Ling'er and his party had all left far away, but Xue Jinshan was still standing there, frowning in deep thought.
He had never thought about this issue, and it was not something he, a general, should think about.
The emperor's kindness is so profound that he must repay it with death. Isn't it as simple as that?
It doesn't seem that complicated.
But this kind of thing, if you don’t think about it, don’t think about it. Once you think about it, you always want to think about it clearly.
It would be fine if Xue Jinshan was a confused person, but he happened to be very smart.
At least he is much smarter than Qin Gang.
When Qin was just fighting, he always thought about making great achievements. In order to achieve success for one general, he would not hesitate to wither all his bones.
Xue Jinshan hates war very much, because every war will kill many brothers and ordinary people, regardless of victory or defeat.
But Ling'er said, 'The life of an ordinary person is life, the life of an emperor is also life, everyone has the same life, why are there light and heavy? Noble and lowly?'
Yes, why exactly?
After leaving Yanyun Mountain, Ling'er let the cart carrying the gifts go back first, while the four of them headed north, straight to Niutou Mountain.
The western part of Yanyun is still very desolate, with sparsely populated people and rugged roads. Scattered graves and bones can be seen everywhere on the roadside...
"Sooner or later, the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty will use troops against Yanyun County." Ouyang Cui sighed, "By then, I don't know how many people here will have their families destroyed, and there will also be countless bone graves here!"
"Unless the country dies, the battle will be endless!" Tie Kunlun said, "These are Mr. Chen's exact words."
"Li Wanjiang is dead, as well as Li Feng, Li Shi, and Li Wanyun. They are all dead. There will be another Li Wanjiang. As long as someone wants to be the emperor, the war will never stop." Ouyang Cui said.
"My brother doesn't want to be the emperor." Ling'er defended Xiao Chen, "But if he became the emperor, maybe there would be no war."
"Even so." Ouyang Cui said, "But what about Xiao Chen a hundred years from now?"
"Hey..." Ling'er was speechless.
"I don't know about a hundred years from now, but the boss said that after a thousand years, there will be no emperor in the world," Tie Kunlun said.
"What do you mean?" Ouyang Cui has such a high IQ, but he can't understand Tie Kunlun's words. Wouldn't the world without an emperor be even more chaotic?
"I'm not sure, but that's what the boss said." Tie Kunlun scratched his head.
"I think my brother just wants to change the world now into what it will be a thousand years from now." Ling'er was somewhat clear about Xiao Chen's thoughts, but it was also vague.
It should be difficult to change the world, even harder than becoming an emperor!
But if this is my brother's wish, I, Ling'er, must help him realize it... Actually, there's no need to change too much, it's just like Changshan City, right?
It is difficult to change the world, but it is quite easy to change Xuanming City. Now Xuanming City has a completely new look...at least the city walls are new.
To use Chen Ping's words, build walls high, store grain widely, guard against hunger inside and guard against wolves outside. No matter how you say it, we live in such a city and feel at ease...
A city wall repair project attracted thousands of people, which also stimulated the small economy in Xuanming City that had been stagnant for a long time. In the past, there were only two restaurants in the city, but now more than a dozen have been opened, and every business is doing well.
OK.
When there are more people coming and going, there needs to be a place to stay. In the past, the scattered merchants who passed by would stay in individual homes. Now that there are more people coming, inns and hotels have naturally appeared in response to the situation.
Other car repair shops, shoe repair shops, and clothing stores have also opened one after another. This is the law of the market. As long as there is demand, there will be supply.
As long as there is market trade, there will be taxes. When tax officer Wu Haishan received the first tax payment in many years, he lost control of his emotions on the spot and cried excitedly.
Although it is only a few dozen cents, it is a real tax for our Xuanming County!
The Yanyun County Order permanently abolished the corvee system and exempted land rent and taxes for three years, but business taxes still had to be collected.
The tax system is very clear. Large business taxes are high and small business taxes are low. In other words, the more profitable the business, the higher the tax, such as big factories, big restaurants, big brothels...
Ordinary small businesses, hawkers, shops, and craftsmen are engaged in business to support their families. They earn very little profit, so taxes and fees are also very low.
It is said that the big businesses that currently pay the most taxes are basically Xiao Chen's personal factories.
Since taxes are low and business can make money, why not do it?
Although ordinary people have little education, they can still calculate accounts. For example, some smart people have wondered why Uncle Baili collects those dry, smelly and hard fish skins? Those things are cheap in Xuanming City
It’s so bad that it’s no exaggeration to say that even the cats won’t eat it!
Especially now in late autumn, the yard of every household is almost full of hangings, which have been dried and stored for winter.
This is also the only meat that all the people in Xuanming City can eat in winter.
Because in winter, cattle and sheep are as thin as dogs, and the meat is inedible. Besides, who is willing to kill cattle and sheep in winter? They are killed only in spring and summer when the grass grows and the sheep are fattened.
Unless the family is relatively well-off, they kill one or two cows and sheep during the freezing season and freeze the meat for winter consumption.
Let’s go back to the issue of fish skins. The question is why the county government collects these? And it’s in large quantities.
Are you transporting truckloads of them to the east?
There must be a reason!
After some inquiry, I found out that this thing is very popular in the cities in the east, especially the restaurants in Changshan Prefecture and Shunfeng City, which sell this food, and the price is quite high!
Isn’t there fish in the Bailong River? But river fish is different from lake fish. River fish is mainly eaten fresh, and the taste is greatly reduced after being pickled into fish skins.
However, the big carp and pike in Xuanming Lake are extremely plump. After being salted and dried, they still retain a lot of oil, so they taste unique, especially when grilled.
It can kill a person!
I heard that Lord Xiao Chen also presented this thing as a tribute to the emperor...
If this is really the case, then why can’t we transport it to Changshan City and sell it ourselves? Why should we let the county government make all the money!
So another group of fish traders appeared in Xuanming City. In order to receive more and better fish skins, they quietly raised the purchase price by a few cents. At first, they were afraid that people from the county government would come to question them.
But not only did the people from the county government not hold him accountable, they also raised the purchase price.
This is something new. The government-owned business in the yamen will compete fairly with us?
You really don’t care? Then we won’t be polite!
They set up a stall directly at the gate of the county government and stopped all the people who came to sell fish skins. Don't ask! The price must be higher than the price inside. How much higher per kilogram? A penny higher is not higher!
Do you want to give cash?
Depends on what you are asking!
It's all a cash transaction where we pay the money and deliver the goods.