"Is the court really short of money? Then why increase the salaries of officials?" Li Zitong tilted his head, feeling a little confused.

The housekeeper smiled flatteringly and said, "What's the use of raising the salary? Can it be worth the money we gave you?"

"Isn't it the County Master's mother's birthday coming up?" Li Zitong nodded slightly, squeezed a pimple on his face, flicked the pus plug, and said to the housekeeper, "Prepare some more gifts for her."

The housekeeper nodded in agreement and casually said, "Several hundred soldiers arrived in the county yesterday. I heard they came from Northern Zhili to wipe out the Wenxiang Sect."

"The Wenxiang Sect—" Li Zitong blinked and smiled indifferently, "What does it have to do with us?"

"Yes, yes, it's none of our business." The butler nodded and retreated.

Li Zitong sipped his tea, glanced at the Ming Forum on the table, and curled his lips. But he was also a little puzzled. Why hadn't the imperial edict on tax reduction been issued yet?

Logically speaking, the great victories of Guangning and Liaonan were both great occasions, so why wasn't the people celebrating together? With a reduction in the imperial edict and a little effort, wouldn't the arrears be cleared?

As he was pondering this, he heard a commotion outside, which made Li Zitong frown. The noise grew louder and closer, and Li Zitong quickly stood up and walked towards the door.

The housekeeper stumbled in, nearly knocking Li Zitong over. Before he could scold him, the housekeeper reported in panic, "Master, Master, this is bad. The soldiers have surrounded the house and have already broken in."

What? Li Zitong was shocked, his mouth hanging open, stunned.

"Kneel down, hold your head, and don't make any noise or run around."

"Catch the traitor Li Zitong, and don't ask about his subordinates."

With shouts and scolding, the officers and soldiers, like wolves and tigers, approached from all sides. The servants and guards in the house did not dare to resist and squatted down with their heads in their hands.

Traitor?! Li Zitong's stunned eyes moved, cold sweat broke out on his back. He hurried forward, bowing and kowtowed, "I am Li Zitong, a humble servant. I have always been law-abiding and would not dare to get involved in chaos. Sir, there must be some misunderstanding..."

This crime is too serious. Once it is confirmed, not only will my head be in danger, but my whole family will also suffer.

Li Zitong was not particularly scared at this time. He felt innocent and had a clear conscience.

"Are you Li Zitong?" An officer stepped forward, took a look, and after confirming his identity, waved his hand, "Tie him up."

Two officers and soldiers stepped forward, tied up Li Zitong without any explanation, and kicked him to his knees.

"Keep an eye on the rebels and their relatives." The officer loudly ordered his men, stepped aside, and several Dongchang men stepped out from the crowd.

"Let's start the search!" A leader said with a serious face, gave brief instructions to his men, and walked towards the study first.

Several Dongchang men immediately split up and started searching and rummaging through the house.

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" Li Zitong, still in a daze, knelt on the ground and began to defend himself. "Even if I had the courage of heaven, I wouldn't dare to rebel! Someone must have framed me. I am willing to confront them face to face."

"Shut up!" a soldier shouted, waving the knife in his hand in front of Li Zitong, and the world became quiet.

The officer stood with his hands behind his back, looking around the house with its carved beams and painted rafters.

Rich people, they always say they are common people, but when did common people become so rich?

He didn't care whether Li Zitong was guilty or not. Soldiers were following orders, and traveling from northern Zhili was quite tiring. But this was a good job. Each man was rewarded with ten taels of silver, and food and drink along the way were provided by the local government.

I heard that there were more than a dozen small troops who had this job, and those who didn't get it were very jealous. The officer thought that he could get 20 taels, which was a lot of money!

The Dongchang thugs finished their search one by one and gathered in front of the hall. The leader also rushed over, but it seemed that they had also found nothing.

Li Zitong took a peek and breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, a Dongchang guard came hurriedly with something and reported to the leader: "Sir, this is what I found under the bed."

Under the bed? Li Zitong's heart tightened. Apart from some house deeds and land deeds, there seemed to be nothing taboo under the bed!

The chief took it and flipped through it. One letter caught his attention. He took it out and glanced at it briefly, then looked at Li Zitong with a sinister smile.

"So it's General Li, what an utter disrespect!" The leader took a few steps forward and waved the letter in his hand. "This is a letter from the rebel leader Wang Haoxian, conferring an official title on you."

Li Zitong opened his mouth wide, his face filled with astonishment and disbelief. After a long while, he finally wailed, "It's unfair, I feel wronged..."

He kicked Li Zitong hard in the face, causing blood to come out of his nose and mouth and several of his teeth to fall out.

The leader sneered and waved his hand, ordering, "All prisoners will be detained for interrogation. Their doors and homes will be sealed and searched. They will be strictly guarded."

"Yes." The officer responded and quickly carried out the order with his men.

………………

In the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of Wu County, Changshu County, Changshu County, Wujiang County, Kunshan County, Jiading County, Chongming County and Taicang Prefecture, and similar scenes were almost played out in these seven counties and one prefecture.

In Songjiang Prefecture, and even as far away as Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan, some wealthy landlords were implicated in the Wenxiang Sect and were arrested and their properties were confiscated.

People were in a state of panic, yet no one dared to speak up. Who would dare to wade into such a turbulent water, a crime of treason?

Soon after, local officials in these counties and states were successively dismissed and investigated. With so many remnants of the Wenxiang Sect under their jurisdiction, what else could it be but dereliction of duty?

But according to Zhu Youxiao's honest opinion, there are so many people in arrears of taxes under your jurisdiction that you can't do anything about it, and you dare not touch the rich landlords who have embezzled military land. What's the point of being an official like this?

Even if you force those wealthy merchants and gentry to shut down their businesses and cause unrest, I will still stand by you. I am not afraid of you causing trouble, but I am afraid of you living a life of idleness, occupying the toilet without doing anything, or even being corrupt.

What about Shaanxi? The Qing army cleared out the "popular resentment" and there were constant memorials of impeachment, but I still fully support Zuo Guangdou.

Anyone who dares to storm the governor's office and cause trouble, or incite the mob to smash, loot, and burn, will be apprehended and summarily executed. The ringleaders will be beheaded, their property confiscated, and exiled.

I know very well that if we do not touch the interests of those local tyrants and evil gentry, things will not get so bad, and we will still have the illusion of local stability.

I don't want illusions, I want real results. As long as you are sincere in your work, I will give you the Imperial Sword, I will send the Imperial Guards to protect you, and I will protect you from the wind and rain.

As for the actions of the two prefectures of Suzhou and Songshan and other provinces such as Shaanxi, my methods were not very fair and the punishments were too severe. Tax evasion and embezzlement of military settlements became treason, but I do not regret it.

If we do not make the wealthy and powerful fear the laws of the country and do not eliminate a group of people who are in office but doing nothing, how can the reform be advanced and deepened, and how can the people truly benefit?

If chopping off a few heads now can serve as a deterrent, it can also prevent more deaths in the future.