Chapter 143: Increased Taxes
Fang Lingchu was confused and asked, "Isn't the poll tax collected once a year?"
The girl nodded and said, "Yes, last month they collected miscellaneous taxes, the month before that they collected land taxes, and this month they collected head taxes. That's what the official said anyway."
Fang Lingchu:……
Good, she finally understood why this place looked so poor.
Fang Lingchu squatted down and said, "Someone else will come tomorrow, right?"
Several people nodded.
Fang Lingchu touched their dry hair and said, "Okay, sister got it. I'll give you each a candy. Please don't tell the adults about this, okay?"
When the child saw the candy in Fang Lingchu's hand, he swallowed his saliva and wanted it very much, but still refused.
"Sister, you've just told us, we won't tell anyone."
Fang Lingchu was so pleased to see how well behaved they were that she gave the candy in her hand away and stood up to go back.
The smile that appeared at the beginning was instantly retracted.
[Guagua, we've always had so little luck, is it because of these people?]
Fang Lingchu's smile was sinister, and the words he spoke also had a terrifying aura.
Seeing Fang Lingchu like this, the system said with some fear: [Of course there is, host. No matter how many of those above the emperor kill, those below him who want to enrich themselves will still destroy the country's destiny.]
Fang Lingchu narrowed his eyes and said, "I remember the emperor killing chickens to scare monkeys a lot. Why do so many people still dare to do this?"
The system explained: [Host, the emperor only killed corrupt officials and didn't find them here. Besides, doesn't your father work in the Ministry of Revenue? The emperor seems to trust your father, so they are even less afraid.]
Fang Lingchu didn't quite understand what the system said.
What does this have to do with our family?
The system continued to explain: [Host, your father is the highest executive officer in charge of this matter. Then there are the left and right ministers. When the people below do something, they should say it was your father who ordered it. If the emperor blames you, your Fang family will take the blame.]
Fang Lingchu's face was full of question marks.
Did they think the emperor was a fool? The emperor would know what my father was like. If it weren't for my grandparents, my father wouldn't even be able to afford meat.
What are they thinking? They make the money, and we, the Fang family, bear the brunt of the blame. They can just dream on their own. I'm writing a letter to my father right now.]
After saying that, Fang Lingchu rushed to the room that the Chang family had arranged for the women.
"Hua, do you have pen, ink, paper and inkstone?"
Hua looked at Fang Lingchu and took out a pen and paper.
Fang Lingchu took the pen, lay on the bed, picked up the pen and began to write a letter to his father.
"Father, I'm safe. I came to live in Chang Village today and discovered that someone was illegally collecting miscellaneous taxes. I hope you can investigate thoroughly, especially those under your command..."
Fang Lingchu wrote two pages in a very eloquent manner.
After seeing Fang Lingchu finish writing, Hua was thinking about whether to ask the secret guards to deliver it, and then he saw a man in black appear in their room.
"Xiao Hei, send this to the parents quickly."
Xiao Hei took the things Fang Lingchu handed over and disappeared.
Hua looked at the disappearing man in black, and thought of the letter that the general and the prince had just asked them to deliver, and felt a little...
This place is a bit far from the capital, but according to Xiao Hei's speed, it may be delivered in the middle of the night.
After sending the things out, Fang Lingchu still felt a little unsatisfied.
He got up and knocked on the doors of the prince and Gu Wangyan's room.
Gu Wangyan opened the door and saw Fang Lingchu standing at the door, feeling a little confused.
Fang Lingchu saw Gu Wangyan and said, "I have something to talk to you about. Wait for me."
Then Fang Lingchu went to exchange the sleeping gas and quietly put it into Chang Yingying and her parents' room.
Let the prince and Gu Wangyan stay behind to protect Chang Yingying's family.
The five people came to the mountains.
Most of the people in the village were asleep at this time. To be on the safe side, Fang Lingchu still didn't dare to discuss important matters directly at the Chang family.
Several people stood in an open space, and Fang Lingchu sent out a few more people to watch the surroundings and protect everyone.
The prince and Gu Wangyan's men were also nearby.
Seeing Fang Lingchu being so cautious, several people felt that something big might have happened.
Yu Shuang asked nervously, "Princess, what happened?"
Fang Lingchu felt safe and told the children what he had just heard.
He explained the whole story, then looked at the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, this matter has nothing to do with our Fang family. Your Highness, you must investigate thoroughly and clear our family's name!"
At this time, the system said: [Host, your family's affairs have been updated again. This matter really involves your family, and it is also related to the remnants of the former crown prince.]
Fang Lingchu is extremely annoyed now. There are increased taxes, remnants of the former crown prince, and the heroine's destiny mission. Why does she have so many problems just by going out?
[Guagua, shouldn't I just go out? I'll run into all sorts of things once I do.]
The system was somewhat helpless, but still said: [Host, although you won't encounter these things if you don't go out, they will still be there. Our mission and Dragon Nation will always be in dire straits.]
She also knows this truth, but she is really annoyed! She just wants to quietly enjoy the scenery and give herself a vacation. Why is it so difficult?
"Got it. We'll deal with it one thing at a time. Let the Crown Prince figure out how to increase taxes himself."
The system nodded and said, "He should have done it! He's the Crown Prince! If he doesn't go, who will? This is something that will win the hearts of the people."
Fang Lingchu continued, "There's another thing. The emperor has done many good things that benefit the country and the people, but the people are unaware of them. This is one of the reasons why there are so many bandits in many places. We need to find a way to solve this problem!"
The system has no way to deal with this kind of thing.
[Guagua, our current papermaking technology uses trees, and it seems to be only mastered by people in other countries, right?]
The system nodded and said, "Not really. Your country has some, but they're all monopolized and don't provide much. To make money, some of them deliberately don't produce much."
Fang Lingchu thought for a moment and asked Gu Wangyan, "General Gu, do you have a lot of those remnant soldiers and veterans?"
Although Gu Wangyan didn't understand why Fang Lingchu asked this, he nodded and said, "Yes, tens of thousands of soldiers retire every year and still have to rely on the court for support. This is also a concern for us."
After all, it costs a lot of money every year to support these people, so Longguo is so poor.
After getting his answer, Fang Lingchu smiled and said, "General Gu, I have a good place for them. Would you like to try it?"
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