Three Kingdoms: Ten Times Speed, Diao Chan Says I'm Too Fast

"Marquis Ji..."

"I'm just saying, how could Marquis Ji have died?"

"With Marquis Ji being so divinely powerful and invincible, how could those villains possibly harm him!"

Watching the young eunuch Zuo Feng recount his story with tears streaming down his face, Duan Yu was both amused and exasperated.

"Alright, alright, Eunuch Zuo, there's no need for that."

Sitting in the folding chair, Duan Yu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Someone, bring a seat and tea to Eunuch Zuo."

The servants brought over a folding chair and hot tea, and Zuo Feng sat down not far from Duan Yu.

"We were really careless this time, causing His Majesty and Eunuch Zuo to worry."

"I am truly ashamed to have troubled Eunuch Zuo to make this trip in person."

Duan Yu looked at Tie Shitou standing behind him and said, "Shitou, when Eunuch Zuo goes back, arrange for some local products from Liangzhou to be brought back to Luoyang by him."

"This is Eunuch Zuo's first time visiting Liangzhou, so I must do my duty as a host."

Zuo Feng, who was sitting on a folding chair wiping away his tears with his sleeve, suddenly brightened up when he heard Duan Yu say the word "local products".

"This...this is too much trouble. I have done nothing of merit, how can I keep taking favors from Marquis Ji..."

Duan Yu smiled and waved his hand to interrupt Zuo Feng, saying, "This Marquis and Eunuch Zuo are friends."

"I don't have many friends, but Eunuch Zuo is naturally one of them."

"Moreover, I am not in Luoyang for most of the year, and I know very little about the news in Luoyang. Naturally, I will have to rely on Eunuch Zuo to remind me of these things."

"Eunuch Zuo is a close confidant of His Majesty, and I will have to rely on him a lot."

"Lord Ji...Lord Ji is too kind." Zuo Feng said excitedly, "Lord Ji treats me so well, I will do my best to repay you."

Duan Yu smiled.

"I'm sorry to have caused His Majesty and Eunuch Zuo to worry in Luoyang."

"Lord Ji, His Majesty is still very worried about you. However, I am puzzled as to why you allow rumors to spread so freely."

"Lord Ji, you may not know this, but after the newly appointed Minister of Works, Cui Lie, learned of your death in battle, he joined forces with many high-ranking officials to impeach you."

"It is said that when the Marquis of Ji implemented new policies in Liangzhou, he oppressed the people, causing widespread resentment."

"It is also said that the Marquis of Ji suppressed the various tribes of the Western Qiang, which led to the rebellion of some Hu tribes in the Western Qiang region."

"This is clearly nonsense."

"I came all the way from Luoyang and all I saw were people actively harvesting the autumn crops and living prosperous lives."

The eunuch Zuo Feng described it vividly.

Duan Yu simply smiled and nodded.

If he didn't reveal the news of his faked death, how would those powerful clans in Liangzhou dare to show their faces?

Although this trick seems a bit naive, it is indeed the most effective one.

As for the newly appointed Minister Cui Lie...

He didn't take it seriously at all.

Compared to Yuan Wei and Yang Ci, those two old foxes, Cui Lie is too inexperienced and too impatient.

A Grand Minister who spent fifty million coins to take office might find his position terminated if Liu Hong became unhappy or if an earthquake occurred somewhere.

The reason he dared to step forward this time was simply because these powerful families in Liangzhou had given him some promises and benefits.

There's no rush to deal with Cui Lie.

His first priority is to deal with the powerful clans in Liangzhou.

"Of course, Marquis Ji need not worry about the false accusations made by Cui Lie and others. His Majesty still trusts Marquis Ji."

Duan Yu smiled and nodded, saying, "With Eunuch Zuo's words and His Majesty's trust, I have nothing to worry about."

"To be honest, I was just about to submit a memorial to His Majesty."

"Regarding the intricacies of Beigong Boyu's ambush of me, since Eunuch Zuo is here, that's perfect."

"Eunuch Zuo can also take this message back to Luoyang. Moreover, it is currently the autumn harvest season, so Eunuch Zuo can also escort the taxes and grain back to Luoyang along the way."

Taxes and provisions?

Zuo Feng's expression froze.

Although Zuo Feng was not a court official, he was still a close eunuch serving Liu Hong.

He knew more about some aspects of the government than some ordinary officials.

Speaking of taxes...

Why did the Yellow Turban Rebellion almost deplete Liu Hong's savings of many years in the West Garden?

It's simply because the imperial court has no money at all.

In recent years, natural disasters and man-made calamities have been frequent, and the money and taxes collected annually by the various prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty are not enough to maintain the daily expenses of the imperial court.

Natural disasters are caused by the unpredictability of the future and the rampant spread of diseases.

But man-made disaster...

This is a question that almost everyone in the world knows.

But there was no solution.

Natural disasters caused crops planted by the people to fail, forcing them to sell their land at rock-bottom prices or even sell themselves into slavery.

After acquiring land, powerful families began to conceal their population and falsely report the amount of arable land.

This is how they evade taxes.

This is nothing unusual; almost everyone in power and influence does this.

The imperial court was powerless to stop it.

Those local officials were all scions of powerful and influential families.

Powerful families used official positions to protect their families, and intermarried with each other, with officials protecting each other.

The imperial court had no money, but those powerful families were all incredibly wealthy, controlling vast amounts of land and people.

If the Central Plains are like this, one can only imagine how it is in the border regions thousands of miles away from Luoyang.

Places like Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Yangzhou are already considered fortunate if they don't need the imperial court to provide disaster relief every year.

Therefore, when Zuo Feng heard Duan Yu say that he had to hand over the taxes, he was completely stunned.

Duan Yu waved to Tie Shitou behind him.

Tie Shitou handed Duan Yu a prepared memorial.

"Eunuch Zuo, this is a memorial that I, the Marquis, am submitting to His Majesty."

"The people of Liangzhou are prosperous after the new policies I implemented last year."

"According to the census, the population of Liangzhou, excluding the million people who moved to Liangzhou last year, totals more than 600,000."

"According to the population tax, the number of people under the age of three and over the age of fifty-six is ​​roughly around 100,000."

"The population tax is 120 coins per person per year."

"The total population tax revenue was 60 million coins."

"However, this is the total population of Liangzhou. I have only collected taxes from the three counties of Longxi, Hanyang, and Jincheng, which amount to approximately 30 million coins."

"Excluding population taxes, Liangzhou has enjoyed favorable weather this year. I have implemented the new policy of production team model in the three prefectures of Hanyang, Jincheng, and Longxi, and have reclaimed wasteland, yielding a surplus of 70,000 shi of grain."

"According to the laws of the imperial court on tax collection, ten coins are levied per mu. With the three prefectures combined, each household would have approximately seventy-seven mu of land. The total population of the three prefectures is 300,000, and the amount of land obtained would be 6.6 million mu."

"According to the imperial court's tax rate of ten coins per mu, the tax revenue is seventy million coins."

"Seventy thousand shi of grain and one hundred million coins—this is the tax revenue from the three prefectures of Liangzhou last year."

"Of course, that's not all."

"Last year, I suppressed the various tribes of the Western Qiang and promoted mulberry planting and silkworm breeding there, which yielded 20,000 bolts of silk cloth, all of which were sent to Luoyang."

"Eunuch Zuo's escorting back to Luoyang this time must be a great achievement."

"Perhaps His Majesty will be pleased and might even bestow upon Eunuch Zuo the title of Grand Attendant," Duan Yu said with a smile.

Upon hearing the string of numbers uttered by Duan Yu, Zuo Feng froze in place as if he had been frozen in place.

It wasn't until long after Duan Yu finished speaking that Zuo Feng finally reacted.

"Marquis Ji...Marquis Ji is truly a virtuous minister of the Han Dynasty. If His Majesty were to learn of this, he would surely reward Marquis Ji."

"this......"

"Lord Ji ordered me to escort these money and grain back. How could I dare to do that?"

"What if something unexpected happens on the way..."

Duan Yu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Eunuch Zuo need not worry. I will send a strong army to return to Luoyang with you."

Zuo Feng stood up excitedly.

This is a great achievement.

This is an absolutely monumental achievement.

Just as Duan Yu said, if the emperor is happy, he might really be promoted and given a higher rank, and it's not impossible that he could become a high-ranking official.

"How can I possibly thank you enough, Lord Ji?"

Zuo Feng excitedly bowed to Duan Yu and said, "Lord Ji, rest assured, I will never refuse to help you in any way you need me in the future."

"I will convey Marquis Ji's words to His Majesty without missing a single one."

"Please have a seat, Eunuch Zuo."

Duan Yu waved his hand and continued, "Indeed, there is something I need to report to His Majesty regarding the ambush I suffered at Xiutu Marsh last time."

Duan Yu's gaze turned cold.

The foreshadowing has been laid out enough; now it's time to unleash the killer move.

One hundred million coins, plus seventy thousand bushels of grain and twenty thousand bolts of silk.

This is the money used to buy lives from the eight families and ten clans of Liangzhou!