Chapter 67: A Test (Seeking Bookmarks)

  After spending five days, Lu Haoshan visited all the wealthy and famous financiers in Jiangyou. When he set out, he was a bit nervous, but when he returned, he was beaming with joy. This trip can be said to have brought him both fame and fortune, not only did he gain a large sum of money, but also mortgaged the official fields, and gained reputation that cannot be measured by money, it can be said that he returned with a full load.

  At this moment, Lu Haoshan was sitting in the main hall like a great meritorious official. The captain of the guards, Cao Hu, the chief clerk, Zhang Yunhui, the ceremonial officer, Su Fang, and the officer from the Ministry of Works, Tang Zichao, were all seated below him. Zhou Dayuan, the officer from the Ministry of Revenue, was busily clicking away on his abacus, calculating the gains from this trip by County Magistrate.

  There were more than 20 accounts, with the most being over 3,000 taels and the least over 100 taels. All of these had been donated by the wealthy landlords of Jiangyou at the request of Lu Xian. In addition to this, there was also silver that had been raised by mortgaging official lands. Before long, Zhou Daxuan excitedly said: "Your Honour, the accounts have all been settled."

  "Go ahead, there's nothing to hide." Lu Haoshan said lazily, actually he had already counted it in his heart, now he was just showing off his achievement.

  "Your Honor, it took five days to visit all 26 wealthy households in the county. A total of 8,350 taels of silver were donated. In addition, the four major institutions' charitable lands were successfully mortgaged and divided into three parts, raising another 4,200 taels of silver. The total amount obtained is 12,550 taels of silver."

  As soon as this was said, the whole room was shocked. The chief clerk Zhang Yunhui exclaimed in surprise: "Those guys have all changed their nature, and they actually donated more than 8,000 taels! Last year, when Jiang's oil crops failed, Zhang managed to scrape together only over 2,000 taels of silver after speaking dryly."

  "This Jiang You Zhao family has set a good example!" Zhou Dàyuan said with excitement: "They donated over 3,000 taels, so even if others donate less, they won't be able to save face. It's like adding firewood to the flames, it's still up to the big shots to make such achievements."

  Cao Hu excitedly said: "This is unmatched, just one Zhao family donated over 3,000 taels, and this alone has already surpassed last year's donations. All of this is thanks to your wise plan, sir. Now the whole Jiangyou is talking about how you passed through three gates with ease, and you even donated a year's salary."

  "The first jar is thick, the second jar can't be thin either, besides, the price of the official field mortgage is not bad. With this silver, the pressure on this tax collection will be greatly reduced." Su Fang also said happily.

  Lu Haoshan nodded and said, "The tax to be collected this time is 20,567 taels. With these more than 12,000 taels, the pressure on the common people can be said to have been reduced by half, and they will not be forced to sell their children or go bankrupt, Zhou Silu."

  "Little is in"

  "You immediately use a notice form to announce the results of this time to all the people of Jiangyou, so that they can breathe a sigh of relief. By the way, list out one by one the silver donated by the kind-hearted Mr. Ren, and every penny must be clearly listed. Post it together with the notice. Firstly, it is to give an account to those who have donated money, secondly, it is to give them the praise they deserve, and promote this good atmosphere. Later, make a few plaques for the families of accumulated goodness, and the county government cannot show any indifference."

  "Yes, sir."

  Lu Haoshan turned his head and said, "Zhang Shu, how's the tax collection going now?"

  "In response to your words, I am ashamed," Zhang Yunhui said with a dejected expression: "Except for Zhaojia Village which has fully paid up, other places have made no progress, it can be said that every step is difficult."

  Lu Haoshan comforted: "In the past, too much was collected, and many common people could not afford it. Many of them had the same idea, anyway, they couldn't pay enough, so it's better not to pay at all. How about this? All the donations will be used to fill in the land taxes, and the remaining amount will be distributed again. Now is the time when the imperial court needs money, but it can't be delayed. If we reduce it by half, and don't collect various losses, they still won't pay, then no one else can be blamed."

  It's just that paying only half is also a huge burden on the people, and Lu Haoshan now has to win over the hearts of the people and drive a wedge between the imperial court and the Jiangyou people. He wouldn't do everything thoroughly; otherwise, it would be pointless. If not, the 20,000 taels could have been taken from Chen Gui's confiscated family property to make ends meet. Why bother with this extra move? That's what they call the emperor's tactics - pretending to be a good person while doing bad things, as long as the goal is achieved, no matter what means are used.

  Lu Haoshan's words were ordinary, but as he spoke, his tone grew heavier, and an air of official authority crept into his speech. Zhang Yunhui felt a shiver run down his spine upon hearing this, and not daring to be slow, immediately stood up and replied: "Yes, sir, I will definitely do my best to collect the taxes as soon as possible."

  The crowd discussed for a while before dispersing. Lu Haoshan ran around outside for several days, exhausted, and had someone bring him a full basin of water to soak in while chatting with Liu Jinzhu. During his time away, Liu Jinzhu was his eyes and ears left behind in the county town.

  "Jin Zhu, I'm going out for a few days, nothing's wrong, is it?"

  "There's nothing, everything is normal," Liu Jinzhu said, as if he remembered something, with a smile on his face: "Oh, Shan Ge, there was a woman named Zhao Min looking for you. She heard that you hadn't returned yet and didn't say anything before leaving." Ah, what a beauty! The gate officer said she's as beautiful as an immortal fairy, everyone who saw her was stunned."

  Zhao Min?

  Lu Haoshan smiled slightly, almost forgetting that he and she had a three-day appointment. He didn't expect to be busy with work, and that proud ** probably didn't even think about going out. Even if she did want to come out, it would just be to teach her a formula, no big loss. As for the tea-horse trade, Lu Haoshan wasn't in a hurry because he had a major plan to implement, and only after completing this plan could he find time and energy to carry out his "accumulating grain" plan.

  "Alright, let's leave her alone for now. Jinzhu, how about Yuan San and his family members? Are they all settled in without any issues?"

  Liu Jinchu hastily said: "Everything is arranged properly, Yuan San and the others have been training on Niutou Mountain, I secretly watched a few times, each one trained hard without slacking off. Those family members are also settled down, two of them even partnered up to open a small store. Oh, right, two of them got married a couple of days ago, they're all good women from respectable families. Although their identities are special, so it was just a simple ceremony, adding some dishes, fortunately the gift money was sufficient, those people didn't mind either, each one kept praising Shan Ge's goodness."

  "Hmm, well done." Lu Haoshan nodded and said: "It's time to have a talk with them."

  "Shan Ge, I'll go get Yuan San?"

  "No need, I'll go find them," said Lu Haoshan with a hint of cold smile. "Jin Zhu, prepare the horse."

  In this chaotic world, I'm not a philanthropist either. My preparations are sufficient, it's time to test them out.

  "Yes, Brother Shan."

  ........

  Niú Tóu Shān, located more than thirty miles outside the county town, due to inconvenient transportation and steep roads, few people visit. Recently, there have been reports of large white-bellied wasps appearing, and the county government has even posted notices warning people not to enter the mountain. As a result, this place became an ideal training ground for Yuan San and his men.

  "Heave, one, two, three, lift!" Yuan San shouted loudly at this moment.

  "Ah!" A group of brave warriors exerted their strength to lift the stone lock in their hands, and then held it up straight until they were exhausted before throwing it down.

  The role of cavalry is to be mobile and flexible, with strong rushing ability, large combat radius, outstanding penetration and piercing ability, and has unparalleled advantages over infantry. The main way of fighting for cavalry is shooting while riding, piercing, and chopping, no matter what, it requires high physical fitness, such as running, lifting stone locks, and practicing formation drills every day. Seeing that all his men had successfully lifted the large stone locks, Yuan San said to his panting men: "Alright, take a rest for a moment, and practice shooting while riding after a moment."

  Yuan San suddenly changed his expression, turned his head to take a look, and immediately brightened up, rushing over to say respectfully: "Yuan San has seen the adult."

  The newcomer was none other than Lu Haoshan and his entourage, the "breadwinner" of a group of brothers. Yuan San didn't dare to be slow, and hurriedly rushed up to greet them.

  Lu Haoshan nodded: "Brother Yuan, no need for formalities, please get up quickly."

  "Yes, sir."

  "When you were training, I was also watching from the side, and I felt that it was a bit different from the previous days. The spirit and energy had clearly risen to another level."

  Yuan San said with some pride, "Yes, in the past few days, we had to escape from pursuing soldiers and take care of women and children. Sometimes we didn't even have food for the next meal, and our minds were preoccupied. We couldn't keep up with training either. Now it's better, brothers can devote themselves fully to training, and our state is almost back to normal."

  "Back so soon?" Lu Haoshan said lightly: "Lu has something on his mind and was just thinking of asking Big Brother Yuan for a favor."

  Yuan San's heart skipped a beat, and with a serious expression, he said: "Your Excellency is our benefactor, we have received too much kindness from you. Now that we are receiving your monthly allowance, we are your private guards. Whatever the matter is, please give us orders."

  ;