The Xu family of Songjiang.
Xu Luqing, the young master of the Xu family, looked at the news that Li Qin wanted to increase taxes on the wealthy and powerful families in Jiangnan.
The detailed provisions include various tax increases for different types of land.
Enraged, he slammed the intelligence report in his hand onto the table in front of him.
“Li Qin, how could he do this? It's a disgrace that our family led the way in sending him so many gifts and giving him so much silver to reward his troops after he entered Jiangnan.”
Is this how he repays the Xu family in the end?
At this moment, his father, Xu Shaohu, the head of the Xu family, upon hearing his son's words, slammed his fist on the table and said:
"You unfilial son, is this how you speak without restraint?"
"You dare utter His Majesty's name? If it gets out, your entire family will be executed."
After hearing his father's reprimand, Xu Luqing lowered his head and dared not speak again.
Xu Shaohu, the patriarch of the Xu family, remained expressionless after reprimanding his son, but his eyes revealed a fierce glint.
After all, the Xu family had given Li Qin so much gold and silver jewelry, as well as more than 100,000 taels of silver.
After Li Qin crossed the Yangtze River, the Xu family was the first to take the lead in sending him off.
You, Li Qinqian, accepted the money, but then you turned around and pointed a knife at us.
Is this how you do things?
Instead of taking our money and showing us any consideration, they planned to rip us off.
Xu Shaohu grew angrier the more he thought about it, and his face became increasingly grim.
Xu Luqing, as the son, noticed the change in his father's expression and immediately said to him:
“Father, by doing this, isn’t Li Qin cutting himself off from the elite families of Jiangnan?”
Should we try to cause some trouble, like the previous dynasty did?
"Let's make a scene?"
After hearing his son's words, Xu Shaohu also raised his head and looked at him.
But he kept fiddling with the teacup next to him.
Finally, he put down his teacup, waved to his son in front of him, and said:
"No, now that the imperial army is gathering in Jiangnan, we must behave ourselves."
"The officials who come to collect taxes will ask for whatever amount they want; we'll pay that amount."
Upon hearing his father's words, Xu Luqing hurriedly said:
"Father, if the tax set by the imperial court is really implemented, our family's assets will shrink drastically in the future."
Moreover, even if we don't make a move, the Zhang family in Suzhou and the Ma family in Hangzhou will definitely do so.
"Why don't we all join in and cause some trouble?"
In response to his son's words, Xu Shaohu waved his hand again and said:
"Let's wait and see what happens, and not make a move. Things are different now than in the previous dynasty."
They caused trouble before because they had someone in the imperial court who could protect them.
But now that they dare to cause trouble, no one in the imperial court is protecting them.
Which of the generals in the imperial court today didn't rise through mountains of corpses and seas of blood?
They don't hold back with their knives.
Let's wait and see.
Inside the Imperial Palace in Jinling.
Li Qin looked at the intelligence reports from various sources in his hand.
As the tax system was implemented and carried out throughout the Jiangnan region, reports came from various places, and a trend of resistance arose in many areas, but none of it was significant.
The wealthy and powerful families in Jiangnan have not made any moves for the time being.
However, according to intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the wealthy and powerful families in Jiangnan were extremely dissatisfied with this tax system.
Almost every family was secretly cursing the imperial court, and many wealthy and powerful families were already making preparations to stage an armed uprising.
What they lack now is someone to take the lead.
If they dare to rebel, we can uproot them completely and intimidate the Jiangnan region.
Otherwise, even without bloodshed, they would still subconsciously feel the same way about themselves as they did in the previous dynasty.
I want to use my blood to tell them that times have changed.
Just as Li Qin was reviewing intelligence from various sources, a report from Jiangyin was delivered to his desk by a fast horse.
Li Qin opened the document and saw that it clearly stated that the generals he had sent to Jiangyin had dragged the officials of Jiangyin to their deaths with horses and forcibly implemented tax policies.
This ultimately sparked a riot among the people of Jiangnan, spearheaded by the prominent Feng family of Jiangyin.
They shouted that the court was imposing harsh policies and begged the court not to compete with the people for profit.
Li Qin smiled as he looked at the intelligence report that had been sent to him.
Finally, someone has taken the lead.
He had assumed that the powerful families of Jiangnan were all cowards and had begun to carry out his tax orders.
Li Qin then set the tone for the matter.
He plotted a rebellion and subsequently ordered the surrounding troops to monitor Jiangyin.
But don't immediately intervene; let them make a fuss.
By luring out the other families, we can then deal with them all together on charges of treason.
While Li Qin was dealing with matters in Jiangnan.
A eunuch urgently delivered a memorial to them.
"Your Majesty, an urgent report from Lingnan."
Li Qin, who was handling affairs in Jiangnan, heard an urgent report from Lingnan.
He immediately took the urgent report from Lingnan.
After all, he had already sent envoys and letters to Lingnan and Yunnan-Guizhou.
Yunnan and Guizhou are far from Jiangnan, so news is delayed.
However, Lingnan is closer than Yunnan and Guizhou.
The intelligence from Lingnan has finally arrived.
Once Yunnan, Guizhou, and Lingnan surrender, and Fujian is taken over, the former territory of the Great Wu will have completely changed hands.
Li Qin opened the intelligence report from Lingnan in his hand.
After reading it, Li Qin breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
This urgent report detailed what happened after the envoy arrived in Lingnan.
After the governor of Lingnan received news of the fall of the Jiangnan court, Li Qin ascended the throne in Nanjing, Jiangnan.
I originally intended to continue resisting and haggling.
But who would have thought that his subordinates, Hu Shenglian and Tang Juezhi, the generals of Guangxi and Guangdong respectively, would join forces to kill the governor of Lingnan and submit a memorial to the Tang Dynasty.
After reading the details, Li Qin put the urgent report aside.
He then began writing imperial edicts for the two men, ordering them to come to Jinling so that he could personally bestow titles upon them.
For him, it didn't matter how they overthrew their superiors; what mattered most was that Lingnan was in his hands, and the process was irrelevant.
After all, he was the greatest underdog in the world.
With the two men's surrender, the Lingnan region was now completely under our control.
The only regions that haven't submitted yet are Yunnan, Guizhou, and Fujian.
Once Hong Chengchou's army had been appeased, he was immediately ordered to lead his troops to attack Fujian.
Meanwhile, it's estimated that the submission of Yunnan and Guizhou is only a matter of time.
It doesn't matter if they don't submit; he can just send troops to punish them.
He is currently in the early days of the founding of the nation, and what he has in abundance is his proud and fierce generals who are good at fighting.
Many generals now dream of continuing to fight so that their ranks can be further elevated.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
