kvmb Chapter 464 increased by 2%.
Chapter 464 increased by 2%.
After getting off the carriage, Huang Ting looked at the two soldiers guarding the city who were on high alert and said gently, "We are the caravan of the Prince of Qing's Mansion. Please let us pass."
Although Huang Ting's voice was gentle, it carried an undeniable air of authority.
As the chief secretary of the Qingwang Mansion, he was second only to the emperor in Qingzhou. Even the prefect of the prefectural city had to treat him with respect, let alone the city guards of Taiping County.
To be honest, Huang Ting was also angry that his convoy had been stopped, but he didn't bother to argue with two lowly city guards.
"Sir, we need to check."
The two city guards exchanged a glance but persisted in their inspection.
Seeing this, a hint of anger flashed in Huang Ting's eyes. He had tried his best to control his temper, but... these two arrogant soldiers seemed to have no regard for him at all.
However, considering the purpose of his trip, Huang Ting chose to suppress his anger and ordered the royal guards behind him, "Let them inspect."
"Yes."
The warriors of the royal palace responded in unison, and so, the two city guards naturally began to inspect the convoy.
After checking and confirming that there were no contraband items, the two city guards respectfully said to Huang Ting, "Sir, you may enter."
Huang Ting glanced at the two soldiers, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes. If this were in Qingzhou Prefecture, these two would already be beheaded.
However, considering the purpose of his trip, Huang Ting did not choose to dwell on it. Instead, he turned around and returned to his carriage, which then slowly started moving and entered the county town.
"The magistrate of Taiping County is quite capable."
Huang Ting lifted the curtain of the carriage window and nodded as he looked out at the scenery. Taiping County was far less prosperous than the prefectural city, but compared to the other county towns he had seen along the way, the people of Taiping County seemed to be quite healthy.
To Huang Ting's surprise, the commerce in Taiping County seemed extremely prosperous, with a large number of small vendors going from street to street, selling their goods to the people.
The shops along the street were also dazzling, and a large number of people were going in and out of the shops, giving people a lively feeling.
"master."
The coachman turned back to the carriage and asked, "Where are we going?"
"Go to the county government office."
"it is good."
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of the county government office. Before Huang Ting could get out of the carriage, Xu Zhiwen from inside the county government office hurried over and respectfully bowed in front of the carriage, saying, "Welcome, Chief Secretary of the Prince of Qing's Mansion."
Xu Zhiwen is no longer the figurehead he once was, but a powerful county magistrate.
It can be said that nothing in Taiping County escaped Xu Zhiwen's eyes, and he naturally knew about the arrival of the Qingwang Mansion's convoy in the county town.
To be honest, Xu Zhiwen was completely stunned when he first heard the news. The Qingwang Mansion was far away in Qingzhou Prefecture, so why would it come to such a remote place as Taiping County?
Xu Zhiwen had served as the magistrate of Taiping County for several years and had never seen anyone from the Prince's Mansion appear in Taiping County before. Unexpectedly, someone from the Prince's Mansion suddenly arrived today, and it was the Prince's Mansion's chief secretary.
As an official appointed by the imperial court, Xu Zhiwen naturally knew what the position of the chief secretary of the Prince's Palace was.
Strictly speaking, the chief secretary of the prince's mansion could be considered an official of the imperial court, with the responsibility of supervising and advising the prince. However, in reality, the chief secretary of the prince's mansion, as an official appointed by the imperial court, was often considered a retainer of the prince!
After all... once you become the chief clerk of the Prince's mansion, you need to live there for a long time and spend every day with the Prince. Under such circumstances, the chief clerk of the Prince's mansion is easily won over by the Prince, and his relationship with the Prince is much closer than that with the imperial court.
If the chief clerks of other princely residences are like this, one can imagine how it is for the chief clerk of the Prince of Qing's residence.
Given the Qing King's domineering nature, if the chief secretary of the Qing King's mansion were loyal to the court, he probably wouldn't even live to see the next day.
Therefore, Xu Zhiwen was almost certain that the Chief Secretary of the Prince's Mansion who had suddenly arrived in Taiping County must be a confidant of the Prince of Qing, and his arrival was very likely at the behest of the Prince of Qing.
In his heart, Xu Zhiwen did not have any good feelings towards the Prince of Qing, but the Prince of Qing was, after all, a prince of the Xia Kingdom. As a shrewd and calculating official of the court, he would not show his dissatisfaction with the Prince of Qing. Instead, he solemnly went out to greet him.
"Are you Xu Zhiwen, the magistrate of Taiping County?"
Huang Ting lifted the carriage curtain and asked indifferently, his condescending attitude suggesting he didn't take Xu Zhiwen seriously at all.
In fact, he really didn't take Xu Zhiwen seriously.
In Huang Ting's eyes, the magistrate of a remote county was just a low-ranking official, not someone he would even look at with any respect.
"Yes, I am Xu Zhiwen."
Xu Zhiwen lowered his head and answered respectfully.
"Ah."
Huang Ting nodded, then got out of the car and said, "Let's go inside and talk!"
After saying this, Huang Ting led the warriors from the Prince's Mansion into the county government office, as if he were the master of the office.
A hint of dissatisfaction flashed in Xu Zhiwen's eyes as he fell behind Huang Ting, but he did not show it. Instead, he stepped forward and followed behind Huang Ting and the others.
Upon arriving at the main hall of the county government, Huang Ting sat down in Xu Zhiwen's seat without hesitation and said to Xu Zhiwen, "I have come here today to inform you of something."
"May I ask what business it is with the Chief Secretary?"
Xu Zhiwen bowed respectfully and asked the question.
"The matter of taxation."
Huang Ting cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards the south and said, "The imperial court has decreed that all counties in Qingzhou must increase their tax revenue by 20% this autumn harvest!"
20%!
Xu Zhiwen's heart sank, and his expression changed drastically.
Prior to this, agricultural taxes in Qingzhou had reached as high as 50%, meaning that farmers had to hand over at least 50% of the produce from each crop as taxes.
The mere 50% tax burden was already unbearable for the people, with many going hungry and some even starving to death...
Now the price will increase by another 20%, meaning that farmers will have to hand over 70% of their harvest after planting a single crop...
This is sending the people of Qingzhou to their deaths!
Xu Zhiwen felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that the effects of the cold disaster were still ongoing. People who used to be able to grow two crops a year could now only grow one, and their annual harvest was half of what it used to be!
And of that, the imperial court would take 70% of it!
In other words, the people would have to rely on 30% of the grain they grow in the first half of the year to survive the whole year, which is obviously impossible. Once this order is issued, Xu Zhiwen doesn't know how many bandits will appear in Taiping County, or even... a large-scale rebellion!
"Chief Secretary."
Xu Zhiwen forced himself to ask, "A 50% grain tax is already an unbearable burden for the people of Taiping County. Isn't a 70% grain tax a bit excessive?"
"pass?"
Huang Ting chuckled lightly, “Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king. All the land under heaven belongs to the country. Now that the country is facing difficulties, the people who occupy these lands naturally need to hand over more grain.”