The Empress traveled through time and space, and she fought for supremacy in the troubled times

Dong Zhuoyuan sat in the carriage, listening to the lively hawking sounds on the street outside.

But my thoughts have drifted away.

Before becoming a village head, Dong Zhuoyuan was just a student who failed the academy examination. The highest-ranking official he had ever met was the chief examiner of the academy examination, the academician.

Li Zheng, the lowest official position, was a ninth-rank official, appointed through local recommendation.

He became the head of a village at the age of 22 and served in this position for six years.

He originally thought that being a village head was the highest position he could achieve in his life.

But overnight, the county town changed completely, and he was promoted from a ninth-rank official to a seventh-rank county magistrate.

Being promoted five small grades in a row can be said to be a step to heaven.

And the person who changed his current situation was Yun Zhi, the current lord of Qingyun County.

Dong Zhuoyuan was very grateful. As the saying goes, there are many good horses, but there are few good horse trainers.

In his heart, Yun Zhi is his mentor, who gives him the opportunity to realize his ambitions.

I don’t know what other people would choose to do when faced with such a situation.

Anyway, the moment Dong Zhuoyuan took over the letter of appointment, he made up his mind to use all his life's knowledge to make the people of this county live a prosperous life.

This is his own ambition, and it is also the only way for him to repay his lord's kindness.

Now, facing the sudden summons from his lord, Dong Zhuoyuan was naturally a little flustered, and he didn't know how he had been doing during this period.

A quarter of an hour later, he stood at the door of Yunzhi's study, suppressing some thoughts in his heart.

With tattered clothes and a figure as straight as a bamboo, he looks like an honest official with clean hands.

Seeing Dong Zhuoyuan approaching, a guard guarding the door bowed respectfully to him and said, "Master Dong, please wait a moment. I will go and report to the lord."

After saying this, he turned around quickly and went in to pass the message.

After a moment, he opened the study door and said, "Master Dong, please come in."

"Thank you." Dong Zhuoyuan responded softly, then walked into the study.

Stepping into the study, I looked at the lord who I had seen from afar on the execution ground above. Now that he was close, his majesty was even more pronounced.

"Your Excellency, Dong Zhuoyuan pays his respects to the Lord."

"No gift."

After staring at the person standing below for a moment, Yun Zhi said, "No need to be polite. This summons is not for any urgent matter. You and I will sit down and have a simple chat."

"Thank you, my lord, for your kindness."

After Dong Zhuoyuan sat down.

"Now is the season for planting wheat."

Yun Zhi knew everything Dong Zhuoyuan had done during this period of time. He was a man of strong action.

He had just taken office as county magistrate and had already finished dealing with the official business that had been piling up for several months.

"My lord, it is indeed time to plant winter wheat."

Winter wheat is generally planted between September and November. Now, it is the end of September, and some quick-acting people have already started selecting seeds.

"Time flies by so fast. So... the rice has been harvested by now, right?"

Dong Zhuoyuan nodded, a worried look on his face. "We harvested it, but the harvest this year wasn't very good. One acre yields less than two dan."

How can we survive with such a small harvest? Besides, this year's taxes have not been paid yet.

Once the taxes are paid, there is nothing left.

Thinking of the tax, he had an idea. Although he didn't know why the lord mentioned farming today, he could take the opportunity to talk about the tax.

The taxes collected today are mainly of three types: agricultural tax, head tax and commercial tax.

"Lord."

Dong Zhuoyuan, who was sitting at the bottom, bowed solemnly to Yun Zhi.

“Does the tax system need some reform now?”

Hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Yun Zhi's eyes. The purpose of summoning Dong Zhuoyuan this time was to discuss the tax issue, but she didn't expect that he would take the initiative to mention it.

"Oh?"

"Now the land has changed. It was all measured some time ago. Many of the lands that the people are cultivating are now in the name of the lord. I don't know whether to take them back or continue to lease them to them."

In this dynasty, the land owned by every citizen was very limited. A family could only own one acre of land at most.

In addition, land annexation was serious. Some wealthy landlords or nobles acquired large amounts of land through purchase or seizure, resulting in some ordinary people having no land at all.

They could only become dependents of nobles and landlords, or tenants who rented their land.

Due to these reasons, many people are still afraid to plant the land they previously rented and can only wait for news.

"As for the people's crop yields this year, I have already recorded them. I just need to determine the tax amount and collect it from them this year."

Yun Zhi stared at him, not knowing what she was thinking, her index finger tapping silently on the desk. "What do you think, Master Dong?"

Hearing this, he clenched his hands hanging by his knees for a moment, then quickly released them.

As if he had made up his mind, Dong Zhuoyuan stood up from the banquet table and walked to the center.

He knelt on the ground, knocking his forehead heavily on the ground. "I, Dong Zhuoyuan, beg you to continue to rent the land to the people and hope to reduce rent and taxes. The people will be grateful to you and work hard to farm the land."

Today, the rent is as high as five taels of silver per mu of land per year, and the tax was raised to a high agricultural tax of 70% of the output by the emperor of the previous dynasty.

The people are suffering terribly.

Looking down at the person with his head lowered, Yun Zhi slowly stood up, his voice steady and majestic.

"Dong Zhuoyuan, you are so brave! I appointed you as the magistrate of a county because I think you have some talent."

"Now, is this how you repay me? You've only been in office for a short time, yet you're already showing favoritism towards the people. I'll give you a chance to take back what you just said."

Feeling the pressure from the person above him, Dong Zhuoyuan's body drooped even more, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

Even so, he still tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart, "My lord, this plan will bring long-term peace and stability."

After waiting for a few breaths, seeing that Dong Zhuoyuan still refused to change his words, Yun Zhi withdrew his pressure and seemed to have become a good-natured lord again.

She walked slowly towards Dong Zhuoyuan.

"Did you scare Master Dong? The ground is cold. Get up quickly."

Dong Zhuoyuan also realized at this moment that his lord might have been intentionally testing him.

He stood up from the ground, revealing his red forehead.

"Dong Zhuoyuan, the county magistrate I need is someone who can withstand heavy pressure and speak for the people. Now, I can safely entrust Qingyun County to you."

"As for my actions that frightened you just now, I feel deeply guilty. I hope you can forgive me."

Dong Zhuoyuan was a little surprised to see someone so polite and humble that he could even apologize.

From ancient times to the present, how many superiors have apologized to their subjects?

"No...no...I understand what my lord means."

"I hope Master Dong doesn't blame me. After today, I will never do what I did again."

Yun Zhi turned around, picked up the written edict on the table and handed it to him.

"I summoned Master Dong here today to discuss taxation. From today on, we will implement the equal-field system. Thirty percent of the land in Qingyun County will be under my control and can be leased to the people. The remaining seventy percent will be divided equally among the people."

The 30% is kept mainly for future rewards.

"As for this year's taxes, they will be waived for now."

Dong Zhuoyuan looked at Yun Zhi in shock, unable to believe what he heard.

He hurriedly lowered his head to look at the imperial edict in his hand, which clearly stated various taxes.

The rent for good farmland is one tael of silver per mu, and even less for land of poorer quality.

However, the agricultural tax that Dong Zhuoyuan was more concerned about was only 20% of the output.

They were even encouraged to reclaim wasteland, and the reclaimed land became the property of the people, and they were exempted from taxes on the wasteland for one year.

As for commercial tax, it also decreased from 50% to 30%.

This has been greatly reduced.

The hand holding the imperial edict trembled slightly, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

The people have finally waited for a leader who cares about the people.

Dong Zhuoyuan raised his head, looked at Yun Zhi deeply, then took a step back and knelt on the ground.

He kowtowed three times towards Yun Zhi until his forehead was bleeding.

"Having a lord is truly a blessing for the people and for all the world. If the world needs an emperor, it must be the lord. I pray that the lord's rule will last for thousands of years."