boyutpedia Chapter 130: Rich Tax
Chapter 130: Rich Tax
Early in the morning, Liu Zhao took Ma Zhuang and others to the Hongnong County Government Office, where Hongnong County was distributing disaster relief grain, to see what Shangguan Mi was capable of.
The Hongnong County Government Office is easy to get to, and it wouldn't take much time to even walk, let alone ride a horse.
Along the way, disaster victims were rushing back excitedly with food in their hands.
"Little brother, has the disaster relief grain been distributed?"
Liu Zhao dismounted and stopped a child and asked.
Children's words are the most trustworthy.
"Not yet! A few fangs were given food yesterday, and it's only our turn today! Are you guys going there to get food too?"
"Yes!" Liu Zhao said with a smile, "How much food did you receive?"
"There's only my mother and I at home, and we each get ten kilograms of rice!"
This is just the preliminary release, Liu Zhao nodded.
Although Wang Fang was not very smart, he distributed food accurately.
"What about your mother?"
Liu Zhao touched his head.
"My mother is bedridden, so I'm the only one who can come and get it!"
"Okay! Take good care of your mother!"
Liu Zhao looked at the child, who seemed to be about eight or nine years old.
At this time, he is the pillar of the family.
The boy said this and left in a hurry.
Walking along the way, seeing that most people were in high spirits, Liu Zhao felt happy too.
Among so many counties, only Wang Fang, the dumbest one, distributed the grain properly without any problems.
There were no yamen runners supervising at the gate of the county government office, and the victims lined up in an orderly manner.
This surprised Liu Zhao a little. It wasn't easy!
"Hey everyone, are you also here to collect food?"
As soon as Liu Zhao stood up and there was no queue, someone asked.
"No! Why?"
Liu Zhao raised his head and looked into the distance.
"You don't look like you, you look like you're here to pay taxes!"
"Pay taxes, what taxes?"
"The county magistrate said that every household in the city, rich or poor, must be registered. Anyone with an annual income of more than 100 silver coins must pay a 11% tax!"
"Tax on the rich?" Liu Zhao had an idea.
"What do you mean by a woman sleeping? You are such a person! We poor people are lucky to have food to eat, why would we sleep?"
The man was a little angry.
"Brother, what kind of people can receive food?"
"Those with an annual income of less than ten taels of silver shall receive ten kilograms of rice. It is clearly written there. You are here to pay taxes, so go and pay them!"
"Yes, yes!" Liu Zhao said, walking towards the large archway nearby.
It was written in black on red paper: income, disaster relief food.
Twenty taels, eight jin per person.
Thirty taels, six jin per person.
Until fifty taels, each person can only receive two kilograms.
From now on, you cannot receive amounts up to 500 taels.
Next to it is a list of which families in the county have how much annual income and how much tax they should pay!
Liu Zhao was a little stunned!
These data are very detailed and not easy to come by!
It seems that County Magistrate Wang Fang is not so stupid!
Liu Zhao's opinion of Wang Fang changed a little in his heart.
So, we walked towards the place where food was distributed.
From a distance, I saw a thin man sitting there distributing food for the disaster relief, while the fat mayor was collecting taxes.
But Wang Fang was not there.
"Where's the county magistrate? Why isn't he here?"
Liu Zhao asked the person next to him.
"County Magistrate! Are you talking about County Magistrate Wang or County Magistrate Shangguan?"
"Isn't that County Magistrate Wang? Where did County Magistrate Shangguan come from?"
Liu Zhao was a little surprised.
"That Wang Fang! He's been imprisoned. I heard he was derelict of duty. Now he's the Shangguan County Magistrate!"
"When did this happen?"
"Brother, you must be from out of town!"
"Yes, just arrived!"
"No wonder you didn't know. Just yesterday, the prefect came in person to put Wang Fang in jail!"
"Yu Chun?" Liu Zhao knew of course that he was the Yin of Henan.
"Then where did this Shangguan County Magistrate come from?"
"Shangguan County Magistrate! This is incredible! The prefect personally came to invite him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be willing to do it."
"Is it really that exaggerated? Do I need to beg for help even if I'm a county magistrate?"
Liu Zhao already guessed who the county magistrate was!
"Hey! You outsiders don't understand. Shangguan Mi was originally a filial and honest official. If he wanted to be an official, he would at least be a second-rank official!"
"is it?"
Liu Zhao became even more interested in Shangguan Mi.
"But he doesn't want to be an official. This time, the prefect has some friendship with him, so he asked him to temporarily serve as the acting county magistrate. Once this disaster relief is over, he will quit!"
"Why invite him?"
Liu Zhao asked.
"Of course he's capable! And he has money. An official doesn't need to be greedy. He has more than he can spend. This time, during the disaster, he donated 100 dan of grain and 5,000 taels of gold!"
"What? So many?"
Liu Zhao could hardly believe it.
Is it true that Shangguan Mi’s house is full of gold?
"You may not believe it, and I, a local, don't believe it either! But they really are that generous!"
"As soon as he took office yesterday, he immediately ordered these wealthy people to pay taxes for disaster relief. The governor gave him the privilege of executing first and reporting later!"
“What happens if you don’t pay taxes?”
"If you're caught not paying taxes, that's a big deal. All your belongings will be confiscated and you'll be exiled to Mobei!"
“That serious!”
Liu Zhao was indeed shocked.
"That's right, who among these rich people dares not to pay?"
"Then County Magistrate Shangguan must have offended quite a few people! Isn't anyone looking for trouble?"
"Looking for trouble? Brother, this Lord Shangguan has backers in the court!"
"Does County Magistrate Shangguan know a high-ranking official in the imperial court?"
This really surprised Liu Zhao.
Du Zheng said that Shangguan Mi's father, Shangguan Kai, was an official of the previous dynasty.
But it didn’t mention what kind of background Shangguan Mi had in the court!
"Of course. I heard that the current Song Zhongshu is the cousin of Shangguan County Magistrate!"
"Such a big background?"
Of course Liu Zhao was a little skeptical.
Most of the things happening among the people are based on rumors.
But it’s not impossible!
"Of course. Think about it! Everyone in the world knows Song Zhongshu. He's a close friend of the current emperor. Who can afford to offend him?"
"That's right, brother, you're well-informed! You know all this!"
Liu Zhao smiled.
"What's so strange about this? If it weren't for Song Zhongshu's protection, how did he get so much wealth?"
"hehe!"
Liu Zhao didn't respond.
"Also, in Hongnong County, who doesn't know he's rich? But why don't even the bandits dare to touch him? Isn't it because he relies on Song Zhongshu as his backer?"
"Haha! This is the first time I've heard of this. As for the tax, did he pay it himself?"
Liu Zhao changed the subject.
Wherever there are people, there will be onlookers.
"Of course, bro. Guess how much he paid in taxes?"
"Fifty thousand taels of gold?"
"That's not the case. The five thousand taels of gold he donated is actually almost half of his net worth! He paid five hundred taels of gold in tax!"
"Okay! That's not a small amount!" Liu Zhao believed it.
"Of course it's a lot. Even if they donated half, they'd still be one of the richest families in Hongnong! And with Secretary Song's support, they'd make it all back quickly!"
As the man spoke, there was a tone of dissatisfaction in his voice.
"Okay! Thank you!"
Liu Zhao didn't want to listen anymore and left immediately.
I originally planned to go and see Shangguan Mi in person, but I was too busy with disaster relief at the moment, so I decided not to disturb him.
It would be better to look somewhere else.