When the second prince Xiao Moqing heard the little girl's thoughts, shock flashed in his eyes.
Sister, you really dare to say that!
The tyrant standing by also had a slight flash of surprise in his eyes when he heard this. He was a little surprised that a mere kid like her could understand all this.
The Minister of Revenue said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, at the beginning of this year, the southern region was flooded and the grain harvest was poor, but the taxes are still so high. Some people simply cannot afford such high taxes."
Wanwan: [Indeed, even if natural disasters cause poor harvests, the taxes still have to be paid. Faced with such high taxes, the common people naturally cannot afford to pay. So they can only donate their land to the officials who are exempt from paying taxes.]
[No wonder my scumbag father stole my gold. It turns out the treasury is really empty.]
Steal gold?
The Second Prince wondered if there was something wrong with his ears. The treasury was so empty that his father had to steal gold?!
Oh my god!
It's really unbelievable!
The second prince was completely dumbfounded. It turned out that the national treasury was so empty.
"Ahem—" Hearing the little brat's inner complaints, the tyrant coughed lightly in an unnatural manner.
How did this little brat know that he sent people to dig up her treasure?
But how can you say it’s stealing? Why would you say it so harshly, little brat?
Who the hell leaked the news?
Only he and Tan Wei knew about this. Could it be Tan Wei?
But the tyrant thought it was unlikely, because Tan Wei was very loyal.
[Alas, why am I so miserable? I finally became a princess. Three years from now, it would be fine if my whole family's heads were neatly hung on the city walls, but right now the treasury is empty. I'm afraid it won't be long before I can't even eat. Woo woo woo woo]
Tyrant: My dear, although the taxes this year are not much, the national treasury is not so poor.
The second prince immediately grasped the key point. Three years later, the heads of the entire family were neatly hung on the city wall!
What’s going on?!
[Alas, given the tyrannical nature of my father, I'm sure he'll impose taxes on the officials. After all, I'm a tyrant, and I'm not like other kings who would be wary of bureaucrats in order to consolidate their positions.]
[But I'm worried about those bureaucrats falsifying information and extorting taxes from the poor people. After all, the emperor is far away, and the East Ming is so vast, there will always be things that are overlooked. If the people are oppressed, and the peasants revolt, then the consequences are predictable.]
Thinking of that scene, Wanwan couldn't help but sigh with her hand on her cheek.
The big tyrant looked at the little kid who was sitting beside him and sighed softly, and a deep meaning flashed in his eyes.
He originally thought that this girl was just an ordinary kid, but he didn't expect that she actually knew all these things.
She was indeed right. Although he was the emperor of Dongming and controlled the entire court, he was not the controller of the land. The bureaucrats and nobles who owned the land would hide their property.
This has been the case for thousands of years. Whenever an emperor wanted to take advantage of the bureaucrats and gentry, they would always find a way to turn the knife on the common people. Often, the bureaucrats and gentry would be left alone, while the oppressed common people would gather in large numbers.
However, after listening to the little brat's thoughts, he suddenly thought of something.
The great tyrant looked at the kneeling Minister of Revenue and said, "Since this is a natural disaster, taxes will be reduced this year. In addition, royal expenses will be reduced as appropriate. The people's harvest was poor this year, so we should also be frugal. And remember, Minister, you once told me about paying taxes to officials and gentry. Now let's talk about it."
The kneeling Minister of Revenue had a slight look of surprise in his eyes when he heard this. He thought that with His Majesty's violent temper, he would forcibly collect taxes from those officials and gentry. Although this method was feasible, it would have great disadvantages in the long run.
The Minister of Revenue is a veteran of three dynasties. Ever since he entered the officialdom, he has been thinking about the issue of taxation and has already had some ideas in mind.
The scumbag father was discussing matters with the ministers, and Wanwan and her second brother were considerately asked to leave.
Although Wanwan didn't know whether they could find a solution, but after listening to what her scumbag father had just said, if they reduced the royal family's recent expenses, wouldn't there be no need to oppress the people?
It doesn’t seem too bad to be frugal for a short period of time in exchange for a stable and prosperous life.
After thinking about it, the haze in Wanwan's heart was swept away.
But she had not taken a few steps when she suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit to the tyrant.
[I forgot to ask my scumbag dad why he stole my gold]
[Oh, I suddenly remembered, because the treasury is empty]
Wanwan wondered if it was because she had been with the conspicuous Second Prince for too long that she had been infected by him and turned into a fool.
Thinking of this, Wanwan subconsciously moved her feet to the side, wanting to stay away from him. She accidentally glanced at a certain man and was startled.
Wanwan: "Second...Brother, are you okay?"
Oh my god, what's wrong with him? Why does he look so constipated? It's scary.
Hearing the voice, the second prince lowered his eyes to glance at the little kid beside him, and became more and more worried that he might have been hallucinating.
This girl said that in three years, all the heads of her family will be neatly hung on the city wall?
"You..." The second prince Xiao Moqing bent down and stared at the delicate and pretty girl in front of him.
Just as he was thinking about whether to ask her, he heard the little girl's inner voice:
[Could it be that he realized he spent a fortune on fake medicine and is feeling guilty now?]
[That’s right, only fools would believe in elixirs of immortality.]
The national treasury is so depleted, and this prodigal Second Brother is still spending money on fake medicine. If I were him, wouldn't he be so guilty?
Second Prince: “…”
Originally he didn't think he was being cheated, but after listening to what the little brat kept saying, he began to doubt whether he was really being cheated.
"Give it to me." Xiao Moqing stretched out his hand to her.
Wanwan stared at him in confusion, not quite understanding.
The next second, Xiao Moqing spoke to her again, "Give me back the immortality elixir I just gave you."
He gave it to the girl out of kindness, but the girl complained in her heart that she was deceived into buying fake medicine.
He just couldn't believe that the elixir he spent ten thousand taels on could be fake.
After hearing what the man said, Wanwan thought that her second brother had realized that he had bought fake medicine and wanted to return it, so she obediently handed him the box containing the fake elixir.
"Second brother gives it to you."
As soon as Wanwan finished speaking, she saw her second brother suddenly open the box, pick up the fake medicine and throw it directly into his mouth.
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