supreme deity

Chapter 765 New Deal
When Lin Rui slowly descended to the ground on his magic dragon, he laughed heartily in the direction of Zhang Tianchang and Zhuang Mingyue: "Tianchang, it's been two years since we last met in Wangcheng, right? How have you been these past two years? And Mingyue, it's been almost half a year since we last met. I miss you so much."

Zhang Tianchang's mind suddenly relaxed a little. Although Lin Hao calling him by a name was not much better than "Xiao Zhang", he still felt relieved.

He first bowed with his hands clasped, and then paid his respects with great ceremony: "I, the humble officer Zhang Tianchang of Mingwei, pay my respects to the Duke of Zhenguo!"

Zhang Tianchang then raised his head and smiled slightly: "With the care of the Duke of Zhenguo and Zhuang Tianguan, everything will go smoothly for me."

He had indeed lived a comfortable and happy life in the local area before.

With the official title of Mingwei Cavalry Captain, fifth rank under the Imperial City Department, he was appointed as the Imperial Dragon Cavalry Captain of Fuzhou City.

The Imperial City Secretary Yu Longzhi is a powerful person. In addition, he has a deep foundation. Behind him stands Lin Hao, the top boss in the court. Even the Governor of Fuzhou has to show respect to him.

But people are really incomparable.

Three years ago, they were both constables in Yinyue County, but now Lin Hao is the regent of the dynasty and the Duke of Zhenguo appointed by the gods themselves, while Zhang Tianchang has just reached the sixth level of dragon transformation and his official position is still at the fifth rank.

However, his future is still something that ordinary people can only look up to, and he is a rising star in the eyes of many people.

Zhuang Mingyue also bowed gracefully, her sleeves fluttering lightly, like a willow swaying in the wind. "Mingyue greets Senior Brother Lin. Senior Brother is even more elegant than before."

When she raised her head and looked at Lin Rui, her eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly.

Senior brother's demeanor and charm are indeed better than half a year ago. Every move he makes is filled with unquestionable decisiveness and strength, and his aura is even more unfathomable.

Zhuang Mingyue's eyes also became strange, a mixture of admiration and tenderness, and an indescribable emotion gently rippling in her eyes. The corners of Zhuang Mingyue's lips also rose slightly, with a hint of joy.

She then sighed secretly, feeling lonely, and her fingertips unconsciously twisted the corners of her clothes, as if trying to hide the hopeless feelings deeply.

Zhuang Mingyue knew that it was best not to show her feelings, so she could only stop there.

Besides, it’s not her turn. Zhuang Mingyue’s senior sister Meng is now often worried about Lin Hao’s affairs.

Lin Rui nodded slightly: "It's not convenient to talk here, let's go back to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and talk about our farewell."

He then used the magic dragon to carry Zhuang Mingyue, Zhang Tianchang, and his sister Lin Yi, who had been hit by fifteen rounds of "Divine Grace Cleansing" in the post station, and returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

After Lin Rui and the other three sat down in the lobby of the mansion, Zhang Tianchang was a little reserved and uneasy at first. However, when the servant of the Duke of Zhenguo brought him a cup of hot tea, Lin Rui deliberately guided Zhang Tianchang to talk about interesting things in the past, and then mixed in a few jokes. Zhang Tianchang's brows gradually relaxed and a smile appeared on his face.

Lin Rui, sipping tea, asked about the local situation. "Tian Chang, you're in Fuzhou. Are there any changes to the excessive taxes and levies in Fuzhou in recent years? How are the several decrees I issued since the first month of this year being implemented in Fuzhou?"

Zhang Tianchang's expression froze upon hearing this, and he replied in a serious tone, "It's changed a lot! We in Fuzhou haven't had any donations or levies for nearly a year. We've also waived the vehicle and vessel tax, the fishing tax, the vinegar tax, and the soy sauce tax. The people of Fuzhou will save 153 wen a year."

This is exactly what Zhang Tianchang admires about Lin Hao.

Although the so-called "New Deal" that he vigorously promoted after becoming the regent had a great momentum in the government and the country, if you look into it in detail, you will find that there is not much new in this New Deal.

In addition to opening ports for trade, promoting industry and commerce, rectifying the administration of officials, and checking and rectifying the storage and transportation of military equipment and food, Lin Hao also made drastic changes to the tax system, merging and simplifying the complicated tax items. At the same time, he ordered the Imperial City Administration to post the types and amounts of taxes on the bulletin board, and asked scholars to preach to the people. Anyone who violated the order would be severely punished.

You have to know that in addition to the regular taxes, there are countless other exorbitant levies and taxes.

During the 6700 years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, government officials at all levels, in order to obtain administrative funds or to enrich themselves, have inventive taxes and levied taxes arbitrarily for various reasons, exploiting the people. These taxes include vinegar tax, soy sauce tax, medicine tax, egg tax, rainwater tax, shoe tax, jar tax, etc. Even if the people installed a few more windows or beams in their houses, they would be taxed.

In addition, there are various "voluntary" donations and levies, which are said to be used for military expenses, disaster relief, road construction, river management, etc., but no one knows where the money finally goes.

Lin Hao's actions directed the people's resentment towards local officials rather than the court he was in charge of.

Moreover, his administration was very steady. He did not rush for results and did not intend to achieve everything in one go. Currently, he was only using the help of the Imperial City Administration and the Censorate to abolish several local miscellaneous taxes with high pressure.

Although the amount abolished was not much, only a little over a hundred coins in total, for the common people, it was enough food for more than ten days or even dozens of days.

These rations can help reduce the resentment and evil deeds of the local people.

So now, not only are the people grateful for his kindness and support, but most of the gentry and upright people in various places also praise Lin Hao and highly agree with his steady reforms.

Lin Hao's way of governing was to simplify things, reduce taxes and levies, and reduce intervention in local areas. The opening of ports for trade and the flourishing of industry and commerce also made the supplies in the Song Dynasty more abundant than before the war, thus benefiting the local gentry.

His new policies were not big steps, but he walked on thin ice step by step and was extremely steady.

Zhang Tianchang cupped his hands and said, "I oversee the entire Fuqing County and dare not slack off. Now the whole county is like this, no one dares to disobey your orders. As for the other counties in Fuzhou, I don't have a deep understanding of them, but from what I have heard from merchants in the past, I feel that the situation is similar."

He spoke with admiration, "The Duke of Zhenguo's benevolence and love for the people are as bright as the sun and the moon. Therefore, his majesty is awe-inspiring, his words are as powerful as a mountain, and his prestige is as great as a towering mountain. He awes everyone inside and outside the court and wins the hearts of the people. Therefore, when you give an order, all officials are in awe, and everyone in the country dares to obey."

Lin Hao couldn't help but smile when he heard Zhang Tianchang's compliments, thinking that Zhang Tianchang had really gained a lot of experience in the past three years in the local area.

He speaks in a very elegant manner, so he must have read a lot of books.

"So how much copper coins are needed for chicken and steamed buns in Fuqing County this year? And how much is rice?"

The so-called chicken eggs are actually eggs. These prices can best reflect the local prices and living standards.

Zhang Tianchang replied fluently: "When I left Fuqing County a month ago, a chicken cost 2 wen, a meat bun cost 3 wen, and rice cost 100 wen per dan."

Lin Rui nodded slightly, thinking that the prices in Fuqing County were quite reasonable.

Currently, the price of one tael of magic silver is 1000 federal coins, and it can also be exchanged for 1000 copper coins. 2 copper coins are equivalent to two federal coins.

However, the eggs from Tianji Star are several times larger than the eggs from the Earth Federation, and one stone of rice from the Song Dynasty weighs about 100 kilograms. As the Tianyuan War is intensifying, and the Song Dynasty has recruited 1300 million troops and young and strong men from all over the country to join the war, it is already very good that Fuqing County can maintain this price level.

Lin Rui then asked, "How many demonic changes have occurred in Fuqing County this year? What's the overall level?", "How is the river traffic? How is public security?", "Is the Grand Canal unobstructed?", "What are the freight rates for large and small goods?", "Are there any additional taxes levied by the local river bank?", and so on. These were all questions related to people's livelihoods, no matter how big or small.

Lin Rui actually had two major intelligence channels, the Imperial City Department and the Security Bureau, to help him understand the situation at the local and grassroots levels of the Song Dynasty. However, he knew that those in power must not listen to only one side of the story and must consult multiple sources to grasp the true situation. Otherwise, they could easily be deceived and misled, leading to incorrect judgments. Zhang Tianchang responded with a silent admiration, and in his heart, he respected this former little brother even more.

It is a blessing for the people that the Song Dynasty is now ruled by this Duke.

Lin Rui then asked Zhuang Mingyue about various livelihood issues within her jurisdiction, including whether local officials were honest, whether the imperial court's policies were being properly implemented, and whether there was any resistance.

Zhuang Mingyue smiled faintly. "The Duke of Zhenguo vigorously simplified the tax system and reduced the burden on the people. The local government officials did have some complaints at first, but Your Excellency later simplified official allowances and opened up special supplies of various Heavenly Demon merchants, Heavenly Demon injections, and colonial equipment. This has more than compensated for their losses, so the vast majority of them now support and respect Your Excellency."

Before Lin Hao came to power, the imperial court provided various allowances and subsidies to all officials.

In addition to the normal salary, there are also official fields, rice, annual rewards, envoy money, firewood and silver, post subsidies, grace salary, ice tribute, charcoal tribute and public office money, etc. In addition, there is also a merit exchange system to exchange for various martial arts books and elixirs provided by the court, which is extremely complicated.

Lin Rui's policy was to simplify things. He cut and merged all the allowances except the ambassador's money, and distributed magic silver every month as a custom of the court.

In this way, the court's distribution was simple and clear, the officials' income increased greatly, and it also prevented some people from taking advantage of the situation.

Lin Rui also set aside some money to make centralized purchases from Tianmo's Ruifang Pharmaceutical and Tianlan Group. With the help of the court's merit exchange system, he provided local officials with some injections below type 5, as well as some common colonial suits below S-level.

Although they are just some basic colonial equipment and medicines, they are things that ordinary grassroots officials have never been able to access in the past.

Furthermore, these were legal medicines and colonial equipment marked by the Divine Law Lord and Divine Law Lady! Now, as long as local officials worked diligently and received a performance evaluation no lower than mid-to-high, they could exchange them for a few from the court, or purchase them at cost price. Just by reselling, they could make a lot of money, so these people naturally supported Lin Hao's new policies.

Lin Rui smiled casually upon hearing this. "What do you mean by support and respect? It's just for the sake of money. If I dare to reduce their income by even a penny, I will be regarded as their sworn enemy."

His policies were aimed at winning over officials, on the one hand to consolidate his own position, and on the other hand to reduce resistance to reform, so that he could further clean up the officialdom, eliminate accumulated malpractices, and rectify the administration of officials.

He knew that any reforms he made would be in vain before the administration of the Song Dynasty was rectified.

In fact, many of the policies of the Song Dynasty were very good. Their original intention was to benefit the country and the people and revitalize people's livelihood. However, they were secretly disobeyed or even misinterpreted and exploited by officials at all levels in the local areas.

Government decrees originally intended to benefit the people are often turned by local officials into opportunities to make money and distorted into means of further exploiting the people. This will then become the last straw that breaks the camel's back, leading to widespread public resentment.

Therefore, the scholars and officials in the Tianji world also advocate governing by inaction, believing that less trouble is better than any political decrees.

Lin Rui is now adding to finances and subtracting from government affairs, trying his best to reduce the burden on the people and simplify complicated government affairs, so as to accumulate reputation and recruit followers.

Lin Rui would never dare to rashly implement any new policies before he had a clean and capable government team and could ensure that his policies and will were truly implemented at the grassroots level of the government.

Zhuang Mingyue thought that Lin Hao reorganized the warehouses and exempted those exorbitant taxes, which was like taking money out of the officials' bowls. How could he not be resented?

However, this Duke of Zhenguo is powerful in himself and has the favor of the God of the Eastern Abyss, which is enough to keep the situation under control.

Moreover, this man had good strategies and steady steps. Every time he hit the officials below with a stick, he would give them a sweet treat. So no matter how dissatisfied the officials below were, they could only hold their noses and bear it.

Moreover, there are indeed many officials at the grassroots level of the Song Dynasty who have to be in the muddy current because of the official atmosphere and social conditions of the Song Dynasty.

These people still have a love for the people, and most of them are experienced and knowledgeable. As long as the court can give them a way, these people are still willing to take the right path and do something practical for the people.

"The Duke has a far-sighted vision, strategic planning, and careful execution, achieving remarkable results. I admire him immensely!"

Zhuang Mingyue then looked at Lin Yi, who was eating beside her, with great curiosity: "By the way, why did Her Highness the Goddess trigger the divine grace just now?"

This is something that Zhuang Mingyue has always been curious about. What did this person do to attract the 15 times of divine cleansing from the God of Law Tianzun?

"It's a case caused by usury!"

Lin Yi was stuffing the roasted Seventh Realm beast meat into her mouth, filling her small mouth completely.

She and Zhanlong had just been cleansed by the so-called "divine grace" for fifteen consecutive times. Although her physical body was greatly strengthened, it also consumed a lot of energy.

She took a few quick bites and swallowed the meat in her mouth. Then she squinted her eyes and said, "A merchant in the west of the city lent money to a wealthy man in the countryside. The annual interest rate was 100%, and the interest was compounded. The wealthy man refused to accept the loan and said there was a problem with the original contract. He brought the case to me. I ruled that the annual interest rate exceeded 50%, and the compound interest was illegal. The wealthy man only needed to repay the money according to the law, and then he was -"

Lin Yi originally wanted to say that he was struck by the thunder of the Divine Law Lord, but finally hummed and changed the sentence: "He was blessed by the grace of the Divine Law Lord."

In her heart, she was actually quite dissatisfied with the divine punishment of the Divine Law Lord.

I am checking for deficiencies and filling in the gaps for the Lord of Divine Law!

It is indeed natural to repay debts, but usury is a thing that will make people poor if the interest rate is too high and break up families if the debt is too deep. It will exploit the people and turn resentment into disaster, causing the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer, thus throwing the world out of balance and the country into ruin.

Although Lin Yi knew that Xiangxia Hao was not a good person, Lin Rui had already warned her that this matter must be handled in a one-size-fits-all manner. Loans could be granted, but the interest charged could not exceed the law.

As a result, the God of Law was not only not grateful to her, but also struck her with fifteen consecutive divine thunders.

Lin Rui smiled slightly when he heard this. It was indeed he who ordered the judgment on the usury. This judgment made by Lin Yi on behalf of the God of Law could benefit people all over the world.

Of course, this is not without disadvantages. It will make local tycoons unwilling to lend money, and leave the people with nowhere to turn when they are in urgent need of money. But the overall benefits of this precedent outweigh the disadvantages. It is better than the people being forced to death by usury or becoming possessed by demons.

In the near future, he will also implement local preferential loans with an interest rate not exceeding 20% ​​to provide a safety net for the people.

——In fact, it is a variant of the ancient federal Qingmiao Law, but it has been renamed Huimindai.

His expression then grew serious. "Let's get down to business. I'm urgently recruiting you two to come to the capital because I have two important positions I'd like to entrust to you."

Zhuang Mingyue and Zhang Tianchang's expressions suddenly became serious when they heard this.

They had actually heard the news a long time ago and had a premonition, and their hearts were pounding at this moment.

(End of this chapter)