"Why can't I knock the drum?" The leader of the Lilliputian official accidentally had his drumstick taken away from him. As a result, he swung it empty and was so angry that he spoke harsh Chinese.
The censor on duty, who had a Haechi patch on his chest, pointed the drumstick he had retrieved at an iron plaque next to the Dengwen drum, and said angrily:
"Do you know Chinese characters?"
"Of course I know..." The envoy from the foreign vassal said with some pride and some unconfidence: "Some."
"Then read it!" said the censor.
"All civil litigation starts from the bottom up..." The envoy read out word for word.
"Okay, no need to read it." The censor interrupted him and said: "The first sentence of this chapter stipulates that the drummer must come from the folk. Therefore, officials cannot play drums, let alone officials from outside the country!"
"This..." The envoy was stunned for a moment, then became furious and said: "You are deliberately making things difficult! They all said that if you beat the drum, His Majesty the Emperor will summon you!"
"How many times do I have to tell you this? You are not qualified to play drums!" The censor said with a cold face: "If you continue to make trouble unreasonably, I will throw it out!"
There was no other way, so the envoy had no choice but to retreat in disgrace, inevitably speaking in his native dialect and uttering a string of incomprehensible curses.
Just when he was about to turn around, he saw Zeng Tai, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
The envoy has been in Ming Dynasty for a while, so he naturally knows that the one wearing the red robe is a high official!
~~
After watching the fun, Zeng Tai was about to pass the sign to the palace, but saw the envoy coming towards him.
Although I don't know what the other party wants to do, the Shangguan of Heaven has put his airs on it.
"Greetings to this lord..." The envoy was unambiguous and bowed before him.
"Save your life." Zeng Tai said in a graceful tone: "Which country are you an envoy from?"
"The lower official is Yang Xuwen, the prime minister of the Champa Kingdom. I want to pay my respects to this great lord."
"Champa...oh, it's Rinan County in the Han Dynasty." Zeng Tai thought for a moment and said, "It has been a part of my China since ancient times."
"I came to see His Majesty the Emperor of China on behalf of the king, but I was given a hard time by the officials of Honglu Temple. I was originally here to pay New Year greetings. It's been more than half a year, and I still haven't gotten to see Tianyan." Yang Xuwen pretended not to understand.
His words are self-righteous.
"Good guy, have you waited so long?" Zeng Tai said in surprise.
"My lord, please ignore him. There must be a reason why Honglu Temple does not allow them to visit." The censor seemed to know something, clearly hinting at Zeng Tai.
"What's the reason?" Zeng Tai broke the casserole and asked. "Is it because you don't have customs clearance documents, or is there something wrong with your credentials?"
"No, they are just deliberately making things difficult for us!" Yang Xuwen said angrily.
"Oh, that's right." Zeng Tai nodded, turned around and entered the Meridian Gate.
"No, sir, you don't care..." Yang Xuwen was dumbfounded.
"I'm just asking casually..." Zeng Tai's voice echoed in the Meridian Gate Cave, becoming more majestic.
"Ah..." Yang Xuwen was stunned, wondering if he was a fried cake!
"Okay, okay, let's go quickly!" The censor impatiently drove the Champa envoys away from the Meridian Gate.
Alas, another day of disappointment...
~~
Wuying Palace.
Zhu Yuanzhang still valued this reform leader very much and met with Zeng Tai as soon as he went to court.
"Hahaha, you are Zeng Tai." Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him with a smile, and it became more and more pleasing to his eyes, especially the big chin. Hey, it's amazing...
"I've wanted to meet you for a long time, and I finally got my wish today."
"..." Zeng Tai wanted to say that before I took office, Xie even summoned me specifically. But in front of Boss Zhu, he didn't have the courage to start a fight yet...
"The summer taxes have been collected by now. Come on, tell us, what is the effect of the new policy in Jiangxi in the first year?"
"Back to the emperor, the biggest feeling of being a minister is convenience." Zeng Tai hurriedly replied:
"In previous years, when the time came to collect the royal grain, Xiatouzhou and counties were busy, and the government and the province were not able to live in peace. Because officials went to the countryside to disturb the people, there were disputes over the amount of taxes to be paid, and even disputes between the government and the people emerged one after another. Not to mention that they were exhausted, and the people still complained.
"If you call us corrupt officials, you know how to plunder the people's fat and their anointing."
"This year is easy. When the day comes, the county summons the grain chiefs of each district, and the district chiefs go to the county government. After checking the yellow records with them, the royal grain that each district and each district should pay will be clear at a glance. Then the head of Jia assists the district chiefs to submit the official grain to each district.
All taxes and grains from each household are collected and sent to the government. The whole process is done by the people on their own initiative, and there is no need for subordinate officials to go to the countryside to disturb the people. It is really much less troublesome than in previous years."
"Okay, the subordinate officials will not disturb the people, so that the people can live in peace and contentment." Zhu Yuanzhang said happily: "When we were common people, when our family heard that officials were sent to the countryside, they were so scared that they lost their souls and quickly asked their children to take out the chickens and ducks at home.
Take the geese and hide them in the woods. I'm afraid the village chief will assign you to take care of the food..."
"These chickens and ducks are the lifeblood of the common people. Just lay a few eggs in exchange for some household income." He said angrily: "Those officials bring disaster when they come to the countryside. They eat and drink well and slap their butts and leave.
The people don’t know how to live anymore.”
"Yes, that's what the emperor said." Zeng Tai nodded and said: "Officials go to the countryside to do evil, and petty officials collude with big families to oppress and exploit the people. This is indeed what the people hate the most. After Li Jia in the Yellow Book, there is no room for evil.
These situations have improved greatly.”
"How much summer grain was harvested?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
"Back to the emperor," Zeng Tai said in a busy manner: "This year, a total of 1.2 million shi of summer grain was collected, including 100,000 shi of wheat rice from the capital, 170,000 guan of money, and 12,000 bolts of silk."
The tax amount is a full 20% higher than last summer!”
"Well, not bad, not bad. It's not easy to get such a summer tax revenue." Zhu Yuanzhang grinned from ear to ear with satisfaction. He knew that the autumn tax was the biggest part of the year. If the summer grain could collect so much, the autumn grain would definitely be the same.
"But we can't add more classes. We think this number is quite suitable."
"Your Majesty is benevolent and righteous." Zeng Tai was so moved that he did not bother to argue: "On behalf of the people of Jiangxi, I thank you for your kindness!"
"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that Zeng Tai was seizing on his words that he couldn't teach more classes. He couldn't help but laugh and said: "Why, are you still afraid that what we say won't count?"
"I don't dare." Zeng Tai hurriedly lowered his head. He was really worried because His Royal Highness the King of Chu had complained to him countless times, saying that his old man's words didn't count, and he didn't say anything... He was not like a human king.
"Don't worry, we are not that kind of foolish emperor. We know that the more taxes the better, the better - they are all about people's wealth. If the court collects too much, the people will lose weight. If the court collects excessive taxes, it can only suck the bones out of the people.
"So as long as the imperial court can meet the expenses, it will be fine. It must leave some savings for the people so that their lives can be better and better, instead of just trying to be hungry and full." Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly:
"Not just Jiangxi, but once the yellow registration list is completed in all provinces across the country, we will also set the tax amount as appropriate, so that future generations will strictly implement it and never increase taxes!"
"On behalf of the people of the world, I would like to thank you for your great kindness!" Zeng Tai knelt down excitedly and kowtowed to Zhu Yuanzhang. He never expected that the tyrant who was feared by everyone in the officialdom would be very kind to the people.
