Chapter 59 You Are Master Huo (Part 2)
While Huo Chong was thinking about it, Captain Li had already questioned all the important people. He turned to Huo Chong and said, "Master Huo, since everyone is willing to let you pay the taxes on their behalf, you will have to take care of this piece!"
Things had come to this point, and Huo Chong could only reluctantly say, "Okay, okay."
Captain Li had no intention of leaving. With the official people around, no one had the heart to enjoy the wine. After eating and drinking for a while, they all left. Seeing everyone leave, Captain Li, who was the culprit who ruined the atmosphere, smiled as if it was natural: "Haha, now that they're gone, we can talk. Mr. Huo, don't blame me."
I would be surprised if I didn't blame you! Huo Chong was unhappy . But it was convenient to talk at this time, so he said, "Captain Li, why are you so anxious?"
"Master Huo. I have been a police chief for so many years, and I have seen many county magistrates come and go. Although Magistrate Xu sent me here this time, I really wanted to come."
"Oh? You came here just to give me such a difficult task?" Huo Chong couldn't help but said sarcastically.
"Master Huo, everyone in the government has seen how the government treats you. We are all officials, we do whatever the superiors tell us to do. Master Huo, please don't blame us."
"That's natural."
"We have never seen a man like you, Master Huo. If we were to confront the prince, we wouldn't even be able to say a word, let alone know what to say. Master Huo not only said what he should say, but also saved himself. We all think you can be counted on, Master Huo. This time, County Magistrate Xu asked us to talk to Master Huo about paying taxes on his behalf. After discussing it, we brothers all think that Master Huo should do this. How long can County Magistrate Xu stay in office? We have to work here for the rest of our lives."
Listening to Captain Li's words, Huo Chong felt that his view of the Qing Dynasty had changed a lot. If it were a movie or something, these clerks like Captain Li would probably not be considered as civil servants. But these people are government employees and make a living from the government. From their perspective, the village has so-called "village sages" who can be relied on, and they really save a lot of effort.
If you have the energy to run around in the countryside, wouldn't it be good to pick up girls in the county town? Petty officials are also human beings, not made of some special evil material, and they will feel uncomfortable in the wind and rain. They will also feel comfortable sleeping at home.
Thinking of this, Huo Chong asked Captain Li for the details of paying taxes on this generation.
Unlike Xu Zhixian, who was a guy who had passed the imperial examination, Captain Li only talked about specific details.
It would naturally take a lot of effort for the gentry to take on the responsibility of paying taxes. But since the gentry served the government, they could naturally be protected by the government. If there was any conflict between the gentry and the people, unless there were some particularly self-righteous officials who would do something to crack down on the powerful, under normal circumstances, the government would invariably side with the gentry . If the gentry used the money properly, they would be able to crush the people.
Huo Chong thought this power was indeed interesting and might be used. But another thing Li told Huo Chong made him think that paying taxes on behalf of others was also very risky.
When paying taxes in the Qing Dynasty, taxpayers could choose to pay in kind or in cash. Either way, there was a possibility of loss. The loss was borne by the taxpayer, not the court. The loss of cash was called "fire loss", while the loss of grain was called "surplus".
Since the government salary in the Qing Dynasty was low, huohao was a way for local governments to get a subsidy for themselves. Compared with the land tax with a clear standard, huohao had a great deal of "freedom". Once Huo Chong took on the task of paying taxes, the government would have to pay whatever amount it extorted.
Although Captain Li would certainly not say so, how much money he could extort from Huo Chong would all depend on the level of bargaining between Huo Chong and the government.
After listening to almost everything, Huo Chong asked a question that he thought was very important, "Captain Li, if someone refuses to pay taxes, I can't do anything to them. Will Captain Li pretend not to see it?"
"Master Huo, are you looking down on us?" Captain Li sounded a little insulted. "Master Huo, if we let Master Huo deal with these unruly people, we will harm Master Huo. If we dare to let one unruly person not pay taxes today, there will be ten unruly people who will not pay taxes next time. If we don't take care of these people, Master Huo, you can't control them and you will quit. Don't we have to take care of them?"
Oh my god! The quality of this government... Huo Chong was a little shocked. Although Huo Chong firmly believed that the Qing Dynasty would serve the people, at least these government officials were indeed serving the Qing Dynasty. Of course, they also wanted to take advantage of it.
But no matter how you look at it, the Qing regime was indeed quite stable, and was far from the point where the rebels could raise their arms and receive support from all directions.
After sending Captain Li away, Huo Chong had no choice but to send all his men out and then invite everyone to have a drink together on the 17th day of the first lunar month.
When the day came, all of them came, without a single one left behind.
When they met, Li Tongshan said, "Master Huo, are you inviting us here to discuss the tax payment?"
Hey, why did you change your name? Huo Chong was very surprised.
Unexpectedly, among the others, except for those who were much older than Huo Chong, they did not want to change their titles. Most of those who were younger than Huo Chong, as well as some who were about the same age as Huo Chong, changed their titles.
Huo Chong actually felt that paying taxes on behalf of others was not necessarily a bad thing. As a veteran of the platform, Huo Chong certainly hopes that everyone will invest in him. This is not a question of how much money is enough. Once people invest, only a very small number of them will hold the mentality of "take the profit if you make it, and throw it away if you lose it."
Normal people will feel that they have established a closer relationship with the platform. This is very easy to understand from a psychological point of view. If investors do not believe in the platform, why would they invest in it?
The result that originally required many tricks and many methods to achieve actually fell directly on Huo Chong's head. No, a more appropriate description is that it fell directly into Huo Chong's pocket. This change was beyond Huo Chong's imagination.
Since there is such an opportunity, Huo Chong decided to give it a try. After all, risks and opportunities coexist. Huo Chong felt that the Qing Dynasty could not be compared with China in 2020. If you don't even dare to take on such a thing, let alone further development in the future.
Thinking of this, Huo Chong said decisively: "If anyone is willing to let me pay the taxes on their behalf, I will do it. If anyone is unwilling, I will not force them. Let me make it clear that in the past, when everyone paid taxes, the government required everyone to pay copper coins, but I can only pay silver. How much money I can save for everyone, you can calculate it yourself."
