Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 603 Since that's the case, the only option is to make the common people suffer even more.
"Manager Niu of Fengyipu said that they could consume 1,200 shi (a unit of dry measure) of food."

"The messengers from the Canghai ship said they want 3,300 shi of new grain."

"Several lords from the prefectural city have sent people over to say that the grain supply cannot be reduced."

Inside the back hall of the county government office, the county magistrate, the county assistant magistrate, and the registrar—the true rulers of the county—gathered together to drink and talk.

"Behind Fengyi Shop is the Governor." The county magistrate, holding a wine cup, pondered for a moment before making the distinction. "This is absolutely indispensable."

As for the Canghai...

The magistrate said sternly, "They want new rice, so give them new rice, not a single bushel less."

The registrar and the county magistrate nodded in agreement.

Behind this business is a connection to the heavens!
It is said to be property of a certain prince, and should not be offended under any circumstances.

"The gentlemen of the prefectural city~"

The magistrate sighed, "I'm in a difficult position too."

"Your Excellency," the county magistrate said with a smile as he offered a toast, "the new grain is not enough, but the people still have some."

"We still can't do without it for the gentlemen."

"If that's the case, then we can only make the people suffer even more."

With the autumn grains stored away, various parties naturally follow suit.

We need people from the capital, the provincial capital, and the prefectural capital.

The imperial court's regular taxes were also not to be reduced by even a single bushel.

These local officials, of course, wouldn't hand over what they'd already obtained, which would only cause the people to suffer even more.

"How about adding another 30% for fire loss when the tax is paid in a few days?"

The grain tax levied on the mites not only required grain but also silver.

The collection of silver was a result of the conversion of land tax into poll tax.

This means changing the poll tax, which had been levied for thousands of years, to a tax based on the amount of land owned.

In Guangxi, the tax on each mu of farmland is about two qian.

That's already quite high.

You should know that one tael is only ten coins, so adding 30% means that each mu of land would have to pay three coins of silver.

In the past, the price of rice in Guangxi was about one tael per shi (a unit of dry measure).

But now it's harvest season, and grain merchants everywhere are driving down prices like crazy. If you can sell it for seven or eight qian per shi, you're already lucky.

What's worse is that the imperial court only accepted silver, but the grain merchants accepted copper coins to buy grain.

As the country's doors were forced open, the trend of cheap money and expensive silver continued to rise.

By using this rudimentary method, they exploited the price difference to ruthlessly exploit the people.

Ordinary people don't understand these financial tricks. They only know that the grain they grow with great effort is not only not enough to eat, but even if they sell it all, it's not enough to pay taxes.

What if you can't pay your taxes? You can only borrow.

They used their own land as collateral to obtain loans.

As a result, they eventually lost their own land and became tenant farmers, similar to serfs.

It's fine if you don't pay the money; just lock them up and take them back to the yamen. They'll be released when you pay the money.

Countless people died as a result.

Refusal to pay imperial taxes and national grain taxes will certainly result in death.

"Thirty percent is too much."

The registrar spoke softly, "Your Excellency, we peasants probably can't afford to pay."

"The local officials in various villages and towns may also have some complaints."

"Master He of Xiawan Town is a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, and it's said he has connections with a certain official in the Censorate in the capital."

It doesn't matter if they're peasants; if they can't pay, just lock them up again, or if all else fails, just kill them to appease the public.

In reality, during this era, bandits roamed the land, and anti-Qing organizations such as the Heaven and Earth Society launched uprisings one after another.

Local officials had already realized that everything stemmed from an overpopulation.

Therefore, many places are consciously depleting their population.

In some counties, over a thousand heads can be chopped off in a single year!
The county magistrate didn't care about the lives of the peasants, but the powerful officials with their complex networks of connections had to consider their feelings.

After years of land consolidation, the bulk of the land tax reform has now fallen on the shoulders of local gentry.

The colonists of the Mite-Cleansing Empire were not like those in the Ming Dynasty. They didn't have any gentry or local bullies; if you didn't pay silver, you were all dead.

The local gentry also had to pay silver and grain.

These people usually have various networks of connections, and they might trip you up or impeach you at any time.

Moreover, they were the foundation of local rule, so the county magistrate had to consider them carefully.

"That's it."

After some thought, the magistrate said, "Then add another 20% for fire loss."

The so-called "fire loss silver" was actually an additional tax, mainly used to compensate for the loss when loose silver was melted down and cast into official ingots.

The silver collected from the land tax and poll tax was melted down into official silver of fifty taels each.

The extra 30% to 40% surcharge was already imposed, and now an additional 20% is to be levied. The extra money will likely be used to pay off the local officials, and the county magistrates will also get a share. It's estimated that they can afford to buy a few young ladies from Jiangnan.

The county magistrate and the registrar raised their wine cups in a toast to the county magistrate.

"Your esteemed elder is kind and benevolent."

"This is truly a blessing for the people!"

The group laughed and drank their wine. The county magistrate put down his wine cup and clapped his hands towards the door to greet them.

"Come in and serve me~"

The door was pushed open, and a tall, strong figure walked in.

The county magistrate and others were all taken aback.

Why isn't she a singing and dancing girl or a hostess?

"Who are you?" the registrar demanded, rising to his feet. "How dare you trespass on the yamen's premises?"

The man who arrived was Lin Dao, who was all smiles. "I'm here to send you on your way."

The group was shocked and hurriedly shouted towards the door.

"Help! Help!"

"There are assassins and rebels!"

He shouted very loudly, even his voice cracked.

"Stop yelling." Lin Dao's smile widened. "While you were discussing how to exploit the people, I had already taken care of your men."

"Who are you? Who exactly are you?!"

The officials, who usually appeared stern and aloof like judges in front of the people, were now pale-faced and panicked, trying to escape by hiding and fleeing.

Lin Dao was too lazy to get entangled with them.

With a flick of his wrist, a claw hammer appeared in his hand.

The clerk, whose body had long been weakened by wine and women, stumbled and bumped into the table in a panic.

Clutching his forehead and groaning, as he struggled to get up, Lin Dao swung his hammer down.

There was a muffled sound.

This scene terrified the county magistrate and the county assistant clerk.

"Traitors from the Heaven and Earth Society?!"

The younger county magistrate gritted his teeth, grabbed the wine pot on the table, and threw it at Lin Dao.

With a single blow, Lin Dao smashed the wine pot to pieces, then swung the hammer at the county magistrate.

There was a muffled sound.

At this moment, the county magistrate had already taken the opportunity to run out of the room.

He ran while screaming, carrying his long robe.

"Someone come~"

"There are traitors!"

"The rebels from the Heaven and Earth Society have arrived!"

Throughout the Qing Dynasty, anti-Qing uprisings never ceased in various regions, occurring one after another in an endless stream.

Among them, the most famous is the Heaven and Earth Society.

They were the ones who truly raised troops and fought against the imperial court.

Just like in Guangxi Province at that time, there were a large number of members of the Heaven and Earth Society fighting against the Qing army in various places.

In addition, there is the even more intense conflict between the locals and the Hakka.

Its ferocity was in no way inferior to the direct combat on the battlefield.

The boiling, oily conditions in Guangxi are just a microcosm of the entire Mite-Clearing industry.

The Jintian Uprising did not have a significant impact at first.

It wasn't until they captured Nanjing that they truly gained momentum.

This also covered up uprisings in various places, such as those of the Heaven and Earth Society, the Nian Rebellion, and the Small Swords Society.

The truth is, people all over the world are against it, and people are taking dates and pills to get rid of mites.

The magistrate ran out of the back hall and was shocked to see that the entire yamen was littered with corpses.

The constables, yamen runners, clerks, jailers, and others were all lying on the ground.

"You're quite old, but you run pretty fast."

Lin Dao's mocking voice came from behind, startling the magistrate so much that his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

"Master, spare me!"

The magistrate, weeping bitterly, knelt on the ground and repeatedly kowtowed, begging, "Master, spare my life!"

"I am not a monk," Lin Dao corrected, "and certainly not a greedy and lustful abbot."

He stepped forward and brought the hammer down.

The cries and wails abruptly ceased.

The cruelty towards the people was most severe among the officials in these local government offices!
A county government office can behead a thousand people a year.

This is no county government office; it's clearly the underworld!

'spit!'

Lin Dao spat and stepped forward to wipe the ram's horn hammer with the insignia on the magistrate's body.

"Ah~~~"

A sharp scream pierced the eardrums.

Lin Dao turned his head and saw a woman, about forty years old, dressed in brocade, carrying dishes in her hands, with a maid following behind her, looking at him in horror at the entrance of the back house.

"Master~~~"

The woman screamed, dropped the tray she was holding, ran over, and threw herself onto the magistrate, who had come up with such a wild idea, crying and wailing.

Lin Dao frowned slightly. This must be the county magistrate's wife. After all, a concubine wouldn't be this old.

"Madam, please don't cry."

He shook his neck and said, "You can leave. I don't kill women."

According to his plan, the magistrate's wife should have turned around and run away.

It is known that the county magistrate's wife does not play by the rules.

Suddenly, he stood up and lunged at Lin Dao, waving his hands to scratch his face.

This is different from the script he envisioned.
'boom! '

He kicked him away.

It really flew out, flying several meters before crashing into the wall.

After a muffled thud, there was no more sound.

After glancing at the maid who had collapsed to the ground in terror and fainted, Lin Dao tidied himself up and left.

Ancient cities themselves had little productive capacity and relied entirely on the surrounding villages for sustenance.

The core of the city was the area centered around the government offices.

In a small county town like this, there are at most some general stores, grain stores, pawnshops and other commercial shops.

Moreover, these shops are all owned by the families of several high-ranking officials.

In front of the county government office were the main hall and offices of various departments, while behind were the residences of the county magistrates.

The surrounding area consisted of a prison, a county school, and a crucial cluster of warehouses.

The main supplies, mainly grain, along with other various requisitioned goods, were piled up in the warehouses.

At other times of the year, these warehouses are mostly empty.

These warehouses will only be filled after the autumn harvest.

At this moment, Lin Dao strode towards the warehouse.

He wanted to take away all the supplies that the colonists and their henchmen had looted from the people!
(End of this chapter)