Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 135 The Prince of Jin's Powerful Counterattack!
Sun Yan has a lot of people who dislike her now.

That Song Shi'an, and that Ye Changqing.

The two people have somewhat similar personalities.

He's young, talented, and a little bit eccentric.

But their opponent is not themselves.

As an older generation, there was no need for him to step down.

This world ultimately belongs to the young people.

His feelings were exactly the same as the emperor's.

The difference is that he is not worried about running out of options.

"Master." A steward hurried over to Sun Yan, who was feeding the fish, and said with a smile, "Young Master is back."

Upon hearing this, the stiff expression on his face slowly relaxed and softened: "Okay."

"Shall we go and greet the young master?" the steward asked.

"National affairs must always take precedence over family affairs."

Sun Yan continued feeding the fish calmly: "Let Sun Qian go to the Ministry of Personnel to report on his duties first. Everything is settled before he goes home."

"Yes."

.........

Outside Sheng'an City, a handsome man dressed in a neat, brand-new seventh-rank official robe rode a horse at the very front of a procession.

Behind them were more than a dozen carts of 'goods' covered in burlap.

There were also a dozen or so county soldiers armed, guarding the left and right sides.

At the city gate, after Sun Qian presented the imperial edict from the Ministry of Personnel and had it checked by the soldiers, everyone was allowed to pass.

The cavalry from Zhang County entered Sheng'an City.

Countless people gathered around with great interest to watch.

Among them were many young women of marriageable age, who all looked at him with undisguised admiration.

"He's really handsome! The young master of the Sun family is probably the most handsome man in the capital!"

"That most beautiful woman in Jiangnan is also from the Sun family."

"Wasn't that Sun Situ in his youth?"

"I was fortunate enough to see one once, and he was even more handsome than this!"

"Are all the people in Yangzhou good-looking, or is the Sun family more beautiful?"

"I heard that Young Master Sun Qian is devoted to studying the classics and is not bound by romantic feelings. He is still unmarried."

"After passing the imperial examination this time, he will surely marry a noblewoman from a prominent family."

"To think that someone would only marry after passing the imperial examination..."

The custom of "catching a son-in-law after passing the imperial examination" usually refers to an activity held by candidates who have passed the examination.

It was very rare for someone to choose a son-in-law during the imperial examinations.

The reason is simple: those who pass the imperial examination at the age of twenty are extremely rare.

In ancient times, it was rare for someone with good circumstances to not be married by the age of sixteen.

What kind of son-in-law is easy to find?
A poor scholar who passed the imperial examination.

Of course, even those who passed the imperial examination could be arrested. Some were like Sun Qian, who would not marry unless they passed the examination, while others were from impoverished families or wealthy merchants who wanted to squeeze into high society and married their daughters to successful candidates as concubines.

As for the claim that all the third-ranking scholars were chosen by the royal family to be imperial consorts, that's where the charm of the public account truly lies.

In ancient times, only a handful of people who passed the imperial examination and became imperial sons-in-law were actually married to the emperor.

Throughout ancient times, there is only one recorded instance of a top scholar becoming a prince consort.

And after he became the emperor's son-in-law, he only did one thing in his life—he betrothed the mother of the person who introduced him to the emperor's son-in-law.

The vast majority of successful candidates in the imperial examinations looked down on the idea of ​​marrying a prince consort.

What kind of wretched state must the eldest son of a powerful family be in before he would marry a princess?

At the height of the aristocratic families' power, some of the emperor's sons were unable to marry the legitimate daughters of these families.

Even a self-proclaimed upright and incorruptible official like Wei Zheng had to scrape together money from all over the place to pay for his son's dowry in order to curry favor with the prestigious Wang family.

Of course, this varies by era.

Not all princesses are without merit.

However, the official position of '驸马' (驸马) was indeed utterly useless, representing the complete ruin of one's political career.

If you adopt a superior attitude and marry a princess, forming an equal alliance with the royal family, then there will be no problem.

However, compared to their sons marrying princesses, top-tier families are more interested in marrying their daughters to promising princes as their principal wives.

Princess Consort, Imperial Concubine, Empress.

These are the ones that truly have real value.

One of the specific manifestations of the fact that the nobility was in a class of its own in Dayu was that, apart from one commoner empress, all the other empresses were from the nobility.

The current Empress Hua comes from the Hua clan of Qinzhou.

"Although Young Master Sun Qian is handsome, dashing, and noble, I think Song Shi'an, dressed simply and wearing handcuffs that day, seemed even more charming..."

"His official robes are just dirty. He's a proper seventh-rank county magistrate, and his father is the magistrate of Sheng'an. And you're still complaining?"

"Who made the choice? I was just saying that compared to Young Master Sun's handsome appearance, Song Shi'an's demeanor was somewhat deep and melancholic..."

"It makes you feel a surge of spring fever, and you want to embrace it with your chest, right?"

"Ugh, if you say that kind of nonsense again, I'll tell your dad!"

Two women giggled and played around nearby, while Xin Yue, with her sword at her sides and arms crossed, watched Sun Qian for a while before shaking her head.

It's just okay, nothing special...

But this is not critical.

The convoy he was leading was indeed quite large.

"Can Zhang County really collect this much tax revenue?"

"Yes, even some of the larger counties around Sheng'an might not be able to collect more than a dozen truckloads."

"Could it be that the box is big, but there's not much money inside?"

"That's unnecessary, isn't it? Everything needs to be counted."

"This Minister Sun certainly has influence, and this isn't even in their hometown of Yangzhou..."

Local taxes were collected by the imperial court twice a year.

One was land tax, and the other was fiscal tax.

During the autumn harvest, the imperial court personally dispatched troops and civil officials to collect land taxes in various places.

Finance and taxation, on the other hand, take place at the end of the year, after winter.

They were usually escorted to Sheng'an by the county magistrates, who provided armed protection.

However, only in Sizhou, a place with convenient transportation in all directions, was it possible to collect the goods directly at the county level.

The other five prefectures were directly supervised by officials dispatched by the imperial court, and were managed at least by prefecture.

There are exceptions.

For example, Liangzhou had to withstand the pressure from the entire Qi state and also guard against Northern Yan. It was basically impossible to collect money and grain, and it also had to rely on subsidies from the imperial court from time to time.

The largest taxpayer was Sizhou, the wealthiest state in the entire country.

Zhang County in Qiuping Commandery of Sizhou was a small county and not particularly wealthy.

Her expression gradually turned serious, and Xin Yue couldn't help but murmur, "Even this, Song Shi'an guessed it?"

Chancery desk.

As the head of the Nine Ministers, he was not only in charge of the appointment and removal of officials, but also responsible for the tax revenue from the salt and iron monopoly.

However, in order to prevent the concentration of power, the Shaofu (Ministerial Office) was established to manage taxes from mountains and seas, and the Si Nong (Minister of Agriculture) was established to manage taxes from grain.

After Sun Qian led his convoy into the imperial city, it was taken over by the Ministry of Personnel.

He himself went to report on his duties to Yu Xiu, the beloved disciple of Ouyang Ke, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

"Doctor Yu, this is the account book for salt and iron tax revenue in Zhang County. Please take a look."

"Young Master Qian, please have a seat."

Yu Xiu smiled and extended his hand, inviting the other person to sit down. He then took the account book handed to him by his subordinate while sitting in the main seat. Upon opening it, his expression froze.

Sun Qian noticed this detail.

Then, he picked up his teacup and began to drink his tea.

Yu Xiu, however, remained serious as he examined the account books.

After a while, he asked with a smile, "Young Master Qian, is this after deducting the county and state taxes?"

Every era has its local taxes and national taxes.

Distribute grain and money.

The state and county government machinery also needs to operate, so they also need to take a cut of the taxes.

According to the Great Yu Law, the division ratio was 50% for the state, 30% for the prefecture, and 20% for the county.

Aside from a few special places where the imperial court would issue policies, such as in strategically important military locations like Shuojun, the policies were largely the same in other areas.

Of course, the law is the law.

Once it's implemented, things will be different.

In some places, the national tax may only account for 10% of the actual taxes paid.

Nevertheless, the accounts match up.

In ancient times, the most abundant type of talent was the one who fabricated accounts.

“Return to Physician Yu,” Sun Qian said. “At the back of the account book, there are the records for submission to the prefecture and state.”

"Okay, sure." Yu Xiu nodded seriously, then handed the ledger to a subordinate and said, "Go and check it carefully. After it matches, I will sign it."

"Yes, sir." The man withdrew.

Yu Xiu suddenly stood up.

Seeing this, Sun Qian also stood up.

He had expected the other party to offer some commentary on the finances and taxes, but instead, the other party said, "Young Master Qian, you've returned to prepare for the imperial examinations, haven't you?"

"Yes, Dr. Yu," he replied with a smile.

"The county magistrate's work is so demanding, yet he still finds time to read," Yu Xiu exclaimed in admiration. "Truly, every generation produces talented people."

"Dr. Yu, you flatter me."

Sun Qian smiled faintly, but there was no joy in his heart.

This Yu Xiu Ouyang Ke truly has no faction or clique.

Everyone who saw this ledger was astonished.

.........

Inside the Prince of Jin's residence.

The two kings sat together, drinking plum wine.

However, he was not in a relaxed state.

"That Minister Sun is really something, he has such a bad temper, he actually spoke up for Song Shi'an himself," Prince Zhongping remarked.

In fact, they had already planned to let Song Shi'an exploit the loopholes, and with Sun Situ's words, Song Ce and Song Shi'an were able to successfully scout the location and register.

“Then this imperial examination will be a contest between the Sun family and the Song family,” said the Prince of Jin.

"Second Brother, would you be willing to preside over the imperial examination?" Prince Zhongping asked secretly.

"Don't say such nonsense," the Prince of Jin reminded him. "Besides, after the question is set out, the Grand Secretaries will be restricted. During those days, I also had to stay at the Imperial Academy to avoid suspicion."

Playing tricks like leaking exam questions is both stupid and dangerous.

"Too."

Although King Zhongping had many ideas, many of them were too insidious and dangerous.

Just then, a eunuch came over and said, "Your Highnesses, Lord Huang requests an audience."

Huang Ze was a fifth-rank official in the Jin Prince's faction, serving in the Ministry of Personnel.

"Let him come," said the Prince of Jin.

Soon, an official arrived and greeted the two princes with a smile: "Your Highness Prince Jin, Your Highness Prince Zhongping."

"What, is there some good news?"

When the Prince of Jin saw him smile, he asked him a question.

“Your Highness, I think this is a good thing,” Huang Ze said. “Didn’t Sun Qian return to Sheng’an with the Salt and Iron Tax Bureau? I’ve seen the account books.”

"Is there a problem?" the Prince of Jin asked.

"The national tax revenue from the salt and iron monopoly in Zhang County is a full 2.2 million coins!" He lowered his voice, but his tone was forceful.

“That is indeed quite a lot.” Prince Jin nodded. “It seems that even in some large counties, it’s only a little over a million.”

Because this comparison wasn't intuitive enough, Huang Ze said, "In the first three years, Zhang County paid 680,000, 810,000, and 750,000 in taxes respectively."

"Three times?!" King Zhongping was stunned.

"Moreover, the county and state taxes were all paid in accordance with the prescribed ratios," Huang Ze explained. "In other words, the salt and iron taxes for the entire county were three times higher than in previous years."

"This is great news, Second Brother!"

Zhongping immediately showed excitement and looked at the Prince of Jin.

"With such a large amount of tax revenue, Sun Qian can advance even further. If he passes the imperial examination, he can be promoted very quickly..." Prince Jin murmured, a hint of joy on his face.

"Second brother, that's one aspect."

Seeing that he had misunderstood, Prince Zhongping said tactfully, "But most importantly, Minister Sun's skill has been demonstrated."

"I never imagined that Minister Sun's influence would be so effective among the officials and gentry of Zhang County." Prince Jin nodded in agreement, then raised a question, "But this is only the revenue of one county, isn't it?"

"But this is the clarion call for Sun Situ's counterattack."

Because Huang Ze was present, the Prince of Zhongping became slightly more careful with his words, but still went quite straight to the point: "The essence of His Majesty's plan to establish military farms is to accumulate grain and money. But now, with just a little effort from the Sun family, they can triple the tax revenue!"

Suddenly, the Prince of Jin had a sudden realization.

Yup!

The current problem is a severe shortage of money and food, which is why we need to establish military farms.

But now, as long as we make good use of Sun's people, do not offend anyone, and do not resort to violence, we can quickly resolve the financial crisis!

“This is only Sizhou. If we let Minister Sun go back to Yangzhou…” Seeing that the Prince of Jin understood, he added with a smile, “the gap in Beiliang could be filled in a year.”

“Second Brother, we must present a memorial to commend Sun Qian at the court assembly,” the Prince of Zhongping suggested. “We must put in a lot of effort.”

"I understand, that's natural."

The Prince of Jin immediately felt confident.

His alliance with Sun Situ was to become as close and seamless as that between the King of Wu and the Song family.

(End of this chapter)