Looking at the letter held by Ying'er, Xue Baochai quickly took it.
Aunt Xue smiled and said, "You were complaining just now that you haven't received a letter in four or five months, and now it's here."
"This really goes without saying. It came as soon as it was said. Let me see what was said."
Xue Baochai opened the letter with a smile on his face and couldn't wait to read it.
The letter was written by Jia Cong. He first expressed his feelings of missing her, and then asked about Baochai and his daughter's current situation.
Then, he explained the reason why there was no letter during this period and some arrangements for the future.
After a long time, Xue Baochai put the letter away.
Aunt Xue asked curiously: "What did Brother Cong say?"
Xue Baochai smiled: "The prince said that during this period, he visited various places in Liaodong and took the sisters to play. Finally, he took them to the grassland and played on the grassland for more than a month. Now he has returned It’s Liaodong.”
Aunt Xue asked with some surprise: "Didn't we just fight the Mongols? Why did you go to their territory? Aren't you afraid of their revenge?"
Xue Baochai thought for a while and explained: "Mom, the Mongols are divided into several tribes. The place where the prince goes is the tribe that does business with our family. If the prince is kind to them, there will be no danger."
Aunt Xue breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good. Did you say when I will pick you up to Liaodong?"
"Well, I said, we will be picked up next year, and we can move into the palace next year. If the child is too young this year, we will not be picked up and we will suffer."
Xue Baochai was somewhat disappointed that she could not go over to meet Jia Cong this year.
But I am still very happy thinking that I will be able to go there next year.
At the same time, Lingguan also received a letter from Lin Daiyu.
When I opened it, I saw it was about Xue Baoqin.
After knowing the whole story, I felt a little more envious.
After reading the letter, I thought about it for a while, then got up and went to Xue Baochai's yard.
······
After Jia Cong returned to Liaodong, the main building of the palace had been built.
All that's left is the interior and exterior decoration, as well as the beautification of the gardens and courtyards.
Jia Cong went to check it out and was still very satisfied.
According to this progress, everything should be completed before it snows.
Then let it dry for the winter, clean it again next spring, and then you can move in.
In a blink of an eye, it’s the autumn harvest season.
Since there was plenty of rain this year and there was a heavy snowfall the year before, the harvest was still very good.
Jia Cong issued a decree: Abolish all exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, collect only grain taxes and commercial taxes, collect grain taxes based on land, officials and gentry will pay grain as one, and collect taxes based on 20% of the harvest.
A Commerce Bureau was established to be responsible for registering local merchants and collecting taxes. Merchants temporarily collected 10% of the tax.
At the same time, an order was issued to disarm all illegal armed forces in Liaodong, but those who refused to comply, no matter who they were, would be destroyed.
In addition to the government officials and police officers, each village can form a militia team based on the number of people to be responsible for the security of the village.
Militia members, the first choice is retired and injured veterans.
Secondly, select strong and brave people from the village to join.
Jia Cong gave an order, and the order was quickly issued to every city, county, town, and village.
Suddenly, the entire Liaodong was once again in turmoil.
The people were happy. There were no more exorbitant taxes and only 20% of the land rent was collected.
For them, this is good news.
If you pay less taxes, you can have enough to eat, and your life can improve.
However, the landlords, gentry, local powerful people, and those with private armed forces were not happy.
In this era, officials and gentry did not pay food.
Anyone who is a scholar does not pay taxes on his family's land.
All officials of the imperial court,
No matter how much land your family owns, you don’t need to pay taxes.
Those who pay taxes to the country are all ordinary people.
This is also the reason why although the country has a vast territory and many fields, it collects very few taxes.
In a year of disaster, there may be a natural or man-made disaster.
In order to survive, ordinary people had to sell their fields and exchange them for money and food to survive.
In order to own more land, large landowners use various despicable methods. Especially in disaster years, landlords resort to plunder and force farmers who own land to sell their land and properties and become tenant farmers.
As land annexation becomes more and more serious, more and more people have lost the land they depend on for survival and can only rent land from landlords.
Life is becoming more and more difficult, and we are struggling on the line of life and death every day.
The class contradiction between landlords and farmers will become increasingly acute.
If another natural disaster or man-made disaster occurs, like the one in Shaanxi, it will cause large-scale unrest.
This is also the main reason why the entire dynasty is slowly dying.
Jia Cong's decree directly touched the pain of some people, which was equivalent to cutting their flesh.
Naturally, these people cannot be obedient, hand over their money, or disarm themselves.
Many people who thought their backgrounds were strong, and some who were unruly, jumped out.
Some went directly to the local government, some asked the capital for help, and more people united to resist Jia Cong's decree.
The businessmen were also organized and unwilling to pay taxes.
Because in this era, businessmen did not pay taxes.
Of course, you just don't pay it to the state. You have to pay a lot of tolls, but it just makes it easier for others.
These people were making trouble, but they didn't make it too much.
At most, it's just a protest, but Jia Cong's deterrence is still quite large.
This also benefited from Jia Cong’s crackdown last year.
A lot of people were killed that time, some with heinous crimes, some with great anger from the people, some who were kings of the mountains, and some rogues and horse bandits. They all took the opportunity to eliminate them all.
This time the landlords and powerful men were ordered to disarm, but they dared not speak out in anger.
Who allows Jia Cong to hold an army of more than 300,000 people? Even one person can drown them by spitting.
Although they did not dare to resist openly, they were unwilling to be told to obey.
Then, Jia Cong's trouble also came.
It had been more than half a month since the decree was promulgated, and the people who came to ask for help had almost crossed the threshold.
They are all prominent figures in Liaodong, or they have certain power and prestige in Liaodong.
Over in the capital, there were also many ministers who wrote to me to advise me not to arouse public anger and cause the commotion to get out of hand.
Jia Cong's move is equivalent to a reform.
It is conceivable that this reform has always been very difficult.
The reason why Jia Cong dared to do this was that he held military power and controlled an army of 300,000 people, and no one dared to mess around easily.
If anyone dares to cause trouble, they can be wiped out in an instant.
Don't worry at all, it will make things worse.
Another one is that you have the final say on your own territory and can decide it with one word without having to worry too much.
There is another biggest reason, that is, Liaodong has just experienced war.
It had been occupied by barbarians before, and the barbarians must have killed a number of people.
I took it back and cleaned it up again.
If anyone dares to jump out, I can just put a charge on them and deal with it.
This is also Jia Cong's own confidence. As long as he persists, the decree will be implemented.
In Jia Cong's meeting hall, Lin Daiyu, Qingwen, Hongluan, Yueya, Li Biao, and Tiezhu all gathered together.
"Commander, the landowners and gentry in various places refuse to pay grain taxes. The governments in various places have nothing to do with them, and they cannot directly rob them. Moreover, these people are
With private armed forces, those government officials really can't defeat them.
Merchants from all over the country have also reacted very strongly. They say that they have not had to pay taxes for generations, but now they suddenly have to pay taxes. The money they make from selling things is not enough to pay taxes. In short, they all do not want to pay taxes. "
Yue Ya told the truth about the information collected from various places.
Li Biao also said: "Commander, recently some famous people in Liaodong, as well as some well-known people, have submitted invitations to see the Commander-in-Chief, and their purpose is also to deal with grain tax and commercial tax. Shuai, do you want to see them?"
Jia Cong pondered for a moment and then said: "Liaodong is our territory now, and we may be stationed in Liaodong in the future. Although these people are not of much use, they still have a certain reputation. If you don't see them with your head down, you might as well meet them."
However, their goal is impossible to achieve. They are informed that the commander will receive them together in three days. "
"Yes, Commander, my subordinates will inform them later."
Li Biao responded and sat back down again.
Lin Daiyu said: "Those officials, gentry and businessmen did not pay taxes before. Suddenly asking them to pay taxes is equivalent to cutting off their flesh. These people are not a minority. Once they make a fuss, will there be trouble? The court will Will it interfere?"
Hong Luan also said: "These people are not ordinary people. They all have some connections and energy, and they also have certain forces and backers behind them. By doing this, the commander not only offended them, but also offended the people behind them." and forces, there will probably be some trouble.”
Jia Cong nodded: "There will definitely be trouble. What we haven't done is equivalent to reform. I believe you have heard of the situation and ending of those reforms in history.
However, we are implementing this decree on our own territory, and since I have a large army in hand, I can make a decision with a single word, so that the decree can be implemented smoothly, so there will be no problem. As for the consequences? The pros definitely outweigh the cons. "
Everyone nodded after hearing this.
Reforms in history have rarely been successful.
Those who advocated reform did not end well in the end.
In the final analysis, it means that the implementation cannot be effective and the implementation is not strong enough.
The new system cannot be thoroughly promoted.
This is also because the resistance is too strong, or the people used are inappropriate. In the end, even the emperor, the superior, is powerless.
Now Jia Cong has the final say in the entire Liaodong.
We just need to punish a group of people severely, get rid of those who take the lead, and continue to enforce the law.
I believe it is still very possible and can be successful.
"Now that the commander-in-chief has made a decision, we will naturally support him with all our strength. There is no battle to fight now anyway. Why not send troops to various places to scare those young people and allow the commander-in-chief's decree to be implemented smoothly."
Looking at Qingwen, Jia Cong nodded with satisfaction.
Qingwen's point of view is quite in line with his wishes, and it can be said that it speaks to his own heart.
He didn't want to get into any more entanglements with those people. He wanted to solve the problem quickly and let the entire Liaodong run according to his own will.
After all, I am from a later generation, and if I do it casually, it will be better than the current policy.
"Qingwen is right. This is what I plan to do. For those who are unscrupulous and take the lead in collaborating, there is no need to be polite to them. They will directly ransack their homes, confiscate everything they have, and take it back to the palace.
Tie Zhu, Yue Ya, you two, immediately mobilize all your subordinates to investigate those who are taking the lead, those who are stirring up trouble behind, and those who have not yet been disarmed, and report the names to me.
Li Biao, with my general order, go to the military camp, mobilize 200,000 troops, and immediately go to various places. You are responsible for disarming the local areas and arresting those who lead the trouble. If you encounter resistance, you can kill without mercy.
At the same time, Wu Degui, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan Pass, was ordered to blockade Shanhaiguan. No one was allowed to leave Liaodong without orders from his commander. Inform the local governments to cooperate with the army's actions. Tiezhu, the members of your special team are also responsible for cooperating and supervising the army's actions. "
"Yes, I will obey."
Li Biao, Tiezhu, and Yue Ya all stood up to take orders.
······
Jia Cong gave an order, and 200,000 troops rushed to various places quickly.
Cooperate with the local government and implement Jia Cong's orders.
Seeing the mobilization of the army, some people in the city became anxious.
Some powerful landowners, as well as some famous and powerful people, all got together.
"Mr. Zhang, Jia Cong suddenly sent out so many troops. What is this for? Is there going to be a war?"
"What kind of war is going on at this time? If we really want to fight, we will send troops to Shenyang. I heard that 200,000 troops have been sent to various places."
"Sending a large army to the local area at this time is not to deal with us people, right?"
"Li Laocai, don't be so talkative. You won't send a large army to deal with us, right?"
When everyone heard this, they were all silent for a while.
Although this guess is a bit bold, if you think about it carefully, it is really possible.
"What if it's true?"
"If we hold on and go against Jia Cong, we are going against those armies. If Jia Cong is really ruthless, we may have nothing, and we may even lose our lives."
"That's not the case. Didn't we just not pay taxes? Didn't we also pay taxes when the court was in charge? Didn't we always have nothing to do with it?"
"Can it be the same? The Emperor is so easy to fool. There are people above us, so we can just fool around."
"Yes, Jia Cong is not that easy to fool, and he is a ruthless master. Even the cruel barbarians are afraid of him. If we confront him, we will probably anger him."
"Then Jia Cong won't really attack us, right?"
Everyone said nothing, but began to feel uneasy in their hearts.
Paying 20% of the tax to Jia Cong is nothing compared to his wealth and life.
It's just that he is unwilling to accept it and is lucky.
As soon as they saw Jia Cong moving the army, everyone lost their temper.
This is when a housekeeper came in and shouted anxiously: "Sorry, sir, our brothers outside the city were surrounded by a large army. Leader Li led the people to resist and were killed. What should we do now?" ?」
"What?"
Everyone present was instantly stunned.
