Do you know: I am Qi Heng

Therefore, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, a common phenomenon was to register land under the names of people with official titles.

Even if a commoner's son passes the imperial examination, many people will register their land under his name.

After affiliating with another person, the people would give the land tax that they originally needed to pay to the imperial court to the person they were affiliated with.

It may seem like there is no difference, but it is common for government officials and their clerks to go to the countryside to collect taxes, extort money and bribes, and collect more under the guise of "fire loss".

By registering under the name of someone with official rank, one could still pay land taxes, but avoid being exploited by officials.

However, the drawback of this policy was that the imperial court had fewer and fewer fields to collect taxes from.

In this respect, the policies of the Great Zhou Dynasty were much more reasonable.

Qi Heng will need to take the county and provincial examinations to participate in the imperial examinations in the future.

Although the details of the county and provincial examinations were already widely known, Su Shi, having personally participated, gave a more detailed account than Qi Heng had.

In addition, there are some experiences of participating in the imperial examinations.

"Neither the county nor the provincial examinations are particularly difficult, but the examination rooms are very cramped, and the atmosphere can be quite oppressive over time. If Yuanruo were to participate in the imperial examinations in the future, it would be best to answer the questions quickly after reviewing them."

Otherwise, your performance will be affected, which will also affect your ability to answer questions.

"When I took the provincial examination, I had several fellow townsmen who were quite talented, but because they wanted to answer better, they hesitated to write. As a result, their answers were not satisfactory," Su Shi said.

Qi Heng understood the reasoning behind it after a moment's thought.

As Su Shi had previously stated, the county examination was not particularly difficult. It typically consisted of four to five sessions, with each session starting before dawn and ending before dusk.

There will be a one or two-day break in between before the next exam.

But the provincial examination was different; it was conducted entirely according to the requirements of the metropolitan examination.

There are three exams in total, each lasting three days and two nights. You have to leave the exam room before evening on the third day and enter the exam room early on the fourth day for the next exam.

Each exam lasted three days and two nights, and students had to eat and sleep in the cramped cells of the examination hall, unable to communicate with anyone.

The exam lasted three days and two nights, so there was plenty of time to answer the questions.

However, a repressive environment can lead to significant mental stress.

Candidates want to answer as well as possible, so they don't rush to answer the questions at the beginning, but instead rack their brains to figure out how to answer them.

I would make various drafts beforehand, and only start writing on the last day.

However, this can lead to immense mental stress when you finally start writing.

"Brother Zizhan's words are all golden advice, Yuanruo has learned a lot!" Qi Heng bowed and thanked him.

Don't underestimate these things. Qi Heng had never heard anything like this before. Either those who participated in the imperial examinations hadn't leaked it, or they hadn't realized it yet.

After all, the imperial examination was related to official rank and fame, and it could also enable people to cross social classes, so no amount of caution was too much.

Answering questions early has its advantages, but too little time may prevent you from thinking things through thoroughly.

However, Qi Heng believed that Su Shi's method was still very useful.

From a human perspective, the first day is definitely very exciting, making it difficult to fall asleep.

But if you don't sleep for three days and two nights, your brain will be a complete mess, how can you answer the questions?

Therefore, there will definitely be a break in between.

But anyone who stays up late knows that their head is always spinning when they wake up.

In terms of energy and spirit, they are not as good as they were on the first day.

"Haha, these are just some personal experiences, and they may not be applicable. No need for thanks," Su Shi said, waving his hand.

"I find it very useful."

Qi Heng smiled and said, "I've been in Bianjing since I can remember, and I've only left the city a handful of times."

Brother Zizhan, could you tell me about your experiences traveling and studying abroad?

Qi Heng was still very curious about what was happening outside of Bianjing.

But the memories he had were mostly of going on outings in the suburbs of Bianjing and participating in Madam Wu's polo match.

He hadn't even been to the surrounding counties.

"I also studied in Sichuan for over a month. If you'd like to hear more, I'll tell you about the local customs and culture of Sichuan."

"I'm all ears!"

Seeing that Qi Heng was willing to listen, Su Shi pondered for a moment and then began to recount his experiences on his travels.

The text mentions famous mountains and rivers, the lives of people in prefectures and counties, and some local delicacies.

Qi Heng listened for a while, then asked with some doubt, "Brother Zizhan, isn't Sichuan supposed to be a land of plenty? How come you're saying that the people of Sichuan aren't having an easy time?"

"Ugh."

Su Shi sighed: "More than ten years ago, Sichuan suffered a very severe drought. The land was barren for thousands of miles, and people starved to death everywhere. There were millions of disaster victims. It has only been a few years since we have recovered some of our strength."

Although I was only a few years old at the time, I still vaguely remember the scene of people swarming like locusts, leaving no trace of vegetation in their wake.

No wonder Qi Heng had no related memories. After all, he wasn't even born then, and by the time he could remember, so much time had passed that it was normal for no one to talk about it.

"After the emperor ascended the throne, he reduced taxes and corvée labor. More than ten years have passed, so why has Sichuan not yet recovered?" Qi Heng asked in bewilderment.

"The government does indeed love the people like its own children, exempting disaster-stricken people from taxes for three years, but exorbitant taxes and levies are still being collected."

Su Shi said with a heavy expression, "The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for a hundred years, and the taxes have not changed much since the time of Emperor Taizu. However, the burden on the people has become heavier and heavier, mainly due to the exorbitant taxes and levies."

Qi Heng frowned and asked, "Do these officials know about this?"

He couldn't quite accept Su Shi's words. Although the current emperor was a bit too lenient, Qi Heng frequently visited the palace and knew the emperor to some extent.

When the emperor was strolling in the Imperial Garden, the palace maids forgot to prepare tea, but he endured it and went to the Empress's palace to have tea instead.

I was busy with government affairs until late at night and wanted to eat mutton, but I refrained from asking because I knew that if I asked, the Imperial Kitchen would probably slaughter a sheep every night to prepare it.

A person who knows how to restrain their desires may not be able to govern the country well, but they will certainly have compassion for the people.

"Does Yuan know how these exorbitant taxes and levies came about?"

Instead of answering, Su Shi asked a question, and before Qi Heng could reply, he said to himself, "I didn't understand before, but I have come to understand this during my study tour."

The imperial court's taxes throughout history have basically consisted of four types: levies, taxes, corvée labor, and corvée service.

Under normal circumstances, the government spends within its means. However, sometimes the court is short of funds and supplies, and there are times when it has to spend a lot of money and supplies. In such cases, it has no choice but to temporarily set up new categories of taxes, which are known as exorbitant taxes.

These exorbitant taxes and levies were all imposed temporarily, but in reality, once they were imposed, they would remain indefinitely.

Qi Heng pondered for a moment and then understood what Su Shi meant.

The so-called "living within one's means" means setting spending standards in all aspects based on the total amount of fiscal revenue.

Simply put, it means that your expenses should be within a certain amount, and you should also set aside some for emergencies.

However, the imperial court always faces unexpected situations, and its expenditures are constantly increasing, leaving less and less money to be set aside for emergencies.

When faced with unforeseen circumstances and unable to provide funds, the imperial court had no choice but to find excuses to increase taxes on the people.

However, this tax increase cannot be added to the regular tax collection. If it is, it will be collected every year, which will cause great resentment among the people.

The court's original intention was only to temporarily impose additional charges, so finding a pretext was sufficient.