Xu San frowned, "Vassal kings don't need to pay taxes to the court..." Li Junyan tapped his slender fingers on the memorial, "So it says above that I should send the taxes collected from Tingzhou for the past three years to Chang'an!"
Lin Qi's face turned pale. "But Tingzhou has been suffering from a severe drought for three years. Only one in ten people survived, and the land was barren. If it weren't for the prince and the goddess, who knows how many people in Tingzhou would be killed or injured every day.
It's fine if the imperial court doesn't provide disaster relief, but now they're demanding the collection of taxes from the past three years. What's their intention?"
Xu San's face was solemn. "Your Highness, how should we respond? If we don't comply, the imperial court will certainly not let us off."
Li Junyan actually laughed at this time, but his smile was full of coldness. "When will it be the turn of the court to dictate what happens to my fiefdom? I won't hand it over."
"But Your Majesty." Xu San was getting more and more anxious. "If you don't hand it over, the court will have grounds for accountability. If a large army comes..."
"Even if Prince Jing and the Crown Prince have such an idea, the Emperor will not agree for the time being."
Li Junyan said, looking at Xu San, "How many wells have been dug so far? Has the water supply problem been completely solved?"
"Reporting to the prince, I have divided my men into two shifts, working day and night. So far, I have successfully dug ten wells, but..."
"Just what?" Li Junyan raised his eyebrows, "Don't be so hesitant."
"But we don't have enough materials. I guess we can only drill two more wells."
"Why are you telling me such an important thing now?"
Xu San clasped his fists, his face filled with shame, "I simply didn't dare to trouble the goddess..."
Li Junyan waved his hand. "Alright, you can go out now. I'll talk to Qianqian about the materials. Don't act on your own next time. If anything is missing, report it immediately."
"yes!"
After Xu San left, Li Junyan looked at Lin Qi and said, "Lin Qi, take your men to check the farmland tomorrow and choose a good location for digging a well. No matter what, this year's spring plowing cannot be delayed."
"yes!"
"You should go out too."
"I'll take my leave."
After Lin Qi left, Li Junyan turned to look at Sang Jueqian.
Seeing Li Junyan looking over, Sang Jueqian shook the phone in his hand and said, "I have just placed an order for ten sets of well drilling equipment, and another five hundred sets of required materials."
Li Junyan raised the corner of his mouth and smiled faintly, "Thank you, Qianqian."
"What are you thanking me for? This is what I should do!"
She had just received 120 million yuan. With so much money, she could spend it however she wanted without any worries.
only......
Sang Jueqian looked at Li Junyan with some worry. Although he had a smile on his face, there was still an unrelieved sadness between his brows. It must be because of the court's collection of taxes.
"How about I buy some more food for you? You can have someone send it to Chang'an, and then everything will be fine, right?" Sang Jueqian asked tentatively.
Li Junyan felt warm in his heart, "I know Qianqian wants to help me, thank you first. But this matter is not so easy to resolve.
The imperial court knew exactly what had happened in Tingzhou in the previous three years.
If I don't pay taxes, the court will hold me accountable, but it won't do anything else for the time being.
But if I pay it, the gold and silver are easy to explain, but I can't explain where the food comes from."
Sang Jueqian hadn't thought of this at first, but after hearing Li Junyan's explanation, he realized that this was actually a dead end.
No matter what Li Junyan does, nothing good will come of it.
The only solution is to choose the lesser of the two.
Seeing Sang Jueqian's brows furrowed tightly, Li Junyan hurriedly smiled and comforted her, "Qianqian, don't worry, nothing will happen. After all, I am still the emperor's son. He will never kill me."
Sang Jueqian looked at Li Junyan and always felt that there was a hint of sadness in Li Junyan's words.
Sang Jueqian didn't know how to comfort Li Junyan, so he simply changed the subject.
"I just heard you tell Lin Qi about spring plowing?"
"Yes." Li Junyan's expression became more serious as he talked about business. "Always asking Qianqian to buy food is not a long-term solution. The people don't feel safe just receiving relief food every day. The land in Tingzhou cannot be left uncultivated, so spring plowing is imperative."
"You're right. Let's have someone check the farmland in Tingzhou tomorrow. Although we can dig wells, drought is inevitable without rain.
I have some drought-resistant grain seeds here, and I'll ask Lao Jin to buy some tomorrow."
Li Junyan was originally a little worried about the grain seeds, but when he heard Sang Jueqian say that they could buy grain seeds, he was extremely surprised. However, he still asked, "If we buy a large amount of grain seeds, will it cause any trouble for Qianqian?"
"No!" Sang Jueqian shook his head. "Longguo is a vast country with abundant resources. As long as you don't buy prohibited items, you can buy whatever you want. The country won't interfere."
Hearing this, Li Junyan's eyes flashed, "Is salt also like this?"
"yes!"
"The Dragon Kingdom is truly powerful!" Li Junyan admired sincerely.
Although Sang Jueqian didn't learn history very well, he watched a lot of costume dramas.
Regardless of the dynasty, salt was under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and buying and selling private salt was a serious crime.
Salt tax has always been a major tax revenue, bringing a lot of income to the court every year.
Thinking of salt, Sang Jueqian felt a little conflicted.
Li Junyan's heart tightened when he saw Qianqian's tangled expression. "What's wrong with Qianqian? Is there something troubling you?"
"I'm not embarrassing you... I bought a lot of seasonings for you, including two tons of salt.
I only had time to give you half the seasoning this afternoon, and I left before I even got the salt. It's getting late now, so should I give you the salt today or tomorrow?"
Li Junyan stood up instantly, his expression more excited than ever before, "Qianqian really has so much salt?"
"yes!"
As Sang Jueqian spoke, he took out a box of salt from the space and placed it on the conveyor.
The box was opened, revealing bags of refined salt.
Through the transparent bag, you can clearly see the snow-white and delicate salt grains inside.
Li Junyan's hand gently stroked the salt bags, "Is this the salt sold at Qianqian?"
"yes!"
"The people of Dragon Country must be very happy. Ordinary people can also eat such salt."
Speaking of the good things about Longguo, Sang Jueqian felt a surge of pride in his heart, "Of course Longguo is the best! Lezhi, don't worry, with my help, Tingzhou will get better too!"
"Okay!" Li Junyan looked at Sang Jueqian with a burning gaze, "With Qianqian here, I'm naturally relieved."
"So, should I give you the salt today or tomorrow?"
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