Outside the magistrate's office, there was a dead silence.
Both officials and petty officials in the government office were all kneeling on the ground in fear.
Li Jinglong stood on the steps, squinting at Qianhu, the guardhouse of Jiujiang Prefecture.
As for Qianhu, his eyes were staring at the middle of the bridge of his nose, making him cross-eyed, like a fool.
"Whose father did you just say?" Li Jinglong couldn't help it anymore and sneered as he approached the Qianhu.
"Are you talking to me?" That Qianhu's eyes finally started to move.
"If I don't talk to you, why should I talk to a ghost?" Li Jinglong sneered.
Whoosh!
The Qianhu suddenly pulled out the dagger from his waist.
Li Jinglong quickly took two steps back, "Bold..."
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, he saw Qianhu putting his hands on the ground, pointing the dagger in his hand, and made a crunching sound.
Um!
After the Qianhu groaned, the ground was filled with blood. Amidst the blood, two fingers were separated from the palm, revealing the white bone stubble.
He was also a man. He was covered in cold sweat but remained silent. Then he looked at Li Jinglong and said, "Master, I was wrong. Can you give me a chance?"
The surrounding officials were frightened out of their wits, but Li Jinglong was stunned on the spot.
After a long while, he said with a complicated mood, "He is quite a man!"
"It's because I'm not afraid of death that I rose from a small soldier to a thousand households." The Qianhu gritted his teeth and said, "Please, sir, don't kill me!"
Suddenly, seeing this straightforward man like this, Li Jinglong felt a little love for talents.
"Go and wrap it up, then come back and continue kneeling!" Li Jinglong whispered, "How to deal with you, long live the Lord!"
As he said that, he looked coldly at all the officials in Jiujiang Mansion, then waved their sleeves heavily and walked towards the government office.
~~
Zhu Yunxi looked at Chen Jingzhi, the prefect of Jiujiang, who was kneeling in front of him, his face as gloomy as water.
"Jiujiang Mansion, you manage it well! You manage it well!" Zhu Yunxi sneered, "It's so good that I was shocked!"
"I deserve death for my crime..."
"When did I decree that anyone who sells vegetables and firewood in the city must collect taxes?" Zhu Yunxi said angrily, "When did I say that tax officials can arrest people and deduct goods at will?"
"Your Majesty!" Chen Jingzhi raised his head, his face ashen, "This is all... the people below are making their own decisions, I really don't know!"
"You don't know, as a prefect, what do you do as a prefect?" Zhu Yunxi's tone was so bad that he almost pointed at Chen Jingzhi's nose and yelled.
Chen Jingzhi knew that his little fate would not be saved at this point. When he thought about the harsh punishment of officials in the Ming Dynasty, he became even more despairing.
But at the same time, his heart was also filled with many feelings of unwillingness and even grievance.
"Your Majesty!" Chen Jingzhi gritted his teeth fiercely, raised his head and said, "I was indeed negligent in collecting taxes, but... I also have difficulties!"
As he spoke, he continued loudly, "In recent years, the imperial court's taxes have been more important than commercial taxes. Most of the money paid every year is directly in silver. If taxes are not collected, how can I use the money to pay taxes to the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
"Oh, are you still reasonable?" Zhu Yunxi laughed angrily.
Then, he gritted his teeth and sneered, "Okay, okay, you are still reasonable, then I will let you say it! Say it!"
"Besides, there is no accurate breakdown of the city gate taxes in various places. What kind of goods can be collected and what cannot be collected. Jiujiang Prefecture's annual taxes are very clear."
"It's a bit harsh, but I don't have any money left in my own pocket." Chen Jingzhi became more and more aggrieved as he spoke, "Besides, Jiujiang Mansion has so many officers to support, and part of the military salary of the guard station has to be shown off.
If you don’t collect taxes... where can I get the money?”
"Furthermore..." Chen Jingzhi was worried, "Jiujiang is not the only place in the world where this is the case, it is everywhere, Your Majesty! I am guilty, but... I am just Xiao Xiao
Follow the rules."
"What a sloppy person who can follow the rules, what a good one who has no money to pay taxes if he doesn't collect taxes!" Zhu Yunxi hit Chen Jingzhi twice, "what a sharp-tongued person!"
As he said that, he looked at Deng Ping and said, "Bring him up!"
"According to the order!"
A moment later, the tax collector, who had been looking pale for a long time, was caught by the guards and thrown directly into the lobby.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"
"Let me ask you!" Zhu Yunxi said coldly, "Who gave you the right to arrest people and seize goods?"
"Your Majesty..." The tax collector's teeth chattered and he couldn't say a single word.
"Tell me, where did your official authority go?" Zhu Yunxi said angrily.
What he hates the most is officials who do everything to their subordinates and exert their power to the extreme, but are obedient to their superiors.
"Your Majesty..." The tax collector first looked at Chen Jingzhi, the prefect of Jiujiang, and then at the guards in the hall. After suddenly facing a desperate situation, he burst out with a burst of courage.
"How are you?" Zhu Yunxi asked again.
"Your Majesty...Please defend yourself!"
"Oh?" Zhu Yunxi was slightly surprised and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that your officials in Jiujiang Prefecture would dare to talk nonsense with me. Okay, then I will let you say, if you can convince me, even if you offended me today, I
You will be forgiven all!"
These words immediately gave the tax collector some strength in his limp body.
He propped himself up and knelt down, and said, "Today's matter will be discussed as it is today. If the person who is really selling the horse cannot produce the tax stamp for the horse purchase or the customs clearance certificate, then it may be stolen goods or stolen goods."
Bootlegger!"
"As a tax official, I cannot ignore things. It is my duty to detain people and goods first, and then check their authenticity. Although the emperor has not said that tax officials can arrest people and deduct goods, but
The emperor never said not to do so."
"Although my actions are a little overbearing, I am still acting for the public good! We cannot allow goods of unknown origin to enter the city, let alone businessmen of unknown origin..."
"Ha!" Zhu Yunxi laughed angrily, "Don't do nothing when you see things? Do things for the public good? What you mean is that you are more serious, but in fact you are still a good official who has the courage to do his job.
?"
"I dare not..."
"Go and ask outside!" Zhu Yunxi suddenly turned his head and said to Deng Ping, "Ask the businessmen in the city whether the tax collector has used the pretext of doing business to line his own pockets and extort money." Then he said angrily, "Again.
Go and ask if the goods he seized have returned to Zhao intact after tracing their origins, and have all been returned to the merchants!"
Plop!
The tax collector's body collapsed again.
His fall has already given the answer.
"I don't need to ask. I know that Jiujiang Prefecture is a businessman, so he must have suffered a lot at your hands!" Zhu Yunxi said angrily, "You must have done more than this, including extortion and extortion to confuse right and wrong!"
"Collecting taxes is a national financial plan! You guys..." Zhu Yunxi sneered, "but you want to profit from it and oppress good people!"
"Well....."
The tax collector's vision went dark, and he was so frightened that he fainted.
"He Guangyi!"
"I'm here!"
"Jin Yiwei is investigating this case!" Zhu Yunxi said coldly, "Look at how many people this black-hearted tax collector has bullied and how much evil he has done!"
"According to the order!"
Afterwards, Zhu Yunxi looked at Chen Jingzhi, the prefect of Jiujiang, and said, "You feel aggrieved. You have such an official under your command. Are you still aggrieved? Why not lose even half of the tax money? Hahaha!"
As he spoke, Zhu Yunxi laughed and said, "He extorted money in addition to regular taxes and enriched himself. Don't you have a share? Do you think I am a three-year-old boy emperor and don't know anything?"
"If he uses dirty money to honor you, can you allow him to be a tax collector?"
Speaking of this, Zhu Yunxi gritted his teeth and said, "This is me, why do you let Li Zhigang set up the General Department of Taxation to take back the power of taxation from you and other local officials!"
Then, he looked at Chen Jingzhi, the prefect of Jiujiang, who was also sitting slumped in a ball, and said, "Today, I will make it clear to you!"
"Deng Ping!"
"I'm here!"
"Say, I'm going to Huimin Pharmacy to have a look!"