Chapter 457: Didn't Make Things Difficult for Him
Lu Desheng thought that after he became the governor of Pingzhou, his hardship would be over and his happiness would come.
After all, a provincial governor is like a local emperor, without the pressure of a mother-in-law. So, can't he do whatever he wants?
But that's not the case.
My daughter and her subordinates want to build Pingzhou well.
The people want to live a good life.
Everyone worked very hard. In order to cultivate the land well, make the land produce more crops, and ensure that the people had enough to eat, they used all kinds of methods.
He felt embarrassed to be lazy, and then he became Lord Lu, who went out in spring and autumn, walking in the fields and encouraging people to farm.
Is it easy for him? He has worn out nearly ten pairs of shoes this year, just to make sure everyone's efforts are in vain.
Even the common people said that he was the most approachable official they had ever met.
Now that they can harvest, Song Mo actually wants to collect more taxes from them in Pingzhou?
This is intolerable, what else can’t be tolerated?
Seeing Lü Desheng's expression change, Prince Gong advised him, "One in thirty is what the common people should pay, and the court has not collected more."
Lu Desheng had a forced smile on his face. Was he playing a numbers game with him?
"Then tell me, what is the average yield per mu calculated by the court this year?" Every year, the court would send people to calculate the average yield per mu for that year, and then calculate the amount of taxes for landowners.
"Two hundred and eighty-one catties."
"That's 30% tax. In Pingzhou, the average tax per mu of land is 9 jin, 3 liang, and 6 qian."
"no."
Lu Desheng raised his eyelids and asked, "Why?"
Prince Gong said earnestly, "Lord Lu, your Pingzhou has a good harvest this year, so you should pay according to the actual output."
"Prince Gong, what production volume do you think should be used as a basis for taxation?"
"You in Pingzhou should just pay 400 catties per mu of land."
Four hundred catties? Lü Desheng was almost laughing in anger. This year, the highest yield from the best land in Pingzhou was only four hundred catties per mu. Such high-yield land was rare.
Not all the fields in Pingzhou are good fields. There are thin fields, medium fields and beautiful fields.
For example, there are many reclaimed fields in Pingzhou this year. These fields are very barren and the yield per mu is pitifully low. They cannot even be called thin fields.
Fortunately, the first three years of reclaimed land are tax-free, but after three years of cultivation, it will not become fertile all of a sudden, so the yield can be imagined.
Now the court sent Prince Gong to tell him that he worked so hard, his daughter worked so hard, and the common people worked so hard for a year, and the court wants to take away all the earnings from their labor?
"Oh, I see. Our Pingzhou harvest is higher this year, so we have to pay more. What if the harvest in other places is lower than the per-acre yield you calculated this year? Can we pay less? If so, that's no problem."
Prince Gong was speechless.
"Lord Lu, you should also understand the difficulties of the court." Prince Gong said earnestly.
Lu Desheng thought to himself, is he understanding Song Mo's difficulties? He did understand. Originally, the discovery of Longcheng Salt Lake was to be reported to the court. He had thought about finding a time to report it, but now? What report!
"Be good, and if you do this well, I can go back and say a few good words for you to the Emperor."
Lu Desheng: No, he doesn't want to be good! He's already been bullied, why should he be good? Put in a few good words for him to Song Mo? Do you think he cares?!
"Lü Desheng, don't forget your duty as an official appointed by the court!" What's wrong with Lü Desheng? Collecting taxes from the people is not like cutting his flesh, so why is he so opposed?
Lu Desheng almost rolled his eyes, "I haven't forgotten, but I'm still the local official." His voice was arrogant.
It wasn't that he had a high level of ideological awareness, and he would rather leave the extra grain he harvested to the common people than to give it to Song Mo.
If the late emperor was in power at that time, Lu Desheng would have done this without hesitation, even at the cost of his reputation.
But asking him to point a knife at the people who trusted him wholeheartedly just for Song Mo? Forget it.
"Prince Gong, is the court short of money and food?" Lu Desheng asked curiously.
Thinking that things had taken a turn for the better, Prince Gong quickly cheered up and said, "Yes, yes, you've been sent out. I wonder if the emperor and the ministers are really worried about you."
"This isn't right. I heard that Xie Zhan amassed 20 million taels of silver in Shujun and Gusu, and the Emperor just let him do what he wanted and didn't confiscate it?" Didn't he treat Xie Zhan well? If he needed money or food, he should have gone to Xie Zhan!
Prince Gong: ...It hurts.
"This is all a misunderstanding."
"Prince Gong, the Emperor can't always bully honest people."
Prince Gong sneered. What else could he say?
In the end, he could only say seriously, "Lord Lu, you should think about what I just said. I returned empty-handed, and the next person probably won't be as polite as I was."
"That's fine if you want to collect it this way. You can issue this order." He definitely won't take the blame.
Lü Desheng couldn't believe it. Prince Gong and the Emperor dared to force the people of Pingzhou to pay taxes based on a yield of 400 catties per mu? Weren't they afraid of public outrage? If they dared, he would respect their stubbornness.
Prince Gong quickly said, "Actually, you misunderstood. It is not necessary to use 400 catties per mu. The court just hopes that you in Pingzhou will pay taxes based on the actual output." He gave in.
What I mean is, let them pay a higher rate. Okay, thirty percent tax, right? Do you think he'll be afraid?
"That's perfectly fine. It's better not to trouble two masters for one thing. Since you, Prince Gong, have come to Pingzhou, why don't you wait until after the autumn harvest, count the grain, pay the taxes, and then return."
"Well, I'll think about it." Prince Gong was quite tempted, but it was still some time before the autumn harvest, and if he had to wait that long, he couldn't make a decision immediately.
However, when Prince Gong returned to the restaurant where he was staying and told his subordinates about this, his subordinates did not agree.
"Grain is easy to be stolen and is the most difficult to control. Especially for an official like Lü Desheng, if he lets the people have their hands free..."
Prince Gong frowned, "Lü Desheng wouldn't do that, would he?"
The subordinates said: Their prince is still naive and has no vigilance at all. At the same time, they sighed that Lu Desheng treated their prince very well and they were not harmed by him much.
"Forget it, I can't win this matter. Let's go back to Chang'an the day after tomorrow!" Prince Gong rubbed his eyebrows and felt tired.
His subordinates agreed with his decision.
…
"Dad, what is Prince Gong doing here?"
Lu Desheng explained his purpose of coming, "He's a good man. I didn't make things difficult for him."
Lu Songli was in deep thought. She was a little confused about Song Mo. It was clearly the calm before the storm. Wasn't there any general to remind him?
At this time, let alone paying more taxes, she planned to delay the collection of taxes originally sent to Chang'an every year and would not send them away immediately.
Now that Prince Gong has arrived, she thinks of Xie Zhan sending silver to Chang'an with great fanfare, and her eyes flash.
"Dad, I think you can promise him."
With his daughter's prompting, Lu Desheng finally understood. He immediately slapped his thigh in regret! He'd been so angry before, why hadn't he thought of this? They could just agree to it first. Then, whether the grain was looted or burned would be their decision.
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