I'm in the Red Mansion

There were a few cucumbers in the basket, they were green and juicy, and the small yellow flowers on the top of the cucumbers had not yet withered.

Looking at these cucumbers, Jia Cong was distracted for a moment.

Jia Cang picked up a cucumber, handed it over, and said in a baby voice: "Father, I have washed it. Please try it. How does it taste?"

Jia Cong took it but did not eat it right away.

Instead, he asked, "Did you send it to the Queen Mother?"

Jia Cang said obediently: "Father, I have already delivered it. I only delivered it to you for the second time."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Yes, it's not in vain that the Queen Mother loves you so much. Have you given it to your mother?"

Jia Cang shook his head and said, "No, I was planning to give it to my father first, and then to my mother."

Jia Cong asked again: "Are there any cucumbers left in the melon garden that can be picked?"

Jia Cang said: "Father, there are still more than a dozen!"

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Father, please only eat one. For the rest, give a few to your mother, and give one to the other concubines as well."

"Also, give one to each of the teachers who taught you to read."

After hearing this, Jia Cang quickly responded, "Yes, Father, I will take my leave first."

Jia Cong said: "Wait!"

Jia Cang stopped, looked up at Jia Cong, and waited for Jia Cong's instructions.

Jia Cong took a cucumber from the basket, handed it to Jia Cang's mouth, and let him take a bite.

Then he said, "This is the cucumber you planted yourself. Try one."

Jia Cang took the cucumber from Jia Cong and said happily, "Thank you, father."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Go ahead."

As expected, Jia Cang followed suit and picked up a basket to deliver a few cucumbers to the queen.

Lin Daiyu, like Jia Cong, first asked him whether he had sent it to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

Jia Cangzhao told the truth and also repeated Jia Cong's instructions.

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu hurriedly said, "Cang'er, your father is teaching you how to behave in society."

"As the crown prince, you must set an example. Therefore, you should also send it to the other concubines."

"Sending it to your teacher means that you will not forget your master's teachings. Your teachers will surely be happy."

Lin Daiyu added, "Oh, I don't need so many of them. Just one to try is enough."

"Your brothers and sisters often help you with the work, so you should give each of them one."

Jia Cang said hurriedly, "I've made note of it, mother."

Next, Jia Cang followed the instructions of the two and personally delivered one to each of the other concubines.

I also gave one to each of the teachers, and then to each of my younger brothers and sisters.

All the other concubines praised Jia Cang highly.

After Jia Cang left, they all felt quite complicated.

The prince is sensible and excellent, he really deserves to be taught by the queen!
The prince's teachers received the cucumbers that the prince had grown and given to them personally.

Several people were so excited that they burst into tears and could not help but praise the Holy Queen for having a successor who could ensure China's prosperity for a hundred years!
As for the little ones, they were very happy to receive the cucumbers given to them by the prince.

It tasted especially sweet and was much more delicious than what they usually ate.

This incident was soon published in the Daxia Monthly.

Now Xue Baochai is in charge of the Daxia Monthly, and she has naturally sought Jia Cong's opinion on what to publish.

This kind of article was actually to build momentum for the prince, so Jia Cong would naturally not refuse.

As expected, after the article was published, people all over China loved it.

Now that China is settled, the Emperor is wise and powerful, and the country is peaceful and the people are safe.

Starting this year, the taxes they pay each year will be much less than usual.

And you only have to pay it once, there are no additional taxes and levies.

There is no labor at all.

For the people, this is truly the best thing that has never happened since the beginning of the world.

Their good days have just begun.

The prince is intelligent and filial, so he will definitely be a good emperor when he ascends the throne in the future.

And their good days can continue.

This is naturally a good thing that the people will welcome.

Therefore, everyone in China was filled with joy.

In the following days, the little guy was full of motivation when doing farm work.

Every now and then, he would personally deliver the fruits and vegetables that he grew.

Not only cucumbers are planted in the fields, but also tomatoes, melons and other fruits.

And not only the crown prince, but also the other princes and princesses were very diligent in weeding and watering the fields.

Jia Cong deliberately asked them why they were so attentive.

Several little ones said that since these were the fruits and vegetables they grew themselves, not only could they eat them themselves but they could also honor their parents, and they felt a special sense of accomplishment.

Well, this is Jia Cong’s summary. These little guys can’t summarize it to that extent.

But what Prince Jia Cong needs to learn is not just this.

Jia Cong also had someone open up a piece of land to plant mulberry trees, preparing to let him learn the entire process of raising silkworms, reeling silk and finally weaving cloth next year.

……

Jia Cong naturally would not take care of these trivial matters every day, as he had important things to do.

The most important issue this year is tax reform.

Now that autumn is getting closer, it is almost time to collect autumn taxes.

I'm afraid this year is destined to be chaotic, and some noble families will definitely take risks.

Jia Cong and the three grand secretaries have also been making plans.

First, they screened out the noble families that might resist taxation, then secretly dispatched the Imperial Guards, and even mobilized the garrison.

As long as they dare to jump out, they will be hit by thunder.

Another important thing is to promote the use of steam engines throughout China and promote the industrial revolution.

However, at present, the effect can only be said to be unsatisfactory and has not met expectations.

Jia Cong was somewhat helpless about this.

The reason is that China’s current labor costs are too low.

The steam engine was somewhat expensive.

Except for some promotion in industries such as the textile industry, the promotion speed in other industries is currently extremely slow.

Faced with this situation, Jia Cong could only sigh helplessly.

Ultimately, it is due to insufficient productivity.

Jia Cong felt that it would take a few more years, until several new crops were fully popularized and China had solved the problem of food and clothing, and this problem would probably be solved.

The grass is green for a few times, and the maple leaves are red again.

Time flies by like a white horse, and before we know it, it is autumn.

Several crops planted in the imperial garden have also matured.

Jia Cang is a small guy, so it's okay to ask him to weed and water the crops, but it's really difficult for him to harvest the crops.

However, the Queen Mother became interested, and went to harvest the crops herself together with the Queen and concubines.

Naturally, Jia Cong had to do the hard labor as well.

In his previous life, Jia Cong's family was from the countryside and actually did farm work.

However, after two lifetimes, they have become strangers.

Jia Cong's physical strength is naturally excellent, and his internal strength is also growing stronger day by day.

For example, Ba Duan Jin and Nei Gong Xin Fa, although they have been perfected to full experience, Jia Cong still practices diligently every day.

Therefore, he is naturally in excellent health.

But the work is dirty, especially when harvesting corn, and it is irritating.

Even if you have profound inner strength, it will be of no use.

Jia Cong asked the little guy to farm, and at this time he also experienced it himself.

However, after the harvest, the Queen Mother ordered the imperial kitchen to cook a pot of peanuts, sweet potatoes and corn.

Everyone tasted it and found it particularly sweet.

After the harvest, Jia Cang also gave some to several of his teachers.

……

At this time, Jia Cong and the three university secretaries became nervous.

Because after the autumn harvest, local governments will begin to collect taxes.

The new policy of China adopted the Single Whip System, and all fire consumption was returned to the public.

In other words, after the harvest, all kinds of taxes are merged into one place.

And except for a few producing areas such as Jiangnan, other places do not need to pay grain.

All you have to do is convert it into silver and hand it over.

In this way, the means of exploiting the people, such as taxation, corvée, and forced labor, were eliminated.

The public ownership of fire consumption was also used to prevent local officials from taking advantage of the situation and embezzling tax silver.

In the past, when local officials collected taxes, there would inevitably be consumption.

For example, there are storage problems, and during transportation, people eat and horses chew, which are all losses.

Therefore, the local government would collect 10% of the taxes and keep 10% for itself as fire consumption.

There are many things that can be done here to help them embezzle money.

Jia Cong, on the other hand, directly returned the fire consumption to the public.

In other words, the local government had to pay the same amount of tax silver to the imperial court as the amount of mercury it collected.

No more intercepting fire consumption.

In fact, there will inevitably be fire consumption.

Even if you're transporting silver, there will be food and drink consumption on the way, right?
The imperial court would allocate money to the local governments to compensate for this loss.

In this way, the avenues for local officials to embezzle money are eliminated.

Of course, every advantage has its disadvantages.

Local officials actually still have some means at their disposal.

For example, don’t the people just need to pay silver?

Where did the people get their money? Wasn't it the money they earned from selling their grain after the harvest?

At this time, local officials can easily collude with businessmen.

After the people had a good harvest, the price of grain was pushed to an extremely low level.

But the people needed silver to pay taxes, so they had to sell their grain.

And those businessmen can buy low and sell high to make a profit.

And this kind of thing is almost inevitable.

Jia Cong and the three grand secretaries naturally had countermeasures.

That is to set up granaries in various places.

If the market price of grain is too low, the imperial granary must purchase grain at a fair price and is not allowed to lower the price.

All localities must have grain reserves.

In this way, if special circumstances such as disasters occur, the food can be used for relief.

It won't cause unrest.

Therefore, by using this method, we can eliminate the problem of collusion between officials and businessmen and the suppression of food prices.

Of course, this depends on how much control the imperial court has over the local areas.

No matter how good a system is, it still needs people to implement it.

Therefore, even if they have formulated various strategies, it is not certain that nothing will go wrong.

……

The Guanlong Li family is still a wealthy family in Guanlong today.

The Guanlong Li family has a long history. During the Tang Dynasty, it was one of the Five Surnames and Seven Families and was a top wealthy family.

Although at the end of the Tang Dynasty, when the dynasty revolted, a large number of wealthy families were slaughtered, the Guanlong Li family also suffered a heavy blow.

However, the aristocratic families will not put all their eggs in one basket.

There is also the hidden sect of the Guanlong Li family.

After the situation was settled, the hidden clan appeared and the Li family was still the wealthy family in Guanlong.

And it continues to this day.

Otherwise, how can we talk about centuries-long dynasties and thousand-year-old families?
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, several dynasties have passed, but the Guanlong Li family is still prosperous and evergreen.

Now, the Guanlong Li family is holding a clan meeting to discuss important matters.

What they discussed was the tax that was due soon, and the question of whether their family should pay the tax.

The Guanlong Li family was the local tyrant in the Guanlong area.

When the land was previously checked, the local officials in Guanlong were afraid of the Li family's power and helped them conceal their land.

However, the Li family has too much land. Almost 30% of the land in Guanlong belongs to them.

How can so much land avoid exposing flaws?

So they bribed the officials of the branch of the Inspection Office and prepared to continue concealing the truth.

But in the end, the conspiracy was uncovered and the local officials, along with officials from the branch of the Inspection Office, were all arrested.

Officials from the branch of the Inspection Office were beheaded and their entire families were exiled.

After this incident, it was no longer possible to conceal Li’s land.

Eventually, the imperial court sent another official to measure the land and record their actual acreage.

Now it is autumn and time to pay taxes.

The Li family held a clan meeting to discuss whether or not to pay taxes.

If you don't hand it over, how should you respond when the court calls you to account?
If you want to pay, how much should you pay?
In short, they never thought about handing it in full.

Soon, the head of the Li family said, "Now that everyone is here, let's discuss it. The tax will be paid soon. How should our Li family pay it?"

At this time, the old man of the Li family snorted coldly: "My Li family has been around for 1,800 years. When have we ever paid taxes?"

"The little emperor is too bold and reckless. He dares to go against the world. What if my Li family refuses to make friends with him?"

A member of the Li family's young and strong faction frowned and asked, "Why has our family been able to continue to this day and prosper?"

"It's nothing more than a matter of assessing the situation. Now that the emperor is implementing a new policy, it is the general trend."

“The general trend of the world is unstoppable. Those who follow it will prosper, while those who go against it will perish.”

"Why would my Li family want to destroy itself by trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm?"

"Even if the new policy offends the aristocrats of the world, it will eventually come to nothing, but the first bird to stick its head out will be shot down."

"Why should we take the initiative? We have already paid for the first year, but it is actually very limited."

"There will be people who will come forward on both sides. Why don't we examine the situation and then make a decision?"

The Li family's old man snorted coldly: "If all the nobles in the world were like you, they would shrink their heads and become turtles."

"From now on, won't every noble family in the world have to pay taxes? If so, even after death, we will not be able to face our ancestors."

"From now on, you will become the shame of the nobles!" (End of this chapter)