Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 40 Performance Review
The establishment of the Shangjifang office brought about tremendous changes to Changtai Township in just six months.

Xixiang, in particular, has become a hot topic of conversation for everyone during their leisure time.

“The western village is our own son, while we eastern village are sons of bitches.”

In a small teahouse, someone said indignantly.

"Shh, don't let the immortal master hear us. You may not care about your life, but I do."

A person nearby quickly covered their companion's mouth.

"There's no immortal master here; it's all Li Tong's doing."

The man who spoke slammed his fist on the table, his expression ferocious, as if he wished he could tear Li Tong to pieces.

"Li Tong is unpopular."

Li Xiangqi, watching this scene from the second-floor railing, couldn't help but speak up.

Opposite him was Li Xiangming, who was conducting an undercover investigation.

"Li Tong cannot step down yet. When you get back, tell him to be careful."

Li Xiangming was not surprised by Li Tong's bad reputation, even though everyone knew that the changes in Changtai Township stemmed from Danggui Mountain.

However, the immortal master of Dangui Mountain rarely shows his face, and it is Li Tong who issues the decrees every time.

Under Li Xiangming's guidance, Li Tong devised innovative ways to manipulate taxation, resulting in a plethora of additional taxes.

These surtaxes are levied at very low rates, so the burden is not heavy. Although ordinary people don't want to pay them, they grit their teeth and pay them anyway.

But as long as you're willing to pay, you've fallen into Li Tong's trap.

Li Tong divided the annual tax revenue into monthly installments, and sent people to the villages to collect taxes at the end of each month.

Furthermore, the tax rates of surtaxes were constantly adjusted, along with various complicated tax reduction, exemption, and combined tax calculation methods. In the end, the villagers had no idea how much they should pay, relying entirely on the government's word.

In this way, Li Tong completely took control of Changtai Township.

Although the villagers hated him to the core, they could only be obsequious in the face of the tax collector, fearing that he would ask for an exorbitant amount.

In addition, with Li Xiangming's tacit approval, Li Tong also implemented a differential tax policy in the eastern and western townships.

For example, in Dongxiang, a household pays land tax based on the size of the land, which is generally one-tenth of the expected output; household tax is paid based on the number of people; minor children pay a poll tax, and adult men and women pay a tax on population.

In Xixiang, the land tax was also one-tenth of the total tax, but there was a three-year tax exemption period, and there was no other poll tax.

The announcement of this policy instantly enraged the people of Dongxiang, who flocked to question Li Tong.

Li Tong's reply was simple: if it doesn't work, go to Xixiang.

If you dare to go, the government will send you grain seeds and farming tools.

In just three months, nearly 5,000 households moved into Xixiang.

The management in Xixiang is much stricter than in Dongxiang. Everyone must have a household registration, which is not only proof of identity but also the legal basis for property ownership.

Without this, you can't buy property or real estate even if you have money.

They also do not enjoy the protection of Danggui Mountain.

With household registration in place, Li Xiangming then severed their original identity ties and rebuilt villages with 100 households per village.

The new villages are not linked to townships, but are distributed around a "market". Every ten villages share a market, and they exchange goods and services.

As a result, Changtai West Township now has two management systems.

One system directly governed the people of Xixiang City through direct administration, while the other indirectly governed the villagers under its jurisdiction by controlling the "markets," forming a three-tiered administrative division system of township, market, and village.

In fact, Li Xiangming felt that it was entirely possible to transform townships into towns, or even townships into counties, forming a multi-level administrative region with more complete functions.

However, due to the existence of Hengguo, this idea could not be realized.

Hengguo far surpasses the national system that Li Xiangming remembered from his previous life. It is too big and has been favored by cultivators for generations. Even if the regime is destroyed, the cultivation forces behind it will support a new one to come to power and stop the trend of division.

This allowed the civilization of Heng Kingdom to expand infinitely, extending from the Ganges River basin all the way to the vicinity of Caiyun Sea, while its administrative divisions remained limited to only three levels: Dao, Fu, and Xian. If the Li family were to establish a county near Danggui Mountain, it would conflict with Pu County, and even establishing a town would be inappropriate, because Pu County, nominally a county, was actually larger than an ordinary kingdom, with tens of thousands of people under the jurisdiction of Danggui Mountain, making it unsuitable for the name of a town.

Another point is that Hengguo is a country where immortals and mortals co-rule. Taking Changtai Township as an example, although the Li family is the ruler of Changtai Township, in name, all the people of Puxian County belong to Hengguo, and the Hengguo government still exists.

However, Hengguo was too large, and the government could only govern down to the county level, which in turn controlled the towns, and below the towns, the villagers governed themselves.

Changtai Township was a private settlement established by the Li family, which was under its own jurisdiction. Whether you called it a township, a village, or even a "home" was fine, the Hengguo government would not interfere or collect taxes.

Once a town is established, it must be reported to the Bailu Gate and Pu County governments, and from then on, it will be incorporated into the political system of Heng State and will no longer be autonomous.

This is not what the Li family wanted to see.
-
With Changtai Xixiang on the right track, Li Xiangming returned to Tailai Peak to report to Li Qianxiong.

Looking at the neat and orderly villages and settlements near Xixiang on the blueprints brought by Li Xiangming, Li Qianxiong was very satisfied.

"You've achieved this much in just six months. I wasn't wrong about you. In a moment, take my warrant to the Hall of Merit and receive 5000 merits."

5000 achievements?

Li Xiangming was overjoyed, as he had just received 3000 merits for intercepting the white-faced old man and cracking down on the evil cultivators who trafficked children with spiritual roots.

Li Qianxiong was originally entitled to 4000 merit points for his mission to Qingyang Temple, but due to an unexpected incident that delayed the cooperation between the two families by several months, and the fact that Li Xiangming had been freeloading at the Tihu Cave for half a year infuriated Li Qianxiong, he was only given 2000 merit points in the end.

These two achievements combined only amount to 5000 merits, which is equivalent to the rectification of Xixiang.

But it should be noted that Li Xiangming risked his life in the first two incidents.

The next thing was nothing more than pointing fingers.
"You little brat, you're acting all innocent after getting the benefits. 5000 merit points is a lot, but I want to see more than just that."

The implication is that Li Xiangming must thoroughly develop Xixiang.

"This is my duty," Li Xiangming nodded quickly.

Seeing this, Li Qianxiong grunted and explained, "Our Li family has many smart people, but they all focus on studying magic. They are all experts in magical combat, but if you put them in charge of a region, they are mostly blind to it."

"I thought about the selection of the Shangjifang for a long time and finally decided to send you. You have this talent, so don't waste it. Gain experience here for a few years and you will be able to do more for the family in the future."

Li Xiangming understood. The Li family valued martial arts and had no shortage of skilled fighters, but those who could both fight and manage were rare.

The development of a family ultimately depends on management talent, which is why Li Qianxiong has given himself so many achievements.

In addition, he made a grand promise to himself.

Whether the cake was genuine or not, Li Xiangming didn't know, but the matter of Changtai Xixiang was a real achievement.

Having tasted success, Li Xiangming immediately put forward his long-planned idea.

“Master, I plan to establish a new Xulong Township north of Danggui Mountain.”

"Xulong Township?"

Li Qianxiong quickly realized, "You're after the mineral vein in the north?"

"Yes."

To the north of Danggui Mountain, the mountain range stretches endlessly. The Li family discovered several valuable mineral veins here, including two Zhuoling iron veins, one gentian vein, and one lapis lazuli vein.

The Clumsy Spirit Iron can neutralize the sharpness of other refining materials, enabling the efficient combination of various materials.

Gentian stone is hard, and adding it to the refining process can effectively improve the toughness of magical artifacts.

Lapis lazuli has an exquisite and beautiful appearance. The lapis lazuli extracted from it is extremely sharp and is one of the main materials for forging flying swords.

These three types of spiritual minerals have different values, with lapis lazuli being the most expensive and considered a private possession by the Li family.

To prevent outsiders from spying, the Li family also sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Li Chenggeng, to reside here permanently.

Li Chenggeng repeatedly asked his family to excavate lapis lazuli, but Li Qianxiong has kept the matter unresolved.

No one understands the Li family's current situation better than him; if they want to take care of these mines, it will take at least three to five years.

Upon hearing Li Xiangming mention it, he couldn't help but tap his fingers.

(End of this chapter)