Chapter 149 Ding Tax
By the time the county magistrate's men arrived, Fu Mingyi and Xiao Qing had already left Xi County.
The officials returned to the county office, and the magistrate stroked his chin. "Are you sure it's a purple talisman?"
The household registration system of the Great Xiao Dynasty followed that of the previous dynasty and was basically linked to land. However, during the reign of Emperor Tianhe, due to the rapid development of the commodity economy, more people gave up their farmland and moved from the countryside to the county town to trade and open shops, and gradually commerce became a family business.
Therefore, in the later stages, although the household registration of this group of people was not linked to the land, they were still strictly registered in the county.
These people did not have any documents to prove their household registration that they could carry with them. If they wanted to travel to other cities, they needed to carry a "travel permit" issued by the local government to pass through.
However, people of high status would carry talismans with them. The talismans of the Great Xiao Dynasty came in various materials, including wood, bone, and jade, each signifying different statuses and serving different purposes. They also differed in color. The most valuable were the jade talismans used by the imperial family, followed by the bone talismans used by princes and nobles, and then the wooden talismans used by high-ranking officials in the court.
The purple talisman... even if it's made of wood, indicates an official rank far higher than that of a county magistrate.
The county magistrate wondered if some important official or someone close to him had recently come to Xi County.
The official below hesitated for a moment, then said, "I do see that it's purple..."
"Is the purple one a talisman?" the magistrate continued to ask.
"This..." Now that he couldn't find anyone, he became uncertain again.
"It looks like a talisman..."
What material is it made of?
"I only saw a corner at the time, and didn't see it clearly..."
The magistrate rubbed his temples. "Tell me what happened again."
The officer then explained it again in detail.
The magistrate listened to the story twice, thought about it carefully, and said, "Go and ask the people at the city gate if they have seen these two people leave the city. Also, keep an eye on the wonton stall for a few more days, just in case."
The officials below quickly agreed and went out to carry out their duties.
The magistrate silently wondered if he should send a letter to Nanhua in the north to inquire about it.
At this moment, Fu Mingyi and Xiao Qing, each on a fast horse, were heading towards Feng County in Yingzhou.
In recent years, Xiao Qing has been learning horsemanship and archery. Although she struggles with archery, her horsemanship is excellent.
She felt this was related to the movement techniques she had learned from Mr. Wu.
She had many questions in her mind, but didn't know where to begin. Besides, Fu Mingyi was riding his horse at a fast pace, and the cold wind was blowing in her ears all the way, so she didn't have time to ask anything.
After they finally had a short rest, Xiao Qing asked, "What happened in Xi County?"
Fu Mingyi was grooming the horse when she heard her ask, and replied, "It's nothing serious."
He turned his head slightly to the side. "Are you curious?"
Xiao Qing nodded. Wasn't this obvious?
Which part is you curious about?
Xiao Qing had so many things she was curious about.
Moreover, after returning, Fu Mingyi quickly decided to abandon the carriage and switch to a lightly equipped horse, leaving the city almost immediately.
The speed was as if it were avoiding some kind of trouble.
Fu Mingyi certainly wouldn't make such a decision without a reason.
“I didn’t quite understand it from the wonton stall. You’ve been rushing all this time and wouldn’t explain properly, but why are we in such a hurry? Will they come back to find us?”
Fu Mingyi said, "Since you asked, let me test you. Do you know who in our South Campus is exempt from paying the poll tax?"
Xiao Qing thought for a moment, "At the very least, they should have an official position. Princes, nobles, and imperial relatives are not required to pay the poll tax."
Fu Mingyi nodded. "Why don't these people have to pay the poll tax?"
this……
"Didn't my elder brother teach me that this is a continuation of the previous dynasty's practices?"
Fu Mingyi nodded again, "It's true that we're following the old system. However, does Qingran think it's reasonable to continue using it in Nanxiao?"
Seeing that he was asking seriously, Xiao Qing shook his head and said, "Of course it doesn't make sense."
"What's unreasonable about it?"
Xiao Qing thought for a moment, "If some people pay and some don't, then the national tax revenue is essentially doubled by those who pay. How can that be reasonable?"
Fu Mingyi gave her an approving look. "But even though it's unreasonable, why wasn't it canceled?"
Xiao Ting understood something.
She put the events of the past few days together into a coherent picture.
"Does my elder brother want to abolish the poll tax?"
This is not an easy task.
Even if she didn't care about politics, she knew that doing this would mean taking away the interests of a large number of people.
Even with her limited knowledge of history, she could foresee that even if Fu Mingyi succeeded in the end, his fate would not be good.
Throughout history, reformers and politicians who ushered in new eras, even centuries later when people recognize their achievements and ideas, have rarely retired gracefully to enjoy their later years.
To be honest, she didn't want to see Fu Mingyi end up in such a miserable state.
Fu Mingyi groomed the horse's mane and fed it a sugar cube. The horse then happily wagged its tail, wanting to get closer to Fu Mingyi.
"I'd like to, but it's not the right time yet."
"So, is this one of the reasons for your trip to Yingzhou?"
Do you know why people from Dingzhou are migrating to Yingzhou?
Xiao Qing understood immediately.
"Yingzhou has light taxes."
Fu Mingyi nodded. "That's one aspect."
"What's the other aspect?"
“Yingzhou has a lot of land but few people, so the local military often farms during peacetime and abandons the fields during wartime.”
He patted the horse's head and said, "Over the past three years, soldiers have been recruited and military affairs have been reorganized in various places. As the daily training has increased, the fields have become barren and no one has cultivated them. Therefore, Yingzhou has introduced a tax reduction policy to attract people from all over the country."
Xiao Qing nodded. Tax cuts directly benefit people, so many people will definitely be willing to come here.
"Qingran, think about it, is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
Xiao Qing thought about it carefully. She originally wanted to say that it should be considered a good thing, but after changing her perspective, she understood what Fu Mingyi meant.
For Yingzhou, with more people, the land is managed, tax revenue increases, and economic output rises, which is naturally a good thing.
However, for places where people are migrating out, they will suffer a lot under the same tax burden.
The most direct result is that people who stay in the state will pay more taxes, and then these people will be more inclined to leave.
If this continues, it will become a vicious cycle.
Fu Mingyi knew that Xiao Qing had figured it out.
She always learns things very quickly, but she doesn't like to express her thoughts in front of him and Xiao Yan.
On one occasion, he was giving a lecture to them and talked about the southward migration of people from Jiangzhou.
He seemed to have asked how to deal with this phenomenon before.
Xiao Yan spoke eloquently, but she remained silent.
He happened to see her glance at Xiao Yan, seemingly disapproving. But no matter how he asked, Xiao Qing didn't express her opinion.
At this moment, Xiao Qing nodded, so going to Yingzhou must be for more than just investigating Zhao Ziyuan or Feng Zhengmin.
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