Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 74 Tax Order
Emperor Xian Liu Xie was now trapped in the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si, and the royal majesty was gone. Even when Liu Xie wanted the Taifu to buy some clothes for the palace ladies, he was refused by Li Jue. It was very sad.

The next year and a half could be considered the darkest period in Liu Xie's life. Cao Cao took advantage of this opportunity to use the emperor to command the princes, seek political legitimacy and authority, and gradually lay the foundation for his hegemony over the world.

Although Yan Yi did not have the same unique conditions and advantages as Cao Cao, and could not enjoy the delicious meat, but if he could smell the fragrance of meat and drink a cup of sweet soup, it would be better than sighing at the sight of plum blossoms and having nothing in his hands.

After planning everything, he began to implement it.

However, there were so many things to do, so many that he felt as nervous as when preparing for the college entrance examination in his previous life.

Military affairs, internal affairs, foreign affairs, and personnel affairs.
There is a lot of work waiting for him to do in every aspect.

He was busy until late at night before he finished today's affairs.

At noon the next day, Yan Yi, accompanied by Cao Qiu and Yin Li, inspected Yuncheng.

According to the plan, Yuncheng is divided into four urban areas.

The South District is where Yuncheng officials work. Official temples, shogunate offices, and residences of various officials are all concentrated here. There are not many pedestrians on the streets, and it seems a bit deserted. From time to time, people in official robes walk hurriedly by, or horses carrying messages gallop by.

Seeing Yan Yi and his entourage passing by, officials along the way stopped to salute. Yan Yi also nodded in greeting one by one, and occasionally chatted with them.

As we passed a house, we suddenly heard a commotion behind the wall, accompanied by the barking of several dogs.

A rough and powerful voice, like a huge bell, made people's eardrums hurt: "These four pigs and two cows were given to me by the young master, why do you still want me to pay taxes!?"

Then another clear voice rang out: "Mr. Xu, since the young master has given you these animals, they are your private property. According to the law, as long as private property exceeds 50,000 coins, all items listed in the taxable items must be taxed. Please don't make things difficult for me."

"Am I giving you a hard time? It's you who's clearly giving me a hard time! When I was in Wucheng, I only had to pay 120 coins for each cow. Why do you want me to pay 132 coins when I come here?"

There was a hint of impatience in his clear voice: "You and I are comrades, why would I make things difficult for you? This is the tax order set by the young master. If you don't believe me, go ask him."

"Why am I asking Young Master? I'm asking you!"

A clear and bright voice said helplessly, "Second Brother Xu, I just took up my post at the Ministry of Revenue. Why are you arguing with me over a few hundred coins? I'll treat you to a drink some other day, and you can just drink it back."

The rough voice softened a bit: "Is this really the tax decree issued by the young master?"

"It's absolutely true, why would I lie to you! The notices have been posted in the city, go and see for yourself." The clear voice became more helpless.

"I can't read, what can I read?"

Cao Qiu outside the house laughed dumbly: "Young Master, do you want to go in and take a look?"

When he turned around, he found Yan Yi's face was serious, and he quickly put away his smile.

There was a hint of solemnity in Yan Yi's eyes. After capturing Yuncheng, he made some adjustments to tax collection, including the property tax that the two people in the house were arguing about.

According to Han Dynasty law, if the value of private property reached 10,000 coins, one had to pay a tax of one hundred and twenty coins per year.

One hundred and twenty coins may not seem like much, but it was just one of dozens of taxes. When you add up the taxes here and there, the total adds up to a significant amount, burdening the people with an extremely heavy burden and making them miserable. Yan Yi raised the property tax threshold to fifty thousand coins in order to ease the burden on the people. Many people were extremely poor, and with the fifty thousand coin threshold, they would no longer have to pay property tax.

However, after such an adjustment, Yuncheng's overall tax revenue would inevitably decrease, so he increased the tax rate by 10%, intending to collect more taxes from wealthy households to make up for it.

Although the dispute between the two people in the house was just a trivial matter, it also gave us a glimpse of the resistance that the new tax order encountered.

The owner of this house was rewarded for his military merits and accumulated some wealth, but his wealth was far from comparable to those wealthy families who had owned properties for decades, not to mention those powerful families.

Presumably, the new tax order will encounter greater resistance from wealthy households and powerful families.

However, Yan Yi only regarded the new tax order as an attempt, using Yuncheng as a test so as to combine it with reality, accumulate experience, and continuously improve it.

He had anticipated the resistance and was even mentally prepared for failure.

Adjusting laws and regulations is sometimes more dangerous than military affairs. Whether the content of the laws and regulations conforms to the actual situation requires repeated testing. He does not expect to achieve success overnight. Being able to understand the pros and cons from practice is the greatest gain.

Yuncheng is just a small city, which is suitable for conducting such experiments.

Therefore, Yan Yi had no intention of entering the house. Once he showed up, the execution of any law would be unimpeded. Why did he want to create such an illusion? What he wanted to know was the real situation.

After standing outside the house and listening for a while, he left with his men.

Among the four urban areas, the South District is the smallest. After walking only a thousand steps, they arrived at the intersection of the East District.

The East District is the gathering point of Lishe and also the largest urban area. According to the plan, most of the people in the city will live in the East District in the future.

The houses here are very simple, with cracked pillars and dilapidated walls. Some are even just made of rough wooden boards and covered with thatch, which leaks when it rains.

But compared to the deserted South District, this place is much more lively.

Before reaching the intersection of the East District, there were obviously more pedestrians on the street. All traces of the war had faded away, and the expressions on the pedestrians' faces were very relaxed. Some were carrying loads, some were carrying baskets, some were chatting, and some were hurrying on their way, all in an orderly manner.

On both sides of the street, a dozen carpenters and masons, standing on wooden ladders and carrying buckets of mud, were repairing walls and replacing damaged tiles on the roofs. Six or seven children were running around among the craftsmen, interested and curious about their every move.

These craftsmen were hired by the people of the East District to repair their houses.

After Yuncheng changed hands, Yan Yi rented out the vacant houses to refugees at extremely low prices, which led to a rapid increase in the number of residents in the city. Naturally, the business of these plasterers and carpenters also increased steadily, and they were all very busy.

"Young Master is here!"

When Yan Yi appeared at the street corner, he was immediately recognized by passers-by. As a shout spread around, the people around him put down their work and flocked over.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

The spacious streets were soon packed with people, and the blue brick ground was filled with people kneeling and worshipping. Amid the deafening shouts, eager and grateful eyes were focused on Yan Yi.

(End of this chapter)