Wu Lanxi looked up and her whole body suddenly stiffened.
Beyond the lush forest, the majestic city wall stands tall!
It is at least five zhang tall.
It should be noted that the city wall of the capital was only about four zhang (approximately 10 meters) high.
How could the city walls of a mere Qihuai County be higher than those of the capital?
Her eyes widened, and she almost thought she was hallucinating.
But the sound of the assassin's hooves drew closer, and he had no time to think. He could only spur his horse and gallop towards the city gate.
"Wan'er, is Qihuai County really as poor as you say? How come it was able to build such a high city wall?"
Building the city wall required quarrying a large amount of stone and consuming a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial resources.
Even for the capital city, this was a considerable expense.
How can Qihuai County afford this?
Lin Wan'er's eyes widened: "The Yingzhou Gazetteer clearly states that Qihuai County is a poor county with only a little over a thousand people. This servant, this servant, has no idea where this city wall came from."
The city wall is high and neat, and the stone used looks even more high-quality than that of the capital.
This is unbelievable!
At the city gate, six armored guards stood ready.
He drew his sword as soon as he saw them.
"Halt! Dismount!"
Lin Wan'er quickly dismounted and stood in front of Wu Lanxi, angrily saying, "Put away your knives! We are a good family!"
She glanced back nervously and saw that more than twenty bandits had caught up with them, but they lingered not far away and dared not approach for a moment.
She hurriedly said, "Quickly inform your magistrate and have him close the city gates to repel the bandits!"
Upon hearing this, the guard slowly extended his hand: "No rush, let's check your travel permits first."
Lin Wan'er was so anxious that she wanted to curse, but when she opened her mouth, she met Wu Lanxi's look that stopped her.
Having no other choice, he took out his travel permit and slapped it into the guard's hand.
After the guards checked them, they said, "It's easy to enter Qihuai County. There's a deposit of one hundred taels of silver, a toll of ten taels of silver, a checkpoint fee of two taels of silver, and a city gate tax of five taels of silver, for a total of one hundred and twenty taels of silver. Once you pay all the money, you can pass."
deposit?
Toll fees?
City gate tax?
What is all this garbage?!
Lin Wan'er was dumbfounded.
She had been to many prefectures and counties, and even when she encountered cunning officials, she would at most pay them two taels of silver to get rid of them.
They actually asked for 120 taels right off the bat!
How dare you!
But to save her life, she didn't have time to say anything more and could only take out the silver and stuff it into the guard's hand.
I'll arrest you all again and behead you as a warning!
The guards were surprised by their prompt response. They exchanged glances, smiled, and pulled open the gate: "Please."
They're stupid and cowardly; they'll obediently hand over money as soon as they're extorted.
Lord Tang loves these kinds of foreign businessmen the most!
Upon entering the city, Lin Wan'er relaxed slightly. Seeing a burly official pass by, she quickly called him over.
“Those outside are all bandits, highly skilled in martial arts. If they break in, you definitely won’t be able to stop them. Quickly go and inform the county magistrate to ask the prefect of Yingzhou for help, and at the same time organize men to resist the bandits!”
Li Da Kui crossed his arms: "Just a few bandits, no need to alarm the prefect. The rule in Qi Huai County is ten taels of silver per head. Money is paid and the person dies. It's that simple."
Lin Wan'er was dumbfounded.
Ten taels of silver per head?
With over twenty thieves outside, wouldn't that cost another two hundred taels of silver?
Is this guy really a government official?
How can someone's heart be blacker than that of a thief outside!
Wu Lanxi suppressed her displeasure and said, "It is your responsibility to eliminate evil and maintain order. How dare you extort money from the people? This is a capital offense according to the law!"
Li Da Kui scratched his head: "What law? I don't understand. If you don't want to pay, that's fine. Anyway, those bandits are stationed outside the city. They're waiting for you, not me. I'm not in a hurry."
"By the way, according to the rules of Qihuai County, outsiders must pay a resource encroachment fee of ten taels of silver every day. If they stop paying, they will be kicked out of the city immediately."
Tang Huan taught him these words, and he memorized them by imitation.
After saying that, he did as instructed and pretended to leave.
Lin Wan'er was so angry that she suffered a stroke.
Listen to this! Is this something a human being would say?!
Isn't this just driving them to their deaths?
Wu Lanxi remained relatively calm, but his expression was extremely unpleasant. He frowned and called out to Li Da Kui.
"If you can really kill the thieves, I can give you the two hundred taels of silver, but let me make this clear beforehand: those thieves are all top-notch experts, and nine times out of ten, you will not return alive!"
A top-tier expert whom even nearly a hundred bodyguards couldn't handle.
She wanted to see what these officials, who disregarded human life and talked about money all the time, could do!
Li Da Kui said, "It's still the same old saying: money talks."
Then, a large, dark hand reached out in front of Wu Lanxi.
Wu Lanxi sneered and took out two silver notes, placing them in his hand.
You ignorant fool, you'll regret it when you fight the assassin.
These corrupt officials who prey on the people deserve to die.
Li Da Kui checked the authenticity of the silver note, then grinned and gave an OK sign towards the city wall.
Seeing his gesture, Tang Huan knew that things had succeeded.
Three hundred taels of silver, given away so casually.
These two businessmen are incredibly wealthy!
It seems he needs to intensify his extortion efforts, aiming to make them both come in rolling in money and leave with nothing but their underwear.
But before that, he had to deal with the bandits.
He raised his chin and winked at the crossbowmen who were already ready beside him.
"Ready, set, fire!"
At the foot of the city wall, Wu Lanxi and Lin Wan'er, out of curiosity, went to the city gate again and looked outside.
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