Chapter 638 Preparing to Dig a Hole
Lu Wei jumped off the carriage and looked at his two subordinates who had returned driving the carriage. The subordinates shook their heads at him.
"It shouldn't be." Lu Wei touched his chin and looked at the three carriages with the Xie family emblem that he had specially modified.
Two or three of their carriages had been driving around the area for a few times.
"Isn't this enough to lure him in?" Lu Wei was puzzled. "Is there something wrong?"
Then, Lu Wei stayed in Haixing County, Leling County for another two days, but still caught nothing. He had to admit that the fish might have run away.
In the end, he had no choice but to leave Haixing County with his men.
…
After Xie Zhan was rescued, he was well taken care of and his wounds have now begun to scab over.
He looked at the wound and estimated that it would be completely healed in a few days.
Just then, his door was pushed open and a man came in.
"how?"
Liao Xuewang was a raw silk merchant. He had already joined Xie Zhan's team when Xie Zhan was still in the South. They also set up a scheme together for the merchants in Shu. He got a lot of money that time.
"Grand Commander, you are truly as foresighted as a god. I have already investigated what you asked me to investigate. There are indeed some people disguised as people from Pingzhou who have infiltrated the search and rescue operations for you."
"Also, Lu Wei actually claimed that you were his superior to gain their trust. The Lin siblings believed you, so they brought you home."
Xie Zhan nodded, he had guessed all of this.
"The people in Pingzhou are as cunning as foxes. Fortunately, the commander-in-chief is cautious by nature." Otherwise, he would be in trouble this time.
Liao Xuewang hadn't expected that if the Grand Commander was injured and fell into the sea, even the enemy would think he was doomed, and there would be no further action.
But it was not the case in Pingzhou. People seemed to believe that the Grand Admiral could survive even if he fell into the sea, and they were determined to cut off his chance of survival.
This method of cutting the grass at its roots really scares the opponent.
"Grand Commander, I have already sent the letter you requested. I believe Mr. Fan will receive it soon."
Xie Zhan: "Yeah, I understand."
"Also, I sent someone to the fishing village, but the Lin family had already left. I heard that the Lin brothers and sisters were taken away."
"He should have been taken away by people from Pingzhou." Xie Zhan said.
He had originally intended to have them sent away secretly. He didn't want to kill them, but he also didn't want the news of his survival to leak out from the two siblings.
He didn't want to show up so soon, he had his own plans.
This result is acceptable now. Pingzhou knows that he might be alive. So what? Guessing is just guessing.
Pingzhou, Changli Prefecture
"Governor, this is the content of the tax reform law that I advocated before." Zhang Zhongxian presented the sorted information.
Hongluo stepped forward to take it and handed it to Lu Songli.
"Governor, my family left home in such a hurry that they left everything behind except for some valuables."
Lu Songli knew this.
"I've left everything in my study behind. It contains my reading notes and other things. If someone at the court carefully sorts through them, they can pretty much unravel the contents of the Two Tax Law. If the governor wants to use this tax reform law, he should act quickly."
Lu Songli nodded, "Wait a moment."
She picked up the memorial presented by Zhang Zhongxian and opened it to read.
As the saying goes, it takes ten years to sharpen a sword. Zhang Zhongxian's tax reform law originally had the prototype of the Single Whip Law. Now, after so many years of his thinking and modification, it has become similar to the Single Whip Law.
Zhang Zhongxian's tax reform method is divided into three steps.
The first step is to survey the land and expand the scope of collection.
The second step was to unify the taxes and labor service, and to combine the land tax, labor service and other miscellaneous items of each state and county into one tax, thus simplifying the system.
The third step was to collect taxes based on the area of the land and to collect silver in taels. They only collected taxes converted into silver, thus avoiding corruption among local officials.
After reading it carefully, she exclaimed, "Boss Zhang is really talented."
Zhang Zhongxian stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Governor, you're too kind." He was very excited and happy that his achievements over the years had been recognized and praised by Lu Songli.
Xue Xu, Guo Chong and others were extremely curious. Zhang Zhongxian was a talented person who was invited back from Qingzhou by the governor from afar. Today's memorial was the first achievement he had shown. They also wanted to see whether Zhang Zhongxian was worthy of such kindness from the governor.
Lu Songli said, "You all take a look."
In a blink of an eye, the memorial was passed down and everyone rushed to read it.
All present were well-educated individuals, and having participated in all aspects of Pingzhou's management, their years of practical experience had transformed their talents, knowledge, and abilities from the abstract to the concrete. Each one of them became Lu Songli's right-hand man and the pillar of Pingzhou.
After reading this memorial, they felt their scalps tingling. They saw the power of Zhang Zhongxian's tax reform law.
"The governor is right, Master Zhang, you are truly a man of great talent."
"How did you come up with this tax reform law?"
"Governor, this law is more advanced than the two-tax law that was previously implemented."
Lu Songli smiled and said, that's for sure. You have to know that the Single Whip System was a successor to the Two Tax System of the Tang Dynasty and the precursor to the Land-based Tax System of the Qing Dynasty.
"When will we implement the new tax law?" Jiang Yizhou asked impatiently. Now he was in charge of Pingzhou's purse.
Lu Songli shook her head and said, "We are in no rush to implement the new tax law."
Everyone was puzzled. They looked at Lu Songli. Why was this happening?
Lu Songli just smiled and said, "Everyone, the military commander of Dali should be rescued."
Xue Xu was surprised. "He's still alive in such a desperate situation? This person is really lucky."
What to do when he feels inexplicably envious? He also wants such an invincible fate.
"Dali needs this new tax law more than we do." When Lu Songli said this, there was a smile on the corner of his mouth, and that smile was very meaningful.
Guo Chong, Xue Xu and others seemed to be thinking about something.
The news sent back by Lu Wei let Lu Songli know that Xie Zhan's life was safe.
She didn't want Xie Zhan to copy her homework. Moreover, she wanted to trick Xie Zhan, or rather, Dali.
In addition, tax reform is not an urgent matter for Pingzhou at present.
Moreover, of the three points involved in the new tax law, the land survey alone was enough to cause great resistance from the aristocratic families and large landowners. The aristocratic families and landlords in Dali who held large amounts of land were surely watching closely; implementing this now would only increase resistance to their attack on Dali.
Lu Songli knew that if Zhang Zhongxian's tax reform law was to be implemented, changes would definitely have to be made, and some corresponding preparations would have to be made.
The Ming Dynasty's "One Whip Law" can also be called the "Silk Tax on Population."
The Single Whip System changed taxation from being mainly in kind to being mainly in the form of currency, that is, silver.
Silver can replace any corvée or labor service, and silk can replace grain as a means of payment for land tax.
There is a loophole here.
In order to comfort Zhang Zhongxian, Lu Songli comforted Zhang Zhongxian. After all, he was dismissed because of the tax reform law ten years ago.
"Mr. Zhang, the implementation of this new tax law requires timing."
After these days of understanding, Zhang Zhongxian also knew that she was a master who planned before taking action, and he had no objection to her arrangements. "Then I will go to the Pingzhou Legislative Office first to work on the Pingzhou legislation."
"Okay. You'll be fully responsible for this matter. Just dispatch whoever you need."
When Zhang Zhongxian was leaving, he happened to meet his son Zhang Ci.
Now Zhang Ci has started working in the Pingzhou government office as a clerk.
"father!"
Seeing his son, he nodded and said, "I'm leaving now. You can go about your business. You don't have to see me off. Just work hard, okay?"
Zhang Ci could only stand in the distance and watch his father's hurried figure.
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