CHAPTER 177: CHAPTER 177: TAX COLLECTION

177 Tax Collection

With the arrival of the heavy snow, tax collectors also arrived on schedule.

After a few consecutive days of heavy snow, the snow finally stopped on the third day. The Village Chief then started going from house to house, notifying everyone to get ready and pay their taxes at the home of the village chief.

In county towns, dedicated tax officials were responsible for collecting and managing taxes, but in small villages like theirs, the village chief mainly took charge of collecting taxes and then submitting them.

After hearing the Village Chief’s notice, Zhao Zhitong was puzzled, blinking and asking, "Uncle Village Chief, didn’t we just pay taxes? Why do we have to pay again~"

Indeed, they had already paid taxes not long after the autumn harvest this year, and Zhao Zhitong could still clearly remember it.

This was because the events of that day had left a deep impression on her.

On the day of paying taxes at the village chief’s house, Zhao Zhitong happened to be at home, so she accompanied Zhao Dong to transport the grain.

When they arrived, Zhao Zhitong found that many villagers looked miserable after paying their taxes.

Not understanding why, Zhao Zhitong followed and asked them. Later, she found out that the Great Zhou Dynasty’s land rent tax was as high as one-fourth of the yield.

That is to say, for every mu of land, one-fourth of the grain produced had to be handed over.

Productivity was low during this period. The yield of wheat per mu was approximately 360 catties, and this was in years with favorable weather.

If the weather was poor in a particular year, a mu of land might only yield around 200 catties of wheat. The commoners said that after deducting various taxes, the remaining grain was barely enough to sustain their livelihood.

So, paying taxes was what they feared the most.

However, Grandpa Bai had told her at the time that this tax was actually relatively light. He had researched it: in the Han Dynasty, which preceded the Great Zhou Dynasty, people had to pay one-third of their grain. Going even further back, some taxes were as high as two-thirds!

Then, Zhao Zhitong counted on her fingers. According to a one-third tax rate, and given that this year had favorable weather and a good harvest, a yield of 360 catties of wheat per mu was expected.

After paying taxes, over 200 catties of wheat would remain. Indeed, that was still a significant amount of grain. So why did the villagers look so miserable when they paid their taxes?

Zhao Zhitong couldn’t understand it at the time, but now, she finally had an answer.

The Village Chief let out a barely audible sigh. "After the autumn harvest, we paid the land rent tax. Now, we are going to pay the poll tax."

The poll tax, also known as the capitation tax, was levied according to the number of people in a household.

Zhao Zhitong couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. After Zhao Dong sent off the Village Chief, she still hadn’t fully processed it.

Since the previous tax payment, Grandpa Bai had started to learn about this dynasty, and by now, he understood most of it. He then began to give Zhao Zhitong some background information: "Young girl, there are three basic taxes in the Great Zhou Dynasty: the land rent tax, the poll tax, and the exemption tax, which is a tax to avoid compulsory service."

Zhao Zhitong already understood the land rent tax and the poll tax. As for the exemption tax, she didn’t know much about it, so she asked, "Grandpa Bai, what is the exemption tax?"

Grandpa Bai thought for a while and said, "It’s the fee to be exempted from compulsory service. At this time, there are many types of service, such as state labor, primary military service, and annual border garrison duty. State labor means working for the country, such as building roads, digging rivers, and constructing dams. Primary military service requires serving only once in a lifetime, which is to go to the Capital City and serve as a soldier for the imperial court."

"As for annual border garrison duty, it’s the worst. It means guarding the border for three days every year. Due to the inconvenience of ancient transportation, traveling to and from distant border posts could take several months. How could anyone farm under such conditions? Therefore, those assigned to annual border garrison duty who lived far away would almost always choose to pay the tax to be exempt."

Zhao Zhitong’s eyes widened in surprise, and she asked, "Then, does that mean my father and my older brothers will also have to perform various services?"

Grandpa Bai nodded. "In theory, yes. However, your father’s legs are not agile, so he will definitely pay the tax to be exempt when the time comes. Such service is exhausting and extremely burdensome for the people. Consider Emperor Suiyang of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang. He was too hasty in his desire to excavate the Grand Canal, which led to widespread grievances among the populace. Although his intention was to benefit the national economy, he ultimately lost the support of the people."

Zhao Zhitong listened very attentively. She loved it when Grandpa Bai told her little stories about various dynasties; she found them very interesting.

Next, Grandpa Bai told her about various other peculiar taxes in ancient times. For instance, besides the poll tax, there was also the "household tax," levied on families, where each household had to pay 200 coins.

There was also the so-called "tribute fee," meaning money offered to the "Son of Heaven," signifying that the Son of Heaven was always toiling for the sake of the empire and its people. Each person had to pay sixty-three coins per year for this.

She even learned for the first time that the state would pressure women into early marriage. If a woman remained unmarried from the age of fifteen to thirty, the "additional levy" imposed on her would be doubled, and at its highest, it could reach five times the amount for an ordinary person!

Of course, many of these peculiar taxes were not regularly imposed during times of peace and prosperity. They were typically levied only when the state was in dire need of funds.

This was also why, in ancient times, there was abundant land and a sparse population; an adult man could even be allocated twenty mu of permanent land allotment. Yet, when natural and man-made disasters struck, many commoners would still be displaced, and some were even forced to rebel.

While Zhao Zhitong was chatting with Grandpa Bai, Zhao Dong had already calculated the amount of money they needed to pay. He gathered everything and prepared to go to the village chief’s house.

"Dad! I’ll go too, I’ll go too!" Zhao Zhitong shouted, springing up from the bench and trotting after him.

Seeing this, Sun Mei quickly grabbed a small cloak and draped it over her. Only then did Zhao Dong carry Zhao Zhitong as they hurried to the village chief’s house.

Since the village chief was collecting taxes from their Zhao Village, Xiaoyi Village, Sunzhuang Village, Zhang Clan Village, and Liu Mansion, there were quite a few people in line.

Upon arriving, Zhao Dong held Zhao Zhitong’s hand and joined the back of the crowd, and the line began to move slowly forward.

Zhao Zhitong didn’t cause any trouble and obediently waited in line with Zhao Dong.

Just then, a sudden commotion from the front caught Zhao Zhitong’s attention.

She immediately let go of Zhao Dong’s hand, ran over, and squeezed into the crowd.

The people present were mostly villagers from the surrounding areas and largely knew each other. Therefore, Zhao Dong wasn’t worried about Zhao Zhitong playing nearby; he just needed to keep her in sight.

After squeezing into the crowd, Zhao Zhitong saw an old man with a smile that looked more painful than a cry. He was frantically waving his hands and said, "No, I’m not trying to cause trouble. Sir, in previous years, an adult paid one hundred twenty coins a year, children over eight paid twenty-three coins, and seniors over fifty-six were exempt. My old mother is already fifty-six this year. Last year, you said it didn’t count because she had just passed her birthday. But this year she’s fully fifty-six! So why... why is it still the same amount as last year?"

The village chief, who was looking down and working his abacus, glanced up at him and said coldly, "Are you implying I made a mistake in my calculation?"

The old man hurriedly waved his hands. "No, that’s not what I meant. I... I was just afraid, Sir, that you might have misread her age. I paid 505 coins last year. This year, shouldn’t it be less... less than last year?"