Jinan Prefecture City.
The army of Chuang Wang had been roaming outside the city for several days already. Many small villages and towns around the region had fallen under the control of the rebel forces.
Yet Jinan City itself still refused to open its gates and surrender.
The little rhyme that once spread everywhere inside the city,
"Chuang Wang has arrived, no more taxes to pay,"
was now heard less and less.
Occasionally someone would still sing a line of it, but the people nearby would immediately stare at him as if he were an idiot.
"You still believe that? Chuang's bandits are obviously lying."
The one who sang the rhyme would turn red in the face and argue stubbornly.
"Chuang Wang isn't lying. He really won't collect taxes."
The people around him would burst out laughing.
"Someone could sell you and you would still help count the money."
After the laughter died down, they would patiently start explaining things to him.
They repeated the arguments that people from Gao Family Village had been spreading.
The man listened with a dark expression.
At first he refused to believe a word of it.
But after hearing it several times, he slowly began to work through the logic in his head.
Even a fool understood one basic thing.
Government officials had to be paid.
Where did their salaries come from?
Taxes, of course.
If there were no taxes, there would be no officials.
And without officials, who would deal with criminals?
If nobody dealt with criminals, the entire world would fall into chaos.
Then there were the bridges and roads that had to be repaired.
Dikes that had to be built.
Rivers that had to be controlled.
Which of these things did not cost money?
If the government did not collect taxes, who was going to pay for all that?
Once the logic clicked into place, a strange anger rose in the man's chest.
It felt as if someone had insulted his intelligence.
Turning from supporter to enemy only took a single moment.
The man suddenly cursed loudly.
"Those Chuang bandits tricked me!"
Someone beside him laughed.
"Just a moment ago you were still calling him Chuang Wang."
"Damn it! Chuang bandit! He's just a thief," the man shouted angrily. "Trying to fool me like that. Do I look that easy to cheat?"
Similar conversations were happening everywhere inside Jinan City.
And not only in Jinan.
Across Shandong, every city with even a modest population was spreading the same line of thought.
Only in remote villages, where news traveled slowly, were the peasants still being deceived.
Once the majority of people stopped believing the promise of "no taxes," a new question quietly began spreading among the common folk.
"So what does that mean? Are we doomed to pay taxes forever?"
"Does that mean we'll always live miserable lives?"
"The court collects heavy taxes. Chuang Wang lies and tricks people into becoming cannon fodder. Either way we're fish on the chopping board."
The mood among the people grew gloomy.
Just then, in the middle of this atmosphere of frustration and confusion, a man appeared at the execution ground of Jinan City.
His name was Liu Maopao.
He carefully straightened his scholar's robe, making sure every fold looked proper and dignified.
When he finished, he looked exactly like the sort of learned scholar people instinctively respected.
Then he picked up a tin megaphone, stepped onto a temporary wooden platform in the center of the market square, and cleared his throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please listen to a few words from me."
The shout immediately attracted a crowd.
In this era, scholars still commanded great respect among ordinary people. All a man had to do was put on a scholar's robe, stand somewhere visible, and start speaking loudly. Before long a group of listeners would gather.
Liu Maopao looked around the crowd and nodded politely.
"Recently, the issue of taxes has become the most frequently discussed topic during people's free time. I have a few humble thoughts I would like to share."
"First of all, taxes must exist. That is something I believe everyone has already understood after these past days of discussion."
"But how taxes should be collected, and who should pay them, is a question worth thinking about carefully."
The common people began muttering.
Isn't that obvious?
Of course we pay them.
Would the officials pay taxes themselves?
Liu Maopao continued calmly.
"It is unreasonable for the poor to pay taxes that support the wealthy."
The moment those words were spoken, the crowd burst into applause.
"Well said!"
"Exactly!"
Liu Maopao raised a hand modestly.
"My suggestion is simple. The court should carry out reforms. The wealthy should pay taxes, while the poor should be exempt."
The applause grew louder.
From inside the crowd, a man arranged there by Gao Family Village suddenly stepped forward to play the role of heckler.
"Sir, what you say sounds reasonable. But I am a foolish man and do not understand something. How do we decide who is rich and who is poor? If we cannot define that clearly, your words are just empty talk."
Liu Maopao immediately pointed at the man.
"An excellent question!"
"What counts as rich and what counts as poor must indeed be clarified."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"Allow me to offer a simple idea."
"Our Ming Empire is primarily an agricultural nation," Liu Maopao said. "Therefore the simplest method is to collect taxes according to the amount of farmland a person owns."
"The more land you have, the more taxes you pay."
"The less land you have, the less you pay."
"And those who own no land at all should naturally pay nothing."
"What do you think of that proposal?"
The planted heckler immediately shouted again.
"Isn't that already how taxes are collected now? Based on farmland!"
Liu Maopao shook his head.
"No. That is not how things actually work."
He raised his hand and pointed toward a large, luxurious mansion in the distance.
"That family owns a huge amount of land. Yet they pay no taxes."
The crowd followed his finger.
Then the atmosphere turned awkward.
That mansion belonged to one of the most powerful local gentry families in Jinan.
Three members of the clan held official positions in the imperial court. They were among the most influential families in the entire prefecture.
The people murmured nervously.
"They're officials…"
"How could officials collect taxes from other officials?"
"Exactly. We should be grateful they don't increase our taxes. And you want to tax them?"
Liu Maopao raised his hand again and pointed toward the most magnificent residence in all of Jinan City.
"That family also owns vast lands. Almost half of Jinan belongs to them. Yet they also pay no taxes."
The crowd turned their heads to look.
Then they collectively sucked in a breath.
That residence was the Prince De Mansion, home of Zhu Youzhu, the Prince of De.
A member of the imperial family.
Royal blood.
And this scholar was suggesting that the prince should pay taxes?
He might be beaten to death for saying such things.
The crowd suddenly felt uneasy.
It seemed they were listening to a rebel's speech.
But Liu Maopao continued without hesitation.
"If those people who currently pay no taxes began paying them, the nation's tax revenue would increase enormously."
"If that happened, the tax rate on each mu of farmland could be lowered."
"The country would still have enough revenue to operate."
"And poor people would pay less tax."
He spread his hands and concluded.
"In simple terms, the wealthy would pay more taxes so the poor could pay less."
The crowd stared at him nervously.
"Your words are dangerous."
Liu Maopao laughed.
"Do not worry. I am merely a scholar. What I am doing now is called 'criticizing current affairs.' Discussing these matters is allowed."
"Let us simply chat about it."
But nobody dared chat with him.
The crowd scattered instantly like frightened birds.
In the blink of an eye, the platform was empty.
Liu Maopao did not seem upset at all. He simply smiled cheerfully and prepared to step down.
Just then, someone pushed through the crowd.
It was Li Yan, the strategist of Chuang Wang.
He reached out and grabbed Liu Maopao's arm firmly.