Zi Shou in Chaoge had indeed run into trouble. The nobles claimed they would pay the land tax, but they kept making excuses, and he simply could not collect it.
The commoners' land tax, on the other hand, had already been collected in full. Seeing that very real extra portion of tax compared with previous years only deepened his distress.
Why on earth was this happening?
Neither rice nor wheat was widespread enough in this era. Many people probably knew as little as he did about when to sow winter wheat and spring wheat. During the initial rollout, harvests should have decreased!
To catch the culprit and uncover the truth behind this, Zi Shou deliberately proposed visiting the fields during court.
Unexpectedly, he met resistance. The first to remonstrate was not Yang Ren, but Bo Yi.
Bo Yi repeatedly tried to stop him. "Your Majesty, the ruler and his ministers handle affairs of state, while the citizens and servants carry them out. Collecting land tax and governing the country are the court's proper duties. Ordering the common people to plant wheat and rice is also Your Majesty's proper duty. But going into the fields yourself to perform such trifling tasks as tilling, fertilizing, and loosening the soil-would that not be putting the branches before the roots?"
This baffling remonstration left Zi Shou dumbfounded. You don't think I'm planning to send the leadership down to the countryside, do you?
Even if I went, I'd just look around and feast to my heart's content. How could I do the work myself? I don't even know how to loosen soil or turn over a field!
Seeing that Zi Shou had said nothing, Bo Yi continued his remonstration. "Your Majesty, this would violate ritual propriety. Having High Officials plow fields would be like making