Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 226 Carrot and Stick
Officials and gentry controlled the vast majority of the land in an area, and this was also the case in Cangzhou.

Under the successive disasters in Cangzhou, the people had no choice but to sell their fields to save their lives, and land annexation became even more serious. If Yue Ling had not defeated a group of people, it would be hard to say how much land would be distributed to the victims for planting.

Officials and gentry owned land, but enjoyed various preferential treatments when it came to paying taxes. They also relied on their complex connections in the local area to conceal the amount of land they owned and evade taxes.

This resulted in more of the original taxes being distributed to ordinary people, and the national treasury even suffered losses.

In the feudal period, there was usually no grassroots organization for local management. In order to protect the interests of the gentry group, they had to choose to make such concessions to maintain local stability.

Therefore, this situation has been inherited for thousands of years and has always been a problem that has been difficult to get rid of. As a result, everyone has become accustomed to it and believes that officials and gentry should avoid taxes. It is legal and glorious to avoid taxes, and it would be bizarre not to avoid them.

It was difficult for Yue Ling to change their mindset for the time being, but if one wanted to accomplish anything, one must destroy before one can build.

When facing people who stand in his way, he always has both carrots and sticks prepared.

As soon as Yue Ling stood up, all the soldiers in the hall drew their spears, which made the atmosphere in the hall freeze.

The gentleman who had just spoken immediately changed his expression. He thought his speech was tactful enough, but he didn't expect that Yue Ling still wanted to completely destroy them on the physical level, which made everyone in the room panic.

I couldn't stop looking at the door of the yamen to see if it was about to close, but the sunlight still shone on the plaque in the yamen that read "Integrity and Honesty".

At the right time, Yue Ling leaned down on the armrest and said frankly: "Today I am indeed here to discuss matters. I come from a poor family and I hate to use my power to oppress others. I don't want to embarrass you. Please listen to me and think about whether my proposal just now is right or not."

"First of all, Cangzhou City is now too poor. You all know how many wells there are in Cangzhou City and how many canals there are on the fields before I came here. How many fields are just abandoned there, with no tenants to cultivate them? I saw it clearly when I went south along the canal."

Yue Ling paced down the hall and came in front of the crowd.

"Compared to the common people, you should share the prosperity and decline of Cangzhou. Cangzhou suffered a disaster, and your annual income is insufficient. If Cangzhou is as prosperous as Suzhou and Hangzhou, how much can your annual income increase? The income of shops, farms, and everywhere will rise. By then, will a thousand taels of silver still be considered a lot?"

The most easily understood principle is to make the pie bigger. Although you pay taxes, you also earn more, and the tax money is used again for infrastructure construction, creating a positive cycle.

But now, it is stuck at the step of gentry paying taxes.

People in this period tended to be conservative in their thinking and only wanted to protect their own piece of land. They would save if they could and steal if they could.

The key for Yue Ling is to break their way of thinking.

"The tax silver you pay will be used to build canals and renovate docks. Cangzhou City will only become richer, and you will make more money."

"The kindness of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations. You are not making progress today, you are evading taxes and cheating, and you have set a bad example for the future generations. In a few decades, won't your grandchildren and great-grandchildren be bullying the people and killing people?"

"Are you going to follow the old path of the Gu family, the Hu family, and the Huang family? By then, it is still unclear whether the incense can continue."

For the heads of families at this time, nothing was more important than continuing the family line. Yue Ling's last sentence really touched their hearts.

Now they are indeed the example of a crooked upper beam leading to crooked lower beams. They themselves are not upright, and the descendants they teach will only bring disaster even if they pass the imperial examinations in the future. If they go astray during their tenure, not only will they not help the family, but they may also bring disaster to the family.

"Morals can be passed down for more than ten generations; farming and reading can be passed down for the next generation; poetry and literature can be passed down for the next generation; and wealth can only be passed down for three generations. You have donated this little bit of money, and the treasury of Cangzhou City is filled. Then we can build some clan schools for you and give back to the people. Only in this way can it last long."

Under everyone's gaze, Yue Ling returned to his desk and sat down calmly.

"If someone from Cangzhou City really passed the imperial examination based on this, not only would your family be honored, but I would also be proud of it."

Everyone looked at each other, and they all felt that what Yue Ling said made a lot of sense, and they couldn't help but whisper to each other.

For them, a family of one hundred taels of silver would not make them rich nor poor. But if the vision described by Yue Ling could really be realized, it would not be just a profit of one hundred taels of silver.

He coughed lightly, interrupting the chaos in the hall and returning the court to peace again.

Yue Ling looked around and said, "Reforms are a must. We are united, and the sooner we reform, the sooner we will benefit. I will lay everything out in the open for you. If someone else were to carry it out, it would be hard to say if they could achieve the same level as me. In the end, you will still be the ones who suffer. You don't think that I will covet your money, do you?"

The gentry who had just spoken out against Yue Ling said, "Your Majesty, you are joking. Compared to your wealth, we are nothing but a drop in the bucket. I have only one question to ask. If your Majesty can help me, my Nanpi Chen family will be the first to support your new tax law."

Yue Ling waved his hand and said, "Please speak."

"What the Marquis said before was indeed touching, but all of this is based on the prosperity of Cangzhou City. Of course, it's not that I don't trust the Marquis's ability, but today's Cangzhou is really hard to compare with the Suzhou and Hangzhou that the Marquis mentioned." "Since the Marquis came, Cangzhou City has been completely renewed, but it is only to the extent of being new. The streets have been widened a little, and the houses have been renovated, but compared to the rich areas of Jiangnan, it is just a poor appearance..."

Yue Ling smiled and nodded, "That's a good question. I think you got to the point. What is the relationship between the Nanpi Chen family and County Magistrate Chen Youmin?"

The squire smiled awkwardly, "Your Excellency may not believe me, but it really doesn't matter. We are just relatives. When County Magistrate Chen was protecting the village, our family also made great efforts."

Yue Ling nodded, "I can trust County Magistrate Chen."

Looking at the people in the hall, who were eagerly expecting his answer, Yue Ling spoke again, "You all should know how the Lianghuai region made its fortune. Not long ago, I consulted with Lord Lin, the Imperial Censor of Lianghuai Salt, about the salt industry. Today, the salt fields along the coast are already producing salt. You all should know how much profit there is here."

"Now that the government has income, does it still lack ways to become richer? Maybe it won't be as good as Yangzhou or Gusu, but it will definitely be much better than today."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, but after the shock, they all became more sober.

The heads of each family present were in charge of dozens or even hundreds of people from top to bottom. Most of the villages that the government had no control over were managed by them. If there was any slight change, it would affect the livelihood of the entire village, so they had to be cautious.

At the right time, someone else stepped forward and said, "In that case, I also have confidence in the Marquis. This autumn, we will pay the tax according to the Marquis's tax law and see the effect in two to three years. The Marquis's work will be remembered for generations to come, and we can also ride on the wave. The Marquis is right, we should rise together and fall together."

"Okay, let's do it. It's not nice to be so fussy."

When someone started something, others followed suit. The hall was filled with voices of approval, and Yue Ling heaved a sigh of relief.

Uniting all forces that can be united, rather than pushing them all to the opposite side, is also Yue Ling's attitude of learning from experience and making reforms.

Only after the gentry and wealthy families left did peace return to the hall.

Jia Yun stepped forward and poured water for Yue Ling, saying admiringly, "Master, you really have a way. When I first saw the tax law, I was really shocked. How could anyone willingly take money out of their pockets and hand it over to the government? Master, you have done it. Not only have they been willing to do it, but they have also been grateful and feel that handing over the money is for their own good."

Yue Ling took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. After listening to Jia Yun's words, he couldn't help but sigh and smile, "It's true that it's good for them. They are all clan leaders who manage their family businesses. Maintaining a family business has never been an easy task, let alone seeking development. Cangzhou City is so destitute, what other opportunities can we find? We can only hope that a literary talent will be born in our family and bring honor to the family from now on."

"But can this Wenquxing fall on every household? I promise to build a clan school for them and help them train more outstanding descendants. I also hope that those who will take over from them in the future will remember the benefits of the new law and remember the well diggers when drinking water, so as to implement it unswervingly without any doubt."

Jia Yun tilted his head and asked in confusion, "So they really benefited?"

Yue Ling shook his head in denial, "There are benefits, but the biggest beneficiaries are the poor people. With less taxes, they will have more food to last through the winter. And with more clan schools and charity schools, children from poor families will also have the opportunity to study in the future."

"Since Wenquxing is going to fall, why can't it fly into the homes of poor people?"

……

When the gentry came out of the government office, their spirits were high, but they saw the streets were jam-packed with people.

The gentry looked around in confusion.

It's July now and there isn't any festival, so why are there so many people gathered here?

Moreover, everyone had a smile on their face, and they didn't look like they were coming to the government office to cause trouble.

"Brother, I wonder what wonderful event is going on in Cangzhou today that has brought so many people together?"

Some gentry were curious and asked the common people around them who were wearing coarse linen clothes.

"Master, you are right. It is really a wonderful word."

"I wonder if you have ever heard of a case of human trafficking in Cangzhou Prefecture?"

The gentleman nodded, "I know a thing or two."

"That's easy to explain. It was the wealthy Huang family in the city who secretly did this unscrupulous thing and colluded with the Japanese pirates. A few days ago, the Marquis eliminated all the Japanese pirates and brought the Huang family to justice."

"What does this have to do with today?"

(End of this chapter)