Chapter 728: You Did Very Well

After this banquet, no time was given for anyone to recover, nor were they allowed to go and curry favor or exchange pleasantries before Zhao Jin. Instead, they were immediately divided by region and trade, and the future arrangements of the Zhao Character Camp were laid out.

Pi County in Huai'an Prefecture, Su County in Fengyang Prefecture, and Yongcheng and Xiayi counties in Guide Prefecture were formally exempted from paying the Liao Impost. According to the imperial court's standard tax, an additional twenty percent would be collected, with ten percent going to Zhao Jin and ten percent going to the local officials responsible for tax collection, generally the local clerks, runners, and the Xuzhou Militia.

According to the long-standing rules and customs of the Great Ming, if the tax set by the court was ten, the local authorities would add their own meltage fees and surcharges, so the actual total collected would reach around sixteen or seventeen. The Liao Impost, however, was collected at a rate of forty or even fifty all at once, which the common people naturally found unbearable.

The rule set by the Zhao Character Camp essentially meant the local areas would only collect twelve. In this way, apart from the portion handed over, the local benefits were drastically reduced. Moreover, the Xuzhou Militia would also take a share of the profits, leaving each person with even less. Cutting off someone's financial path is the surest way to make enemies. The clerks and runners in various places had performed well during Ma Chonghao's northward expedition, at the very least remaining neutral. Given the Zhao Character Camp's consistent style of never mistreating others, this move seemed truly puzzling.

Furthermore, in other areas where the Liao Impost was still being collected, although the common people were indeed left destitute, the clerks and runners handling it all grew fat with grease. Comparing the inside and outside situations like this would surely breed even greater resentment, and trouble was bound to erupt sooner or later.

Yet upon closer examination, everyone would find the situation was different from what they imagined, because in these few regions, no one was exempt from taxes. Whether you held an official degree or had a household full of able-bodied men, none of it mattered before the blades and spears of the Zhao Character Camp.

Coincidentally, in these places where only twelve was collected, the vast majority of the farmland was monopolized by local strongmen and gentry. In the past, most of the tax burden had been pressed onto commoners who owned very little land. In the border areas of Guide Prefecture, in Pi County, and in Su County, most of the local strongmen and gentry had not sided with Zhao Jin this time.

The few loyal ones received generous compensation in industry and commerce. The rest, the majority, could only yield under the threat of blades and spears. Even the several thousand elite cavalry mustered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard had scattered without a fight; the others were not even worth mentioning.

As one side lost, the other gained. The total amount of tax collected in each area, compared to what was collected annually in the past, had actually increased substantially. The share everyone could split was also much, much larger, and the common people paid far less than before.

As for how the local county magistrates and department magistrates would deal with their superiors' demands after failing to collect that year's Liao Impost, that was their own business. Those who could withstand the pressure could take a share of the profits from this ten-percent cut. Those who couldn't, losing their posts and positions, was also their own affair. The local areas defied orders and refused to pay the Liao Impost, but they didn't refuse to pay everything, so this couldn't be considered rebellion. There was no need to request government troops to come and suppress unrest. And truth be told, if it really came to that, they would instead bear the crime of inciting a popular uprising.

However, from what the Zhao Character Camp understood, the most these few local officials could manipulate in the accounts was around six or seven at best. The runners and clerks were simply too greedy. Regarding this, the Zhao Character Camp merely tacitly approved. For now, their requirement was that at most twelve be collected, and the Zhao Character Camp would take a ten-percent share from it. As for the rest, they turned a blind eye. Besides, purges had to be carried out step by step; it wouldn't do to push everyone to a dead end all at once.

The Liao Impost had already driven the commoners and farming households in these few areas to their last breath; even the small and medium landlords felt they were about to suffocate. Once the Zhao Character Camp's method was introduced, gratitude and praise were everywhere. However, the Zhao Character Camp was not doing charity for nothing. A general survey would be conducted in these areas. When the clerks, runners, and militia went to collect taxes, they would make it clear in advance: the reason for collecting less was that the region was not yet pacified, and Lord Jin might need to raise militia at any time. When the time came for conscription, no household should refuse. Whoever refused would immediately be charged the Liao Impost. Those who agreed would have their entire household exempted.

Under such circumstances, apart from the local officials and their close confidants, everyone else felt this method was quite good, with no shortage of benefits for each. As for the local officials, some simply endured the hardship. Although this method of collection left them hounded by superiors and stripped of all official authority within their jurisdiction, there was still a little benefit in it. Another type, unable to stomach this humiliation, simply resigned from office. The most adept, however, used this situation to secure a promotion for themselves.

For example, Sun Chuanting, who had already been transferred to be the magistrate of Shangqiu County, also refused to collect the Liao Impost, deeming it a cruelty to the people. Not only was this action not reprimanded by his superiors, but somehow word of it reached the capital, where he was praised by the scholarly circles. They believed that in this time of reform and renewal, such a promising young talent should be given an important post. Thus, Sun Chuanting did not stay long in either Yongcheng County or Shangqiu County in Henan's Guide Prefecture, and was directly transferred to the Ministry of Personnel in the capital, becoming a member of the esteemed and prestigious ranks.

As for the merchants operating in Xuzhou and Qingjiangpu, the increased amounts had long been agreed upon. They earned about twenty percent less than in previous years, but in exchange, they kept their lives, and perhaps there would be various business opportunities in the long run.

After this storm, the Zhao Character Camp controlled a population of nearly one million, with an annual income of several hundred thousand taels of silver, along with a large amount of goods in kind.

It sounds shocking to hear, but in reality, there was nothing too unusual about it. This lord had not raised a banner of rebellion; he was merely adept at generating wealth and skilled at amassing resources. You say it's unimaginable? Back when Xu Jie retired and returned to his hometown, he occupied tens of thousands of hectares of land in Songjiang Prefecture and its surroundings, and also vigorously engaged in industry and commerce, yet never paid a single coin or grain of tax to the state. Because his exploitation of his hometown was so severe, he did not even dare to be buried there after his death, fearing that his fellow villagers would flog his corpse. The population this lord controlled seemed to be no less than a million as well, and several hundred thousand taels of silver was nothing to him. As for someone like the Prefect of Songjiang, did he ever even register in his eyes?

There was, however, one clear-sighted man who could not tolerate Grand Secretary Xu's amassing of wealth and sought to punish him by law. This man was none other than the Grand Coordinator of Yingtian, the world-renowned Hai Rui. And what happened? Wasn't he dealt with by a fundamental strike, directly dismissed from office and sent home? And what was the aftermath? Grand Secretary Xu passed away peacefully in his old age, received a fine posthumous name, and the state remained as peaceful as ever.

All this talk is simply to tell people not to meddle in others' business. Do you know what happened to Ma Chonghao, the Assistant Commander of the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard? Did he not attempt to strike at the local powerful families and gentry, only to end up utterly ruined, forced to vanish without a trace? It was a blessing he vanished without a trace, for otherwise, what awaited him in Nanjing were crimes warranting the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his family. He did something so outrageous that it cost everyone money and effort, and his own backer had completely fallen. Shouldn't he have given an explanation? The only strange thing is, not only did Ma Chonghao disappear, but his entire family, young and old, also vanished early on. Could it be that his enemies struck in secret? Such things are not uncommon in South Zhili...

"I hid my family in a safe place. At first, it was to guard against you, Lord Jin, making a move. Doing this kind of thing is a gamble; the danger goes without saying. One must guard against everything that needs guarding. Otherwise, the slightest carelessness and the whole game is lost." After that banquet meant to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, Ma Chonghao was summoned before Zhao Jin, and he did not need to kneel to answer; he only had to stand.

The first thing Zhao Jin asked about was the whereabouts of Ma Chonghao's family. To Zhao Jin's surprise, Ma Chonghao had actually settled his family in a residence in Qingjiangpu.

The two sides had reached a life-or-death point; no one would have imagined that Ma Chonghao would place his people in territory controlled by Zhao Jin. Moreover, Ma Chonghao had prepared for the worst. If he died outside, or if there was no news from him by the end of the year, they were to take the silver they had saved and buy property in Suzhou or Changzhou to settle down permanently, living under assumed names.

No one expected that this cautious arrangement and conduct would end up saving his family at this moment, and save himself as well. His family voluntarily disclosed their residence and were willing to move here. Only such a surrender would be believed.

Ma Chonghao handed over the address of the residence and also produced his personal token. Liu Yong arranged for his men to go and bring them back.

"Your scheme this time seemed absurd, lacking any proper name or justification, yet you made no mistakes in its execution. The only problem was that you ran into me. If it weren't for me, you would have succeeded this time. You did very well, and your ability is far from poor!" Zhao Jin's assessment was sincere.

When meeting Ma Chonghao, all of Zhao Jin's companions were present. Hearing Zhao Jin's words, they were first stunned, and after a moment of silence, they had to admit the truth of Zhao Jin's assessment.

For two hundred years of the Ming, who in the realm did not hold the Great Ming court in awe? Who did not fear the Great Ming's kingly law and its official armies? Many powerful figures, fierce as dragons and tigers, had gathered considerable forces and carved out their own domains, yet when the great army arrived, or even just an imperial edict, they instantly vanished like smoke and crumbled like earth.

Among them were princes of the blood, high-ranking generals of the court, and powerful chieftains of the border regions, whose local authority in peacetime was equal to that of an emperor. Zhao Jin's food, clothing, luxuries, and imposing manner were like a beggar's compared to theirs. Yet whether they actually rebelled or not, once the court determined the crime of rebellion, before the punitive expedition's great army even arrived, they would be abandoned by their followers and allies. Any rational person would see it as a dead end, certain to end in defeat and ruin.

This was especially true in the current dynasty, with its three great campaigns: entering Korea to suppress the Japanese, going west to Ningxia to destroy Bobai, and pacifying the Yang family of Bozhou in the southwest. These were illustrious military achievements that everyone feared. Even the recent setbacks in Liaodong were merely minor defeats, not worth mentioning.

Who would dare to oppose the magnificent Great Ming, with its population of millions and a million mighty soldiers? Once the heavenly might descended, who could still stand? Who could still be unafraid?

Everyone thought this way. Village bumpkins and ignorant women might not know, but those who could read and write knew. Those who dealt with the authorities knew. Those in the guard posts knew. The more learned and experienced a person was, the more deeply they understood this.

The more they knew, the more they felt the Great Ming was invincible. It was one thing to be arrogant and domineering in ordinary times, to resist the local authorities or bully officials. But when the main force truly arrived, when they saw the Brocade Guard, the Emperor's own personal troops, and the elite household cavalry of the Great Ming's official army, they would immediately know their doom was near, despair and collapse. Who would still care about any edict or official document? They could only tremble and kneel, letting others butcher them like fish on a board.

Thank you, everyone.