Abandoned daughter takes charge of the family, so rich that even the best people can't envy

Xingyang. It is named because it is located on the south bank of the Xing River on the west bank of the Xingze River. It is half paddy field and half dry field.

When Song Jinxiu saw the tax figures of previous years, she frowned even more. Xingyang was not a small county, and its tax revenue over the years was the lowest among all the counties.

Song Jinxiu flipped through it roughly and saw an IOU at the bottom.

It was covered with names, all written down under various taxes, such as transaction tax, land tax, and craftsman tax. Zhang San owed how much tael and how much tael, Li Si owed how much tael and how much tael, all clearly marked, with a figure summed up below, the total amount owed over the years was over 340,700 taels.

Song Jinxiu almost laughed out of anger. Can taxes be paid in the form of IOUs?

When the Minister of Revenue Qian Dai heard that Princess Kangle had come to the Ministry of Revenue, he dove into the account books to check the tax accounts without saying a word and hurried over.

Song Jinxiu pointed at the IOU and asked coldly, "What's going on? Can national taxes be paid in IOUs?"

Qian Dai looked at the account book and saw that it was from Xingyang. He sighed inwardly and said:

"This is the tax revenue from last autumn. Xingyang submitted this IOU.

It is said that their tax revenue in previous years was always robbing Peter to pay Paul, and after years of accumulation, there was really nothing left to pay last year, so they decided to take the risk and handed in this IOU.

The county magistrate has been imprisoned, and the confiscated property is only tattered and broken. There is really nothing I can do but put the IOU into the account."

After Qian Dai finished speaking, he looked at Song Jinxiu and asked, "Princess, did anyone tell you something? Why did you suddenly think of checking the Xingyang tax accounts?"

Song Jinxiu frowned and looked at him: "I am a first-rank cabinet minister, responsible for inspecting all officials. Why can't I come and take a look?"

As she spoke, she pointed at the IOU with her finger.

"With such a messed up debt, didn't the Ministry of Revenue think of investigating the cause? They just settled it with an IOU?"

Qian Dai had a wrinkled old face and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Song Jinxiu raised her eyebrows, "Master Qian, we are already familiar with each other, so we should talk about anything."

Qian Dai glanced at the door, then leaned forward and said in a low voice, "Although Xingyang is small, the county magistrate said something very well."

"What?"

"A small temple is full of evil spirits, a shallow pond is full of turtles."

Song Jinxiu raised an eyebrow. Was this a hint that there was a powerful figure in charge of Xingyang? More than one?

Qian Dai smiled bitterly and said, "Princess, you'd better not worry about it. There are some people in there who you can't mess with."

Song Jinxiu's face darkened. "If you're an official and don't serve the people, you might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes. This is about the suffering of the people. You and I are both officials who are the parents of the people. How can we just ignore it?"

Seeing Princess Kangle getting serious, Qian Dai's eyes flickered. He was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of taxation.

He was well aware of the shady tax practices in various places, but he was powerless to deal with some high-ranking officials due to his low influence. He had been hoping that someone would come and stir up trouble, but if it was the little girl in front of him, he would hesitate. To be cautious, he deliberately poured cold water on her:

"Your Highness, it's easy to dodge an open attack, but it's hard to guard against a hidden arrow. There are things you can do and things you can't do. The matter at the Xingyang Customs is one that you can't do. Why are you getting involved in this mess?"

Song Jinxiu knew a little about Qian Dai.

This is a capable minister who can do his work seriously.

I didn't expect such a capable minister to keep shirking responsibility and quibbling about the matter of Xingyang. I couldn't help but feel annoyed and shouted loudly, "Master Qian."

"The subordinate is here."

Qian Dai was caught off guard and was so frightened that he trembled and almost fell to his knees.

"I have investigated the matter in Xingyang. If you know anything, please tell me first."

Qian Dai, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, felt his heart pounding.

To be honest, if it was someone else, he would have nodded in support without hesitation, but for this girl, he watched her rise from a small clan leader to the position of Princess Kangle of Cangwu.

Although this child is intelligent, he cares about the people and is deeply loved by the emperor.

But she is too young. Can she defeat these old monsters?

With a nervous heart, the Minister of Revenue told the story.

“Princess, do you know that Xingyang was once a land of abundant fish and rice? However, because rice was expensive, most of the farmland in Xingyang was divided up by the nobles.

The Queen's mother's family is the Marquis Cheng'en Mansion, the Queen Mother's family is the Marquis Qingping Mansion, the Grand Princess's Mansion, the Sima family, the General Dingguo's Mansion, and the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion.

They all had farms in Xingyang.

Their farms occupied more than half of the farmland in Xingyang, which was tax-free or tax-free.

With so much land tax-free, where does the country get its tax revenue from? The only way is to get it from the people.

Not only did the taxes on civilians increase, but even tenant farmers had to pay additional taxes in addition to rent.

If you can’t pay, you can only write an IOU.”

"Don't noble families pay taxes?"

Song Jinxiu thought of the great wealth of the Grand Princess's Mansion. No wonder they didn't have to pay taxes or assign labor service, and could even enjoy the support of the common people's taxes. It turned out that this was how they got their wealth.

And now, do I not have to pay taxes on the land at home?

Seeing Song Jinxiu thoughtful, Qian Dai blinked and continued, "The reason why our Cangwu treasury is empty is because most of the money and grain went into the homes of the nobles and wealthy families.

If Princess wants to take charge of the Xingyang Customs, it will inevitably affect the interests of these people. Princess, do you still want to take charge?"

Song Jinxiu looked at him with a smile: "Actually, you really want me to take care of it, right?"

Qian Dai felt a little guilty when Song Jinxiu looked at him. He smiled and shook his head, "Forget it, forget it, Princess, just don't worry about it."

Song Jinxiu smiled without comment and strode out of the Ministry of Revenue.

She was willing to be the emperor's gun. Who made the emperor treat her well?

But if a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue wants to use himself as a pawn, you are not qualified.

However, the land tax must be reformed, but she did not want to take the initiative to fight against the powerful forces. This matter had to be handled by the emperor himself.

Just now she looked at the fish scale book of Xingyang, and also looked at the fish scale book of Lunshan County.

Every year, there may be discrepancies in the land of the people, but these fish-scale books are all old, and it is unknown how many years it has been since a land census was conducted.

Considering the situation of Li Cuiya's family, there are not a lot of them, so a census of fields is imminent.

You have to know that in Cangwu, land tax is the main source of national fiscal revenue. Only by mastering the national land resources can the government ensure the fair collection of land tax and thus guarantee the stability of national fiscal revenue.

Song Jinxiu thought as she walked, when conducting a census of land, not only the common people should be checked, but also the wealthy and powerful families.

Paying taxes and levies according to facts is the obligation of every citizen.

So what if he's an earl? So what if he's a princess? A moderate tax reduction is enough. Wanting to be stingy is impossible!

As a high-ranking official, Song Jinxiu is most willing to do things that benefit the country and the people.

After returning home, he used his computer to look up information on successful reforms in various dynasties, then lay in bed thinking all night. After the morning court session the next day, Song Jinxiu stayed.

"Your Majesty, I took on a case, so I went to the Ministry of Revenue to check. I didn't know what was going on until I checked, and I was shocked..."

Song Jinxiu kept talking and talking, looking up at her little face.

Immediately afterwards, the emperor convened a cabinet meeting to discuss a land census and tax reform.