South of Xiangyang City, east of the Han River, there is a town called Hanyin. It is a land and water dock, extremely prosperous, and there used to be a post station. Since the Jin Army conquered Xiangyang last year, there were very few merchants, and it became deserted for a while. However, after the Jin Army conquered Xiangyang, it quickly became deserted.

After retreating, there was no military disaster here. As more people moved from the north to the south, there were slowly signs of recovery.

Hanyin Town is the hometown of Tang Dynasty poet Meng Haoran. There are many relics left, and many literati and poets came to pay their respects. But now, most of the relics have disappeared, and no trace of Meng Haoran remains.

Not far from the town, on the edge of the Han River, there is a large courtyard, which is the home of Du Chaoyuan, a wealthy local family.

Early that morning, several people came waddlingly. They entered the courtyard and saluted Du Chaoyuan together.

Du Chaoyuan said: "Today I killed a pig, slaughtered two geese, and prepared three jars of wine, just for you brothers. Come and sit inside, drink tea and chat. After a while, the meat will be cooked, and we will have fun together!"

Everyone thanked him and went to a nearby thatched pavilion together. There were three people already sitting inside, and they all bowed and bowed.

As the sun rose high, two more people came and sat together in the thatched pavilion. Du Chaoyuan closed the door and came to the thatched pavilion. He bowed his hands to everyone and saluted: "Today I have prepared some wine and meat for you brothers. Please don't

If you want to despise simplicity, you must leave it happily!"

Everyone said they didn't dare and asked Du Chaoyuan to sit down.

Du Chaoyuan sat down. He looked at the crowd and said, "I originally invited Wu Shun, Cao Ying, and Qiu Pengshu today, but they didn't come. I think they felt that I was different from the past, and they felt a little disgusted."

A stout man wearing a lotus leaf scarf said loudly: "Those three people have no vision and are timid, don't care what they do!"

Du Chaoyuan said: "You can't say that. In Hanyin, we have made a fortune together, and now it's not good for anyone without us. But it's okay if the three of them don't come. As long as we make a fortune, they don't want to be greedy!"

Everyone cheered and said yes. They were noisy and gossiping.

After a while, the meat was cooked and served. Du Chaoyuan opened the wine jar and filled everyone with wine.

Raising the wine bowl, Du Chaoyuan said: "We brothers are of the same mind, and there is no unreasonable truth in the world! Let's drink this bowl of wine and discuss things!"

Everyone cheered loudly. They raised their wine bowls together, raised their heads and drank.

The wine bowls were put down, and everyone ate a meal of meat. After drinking two more bowls, everyone was a little drunker.

Du Chaoyuan then said: "Since last winter, when a good man named Yang Jin came to Ruzhou and the prefect abandoned the city, our life has become worse day by day. The new king, Wang Guan, is ignorant of the sufferings of the people. Not long after arriving in Xiangyang,

So we abolished various miscellaneous taxes and only allowed the people who farmed the land to provide food. How can this be done? If the government cannot receive money, how can it pay the officers and soldiers? This is absolutely impossible!"

The sturdy man who spoke earlier said: "That's all, the people who own the land are quarreling with the government. What's even more terrible is that the current business tax collection method is different from the previous collection method, and we don't need to be the boss. This

Wouldn’t it cut off our livelihood?”

This man’s name is Yu Jiang, and he is a Yuyazi on the Han River. He is in charge of the fishing market in Hanyin Town. There are not only the Han River here, but also many lakes around it, which produce a lot of fish and shrimp. As a Yuyazi, Yu Jiang is in charge of the surrounding areas.

The wealth and lives of fishermen. After Wang Xiaoyou arrived, he transferred many people from Ruzhou and ordered the guild to be cancelled. Not only Yuya, but also all kinds of Ya people basically lost their jobs.

Du Chaoyuan sighed: "It's not just you. Who here today has lost his job? This king observed that when he first arrived, he made such a fuss and didn't care about us common people. How can we do it? If this continues, it's not just us.

In the entire Xiangyang Prefecture, there are countless people who cannot support their families! Look, how can I support such a large family business?"

Everyone said yes.

Du Chaoyuan turned out to be the leader of this place and had great power. If there were any major events in the town, even the town supervisor would look at Du Chaoyuan's face. Hanyin was on the commercial road, and there were many merchants, so I don't know how much money he collected in a year.

The so-called head-hunter, another name familiar to later generations, is somewhat similar to a tax collector. For a wharf, a ferry, or a less important trade route, or even a grass market, the government sets a tax amount.

The tax is collected by the head. If the amount collected is less than the tax amount, the head will pay the tax himself. If the amount is too much, the amount of tax will be the income from the head.

Is it an ordinary person who can stop a place and prevent merchants from evading taxes? For example, Du Chaoyuan, with his five sons and dozens of bankers, is a very powerful force in the local area. No matter who comes to Xiangyang to do business

Officer, how dare you underestimate him?

But Wang Xiaolie was different. When he arrived in Xiangyang, the first people he dealt with were Du Chaoyuan and others. All special barriers and head-holding duties were cancelled, and new public officials were responsible for collecting taxes. The tax types were reduced to the extreme, even for merchants, they only had two

Three types.

Du Chaoyuan no longer had the job of holding the head office, and he also had no way to make money. How could he support such a large business? After holding it in for several months, he finally couldn't help it. If he didn't fight back, the family business he had worked hard to save all his life would be destroyed.

Wang Xiaolie is gone.

Next to him, Pan Hong was over 50 years old, with a thin body. He was from the local goose and duck market in Hanyin. After listening to Du Chaoyuan's words, he sighed: "Now, I am not allowed to control the geese and ducks sold in the market. It has been more than a month.

Over time, the price has increased a lot. If this continues, the people will no longer be able to afford it. I don’t have a family as big as Du Yuanwai, but the people can’t afford geese and ducks, so how can I make it happen?"

Everyone nodded and told each other about their hard work.

Those who arrived today, Du Chaoyuan, Meng Cang, and Shen Junming are all in charge, but they are in charge of different places. Yu Jiang, Pan Hong, Chen Yizhong, Li Qian and Meng Panshi are all experts in various industries. Normally, except for supervising the town, these people are

When Wang Xiaolie, the leading figure in Hanyin Town, came, these people lost their previous jobs and no way to make money, and they all gritted their teeth with hatred.

After drinking a bowl of wine, Li Qian smashed the wine bowl on the table and said: "We people, many of the ministries have been passed down from generation to generation. To put it bluntly, there are several families who do this ministry more than those in the Song Dynasty.

Jiuyuan! How can this Wang Kuan endure the fact that he has soldiers in his hands and takes away our food and clothing! Brothers, if we have no choice, we will definitely make Wang Kuan even more unscrupulous. We must find a way to let him know how powerful he is!"

Meng Cang sighed: "Two young people came to Ruzhou and are now in charge of the town. I don't know how arrogant they are! Now all affairs must be under their control. Whoever is allowed to do business will do business, and whoever is asked to pay more taxes will pay more.

Tax, none of the previous prison towns had such great power!"

Shen Junming said: "What can be done? They have a group of scoundrels around them. Who dares not to listen to them? Those of us who are accustomed to doing things put it aside and don't ask a question."

Several people expressed their dissatisfaction with the new policy.

Du Chaoyuan just listened silently, drinking and thinking.

After about half an hour, most of the food and wine had gone away. Everyone was drunk and talked more and more unscrupulously.

After a bowl of wine, Yu Jiang said loudly: "In that case, we might as well go into the town and kill those two Ruzhou people! Let's see how many people Wang Kuan can send from Ruzhou to Xiangyang! He sent one,

We will kill one! If you send a pair, we will kill both!"

When it came to killing people, the other people couldn't help but shut up and looked at Yu Jiang.

Yu Jiang said angrily: "What a thief, how many lives are there in the hands of people like us? How can it be difficult to kill two people!"

Du Chaoyuan, who had been silent all this time, said slowly and authentically: "Killing is not a trivial matter, we have to consider it in the long term. In Hanyin Town, two people are nothing to us. However, if Wang Kuan takes this matter seriously, it will be difficult to handle.
Chapter completed!