Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

In the alchemy room on the top floor of Gaoyang Tower, the air was filled with the scent of agarwood. Shopkeeper Shen, dressed in a gold-embroidered Taoist robe, sat cross-legged on a cushion, his eyes closed in meditation. The bronze alchemy cauldron before him glowed with a faint green light. The head of the Shi family paced back and forth anxiously, his brocade boots crushing the scattered cinnabar talisman paper.

When Manager Shen entered the alchemy room, Patriarch Shi suddenly stopped and said through gritted teeth, "I've already inquired. The person who followed him last night was his personal servant, a stinky foot patrolman."

Without even raising his eyelids, Manager Shen said slowly, "I roughly guessed that there are only a few people around him."

Patriarch Shi counted his fingers and said bitterly, "Butler, servant, craftsman, groom, and even a guard who's about to join the army. He's capable of so many things. It's clear this man has extraordinary luck!"

Shopkeeper Shen suddenly opened his eyes and said meaningfully, "That's why he has the appearance of an immortal." A tortoise shell with runes engraved on it slipped out of his sleeve.

Patriarch Shi approached the alchemy furnace and asked worriedly, "What should we do next?"

Shopkeeper Shen sneered, "Didn't Master Zhang give orders?" He suddenly flipped over the tortoise shell and shouted, "Tear down the building!"

"Wouldn't that ruin the feng shui?" The head of the Shi family stamped his feet anxiously.

Shopkeeper Shen dug a golden pill out of the ashes and said mysteriously, "The key to longevity isn't in feng shui." The golden pill shattered in his palm. "It's in people!"

The head of the Shi family retreated dejectedly, sighing: "Alas... then let's do as the Immortal Master wishes!"

Shopkeeper Shen flicked the red worm into the furnace and said sarcastically, "That wasn't my idea." The flames in the furnace boomed, "It was our county magistrate's idea."

......

Inside the county government office, Zhang Jingwei was reviewing documents. Upon hearing this, he exclaimed in surprise, "Ah? It's really been demolished?"

Zhao Peixin came forward, teacup in hand, and said flatteringly, "Yes, they were dismantling it early this morning." He pointed out the window, "It will probably take more than half a month."

Zhang Jingwei sneered and said proudly, "What's with the 7 floors down and 7 floors up? It's just a bluff."

Zhao Peixin quickly uploaded a flattering message, "Your Excellency's thunderous methods have to make me admire you."

Zhang Jingwei wiped his hands and said impatiently, "Don't flatter me." Suddenly, he threw the brush on the table and said, "How are you doing with the task I asked you to do?"

Zhao Peixin lowered his voice and said cautiously, "It's settled." He added worriedly, "But what if the imperial court demands tax silver in the fall?"

Zhang Jingwei flipped open the account book and said nonchalantly, "We'll see what happens when the time comes. The previous county magistrate left behind several boxes of gold and silver after confiscating the property!"

At this moment, a bearded man came out from behind the door and said righteously, "If we continue to squander money like this, before autumn comes, we will wash our necks clean and wait for the imperial court to chop off our heads."

Zhang Jingwei narrowed his eyes and asked warily, "Who are you? Why didn't I see you at the yamen meeting last night?"

The bearded man bowed and said, "I'm Wu Wen from the Household Department, courtesy name Ce'an. I caught a cold a few days ago and have already asked for leave from the Chief Registrar."

"Wu Ce'an..." Zhang Jingwei suddenly slammed the table and stood up, "What did you mean by that just now?"

Wu Wen looked directly at Zhang Jingwei and said fearlessly, "My Lord, you have just started your career and you should be frugal. Don't be as extravagant as you were before!"

"What was I like before?" Zhang Jingwei slowly stood up.

Wu Wen pulled a yellowed account book from his sleeve. "We used military funds to support refugees. Last winter, during the relief efforts, you privately set up soup kitchens and distributed millions of dollars. But without exception, none of these were approved by the imperial court."

Zhang Jingwei suddenly laughed and said sarcastically, "The word 'raise' isn't used quite rightly."

Zhao Peixin hurriedly said, "Sir, Commander Wu always speaks like this."

Zhang Jingwei sized him up and said thoughtfully, "Even though you speak so harshly, Xiao Kewei still keeps using you. This shows that you are indeed a useless official."

Wu Wen straightened his collar and said, "The success of an official depends on the people's livelihood, not on the words of the adults."

"You!" Zhao Peixin scolded, "How come you can't tell the difference between good and bad words?"

Zhang Jingwei shouted at Zhao Peixin, "Shut up!" Then he turned to Wu Wen and asked with a hint of amusement, "Captain Wu, as the head of the Household Department, do you know why this year's spring tax was paid?"

Wu Wen took out the document from the Ministry of Revenue and said, "Sir, Yunzhou is tax-free, but it doesn't say Gaoyang is also tax-free."

"Ridiculous!" Zhang Jingwei swung his sleeves. "Isn't Gaoyang County within the boundaries of Yunzhou?"

Wu Wen explained, "In years of disaster, thousands of miles of land are deserted. The imperial court customarily assigns counties under the jurisdiction of other prefectures and states to desolate states. This has been the practice in the Celestial Empire for hundreds of years."

Zhang Jingwei was shocked and asked, "You mean... Gaoyang is likely to be assigned to Wuzhou?"

"But it's only a possibility," Wu Wen said cautiously. "I collected the grain only to get the job done. Any other speculation is just nonsense."

Zhang Jingwei walked to the window and said worriedly, "But won't this tax be considered excessive?"

"The grain is in the warehouse," Wu Wen said firmly. "If the superior officer asks, I will explain everything."

Zhang Jingwei said helplessly, "But the manifesto has already been sent out, so it's not easy to take it back, right?"

Wu Wen suddenly knelt down and pulled out a bamboo scroll from his boot. "The granaries are empty, so the people can use their tax receipts to offset next year's taxes." He unfolded the scroll and said firmly, "But the tax silver must not be touched."

Zhang Jingwei waved his hands and said nonchalantly, "Okay, okay, if you don't want to move, then don't move. You're so old, why are you so excited?"

Wu Wen held up the bamboo slips in his hand and said, "Sir, this is the 'survey report' of Gaoyang County. It clearly records the taxes you have to pay during your term."

The imperial court evaluated officials during the "kankao" (imperial examination). Failure to pass the assessment resulted in severe penalties. Exceeding targets counted as achievements, and after the five-year term, promotions and demotions were determined based on performance. This was similar to the performance appraisal system used in businesses and institutions.

Among them, the one with the highest weight is tax!

Simply put, taxes in the Celestial Empire = grain + cloth or animal skins + money + labor.

Farmers had to pay taxes twice a year, but if they encountered a disaster, they could be exempted from one or even a year's tax by reporting it. However, this would directly affect officials' performance, so during a famine, officials would usually reduce grain taxes and increase cloth and fur taxes on hunters and spinners.

But the real bulk of the tax came from merchants, who could collect money to offset grain and cloth costs. Servants and concubines in wealthy households were counted as members of the population and were taxed annually.

As for those who really could not pay the taxes, the government could only arrest them and force them to perform labor service. How long they would serve depended entirely on the progress of local projects.

If one is unable to pay the above taxes, he will be deprived of his citizenship and become a slave. The descendants of the slaves will also be slaves, unable to study, without land, without freedom, and can be bought and sold by their masters at will.