"When the fierce officials come to my village, they shout east and west, rush north and south; scaring everyone, so that even the chickens and dogs are not at peace." Liu Zongyuan's "The Snake Catcher" describes the scene of tax collectors vividly.

In the past, tax collection in Zhuangzhai was done by tax collectors. Although it was harassing, at least there were more common people than tax collectors. This time, the number of tax collectors sent by the Henan Governor was huge, far exceeding the number of villagers. Five hundred people went door-to-door to collect taxes in an instant.

Naturally, Hu Hansan would not go to those small households to collect taxes. He took a dozen people and went straight to the home of Liu Cunyong, the largest landlord in the village. Of course, Liu Cunyong dared not refuse Hu Hansan entry. He welcomed Hu Hansan in very politely. Hu Hansan didn't talk nonsense. He sat down in the guest seat and said, "Master Liu, I've heard that you are a straightforward person. Let's not talk about irrelevant things. I am ordered by Governor Zhang of Henan to be responsible for the tax collection in Lankao. The tax system has changed, I suppose the village head has already told you."

Liu Cunyong certainly knew that the tax system had changed. He not only got the news from the village head but also through his channels in the county. In the future, taxes would not be collected in silver, but in grain. This was neither good nor bad for Liu Cunyong. If he had to say, it was difficult for small households in the countryside to sell grain. Every harvest time, grain prices would plummet, and gathering the tax money often meant being exploited by grain merchants. Collecting only grain saved the common people from the exploitation of grain merchants, which was actually much better.

Smiling, Liu Cunyong said, "Battalion Commander Hu, I see the tax set by the government is calculated based on a yield of 180 jin of wheat per mu. Taking fifty percent at once, isn't that too much?"

"Tch," Hu Hansan sneered, "The government's rules are rules. In the past, taxes were collected twice a year, plus various exorbitant taxes and levies with numerous items, and they only collected money. They only took grain when there was really no money left. After rounds of this, fifty percent wouldn't even cover it. After changing the rules, we collect only once a year. You are at peace, and we are at peace. Fifty percent is not much at all."

The Qing Dynasty's taxation followed "light taxes", meaning the basic tax was set very low. As for other levies, local gentry and common people had to "understand the country's difficulties". The new taxation method proposed by Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang was to collect enough grain in kind at once and ignore everything else at other times. This concept was quite advanced.

Liu Cunyong was not a three-year-old child. He could understand that this concept was better than before. But what he had heard and seen proved a truth: the government changed its face like flipping a book. They say this today, and they can change to another saying tomorrow. Collecting fifty percent grain tax was already heartbreaking. After collecting the grain tax, who could guarantee the government wouldn't "suddenly remember some tax burdens were not thought of before" or "the government encountered some trouble"? Small households, even if squeezed dry, wouldn't yield much. When such major events happened, it was always the local big households like Liu Cunyong who suffered.

"Battalion Commander Hu, can the grain tax be reduced a bit? Fifty percent is really too much." Regardless of whether it was useful or not, Liu Cunyong had to try saying such things.

Hu Hansan had been trained in the Tax Police School, and one of the training contents was practical dialogue simulation. This kind of dialogue was one of the basic courses in the Tax Police School. How to respond had been practiced many times in the school. He sneered, "Master Liu, I came here to tell you that the government has set this rule. I am not here to discuss with you whether this rule is right or not. Governor Zhang of Henan set this tax based on the land in various places. I eat Governor Zhang's food, so I have to work for Governor Zhang. We can talk a thousand or ten thousand words here, talk for days and nights, but the tax must be collected as it should be. You are also a decent person. If you are sent to the county jail because of not paying taxes, you can't be unaware of how dark it is inside. When you pay the tax later, and still get messed up by the people inside, why bother?"

Seeing Hu Hansan's firm attitude, and having had no dealings with Hu Hansan in the past, Liu Cunyong dared not be presumptuous. He gritted his teeth and said, "I wonder how much tax my family has to pay?"

"Your family has 380 mu of land, you have to pay 34,200 jin of grain." Hu Hansan answered casually.

Liu Cunyong was startled. The actual amount of his family's land was exactly around this number. In previous years when reporting land, he could always report 50 mu less. Unexpectedly, such a trick was actually exposed.

"Battalion Commander Hu, my family only has 330 mu of land. Where did these extra 50 mu come from?" Liu Cunyong quickly explained.

"Sigh!" Hu Hansan sighed according to the skills taught during the tax police training, "Master Liu, in the past, taxes were collected by Zhu Binggui and his men. Everyone knows the tricks played in between very well. Originally, Zhu Binggui should be beheaded according to the law, but Governor Zhang has the virtue of valuing life and spared his life. Do you think Zhu Binggui would dare not tell the truth? If you insist that your family doesn't have so much land, that's fine too. You and Zhu Binggui go to the county yamen to fight this lawsuit together. If you can win the lawsuit, we won't want the tax for these fifty mu of land. What do you think?"

These words frightened Liu Cunyong. It had always been that the yamen gate opens to the south, with right but no money, don't come in. Not to mention that Zhu Binggui was now a member of the Tax Police and a subordinate of the government. Even if Zhu Binggui was an ordinary person, once Liu Cunyong entered the government office, the money he would have to pay would be far more than the money for the 4,500 jin of wheat from these 50 mu of land. Currently, 100 jin of wheat was 5 silver dollars, and 4,500 jin of wheat was only 225 silver dollars. For a big household like him to enter the government office once, the money for bribes up and down would not be less than 225 silver dollars. Not to mention that he couldn't possibly win this lawsuit.

Although he had accepted his fate in his heart, Liu Cunyong felt very stifled. He couldn't help but say, "Battalion Commander Hu, the town next to our village is managed by the People's Party. They also collect taxes like this, but they only collect thirty percent. Can we pay less, forty percent, forty-five percent is also fine."

"Haha." Hu Hansan laughed loudly, "If someone else said this, I would think they were stuffed from overeating. Master Liu, your words are too ridiculous. You can't be unaware that the People's Party wants to divide land. If you think our tax is high, you can go and join the People's Party. Can you keep your family's land then?" Speaking of this, Hu Hansan suddenly turned his face cold and said viciously, "Master Liu, this is the first time collecting tax like this, I will pretend I didn't hear it. If you say it to me again, I will send you directly to the government office."

Seeing Hu Hansan being so impervious, Liu Cunyong had no choice. Seeing that Liu Cunyong was ready to accept reality, Hu Hansan changed back to a smiling face, "Master Liu, don't think we don't know anything. Your Zhuangzhai planted a crop of People's Party wheat this year. The yield per mu can easily exceed 200 jin. Your family's good land can probably yield 300 jin of grain. Asking you for 90 jin of grain per mu is actually lower than a thirty percent tax. With things like this, you still insist on being dishonest, making me not know what to say about you."

These words destroyed Liu Cunyong's last psychological defense line. If they really only collected tax once, ninety jin of wheat per mu, in the background of this year's bumper harvest, Liu Cunyong could completely accept it. He was just afraid that the government's words wouldn't count. Even the last bit of news was known, Liu Cunyong sighed, willing to face reality and accept reality. However, Liu Cunyong was not prepared to submit completely. The current problem was one thing, but now assemblies had been established everywhere, and assemblymen had been elected. It wasn't that Liu Cunyong didn't know any assemblymen. He made up his mind that after being taxed, it couldn't be for nothing. Since Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang publicly stated that tax would only be collected once, then the assemblymen of the assembly had to make these words a reality.

The harvest for the people of Zhuangzhai was good this year. Even if fifty percent tax was taken away, the remaining grain was enough to eat. Plus, there were many Tax Police troops. For those willing to hand over grain obediently, the Tax Police did not harass them excessively. For those unwilling to hand over grain, they were tied up and prepared to be taken away without a second word. Under such circumstances, no common people dared to resist the Tax Police anymore. The grain was collected within a day. However, there was no longer a celebratory atmosphere in Zhuangzhai, and every household had a worried look on their face.

Two months after the completion of tax collection in Zhuangzhai, which was the end of October 1912, Yuan Shikai's commendation order for Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang arrived in Henan. Although the Tax Police troops were still collecting taxes desperately outside, under the auspices of Duan Zhigui, the commander of the Beiyang Second Division, the officials of the Henan Governor's Office and the Civil Affairs Bureau were unwilling to lag behind. Although Zhang Zhenfang had no interest in this "celebration banquet", he really couldn't refuse the face of these subordinates. A quite grand banquet was held in Kaifeng, the provincial capital of Henan.

Zhang Zhenfang had repeatedly requested that the banquet be simple, but with so many high-ranking civil and military officials joining, no one dared to really make it simple. Everyone was afraid that Zhang Zhenfang would be angry, so they reached an opinion in private. The banquet would be held in the Beiyang military camp, not booking a restaurant, and keeping it as quiet as possible. When everyone attended the banquet, they all walked from a certain distance from the military camp, and carriages and sedans were parked in inconspicuous places. Apart from this, the best cooks were specially hired from Huaiyin, and the various dishes were absolutely luxurious and exquisite.

Other officials had entered the military camp early. When Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang's carriage approached the Beiyang camp gate, the Beiyang Army guard of honor had already lined up. The military music of "The Beiyang Army is Advancing" played, and civil and military officials headed by Second Division Commander Duan Zhigui lined up to welcome him outside the gate. After Zhang Zhenfang got off the carriage, everyone applauded enthusiastically.

The mood of this applause was quite consistent. This time Yuan Shikai publicly praised Zhang Zhenfang's tax collection achievements. "Tax collection is effective, putting an end to the exploitation by cruel officials." In short, he praised Zhang Zhenfang like a flower. Yuan Shikai not only praised Zhang Zhenfang endlessly but also distributed the commendation official document to the governors of various Beiyang provinces. This was clearly to set an example for the governors of various provinces. Zhang Zhenfang was originally Yuan Shikai's confidant, and after such an event, it would be strange if the officials didn't hurry to take the opportunity to flatter him.

Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang had both joy and worry about the current situation. Facing the welcoming officials, he also responded with gentle words. After all, even if these subordinates didn't contribute much to the tax collection, at least they didn't cause trouble for Zhang Zhenfang. This point alone was quite remarkable.

Zhang Zhenfang was escorted into the banquet hall like the moon surrounded by stars. There were twenty or thirty tables of banquets set up. There were more than a hundred people attending, sitting eight to a table. As the host of the banquet, Duan Zhigui naturally stood up and gave a toast. It was nothing more than polite remarks like Zhang Zhenfang governed Henan effectively and tax collection was successful, and he would definitely enter the cabinet and be promoted in the future.

Listening to these words, Zhang Zhenfang's face was calm, and no happiness could be seen. Because the result of this tax collection was really beyond Zhang Zhenfang's expectations. Southeast Henan is located in the Huang-Huai Plain, where tax collection is much easier in the plain areas. Because the local governments faced such an organization as the Tax Police force for the first time, they were not quite sure how to deal with it. So the originally imagined terrible situation did not happen.

Especially in the areas bordering the People's Party, because many villages, and even big landlords not bordering the People's Party, adopted the People's Party's "one-crop wheat", the harvest was generally good. One very conspicuous one was the Shang family, a big landlord in Shangqiu. The Shang family also had thousands of hectares of fertile land, and almost every generation had someone serving as an official. And currently, the most famous "official" of the Shang family was Shang Yuan, the Secretary of the Huaihai Provincial Committee of the People's Party. The matter of the People's Party's base area land reform and land distribution, through various propaganda, was known to most people in various parts of Henan. So the big landlords clearly opposed the People's Party. The Shang family, originally as a wealthy and powerful family, was never active in paying taxes. This time they actually cooperated with the work of the Tax Police unprecedentedly. The Shang family's 60,000 mu of land handed over 5.4 million jin of grain in one go. Calculated at 5 yuan per shi (dan) of wheat, this was 270,000 silver dollars. By the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the first batch of grain collected from various places was calculated to exceed 1 billion jin. The market price was already 50 million silver dollars.

The Tax Police School not only trained Tax Police but, under Zhou Zhentao's arrangement, also had a special calculation department. This department was responsible for land statistics. Henan has vast arable land, and just the confirmed summer grain arable land is about 30 million mu. Although it is temporarily difficult to collect taxes on much of the land. After this round of tax collection, Zhang Zhenfang's confidence increased greatly. According to the current tax collection method, tax collection can be popularized. Converted into wheat, 2.7 billion jin can be collected a year, with a market price of over 100 million silver dollars. The once tax problem was solved immediately.

As Yuan Shikai's confidant, Zhang Zhenfang's application to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Agriculture to export grain was approved. Japan has been short of grain in recent years. According to Zhou Zhentao, in order to export a large amount of raw silk, most of the land in Japan was planted with mulberry trees. As a result, they encountered a problem that had occurred many times in Chinese history, "destroying fields to plant mulberries". As a result, grain production plummeted, and the Japanese government had to import grain to make up for the domestic grain gap. After the grain price was suppressed, the Japanese government and the Beiyang government determined an agreement to import 500,000 tons, or 1 billion jin, of grain directly from China. Other provinces simply did not have enough grain to sell. Zhang Zhenfang happened to seize this opportunity. Henan has the Peking-Hankou Railway, which is convenient for transportation, and there is also a railway from Beijing to Tianjin Port. This batch of grain could be transported directly to the port for loading. Yuan Shikai naturally wanted to praise Zhang Zhenfang greatly.

Duan Zhigui's toast finally ended, and the banquet officially began. Zhang Zhenfang sat in the main seat, with Duan Zhigui accompanying him. After saying a few polite words to Zhang Zhenfang, Duan Zhigui smiled and said, "Governor Zhang, the pay and provisions for my Beiyang Second Division depend entirely on Governor Zhang. It is already autumn, and the end of the year is coming soon, but I don't know when the pay and provisions will be in place?"

Zhang Zhenfang just smiled and said nothing. At the mention of pay and provisions, Zhang Zhenfang felt annoyed in his heart. But at this moment, Wang Jie, the Speaker of the Henan Provincial Assembly who was sitting with the assemblymen representatives, came over with a wine glass to offer a toast. Wang Jie once joined the Tongmenghui. In the situation where the Tongmenghui was close to dissolution, he simply set up his own banner in Henan. He roped in local gentry. During the Henan assembly election, he failed to be elected as the speaker originally. As a result, Yang Yuanmao, the Henan Assembly Speaker "appointed" by Yuan Shikai, died of illness in June. This was exactly the critical point when the Henan Tax Police were about to go down to collect grain. Wang Jie vigorously lobbied local gentry, using the protection of gentry interests as a gimmick, and was finally elected as the speaker.

Because of effective tax collection, Zhang Zhenfang received Yuan Shikai's appreciation, and Zhang Zhenfang was naturally happy. It's just that everything has its pros and cons. This tax reform also brought many "side effects". The first was internal conflict. The assemblymen in the Huang-Huai Plain area seemed to have discussed it. Whether they were originally from the Tongmenghui or the "Unification Party" supporting Yuan Shikai, they all demanded that Zhang Zhenfang's Governor's Office could not go back on its word and only collect this one tax.

These fly-like assemblymen connected one after another in the assembly. County assemblymen, provincial assemblymen, and even most members of the National Assembly joined in. Someone even dared to demand that Zhang Zhenfang publicly guarantee in the Henan Provincial Assembly that he would not go back on his word. This really pissed Zhang Zhenfang off.

In all fairness, Zhang Zhenfang did not intend to deliberately break the promise of "only collecting tax once". But what the officialdom fears most is promises. For example, although the grain export issue was resolved this time, in his telegram to Yuan Shikai, he requested Yuan Shikai to return the money from selling grain to Henan in time after deducting the tax that should be turned over to the state that year. Just as Zhang Zhenfang worried, Yuan Shikai praised Zhang Zhenfang for his meritorious tax collection but was vague about Zhang Zhenfang's request, only urging Zhang Zhenfang to transport the grain to Beijing quickly.

Things in officialdom are like this. One has to be careful at all times, towards subordinates and even more so towards superiors. A superior official can crush a subordinate to death, let alone facing Yuan Shikai. If Yuan Shikai had money in his hand, he wouldn't threaten the governors of various Beiyang provinces to pay enough quota taxes to the central government. If all the grain was transported to Yuan Shikai, it would be impossible for Yuan Shikai to send the money to Henan immediately. Even if Yuan Shikai sincerely wanted to do so, when the Japanese would give Yuan Shikai the money was also a big problem. Not to mention that Yuan Shikai couldn't possibly do this.

Now a situation appeared where Zhang Zhenfang had grain in hand but not much money. Zheng County became the new trade center of Henan because of the railway, but this trade center had been established for a short time after all. No matter how hard the tax was collected, not much profit could be scraped out. The People's Party, which was close to Henan, did not lack grain. Relying on the local grain trade in Henan, so much grain could not be digested in a short while. Instead, because grain merchants knew that the government had so much grain in hand, grain prices fell instead of rising.

Yuan Shikai sent telegrams one after another, urging Zhang Zhenfang to transport grain quickly to trade with Japan. Zhang Zhenfang used the difficulty of grain transportation as an excuse to delay as much as possible. But there were more and more people reaching out for money. Everyone spoke as if they couldn't even uncover the pot. Plus Wang Jie and other assemblymen making waves, although Zhang Zhenfang looked calm on his face, he wished he could put poison in the wine pot and send all these bastards to the West.

Seeing Wang Jie coming to offer a toast, Zhang Zhenfang didn't even touch the wine glass, just smiled faintly: "I can't hold my liquor, so I can't accompany Speaker Wang."

Even though he was rejected, Wang Jie smiled as if nothing had happened: "Governor Zhang, you have gained the favor of the Grand President, which is to be congratulated. But the people of Henan have already paid so much tax, and life is really difficult..."

Before Wang Jie could finish, Lei Zhenchun, a high-ranking official dispatched by the central government sitting next to Zhang Zhenfang, stood up and smiled: "Speaker Wang, today is a wine banquet. No official business, no official business."

Lei Zhenchun, like Zhang Zhenfang, was Yuan Shikai's confidant. In the Henan tax collection, Lei Zhenchun seemed not to have intervened, but he participated in various meetings throughout. With this witness, Zhang Zhenfang also felt much safer. After all, being with Zhou Zhentao made it too easy to leave a handle for others.

After driving Wang Jie away, Lei Zhenchun said to Zhang Zhenfang, "Governor Zhang, I think the matter of transporting grain might as well be faster."

Zhang Zhenfang felt another burst of annoyance in his heart. Lei Zhenchun didn't put much effort into the tax collection, but at this time, he didn't consider Zhang Zhenfang's difficulties at all, only urging Zhang Zhenfang to transport the grain to Tianjin quickly. As a special commissioner of the central government, being able to supervise the transportation of grain to Tianjin was Lei Zhenchun's great achievement. From Lei Zhenchun's perspective, Zhang Zhenfang was already the Governor of Henan, with high position and heavy authority, and sending grain to the Beiyang central government was what he should do.

With Duan Zhigui and Lei Zhenchun accompanying him on the left and right, Zhang Zhenfang felt completely lost his appetite. Even if there were hometown dishes in front of him, he just picked a few chopsticks casually and stopped eating.

When Lei Zhenchun asked about the grain transportation again, Zhang Zhenfang didn't speak, but Duan Zhigui interrupted. "Lord Lei, some of Governor Zhang's grain is to be sold to pay our Beiyang Army. Now that the military pay is about to run out, why not sell the grain in Henan first. Our Beiyang Army has always been paid on time. Now that the money hasn't arrived, I don't feel confident in my heart."

On this matter, it was impossible for Lei Zhenchun to stand on Duan Zhigui's side. He clicked his tongue, "Commander Duan, the country, the country, state affairs should come first. If the central government has no money, how can state affairs be supported? Moreover, Governor Zhang collects taxes effectively, so the matter of military pay should be assured."

Zhang Zhenfang suddenly laughed when he heard this; he was laughed out of anger. He didn't say anything either. Zhang Zhenfang picked up his chopsticks and started eating again. He had figured it out. Anyway, he was now like a rat in a wind box, getting angry at both ends. If he let these official businesses spoil his mood for eating at this time, wouldn't he suffer a loss?

This mood didn't last long. Zhang Zhenfang had just eaten two mouthfuls when he saw a messenger rushing in straight for Duan Zhigui. Seeing Zhang Zhenfang there, the messenger dared not make a sound. Everyone was from officialdom. Zhang Zhenfang and Duan Zhigui got up and went to the side room. Only then did the messenger dare to report, "Telegram from the Ministry of Army, the Beiyang Eighth Division stationed in Beijing has mutinied."

Hearing this news, Zhang Zhenfang just widened his eyes. Duan Zhigui already exclaimed, "What?"

Just as he was about to ask for details, Zhang Zhenfang's personal attendant ran over in a hurry. Zhang Zhenfang thought he had received the news of the Beijing mutiny and said casually, "What is it, speak."

Seeing Zhang Zhenfang give the order, the personal attendant didn't care that Duan Zhigui, an "outsider", was there. He reported, "The Tax Police Battalion in Wuyang reported that local bandit Bai Lang rebelled and attacked the Tax Police Battalion. The Tax Police Battalion suffered heavy casualties."

"What?" Zhang Zhenfang couldn't help but say. Instead, Duan Zhigui widened his eyes and looked at Zhang Zhenfang's personal attendant with an incredible gaze.