CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 164: BACHELOR TAX

Not long after the two women left, Yu Xiaolian heard people shouting that new tax notices had been posted, and a crowd started rushing towards the county government.

Yu Xiaolian greeted her father quickly and hurried to catch up to see what was happening.

Yu Xiaolian followed the crowd to the notice board at the county government gate, but the onlookers were simply too many, making it impossible to push forward.

She could only hear someone who could read explaining to those who couldn’t, that the new tax was called the Meng Levy because they were fighting a war with the Meng Country and were short on funds.

The Meng Levy was nine cents of silver per mu of land.

As soon as the scholarly man in front finished speaking, the crowd erupted in curses, and a woman with a basket tossed it aside, slapped her thigh, and sat down on the ground, crying out loud.

"This is just not letting people live! What does the war with the Great Meng Country have to do with us? It’s not like we started it, so why should we be the ones paying?"

"Year after year, the taxes keep increasing, year after year! This is never going to end!"

The people looked at each other, with worry-stricken faces, sighing deeply and frequently.

A merchant squeezed in, read the terms, and cursed loudly, "Forty in tax for every thousand money for sitting merchants? Thirty for moving merchants? Dammit, I’m done. I’ll just go back and sell my shop."

Standing next to the notice board were two government officers, who saw the chaos on the scene and shouted for quiet, saying to read quickly and leave promptly.

They also pointed at the woman making a scene on the ground, warning her to get up quickly or they would throw her in jail.

The woman, frightened, quickly stood up from the ground, hastily slung the basket on her arm, pushed through the crowd, and ran away.

The government officer then told the merchant who was talking about selling his shop that the commercial tax had already started being collected, and it needed to be paid in full within three days, and he couldn’t sell the shop until the tax was paid.

The merchant was furious, clenching his fists. After hesitating for a while, he still did not dare to clash with the officer, sighed heavily, and left. Instead of wasting time quarreling, he figured he might as well hurry home to cook the books to pay a bit less.

Someone asked, "I just have a little tavern—no, not even a tavern, just a roadside stall. Do I have to pay as a moving merchant as well?"

The officer, too lazy to explain to each one, pointed to the notice board, "It’s all there, read it yourself. Just look, no tearing off allowed."

The unlettered wine seller sought help from the scholarly man in the long robe from earlier.

The man in the long robe, being enthusiastic, quickly told the wine seller that he needed to pay taxes, thirty for every thousand money, and also asked the wine seller, where is your home? Where’s your household registration?

If you’re registered in the city, apart from commercial tax, there’s another tax called residence tax.

The wine seller shook his head, said he’s not registered in the city, and was just relieved in his heart to have saved a portion of the tax, when the long-robed scholar told him that rural registered moving merchants had another tax called transit tax.

The wine seller, hanging his head, let out a long sigh.

The man in the long robe quickly added, but your transit tax is half the price of the residence tax, so in a way, you’re lucky.

The wine seller thanked the man in the long robe, and asked, what else is written there? Do we have to pay any other taxes?

The man in the long robe, while looking at the notice board, announced loudly that besides the previously mentioned taxes, there is also a bachelor tax.

But this tax doesn’t concern men, it’s only for women.

Women aged fifteen and over should get married, and if they are not married by thirty, they must pay nearly five times the head tax!

Listening from outside the crowd, Yu Xiaolian was deeply moved, wondering what bizarre rules these were. Can they really tax like this? Have they gone mad for money?

What followed confirmed to Yu Xiaolian that the Emperor really had gone mad for money.

Compulsory donation.

Nicely named a donation, but it’s actually mandatory, with the amounts already set by them.

Someone in the crowd asked, what if I don’t have the money to donate?

The government officer immediately replied, if you don’t donate, then you’re not supporting the court’s great plan to conquer the Great Meng Country, openly opposing the court!

Are you a spy planted within Great Liang?

Not donating proves that you’re not patriotic.

Not being patriotic makes you an enemy spy.

If you’re a spy, they’ll throw you into jail for torture, and then search your house thoroughly.

After the two officers finished their threats and intimidation, no one else dared to say they wouldn’t donate.

As Yu Xiaolian walked back, she counted with her fingers, tallying all the different tax names.

The count was astonishing; there were too many even for all ten fingers.

If taxes were collected according to those names, merchants would lose money, and farmers would have to give up two-thirds of their crops in taxes.

Emma, why hasn’t that old Emperor just dropped dead already.

As Yu Xiaolian reached her family’s shop, she saw government officers checking their ledger.

They were really fast.

Well, are they not enthusiastic about collecting money?

Yu Changhe was explaining to the officer checking the books that they had not fully stocked the shop yet, had just sold some rice and flour that morning.

The officer looked at the trade vouchers Yu Changhe produced, and indeed saw that the dates were for a new shop, not falsified records.

When Yu Changhe turned and saw Yu Xiaolian, he immediately felt like he had found his mainstay, asked Yu Xiaolian to bring the account book of the braised meat shop, and then retreated to the back, letting Yu Xiaolian reconcile with the officer.

The tax officer pulled out an abacus, tabulated the various taxes, and told Yu Changhe, "It comes to a total of four taels and five mace. Pay up, and after paying, leave your fingerprint here."

Yu Changhe glanced at his daughter, realizing that they had only sold two pots of braised meat altogether, and the earnings were less than what they had to pay.

On the way back, Yu Xiaolian had already calculated roughly; her rice was priced at twenty coins per pound, so a hundred pounds is two taels of silver, and two taels of silver requires eighty coins in tax. If it were just a tax of forty per thousand coins, that could be reasonable.

The key is that the main tax is not expensive, the miscellaneous taxes are!

Yu Xiaolian, with a cheerful facade, cooperatively paid the taxes, but inside, she was critically ranting about this inhuman, messed-up place.

After pressing her fingerprint and sending off the government officer, Yu Changhe was downcast.

Wasn’t this just toiling for nothing? Getting up early and working late on the braised meat, plucking feathers and blanching, only for all the profit to go to the government.

They even had to pay out of their own pocket; what kind of situation is this?

Not only was the payment large, but this tax wasn’t even collected just once a year; they would be collecting again come autumn.

Yu Xiaolian thought of that old emperor who wouldn’t die anytime soon, feeling a wave of frustration.

This time her shop wasn’t officially open, so the tax was considered small; when her soap and other products became popular, how much tax would she owe in autumn?

It would definitely be no small sum, just thinking about it was painful.

Though Yu Xiaolian did not know the exact population and acreage of Great Liang, with such summer and autumn collections, surely the treasury would soon be full.

Of course, alongside that would be overwhelming public grievances.

Amidst complaints and despair, it was no wonder the people harbored rebellious intents.

The old emperor never imagined that this massive tax increase would lead to the Southern Border populace conspiring with the Great Meng Country, causing Great Liang to lose twelve cities at the Southern Border, and the life of his son Jun Tingye.