I want to ruin the country

The silver was obtained, the agreement was signed, and everything went smoothly. Prince Gong took Li Yuji, 10 million silver coins, and Li Hongzhang and set sail for Fujian.

This trip is much more interesting!

First of all, I am in a good mood. I have already received 10 million of the 12 million silver coins assigned by the emperor, which is considered to be exceeding the target.

This mission to South Korea gave Prince Gong great confidence in his ability to get things done.

Fourth brother said that if he completed this mission successfully, he would be able to enter the center of power!

Who wouldn't love a man who is so powerful and influential?

Now that the money-asking issues have been dealt with, the next thing left to do in the West is to spend the money. If you can't even handle spending the money, you might as well find a cesspool and choke yourself to death.

Prince Gong was so happy!

Silver is a small matter. The key is that he has acquired five mines. Judging from the emperor's attitude, it seems that minerals are more important than silver in his eyes. Who cares? That's the emperor's business!

What makes people even happier is that the weather is good. The sea has been calm and the sun is shining brightly these days, which is perfect for romance.

Every day, Prince Gong had nothing to do. He was either leaning on the deck with Li Yuji, looking into the distance, chatting and laughing, or fishing and basking in the sun. He was very leisurely!

The one who felt uncomfortable was Li Hongzhang. Maybe because he was older than Prince Gong and adapted more slowly, he was still a little seasick. Although he didn't vomit anymore, he always felt dizzy and nauseous!

So much so that sometimes, even when Prince Gong asked him to drink, he would reluctantly join in!

He felt it would be better if he didn't drink, as drinking would make him even more seasick!

A few days later, the fleet arrived at Nantai Port in Fuzhou.

Here, Prince Gong and his entourage were warmly welcomed by the new Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, Ji Zhichang, and Admiral of the Fujian Navy, Dou Zhenbiao.

Of course, there is another most important person waiting for him, and that person is Qian Kang, who is purchasing under imperial order.

After leaving the capital, Qian Kang took Zijuan back to his hometown.

Although his marriage to Zijuan was arranged by the emperor, Qian Kang was not high-profile. He only returned with two followers and the four palace maids that Zijuan brought as a dowry.

When Qian Kang arrived at the village entrance, he was surprised to see a newly built archway and two groups of drummers playing enthusiastically.

As soon as their carriage stopped, a man in the uniform of a seventh-rank official hurried over to greet them.

"Lord Qian has returned home in glory. Your humble servant, Liu Wenzheng, the Magistrate of Cangnan County, has come to pay his respects to you!"

Qian Kang was very puzzled. He tried to keep a low profile as much as possible to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, but how come the local magistrate still found out his whereabouts?

He felt very disgusted, but since he couldn't hit someone who smiled at him, he had to deal with it reluctantly.

"County Magistrate Liu, thank you for your help!"

"No, no, it's my duty!"

Qian Kang was puzzled and asked,

"How did Lord Liu know that Qian had returned?"

Liu Wenzhengdao,

"Master Qian, please don't misunderstand. This is a notice from the Emperor. There is also an imperial edict here!"

As he spoke, he handed over a letter.

When he opened it, he found that it was written by the emperor. It meant that the emperor was not in the capital to preside over his and Zijuan's wedding, so he entrusted the magistrate of Cangnan to come to their house to help arrange the marriage, so as not to let Princess Zijuan down!

Qian Kang's eyes instantly became moist. As the old saying goes, if you don't return home in glory, it's like walking in the night in splendid clothes!

When people do well in the outside world, they want to show off in front of the village and the people in the neighborhood to bring honor to their ancestors, parents and relatives.

The emperor knew that he would choose to keep a low profile in order to avoid trouble. How could this not be considered unfair to Princess Zijuan? The emperor was clearly trying to bring honor to himself in his hometown!

He knelt down on the ground facing the capital.

"Long live your servant Qian Kangxie!"

With the emperor's order, no one will say anything even if the matter becomes too big!

He entered the village to the sound of gongs and drums, and was surprised again when he arrived at his home.

My home consists of five rooms and a small courtyard with two entrances, but now it has been decorated beyond recognition.

There is a rainbow gate in front of the gatehouse, covered with colorful silk, a row of big red lanterns are hung on the courtyard wall, and big red couplets are posted on the courtyard gate!

Both his parents were leaning against the gate looking at each other outside the courtyard, and Qian Kang hurriedly kowtowed to them.

When I entered the yard, I saw that it was decorated with lights and a wedding tent. People were busy coming and going, and everyone had a happy face.

The aroma of fried chicken and fish wafted through the yard, and outside the reed shed there was a large area of ​​pots and pans.

After entering the house, Qian Kang asked his parents to sit on either side of the main hall, and he and Zijuan kowtowed to their parents again.

The panicked Mr. and Mrs. Qian quickly stood up and said,

"Kang'er, it's fine if you just bow, but why is the princess kneeling down too? This is unacceptable, this is unacceptable!"

Zijuan said,

"The sky is big, the earth is big, and my parents are the most important. Since Zijuan is already your daughter-in-law, how can a daughter-in-law not kowtow to her parents-in-law!"

The old couple were so happy when they saw that their daughter-in-law was so beautiful and was also a princess.

Quickly said,

"Get up, get up, and go to the house to rest!"

The new house had been prepared long ago. My parents said it was arranged by County Magistrate Liu.

The next day, Qian Kang and Zijuan officially got married!

Shandong Governor Chen Qingkai came in person to congratulate and officiate the wedding on behalf of the emperor.

The gentry from the surrounding villages came to give gifts regardless of whether they knew him or not, and the amount of gifts alone amounted to four or five thousand silver coins.

Old Man Qian was very happy that his son had finally made it big!

On the second day after the wedding, Qian Kang said to his parents,

"We can't spend this gift money. I want to give it to the court!"

Father Qian suddenly felt as if he had been bitten by a dog and asked hurriedly,

"Son, why is this?

I, your father, also want to use this money to buy more good land. If you become an official, we won't have to pay taxes no matter how much land we own. Why worry about having a hard time in the future?"

Qian Kang said,

"Father, some things cannot be explained clearly at the moment, but I know that the current emperor is quite dissatisfied with the landlords and gentry!

The reason seems to be because they don't pay taxes. The fact that my son is here now is a gift from the Emperor. We should not make the Emperor unhappy!"

Old Man Qian was stunned. Since ancient times, as long as one passed the imperial examination, one's family's land would be exempt from paying taxes!

Therefore, in order to save the country's tax money, many people took the initiative to rely on landlords and gentry and put their land under their names.

This is the origin of "contribution"!

In this way, if one acre of land originally had to pay one dollar in tax to the country, now one only has to pay fifty cents to the landlord!

The common people saved fifty cents in taxes per acre of land, but the landlords got fifty cents more for no reason!

Both of them benefited, but the country lost a dollar of tax revenue!

In fact, the Ming Dynasty perished because of this system!

The landlords owned more and more land, while the state's tax revenue decreased. All the state money went into the hands of the landlords, gentry, and officials, so that in the end the state couldn't even pay the military.

During the Yongzheng period, Emperor Yongzheng wanted to implement the policies of "publicizing the fire consumption tax", "distributing the tax to the land", and "making all gentry serve and pay taxes together" in order to deprive the landlords of this preferential treatment!

However, the scholar-official class was very powerful, and even a strong emperor like Emperor Yongzheng suffered heavy losses. Henan Governor Tian Wenjing also fell into disgrace because of his firm support for Emperor Yongzheng's policy!