Although the government has made sufficient efforts to publicize the benefits of converting rice to mulberry, there have been too many misdeeds in the past. Therefore, there are only a few people who are willing to believe the government and implement the conversion of rice to mulberry.
Today is also the day to collect land tax. Early in the morning, the official in charge of this matter called everyone together and told them: "You must follow the list. If anyone dares to mess up, I will not give you mercy." !do you understand?"
"I'll understand later!"
In the room, the remaining officials answered loudly, and He Tao was among them.
He Tao was born into a poor family, and his ancestors were once wealthy. Later, by the time his father's generation passed down, it had completely declined. Fortunately, he still had some connections in the family, and he could read and digit, so he came to this government office. , became a subordinate official specializing in collecting taxes.
Because he was smart, capable and able to please his superiors, he was promoted soon after and was able to lead people alone to collect taxes.
This tax-collecting subordinate official is no different from other official positions in the government office. His main job is to make less money, do more things, and have heavy responsibilities!
If the taxes are not collected, or if the taxes collected are different from what was originally planned, what awaits these subordinates is ruthless punishment from their superiors.
It may range from losing one's official position to abandoning one's job, or may lead to one's death!
Therefore, when they collect taxes, they all adhere to the principle that they would rather collect one tael more than one penny less! As for whether the people being taxed can pay the full amount of taxes, that is not within the scope of their consideration.
"He Tao, where are you going next?"
At this moment, a colleague on the side stepped forward and asked.
He Tao looked at the list in his hand and responded with a grimace: "Wangjiacun."
"What? Wangjia Village! They are all a bunch of unruly people. Now you are in dire straits."
When the colleagues on the side heard about the village that He Tao was about to go to, their faces were full of sympathy.
"Oh, there's nothing I can do about it, bad luck. By the way, where will you go to collect taxes later?"
He Tao sighed helplessly and asked his colleagues.
"Lijiacun."
When his colleagues heard this, they responded with joy.
"It's extremely easy to collect taxes in Lijia Village. This guy is really lucky."
After He Tao finished speaking, an expression of envy and hatred appeared on his face.
"Haha, let's not talk about it for now. I'll treat you to a drink when I come back."
"Um."
After He Tao responded, he left the place.
After he truthfully informed his subordinates of the destination of the tax, not surprisingly, he received a chorus of opposition.
"Boss, this Wangjia Village is full of unruly people! It is said that the last time the magistrate went there, nothing good came of it."
"Yes, boss, why don't we go find an adult and ask him to find another place for us!"
"In this case, the tasks assigned by the above will not be completed."
"Last time, Lao Xing failed to complete the task of collecting taxes. He was beaten so miserable that he couldn't get out of bed for ten days and a half! Our end may be even more miserable than this."
After He Tao quietly listened to his subordinates' words, he was silent for a long time, thinking in his heart: "Yes, the people in Wangjia Village are very famous for being unscrupulous! If they fail to complete the task, it will be the brothers under them who will suffer. them."
If you go to the chief, given his appetite, I'm afraid it will cost you a lot! He Tao bit his lip tightly, fighting internally.
After a long time, He Tao raised his head, turned his gaze to his subordinates, and said in a deep voice: "Well, I'll give it a try, but you'd better not have too much hope."
After He Tao finished speaking, he left quickly and then came to the officer's door. After hesitating for a long time, he knocked on the door.
"Who is it? Come in." An ancient voice came from the room.
He Tao took a deep breath and stepped in.
As soon as he entered it, He Tao saluted respectfully: "Sir!"
He Tao's boss was holding a thick file at the moment. When he saw him coming, he slowly raised his head.
"Oh, it's you! I'm planning to find you."
He Tao couldn't help but show a trace of suspicion on his face when he heard this, and then asked: "May I ask if you have anything to give me to your subordinates?"
"Of course, it's the Wangjia Village you're going to!"
After He Tao's boss finished speaking, he put down the file in his hand.
"Wangjiacun!"
When He Tao heard this place name, he gradually felt a sense of expectation in his heart: "Did your Excellency say that you want other people to go to Wangjia Village?"
What his boss said next completely shattered his inner expectations.
"This time, I have received a hint from above, and we must take extraordinary measures against these unruly people in Wangjiacun! In other words, you can act as you please, as long as it does not provoke a popular uprising."
"Of course, if you do this well, there will be extra rewards! Young people, you just need to exercise more!"
"I like Mencius's words very much. When heaven assigns a great responsibility to a person, he must first work hard on his mind, work his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, and work hard. When you come back, I will give you a promotion!"
After He Tao's boss finished speaking, he walked up to him and patted his shoulder to show encouragement.
But He Tao was as stunned as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
With just a dozen or twenty people at his disposal, how could he collect enough land tax from Wangjia Village, which was full of unruly people? This is clearly pushing yourself into a pit of fire!
Looking at his boss's eager expression, He Tao's throat moved. He wanted to refuse, but what came out of his mouth was just the opposite.
"Yes, sir, I obey."
When He Tao's boss heard that He Tao had agreed to this matter, he was extremely excited and spoke immediately.
"Okay, I'm not mistaken! Let's do this. The amount of tax you were originally going to collect will be reduced by one-third."
"Subordinate, thank you sir."
At this time, He Tao's brain had completely lost the ability to think, and he could only deal with it numbly.
"Well, that's it. I have something else to do next, so you can go down."
"My subordinates resign."
After He Tao finished speaking, he turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Boss, what's going on? What do you say, sir?"
He Tao looked at the expectant expression on his subordinate's face, forced a smile, and replied: "My lord, the place has been decided and cannot be changed for the time being."
After hearing He Tao's words, the remaining people could not help but show disappointed looks on their faces.
Seeing this, He Tao couldn't help but comfort him.
"But, if you think about it on the bright side, we can reduce the tax amount by one-third! In this way, we can also have fewer conflicts with the villagers. In addition, if everything goes well, we can also get awards from the government. "
"Let's go. When this matter is over and we get the reward, I'll treat you all to a drink. Then you can choose the girl from Cuixiang Tower!"
After He Tao finished speaking, he added this sentence.
"good!"
After hearing what He Tao said, everyone at the scene was quickly aroused and said loudly.
…
"Sir, today is the day to collect land tax. Do you think, where should we go to investigate?"
"Let's go to Wangjia Village. I heard that last time, Hangzhou Magistrate Ma Ningyuan almost triggered a civil uprising there! If we start from there, we should be able to get the corresponding news soon."
"Yes, sir, I will go right away."
"Remember, our mission this time is just to investigate whether the tax reductions and exemptions provided by the imperial court have been implemented. For the rest, don't ask at all!"
Before the Jin Yiwei left, his superior warned him again.
(End of chapter)
