Chapter 180: Riding a Horse in the County Government Office
"May I ask who you are, sir?"
Hearing Feng Qing'an's arrogant words, the old man looked at him in disbelief. Although this person was the nobleman brought back by Young Master Zhou, even the Zhou family had no right to interfere with the various decrees issued by the county magistrate. Could this nobleman interfere?
"I just passed the examination for Tongsheng not long ago, which is not much better than Baishen. However, my brother has been demoted to the local area and appointed as the governor of Gunzhou. The county magistrate of your county should listen carefully to what I say!"
Feng Qing'an smiled and said that his elder brother was transferred to the frontier, but he was a real frontier official with military power in his hands. After all, it was a frontier area, and it would be a joke if he couldn't get the military power.
"What's the rank of governor?"
The old man was a little confused when he first heard about such an official position.
"Below one man, above ten thousand, the only one who can control my brother is probably the emperor!"
Feng Qing'an was a little humble on behalf of his brother. He felt that the old emperor was most likely unable to control his elder brother, otherwise he would not have disregarded the rules and demoted his elder brother before he even reached adulthood, and also gave him such great authority.
"So you really are a noble man. Please save us, sir. We really can't survive!"
After understanding Feng Qing'an's origins and background, the old man burst into tears and pretended to kneel down to Feng Qing'an again.
The men, women, young and old who followed him were also quite smart. After Feng Qing'an introduced his origins, they all knelt down like a wheat field blown down by the wind.
"Master Qingtian, please make the decision for us!"
"Please, sir, persuade the county lord!"
"Please have mercy on me, sir, and reduce the taxes. My wife is about to stop breastfeeding!"
For a moment, the fields were filled with wailing sounds that moved everyone who heard them.
"This dog official!"
Behind Feng Qingan, a warrior who looked like a bear clenched his fists, with murderous intent in his eyes.
"I can help you, but you have to let me know what happened first."
Feng Qing'an felt a headache when he saw the men, women, young and old crying in front of him.
"My dear, you don't know that our county magistrate is a ruthless person. You have also seen the situation in the fields. If the Dragon King does not send down rain, we can only make the seedlings grow this high even if we work very hard.
It is hard to say whether we can have a harvest this year, but the county officials will not leave us any chance to survive. Not only are they collecting taxes from previous years, but the county magistrate is also levying canal and irrigation taxes!"
An old farmer, whose face was covered with wrinkles as numerous as those on the cracked soil, kept muttering, his words filled with despair and a hint of barely perceptible resentment.
In previous years when the harvest was good, paying taxes was already a burden. Now that the harvest is poor, not only has the tax not been reduced, it has been increased. Who can bear this?
"Canal tax? Irrigation tax?"
"This is just a pretext for the officials to exploit the blood and sweat of the people. They say that in order to prevent drought and there is not enough water to irrigate the farmland, they want to collect taxes to build reservoirs and canals!"
"sounds good!"
It sounds acceptable in name, but when it is implemented, it forces people to sell their children, which is a big problem.
"But the tax has been collected, and we haven't even seen the reservoir or the canal. We haven't even seen a bit of wet mud, and they are collecting irrigation taxes from us for no reason."
"That's not all. I heard that the county officials are planning to recruit us for corvée labor to quarry stones, build reservoirs, and dig canals!"
"We have paid the tax, so why do we have to repair the reservoir? Whose pocket does the money go into?"
Men, women, young and old, who were obviously from the same village, were talking about it. There was indignation in their eyes, and an obvious resentment was boiling in them.
Public resentment!
"How long has your county magistrate been in office? When did you start collecting these taxes?"
Feng Qingan asked in a gentle voice.
"It seems that the county magistrate of our county took office two years ago. It turns out that the magistrate was promoted!"
"What a good adult, why can't you continue to be one?"
"Yes, it would be great if the original county magistrate was still here, maybe he would reduce our taxes!"
When these farmers and women heard Feng Qing'an asking about how long the current county magistrate had been in office, they talked about it a lot and even missed the previous county magistrate who had been promoted.
There is a gap only when there is comparison, and only when you lose something do you realize its original beauty. They are just farmers in the fields, and they only care about the things on their own one acre and three mu of land.
However, after the new county magistrate took office, they realized how good the previous county magistrate was, who never imposed excessive taxes and levies, seemed insignificant, and had no sense of existence to them.
But regret was of no use, as the promoted county magistrate could not return to Pingwu County.
"How much does your county magistrate collect for the merchant tax, canal tax, and irrigation tax? Can you tell me?"
"Half of the tax for traders must be paid. The canal tax and irrigation tax are all collected per head of household. Each person has to pay two taels of silver. Even newborn babies have to pay!"
"Two taels of silver? That's too much!"
Feng Qingan, who had experienced a life of poverty, knew what two taels of silver meant to an ordinary farmer.
In the capital city, two taels of silver may not be enough to buy a good meal, but in the villages and towns, it is enough to satisfy the food and clothing expenses of a family of five.
The most outrageous thing is that this privately imposed tax was not collected according to household registration, but was distributed per capita. Based on the child-rearing habits of ordinary farmers, each household had to pay about ten taels of silver. If there were many children, the tax would even more than double. No wonder the people sold their children one after another.
This was because they could not afford the tax even if they sold everything they had, and on the other hand, it was also to evade taxes. The amount of tax was calculated based on the number of people, so the family would be reduced in size.
I have to admit that the county magistrate who privately imposed taxes is truly a beast!
"Yes, the tax is too high. We peasants can't afford it even if we sell our children!"
Hearing Feng Qing'an's comments, I couldn't help but shed tears.
"Don't worry, old man. I will go to the county government office and talk to your county magistrate. This tax can probably be cancelled from today!"
Feng Qingan smiled and comforted him.
"Master, can you really persuade the county magistrate not to collect taxes?"
There was one farmer who was still skeptical. The surprise came so suddenly that he couldn't believe it.
"Whether it will work or not will be clear in the next two days. You can take your child back first. If you don't want to collect taxes, you can take good care of the baby!"
Feng Qing'an asked this group of poor people to take their children back home.
"Thank you, Master!"
"Quick, kowtow to the noble man!"
Although they were skeptical, since Feng Qing'an had said so, the farmers naturally had nothing to say. They just waited for two days, so they kowtowed and bowed, but also made way for Feng Qing'an and his party to pass.
"Sir, are we going to the county government office to find the dog county magistrate now?"
After getting some distance from the group of villagers who were still bowing and kowtowing, Zhou Yiyang finally realized how miserable the lives of the ordinary people he saw almost every day were, and he couldn't help but ask.
"No, take me to the surrounding villages first. I want to see what the situation is."
"yes!"
This time, the eldest son of the Zhou family was willing to be Feng Qing'an's lackey. Before, he just didn't understand the sufferings of the people below, but when he really came into contact with them, he was greatly shocked.
Although their family is quite powerful in the local area, no matter how powerful they are, they cannot interfere with the government's taxation. They can only prevent those messy miscellaneous taxes from being collected from their family. Therefore, Young Master Zhou sincerely hopes that Young Master Feng in front of him can abolish these unreasonable taxes.
For the next half day, Feng Qingan and his party visited several villages in Pingwu County, looking for villagers to understand the basic situation. Because of the presence of local celebrity Zhou Dashao, Feng Qingan's inquiries went smoothly.
"Dog officer, really a dog officer!"
“Damn it!”
After they had a general understanding of the situation, Feng Qingan and his party, from top to bottom, all had livid faces, and everyone was indignant and swearing. Even Butler Zhao, who was two hundred years old, could not help but clench his fists and pinch the water and fire sticks on his body from time to time.
Because just as Feng Qing'an expected, the Pingwu County Magistrate who was able to deal with canal taxes and irrigation taxes naturally could not have only these few tricks. Although the people mainly made a living by farming, some of them were engaged in other trades.
The woodcutters who go up the mountain to chop wood are required to pay a tax on wood wages, the fishermen who fish in the water are required to pay a tax on fish, those who plant orchards are required to pay a tax on orange groves, those who brew wine are required to pay a tax on community wine, and those who run shops are required to pay a tax on the land... Feng Qing'an finally experienced today what it means to impose heavy taxes and levies, which simply leave no way for people to survive.
"Sir, are we going to the county government office now?"
Although they were quite indignant about the exploitation of the local people, how to act still depended on Feng Qing'an. These warriors had clear heads and were not blinded by momentary anger.
Even though the local county magistrate bullies the common people, if someone outside the government attacks him, it would be a provocation to the government's authority and a challenge to the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty. Not to mention a Gangsha warrior, even a Hunyuan realm warrior would be hunted down.
"You are all not young anymore, you must have seen the domineering dandy boys, right?"
Feng Qing'an looked at the group of aggressive warriors in front of him and asked with a smile.
"Of course I have seen this. What are you planning to do, sir?"
There was a hint of anticipation in Butler Zhao's eyes.
"When my elder brother won the first place in the imperial examination, I said that one day I wanted to be a well-fed and well-off young master. But I was scolded by my teacher, parents and I gave up the idea.
Today, I think of the past and suddenly want to fulfill my dream of that year and become a yamen official. However, running rampant in the countryside is nothing. I want to ride a horse in the county government. I wonder if you are willing to be my thug? Be my lackey? "
A look of reminiscence appeared on Feng Qing'an's face, and then he slowly said that originally the problem was not serious, and he could have tried to persuade him with kind words, but after understanding the situation, he thought he should still be a playboy.
"That is what I wish for, but I dare not ask you!"
Butler Zhao smiled and bowed, while the other warriors were all rubbing their hands, with eager looks on their faces.
"It is an honor for a certain family to serve as a thug for you, young master."
"Sir, I am proficient in the art of torture. When we get to the county government, please give me your orders!"
"I am also willing to be your minion!"
Young Master Zhou also showed excitement in his eyes. He dared not even think of riding a horse into the county government office. Once done, it would basically be equated with rebellion. But the person in front of him was different.
"Then what are you still standing there for? Why don't you take us back to your farm and give each of us a good horse and some strong clothes. A thug should act like a thug!"
"yes!"
Zhou Yiyang was shocked and led the way again, bringing the group back home in a hurry.
The Zhou family's residence is not in the county town, but a huge mountain villa outside the city, which includes several low hills. When Feng Qingan and his party stepped into the gate of the manor, they saw a group of little kids in clean and tidy clothes running past them with laughter, followed by several shouting maids.
"Young Master!"
However, when these maids saw Zhou Yiyang coming in from the main gate of the manor, they immediately stopped and greeted him respectfully.
"Don't worry about me, just keep an eye on these little brats and don't let them get into any trouble!"
Young Master Zhou waved his hand, and the maids hurriedly chased after the group of little kids who had already run far away.
"Is this your family's child? Your Zhou family is really prosperous!"
A warrior looked at the manor in front of him, which stretched as far as the eye could see. He couldn't help but sigh as he saw the little kids laughing and playing everywhere in the manor.
"That's not the case. These children were sent here by people from all over the country. Even if my father is fertile, he can't have so many!"
Zhou Yiyang Road.
"The doll that someone sold to your family is how you, the Zhou family, raise it?"
Butler Zhao asked in surprise.
"Oh, these are still young. For the older ones, my father has hired private tutors and martial arts masters for them. Whether it's studying literature or practicing martial arts, it's up to them!"
Zhou Yiyang answered as if it was a matter of course.
"Does your family run a charity? Can you support so many people?"
The bear-like warrior couldn't help but say.
"It's nothing. Even though there are so many children, dozens of them are not enough to feed a warrior. It doesn't cost much!"
Zhou Yiyang said carelessly,
"Actually, my father didn't plan to keep them forever. He told me that if their parents get through the hard times and want to take them back, then let them take them back!"
"Zhou Da!"
Feng Qing'an was walking in Zhou's farm, looking at the faces of the children playing, and suddenly shouted.
"Hey, sir, please give me your orders!"
"Here you go!"
Feng Qing'an stretched out his hand and threw two booklets into Zhou Yiyang's arms. The young master took them and looked at them. They were both "Yunlan Secret Strategy", but one was the middle part and the other was the lower part.
"There's still a middle one?!"
Young Master Zhou was confused. Only then did he realize that people are evil, but he still had some doubts.
"Why did you give it to me so soon?"
"This is what you deserve."
