RMCF: CHapter 46

 

Chapter 46

“Commoners don't fight with officials. Picking a fight with the yamen people is just asking for trouble.”

Xu He watched as the man pulled on the reins, his earlier leisurely demeanor from the road home completely gone, his face darkened. He didn't have a good impression of those tax-collecting runners either, but he patted Zhang Fangyuan's hand and tried to soothe his husband.

“What officials are they? Not even as good as ordinary commoners. But after being in the yamen for so long, seeing the magistrate often, they think they're above everyone else, ordering commoners around.”

Zhang Fangyuan recalled how the yamen had once tried to recruit him, seeing he was strong and fit. They wanted him as a constable to arrest criminals, collect debts, and so on. It might have looked impressive, swaggering in and out of the yamen, but the monthly pay was less than a waiter at a restaurant. He didn't go.

Xu He kept his mouth shut, quietly watching him.

“Alright, alright. Do you think I'm so petty as to hold a grudge against them?” Zhang Fangyuan looked at his wife and smiled again.

Xu He thought to himself if he’s not the one small-minded, then who?

He said, “There are only two people in our household. The tax shouldn't be too much.”

Every year when tax time came, the villagers would fall into a somber mood. Suddenly having to hand over a large sum of money, and not like when someone in the village held an event where you gave money or gifts but got to enjoy the festivities and a banquet, paying taxes was essentially like giving it away for nothing. With only a little income each year, who could be happy about it?

Worried Zhang Fangyuan might also be troubled, Xu He joked, “If you'd married me a little later, maybe you could have saved on my poll tax.”

Zhang Fangyuan laughed. “You know the saying: 'buy early, enjoy early'?”

“…”

“Your little poll tax is nothing.” Zhang Fangyuan said, “And I'm happy to pay it. What bothers me is this tax collection period. Just wait, there's bound to be trouble.”

Xu He was slightly puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Zhang Fangyuan didn't explain directly. He ruffled Xu He's hair. “Don't worry about it. I'll handle it. You'll understand soon enough.”

Xu He frowned slightly.

According to imperial law, commoners throughout the realm paid taxes based on population. Those aged three to fourteen—whether female, ger, or male—paid an annual tax of thirty wen, called the ‘mouth money’. At age fifteen, one became an adult. Adults paid an annual poll tax of one suan, which equaled one hundred and twenty wen.

Commoners paid poll tax until age fifty-six. That meant the age range for paying the poll tax was three to fifty-six; fifty-three years of paying taxes just for being alive.

Of course, this was just the poll tax rate for ordinary commoners. Wealthy families who kept servants paid double the commoner’s rate per servant.

In other words, the wealthier the family, the higher the taxes.

Besides this, the villagers' jokes before Xu He married—that he'd never marry and be stuck at home paying the late marriage tax—were also based on law. To encourage marriage, if women or ger remained unmarried between fifteen and thirty, as they aged, the household's poll tax for them increased.

Starting at fifteen, the tax increased each year, peaking at twenty-two, reaching as high as five suan. Afterwards, it would gradually decreased, and after thirty, the late marriage tax was no longer levied.

For this reason, families with many daughters or ger hurried to marry them off after they came of age, often holding weddings just after the New Year to avoid some of the taxes. That's why there were so many weddings in the third and fourth months.

Families taking in wives, on the other hand, preferred to marry after the sixth month, also to dodge the poll tax. The two sides would play a game of pass-the-buck, but usually the groom's family couldn't avoid it. After all, they were the ones seeking a wife; too much haggling and they might end up with no wife at all.

Because of the poll tax, farming households with servants or multiple wives were rare. It was hard enough supporting one's own family; how could they dare support so many extra mouths?

With only two people in the Zhang household now, their poll tax was two suan—two hundred and forty wen. In addition, there was the ‘household tax’ paid per family: two hundred wen a year, regardless of whether you had one person or ten. If you established a household, you paid, unless you were unregistered. Of course, being unregistered wasn't just about paying money; they'd haul you straight to the yamen and interrogate you thoroughly about your situation.

When Xu He got home and calculated, he nearly choked. Today's earnings were completely wiped out. They'd even have to dip into savings to cover the rest.

Just these taxes alone amounted to four hundred and forty wen! And there were only two people in their household!

When he still lived at home, Liu Xianglan handled all the tax dealings with the yamen. He'd only heard about it in passing. Now that he was managing his own household, he realized what a huge expense this was.

Zhang Fangyuan watched Xu He counting money, the little face losing all its luster. Though he desperately wanted to comfort him, he honestly added, “That's not all. You haven't calculated the corvée labor exemption tax yet.”

Xu He sat up straight, startled. “How is corvée labor calculated?”

Zhang Fangyuan said calmly, “Women and ger have the late marriage tax; and there’s the corvée labor tax for men, also called the ‘service levy’.”

The dynasty's laws stipulated that men must perform corvée labor for the court starting from the age of twenty.

There were three types of corvée labor. The first was ‘garrison service’: one month a year working for the local yamen on projects like repairing city walls, building dikes, or constructing official residences. No wages, of course.

The second was ‘regular conscript’ service: this was a one-time service lasting a full year, serving as a soldier in the capital.

The final type was ‘frontier guard’ duty: serving three days a year at the border. The time was short, but assignments weren't based on proximity. Wherever you were sent, you went. If assigned nearby, fine. If far away, the round trip could take a year or more. The travel expenses alone were staggering, and it greatly disrupted one's life.

Therefore, the court was very ‘accommodating’. If you wanted to serve your military service locally, you could—by paying money to arrange it. The specific amount was up to the local officials. If you simply didn't want to go at all, you could also pay money. The court would then hire someone else to go in your place. The cost was three hundred wen per year.

Since the ‘frontier guard’ duty could be avoided with payment, the first two types gradually evolved to allow paying to avoid service: one suan to avoid ‘garrison service’, two hundred wen to avoid ‘regular conscript’ service.

“The imperial court doesn't wait until after a person’s birthday to start counting their service. Anyone turning twenty in the tax year is recorded for service. I turn twenty this year, so I have to pay the exemption fee now.”

Zhang Fangyuan looked at Xu He with a smile. “Of course, you could choose not to pay for me. I can go serve.”

Xu He shot him a sidelong glance. “Since you want to go serve, I'll save your exemption fee then.”

“No, no!” Zhang Fangyuan quickly begged for mercy. Serving locally in the county would be one thing, but if he had to go to the border or the capital as a soldier, not to mention when he'd return—whether he'd return at all was questionable. “You might be willing to let me go, but I can't bear to leave you.”

Xu He chuckled and asked, “"So, which type of service is this tax collection for?”

Zhang Fangyuan said, “I don't know that yet. We'll have to wait for the yamen runner to come and see. It's all arranged by the court. Once in the first half of the year, once after the autumn harvest. The services alternate, and the registrar keeps records.”

Xu He nodded. The burden of taxes and levies was heavy; commoners had a hard life. This was still a time of peace and prosperity. In war times, taxes increased and conscription became even harsher—truly unspeakable suffering.

The yamen runners worked their way along the village paths and soon reached their home.

Xu He politely addressed them, “We've prepared the tax money, but may I ask which type of service my husband is being called for this time?”

Collecting taxes in the village was always a troublesome task, and the county yamen was busiest during this period. Families who couldn't pay were as numerous as carp in the river—pleading, wailing, kneeling… countless such scenes. Even the most patient yamen runner would lose their patience after a while.

Showing off official prestige wasn't the goal; collecting the full tax was what mattered. So encountering a household like Xu He's, with such a straightforward inquiry, was a relief. The runner's tone softened considerably from his earlier fierceness at the Hu family. “Your husband is Zhang Fangyuan, right? He's indeed twenty this year. He'll start with ‘garrison service’ this time, and ‘regular conscript’ in the second half. Pay or serve?”

Xu He said, “Pay.”

“Then the amount due this time is five hundred and sixty wen.”

Xu He took out another suan from his savings, binding together four strings of coins. The runner picked them up and counted three times. Verifying the amount was correct, he made a clear record in their family's register.

The yamen runner said, “If you're not serving in the second half either, you'll need to have the money ready in advance, just like this time.”

“Understood. Officers, please have some tea before you go.”

The yamen runner waved his hand. Although his mouth was already a bit dry, he couldn't afford to slack off. The pressure from above to meet quotas was intense. “Still have two more households to collect. It's getting late; we can't linger.”

Xu He didn't press them to stay. The runners proceeded to the nearby Chen family.

From a distance, he heard them talking, “If every household settled up this fast, we wouldn't have so much trouble. Could finish this village in three days.”

“With such an easy job, would it be our turn?”

Xu He waited until they had all entered the Chen family's yard before returning to his own courtyard and closing the gate. He had told Zhang Fangyuan to stay inside, burning the bristles off the pig's trotters, afraid he might go out and clash with the yamen runners again.

“They're gone?”

“All gone.”

Zhang Fangyuan put down the pig trotters, now thoroughly clean of bristles. “Haven't even asked Fourth Uncle's family if they have enough for the taxes.”

Xu He said, “Fourth Uncle's family has one more person, Xiaomao. They won't have to pay much more than us.”

Zhang Fangyuan was really just making conversation. The Zhang family was considered upper-middle class in the village; none of his uncles were so poor they couldn't pay taxes. His eldest uncle had many sons, so their tax burden was the heaviest. But more people also meant more earners. Although his eldest uncle might pretend to be poor, he wouldn't be unable to come up with the tax money.

But precisely because the Zhang family was relatively well-off in the village, tax time brought more worries than for others.

“Wife, don't cook the fish tonight. Just make something simple. Also, clean the offal inside the house and spice it late at night.”

Xu He didn't understand the reason, but he followed Zhang Fangyuan's instructions.

Later, as night fell and a gentle breeze blew, he finally understood why Zhang Fangyuan had said that.

***

Author's Note:

The taxes mentioned in this chapter reference the tax payment items and amounts from the Han Dynasty as discussed in the ‘Everyday Life in Ancient Times’《古代人的日常生活》. It's quite interesting; you can check it out too. However, this story is not set in the Han Dynasty—it's a fictional, mixed-era setting, so please don't fact-check.

 

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