Holy Emperor for his benevolent government!"

The mayor looked at the group of villagers with sweat dripping from his forehead. He never thought that there would be people so active in paying the imperial rations.

In the end, he had no choice but to find the scribe who came down from the county government office. This clerk was actually his family nephew.

"Uncle, we didn't force these people to pay the rations. The will of the sages and the government's notices, we have also conveyed and explained them in place. You can see that their attitude is obvious and they want to pay the emperor's rations wholeheartedly. This is a good thing."

"If they want to pay, then accept it. As long as we don't mess around with floating collection, we collect the grain into the warehouse in a proper manner, then write a note to them, and finally report it to the county magistrate. This is also a merit."

The mayor thought to himself, I don't even want to be the mayor, so what merit do I want?Given my family background, if I really wanted to be an official, at least I would be a county instructor. How could I be the mayor of this Laoshizi township.

But after thinking about it, he also admitted his nephew's statement.

Didn't these gentry have to take the initiative to make up the outstanding payment, clear the encroachment, and even take the initiative to set up a free warehouse, and now these common people are no different.

"Fellow folks, elders!"

"Everyone be quiet!"

The mayor stood on a high ground, pressed his hands together, and spoke loudly.

"The head of the township is also very happy that everyone has such a loyal awareness. Since everyone said that there is surplus food after the harvest, and they want to contribute, how can the head of the township refuse such loyalty."

"From now on, everyone line up and come one by one. Here we start to register the volume and store it in the warehouse."

One bucket of four liters per mu of imperial grain refers to wheat and rice. If it is other grains, there is also a special conversion standard, and it is good to convert accordingly.

The clerks in the township, even the officials in the county, together with the Baojia people in the township, began to collect grain together.

If this is the past year, when it comes to harvesting grain, that would be the happiest time for the servants in the county, because this is the time to make money, and there are even dedicated veterans in charge of all aspects.

For example, some people are in charge of kicking buckets, and they have to put on iron shoes in advance, fill one bucket with food, and pile it up high, called the tip. Then they kick the bucket hard, and all the spikes fall to the ground. The ones on the ground belong to them.

Therefore, the floating income is astonishing. Often ordinary people pay one bucket of grain, but in fact they have to pay two or three buckets.

Most of them don't even count the fire consumption, because the fire consumption is still accounted for, and these are directly obtained by the joint efforts of these small officials, and finally all the officials share the extra money equally.

Even fight big and small.

But today, no one does these things.

When an old farmer came, he had measured it in advance at home. According to the conversion, according to the number of acres, etc., his family would pay ten tax mus of land, and he should pay two stones, four buckets and two liters. He directly paid eight stones according to the old rules.

I'm afraid it's not enough.

As a result, the village elder over there took a pen and a list, and looked through the household registration and field clearance registration form that had just been completed in the village. Add two buckets and two liters to the fire consumption, totaling two stones, four liters and two,"

The officials over there said hello.

Then put the bucket in order, help the old man to load the grain, and there is no pile point. After it is installed, take a scraper and scrape it off a little to the ground. It is not too much, there is no special tip, let alone kick, and Make it up.

"Two stones, four buckets and two liters, handed over."

"Old man, sweep all these on the mat next to the bucket and take them back."

The old man was stunned, and looked back to see that there was still less than half a cart of grain on the bullock cart, and then at the few grains spilled on the reed mat beside the bucket.

He reckoned that he really measured two stones, four buckets and two liters, the buckets were no problem, and not too much.

But he pulled more than five stones more.

"Lao Niu, here is the form for you. The payment of the imperial rations is completed. It has the seal of the head of the township and the seal of the county clerk. The head of the township represents the country and the county. Thank you for paying, thank you!"

Zhang Erniu was still in a daze.

"Next!"

Zhang Erniu's son swept up all the food on the reed mat, and then pulled his father who was still there in a daze to step aside, "Father, it's over."

"This, this," Zhang Erniu pointed to the bucket and then to the car.

His son pulled him back to the car, and the other sons and daughters surrounded him, all sighing, "I didn't expect that there was no extra charge this time."

"That's a good thing. It is estimated that the mayor was also frightened by the end of traitor Sun."

The other said, "Father, after we pay the rations, the rest will belong to our family, so we can live in peace and stability."

The old man came back to his senses, "Well, we have paid the imperial rations, so it's all right."

"Father, shall we take the food back?"

"Father, why don't we sell these grains in the county town? My mother also told me to buy some oil and salt to go back."

The old man looked left and right, and found that all the people who went to pay later were just like him, and they didn't charge too much. Everyone was surprised at first, and then rejoiced, and even publicly praised the village head and scribes.

He looked at it for a while, and then said, "Let's go over there to pay for the warehouse grain. It's two liters per mu, and two buckets per ten mu. It's not much. Let's pay a share and leave a name on the list."

I thought I would have to pay seven or eight stones for this trip. Although I loaded a car, but the farmers are simple, and I always feel that there is no way to harvest the grain. Want more.So it's better to just take the initiative to pay it, and avoid troubles later.

But I never thought that they really didn't want to accept it, and they insisted on accepting it, so they really only collected two buckets and four liters for one mu.

Seeing the five shi and more grain left, he planned to donate another two buckets of food for the righteous warehouse, anyway, it was only two buckets, and even the one just now was only two stones, six buckets and two liters, and there was still a lot left.

If the imperial court really stopped collecting them, then the family still has [-] stones of grain, which is more than enough for the family. Now that the remaining five stones of grain have been brought in, there is no need to bring it back. Just sell it and buy some. Oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea, or buy some dyed cloth or something to go back.

He took his son to the head of the township and asked to pay another two buckets of grain.

Finally, the food was handed over, and he watched the clerk write his name on the righteous list on the wall at the gate of the righteous storehouse, and finally nodded with satisfaction and left.

"Lao Niu, are you going to sell grain? This is the clerk Zhang of the county's grain station. The imperial government will purchase and sell grain, and we can only sell grain to them in the future."

When Zhang Erniu heard this, his heart skipped a beat, thinking that there was still an ambush here, and he could only sell grain to them, so he probably had to get money from here.

Although I felt uncomfortable, I went to ask the price.

As a result, the food price was not low, even slightly higher than the market price.

He thought, maybe he would tamper with the scale bucket.

But when his grain was pulled over and weighed, there were actually more than five shi. He calculated silently in his mind, and found that adding the imperial grain he had paid and the grain donated from the charity storehouse, it was the same as what he weighed when he was at home.

Not a few.

This surprised him.

Then I thought that the money for selling grain would not be available for a while.

As a result, as soon as the grain was weighed, a note was issued there, and then scribe Zhang took him to another scribe to collect the money based on the note.

The purchase price for wheat is one or two or three renminbi for a stone, for millet it is one or two for a stone, and for black beans, sorghum, and corn are all seven dollars for a stone.

He sold five stones, three buckets and a half of wheat.

"It's six taels and nine cents, five cents and five per cent silver dollars in total. I'll give you six pieces of dragon silver, and the rest will give you silver corners, copper coins, and coins. You can count them carefully and confirm that they are correct. Sign here."

The old man looked at the pile of money in disbelief.

Six pieces of shining dragon silver, one silver coin of five cents, and four coins of one cent, and then five coins for ten copper coins, plus five Shaotian Tongbao.

He didn't even wipe out his zero for the five per cent, so he gave it exactly.

Looking at the pile of money, the old man nodded several times with trembling hands, and finally nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right."

In the end, he excitedly pressed his red handprint on the notebook.

Holding money still feels like a dream.

When did the imperial court become so good?

The price is so good that there is no floating harvest in grain requisition, no kicking of dendrobium, and even no reason to deduct when selling grain?

"Emperor Shaotian, you are truly the Holy Emperor."

Zhang Erniu knelt on the ground excitedly and kowtowed in the direction of Dengzhou.

Many people who had just paid the imperial grain and sold their surplus grain were also surprised and delighted, and they couldn't help but knelt down and thanked them.

The mayor looked at the people who were kneeling more and more, and couldn't help but feel very emotional. In his heart, he feared Emperor Shaotian more than he supported him, but seeing this scene, he had to admit that the emperor was indeed extraordinary.

I just don't know how long this kind of benevolent government can last?

How long can these clean-handed subordinates be honest?

After all, Ming Taizu Zhu Baba hated corrupt officials the most. If a little bit of corruption was discovered, he would be stripped of his skin, but he couldn't stop corrupt officials from continuing.

But he thought about it again, the head of the village, the head of the grain station, and the security chiefs next to him, and even those Baojia Xiangyong, these people used to have no status in the Ming court, but now the emperor of Shaotian , They actually gave them a salary, not the kind of work and food money that is one tael a month, but a pretty good salary.

Even Xiangyong and Baoding were given errand subsidies.

"Uncle, I feel that the world is really different." The nephew of the township chief's clerk is still very young. The scene, together with what I have seen recently, is deeply touching, and something is stirring in my heart.

"Maybe." The old village head did not change his opinion so easily.

"Uncle, I don't want to be a subaltern in the yamen anymore. I plan to join the army, apply for the military academy, and go to Dengzhou."

The mayor wanted to persuade his nephew to give up the idea, but he didn't say anything in the end. He opened his mouth, and the last thing he said was, "If you think about it, go for it."

　Thank you for the rewards of time and friendship, thank you for the rewards of the bright moon, thank you for your support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)