In the blink of an eye, the New Year has arrived in Nanjing, and red lights and green lights illuminate this ancient city.

Outside Hongwu Gate, the crowd celebrating the New Year seemed to be particularly lively. The entire long street was decorated with lights and colorful decorations. Wan Jun and Cui Ziyi walked through the crowd in simple clothes. From time to time, they could hear people greeting each other and asking each other how much land they had been allocated.

According to the plan, a traditional New Year will be celebrated in Nanjing City, and on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, thousands of troops will set off back to Lucheng.

Compared with the beaming poor people, many princes, officials and gentry in brocade clothes have frosty faces. This year seems to have been too twists and turns for many of them.

The two of them were walking on the avenue when they suddenly heard a crisp "pop" sound coming from a teahouse next to them, which was extremely harsh among the bustling sounds.

A man's roar came from the room on the second floor, "I don't care about any bullshit situation. It doesn't matter if the emperor of the old Zhu family dies, it doesn't matter if my land is divided."

A lower voice said, "You have forgotten, those lands were originally taken away by the barbarians to build the city."

"The barbarians have left. Is there any royal law left in Nanjing?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down." The voice came, and a young man stretched his head out, looked around, glanced at the people on the street, and then closed the window.

Cui Ziyi looked at the army and said, "Head of State?"

Wan Jun sneered, "Let's go! I still want to be in a good mood for the New Year."

The two of them walked around the busy long street until late at night, when the crowds gradually dwindled, and then the army returned towards the Forbidden City.

Compared to the hustle and bustle outside, the Forbidden City is deserted. A few miles away, across the palace wall, is the center of power that many people dream of. Under the imperial power, the bones serve as a platform!

Wan Jun was sitting on the white jade steps in front of the Chengtian Palace. He suddenly felt a little lonely, and his thoughts were wandering around. How are his parents and relatives in this world? What about those comrades and brothers in the Air and Space Army?

I wonder how Zhang Xiaoyan is doing? Are the lanterns still bright during the Lunar New Year in Lucheng County?

In the huge Forbidden City of Nanjing, the prosperous place south of the Yangtze River in dreams, Wan Jun wanted to spend the New Year happily, but the more he thought about it, the more depressed he became.

"Ziyi, let's have a drink!"

"Führer, for the great cause, how can you drink well?"

"Just a few drinks!"

Wan Jun took Cui Ziyi to drink a few glasses of wine. This was wine from the Ming Dynasty. Wan Jun admired it in his heart while drinking.

"This wine is really delicious. It lasts long in the throat and is not spicy at all. It seems to have some sweet and sour taste."

Cui Ziyi smiled and said, "Führer, although this wine is not spicy, it has a strong stamina. If you drink it in such a hurry, I am afraid you will get drunk."

Soon Wan Jun felt a little dizzy. Modern armies prohibit alcohol, so Wan Jun's drinking capacity has always been poor. At this time, when the wine became more powerful, Wan Jun realized that it was already too late.

When he was put on the bed, Wan Jun felt like the world was spinning, as if he was on the clouds, lying in a pile of cotton, his whole body was limp. It was as if he was back in the sky again, in a weightless space capsule, and he quickly entered

Sleeping.

It wasn't until noon the next day that Wan Jun woke up.

After leaving the door, several people were already waiting under the white jade steps in the distance.

Cui Ziyi said, "Führer, new news, the Ming Dynasty is starting a war."

Wan Jun said, "Go to the palace and explain in detail."

When everyone arrived at the Huagai Hall, in front of the huge map, Cui Ziyi said, "Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu in the Ming Dynasty, ascended the throne in Shaoxing and proclaimed himself emperor, and changed his reign title to Datong on the first day of the first lunar month. King Zhu Yu of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne in Guangzhou and proclaimed himself emperor on the first day of the first lunar month.

The reign name is Shaowu. King Zhu Youlang of Gui is in Wu

Zhou ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, and changed the name of the first year to Yongli on the first day of the first lunar month. The imperial edict was issued in December last year, and now the three families have declared each other a traitor and sent troops to attack."

Wan Jun laughed angrily and said, "What happened to the Ming Dynasty? If we hadn't repelled the Hu people, the Qing Dynasty would have been full of Manchus south of the Yangtze River. We finally had a chance to breathe. Instead of taking the opportunity to accumulate strength, we would instead attack each other."

Cui Ziyi said, "In addition, the Qing army has made new moves. There are 200,000 Qing soldiers heading south from Nanyang."

Wan Jun said, "It's really Nanyang. They used Sichuan as a cover to exchange for Nanyang? Where are they now?"

Cui Ziyi said, "Still in the area of ​​Nanyang and Neixiang, Chen Xinmin has led troops to reinforce Xinyang."

Wan Jun's mind turned to, "The Qing army has 200,000 troops. Chen Xinmin only has 20,000 troops. Chang Jian has 40,000 troops in Xiangfan. If the Qing army captures Nanyang, the next target will be, wait, you mean Neixiang?"

"

Cui Ziyi said, "It's Neixiang!"

Wan Jun wondered, "Neixiang is a hundred miles northwest of Nanyang. If the Hu people went south, why did they end up in Inner Township instead?"

Cui Ziyi said, "Unless the enemy's target is not Nanyang?"

Wan Jun had an ominous feeling in his heart, "Oh no, the Hu people's goal is probably Lucheng County."

Wan Jun couldn't figure out what there was in Lucheng County that could make the Hu people mobilize so much troops. But Zhang Xiaoyan was still in Lucheng. What if the Hu people were really short-sighted and exchanged Sichuan for Lucheng County? What would Zhang Xiaoyan do?

"Quickly send the order, we will set off immediately to return to Lucheng, taking all the capable soldiers and horses with us."

Cui Ziyi did not dare to be careless and stood up and left the hall.

Wan Jun silently calculated the distance between Neixiang and Lucheng. He didn't know how many troops there were in Xichuan. If it was not possible, he could rush 800 miles away and ask Zhang Xiaoyan to evacuate to Xichuan. Zheng Jiming would definitely find a way to rescue him.

Lucheng's garrison is Tian Chaoqun, yes, Tian Chaoqun. He should have five to seven regiments of troops on hand. With Fushui Pass, he should be able to withstand it for a while.

After leaving the door of the main hall and at the foot of the white marble steps, someone called out, "Führer!"

Wan Jun saw that the person in the lead was Zhou Yingcheng, a civil affairs official who had accompanied the Chinese army from Wuchang south. Behind him were Li Zhan, an old minister of the Ming Dynasty who had surrendered, Wang Changxiong, and an old acquaintance Qian Qianyi, followed by others.

There were several people following him. Wan Jun couldn't remember their names, but they were all representatives of the gentry from Jiangnan.

Zhou Yingcheng was a gentry from Wuchang who defected to the Chinese Army. He provided a lot of supplies to the Chinese Army. He happened to have some real talent and knowledge, so he was transferred to Nanjing by Wanjun to help manage political affairs.

Zhou Yingcheng was from the Huaxia Army, how could he be with these surrendered ministers from the two dynasties?

"Commander Zhou, how can you sing this song?" Wan Jun asked Zhou Yingcheng curiously.

Zhou Yingcheng cupped his fists and saluted, saying, "There is one thing that I don't know how to solve at the moment."

Wan Jun was thinking about what happened in Lucheng, and he was still in the mood. He said anxiously, "Tell me what happened quickly."

Zhou Yingcheng said, "They are all Nanjing officials and gentry. The leaders are the Lin and Wang families, and there are seventy-five other officials and gentry families. They want us to compensate for the land confiscated this time."

Wan Jun said, "It is my order to search for hidden and illegally acquired land. Who dares to ask me for compensation?"

Qian Qianyi said, "The Lin family is the in-laws of Marquis Jiangning. When Marquis Jiangning died in Gaoyou, there was no one to take care of the land in the family, so more than two thousand hectares of land were assigned to the Lin family. The Wang family is the in-laws of Wei Guogong. This cleanup

Before acquiring the land, Wei Guogong had already given nearly 3,000 hectares of land to the Wang family, which was not within the scope of your lord's clearing, and..."

Wan Jun said angrily, "That's enough."

Qian Qianyi winked at the person next to him, and Li Zhan, the censor of Zuodu, softly answered, "Not only the Lin and Wang family, but also hundreds of gentry families, just in case..."

Wan Jun glanced at Li Zhan coldly, "You

Are you threatening me?"

When Li Zhan heard this, he quickly bowed and said, "I don't dare!"

Wan Jun sneered, "Which family are you a minister of? I remember that you seemed to be the censor of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has not yet been destroyed. Why are you a minister of my house?"

Li Zhan's face was red with embarrassment, and sweat was pouring from his forehead. Wan Jun ignored him and turned around and said to the crowd, "When the Hu people were in Nanjing, who of you dared to say no? Why did you become so stubborn here again?"

Are you a proud man?"

A man whose name was unknown to Wanjun stepped forward and said, "The Chinese army is naturally not comparable to the Qing people. The Qing people are the masters of tigers, leopards and beasts. Naturally, we cannot speak human language to them. The Huaxia army is the master of benevolent and righteous gentlemen."

, so we can speak the principles of a gentleman."

Wan Jun said angrily, "It's so ridiculous. It's obvious that you bully the weak and fear the strong. It's just that you misunderstood one thing. We, the Chinese Army, will never be soft."

Qian Qianyi and others immediately knelt on the ground, "Sir, think twice. We are also trying to make a living for the common people. You must not compete with the people for profit."

The situation in Lucheng is already urgent. How can Wan Jun still have the time to argue with them here? "This matter needs to be discussed in the long run! You all go back first!"

Li Zhan said, "On behalf of the people of Jiangnan, I am here to ask for an explanation. Your Excellency should not allow us to kneel here so long that we cannot afford it."

Wan Jun only felt that his whole temple was beating suddenly, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Qian Qianyi on the side saw this and stretched out his hand to grab Li Zhan, "My lord said that we want to discuss it in the long term, so that's what I said. Let's go back first."

Several people kowtowed, stood up and left together.

Wan Jun was so angry that he really wanted to kill all these people immediately and confiscate their property. However, there were important things to do now, so he wanted to let these people wander around for a few days.

Wan Jun summoned Zhao Boyuan to tell him about Lucheng. Upon hearing this, Zhao Boyuan said anxiously, "Lucheng is the place where our army thrives. We must not lose it. Your Excellency, please leave as soon as possible."

Wan Jun said, "I have asked Ziyi to deliver the order. After we leave, you will be fully responsible for the affairs of Nanjing. Be careful of the officials and gentry causing chaos."

Zhao Boyuan said, "Don't worry, leave everything to me."

Wan Jun said, "Have you found out each family's property?"

Zhao Boyuan said, "We have found out clearly."

Wan Jun nodded and said, "Okay, the calculation method will be implemented as soon as possible, and the officials and gentry will be taxed together. A stepped taxation will be implemented, and the calculation method will be implemented together."

Zhao Boyuan asked curiously, "What is stepped taxation?"

Wan Jun said, "To put it simply, everyone is divided into several levels. Those whose annual income is less than five taels of silver are not taxed. Those whose annual income is between five taels and ten taels are taxed at 1%, and those whose annual income is between 12 and 30 taels.

The tax rate is 3%, which means the more you earn in a year, the more taxes we levy."

When Zhao Boyuan heard this, he understood and said, "In other words, the richer people pay more taxes."

"That's right, the role of taxation is, on the one hand, to collect the world's financial resources for the country's use and to concentrate on doing big things. On the other hand, it should also collect more money from the rich and less money from the poor, so as to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.

, as the saying goes, we don’t suffer from poverty but from inequality.”

Zhao Boyuan thought for a while, "Throughout the ages, dynasties have fallen, mostly because the people have no way to make a living. Although the head of state's method sounds unprecedented, it is a good way to suppress wealth and make the people more prosperous. However, in this case, the officials and gentry will never

I will agree."
Chapter completed!