The Great Ming in the Box-Chapter 277: This Thing Must Be Collected
Li Daoxuan inspected the entire county and his gaze finally settled on the county office.
At that time, it was already dusk. Liang Shixian, however, had not left work. He was still sitting inside the county office, with a pile of documents beside him. His clerk was also busy running around, compiling various materials into books and passing them to him.
Li Daoxuan looked curiously and discovered that what Liang Shixian was holding was a “debt ledger,” which recorded that on a certain year, month, and day, he had borrowed a certain amount of grain from the Li Family in Gaojia Village. Again, on another certain year, month, and day, he had borrowed another amount of grain in Gaojia Village…
It was a thick book! It was all filled with such records.
Liang Shixian held that book, and his expression was one of deep lamentation. “I thought I owed countless debts to a hidden family,” he said, “but now I know it was actually aid and food granted to the world by a deity. Sigh, this book has become a joke.”
The clerk said, “The deity probably lacks nothing and will not make us repay, right? After all, we did not use this grain for personal gain, and we distributed all of it to the common people.”
Liang Shixian nodded. He realized then that when he went to the Li Family to borrow grain in the past, and they gave it so readily for distributing congee to save lives, it was truly the deity’s mercy for all people.
Huh? Wait! It seemed there was some detail forgotten back then.
Yes, at that time, Thirty-Two had said they did not pay taxes on behalf of the people!
He hadn’t considered the Li Family a deity then, so he didn’t think much of it. But now, reflecting carefully, he suddenly sensed something wrong.
He lowered his voice and said, “I feel a trace of unease.”
The clerk asked curiously, “Dong Weng, please speak.”
Liang Shixian replied, “The Dao Xuan Deity has already brought rain and ended the drought in villages like Gaojia Village, Zhengjia Village, Zhuangjia Village, Wangjia Village, and others, so they can produce grain again. Yet, these villages show no sign of paying taxes.”
The clerk froze; the brush in his hand stopped moving.
Liang Shixian continued, “Right now, nearly ten thousand refugees in the county are working on road construction under the Dao Xuan Deity’s organization. Although their wages are generous, they don’t pay taxes. For a time, I forgot about this matter, overjoyed they survived. But now it strikes me—if they keep avoiding taxes, isn’t that a huge problem? If the court investigates, what should I do?”
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan couldn’t help but grin. “Haha, you’re right! I forgot that too, but you the official still remember.”
Exactly, this matter gets forgotten by all except the magistrate for good reason.
Because tax collection is a magistrate’s top “performance”—do it well for fast promotion, do it poorly… heh.
The clerk also paused in surprise. After a few seconds, an awkward look appeared on his face. “Dong Weng, on this tax issue… I suggest postponing once more.”
Liang Shixian questioned, “I delayed it last year. Should I delay again this year?”
The clerk whispered, “Use the same tactics as last year to keep stalling. We must not collect taxes now—that would defy heaven’s will. To be brutally honest, all the silver and grain in the people’s hands now come from the Dao Xuan Deity, barely any by their own farming. Taxing them now is taxing the Dao Xuan Deity. What if he gets angry and slams down a giant hand? How would you resist? As the Chengcheng County magistrate, you can’t leave; there’s nowhere to flee.”
Liang Shixian mumbled, “Ah, it seems accurate. But collecting taxes is my duty. After delaying a year, I’ve done my best. Since the deity has infinite power and cares for the people, maybe he can conjure grain to cover the people’s taxes? That would relieve court pressure on our remote county and stop it eying these poor folks.”
As he spoke, he suddenly sensed something amiss, like a memory detail slipping away.
No! Focus hard.
Liang Shixian, knowledgeable in many matters, instantly switched to mental search mode in his mind. Past scenes, uttered words—every phrase rotated like a lantern, then “ding,” froze on something Thirty-Two had said. “After paying up? Who gets it? Are you sure that tax silver all hits the treasury? Even if it does, will it ever help the people?”
Clearly, the deity refused to pay taxes to the court.
Liang Shixian sighed deeply. “This tax… we should indeed not collect it now.”
Hearing his struggle, Li Daoxuan seriously pondered a question: should tax be levied?
Yes!
Gaojia Village’s current setup isn’t sustainable—it runs solely on the materials he endlessly sends via the golden hand, all dumped into the village treasury, so it’s not a proper system.
But without his golden hand interference, a sound system would need taxes to fill the county treasury, funding national projects.
Without a county treasury, who pays for a highway? Plead with the people to chip in? That would ruin the whole world.
So tax is essential, but the method must shift—not burden the poor, but the middle-income or above. This was complex.
Many subtleties existed!
Li Daoxuan didn’t think he could dream up the perfect plan instantly; it demanded time to research the how, how much, and whom to tax, crafting a detailed scheme.
Of course, collected taxes couldn’t go to the court—they had to stay in the county treasury, enriching Chengcheng County’s people. That was another big debate; it needed clarity, not haste.
Until that plan was ready, the people of Chengcheng County could celebrate freely a while longer!
He moved his gaze to the printing shop. There, Gao Yiye sat in the book chamber with the four girls—bought out from a brothel—collaborating on drawing volume three of “Dao Xuan Deity’s Demon Elimination Tale.” This volume had already reached the county siege phase: armies assaulting the walls, the deity’s palm crashing down, rebels begging mercy…
Li Daoxuan smiled: That sly girl tracked current events well!
“Yiye! Starting tomorrow, you’ll have work to do: relay the story to the four girls for drawing. You help me manage things—coordinate with the magistrate on revamping the county city.”
Gao Yiye felt rushing with pride: “Yes, sir!”
.
!
Chapter 277: This Thing Must Be Collected
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