We really can't bear to just hand over the county town that we've managed to govern with such difficulty.

There's no worst that can happen, only worse. The Zhao family is quite content with the status quo, after all, they have something to compare themselves to.

Thinking about Zhao Minggeng and Xu Dongsheng, they felt relieved.

Xu Dongsheng is the emperor's own nephew, yet he was sent to some awful place.

Of course, there was a suspicion that they were implicated by Zhao Minggeng, but that was automatically ignored by them.

However, the achievements of the Zhao family's county magistrates were dazzling.

If there were other official posts available, they would have been promoted long ago, and naturally the prefects of their respective prefectures would have also risen in rank.

This year, there were suddenly so many vacancies. Not only are officials in Beijing busy, but local officials are also trying to find ways to transfer personnel.

Zhao Minggeng can now be considered a prominent figure.

After all, he single-handedly overthrew the regional vassal kings.

Zhao Minggeng will not admit to this.

With the issue of the vassal kings resolved, the remaining issue is the tax-exempt lands belonging to local officials and meritorious individuals.

The announcement immediately sparked widespread complaints.

Those who become officials naturally don't care about that little bit of tax money, but those who have just passed the imperial examinations and become scholars or provincial graduates feel as if the sky has fallen.

The purpose of poor people entering officialdom is to improve their living conditions; to suddenly cut them off is truly inhumane.

Without tax-free land, what's the point of passing the imperial examinations?

It certainly has meaning.

Although the tax-free land was gone, the monthly subsidies for scholars and those who passed the provincial examinations were increased.

Scholars were divided into three classes. Previously, only first-class scholars could receive a monthly stipend of rice and silver.

Now, in addition to the increase in rice and grain received by first-class scholars, the amount of silver has also increased from 4 taels to 5 taels per year.

Second-class and third-class scholars received annual subsidies of 3 taels and 2 taels respectively.

At the very least, it ensured that the scholar had money to buy rice and wouldn't starve to death.

Of course, this subsidy would not continue until the scholars grew old.

The purpose of the imperial court providing subsidies to scholars was to cultivate talent.

Those who can never climb another step in their lives naturally don't need to be supported anymore.

Therefore, the timeframe has been set at three years.

If, after three years, one cannot advance to the next level, the imperial court will no longer provide for him.

For any scholar with a bit of wit, surviving is actually easier than for a farmer.

After all, a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations is literate and can teach, work as an accountant, or copy books. As long as he is willing to humble himself, he will not starve.

If it is a scholar who does not know how to be flexible,

If they rely on those tax-free fields that they're affiliated with, they could easily starve to death.

As for those who passed the imperial examinations, after being stripped of their tax-exempt land, they could receive an extra shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice each year for a period of three years.

Most successful candidates in the imperial examinations did not rely on tax-exempt land for their livelihood. They had already met the threshold for entering officialdom, so they had more ways to make money.

If one comes from a wealthy family, they can even find a minor official position.

If one wants to advance to become a high-ranking official, one must go to the capital to participate in the imperial examinations.

Only by becoming a legitimate Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) can one have the opportunity to continuously rise in official rank.

The cancellation of tax-exempt farmland caused a stir among scholars with official titles.

In addition, the imperial edict clearly stated that in the face of national interests, all personal interests were trivial matters. Moreover, the court was not ignoring them.

At the same time, in order to provide more employment opportunities for scholars,

Many private schools and businesses were established in various places; to put it more bluntly, they were all prepared for these scholars who had obtained official titles.

Those most affected were actually the owners of the hidden fields.

The land they had previously seized through various means has been remeasured and returned to the people after it was determined that it belonged to them.

The lands occupied by powerful families were remeasured, and not only would they have to pay rent every year, but they would also have to pay back the grain taxes owed over the years.

That number is too high.

One or two years is nothing, but the key is decades. When those numbers are added up, it becomes terrifying.

Overnight, some privileged classes who had once been arrogant and domineering were left in a sorry state.

Even powerful and influential families couldn't withstand scrutiny and ended up humiliated.

Some powerful families even directly ceded their land to the imperial court.

Taxes used to offset a portion of the tax.

The common people didn't know much; all they knew was that the world had changed, that the world had truly changed.

However, this kind of change is what they like, as if some of the mountains that had previously loomed over them had suddenly disappeared.

As the mastermind behind the whole affair, Zhao Minggeng unknowingly accumulated a great deal of good fortune for himself.

Of course, many people criticized him.

One evening, Zhao Minggeng, unusually, went out for drinks with his colleagues.

On the way home that evening, the carriage was blocked.

A group of assassins dressed in black descended from the sky.

Everyone thought Zhao Minggeng was easy to deal with because he was drunk, but in reality, he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

Moreover, Zhao Minggeng is very particular about everything he puts in his mouth when he's out in the world.

Moreover, there was a period of time during which he was trained by Zhao Qinghe using various sleeping pills and poisons.

Therefore, Zhao Minggeng could tell the safety of food just by smelling the aroma of alcohol or food.

For example, halfway through drinking today, Zhao Minggeng's wine glass was "accidentally" knocked to the ground by a colleague.

When the wine glass was brought to Zhao Minggeng again, he immediately sensed something was wrong as soon as the wine was poured into it.

Therefore, Zhao Minggeng did not drink that glass of wine.

Instead, taking advantage of his colleague's inattention, he splashed the water directly onto the wall behind him.

He then pretended to faint and slumped onto the table.

Helped by a servant into the carriage, on the way home, they encountered this group of assassins.

When the assassin's sword pierced Zhao Minggeng's carriage...

Zhao Minggeng, wielding a machete, cleaved the assassin's sword in two.

His machete was made of stainless steel, which his daughter had stockpiled in later generations; it was far superior to the scrap metal in the hands of assassins.

With his innate superhuman strength and the internal energy cultivation techniques he learned from his daughter, Zhao Minggeng's combat prowess was off the charts.

Therefore, the assassins were caught off guard when Zhao Minggeng rushed out of He Machang's quarters.

Wasn't it said that Lord Zhao had already fainted? Why is he still jumping around like this?

Before the assassins could even process what was happening, Zhao Minggeng had already kicked them to the ground, each clutching their legs and groaning in pain.

In order to keep these assassins in place, Zhao Minggeng aimed every kick at their knees.

With a single kick shattering their kneecaps, even the most skilled assassins were rendered unable to escape.

Soon, the cries of pain and the sounds of fighting alerted the patrolling soldiers of the Military Command.

Upon closer inspection, even those who had seen many grand occasions felt sorry for the men in black.

They clutched their legs and wailed, and several of them had their hands severed.

Oh my, I've never seen such a miserable killer.

Of course, some assassins also try to commit suicide by biting open the poison sac in their mouths.

But Zhao Minggeng dislocated his jaw, and now his saliva was dripping all over his lapel.

He looks like an elderly person who has suffered a stroke.

It's disgusting.

The assassination of a government official in the street is a major event.

Not only the military commanders were alarmed, but the emperor was also alerted.

Zhao Minggeng did not hide anything and recounted the events of that day in detail.

Therefore, those arrested were not only the people the assassins confessed to.

There were also his colleagues who drank with Zhao Minggeng.

The interrogation was ultimately handed over to the Shuntian Prefecture.

Once they arrived in Shuntian Prefecture, their reputation would be ruined regardless of whether they confessed or not.

Therefore, Zhao Minggeng became known among his colleagues as a true jinx.

How many officials have fallen from grace since Zhao Minggeng entered the capital?

Even drinking with him once could get you arrested and imprisoned in Shuntian Prefecture.

Not to mention, those princes whose fiefdoms were reduced were all caused by Zhao Minggeng.

If he's not a jinx, then who is?

Scholars have begun to submit petitions, claiming that Zhao Minggeng harbors ill intentions and disrespects the sages.

To exclude scholars.

They attempted to dampen the enthusiasm of scholars by canceling tax exemptions.

The method of reducing the number of talented people in the imperial court is a way to undermine the foundation of the nation.

When the memorial impeaching Zhao Minggeng was presented to the Emperor,

The Emperor scoffed coldly, "No need to even think about it, these are all little tricks played by whoever came up with them."

So Zhao Minggeng was summoned to the palace.

"Look, Zhao Qing, take a look at this memorial. Now you've become the target of everyone's criticism. How do you break this deadlock?"

Zhao Minggeng took the memorial, read it through, and pondered for a few breaths.

"What are Your Majesty's plans? Whatever Your Majesty instructs me to do, I will do to break this deadlock."

The emperor was delighted to stroke his beard.

"He looks honest, but he's so shrewd."

These scholars with official titles from the common people have jointly submitted a petition, which must be met with an explanation; otherwise, things could easily descend into chaos.

These scholars, sometimes, are really...

Before the Emperor could finish speaking, Zhao Minggeng interjected, "Like a troublemaker."

Upon hearing Zhao Minggeng's words, the emperor paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Zhao Qing, you are a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), how can you be so rude? But it is indeed quite fitting."

Indeed, they are being used without even realizing it, believing they are standing on the moral high ground.

Zhao Minggeng nodded.

Ultimately, under the Emperor's instruction, Zhao Minggeng drafted a proclamation.

The harms of tax-free land were expressed in simple and easy-to-understand language.

The document was issued and required that it be read aloud by local officials to ensure that the people could hear it clearly and understand it.

Don't you scholars like to impeach me through petitions from the masses?

Then I'll use the words of ordinary people to shut you scholars up.

What do ordinary people care about most? Having enough to eat and wear, and light taxes.

Owning tax-free land is certainly something to be envied, but what does it have to do with ordinary people?