Huang Laohan was an ordinary peasant from a small village in Chuyuan Province, his family had farmed for generations, barely making ends meet with a few acres of thin land. After the implementation of the One Whip Law, the previously in-kind taxes collected by acreage were converted to silver, forcing Huang Laohan to sell the grain he painstakingly grew at the market to exchange for silver taels to pay the tax.

However, the market grain prices fluctuated greatly. In a good harvest year, the grain prices were low, and even if Huang Laohan sold all his grain, he couldn't gather enough tax silver; not to mention now, it's a disaster year, with poor crop yields, making things worse.

What pained Huang Laohan even more was the local officials taking advantage to exploit. They deliberately lowered the grain-to-silver conversion rate, forcing the commoners to buy government-mandated silver at high prices. To pay the taxes, Huang Laohan had to borrow high-interest loans from the landlord, with interest accumulating more and more, eventually forcing him to mortgage his land. There were not a few peasants like Huang Laohan in the village, many of whom could not bear the heavy tax burden and debt, and even had to leave their homes, becoming refugees.

Now was the tax collection season, and the village was shrouded in an atmosphere of sorrow. Officials brought constables to each household to demand tax silver, and if there was any delay, they beat and kicked, and even arrested people. Huang Laohan's son, for resisting the officials' violence, was beaten severely, and the family's only labor force was also down. Looking at the empty granary and his son on the sickbed, Huang Laohan was filled with despair.

"No birth to save the world, Maitreya's pure land, the true emptiness homeland..."

Many of the dispossessed becoming refugees shouted out similar slogans, wearing white headscarves.

These scenes were continuously unfolding in Chuyuan Province and the neighboring provinces.

And the Refugee Army in Guanzhong was almost impossible to be contained.

…

…

"Jiangnan and everything beyond it are two different worlds." Xu Qing listened quietly to the intelligence sent by Su Lianqing, feeling a wave of emotion.

Nowadays, outside of Jiangnan, the survival pressure among the common people was more manageable only in North Zhili.

The phenomenon of the One Whip Law being mishandled didn't exist just in other provinces; it was present in Jiangnan too. But with Xu Qing and the old Emperor watching over, others dared not be too blatant.

These issues, it's not to say they could topple the Great Yu Dynasty.

Because now, thanks to the many taxes collected through the One Whip Law, the combat power of the Great Yu Dynasty's Official Army was much stronger than before.

The key to the combat power boost seen in the Refugee Army at the end of past dynasties often related to the inclusion of dispersed Official Armies.

The rise of refugees posed a severe threat by damaging an already problematic tax base, causing many essential functions of the Country to face issues or even halt.

Like a person falling ill, with Qi-Blood blockages, leading to other more dreadful problems…

One could say, from the implementation of the One Whip Law onwards, land annexation intensifying was inevitable. But because taxes could be collected, national strength would instead see a temporary rise.

Furthermore, if the suppression of refugees was handled properly, it could even be used to reduce the population, alleviating the tension between population and land.

If not for Xu Qing, the Court would certainly wield the butcher's knife against these dispossessed refugees, harshly suppressing them.

In plain terms, in the Court's ministers' eyes, the disaster victims were not people but weeds, providing no benefits and potentially harming normal crops instead.

On the other hand, Xu Qing also received a letter from the old Grand Secretary.

Inside was also the old Grand Secretary's self-report on the errors and flaws of the One Whip Law.

Although the refugee situation was severe, it was not yet to the point of national unrest, and the current refugees had no power to resist the Official Army at all.

But the memorials from various places flew to the Yingtian Prefecture's temporary Cabinet like snowflakes.

As if there was an unspoken agreement among the officials to blame the One Whip Law as the chief culprit, though the facts were indeed so.

The old Emperor could no longer remain calm and composed in the face of this information.

…

…

Yingtian Prefecture's Palace—Yannian Palace.

The main hall was solemn and silent, the ministers quaking with fear.

The old Emperor's expression was sullen, as if saying, I entrusted the world to you to govern, and this is how you govern it.

Huo Jing also looked serious.

Now, Liang the Elder was a Cabinet Advisor, without administrative power, so he was quite at ease at heart, but still wore a solemn expression.

"Say, what should be done?" The old Emperor swept his gaze over the ministers.

The others were as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to speak.

At this moment, Xu Qing smiled slightly, stepping forward to say: "Your Majesty, now is indeed a flourishing age, the population being the most substantial across the generations, the rise of refugees is not entirely due to the One Whip Law, but rather because the population in this prosperous age is too large for the land to bear."

As soon as he said this, the old Emperor's expression softened.

The rest of the ministers had to admit, Xu Liushou's level was indeed high.

Of course, it wasn't that Xu Qing was all talk, he continued by quoting classics, comparing the current population gap to previous dynasties and the grain yield…

Anyway, in all aspects of comparison, the land and population of this dynasty had reached the highest in history.

One could say it's the most since the Three Dynasties.

The first dynasty since the Three Dynasties, definitely none other than this dynasty.

After listening, the old Emperor couldn't help but smile: "No need for flattery, Xu Qing, tell me how exactly to handle this matter?"

Xu Qing replied: "Your Majesty, although the nationwide land clean-up is not entirely completed, almost all of the fertile lands of the world have been cleaned up. I believe, Your Majesty is a sage emperor of all ages, and it is a prosperous era. It would be better to announce under your name to the world that in this prosperous era, the land will never increase taxes; the people in this prosperous era will never increase labor."

Once he said this, the audience was in an uproar.

Although knowing Xu Gongming often did things unpredictably, this idea was simply too outrageous.

What will the Court do without imposing duties or labor if trouble comes?

Could it be that Xu Gongming can conjure money, grain, and people out of thin air?

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