Chapter 282 - 276 Shifting Pressure
The taxes of a county being used within the county itself is such a just and beautiful thing.
But beautiful things are meant to be broken. Their memorials are leisurely sent to Chen County, and when Inspector He opens them and skims through, he finds they are still complaints, as these two counties have not even completed a third of their summer tax tasks.
Inspector He frowned and asked, "Xiping is understandable; they just experienced a city fall last year, and many of the people were killed, so it’s reasonable the summer tax hasn’t been collected. But what’s going on with Shangcai?"
Immediately, an aide said, "It is said that the County Magistrate of Shangcai has mediocre talents. Last year, Shangcai suffered from cold disasters, and during the early and late periods, they frequently sent official documents requesting funds. With such incompetence, why not replace him?"
Inspector He frowned in contemplation, and after a long time, still shook his head. "It’s not appropriate. At this time, it’s better not to make moves. Send another document to urge them to scrape together enough summer tax."
Prince East Sea is pressing him to send troops towards Gou Xi, and Gou Xi is also pressing him to take sides. Although he hasn’t decided whom to support, he needs to prepare early, to avoid shortages of military provisions when things happen.
Inspector He is under enormous pressure and can only pass this pressure onto the prefectures, which then pass it on to the counties.
Ru Nan County is the most chaotic because after Inspector He was promoted to become an inspector, the position of Prefectural Governor of Ru Nan has remained vacant, temporarily held by a deputy.
The court has been constantly in disarray. Although Inspector He’s reports have gone up several times, no one remembers to appoint a Prefectural Governor to Ru Nan County.
This is also one of the reasons Inspector He has always been inclined to Gou Xi and wants the court to relocate the capital.
If the capital were placed in Yu State, who could ignore his reports like this?
And without a Prefectural Governor in Ru Nan County, the County Minister is currently in charge. It happened that when Inspector He left, he took away the Captain of Ru Nan County along with a large amount of money and grain. So now, Ru Nan County has no soldiers and no provisions.
Also because of this, Zhao Hanzhang, who is not far from Yu Yang, has stirred up quite a scene in Xiping and conveniently took over neighboring Shangcai, without the County Minister making a sound.
As the current official in charge of Ru Nan County’s administration, does he really know nothing?
He’s just pretending to be deaf and dumb.
He knows that even if this matter were reported, with the Zhao Family’s power in Yu State, Inspector He couldn’t do anything to them. They might even privately come to an agreement, getting along well, leaving only him to be angered.
That’s why the County Minister doesn’t say anything. The world is already in such chaos, even Wang Yan says these worldly things hinder cultivation, so why care too much?
Just let it be.
So upon receiving Inspector He’s document, he also very naturally has it sent to each county, letting them find a way to come up with tax money themselves, otherwise not only the Inspector Mansion will question them, but the Governor Mansion will also seek accountability.
Zhao Hanzhang, who is fundamentally not listed in the court’s records, just glanced at it and set it aside, continuing her military training, reading, and going to persuade farming and mulberry in the countryside, not concerned about it.
She may not care about the Governor Mansion’s documents, but other counties cannot ignore them, even County Magistrate Lian Chai couldn’t help feeling anxious.
However, with Zhao Hanzhang and Ji Yuan providing balance, he ultimately endured against raising taxes and also refrained from misappropriating the funds and provisions in the storage and can only hold his head every day waiting for the Governor Mansion’s axe to fall.
Zhao Hanzhang occasionally strolled to Shangcai to inspect the tenants and fiefs under her name, seeing that County Magistrate Lian Chai has aged five or six years in just over ten days, with wrinkles spreading and his hair turning somewhat gray, she couldn’t help but sigh, "Indeed, stress ages people."
Startled, County Magistrate Lian Chai took a small mirror from his bosom to check his face and only then did he discover his eyes were dark beneath and his appearance haggard, even powder couldn’t conceal his fatigue.
County Magistrate Lian Chai couldn’t help but shed tears, holding Zhao Hanzhang’s hand and said, "Hanzhang, why must we oppose the inspector? Your ancestors were illustrious, and there’s the Chief of Staff supporting you in court, but I’m just a humble County Magistrate."
"But I’m backing you up, County Lord, whatever Hanzhang has, the County Lord will also have."
This could not reassure County Magistrate Lian Chai. In his view, their alliance was fragile, easily broken at any time, and he was the one who could be discarded at any moment.
He tried to persuade Zhao Hanzhang, "The country is at war, and naturally, a hundred counties under its rule should assist. How can we stand by and watch, minding only ourselves?"
"How could I not know?" Zhao Hanzhang said, "If it’s a righteous war against foreign enemies, we would naturally die a hundred times without regret, but what is today’s war for?"
"Just the private desires of two people. Even if we support the King, we can’t decide which side to take. You say help Gou Xi fight Prince East Sea, but the emperor is in Prince East Sea’s hands, and the edict to crusade against Gou Xi bears the emperor’s seal;" Zhao Hanzhang pursed her lips and said, "You say help Prince East Sea crusade against Gou Xi, but looking at what His Majesty previously said, he agreed with Gou Xi’s proposal to move the capital. If we act, aren’t we going against the emperor’s heart?"
"Either way is treachery, and to people like them, war is nothing but a momentary dispute of anger. Forced by circumstances, they stop and negotiate peace, and everything returns to the starting point. But for those participating in the war?"
Zhao Hanzhang said, "Not just the soldiers on the battlefield, but also all the people affected. Why should the people of Ru Nan County contribute their families’ survival food as military provisions for the quarrel between two people?"
She said solemnly, "I can’t manage elsewhere, but in Xiping and Shangcai, I will never allow innocent people to die because of this."
Only then did County Magistrate Lian Chai stop speaking. After returning to the county government, he withstood the pressure from the tax officials to not hand over extra grain.
The tax officials also went to Xiping.
But Zhao Hanzhang was not in Xiping at all. She was inspecting Shangcai, along with Fu Tinghan. They decided to issue a service order after this year’s autumn harvest, mainly to connect the waterways of Shangcai and Xiping, making travel between the two places more convenient.
Additionally, the roads leading to Xiping also need to be built, which all require design, and they’re very busy, aren’t they?
So it was Chang Ning who received the tax officials. After Chang Ning couldn’t withstand the pressure, he asked for Zhao Ming.
Zhao Ming didn’t say much, just sat there with a stern face, and the tax officials lowered their voices by eight degrees.
But Zhao Ming did not let him go, saying to him, "Please convey to the County Minister that without a Governor, he is the parent official of Ru Nan County, and as a parent, he should love the people. Please also consider the welfare of the people under his governance."
He continued, "Please also convey to Inspector He, although indecisive behavior may seem fickle, Yu State can no longer endure war at this time, so I ask him to remain silent and not get involved in the disputes between Prince East Sea and Gou Daojiang."
The tax official heard him address Gou Xi by his courtesy name instead of directly by name like the others, and thus vaguely guessed he was on Gou Xi’s side.
The tax official said no more, nor dared to, and after waiting two days without seeing Zhao Hanzhang, rumored to be the true master of Xiping, he could only leave in dismay.