It was approaching noon, and Gu Wen had just finished breakfast when he heard crying and howling coming from outside the house.

When he walked out, he saw a fat-bellied and round-faced businessman opposite the door holding an official's thigh and crying. Surrounded by a large group of government servants and officials who were constantly moving things from his house, they looked like they were going to ransack the house.

After I asked my servants to inquire, I found out that the Municipal Yi Department had to collect taxes, specifically taxes from merchants, called portal taxes.

The Municipal Yi Division is the commercial taxation agency and is also responsible for managing the large and small taxes of all merchants. The leader is the deputy envoy of the Municipal Yi, and there are eight in the Municipal Yi Division. They are all low-ranking and powerful officials who can control everything. The beast of merchants.

As for why it's like searching the house, it's because the tax collectors also want to subsidize the family.

Gu Wen twitched the corner of his mouth. He knew that the work was about to end, but his condition always worsened faster than he imagined.

At noon, after closing the door opposite, the tax collectors came towards Gu Wen's house again.

Gu Wen slowly walked out of the house, and Qin Mian, Rong Leng and the other two men led the royal guards to follow closely with knives. The friction of their armor and the heavy footsteps immediately made the murderous collection team become friendly.

In particular, Qin Miancheng, Rong Leng and the other two, from their aura to their eyes, are not ordinary forbidden soldiers. They are both fierce soldiers who came back from the border army.

No matter how much Da Gan stretched his hips, the troops stationed on the border still had basic combat effectiveness, otherwise they would have been killed by the barbarians. Sometimes Gu Wen quite admired the border troops, who could still defend the border despite being dragged down by such a stretched court. for so many years.

The leading deputy city official changed his fierce expression in the morning, lowered his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Hey, Mr. Wen, good afternoon."

"Where is it? Sir, are you here to ransack the house?"

Gu Wen asked lightly. There were three steps at the door. He looked down at the other person. Because he was here to collect money, his face was not good, at least he would not smile.

Little did he know that the slight emotion affected Ling Yun, and the dark pupils seemed to contain boundless pressure, making the tax collectors even more short of breath.

An eight-pound rabbit is an eagle's meal, and an eight-hundred-pound rabbit can swallow an eagle.

If you want to kill enemies across species, you have to gain weight. Officials are indeed better than merchants, but when it comes to individuals, not everyone is a high official. The deputy envoy of Shi Yi is an eighth-grade minor official. He is one of the few big merchants in Longqiao. First, the other party still cannot control himself.

Furthermore, the armored and knife-wielding guards behind Gu Wen are a bit scary.

"How dare you, how dare you." Deputy Shiyi was ashamed. He took two steps forward and took out a piece of silver, and said in a low voice: "Master Wen, I will obey my orders and you will do your best."

He also had to give me money to bribe me.

Gu Wen was quite amused, but he would not really accept it and use it as his own leverage. He pushed the money back and said, "Sir, just follow the rules. Gu will definitely cooperate with the court fully."

The deputy mayor immediately breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him in a low voice. He didn't just have eyes and buttocks.

If you can beg for food in Bianjing, you have to keep your eyes open, especially for an actual executor like him, because you don't know if the other person is a relative of the emperor. But the deputy envoy of City Yi knows the identity of the other person, and he has a good reputation in Bianjing. of big businessmen.

Although he is not a high-ranking official in the capital, he is not someone he can touch, not to mention that he has a forbidden army at home.

But you have to follow the rules anyway, because the emperor is asking for money, and all the big families in the city have to give it, including the prime minister.

He took out the paperwork and read:

"When the Holy King comes to his dynasty, the world is peaceful and happy, and the people live in peace. Businessmen gather gold and silver without knowing the suffering of the people. Today, disasters continue, foreign enemies are raging, and the front line is tight. We should share our worries for the country. All merchants, big and small, will have their taxes increased by 30%, and those whose houses have more than ten doors and windows,

One more door and window plus five taels, and the roof will not be capped."

Gu Wen's brows were twitching, and even he couldn't hold his expression any longer.

He knew that the court was here to collect money, and he also knew how much of a beast the court was, but at this moment he still wanted to scold his mother.

You have to pay taxes on the doors and windows where you step on a horse, why don't you go to heaven?

You must know that ancient mansions also pay attention to ventilation and light transmission, especially the style of mansions of dignitaries and dignitaries. There are many doors and windows, and even the windows on the garden walls have pictures. If you really want to make a complete calculation, Gu Wen estimates that he may have to pay more than a thousand taels.

When tax collectors enter a house, they are followed by servants and maids to prevent them from stealing items.

This time the tax collector didn't dare to pluck the goose like he did this morning. He honestly checked and recorded it and didn't take any needle or thread.

In the end, the deputy envoy of City Yi felt guilty and informed the result: "Marquis Wen, the total is one thousand two hundred taels. I can count one thousand taels for you. What do you think?"

He planned to give Gu Wen face, so that he might be able to interact with others and ask for help in the future.

Gu Wen shook his head and said, "No need, sir, let's take care of business."

The deposit was 4,500 taels, of which 1,200 taels were gone, leaving a balance of 3,330 taels.

When all the outsiders dispersed, Gu Wen and Jiang Fugui were in the room. The latter pointed at the sky and cursed his mother, without mentioning his name, but everything was self-evident.

At this moment, countless people are shouting that God has no eyes, but the curse is not God. Outside Qianjing County, countless eyes are on Bianjing, and within Bianjing, countless people are looking at the palace.

Thousands of people want to die, but they don’t know how long they can hold on.

After Gu Wen took a few sips of tea, he said calmly: "It's not us who should be anxious."

The process of founding a country in each dynasty was strange and varied, but the scenes at the time of its demise were strangely the same.

The people were squandered excessively, and the people's upheaval was imminent, so the merchants were plundered.

Now that we have reached the Shang Dynasty, the next step is to suppress the rebellion, decentralize power to various places, and enable the rise of princes.

The front line is tight, and even the Hu cavalry who have penetrated into the interior cannot be driven away. If they take root in Zezhou County, it will be the same as entering the pass in the previous life.

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Zezhou County.

The beacon smoke penetrated the earth and the sky. The civilians pushed the catapults stuck in the mud, and the boulders lit by grease flew over their heads, passing through the meat grinders of military formations one after another. In the firelight, there seemed to be countless frightened, angry, and crazy faces.

Boom!

The boulder fell on the city wall and created a gap, but like a stone falling into the waves, it was instantly drowned out by countless sounds of fighting.

Zecheng, the largest city in Zezhou County, is located deep inside a mansion.

The Zezhou County Sheriff was tied to a chair. He stretched out a hand from the darkness and pinched the black insect and put it into his nostril, followed by a shrill wail.

The next day, the governor of Zezhou County defected to Hu, and countless aristocratic families defected.

The front line of Bianjing was full of good news. Every day, officials rode back from outside the city on horseback, shouting how many times General So-and-so had destroyed the enemy.

I don’t know if it’s because Daqianyi Station is of high quality and still has the energy to shout after traveling such a long distance.

------------------

Water room.

Gu Wen was looking at the bill. Last month, the water room income was 8,000 taels, excluding miscellaneous costs and expenses of 1,000 taels. At the same time, he sold a one-year water bill yesterday. At half price, it is 5,000 taels a year. Plus The total amount is twelve thousand taels.

With one move of his pen and one stroke, he made a smooth flow and recorded ten thousand taels in his account!

On the side, Jiang Fugui looked at Gu Wen's definitely not pretty words and praised them profusely: "Wonderful! Wonderful! It's really wonderful."

Gu Wen smiled and said, "What's so wonderful about it?"

"A hand with a thousand pieces of gold, a stroke of ten thousand taels, each stroke is worth a thousand taels!"

Jiang Fugui also has a rare literary talent. The two of them looked at each other and smiled, and everything was self-evident.

If merchants like them only get a fixed salary and share, they may not even be able to maintain a comfortable life, just like the officials of the imperial court. If they are not greedy at all, a dignified sixth-grade official can only ensure that the whole family does not go hungry.

However, Gu and Wen had never been lenient in raising the income of the palace, and the word "loyalty to the emperor" was not in their dictionary.

Two thousand taels of fat meat, Gu Wen took one thousand five hundred taels, and Jiang Fugui took five hundred taels. The latter saw it and shook his head repeatedly: "Oh, I can't help it. The little one didn't do much, so why don't you just give me a hundred taels?" Just two taels is enough. This money is not brought by the strong wind. The average person only has ten taels of silver a year."

Longqiao started by making a thousand taels of money, which is the ultimate life and death.

And they are just servants who serve the powerful. It is always the powerful who really make money and spend money.

Gu Wen said with an unclear smile: "There are indeed many things that need you to do."

"Then I'll ask for the reward after it's done."

I deposited 4,500 taels, picked up 1,900 taels, and left a balance of 5,600 taels. I left a message to make a lot of money!

Night, Dragon Bridge.

There are no white people coming and going, and there are many dignitaries and crowns.

A carriage stopped, and Qin Mian, who was driving the carriage and wearing armor and holding a knife, landed first, then slightly opened the curtain and said respectfully: "Master Wen, we are here."

A pair of deep eyes shot out from the shadows, and then Gu Wen, dressed in plain black and in full compliance with the court's regulations for merchants, stepped out of the carriage.

Guests coming and going, many merchants, and beautiful people from the Qing Dynasty all looked at Gu Wen with countless eyes.

There are countless nobles in Longqiao, but few of them can equip followers with swords, and wearing armor is unheard of.

But Gu Wen was treated like this. Even the minister of the court would not dare to say that he could be guarded by imperial guards with swords in Bianjing. What a blessing it was.

Even if only he knows that this is more like a chain than protection and majesty.

The whole place was silent, and then the waiters from various restaurants ran away, scrambling to invite Gu Wen.

Gu Wen Longqiao's reputation is at the height of the sky. He can unite many brothels and crush illegal businessmen in the tooth market just by opening his mouth. Without the fate of top dignitaries, he is the real Longqiao Chitose. This is a nickname called by good people, but it is never wrong.

But it is impossible for the top dignitaries to end up. The adults want everything, both money and fame.

Zhao Feng spends hundreds of thousands of taels every year and has a reputation for being honest.

Gu Wen walked into Qianfeng Tower. Since it was work, he had to leave a record to let Zhao Feng know that he had entered Qianfeng Tower.
Chapter completed!