Lord, he is not a man [infrastructure]

Liu Feng asked to see the entire White Deer collar, and at the same time said that he wanted to meet the sick former lord.

This was not Liufeng's original plan. After traveling the same way for so long, Liufeng didn't want to leave the warm hotel in Sanshu City that could provide special enjoyment at all.

Gu Hui, the lord of the Three Trees, is much more interesting than Tang Bo, the proud and feminine Lord of the White Deer Lord, who is not easy to talk to at first sight. All his enjoyments in this hotel don't cost him a single copper coin.

But Lord Gu Hui's suggestion is also right. If he doesn't act like he wants to inspect Bailu collar, how can he find out what Tang Bo is up to in secret, so as to grab his pigtails and threaten him to take out more money? Filial piety?

The reason why Liu Feng was so bold was not only that he was an official of Luma City and the nephew and younger brother of the Grand Duke of Luma, but also because he was with the tax officer in charge of tax collection in the capital of Santana County and the three hundred soldiers of the escort team.

If the White Deer Territory was a medium-sized or larger territory, and the lord could have more than two hundred guards, Liu Feng would never dare to be so rude.

But in a small territory like White Deer Collar, the lord's personal armed force must not exceed 50 people on the surface. If it exceeds, the officials of the taxation department will find out, which is another good reason to scratch the surface.

The butler told Tang Bo about Liu Feng's request.

Tang Bo crossed his hands, "How much does he want?"

The butler said sullenly, "It's not how much he wants, but how much he wants us to offer. But this tax official has a big appetite, and no matter how much we give, he probably won't be satisfied."

Tang Bo: "He will come over tomorrow?"

"Yes. The [-] soldiers from the tax collection team have also arrived at Sanshu Territory. They will temporarily station in Sanshu City. They will not leave until the tax officials have collected all the taxes from the nearby small territories."

Tang Bo understood what the housekeeper meant. He was telling him not to be head-to-head, but to satisfy that greedy ghost as much as possible, and let him send him away.

"How much tax we have to pay every year, is it up to him to decide?"

The steward nodded: "He is responsible for approving whether the actual territory of our White Deer Territory has increased or decreased, the number of freemen, slaves, arable land and minerals. If he counts all the 700 people you brought back as freemen, we will Next year, the poll tax alone will be doubled. If he is more ruthless and counts more young adults, then the tax department will add the number of new births that may increase by [-]% in the future.”

"Master, it would have been better if you had asked Baidou and the others to take away most of the people you brought back, or leave some people outside and bring them back one after another later." The housekeeper couldn't help but point out.

Tang Bo smiled, and didn't mind the old man's point: "I thought about it. But those people's identities are questionable, and they are not honest. If I'm not here, no one can hold them down, and they will turn around and run away. That way I'm the real loser."

He can use the relatives of the salt workers to control those salt workers, but how many can he control?

Those salt workers were originally very uneasy because of their status as fugitives. Now they follow him because they have no one to follow, and they are afraid of his ability.But they were also afraid that he would sell them out for wealth or safety.

Once he leaves these salt workers, they will definitely find a way to disperse and escape.

And as long as one or two of these people are caught, or the news is leaked, then it will be a matter of time before the secret passage, and the fact that the Yan family and its descendants are involved with the White Deer collar will be exposed.

Compared with such worries, he would rather bring all these people back, at worst, pay more taxes, and let these people pass the bright road.

The more frank he is, the less Luma City will suspect that these slaves are related to salt workers.May I ask which fool would bring a large number of fugitives back to their lairs after doing something wrong, and let the tax officer see it?

The steward paused: "If the brick kiln and lime kiln you have built are discovered by the other party, we have to add mining tax. The mining tax can be high or low, but if we offend the tax official, he will only increase it. .”

"Also, you have distributed clothes, shoes and socks to the villagers and newcomers who are working, which has never been done in other territories. If the tax officials see that the villagers are all wearing full clothes, they will think that our territory is rich, then they must To find out why we are rich, if they can’t find out, they will charge us business taxes. The business tax is very high, not much lower than the mining tax.”

The housekeeper seemed to be ignorant of this knowledge. He had told Tang Bo before, but told him again and again: "Lords from all over the world will give tax officials some benefits in order to avoid commercial taxes. Even if Luma City knows that each territory has its own The caravans will turn a blind eye, unless that territory makes a living from trading."

Tang Bo closed his eyes as if falling asleep.

The housekeeper waited patiently.

After a while, Tang Bo's voice came out: "Let all the villagers take off the clothes, shoes and socks I gave away and hide them. Whoever exposes them will double their tax revenue in the coming year. We smashed the brick kilns and lime pits and filled them all up. The bricks that have been fired are all sunk into the river, and the lime is placed in the dug out reservoir pit."

The housekeeper felt distressed, and Tang Bo felt even more distressed: "Master, maybe we can transport it to the mountains."

Tang Bo shook his head, "Our territory is too small. If the other party wants to investigate, he will definitely be able to find out. Even if the tax official is too lazy to investigate so carefully, we must be careful that the ancient lord next door will send people to help."

Tang Bo in turn comforted the housekeeper: "At present we only have a brick kiln and a lime kiln. We are still trying out products. They are small and inefficient. It would not be a pity to smash them up. The important thing is the person who masters the technology. When the tax officer leaves, Let’s make better and bigger ones. Soaking bricks in water won’t damage them, and putting lime powder in a reservoir pit without water won’t make them useless.”

The housekeeper felt much better immediately after being comforted by Tang Bo, but: "After the autumn harvest, it usually rains for a few days before winter. If those people still refuse to leave when it rains, wouldn't the lime powder be wasted?" ?”

"It's okay if it's going to rain, and the slaked lime is also very useful." Tang Bo was worried about another thing, and that was whether the Bailu leader and the newcomers would talk nonsense.

People's hearts are difficult to grasp. Sometimes you think that the other party will be loyal to you, but in the end, you may be able to make the other party tell everything with a few copper coins.

Tang Bo yawned: "Let Tian Min and Jia Dou go to various villages to pass the news. Besides hiding clothes, let all the villagers keep their mouths shut. If anyone tells about water wells, lime, and burning bricks, his whole family including All his relatives, all... hanged. And don't let the villagers say good things about me, such as praising my work so that they can eat as much as they want. If someone asks them why they dare not speak, just say that the new lord is very cruel. Hanged."

In the same way, Tang Bo also let Yanren and Donglin pass on to all the newcomers, especially warning Yangong and their relatives that once someone reveals his origin, no matter whether he intends to or not, others will be implicated.

Donglin promises that no salt worker will be stupid.They were all fugitives, and it would be of no benefit to any of them to tell their original origins.

However, Yanren and Donglin also knew that there might be some people whose minds were not clear, or because of some small resentment, or because of a little temptation of interests, they would utter words that should not be bald.

Donglin once again went to remind the salt workers and their relatives that if anyone asked, they would all say that the lord bought them from Sita County, and they were originally wild people living in the border without a lord, but unfortunately they were caught by slave traders. Fortunately, it was bought by the current lord.

Afterwards, Tang Bo carried a fresh weed and came to the main house enduring sleepiness.

When Tang Ze saw him coming in, he originally wanted to get angry, but he held back forcefully.

"I know you want to kill me, and you want to regain the identity and power of the lord." Tang Bo said straight to the point.

Tang Ze turned his back to him, looked at the window sealed by wooden boards, and pretended not to pay attention to his son.

"Slap." A money bag fell onto the wooden table next to Tang Ze.

Tang Ze lowered his head, it was a buckskin bag.

"There are one hundred gold coins in here." Tang Bo walked over, stretched out an index finger to press the deerskin bag: "If you take the initiative to tell others that you are very happy to give me the title of lord and title because of your health, except With this pension money, you can get another twenty gold coins for living expenses every year in the future. In addition, I don't care how many mistresses you raise, nor how many illegitimate children you have. "

Tang Ze couldn't help it anymore, "Where did you get so much money?"

"I take this sentence as your compliment to me. After all, you have been a lord for nearly ten years. Not only do you not have a single gold coin, but you also owe a lot of debts." Tang Bo opened the gold coin bag and poured out about one-third of it. One gold coin, and put away the remaining two-thirds.

"Hey! Didn't you say this is my pension money?" Tang Ze said angrily.

Tang Bo said slowly: "Tomorrow someone wants to see you who is sick. It is the tax official from Luma City. If you are too sick to move, the other party will ask the pharmacist from Sanshu to treat you. In view of the medicine meeting of the butler Bafu Let that pharmacist see that I don't recommend giving you medicine. Of course, I also have other ways to make you sick as if you were dead."

Tang Bo held the fresh weed in his hand and put it in front of Tang Ze, and touched the weed with his fingers.

In a blink of an eye, the weeds that were originally dark green in color turned yellow and withered.

Tang Ze's eyes widened, his fingers visibly convulsed.

"I will accompany you when you are sick. You can try to see if you ask others for help faster, or I make you too sick to speak faster." Tang Bo said without emotion.

Tang Ze felt that this son was really getting more and more terrifying, and he really regretted not treating this son well at the beginning.

Otherwise, based on the abilities displayed by his son, is he still afraid that he will have no money to spend?

This is one hundred gold coins!It was when he was the richest that all the cash that could be taken out was so much, but now his son took it out casually and gave it to him casually.

Although his son said that he would only be given twenty gold coins a year for living expenses in the future, he was his biological father. If Tang Bo had ample money and he wanted more as a father, could Tang Bo really not give it?

Just like Tang Bo didn't kill him or mutilate him now, his son seems to hate him, but he should still care about him in his heart.

Tang Ze quickly calculated in his mind, even if he regained the position of lord, how many gold coins could he get in a year?And how much benefit will the other party charge for asking for help from the tax official in Luma City?

It just so happened that he didn't want to take care of things. If his son was willing to take over the management of the territory, he would be given a lot of gold coins every year. He didn't mind losing his title of lord, anyway, his title was still there.

"It seems that you have agreed. In order to protect your annual living expenses in the future, I suggest that you see the tax official tomorrow, and you might as well cry to him about the reasons for your poor health. For example, because you were cheated by others, you stepped into the A gambling trap, losing a large amount of arable land, causing Bailuling to drastically reduce the autumn harvest, because you were worried about taxes and the hunger of the people in the territory, you fell ill in a hurry, and handed over the position of lord to me."

Tang Ze added a sentence very understandingly: "Should I also hint to that tax official that my neighbor next door is expanding his territory and raising private troops."

"That couldn't be better."

The next day, I waited until after noon before I saw a team of about three to forty people enter the White Deer Collar.

Liu Feng had come here once before, and that time the tax officer from the capital of Santai County did not accompany him, but collected taxes in other territories.

Liu Feng originally wanted him to come here alone so that he could take advantage of it all to himself.

Unexpectedly, the new lord of the White Hart Collar was very ignorant, and he didn't seem to understand several hints to him. Instead, the steward repeatedly told him how much arable land they lost in their territory, and they were forced to buy so many slaves back. Just want to level those hills that are not easy to cultivate.

After a few days, the tax officials of Santana County have returned from collecting taxes from other territories, and now they are only short of a white deer collar.

After receiving the autumn tax from Bailu Ling, the tax officer and the escort team of Santata County will leave here.

Although Liu Feng didn't want to share the benefits with the tax officer of Santata County, he also wanted to borrow the other party's momentum, so he deliberately chose to come here today.

There are a few more people around Liufeng. These people are all lent to him by the hospitable Lord Sanshu. It is said that they are very good at tracking and finding objects, and they can also protect Liufeng.

Tang Bo personally received the tax officials.

When the tax officer entered the Tang Mansion, he was looking at the decoration of the mansion. When he saw the almost bare stone house, he felt irrepressible contempt for this third-class baron's mansion.

This is a poor land and poor lord who can't make much money.

Liu Feng came here once before, but he was bewitched by Gu Hui, and he preconceived that Tang Bo hid all his wealth.For this reason, while looking down on the poverty of Bailuling, he also wanted to extract oil from the stone.

The tax officer of Santana County has been to Bailuling more than ten times, and he is also very clear that the former lord Tang Ze was fond of gambling and leased the territory to Sanshuling for a long time as gambling money.

Therefore, the tax officer of Three Towers County didn't expect to get much money from the new lord Tang Bo. On the contrary, he thought that if he could collect all the required taxes this time, he would have completed his task.

The tax official couldn't help feeling sympathetic when he heard that Liu Feng and Tang Bo from Luma City proposed to inspect the actual situation of the entire territory.

It seems that Master Liufeng doesn't want to let Bailuling go.

Sympathy is all sympathy, the tax officer of Santana County doesn't intend to say good things for the white deer leader, if Liu Feng really has the ability to squeeze a little more oil from Tang Bo, he can also share some of the benefits.

Naturally, Liu Feng didn't want to use his own feet to take the whole Bailu away, so he let his "confidantes" around him take charge of it.

Tang Bo called Tian Min, Dong Lin and Gu Ding to accompany them.

"Oh, if these servants are too heavy-handed, or do something that shouldn't be done, you should write it down, and let them compensate for what should be compensated."

"Yes." Tian Min replied with a loud voice on purpose.

Liu Feng felt unhappy, and said in a strange way: "I hope you don't stop my people from investigating the situation in the territory."

"Of course not to stop it, but definitely not to vandalize it." Tang Bo didn't give the tax official any good looks.

Liu Feng disliked this young lord more and more, even though he was not bad looking.

"I heard that Jue Tang is ill, I really want to visit him." Liu Feng said.

"Thank you for your kindness. I've asked my father, and he wants to see you too." Tang Bo waved his hand and asked the butler to take Liu Feng to the main house, but he didn't go himself.

Liu Feng originally thought he would get something from Tang Ze, but the Lord Sanshu swore that Tang Ze's illness was weird, and vowed that as long as the other party was still alive, he would not pass his title of Lord to his son .

But when he saw Tang Ze, he found that the other party didn't say anything bad about his son. Instead, he took his hand and kept crying to him about being deceived by Gu Hui and defrauding him of a large amount of arable land.

Seeing Tang Ze's crooked appearance, Liu Feng was very afraid that he would give him too much sickness, and tried to take back his hand several times but failed.

But Liu Feng still had some gains. Tang Ze vaguely mentioned to him that Sanshu had a large number of private soldiers, which made Liu Feng very happy. No matter whether it was true or not, he could use this to blackmail Gu Hui.

After seeing Tang Ze crying with tears and snot coming out together, and begging him to report the actual situation of Bailuling to reduce the tax of Bailuling in the coming year, Liu Feng finally couldn't bear it anymore and said a few random words Then, he forcibly pulled out his hand and left the bitter-smelling ward as quickly as possible.

The butler invited Liu Feng to the living room and brought him fresh water.

Liu Feng happened to be thirsty, so he picked up the cup and took a sip, but as soon as the water entered his mouth, he almost spit it out.

"Is the water here so bad?" Liu Feng thought that the white deer leader was torturing him on purpose.

The housekeeper immediately apologized: "I'm very sorry, respected tax officer, our water tastes like this. If you don't believe me, you can ask the tax officer beside you."

The tax official of Santata County nodded helplessly: "White Deer collar is short of water, so they rely on the small river we saw when we came here to get water. The river has a strong smell of soil and soil."

The butler said in a timely manner: "Master tax collector, isn't he curious about what we have arranged for so many slaves to dig? It is digging canals and reservoirs. The young master wants to divert the water from the river to the fields and villages, so that everyone can use water conveniently in the future. If In the rainy season, a little rainwater can also be collected.”

The tax officer of Santata County said casually: "It turns out that you bought so many slaves to dig canals and reservoirs."

"Yes, besides that, the young master also wants to level those few hills. We don't have enough fields to plow." The housekeeper showed a distressed expression.

The housekeeper said to Liu Feng again: "You also heard what our master told you, can you discuss with the Lord Lord of the Three Trees and ask him to return our territory, our young master said, yes Pay him back some money every year, even a little more. If the lord of the Three Trees refuses to return our land, can you talk to Luma City about it, and give us a little tax reduction?"

Liu Feng said in his heart: Dreaming.

The housekeeper said sadly: "The young master spent the last of his wealth to buy so many slaves. If these slaves can't dig up those mountains next year and cultivate them quickly, these slaves will have to be sold for money, otherwise we Whether or not half of next year's taxes can be allocated is a question."

It all depends on what Liu Feng says if the tax officer of Santata County does not speak.

Liu Feng didn't want to hear the housekeeper's complaints, so he asked unhappily, "Where's your lord? Where did he go?"

The housekeeper apologized: "I'm sorry, our lord is not in good health and often feels sleepy. In order not to fall asleep rudely in front of you adults, he can only go back to the bedroom."

Liu Feng thought about the first time he saw Tang Bo, he looked so sleepy that he couldn't wake up. At this time, he didn't have much doubts, probably because there were many nobles who were in poor health.

The steward sent white bread and bacon to the tax collectors.

The tax officer from Santana County ate some, but Liu Feng didn't move when he smelled the bacon.

He likes fresh roasts, and he has no interest in this kind of cured meat that is about to stink.

A clerk came in and talked to the tax officer of Santata County, saying that the tax and food for Bailu collar had been cleared.

"Is there no short catty or two?" the tax official of Santata County asked in a low voice.

The clerk shook his head, "The wheat grains are not very full, but there are not many shriveled shells, no more than [-]%."

The Three Towers County tax collector didn't criticize.Many lords will mix wheat grains with shrunken shells and empty shells in the tax grain. It is very rare to mix [-]%, and it is usually [-]%.

Because tax officials have received benefits, most of the time they turn a blind eye.

Just now, when Liu Feng and the housekeeper went to see Tang Ze, the tax officer of Santai County received a small gift from the new lord Tang Bo - a money bag containing one gold, five silver and one hundred copper coins.

One gold was obviously given to him, five silver was handed over, and one hundred copper coins were given to him to distribute to his subordinates.

It's not a lot of money, but it's better than nothing.Moreover, Bailuling was so poor that it was impossible to squeeze out more.

"Didn't it mean that you can't afford the autumn tax grain this year? I think the tax grain collected by Bailu needs to be carefully inspected to prevent it from being mixed with things that shouldn't be mixed in." Liu Feng said suddenly.

The tax officer of Santata County understood what Liu Feng meant, and he didn't want to give Bailu the lead, and he had to make up for the tenth of the shriveled wheat grains.

But he didn't want to offend the officials of Luma City because of Bailu collar, so he immediately ordered his subordinates: "Didn't you hear that, go and check it carefully, and report if you have any questions."

"Yes." The subordinate looked at the butler.They've checked everything, now it's up to Bailuling to make up for it.

The butler hated Liufeng very much in his heart, and his face didn't show at all, only showing a heavy and sad expression.

Liu Feng is still waiting, waiting for the experts that Gu Hui lent him to find out where they "made mistakes" from Bailuling, so that he has a reason and a handle to squeeze Bailuling hard.

Tang Bo, who was thought to be sleeping in the bedroom, was not in the bedroom at this time, he was on his way to Sanshu City.

Gu Hui, the lord of the three trees, made trouble for him again and again. If he didn't reciprocate one or two, wouldn't it seem that he was too easy to bully?

It just so happened that the two tax officials could give him an alibi, as long as he could go back and see the tax officials before they left.