Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 446 New Policies (Part Two)

After the spring plowing began, Pei Qinghe stopped attending court, entrusting the trivial matters of the court to important officials such as Prime Minister Pang and Minister Qin. She rode her horse with her personal guards to the fields to inspect the progress of the spring plowing.

Pei Qinghe rode his horse to tour all ten counties under the jurisdiction of Yan County. He arrested several vagrants who were looting grain in the fields and beheaded them on the spot as a deterrent. He also arrested a county magistrate who had failed to prepare for spring planting and dismissed him from his post. He then transferred a batch of grain seeds from the Shi family's grain shop to make up for the missed spring planting.

Furthermore, two villagers tearfully complained by the field, and a wealthy household that had forcibly bought the land was brought to justice, ordered to return it. The wealthy household that had used land debt to seize other men's wives and daughters suffered an even worse fate; their heads were severed.

Such stories kept being reported back to Yan County.

Prime Minister Pang said to Minister Qin, "We have served as ministers for decades and have seen several emperors on the dragon throne. But have we ever seen an emperor like this!"

Minister Qin sighed, "This is what it means to truly care about the people and their livelihood. No wonder the Pei family army has such a good reputation in Yan County. If I were a commoner, I would also support and love General Pei, and I would also wish for such a general to be emperor."

"Looking back now, General Zhang's defeat was entirely justified. The change of power in the Xie family was also a foregone conclusion."

Prime Minister Pang stroked his beard, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Now that we have become his subjects, we should wholeheartedly assist the Emperor and govern the northern lands well, so that the people can live in peace."

Minister Qin nodded, then suddenly laughed, as if he had thought of something: "The Emperor has been on inspection tours, firstly because he values ​​spring plowing, and secondly, perhaps because he's tired of sitting on the dragon throne every day, holding court meetings, reading memorials, and handling state affairs. Let him take advantage of the spring plowing trip to relax!"

Prime Minister Pang chuckled to himself.

These were all veteran officials who had been in the court for decades; how could they not see that Pei Qinghe had actually been trying his best to endure the tedious political affairs?

For Pei Qinghe, leading troops into battle was as easy as drinking water and eating, but reading memorials and handling government affairs were clearly not his forte. Taking advantage of inspecting spring plowing to get some fresh air and relax was a pleasure.

"It's fine for us to joke around in private, but we mustn't say such things in public," Prime Minister Pang whispered, "We mustn't damage the Emperor's dignity."

Minister Qin suppressed a laugh and solemnly agreed.

Plowing, fertilizing, sowing, watering, weeding—there's a lot to do in spring plowing. It takes more than a month in total.

Pei Qinghe returned to Yan County after inspecting the spring plowing, and it was already March.

After being away for over a month, Pei Qinghe showed no signs of fatigue; in fact, her spirits were even higher than usual. It was only when she saw the stack of memorials piled up to half her height that the light in her eyes dimmed slightly.

Prime Minister Pang knew what was going on, but didn't say it aloud. He said, "These are all memorials sent by the prefects and magistrates of various counties. Most of them are about spring plowing, and some are about changes in government policies. Please let the Emperor review and approve them one by one."

Pei Qinghe perked up: "I'll look at the memorials now."

Prime Minister Pang gently advised, "When Your Majesty reviews memorials, there should be one or two people familiar with government affairs by your side, ready to consult you at any time. I dare to recommend two people. They are both Hanlin scholars and were once close advisors to the Xie family emperors."

Pei Qinghe's spirits lifted again: "Where is he?"

Prime Minister Pang smiled and said, "This old minister will immediately send someone to invite the two Hanlin scholars over."

A moment later, the two Hanlin scholars arrived.

Pei Qinghe looked up and sized up the two men. One was tall and thin, with fair skin, and appeared to be around thirty years old. He introduced himself as surnamed Mu.

The other Hanlin scholar was surnamed Wu. He was a little older, around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a handsome appearance and a three-pronged beard on his chin. He was a typical middle-aged handsome man.

"Mu Hanlin, Wu Hanlin," Prime Minister Pang said, "From today onwards, you two will serve in the Imperial Study. You will attend to the Emperor's writings and documents. If the Emperor has any inquiries, you two should put your minds to it and share the Emperor's burdens."

The two Hanlin scholars composed themselves and bowed to the Emperor.

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly and told the two of them to get up.

She opened the first memorial, frowned as she read it, and then looked at the two Hanlin scholars: "During the reign of Emperor Jian'an, did the land tax collected from the northern prefectures and counties really reach as high as 50%?"

The two scholars exchanged a glance and respectfully replied, "Indeed, it is fifty percent."

Pei Qinghe's expression was slightly cold as she said calmly, "This memorial was submitted by a county magistrate. In the memorial, he mentioned that the taxes in previous years were too heavy, and many people under his jurisdiction could not bear the burden. In the past three years, many people have fled, and more and more land has become wasteland. This year, I ordered the supervision of spring plowing, and this county magistrate was afraid of being held accountable, so he submitted a memorial to refute and complain."

"There's nothing we can do about it." The older Wu Hanlin, who was clearly more knowledgeable about administrative affairs, said in a low voice, "At that time, about 70% of the counties were actually able to pay their taxes. The remaining 30% couldn't pay. Some were due to famine, while others were using their military to maintain their power and intercepting local taxes. Bohai County had to support the imperial family and maintain 70,000 to 80,000 elite troops, so the taxes had to be heavier."

Pei Qinghe sneered: "Is this a bit heavier? The imperial court orders a 50% tax rate, but at the prefecture and county level, some is taken, and then another layer is taken from the county seat. With each layer adding to it, how much do the people actually have to pay? How much of the grain they work so hard to grow can they actually eat at home? They work so hard to grow the land, yet they can't even make ends meet. Some can't even afford the taxes and have no choice but to abandon their homes and flee the famine, eventually becoming refugees or bandits."

"Yan County originally had a population of over 100,000, but in recent years, with the continuous influx of refugees, the population has more than doubled. This is because Yan County only collects 30% of the taxes, once a year, and absolutely no one is allowed to tamper with it. In fact, 30% of the taxes is already quite heavy. I have to support the Pei family army, so I have to collect heavy taxes. When things are truly peaceful in the future, and we don't need to support so many soldiers anymore, the taxes will have to be reduced to 20% or 10%."

"Only then will the people be able to live a peaceful life."

The two scholars exchanged a glance, both filled with shock.

……

In the evening, the two scholars left the palace together. They went to Prime Minister Pang's residence.

Prime Minister Pang invited the two Hanlin scholars to dinner, and then went to his study to drink tea and chat.

"How does it feel for you two to be on duty for the first time?" Prime Minister Pang was as experienced as he was, and he could tell at a glance that the two of them had something to say.

After holding it in all day, Mu Hanlin blurted out: "Compared to Emperor Jian'an, Emperor Zhaoyuan is more considerate of the people's livelihood and cherishes the common people."

Then, he recounted what had happened during the day.

Wu Hanlin also sighed, "To be honest, I used to be quite skeptical when I heard people praising General Pei. I always thought that General Pei relied on her invincible martial prowess to gain the world as a woman. I doubted that she could sit on the dragon throne securely for long."

"Only today do I realize that Emperor Zhaoyuan was truly born in accordance with Heaven's will. He will surely be the one to unify the country in the future. King Qiao and General Situ are far inferior to him."

Both of them were impressed by Emperor Zhaoyuan's magnanimity and spirit within a single day.

(End of this chapter)