12dz Chapter 1434 Sun Shan tries to be unconventional and stand out.
Chapter 1434 Sun Shan tries to be unconventional and stand out.
Before we knew it, it was early August, and it was time to pay the grain tax to Chenzhou Prefecture again.
Magistrate Wang stepped forward and asked furtively, "Sir, how shall we pay the grain?"
Sun Shan glanced at Magistrate Wang speechlessly. Did he have to be so sleazy?
This is the council hall of Yuanlu County Government. There's no need to act like a thief in the dark, since we're all colleagues here.
Sun Shan lightly flicked off the non-existent dust from his official robes and took a sip of tea.
He said casually, "We'll pay the same way we paid last year."
Everyone exclaimed "Oh!" in sudden realization, instantly understanding what Sun Shan meant.
The grain tax in the Great Qian Dynasty was a fixed tax based on the grade of fertile land.
For example, if the tax on one mu of top-quality land is 7 jin of grain, then regardless of whether the grain yield per mu increases due to water conservancy repairs, improved seeds, or enhanced fertilizer, the tax on one mu of top-quality land will always be 7 jin of grain.
As for any grain produced in excess due to various reasons, it can belong entirely to the landlord.
Yuanlu County has achieved an unprecedented bumper harvest due to increased soil fertility.
The surplus grain was entirely pocketed, without the need to pay additional grain taxes to higher authorities.
Sun Shan's meaning was quite clear: to follow the old rules and "hide" the extra grain so as not to pay taxes to Chenzhou Prefecture.
After receiving the reply, Magistrate Wang smiled knowingly, stroked his beard, and said, "What you say is true, sir. Then we shall do as you say."
They thought that if the higher-ups found out in the future, it was Sun Shan's order, and all the responsibility would fall on Sun Shan, not on them.
If you need anything, go find Sun Shan.
Sun Shan immediately understood what Magistrate Wang was thinking.
Hmph, I'm not afraid even if the Chenzhou Prefecture finds out.
There are countless excuses, one of which is that he was simply following the rules when paying the two taxes as promulgated by Chenzhou Prefecture.
If Chenzhou Prefecture were to accuse Yuanlu County of concealing its bumper harvest, Sun Shan would confidently reply: "It's the first time we've used bird droppings as fertilizer, who knows if it'll even work!"
If Chenzhou Prefecture asks: "Why didn't it work? Didn't Yuanlu County have a bumper harvest? This proves that bird droppings fertilizer is effective, so why wasn't it reported?"
Sun Shan had also come up with a reason: Who knows if it will be useful this year or tomorrow? If it's not useful next year, wouldn't that be a crime of deceiving the emperor?
There's never been any record of bird droppings being used as fertilizer, so how can we not conduct more experiments?
As for what constitutes "multiple experiments"?
One year is an experiment, ten years is also an experiment, it all depends on my mood.
When everyone heard that Sun Shan was still paying taxes as usual, they would have burst into laughter if conditions allowed.
Even though it was agreed upon beforehand, who can feel at ease if it's not put into practice?
Hehe, if we pay taxes according to the previous tax rates, the extra grain will belong to the government.
What belongs to the government office also belongs to them.
The officials present couldn't help but have wild thoughts. If the money was distributed according to official rank, Sun Shan would get the most, and they would also get quite a lot.
With both early and late rice harvests, hehe, this year's income has seen an unprecedented leap.
Everyone's lips could no longer be suppressed as they turned up in a smile.
Sun Shan could tell what they were thinking at a glance.
At first, I did want to stop the extra grain tax, but I thought it would be hard to explain without giving them some incentive.
Then let a little bit slip to your colleagues, and then think of other ways to transfer it back.
Sun Shan said, "Lord Wang, please calculate this year's grain tax as soon as possible so that the transport office can send grain to Chenzhou Prefecture as soon as possible. Although we are not a large county, we should not lose to the large counties. We should be the first to pay taxes so that Chenzhou Prefecture will look at us differently."
What kind of subordinates did Prefect Liu prefer?
Without a doubt, they would prefer subordinates who pay taxes diligently and on time, and even better if they pay more taxes.
Paying more taxes was impossible, but Sun Shan did manage to be the first taxpayer.
Try to make a good impression on Prefect Liu, because your promotion and performance evaluation depend entirely on him.
In the past, Magistrate Wang would definitely have been passive and reluctant to work, since collecting taxes was more difficult than traversing the Shu Road. This year is different; the people are quite cooperative. If they don't cooperate, they won't be allowed to buy fertilizer.
Hehe, with the "imperial sword" in hand, collecting taxes has become much easier.
He immediately replied, "My lord, even if I have to stay up all night, I will still calculate the grain tax. Please rest assured, my lord, give me only two days, and I will guarantee to complete the tax collection and inspection."
Sun Shan was very satisfied with the speed and nodded: "Okay, I hope you can provide the accounts in two days."
He then added, "Once the accounts arrive, arrange for the delivery station to transport the grain tax to Chenzhou Prefecture. The sooner the grain tax is paid, the sooner we can have peace of mind."
The crowd shouted in unison, "Yes, sir."
Sun Shan gave Zhang Shiye a look.
Master Zhang understood immediately, stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and pasted a form in the center of the wall.
Everyone turned to look.
Wu, the clerk, asked, "Sir, what is this?"
What exactly are those individual squares?
Xia Dianli opened his eyes wide and saw his own name there. He asked in confusion, "Sir, why is my name listed above?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.
Not only Xia Dianli's name was on it, but Sun Shan's name was also on it.
Inspector Liang glanced at the list quickly. Although the names were written horizontally, he could still make out the names of most of the officials in the yamen. He asked in confusion, "Sir, what is this?"
There are some symbols next to the name, what do they mean?
Master Zhang cupped his hands in greeting and explained to everyone, "Gentlemen, this is the duty roster. It's clear who's on duty and who's working overtime."
He paused for a moment, then continued explaining: "For example, here is Lord Sun's name, the symbol next to it is the number of days Lord Sun was on duty, and next to that is the number of days Lord Sun worked overtime."
The so-called symbols are actually Arabic numerals.
Sun Shan found the Chinese numerals so tedious that he could no longer resist and decided to promote Arabic numerals.
Such clear and concise numbers, requiring minimal gestures, it would be a disservice to a child born from the womb not to promote them.
In fact, Arabic numerals had already been introduced through the Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road on land, but they had never been used in daily life.
It circulated only in small groups in treaty ports or churches.
As an important starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, Guangzhou was indeed a place where Sun Shan had met foreigners.
We didn't dare use it before, but things are different now. As the Marquis of Baili, the entire Yuanlu County listens to him, so it's perfectly feasible to promote it.
As for success or failure, we'll see later; at least for now, things are looking at things more calmly.
Master Zhang explained the Arabic numerals to everyone in detail, saying earnestly, "Gentlemen, this is a script from the Abbasid Caliphate, which means counting to nine in the 'empty stack'. My master often goes to the port of Guangzhou and has met many foreigners from the Abbasid Caliphate, and has also discussed knowledge with them."
Master Zhang explained Arabic numerals to everyone in this and that manner.
However, Magistrate Wang and his ilk were all academically challenged and were completely bewildered, having no idea what Master Zhang was talking about.
Some even believe that Sun Shan is trying to be unconventional and stand out.
Master Zhang & Sun Shan: ......
Explanations are futile; the only recourse is to issue orders and force them to memorize it.
If you can't remember, your wages will be deducted!