Protect Our Chief

Chapter 979 - 50: Birth of the Young Kun Immortal Beast! The Yian Family Maiden Secretly Falls in Love

...Taishi An Kang looked at Wang Shouzhe with an air of subtlety.

However, Wang Shouzhe remained composed, his face unflushed and his heart calm.

"Why does it have to be this way, why must it be this way~" Taishi An Kang said helplessly, "The struggle of the Emperor’s sons involves too many parties; can’t I just quietly wait for my retirement to return home?"

"It’s difficult." Wang Shouzhe admitted, "There are only seven counties in Daqian, and each quasi-crown prince wants to gain the support of the county forces to build their prestige."

"For Prince Kang, Longzuo County is now a ’surrendered area’, a strong support base for Prince Anjun. The Lord Governor himself is also quite close to the Wang Family and Qiaan Family, frequently supporting and helping them. Even if you want to proclaim neutrality, let alone suggest allying with Prince Kang, do you think he’d trust you? Accept you?"

"If you sit and wait for Prince Kang to come to power, given his narrow-mindedness with Your Majesty, both the Lord Governor and your ’ordinary’ military family will inevitably be the first to be suppressed and marginalized." Wang Shouzhe poured spirit tea while analyzing, "In contrast, Prince Anjun is broad-minded and generous, and even if he rises to power, he wouldn’t trouble a neutral Lord Governor. But you can’t bully such an honest person as Prince Anjun, can you?"

"Unless you retreat now and hand over the lucrative power of a county leader, withdrawing from worldly affairs. Otherwise, in the face of the overwhelming tide of this change, how many can escape the vortex of the Emperor’s sons’ struggle? At least with me, Shouzhe, and Prince Anjun, there’s some guarantee of character. If the Lord Governor doesn’t team up with me, could it be you truly wish to side with Prince Kang?"

"Alas~~" Taishi An Kang sighed deeply, "I admit Shouzhe, you’re right. Incompetent people like us can only go with the flow; we aren’t qualified to escape the vortex of worldly struggles."

Even so, he looked at Wang Shouzhe with a hint of resentment in his tone, "But you should at least discuss it carefully with me, let me gradually prepare myself mentally. This sudden dragging me onto the... pirate, I mean boat, makes life feel too abrupt and thrilling."

"Sooner or later, you have to get on." Wang Shouzhe laughed, "To avoid the Lord Governor hesitating and suffering inner torment, I simply pulled you onto the boat. We’ll share the good and bad times together in the future."

"Shouzhe, thank you." Taishi An Kang said with a mix of laughter and tears.

"No thanks necessary." Wang Shouzhe replied with a good-natured smile.

Well then, it seems I’ve been firmly anchored to Shouzhe’s pirate ship.

Since I’ve come, I might as well stay.

Taishi An Kang quickly adjusted his mindset and relaxed, "Shouzhe, since we’re now like grasshoppers tied with the same rope. Then the task of raising the tax revenue by fifty percent within ten years, no, nine years, is up to you."

"If you manage it well, in the future, I, Taishi An Kang, will follow your lead and go wherever you want. If you don’t, I wouldn’t even need to resign voluntarily; Your Majesty would surely remove me. By then, the new Lord Governor selection... you know what I mean~"

Wang Shouzhe couldn’t help but glance over.

The Lord Governor had just joined in and already shifted responsibility with such skill; was he a mess cook in the military in his youth?

Alright, if I don’t show you some skill, you won’t know how many eyes Wang Shouzhe has.

Wang Shouzhe put down the tea cup in his hand, and the base of the cup tapped lightly on the table, making a crisp sound.

This sound seemed to trigger a certain switch.

Wang Shouzhe crossed his hands and his voice slowly emerged, "To my knowledge, the national tax revenue from Longzuo County comes primarily from three sources. From the 3.2 billion mu of good farmland, with an average national tax of 100 Qian Gold per 10,000 mu, amounting to 3.2 million Qian Gold in national tax. The ordinary grain land of various noble families is approximately 20 million mu, with an average national tax of 250 Qian Gold per 10,000 mu, totaling 500,000 Qian Gold. The Wang Family’s related high-quality grain fields cover about 6 million mu, with an average national tax of 500 Qian Gold per 10,000 mu, about 300,000 Qian Gold. Therefore, the national tax income from ordinary farmland totals approximately 4 million Qian Gold."

"This..." Taishi An Kang’s eyes widened, "How did you, Shouzhe, compile this? The discrepancy isn’t large; last year, it should have been 3.8 million Qian Gold."

"Hehe~ It’s just a matter of spending some effort on investigation and calculation." Wang Shouzhe continued calmly, "Additionally, there’s the major tax item, the Spirit Field tax. Longzuo County has about 1.8 million mu of Lower-Grade Spirit Field, providing 1.8 million Qian Gold in national tax, about 120,000 mu of Middle-Grade Spirit Field, providing 1.2 million Qian Gold in national tax, about 9,000 mu of Upper-Grade Spirit Field, providing 900,000 in national tax, and about 800 mu of Top-Grade Spirit Field, providing 800,000 in national tax. Therefore, the Spirit Field national tax totals approximately 4.7 million Qian Gold."

"Moreover, there’s the ordinary commodity transaction tax, totaling 4 million Qian Gold in national tax, of which 1.8 million is from the Wang Family Marriage Alliance and Qiaan Family’s related industries, including Shouda Trading Company and Changning United Manufacturing Department, etc."

"The aquaculture and fisheries tax involves about 500,000 Qian Gold in national tax, of which 270,000 is from the Wang Family’s fishery department."

"The Black Tortoise Products transaction and circulation tax, with high prices of Black Tortoise Products, takes three per thousand as the basis for national tax and two per thousand for County Guard Tax, totaling 2.7 million Qian Gold in national taxes, estimating the total circulation funds of Black Tortoise Products in Longzuo County to be 900 million Qian Gold!"

"Other minor items total about 1.2 million Qian Gold in national taxes."

Wang Shouzhe effortlessly recited a string of numbers without taking out any account book, then summarized, "The national tax from Longzuo County last year totaled about 17 million Qian Gold."

Taishi An Kang looked at Wang Shouzhe in shock.

This guy, though the numbers aren’t entirely precise, the total isn’t far off! If it weren’t for him, Taishi An Kang being the Lord Governor, it might have been impossible to know this data.