Chapter 101 It’s Really Good to Have Money
Deng Qianqiu thought about it and felt that the issue of taxation was quite tempting for him. In his opinion, most of the problems of the Ming Dynasty were caused by the unreasonable taxation.

If it can really change, then...will China be better than its previous history?
Zhu Biao saw his expression change, and said with a smile: "You still have doubts? No problem, I will give you a secret decree. You are a member of Chunhe Palace, so you must obey the orders of Chunhe Palace. If there is any mistake, it is my fault. Don't worry, my father will not hold me accountable for interfering in state affairs. He hopes that I will meet with the ministers every day, listen to the announcements of various departments, and practice state affairs."

Deng Qianqiu smiled unconsciously and said, "Your Highness treats me so well, I... don't know what to say for a moment."

Zhu Biao stood up and said, "If you are really grateful, don't read those miscellaneous books and these pictures in the future. You are still young, you should read more useful things."

Deng Qianqiu: “…”

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "You are willing to do something that you think is right, which makes me happy. People are not beautiful jade, and it is impossible for them to be flawless. But it will be more beneficial for you to reflect on yourself occasionally."

Looking at the sky, Zhu Biao said, "It's getting late. I should go back to the main hall. Remember to do your best. I hope you can succeed!"

He took two steps forward, but suddenly stopped and said, "Oh, yes, I will have someone send you some useful books tomorrow. Last time you competed with my guest, although you won, it was a trick after all. If you read more, you should be able to defeat him fairly."

After saying that, Zhu Biao walked out again.

Deng Qianqiu hurriedly followed him to see him off. Zhu Biao exchanged pleasantries with him and said a few words of comfort before Deng Qianqiu watched him leave.

After seeing Zhu Biao off, Deng Qianqiu suddenly became full of energy.

No matter what, he couldn't let the prince down.

So he simply sat down at his desk and began to ponder. As the saying goes, one should plan before taking action. He had to have a detailed charter and formulate specific rules first.

The next day, Deng Qianqiu went to the Jiangning County Government excitedly.

This time when he came to the county government office, Deng Qianqiu found that there had been great improvements here, especially Deng Jian. It seemed that people in the county were in awe of him.

"Dad, take a look." Deng Qianqiu handed the charter to Deng Jian.

Deng Jian looked at his son gently and said with a smile, "When did Qianqiu start writing articles?"

As he spoke, he looked down, but when he realized it was not an article, he burst out laughing.

He looked at it carefully for a long time, then raised his head and asked: "Whose idea was this?"

Deng Qianqiu looked at him expectantly and said, "Dad, please tell me whether this charter is good or not."

Deng Jian said: "It seems a bit frivolous..."

Deng Qianqiu's eyes turned slightly and he said, "This is what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meant."

Deng Jian continued, "Although it is frivolous, if it is done in this way, it will be appropriate and will benefit the country and the people. The original intention of this charter is very good."

Deng Qianqiu said happily: "Of course, this is mainly my son's idea. I spent a lot of time thinking about it. Of course, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also had some ideas in it. He has benefited my son a lot."

Deng Jian thought for a moment and said, "But... this charter still has many loopholes."

Deng Qianqiu spread his hands and said, "Dad, don't beat around the bush. Will it work or not?"

Deng Jian hesitated for a moment and said, "I have to make some changes. Some parts are worth discussing."

"Then it's done?"

Deng Jian said: "As long as there is an imperial decree, we will follow it. Jiangning County will naturally do its best to cooperate."

Deng Qianqiu asked, "Where is the imperial edict from Chunhe Palace?"

Deng Jian thought about it and said, "It's not impossible."

Deng Qianqiu breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "That's great, Dad, you can fix it first, the imperial edict will come later."

Deng Jian nodded, as if remembering something: "Don't keep calling me dad in the county government. You are also an official appointed by the imperial court..."

Deng Qianqiu straightened his back: "You said it! Logically, I am a centurion of the imperial guards, a sixth-rank military official, and you are the county magistrate of Jing County, a sixth-rank civil official. But I also have the hereditary centurion of the imperial guards, which is a fifth-rank official. Now I am only granted the title of centurion, so... you need to address me..."

Deng Jian: “…”

He suddenly felt that this son was a little disgusting to him.

Deng Qianqiu understood the silence in his father's eyes and said with a smile, "Dad, forget it. Even if the sky falls, we are still father and son. Why would we care so much about him?"

Deng Jian nodded in recognition and said, "You are right. One should not be pedantic. Wait for a moment and polish these rules for your father."

…………

"Niangniang, Niangniang..."

An eunuch rushed to the bedroom excitedly.

Empress Ma was leading the eldest princess in sewing. When she heard the voice, she looked up and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so irritable?"

The eunuch said with a smile, "Your Majesty, have you always been worried about why Captain Deng has not sent any letters? Just now, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin sent one."

Empress Ma smiled instantly and said happily, "Put it on the desk and ask Jing'er to read it to you later."

In the past, we would receive letters almost every one or two days, but suddenly in recent days, for some reason, there has been no news for seven or eight days in a row.

Strangely enough, the letters I received in the past were quite common and nothing unusual happened. But now that they suddenly disappeared, it seemed like something was missing, as if something was missing.

Of course, the inner court also heard about the matter of protecting the emperor, so Empress Ma couldn't help but worry whether the child was really hurt.

Now that another letter had finally arrived, Queen Ma breathed a sigh of relief and a smile spread across her face.

Zhu Jingjing quickly put down her needlework and said, "Mother, I'll go check on him. I wonder if he's hurt."

Queen Ma said, "Don't be so rash."

But he only said a few words briefly and there was no further words.

Zhu Jingjing had picked up the letter, glanced at it, and said in surprise: "Ah."

Queen Ma raised her eyebrows and said, "Why, making a fuss again?"

Empress Ma put down her needlework, a look of concern on her face, and said, "Has something happened to the child? He treated me well and saved Biao'er's life. If anything happens to him, our Zhu family will be sorry for him."

Zhu Jingjing hurriedly shook her head and tried to comfort Queen Ma, saying, "Mother, he is fine. He sent a letter to ask about your well-being and said that he is now five months old and needs to move around more. He also said that he was busy these days..."

Empress Ma smiled again and said, "As long as everything is fine."

Zhu Jingjing asked, "Mother, are we going to revise the book and go back now?"

Queen Ma thought for a moment and said, "It's not urgent. I haven't figured out how to respond yet."

Zhu Jingjing smiled, her clear eyes curved like a crescent moon, and she said with great spirit: "After my daughter came to teach me, she said that she hoped you were safe and sound, and she was very relieved. However, it is said that it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. You know medical knowledge very well, why are you so careless and running around? You must know that there are so many civil officials and military generals in this world, and the emperor does not need you by his side. Others know how to work and rest properly, but you don't..."

Empress Ma laughed and said, "Why do you worry so much? All right, all right, let's finish the needlework at hand first."

"Oh." Zhu Jing said calmly, and the excitement in his eyes suddenly subsided.

Empress Ma thought for a moment and said, "But remember, when you reply to the letter later, add a sentence: the weather is cold, so put on an extra coat."

"Oh."

…………

The winter in Nanjing is extremely cold.

After winter came, Deng Qianqiu couldn't sit still. He focused his attention on Jiangning County.

Of course, now the centurion had all the silver, so he allocated a reward to Niu Shisan and others. By the end of the year, everyone in the centurion was in high spirits.

Deng Jian and his sons were not able to get together to celebrate the New Year. The Deng family had few relatives in Nanjing, but on the first day of the New Year, someone outside shouted, "Deng Jian, you are a piece of shit, you are heartless and ungrateful."

Deng Qianqiu jumped out and wanted to start a quarrel with the man.

Unexpectedly, the person who came was Tang He.

All of a sudden, Deng Qianqiu was like a deflated ball. He smiled apologetically and said, "Marquis Zhongshan, why are you scolding my father? My father didn't provoke you."

Tang He grabbed Deng Qianqiu's ear and said, "Your father is ruthless and ungrateful. You must never learn from him! In the past, he would come to my house every year to pay respects to his mother. It was fine in the past ten years, but now that they are all in Nanjing, come with me and go to my house."

Deng Qianqiu was confused and was pulled out by his ears. He went to the Tang family for a meal and met Tang He's wife and children.

He was very reserved and was finally released. When he returned home, he was filled with gossip.

Tang He hadn't said much to him just now, but he only knew that his father was very close to him, and seemed to be close to His Majesty...

But what happened later?

After the Lantern Festival, the Ministry of Revenue began to check the financial revenue, expenditure and tax accounts of counties across the country.

Naturally, this is a torture for the small county hundreds or thousands of miles away.

But for Jiangning County in Jing County, there was not much trouble.

The county only needs to send the money and grain account books to the Ministry of Revenue for verification, and the Ministry of Revenue will determine the payable money and grain and the actual paid money and grain in the county based on the county's yellow book population and the number of acres of land.

This time of year is the gate of hell for many county magistrates.

After all, if there is a problem with the verification, no one can afford it.

The situation in Jiangning County this year is different. When the Ministry of Revenue came to inquire, Jiangning County replied that it still needed to reconcile the accounts with the Chunhe Palace Hundred Households Office first, which might take ten days or half a month.

And now, Deng Qianqiu and his son are really worried. The county has been levying new taxes for three months, but now they find that the bill for this new tax is unprecedented.

To put it bluntly, such an account has never been reported before. Moreover, this is something that should have been completed by the county, but now it needs to be completed in cooperation with the Hundred Households of Chunhe Palace, which further increases the difficulty.

As a last resort, the father and son had to work together, and each of them checked their own accounts first.

"Qianqiu, you must have calculated it wrong. It shouldn't be that much." After looking at the accounts of the Hundred Households Office, Deng Jian looked puzzled.

(End of this chapter)