The prince is more stable

Chapter 391 The Beginning of Great Reign
A place that has been devastated by disasters needs major governance.

Since ancient times, a great governance must first be achieved by exempting taxes, then by equalizing land distribution, and by introducing various incentive policies to allow the people to recuperate and merchants to operate with confidence. Only then can the place be fully revived.

Therefore, tax exemption is the key. Only when the people are temporarily free of burdens can they focus on farming and production. The tenacity and perseverance of the Chinese nation are the strongest in the world.

As long as the court gave the people a break, they would quickly recover and work hard for their own lives. This has been the case for thousands of years.

What Zhao Xiaoqian needs to do now is to let the people breathe a sigh of relief.

The court in Bian Jing was still arguing about the new policy and the old law, but Zhao Xiaoqian didn't care. Regardless of the new policy or the old law, the people of Zhending Prefecture were not allowed to collect a penny of tax from them within these three years.

As for how to make Zhao Xu and the court agree to exempt Zhending Prefecture from taxes, it was very simple. Zhao Xiaoqian reported the current situation of Zhending Prefecture truthfully, especially emphasizing the miserable situation of the farmers in Zhending Prefecture and the reality that there were only more than 160,000 people in the nine counties under its jurisdiction.

The data is the most real and intuitive. When the bigwigs in Bian Jing see these data, if they still insist on levying taxes on the people of Zhending Prefecture, they will first put themselves in the position of "unkindness". The bigwigs cannot afford to wear this hat because it will bring too bad reputation. Zhao Xu dare not wear it even more.

"Moral kidnapping" is not a good word, but Zhao Xiaoqian believes that it will be very useful when he uses it on the bigwigs in Bianliang this time. The bigwigs have no choice but to be kidnapped.

Li Qingchen wrote a memorial requesting tax exemption according to Zhao Xiaoqian's instructions. After blowing the ink dry, he respectfully handed it to Zhao Xiaoqian with both hands. His expression suddenly became much brighter.

Looking at Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes full of passion and admiration, the original feeling of loss from being demoted disappeared at this moment.

Li Qingchen suddenly felt that being a judge under this young county lord might not be a bad thing.

From these two memorials, Li Qingchen could already see the hope for Zhending Prefecture's revival, as well as the kindness hidden beneath the Duke's cynical exterior.

"To establish a mission for the people" is too noble and too far-fetched, and can only be regarded as an ideal that is almost impossible to achieve for scholars.

But this Duke of Zhao was doing it down to earth.

He never shouted any slogans, nor did he make passionate speeches about being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, or loving the people like his own children.

But what he did was to find a real chance of survival for the people under his jurisdiction, allowing them to survive, and if possible, live a better life.

"I only realized today how righteous the Duke of County is. I admire you and am willing to serve under you from now on. I also want to see what Zhending Prefecture will look like in a few years." Li Qingchen suddenly said sincerely.

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him and smiled faintly, "So you're just bowing down like that? Old Li, don't flatter me. I'm not a bad person, but I'm not a good person either. No matter how high you put me, I can roll down easily when I want to. I don't have any psychological burden at all."

Li Qingchen smiled and said, "Good people and bad people are all ordinary people. Those who act according to their heart are real people. In my eyes, the Duke is a real person, with joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, greed, anger, ignorance and delusion. Living like a saint, noble and indifferent, is rather boring."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed heartily. "That's right, Old Li, you're a real person too. During my time as the governor of Zhending Prefecture, I relied on you for a lot of assistance. Let me be frank, when it comes to government affairs, I'm just a hands-off manager. I'm only responsible for coming up with the rules and regulations. You'll still be responsible for the specific details."

Li Qingchen bowed and said, "I am willing to serve you."

"Liu Qianliang and others are being interrogated by the Imperial City Bureau. What we need to do next is to investigate the county magistrates, officials, and landlords in the nine counties under its jurisdiction. The people have been harmed to this extent. I don't believe those county magistrates and officials are innocent." Zhao Xiaoqian sneered.

"The Imperial City Administration will investigate this matter. What you need to do is to confiscate the land owned by the offending officials and redistribute it to the people under their jurisdiction. Spring is not far away, and the government still needs to distribute grain and seeds to the people. We cannot delay the spring plowing."

"The illegal income of these criminal officials over the years is probably quite a large sum. We can keep this money and not hand it over to the court. I can find an excuse to cover it up later..."

"This money is currently being used to distribute grain seeds and farm tools to farmers in the nine counties under its jurisdiction. Furthermore, it will be used to build two markets, east and west, next to the Zhending government office, repair shops, and encourage merchants to trade with the Liao Kingdom."

"Send someone to spread the word that Zhending Prefecture welcomes merchants from all over the country to settle down and do business here, and focus on promoting the three-year tax exemption for merchants in Zhending Prefecture." There were many complicated things to do, but Li Qingchen still gladly accepted the order.

For some reason, Li Qingchen's life suddenly had a goal. Compared to the past two years when he was muddle-headedly fighting with the officials of Zhending Prefecture, although he is working harder now, he is more motivated to do things.

…………

The two memorials were sent by express horses to Bian Jing.

One of them was to purge the bureaucracy in Zhending Prefecture, and the other was to request the exemption of agricultural and commercial taxes in Zhending Prefecture for three years.

Zhao Xiaoqian's actions were really explosive, and both of his memorials were able to shock the court in Bianliang.

Zhending Prefecture is said to be on the border, but in fact it is not too far from Bianjing and can be reached in three days by fast horse.

The memorial was submitted, and while Zhao Xiaoqian was waiting for Zhao Xu's reply, he was not idle either.

After Liu Qianliang and other criminal officials were captured, they confessed without hesitation under the brutal interrogation of the Imperial City Division, and even wanted to confess more.

All the crimes he committed over the years have been documented in his confession. The case is now a done deal and there is no chance of recovery.

In addition, they also revealed the backers behind Liu Qianliang and others.

He had more than one backer, including a vice-chancellor of the Council of State, two vice-ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel, and a chief secretary of the Privy Council.

Behind these officials involved were also relatives of the royal family in Bianliang, business tycoons, and even several large landowners in Jiangnan.

This is a very solid and tight network, with every line on the network crisscrossing and involving the Council of State, the Privy Council, the Six Ministries, clan members, private wealthy people, landlords, and so on.

After Liu Qianliang and others confessed readily, Zhao Xiaoqian looked at the confession sent by the Imperial City Bureau. Even though he was of noble status and extraordinary position, he couldn't help but eyelids twitching when looking at the list.

This is really like stirring up a hornet's nest.

Holding the list in his hand, Zhao Xiaoqian felt it was a bit hot.

No wonder Liu Qianliang, Zhang Lan and others acted so rampantly in Zhending Prefecture. The backers behind them were indeed powerful. No wonder Li Qingchen submitted memorials to impeach the officials of Zhending Prefecture many times, but the memorials were blocked when they reached Bian Jing.

Zhending Prefecture is a place where the emperor is far away and the government is strong. This group of people have powerful backers, and serving as officials here will indeed magnify the evil and darkness in human nature infinitely.

Staring at the list, Zhao Xiaoqian pondered for a long time, then picked up his pen and slowly crossed out the names of the Vice Prime Minister of the Council of State Affairs and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Privy Council, leaving the rest of the names unchanged.

The case is huge, but Zhending Prefecture cannot withstand the turmoil, so it is enough for the matter to reach the level of the Six Ministries.

If the important officials of the Council of State and the Privy Council were really held accountable, not only would there be a huge uproar in the court of Bian Jing, but Zhending Prefecture would also become the focus of attention of bigwigs from all sides. In the future, if Zhao Xiaoqian wanted to obtain some good policies for Zhending Prefecture, he would probably face many obstacles.

How can one in officialdom eradicate all evil and distinguish between good and evil?
The court is a gray place. For those who can stand in the court, the boundaries between good and evil and right and wrong are not so clear. What they care most about are the words "pros and cons".

Zhao Xiaoqian was no exception, but the pros and cons he weighed had nothing to do with himself, but were for the people under his rule.

(End of this chapter)