After rebirth, I joined forces with my mortal enemy to seek revenge.

After listening to her words, Wu Lingjia smiled. He reached out and held her hand, his eyes full of gentleness.

"Jiajia's plan is really admirable." Wu Lingjia praised.

"Lingjia is not bad either. Why doesn't Wang Yu plan to take action against me? Didn't he reveal anything to you?" Pei Jiaoran asked.

After hearing this, Wu Lingjia shook his head and said, "No. He is currently busy with the matter of reducing his troops, and the Jia Gonglu is temporarily in decline. I'm afraid he is only interested in suppressing him."

Pei Jiaoran pursed his lips slightly and his eyes were serious. She didn't believe that Wang Yu would let her go easily, and she was just afraid that he was planning something secretly. Moreover, he had the intention to bring down her and Jia Gonglu together.

Sensing her strange behavior, Wu Lingjia looked worried.

"What's wrong?" Wu Lingjia asked.

Suppressing his thoughts, Pei Jiaoran opened the lid of the jar and took a sip of hot tea. He smiled softly and said, "It's nothing. You've been here for too long, it's time to go back."

After sending Wu Lingjia out, Pei Jiaoran gathered his clothes and sat down. As soon as I picked up the account book, a person suddenly jumped in.

"Why are you here?" Pei Jiaoran said calmly without raising his head.

The visitor sat down directly opposite her, with purple robes and animal patterns appearing in front of her eyes. It's Li Xiujing.

"There is nothing going on in the army today." Li Xiujing looked at Pei Jiaoran and caught a glimpse of the black eyes under her eyes, "Can't you go back today?"

Wenwen asked Pei Jiaoran and put down his pen, "Yes. If you don't go back, you will stink. Since you are free, how about you take me to your Zhuangzi for a bath?"

"Okay." Li Xiujing responded with a smile.

Call in the petty officials and hand over the affairs in hand. Pei Jiaoran got up and went out with Li Xiujing. After she went home to get her clothes, they rode to Zhuangzi together.

By the time the two arrived at Zhuangzi, it was already two hours later. The lanterns outside the courtyard have been lit, and the servants are waiting at the door.

Pei Jiaoran reined in the reins, "It seems like they have prepared everything?"

"I originally wanted to bring you here, so I would naturally arrange everything. I didn't know you would take the initiative." Li Xiujing turned around and said with a smile.

The servant at the door came up to hold the reins for the two of them. They got off their horses and walked in. Immediately, a maid came forward to hold an umbrella for them and guide them.

The place where the maid led her was the same soup pool as last time. The house is filled with aroma and mist. Scented soap and tea bran water for hair are also prepared next to the pool.

After sending his maid to wait outside, Pei Jiaoran took off his clothes and stepped into the spring. An hour later, she came out of the water and put on the skirt she had put aside. After wringing her hair dry, she called the maid in to tie her hair.

"Where is Li Xiujing?" Pei Jiaoran asked.

Wenwen asked the maidservant in a low voice: "The husband has not come out yet. My lady, you can go and have a meal first."

Not long after Pei Jiaoran finished leaving and went to the pavilion in the village, Li Xiujing also came. It rained a lot in summer and was boring, so the two of them had their dinner quickly and then went to sit inside.

"What's the current situation in Zuozang?" Li Xiujing asked: "If there is a rebellion in the three towns, are you prepared?"

In the past few days, she had been staying at the Ministry of Household Affairs, in addition to calculating next year's national expenditure, and also made a rough calculation of how long Zuozang's disposable income plus the money from Shence's return to Yiwu could last. It was only three months to fully plan, and it was obvious that three months was not enough to regain the three towns.

Pei Jiaoran sighed, "Currently, it can only last for three months. So I can only fight and pay at the same time, and try my best to raise military expenses. If it doesn't work, I will attack the local powerful. They have a lot of money." Drink Kou Cha she continued: "It has been decades since the Two Taxes Law was implemented, and it has long been riddled with abuses. In many places, tycoons forcefully bought people's land but did not transfer the taxes. Therefore, the court's taxes still fell on the people, and They still don’t have to pay taxes. The people are the foundation of the country, and the court should still take care of them as much as possible.”

These days, all the state capitals are complaining about her poverty and asking the court for money. But after careful comparison, she found that the tax revenue of various states in recent years was pretty good. The reason why they cry about poverty is simply to get money into their own pockets, and this money simply cannot get into the hands of the people.

"But according to the current situation, the rain will damage the crops, and I'm afraid there will be waterlogging again. According to the system, we will be tax-free this year, but I think it is better to avoid tax exemptions. Anyway, no matter how tax-free the court is, these rich households will still exploit the common people. There will be, and compared with tax exemption, it is best to replenish the national treasury." Li Xiujing said solemnly.

Although he also understands that the people are the foundation of the country and the people cannot withstand excessive exploitation, but it is another matter when it comes to his own hands.

"You can't say that. The imperial court has always had regulations on disaster relief. If the tax is unavoidable this year, it will easily arouse public resentment. Have you forgotten what happened in Guazhou before?" Pei Jiaoran smiled slightly, "And looking through the history books, where did it happen? Is there a businessman who can rebel? The gentry is not easy to control, but the wealthy households can still control it. Let them spit out their money, and the national treasury will naturally be much better."

Both aristocratic families and wealthy households are powerful, but aristocratic families are more famous than the latter and often cooperate with local officials. Although the latter also has financial resources, compared with the aristocratic family, it is not worth mentioning at all. Therefore, the rulers of the past dynasties did not dare to suppress powerful families too much, and could only control them within the controllable range of the imperial power.

Seeing that Li Xiujing was silent, Pei Jiaoran licked his lips and said, "I looked through the account books of Changpingcang in each state. The grain storage situation is acceptable. According to the system, the surplus money in the prefectures and counties can also be used for disaster relief. In addition, the military grain storage It can also be used to provide relief. So as long as there is no trouble underneath, Zuo Zang will not be under too much pressure. But you also know the truth."

Although the imperial court allocated food to the people for disaster relief and agreed to exempt the government from taxes, these decrees may not be fully implemented for the victims. The two-thirds tax rate means that the money spent as envoys in states and envoys is not under the control of the central government, and local officials can spend the money at will. Once the local area was unable to provide for the people, the court could not leave the people alone, so borrowing food might occur.

All in all, local governments have far more control over disaster relief than the central government. However, some local officials believe that the gathering of refugees will cause trouble and must be dealt with by thunderous means. Or there may be evil officials who exploit the people, making it impossible for them to get relief, to prevent people from harvesting, and to prevent edicts from being heard.

"To understand the real situation, someone must serve as an envoy to the disaster-stricken area and assist the court in formulating political decrees." Li Xiujing looked at her and said.

"So if there is a problem, I plan to ask your majesty to be appointed as the governor." Sensing the hesitation flashing in Li Xiujing's eyes, Pei Jiaoran smiled, "These governors are used to being dignified, and they may not be ordinary people. I'll take it seriously. But I'm still qualified to talk to them at the table."

This is not an exaggeration by her, but that she is now the Minister of Household Affairs and has the title of Political Governor, which not only allows her to participate in political affairs hall meetings in a serious manner. What's more, he has some of the power of the prime minister and can go to the local card table to negotiate with these local officials and local powerful people.