The struggle of the reborn prince

Zhao Tong was sitting in the meeting hall, flanked by the steward and several tax officials sent by the county government, he was in the presence of an old god, but the several tax officials were trembling, they explained their intentions and were waiting for the prince's next words.

The Song Dynasty implemented the household registration management system of the main customer. Customers are generally not the private members of the landlord, but they are also registered in the household registration and become the official household registration of the country. This is a progress in history, but they have to pay body tax and bear labor. , and some customers directly bear the summer and autumn taxes.Even if they don't directly bear the burden, the wool comes from the sheep, and the owner will increase the land rent and pass the tax on to them. Although the harvest is now in sight, they are even more worried, and they don't know what the new owner will do.

The Song Dynasty still used the two-tax law.The tax goods delivered by the summer tax are generally converted into cloth and silk, so the goods transported by the summer tax are also called "tax silk".Since the Song Dynasty succumbed to the Liao, Xixia, Jin and other countries in the north, many compulsory silks were "sent" every year; at the same time, a lot of silk was needed for foreign trade and rewarding officials, and the government had a great demand for silk. Therefore, The "Fu of Dingkou" and "Fu of Miscellaneous Changes" were formulated.They are often used to replace Fu with silk, which is known as "body silk".Both taxes must be "paid along with the two taxes".Among these taxes, silk accounted for half of the government's total silk revenue at that time.During the Song Dynasty, the amount of the two taxes did not change much on the surface, but additional taxes such as "he bought silk" were formulated.

After Cai Jing reformed the "Salt Banknote Law" in the current dynasty, pre-purchasing has evolved beyond recognition. Not only did the government not pay the salt that accounted for 12% of the silk price, but even the 13% of the silk price. The weight of the delivered silk increased from [-] taels to [-] taels.So far, pre-purchase has completely become an additional tax of the two taxes, with only one purpose - to search for people's cream.

What's even more tragic is that as pre-purchasing has been transformed into "white money" (free acquisition), households convert the grain and silk subject to the two taxes into cash and hand them over. .But the changes in the Song Dynasty were not so simple.According to needs, the imperial court may also require households to convert the cash payable into grain and silk for payment, or order them to exchange grain and cloth for each other.What's more, the common people must first convert A into money, then convert the money into B, and then turn B into money before handing it over.

After this conversion, the actual tax paid by the households has more than doubled the normal amount, and the result is also an increase in the taxation of the people.The government also often uses the transformation to profit from the transformation of the material-money relationship.The households have undergone several "baptisms" of "folding and transformation", and some people who have worked all year round have even ended up with a clean hair and claws.

Zhao Tun considered for a long time, and he basically bought all the land within a radius of ten miles. Almost all the people living here are tenants of the Zhao family. Paying taxes, after all, paying taxes according to the law in modern society is also the duty of every citizen, but the taxes borne by the tenants have obviously exceeded their ability to bear, and it is not reasonable at all. To be precise, it should be exorbitant taxes.

He also understands that he cannot change the status quo of the whole society by himself. All he can do is to let the tenants pay reasonable taxes. I don’t object to you collecting taxes on my village, but I hope you will follow the rules, don’t add any random things in it, and don’t try to get some money out of it. If your actions cause a civil uprising, Don't say I don't agree, even the emperor will not let you go, but when it comes time to lose your head, I'm afraid even your boss can't protect you!" Zhao Tang said leisurely, sipping his tea.

"Thank you, my lord, I don't dare to act recklessly, I'll be fair!" As soon as the words finished, Zhang Zhubo actually left his seat and knelt down and kowtowed, and everyone in the hall was startled.

"Okay, you are loyal to the country, this king will not treat you badly, Zheng Shou, you will be with them these few days!" Zhao Tong spouted the tea from his mouth, wondering if he had a shofar.It's no wonder he thinks so. Evil officials, evil officials, don't look at the officials as just entering the ranks of the ninth grade, but they are grassroots workers. They are the ones who do the specific work, and they are often the ninth rank after toiling all their lives.Iron-clad officials, they have no great future, they can only make some money to spend, Zhao Tong said that it means cutting off their "grey income", he should hate him, but seeing them look like It's like weeping with gratitude.

They were even more grateful when they heard the prince praised them, and retreated submissively. When they got outside the door, they wiped off their sweat and suddenly looked at each other and laughed. They were as happy as if they had come back alive after walking through the gate of hell.

"Zhang Zhubo, the prince doesn't look as scary as they said, he is quite reasonable!" A fat tax official looked around and said carefully.

"Hush, go farther away and talk!" Zhang Zhubo led a few people all the way to the outside of the mansion and said: "I heard from my colleagues in the mansion that the prince's childish nature hates bullying others the most. He hates the people in the village. As long as you obey the rules, he will not make things difficult for you, and now it seems that what he said is true!"

"Damn it, this bastard from Wuzhi County doesn't like our brothers, so he sent him an errand to find death. He thought he wouldn't survive. I'll prepare the shroud when I come, and I'll just wait for my head to fall!"

"Brother is right, that guy Wu Jinxian forced us to set up a card here last time, but the magistrate and the judge scolded him, and he lost face in front of his colleagues, so he put this grudge on our heads. The second time we were sent here, it was to avenge our own private revenge, to kill people with a knife!"

"Don't always think of the bad. During the Chinese New Year, I heard from my second cousin's brother-in-law who was an official in the government office that they were robbed by the prince when they were following the imperial envoy's delivery. Mr. Cai thought he was an imperial envoy, so he cursed a few times, so that the prince almost chopped it up, and then he was released after giving this amount, but one of his subordinates got a golden leaf, do you think it is a blessing or a curse?"

"Don't talk nonsense, we have studied the "Guide to Law Enforcement in Dazhaozhuang" several times, we must be fair in our actions, we must be kind in our speech, and we have only one life!" Zhang Zhubo interrupted Several people complained.

"Master, the Magistrate gave us a task, if we fail to complete it, we will be punished!"

"Tch, what are you afraid of, if we don't have enough money, let's go back and say that the prince withheld some of it and left us so much. No matter how courageous the county magistrate is, he dare not go to the palace to ask!" Master Zhang said disdainfully.

"My master's opinion, we are ashamed of ourselves!" Several tax collectors immediately flattered and flattered the world, saying that you are our leader, and you will be hit first when you hit the board. What are we afraid of? Happy to collect taxes.

It's just that Poor Zhao Tun, foolishly thought he was smart, and bluffed a few tax collectors, but he didn't know that his "spots and spots" were used by the old and cunning officials. Not only did he successfully complete the tax collection task, but he also made money This is the least summer tax they have ever paid in their lives. Of course, this merit is also credited to the prince!

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After the summer harvest, the tenants were busy planting rice again. Thanks to the construction of dams and dredging of the canals this spring, most of the fields were filled with water in time to ensure that the rice seedlings were planted on time. On the other hand, other people’s villages around did not do this. Fortunately, after they finished harvesting the wheat, there was a long drought and no rain, so they could only replant some miscellaneous grains, which delayed the harvest for half a year. Maybe the family would have to go begging along the street after the autumn tax was paid.

The tenants were grateful for the kindness of the prince, and after finishing their work in the fields, they immediately paved the road and built a new village.Everyone knows that after the new house is repaired, they will have a room of their own, so they put extra effort into it, and there is no need to rush to work, and they all want to celebrate the New Year in the new house.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Apart from boxing and practicing martial arts in the morning, Zhao Tang spends most of his time hiding in the house or in the garden to avoid the heat. What are you busy with?

"The workshop will continue to expand, and the smelter will also be built at the end of the year. Production will begin immediately after the dividends are distributed at the winery at the end of the year; this year's drought, the water in the reservoir is low, and fish farming is impossible. We can only wait until next spring. , but feed mills and breeding farms must be built quickly, otherwise the distiller's grains will be wasted, mills must be started quickly, wheat bran can also be used as feed, and the pigs, chickens and ducks raised can be marketed before the year; greenhouses It is also ready to build. This year it will reach a scale of [-] mu. The investment is not too large, but it can also make a lot of money; do we need to build a weaving factory, gather all the women in the farm households, and find a place for them? Doing things can also increase your income..." Zhao Tun was planning the future while counting the money in his pocket.

"Money, why can't I pick up a gold ingot on the road and plant a cash cow on the ground..." After a long time, the gap is still huge. This year, the mansion has invested too much money, not enough, Zhao Tama couldn't help but wailed. .

"Second Lord, it really doesn't work. Let's raise the rent a bit, and we can increase our income!" Seeing that the prince was angry about money, Jianxi couldn't help but persuade.

"No, the tenants are digging food from the soil, and there is not much money left in a year, so how can we bear to increase the land rent?" Zhao Tang rejected Jianxi's suggestion without thinking.

"Second Lord, then stop the workshop for a while and reduce production. Now the warehouse is full of harvesters, and this is not a small expense just for labor and materials!" Jian Xi suggested again.

"No, in a few days, our large order will arrive. I'm afraid that this little inventory will not be sold for a few days. We will be able to make a profit next year. We can't stop this!" Zhao Tun refused again.

"Second Lord, you have enough money. You have spent all this fuss and fuss. Now it can only be used as a thing!" Jianxi said helplessly.

"Really, look at the one in this room that is valuable, so you can pawn it. Aren't those two little bastards quite valuable? You should pawn it off!" Zhao Tang felt that what Jianxi said was interesting, and pointed to the window on the window sill. The two green-haired turtles said, I said in my heart that I am a majestic Prince Yan, and those who travel through the millennium will have to live on their own property, so don't let the latecomers laugh their ass off.

"Tch, Er Ye, you have a good idea. The pawnshop doesn't accept live animals, and they don't want them for nothing, but that glazed vat can be exchanged for hundreds of pieces!" Jian Xi knew that the lord was teasing him, and deliberately said angrily.

"Glass glass, glass glass... Damn it, isn't this the thing that turns loess into gold?" After hearing Jianxi's words, Zhao Tuan fell ill again and murmured with an idiotic expression on his face.