Yefutidaolu

Chapter 232 The Brutal Divine Dynasty

Gao Jian was intelligent and clear-headed, and he was not blinded by the Imperial Academy and the capital city of Yangjing.

When Canghai said this, Gao Jian had already clearly seen what this so-called 'taxation' really meant.

When the imperial court needs to collect taxes, several preconditions are required.

One of the most important prerequisites is that the taxpayer must have enough divine dynasty coins in hand.

At first glance, this seems to be no problem. Divine Dynasty Treasure Coins are circulating everywhere. Whether you sell them or earn rewards, you can get Divine Dynasty Treasure Coins.

But in fact, this is a big problem.

Where did the Divine Dynasty's precious coins come from?

Without a doubt, it was forged by the Divine Dynasty. Moreover, it is not a primitive metal currency, but a high-precision product that cannot be imitated. It can only be made by relying on the unique technology of the Divine Dynasty and the 'national fortune' as raw materials. The difficulty of imitation is even greater than the forging of some large magic treasures.

This kind of thing cannot be directly mined from minerals; it's not like spiritual materials, gold, silver, or anything else that can be produced by ourselves or obtained from nature.

No matter what kind of power they are, they could never be the producers of precious coins, because precious coins are something they cannot replicate.

The items they produce are generally physical goods, such as grains, spiritual materials, divine iron and immortal gold, handicrafts, and even some magical treasures, rather than the precious coins of the divine dynasty.

Now that the Divine Dynasty stipulates that taxes be levied in the form of precious coins, these forces must exchange their own goods for precious coins that they do not possess. This can only be obtained through trade. In this process, they will inevitably suffer the first level of loss of interests, which is the commonly understood 'seigniorage'.

If you can't generate money, then you'll inevitably be exploited during the trading process.

The Divine Dynasty's precious coins are not unlimited; they are a physical commodity, which can be understood as a universal commodity, and their transportation and storage are the same as other goods...

These forces exchange their various products for precious coins, inevitably engaging in frequent and irregular exchanges to avoid defaulting on their debts. However, by simply controlling the circulation of these precious coins, they are forced to sell agricultural products at bargain prices whenever taxes are due, often resulting in situations where "the cost is doubled."

It can be inferred that in order to pay taxes, these forces would negotiate prices and even sell at a loss to obtain precious coins, which should be a common phenomenon.

As he pondered these things, Gao Jian's expression became thoughtful, and his eyes showed a hint of consideration.

"What's with that expression?" Canghai asked, noticing Gao Jian's thoughtful look.

“Oh, I was just imagining what you encountered when you were collecting taxes… Senior, can you tell me?” Takami asked.

Cang Hai smiled and said, "Are you concerned about the tasks in the practical classes later, or do you simply want to know what the Divine Dynasty has done?"

"I guess so. After all, this is a matter of national importance. Worrying about national affairs is nothing special, is it?" Gao Jian said with a smile.

“That’s true. These aren’t exactly secrets, so it wouldn’t hurt to tell you. But it’s not very meaningful to just talk about them. Let me look for them while I do so.” Cang Hai looked down and searched for something in his storage bag.

Mustard seed bags are not uncommon in this kind of place; almost everyone has one, it's standard equipment.

Before long, he found a piece of gold paper.

“Here, this is my mission briefing. You’ll get one later too, feel free to take a look.” He tossed the gold paper to Gao Jian.

Gao Jian accepted it and thanked him earnestly: "Thank you very much, senior. Please allow me to stop and take a look first."

Gao Jian stopped and began to look through the gold paper.

"Don't stop, let's walk and see as we go," Cang Hai urged.

Gao Jian had no choice but to start walking, observing as he went.

The text above is the usual official document, recording:

“Since the loss of the border pass, the fields have been barren and the roads are infested with foxes and rabbits. Even now, people are still afraid of it. Most of the guards are poor and only think about escaping to find food. Although it is gradually being repaired, the officials and soldiers are still afraid of the law and no one comes to guard it.”

"As the saying goes, border soldiers cannot stay long without family to live with, and many desert. If laws are not enacted to regulate this, there will eventually be insufficient manpower. In the extreme border areas, we need to pay special attention to their care and support so that they can do their best. If there are those who are willing to participate in the training, they should be given a monthly allowance of three gold coins and a stipend."

"When raising an army, money and provisions are of utmost urgency. Although we have taken various measures, transportation remains difficult. The previous war has damaged granaries and other structures, which need to be repaired. I have ordered Canghai, a student of the Imperial Academy, to begin collecting taxes to prepare money and provisions. We should have one million taels of silver. However, families with well-stocked warehouses can also arrange for provisions. They can choose their own government offices to entrust officials with the management and oversee this year's expenditures, including both emergency and non-emergency expenses. This will ensure a solid foundation and provide a reliable basis for both war and defense!"

Gao Jian watched, and it seemed like his eyes were trembling.

Although these words sounded grand and dignified, their content was actually quite clear.

No matter what methods Canghai uses, the border region needs to rebuild its passes and retrain its troops, which will cost millions of gold... You have to take them over.

Regardless of the means or methods.

If you write these words down on paper and pass them on, others can see them...

Even Gao Jian was sweating.

Holy crap, that's way too brutal!

Gao Jian thought this was one or two moral dilemmas.

Looking at it now, how could there possibly be only one or two!?

Just from this briefing, Gao Jian could imagine that there would be no peace and quiet within a radius of one or two thousand miles.

The horror of it was unimaginable.

The number of tragic events is probably countless.

If you want to collect taxes, where should you collect them from?

Find a local powerful family? Even if the task is ridiculously difficult, you might end up getting yourself involved. Powerful families are not people to be trifled with.

Therefore, the best way to levy taxes is to do so from the weaker powers, or even from ordinary people.

Extortion was levied in exchange for money, and loans were offered at exorbitant interest rates. Nine out of ten houses were empty, and people were forced to flee in poverty, unable to make a living. This was probably a common occurrence.

The lack of precious coins inevitably leads to a significant devaluation of goods, leaving no money to pay tribute to officials. This results in having goods but no gold, and what is gained is not what is due.

Even in a year of abundant harvest and plentiful goods, the people will likely sell their wives and children. Over time, this will inevitably lead to a situation where goods become increasingly cheap and the people become increasingly impoverished. As the people become increasingly impoverished, taxes become increasingly scarce, and year after year, debts will naturally accumulate.

This vicious cycle can lead to another situation.

The poor possess nothing but material goods, and lack nothing but gold. Taxes are levied in gold, forcing them to exchange goods for gold. Grain prices often fall at this time, so where does the profit go?
Who has gold? Who uses gold to buy these items?

Without a doubt, it's those companies that have merged.

If they wanted to exchange their goods for precious currency, they could only turn to local powerful families or large merchant guilds...

I've seen enough of the true colors of powerful families.

Moreover, once the common people sold their assets and had precious money in their hands, how would they hand it over to the students of the Imperial Academy?
It's certainly impossible for the students of the Imperial Academy to collect taxes from each household themselves.

This requires manpower.

It is difficult to collect taxes directly from households, and in this process, agents will inevitably emerge, namely, "petty officials who collect taxes on behalf of students."

Who can fill these minor official positions?
Undoubtedly, under normal circumstances, the head of the household or the head of the leasing unit was usually filled by a wealthy or influential local family.

The Baotou or Lanhu groups would collect taxes from a certain number of households or people within a certain area, and then they would pay the taxes to the students of the Imperial Academy.

So why would they be willing to take on the task of collecting local taxes?

Undoubtedly, and entirely driven by profit, taxpayers suffer layers of exploitation and harm at every stage of paying taxes to local governments. Wow, just thinking about this insightful observation sends chills down my spine.

They say it will cost a million gold coins to receive it.

How much money will we actually receive?

Can we stop if we double the price?
"We've arrived, stop looking." Cang Hai reached out and took the gold paper away: "You'll have your own sometime. Just handle it then, it's a very simple matter."

Gao Jian remained silent.

It seems very simple.

In fact, if one wanted to, all one had to do was say a word to the local aristocratic families.

Someone will naturally take care of it for you and get the million dollars into your hands.

All we wanted was an attitude from the students of the Imperial Academy.

At this moment, the group had arrived at an ordinary house, where there was a woman whose lower body was made of clouds and mist.

The woman's upper body was a normal human form, looking to be in her early twenties, with dark circles under her eyes, and she was wearing ordinary clothes. Her lower body was shrouded in mist, which became thinner and thinner, eventually turning into a white line at the very bottom. This line was connected to a book.

Gao Jian recognized it at a glance; it was a book demon.

"Register, new student." Cang Hai tapped the table.

The book demon immediately came to its senses and said, "Oh, Lord Cang, and this... sir, what is your name?"

"Gao Jian, his name is Gao Jian!" Dan Sha, who had been silent all along, suddenly appeared from behind Gao Jian.

"Oh, Gao Jian, I've heard that. There was indeed a freshman named Gao Jian who was supposed to come to register with Helun Sabao. Didn't Helun Sabao come?" The book demon looked outside. "Shouldn't Lord Cang be the one to guide them?"

“He said he wanted to walk here by himself and didn’t need me to help him. Both of these freshmen are like that. Gao Jian also walked here by himself,” Cang Hai said.

The book demon covered her mouth, slightly surprised: "Wow, that's really amazing... The roads in the capital are not easy to find. Two freshmen had to find their own way, and the other one actually found it? He doesn't seem to be lost at all."

"I'll be able to find it with a little calculation. Could you please register it for me?" Gao Jian said with a smile.

"Okay, please wait a moment, sir!" The book demon twisted its body and went to the back.

Gao Jian glanced back.

Helensabao...is he here today too? Yes, he's on the same airship as me, so he must be heading this way from the Vermilion Bird District, right?

------------

Meanwhile, in the center of the Southern Palace Vermilion Bird, the four stars of Shaowei.

This is also the Taiwei Enclosure, with the four stars of Shaowei to the west, representing the position of the scholar-official. One such person is a recluse, also a deputy to the emperor, or a scholar-official.

Here...

Helensa looked up at the sky, a deathly impulse in his eyes.

"Aaaaaaah! Why can't I catch up in this area?!"

The middle-aged woman next to him quickly wiped her sweat and said, "My lord... we need to calculate the movement of the stars. We have already arrived at Taiwei Enclosure. We are already very fast. Ordinary people cannot even leave the Vermilion Bird Zone."

"Am I just an ordinary person?! Keep looking for the way!"

"Helensabao roared."

I refused the senior's directions and the guide's offer. We've already come all the way to Taiwei Yuan, we can't just give up halfway!

Keep calculating! Keep searching! I refuse to believe we won't find our way!
Senior Cang said that even with that insightful opinion, one must find their own way.

I must get there before him!

Otherwise, how can we hold our heads high?
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After registering with Gao Jian, Shu Jian took the initiative to leave Gao Jian and Dan Sha, heading towards the Sutra Repository.

He came to the capital city for this very reason.

Students of the Imperial Academy were allowed to bring two attendants, and these two attendant slots were actually quite expensive.

That's right, it's for sale.

Many people would sell their places at the Imperial Academy to earn high returns.

There's no other reason than that the attendants of the Imperial Academy students can enter and exit the Scripture Pavilion and freely browse through what is arguably the largest and most comprehensive collection of martial arts techniques in the entire Divine Dynasty, second only to the national treasury.

This permission was originally assigned to make it easier for attendants to help students of the Imperial Academy move and copy books.

After all, copying the essence of a cultivation technique is an extremely difficult task, so it's only natural that some attendants would come to help with chores.

However... the very qualification to view this library is enough to attract many people to spend their entire fortune to become its followers over the past decade.

The mouse walked along the path to the library.

Unlike other parts of the Imperial Academy, this place was packed with people even on holidays.

There were people everywhere, probably several hundred.

However, these people are different.

Some were frantically copying books, their nerves appearing severely damaged and lacking rest.

Others leisurely read books, not worrying about time at all.

Depending on the specific agreement signed, the costs and treatment these individuals receive vary.

Some people give a lot of money, or even a lot of precious magical treasures, and they are also of good status. Such people are more like students without any official duties than attendants. They probably spend most of their time in the library.

Others, however, had to become actual followers or slaves in order to be brought over.

There are various differences, and everyone's situation is different, but no matter what, the allure of the Imperial Academy's Library is just that great.

From this perspective, Gao Jian's decision to bring Dan Sha and Shu Jian over without hesitation is indeed something to be very grateful for, even thankful for.

Although Shu Jian and Gao Jian did have a life-or-death bond, in many situations, even the deepest friendships mean nothing in the face of self-interest.

Shu Jian and Gao Jian had a good relationship because of these reasons.

In this respect, Gao Jian is indeed quite trustworthy.

Lord Jingjiang had done a great deal of work, so he brought cinnabar with him. Shushan had also helped, so he was very happy to welcome Shujian along. He didn't consider how valuable this opportunity was at all.

"However, if that's the case... I'm afraid the missions to come later might cause some trouble..."

"But there are still six months left. In these six months, let's carefully look for ways to advance besides the Transformation Technique, such as the Imperial Academy's Scripture Pavilion..."

With that said, Mouse began to study hard!
(End of this chapter)