After making a full inspection of the county town, Li Dao Xuan finally shifted his view toward the county yamen.
By now it was already dusk, yet Liang Shixian had not clocked out. He was still seated inside the office, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of documents. His Shaoxing advisor was equally busy, organizing various materials into neat bundles before handing them over one by one.
Li Dao Xuan glanced over with curiosity, and what he saw made him raise an eyebrow.
In Liang Shixian's hands was a ledger of debts.
It recorded entries line by line. On such and such a year, such and such a month, such and such a day, he borrowed a certain amount of grain from the Li family of Gao Village Family. On another day, he borrowed more grain again.
The book was thick.
Every single page recorded the same thing.
Liang Shixian held the ledger, his expression full of complicated emotion as he sighed.
"I once thought I owed an immeasurable debt to some hidden aristocratic family. Now I realize it was actually relief grain bestowed upon the world by an immortal. Sigh. This ledger has become nothing more than a joke."
The Shaoxing advisor said, "An immortal would not care about such trivial amounts. Surely they will not ask us to repay it. After all, none of this grain was used for personal gain. It was all distributed to the common people."
Liang Shixian nodded. Now that he thought about it clearly, the ease with which the Li family had lent him grain back then, allowing him to cook porridge and save lives, had always been an act of divine compassion.
Then suddenly, something clicked in his mind.
Wait.
There had been a detail back then.
Yes. Shan Shier had said something very specific.
He lowered his voice. "Advisor, I feel something is not quite right."
The advisor looked puzzled. "Please explain, sir."
Liang Shixian spoke slowly. "Dao Xuan Tianzun has already sent rain to relieve the drought in Gao Village Family, Zheng Family Village, Zhen Family Village, Wang Family Village, and many other places. These villages can now produce grain again. Yet none of them have come to pay taxes."
The advisor froze, the brush in his hand stopping mid-stroke.
Liang Shixian continued, "And now nearly ten thousand refugees in the county town are working under Dao Xuan Tianzun's organization, building roads. Their wages are generous, yet they are not paying taxes either. I was so focused on the fact that they could survive that I completely overlooked this issue. But thinking about it again now, if they continue not paying taxes, that becomes a serious problem. If the court decides to investigate, how am I supposed to answer for it?"
Hearing this, Li Dao Xuan could not help but grin.
"Hahaha, right. I forgot about that too. At least you, the official, still remember."
Indeed, this was something easy for everyone else to forget, but not for a county magistrate.
After all, taxation was one of the most important measures of a magistrate's performance. Do it well, and promotion comes quickly. Do it poorly, and well, the consequences speak for themselves.
The Shaoxing advisor hesitated for a few seconds before speaking with an awkward expression.
"As for the matter of taxes… I would suggest we continue to delay."
Liang Shixian frowned. "I delayed it last year. Should I delay it again this year?"
The advisor lowered his voice. "However you delayed it last year, you should do the same again this year. Under no circumstances should you collect taxes right now. If you do, it would be going against the will of Heaven. To put it bluntly, all the grain and money currently in the hands of the common people has been given by Dao Xuan Tianzun. Very little of it comes from their own production. If you collect taxes now, you are not collecting from the people, you are collecting from Dao Xuan Tianzun himself. And if he becomes displeased and slaps down a giant hand from the sky, how will you resist? Besides, you are the magistrate of Cheng County. You cannot even leave this place. There is nowhere for you to run."
Liang Shixian paused, then let out an awkward sound. "That… does seem to be the case."
But then he frowned again.
"However, collecting taxes is my duty. I have already delayed for one year and done my utmost. Since Dao Xuan Tianzun possesses boundless power and cares for the people, perhaps he could simply conjure some grain and cover the taxes on their behalf. That way the court would stop keeping an eye on this remote and impoverished county and constantly worrying about squeezing these poor people."
As he spoke, he suddenly felt something was off again, as if a certain detail buried deep in his memory had been overlooked.
No, he had to think carefully.
A scholar of great learning, Liang Shixian immediately began searching through his memory. Scenes he had witnessed, words he had exchanged, every phrase and nuance replayed in his mind like a revolving lantern.
Then suddenly, it clicked.
His thoughts froze on a single sentence once spoken by Shan Shier.
"After you hand it over, whose hands does it fall into? Are you certain the tax silver will all reach the national treasury? And even if it does, will it truly be used for the people?"
It was obvious.
Dao Xuan Tianzun had no intention of paying taxes to the imperial court.
Liang Shixian let out a long sigh. "This tax… it seems better not to collect it after all."
Hearing him struggle with this issue, Li Dao Xuan began to seriously consider a question himself.
Should taxes be collected or not?
Yes.
They must be.
The current operation of Gao Village Family was actually abnormal. It functioned entirely because he continuously supplied resources. Everything in the village treasury came from him, which meant it was not a sustainable or natural system.
Without his cheat-like intervention, any proper system required taxation. Taxes filled the treasury, and the treasury funded the construction and development of the state.
Without a treasury, who would pay for building roads? Would they rely on public donations? If things were done that way, the entire world would end up shabby and broken.
So taxes had to be collected.
However, the method of taxation needed to change.
It should not be the poor who bore the burden, but rather those with middle or higher income. That, however, was a complicated matter, full of intricate considerations.
Li Dao Xuan did not believe he could come up with the perfect solution on the spot. This would require time and careful study. He needed to determine how to collect taxes, how much to collect, and from whom, and turn it into a detailed plan.
Of course, once collected, these taxes could not be handed over to the imperial court. They had to remain in the county treasury and be used to improve the lives of the people of Cheng County.
That was another entire subject in itself.
Better to think everything through clearly before taking action. Acting rashly would only create problems.
Until that plan was ready, he decided to let the people of Cheng County enjoy themselves a little longer.
He shifted his view toward the publishing house.
There, Gao Yiye was seated in the study, working together with four girls who had been redeemed from a brothel. They were illustrating the third volume of Dao Xuan Tianzun's Demon Subjugation Chronicles.
This volume had already reached the storyline of the county town.
With the help of the four girls, the level of detail in the illustrations had improved significantly. They had even drawn scenes of thousands of troops attacking the city, followed by Dao Xuan Tianzun striking down with a single palm, forcing the rebels to kneel in surrender.
Li Dao Xuan laughed.
"This girl really keeps up with current events."
He spoke.
"Yiye. Starting tomorrow, you are going to be very busy. Tell the story to the four girls and let them handle the drawing. You will assist me with some matters instead, coordinating work with the county magistrate. We are about to start transforming the county town."
Gao Yiye's eyes lit up instantly.
"Understood!"