Chapter 22

"Xiao Lang, you're really something. These clerks would give my father a headache too." Zhu Jun said.

In some ways, Zhu Jun had indeed made some progress, but Wang Ju still didn't quite understand why the Zhu family didn't cultivate their eldest son but instead seemed to be cultivating this bookish second son.

But this time, he didn't say much more.

He still remembered the books he read in his previous life. Now, he realized how much those so-called experts were talking nonsense.

None of them had fairly discussed the tax history of the Song Dynasty.

For example, the commercial tax.

Was the annual commercial tax of over twenty million guan in the Song Dynasty too much?

Whether it was too much or not, let's look at this sword as an example. First, from the Wang Family Village, there was coal and iron ore, which were the income and tax from the mines. The iron ore had to be smelted into pig iron and wrought iron, and then transported, which involved taxes on smelting, transportation, and the maintenance of the vehicles. The wheels of the carts often needed to be repaired several times for a single trip. The tools needed for forging the sword, the leather processing, lacquer work, carpentry, and so on. Then, the sword would be taxed several times as it passed through different checkpoints before reaching the customer...

Even without considering the derived taxes, just the direct taxes that could be levied, a sword worth one hundred guan would yield at least ten guan in tax for the government!

In fact, Wang Ju had underestimated it.

Is twenty million guan in tax too much?

Even thirty million guan is not too much. The problem is that those who should pay taxes don't, while those who shouldn't pay taxes do, and they pay so much that they go bankrupt!

It's not that taxes can't be levied, but how to levy them fairly and reasonably.

"Don't underestimate your father."

Even within the jurisdiction of the Security Army, if Zhu Huan were to intervene, the clerks wouldn't dare to act recklessly. However, this small matter could be resolved by himself, so there was no need to involve Zhu Huan.

But Zhu Jun clearly didn't understand.

"Er Lang, are you ready?"

"What preparation? Besides clothes, everything else is left to you, but don't touch them, I might come back."

"Rubbish!" Wang Ju made a gesture of disdain.

"Big Brother, I want to go too," said Er Niu.

"That's not possible. You're too young now. When you grow up, I'll take you to Yanzhou City."

"Don't forget the clothes."

"How could I forget? This time, I'll definitely buy the best fabric in the city and ask the best seamstresses to make you some beautiful clothes."

This time, Wang Ju was going to the city not just to send Zhu Jun back, but also to check on the sword-making process at the Zhu family's place.

But that was secondary.

The main concern was the aftermath of the battle at Heiao Ridge. He had to go to the city to see and listen.

...

This was the first time Wang Ju met Zhu Huan. Zhu Huan looked at Wang Ju, and Wang Ju looked back at Zhu Huan, a lean man in his forties.

"Sir."

"Please sit."

The two didn't exchange many pleasantries. Zhu Huan got straight to the point: "I heard that after Lord Lü Baochen arrived in Chengdu, everyone suspected him of being indecisive. There was a camp of soldiers in Chengdu who committed a crime and were to be caned. Lord Baochen sentenced them, and one of the soldiers proudly said he would rather be beheaded than caned, using this to pressure Lord Baochen to let him go."

"Lord Baochen tried to persuade him repeatedly, but the soldier refused to comply. So Lord Baochen told him that the cane was the law and could not be avoided, and the sword was what he requested, which he would not deny him. He ordered the bailiffs to cane him first and then behead him. As a result, the army was disciplined."

Lü Baochen was Lü Gongbi, the former governor of Yanzhou.

Such a significant event in Yanzhou, his responsibility was not small.

Perhaps he was harboring a grudge.

But Wang Ju was a bit taken aback. Was this soldier a fool? Even Di Qing, a famous general, was humiliated by a courtesan in Han Qi's household and dared not react. How could a common soldier dare to be arrogant with the governor?

However, he felt relieved as he thought about it.

This proved that the Zhu family had reliable information. However, Zhu Huan still hadn't received any intelligence about the battle at Fuzhou, which meant that the two imperial guards had covered up for him, or rather, for Zhao Nianu.

That really couldn't be made public; once it was, the consequences would be even more severe than a disaster.

"Lord Baochen's example inspired Lord Cheng to execute three junior officers in Qingjian City, and the army was similarly disciplined. The court also heard about the frequent trade of green salt in Shaanxi and deliberately appointed Lord Xue Shizheng as the transport commissioner of Shaanxi to stabilize the salt prices. Lord Cheng responded by ordering the soldiers to patrol the border day and night. Everyone has been suffering... However, Lord Cheng also issued an order to the government to pursue the deserters Yu Feng and Song Ji, and to use the pretext of searching for clues to investigate the merchants and mules involved in the ambush."

Why did Lord Cheng execute the three junior officers in Qingjian City? Wang Ju knew the reason.

It was due to the camp fields left by Zhong Shiheng (see related works). By executing the three junior officers, Lord Cheng was targeting these camp fields and using them as a warning to the private salt traders.

Moreover, with such an incident occurring within his jurisdiction, Lord Cheng would undoubtedly be furious. He would hate the scoundrels like Yu Feng and the bold private salt traders like the Zhu family, as well as the mules from Wang Family Village.

Searching for clues was just a pretext. Once Lord Cheng learned the truth, he would likely execute half of those involved, including Wang Ju. This was what he was worried about.

"Have they not found those people yet?"

"No."

"Strange, there were over a hundred of them. Where could they be hiding?"

The problem lay with these bandits.

Actually, private salt trading wasn't a big issue.

Since Li Yuanhao's rebellion, Yanzhou had become extremely important. The governors were all prominent figures, such as Fan Yong, a teacher of Emperor Zhenzong, the famous general Zhao Zhen, Zhang Cun, who served multiple times as the transport commissioner of Shaanxi and Hebei, Fan Zhongyan, Pang Ji, Shen Yuan, one of the most talented officials during the Qingli period, Cheng Lin, the son of the famous general Li Jilong, Li Zhaoliang, Di Qing, the active official Shi Changyan during the Qingli period, Wu Yu, who was as famous as Bao Zheng, Xia Rong, the son of Xia Song, and Lü Gongbi, the son of Lü Yijian.

The new governor, Lord Cheng, was prominent, but among these figures, he was only average.

Why didn't they dare to tackle private salt trading?

The interest groups were too large.

Even Bao Zheng, known for his integrity, couldn't do much.

During Emperor Zhenzong's reign, the state-owned land reached over five million hectares. To fund the wars in the northwest, the government increased the two taxes, and many households tried to avoid these taxes, leading to a severe problem of hidden land. Despite the state opening up many new farmlands, the registered land in the Song Dynasty was only about three million hectares.

And the amount was decreasing.

The government wanted to solve the problem but had only two options: the first was to exempt or reduce the two taxes, but the state's expenses were too high, and the government couldn't afford it. If the two taxes couldn't be reduced, the burden would be spread across the land, making the poor even poorer. The second option was to investigate hidden land.

The government officials Sun Lin and Guo Zi created the Thousand-Step Square Field Law. When Bao Zheng was appointed as the head of the Three Departments, Emperor Zhenzong ordered him to investigate hidden land. Bao Zheng took a few capable officials to investigate, but the matter was soon dropped.

The interest groups were too large, and even Bao Zheng couldn't make a dent. It was better not to investigate at all.

The interest groups in the Shaanxi border region were even larger, with at least tens of thousands of stones of green salt, even up to twenty thousand stones, worth a fortune. Moreover, it wasn't just green salt; there were also livestock, furs, medicines, jewels, spices, and fine bows from the Western Xia, and grain, silk, tea, gold, silver, copper, iron, and various handicrafts from the Song Dynasty, involving the interests of many people. For example, in Hebei, due to the influx of private salt from the Liao, the government had to implement a commercial salt policy from Beizhou. It was impossible to ban it!

Therefore, the investigation of Huai salt, Zhe salt, and Guang salt was always intense, even leading to small-scale rebellions and uprisings, but the Song Dynasty always adopted a疏导 (疏导 means "疏导" in Chinese, which can be translated as "疏导" in English, but in this context, it means "疏导" or "疏导") policy in Shaanxi, as implemented by Fan Xiang, Bao Zheng, Xue Xiang, and others.

This was a more sophisticated approach, similar to the Ming Dynasty, where Zheng He's voyages cost a lot of money, so the treasure ship blueprints were burned, and the sea was closed. Then, both real and fake pirates came.

Lord Cheng must have known this.

The key was still with these bandits. They not only pretended to be bandits and killed many civilians but also many fellow soldiers. As long as they were not captured, the court would continue to pressure.

Lord Cheng had to take action from another angle.

"There is some good news. I heard that the court is about to send the Tiger Wing soldiers to replace the Zhenwu soldiers."

Why did Wang Ju have the villagers from other villages claim the heads and create those ambiguous "treasure" maps? One reason was to escape. Many soldiers and bandits escaped during the battle on the mountain road. If they returned, wouldn't they bring reinforcements to kill and cover up? At least they would come to look for clues. But after Wang Ju's actions, many villagers were searching for treasure, so where would they look for clues? This commotion would also force the hidden bandits to come out. Otherwise, if they were discovered later, it would be detrimental to the Zhu family and even more so to Wang Family Village.

His plan was working.

But the隐患 (隐患 means "隐患" in Chinese, which can be translated as "隐患" in English, but in this context, it means "隐患" or "隐患") still existed.

Lord Cheng might be looking for them, and Yu Feng might be too.

If I had known this, I wouldn't have gone to be a mule that day. But if he hadn't gone, many people in Wang Family Village would have died, and he might still be reading a broken copy of the Analects, with no future, and eventually be forced to become a mule.

"Laozi was right. Misfortune and fortune are interdependent."

"Xiao Lang, you're right. There's only one way. When you return, remind the villagers to keep the secret. The court officials change frequently, and Lord Cheng will eventually be transferred elsewhere. Once he leaves, the case will be closed."

That was the only way.

But Wang Ju didn't like being passive.

"We need to find a way."

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends