"Madam, you don't have to worry about today's affairs. Besides, I'm just venting my anger on you!" Although Yang Ji was held down, he didn't relax at all: "He went to Suzhou and said he saved the Tang family.

Girl, but later, he took her as a concubine! Tell me, is there anyone who can save people like him? Mrs. Lin Si, you don’t know how miserable their lives were when we met them!

Now, Bo Yuan is sending Lin Si to a dead end with his own hands! Let me tell you, I made an agreement with Bo Yuan back then. If one day he no longer wants to be a good official, I will chop him to death! Then I will

The worst case scenario is suicide! Just let them go, and I will fulfill the promise I made back then today!"

"Yang Ji, how many years have you been with the Master, why are you still so confused!" Kong Luhua said angrily: "Why are you helping me to vent my anger? Let me tell you, I have now recognized Qingyun as my sister, and she is part of our family.

!If you dare to touch a hair of Sister Qingyun, I want you to look good! As for Lin Si, why don’t you think about it, is the master stupid? As for doing something that harms others and does not benefit oneself, such as trapping Lin Si? As for Lin Si

The land is gone. Is that the master’s original intention? Besides, if Lin Si is in trouble, will the master sit idly by and ignore it? The master has already thought about it. Master will buy as much land as the Lin family has. In the future, the Ruan family will

Naturally, I will support him until he is old! How about it? What else are you dissatisfied with?" Ruan Yuan was puzzled for a moment when he heard Kong Luhua's words. He thought about it for a while before he understood it. Kong Luhua also wanted to help him out, so she helped him out.

Lin Si’s method.

Yang Ji felt a lot calmer after being rebuked by Kong Luhua, but thinking about Ruan Yuan glaring at him, he still felt dissatisfied and still argued: "Madam, you are eloquent, I admit that I can't speak to you.

But don't you also know what Boyuan has done in the past few years? He has deceived the people again and again, and he is no longer what he was before! I can't stand what he is doing now!"

"What are you doing in a daze? Get him out quickly!" Kong Luhua also knew that it was difficult for Yang Ji to understand what Ruan Yuan was doing at this time. It was impossible for him to explain clearly at the moment, so he had to restore order at home first. At that time, the four soldiers

They all stepped forward. Although Yang Ji was very skilled, he could not beat eight hands with two fists, so he was still pushed out. Kong Luhua also quickly said to Ruan Yuan: "Master, I asked Jiang Er to invite the 100-year-old man at the door.

It’s time to go to Hutang. Master, hurry up and come over. You must have a follow-up solution to this issue of squatters."

"Thank you so much, madam, but she's not fully recovered yet, so why bother doing this today?" Ruan Yuan looked at his wife who was still a little haggard, and felt distressed.

"Master, after all, the way Yang Ji suddenly treated you today is the result of what you did before. If I hadn't brought someone here in time, I don't know what your life would be like now." Kong Luhua's words also changed.

He couldn't help but feel a bit resentful, but after the resentment, he became solemn and said: "Today I asked someone to take him down. I guess he won't make trouble again for a while. But Master, to untie the bell, you have to tie the bell. You

Only you can explain clearly to him what he did. What you should do now is to stabilize that Bai Ling first. You also know what to do next, right?"

"Hmm...Okay, I know how to do the rest." Ruan Yuan also rearranged his clothes and went to Shouhu Hall. Seeing that both of them were persuaded to leave, Kong Luhua gradually let out a sigh of relief.

.

In the afternoon of this day, Yang Ji simply went out to eat. Everyone in the Ruan family looked at the dining table and felt a little uncomfortable when they saw that one of their family members was missing. Fortunately, Ruan Chengxin also returned home from outside at this time.

Everyone sat down to dine as usual. Ruan Chengxin looked at Ruan Yuan with a sense of injustice on his face, and asked him: "Bo Yuan, my father always feels relieved when you do things normally, but today, my father can't understand it. You

When it comes to Yang Jiji's temper, we two should know best? Why did you start scolding him instead?"

Before Ruan Yuan could answer, Kong Luhua already knew Ruan Yuan's intentions, so she rushed to Ruan Chengxin and said, "Dad, actually, I know very well about today's incident. Master, why did he suddenly become angry with Yang Ji? If Master has been in Zhejiang for the past three years, I just want to

In order to be a peace governor, doing more is better than doing less. I guess I can tolerate the scolding today. But the master is not that kind of person? In the past three years, the master has gone from fighting pirates to providing disaster relief, running schools, and eliminating abuses.

Clearing the accounts, what are these for? Isn’t it all for the sake of governing the Qingming Dynasty and allowing the people to see prosperity again? But precisely because of this, the master is even more reluctant to be compared with those corrupt officials. Yang Ji today is also a momentary

I'm confused. Seeing some unsatisfactory aspects in the Master's new policy, I thought that the Master was trying to harm the people. Dad, tell me, the Master has done so many things with great effort on weekdays, but in the end he still has to be scolded. In his heart

Do you feel good?"

"Madam, there is no need to say any more." Ruan Yuan sighed: "I have already thought about Lin Si's matter. Madam, I did the right thing. I will ask Lin Si about his property tomorrow and buy his property at the market price. After that, we will

Yangzhou also bought a few more acres of land for him to live in, and he wouldn't have to worry about it for the rest of his life. As for the other shack dwellers, Haer and Baizhengtai had also discussed it, and Linhai County just reported it the day before yesterday, saying that there were dozens of hectares of land.

If they can still be cultivated, move them over there. In the final analysis, dad, children are all incompetent. Children try to make advantages and eliminate disadvantages in many things, but the solutions they come up with often lead to new problems. Perhaps, it is precisely this.

Am I so smart that I almost harmed Lin Si’s family?”

"Boyuan, there is nothing perfect about being an official, right?" Ruan Chengxin said: "Especially now that the world's population is increasing day by day, and every change in government orders will affect the lives and fortunes of many people. If you want to achieve benefits and eliminate disadvantages,

, how can it be solved by establishing a few new systems and abolishing a few old ones? If you can worry about the world's worries first and take the initiative to change those bad policies, in Dad's opinion, it is already very difficult.

As for other things, sometimes you can only see the shortcomings of the new system after it is implemented. But even so, it is better than turning a blind eye while knowing that the old system has serious disadvantages. And having said that, Dad has thought of a few things here.

If you change it now and do it, you might not have so many worries. Are you willing to listen?"

"Please give me some advice from dad," Ruan Yuandao said.

"Now, Zhejiang still has two things that need to be done as soon as possible." Ruan Chengxin said: "The first is tariffs. My father heard about the disadvantages of taxation at Beixin Customs when he first came to Hangzhou. Many customs officials just want to collect more commercial taxes.

They continued to increase the tax value, and even collected taxes at the same tax place repeatedly. They thought they could collect more taxes in this way, but they didn't want to know that Beixinguan's reputation for heavy taxes had long been spread. Businessmen all knew that the taxes here were heavy, and they would

Are you going to take the initiative to pay taxes? The other thing is what Litang said. It is the autumn grain collection recently, and Litang has heard a lot among the people. When the autumn grains are collected, county officials are most likely to cheat. They often steal official warehouses, or use long-term officials to collect taxes.

I think that if the disadvantages of these two things can be eliminated, it will be of great benefit to the people without any harm. You were busy with the coastal defense and seawall affairs before. Dad knows that you are incapable of doing anything else, but

Now, it's time to address these issues."

"If this is the case, I will prepare it today." Ruan Yuan naturally knew that the matter of the merchant tax official's warehouse was also crucial to making up for the shortfall.

At this time, I suddenly heard Jiang Er say outside the door: "Master, just now Mr. Wu's servants arrived at Fuyuan and said... Mr. Wu's caravan went south this time and was detained at Beixinguan. I heard that every car and every box there was

Taxes will be added to the goods, and Mr. Wu is negotiating with the customs officials over there. What should we do about this matter?"

"It's just an opportunity!" Ruan Yuan said: "Jiang Er, hurry up and prepare the sedan. I will go to Beixinguan in a moment. If it is really about officials' excessive tax increase, I will get rid of it today. Zhejiang's commercial tax problem cannot be solved anymore.

dragged."

Jiang Er left in response. After Ruan Yuan had lunch, he also hurriedly boarded the sedan and headed all the way to Beixinguan. Beixinguan was more than ten miles away from Hangzhou, so it was already sunset when Ruan Yuan arrived in the sedan.

When Ruan Yuan got off his sedan chair, he saw an endless stream of Wu Kangcheng's caravans and horses, all of which were parked outside the customs and unable to go south. Wu Kangcheng was sitting quietly aside, confronting more than ten customs officials, and no one was willing to give in.

"What's the reason why you can't let me go after the confrontation here?" Ruan Yuan also stepped forward and asked Wu Kangcheng and the officials.

"My lord, when these merchants enter the customs, we collect business taxes according to the regulations, but we don't want them to keep making excuses, saying that they don't want to pay the taxes. The little people have no choice but to wait for these few hours." A customs official said.

The official came forward and said.

"Lord Zhongcheng, why don't you come and comment on it?" Wu Kangcheng also stepped forward and bowed to Ruan Yuan: "These customs officials told me at noon that when our cars enter the customs, each car will be taxed according to its size.

Car tax. As far as I know, this method of increasing car tax based on size has already appeared in the early years of Qianlong's reign. Later, Emperor Gaozong considered that the car tax was collected in addition to the regular tax. It was inconvenient for business travelers, so he incorporated the car tax into the tax.

Regular taxes are levied together. But why do these customs officials have to collect commercial taxes once today? If this is the case, then every car here will have to collect vehicle taxes twice. What is the reason?

?Also, these officials have just told me that if any of our clerks carry luggage or packages, each package will also be taxed. Sir Zhongcheng, I have never heard of this matter. When the tax was levied previously,

You have never collected this parcel tax?" When Ruan Yuan looked at the official again, he saw that his expression was as usual, and he knew that Wu Kangcheng's words were not false.

"I see, I understand." After hearing this, Ruan Yuan said to the leading customs official: "The fault of this dispute lies entirely with you and others for excessively imposing commercial taxes! The court has a fixed amount for the customs tax collection law at Beixin Customs.

Having been in charge of Zhejiang for three years, I naturally know that what Mr. Wu said is completely in line with the old taxation rules, but I don’t know which court decree you are basing your move to increase commercial taxes on? If there is no legal procedure to follow, you

Why are all the merchants' parcels that have never been taxed included as taxable items?!"

"This...this..." After hearing Ruan Yuan's words, the official couldn't answer for a moment, so he could only hesitate and said: "Sir, I really don't know what the law is, but this car tax and parcel tax, I don't know what the laws are.

It was already there before I went on duty, and the villain is still doing his routine, without adding a single centimeter, right?"

"Taxing taxes without rules and regulations is a bad rule. Don't you even know this?" Ruan Yuan scolded.

"Lord Zhongcheng, I'm late." At this time, an official who looked like a ninth-grade official hurried over. It seemed that he was the customs ambassador of Beijing Xinguan. When the tax envoy saw Ruan Yuan, he also quickly bowed down and said: "Sir, Zhongcheng

"It's the humble officials who are stupid and have offended the lord. I will definitely punish them severely when I go back today. As for these businessmen, I will let them go now. I hope that the lord will be magnanimous and spare them."

"Ambassador, I can let them go today, but what about tomorrow and next year?" Ruan Yuan scolded the tax envoy: "I heard clearly just now that in Beixinguan, your officials don't know the laws and the officials don't know the amount of taxes. They only know the amount of taxes."

There are many bad practices, and bad rules are added layer by layer! I let these merchants go over today, and other merchants will come tomorrow. They don't know the rules of the court, they only know to tax according to the amount left by the previous subordinates. Maybe one of them will be clever and add more

After a few strokes, the next customs officials came and collected even more taxes than today! If this continues, how much more tax can you collect from Beixinguan? Your reputation for excessive tax collection at Beixinguan has already spread out.

!If you continue to be so perfunctory, I’m afraid no one will be willing to do business in Hangzhou in a few years!”

"But Master Zhongcheng, so are the villains..." The tax envoy was still thinking of arguing with Ruan Yuan, and said: "Isn't this a huge deficit for the imperial court? If I, the villain, collect more business taxes here, can't I also share the worries of the imperial court?

"

"If you think so, you are completely wrong!" Ruan Yuandao said: "What you see is just an increase in taxes for a moment, but have you ever thought about it? Seeing that taxes here are getting heavier, businessmen will only find other ways. In the future, they will

I won't come again, and the taxes you collect here will only be far lower than before! But if you can publicize the customs customs of the imperial court, every time a business traveler passes through the customs, the tax will be completely based on the customs. The merchants will see that you are fair and selfless,

On the contrary, I will believe you and be more willing to pass through here! By that time, you will naturally be able to collect more taxes! This is Hangzhou, which is the place with the most frequent business trips. Why do you need to add superfluous things and do things that harm the people?

!”

Having said that, Ruan Yuan also issued an order: "From tomorrow onwards, you will do as I say. First, make the types and amounts of the duties levied determined by the court public to the public! In this way, merchants will naturally know what to do when they cross Beixinguan.

Pay taxes, pay any amount of tax, and merchants will naturally be convinced by the imperial court's customization! Also, if your officials are like today, in addition to customs, they will levy taxes indiscriminately and impose bad rules, and the method of disposal will be clearly stated on the side.

If any official behaves like this, merchants will be allowed to go to the city and complain directly to the Fuyuan, the vassal, and the government! If the Fuyuan and the vassal prove it to be true, the official will be fired directly and will never be used again! Do you hear me clearly?

"

"Sir, this... this really won't... won't the tax collected not even reach the tax payable?" The tax envoy was still a little confused. According to the regulations of the imperial court, Beixinguan must report at least 107,000 taels a year.

business tax, so tax envoys will worry about insufficient tax collection.

"Of course not. When the time comes, you may be able to collect more business taxes here. If you don't believe it, then just follow my method and practice it for one year. After one year, you will naturally find out!" Ruan Yuandao.

From the next day, Ruan Yuan, together with officials from Hangzhou Prefecture and Qiantang Renhe County, announced the amount of tariffs and regulations levied at Beixinguan on wooden boards. Just like the previous disaster relief in Shoukang Village, the wooden boards were posted at Beixinguan before entering the customs.

They are arranged one by one. As long as merchants pass through the pass, they can see the wooden boards and naturally know the business tax levied.

With the announcement of commercial taxes, officials no longer dared to impose arbitrary rules. In the following year, there were several cases of unclear taxation for officials. After the merchants reported it to the Fu Yuan, Ruan Yuan would send officials who had abused the rules.

They were dismissed one by one with a stick. Seeing that Ruan Yuan enforced the law strictly, other officials gradually restrained themselves. Ruan Yuan made another couplet of his own and posted it at the Beixinguan Pass. The text of the couplet is:

In ancient times, there were no barriers at the pass, but later generations had to set up passes as a last resort. You should understand this meaning.

The state's endowments are in a certain way, but if the small people lose their endowment according to their share, can they be resented?

For a time, the reputation of Beixinguan for excessive taxation was eliminated, but the selfless tax collection gradually became known. Unknowingly, the number of business travelers entering and leaving Beixinguan increased several times than before. At the same time, the poet Yue Jun once wrote a poem:

When I ask people who come and go, they all say that the pass is easy to pass. Ask the officials how they can do it, and the envoys will not be too harsh. Taxes will be abundant, so how can there be many snares? The water is clear and the sand is clean, and the good and bad officials will be eliminated.

The poet Tan Guangxiang also said:

I also heard that recently on Hangzhou Road, the malpractice of searching by officials and officials has been eliminated.
Chapter completed!