Start practicing archery

Chapter 11: Stability is a luxury
"I'm asking you one last time, are you going to pay this tax or not?!"

The tax collector narrowed his eyes and looked at the family of three in front of him with impatience.

Zhang Shun said confidently: "Sir, our family paid the autumn tax ten days ago!
The tax officer held up the booklet in his hand and snorted, "I've paid it, but why isn't your name on it?"

"impossible!"

Zhang Shun shouted, "I saw you write it with my own eyes. You are deliberately trying to collect two taxes from my family!"

"Bloody mouth!"

The tax officer whipped the boy with a "snap" and knocked him to the ground. "Why don't I collect taxes from other families but only from yours?!"

A bloody groove appeared on Zhang Shun's face.

He gritted his teeth and tried to argue, but Aunt Li hurriedly stopped him and said with a smile: "Shunzi, shut up. The adults said it wasn't handed in, so it wasn't handed in."

The child is young and does not understand how powerful the tax collector is.

There is a saying that goes “I’m not afraid of officials, I’m only afraid of being managed.” Even though tax collectors are just minor clerks, sometimes they are scarier than county magistrates!
"Please wait, my lord. I will go back to the house and get the money to make up the difference!"

Aunt Li didn't know when her family had offended the tax collector, so she planned to get through this hurdle first.

She hurried home to get the money.

Soon after, a scream of collapse was heard from the house.

"Oh my God!"

"Where's the money——"

The thirteen taels of silver that their family had hidden under the water jar were all gone!

Hearing the noise, lame father Zhang stumbled in. When he saw that the place where he had hidden the money was empty, he fell to the ground and said, "Thief, there's a thief!"

The tax officer lost his patience and whipped Zhang's father twice on the back: "Are you kidding me?!"

"grown ups!"

Zhang's father grimaced in pain: "My family's silver is already here, there are thirteen taels, thirteen taels!"

The tax collector sneered: "I said I have three thousand taels of gold at home. If you don't have money, just confess your crime!"

"father--"

When Zhang Shun saw his father being beaten, he rushed forward in a hurry, but of course he was knocked down by a whip, and his whole face was covered in blood.

He lay on the ground, completely confused as to what was going on.

It wasn't until two figures in white robes in the crowd of onlookers gave him a triumphant smile that he suddenly realized what was going on.

"You, it's you!"

Zhang Shun staggered to his feet and rushed towards the two disciples: "Give me back my silver!"

"Fuck your mother!"

The slightly fat disciple kicked the boy over and said, "Where's the evidence?!"

Zhang Shun was furious: "You are in collusion with the tax officials!"

"Spouting blood."

Hearing this, the tax collector raised his hand and whipped the boy a few more times, leaving his skin torn and flesh exposed.

"Damn you scoundrel!
"He bites everyone he sees like a mad dog, catch him!
"Send the old one to Cangzhou to build the city wall, and send the young one to Hezhou to build the river channel!"

The onlookers were silent.

Seeing this, almost everyone understood what was going on, but no one dared to say anything.

Ordinary people dare not offend officials or warriors.

If the master wants you to die, you must die.

Zhang Shun's body was covered in blood and dirt, and he yelled in extreme frustration.

He worked hard from dawn to dusk fishing and saved money for four years just to learn a few tricks so that he could have an easy meal in the future. Why did it turn out like this?

Is it because he didn't work hard enough?
"Shunzi!"

A powerful voice sounded.

Chen Sanshi squeezed in from the crowd.

When he saw the two martial arts disciples, he immediately guessed what had happened.

Shunzi's act of spilling gold juice offended them, so they deliberately retaliated by bribing the tax officials to collect taxes repeatedly and stealing the bank's deposit, hoping to kill Shunzi's family directly in this way.

Thinking about it carefully, Chen Sanshi felt a little scared.

If Qin Xiong was willing to spend money on bribes, he might end up like this.

He stepped forward and said, "Sir, can I pay the tax on your behalf?"

"Brother Shi?"

Zhang Shun was so ashamed when he heard this that he couldn't even raise his head.

He didn't stick to it before and took out the money to help Shi Ge'er. How could he have the nerve to ask Shi Ge'er to help him?
Aunt Li and her husband were equally ashamed and wished they could find a hole to crawl into.

Not only them, but also the villagers watching were stunned.

"Ok?"

The tax collector's face darkened: "Boy, are you sure you want to meddle in other people's business?"

"I naturally dare not interfere with your official business."

Chen Sanshi pulled the tax collector to a corner, pointed at Zhang's father and whispered, "But this cripple can't do any work. He might die on the way, wasting food."

The tax officer raised his eyebrows: "You mean..." Chen Sanshi took out two taels of silver and quietly stuffed it into his hand: "Sir, forget about the cripple. As for Zhang Shun, he was disrespectful to you, so he deserves to do hard labor."

That's all he can do.

The other party was obviously targeting Zhang Shun, and Zhang's father was just implicated.

If Chen Sanshi forces himself to step forward, it will not change the outcome but will bring disaster upon himself.

Even as he was speaking, the two martial arts school disciples were staring at him in the crowd.

It’s better to save as many people as possible.

After all, Zhang Shun was young, and he had a 20% chance of surviving if he went to perform labor service.

"Haha, you are really good at doing things."

The tax collector found this interesting.

He accepted money and promised to teach Zhang Shun a lesson. The old man himself was dispensable, so why not make an extra two taels of silver?
Thinking of this, he calmly accepted the silver and announced: "After paying the tax to the head of the Zhang family, let him go, take the young ones away and send them to exile in Hezhou!"

The result is finalized.

Most people present understood what was going on.

"Little Stone's trick works, it doesn't offend anyone, and it saves Shunzi's father."

"This boy is really a man of loyalty and righteousness."

"It's a pity that he doesn't study anymore, otherwise he would be an official in the future, and he would definitely be a good official."

"Little Stone, I, Baldy, am convinced by you this time!"

The villagers whispered and expressed their admiration for Chen Sanshi's behavior.

"Shunzi."

Chen Sanshi walked up to the dark and thin young man and patted him on the shoulder gently: "I tried my best."

"elder brother!"

Zhang Shun knelt down with a plop: "You saved my life and my father's life. If I can come back alive, I will definitely work like a slave to repay you!"

He kowtowed three times.

"Are you acting like a big shot? Stop talking nonsense and get out of here!"

The yamen runners took Zhang Shun away, while the tax officer continued to count the next household.

Aunt Li cried so hard as she watched her son leave that she fainted on the spot, and Father Zhang sat on the ground numbly.

Similar scenes will continue to occur on this last day of autumn tax collection.

In and around Poyang County, at least one in ten males would be captured.

The vast majority of them are farmers.

After three hundred years of land annexation, more than 90% of the land in and around Poyang County has become the property of local gentry and martial arts schools.

Farmers are basically tenants.

Every year, half of the harvest had to be paid as rent, and the rest had to be paid as taxes, so at the end of the year, they could barely feed themselves.

"Sir, please spare my life!"

"We have had poor harvests for several consecutive years, and we have to plant 10% of 'spiritual grass' on every acre of land. We really can't survive."

"Stop talking nonsense and take it away!"

"..."

There were many forms of taxation during the Great Sheng Dynasty.

The most bizarre one is the "Immortal Tax".

Fifty years ago, that is, in the twenty-first year of the Longqing reign, Emperor Longqing had a dream. He claimed that he saw an immortal in the dream. The immortal also gave him a batch of seeds, saying that these seeds could be used to grow immortal herbs, which could be used to offer to the immortals and protect the country for thousands of years.

So, starting from the 22nd year of Longqing, the emperor issued an edict.

One-tenth of all the arable land in the country must be used to plant "Spiritual Grass". Those without arable land must also pay taxes in silver.

The problem is that this "Linghe" is not a magical herb at all. Not only is it inedible, it is even poisonous, and extremely poisonous!
If an ordinary person eats it, he will die on the spot!

This was tantamount to a waste of land, and the lives of the tenants who were already barely surviving became even more difficult.

Chen Sanshi stood beside the ridge of the field. Within half an hour, he saw at least three or four men from different families being taken away, even a man in his seventies was not spared.

Bitter!

The people are suffering!
Being oppressed materially is one thing, but being oppressed spiritually is even more severe. Officials and martial arts school disciples all belong to the master, so who dares to provoke him?

For example, just now, when Chen Sanshi rescued someone.

He will never forget the look in the eyes of the two martial arts disciples when they looked at him.

It seems that if you say one wrong word, you will be doomed.

This feeling is really bad.

Just because he was a commoner, he was oppressed and exploited everywhere and had to live in fear.

He suddenly made a decision.

What Mr. Xu said was wrong.

In this kind of world, living a stable life is a luxury for ordinary people.

Only by fighting hard can you have a chance to turn things around!
"Tomorrow, join the army!"

(End of this chapter)