The Prodigal Son

On the official boat.

Yang Jichun and Ruan Zhi were reviewing the salt tax ledgers from previous years.

This account book was copied from a detailed account book borrowed by Yang Jichun from the Ministry of Revenue.

Qin Yu wasn't interested in that, so he took Lü Si and Nan Que'er to play cards on the side.

"A royal flush!"

Qin Yu tossed out two kings and a three, stood up, and smiled at Lü Si, "Including the previous 50,000 taels, you already owe me 53,200 taels of silver! I'll round it down for you; just give me 53,000 taels!"

"I……"

Lu Si looked at his bad hand with resentment and gritted his teeth, saying, "Let's play again!"

"Let's talk about it after you've paid it off!"

Qin Yu patted Lü Si on the shoulder and said with a grin, "You're bad at it but love to play!"

With that, Qin Yu pulled Nan Que'er up, "Let's go, let Lü Si summarize his experience! Let's go see the scenery along both banks of the Qujiang River!"

This kid is really bold!

I only taught him how to play Dou Dizhu today, and he actually dared to gamble with them.

With his skills, he thinks he can take on two opponents at once?

I'm too lazy to even beat him!

"Young Master Lü, don't be discouraged, there will be other opportunities in the future!"

Nan Que'er smiled at Lü Si and followed Qin Yu out of the cabin, leaving Lü Si, whose face turned pale and then red.

Soon, the two arrived on the deck.

Although the New Year has passed, the weather is still quite cold, with the cold wind whistling against your face.

Their official boat, aided by the current and the wind, sped downstream.

Their official ship was guarded by other ships on all sides.

Looking up, you can still see quite a few canal boats.

The Qujiang River originates from Diecui Mountain, flows through Fengzhou, Yinzhou, and Kaizhou, then passes through Yuwang Mountain into Min, and finally flows into the East China Sea.

Qujiang River originally had the potential to become the most important waterway connecting the imperial city of Daning with the Min region.

Unfortunately, the Qujiang River encounters a significant drop when it reaches the Yinzhou section, with several rapids and waterfalls along the way. The river's current only gradually calms down after it passes through Yuwang Mountain and enters Min County.

Fortunately, the water flow is relatively calm in the section from the imperial city to Fengzhou.

This section of the river, together with the Grand Canal connecting Qujiang and Pingjiang, forms the busiest and most important waterway in Daning.

The two nestled together on the deck, watching the scenery rushing past on either side, which was quite a unique experience.

A short while later, Yang Jichun and Ruan Zhi also came out of the cabin.

Lu Si followed behind them, feeling utterly dejected.

Hearing the noise behind him, Qin Yu turned around and asked, "You found a problem with the account books?"

"no."

Yang Jichun shook his head slightly. "Lu Si kept pestering us, insisting on teaching us how to play Dou Dizhu (a card game). We couldn't stand it anymore, so we came out for some fresh air."

"He lost money and is trying to make up for it by coming to us!" Ruan Zhi said, glaring at Lü Si.

Lu Si, having his intentions seen through, wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, he said matter-of-factly, "They won my money, so I have to find a way to make it up to them!"

"Find someone else to make up for it! Don't come to me, though!" Yang Jichun waved his hands repeatedly, saying with a wry smile, "My meager salary can't withstand your coveting!"

As he spoke, Yang Jichun gestured towards Qin Yu, indicating that Lü Si should go find Qin Yu!

Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor!

"Yes, if you're going to look for someone, look for me and Que'er, not the other two!"

Qin Yuchong smiled at Lü Si, then asked Yang Jichun, "How's the review of the account books going?"

"Not very good."

Yang Jichun shook his head slightly, "Judging from the accounts alone, there really isn't a major problem."

"If you can't see any problems, that's a good sign!"

Qin Yu had already guessed this would be the outcome. "If the Ministry of Revenue's accounts could reveal such serious problems, we wouldn't have needed to make this trip!"

The reason he was too lazy to look at those account books closely was, besides laziness, this was the only other reason.

If you want to take money from the imperial court but can't even do basic accounting, you're practically asking for death!

"It is indeed Dr. Qin who sees things clearly."

Yang Jichun offered a small compliment, remarking, "Some people are blinded by self-interest, always thinking they've done everything perfectly, when in reality they're just being clever for their own good."

"What do you mean?" Lu Si asked, puzzled.

Yang Jichun looked at Lü Si with surprise, "Haven't you seen the salt tax ledgers from previous years?"

"Isn't it you guys who are here? What am I supposed to look at?" Lu Si retorted confidently.

"..."

Yang Jichun choked slightly, speechless for a moment.

After a pause, Yang Jichun continued, "Since His Majesty assumed personal rule a few years ago, the salt taxes paid by the large and small salt merchants in the Liangjiang region and Hai and Yuan prefectures have remained largely unchanged, and have even increased by two to three hundred thousand taels each year..."

"So what if it's growing?" Lü Si said dismissively. "In my father's words, it's called whitewashing the truth!"

"That's absolutely right!"

Yang Jichun chuckled, "They thought that if the salt tax they submitted each year was a little higher than the previous year, the imperial court wouldn't notice the problems with the salt administration..."

He could even guess what the salt merchants would say.

Since the rebellion launched by several vassal kings, the livelihoods of the people in the Liangjiang region and the Hai and Yuan prefectures have not yet recovered, so the salt tax has not been able to be restored to the level before the turmoil.

The fact that salt taxes are increasing every year indicates that people's livelihoods are recovering.

Given time, it will surely be able to recover to the level of the late emperor's era.

This explanation does seem plausible, but it actually has a huge flaw!

Previously, the three princes, Liang Wang, Fu Wang, and Tong An Wang, were enfeoffed in this southern region.

Although the land they were granted was not large, the combined salt tax from the three fiefdoms was considerable.

Moreover, the three kings would certainly not only focus on the salt tax revenue from their own fiefdoms, but would also inevitably intercept a portion of the salt tax revenue that should have been handed over to the imperial court.

Now, the three kings have been eliminated!

The salt tax from the three princes' fiefdoms was entirely returned to the imperial court, and the princes no longer openly or secretly withheld it.

Even if the salt tax here is not as high as during the reign of the late emperor, it should not be that much lower.

"You seem to understand things quite well!"

Qin Yu gave Yang Jichun an approving look. "However, I think they might be overconfident, or perhaps they've become too powerful to control. They believe that as long as they keep the salt taxes they pay within a reasonable range, even if the court notices a problem, they won't dare to touch them easily!"

"Maybe!"

Yang Jichun sighed softly, then asked Qin Yu, puzzled, "Why do we have to start our investigation from Yuanzhou?"

Hearing Yang Jichun say this, Lü Si and Ruan Zhi looked at Qin Yu curiously.

They did know that they would soon travel by land, passing through Shangzhou and entering Yuanzhou.

But they didn't understand why Qin Yu chose Yuanzhou as his first destination.

Meeting the gazes of the three, Qin Yu smiled and asked, "Which province, Hai or Yuan, produces more salt?"

"Haizhou!"

Yang Jichun and Ruan Zhi answered in unison.

This is common knowledge!

Salt from Hai and Yuan prefectures accounted for 70% of the salt production in Daning.

And the salt from Haizhou accounts for 70% of the salt from Haizhou and Yuanzhou.

Qin Yu smiled and said, "Yuanzhou's sea salt resources are not much less than Haizhou's. It's just that there are fewer well-maintained salt flats and salt fields, and its geographical location is not as advantageous as Haizhou's, so the salt production is much less..."

"I see!"

Before Qin Yu could finish speaking, Yang Jichun realized, "Therefore, Yuanzhou is more likely to produce smuggled salt!"

"Oh, right!"

Qin Yu nodded and smiled, "The fact that Liu Donglai could pass off 40% smuggled salt as official salt is enough to show that smuggled salt is rampant in both prefectures! Once we figure out where that smuggled salt came from, we'll basically know who's behind this!"

Understanding Qin Yu's intention, Yang Jichun immediately exclaimed with admiration, "Physician Qin is truly wise; I admire you!"

Sycophant!

Lu Si secretly curled his lip.

Well, Qin Yu's idea is indeed quite good!

Can you really learn something from this grandson?