Chapter 421 The Taoist Who Never Bows His Head (Thanks to "Dybala Lord" for becoming the leader of this book)
Fan Gu is dead.
He was killed in his own living room, and the two guards outside the door died with him.
"Fan Gu likes to listen to storytelling. He couldn't stand it anymore that day, so he invited a teacher. This must have been done by that person."
Han Yu's face was grim. "I heard he was a fat white man."
"Does Jiang Qingzhi have such a person?" Yang Qing glanced at Chen Zhan.
"Jiang Qingzhi has a counselor named Xu Wei!" Chen Zhan said, "Xu Wei is the only one who fits the bill. He is one of the Ten Masters of Yue."
"What a Jiang Qingzhi!" Han Yu took a deep breath. "He broke into the house in broad daylight, killed someone and left calmly. Does he think this is the former Tang Dynasty and that he is a knight-errant?"
"Do you think he broke the rules?" Yang Qing shook his head. "I once said that unless it is absolutely necessary, we must not resort to such tactics of conquest and punishment. Jiang Qingzhi is vindictive, and if we fail, he will definitely take crazy revenge on us... and now it is true."
"Why are you talking about this now?" Han Yu said, "Someone came to me earlier. The outside world learned that Fan Gu was killed in his home in broad daylight. The scholars in the capital were shocked. Someone filed a petition of impeachment, but it was rejected by the Ministry of Public Security. Zhao Wenhua said lightly: Where is the evidence?"
"Zhao Wenhua and Jiang Qingzhi are mortal enemies, but he actually offers a helping hand..." Yang Qing frowned, "This is what His Majesty meant."
"Gentlemen," Chen Zhan said, "some people say that we should give an eye for an eye. Many families here have assassins. Since Jiang Qingzhi is the first, don't blame us for being the fifteenth."
"What do you think, Mr. Han?" Yang Qing asked.
Han Yu pondered for a long time. "If I stop, Jiang Qingzhi and the Mohists will definitely take advantage of the situation and publicize the matter. But if I retaliate..."
"Jiang Qingzhi is short of manpower." Yang Qing said, "Besides, he can't mobilize the Tiger Guards Left Guards for such a matter. There are more than ten guards. Is he afraid of him?"
Han Yu raised his eyes and said, "Earlier, Mr. Yang said that we should not resort to conquest unless it is absolutely necessary. How come..."
Yang Qing said: "The public sentiment is overwhelming and morale is low, so we have to do it!"
Han Yu lowered his eyes, "Whatever you want."
Chen Zhan said: "Gentlemen, Jiang Qingzhi is a famous general."
"What do you mean?" Yang Qing asked.
"He is an expert in this kind of fighting."
Chen Zhan almost complained directly: When it comes to this, we are no match for Jiang Qingzhi.
"And Zhu Xizhong is here!"
"The line of Duke Chengguo has been passed down for many years, and there are many brave soldiers in the mansion. If Zhu Xizhong does his best to support..." Han Yu said.
"He has tried his best to support us." Chen Zhan said, "Almost all the guards of the Duke's Mansion have been out in force recently. Every year, the Duke's Mansion sends guards to the north. Their whereabouts are unknown, but after they come back, those guards look like they have been reborn..."
"To kill people!" Han Yu said, "This method is not only used by Zhu Xizhong, but also by those families with a good inheritance. Guards who don't kill people are useless. However, they have become less and less in recent years. In times of peace, everyone is afraid of suffering, including guards and masters."
"Let's discuss this matter again!" Yang Qing changed his mind when he saw Han Yu's firm attitude.
After he left, Han Yu sighed, "You have known Fan Gu for many years, but this is the overall situation! A little impatience can ruin a big plan, don't you understand?"
That night, someone sneaked into Xin'an Lane and was discovered by the guards as soon as he entered the Bo's Mansion.
After a fierce battle, six invaders were killed and the rest fled.
The dogs in Xin'an Lane barked all night, and in the early morning people from the Bingmasi came to ask about the situation.
"Just a few stray dogs got in. It has nothing to do with the Bingmasi." Fu Cheng said lightly.
"That's good." The general leading the team said with a smile, "If there is anything, just send someone to the Military Affairs Department to let us know."
After leaving Xin'an Lane, one of his subordinates said, "There is a bloody smell in the front yard. The smell of dog blood is different from that of human blood. Human blood is smelly and difficult to dissipate. The strong smell of blood shows that many people have died."
The general said calmly: "This is a fight between gods. Let's not get involved, or we might get hurt."
"Those people said they sneaked in, but in fact they climbed over the wall openly and did not hide their whereabouts. The guards of the Bo's Mansion were well prepared, and the two sides fought in the front yard..."
In Yongshou Palace, Rui Jingxian said, "Those people were defeated and fled. The people from the East Factory intercepted two of them, captured them and tortured them, saying that they were horse thieves from the northwest."
"Horse bandits from the northwest?" Emperor Jiajing frowned.
Lu Bing said, "Your Majesty, the people in the northwest are tough and fierce, and the horse thieves are even more fierce. Those horse thieves not only rob people, but also dare to attack small groups of soldiers when they encounter them."
"Those people were really deliberate, leaving no trace." Emperor Jiajing said coldly: "Go ask Qingzhi."
Huang Jin went to Xin'an Lane in person.
As soon as he entered the front yard, he smelled a faint fragrance. Huang Jin sniffed and said, "Isn't this the fragrant dew that is worth more than gold?"
"Some wild dogs came to our house last night and we killed a few of them. My uncle said they smelled fishy and bad, so we sprayed some," said Fucheng.
"Stray dogs?"
"Yes."
Fucheng looked at him calmly.
"You have been in the palace for many years and know the difficulties your majesty is in. Now that both sides are killing each other, if your majesty takes action... you must not take sides, otherwise those people will spread the news that your majesty has been bewitched by flatterers..."
"So the uncle said that this is a private matter!" Fucheng said with a smile.
……
"Is it a personal grudge?" Emperor Jiajing received the reply and said calmly, "Or is it a dispute over academic theories?"
Huang Jin said: "Those people in the capital thought that Chang Wei Bo could not find out the identity of the assassin, so they could only swallow their anger. But they did not expect that Chang Wei Bo would kill the suspected person without any evidence. This angered those behind the scenes, and thus triggered the fight last night."
"Confucianism, Mohism..." Emperor Jiajing said in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister requests an audience."
Yan Song arrived, bowed, and said, "They pretended to be storytellers and killed people in broad daylight, and broke into Xin'an Lane in the middle of the night. The sound of fighting was deafening. Your Majesty, this must be stopped... Otherwise, everyone will be in danger. I am worried that something will happen that I cannot bear to talk about."
"Stop it?" Emperor Jiajing suddenly smiled. "When I was fighting with Yang Tinghe and others, Yang Shen was thinking the same thing when he caused the Zuo Shunmen Incident, right? The law does not punish the masses, and there is power in numbers... They are all waiting for me to bow my head, waiting for me to bow my head!!!"
Emperor Jiajing said the last sentence in a stern voice and smashed the jade awl in his hand.
Bah!
The jade cone was crushed.
"Who did the assassination outside the capital?"
"Is the subsequent revenge justified?"
"You rushed into Xin'an Lane in the middle of the night. You think the capital is a battlefield, and you still want me to bow my head?"
Emperor Jiajing's eyes were cold and stern, "Yan Song." "Your Majesty!" Yan Song slowly knelt down, "I... am just worried about causing a dispute between the emperor and his subjects."
"Oh!" Emperor Jiajing smiled and said, "In other words, they can kill people, but Qingzhi and I can only suffer?"
Yan Song raised his head, his old eyes full of panic, "Someone told me that if this continues, the people of the country will be in turmoil, and I'm afraid someone... will take a risk."
"This is a threat!" Emperor Jiajing said calmly, "As for taking risks, Yan Song, have you never read history books? As long as the dynasty can still support itself, who among the scholars and officials would dare to take risks?"
Emperor Jiajing sneered, "They will wait until the Ming Dynasty declines. They will go against their conscience, forget their ancestors, and even join forces with foreign races... Who said this?"
Huang Jin said respectfully, "It's Chang Wei Bo."
"Tell them that as long as I am here, the Ming Dynasty will exist."
Emperor Jiajing's eyes were cold and fierce, "I never bowed my head back then, and I won't bow my head today!"
……
"In the eyes of those people, the emperor is a burden. They like to measure everything by benefits. Whoever can bring them benefits, no matter who it is, they will choose to agree. Even submit to him."
"For the sake of profit, they will bend the knee to foreign races. For the sake of profit, they will treat the emperor's will as toilet paper. For the sake of profit, they dare to sell out their ancestors and their souls!"
"Confucianists without restraint and wealthy merchants without restraint will be the gravediggers of the Ming Dynasty!"
On the podium, Jiang Qingzhi is teaching a class.
The students were horrified when they heard this, but Xia Yan, who was listening outside, smiled bitterly and said, "He's not afraid of being heard by others."
Xu Wei was also listening. He put his hands in his sleeves and sniffed. "My Lord has the heart to rebuild the Ming Dynasty. He is a friend to those people, not an enemy. Since they are enemies, why should we be polite to them?"
Jiang Qingzhi's words were spread, immediately triggering a backlash from wealthy merchants in the capital.
One day he was returning from the palace and was stopped on the long street.
Several men who looked like wealthy businessmen saluted respectfully, but their words were particularly sharp.
"My Lord said that we have no father, no mother, no ancestors, and are willing to sell our souls for profit. May I ask why he said that?" The leading merchant was called He Qi. He said in a loud voice: "The He family has been doing business for many years, and we donate money and grain every year. If the court says so, the He family is willing to donate our family business, just for the Ming Dynasty..."
Jiang Qingzhi looked at this person on horseback and said calmly, "What kind of business are you doing?"
He Qi said: "Southern goods business."
"Have you paid taxes?"
He Qi: “…”
"Has the commercial tax been paid?" Jiang Qingzhi asked again.
He Qi: “…”
"Should we pay commercial taxes?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Is paying business taxes a Ming law?"
The onlookers were also stunned.
No one has heard of commercial tax for many years.
When Jiang Qingzhi mentioned it today, everyone realized, oh! It turns out that businessmen should pay taxes.
"After years of evading taxes, you donate some money and grain and think you are doing good for the country and the people?"
"It costs money to maintain the army in the court, it costs money to pay the salaries of all officials, and it costs money everywhere in the country. Where does the money come from?"
Jiang Qingzhi said coldly, "From taxes. Logically, there are a lot of commercial taxes, but once you mention commercial taxes, you accuse Your Majesty of competing with the people for profits. I would like to ask, does this people refer to ordinary people, or does it refer to you?"
"They are the people, then what are we?" someone asked.
"Pigs, dogs, cows, and sheep!"
He Qi's face flushed, "Regarding the business tax..."
"Go on!" Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette.
He Qi and others had not paid taxes for many years and had long forgotten about commercial taxes. Today, they came to Jiang Qingzhi with full confidence to argue, but were hit hard on the head.
He Qi blushed, bowed, turned around and left.
"You brought disgrace upon yourself!" Sun Chonglou laughed.
"Wait." Jiang Qingzhi stopped He Qi and others.
He Qi looked grim, "Does the uncle have any other instructions?"
I admit defeat, okay?
"Since you're here, it's just right, Sun Bu Tong."
"Uncle."
Sun Bu Tong jumped out nimbly and knelt on one knee.
"What a great guard!" someone praised.
Sun Chonglou said enviously, "Old Sun always makes the young master proud."
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at He Qi and the others and said, "Since commercial taxes are a national law, then not paying them is defying the law. These people are kindhearted people who care about the country and the people. I don't think they will refuse to make up the payment, right? Take them to the Ministry of Revenue and make up the commercial taxes that have been missed over the years."
He Qi and others have been doing business for many years. If they really have to pay additional taxes, the amount would be crazy enough.
He Qi's expression changed drastically, "Uncle..."
Sun Bu Tong came over with a knife in hand and said with a fierce smile: "You can try to refuse."
On that day, a wealthy businessman intercepted Jiang Qingzhi and argued with him in the street.
On that day, a wealthy businessman fainted outside the Ministry of Revenue.
.........
Thanks to Jazz Tu for the tip. I have to indicate every time that it is Jazz Tu (TU), not Jazz.
(End of this chapter)
