"Oh, right." Hua Zhi suddenly remembered something, "Did Zhu Fang come back last night?"
"Yes, I'm back."
"How badly?"
"It's not a minor one, but the more serious one is probably a reputation issue." Jia Yang reminded: "She was held in solitary confinement for most of the night, and was taken away by soldiers in full view of everyone."
"It was my mistake."
"You don't need to blame yourself. If you knew that Zhu Ling had no choice, why would you have attacked Miss Zhu? If she were a member of the Chaoli tribe, no matter how you treated her, it would not be excessive."
Hua Zhi shook her head. No matter how much she said, Zhu Fang's reputation was still ruined. It would be difficult to marry her off to someone else in the future. However, as a descendant of the Chaoli clan, it would not be easy for her to marry off to someone else. Zhu Ling might not be without this worry, otherwise why would she not have promised her daughter off to someone else so early.
Without thinking any more, Hua Zhi drank half a cup of tea, stood up and said, "Take me to the archives of the government office."
"yes."
The archives were guarded by a forty-something official. Apart from him, there was no one else in the room. However, the room was very clean, not dusty as expected. After taking a look at the official who lowered his eyebrows and looked docile, Hua Zhi turned around and instructed, "Please contact Zhu Ling for any matters concerning the government. When the heads of the families come, call me."
Jia Yang nodded.
Hua Zhi looked at the historian again, "Come and help me find the way."
"yes."
The warehouse was very large. Hua Zhi walked slowly in the alleys between the shelves, one after another, from the far left to the far right.
The room was full of files but there was no scent of ink. She missed her family's library and the leisure time of just taking out a book and sitting there to while away half a day. Her grandfather knew that she was greedy for enjoyment, so he secretly set up a comfortable corner in the library and spoiled her. Now, she thought that it was thanks to the maids who kept a close eye on her that she didn't damage her eyesight.
Hua Zhi lowered her head and sighed secretly. She thought, she didn't just miss the library, she missed her home and her family.
Hua Zhi touched the one-meter-high file, and her fingertips were clean. She walked out from the shadows and asked, "My Lord..."
"I don't deserve to be called your Excellency. I am Xu Ze, your humble servant."
Hua Zhi sat down behind his desk and said, "I want to know about Jinyang's recent situation. Sir Xu, please bring me anything you think is suitable."
Xu Ze did not respond immediately. He still bent over, and his tone did not change much. "May I ask what your identity is, young lady? Although there is nothing in the archives that cannot be shown to others, it is also the foundation of the land. I am the archives official, so I dare not show it to others easily."
That's right, Hua Zhi nodded, took out the seal of Qisusi, put it on the table and pushed it forward.
Xu Ze apologized, took a step forward to take a closer look, and after a moment he bowed, picked up a basket that was a little damaged but still looked well-maintained, walked to the shelves, picked up the files one by one and gently put them into the basket.
Hua Zhi watched his actions quietly and felt a sudden liking for him. She couldn't tell at the moment whether he was capable or not, but he did an excellent job as a registrar.
"Your Excellency may take a look at these first."
"Just call me Miss. Go and do your own thing. Don't worry about me."
"yes."
Hua Zhi picked up the top file with the population written on it. As soon as she opened it, she raised her eyebrows. She calculated the year and found that it was eleven years ago. She picked up the volume at the bottom, which was seven years ago, and the years after that were recorded. She then picked out taxes and land, and the time was the same.
Eleven years ago, when Yuan Shifang first arrived in Jinyang, and seven years ago, when Zeng Xianglin was in their hands, this Dianshi was a wise man.
Moving the other books on the desk, Hua Zhi took out the tax file that showed the most problems and spread it out from top to bottom according to time. By comparison, it was clear that Jinyang's tax revenue today was less than one-third of what it was eleven years ago.
If we compare the population, here she mainly looks at corvée labor. Eleven years ago, one out of ten people paid labor service with silver money, seven years ago one out of twelve, and in the most recent year, one out of twenty-seven people paid labor service with silver money. It can be seen that the number of people with extra money is decreasing.
As for land, the amount of reclaimed land has been decreasing year by year from eleven years ago to now. Last year, the amount of reclaimed land in the entire Jinyang area was less than 24 mu.
The Jinyang of eleven years ago could truly be called a small capital.
Hua Zhi looked at the rows of numbers and didn't understand, so she asked, "Master Xu, please explain how wasteland is taxed nowadays?"
Xu Ze was flipping through a book, and immediately said, "Wasteland can be exempted from tax for four years. In the first two years after the four years, you only need to pay half the tax of cultivated land, and then the same tax as cultivated land."
"Are the people interested in this matter?"
"It was high before. I remember one year we reclaimed thousands of acres of wasteland. Although it took a lot of effort to cultivate the land, the harvest was great. Daqing law stipulates that whoever cultivates the land will be credited to him. If you reclaim wasteland and cultivate it well in the first year, you will be able to produce something in the second year. Experienced masters can only cultivate it one or two cents worse than cultivated land. By the third year, it will be the same as cultivated land. But you still don't have to pay taxes that year. Who doesn't want to have a few more buckets of grain at home?"
This data is really different.
Hua Zhi covered the numbers and said, "I have been out of the city several times and saw that some fields were left uncultivated. Has Lord Xu heard of this?"
Xu Ze was silent for a moment, then replied, "Yes, I know."
"Did you say anything?"
"It's just that there are other things that attract people more than fields."
And this thing is gambling. When gambling has become a common thing and enters into families, people involved in it cannot see how much they have changed, or how much their lives have changed.
Hua Zhi had inquired during her time in Jinyang and found out that gambling had already entered the homes of ordinary people. Although the people of Jinyang were not living as well as before and were not as well-off as before, there was not much resentment among the people. There were even benefits - the relationships between families had become better through small gambling. When she knew this, she was really a little amused.
"Miss, all the families have arrived together." Jia Yang appeared at the door and reported in a low voice.
"Got it." Hua Zhi closed the files and put them back into the basket one by one. She held them in her hand and turned to look at Xu Ze. "How long has Lord Xu been the Dianshi here?"
"Eleven years."
Eleven years, it's really a good number. Hua Zhi couldn't help but think of more. At this time, she didn't ask any more questions. She nodded and lifted the basket up, saying, "Master Xu, please help me find some more files like this and send them to the front. Instead of leaving them here to gather dust, it's better to take them out and put them to good use."
"I obey your orders."
Hua Zhi looked at him again, and when she came out of the warehouse, she saw Bao Xia waiting outside. He smiled ingratiatingly when he saw her.
Hua Zhi glanced at her and put the basket heavily in her hands. She almost forgot that among the four maids, Bao Xia hated reading the most. It was Nian Qiu who forced her to read and write. It was only because Nian Qiu had a good temper that she couldn't help but give him a few beatings.
PS: There is one more chapter.