Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 900 Then Increase Taxes
One of the palace maids said, "I think your sister is only fourteen or fifteen years old. How come she entered the palace?"

Another woman sighed, "Alas, my family is poor, so they had no choice but to send me here. Where is my sister?"

"So do I. Alas, this world is really difficult..."

The younger woman said, "They say that the emperor is kind and benevolent. Over the years, we have seen tax cuts and disaster relief. But why are we still living in such misery?"

When he said this, Liu He, who was hiding nearby and eavesdropping, felt a little surprised and curious, so he pricked up his ears and listened more carefully.

The older palace maid said, "Sister, you are still young, there are some things you don't understand. Although the emperor is benevolent, the benefits will not fall on us. Once the taxes are reduced, those local gentry and big families all want to occupy more land. Take my family for example. The bully in our county said he would pay to buy the only 20 acres of land we have, but my father didn't agree. They secretly threw stones at my land, which harmed the crops, and also injured my eldest brother at night. Then they came with money to ask for the land. My father urgently needed money to buy medicine for my eldest brother's injury, so he had to agree. The paddy fields were gone, and the dozen acres of dry land alone could not feed so many people, so they had to sell me to the palace."

"Ah... So my sister's family also suffered the same fate."

The young palace maid exclaimed, "It's the same in my family. A few years ago, the court issued a decree that except for mountains, forests, and marshes, all other places that can be reclaimed and cultivated are considered their own land. My parents worked hard day and night, and over the years, they have cultivated six or seven acres of paddy fields and more than ten acres of dry land. They also rented thirty acres of land from the Han family, a local gentry. In addition, the output of the land has increased year by year, so the annual harvest is not only enough to feed the whole family, but also to go to the market to exchange for some money in good years."

The palace maid's tone was now somewhat cheerful, probably because she was thinking of the past days and was quite nostalgic. But then her tone took a sharp turn for the worse and became extremely angry and sad.

"But...but the Han family suddenly wanted to double the rent last year. They received 60% of the original 30%. In addition, they insisted that the few acres of paddy fields my family had opened up were destroying rivers and marshes, and that we were committing a capital crime. They just took it away for a few hundred dollars. My parents had no choice but to send me to the palace and gave one of my sisters to someone else as a child bride..."

When she said this, the palace maid had already started sobbing, and it was obvious that she was very sad.

The older maid comforted her, "Oh, there's no need to be sad, sister. Although I've just entered the palace, I've heard from the maid in charge that the Queen Mother, His Majesty, and the Queen are all very kind. It may be a blessing for us to enter the palace. The Queen summons the maids every day to weave and embroider. After the money is sold, it will be distributed to the maids. Many maids have bought some property for their families with the money they have saved over the years."

The young maid's voice was filled with doubt and surprise: "Really? There is such a good thing? The Queen... The Queen, is she... is she such a kind person?"

"How can this be false? I heard that the silk will be delivered from outside the palace in a few days, and then you and I will be able to see it."

"If that's true, that would be... that would be really great."

The young palace maid cried with joy, but soon she said again with resentment: "Humph, if I have the chance in the future, I will talk to the Queen and His Majesty and tell them to punish those big families. They usually bully us ordinary people..."

As the two were chatting, a sharp voice shouted.

"Hey, you two ignorant little girls, why are you wasting time here?"

The two seemed to know the person who came, and their tone became very panicked: "Ah... Hong... Eunuch Hong..."

"Hey, where are you from? Why don't you go serve in other palaces and come here to slack off?"

When they entered the palace, they had seen Eunuch Hong, who assisted the Empress Dowager and the Queen in managing the harem. Knowing his status, they were naturally frightened and turned pale and spoke incoherently.

"Eunuch Hong... I... I just entered the palace, and I don't know... I don't know the rules of the palace..."

"Oh, you two are newbies. Since you don't know the rules, let me teach you."

After saying this, Eunuch Hong's voice suddenly became sharper, like a duck's voice: "Come here, take these two unruly slaves away and give them twenty lashes."

"Ah...Eunuch Hong, please spare me, Eunuch Hong, please spare me..."

"Wait a minute!"

A voice interrupted the two eunuchs who were about to drag them away. Eunuch Hong instinctively flew into a rage: "Who is this unruly bastard who dares to..."

After shouting, Eunuch Hong's duck voice screamed directly: "Ah...I deserve to die, I deserve to die..."

Liu He walked over slowly. Eunuch Hong and the other two eunuchs, of course, knew him. They knelt down trembling all over. Since the two maids entered the palace, they had only seen a few eunuchs and maids who were in charge of the palace and had paid their respects to the Queen Mother, the Empress, and Concubine Diao Chan. Naturally, they did not know Liu He. At this time, the two of them were still confused and frightened, and they did not know who this man was. Liu He looked at the two of them, and then looked at Eunuch Hong: "Eunuch Hong, what crime did these two maids commit that they should be whipped twenty times? I see their bodies, and I am afraid that they will lose half their lives after twenty whips."

"Reply...Report to the Emperor. The two of them have just entered the palace. Instead of serving the master in their own palaces, they are...chatting and slacking off here. They deserve to be punished."

"Ah...he...he is the emperor..."

The two maids cried out in surprise. Eunuch Hong turned his head and glared at them fiercely: "How dare you be so presumptuous in front of His Majesty..."

"Hey, Eunuch Hong, don't be angry. They offended me, and I don't blame them. So I'll spare them the flogging."

Eunuch Hong naturally did not dare to disobey: "Your Majesty is kind-hearted and has blessed the world. This is the blessing of our servants."

He shouted at the two palace maids, "Why don't you thank His Majesty?"

The two maids finally reacted and knelt down and kowtowed: "Your servants... Your servants thank your majesty..."

"Okay, everyone, go down. I'll walk around here alone. By the way, Eunuch Hong, go and ask the lieutenant to come to this pavilion to see me."

"The slave obeys the order."

Liu He sat alone in the pavilion, looking relaxed: "Cao Cao, Cao Cao... You would never have thought that to break your rumor plan, I would just rely on these two insignificant palace maids..."

Not long after, Qian Li came hurriedly over with his head down and taking small steps.

"Your humble servant greets me..."

"Okay, let's skip the red tape. I have something to ask you."

"Your Majesty, please speak. I will tell you everything I know." Qian Li bowed and stood in front of Liu He.

Liu He asked: "Now, among the annual revenue of the national treasury and the local farmland, what is the proportion of ordinary people and wealthy families?"

Although Qian Li was a little confused, he still answered honestly.

"Your Majesty, among the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, the wealthy families with 500 mu of good farmland occupy about 65% of the farmland. However, the taxes they pay only account for less than 40%. Among them, the land tax accounts for the lowest proportion, only about 30%."

"As expected..."

When Liu He studied history in his previous life, he knew that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, land annexation by wealthy and powerful families had reached an extremely serious level. He just didn't expect that after so many years of governance, this phenomenon still existed. It can be seen to what extent this ratio would be distorted during the time of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling.

These clans occupied a large amount of land, but the court did not impose more taxes on them, but often had many tax reduction measures. Secondly, many clans concealed their land and population to evade taxes. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial power and the wealthy shared the world. Even if the court knew about these things, it would turn a blind eye, which led to this phenomenon.

Liu He smiled coldly: "Okay, I understand. Among those rumors, it is said that I am going to increase taxes, right?"

Qian Li replied, "That's right. Many wealthy families, clans, and even ordinary people moved away, probably because of this incident."

"Okay." Liu He patted the big pillar of the pavilion next to him and said, "Since I am being wronged and asked to increase taxes, I cannot bear this injustice in vain. Pass the decree down and announce it to the world. Starting from the first day of August this year, taxes will be officially increased."

"Zun...ah?" Qian Li opened his mouth wide, extremely surprised and shocked.

(End of this chapter)