Chapter 21

"It seems quite difficult."

"That's why we need to set a second goal. The first goal is grand, it can be said to be a life dream, while the second goal is achievable."

Zhu Jun was a bit confused.

"The most tragic thing is to set a goal and not work hard for it."

"Some goals may not be achieved even with hard work."

"Then why not set a second goal?"

"Xiao Lang, can you explain it more clearly?"

"Alright, let me start with the third point. The third point is that hard work alone is not enough; there must be direction. For example, my first goal is the same as yours, to sing at the Donghua Gate, but it's very difficult, so I need to set a second goal."

"What is your second goal?"

"Actually, the second goal is to survive. So I raise sheep, and then I study on my own while waiting to grow up. Only by growing up can I do more things. This is the second goal, a goal that can be achieved with effort."

"But you have the Xia sword."

"True, with the Xia sword, our lives can improve. But to advance, we must go out to study. Once we leave the village and enter the city, everything costs money. We need to start saving money from now on."

"Xiao Lang's self-reliance makes me very admiring."

"I'm not talking about that. I have a question. Where is Er Lang's second goal? Do you know how difficult it is to sing at the Donghua Gate? I'm not trying to discourage you, but with Er Lang's talent, passing the imperial examination is possible, but singing at the Donghua Gate is harder than climbing to the sky. Are you really going to spend your whole life on an unachievable dream? Even if it could be achieved, learning also requires methods. Does Er Lang have a plan for how to study? Without a plan, it's like aimless learning, reading dead books."

Zhu Jun fell into deep thought.

Wang Ju was also helpless. He didn't say it out loud, but he knew in his heart.

The battle at Heiao Ridge actually didn't earn the Zhu family a thousand strings of cash, but brought trouble.

Zhu Huan had the idea of investment, and Wang Ju knew it.

But no matter what, he had received their favor.

This was a favor he had to acknowledge.

So Wang Ju was guiding Zhu Jun appropriately, not with force like Zhu Huan, but with inspiration.

"How should I set my second goal?"

"Your second goal should help your father and prevent your family from declining."

"I don't know how to do business."

"What's the problem? You can learn. Is it harder than what I had to do at thirteen to support a family of three?"

Just one sentence made Zhu Jun speechless.

As they were talking, Uncle Er rushed over: "Not good, the tax collectors are here to collect taxes."

In the Song Dynasty, rural taxes mainly consisted of summer taxes and autumn taxes.

Summer taxes were usually collected from April and often extended to July, while autumn taxes were collected from August and extended to October, and sometimes even to the first or second month of the following year.

Wang Family Village was located in the northwest, a cold and harsh place, where winter wheat and barley did not grow well, and most people did not plant them. Therefore, the summer taxes were particularly difficult, while the autumn taxes were generally not.

In the past, when it was time to collect autumn taxes, the head of the neighboring village would come to give a notice, and everyone would voluntarily deliver the autumn taxes to the Security Army City, but no tax collectors would come.

"For the sword?"

Wang Wei nodded.

"These tax collectors have sharp noses," Wang Ju said with a laugh, quickly going over. There was not only one tax collector but also two bailiffs.

"How many Xia swords did you cast?"

"They cannot be called Xia swords, but we forged some swords based on the Xia sword."

The tax collector looked at Wang Ju strangely. How could a child from this village be talking to him?

"How many swords, and how much did you sell them for?"

"Twenty swords, sold for four hundred strings of cash," Wang Ju answered honestly.

Since they had come to the door, they must have heard some rumors, and it was impossible to hide it.

This was the commercial tax in the Song Dynasty.

Actually, the commercial tax in the Song Dynasty was not heavy. Merchants paid a 3% tax on transactions, and traders paid a 2% tax for each transaction at each checkpoint. However, after the Qingli War, everything became chaotic.

Before the Qingli War, the commercial tax in the Song Dynasty generally maintained an income of about eight million strings of cash. Those years were tough for the country, and the war was hastily initiated. After several years of prolonged warfare, the cost was enormous, amounting to several hundred million strings of cash. Therefore, heavy taxes were imposed, including on farmers selling vegetables, and taxes were repeatedly collected at each checkpoint. Even at the beginning and end, taxes were repeatedly collected.

For example, in the initial transaction, either the merchant or the producer could pay the tax, but during those years, both the producer and the buyer had to pay the tax. After the final transaction, the trader had to pay the last overtax, and the retailer had to pay the tax again when selling to the people.

Thus, the commercial tax in those years swelled to over twenty million strings of cash, almost tripling.

If we consider the commercial activity in the Song Dynasty, twenty million strings of cash in commercial tax was not much.

However, the key was that the tax collectors did not dare to offend the merchants of the scholar-official families or the powerful and wealthy. They openly evaded taxes. Ultimately, this huge commercial tax burden fell on the small and medium-sized merchants, causing many to go bankrupt. Combined with the chaotic issuance of paper money, rising prices, and widespread hardship, a drought led to large-scale peasant uprisings in the Guanzhong and Henan regions.

Ministers like Bao Zheng repeatedly submitted memorials, urging the cessation of the war and the reduction of the people's burden.

But once the precedent was set, how could it be reversed?

The state's commercial tax revenue seemed to return to its former level, but the tax collectors at each checkpoint still exploited the merchants.

Wang Quan's face changed.

Wang Ju gave a look that said to stay calm, not just because of the 3% tax, but because he was worried about other taxes.

The tax collector's eyes darted around and said, "If they are not Xia swords, can one sword sell for twenty strings of cash? If they are Xia swords, can one sword only sell for twenty strings of cash?"

Wang Ju had just told Zhu Jun that writing should be logical, and the tax collector was also trying to be logical, but his logic was flawed.

Wang Quan's face changed dramatically.

The tax collector opened his mouth wide. If they were taxed based on the price of Xia swords, who knows how much tax would be collected?

"May I ask the honorable name and the checkpoint of the tax collector?"

"I am surnamed Gu, and the checkpoint is the Security Army City checkpoint."

"Uncle Er, please go to my house and get paper and pen."

Wang Wei went to get the paper and pen.

"Boy, do you want to resist the tax?"

The consequence of tax resistance was arrest, imprisonment, and torture.

This had been the case since Zhao Kuangyin, and the court had repeatedly issued edicts to release imprisoned tax debtors and forgive their debts.

However, it was not strictly enforced.

If the people were too oppressed, they would resent the state, but if they were too lenient, the people would not fear the court and would not pay taxes. This was the "Doctrine of the Mean." In reality, it was "flexible governance" in a human-centered system.

The tax collector spoke, and the two bailiffs watched him closely.

"Mr. Gu, how could a boy resist the tax?" Wang Ju smiled slightly and said, "I just want to write a letter to Mr. Cheng."

"Does Mr. Cheng tell you not to pay taxes?"

"No, Uncle Yuan Hei made real Xia swords, and I want to ask Mr. Cheng to petition the court to give Uncle Yuan Hei an important position."

"You are dreaming..." The tax collector suddenly stopped.

The Xia swords, along with the Western Xia crossbows and cold-forged armor, were famous throughout the world, but they were expensive and had low production. However, the Song Dynasty could afford it. The annual military expenses of the Song Dynasty were almost equivalent to the total tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty for three or four years. The iron production of the Song Dynasty was also far greater than that of the Western Xia. Although the Western Xia had excellent weapons, their iron production was low, and most of their iron ore was obtained from private markets or mutual markets with the Song and Liao dynasties. With money and iron, if the Song Dynasty obtained the technology for Xia swords, it could be widely promoted.

This was similar to the later Shenbi bow. When the Western Xia chieftain Li Ding came to the Song Dynasty, he brought the bow and crossbow technology of the Western Xia, which was combined with the Song Dynasty's bow and crossbow technology to invent the Shenbi bow. It was immediately promoted and continuously improved, increasing the draw weight from two stones to one stone and two. Although the status of Song Dynasty craftsmen was low, the invention of such a powerful weapon led to an imperial edict praising Li Ding and giving him an official position.

If Yuan Hei really had the technology to make Xia swords, it would cause a sensation in the court.

If not, he was here to extort.

It was easy to imagine the storm that would arise once this petition reached Cheng Kan.

The border needed to be stabilized!

"Do you dare? If the villagers protect me, can you arrest me? Or by the time you bring more bailiffs and soldiers, I might have written dozens of petitions and sent them to Yanzhou, even the capital, and even to the Drum Tower in the capital!"

"You, you..."

"You can arrest me, but not every excuse is valid. Using the Xia sword as an excuse could result in a military punishment!"

"You, you..."

"Let's do this, Mr. Gu. Since you are here, let's say the tax for five swords."

This was a way to give Mr. Gu a way out. However, Wang Ju sighed in his heart. The Song Dynasty had high salaries to prevent corruption, and corruption among officials was relatively light in history. But what about these tax collectors? Wang Anshi's reforms could not succeed!

Tigers must be hunted, and flies must be swatted.

PS: In the Song Dynasty, taxes were collected with "chao" as the voucher. Before the tax was paid, the chao was not stamped and was called "white chao." After the tax was paid, it was stamped with the tax office seal and called "red chao." To prevent forgery, the seal was dated and regularly changed, and the seals in different regions were different. After the seal was changed, the old seal was destroyed. There was also a strict system for backing up and storing records to understand the economic situation in different regions, manage effectively, and reduce the harm of slush funds, and to evaluate the performance of officials. Some of these measures are still worth considering today. Of course, in ancient times, there were many drawbacks due to the backwardness of productivity and the era of imperial rule.

Wang Ju requested the red chao for five swords, and the remaining fifteen swords, which amounted to 300 strings of cash, were for the running expenses of the three people. Otherwise, the matter would have been at an impasse.

The previous chapter was marked as under review, but I opened the chapter. Did you open it?

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