I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 549 There is a Taoist Temple on the Mountain
County Magistrate He of Xianshuigu heard about Taohua Village again. It was his lawyer Qian Gu who brought him the news.

After several yamen runners were killed in Taohua Village last year, County Magistrate He has been taking a laissez-faire attitude towards the area around Taohua Village, and has actually classified them as bandits.

But just a few days ago, Master Qian Gu actually told him that the people of Taohua Village had come to pay their taxes, and they had paid the full amount for the whole year!
The Qing Dynasty was a small peasant society, and the main source of tax revenue was land. The performance evaluation of county officials was also mainly determined by tax revenue.

If the tax arrears for the year reached 10%, the county magistrate would lose his chance of promotion and be fined one year's salary. The higher the arrears, the more severe the punishment, and if it reached more than 50%, he would even be dismissed from his post.

Therefore, in order to protect their own official hats, the most strict thing for local officials is to collect taxes.

Normally, the "imperial power does not go to the countryside", but the "upper busy period" from February to April of the lunar calendar and the "lower busy period" from August to November of the lunar calendar are the busiest and most tense time in the county. Yamen runners and grain clerks go to the countryside every day to collect taxes from house to house.

The county magistrate's performance score for the year will depend on the tax collection situation in the past few months.

The Qing Dynasty, like the Ming Dynasty, unfortunately lived in the Little Ice Age, and the living environment was extremely harsh. If it weren't for the introduction of high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, it would have been impossible to feed so many people.

Even so, the common people still live in extreme hardship and numbness. Most of the farmers have just managed to make a living, and have never experienced the feeling of being "full" in their lives.

Life was already so difficult, but the grain officials still bullied the weak and feared the strong. They instead placed the taxes that should have been paid by the rich and powerful families on the poor and low-income people, making their situation even worse. This was also the reason why there were abandoned babies every day.

This year was even more unfortunate for He, the county magistrate of Xianshuigu.

Maybe it was because they got a lot of benefits from the British delegation passing through their county last year, which used up all their luck. This year, things started badly. As soon as spring came, the whole county was hit by a locust plague, followed by a large-scale drought.

Every time he saw the horrific scene in the farmland under his jurisdiction, he became worried.

If the grain was not delivered, he would have to pay out of his own pocket to fill the hole, otherwise he would have no hope of climbing up. He didn't know if the tolls from the British embezzlement last year would be enough to fill the hole.

In order to avoid deficits, County Magistrate He urged the money and grain secretaries and yamen runners to go to the countryside to collect debts throughout the eighth month of the lunar calendar, causing chaos in the surrounding area.

Because of the double blow of locust plague and drought, people couldn't even have food to eat and there were starving people everywhere.

But the officials in the county government still force everyone to pay taxes. Who can stand this? Tragedies happen almost every day.

But even if County Magistrate He wanted to boil all the common people under his command in the pot to extract some oil, it would not be of much use, as they were all skinny and had no oil to be squeezed out.

Apart from causing complaints among the people, the tax money has had no effect at all.

Just when he was worried to the point of graying hair, Taohua Village, which he had long since given up on collecting taxes, actually offered to give him money! In full!

For many years, the extremely poor Taohua Village has been a drag on the economy. So when it was occupied by mountain bandits last year, County Magistrate He was not very nervous, as it was just a small amount of money. But now, they have paid the full amount of taxes for the first time in history and have become an advanced village!

How could this not make County Magistrate He look sideways?
As soon as he saw the tax grain from Taohua Village, County Magistrate He knew that the bandits might have big plans. He discussed it with his two advisors for a long time and finally decided to send someone to investigate first.

As expected, the spies were not able to enter the village. As for forcing their way in, they didn't dare to do that. How many people died here last year? They were only paid so little, so there was no need to risk their lives.

But it was not completely without gain. Those who went there did get sporadic feedback from the side, saying that people from Taohua Village had not gone out to the market for almost a year.

Although the people of Taohua Village did not go out, they were not short of supplies. When it was time for dinner, the smoke from the cooking stoves in the direction of Taohua Village was the most fragrant and dense. Smelling it from afar would make one's mouth water. People from neighboring villages who were not well fed liked to smell the fragrance near the boundary marker. In ancient times, people said "looking at plums quenches thirst", and now people say "smelling fragrance quenches hunger".

After listening to the report from his men, Magistrate He and the two advisors looked at each other and finally decided to keep it secret.

The other party has already paid the tax, so why is he still staring at them? He doesn't want to do anything that hurts others and does not benefit himself. If he turns a blind eye, everyone will be fine.

As for eliminating bandits and getting rid of harm to the people? That was not in his "Official Guide".

After this, County Magistrate He found that the county was changing more and more. First of all, in the ten miles and eighty miles around Taohua Village, there were no more tragic incidents reported.

Every time the yamen runners went to collect taxes, although they could not complete the full amount, they always got some gains. Compared with other places, this was much better.

It is said that the dilapidated Taoist temple on the deep mountain behind Taohua Village has been rebuilt, and the goddess inside is very powerful. People from all over the country got life-saving food only after praying to the goddess.

County Magistrate He was convinced that the Taoist temple was the work of bandits. Moreover, as bandits, they not only did not rob the villagers, but also paid money and food to buy the hearts of the people!

The ambition is very big!

County Magistrate He has decided to get himself out of this position as soon as possible, no matter how much it costs. As long as he is promoted, even if a rebellion breaks out here, it will have nothing to do with him.

It's just that he wants to leave, but Wen Renyi doesn't want him to leave.

Now is not the right time to rebel, and he still needs a knowledgeable and understanding county magistrate to take the lead and provide cover.

After Owen left the Qing Dynasty, Xia Qingdai had only Wen Renyi who could give her the incense map, so her field of vision was very small. She didn't care about what was happening outside the village.

She now renovates the village whenever she has time, and never tires of it. Occasionally, she takes time out to visit the temple, and beside the stone statue, she hears Ren Yi reporting the surrounding situation to her.

Xia Qingdai was extremely satisfied with Wenren Yi, the Qing Dynasty's rebel agent.

Because he made things so easy for her, she didn't even need to ask him for permission and he built a Taoist temple at the foot of the village, mainly to rescue abandoned babies.

For a person who wants to rebel, adopting an abandoned baby is not very beneficial. But for Xia Qingdai, it is more meaningful than rebelling.

The fact that Wen Renyi cares about this matter shows that he understands Xia Qingdai very well.

How could Xia Qingdai not be happy to have a subordinate like this who can guess his intentions?

The Qing Dynasty was developing step by step, and the British countryside was not lagging too far behind.

Two years after leaving Yifla Town, when Xia Qingdai returned here, she found that the main building of her Wanghe Villa had been completed.

Although it took several years to build the house, only the outline was finished. But Xia Qingdai was not in a hurry. Slow work makes fine work, so she also took her time to decorate the house.

Anyway, she lived in Fucui Villa, so it was unlikely that she would deliberately drag Owen to the opposite side.