"Hm?" Xuan Tianming felt that his question was strange, "The three northern provinces are exempt from taxes, this is a rule that was set over a hundred years ago, what is it, do you have any doubts?"
The fat boss nodded vigorously, "Yes! There is a great deal of doubt! " He appeared to be a little agitated, his voice subconsciously rising quite a bit, loudly saying: "We have never heard of taxes being exempted, we have to pay taxes no matter what we do, and the taxes are very heavy, I sell noodles for a day, half of the money has to be paid to the government."
Once these words were said, Xuan Tianming and the other three furrowed their brows at the same time, Feng Yu Heng immediately realized that something was off, rushing to ask: "Then what about the children attending school? What about the citizens? The houses that you live in should have been passed down from your ancestors, right? None of these need to be spent, right? "
This conversation was heard by the people, everyone gathered around, someone saying: "The children attending school and seeing a doctor, this Duan Mu An Guo said that the Dashun court would exempt half of the costs, we only need to pay half of the normal amount. As for the houses, they were passed down from our ancestors, it was also said that the Dashun court built them for us, but we still need to pay management fees to the court every year. "
Another person said: "That's right! But this is already very good, if it was not for the court waiving half of the costs, how could the children afford to attend school. "
Once these words were said, Bai Ze became anxious, slamming the table with a "pa", angrily saying: "You have all been deceived by Duan Mu An Guo! Deceived for over a hundred years! Over a hundred years! "
"Deceived?" The people were puzzled, "How was it deceived?"
Bai Ze stomped his feet in anger, Feng Yu Heng and Xuan Tianming looked at each other, seeing Xuan Tianming stand up, facing the citizens, loudly saying: "You have indeed been deceived. Over a hundred years ago, after incorporating the three northern provinces into our Dashun territory, our Xuan family thought of the unique terrain and environment of the North, you are unable to grow crops, so we advocated for people to do other things. We built houses, shops, academies, medical centers for you, other than the cost of the medicine that needs to be paid by the patients themselves, the cost of seeing and treating patients, the cost of the children attending school, as well as the houses and shops, these costs are all borne by the court, there is no need for you to pay extra. In addition, the court has already exempted the three northern provinces from taxes more than a hundred years ago, your income can be completely used by yourself, there is no need to pay a single cent to the government. "
"What?" The people were stunned, they did not need to pay taxes? But … … "But only if the daughters of the families are chosen Imperial concubines, there is no need to pay taxes!"
Xuan Tianming shook his head, "Everything that I have said is true, it has been over a hundred years, the court has not asked for a single cent from the North, instead sending large amounts of money to the North every day, it is for the sake of allowing you to live good lives, to be able to feel the friendliness and warmth of Dashun, and not to be disappointed in the cold North. As for the situation that you have described, I believe that it should be Duanmu Anguo's personal actions of deceiving his superiors. At this time, when I's army attacks Song Zhou, there will definitely be a strict investigation. "
The crowd was in an uproar!
The news that Xuan Tianming had sent over was truly too shocking. Earlier, they had heard a strange voice in the streets saying that if they wanted to return to Qian Zhou, they would have to return the money that they had spent on the academies and clinics over the years. They had thought that they would have to return the half that they had not paid, but who knew that Dashun had never asked them for it! All of this, was done by Duanmu Anguo himself!
The crowd became excited, the people of the North were all in a rush, both men and women began to curse at Duanmu Anguo, there were even some that wanted to join the army and attack Song Zhou, capturing Duanmu Anguo alive and turning him into minced meat.
Xuan Tianming's group began to calm the people, Xuan Tianming even promised: "From today onwards, no matter how much money is taken from Duanmu Anguo's residence, it will all be converted into money and split equally among the citizens of the three northern provinces."
The people cheered, the last bit of affection they had for Qian Zhou and Duanmu Anguo disappeared.
Feng Yu Heng had the fat boss make another bowl of noodles, personally helping the old granny over to sit down. She then placed the bowl of noodles in front of her, saying with a smile: "Eat. When you're full, we'll send you home."
The old granny's eyes were filled with tears; however, she repeatedly begged Feng Yu Heng: "Don't blame my son. There's nothing that he can do. It's all my fault for not having the ability to properly raise him. He only found a wife when he was almost 40 years old. If I did not go along with his wife's wishes, she would not live with us. Wouldn't this be like drawing water with a bamboo basket? I don't want anything else. It's fine if they want me to beg on the streets. I just hope that they can give birth to a child soon. Like this, when I get there, I will have the face to see my old man who died early. "
The people to the side that heard this also said: "The man in her family died early. Their days were a bit bitter. In addition to this, her son was born with a limp. None of their daughters wanted to marry him. Their current wife was also brought over from the countryside."
Feng Yu Heng furrowed her brow and pondered for a while. She did not say anything. She just pushed the bowl of noodles in front of the old granny, saying the same thing: "Eat. When you're full, we'll send you home."
The old granny could not understand what exactly these words meant. Hunger had already made it impossible for her to continue thinking. She grabbed her chopsticks and began shoveling noodles into her mouth.
The other citizens surrounded Xuan Tianming and asked him all sorts of questions. The Ninth Prince, who had been frightening in their eyes, was now chatting like a fellow villager. Xuan Tianming even invited some of the older people to sit with him, and they did not refuse, sitting across from him. The people told him about the situation in the North over the years, starting from Duan Mu An Guo's harsh taxation to the selection of Winter Imperial Concubines every year.
A middle-aged imperial concubine said with red eyes: "My daughter is only 14 years old this year. She was sent to Song Zhou at the beginning of last year. She looks good. Apparently, Duan Mu An Guo took a liking to her at first glance and kept her in the Winter Palace. Our family did reduce the taxes and gave quite a bit of money, but which decent family would be willing to exchange a good daughter for money? She's still so young. How could she become someone's wife. Duan Mu An Guo is truly committing a sin. "
Under her lead, the people who had daughters in the Winter Palace began to complain. There were even people who knelt and begged Xuan Tianming to save their daughters. Regardless of whether or not they could get married in the future, staying at home was better than being harmed by that perverted Duan Mu An Guo.
Xuan Tianming had heard about Duan Mu An Guo's selection of Winter Imperial Concubines before, but he did not think that it would be so serious. Going deep into the North this time, hearing the stories of the citizens with his own ears, he immediately felt a wave of anger. A wave of guilt surged in his heart, and he could not help but say: "The court admits to this matter. It's Dashun's court that has let you down. After all these years, you actually trusted Duan Mu An Guo so much and did not understand the situation in the North in depth. Don't worry, I will do my best to save all the women in the Winter Palace and do my best to ensure their safety. "
Actually, he knew that it was not that the court truly trusted Duan Mu An Guo. It was just that the North belonged to the Duan Mu family. This was something that had been decided over a hundred years ago. At that time, there was no Emperor Tianwu. No one could make this decision. The drawbacks had been passed down from generation to generation. When Emperor Tianwu wanted to make some changes, Duan Mu An Guo's power in the North was already deeply rooted. As the saying goes, three feet of ice was not formed in a single day. The North was not so easy to move.
But now that he had already led the army to the North, all of this had to be resolved today.
Ever since they entered Guan Zhou City, whether it was Xuan Tianming, Feng Yu Heng, or Qian Li and the other deputy generals, they all deeply understood one principle. That was: Win the hearts of the people, win the world. The hearts of the people were not in Dashun. No matter how powerful the army was, it was meaningless to station there.
They were all looking for opportunities to effectively interact with the citizens of the North and gradually use their own ideas to influence them. This included the two's trip today, and Feng Yu Heng's choice of a noodle shop on the side of a busy street to eat. This was all with the intention of observing the people. But they did not expect that there would be such an opportunity that would attract so many citizens to gather around them. The atmosphere was harmonious as they chatted and ate noodles together. In the end, Xuan Tianming was even asking them what they wanted their hometown to be like if the North returned to Dashun in the future.
The citizens all talked at once as they looked forward to the future. Gradually, more and more people gathered around the noodle shop. The fat boss had never been so proud. He stood very close to Xuan Tianming and would occasionally stop people from getting too close. And every time, Xuan Tianming would say, "It's okay. If you all come closer, the people behind you will be able to hear what I say."
Some people were puzzled. They had heard that the Ninth Prince of Dashun was an eccentric and bad-tempered person. If he did not like someone, he would whip them to death. If he did not like someone, he would burn them down. But looking at him now, he did not seem like a bad-tempered person! How good was this person. He did not put on any airs and was so close to the citizens. Not to mention a prince, even when Duanmu Anguo was the previous leader of the region, he did not dare to get so close to the citizens. He was afraid that there would be assassins or something. Looking at it now, it really was like the saying: People, the more you show off something, the more you lack something. Duanmu Anguo putting on such airs showed that what he really lacked was a noble status. On the other hand, for someone like the Ninth Prince, he was the son of the dragon. In this world, other than the Emperor, who else would be more important than him? He did not need to show off or prove anything. His status was there for all to see. That was why he was closer to the citizens.
Feng Yu Heng thought that such a harmonious atmosphere really needed to be thanked to Duanmu Anguo. If it was not for his Duanmu family going against the wishes of the court and embezzling the money from the national treasury, the citizens might not have been able to get along so smoothly with Xuan Tianming. It was the Duanmu family's death seeking that gave them the best opportunity to integrate with the North.
Feng Yu Heng looked at Xuan Tianming's every move with a smile. No matter how she looked at it, she felt that the man that she had chosen was the best in the world. There was no one else that could have his elegance. There was no one else that could have his natural temperament. Really, no matter how she looked at it, her own man was the best.
She could not help but cover her mouth and smile. She smiled so much that she quietly said: "Lovestruck fool."
She raised an eyebrow: "I'm happy."
But at this time, a deputy general of Dashun's army pushed his way through the crowd and arrived at Xuan Tianming's side. He anxiously said: "Your Highness, it's not good. Duanmu Anguo has begun killing people in Song Zhou!"
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