Compared to the people of Qingzhou, it is not a big deal that the commanders in Qingzhou City are replaced. They still go about their daily lives, but some attentive people have discovered that since last month,
There are often sergeants patrolling the streets of Qingzhou City.{《》}There are no pop-upsqi
These fully armed sergeants will wear their whole body even if they are very hot. Even though they are all sweating profusely from the heat, they still maintain a straight posture. The most important thing is that these sergeants all have unfamiliar faces. The original sergeants
They all disappeared as if they had disappeared collectively. A well-informed scholar broke the news that all the original Qingzhou garrison had been ordered to disband. However, even this news is of little concern to the people of Qingzhou.
But for other people in Qingzhou City, it was the beginning of a nightmare.
Since these sergeants were stationed in Qingzhou, they began to conduct strict inspections of goods entering the city, especially the inspection of goods brought by merchants into the city. This does not mean that they will take advantage of the situation, but that they are particularly strict with the inspection of those goods.
It is strict, but anyone who is found to have concealed it privately will be confiscated or severely fined.
At first, the wealthy gentry didn't take it seriously, thinking that these were just three fires that Pang Gang, the new commander of Qingzhou, took office. He would stop burning after a while. But what they didn't expect was that a period of time had passed.
In the past month, the inspections at the city gate not only did not relax, but became more severe, and now the merchants were killed.
No matter in that era, smuggling or tax evasion were the favorite things of businessmen, but this trend was carried to the extreme in the Ariake Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty stipulated that the business tax rate was 1 in 30.
This ratio is supposed to be very small, but those businessmen are still not satisfied. In their eyes, it is best to completely abolish commercial taxes, so they have come up with countless ways to evade taxes, such as bribery
The guards at the city gates used methods such as hiding secrets, concealing reports or even not reporting them.
Of course, their most common and most effective method is to bribe the gatekeepers and city gate officials. After more than two hundred years of dealing with the city gate officials of the Ming Dynasty, all merchants believe in one truth, as long as the hoe dances
There is no corner that cannot be dug out if they are good. Over the years, all the gate officers and sergeants at the four gates of Qingzhou City have become familiar with them and almost become their own. It is as easy for them to bring goods into Qingzhou as it is to visit their own back garden.
.
But this habit has changed during this time. The new city gate officers and sergeants are like hungry wolves, with noses as sharp as those of hounds. Even a little bit of it is included in their goods.
They were able to find out anything they shouldn't have brought with them. Now those merchants were in bad luck. Those city gate officials were ruthless in imposing fines according to the system, and they had no mercy at all.
, even if the merchants tried to induce him with benefits, it would be of no avail.
The merchants were puzzled when they saw the failure of the previously invincible silver bullet offensive. Later, a sergeant who understood the inside story told them that the new commander Da Ru ordered that if the city gate officer detected the entrainment,
The fines for smuggling goods can be divided into 40% by the city gatekeepers and the sergeants who collect the gates. Moreover, the job of guarding the gates is not static, they have to be rotated. It is this rule that makes these gatekeepers watch like hungry wolves.
Looking at those merchants, all of them are shining gold in their eyes. Under the stimulation of military discipline and gold and silver, how could their city gate officials not search desperately when they saw them?
Seeing that their silver bullet offensive failed, those merchants began to complain to the Qingzhou Magistrate, but the Qingzhou Magistrate did not tolerate them. The Wei Magistrate said that it is the family's responsibility to guard the city gates and detect prohibited items.
Does it still make sense? After this, the merchants dispersed in anger, but the hatred of those merchants towards Pang Gang became even deeper, but Pang Gang didn't care, he knew that since the last time he killed someone in Qingzhou,
After killing the grain merchant, the wealthy gentry in Qingzhou reported him to the court, and the conflict between him and those merchants became an irreconcilable conflict.
On the fifth day of July in the ninth year of Chongzhen, the ferocious scorching sun was unabashedly emitting scorching sunshine. Wild dogs on the roadside were also hiding in the shade and sticking out their bright red tongues. There was almost no movement on the streets. Although the streets were deserted, they could
There are various teahouses, but the teahouses are crowded with people who come to drink tea to escape the summer heat.
In the inner courtyard of the Qingzhou magistrate's office, Wei Tongnian was sitting in a pavilion covered with ivy to escape the summer heat. He was holding a report from a subordinate official in his hand and frowning at it. Sitting beside him was
His daughter Wei Man Ting and his concubine Rou Niang, Wei Man Ting's personal maid Qiao'er and another maid were standing aside to serve.
Seeing that Wei Tongnian's face didn't look good, Rou Niang got up and poured Wei Tongnian a cup of tea, and then asked: "Master, I see you frowning, is there something difficult to solve?"
When Wei Tongnian heard Rou Niang's question, he put down the report, picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea before saying: "This is from the Qingzhou Salt Transportation Department. It said that a large amount of refined salt has appeared in Qingzhou City these days. Due to the large quantity,
Moreover, the price is relatively cheap, which has aroused the dissatisfaction of many salt merchants in Qingzhou City. They jointly put pressure on the Salt Transportation Department and asked the Salt Transportation Department to give them an explanation. However, after checking, the Salt Transportation Department found that these refined salts competed with each other.
However, it was related to the governor's Yamen, and the Salt Transportation Department did not dare to make the decision without authorization, so he reported it to the prefect's Yamen and asked us to handle it."
Rou Niang asked puzzledly: "What's the point? Those salt merchants are too shady. The price of the refined salt they sell per pound is even as high as that of ordinary people. Even those from well-off families don't dare to live in their homes."
Wouldn’t it be nice to eat cheaper now?”
When Wei Tongnian heard this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He shook his head and said, "Young lady, you really don't know anything about women's ways!"
Wei Tongnian did not intend to explain anything to his concubine. He turned to Wei Man Ting and said, "Man Ting, what do you think of this matter?"
Wei Man Ting said in puzzlement: "Dad, salt and iron are not the exclusive responsibility of our magistrate's office. They have never asked you for advice on daily matters. Now that they see that the other party has such a big background, I am afraid that I will not be able to handle this."
I just put this hot potato into your hands, is there such a good thing in the world?"
Having said this, a look of disdain appeared on Wei Man Ting's face, and she continued: "It stands to reason that the court is solely responsible for the salt and iron industry, and it is illegal to command the yamen to sell private salt without authorization, but you also know that these days
How much of the salt tax fell into the hands of the imperial court, or was it not shared privately by the salt transport envoys and salt merchants from various places? Now they are so anxious because they see that their silver spoons have been robbed, and they are anxious to
Dad, you and the others are just standing up. They usually spend a lot of money, and I don't see them coming to show their respect to the prefect's yamen. But if something goes wrong, they beg you to make the decision for them. How can there be such a good thing in this world?"
"Yeah!" Wei Tongnian nodded. Those salt merchants were really arrogant on weekdays. Wei Tongnian had been in contact with them, and even to him, the prefect of Qingzhou, they only remained superficially polite, celebrating the holidays.
The filial piety they sent to the magistrate's yamen was pitiful. Although Wei Tongnian was not a very greedy person, he could not withstand so many people in his yamen. Not every person had a salary from the imperial court.
Everyone opened their mouths to him. To be honest, he, the prefect, was short of money.
Thinking of this, Wei Tongnian snorted coldly and put the report in his hand on the stone table in front of him. It seemed that he was not going to pay attention to this nonsense. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea before putting it down slowly.
Said: "Man Ting, I heard that you met Pang Gang in a teahouse on the street yesterday."
It didn't matter what Wei Tongnian said, but it frightened Qiao'er beside him. He looked at his young lady nervously and winked at Wei Manting, telling her not to agree, but he found that his young lady said calmly and calmly.
: "It's true!"
When Wei Man Ting said these words, Qiao'er was frightened. Her heart sank and she secretly said: "It's over, the young lady will definitely be punished by the master now."
Sure enough, Wei Tongnian's face darkened and he immediately lectured: "Man Ting, what's going on with you? You can be considered a familiar reader of "Nv Jie" and "Nv Analects". A girl named Jingran who has not left the court and a
When a married woman meets in a teahouse, what if bystanders see where you are putting your father's face?"
Wei Manting sneered and said: "Dad, if you didn't see it, how would you know that your daughter met the big guys? Humph, what my daughter hates most are those guys who can only accuse her behind their backs but dare not come forward."
"You!" Wei Tongnian was so angry that he puffed his beard and glared, pointing at Wei Manying and said: "Master Wang, he is doing this for your own good. He happened to see you going to the teahouse yesterday, and then Pang Gang also went up. If you
How can we meet in private without any personal feelings!"
Wei Man Ting shook her head: "Dad, my daughter and Pang Pang met by chance. Yesterday, my daughter was upset, so she and Qiaoer went to the teahouse to drink tea to relieve their boredom. However, they saw Pang Pang coming from outside the city with a frown on his face.
, the daughter was curious and invited him upstairs to talk. After chatting for a while, the daughter came downstairs. Could there be any personal relationship in this? On the contrary, the prince was not busy with business, but he stared at his daughter all the time. Could it be that
If he does this, does daddy think he is doing good for his daughter?"
"This" Wei Tongnian suppressed his anger and said seriously: "Man Ting, you have to understand that Pang Gang already has a wife. If there are rumors about you and him, how will you deal with it then?
oah?”
Wei Tongnian asked himself that he was already extremely patient, but Wei Manying still held her head high and said, "That's still a hundred times better than that prince who only knows how to talk."
"Bastard!" Wei Tongnian couldn't help but reached out and slapped the table.