Xiangzhou, Lu family.

The head of the Lu family hugged Mrs. Lu and cried, "My little sister has made it, my little sister has become an official, my little sister has stood up!"

The head of the Lu family suddenly remembered something, stood up hurriedly, and ran to the ancestral hall: "I want to burn incense for my parents and ancestors. Our Lu family will no longer sell daughters!"

Mrs. Lu hurriedly followed.

The head of the Lu family knelt on the cushion, holding three incense sticks in his hand, looking at the rows of tablets in front of him, tears were about to fall again.

The Lu family has always been dominated by women and weaker men, with more women who are capable and fewer men than men.

He is the only male in the Lu family's generation. Almost all of his sisters are married, leaving only the youngest sister to travel around.

The head of the Lu family had already made up his mind that if his younger sister never got married, he would adopt Lu Qing under her name. He couldn't let his younger sister die without anyone to offer sacrifices to her.

Now, my younger sister has risen to the top and is directly promoted to the fourth-rank official, the highest-ranking person in the family!

Madam Lu accompanied the Patriarch of the Lu family to burn incense respectfully. The Patriarch of the Lu family stared at the tablet and said firmly: "Our Lu family completely surrenders to Duke Yun!"

Mrs. Lu opened her mouth and wanted to say that Xiangzhou is close to Kyoto. If a war breaks out between the two sides, the Lu family far away in Xiangzhou will probably have a hard time.

The head of the Lu family thought clearly: "With my younger sister as an example, our eldest, third and fourth aunts can also become female officials! And that brat is determined to enter the Control Crane Mansion. Instead of wavering, it's better to bet on one side!"

Mrs. Lu thought about her daughters. If they could become officials, who would be willing to marry and become a concubine? !

"Okay, we'll visit the Song family tomorrow."

The Lu family and the Song family were getting closer and closer, and this scene was seen by many people in Xiangzhou Prefecture.

They didn't dare to go all in like the Lu family, but they could still increase the stakes on Duke Yun.

For example, the Huang family simply sent their heir Huang Jincheng to Hezhong County to investigate the situation.

Because the relationship between Duke Yun and the Great Zhou court has eased recently, the trade routes from various counties to Hezhong County are gradually being restored.

The number of shipping ships on the river alone has increased by nearly 40% compared to previous months.

Huang Jincheng did not follow his own cargo ship north, but took a dozen guards and boarded a passenger ship.

The passengers on this passenger ship are complex, including those from Kyoto, Hunan, Hubei, and Guangdong, and even from Nanjun.

"Have you read the Yunzhou Weekly? The Duke of Yun has just established a new Jingjie Office and is planning to publicly recruit officials. This is truly unprecedented."

There was a wealthy businessman dressed as a businessman, holding a teapot, gathering on the deck.

"I've heard of it. It doesn't limit identity, age, or household registration. It's a rare opportunity! It's a pity that I'm not good at math, otherwise I would have to give it a try!"

"By the way, who has heard of that fish scale atlas?"

Lao Meng, who was enjoying the fresh air on the deck, pricked up his ears and saw a recruitment notice that recruited three people, one of whom was a pictorial assistant who was required to be good at drawing fish scale pictures.

However, Lao Meng had worked as a clerk for all these years and had never heard of this thing. He asked his colleagues around, but none of them knew about it.

A group of people shook their heads, saying they had never heard of this thing and guessed it must be a new thing made by Hezhong County.

Skipping this topic, everyone started talking about the reforms in the three counties of Yunzhou.

"Recently, Duke Yun's actions have become more and more powerful, like thunder. I believe that the three counties will undergo earth-shaking changes in the future."

Some people were not optimistic about the reform of the three counties: "At that time, Prime Minister Wang was highly trusted by the government and he also said that he wanted to reform, which caused a lot of noise. In the end, it failed within a few years of implementation."

Old Meng couldn't help but say, "How can the two be compared? No matter how much Wang Xianggong changed, he dared not shake the core interests of the aristocratic families. The aristocratic families were not afraid of him at all. But Yun Guogong was different."

Yun Guogong is not as easy to talk to as Wang Xianggong. Anyone who dares to talk nonsense in front of her should be careful to lose his head.

Many people were shocked by Duke Yun's methods, saying that he was vicious, cruel, and arbitrary.

But Lao Meng knew that only in this way could the reform be pushed forward.

Huang Jincheng went to Jiangnan some time ago to buy land for the Huang family. As soon as he returned to Xiangzhou, he was sent to Hezhong Prefecture by his father. He had no idea what big news had happened recently.

Huang Jincheng asked the servant beside him to bring some tea and snacks for everyone to eat: "My dear brothers, I just came back from the south, and there are many things I have never heard of. The reform you are talking about refers to the Jingjie Law?"

The cakes brought by the waiter included butter-filled snails, chestnut cakes, and honey sugar cakes.

Good presentation, good taste and good price.

Everyone was very conscious and only took one or two pieces and no more.

Since it was not a big secret, someone explained it carefully.

"It's not the Boundary Law. A few days after the Boundary Law was promulgated, Duke Yun announced several tax reforms."

Huang Jincheng's expression became solemn. If land policy concerns everyone's stomach, then tax reform concerns everyone's wallet.

Huang Jincheng asked the servant to fetch a jar of wine and poured it for everyone: "Brother, I have never heard of this matter. Can you please tell me more about it?"

On the boat, you're just sitting there anyway, so why not hang out with a bunch of people, chat, drink and have some fun.

"I heard from my brother-in-law that the three counties were going to have some fish-scale account books. I didn't understand what it was all about, but I only knew that their land deeds were printed and the format was the same. They just had to fill in their names manually, etc."

"I am a merchant, and I am concerned about commercial taxes. The three counties will begin to implement a gradient system of commercial taxes after the new year. According to the value of the goods, 3% will be charged for goods below 100 guan, 5% for goods below 1,000 guan, and 7% for goods above 1,000 guan. This includes both transit tax and registration tax."

This news immediately attracted the merchants in other parts of the deck.

"Is it really that cheap?! When the Jingjie Law came out, I thought Duke Yun was planning to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce!"

"Oh my goodness, the land tax has been reduced, the business tax has also been reduced, and the Duke of Yun still needs to raise troops. Do they have so much money?"

"Who cares if she has it or not? As long as we make money, that's all! It seems like it was the right decision to go to Hezhong County!"

Some people started to have evil ideas: "I heard that Sanjun provides interest-free loans. If we use this money to pay for the goods and then ship them back to Sanjun..."

Although only locals can get loans for goods, can't we get a quota by giving the locals a little benefit?

Someone in the crowd sneered, "Do you think Duke Yun is stupid? You just want to use the loan to leverage capital, buy a large amount of goods, and then be reluctant to sell them, raising the price!"

The man was immediately embarrassed and angry when he heard what he was thinking. "What the hell is it to you?"

"It's none of my business. I just want to remind you that the market exchange department of Sanjun is not just for free! You should first learn about the punishment for malicious price increases in Sanjun, so as to avoid losing your life."

Huang Jincheng listened to the quarrel and became curious about Sanjun.

When he got off the boat and went to the post station to look for his younger brother Huang Laosan, he found him missing.

"What? They followed Duke Yun back to Yunzhou?!" (End of this chapter)