Chapter 111 Han Wu Era ([-])

another year later
The second year of Tianhan
Because Su Wu was imprisoned by the Huns, and Li Ling went out to conquer the Huns but was defeated and surrendered, and the countries in the Western Regions flirted with the Huns, the emperor Liu Che was furious and ordered to increase all kinds of taxes by three times, and immediately began to collect them. Huns, completely exterminate the arrogant Huns.

Under this background, the world where refugees are everywhere, is completely unstable.

Langya County

Dongguan County

"Please buy my child."

"A 13-year-old girl, just ask for a bucket of rice, please."

"I don't want your girl, how about this, do you have a field? I'll exchange grain for your field."

"My family's field was sold to the Wang family last year. (The Langya Wang family, not the Liaodong Wang family, is just a small powerful family now)"

"Then there's no other way. Everyone is short of food now. I bought the Ni family's daughter back and it's just a meal for myself."

"The head of the county government office is here to collect taxes, run away!"

Da da da--

A group of county magistrates came, and the people begging on the roadside ran away in fright.

"You rascals, you haven't paid your taxes this year, yet you dare to beg on the street with the audacity? It's unreasonable!"

The official came to a family's house. There was a father and daughter inside. The father was preparing to cook porridge with the rice he got from selling the fields.

"Oh? There's still some rice? I'll give you a discount to pay the tax."

"What is your name?"

The officials forcibly stopped the cooking of the porridge, and the county clerk beside him questioned the middle-aged man, and began to read the family's accounting information on the hemp paper.

"I am..." The middle-aged man replied truthfully. His eyes were black and his belly was flat. He had been hungry for too long, but his fear of the government made him dare not resist.

The master book found the information of the father and daughter, and then began to calculate the taxes they owed.

"Li Dazhuang, male, 41 years old, his wife died early, his parents died, and he has a 15-year-old daughter Li Mengmeng." The master book confirmed.

"Yes, yes." The middle-aged man replied timidly with a yellow and thin face.

"En." The master book responded, and then began to calculate the tax: "The land tax is one-third, you need to pay..."

"Isn't it one-fifteenth?" The middle-aged man asked.

"That's the old calendar from Emperor Xiaojing's time, and now it's one-third." The master sneered, and then continued to count: "Your family has [-] mu of land, and each mu produces an average of two stones, a total of sixty stones. According to one-third of the land tax, you need to pay twenty shi of rice as the field tax."

"But my family's field has been sold long ago, and I have no land. Why do I have to pay the land tax?" The middle-aged man asked in confusion.

"You just sold the land this year. The government hasn't had time to collect your tax this year, so it doesn't count. Your family's land tax will not be stopped until next year." The master book replied irritably, and complained to the officials around him: "With It’s really hard for these Qianshou to speak.”

"These Lu Zuo are like this. They are uneducated and have a lot of shit. It's not easy to pay taxes." The official said flatteringly.

"But my family doesn't have so much food." The middle-aged man wanted to beg.

However, the master continued to say indifferently: "I know you are in a hurry, but don't worry, the grain of twenty shi is just a land tax, and I have to count your counting tax, cloth tax, exemption from corvee service, house tax, and military service exemption." The tax, and some taxes that His Majesty has added in these years, I will show you slowly."

"Huh?" The middle-aged man didn't expect that twenty shi of food was only a small part, and he was so frightened that he burst into tears.

"This year's Suanfu has temporarily increased three times, which is 160 yuan. This is only the summer calculation, and the autumn calculation is also [-] yuan, a total of [-] yuan." Taxes are calculated for middle-aged men.

"At the current market, even if you sell both of us, father and daughter, you won't be able to sell them for more than 2000 yuan." The middle-aged man gradually despaired.

"Don't worry, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I will continue to calculate for you." The master bookkeeper continued to calculate: "This year's cloth tax is to pay ten bolts of silk and ten bolts of cloth."

"The silkworms in my family starved to death long ago, and my wife also starved to death. There is no one weaving. Where can I get the cloth?" The middle-aged man explained.

"Don't worry, I said don't worry, I haven't finished the calculation yet!" The master book was very dissatisfied, and then continued to count: "You didn't come to perform corvee service or military service this year. According to the law of the Great Han, Those who did not perform corvee service or military service can use money to pay for crimes. The tax for exempting from corvee service is [-] yuan, and the tax for exempting military service is [-] yuan. The sum is [-] yuan. You are blessed to live in our Han Dynasty, as long as If you pay money, you can redeem your sins. If you were placed in the Tyrant Qin Dynasty, you would have to pay a fine of at least tens of thousands of dollars if you refused to perform corvee service, and if you dare to refuse military service, your head may already be gone."

"I was so hungry that I couldn't walk, that's why I didn't go to the corvee. It can't be my fault." The middle-aged man continued to explain.

"What are you in a hurry for? I haven't finished the calculation yet." The master bookkeeper continued to calculate the accounts. After calculating all kinds of exorbitant taxes, he concluded to the middle-aged man: "In short, all the taxes you owe this year can be converted into money. A total of 470 taels."

"Our family's total annual income is less than 2 yuan. After deducting the cost of food, clothing, housing and transportation, there are only [-] to [-] yuan left each year, but you want me to pay more than [-] yuan in taxes a year? Where did I come from?" So much money?" The middle-aged man cried.

"What? You want to resist the tax?!" The head book was shocked.

"No, no, I..." The middle-aged man still wanted to explain.

However, the official officer obviously didn't listen to that much, so he just grabbed the middle-aged man and reprimanded him righteously: "The imperial court's war against the Huns is urgent, why don't you want to think about the imperial court? Why are you resisting taxes? You What is the difference between this kind of behavior and colluding with the Huns? Do you still have a conscience! You selfish head of Guizhou! You really deserve to die!"

"Father!" The middle-aged man's daughter wanted to pull away from the official post, and cried: "Don't hurt my father!"

"The people in Guizhou are selfish and unwilling to consider for the court, all because they don't read the books of sages and sages. Because they don't read, they don't know the way of benevolence and righteousness. For the sake of the imperial court, alas..." The master secretary shook his head, feeling sad for these uneducated Qianshou who didn't like reading sage books.

"My family can't afford books." The middle-aged man explained.

"That's not a reason!" The director scolded angrily, "You don't have a sage in your heart at all, otherwise why don't you want to read books of sages? Books of Songs, Spring and Autumn, etc., if you read carefully, you won't be so ignorant!"

"I told you, my family can't afford books!" The middle-aged man continued to explain.

"Ignorant people always like to find excuses. It's really sad and hateful!" The master who has read poetry and books despises this kind of uneducated head of Guizhou. A low-level poor family.

"But I told you, my family really can't afford books!" The middle-aged man didn't understand. It wasn't that he didn't want to study, but he didn't have the money to study. Could it be that these noble educated people really couldn't understand?

"Shut up, you Guisou who disdains reading, you don't understand benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness at all. You are no different from barbarians, you are just a barbarian native! Only torture can correct a bold man like you. Get lost!" The director was very angry, a person who doesn't like reading, how dare to talk back in front of him?He really doesn't understand Chinese etiquette at all, no wonder he's still a farmer all his life.

From the director's point of view, the reason why the middle-aged man in front of him became a poor farmer is definitely not because he has no privileges, but because he refuses to study, does not understand Chinese etiquette and culture, does not understand the way of sages, and does not know how to behave. Righteousness is as uneducated as a barbarian, so he becomes a farmer.

(End of this chapter)

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