12. Make a name for yourself and split the account? No need! (Part 1)
Collecting taxes is an ancient skill.
In different eras at home and abroad, how to collect taxes smoothly has always been a major concern for everyone.
Different countries have different natures of taxation.
But in the feudal period, the essence of taxation was very simple.
Vulnerable groups pay protection fees to violent groups,
Violent groups perform protective functions, as well as a little bit of management functions.
This is an exchange of interests, but the 'exchange' between the two parties is extremely unequal in some aspects.
Precisely because of the extreme inequality, the weak groups in their right minds (subjects) are naturally resistant to the taxation of violent groups (nobles/clergy).
'Bah! Why should I give the food and money I worked so hard to grow to the master in the castle?'
'Isn't it because there are soldiers holding short swords standing next to the tax collector!'
Everyone has subjective initiative,
When a person doesn't want to give money, he will rack his brains to try to keep his wallet tight.
However, if you reverse your thinking.
Everyone has subjective initiative,
When a person is eager to spend money, no one can stop him from throwing coins.
How to achieve it?
Fraud? Brainwashing?
No, no, no, that's too low.
A true and reasonable exchange of interests is enough.
Compared to confrontation,
Cooperation will always bring more long-term benefits.
...
In the study, ten candles burned luxuriously, providing sufficient lighting for the lord and the butler.
Chu Yang was sitting behind the desk, reading a thick book.
Li Jiasu took a look and saw that the title was "A Brief Biography of Family Glory in Various Territories of the Kingdom".
The butler stood aside with a bitter look on his face, holding a bundle of parchment (account books) in his hands.
Seeing that the devil's envoy was finally late, the butler spoke first before the lord could raise his head.
"Ah, my envoy, you are finally here." Butler Ator nodded and bowed, moved a chair to the desk, and asked Li Jiasu to sit down.
Chuyang clipped the bookmark, closed the thick book, looked at the devil, nodded and said in greeting: "Thank you for your hard work today, Mr. ac Li."
"Ahem, actually it's not that I have anything to do with you, but that Ator feels the need to talk to you."
Chu Yang pointed to the butler and handed the devil a glass of honey water.
The young man is very smart and knows that when he encounters trouble, the devil will talk a lot, conduct some analysis, and make decisions for himself.
You probably need some honey to moisturize your throat.
"Oh, what's the matter with At'ol looking for me?" Li Jiasu took off his mask, crossed his legs, took the teacup, and asked comfortably.
The butler's bitter face forced an "awkward yet polite" smile.
"Sir, it's like this. Our master fully supports you in rebuilding the castle, and you see it."
"Um."
"But, our territory is not very wealthy. When the former lord was alive, he was too lazy to collect new taxes, and he also spent a lot of money on purchasing rare ores from the kingdom..."
"Hurry up and get to the point, stop talking nonsense."
"Sir! The expenses of our castle have skyrocketed, the bank is almost empty, and the grain reserves are also in danger!" The housekeeper was shocked and said loudly.
"Oh, so what?" Li Jia Shu took a sip of honey water.
The butler looked at the expressionless young lord, and then at the devil who was drinking tea comfortably.
He gritted his teeth and patted the parchment on the table lightly.
"Sir! Master! We have to collect new taxes!"
"Otherwise we will be out of money and food!"
Li Jiasu sighed slightly.
It has only been 3 days and we are almost out of money and food?
Chuyang, Chuyang, it should be said that your family’s territory is really too poor.
Or is it that your father is so obsessed with alchemy that he doesn't even bother to search for the people's anointing?
Infrastructure construction has not yet been completed, production activities have not yet accelerated, and the healthy development of internal and external dual circulation cannot take off for the time being.
As soon as the strategy took the first step, crisis came knocking on the door.
What should a feudal lord do at this time?
Have to collect taxes.
But the tax for this quarter was just collected last month?
New taxes must be levied.
The average feudal lord would probably think so,
But Li Jia Shu was not a feudal lord and had other ideas of his own.
The so-called crisis,
Danger and opportunity coexist.
"Well, Ator, you go on first." The devil crossed his legs and motioned to the butler to continue his performance.
The middle-aged butler with a small black beard took a piece of parchment from the table, pointed at it and said: "The food must be collected, and the money must also be collected."
"Sir Messenger, we spent a lot of money to buy back those slaves, and another sum of money to purchase various equipment from the craftsmen. Ah, for example today, Your Excellency, you ordered 300 pounds of plant ash and wood ash from the masons in the city.
For 50 pounds of crushed clay, those greedy masons actually asked for 1 gold coin and 15 silver coins. They really betrayed them! Uh..."
The devil glared at the butler and blew out a trace of fire from his nose.
"Atholl, large quantities of plant ash and broken pottery cannot be produced efficiently here in the castle. Only the stonemasons in the town know how to organize manpower and produce these civil materials quickly and efficiently."
"The energy of my construction team is limited. It takes up a whole day for them to learn to lay foundations and process wood to make structural parts. The production of other building materials cannot be handled by the castle alone. It must rely on Gusi City.
The production work of other territorial residents.”
"If we don't give money, or give less money, the masons in the city will definitely slow down their work and delay delivery, and then our construction schedule will be delayed."
"You see that the masons are unhappy, what can you do? Kill one or two people to shock them?"
"Without them, raw materials would not be supplied and the project would not be able to advance."
Chu Yang listened on the side, looked at the housekeeper, and blinked.
"Moreover, money is not saved, it is earned!" Li Jia Shu snapped his fingers, "If you pile up those copper plates, silver coins, and gold in the warehouse and don't use them, are you going to make money by yourself?"
Well, in this low-magic feudal world, the banking industry has not yet developed due to environmental factors, so there is no evil money-making magic for the time being.
"Yes, yes, sir, you are right." The steward laughed dryly, and then continued: "As for the food, there are 83 more food, oh no, 82 mouths..."
"My lord, you insist on adding eggs, parsley, and ginger to their three meals. Planting and harvesting in the manor also takes time, but the stocks of wheat flour and vegetables in the warehouse may not last three weeks."
The butler said with a slightly complaining tone.
At the same time, Chu Yang picked up a small piece of cheese from the silver plate on the table, dipped it in honey, and threw it into his mouth.
Chew~chew~chew~
"So, Ator, what do you suggest Chu Yang do? And the purpose of calling me here?" Li Jia Shu also took a small piece of cheese, dipped it in honey and enjoyed it.
The butler looked helplessly at the master and the devil.
"We just collected the head tax and agricultural tax for this quarter last month, and the next collection will have to be two months later. We have to temporarily collect a few new taxes."
The housekeeper explained a few more words, which probably meant,
If the castle wants to temporarily impose new taxes,
must,
We have to invite gossips from all walks of life in Gus City to come to the castle and talk to the lord.
Tax collection is a very complicated matter.
Especially when it comes to adding new taxes, they can't be collected just by the lord slapping his head and saying yes.
If you don't deal with those talkative people,
Aren’t the people below trying their best to evade and resist taxes, making it extremely difficult for tax collectors to do their jobs?
Bringing soldiers and swords can collect some taxes, but the effect is definitely not good.
If those talkative people from all walks of life,
Unwilling to stand on the side of the lord, unwilling to tell the tax collector the income details of 'one's own people', and unwilling to mobilize the thoughts of 'one's own people',
How does the castle carry out taxation work?
Break into people's houses, take away random amounts of money and food, and kill everyone who dares to resist?
The execution of rights requires level-by-level, top-down, bottom-up, and mutual nesting to achieve complete and successful execution.
In fact, Chu Yang cannot directly manage the people in his territory.
[The castle belongs to Chuyang, but Chuyang is not a castle.]
"Have you considered collecting next year's head tax and agricultural tax in advance?" Li Jiasu asked.
"Ah?" The housekeeper was stunned for a moment.
Chu Yang swallowed the last piece of cheese, shook his head, and said, "I have actually considered it, Mr. Li."
"But I don't think this is a good idea."
"If you collect next year's tax in advance now, what will you do if the savings in the castle are insufficient again by this time next year? Collect the tax again? If you collect it, it will become 'collect next year's tax in advance.'
, doesn’t it mean taking off your pants and farting?”
"How will that make the people view me?"
The steward said flatteringly: "Sir, it actually doesn't matter what the people think of you. They can't make waves."
"Then what's the difference between me and other nobles in the kingdom?" Chu Yang muttered.
Li Jia Shu: "Very good, at least you don't want to receive the tax in advance 90 years later."
Chu Yang smiled and shook his head, "Your cold jokes are quite interesting."
"Which noble is so crazy that he dares to collect 90 years of taxes in advance?"
"If the citizens had no way to survive, they would really dare to rush into the castle."
"I was reading this "Brief Biography of Family Glory in Various Territories of the Kingdom" earlier," Chu Yang pressed the thick book on the table and said to Li Jia Shu: "The ancestors of certain small noble families in the local area a hundred years ago were
Mercenaries were able to gain enfeoffment from the king and be promoted to the nobility by suppressing and annihilating several groups of rebels who stormed into the castle and hanged the lord."
The devil nodded silently.
Then, the devil looked at the butler, with an ambiguous smile on his terrifying face.
"Well, Atholl, let me guess, after calling all the talkers from all walks of life in Gus City to the castle..."
"First let's have a friendly exchange, have a drink, and have a meal."
"Then, let's all brainstorm together and figure out what to do..."
"Create a clever name and use a unified voice. At noon the next day, the speaker will pay taxes and donations, and the people will follow suit to pay for the food and money."
"After you get it, the person who asked for it will have his food and money returned in full, and the people's food and money will be divided into three to seven accounts."
"Right?"
Li Jiasu stood up and walked to the window.
The red magic eyes were quietly looking out the window at the waxing moon in the night sky.
"Hey, Sir Messenger, you are really amazing! It is true!" the butler said excitedly.
Chu Yang looked at the housekeeper, then at the devil, but said nothing.
After a long while, Li Jiasu slowly turned around and said in a deep voice: