The three of them walked and stopped all the way, and finally arrived in the capital on this day.
Fan Lixin didn't bother to rest, and directly led Gu Shengchao and Wan Ruo into the palace to present the documents to the emperor.
Gu Shengchao had been to the palace before. That night he entered the palace alone from the waterway. He walked all the way from the back garden to the front hall. This time he entered the palace from the front. He came to the Asking Pavilion to see the emperor openly and honestly. It was now past the morning court time, and the emperor was alone in the Asking Pavilion handling official business.
After several people saluted, the emperor gave him a seat. He said straight to the point: "Now the imperial court is in the midst of employing people. The top priority is to find out how many acres of land occupied by King Wu Palace, firstly, to replenish the treasury, and secondly, to suppress their arrogance. In recent years, Prince Wu Palace has been pampering itself. It has long been the case that they are strong on the outside and weak on the inside. I discovered this problem the last time I went into danger alone. As long as we are not intimidated by their apparent strength, their arrogance will not last long."
Gu Shengchao had something unclear and asked: "Our Dawu Dynasty's taxation is mainly Ding's tax. With a large population, there will naturally be more taxes. Such an inventory of the actual cultivated land does not seem to have much impact on the farmers. What is offended are the interests of the officials and large sects." , forcing them to have no way out, the gain may not be worth the loss.”
"You only know one but not the other." The emperor mused: "The official families have a lot of fertile land, but the reported population is small, so the taxes are naturally pitiful. A large number of poor peasants have lost their cultivated land, but they have to pay far more than they actually can. The result of taxes is that the rich will always be rich and the poor will always be poor. The poor will definitely rebel if they have no way to survive. The rich will not help but will take advantage of the situation, which will force the poor to rebel even more. In the end, the rich will not use the last copper coin of the poor. If you take any responsibility, the court is extremely poor and has to bear all the consequences. What do you think we should do?"
The ancient saint was speechless. Yes, government inaction is most common. People usually blame the rebellious refugees and condemn the turmoil caused by robbing their homes and homes. However, how to avoid it is often ignored. It is normal to make irresponsible remarks from the moral high ground afterwards, but no one cares about the precautions beforehand or does not consider them at all. Everyone only thinks about how to make a fortune, but never considers the consequences. .
The emperor got up and walked around the house: "It is easiest to let the poor have enough food and not make trouble. Just let them plant more land and pay less. Where does the cultivated land come from? It can only come from King Wu who occupies the most fertile land." If the palace is operated, they will be honest, and the rest will be defeated by themselves, and all of them will obediently hand over the extra land."
"I plan to abolish the poll tax and levy farmland tax instead. Whoever has more land will pay more tax, and those with less land or no land will not have to pay tax. This will reduce the burden on the poor and there will be no harm to the court. Therefore, the entire dynasty How much arable land there is has become a top priority and must be clarified, otherwise we can only give up halfway and let those who are ruthless to get rich deceive the superiors and subordinates. If you become rich, you will suffer the consequences of the imperial court and the people." The emperor finally said. What was in his heart.
Gu Shengchao and others were shocked when they heard it, and after careful consideration, it turned out to be the best solution.
"Your Majesty, please give the order directly. What should we do?" Gu Shengchao understood the cause and effect and asked for an errand.
The emperor clapped his hands on the table and said excitedly: "Just waiting for your words, I plan to appoint you as the Shaoqing of Sinong Temple. You will be responsible for the measurement and statistics of all the cultivated fields in the Dawu Dynasty. You can directly report to the superiors without listening to anyone's instructions. I report and debrief.”
"According to the order." Ancient Sage Chao accepted the order.
Everything is difficult at the beginning. Gu Shengchao received his official uniform and dental badges, but he couldn't find any subordinates willing to help. He couldn't do it alone.
There is no new minister in the Ministry of Revenue yet, and each department is doing its own thing. Gu Shengchao was specially appointed by the emperor. Everyone is watching, not knowing what is at stake, for fear of getting into trouble.
Fortunately, no one would care about what Gu Shengchao did. After more than ten days of selection, he finally gathered a team of more than ten people and was able to barely carry out the work. Only two of these ten people have official positions, one is the cheng, named Jin Anchun, and the other is the official, named Jiang Yongtuo.
The Ancient Sage Superman was unfamiliar with the place. He picked up the album and flipped through it every day, but he still couldn't figure out where to start.
On this day, Gu Shengchao laid the atlas drawn by his predecessor flat on the desk and compared it with the statistical document in his hand. Si Cheng Jin Anchun came in to report on the work. He stood nearby and saw Gu Shengchao undecided. He pointed to a county next to the capital on the album and said: "If you are still undecided, sir, let's start from Oushui County."
"Why?" When Gu Shengchao heard what he said, it must be reasonable.
Jin Anchun said without hesitation: "That's my hometown."
Gu Shengchao was surprised for a moment. Seeing that Jin Anchun stopped talking, he immediately realized that there must be something fishy, but it was just not convenient for the other party to say it. He closed the album and said decisively: "It's up to you, it's over there. You tell us and we'll set off tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, sir." Jin Anchun remained calm, but the uncontrollable excitement was still revealed on his face.
In the early morning of the next day, the group of people packed up and brought the measuring cart and rope ruler. The most important thing was the drum cart. The horses pulled the drum cart forward, and the drum automatically beat every mile. It is convenient for people to measure distances in a wide range. If you encounter any doubtful areas, use the stepper and rope ruler to accurately correct them to quickly complete the surveying and mapping task. Otherwise, it would all rely on manual measurement with a rope ruler, and even a small village would not know how long it would take to complete the work.
Wan Ruo went with him. For the convenience of traveling, he put on his usual black clothes. His dignity could not hide his chilling aura.
It was approaching sunset and everyone came to the Oushui County Yamen. Gu Shengchao showed the dental plaque and the imperial edict to the county magistrate. The magistrate was polite and said respectfully: "Master Gu has come a long way, and the subordinates are not welcome from afar. Your Excellency is here." please."
The county magistrate personally arranged for everyone to stay at the inn next to the Yamen, and ordered the innkeeper to serve everyone well. The innkeeper always smiled in front of the magistrate, but anyone with a discerning eye could see the insincere wry smile.
Through conversation, we learned that the county magistrate’s name was Huang Qinshou.
In the evening, the county magistrate Huang Qinshou hosted a banquet for Gu Shengchao in the backyard of the county government office. In addition to the two of them, there was another person accompanying him. He was a practicing scholar with a calm air. Not long after, there were several women below playing harp and harp, and several graceful women were dancing gracefully. The singing and dancing was pleasing to the eye.
Standing beside the wine table where three people were sitting, there was a graceful woman serving tea and pouring wine for them.
Huang Qinshou raised his wine glass and said: "We are hosting a banquet tonight to cleanse Mr. Gu from the wind and dust. Please forgive me for the light wine and light dishes. This is our local team coach, named Cai Ji. Mr. Gu comes to work here. Maybe he can use it in the future. You have to go to Cai Tuan to practice.”
Cai Ji picked up the wine glass with both hands and said: "Magistrate Huang has praised me. I am just a small group practitioner. How can a commoner stand in the eyes of the ancient masters?"
Gu Shengchao knew that the other party was being polite. To be able to show up on such an occasion was definitely a well-known local figure. He clinked glasses with the two men and asked, "How many men does Cai Tuanlian have under his command?"
Cai Ji pretended to be polite, but in reality he boasted: "They are just villagers who know a little bit about boxing. There are only about a hundred or so people in total, and they are far less powerful than Master Gu."
Gu Shengchao weighed it secretly. He made a general observation during the day and found that there were no more than fifty people on duty in Oushui County. A group training could command hundreds of strong men who knew martial arts. It was definitely a force that should not be underestimated.
"Master Gu, have a drink." Huang Qinshou toasted to invite him, and he lowered his voice and said: "To be honest, my county government is short of manpower. When bandits and unruly people gather to make trouble, they often have to rely on Cai Tuanlian to send people to assist. Otherwise, you won’t be able to cope with it at all.”
After drinking, Gu Shengchao took a mouthful of vegetables and put it into his mouth, chewed it slowly, and asked tentatively: "This is not far from the capital. There are many disciples under the Prince Wu Palace. I wonder who the master of Cai Tuanlian is?"
Cai Ji immediately became energetic and said loudly: "The envoy from the south of King Wu's Palace is my mentor. He has been ordered by his teacher to teach disciples here and serve in front of and behind the saddle of King Wu's Palace."
Gu Shengchao immediately understood the problems faced by Oushui County. The county government had insufficient jurisdiction and had to rely on the power of Wuwang Palace. This further led to the deterioration of the government's deterrence. The more dependent it was on Wuwang Palace, the more Wuwang Palace would take advantage of it. It is even more difficult to fill the grievances, the demands will be intensified, and the people's suffering will be intensified. Seeing that their lives were in jeopardy, the people had no choice but to rely on Wuwang Palace to survive. Naturally, the trustworthiness of the government was getting lower and lower, and the county government's dependence on Wuwang Palace only increased, creating a vicious cycle.
County Magistrate Huang Qinshou toasted and said: "Master Gu, you don't know. Oushui County Magistrate has changed several times until I have been there, but Cai Tuanlian is different. He has been assisting from beginning to end and has never been absent. It is rare for people to praise him highly. It can also be seen from this that Cai Tuanlian is courageous and knowledgeable in doing things, and works tirelessly to solve the problems of the court."
Gu Shengchao looked at Cai Ji and said: "I am in a hurry for this trip. I am not familiar with the place here. It seems that when I go on business in Oushui County, I have to rely on Cai Tuanlian's reputation."
Cai Ji felt a little carried away, and patted his chest and promised: "Master Gu is serious. You just need me, Cai Ji. If you say a word, I will go through thick and thin."
Huang Qinshou saw that things were almost done, he waved his hand and continued to let the servants bring hot dishes, and raised his glass: "Master Gu is here for the first time. I will take care of Master Gu to wash away the dust. I will not return until I get drunk tonight."
The three of them chatted while drinking. Huang Qinshou got very excited after drinking and made a gesture to the people below. Everyone understood. The woman who played the music lowered her head and hugged her own instrument and left. The three dancers Tingting came over, bowed first and then made a grand gesture. Fang sat on the laps of the three of them, picked up their exclusive wine glasses, and carefully served them to drink.
Huang Qinshou and Cai Ji must have been accustomed to it, so they cooperated naturally, and their hands were not honest enough to touch the woman's body.
Gu Shengchao was so angry that he wanted to explode. He suppressed the anger in his heart, pushed away the woman sitting on his lap and said, "I'm a little dizzy from the alcohol, so I'll go back and rest."
Huang Qinshou pretended to be suddenly enlightened and said: "This is because I didn't think carefully. I forgot that you are accompanied by your family. Damn it, damn it. Lord Gu is drunk, so let Cai Tuanlian take you back to the guest room to rest."
The inn was right next to the county government office. Cai Tuanlian helped Gu Shengchao back to the guest room.
Wan Ruo stepped forward and answered, "What's wrong? You're so drunk when you first come here."
Cai Ji smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, let Master Gu drink a few times and you will get used to it."
He helped Gu Shengchao sit on the bed, and said goodbye. When he was about to walk out of the door, he took out a small cloth bag from his arms, placed it on the table, and scurried out of the door like a civet cat.
