I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent. Bandits are rampant in my territory, but I am powerless to do anything about it. As a result, businesses are blocked and people's livelihood is in trouble. Please give your Majesty some more time on the taxation issue!"

In the court, Jiang Zuo was wearing an official robe and writing on the memorial with a pen.

Just as I wrote this, a sturdy man dressed as a military general came in with a package in his hand, and asked for credit with a happy look on his face.

"Sir, this is the head of the last bandit leader in our county!"

Jiang Zuo looked up at him speechlessly and waved his hand casually: "Got it."

He continued writing.

"Your Majesty, I am suffering. The barbarians from the grasslands often come south to graze their horses. I have no way to deal with the grassland cavalry who come and go like the wind. Please send people to strengthen the border defense!"

The general scratched his head, feeling that Jiang Zuo was not very interested in this head, so he began to report another matter.

"Sir, the 3,000 cavalrymen sent by Ezhe Khan fell into a trap and were killed by our brothers. We also seized 1,800 war horses!"

"Moreover, Ezhe Khan also brought a large number of war horses to exchange for prisoners. Do you want to exchange them?"

Jiang Zuo finally replied simply: "Change, but let Ezhe come to talk to me in person."

The general immediately nodded in understanding. His master's level of cheating was unprecedented in the world. When Ezhe Khan talked to his master, was that called negotiation?

As the adults say, we ended up talking about crutches!

After the general received the order and left, Jiang Zuo continued writing.

"The roads in Anding County are rugged, merchants cannot pass through, bandits are rampant, and the commercial tax is really powerless. However, I have tried my best to find a batch of rare treasures, which have been escorted to the capital. I hope Your Majesty will give me some time. I will definitely pay this year's tax as soon as possible!"

After finishing the last stroke, Jiang Zuo stretched his body vigorously. At this time, an old man dressed as a legal advisor walked in.

The master said respectfully, "Sir, this year's commercial taxes have been deposited into the treasury, 600,000 taels of silver, 10,000 taels of gold, 10,000 catties of copper, 1,000 pieces of silk, and 150,000 shi of grain."

Jiang Zuo frowned immediately: "That's all?"

The master was silent. This is just a little? What? You think this is not enough?

It is horrifying that a medium-sized county has such a large amount of tax revenue!

The treasury's tax revenue this year is less than six million taels. A county town has one-tenth of the treasury's harvest. What else does it need?

Jiang Zuo knew very well that this little money was nothing in the eyes of the aristocratic families.

The national treasury collects little tax revenue because of the corruption of local officials. However, the county town that I have been running for five years is far beyond the reach of ordinary provincial capitals with developed commerce. Such a small amount of tax revenue is indeed unsatisfactory.

There was no way around it. The emperor couldn't see these things and said that he valued agriculture over commerce. As a result, the commercial tax was only one-thirty, and most of the taxes fell on the farmers.

Jiang Zuo could only shake his head. Forget it. Just live a good life on his own little piece of land. What could possibly lead to rebellion?

Seeing that the master was reluctant to leave and seemed to want to say something but hesitated, Jiang Zuo frowned.

"If you have anything else to say, just tell me. Why are you being so sissy?"

After hesitating for a moment, the master still gave some advice.

"Sir, His Majesty has already left the capital for a private visit. Should we make some preparations?"

Jiang Zuo looked at him in surprise: "You must have drunk too much. What does that woman's incognito visit have to do with me?"

The lawyer broke out in a cold sweat and looked around quickly. When he found that they were the only two people in the hall, he breathed a sigh of relief and spoke earnestly.

"My Lord, trouble comes from the mouth!"

"You have repeatedly defaulted on paying taxes. If His Majesty really comes to us and sees the truth, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor!"

Jiang Zuo shook his head and said, "What kind of place is this? Anding County is a typical place that is at war. Your Majesty did not bring his own troops with him on this tour. It is impossible for him to come to such a dangerous place."

"Not to mention the various bandits, this is the only way for the grassland barbarians to go south, and there could be war at any time. Why would a daughter of a wealthy family come here if she doesn't want to sit in the hall?"

"I owed taxes because I wanted to let Your Majesty know that people here are in dire straits and to discourage others from coveting this place. Otherwise, what would I do if someone came to take advantage of it?"

Jiang Zuo knew very well that as a time traveler, and a typical poor student with no background at all, if a powerful force knew the situation here and arranged people to reap the benefits, he would have no way to stop it.

I can only make this place sound a little difficult. Even if I can't keep it a secret for too long, it will at least give him more time to prepare.

After earning three million, Jiang Zuo will stop and go south to the neighboring country to become a rich man.

He does not have the broad mind of other time travelers before him, and only wants to be a corrupt feudal remnant.

Seeing that the master was convinced, Jiang Zuo also turned and walked towards the backyard. He had spent half an hour reviewing official documents and writing a memorial today, which made him exhausted. He quickly went back to be corrupt...

After taking two steps, Jiang Zuo hesitated again. As everyone knew, the new empress of Dayan was a lunatic and ruthless. There was nothing she dared not do.

What if he really brings someone here for a secret visit?

Jiang Zuo quickly smiled and shook his head. Impossible, absolutely impossible.

No matter how crazy he is, he would not patrol the border without his own troops. That would be too bold.

……

On the rugged mountain road, a group of dozens of riders were marching in an orderly manner with great vigor. They were obviously an elite cavalry, vaguely guarding an ordinary carriage.

In the bumpy carriage, a stunningly beautiful woman sat cross-legged.

Her face was like the morning glow, her eyebrows were curved like a crescent moon, her eyes were full of charm, she had white teeth and red lips, and her exposed skin was delicate and white.

She was wearing a sky blue dress, the bulging breasts under the lapels danced with the bumpy carriage. The dress was gathered at the waist, and her slender waist was straight as a pine tree.

Even though she has a dignified demeanor, she makes people feel charming and alluring unconsciously.

She is the new empress of Yan State, Chen Qingyun, a ruthless person who killed her brothers outside the Suzaku Gate and forced her father to abdicate.

During his three years in office, he single-handedly launched the Case of the Empty Seal and the Case of the Prime Minister, which were followed by countless bloody events. Not only were people killed everywhere, but people were even arrested thousands of miles away. The land of Kyoto was stained with blood.

But under the rule of this empress, the corrupt Dayan did show some signs of vitality, and at least the people's lives became better.

But what no one could have imagined was that the empress actually dared to patrol the border with only a few dozen cavalrymen!

You know, even if these elite cavalry can stop bandits and assassinations, what about the grassland barbarians who often move south?

This insane behavior made her chief maid Qiuyue frown.

"Your Majesty, why do you insist on coming to Anding County? It's not safe here!"

Chen Qingyun had a blank expression on her face. She just took out the memorial beside her and took a look at it. A sneer appeared on her beautiful face.

"The Qianqi Division is a bunch of trash, they all deserve to be killed!"

There is nothing unusual in Anding County? How is that possible!

There is nothing wrong with the tax arrears in Jiangzuo. It is okay to say that people's livelihood is in distress, businesses are not doing business, and bandits are rampant. However, Chen Qingyun keenly discovered that in Anding County, a place that has been at war for four times, not a single barbarian has crossed the border in the past five years!

This kind of stability is absolutely impossible. You know, even in the Shanhaiguan and Xuanfu defense lines, there are barbarians from the grasslands crossing the defense lines to plunder from time to time. Why is Anding County so peaceful?

The carriage suddenly stopped and a scream was heard outside the window.