Immortal Travel of Longevity

Yu Hongjin frowned at the guards' greedy stares, but she still handed over the silver taels.

The moment the silver was brought out, the guards swarmed them.

Some even swallowed hard.

Yunxiang asked coldly, "Can we pass now?"

The guards snapped back to their senses. "Yes! Of course you can!"

"Let them pass, let them pass!"

In the blink of an eye, the men blocking their path scattered.

"Let's go, Mister," Yunxiang said.

Chen Changsheng gave a slight nod. He returned to the horse carriage and urged the horse forward.

It looked back, only to hear a noisy commotion breaking out behind them.

"So generous!"

"Heh heh, split the money, split the money!"

"How do we split it?"

"Give it to me, give it to me..."

The group of men crowded around the tray of silver taels, loudly arguing as each insisted on their own logic for dividing the spoils.

Watching this scene, Lihua was a bit confused.

"Are silver taels really that great?"

It turned back to look at Chen Changsheng and asked, "Chen the Good Man, humans really love silver, don't they?"

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng said, "Perhaps they do."

However, that silver might not be so easy to hold onto.

This matter was far from over.

Come to think of it, he had never actually seen Miss Yun lose her temper; he imagined the consequences would be exceptionally severe.

Only the final mountain remained before them.

Chen Changsheng let out a breath of relief. The horse beneath him seemed pleased about this as well; the endless mountain paths had truly worn it out.

Thankfully, no one was blocking the road on this final mountain.

The rest of the journey went unimpeded, and the road ahead gradually grew wide and flat.

After crossing the last mountain, they officially entered the territory of Tonghua Prefecture.

At a glance, they were still surrounded by rolling mountains, but signs of human habitation finally appeared. Cooking smoke rose from the dense clusters of houses at the foot of the hills, and as they traveled further, pedestrians gradually began to appear along the roadside.

This was a familiar road.

In his earlier years, he had taken this exact route traveling from Qiuyue Fang to Qingshan City.

Chen Changsheng remembered it quite clearly.

It still possessed a peaceful aura, yet things were vastly different now.

By the roadside, an old man shouldering a sack of grain saw the horse carriage and asked in confusion, "Outsiders?"

Chen Changsheng brought the carriage to a halt. "Could we ask you for directions, old sir?"

The old man asked, "Where are you heading?"

"To the Yan King's Capital."

The old man promptly pointed the way for him.

Chen Changsheng offered his thanks, then asked, "What are you doing with that sack of grain on your back, old sir?"

The old man glanced at the grain he carried. "Oh, this? I'm taking it to the Local Government."

"Taking it to the Local Government?" Chen Changsheng thought for a moment. "Is it the grain tax?"

"That it is."

The old man nodded. "Better to hand it over early and have peace of mind."

"How are the taxes in Yan Land?" Chen Changsheng asked.

The old man just shook his head. His grim expression told the whole story.

"What percentage is the tax?" Chen Changsheng asked.

"The official rate is set at twenty percent," the old man replied.

"Twenty percent..." Chen Changsheng paused. "That's not too high."

Given the historical circumstances, it was actually considered quite low.

The old man looked up. "That's how it's set, but by the time they actually collect it, it's far more than that."

"What is it in reality?" Chen Changsheng asked.

The old man held up a hand, five fingers splayed wide, and let out a helpless sigh.

"That much...?"

Even Chen Changsheng was somewhat surprised.

A fifty percent tax. Out of ten jin of grain, five jin had to be handed over.

"You are outsiders, so you naturally wouldn't know," the old man explained. "When they weigh the ten jin of grain, they weigh it with the husks on. But when they collect the tax, they demand husked grain. Ten jin of unhusked grain only yields about eight jin after husking, yet the tax still takes five jin. In the end, we're left with only three jin of grain."

The old man waved a hand dismissively. "Why am I even complaining to you? The capital is just down the road and to the left."

With that, the old man sighed.

Shouldering those many jin of grain, he continued on his way.

His figure was stooped, unable to straighten his back.

The grain on his back was heavy, grown day by day with his own hands, yet ultimately, the vast majority of it did not belong to him.

Lihua didn't understand taxes, but looking at the old man's retreating back, it still sighed, "How pitiful..."

Chen Changsheng stroked its head in silence.

Yan Land had few profitable enterprises, and combined with the Prince of Yan's inherent mediocrity and lack of capable subordinates, the burden of funding everything fell squarely on the shoulders of the common people.

The people seemed to have changed.

Smiles were no longer seen on anyone's faces.

The horse carriage continued forward.

A long while later, a newly constructed city gate tower appeared in their vision.

The number of people on the road increased as well.

Most of them were carrying grain.

Today was the day to submit taxes to the Local Government. Tomorrow, they would go door to door to collect; no one could avoid it or refuse to pay.

Many years ago, the people of the Southern Domain Land had always beamed with smiles, but in the blink of an eye, that had been replaced by indescribable suffering and agony.

"Shall we rest in the city tonight?" Chen Changsheng asked.

"Whatever Mister decides," Yunxiang replied.

This city was named Xingping—representing prosperity and peace.

It was a name personally bestowed by the Prince of Yan.

After entering the city, they eventually settled on an inn.

The city could not be considered bustling. Because it was recently built, not many people actually lived there yet.

They walked up to the gates of the Local Government office in the city.

Large crowds of people were lined up, waiting to have their household grain weighed.

"Zhou Wenguang's household, twenty-four jin in total, twelve jin for tax!"

The husked rice cascaded into the granary. Only when the Local Government official drew a circle was the process finally considered complete.

"Next household!"

The line was incredibly long, mostly made up of women and the elderly.

In Yan Land, the strong and able-bodied men had long since been conscripted, leaving behind mostly women, children, and old folks.

Most of the people standing before them looked famished, as if they hadn't eaten a full meal in ages. Under such crushing taxes, intense frugality had become a way of life. Over time, chronic malnutrition had left them sallow and emaciated, drained of all vitality.

"Wang Chenmao's household..."

"My lord..."

As the grain was placed on the scale, the official frowned. "Why is it short by two jin?"

"My lord, this old man's household barely has enough grain left to feed the family. Could you, could you please..."

"Shoo, shoo."

The official waved him off with extreme impatience. "Even a single liang short is unacceptable. Figure out if you'll make it up tomorrow or what, but you cannot be missing a single grain of rice."

"Next!"

The old man let out a helpless sigh and turned back.

Yet he was entirely at a loss for what to do.

The children at home were already skinny from starvation, yet the grain he had brought still wasn't enough to cover the tax.

Chen Changsheng said, "The taxes in Yan Land are far too oppressive."

Yunxiang said, "The merchant tax is heavy as well, taking a full forty percent. But you also have to bribe officials inside and out. Add all the hidden costs together, and it probably takes another twenty percent on top of that."

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