Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

Xishan Coal Mine is dozens of kilometers away from Beijing, and it would be too time-consuming to travel there every day. Therefore, Qin Feng bought a courtyard and a small plot of land in Liujia Village nearby.

When it gets too late, I usually stay in Liujia Village.

Many able-bodied men in Liujia Village worked in coal mines, so Qin Feng was quite familiar with these villagers.

I just didn't expect it.

These villagers actually approached him, wanting to become his associates.

In other words, just like the land granted to Prince Yun at that time, it was all registered under the name of Prince Yun's mansion in order to avoid taxes.

Of course, in the end, King Yun reneged on his promise and annexed these lands.

"Let's talk about it when we get back to the village!"

After seeing off Duke Ma and his group of nobles, Qin Feng lowered his head and thought for a moment before leading his men back to Liu Family Village.

"Speak! Why do you wish to register this land under my name?"

Return to the courtyard.

The area outside the gate was already filled with villagers.

The village head, Liu Cunliang, who was leading the group, was hunched over. When he saw Qin Feng coming over, he hurriedly helped him up and was about to kneel down.

"Get up, get up, stop kneeling. There's no need for so much etiquette in the village. You're all tired of kneeling all day long, and I am too."

"Everyone, come in and speak!"

Qin Feng lifted the person up, gesturing for everyone to come inside the courtyard to talk.

Registering land with another entity is no small matter.

It's as if these villagers sold their land to him for free, signing official sales documents stamped by the government.

As for affiliation, these are all verbal agreements. Even if something is written down, the government won't recognize it in the future.

To put it bluntly...

After Qin Feng received the documents, he turned his back on them, and the villagers had no recourse; they had nowhere to sue.

"Lord Qin, I... this... I really couldn't refuse everyone, so I came here specifically to ask you. Don't worry, I guarantee you won't suffer any losses. We'll cultivate your few acres of land, and we'll give you 30% of the other harvest."

After entering.

Liu Cunliang sat awkwardly on the stool, feeling helpless.

"Thirty percent?"

Qin Feng frowned.

"So, you're saying that over 30% of the grain you grow now goes to taxes?"

They were willing to risk losing their land to register under his name and voluntarily hand over 30% of their grain.

This indicates that... the taxes collected by the imperial court must have exceeded 30% of the grain production.

Otherwise, the villagers wouldn't have needed to do this.

"Your Excellency, the grain quota set by the imperial court does not exceed 30%, but with other items included, it exceeds 30%."

Liu Cunliang sighed and replied in a deep voice.

"Tell me in detail, I'd like to hear it."

Judging from the other person's expression, Qin Feng knew that there was probably some kind of connection involved.

The taxes levied by the imperial court are the same as those levied by local prefectures and counties; they may also include some other additional taxes.

This thing actually violates the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The issue is……

The common people had nowhere to seek justice, and many were even unaware of how much tax the imperial court actually collected.

Generally, the government will send someone to ask for a certain amount, and you have to pay that amount.

"Well... how should I put it? If Lord Qin is willing, how about forty percent? We are willing to give forty percent of the harvest to you."

It seemed that Liu Cunliang had something difficult to say.

The expressions on the other villagers' faces were as strange as could be.

Qin Feng glanced at Niu Wu, who was standing to the side.

"Go and close the doors. Each household should leave one person in charge to manage things. Everyone else, go back and don't block this place."

soon.

The courtyard is now only inhabited by a group of elderly people. The able-bodied men all live on the coal hill and only come back on vacation.

"Just say it directly. If you don't make it clear, I can't accept this land. Besides, aren't you afraid that if you're affiliated with me, I might renege on the agreement and take away your land?"

"Please, sir, grant me a way to live!"

Liu Cunliang, along with some elderly people from the village, knelt directly on the ground.

"Get up, get up and tell me in detail. I want to hear what happened."

Qin Feng sighed softly.

Something must not happen in Liujia Village.

The hundreds of miners at the mine are all from this village. If something happens here, how will the work at the mine continue?

Moreover, these people are all experienced, so it won't be easy for him to find more people in a short period of time.

"Lord Qin, you may not know this, but the imperial court retains eight percent of its taxes and pays two percent to the government. It doesn't seem like much, but... there's a trick to it. There's silver for transporting grain... silver for irrigation. And today they came again, saying that the imperial court is going to war, and after the autumn harvest, in addition to this special levy, we also have to pay 20% of the taxes as military rations."

"Isn't this utter nonsense?"

"Huh, bullshit?"

"No, please continue. In total, how much grain do you need to hand over?"

Qin Feng waved his hand and continued to ask.

"If we include military rations, we'll probably have to hand over 50% to 60% of our grain this year. The main issue is that we also have to give some to the officials who come to collect the grain. Otherwise, they'll decide whether the grain we hand over is dried or adulterated with water."

Upon hearing this...

Qin Feng roughly understood.

Spicy kick!

Any grain kicked outside is not allowed to be taken back by the people; it will be counted as a loss. If it is said that the grain is not dried properly and has a high moisture content, then more grain will have to be added to it.

As for the rest, irrigation also requires payment in silver?

He had never even heard of it in Yunxiang County. The wells were all dug by the local people themselves, or they used river water.

How could I possibly accept money?

What the heck is this shipping cost?

Keep in mind that this place is only a few dozen kilometers away from the capital, and it's within the capital's territory. If this is the case here, what about other prefectures?

The Great Zhou Dynasty appears strong on the outside, but it is riddled with internal flaws. Nothing has happened yet, but once a major incident occurs, it will quickly trigger many even bigger problems.

If 50-60% of the grain is handed over, how will a family of several people survive?

"Nowadays, most of the people in your Liu Family Village work in the coal mines. They should earn enough to feed their families in a month, right?"

Speaking of this issue...

The elderly people present couldn't help but smile.

"No problem, enough to eat is no problem, the wages are generous, more than a month's worth!"

"Then you'll hand over your grain..."

"grown ups!"

One of the elderly men, with gray hair, stood up shakily, leaning on a cane.

"Sir, you are a good man. The old man has three sons, all of whom work in the mines. His youngest son just got married, and as soon as he heard that he worked in the mines, he agreed on the spot. He said that he would have no problem eating his fill and would even have some food left over!"

"We just don't want to give our grain to these beasts for nothing. I've lived this long and never heard of a war forcing civilians to pay for the army. If they collect like this this year, they might even take away our wages in the future. These past few days, they've been trying to get us to pay for the grain with silver, both openly and secretly."

"Moreover, we collect more every year, and we'd rather give it to the adults than let these people benefit from it."

As the old man finished speaking...

The others kept nodding.

"so!"

Qin Feng took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"Think about the land issue again; it's a big deal. Tomorrow, send someone to the yamen (government office) and tell them that the village is willing to use silver to offset grain payments. Have the officials come to the village to collect the silver!"

The land in Liujia Village is of good quality; it is all fertile farmland.

If it were truly registered under his name...

It's really a pity that they're growing grain.

This place is dozens of kilometers away from the capital. If you take the wooden rail, you can go in the morning and come back in the evening.

As he pondered, a bold idea popped into Qin Feng's mind.