The early spring sunshine shone in from the south-facing window. Qinglan turned over and hugged the quilt, but suddenly woke up.
She didn't sleep much the night before. This time she slept so deeply that she overslept.
She had never gotten up so late since she became a maid. She quickly put on her clothes and rushed to the house, only to see Xue Bai writing something in front of the table.
"Have you eaten, Mr. Lang?"
Xue Bai pointed to the breakfast on the table.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Qinglan thought he was angry and whispered: "I got up late, please punish me."
"Stretch your hand over here."
"oh."
Qinglan stretched out her hand pitifully, closed her eyes, and waited for him to hit her.
But he felt something cold in the palm of his hand. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he had written the word "Stupid" on it.
"alright."
Xue Bai turned around and smiled. It turned out that he was not angry, but just too serious.
Qinglan became happy, bent her eyes and smiled: "Lang Jun's handwriting is really good."
"Really? I also feel that there is considerable progress."
Xue Bai wrote the last column of words slowly, reviewed it again, and felt satisfied.
But since he wanted to show it to Yan Zhenqing, he copied it carefully again.
After drying the ink and putting away the strategy, Qing Lan was reminded of one thing.
"Mr. Lang, didn't you say you were going to give gifts to the neighbors today?"
"Oh, yes, it's a good thing you reminded me." Xue Bai said, "I'll go by myself. I have to go to the county government office later."
Qing Lan was delighted when she heard this. She carefully arranged Xue Bai's hair and clothes and watched him go out.
On the first day after moving to her new home, she was quite satisfied with her life, but she actually had a new worry... She felt that Mrs. Lu's niece had a bad temper and was not suitable to be a mistress.
~~
"Boom, boom, boom."
There was a knock on the door in the alley of the residential house in the northwest corner of Changshou Fang.
Xue Bai took two guards and greeted each family one by one.
"Sorry to bother you, my junior Xue Bai has just moved back to Xue's house in the alley. It will inevitably cause trouble in the future. I will give you some rice noodles as a greeting gift to all my neighbors."
"Xue Ling's son? Your grandfather still owes me a fortune!"
"..."
There are several large houses in the alley on the east side of the street. Xue Bai first disturbed the two large houses on the north side, and then knocked on a house on the south side, but he knocked on the back door of the house.
A neatly dressed maid opened the door and saw the man knocking on the door of her backyard. She thought it was a bit rude, but fortunately Xue Bai didn't look like a bad guy.
"Young man is so polite, but my master doesn't accept gifts easily."
"It's just for a new home, not a valuable thing. If your host feels that the rice and noodles are not right, you can just bring a box of snacks."
"Young gentleman, please wait a moment. I will ask my mistress."
It was originally a very small matter, but Xue Bai didn't expect that the family would take it so seriously, so he had to stand there and wait.
After a while, a beautiful woman in her late forties came slowly. She was dignified in appearance, elegantly dressed, and graceful in manners.
She looked at the pastry and asked for details. She was sure that she was not asking her husband to do something politely, so she thanked her and accepted it with a smile.
Xue Bai saw that she looked familiar, and suddenly remembered where he had seen her before, and asked the minister, "May I ask if it's Shaofu Yan's family?"
"Does the young man know my husband?"
really.
Looking at the temperament of this woman, it is no wonder that Yan Zhenqing had a deep relationship with her and left a "Tie with Madam" handed down to the world.
"Student Xue Bai was once fortunate enough to receive advice from Yan Shaofu. I was about to give him advice."
Wei Yun was stunned for a moment. She had actually heard of Xue Bai's name.
After that, a soft smile appeared on her face and she said: "Mr. Lang mentioned you, you are a good boy. He is still in the county office at this time. The office is not far away, in the southwest corner of Changshou Square..."
At this moment, a woman's laughter came from the ceremonial gate between the back courtyard and the backyard, as sweet as a silver bell.
A girl ran up with her skirt in hand and made a face at the maid chasing her behind her. Then she turned around and bumped into Wei Yun, almost falling down.
She wasn't upset, so she hugged Wei Yun and called, "Auntie."
Only then did she notice the presence of foreigners. She tilted her head and glanced towards Xue Bai. A little curiosity flashed through her autumn-like eyes, and she was quickly attracted by the box of pastries in Wei Yun's hand.
.
"Begonia cake? Qingmen Suji's box, Auntie, this is not cheap."
She wears a pretty side-parted bun. She has obviously not yet left the palace. She has a very beautiful oval face and fair skin. There is a thin trickle of sweat on her forehead from playing, which slightly wets her ears.
She had broken hair, a small strand of hair still stuck to her cheek, revealing the naughty and naive attitude of a girl.
A smoky green skirt was held up by her just now, and it was still fluttering gently after she put it down. The belt embroidered with plum blossom patterns wrapped her exquisite little breasts to make them feel slightly bulging.
She wore a pair of jade bracelets on her wrists and a longevity charm around her neck.
The longevity charm shook slightly and landed on her collar.
Xue Bai noticed that her lips were a little white. Although she looked energetic, she seemed to be in poor health.
"You are not allowed to eat. You are still playing around on such a cold day and you are not afraid of catching a cold."
Wei Yun immediately became nervous, wiped the fine sweat on the girl's forehead with her sleeve, took the cloak from the maid's hand and wrapped it around her.
Seeing this scene, Xue Bai stopped disturbing him and left, going to the county government office to find Yan Zhenqing.
He thought about looking for Yan Zhenqing, but accidentally arrived at Yan's house first. What a coincidence, he shook his head and smiled.
In the house, the girl smiled slyly and said, "Auntie, is that the shameless Xue Bai that my uncle said just now and wants to be his disciple?"
"The young man is gentle and elegant, but you father and daughter have become shameless in your mouth. The wind is blowing, don't catch the cold..."
~~
Chang'an County Government.
The decor of the official residence was simple. Yan Zhenqing was sitting behind the desk, handling official duties, with a serious look in his eyes. When Xue Bai came in, he glanced at it lightly and said, "The copybook is on the desk, please take it."
"Yes, this is a policy paper that Shaofu Yan asked his students to write. Please read it."
Yan Zhenqing glanced at it and saw that Xue Bai's calligraphy had indeed improved. It was terrible before, but now it is ugly to the eye.
"I heard that you rescued Mrs. Guo Guo and stayed in her house to recuperate for more than ten days?"
"Student, I'm ashamed." Xue Bai responded honestly, "The student has moved to Changshoufang. It will be more convenient for him to seek advice from Yan Shaofu in the future."
"Cough cough cough."
Yan Zhenqing choked on her water, coughed twice, and waved her hands repeatedly. She was too lazy to talk to Xue Bai anymore and stared at his strategy.
"The methods of taxation and collection in the country are all based on renting. When there is land, there is rent. When there is a body, there is rent. When there is a household, there is regulation. However, it has been one hundred and twenty-nine years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Most of the books have been damaged and many are not true; land and acres have been merged.
It is getting worse and worse; the officials of Fu Lian conquer the subjects at will, establish their own colors and eyes, and the new ones are still there; there are many poor people who have nowhere to hide, and they cannot bear the disadvantages, so they flee and abandon their households. At this point, the method of Fu Lian does not make sense if it remains unchanged, so it is planned to be changed to
The two-tax law. The amount of taxes levied by states and counties is measured first, and then the amount is collected; the household tax is based on the household registration book, regardless of master and servant, and the difference is based on the rich and the poor; the local tax is based on rent and miscellaneous labor.
Waste, considering the number of acres of land..."
The policy theory is very long, but to put it simply - replace rent with household tax and land tax. Those with large households and lots of land will pay more, while those with few households and less land will pay less.
There are actually many detailed tax records in it, calculating and enumerating the approximate tax amount that can be collected by using the rent tax and the two tax laws in the twenty years from the 14th year of Kaiyuan to the fifth year of Tianbao... This is even for him in Chang'an
Accounts that no county captain has the right to inspect.
Yan Zhenqing squinted his old eyes and looked at it for a long time. His brows sometimes wrinkled slightly, sometimes relaxed, and finally sighed slightly.
"Did you know that this strategy could kill you?"
"Student knows." Xue Bai said: "If we really reform the tax system in this way, it will harm the interests of the great families in the world. Unfortunately, it will not kill me because it cannot be implemented."
The official house was quiet for a while.
Yan Zhenqing felt heavy in her heart as she understood the word "pity" that Xue Bai said.
Recently, the Jingzhao Mansion has been urging people to arrest fugitive households and recover taxes. The more he sees, the more he realizes that sooner or later the mediocre rent regulations will have to be changed.
Xue Bai's policy is more mature and complete than any tax law he has ever seen, and therefore is more dangerous.
It's hard to believe that this was the work of a young man... What Yan Zhenqing is concerned about is whether it can be implemented?
A saint will not want to go to war, but is there really no hope? Not necessarily.
Yan Zhenqing thought about it for a long time and knew that Xue Bai could show him such a policy out of complete trust.
It must be handled with caution, not only to protect the young man in front of you, but also not to let down his hard work.
He opened his mouth, but still wanted to ask Xue Bai for more trust.
"Can you safely hand over this strategy to me?"
"How can a student not trust his teacher?"
At this time, there was no one else in the official house. Yan Zhenqing shook his head and said slowly: "I want to give it to a close friend to see, so that it can be implemented one day. Are you willing?"
"It all depends on the teacher."
Yan Zhenqing took a deep look at Xue Bai.
Afterwards, he nodded and solemnly took the strategy into his arms.
He spoke very little, and was constantly thinking about the pros and cons of the tax law reform. He even forgot to evaluate Xue Bai and give him a copybook. He even ignored his official duties and went straight out of the official residence.
At this moment, Yan Zhenqing, who seemed calm and calm, actually lost his composure.
~~
Xue Bai walked out of the Chang'an County Government Office and looked back at the two guards given to him by Yang Yuyao, thinking that neither the Youxiang Mansion nor the East Palace would take action to get rid of him for the time being.
The Yang Shenjin case has just been concluded. When both parties are avoiding the limelight, he can take this opportunity to muddy the waters.
It would be best if the teacher circulates this policy to the loyal ministers of Qingzheng, and loyal ministers of Qingzheng often support Donggong, which may also make Donggong mistakenly think that he has power behind him.
Li Linfu's side thought he was powerful and reacted with fear; the East Palace side would definitely want to annex him.
Then, he might be able to survive this fear and annexation, and in turn annex some strength.
~~
"In line with the current situation, we should also go to war."
Fang Guan put down the strategy in his hand and said slowly: "This is not the handwriting of a Qing official. Who wrote it?"
Yan Zhenqing said, "How do you feel about it, Mr. Fang?"
Fang Guan stroked his gray beard and said with a smile: "I just said it."
He was fifty years old, the son of Fang Rong, the famous prime minister of Wuzhou. He was of noble birth, extraordinary in talent and learning, and was famous all over the world. Now he was appointed as the crown prince Zuo Shuzi. In Shizhong, his road to becoming prime minister has reached the final few steps.
In addition, he was the teacher of the prince's eldest son, Prince Guangping Li Chu.
Facing Yan Zhenqing's caution, Fang Guan looked much more solemn, so he said bluntly: "The saint must be unwilling to implement this strategy, but the prince is very willing. Can the Qing minister allow me to present this strategy to the East Palace?"
"How about I copy it first?" Yan Zhenqing asked.
Fang Guan smiled and said: "Qingchen is forcing me to express my position."
He understood what Yan Zhenqing meant. The interests affected by these two tax laws were too wide, and now the person who proposed this policy had to be protected first.
"I swear to God." Fang Guan then raised his finger to the sky, "Now that I have given you this person's strategy, I will ensure that he is safe. How about that?"
Yan Zhenqing then said: "It's a long story. Maybe Fang Gong has met him. At the imperial banquet on Yuan night, he randomly pieced together a poem."
"Xue Bai?" Fang Guan was slightly surprised and said with a dumb smile: "I thought he was just a young boy clinging to powerful people. I never thought he had such ambition..."
~~
"Xue Bai?"
Li Heng only heard Li Jingzhong talk about Xue Bai in detail yesterday, and he didn't expect to hear this name again so soon.
It was already late at night, and sitting in front of Li Heng was his eldest son Li Chu.
Li Chu was twenty-one years old at the time, and he had the heroic spirit that resembled that of a saint in his youth.
"Yes, when Xue Bai came to interrogate Li Jingzhong, the child was still angry that he was so rude. I didn't expect that he was such a genius and could propose such a tax law..."
Young people are determined to make progress, always thinking that one day they will eliminate the long-standing abuses and clean up the government. The previous festivals are not so important now.
But no one told Li Chu that Xue Bai was buried alive in the East Palace.
Li Heng was not as interested in the Two Taxes Law as his son, so he raised his hand and said, "I understand, go and have a rest."
"It's rare for me to come here from Baisunyuan. I want to talk to my grandpa all night about tax laws..."
"I'm tired."
"Here."
Li Heng just looked at the strategy left on the desk, feeling a little regretful about Tianbao's choice at the end of his fifth year.
Because he finally realized that there was quite a lot of power behind Xue Bai.
If the information given by Pei Mian made him think that this matter was very possible, at this time it was completely certain.
There is absolutely no way that these two tax laws could be thought up by a boy of about sixteen years old. There must be an important minister with a sharp eye and scheming behind this matter.
Such a person refused to get close to the East Palace, but instead relied on Xue Bai's hands... There was actually a group of people secretly supporting Li Cong!
Thinking of this, Li Heng called Li Jingzhong and whispered a few words.
"What Pei Mian said is true, we have to win over Li Cong's people. Xue Bai is a hook, we have to take the initiative to pull it..."
~~
Ji Wen prepared for several days, thinking about how to frame the Du family and bring them to trial.
The reason why the target is the Du family, not Xue Bai himself, is because the story of the royal family recognition has not passed for too long, and Xue Bai is protected by Mrs. Guo Guo.
There is a copy of "Luo Zhi Jing" written by Lai Junchen, a cruel official of Wu Zhou, on his desk. He reads it frequently and it is very worn out.
But this time, the accusation he used was not the one in "Luo Zhi Jing"... He planned to accuse Du Erniang of having an affair when she was still the crown prince Liangdi. After taking the Du family to trial, he would then accuse the adulterer.
Point directly at Xue Bai.
He heard about the gossip between Xue Bai and Aunt Du and believed that their adultery was true, so he came up with this idea.
Unfortunately, Jingzhao Mansion would not accept this kind of case, so the Yushitai had to come forward, so Ji Wen went to the Yushitai to find Pei Mian.
"Ji Fa Cao's clever plan." Pei Mian heard this, thought about it briefly, and quickly gave him an idea, saying: "If Wang Zhongcheng comes forward in this matter, and others only regard it as the right minister and deal with the East Palace, you can go and find Dr. Pei
, he is close to the East Palace, and it will be fair if he handles this matter."
The imperial censor is Pei Kuan, who seldom interferes with the affairs of the censorship station. It was first controlled by Yang Shenjin, and now it is controlled by Wang He.
Ji Wen then asked: "Is he there?"
"Doctor Pei happens to be at the Yushitai today."
After receiving the advice, Ji Wen went to the imperial censor's official residence and asked to meet him.
Pei Kuan only asked him to wait.
It wasn't until the afternoon that someone walked into the courtyard. Ji Wen, who was standing in the corridor, turned around and looked, but he was stunned.
His eyes widened as he watched Xue Bai walk over so calmly and walked up to him.
Xue Bai also held several scrolls in his hand, like a student coming to invest in a bank.
"you……"
"Xue Langjun, please come in."
Just when Ji Wen opened his mouth, a clerk came out to invite Xue Bai in.
Xue Bai walked past Ji Wen, raised his hand and waved it in front of his nose, as if to dissipate the bad breath in the air, and stepped into the official house.
Pei Mian informed him to come to see Pei Kuan, which showed that the East Palace was already curious about him.
After not seeing each other for two months, Xue Bai has established his own business, begun to show off his talents, build connections, and use his strength to work under the sect of Gong Qing.
But Ji Wen is still the same, making no progress at all...
Today’s two chapters add up to 9,500 words, so the second chapter is two hours late. I hope I won’t get more and more late. Please vote for me and subscribe~~
