Hearing Feng Qing'an say such wild words, the old man looked at him in disbelief. Although this person was a nobleman brought back by Mr. Zhou, even the Zhou family had no right to interfere with the various government orders issued by the county magistrate.
Sir, can you?
"I just passed the Tongsheng exam not long ago, and I'm not much better than Bai Shen. However, my brother has been transferred to the local government and served as the governor of Gunzhou. The magistrate of your county should listen carefully to what I say!"
Feng Qing'an smiled and said, his eldest brother was delegating to the frontier, and he was a real frontier official. He had military power in his hands. After all, it was the frontier. If he couldn't get the military power, wouldn't it be a joke.
"Zhou Mu, how big an official is that?"
When the old man heard about such an official position, he was a little confused.
"Below one person and above ten thousand people, the only one who can control my brother is probably the emperor!"
Feng Qing'an was a little humble on behalf of his brother. He felt that the old emperor most likely had no control over his eldest brother, otherwise he would not even abide by the rules and treat his eldest brother before he was crowned.
He decentralized it and gave it such great authority.
"It turns out that you are really a noble person, and you asked the great master to save us. We really can't survive!"
After understanding Feng Qing'an's origin and background, the old man burst into tears and pretended to kneel down to Feng Qing'an again.
The men, women, and children following behind him were also very clever. After Feng Qingan introduced his origins, they fell to their knees like a wheat field blown down by the wind.
"Master Qingtian, please make the decision for us!"
"Please give me some advice, sir!"
"Please show mercy and reduce taxes, my mother-in-law will stop having milk!"
Suddenly, the fields were filled with cries and howls, which moved those who heard it.
"This dog officer!"
Behind Feng Qing'an, a bear-like warrior clenched his fists, with an evil look in his eyes.
"I can help you, but you have to let me know what happened first."
Feng Qing'an felt a headache when she saw the men, women and children in front of her crying.
"My lord, you don't know that our county magistrate is very dark-hearted. You have also seen the situation in the fields. If the Dragon King doesn't rain water, we can only let the seedlings grow in the fields even if we work very hard."
so high,
It’s hard to say whether there will be a harvest this year, but the county magistrate won’t leave us a way to survive. If we don’t collect taxes from previous years, then the county magistrate will also charge canal taxes and irrigation taxes!”
An old farmer whose face had no more vertical ravines than the cracked earth in the field rambled on. His words were full of despair, and there was also a trace of imperceptible resentment.
In previous years, when the harvest was good, it was already very difficult to pay taxes. Now that the harvest is bad, taxes are not reduced but are increased. Who can bear this?
"Canal tax? Irrigation tax?"
"This is just a pretext for the officials to take away the blood and sweat of our people. They say that in order to prevent drought, there is not enough water to irrigate the farmland, so they have to collect taxes to build reservoirs and build canals!"
"sounds good!"
On the surface, this is acceptable, but when implemented, it becomes very problematic to force people to sell their sons and daughters.
"But the tax has been collected, but we haven't seen the reservoirs or canals. We haven't even seen a bit of wet mud, so the irrigation tax is collected for no reason."
"That's not all. I heard that the officials in the county are planning to impose corvee labor and let us collect stones, build reservoirs, and dig channels!"
"We have already paid the tax, so why do we still need to repair the reservoir? Whose pocket is this money collected from?"
Men, women, old and young, who were obviously from the same village, were talking incessantly, their eyes showing indignation, and an obvious resentment boiling in their bodies.
Public resentment!
"How long has the magistrate of our county been in office? When did these taxes begin to be collected?"
Feng Qingan asked warmly.
"It seems that the magistrate of our county took office two years ago. It turns out that gentleman has been promoted!"
"What a good person, why can't you continue to be a good person?"
"Yes, it would be great if the original county magistrate was here, maybe he would reduce our taxes!"
When Feng Qing'an asked about the length of the current county magistrate's reign, these farmers and women talked a lot, and even missed the previous county magistrate who had been promoted.
There are differences only when there is comparison, and only when they are lost can one realize the beauty. They are just farmers in the field, and they only care about their own one-third of an acre.
But after the new county magistrate took office, they realized how good the original magistrate, who never imposed excessive taxes and levies, seemed inconspicuous and had no sense of existence to them, was really.
But regret is of no use, as the promoted county magistrate cannot return to Pingwu County.
"How much does your county magistrate charge for this dealer's tax, canal tax, and irrigation tax? Can you tell me?"
"Half of the dealer's tax must be paid. Canal tax and irrigation tax are all collected according to the head of each family. One person has two taels of silver. Even newborn babies have to pay!"
"Two taels of silver? That's too much!"
Feng Qing'an, who has experienced a poor life, knows what two taels of silver means to ordinary farmers.
In a city, two taels of silver may not buy a plate of good food, but in a village or town, this is enough to meet the generous food and clothing expenses of a family of five.
The most exorbitant thing is that this private tax is not collected based on household registration, but is spread out based on the head of the family. Based on the child-rearing habits of ordinary farmers, each household has to pay almost ten taels of silver. If there are more children, it may even be doubled.
Not only that, it’s no wonder that people are selling their sons and daughters one after another.
This is not only because you can't afford to pay even if you sell iron, but also because you want to avoid taxes. The amount of tax is calculated based on the head of the family, so the number of people in the family is reduced.
I have to admit that the county magistrate who raises taxes privately is really a living beast!
"Yeah, this tax is really too much. We idiots like us can't afford it even if we sell our sons and daughters!"
Hearing Feng Qing'an's comments like this, the old man couldn't help crying.
"Don't worry, old man. I will go to the county office and talk to your county magistrate. This tax will probably be canceled from today!"
Feng Qing'an smiled and reassured.
"Sir, can you really persuade the county magistrate not to collect taxes?"
One farmer was still skeptical. The surprise came so suddenly that he couldn't believe it.
"Whether it's possible or not, we'll be able to tell in the next two days. Just go back with your children first. If you don't collect taxes, you can just keep this baby alive!"
Feng Qingan asked these poor people to take all their children back.
"Thank you sir!"
"Quick, kowtow to the noble man!"
Although they were skeptical, Feng Qing'an said so. Naturally, this group of farmers had nothing to say. They were just waiting for two days. So, this group of people kowtowed and bowed, but also gave way to the road.
He came out so that Feng Qingan and his party could pass.
"Sir, shall we go to the county government office to find Magistrate Dog?"
After getting some distance away from a group of villagers who were still kowtowing, Zhou Yiyang finally understood how miserable the lives of ordinary people that he could see almost every day were, and couldn't help but ask.
"No, you take me to the surrounding villages to have a look first. I want to see what the specific situation is?"
"yes!"
This time, the eldest young master of the Zhou family was willing to be Feng Qingan's leader. Before, he just didn't understand the sufferings of the people below, but when he really came into contact with it, he was greatly shocked.
Although their family is quite powerful in the local area, no matter how powerful they are, they cannot interfere with government taxation. They can only prevent those messy miscellaneous taxes from being paid to their family. Therefore, this young master Zhou really hopes that this
Mr. Feng can abolish these unreasonable taxes.
For the next half day, Feng Qing'an and his party visited several villages in Pingwu County, looking for villagers to understand the basic situation. Because Zhou Dashao, a local celebrity, was present, Feng Qing'an's inquiries went smoothly.
"The dog officer, it's really the dog officer!"
"Damn it!"
After the situation was roughly understood, Feng Qingan and his party, from top to bottom, were all livid, with angry expressions on their faces and curses. Even Butler Zhao, who had lived for two hundred years, couldn't help but tighten his grip.
He used his fists and squeezed the water and fire sticks on his body from time to time.
Because as Feng Qingan expected, the magistrate of Pingwu County, who could toss the canal tax and irrigation tax, naturally could not only have such a small amount of work. Although the people mainly made a living by farming, some were also engaged in other professions.
The woodcutter who goes up to the mountains to cut firewood must collect wood tax, the fishermen who fish from the water must collect fish tax, those who plant orchards must collect orange orchard tax, those who make wine must collect liquor tax, and those who open shops must collect floor shop tax... Fengqing
An has really seen today what it means to impose exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes that simply leave no way for people to survive.
"Sir, shall we go to the county government office now?"
Although they were quite indignant at the exploitation suffered by the local people, how they acted still depended on Feng Qingan. These warriors were very clear-headed and were not carried away by their anger.
Even though the local magistrate is such a slave to the common people, if someone outside the government takes action against him, he is provoking the majesty of the government and challenging the laws of the Jin Dynasty. Not to mention Gangsha warriors, even in the Hunyuan realm, they will be hunted down.
.
"You are not young anymore. You must have seen the unscrupulous playboy brother, right?"
Feng Qingan asked with a smile as he looked at the group of aggressive warriors in front of him.
"Of course I have seen this before. I wonder what your plans are, sir?"
Butler Zhao's eyes showed some anticipation.
"When my brother won the first prize, I once said that one day I wanted to be a dandy with no worries about food and drink. At that time, I would give my husband and my parents a good lesson, so I gave up this idea.
Thinking about the past today, I suddenly want to fulfill my dream back then. Being a yamen, but traveling around the countryside is nothing. I want to ride horses in the county yamen. I wonder if you would like to be my evil young thug? Be my pawn?"
Feng Qing'an's face showed a look of reminiscence, and then he slowly said that the problem was not serious at first, and he could have persuaded him with kind words, but after understanding the situation, he felt that he should just act like a playboy.
"It's my wish, but I dare not invite you!"
Butler Zhao had a smile on his face and bowed, while the other warriors were all gearing up, with eagerness to try on their faces.
"It is a family's honor to work as a thug for the young master."
"Young Master, I am proficient in the art of torture. When I get to the county government office, please give me whatever you want!"
"I am also willing to be your servant!"
Young Master Zhou also showed excitement in his eyes. He dared not even think about such a thing as riding in the county government. Once it was done, it would basically be equated with rebellion, but this person in front of him was different.
"Then why are you still standing there? Why don't you quickly take us back to your village and give each of us a good horse and fancy clothes? The thugs should look like thugs!"
"yes!"
Zhou Yiyang was refreshed and once again led the way back to his home.
The Zhou family's mansion is not in the county seat, but a huge mountain manor located outside the city, including several low hills. When Feng Qingan and his party walked into the gate of the manor, they saw a group of neatly dressed people.
The little kid in clothes ran past with a cheerful smile, followed by several shouting servants.
"Master!"
However, when these servants saw Yi Yiyang coming in from the main entrance of the manor, they quickly stopped and greeted him respectfully.
"You don't have to worry about me, keep an eye on these little brats, don't let them cause any trouble, and don't let anything happen to them!"
Young Master Zhou waved his hand, and the servants hurriedly chased after the little kids who had already run away.
"Is this your family's child? Your Zhou family is really prosperous!"
A martial artist looked at the area in front of him and could not see the end of the manor. Looking at the little kids laughing and playing everywhere in the manor, he couldn't help but sigh.
"That's not true. These children are sent here by people from all over the country. No matter how much my father can have children, he will never be able to have so many!"
Zhou Yiyang said.
"How do you, the Zhou family, raise the dolls they sell to you?"
Butler Zhao couldn't help but asked in surprise.
"Oh, these are still young and a little older. My father has also hired private schools for them and arranged martial arts masters. Whether it is writing academic essays or practicing martial arts, it is up to them to do whatever they like!"
Zhou Yiyang replied matter-of-factly.
"Your family runs a charity? How can you support so many people?"
The bear-like warrior couldn't help but said.
"It's nothing. Don't look at the number of children. In fact, dozens of children are not enough to feed a warrior, and it doesn't cost much money!"
Zhou Yiyang said carelessly,
"Actually, my father doesn't plan to keep them forever. He told me that if their parents survive the difficulties and want to take them back, let them take them back!"
"Zhou Da!"
Feng Qingan was walking in Zhoujiazhuang, looking at the faces of the children playing, and suddenly shouted.
"Hey, sir, please give me your orders!"
"Get it!"
Feng Qing'an stretched out his hand and threw the two pamphlets into Zhou Yiyang's arms. The young master took them and looked at them. They were both "Yunlan Secret Strategy", but one was a hit and the other was a hit.
"It's actually still a hit?!"
Young Master Zhou was confused. Only then did he realize that people's hearts are sinister, but he was also a little confused.