Zhou Chen's ability gradually emerged after he recommended himself to Judy. He worked hard for two years from the initial governor of punishments to the official foreign minister, and was finally promoted to the right assistant minister of the Ministry and appointed as the governor of Jiangnan at an opportunity. This seems to be an opportunity for promotion, a fat official position, but many ministers behind it are not easy to understand, and it is actually a challenge. Because his duty after taking office is mainly to solve the tax problem in Jiangnan.
Due to historical problems, taxes in Jiangnan are too heavy, several times or even dozens of times higher than those in other places. Local people not only have to pay official taxes, but also face the suppression of robbery by bandits. This also turned the originally rich Jiangnan into a negative number. It is particularly difficult to collect taxes. Faced with high taxes, people began to flee.
After arriving in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhou Chen encountered many difficulties, but he solved the local tax problem through the "square meter method". He increased taxes on the rich according to the level of their wealth, while the people paid a large amount of taxes. After a long time, the geographical advantages of Jiangnan made the treasures of Jiangnan increasingly rich, which led to the critical emergency of "the change of civil castles" and helped the Ming Dynasty tide over the critical crisis.