The Great Qian Dynasty was shaken

After thinking for a moment, Chu Xi finally understood the key point, her large, watery eyes staring at Gao Yuan.

"You don't want me to work for you as a beast of burden, do you?"

Gao Yuan's thoughts were seen through, and he scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

"I'm currently lacking talent by my side. If you can come help me, it would naturally be for the best. I'll appoint you as a high official; how about that?"

Unexpectedly, Chu Xi turned her small head away.

"No way, no way! I won't do it no matter how much you pay me. I've been a beast of burden for so many years; I finally transmigrated, and I'm still supposed to be a beast of burden? No way, absolutely not!"

Gao Yuan originally wanted to use his authority to pressure her, but seeing the little girl's stubborn expression, he softened. After all, she was a fellow countryman.

"Forget it, forget it. Since you're unwilling, I won't force you."

After saying that, he stood up, patted his rear, and left with Xia Luqi. In the courtyard, Chu Xi struggled with herself for a moment before quickly returning to her state from before Gao Yuan's arrival.

"Trying to trick this lady into being a beast of burden, even offering a high official position—even a dog wouldn't do it!"

It seemed fine to have a transmigrator with no ambition on his territory, making inventions and stimulating the economy; there was no need to play that 'all the world's talents are in my grasp' routine like Er Feng.

Gao Yuan comforted himself this way on the road back.

Passing by the Yang Family shop, Gao Yuan stopped and stared at the busy storefront for a while, eventually unable to resist speaking.

"Business is so good; it seems I should collect more commercial tax to reduce the burden on the Common People."

No sooner said than done; upon returning, Gao Yuan urged the three women to modify the tax rates.

In a feudal society, the main tax revenue relied on the poll tax and land tax, with little importance placed on commercial tax.

The Southwest Guanzhong itself didn't have much land, a situation that had only slightly improved since his arrival, and the population was very sparse, which led to the treasury always being poor; a single major war would basically exhaust all savings.

Now that commerce showed signs of prosperity, increasing the commercial tax was put on the agenda.

When commercial and industrial taxes were raised to a certain level in the future, he could appropriately reduce or even abolish the agricultural tax and poll tax.

Although Gao Yuan usually didn't interfere in political affairs, once he did, everyone basically supported him with both hands, so the new tax regulations were soon promulgated.

The new tax law announced that all workshops would be taxed based on the value of the goods they produced at a rate of one-tenth, and shops would be taxed based on the value of the goods they sold at a rate of one-fifth.

To this end, Gao Yuan ordered the Xuanjia Army to fully cooperate with the prefectural office to audit the ledgers of all workshops and shops; if any underreporting or failure to report was discovered, a fine of five times the amount would be imposed.

As soon as this tax law was promulgated, it immediately caused an uproar. Wave after wave of people gathered at the Grand Princess's Residence every day to plead for mercy, but Gao Yuan sent Zhao Meng to block them all.

Knowing that the resistance to increasing taxes would be great, Gao Yuan decided to lead by example. The first thing he did was have Gao Fu and Gao Zhong go to the prefectural office with great fanfare to pay their taxes.

Gao Yuan even brought out the slogan from the United States of later generations: "Only death and taxes are inevitable," and "Taken from the people, used for the people."

Seeing that even the Gao Family had taken the initiative to pay taxes, many people lost their momentum and honestly paid their taxes, which caused the treasury to suddenly become abundant.

Gao Yuan didn't save the collected taxes but threw them all back out exactly as they were.

He abolished corvée labor, spent money to hire laborers and workers to pave roads and build bridges, repaired border walls, increased investment in caring for the elderly and orphans, and purchased military supplies. This allowed many of the Common People to taste the benefits, and many shops also benefited from it.

As everyone tasted the benefits, the voices of opposition grew even quieter. The only person who was most unhappy was the girl who just wanted to lie flat, Chu Xi.

"That damn guy must be targeting me on purpose. Hmph, this lady won't fall for it."

This was truly a misunderstanding of Gao Yuan; he really didn't have that intention. He simply felt the treasury was too poor, and a monthly income of two or three thousand strings of cash from commercial tax could accomplish a lot!

The turmoil over the promulgation of the new tax law gradually subsided after two months. Gao Yuan didn't just collect money without doing anything; he gave merchants some rights, such as allowing them to ride in carriages and wear silks and satins.

However, political power definitely could not be given to merchants. The lessons from Western countries in later generations told Gao Yuan that merchants holding power was definitely not a good thing.

The Diannan Circuit and Zhongnan Circuit gradually entered a period of calm, but Great Qian was experiencing massive waves.

Gao Yuan looked at the intelligence in his hand with a face of disbelief.

"Chang'an has fallen, and Gao Bing's whereabouts are unknown. How is that possible? The Northern Liang Army is mainly composed of cavalry; perhaps Gao Bing is no match for them in field battles, but how could he fail to defend the city?"

Wan Sanqian shook his head.

"The specific situation is currently unclear. We only know that Great Qian is now in chaos, and the fall of the Guanzhong has become a certainty. I believe the Jiannan Circuit will definitely not be calm next; my lord should make preparations early."

Gao Yuan also agreed with Wan Sanqian's analysis. He thought of a term from the original timeline—the momentum of a powerful Qin.

By controlling Hexi Corridor, they have warhorses; by entering the Guanzhong, they have soldiers; and by taking over the Sichuan region, they have a food supply base. All the conditions for vying for world domination are ready.

Most importantly, mastering the Guanzhong meant mastering the initiative. One could advance east through Hangu to attack Luoyang, and retreat to Hangu Pass to defend the strategic heights.

Previously, his strategy was to support Great Qian while remaining independent. Since Great Qian controlled the Sichuan region, it wasn't easy for him to take it. But if the Northern Liang Army attacks the Sichuan region, he could then rightfully enter and take charge of it.

It's just that the people of the Sichuan region, this Land of Abundance, will have to suffer.

But it's a chaotic age; as long as most people can survive, it's good enough. It's better than bones being exposed in the wild and not a single rooster's crow for a thousand miles.

Although he couldn't do anything for the time being, it didn't mean he would do nothing. Necessary preparations still had to be made.

That day, Gao Yuan gathered everyone to report the news and began assigning tasks.

"First, mobilize surplus grain and medicinal materials from various treasuries to concentrate in Guchang County to prepare for the possible refugee wave;"

"Second, Song Yong and Mu Sheng, you two need to select suitable locations as soon as possible for future refugee camps;"

"Third, draw elites from the Xuanjia Army in various places as soon as possible to ensure the Beiwei Army's Fourth Division is at full strength;"

"Fourth, recruit soldiers in various places to fill the vacancies in the Xuanjia Army after the elites are drawn;"

"Fifth, recruit new soldiers in Nan Province to form the Seventeenth Division of the Xuanjia Army."

If he really wanted to invade the Jiannan Circuit, a necessary military expansion was essential. Gao Yuan didn't dare to underestimate the combat power of the Northern Liang Army.

However, with his current foundation, recruiting too many soldiers was certainly not realistic, as he couldn't afford to maintain them. Expanding by one division could be considered the limit.

At this time, in the Chang'an Palace of Great Qian's Western Capital in Chang'an, Liu Jin was dragged into the main hall like a dead dog.

However, when he saw the person sitting on the dragon throne, his eyes widened as if he had seen something terrifying.

"You... you... how is it you?"

The person on the dragon throne revealed a smug smile.

"Are you very surprised? Can't figure it out? Hahaha, Eunuch Liu can think about it properly after reaching the underworld. Someone, drag this castrated trash down and have him beheaded and his head displayed to the public."

At this moment, Liu Jin could no longer care about surprise or fear; he knelt there and kowtowed like a woodpecker.

"Spare my life, spare my life! As long as you spare my life, I am willing to be an inside man..."

The person on the dragon throne revealed a chilling smile.

"How can I be sure you won't turn around and sell me out?"

"I... I... I can tell you a secret about The Emperor, a secret sufficient to disgrace him completely."