Chapter 137 Leaving the Mountain I, the Imperial Lord, have come in person today, not to be ordered around, but to request your presence…
After the decree to rectify bureaucratic redundancy was issued, land taxes were also investigated with extra rigor, and the atmosphere of indolence in the various government offices of Yongdu suddenly changed.
The drums outside the main hall of the Six Ministries had not stopped for several days. Most of the drummers were urgent messengers sent by prefectures and counties, carrying copies of fish-scale records that they had been working on overnight, running around busily inside and outside.
Minister of Revenue Xun Shutai knelt on the ground, prostrating himself as he examined two account books. One was the general account of spring grain reported by the Prefect of Yunzhou, and the other was the actual figures calculated according to the new measurement method. The discrepancy circled in red ink was enough to fill half the granary of a prefecture. In addition, the Prefect of Shanggu Prefecture had concealed more than 300 mu of sandy fields and was dismissed from his post on the spot by the Imperial Inspector. He was now awaiting his fate at the Ministry of Justice, and the land tax and land registration records of Shanggu Prefecture in recent years were to be re-counted.
"My lord, Lady Yuanrong has come to deliver the fish scale registers from previous years of Shanggu County."
Following the voice, a steward dressed in a blue robe entered, with Yuan Rong following behind, carrying a stack of bound fish-scale illustrations.
At first glance, Xun Shutai was nowhere to be seen behind the desk in the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue.
The clerk was puzzled. "Where is he? The lights in the main hall were on until 3 AM yesterday, and this morning at dawn, I saw the magistrate still checking official documents."
"I am here."
Hearing the sound of a chair leg being pushed or pulled under the desk, Yuan Rong went around to the back of the desk and peeked down. Xun Shutai was kneeling behind the desk, clutching his lower back and grimacing as he straightened up.
Yuan Rong said, "Lord Xun, you have quite the refined taste."
"What kind of elegance is this? My back pain flared up last night, so I'm just trying to relieve it."
The booklets on the ground were gathered up, the pages rustling. Xun Shutai said to the green-robed steward standing behind him, "Go to the Imperial Hospital and ask the physician to bring me two plasters."
"Yes, sir, I will go immediately."
Yuan Rong said, "I have just checked the accounts of Shanggu County again and there are no errors. If you are still not at ease, you can ask the Ministry of Revenue to check them again. We just need to wait for the Ministry of Justice to find out when those hundreds of acres of sandy land were concealed and then fill in the gaps. In that case, Minister Xun will not have to worry too much."
Xun Shutai said, "Thank you for your trouble, Ms. Yuanrong."
He steadied himself by holding onto the edge of the table, his back slightly hunched. "The new land tax law and the new measurement law were revised by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Agriculture under the order of the Princess a few years ago. They were neglected for several years, and I don't know why the Emperor suddenly put them back into use. The Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Archives will be in chaos for a while."
The new land tax law was discovered by Xie Wenjun during his inspection of the fields. After the land tax law promulgated by Crown Prince Yizhang in his early years was implemented, many places exempted women from land rent and paid the poll tax in kind such as cloth. It was originally a policy to benefit the people. However, after the land rent was exempted, the local government openly stopped granting land to women.
The woman lost her land.
Therefore, when Xie Wenjun ordered Xun Shutai, who was then the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Sheng Yu'an, who was then the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, to revise the new tax law, they used the original land tax and household tax as the main basis and redistributed the land according to the number of people in the household.
They also converted tax grain and tax cloth into silver for tax collection.
The accompanying new measurement method was to standardize the measurement of land in the north and south by re-establishing the copper ruler for land measurement.
However, Xie Yuan suppressed these two tax regulations, and they were never implemented.
Unexpectedly, he was suddenly put into use this year.
Subsequently, the imperial edict arrived at the Princess's residence, ordering Xie Wenjun to inspect the fields again, thoroughly investigate and recalculate the amount of land tax in Yunzhou and Shanggu County.
Deep within the bamboo huts of Lingjiu Academy, Jiang Bojin, his cloth shoes stained with mud, was using his crippled arm to hold a small earthenware pot and roast taro over a charcoal fire.
The taro was stored in the cellar last year during the Frost's Descent season. Only a few were left, and Jiang Bojin had a hard time digging them out of the cellar soil.
Gu Xie placed a jar of wine on the low stool beside his feet.
A casual glance revealed that the mud on Jiang Bojin's cloth shoes had an oily smell, not from the academy, but from a sewage-filled alley behind some restaurant or teahouse. She unsealed the wine jar, "Sir, this is newly brewed mountain peach blossom wine."
Jiang Bojin's shoulders twitched slightly, but he didn't turn around. He only squeezed out a muffled murmur from deep in his throat as a response.
After several imperial guards died behind the Taihuang Temple, Zhu Shan, his former best brewer, disappeared without a trace. Learning from the Marquis of Xuanping's residence that the guards' fatal wounds were caused by wooden blades piercing their chests and abdomens, he knew the murders were inextricably linked to Zhu Shan. He searched the city superficially, but found nothing. The death of a lieutenant general in the imperial guards, the murder of a high-ranking official—this was no small matter; the search had to be conducted clandestinely.
Whether they are dead or alive, we need to give them some information.
Jiang Bojin sighed.
Gu Xie poured half a bowl of wine and handed it to Jiang Bojin: "Sir, you seem more troubled than usual today."
Jiang Bojin asked, "Has it been submitted?" He was referring to the policy essay on official administration.
"Not selected".
Jiang Bojin was so angry that he slumped into his armchair.
"That little emperor is blind and doesn't know what's good for him!"
After catching his breath, he looked at Gu Xie suspiciously. "Did you really submit my two policy essays to the Imperial Academy or the Emperor? Did you embezzle them or send them somewhere else?"
Gu Xie said, "If you don't trust me, you can go to the Sifang Pavilion or the palace yourself to ask."
Don't get angry, don't get angry.
Jiang Bojin nudged another armchair. "Come, sit here. I thought about it all night. At this age, I'm already old and frail. What's the point of all this fuss? It's pointless!"
Gu Xie said, "The imperial court has just issued an edict to regulate the fields."
Jiang Bojin's eyes widened: "The administration is not yet properly sorted out, and now they want to mess with the land. The emperor is just doing whatever he wants."
Gu Xie said, "The matter of the land was assigned to the Eldest Princess. The Emperor ordered her to travel north to Yunzhou and Shanggu County to inspect the fields. The Eldest Princess's residence also recommended several advisors to strategize. It's just a pity..."
"What's a pity?"
"The people recommended by Her Highness the Princess are talented, but when it comes to fundamental matters such as the local conditions, the current state of military farms, and even tax collection and transportation, their discussions are too superficial and theoretical, failing to address the core issues."
"It's nothing more than money, grain, taxes, and land surveying; what other fundamental issues could it possibly have?"
"His Majesty has decreed the reduction of redundant officials, but first, the land and household registrations must be clarified, and hidden land must be surveyed to ensure that taxes are collected. Only then can useless and redundant officials be eliminated. The people on the Princess's side can quote classics and speak eloquently when they present their memorials, but when it comes to trivial matters such as land registration, tax collection and transportation, and the actual income of border military farms, they stammer and cannot answer for more than a few words. In the end, they are all just empty talkers who have never been involved in real life."
“Boring.” Jiang Bojin picked up the wine bowl and tilted his head back. “What kind of tricks haven’t I seen back then, such as flying wine and sending wine under false pretenses and empty promises?[1] I know the tricks of border settlements like the back of my hand. How many bushels of grain can be harvested from an acre of land, how much is lost when it is transported to the border, how much profit those parasites siphon off, my old ledger is thicker than the books of sages they have read!”
“Sir, your abilities back then were unmatched.” Gu Xie offered a timely remark: “With your talent, if you are not good at managing the bureaucracy, you can try your hand at taxation.”
Jiang Bojin said, "The princess is a woman, she cannot sit in that high position above ten thousand people, what is the point of my painstaking assistance? A subject of the ruler is a subject of the world; a subject of a subject is just a subordinate of one person, it is better not to do it."
Gu Xie agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "The victor is king, the loser is villain. Your former master, Prince Fengde, was that defeated villain."
Jiang Bojin scolded her, "Why are you bringing up such old, trivial matters?"
Gu Xie's tone carried just the right amount of regret, "Sir, you have suffered a defeat and endured half a lifetime of hardships. Now that you are getting old, it is only natural that you are afraid. Instead of painstakingly assisting the Princess, it would be better to serve the Emperor directly and rise to prominence sooner."
"..."
"Listen to me!"
Jiang Bojin rolled up from the armchair and paced in front of Gu Xie.
"If you can remember it, then write it down and take it to the Princess's residence to broaden the horizons of those useless bookworms under her command. If you can't remember it, then forget it; I have no interest in managing taxes and land."
"First, the land survey must be conducted using square-field measurements to prevent fraudulent claims and misappropriation; second, tax collection should be simplified, with both silver and grain taxes levied, eliminating excessive taxation and profiteering; third, for border military farms, a performance evaluation system must be established, with rewards and punishments determined by actual revenue, cutting off the path for false reporting and fraudulent claims; fourth..."
Jiang Bojin's taro stew was burnt.
We arrived, but we didn't get to eat the last few taro roots.
After he finished speaking without pausing for breath, Gu Xie said, "Sir, your shoes are wet. Sir, you often sneak out in secret. Are you looking for someone?"
Jiang Bojin paused, "Looking for an old acquaintance, he's not a good person. Don't ask, and don't worry about it."
He muttered again, "I just want to know if he's dead or alive."
Two days later, as dusk settled and the sun began to set, Jiang Bojin lay down early on the tattered straw mat in the library.
Footsteps approached from afar outside the library, accompanied by the slight scraping of armor and weapons.
The door was gently pushed open a crack, not fully.
It wasn't the usual way Gu Xie and his students pushed the door open and entered.
Jiang Bojin turned his head and saw a tall and elegant figure standing in the dim light.
Xie Wenjun did not rush into the library. She saw the person huddled in a corner of the library, wrapped in a quilt, about to rest. Without scrutinizing him too much, she knocked on the door.
“Mr. Jiang, this is Xie Wenjun, a junior, who has come to pay a visit.”
She took a step, her dark blue skirt brushing against the threshold, and casually stopped a few steps away from Jiang Bojin.
A few candles were lit in the library, and Rong Jun closed the library door behind her, shutting out everything inside.
Jiang Bojin struggled to his feet. "Your Highness, I am unworthy of such an honor." He tried to bow, but only managed to touch his two severed arms together.
Xie Wenjun held a rather informal case file in his hand. "Someone came to my residence to plead for justice, requesting me to thoroughly investigate a wrongful case from the Five Princes Rebellion during the Ying Tong era. After the Jiangcheng Incident, rumors circulated throughout the court and among the common people that you, sir, massacred the entire city to vent your personal grievances, resulting in the wrongful deaths of countless citizens."
"nonsense!"
Jiang Bojin's voice suddenly became hoarse.
In his anger, he felt there was no need to argue.
"So be it, let them say what they want. My reputation is already ruined, and I... can't defend myself no matter what."
Xie Wenjun placed the case file on the bookshelf closest to Jiang Bojin. "I consulted the military registers from the Ying Tong era and found several veterans who served under Prince Fengde. According to them, after Prince Fengde was defeated, he fled to Jiangcheng and ordered a massacre and a scorched-earth policy."
The case files were laid out.
Jiang Bojin took two steps forward, trembling as he looked at the words on the paper that were enough to wash away the stain on his reputation for half his life.
He always felt that he was worldly-wise and no longer held onto old grudges or past events, but right now he still wanted to reach out and flip through those few pages of paper.
"...Sir, you tried to dissuade him, but King Fengde blamed you for the defeat, crippled your hands, and even placed the blame for the massacre on you."
Jiang Bojin could no longer hear what was said after that.
He opened his mouth, making a hissing sound from his throat.
His eyes grew increasingly cloudy, and Jiang Bojin buried his face in the case file, his back trembling with sobs.
Xie Wenjun said, "This case file and testimony do not bear the seal of the Three Judicial Offices, so they cannot yet clear your name. We will wait for the future, and I will surely reveal the truth to the world. I have read all three of your policy essays. It is a failure of the court that your great talent has been forgotten. I have come here today not to be ordered around, but to make a request."
Xie Wenjun's voice lowered slightly. She took another step forward, cupped her hands in a bow, and said, "Please, sir, come out of seclusion!"
"Not for the sake of the Princess, not for the sake of the Emperor, but for the sake of all the people of the world to be free from the suffering of cold and hunger, to be free from the calamities of war, and to lay the foundation for lasting peace. I, the Empress, hereby grant Mr. Xu fame and fortune."
With a sob, Jiang Bojin bent down again.
"I can't save the people of Jiangcheng... but I never... never issued a massacre order..."
"More than thirty years...more than thirty years..."
Thirty years of black hair have turned white.
Hidden within each strand of withered, curly white hair are countless sunrises and sunsets, and the changing seasons.
After crying for a long time, he finally raised his head, knelt down abruptly, and kowtowed heavily in the direction of the palace.
"This old minister...is willing to go!"
Author's Note: Several common tax evasion methods used by landlords and gentry in ancient times:
Flying off: A method used by landlords and gentry to evade taxes by breaking down their own land holdings into smaller units and registering them on the land of other farmers.
Deceptive Registration: Similar to the previous case of deceptive registration of land, landlords and gentry forged documents to register land under the names of privileged individuals (such as local officials, students, and clerks who could be exempted from some taxes), using their privileges to evade taxes and corvée labor.
Reporting cultivated land as "wasteland" or concealing new population growth to profit from the price difference.
To fabricate false accounts of fugitives and extinct families, leaving their tax obligations unpaid, neither turning them over to the national treasury nor exempting them, ultimately resulting in an unresolved matter.
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