In fact, the emperors of the Southern Dynasties did not just impose salt taxes or salt mines.
Long before the salt affairs were handed over to Xichang, the emperor used eunuchs to develop many ways to make money for money, the most important of which was to send mine inspectors to various places to collect taxes.
Although it is called a mining tax, it is actually more than that.
There are tax inspectors, pearl inspectors, tea inspectors, road inspectors, and even fish inspectors—in short, any name with a name has a tax inspector.
The salt prison is already the last bastion for the ministers of the DPRK and China.
It has now been breached as well.
It is conceivable that if Lu Bai wanted to hold the salt mine in his hands and not hand it over to the court, it would be almost tantamount to treason.
Even in the hands of monsters, Lu Bai had to keep a low profile.
A month goes by in a blink of an eye.
It turned out that the day of the salt tax was approaching again, and Jinyiwei's focus should have been to Yongle City to obtain official or private salt.
But this time Jin Yiwei was indifferent.
Lu Bai only sent people to buy some official salt sporadically, which was enough for the common people.
In addition, before the arrival of Xichang's father-in-law, Lu Bai chose to sell all the private salt left by the Jinyiwei and Admiral groups last year at a low price - although he did not make much money, it made the people grateful and paid tribute to his god.
Adding some incense to the temple is enough.
For the rest, Lu Bai chose to wait and see.
On this day, they received news that the admiral of Dongchang and the father-in-law of Xichang were coming to Yancheng, so Lu Bai and the city lord stood at the gate of Shangcheng District to greet them.
You Baihu and the three magistrates from Yancheng are also here.
Behind City Lord Gu are three magistrates, led by Magistrate Lu.
Behind Lu Bai were several hundred households.
While waiting, Magistrate Lu looked at Lu Bai’s back——
A year ago, he was still bossing Lu Baiyi around, but he never expected that he would be standing behind Lu Bai now.
What fate!
It’s really a twist of fate.
Standing on the stone bridge in front of the gate of Shangcheng District, Lu Bai saw two groups of people walking in two long queues from a distance, snake-like and distinct.
Many people from Xiacheng District came out of their shops and stood at the entrance of the alley to watch these people.
Lu Bai and City Master Gu looked at each other.
It's a grand occasion.
The east factory is on the left, and the west factory is on the east.
The admiral on the left is a white-browed eunuch with a kind face and many wrinkles. He is followed closely by four or five royal guards, and behind him are some servants and serving eunuchs.
Contrary to Lu Bai's expectation, the father-in-law on the right was much younger, almost thirty years old.
He has sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, and a dignified appearance. He makes many onlookers' hearts flutter when he glances at him. It's a pity that he is a eunuch.
Lu Bai and the others took a few steps forward.
People from the east and west factories dismounted.
The handsome father-in-law of Xichang made a move and said, "Li Jinzhong in Nei Shutang has met my uncle Guo and Lu Qianhu."
The one-browed eunuch from the East Factory waited for Li Jinzhong to say hello, then he smiled and cupped his hands, and introduced himself to his family.
When you are at a higher level, you can immediately tell the difference when you look at people.
Although Admiral Shen Yixing is in the Qi-refining stage, it can be seen that his body is declining and his life is disappearing due to his old age. He is out of breath after walking a few steps. He is probably here to support his old age and serve as the emperor's eyes and ears.
He obviously followed Li Jinzhong's lead.
After all, the salt affairs have been handed over to the West Factory, and the important task of inspecting illicit salt is no longer the responsibility of the newly appointed admiral.
When Lu Bai was scanning Shen and his party, he suddenly felt eyes on his face. He turned around and saw that Li Jinzhong was looking at him with great interest. Even if he met Lu Bai's eyes, he did not flinch back, but slowly and slowly
Nod.
Before Lu Bai could reply, he suddenly pulled out a yellow scroll from his sleeve and said, "Imperial decree!"
You don't need to kneel to receive the order, just bend down and listen. As for the content, it's about the transfer of Lord Gu to the Lord of Stone City.
This is not surprising.
What is strange is that later, the imperial edict announced that after the transfer of City Lord Gu, the position of City Lord would be temporarily taken by Magistrate Lu.
Although he was appointed on behalf of others, Lu Bai knew that he would become the lord of Yancheng in a few years. The reason why he was not the lord of Yancheng now was because he was not qualified enough. After all, it had only been two years since Lu Zhifu became the prefect.
Lu Bai sighed, he was worthy of being a member of the Lu family, his promotion speed was so fast!
Magistrate Lu was stunned for a moment, then became happy.
He glanced at Lu Bai from the corner of his eye, but he didn't expect that he was above Lu Bai again. Although they were almost on the same level, the city lord was nominally a head above Lu Bai.
This is fate.
It’s really good fortune that plays tricks on people.
Magistrate Lu sighed with emotion.
He and City Lord Gu received the order together and thanked the Lord for his kindness.
The rest of the decree was just to transfer the salt affairs to the West Factory. Lu Bai thought there would be no big surprise, but he never expected that the surprise would be bigger. "From now on, the original salt tax will be abolished. The specific tax reform will wait for us."
After understanding Yancheng in detail, we can come up with a charter." Li Jinzhong said.
Lu Bai raised his eyebrows. Will the salt tax be abolished?
It's weird.
However, not to mention the strict salt tax, transporting it from Yongle City and then transporting it away is also a troublesome matter.
It's good to be done with it now.
It's just that Lu Bai had a bad feeling. He always felt that something big was going to happen with this tax reform. He vaguely felt that it would be better not to change it at all.
After reciting the will, all that remains is greetings.
Li Jinzhong seemed to be very interested in Lu Bai, "I once heard in the capital that a genius came out of the Jinyi Guards in Yancheng, and he entered the realm of immortality at a young age. Now that I see him, Lu Qianhu is indeed well-deserved."
Lu Bai said humbly: "Master Li is ridiculous. When Master Li was my age, I'm afraid he would have entered the realm of cultivating immortals long ago."
He could see that this Li Jinzhong was of a very high level.
If you are not in the Qi-training period, you are within the Moving Mountain Realm. Therefore, you must not underestimate others. People who are exposed to advanced skills these days will enter the Immortal Cultivation Realm at about the same age as Lu Bai.
Li Jinzhong heard Lu Bai's words and smiled softly, "I borrowed the convenience of the exercises. Unlike Lu Qianhu, I climbed up step by step."
He suggested that they could have a good discussion and learn from each other if they had the opportunity.
Lu Bai nodded in agreement.
He is not afraid of exposing the fact that he is in the Sky-breaking Realm, because he will not be exposed at all, he only needs to switch his technique to Pure Yang.
Thanks to the realm improvement card to improve his realm, all the skills were upgraded by one level, and Lu Bai Chunyang was promoted to the Qi refining stage.
It fits exactly where people think he should be.
After exchanging a few words, everyone returned to the upper city area. The city lord's mansion had already prepared a banquet, just waiting for them to wash away their dust.
The banquet was very lively, with constant music and flutes, endless singing and dancing, and endless drinking. The dancing girls had graceful figures, waists twisted like snakes, and charming curves. However, it turned out that many of the people in the audience were eunuchs.
It wasn't until midnight that everyone dispersed.
Lu Bai returned to Qianhu Mansion drunk.
Somehow, Li Jinzhong was very enthusiastic about him. He kept inviting him to drink and chatting with him. He inadvertently made some witty remarks. If Lu Bai hadn't practiced "Jiu Yi" and never got drunk after a thousand drinks, he would have really learned it.
Talk baldly.
Lu Bai drank a sip of strong tea and rinsed his mouth, "He won't fall in love with me, right?"
Maybe the Chrysanthemum Book has other additional effects, such as the chrysanthemum must be unobstructed.
"Who likes you? Stop dreaming."
When Lu Qinghuan said this, she felt something was wrong. Didn't she also say this to her?
She paused and said, "I don't think he came for you."
Of course, this is just baseless speculation.
Lu Bai nodded, he thought it was possible.
"The abolition of the salt tax is also strange."
Lu Bai took another sip of tea.
Lu Qinghuan helped him take off his coat, which smelled of alcohol.
While Gu Qinghuan was busy, he said: "What's weird about this? Have you forgotten that Yancheng's salt tax was originally given to Yiqiu Villa. Now that their people are the lords of the city, of course they no longer need to use clever names to collect money."
If there is a need for cash collection, the status of city lord can help Yiqiu Villa collect a lot of money, and there is no need for such a troublesome tax item as salt tax.
Lu Bai suddenly realized.
"So, the Lu family has also benefited a lot from this transfer of city leader?" he asked.
Gu Qinghuan nodded, "This is natural."
If this were not the case, how could City Lord Gu's transfer go so smoothly? The Lu family would definitely have obstructed it.
Lu Bai shook his head.
Although he prides himself on being smart and good at using his brain when solving cases, he still feels that being an official is a very mentally demanding job and he has to make calculations at every turn, otherwise he will be betrayed by others accidentally.
"By the way, City Master Gu didn't say when to leave?" Gu Qinghuan shook the clothes Lu Bai took off and placed them on the chair next to him.
"Almost ten days later." Lu Bai said.
Gu Cheng mainly handed over to Magistrate Lu before he could set off on his journey.
City Master Gu has been in Yancheng for a long time, and there is probably a lot of stuff. They need to go to Yongle City first, and then change to the waterway, which is more convenient and faster.
Lu Bai was thinking about whether to introduce Shunfeng Warehouse to him.
It's convenient for him.
Secondly, money is convenient.
Gu Qinghuan nodded and said no more.
At this time, the maid came in and brought a basin of foot-washing water to wash Lu Bai's feet.
When Lu Bai became a member of thousands of households and entered the manor, Yu Shuang and others could not do it alone, so they hired many more maids.
It's just that Lu Bai has had a hard life his whole life, has never experienced happiness, and is not used to being served by others.
He asked the maid to put down the basin and he could do it himself.
Gu Qinghuan waved his hand and asked the maid to go down.
"I'm going to the City Lord's Mansion tomorrow to have a look. I guess the deal they made is probably more than this," she said.
**
Admiral Dongchang placed several of the Jinyi guards he brought with him next to Lu Bai.
One was named Xu Laifeng, who was at the second level. Because the deputy Qianhu position of the Qianhu Office was still vacant, he parachuted into this position. There were also two hundred households, and they also filled the vacant seats.
However, Lu Bai did not let them go to Xiacheng District, but stayed with him to prevent them from misbehaving when they got there and ruining the situation that Lu Bai had finally managed.
And these people are also good helpers.
Deputy Qianhu went to lead the demon-slaying team, while Baihu went to work as a thug, which suddenly increased the strength of Lu Bai's men.
The admiral was also happy to see them stay with Lu Bai.
The main responsibility of these Jinyi guards is to supervise Lu Bai and the city lord to prevent them from having second thoughts. Of course, it is best to be around Lu Bai.
As for all the reforms Lu Bai made in Jinyiwei——
City Master Gu was right. The Admiral did not interfere in anything, nor did he express any opinions. Since he was assigned to the Imperial Guard, the Admiral has never left the house. It seems that he is here to provide for his retirement.
Compared to his quietness, Li Jinzhong is very active.
According to disciples of the Beggar Clan, Li Jinzhong rode a horse when he had nothing to do and led a few young eunuchs around the city. They were not only in the upper city, but also in the lower city. He even visited towns outside the city.
.
The Beggar Clan disciple thought he was looking for someone.
Because Li Jinzhong would watch people when he was walking around, he would often sit in a tea house in the bustling city for two or three hours.
Lu Bai was confused, "That's weird, what is he looking for?"
Gu Qinghuan didn't know either.
After she returned from a trip to the City Lord's Mansion, she was in a bad mood, and she only came around recently.
However, what Li Jinzhong was most interested in was Lu Bai.
No, as soon as they mentioned Li Jinzhong's weirdness, the servants came to report that Li Jinzhong had brought several servants to pay homage to Lu Bai and Mr. Gu.
"Invite him in." After Lu Bai ordered, he turned to look at Gu Qinghuan.
Gu Qinghuan asked him to wait and see what happened.
After Li Jinzhong came in, he first bowed to Lu Bai, and then offered his hand to Gu Qinghuan, with a gentle smile on his face, "I've heard of Miss Gu's name a long time ago, and now that I've met her, I believe her name is well-deserved. I, Li Jinzhong, have met Miss Gu."
Gu Qinghuan wished me well and said, "I wonder how my reputation has spread to Mr. Li's ears."
Li Jinzhong raised his eyes and glanced at Gu Qinghuan, then quickly lowered his head, seeming to be very respectful to Gu Qinghuan.
"Mr. Gu's name has spread throughout Yancheng, and everyone in the market talks about Mr. Gu, saying that Mr. Gu stepped forward to save the plague and was a living Bodhisattva in Yancheng." Li Jinzhong said with a smile.
Lu Bai was surprised.
Li Jinzhong was extremely sweet when talking to Gu Qinghuan, and he was also respectful. What's even more amazing is that this guy was obviously praising someone, but he had a natural look on his face, which made people feel happy.
Gu Qinghuan smiled and said, "It's just a small effort, Bai'er, please take a seat quickly, Mr. Li."
Li Jinzhong thanked me.
He asked his subordinate to step forward, took a gift box, and took out an inkstone from it, "Miss Gu, I collected this dragon tail inkstone. It is a pity that it collects dust on weekdays. I heard that Miss Gu likes calligraphy. It is a good treasure."
The inkstone accompanies the beautiful lady."
After that, Li Jinzhong handed the inkstone to Lu Bai.
However, they are far apart.
I saw the square inkstone slowly drifting towards Lu Bai after leaving Li Jinzhong's hand.
This hand is beautiful.
It's not that the dragon tail inkstone floats and doesn't fall after leaving the hand, but the slow movement speed of the inkstone.
This is the same as throwing something away.
When trying to throw an object somewhere, the force must be fast and the angle must be accurate. If it is too light, it will definitely miss the target, fail to achieve the goal, and it will fall on the ground long ago.
Therefore, during the Qi refining period, anyone can quickly move something to one place.
But after the inkstone left his hand, it moved slowly and evenly, which is enough to prove that Li Jinzhong's control of his mind power has reached a very abnormal level, so that his mind can move at will.
Lu Bai didn't let him be lonely.
With a wave of his hand, the pure Yang Kung power of thought was quickly released.
As a very strong and powerful martial art, the power of Chunyang Gong's thoughts is different from other martial arts - once it is spit out, it becomes majestic and menacing, like a fire coming over, causing the air to stop steaming and the leaves to turn brown.
As soon as Li Jinzhong came into contact with his telekinesis, his thoughts seemed to be burned. He quickly retracted his telekinesis and almost dropped the inkstone to the ground.
Fortunately, Lu Bai is there.
His telekinesis retracted and he quickly pulled the dragon tail inkstone in front of him.