Chapter 259: Dedicated to the People
Yanshan Mountains and Hebei Plain in spring.

Although it is spring, it still carries a hint of the coldness of the winter that has passed.

However, it is just right for people to wear a long gown over a single piece of clothing.

Along the rivers and canals throughout Changping, the weeping willows have already sprouted lush new buds.

The reeds in the river that withered last year have already started to sprout new leaves above the water.

At the bend in the river.

A dozen successful candidates for the imperial examination, led by the top two candidates, lined up in a row, each holding a fishing rod, and sat on the river bank.

The news about the top scorer in the high school entrance exam has not yet reached Suzhou.

Xu Shixing has not changed back to his original surname yet.

He stuck the fishing rod in his hand onto the pole beside him with some boredom, and glanced sideways at Wang Xijue who was concentrating on fishing beside him.

"Are you really not worried at all?"

Wang Xijue frowned slightly, feeling a little disgusted that Xu Shixing suddenly started to disturb him again.

He stared at the floating object on the water, which was already moving, and asked, "What are you worried about? Are there not enough fish to eat today?"

Xu Shixing looked a little anxious, and said, "I'm worried whether you can win the debate over those people in the court! If you can't win the debate today, the people of She County will continue to be the scapegoats."

As Xu Shixing started to ask, the other people around the two of them also looked over sideways.

From Juren to Gongshi, and then to Jinshi in this year.

Everyone's mentality has naturally changed.

They are now officials of the Ming Dynasty.

What we need to think about are naturally the affairs of the country.

Now Xu Shixing and Wang Xijue, the two leaders at the moment, began to discuss the most eye-catching topic of the moment, and naturally everyone paid attention.

Wang Xijue smiled and said, "This matter has nothing to do with She County or even Huizhou Prefecture."

Talking.

Wang Xijue held the fishing rod with both hands and lifted it up suddenly.

There was a crash.

There was a splash on the water surface.

A fat carp, with a bulging belly full of fish eggs, jumped out of the water with the hook in its mouth, and kept swinging its tail in the air, splashing countless water droplets.

The smile on Wang Xijue's face grew wider.

"I've already caught ten!"

"Whoever catches the least today will be responsible for all of our socks during the rest of our mission to Korea!"

Xu Shixing gritted his teeth, snorted viciously at Wang Xijue, then turned around and stared intently at his float which had not moved at all.

I don't want to wash the socks for these guys with stinky feet!

"His Majesty!"

"The people of She County are just like the people of the two capitals and 13 provinces of our dynasty. They work with their feet wrapped in mud all year round, facing the loess and their backs to the sky, just to produce more food and support their families."

"Now, the silk tax of 6,146 taels per capita, I have checked all the archived documents in the past, and it is confirmed that it was imposed on the people of She County at the beginning of the country because of the dereliction of duty by the clerks."

"Six thousand one hundred and forty-six taels, evenly distributed to the people of She County, is not much, but the imperial court has more than just one tax on silk and silk. If this place can be re-determined according to the original, the people of She County can pay less tax and have more rice to fill their stomachs."

"Your Majesty is wise and intelligent, rarely seen in history. You have implemented good policies and treated the people of the world as your own children. Now that the taxes are clear, they should be re-determined. The people of She County will bear the silk tax of 2,910 people, and the five counties will bear the silk tax of 3,234 people, to demonstrate your majesty's benevolent rule."

Beijing.

In the main hall of Wanshou Palace, Yan Shaoting had already started his debate.

During this period, the Minister of Rites Yan Ne also did his homework on the silk tax levied on the population of Huizhou Prefecture.

After all, some time ago, officials in the court competed to submit memorials to debate the issue of silk tax on the population of Huizhou Prefecture, and Yan Ne was naturally one of the driving forces behind it.

At this moment Yan Shaoting has already spoken.

Yan Ne immediately stood up and said, "Doctor Yan, since you work for the Ministry of Revenue, you should understand that if there is a problem with the silk account of She County, someone should have reported it long ago. Moreover, the amount of tax silver you mentioned is 6,144 taels, which is 2 taels less than the 6,146 taels paid by She County in recent years. Are you going to evade this point like this?"

"Who said that no one had discovered that there was a problem with the silk tax in Huizhou Prefecture, and no one had ever reported it?"

Yan Shaoting spoke immediately and looked at the Minister of Rites Yan Ne.

He couldn't help but feel fortunate that he now had those students and the three old gentlemen, Nie Bao.

They can find even the most subtle and inconspicuous records hidden in the vast archives.

Yan Shaoting immediately said, "In the 14th year of Jiajing, two people named Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang from She County, Huizhou Prefecture, discovered that there was a problem with this silk tax."

Yan Ne's eyes flickered.

Although they have been constantly checking various records and archives over the past few days, it is impossible to check all of the content.

Paine quickly said, "Since someone has reported it, why didn't we find any reports of two people when we checked the archives of Huizhou Prefecture?"

Yan Shaoting smiled faintly: "Because they did not report this matter to Huizhou Prefecture."

Neither Chen Peng nor Wang Xiang filed a complaint in Huizhou Prefecture. It is of no use for you to check the archives of Huizhou Prefecture.

There is a problem only if you can find it.

While Paine was frowning and pondering.

Yan Shaoting said immediately: "Your Majesty, Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang did not report the suspicious silk tax in Huizhou Prefecture. But they reported the matter to the governor and inspector of Yingtian more than once."

The Yingtian Governor and Yingtian Inspector were two different official positions, and their jurisdictions were not limited to Yingtian Prefecture, but covered the entire Southern Zhili region except Fengyang Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture, and Yangzhou Prefecture. Huizhou Prefecture was naturally also under the jurisdiction of these two yamen.

The Yingtian Governor was responsible for coordinating the people's livelihood and taxes of the prefectures, counties and districts in Nanzhili, and was also responsible for the judiciary and public security. The Yingtian Inspector was mainly responsible for supervision, but he could also check the people's livelihood, military and politics of Nanzhili when appropriate.

Yan Shaoting continued, "When Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang first filed a complaint, it was handled by Yingtian Governor Chen Kezhai and Inspector Song Maoxi. They quickly gave a reply and asked Huizhou Prefecture to investigate the matter thoroughly. However, the two were soon transferred to other places, and no one paid attention to the matter."

"Then, Chen Kezhai and Song Maoxi were replaced by Governor Ouyang Duo and Inspector You Jujing. They also quickly responded, requesting Huizhou Prefecture to convene six counties to discuss the tax on silk and satin."

Seeing that Yan Shaoting was so sure about what he said, everyone understood that this incident must have really happened.

Yan Ne immediately said, "Since the governor of Yingtian, Ouyang Duo, and the inspector, You Jujing, approved the joint decision of the six counties, why is this matter still the same? It is because there is no doubt about the silk tax for the population, and it should be borne by the people of She County, and there is no need to change it. Doctor Yan, aren't you contradicting yourself?"

Yan Shaoting frowned and looked at Yan Ne: "When did Minister Yan start to make random guesses without waiting for people to finish speaking?"

"you!"

Yan Ne's face changed and he looked displeased.

Does Yan Shaoting really not take me, the Minister of Rites, seriously?
Yan Shaoting bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the officials in charge of this matter were all from the five counties of Huizhou Prefecture except She County. They were perfunctory in their duties, shirking responsibility and delaying the work. It was not until Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang, who were both in their prime and had no previous illnesses, died one after another inexplicably that the matter was left unresolved."

Speaking of which.

In fact, the matter is very clear.

In order to prevent Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang from overturning the silk tax that had been in place for 200 years, someone secretly killed the two men.

Yan Shaoting immediately changed the subject, and his words became a little colder: "Your Majesty, the fourteenth year of Jiajing is only twenty-six years ago. At that time, Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang died one after another. Someone must have secretly taken action to end their lives.

Without someone to report it, the case would naturally come to an end. But Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang are also citizens of our dynasty, and are subjects of your majesty. Now that their deaths are in doubt, I ask your majesty to order the officials to investigate and trace the true cause of death of Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang!"

After saying that.

Yan Shaoting looked at Yan Ne and Paine indifferently.

Since you say that this incident did not happen and that She County should be responsible for the loss of the people and silk, I will now fabricate another murder case.

Pan En immediately replied, "Doctor Yan, we are discussing the silk issue of the people of She County. How did it get to the point of how those two people died? Besides, this incident happened in the 14th year of Jiajing, and it has been 26 years. How can we investigate it? I am afraid that the people who handled this matter back then have already died."

Yan Shaoting did not comment, and said, "Since Minister Pan said so, let's go back to the matter of the people and silk in Huizhou Prefecture."

Yan Ne and Paine have always been referred to as the silk and satin of the people of She County.

Yan Shaoting started by offering silk and satin to the people of Huizhou Prefecture.

It's just a detail, but it has already divided the two parties.

Yan Shaoting added: "According to the record in the Huizhou Prefecture Chronicle, 'This prefecture received the approval of the Ministry of Revenue and collected 8,780 pieces of silk from its population,' it is clear that this tax on silk was borne by Huizhou Prefecture."

"The Ministry of Revenue has archived its annual collection documents and can verify that the Ministry of Revenue collected 6,146 taels of silk from the people of Huizhou every year."

"The Huizhou Prefecture Annals and the Ministry of Revenue's collection records can prove that this silk tax has always been imposed on Huizhou Prefecture, not She County. If it was only levied on She County, the laws and decrees of this dynasty, the Huizhou Prefecture Annals and the Ministry of Revenue's collection records must have clearly stated that it was Huizhou Prefecture's She County."

This is actually a debate method that relies on nitpicking on words.

But it does make sense.

The imperial court has always pursued rigor.

Whether it is the Huizhou Prefecture Chronicle or the archived documents of the Ministry of Revenue demanding payment, they are all directly attributed to Huizhou Prefecture. So this bill is naturally shared equally by the six counties of Huizhou Prefecture. How could it be possible that She County alone should bear the responsibility?

And if She County alone was responsible for it, both the prefectural annals and the archives of the Ministry of Revenue would have to clearly include She County in the description.

After Yan Shaoting finished speaking, he bowed and looked at the old Taoist priest behind the bead curtain.

“Your Majesty, I have checked the archives of the Nanjing authorities and found that the Nanjing Transport Depot collects 20,190 pieces of silk each year. Among them, Zhejiang and Huguang, two major silk-producing provinces, only need to pay 8,501 pieces of silk each year, and the thirteen prefectures of Yingtian pay 2,905 pieces.

However, Huizhou Prefecture alone, although there are some areas producing silk, is responsible for a total of 8,780 pieces of silk. Huizhou Prefecture and She County alone are responsible for nearly half of the silk collected by Nanjing Chengyunku every year. How can this be justified? "

After explaining the reason clearly.

Yan Shaoting took the opportunity to launch an emotional offensive.

But he didn't mention other data.

That is, when the imperial court collected local taxes, it did not collect and pay them uniformly, but one region often had to pay taxes to multiple regions.

Although the Nanjing Chengyun Warehouse only received 20,000 pieces of silk, She County of Huizhou Prefecture accounted for nearly half of it.

But at the same time, the total amount of silk tax that Zhejiang had to pay each year was as high as 130,000 pieces, and the total amount in Huguang was 27,000 pieces, both of which far exceeded the silk tax per capita in She County.

But these.

None of it matters now.

The important thing is to let the old Taoist see how hard life is for the people of She County.

After playing the fact card, data card, and emotional card one after another.

Yan Shaoting's eyes were once again fixed on the old Taoist priest behind the bead curtain.

just now.

It’s time to play the card of a saintly king serving the people.

"Your Majesty, the way of the world is to be fair, so when things are not fair, people will complain. She County has been heavily taxed for a long time, and your Majesty's people have been in poverty for a long time. Your Majesty is the king and father. The people of She County have personally encountered your benevolent and wise Majesty in power, and have prepared a petition for their grievances. It is only when they are not fair that they complain. We beg your wise and wise Majesty to allow the Yisi reform of the tax system to be followed, and Huizhou Prefecture and County to share the silk and silk among the people."

After saying this with great emotion.

Yan Shaoting then bowed deeply and bent down.

…………

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

(End of this chapter)