Chapter 446 - Autumn Tax (Part 1)
"Sir had better take a look," Wu De smiled. "Otherwise, if you destroy it upon returning, I fear regret will come too late."
Wang Zhaomin blushed, feeling acutely embarrassed at having his thoughts seen through so easily. Thus prompted, he had to open the envelope. Inside lay a single sheet of paper.
It was a sheet of thick paper made by the Australian paper mill, extraordinarily crisp and stiff, with a faint yellow patterned background. It felt luxurious to the touch. Wang Zhaomin's heart stirred. He drew it out and examined it carefully—a Delong Bank provincial bank draft with a face value of one hundred taels.
Because he took tonics, Wang Zhaomin maintained close dealings with Run Shi Tang. He had heard Yang Shixiang say that the Australians had now issued a kind of silver draft that could be exchanged for cash silver at designated merchant houses throughout Guangdong Province. Large amounts of silver no longer needed to be carried on one's person, nor entrusted to convoy agencies for transport. One simply deposited silver at the counter, paid the "remittance fee" according to the amount, and then could take the draft elsewhere to exchange. Extremely convenient.
Carrying this bill on one's body was far more convenient than a large amount of silver. Setting aside everything else, one hundred taels of silver wrapped in a bundle made for a very conspicuous package. One could also add secret marks and seals to the bill, so even if lost, it couldn't be falsely claimed.
Wang Zhaomin understood this was payment of his "Private Fee" for grain collection in advance—asking him to assist more during the collection process. He had never encountered such a straightforward patron before, and his psychology gained great satisfaction. He cupped his hands: "Wherever I can be of use, I will naturally be at your service."
Having spoken to this point, both parties already understood each other tacitly. The night was long and conversation enthusiasm ran high. Wu De still had an urgent matter to raise, but the timing hadn't been quite right until now; at last, the moment seemed appropriate.
He lowered his voice: "How should we deal with this person Chen Minggang?"
"If you feign compliance," Wang Zhaomin closed his eyes, "you may not necessarily prove a match for this old fox..."
Wu De understood perfectly. It was much as he had thought.
"I have been instructed."
The two men's secretive conversation lasted until early morning. Wu De returned to his office under cover of darkness. The room was brightly lit. The members of the County Yamen Leadership Working Group hadn't slept and were gathered in the conference room discussing issues.
A group of professional personnel had been transferred from various departments specifically for this land tax matter—mainly financial talents, plus an Army combat engineer named Pan Da. He had been transferred because he had formerly worked in the Tax Bureau and possessed clear understanding of tax collection systems.
Of course, there was also Xiong Buyou, responsible for external liaison, and Dong Weiwei, responsible for surveying. This half-baked Ming history enthusiast had also come—not to rely on her Ming history knowledge, but because she had been conducting social surveys in the countryside for months and possessed first-hand materials.
There was also a group of liaison officers responsible for coordination with various ministries and commissions—people like Sun Xiao from the Planning Commission and Zhou Botao from the Political Security Bureau.
Wu De ordered strong tea to be brewed and conveyed the contents of his conversation with Wang Zhaomin one by one. Everyone was highly interested in such intelligence. However, the biggest controversy within the leadership group concerned how to dispose of Chen Minggang.
This cunning clerk himself wasn't worth a penny, but the Fish Scale Register in his hands was a critical item. Exactly how much taxable land existed in the whole county was all recorded in this book.
The Transmigrators had only completed half of the county-wide social census, and land ownership issues were an even more complicated matter, requiring large-scale land measurement and property rights verification. This wasn't something achievable in a short while. The Transmigrators had just established authority at the grassroots level in Lingao; their tentacles hadn't truly extended into every corner yet.
Therefore, regarding how to dispose of Chen Minggang, controversy arose within the leadership group. Some believed he should be arrested immediately, publicly tried, and then shot. Others advocated using him for a time first. Of course, there was no disagreement about the final result of shooting this person.
"Alright, let's summarize the immediate problems," Wu De said.
The Crossing Group's purpose in undertaking taxes was primarily to use this opportunity to infiltrate and control the county yamen, and secondarily to establish a fair and effective new tax system—reducing the burden on common people while increasing revenue.
To achieve these two goals, they needed a complete understanding of the county's land quantity, fertility grades, and property rights. Otherwise, they couldn't even begin.
The social investigation work that had started after the Spring Festival—proceeding through bandit suppression battles and grassroots organization construction—had shown initial results. But it remained far from truly grasping the whole county's social situation.
Regarding total land quantity, they had obtained preliminary data through work team investigations. Some also proposed using model airplanes for remote sensing mapping to precisely determine the quantity, nature, and location of land throughout the county. But land property rights issues couldn't be resolved through simple mapping alone.
To investigate property rights, land had to be measured. Re-declaring and remapping was not only extremely laborious and troublesome but also faced enormous resistance. In feudal society, whenever land measurement was required, it was typically feasible only when a new dynasty was freshly established and everything was being reformed. Every subsequent attempt provoked fierce backlash from the gentry class, often ending in failure.
One of the fundamental purposes of the Executive Committee launching large-scale social investigations was precisely to prepare for comprehensive land measurement work. But it now appeared that progress had fallen far behind. According to Wu De's statistics, through bandit suppression and work team deployment, they currently controlled roughly one-quarter of the county's grassroots administration.
However, this administrative control remained quite weak; relying on it to conduct land measurement and verification was impossible.
Moreover, it was now the eighth lunar month, and grain collection was about to commence. According to Wang Zhaomin, work had to conclude by early November. The available time was no more than two months. Completing county-wide land measurement in such a short period was simply unrealistic.
"So the Fish Scale Register is extremely critical for us—at least for now," Wu De said, "until we have completely mastered the county's land property rights."
Though the Fish Scale Register was riddled with errors, it remained the only proof before new property registration books could be established. No wonder the Revenue Section clerk could profit from it so handsomely; no matter how dynasties changed, it wouldn't cut off their financial pipeline.
"So it seems we still have to cooperate with Chen Minggang after all?" Xiong Buyou said.
"It's just a Fish Scale Register. We'll find a way to get his Fish Scale Register into our hands," Zhou Dongtian said slowly. "I believe he will definitely talk."
"You're that confident?"
"Of course." Zhou Dongtian appeared supremely assured. "As long as you authorize it."
Wu De naturally knew how he planned to proceed—but he had other ideas.
"I have a plan. The land measurement work must be done, and the tax undertaking work must also be done," Wu De said. "But this plan needs to be reported to the Executive Committee for approval, and we need deep cooperation with Wang Zhaomin. Let's discuss it ourselves first..."
Before the autumn grain even appeared on the market, news that the Australians were preparing to undertake the whole county's autumn tax had already spread throughout Lingao. This news immediately caused a sensation and also made the gentry and large households feel nervous. They sent people to the city to inquire one after another, and for a time, the teahouse in front of the county yamen was packed to overflowing.
The news that emerged was very bad. It was said that this time Master Wu of Bairen Village was undertaking it—and as for this so-called Master Wu of Bairen Village, everyone knew he was a major chief among the Australians. For this person to step forward meant he obviously harbored ill intentions. Anyone with one or two hundred mu of land at home—counting as a grain household—felt uneasy, not knowing how the Australians intended to proceed.
Whether it was Wang Zhaomin or Chen Minggang, both kept their mouths firmly shut about the Australians' specific methods for undertaking grain tax. Nobody knew what medicine these two were selling in their gourds.
Commoners and small households remained calm; after all, they had to pay grain tax no matter who was emperor. Paying grain tax to the Australians was probably much the same—it couldn't be much worse. Fortunately, the weather this year had cooperated, with favorable wind and rain, and the harvest was good. Many people had also earned considerable income by working for the Australians, so they speculated that this year's autumn tax might be easier to pay than last year.
After a few days, the gentry in the county publicly nominated Zhang Youfu to negotiate terms with Wu De—hoping to learn from his mouth exactly how large the Australians' appetite was this time.
Zhang Youfu went to Wu De's place for a visit, and after listening to Wu De's instructions, he immediately returned home.
A group of anxious landlords and gentry awaiting a reply had gathered in the living room. Some hadn't come personally but sent trusted stewards.
"Chief Wu said everything remains as before this year," Zhang Youfu announced.
A collective sigh of relief rose from the crowd. Since it was as before, their interests wouldn't suffer. Though some carried heavy and unreasonable burdens, they didn't wish for any changes—after all, they could get by right now. If something really changed, heaven only knew what it would become. Chinese people have known since ancient times that many things are bad originally, but the result of higher-ups claiming they want to improve them often makes them worse.
"Chief Wu also said that their undertaking of taxes this year wasn't originally their idea," Zhang Youfu told everyone. "They simply considered that Reasonable Burden caused trouble for everyone, so it's better to combine it with the autumn tax for collection. Saves everyone from making two trips."
This wasn't unacceptable. However, Reasonable Burden was collected by village, while grain tax was calculated by land acreage. Someone asked how the conversion would work.
"Autumn grain is autumn grain; Reasonable Burden is Reasonable Burden," Zhang Youfu said. "Just send them together when paying."
Zhang Youfu continued to announce that whether Reasonable Burden or grain tax, both could be offset with Grain Circulation Coupons. This news caused a stir among the landlords—usually when they obtained Circulation Coupons, they spent them immediately. Now hearing they could offset grain tax, many felt regret.
After Zhang Youfu finished announcing several points, everyone felt satisfied and dispersed one after another. Liu Youren had been sitting at the very back and only approached at this time, asking Zhang Youfu:
"Old Zhang! Is this year's grain collection still being handled by Old Eight?"
"Naturally! Without Old Eight, and with the Australians lacking the Fish Scale Registers, how could they possibly collect grain?" Zhang Youfu asked, puzzled by the question.