#65: Rescued the Position to Meet Misfortune, Eldest Young Lady (Patreon)

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Several days later.

Just talking about the Changning Guard region, a lot of chaotic situations had already emerged.

Wang Shoujie would receive letters from Wang Shouyi every one or two days, telling him about the happenings in Changning Guard. The City Guards Mansion had reached an agreement with two top-tier Spirit Realm Clans, including the Xu Clan of Changning, and Qian's Trading Company, to start distributing relief supplies within the city.

However, with a population of over 100,000, the city's daily food consumption was astronomical.

Some daring merchants had even colluded to hoard food, selling it to the city's residents at five or six times the original price. As a result, they were caught by the City Guards Mansion and not only executed but also had their hoarded food confiscated.

There were also rumors that the disaster had spread to Longzu County, making it difficult to transport food from outside to alleviate the shortage. This had led to a food crisis in the large county city, which was a major concern.

It was said that Longzuo State's county city had a population of over a million, and the food crisis was a huge issue. This showed the extent of the chaos in Longzu County.

Rumors were circulating that Purple Palace Academy was unable to procure food, and that the county government had ordered the collection of grain from its subordinates to ensure the county's food supply.

The most outrageous rumor was that Emperor Changlong's lifespan was nearing its end, and that the Da Qian Empire was doomed, with the insect plague being a sign. This made Wang Shoujie break out in a cold sweat, as it was indeed a chaotic time when all sorts of rumors would spread.

However, those who dared to say that Emperor Changlong was about to die were quickly caught by the City Guards Mansion and executed at the city gate.

Wang Shouyi's letters only hinted at these rumors, and he had to rely on his retainer to secretly tell him about them.

In short, one word: chaos!

The Ping'an Wang Clan was also caught up in this chaos, and could only pretend to be obedient on the surface. They had to collect taxes and grain taxes, without missing a single payment to the town hall. In reality, even if the Wang Clan wanted to reduce their grain tax by a single payment, it was impossible.

Not even Third Uncle Wang Dingzu, who was the deputy commander of the town hall, dared to show any favoritism at this critical moment. This was because the City Guards Mansion had already sent people to supervise the grain tax collection process, and anyone who dared to show favoritism would be punished.

This summer's grain tax was not small.

The grain was loaded onto horse-drawn carriages, one by one, and transported to the Dingpu Ferry Terminal, where it was supervised by the City Guards Mansion's messengers. The town hall's staff then weighed and loaded the grain onto ships.

The three large farms, combined, had a total of 7,650 acres of fertile farmland, with each acre subject to the Four-Tax System. The total grain tax for the season was 3,060 dan (approximately 165,000 kg) of wheat. Fortunately, the harvest was good this time, despite the problem of aphids infestations. The early rainfall and later sunny weather had created a favorable environment for wheat growth.

As a result, the total wheat yield from the three farms reached over 26,000 dan (approximately 1.3 million kg), with an average yield of around 3.5 dan (approximately 175 kg) per acre, which was considered a good harvest.

After deducting the summer grain tax, the previous investment in insecticide powder, seed and ox expenses, and tenant farmer shares, there was still a surplus of around 14,000 to 15,000 dan (approximately 700,000 to 750,000 kg) of pure profit. Of course, the actual amount of grain was even more.

Because the previous insecticide powder expenses were paid in gold, and there was no need to buy more, this was just the income from one season.

By the way, Fourth Elder had previously been deceived into buying a batch of insecticide powder, which he had sold at three times the price, making a huge profit.

This made Fourth Elder Wang Xiaozhi extremely proud, and he would boast to anyone about his exceptional foresight, which had earned the family a large sum of money and great merit.

Apart from the summer grain tax from their own farms, the taxes from other industries within the farm were paid earlier in the year. Moreover, since these were not food crops, they did not need to be paid in grain.

Additionally, the Wang Clan was responsible for collecting taxes from the territories under their control.

Because the Wang Clan's territory was small, the fertile farmland within their jurisdiction was only around 16,000 acres, which was subject to the Five-Tax System. Although the Wang Clan was considerate of the self-farming peasants within their territory, who had suffered less losses compared to outsiders, they still suffered significant losses.

Therefore, it was decided to collect only four taxes in grain, which belonged to the aristocratic family's tax, and use large copper coins to offset the payment. This time, the Wang Clan had collected 6,400 dan (approximately 330,000 kg) of grain, which was all loaded onto horse-drawn carriages and transported to the Dingpu Ferry Terminal, then shipped away one by one.

Wang Shoujie stood at the bustling and hot Dingpu Ferry Terminal, surrounded by his retainer, and couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. In this era, the Martial Clan and free citizens worked hard to farm, but their income was far from comparable to the taxes collected.

These grains are estimated to be like rumors, with some being transported to the capital city and some going to "rescue" higher-level officials in the provinces. It's worth noting that the living conditions of those people are far better than those in Ping'an Town. It's ironic to say the least.

Moreover, with shipment after shipment of grains being transported away, it will be like adding insult to injury for Ping'an Town, which is already lacking in food. Especially for many self-farming peasants who have invested heavily in buying farmland, or have spent a fortune sending their children to school, or have just experienced a costly wedding or funeral, this crisis will be particularly difficult to overcome.

Self-farming peasants theoretically have better living conditions, but their consumption standards are also much higher than those of tenant farmers. The costs of oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, clothing, food, housing, and transportation, as well as weddings and funerals, are also higher.

Moreover, most self-farming peasants who have some savings will try to expand their farmland, build houses, and educate their children, which consumes a lot of money, and most of them don't have much savings.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but who would have thought that this insect plague would come so fiercely and suddenly?

However, even so, except for a few self-farming peasants, most of them will try to hold on until the next harvest season. But in the meantime, there are those who will take advantage of the situation.

Whenever there's a natural disaster or man-made calamity, there will always be some greedy officials who will take the opportunity to merge and acquire more power.

Wang Shoujie looked far away, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed at the continuous stream of carriages coming to pay taxes to the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan. Previously, he had only speculated about their actions based on the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan's style and some rumors.

However, as the intelligence work unfolded, some confirmed information gradually reached Wang Shoujie's ears. He almost could confirm that the other side would make a big move.

...

Ping'an Liu Clan.

In the main hall of the Liu Clan's mansion, the head of the Liu Clan, Liu Shengye, was listening to several clan members reporting on the events, including the young and talented Liu Yongzhou.

His eyebrows furrowed: "How did Changning's Sun Clan do it? They promised to lend us 15,000 tons of wheat, and we would return 30,000 tons of rice after the autumn harvest. Why didn't they keep their promise? Are they not satisfied with just doubling their profits?"

One of the clan members, over 50 years old, replied, "They said they had to buy insecticide powder to barely maintain some production." "They said Sun Clan's losses were too great."

"How much do they need?" Liu Shengye's face turned gloomy, and this time the Liu Clan's losses were too great. If they couldn't make up for it, it would be a huge blow to their morale.

The clan member's face also looked difficult: "Sun Clan said they didn't want us to double the grain repayment, and they said that manipulating grain prices was illegal. It's better to exchange goods, and they want to exchange 1,500 acres of fertile farmland with us."

1,500 acres of fertile farmland?

Liu Shengye's face turned pale, and he almost fainted: "Are they crazy? Exchanging 15,000 tons of grain for 1,500 acres of land?" The Liu Clan had accumulated fertile farmland from their ancestors to the present day, but it was only around 10,000 acres.

This was equivalent to one-seventh of their land, which was an outrageous and brutal demand.

"Master, shall we just forget about it?" the clan member said helplessly, "According to our original plan, we could have merged with around 2,000 acres of fertile farmland. But with Sun Clan's move, aren't we just asking for trouble and giving them a free ride?"

"We can't forget about it, this time our Liu Clan's losses are too great." Liu Shengye's eyes revealed a fierce determination, "Then let's just go all out and aim for 3,000 acres. Even if we have to mortgage or exchange with others, we'll still make a huge profit."

His eldest brother, Liu Shenghao, was at a critical moment in his spiritual cultivation. Once he broke through to the Spirit Realm, he would be a dual-spirit cultivator, and he could rival Sun Clan.

Liu Shengye was a man who excelled in economic manipulation and was meticulous about every penny. He would never suffer a loss. Moreover, the family had been working hard to accumulate wealth over the past 50 years, and their goal was to cultivate another spiritual ancestor.

"Master, such a big move might provoke public anger, right?" the clan member asked worriedly, "Moreover, Wang Clan has a Spirit Insect Master, and they didn't suffer any disasters. They must have a lot of leftover grain. Will they take advantage of the situation..."

"They dare not!" Liu Shengye said confidently, "We, the Liu Clan, are working with the Zhao Clan. How dare the weak Wang Clan move a finger? Moreover, I've heard that Wang Clan has already transported their excess grain to Donggang, exchanging it for a large amount of cultivation resources. It's a wise move, and the leftover grain will be in high demand by next season."

"How can you be so sure, Master?" the clan member asked curiously, "According to this trend, not every family can use the double dose of insecticide powder."

"Our master has already received the news that the Purple Palace Academy has started to improve the next generation of insecticide powder. And as an apology, they will distribute the next season's insecticide powder at a 10% discount to the affected families."

This news was relatively secret, but in this meeting hall, everyone was a core member of the Liu Clan, so they didn't fear leakage.

"Then let's not miss this opportunity." The clan members expressed their agreement, "It's just that Sun Clan is too black-hearted."

Liu Yongzhou, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "Master, uncles, there's a way in Yongzhou that doesn't require cooperating with Sun Clan. Speaking of which, my fishing boat rescued a young lady from a wealthy family who was stranded on the riverbank..."

As soon as Liu Yongzhou mentioned the young lady, his eyes revealed an uncontrollable, passionate, and even fanatical gaze...

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]

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