All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 118 You, as the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture, are really dedicated to your duties!

The next time Lin Daiyu saw Jia Xichun was when they were having dinner in Rong Xi Tang.

She stepped forward with a stern face and stretched out her hand, "Give it to me!"

Jia Xichun took out a letter and handed it over, then walked over and said coquettishly, "Sister Lin, I just want to see what my father's letter looks like."

Originally, Lin Daiyu wanted to cause trouble for Jia Xichun because of her previous act of throwing herself into his arms.

Apart from anything else, a lot of scolding is absolutely inevitable.

But when he heard this, he thought of Jia Xichun's life experience and associated it with his own family affairs, and his heart couldn't help but soften.

Jia Xichun was a girl from Ningguo Mansion, and her father was Jia Jing.

He was the head of the Ningguo Mansion of the previous generation. He passed the imperial examination but was unwilling to be an official. Instead, he became a Taoist monk and practiced the elixir of immortality.

The current head of Ningguo Mansion, Jia Zhen, is Jia Xichun's brother.

Her father was still alive, but he was as good as dead.

What was taken away before was a letter written by Lin Ruhai to Lin Daiyu.

He rushed into Chen Ran's arms because he was chasing Jia Xichun who had taken the letter.

Lin Daiyu had lost her mother, so she felt sympathy for the man and said with a stern face, "Don't do this again." The matter was over.

After a while, Grandmother Jia came to the dining table surrounded by everyone.

The reason why she came late was that she went to persuade Jia Baoyu, who had not shown up for a long time, to come over for dinner.

Obviously, persuasion failed again.

After being disfigured, Jia Baoyu fell into a hysterical frenzy and didn't want to see anyone at all.

What Grandmother Jia likes is Jia Baoyu, who is pretty, sweet-spoken and likes to act coquettishly.

Now she is becoming more and more impatient with Jia Baoyu, whose head is wrapped like a dumpling and who hides in his room all day long and goes crazy.

After talking for a few words at the door, he stopped persuading me to come for dinner.

"Lin girl." Jia's mother, who was sitting in the main seat, looked around and found that Lin Daiyu was the most pleasing to her eyes. She waved her hand and said, "Come sit over here."

Chen Ran returned home and went straight into the study.

Spread the paper, grind the ink, pick up the pen and write.

He will continue to strive for power and expand his voice.

As for the daughter of the Jia family, she should be manipulated and controlled by her power instead of being a bootlicker and pretending to be affectionate.

Times have changed, there is no future for being a bootlicker~~~
".What is the most important job of a local government office?"

"Understand the people's feelings and be a judge to redress the grievances of the common people? How is that possible!"

"The most important job of a local government office is to collect taxes!"

If you are appointed as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, you must make achievements in this area.

Since taxation is the most important thing, we must find a way to deal with it.

Chen Ran was lost in thought, writing from time to time.

"Land tax and business tax."

"The land in Shuntian Prefecture has long been divided up. It is either in the hands of royal relatives, civil and military nobles, or in the hands of the imperial farms. It is five stars difficult to collect taxes from them."

"Commercial taxes. Those who can do business in Shuntian Prefecture all have strong connections. Collecting their commercial taxes is five stars difficult."

Chen Ran shook his neck and stretched his body.

Challenges are interesting. Things that can be easily accomplished have already been taken away by others, and it is not Chen Ran's turn to do it.

As for how to deal with it, he already had a plan in mind.

More than a month later, the elegant Jia Yucun once again set foot on the land of the capital.

"Master." A pretty woman followed him and asked softly, "Is this the capital? Will everything here be under the control of the master from now on?"

"Be careful with your words~~~"

Jia Yucun was in a very good mood. He smiled and waved his hands, "I am the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, but I am just a temporary governor. There are officials higher than your master here, and they can't even fit on one street."

"That master is also a high-ranking official~~~" The woman smiled sweetly and her flattering words made Jia Yucun very happy.

There was a sedan chair from the Shuntian government office waiting here, and the group got on it and went straight to the government office.

The Great Zhou Dynasty followed the old calendar and adopted the system of floating officials.

No matter whether it is a prefecture, capital or county, anyone who holds the seal lives in the backyard of the yamen.

After arriving at the backyard and settling his entourage, family members and luggage, Jia Yucun asked who was in charge of the mansion at the moment?

The clerk immediately responded, "My lord, before you came, Chen Fucheng was in charge."

"Oh, it's Zihou." Jia Yucun stroked his beard with a smile, "Zihou and I are old acquaintances. It's a match made in heaven that we work together again this time."

Immediately, he told the woman who was busy cleaning the house, "Jiao Xing, come with me to see Zihou."

"Ah?" The woman was obviously stunned. "Master, I'm going to meet a stranger."

"It's okay." Jia Yucun waved his hand. "In fact, he has something to do with you. When you were at the Zhen family, Miss Yinglian of the Zhen family was at Zihou's house."

There was an obvious look of displeasure on Jiao Xing's pretty face.

The past when she worked as a maid in the Zhen family was a past event that she was unwilling to mention at all costs.

It’s a pity that there is no other way now. The master said it himself, so she can only follow him.

The daily life in the yamen is not as one might imagine. Courts are constantly in session for trials all day long.

In fact, unless they had no other choice, the people would not go to the government office to file complaints and lawsuits.

Because they knew very well that this was a dark den, the kind that would eat up all the skin and bones once they entered. No one was willing to gamble the fate of their entire family on meeting a great ruler.

As for the wealthy and powerful people, when they had problems, they mainly resolved them privately. If they couldn't resolve them and made a fuss, they would be dealt with by the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice and other places.

Therefore, local government offices mainly dealt with various endless official documents rather than sitting in court to try cases in a "majestic" manner all day long.

When I arrived at the back hall, I saw Chen Ran, who was buried in his desk and quickly processing official documents.

Jia Yucun stepped forward and greeted him enthusiastically, "Zihou, I'm here!"

Chen Ran looked up and saw that the person coming was Jia Yucun. He smiled and motioned him to sit anywhere. "I'll be quick here. Please wait a moment."

Seeing that the Prime Minister didn't even stand up to greet the master, Jiao Xing was very angry and felt that this man was really disrespectful.

But Jia Yucun didn't care at all. He found a place to sit down and chatted in a low voice with the clerks.

About an incense stick later, Chen Ran finally finished dealing with all the paperwork, packed up and stood up to greet, "You came so quickly, I've been waiting for you."

Jia Yucun smiled and stood up and walked forward, "I just happen to have something good to tell you."

Go ahead, he waved to Jiao Xing, motioning her to come over, "I have contacted Zhen Shiyin, this is my wife Jiao Xing, she has a deep relationship with the Zhen family."

What do you mean by close relationship? It’s just that she was a maid in the Zhen family.

Chen Ran was relaxed, but he didn't say anything to save face for the other person. "Zhen Shiyin is here too?"

"No." Jia Yucun shook his head repeatedly. "That man said that he had seen through the world and traveled around the world. But he asked me to take a letter to Miss Zhen."

He took out the letter and handed it to Chen Ran, who then said, "Zhen Shiyin also said that he would entrust his daughter to your care from now on."

"In this dark world, it is a good thing to see through the mundane world."

After receiving the letter, Chen Ran called Jia Yucun, "There is something that can only be done after you arrive. Let's go now."

Jia Yucun was curious, "What's the matter? If it's a reception, there's no need for you and me to spend so much money."

"Your Majesty!"

The so-called audience with the emperor usually happened when a general led his troops to war, or when an important local official left the capital to take up his post. Before leaving, they would go to see the emperor and listen to his teachings.

But Shuntian Prefecture is right at the feet of the emperor, and although it is also called "Your Majesty's Audience", it always feels weird.

Especially this kind of person who came directly to the palace to ask for an audience without agreeing on a time in advance, which made the eunuch Xia Bingzhong of the six palaces speechless.

What made him even more speechless was that the emperor actually agreed to meet.

"Could it be that Jia Yucun is in the emperor's favor?"

In the imperial study, the emperor looked at Jia Yucun with calm eyes.

This man was reinstated thanks to his connections with the Jia family, so naturally the emperor had a bad impression of him.

It was simply that the previous prefect Hao was promoted and qualified to be the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and Jia Yucun was the most suitable one.

After completing the process, Jia Yucun was still a little confused. He didn't understand what Chen Ran meant by dragging him to the audience with the emperor in such a hurry.

Is there any need to be so anxious?

"Your Majesty." Chen Ran beside him simply said, "The autumn grain collection is about to begin. I have read the records of Shuntian Prefecture and found that the autumn grain collection has been decreasing over the years, and even less in recent years. I am deeply worried."

When this matter was mentioned, the emperor's expression became even uglier.

Ultimately, the most fundamental reason is still the root cause of the demise of dynasties, land annexation.

As the best place in the country, the farmland of Shuntian Prefecture had long been annexed by the royal family, civil and military nobles.

The people of Shuntian Prefecture want to collect autumn grain from these people?

You must be tired of living.

For an emperor who wanted to be a wise ruler, this was something he could not tolerate.

What will happen if the imperial court fails to collect taxes?
As a special guest, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian demonstrated in person with tears in his eyes.

"I want to solve this problem as well." The emperor coughed, "but there is no good way."

Regardless of the relationship between these big households, they are united in resisting taxation.

Even for the emperor, it would be difficult and awkward to face the opposition from so many big families.

"I have a solution." Chen Ran did not submit a memorial before because he knew the rules. To discuss the autumn harvest of Shuntian Prefecture as the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture, the person who has the authority to know Shuntian Prefecture must be present!

"Oh?" The emperor's eyes lit up immediately. "Tell me about it."

Chen Ran took out the memorial he had prepared long ago and handed it to Xia Bingzhong, who was also extremely curious.

Is there really any way to solve this stubborn disease?
The emperor flipped through the memorials, and his expression became more and more strange.

After reading it, he looked at Chen Ran with a complicated expression, "Tax included?"

"It's the tax-farming system!"

Chen Ran immediately responded, "Since the imperial tax collectors dare not collect the autumn grain from the wealthy families, then we should send someone else to collect it."

"Who dares to collect it?" The emperor sighed, "There are not many good ministers like you, my dear."

"The ones who are most experienced in dealing with the big households are naturally the big households." Chen Ran proposed this method, and there must be a countermeasure. "The tax package is not for Shuntian Prefecture, but for the various prefectures in Jiangnan."

"The problem of land annexation in the prefectures of Jiangnan is even more serious than in Shuntian Prefecture. Ordinary people have almost no place to stand."

"Your Majesty is using these prefectures' tax-farming as bait and offering a reward to the few families in Shuntian Prefecture who pay the most autumn grain to farm the tax."

"As the saying goes, money moves people's hearts, and all the wealthy families will certainly participate enthusiastically. In this way, Shuntian Prefecture will successfully receive the autumn grain, and the Jiangnan prefectures that did not pay taxes before will also receive some income. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone."

Jia Yucun, who was standing by, was dumbfounded.

He is regretting it now. Why the hell did I come here to be the prefect of Shuntian?

The emperor, who had been silent for a long time, said quietly, "You should do your job well. You, the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture, really fulfill your duties conscientiously!"

(End of this chapter)