Chapter 178： bad magistrate

Chapter 178 Bad County Magistrate

178 bad magistrate

He has never studied, so he is not very good at accounting, but he remembers how much he paid last year.

His youngest son is only five years old, and he is not yet old enough to pay the tax. The old mother is over fifty-six, and she will not pay tax. It must be less than last year.

At this time, the tax collector who was standing aside and watching suddenly said coldly: "The rules have changed this year, don't you know? Now, old people don't have to pay until they are sixty years old! So, you still have to pay five hundred and five dollars this year." money!"

"Huh?" The old man had a bitter face, and he could see his sadness, but in the end, the old man didn't say anything, obediently paid five hundred and five coins, and then left with a bitter face.

Passing the old man, the next one is Butcher Zhao behind him.

Butcher Zhao smiled and submitted the household registration and last year's population statistics together.

Lizheng looked up at him and asked, "What's your name?"

Butcher Zhao hurriedly replied: "Master Lizheng, my name is Zhao Xingwang."

"Yes." There Zheng nodded, found the person from the household registration book, and said, "Zhao Xingwang from Zhaozhai Village, right?"

Butcher Zhao nodded again and again: "Yes, yes."

"Yeah." Li Zheng didn't look up, hummed lightly, and started to calculate with one hand, while singing: "Zhao Xingwang, four of Cheng Ding, two children above Shi Ding, the family sells butcher for business, doubles the tax, Cheng Two hundred and forty coins for children, forty-six coins for children above the age of 10."

As he spoke, he looked up at Butcher Zhao, and then said again: "It's always fifty-two dollars."

Zhao Zhitong was stunned when he heard that, for those who are in business, they have to double their taxes!

Then Grandpa Bai explained to her that in ancient times, agriculture was generally valued over commerce, and the implementation of such a tax policy was also a measure taken by the emperor to prevent the common people from going into business and causing no one to farm.

At this moment, Butcher Zhao and the people around him all reacted flatly, as if they had already seen the strangeness.

Butcher Zhao also hurriedly took out the consistent money, and then counted out fifty-two copper coins, and handed them to Li Zheng.

After Zhao Butcher's house was over, there was an old man Zhao Zhitong didn't recognize, he should be a villager from another village.

Behind this villager is old man Zhao, that is, her grandfather. At this moment, old man Zhao seems to be saying hello to Zhao Zhitong. However, Zhao Zhitong didn't look at him, which caused him to say hello several times, and he was suppressed alive.

After discussing the old man Zhao, after reading the household registration there, he looked up at him and said with a smile: "Is there a child in the family?"

Old man Zhao nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, grandson has been admitted to Tongsheng."

There just nodded, "Okay, Tongsheng deserves three taels of silver, and after deducting your family's tax calculation, you can get two taels of silver and two hundred dollars."

After finishing speaking, he handed over the money to old man Zhao.

Now, Zhao Zhitong didn't understand again, so he asked Grandpa Bai: "Why do other people come to pay, but my cheap grandpa can still get money?"

Grandpa Bai thought for a while and thought: "In ancient times, scholars had a very high status. If they were scholars, not only would they not have to pay taxes, but they would also receive living allowances from the state every year."

"Oh, so it is like this!" Zhao Zhitong suddenly realized: "Then, I also study, can I also get money?"

Grandpa Bai stroked his beard and laughed: "Silly girl, a scholar doesn't become a scholar until he has read a few books. A scholar must have status, at least he must be a child."

"Oh, that's it." Zhao Zhitong blinked, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Zhao Zhitong stood at the front, staring at Lizheng's plan seriously, and Lizheng had discovered Zhao Zhitong a long time ago, but seeing that the little girl was well-behaved and not making trouble, he ignored her.

As time went by, the team moved forward at a slow speed, and it was almost Zhao Dong's turn.

At this time, the tax collector went out suddenly, and then came back, and proposed another rectification. He said that he had just received a notice from his superiors, and the age of children who need to pay the tax has been reduced from eight years old to six years old!

The people queuing up around did not react much except for a bitter look on their faces, as if they were accustomed to this kind of rules that change at any time.

The people don't fight with the government, they are just ordinary people, how dare they yell at the government, they can only leave with a sigh after paying the tax.

And at this time, Grandpa Bai suddenly said: "Girl, you are not surprised why the tax collector suddenly increased the money, but the money brought by the common people is not enough?"

Zhao Zhitong blinked and recalled, really, except for a very few who lost a few pennies and were asked to go back to get it by the tax collectors, most of them brought enough money, even when his father was about to leave the house, he was there. Well, I got an extra 100 yuan in taxes.

Then Grandpa Bai sighed and said: "It seems that such sudden policy changes like today happened often before, so the villagers have formed a habit, and when paying taxes, they will definitely bring some more money with them. .”

After hearing this, Zhao Zhitong's face wrinkled.

By this time, Zhao Dong had already been lined up in the tax-paying line, and Zhao Yu and Zhao Ya in their family had turned eight years old in a few years, so whether this policy was changed or not had to be paid, so it was okay.

After paying the tax in a hurry, Zhao Dong went back with Zhao Zhitong in his arms.

Along the way, Zhao Zhitong overheard a few passers-by along the way talking in low voices.

"Hey! Did you pay more taxes this year?"

"No, my child just turned six years old, and I paid an extra twenty-three dollars!"

"Oh, my family is not yet fifty-six, so I didn't pay more this year, but I don't know next year. If this year's policy is still the same next year, my family will have to pay an extra 120 yuan!"

"However, fortunately, we didn't raise all the money. I heard that Lin County just raised the calculated tax by ten cents last year. It's really wicked!"

"Shh, stop talking, be careful not to be heard."

…

Zhao Zhitong looked at those people curiously, and then whispered: "Daddy, did the county magistrate change the policy? He is really a corrupt official!"

Then she thought of the county magistrate who had come to their house for dinner. He looked very kind-hearted, how could he be a bad official!

snort!

Zhao Zhitong kept her mouth shut, planning in her mind that the next time she saw Uncle Pei, she would tell Uncle Pei that the magistrate is a bad official and let Uncle Pei punish him!

Hearing Zhao Zhitong say that the county magistrate is a corrupt official, Zhao Dong was taken aback, and hurriedly hissed softly: "Don't talk nonsense outside."

Although their family has contact with King Chu now, the real power is not their own.

Moreover, the king of Chu is in the capital, and the emperor is far away today. Their family has just become rich, so it's better not to get too hot.

Then he hurried home with Zhao Zhitong.

On the second day, Zhao Zhitong told Qiao Muchen, Zhao Yue, Wei Shulan and others about Lizheng's tax collection.

The four of them were very curious about paying taxes, so they chatted about it.

Zhao Zhitong asked: "You said that the tax collector's modification of the rules means that the county magistrate is embezzling our money."

Qiao Muchen nodded his chin and thought about it, and said after a while: "This is not necessarily true. My father's book says that everything must be based on evidence. We don't have evidence to prove that the magistrate is a bad official, so we can't randomly suspect people." , There are many possibilities for this situation, such as Li Zheng, or the tax collectors themselves want to fill their pockets."

(end of this chapter)