Wei Qing quickly woke them up: "Fellow villagers, please rest assured, as long as I am still in charge of this matter, the grain tax will be collected in the same way."
The people cheered once again, their simple faces filled with gratitude for him and for Chaoyang Manor.
However, a few scholars standing beside the group sneered, "Hmph, just trying to gain fame and reputation."
"Just watch, he's taking so much less money. How is he going to explain this to that female bandit, Luo Xi?" The tone was sarcastic.
These people are the scholars who look down on Chaoyang Manor and are unwilling to help Luo Xi.
They all came to see what was going on when they heard that Wei Qing, Mr. Bo Chuan's prized disciple, had actually become a rebel and taken up arms at Chaoyang Manor.
Unexpectedly, upon seeing this scene, they all began to mock and ridicule.
Although what they said was harsh, it was the truth. Gu Yuan said worriedly, "Sanlang, maybe we shouldn't do this, otherwise we won't be able to explain it to the chief."
"It's alright, I'll take full responsibility," Wei Qing insisted.
After finishing his work that day, he went to apologize to Luo Xi: "Boss, I changed your tax collection wooden bucket without permission. Please punish me."
Gu Yuan, who was with him today, also stood up: "Boss, I have a share too."
"You modified the wooden bucket?" Rosie thought he had sawed off a section of the bucket: "How much did you cut off?"
If that's the case, then this matter cannot be dropped easily; nothing can be accomplished without rules.
"Cut it down?" This question stumped Wei Qing. "No, I just removed the bamboo strips you asked me to add height."
Doesn't the head of the gang know about this?
Sure enough, the next moment Luo Xi said, "When did I ask someone to raise the wooden bucket? Aren't they all the sizes stipulated by the imperial court?"
Luo Xi thought for a moment and said, "Bai Hu, go and investigate who did this."
The result was that the soldiers made a decision based on their own guesses.
Rosie: "..."
"Give the order to deduct two months' salary from these people as punishment."
What am I guessing all day?
Wei Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought to himself, "How could someone as magnanimous as the Chief Boss do something like this?"
Luo Xi really wouldn't do that. If she really wanted to charge more, she wouldn't have said she would only charge 30% in the first place; she would have charged 40% or even 50%.
"Alright, the truth has come out. Let's do it this way from now on."
"Yes, Chief." Wei Qing's face was full of smiles, and his admiration for Luo Xi grew even stronger.
The common people were equally happy, knowing that their leader never disappointed them, and they quickly gathered around to ask Wei Qing.
"Sir, after the taxes are collected, when will the bean seeds be distributed? We want to plant them as soon as possible so we can pay more taxes to the chief."
"Yes, we heard that the beans in the manor have already sprouted!"
They were all incredibly enthusiastic.
Wei Qing was overjoyed: "Don't worry, the taxes will be paid out immediately after they are collected. If you have time, you can prepare the land first, and you can start planting as soon as the taxes are paid out."
"Yes, sir, we understand."
Some people are happy, and naturally some are unhappy, like the scholar from Tongning County who was waiting to see Wei Qing scolded or even driven away.
"This Luo Xi is really weak. She just let a traitor change the rules she set. It's a good thing we didn't go to work for her."
"But I heard that Minister Wei now receives a monthly salary of thirty taels of silver, thirty catties of grain, and two sets of clothes every season." As he spoke, the man glanced at the scholar next to him, at the faded robe he wore.
Another scholar murmured, "That's wonderful! My family is almost out of food. If only we had this month's salary..."
"What nonsense are you talking about? We are scholars, how can we bow down for a mere bit of money and food? They are just bandits."
But scholars also go hungry. It's not like reading a few books will make you an immortal. Many scholars began to waver.
However, there were still quite a few stubborn scholars who were preparing to go to the county government to report: "I heard that the prefect has sent Lord Zhu over to arrest Luo Xi together with Lord Rong."
"Why don't we lend them a hand? Maybe we'll catch the eye of the two lords and become their advisors or something. Then we'll have everything we need."
All the scholars' eyes lit up: "Let's go, let's go, let's help the magistrate capture the rebels!"
They pushed each other as they walked towards the county government office.
When Zhu Da saw so many scholars offering to help him capture the rebels, he was overjoyed.
"Good, good, good. You are indeed the future pillars of the Tianqi Dynasty. Even before entering public service, you already know how to think of the court."
"Sir, what are you saying? It is said that once you have mastered both literary and martial arts, you should serve the emperor. This is only right." The scholars spoke more humbly than the other.
“These damned bandits dare to oppose the imperial court. They deserve to be killed by everyone. We all fully support you in capturing Minister Luo Xi and his men.”
"Yes, a good official like Lord Zhu..." The rest of the speech deviated from the purpose of the trip and became words of flattery towards Zhu Da.
They quoted numerous classical texts, praising Zhu Da until he was completely flattered.
"Haha, good, good, don't worry. When you meet the Prefect, I will definitely introduce you. Getting an official position will not be a problem."
He completely forgot that he himself had only met the prefect a few times.
After the scholars left, Zhu Da hummed a little tune and went to Rong Bai's study: "Hahaha, I say, Lord Rong, if you don't send troops to capture Luo Xi soon, you'll incur the wrath of the masses."
Public outrage? How could that be?
Rong Bai knew that in Tongning County, the people almost regarded Luo Xi as a god, and her words carried more weight than his own as the county magistrate.
So how could I possibly incur public wrath!
"Hey Zhu, don't try that on me. I'm not easily scared. Your tricks... won't work."
"Hey, don't you believe me?" Zhu Da quickly told him what had just happened: "Scholars are the future pillars of the court. They all support arresting Luo Xi. What else could she be but someone who has incurred the wrath of the masses?"
Rong Bai rolled her eyes: "Fine, fine, whatever you say."
"Since they support you, why don't you quickly lead these scholars up the mountain and charge in? What are you waiting for?"
Zhu Da: "..."
A scholar's rebellion will fail in ten years; what's the point of killing a ghost then!
This kid is making fun of him again.
"Lord Rong, stop playing dumb. When are you going to send troops? Otherwise, I'll really complain to the prefect."
"Go ahead and go ahead," Rong Bai said lazily. He said this every day, but he never actually did anything about it. It was so annoying.
"You—" Zhu Da was so angry that his liver hurt again. This kid was indeed a spoiled brat, and he had a lot of ways to annoy people.
But that wasn't the end of it. Zhu Da, seething with anger, had just returned to his room when he was shoved with a document by a constable from the prefectural governor's office.
“Lord Zhu, the Prefect said that if you still cannot take Chaoyang Manor after half a month, then I will arrest you on the spot and bring you to justice.”
The constable, holding a precious sword, looked down at Zhu Da's head.
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