Chapter 984
Go with the flow
Chapter 984 Go with the flow
"The foundation of a nation lies in its people, and the people depend on food for survival. Food is money, it is the economy!" Xue Shao said in a deep voice. "Without money, the people cannot move an inch, and without wealth, the nation also cannot move an inch."
"After the late emperor's death during the northern expedition, I, Xue, am always grateful. Fortunately, the Taizu Emperor left behind an ironclad plan: the Ming Dynasty's military system is based on military households, allowing the army to be self-sufficient. Otherwise, with the current national treasury revenue and reserves, the country would have been in great chaos after the northern expedition."
"The court needs money to pay officials' salaries; disaster relief requires money, otherwise, countless people would have died in the Quanzhou typhoon this year; dredging the Yellow River requires money, building seaports requires money, raising troops doesn't require money, but fighting wars does..." Xue Shao stepped forward step by step: "In your eyes, what your Gu family is doing is a good deed to protect the villagers, but in my eyes, you are embezzling national wealth. One Gu family, two Gu families, many Gu families working together, have killed countless people and countless families."
Gu Qingyan's face was pale, and he murmured, "Money..."
“That’s right, money. The Ming Dynasty needs money. It needs to stop taxing the people and even recover a lot of money by reducing their burden. So tell me, where should the money come from?”
Gu Qingyan's eyes flashed, and his previously muddled mind finally cleared up. He said in a deep voice, "We can come from the officials and gentry, from the nobles and royal family who own the most land and resources, and also from the merchants."
Xue Shao looked at him with satisfaction and nodded, saying, "Not bad."
Gu Qingyan swallowed hard, looked at Xue Shao, then at Pan Jun standing to the side, and asked softly, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
Xue Shao: "Everyone must die eventually."
Pan Yun: "I don't think I'll die."
Gu Qingyan stared intently at her and asked, "Miss Pan, are you perhaps a Taoist priest?"
Pan Yun glared at him and said, "No."
Gu Qingyan murmured, "Taoists are the best at lying. They never tell the truth. It seems you are one of them."
Pan Jun was astonished. After staring at him for a while, she turned to Xue Shao and said, "You're something else. Although he's not very bright in some areas, he's very bright in others."
Xue Shao nodded slightly and asked Gu Qingyan, "Is Young Master Gu interested in criminal law?"
Gu Qingyan: "How did you know I was interested in criminal cases?"
His eyes lit up slightly, and he asked excitedly, "Is Lord Xue going to introduce me to Xue Shaoqing?"
Xue Shao said, "I can write you a letter. When you go to the capital, you can take the letter to my uncle. I think my uncle will like you very much."
Gu Qingyan was overjoyed and pulled Xue Shao to walk back: "Come on, let's go back. I'll have the kitchen prepare lunch for you. Master Pan, oh no, Miss Pan, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Stay and have lunch with us. I'll treat you to some local specialties. My chef makes the fish especially well."
The chef at the Gu family's restaurant does indeed cook fish very well. It's late autumn now, which is the time when fish are at their fattest. Whether steamed or braised, they are delicious.
Knowing that the young master was going to treat everyone, the cook immediately prepared a whole fish feast, which made Pan Yun very happy, and she no longer cared about Gu Qingyan's previous foolishness.
After receiving Xue Shao's letter, Gu Qingyan earnestly said to Xue Shao, "I have thought about it carefully and I think your idea is good. Brother Xue, wait for me to pass the imperial examination and present this plan. I will definitely lend you a hand in court."
He said, “With this law, my Gu family will no longer have to worry about receiving and sending mail. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with paying land tax. For my Gu family, it’s just a little less money, but it can save us a lot of social obligations every year, which makes us feel much better.”
Pan Yun teased, "You're the ones who receive and send the goods, aren't you the ones who bring land deeds to you begging to receive and send them? Aren't they the ones doing the favors and exchanges?"
Gu Qingyan smiled bitterly: "It's not that simple. Only my father and I in the family have official titles, and there are only so many quotas. We have to handle every single one of them, how much to accept, and how to refuse those who don't accept. We can't offend petty people, and we don't want to refuse gentlemen either. Sigh, it's exhausting. I feel that dealing with one of these is more difficult than writing ten policy essays."
Upon seeing this, Pan Yun sighed, "If only all officials and gentry in the world shared your thoughts."
Xue Shao smiled and said, "Young Master Gu is not fond of money."
Pan Yun then made a grand wish: "If only all the officials and gentry in the world were as indifferent to money as Young Master Gu!" Pan Xiaohei, who was squatting nearby earnestly eating fish, meowed and looked up at Pan Yun with disdain: [Are you making a wish here?]
Pan Jun glared at it: "Eat your fish."
The three people and the cat thoroughly enjoyed the whole fish feast.
Before leaving, Pan Xiaohei looked at Gu Qingyan with lingering reluctance, which made Gu Qingyan's spine tingle.
Legend has it that the Imperial Advisor has a powerful black cat with supernatural abilities. The way this cat is looking at him now, could it be that there's something wrong with him?
Pan Yun lifted Pan Xiaohei off her shoulder and held him in her arms, warning, "They're giving you fish to eat, don't scare them."
【It's all your fault, you've been spreading rumors all this time.】
The chill emanating from Gu Qingyan vanished, and he quickly assured Xue Shao, "When the yamen runners come, I will return the land I entrusted to them to each family in full."
Xue Shao nodded, thanking him on behalf of the court for his understanding and guaranteeing that the government would not hold the Gu family responsible.
In reality, during each land survey, the government rarely held people accountable afterward, except for those gentry who resisted maliciously. This was because too many people were involved, and being too strict would only cause chaos.
Governing a local area is an art, and a truly wise and capable county magistrate will not be overly harsh.
Gu Qingyan escorted the person to the gate, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I heard from some of the village elders that the yamen runners who came last time failed to obtain the roster and land deeds, so they just randomly pointed to a few places and will conduct a land survey later."
Xue Shao asked, "Are there any problems with those places?"
Gu Qingyan said, "The places that have been pointed out are all wastelands that the villagers have reclaimed in the last two years. According to regulations, no land tax is required for the first three years. However, I heard from the village elders that the officials seem to want to record those fields as cultivated land, which may make them pay the land tax for last year and this year."
Xue Shao frowned slightly, knowing that the yamen runners didn't want to offend the Gu family or the families protected by the Gu family, so they used the reclaimed land to appease their superiors.
If Gu Qingyan hadn't brought it up, this matter might have been easily glossed over.
Xue Shao said, "I understand. Thank you for reminding me, Young Master Gu."
Gu Qingyan let out a breath and said with a wry smile, "We have too many things to do next, such as returning the land deeds and waiting for the government to conduct a land survey."
This is nothing; this is just a land survey, not a population census yet.
However, one must eat one bite at a time and drink one sip at a time; this matter cannot be rushed.
Xue Shao comforted Gu Qingyan and then called Pan Jun to leave together.
Gu Qingyan stood by the roadside and watched the two walk away.
The old butler appeared behind Gu Qingyan at some point and asked in a deep voice, "Young Master, are you sure you want to return the land deed?"
“That’s the general trend,” Gu Qingyan said calmly. “Only by going with the flow can we last.”
Moreover, Xue Shao did indeed enlighten him, and the root of his long-standing distress and pain had a solution. Wasn't it worth making an effort?
(End of this chapter)