Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 132 0131 Taxation with Tears
Pei Yuan scratched his head and slowly realized the seriousness of the matter.

He originally thought that he was standing in the center of the stage of this drama.

Unexpectedly, he was just a marginal figure of the times.

Silk and cotton fabrics of this era served as general equivalents and were directly equivalent to copper coins.

Since the imperial court could not collect commercial taxes, it levied corvée labor on artisans and printed money itself.

A large number of craftsmen were conscripted, which indirectly affected the interests of the wealthy merchant families. In addition, the court controlled a amount of materials, which in turn affected the prices of corresponding commodities.

Ironware received the same treatment as silk and cotton fabrics.

However, the conflicts among textile craftsmen were concentrated in the Suzhou and Hangzhou areas, while the conflicts among ironware craftsmen were concentrated in Huguang, Guangdong and Fujian areas.

The most representative ironware is the iron pot.

The Ming Dynasty was able to use high-temperature furnaces to melt pig iron and cast large iron pots, while many foreign countries could only use small iron pots that were hammered by hand and of poor quality.

Therefore, iron pots became the hard currency that allowed the Ming Dynasty to earn huge profits from neighboring countries.

The imperial court did not dare to touch the issue of the blacksmiths lightly, because it involved a much larger group that was more difficult to deal with.

--miner!
During the Hongwu period, the imperial court still strictly implemented the system of state-run salt and iron industries.

Later one day, Zhu Yuanzhang went to inspect the treasury. When he arrived at the place where the iron was stored, he was surprised to see how much iron there was.
The official replied, 37.43 million jin.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately put his hands on his hips and said, "It turns out that my court is so wealthy."

So he ordered on the spot to abolish all official smelting sites of the provincial government and allow the people to mine, smelt and sell iron themselves, with only two kilograms being handed over to the court for every thirty kilograms of iron.

As for commercial taxes, they are even more ridiculously low.

The Ming Dynasty court initially set a commercial tax of one-thirty, and all trivial items used in people's daily lives were exempt from tax.

It all looks so beautiful.

However, there is a huge problem here.

The uncertainty of mining and business practices makes the entire taxation process opaque and uncontrollable.

If I were a tax collector and collected 500 taels of tax that month, wouldn’t it be nice if I gave a penny to the court?

What if I were a county magistrate, and I asked my brother-in-law's son Ergou to be a tax collector, and then I took the four hundred and ninety-nine taels, wouldn't that be nice?
The consequence of officials' excessive exploitation and the court's inability to collect money was that the cost of business activities was pushed up and the country was burdened with disgrace.

The country's fiscal revenue is low, and it is difficult to increase taxes on society as a whole.

Therefore, they had to explore new sources of revenue and have the Ministry of Revenue set up checkpoints at important roads to collect taxes in a targeted manner.

Then Ergouzi, the son of the brother-in-law of the Ministry of Revenue official, went to collect taxes again.

After that, the court's tax revenue rapidly expanded, with more and more types of taxes collected and less and less money collected.

Officials at all levels took the money with tears in their eyes while being worried. The people were living such a hard life, what would they do if they rebelled? The emperor of the Zhu family was really not a human being.

Even if the emperor of the Zhu family is not a human being, he is not a fool.

Then can't I just ask someone to collect the taxes myself?
That's all my money!
Then, the emperor was met with mad attacks from all the civil and military officials in the court.

——How dare you impose taxes? Do you want to rebel?

After that, violent tax resistance not only occurred frequently, but was even praised and protected by the literati.

What? You are the Son of Heaven?!
You are just a legal person!

Pei Yuan asked the blacksmith some more questions and learned that the problem of Suzhou weavers was not so easy to resolve.

He scratched his hair and felt the pain in his balls silently for a few seconds.

The entire Ming Dynasty is in the process of systematic collapse. This mess is so depressing that it makes people feel suffocated.

Fortunately, Captain Pei is very self-aware and has no intention of getting involved in these messes.

He sighed deeply, stood up and left the shop.

When I returned to the inn, I happened to see Song Chunniang supervising the servants bringing the food into the side courtyard.

The monk Daigo had been hungry for a long time. He stared at the plates of food being brought into the room, and then stared at the next plate.

Pei Yuan then remembered something and asked the monk Daigo who was waiting obediently, "Can I eat meat?"

The monk swallowed his saliva and shook his head uncomfortably, "You can't eat it."

Pei Yuan was a little surprised. He didn't expect this monk to be so disciplined. Could it be that the subconscious of the monk Daigo who had taken over his body was causing trouble?
If that was the case, Pei Yuan would not have been able to easily take out the cassock from his bag in front of Monk Daigo.

If the subconscious of the previous generation of monk Daigo sensed the relics of monk Xinmo and started to run wild, Pei Yuan would be caught in the disaster.

Pei Yuan asked Song Chunniang, "Are there any vegetarian dishes?"

Song Chunniang nodded.

Pei Yuan didn't say much, and said, "Let's go and eat."

After a hearty meal, they each went to rest.

The next day no one went out.

Cheng Leixiang followed Pei Yuan to make an iron cage yesterday, and he could roughly guess what Pei Yuan was going to do.

But he didn't ask more questions.

Others simply followed orders without giving it much thought.

Song Chunniang and Hou Qing took turns to watch over the kitchen and clean up the food.

Pei Yuan had nothing to do, so he remembered that he was still in the training period, so he learned a few steps from Cheng Leixiang.

The monk Daigo watched with great interest.

Pei Yuan wanted him to teach him a few tricks, but Monk Daigu waved his hands and said that he could not teach anyone.

Pei Yuan then remembered how Monk Daigu acquired his skills.

Even if this guy dares to teach, he won't dare to take the risk.

Pei Yuan felt bored after practicing for an hour. Thinking that it was only the second day, he was afraid that Cheng Leixiang would laugh at him in private, so he had to persevere.

In the afternoon, Pei Yuan still took Cheng Leixiang and Hou Qing to find the blacksmith shop.

When we arrived at the place, the blacksmith who had been in the shop last time came out to greet us with a smile on his face.

Pei Yuan arrived at the backyard and saw a large, sturdy iron cage with a door that could be opened from the side.

Pei Yuan signaled to Cheng Leixiang.

Cheng Leixiang was prepared and threw the silver change in his hand over.

Still speaking to the shop owner, "No more, no less."

Pei Yuan looked at Hou Qing with a smile and said, "Have you learned it? Go back and find Song Chunniang and withdraw some money from my account. This will be your job from now on."

Hou Qing responded quickly.

Cheng Leixiang was stunned when he heard this and looked over with some confusion.

Pei Yuan encouraged, "You have a quick mind, but it's a waste to follow me. I will be of great use to you later."

A shrewd man like Cheng Leixiang immediately heard it. In Pei Qianhu's heart, he had already transformed from a little follower to a capable subordinate.

He couldn't help but show his joy, "Thank you for your help, sir. But I am used to serving you, sir, so I am not in a hurry."

Pei Yuan hummed, and looked at Hou Qing again. This kind of big cake is naturally for everyone who sees it.

Therefore, Pei Yuan routinely said to Hou Qing, the fool, "You were the only one in the Fire Gun Team who obeyed my orders. This is your strength. Keep it up. You may not be worse than Cheng Leixiang in the future."

Hou Qing didn't know how to be modest. He smiled from ear to ear and said, "It's all my duty."

Pei Yuan saw that the shop owner had checked the silver and asked him, "I have to take the things away now. Is it okay for you?"

The shop owner happily accepted the money and said, "It's in very good condition, no problem, no problem. You are a straightforward person."

Cheng Leixiang was about to go forward to get the cage, but this time Hou Qing got a hint and quickly said, "I'll do it."

As he spoke, he stretched out his big hand, picked up the iron cage, and carried it diagonally on his shoulder.

Cheng Leixiang did not argue with him and praised him, "I didn't expect you still have so much strength."

The iron bars of the iron cage were as thick as a little finger. Cheng Leixiang stretched out his hand to try them just now and they were indeed not light.

Pei Yuan was not surprised.

When they used the falconet cannon to bombard Lu Ting's sword and shield soldiers, Pei Yuan and Hou Qing worked together to load and unload the falconet cannon, which weighed more than 300 kilograms. The two of them cooperated very efficiently.

At that time, Pei Yuan knew that this guy was very strong.

Hou Qing was most likely responsible for carrying the artillery in the artillery team.

After returning to the inn, Pei Yuan asked someone to put the iron cage in the yard.

Thinking about what will happen next, I can't help but feel a little hesitant.

The last time he was able to release Yue Qingfeng without restraint was entirely because he was surrounded by a large group of archers and musketeers, and there was also a Portuguese cannon loaded with bullets standing by to serve as a deterrent.

This time Pei Yuan wants to use a secret to threaten Yue Qingfeng, so there must be no one around.

Otherwise, when Yue Qingfeng judged that the secret could no longer be kept, he would most likely choose to fight to the death with these mermaids.

Pei Yuan has been silently pondering Yue Qingfeng's mentality these two days.

After summarizing for a long time, there is only one sentence.

Lao Yue has a hard time.

These young eunuchs from the Imperial Stables who were able to work from a very early age were usually castrated at a young age and served as clean soldiers.

I finally came out into the outside world, got rid of everything in the past, and can start a new way of living.

As a result, when she had achieved success in her career and had a life she could never go back to, she was found by people in the palace again.

This kind of opening of the box, which is enough to lead to social demise, is like a sleazy online writer having his true identity discovered and being exposed to the criticism of the public.

Yue Qingfeng can no longer go back to Yue Jinzhong, he can only desperately keep his secret.

Therefore, Pei Yuan had to try to make Yue Qingfeng understand that he already knew his secret, and at the same time, he had to try to make him believe that the situation was still under control, and he must not let the situation get into a desperate situation and explode on the spot.

With no choice, Pei Yuan could only talk to him alone.

It's a bit risky, but worth it.

Moreover, Pei Yuan was not completely without confidence when facing Yue Qingfeng in his current state.

Counting the days, Yue Qingfeng hadn't eaten or drunk anything for some time.

It was only a few days ago when we were at the Hua family in Wuxi that I gave him a few plates of drunken shrimps to fill his stomach.

No matter how high his kung fu skills are, as long as he is a flesh-and-blood person, he cannot endure so many days of hunger.

Pei Yuan prepared himself mentally, and then said to the four people, "You guys go out first, stay away from here."

Cheng Leixiang hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and said, "How about I stay here with you, Master? After all, Sect Leader Yue and I are master and disciple. With my help, maybe I can help turn things around."

Pei Yuan waved his hand, "No need."

But he thought to himself, if your disciple was beside me when I revealed Yue Qingfeng's identity, Yue Qingfeng would have to restart right away.

After all, he is no longer the little eunuch he used to be.

He is now respected, has a master, disciples, a wife, and a daughter...

Huh?
Pei Yuan felt something was strange.

Could it be that the headmaster's wife and the junior sister were Yue Qingfeng's cover-up?
This means that at least the wife of the head of Huashan should also know about it.

Pei Yuan glanced at Cheng Leixiang.

Yue Qingfeng's secret can no longer be concealed, and there is no point in distancing himself from the factory guards. This may be a turning point for Cheng Leixiang's emotional problems.

Song Chunniang thought for a moment and asked, "Should I change your cotton armor?"

Pei Yuan was used to being afraid of death and always listened to advice.

"Okay, bring it to me."

Song Chunniang went to get Pei Yuan's cotton armor and helped him put it on. She also brought him the Bazhou sword and the golden hammer as preparations.

After the four people went out, Pei Yuan took a deep breath, threw the blood-red cassock into the iron cage, and then tightly tied the side door of the iron cage with thick iron wire.

Pei Yuan didn't expect that this iron cage could trap Yue Qingfeng, but as long as it delayed a little, it would be enough for Pei Yuan to activate the cassock again and swallow him back.

The only thing he was afraid of was that Yue Qingfeng would kill him instantly with one burst of energy, and then Pei Yuan’s plan would fail.

When he was sure that he was ready, Pei Yuan activated the magic formula and released Yue Qingfeng from the cassock.

With a flash of red light, Yue Qingfeng appeared in the iron cage with a exhausted look.

He quickly covered his eyes with his hands, and waited until he gradually adapted to the light outside before he gave Pei Yuan a fierce look and struggled to get up.

The light outside stimulated Yue Qingfeng to take a defensive stance suddenly, and Pei Yuan did not dare to speak hastily. As a result, the two sides avoided a conflict in the first place.

If Yue Qingfeng had not attacked subconsciously, Pei Yuan would have passed the most dangerous period of their meeting.

Pei Yuan hurriedly said in a deep voice, "Master Yue, how about we talk?"

Although Yue Qingfeng was in a mess, he laughed, reached out to grab the iron cage that trapped him, and bent it with force.

The iron bar, which was as thick as a little finger, was twisted into a hole big enough for a person to get out.

Pei Yuan had anticipated this, as the blood-red cassock suddenly pounced towards Yue Qingfeng and swallowed him.

Yue Qingfeng's expression remained unchanged. He turned around and slapped forward. His palms moved like the wind, causing the blood-red cassock to flutter.

But the cassock seemed to be able to swallow even the wind.

Although it was shaken by the fierce palm wind, it still swallowed Yue Qingfeng.

Pei Yuan saw the cassock move twice and then calm down, so he hurried forward and twisted the iron cage back.

Then he moved far away and still released Yue Qingfeng.

This time, when Yue Qingfeng came out, he drew his sword with his eyes closed. Seeing that the sharp sword was about to be unsheathed, Pei Yuan shouted, "Yue Jinzhong! You don't want your past to be known by your fellow martial artists, do you?"

Yue Qingfeng's eyes, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened regardless of the burning pain under the sun.

Then, those blood-red eyes looked at Pei Yuan like a cannibal, and a roar like a trapped beast came out from his throat, "What did you say?!"

Pei Yuan suddenly felt particularly unsure.

He gritted his teeth and asked again, "Yue Jinzhong, you don't want your past to be known by your fellow martial artists, do you?"

(End of this chapter)