During the Three Kingdoms period, the imperial court had always existed, but no one took the imperial court seriously. The princes from all over the country held the power of taxation and military power in their hands, so naturally there was no need to look at the weak imperial court.
These two powers are the powerful tools used by the imperial court to control local areas in the world. The foundation of the country is absolutely impossible for local governments to interfere with.
Zheng Baorong was not sophisticated enough to see clearly, but Li Chen would not tolerate it.
Someone who also understands this is Mr. Mirror.
He frowned slightly and remained silent.
Over the years that Guanhai Academy was located in Weihaiwei, Mr. Jingzhi also had many interactions with Zheng Baorong. He knew that Zheng Baorong was not a corrupt official, but a good official who worked hard for local construction and development, so he lived in seclusion in the academy.
Mr. Zhi just set up a place here.
But in this current situation, he was absolutely speechless.
For those in power, many times they don't care whether their subordinates are traitors or loyal ministers, but they consider whether the subordinates are capable ministers who can be useful to them.
"Weichen, Weichen..."
Zheng Baorong stayed there for a long time, but still couldn't say the following words.
He felt that he was not begging for mercy, nor was he not begging for mercy. He was suddenly anxious and afraid. A layer of fine sweat beads oozed out from his already fat face in this cold winter, making it look even greasier.
Li Chen frowned, his impression of Zheng Baorong getting even worse.
Even though this person has some ability in management, he is by no means a qualified politician. He doesn't know what to say at any time and on any occasion.
However, Li Chen didn't expect a person who had spent money to buy an official position and had been a local magistrate from the time he became an official to now have any political experience.
It's different if you climb up from the grassroots level. If you can rise from the grassroots level, you will definitely have the ability to talk to people and talk to ghosts.
Even Su Jinpa next to him couldn't stand this scene.
"Why don't you quickly admit your mistake to His Highness?" Su Jinpa said.
Only then did Zheng Baorong suddenly realize that His Highness did not order punishment immediately because there was still room for change. If he didn't speak up, the day lily would be gone.
"Your Highness, I know that I have sinned, and please punish me."
Seeing Zheng Baorong kowtow, Li Chen's sullen face relaxed a little. However, Li Chen did not talk about punishment, but asked: "Since you have done hard work in governing Weihaiwei, why do the local people treat you so badly?"
Are you complaining? Can’t you hear all this?”
"The most fundamental purpose of local management and urban construction is to serve the people. Otherwise, what's the point of strengthening coastal defenses and making the Weihai Acropolis neat and beautiful?"
Zheng Baorong looked miserable and said: "Your Highness, the eyes of the people are always limited. They only know what the ministers took from them, but few people see clearly what they got."
"To be honest, Weichen's family is one of the largest in Weihaiwei, and he has quite a lot of money and talents. However, when Weichen levies taxes, the most ordinary people only bear a small part, and the rich bear even more.
Weichen's family is the largest tax payer in Weihaiwei every year, and the commercial tax collected accounts for 10% of the entire tax revenue in Weihaiwei."
The more Zheng Baorong talked, the more aggrieved he became. He knelt on the ground, but unconsciously straightened his back and said: "It is precisely because of this that in these years, Wei Chen has served as the prefect of Weihaiwei. Although taxes have increased, the people's lives have deteriorated.
It is much better than before, but the scale of business has expanded, and the original wealthy households are still the same as before, because most of the extra money they received was taken away by taxes."
