Anshang is close to many flood and drought roads. It is located at a strategic point and has a large population. Therefore, the city is relatively large and can be regarded as one of the few county towns in Yueqi County.
Yesterday, Hu Cao and Xie Ning briefly reported to Yang Qing that there are now no less than 40,000 people living in the city. Most of them are locals, and a considerable number of them have fled to the city from counties in the south. Fortunately, there are open spaces in the city, There is a lot of wasteland, and it can barely be accommodated by squeezing it.
Yang Qing got up early in the morning. After eating, he called Yang Xi and asked him to accompany him to the street.
Since Yang Qing and others had been seen by many people when they entered the city, in order to prevent anyone from remembering their appearance and causing unnecessary trouble, the two of them, as well as Zhou Xing and other guards, slightly changed their clothing and appearance.
There is a straight and wide street right out of the gate of the mansion. However, since the county temple is located here, there are not many pedestrians on this street. The group turned around and came to another street, only to find that there were more people.
Because it is a border county, there is no strict distinction between the shops where commercial transactions are conducted and the rooms where people live. In fact, even the markets in the capital cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang are not absolutely separated.
Especially in the current Anshang, many people from outside the city have also flocked into the city to escape the war. In order to survive, many people have started selling their livelihoods, selling their excess supplies in the streets.
Although the officials of Anshang County tried their best to guide them to sell and trade goods in the shopping mall, the population in the city has increased and the only shopping mall has long been unable to squeeze in. Many people still have to set up stalls to sell goods along the street.
The impact of the recent war seems to have dissipated, and this main street seems to be somewhat prosperous. There is a constant flow of people on the street, with different clothes and different expressions. They are walking or standing, carrying swords, driving by in cars, talking, laughing, cheering, or swearing. Men, women, old and young, mixed with Han and foreigners, are bustling and extremely crowded. Lively, at first glance it seems like a peaceful scene.
However, after the group walked for a while, they saw many people begging along the street. They were thin, dirty-faced, and most of them were wearing simple and ragged clothes. They gathered together in twos and threes to beg for food or money from passers-by.
Yang Qing found that most of these people were whole families coming out to beg, and he knew that they were all refugees from the countryside or other places outside the city.
In fact, the officials in Anshang City have made a lot of efforts to appease the refugees, demarcating areas, setting up sheds widely, asking for help from wealthy households, etc. However, there is not much food for the people, and these poor people at the bottom still often suffer from cold and hunger, so they still have to beg in order to survive.
Seeing the refugees everywhere, Yang Qing's interest in shopping suddenly disappeared. He gave Yang Xi some instructions and took the people back to the county temple.
In the public room, Yang Qing sat on the main seat with a serious face. He looked down the hall without saying a word, making everyone sitting below him uneasy.
After a long time, he sighed softly and said: "The barbarians are in chaos. Anshang City is the only safe place. Many people from other counties and rural areas have fled into the city. We and other local officials will guard the area on behalf of the emperor. There should be some Responsibility to protect living people.”
Having said this, he stopped and glanced at Yang Xi, Lu Shen, Wang Yi and others in the hall. He felt very uncomfortable when he met the begging refugees a few moments ago, so he immediately returned to the county temple to convene the main officials in the city to discuss the matter. Looking for a solution.
"Magistrate Lu, as a parent official, please tell me about the living conditions of the people in the city."
Lu Xiong thought for a while and replied loudly: "Your Excellency, the original household registration of Anshang County is 16,843, with 74,293 men and women. The original number of people in the city is nearly 16,843. There are 30,000 people, and now there are more than 10,000 people who have fled into the city from outside the city or from other counties."
"It turns out that when Grand Administrator Gong was here, county officials worked together to divide the refugees who had no relatives or friends to seek refuge in according to their original status, or resettled them in idle residential buildings, academic buildings, etc., or built wooden sheds to resettle them. They are given a certain amount of porridge and food every day.”
"Although we have some measures, we are short of wisdom and power and cannot help all the people. As a result, many people have suffered from cold and starvation and even died of starvation or disease. Please punish me." Lu Shen bowed. To apologize, the original county officials had to bow down and apologize together.
Of course Yang Qing would not blame them. In his opinion, these people did a pretty good job. After all, order in the city was maintained.
Yang Qingdao: "You have tried your best to maintain the situation, what crime are you guilty of? Get up quickly." After everyone responded, he asked Hu Cao Xie Ning: "Thank Hu Cao, An Shang County's grain acres What’s the number?”
Xie Ning replied: "Your Majesty, Anshang County is about 120 miles long from east to west and more than 70 miles long from north to south. It has more than 6,000 hectares of grain land. The yield of top-grade fields is about four stones per mu, and the yield of medium-grade fields is about four stones per mu. The yield of lower-grade fields is about three shi per mu, and the yield of lower-grade fields is about one shi per mu. Most of the valleys in Anshang County are middle- and upper-middle fields, so the annual grain production is about 1.8 million shi. The land rent in this county is based on thirty tax per mu, so Anshang County The annual income from grain is about 60,000 shi."
Yang Qing nodded when he heard this, and then asked Cang Cao and Li Chang: "Li Cang Cao, if this is the case, how much money valley is there in the city?"
Li Changdao: "Your Majesty, Anshang County received a total annual income of about 42 million yuan last year in addition to the grain income of 60,000 yuan, and the household tax. Because of this barbarian rebellion, the people's relief, military equipment, and labor service were all reduced. Expenditures on medicine, military and civilian pensions, etc. have greatly increased, and there are still 28,360 shi of rice and food in the city, and 15.42 million in money."
The taxation policy of the Han Dynasty has always been to lighten the land rent and pay more to the people. The land rent is usually 15 tax per year and can even be as low as 30 tax per year. However, Yueqi County is located in a desolate border county, so the general land rent is high. For thirty tax one.
In addition to the tax burden of land rent, the most important thing for the common people is the poll tax such as regular tax, oral tax, and calculated tax. Gengfu is the money paid for the official service. Ordinary people can pay 300 yuan to the government every year to avoid having to perform corvee service, guarding the border, etc. personally.
The oral tax is to collect money from the people to supplement the emperor's expenses, which is actually the income of the royal family. People of the Han Dynasty were given 20 qian per year to feed the emperor when they were seven to fourteen years old. Later, when Emperor Wu conquered the barbarians, he levied an additional 3 qian to pay for his chariots and horses.
Therefore, the fixed amount of oral tax is twenty-three qian. Of course, the starting age will increase or decrease from time to time. At this time, Yuexi is based on the old system.
Suanfu is a tax borne by people aged from fifteen to fifty-six years old to buy troops, carriages and horses. The fixed amount is 120 yuan per person per year. The government's tax collection is generally based on the population of the village. It is collected multiple times a month, ranging from eight yuan, nine yuan, or thirty yuan each time.
Due to the heavy burden on the people, the imperial court often reduced or reduced the tax. For example, during the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Xuan, it was often reduced to thirty or forty people's tax. However, Yuechei County was far away in a deserted area with many barbarians, so the imperial government collected a fixed tax of forty to reduce the burden on the people.
After listening to the report, Yang Qing felt that there seemed to be a lot of money in the city, and felt a little relieved. He said with a smile: "Logically speaking, I should ask Magistrate Lu directly about these matters. The reason why I asked Xie and Li, Cao Yu, is Just want to see if the officials in the county also have a clear grasp of the family fortune in the city? Now it seems that after the county moved to Anshang, the officials in the county still have no intention of slacking off, which makes me very happy."
Only then did the county officials in the room understand why Yang Qingshi had just asked the county chief instead of asking the county officials, and they all secretly said that it was dangerous. Fortunately, Xie Hu Cao and Li Cang Cao just answered well, otherwise the prefect would not be able to escape the blame. , Governor Yang is really scheming.
