Zhang Xie and Xiahou Yan were in the garden enjoying wine while admiring the flowers.

In the Wei and Jin dynasties, wine was the most common beverage—though of course, this was something only the aristocracy and wealthy merchants could afford to drink. In ordinary common households, a bowl of plain boiled water was most common. If they could add a bit of salt or sugar to the water, that was already quite high-level hospitality.

Unfortunately, Fu Tinghan did not enjoy drinking wine. He preferred drinking tea, and if that wasn’t available, plain boiled water would do.

Not drinking alcohol during work hours was his principle.

So after sitting down before Zhang Xie, he politely declined when Xiahou Yan tried to pour him wine.

Xiahou Yan snorted derisively and withdrew the wine pot, saying, “You don’t drink? Well, I didn’t want to pour for you anyway.”

He continued, “Zhao Hanzhang is quite harsh—she forbids common people from privately brewing and selling wine, claiming it wastes grain. This caused the price of wine in Luoyang to double in just three months.”

He huffed, “Yet I know that half the wine coming out of the wine shops and restaurants now originates from the Western Xiping Zhao family and the Luoyang county office.”

Fu Tinghan said, “The county office brews wine for two reasons: first, to control the wine trade, and second, to earn money to support Luoyang’s people and army.”

He continued, “Right now the county office is still taking in passing refugees. Combined with military consumption, her treasury is not particularly ample.”

Xiahou Yan’s face was full of disdain as he said, “What about the Western Xiping Zhao family then? Don’t think I don’t know—that person is Zhao Hanzhang’s grand-uncle, claiming to be the seventh elder of the Western Xiping Zhao family. He arrived in Luoyang and immediately took over the wine business, even opening a wine house. He now controls twenty percent of the wine trade in all of Luoyang and several nearby counties.”

“He bought that qualification with money,” Fu Tinghan said. “One hundred thousand coins for three years of rights.”

Xiahou Yan was immediately rendered speechless, though in his heart he was very doubtful whether Zhao Hanzhang had truly collected this money.

Zhang Xie waited for them to finish their verbal sparring, then quickly said, “Let’s just forget about this matter. After all, the wine we drink at home we can brew ourselves—no need to get angry over this.”

Xiahou Yan sneered coldly and asked him, “When did your temper become so mild?”

Zhang Xie ignored him and asked Fu Tinghan, “Master Fu has only been in Luoyang for two days—why have you already come knocking on my door?”

Fu Tinghan picked up his bowl to take a sip of water, but immediately choked—only then realizing the bowl somehow now contained wine instead.

Zhang Xie had poured it while the two of them were talking. He explained, “Master Fu, please forgive me. I truly have no plain boiled water here. This wine is quite clear and pure—it can serve as water, can’t it?”

Fu Tinghan set down the bowl, his face faintly flushed, and said, “I’ve come today to collect taxes.”

Not only Xiahou Yan, but even Zhang Xie was stunned. “What?”

Fu Tinghan turned to look at Fu’an.

Fu’an immediately pulled an account ledger from his breast and respectfully presented it.

Fu Tinghan opened it. Without even looking, he directly handed it over, saying, “These are the taxes your two households owe for this year. Winter is approaching now—it’s time to settle them.”

Zhang Xie and Xiahou Yan stiffly lowered their heads to look.

Fu Tinghan had already reviewed it before coming. The accounts weren’t complicated—he could memorize them at a glance. He said, “Can you two gentlemen settle these today?”

Xiahou Yan’s face flushed red, momentarily unable to speak.

Although Zhang Xie and Xiahou Yan had fled into the mountains, claiming to be living in reclusive retirement due to illness, their families were still down the mountain, in Luoyang.

They had landholdings in Luoyang and even in several nearby counties.

Zhang Xie had three sons in total. His second and youngest sons had left Luoyang with his younger brother to flee for their lives with their families. Zhang Xie had received word that they’d gone south.

His eldest son had stayed behind to look after him and the unsold landholdings.

Currently on the household register, Zhang Xie was the household head, so when collecting taxes, they really did have to find Zhang Xie.

Xiahou Yan was different. He’d lived an unrestrained, freedom-loving life. Though he’d had wives and concubines, after his first wife died he never remarried and had no children—nor was he in any hurry to have them.

Currently on Luoyang’s household register, he was listed alone, but he still had household servants, and all the family property was managed by these servants.

Moreover, household servants also had taxes that their masters had to pay.

Xiahou Yan was stunned for a long while, then carefully scrutinized Fu Tinghan’s complexion. Seeing his face slightly flushed and even his earlobes turned red, he asked, “Your alcohol tolerance is actually this poor? You’re already drunk? No wait—you got drunk just now, so how did you bring the account ledger in advance?”

Fu Tinghan looked baffled. “I came specifically to collect taxes—what else would I bring besides an account ledger?”

Xiahou Yan said, “Weren’t you and Zhao Hanzhang supposed to be recruiting us?”

Fu Tinghan replied, “Recruiting you and your payment of taxes are not mutually exclusive.”

He continued, “If you, sir, are truly willing to come down the mountain to assist Hanzhang, I’m sure she would welcome you with a swept couch and offer you the most generous terms. But what does that have to do with taxes?”

Zhang Xie’s eyes flashed as he asked, “What if we demand that Commander Zhao exempt us from taxes?”

“That’s not right,” Xiahou Yan interjected. “We aristocrats still need to pay taxes?”

When Emperor Jin was around, no one asked them for taxes!

Fu Tinghan said, “Luoyang is currently under Commander Zhao’s administration. As early as March, she issued laws and announcements stating that everyone under her governance, regardless of status or position, must pay taxes appropriate to their identity and property.”

Slave households had slave household taxes, farmers had farmers’ standards, and merchants and scholars naturally also had their own standards.

Xiahou Yan was very displeased, but Zhang Xie suddenly laughed heartily, slapping the table and saying, “Excellent! I’ll pay!”

“Jingyang!” Xiahou Yan looked at him disapprovingly.

But Zhang Xie raised his hand to stop his words and had someone summon his chief steward to prepare money and grain according to the amounts in the ledger.

Fu Tinghan then looked toward Xiahou Yan.

Xiahou Yan pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Dajin had a system called the Ranked Officials’ Land Occupation and Household Protection System.

What did this mean? It meant that high-ranking officials occupied large amounts of land without paying taxes, could protect relatives from service obligations, and their household retainers were not subject to court control.

The opportunities for manipulation within this were enormous.

Take Zhao Changyu for example. When he was Earl of Shangcai, not only did the vast tracts of land under his own name not require tax payment, but Zhao Hu and Zhao Song would also register some landholdings under his name to similarly avoid taxes.

And retainers like Ji Yuan—he only answered to Zhao Changyu and would not heed court summons.

Now it was Zhao Hanzhang’s turn, and she was even more formidable. Since she’d taken control of Yuzhou, the court had pressed her year after year to remit taxes, but she’d never paid once. Instead, she’d demanded support from the court in return.

Not only had she not paid the taxes of an entire province, let alone her own family’s taxes.

It was only after she’d gone to Luoyang to see the Emperor and been formally invested that she symbolically provided the court with some money and grain each time. The last batch sent to Yuncheng was even new coins she’d minted herself.

This was how she treated the court, but she’d changed the laws for those under her governance.

She’d changed Yuzhou early on, but there weren’t many high officials there. The officials fortunate enough to be in the tax exemption ranks were few, and the rest had either been killed by her or replaced by her.

Those she’d promoted were her people, so naturally they had to comply with her laws.

Her law was this: she could give her subordinates money, houses, and land, but everyone had to pay taxes just like ordinary people.

As for Luoyang…

Although many people had fled, there were too many aristocratic family remnants and scholar-gentry survivors. They’d all previously been in the protected tax-exempt category.

Take Zhang Xie and Xiahou Yan, for instance. One hadn’t held office for many years, the other had never held office, yet they and their landholdings were all in the tax-exempt category.

This was the first time anyone had come to collect taxes from them!

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