Chapter 203 The Show Begins
When Hu Wei saw the huge crowd below, an uncontrollable smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
Interesting, interesting!
He saw many familiar faces among the crowd that had just fanned the flames.
He now finally understood that behind the intricate and invisible connections, there was a big hand stirring up the situation.
Xu Zhenying, you are truly extraordinary——
Not only do you have to rebel, you also have to make history books stand on your side.
I believe that after today, the Zhou Dynasty will undergo earth-shaking changes!
He is so far-sighted, cautious in every step, uses the people as bargaining chips, and schemes against everyone around him. He is loving but also unfeeling, kind but also cruel. He is simply a natural-born emperor!
And in the square of Lan County, countless people gathered here.
The common people gathered here with their families to listen to the first-hand news brought by Liu Jianlin and others.
The busy crowd came and went, and people kept passing on the news from the teahouse. Finally, Liu Jianlin stood on the high platform and read it out in public using a loudspeaker!
Therefore, when Xu Zhenying just went upstairs and sat down to order food, the local people here knew exactly what they had eaten.
It can be called a live broadcast for future generations!
Xu Zhenying chose the most luxurious private room in Zuixianlou. One side faced the river, the windows were wide open, and the cool summer breeze blew in slowly. People in the room took their seats one after another.
This time, the main seats were occupied by Eunuch Zhou, Military Supervisor Wang, and several generals under Military Supervisor Wang.
Xu Zhenying could only sit at the end.
To ensure safety, Xu Zhenying only brought Mo Jinchun with him.
The rest of the people are all on standby downstairs.
Of course, in the private rooms on both sides, unlike Xu Zhenying who was relaxed, everyone in the Xu family was taking the situation seriously.
The women had dispersed and returned to their respective posts with worried expressions, while the men stood guard on both sides, never relaxing their grip on the weapons in their hands.
Liu Dazhuang was currently following Xu Degui, closely protecting Xu Zhenying. Seeing Xu Degui's tense expression, he said, "Master, don't be nervous. The City Lord has his own arrangements. Besides, Mo Jinchun is with the City Lord. Even if something were to happen during the banquet, he would definitely be able to get the City Lord out safely."
Xu Degui had never experienced such a grand scene before, so how could he not be nervous? "Where are the archers?"
"This area is already full of our men. The archers are on the highest point of the opposite building, ready at any time."
"Where are the people under the military supervisor?"
"Ming Xiaoshuang has led me to the first floor to eat."
"Okay." Xu Degui was still fidgeting.
This wasn't just any small fight; the other party was from the imperial court, and they looked incredibly formidable. The tension between the two factions had already built up at the city gates, and if they couldn't reach an agreement during this banquet...
When Xu Degui thought of this possibility, his mind went blank.
He had a premonition that if they couldn't reach an agreement today, given his daughter's personality, this group of people would never be able to leave the restaurant!
If this is true, they will really turn from bandits into rebels!
Xu Degui was extremely anxious, his heart was in turmoil. This was a rebellion.
How could Xu Degui become a traitor in this life?
Now that they have been labeled traitors, there is no turning back for this family!
Compared to Xu Degui's nervousness, some people were obviously more trembling with excitement and enthusiasm.
A general's success means the death of thousands of soldiers. Either he bleeds to death or he becomes a king or a general!
Xu Zhenying sat at the end, his expression unchanged, seemingly unaffected by the previous conflict. He simply smiled and poured wine for the others. "You've come so far, you must have worked hard. Let's not discuss the fixed tax rate for now. Let's drink and eat first. This restaurant is the largest in Lan County, and the chef's braised pork elbow is absolutely amazing. Please come and take a look and see if the dishes from our remote village have their own unique flavors."
Seeing Xu Zhenying being so understanding, Eunuch Zhou immediately took a liking to him and felt that there was hope for the tax issue. He could not help but say, "You unruly people in Lan County are too overbearing! Did you see them just now? They actually tried to attack us! We are conveying the emperor's will, representing the emperor, and collecting national taxes. We have visited so many places, but this is the first time we have seen unruly people dare to disobey the order!"
Military Supervisor Wang was still frightened. After all, he was a man with experience in the military camp, so his eyesight was naturally better than the eunuchs in the palace.
Ever since they entered the city, he had felt a vague sense of unease.
Lan County looks so weird!
Not to mention anything else, just look at those ordinary people who were causing trouble just now. They were all tall and strong, full of energy, with fierce gleams in their eyes. They didn't look like ordinary people at all.
The common people in other counties were all skinny and with numb and dull expressions. If they saw them drawing swords and knives, they would not even be able to dodge, so how could they dare to move forward?
Not to mention the mountain king in front of him. Although he looks gentle, he responded to the call of hundreds of people in the situation just now without changing his expression. He can intimidate tens of thousands of people with just one word. It can be seen that this person is not easy to deal with.
Weird, so weird.
Xu Zhenying explained with a smile, "You don't know, sir, but our Lan County suffered a severe disaster last year. The people fled and scattered, and now this place is mostly refugees. These people fought their way out of the refugee piles, so naturally they are much more ferocious than others. Please don't blame them."
Eunuch Zhou calmed down. After hearing Xu Zhenying's explanation, he finally felt relieved. He asked again, "Xu County Magistrate, can you make the decision on taxation?"
Xu Zhenying nodded with a smile, "Of course."
Eunuch Zhou was delighted, "That's great! It saves us a lot of effort."
"You're right. Paying taxes is every citizen's duty."
"Merit, what fame?"
“It’s just the common people.”
"I see. Then when can we collect these two hundred thousand taels?"
The attendant next to Xu Zhenying took out a thick stack of silver bills, put them on a plate and handed them to the two of them.
Eunuch Zhou didn't understand what he meant, but he was naturally delighted to see the banknotes. He thought to himself that Xu Zhenying was quite sensible. Look at his handwriting...
Sure enough, the next second, Xu Zhenying said, "These 20,000 taels are a gift to you two. You've come all the way here, and it must be hard work. This silver is the first course for you two!"
Eunuch Zhou clapped his hands and laughed, completely losing his earlier wariness. He smiled and patted Xu Zhenying on the shoulder: "Xu County Magistrate, Xu County Magistrate, I didn't expect that at such a young age, you are so capable and have a bright future!"
When Wang Jianjun, who was standing by, saw Eunuch Zhou take the money, he hesitated for a moment and then took it away too.
Xu Zhenying looked troubled, and lowered his voice, "Father-in-law, I have a favor to ask. Lan County suffered a disaster last year, and now there are many refugees here. They are penniless... This 200,000 taels of tax is too heavy. Father-in-law, can you think of a way... I will definitely pay my dues!"
When it came to the issue of taxation, Eunuch Zhou's face suddenly turned cold, and he immediately adopted a businesslike tone, "Xu County Magistrate, how can you say that? We are all officials of the court, collecting taxes on behalf of His Majesty. Are you defying His Majesty by dragging your feet?"
"This... I absolutely dare not!" Xu Zhenying showed a look of panic. "Father-in-law, I didn't say I wouldn't pay it. I just asked if I could wait a few days to pay it."
"No! Not even a day's delay!" Eunuch Zhou had completely forgotten how he had trembled with fear in front of the city gate. The more Xu Zhenying humbled herself, the more Eunuch Zhou felt she was weak and easy to bully. He put on airs and shouted loudly, "If everyone in the Great Zhou Dynasty was like you, what would happen? Magistrate Xu, not paying taxes is a serious crime! Consider your own weight!"
At this moment, downstairs in the teahouse, Qian Zhenniang was writing furiously, and she was frowning and thinking hard when she reached the key point.
The city lord said that the content must be written in a very provocative way.
What does it mean to be inflammatory?
Does changing a few words count?
Qian Zhenniang made up her mind, and after polishing it up a bit, she handed it to the person next to her. The person immediately rode away on horseback and handed it to Liu Jianlin who was waiting in the square.
Liu Jianlin took the note and immediately opened it with a solemn expression. He looked at the expectant faces of the thousands of common people below and read word for word, "The City Lord offered a bribe of 50,000 taels of silver, begging Eunuch Zhou to spare our Lan County. Eunuch Zhou refused and demanded that we pay the full tax within two days."
Liu Jianlin was stunned for a moment after he finished reading it.
Begging?
No matter how you look at it, the city lord doesn't seem like someone who would beg others for help?
I remember when they failed to hatch the chicks, the city lord was so passionate when criticizing people that he never repeated himself for an entire incense stick of time!
Who wrote this note? Is he trying to exaggerate the story?
A dark-faced man immediately cursed, "Damn it! Just force us to death! There are more than a dozen people in my family, young and old. How can we come up with more than ten taels of silver?"
"Fifty thousand taels, for God's sake!"
Someone mingled in the group and said righteously, "Don't worry, our city lord must have paid for it out of her own pocket! I heard they're going to launch some child nutrition subsidy for the second half of the year, saying they'll give the city's children an egg every day. If we give out these 50,000 taels, I'm afraid the children won't have any eggs for the second half of the year!"
"This damn dog eunuch!"
The crowd here was excited, but over in the teahouse it was quiet and peaceful.
Eunuch Zhou continued, "Xu Zhenying, you're so bold! You actually included Ye County in this and concealed the tax revenue! What? Are you planning a rebellion?!"
Xu Zhenying pleaded, "Eunuch, these... refugees are here, I can't just drive them away. The original residents of Ye County have already fled. If I let these refugees go over and reclaim the wasteland to settle down, it will also solve a major problem for the court. That's a great achievement!"
"If that's the case, why don't you report it?"
"Report? Who should I report this to? No one cares about this—"
"How you report it is up to you, but collecting taxes is my job! Regardless, you're hiding the population. The quota in Lan County is 200,000 taels, and Ye County must have at least 400,000 taels!"
Everyone present was shocked!
My goodness, Ye County is not as big as Lan County, not as rich as Lan County, and its population is smaller than Lan County, and these bastards are asking for 400,000 taels!
Even Xu Zhenying couldn't help but sneer.
She clearly remembered asking Ming Xiaoshuang to report the amount of 200,000 taels, but this eunuch doubled the amount with just a few words.
What a dark heart!
No wonder the people of the Zhou Dynasty were living in poverty.
This earth-shattering news was spreading towards the square at lightning speed.
When Liu Jianlin opened the note and read it, he was so shocked that he almost fell down.
He calmed down for a long time before he trembled and read out, "Two hundred thousand taels of tax revenue is the tax revenue of Lan County alone, plus Ye County and Gaoxin County. Eunuch Zhou suddenly raised the tax to one million taels during the banquet!"
--boom.
The people of Lan County were completely shocked!
Raise the tax to one million taels? Quadruple it?
Something big happened!
Someone immediately drew his sword, jumped onto the platform, raised his sword, and shouted, "Damn it, we can't live like this anymore! One million taels, bah! I'm going to stab that damn eunuch right now, and then get the money back for the kids' eggs! If you're a man, if you don't want to be bullied, if you want to live an upright life, follow me!"
"Paying taxes means death, and not paying taxes also means death. This government doesn't treat us as human beings and doesn't care whether we live or die. I think we should just rebel against the government!"
"Brothers, fuck it, follow me!"
"Kill the eunuchs! Revolt against the Zhou Dynasty! Have clothes to wear and eat! Live like a human being!!"
Someone in the square followed suit and shouted a few words, and then many people really picked up their weapons. The people lurking in the square by Xu Zhenying rushed out in an instant, shouting slogans, and countless ordinary people joined in and headed towards the restaurant!
The young man rushed to the front. They were so numerous and powerful that the people along the way saw this and all stayed indoors, ordering their families to put away all their valuables.
There were also some brave girls who insisted on taking weapons and following, but they were dragged into the house by their parents, and could only scream in a shrill voice: "Kill the eunuchs! Rebel against the Zhou Dynasty! Let's eat and wear clothes! Live a decent life!"
Then, an old voice shouted at the top of its lungs: "Kill the eunuchs! Rebel against the Zhou Dynasty! Eat and wear clothes! Live like a human being!"
"Kill the eunuchs! Revolt against the Zhou Dynasty! Have clothes to wear and eat! Live like a human being!"
The sound was like waves gathering together, one louder than the other, carrying with it the anger of the people of Lan County. The crowd grew larger and larger, and the streets of Lan County were immediately overcrowded!
When Liu Jianlin saw this situation, he quickly got up and went to report the news!
Qian Zhenniang held her chin with one hand, frowned and thought: Wasn't the one million taels I said just now a bit too much? What if the people doubt it?
No, Lan County must make some noise today!
Make a fuss, the bigger the better, and it would be best if you could turn the world upside down!
In the restaurant, Xu Zhenying was sitting at the lower seat facing the window, and she was the first to see the crowd from afar.
She lowered her head, raised her glass, and curled her lips.
Then she looked up, her eyes sparkling, the sunlight falling on her face made her face seem to have a faint, unreal halo.
"Everyone, let's not rush into this discussion. Let's eat first. This second dish is guaranteed to be even more sumptuous than the first. But I have to keep you in suspense. Please move downstairs."
"Oh, what is it?"
"You'll find out when you two go downstairs."
Eunuch Zhou stood up reluctantly. If it weren't for Xu Zhenying's previous good attitude, which had coaxed him into submission, Eunuch Zhou would not have bothered to move a step!
What's more, the first dish was so unique that the two of them became somewhat interested in the second dish.
"Xu County Magistrate, you gave away silver with the first dish, and are you giving away a beautiful woman with the second? Tsk tsk tsk, Xu County Magistrate, despite your young age, you know how to behave. Don't worry, as long as you collect these 600,000 silver coins neatly for me, I will go back and say a few good words for you. Who knows, you may even be promoted to a county magistrate! Xu County Magistrate has a bright future!"
Xu Zhenying's attitude became more humble. "Then I'll rely entirely on you two."
After those people went downstairs, Xu Zhenying slowly sat back in his original seat.
There was a table full of delicious food and wine. Xu Zhenying seemed to be enjoying this rare moment of peace and quiet. He picked up the wine glass leisurely without any panic.
Liu Dazhuang, Xu Deyuan and others from the next room all came over.
Ming Xiaoshuang also hurried over and whispered to Xu Zhenying, "City Lord, the remaining hundreds of people have been drunk and tied up."
“Well done.”
"Where are Sanniang, Zhou Bo and the others?"
"Already ready to go!"
"good!"
Xu Deyuan asked hurriedly: "Zhenying, aren't you going downstairs to accompany me?"
Xu Zhenying picked up the chopsticks, flipped the dishes with his bare hands, picked up two pieces with chopsticks and slowly put them into his mouth, looking calm and relaxed. "No rush, wait a little longer."
Faced with such an unclear and unpredictable Xu Zhenying, Xu Deyuan was almost going crazy!
"How can we not be anxious, Zhenying? Six hundred thousand taels! How can we even come up with that? This bastard is clearly raising the price and taking advantage of this opportunity to enrich himself! I wonder how many people in the southwest are suffering from this! Zhenying, it's already this late, how can you still be in the mood to eat!"
"Don't be angry, father. Don't worry, he won't be able to leave Lan County." Xu Zhenying took two quick bites and said with a smile, "The more urgent the situation, the calmer we need to be. Please take your time."
Looking at Xu Zhenying who was so calm, Xu Degui suddenly remembered the night when they bargained with Huang Yazi.
At that time, Xu Zhenying was also so determined and calm, as if he was in control of everything.
Seeing how confident she was at the moment, I'm afraid she had already come up with a plan to deal with it.
But now that the arrow is on the string, Xu Degui really can't think of a solution.
But being trapped here like this, Xu Degui really couldn't learn Xu Zhenying's calmness. Looking at everyone who turned a blind eye and looked calm, he finally couldn't help but go downstairs to check the situation.
Only Liu Dazhuang, Ming Xiaoshuang, Lu Fei, and six personal guards were left in the room. Even Qian Zhenniang walked up slowly and met Xu Degui at the corner of the stairs.
Qian Zhenniang stopped Xu Degui and said with a smile, "Master, the city lord will make his own decision. Don't worry. Go up and wait for the city lord first. I'm afraid the bloody scene below will scare you."
Xu Degui felt more and more uneasy as he looked at the crowd who were so calm.
The group of people under Xu Zhenying were too calm——
This clearly seemed like something that had been arranged long ago.
Xu Degui's face changed drastically, not knowing what he was thinking of. When he looked at Qian Zhenniang's smiling face again, he always felt that the person opposite him was an evil ghost who was asking for his life.
not good!
Xu Degui hurried down the stairs, but heard a loud noise below.
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