"Good question." Liu Mingquan answered immediately, but did not speak.
Many people were angry when they heard that Liu Mingquan was trying to tease the people present, especially Mei Shou.
If he wants to go to Jintang, he must have a thorough understanding of Jintang County.
Liu Mingquan saw everyone's expressions and said sheepishly: "I'm a little thirsty and want to drink tea."
"Exactly, it should quench your thirst." Mei Shou personally picked up the teapot from the Eight Immortals Table and filled Liu Mingquan's teacup with water.
"Thank you." Liu Mingquan glanced at Mei Shou gratefully and moistened his throat with tea.
Liu Mingquan nodded and continued: "In order to increase the population of Jintang County, the little saint used many methods."
"So many methods were used?" Lu Xiufu did not expect that things would be so complicated. "Why did the little saint do this?"
As expected, he is a scholar and does not know the fireworks of the world.
Liu Mingquan looked him over and said calmly: "If we don't increase the population of Jintang County, Jintang County will soon be abolished."
"Is there such a thing?" Lu Xiufu bowed his hand to Mei Shou, "Mr. Mei, do you dare to ask the reason for this?"
"The imperial court stipulated that the county should be removed from the county if the number is below 10,000, only the chief register should be set up between 10,000 and 20,000, and only the county magistrate should be set up between 20,000 and 30,000."
Mei Shou returned the gift and said, "At that time, Jintang County had less than 10,000 people. If it is not increased, it will inevitably be cancelled."
Mei Shou may not return the courtesy to his servants, but he will definitely return the courtesy to the literati.
The three imperial students, who devoted themselves to reading the sages' books, couldn't help but look at each other, not expecting that the officialdom was so complicated.
Jiang Zheng looked at the three puzzled imperial students and gave another reason: "The imperial court evaluates officials based on population, taxes, and land."
The three of them looked at each other and their faces turned pale. It turned out that the officials of the imperial court were not that easy to be.
Thinking of this, the three of them raised their ears to see how the little saint had solved this problem.
"It seems that the difficulties encountered by the little saint are not ordinary. How did the little saint solve them?" Wen Tianxiang asked curiously.
Liu Mingquan nodded. It seemed that Wen Tianxiang was indeed motivated. He started to explain with his fingers.
"First, due to the insufficient population in Jintang County, there is a large amount of abandoned land. The Little Sage originally allocated 5-10 acres of land to each person who came to Jintang County. Of course, the sooner you come to Jintang County, the better the land will be."
Mei Shou and Jiang Zheng looked at each other. They had already thought of this and nodded to each other.
Then Mei Shou said: "This is natural. There are fewer people and more land. I can think of it."
"Indeed, as long as the party is in power, this is the strategy." Liu Mingquan nodded, then changed the topic, "But the Little Sage's strategy is different from other places."
Mei Shou and Jiang Zheng couldn't help but be surprised. They didn't expect that the little saint looked different from them.
"What are the differences?" After all, Mei Shou had to consider it from the perspective of running the county, so he naturally had to ask.
He didn't believe that the little saint could come up with methods that no one before him had thought of.
Liu Mingquan nodded and raised a thought-provoking topic: "Zi Cao, think about it, why in every dynasty, everyone had land at the beginning, but later on, the land in the hands of the people became less and less, some became tenants, and some Are they even reduced to the point of selling their children and daughters?”
"This, this, this is because some people are lazy and not enterprising. Otherwise, why would there be no land?" Mei Shou was worthy of having stayed in Qiantang County and gave his own reasons for these.
"It's true that you can eat well and be too lazy to cook." Liu Mingquan agreed with his idea, but immediately changed his tone, "But what about natural disasters or man-made disasters? Or what about someone taking advantage of you?"
"This, this, the court should try to stop it." Mei Shou had no strategy at the moment and had no choice but to shift the responsibility to the court.
Liu Mingquan shook his head: "If the imperial court could solve it, it would have been solved long ago. But land annexation occurs in every dynasty, which shows that there is no way to solve the problem at all."
"Indeed, this has been a problem for generations. How did the little saint solve it?" After hearing this, Mei Shou couldn't help but salute Liu Mingquan respectfully without even thinking about it.
Not only him, but other people also raised their ears to see how the little saint solved it.
"The little saint gave the farmers a way, which is to take all the land back to the government. The people only have the right to use the land, but no property rights. Therefore, if the farmers want to sell the land, or some people want to take advantage of it, it will not work at all, because the property rights of the land always belong to the government. In your hand." Liu Mingquan came up with the answer with some pride when he saw that these people's appetites were almost whetted.
Mei Shou couldn't help but slap his thigh, and immediately raised his thumb: "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."
"Good, great good." Jiang Zheng couldn't help but clapped his hands and sighed after hearing this.
Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu were both from large landowner families, the so-called farming and reading families.
The two were young and had no other ideas about their family's land. They felt that the Little Sage had indeed fundamentally solved the problem of land annexation.
A clerk named Xiao Huadong thought for a while and felt that something was not right.
He suddenly bowed his hand to Liu Liu Mingquan and asked a question: "Shopkeeper Liu, I wonder if I can ask a question?"
He is a minor official, and strictly speaking he should supervise Liu Mingquan.
But Liu Mingquan's identity is different from other shopkeepers. Not only is he a shopkeeper in Zhaojiazhuang who has built a sky garden, but he is also on good terms with the promotion official. He cannot lose his etiquette.
"You might as well tell me." Liu Mingquan returned the courtesy and looked at this person.
This man named Xiao Huadong is only in his twenties, but he can ask questions and is obviously a person who likes to use his brain.
Xiao Huadong thought for a while and then asked: "Yuanwai leases land to tenants once a year or several years, and Yuanwai charges 50% of the rent. May I ask the government how to lease the land for how long? And how long does it take to collect rent? How many?"
His question was quite pointed, and Mei Shou and Jiang Zheng couldn't help but take a second look at him.
The two of them had never dealt with farmers, so naturally they didn't know this.
But Xiao Huadong has collected taxes before, so he naturally understands these things better.
"You are indeed good. You think of the questions thoughtfully and ask for the right ideas." Liu Mingquan nodded. "The taxes in Jintang County and Xi County are not high, currently only 10%, and the government does not collect other taxes. The government leases the land to the people for a relatively fixed time, currently it is ten years, and they also need to issue land lease certificates to the people , proving that this piece of land is leased to someone for use.”
"In other places in the Song Dynasty, taxes are 20% or even 30%. With such low taxes, how can we complete the imperial tax?" Mei Shou couldn't help but be shocked. If he became a county magistrate, he would step down in less than a year. This what to do?
Jiang Zheng and Xiao Huadong looked at each other. They had personal feelings about the imperial taxes.
Although I saw that some farmers did not have enough to eat, there was nothing they could do, otherwise they themselves would have to get involved.
Liu Mingquan said calmly: "Although Jintang County, Xi County, and Lingquan County have extremely low land taxes, they are extremely rich."
"Why are these counties so rich?" Mei Shou bowed his hand and said that even though the taxes were extremely low, they were still so rich.
Liu Mingquan returned the gift while still speaking calmly and calmly: "This is very simple, because there is Zhaojiazhuang. The taxes paid by Zhaojiazhuang account for more than 70%."
Speaking of which, why couldn't he be proud of being a member of Zhaojiazhuang?
"Is it higher than Lin'an Mansion?" Mei Shou couldn't believe it and turned his ears.
Liu Mingquan nodded and said in a very affirmative tone: "Of course, so the petty officials in these three counties also have salaries, otherwise where would the money come from."
"Wrong, wrong." Jiang Zheng shook his head, his words were a bit baffling.
Xiao Huadong couldn't help but be stunned. Did Liu Mingquan say something wrong? Otherwise, how could he say this?
Liu Mingquan was also a little surprised. He looked at Jiang Zheng and asked, "Why is Zizhong wrong?"
"At first, my family persuaded me to go to Jintang County to take the scholar examination, but I thought it was too far and this is the capital city, so I categorically rejected my family's idea. Now it's too late to regret it." Jiang Zheng kept banging on the Eight Immortals table and shook his head, looking regretful. Out of reach.
Liu Mingquan shook his head and said hurriedly: "It's not too late, it's not too late, it's still too late."
"I heard that Jintang County and Lingquan County have already held scholar examinations. Isn't it too late?" Jiang Zheng beat his chest and continued to shake his head.
Hearing this, Xiao Huadong and another petty official couldn't help but lower their heads. They finally heard about the county that could pay the petty officials salaries. They didn't expect that things had already passed.
Liu Mingquan saw the disappointed looks of the three people and smiled lightly: "There are many opportunities. Now Longyou County in Jiading Prefecture, Changyuan County in Changzhou, and Yanting Town in Jingyan are preparing for the scholar examination. I believe that the three of them will win."
"Longyou County, Changyuan County and Jingyan County don't seem to be under the jurisdiction of the Little Sage. Why do they need to hold the scholar examination?" Jiang Zheng was happy at first, but soon lowered his head.
Liu Mingquan felt quite proud: "The reason is very simple, because these three places have Zhaojiazhuang's workshops, and they are equally rich."
"Although there are workshops in Zhaojiazhuang, the government is not a little saint." Jiang Zheng said to his heart and couldn't help but feel downcast.
Liu Mingquan knew their concerns and continued to speak patiently: "The prefect of Jiading is the little sage's old boss, the magistrate of Changyuan County is the teacher of the little sage, and Jingyan Yanting Town was founded by the little sage himself. Think about it, Will the little saint affect them?"
"That being said, there must be no problem. Thank you for letting me know." Jiang Zheng couldn't help but be overjoyed and hurriedly bowed his hands.
Jiang and Zheng bowed to each other and congratulated each other.
Xiao Huadong thought for a while and hesitated: "Shopkeeper Liu, is it really feasible? After all, it is three to four thousand miles away from Lin'an Mansion."
"That's right, Lin'an villains have lived here for generations. What if, what if I don't pass the exam?" Another petty official named Pu Yi was even more worried.
Liu Mingquan smiled, nodded and looked at them: "The three of you are at the feet of the Emperor, influenced by the literary style of the Song Dynasty capital, and have been working here for many years. There should be no problem in passing the exam."
"Thank you so much, Shopkeeper Liu." The three of them couldn't help but be overjoyed, finally feeling relieved.
Liu Mingquan looked him over and said with a hint of mystery in his tone: "Actually, the real prospects are not in these three places."
"Then where else is there?" The three of them bowed their hands again and asked happily.
Liu Mingquan pointed to the northwest: "Xixian, Xixian not only has a population of 150,000, but also has more workshops."
"I heard that the barbarians there were fighting to the death. Xi County is far away from Chengdu, but in the middle is the Shu Road, which is difficult to reach the sky. I don't know when it was lost." The three of them looked at each other, and Mei Shou shook his head.
"Danger?" Liu Mingquan shook his head and sighed: "To tell you the truth, the little saint is still in Xi County."
The three of them looked at each other again, were shocked and fell into deep thought.
Where is the little saint? What does it mean? West County is at least temporarily safe.
Mei Shou glanced at Jiang Zheng and fell into deep thought.
The Imperial Palace of the Song Dynasty, Qinzheng Hall.
Lizong drank tea while listening to the palace maid playing "Between Mountains and Rivers".
He now listens to "Between Mountains and Rivers" every day. He thinks this is the best medicine to treat his heart ailments.
If he doesn't play for a day, he will get angry and his heart will become more serious.
Suddenly, Lizong was shocked by a piece of news from the "Da Song Zhonghua News" on the desk, and his calm heart was suddenly broken again.
He couldn't help but slap the table, and the teacup jumped and fell to the floor.
The rolling water of tea flowed at Dong Songchen's feet, but he did not dare to move his right foot for fear of knocking over the table.
He couldn't help but look at the "Da Song Zhonghua News" and saw that it read "Taipei students built the Ewang Temple, and Lin'an Prefecture tried its best to supervise it."
Dong Songchen didn't understand. Lin'an Mansion had always been opposed to the construction of the Ewang Temple. Why did it get mixed up with the Taisheng again?
