"Yes, Master!"
Upon hearing the Right Chancellor's instructions, the steward respectfully agreed.
Shortly after the steward left, the more than one hundred guards of the Prime Minister's residence who had gathered in the backyard also left the residence and headed towards the place where the families of the soldiers lived.
Soon, the guards arrived at an alley.
Looking at the houses on both sides of the alley, the Right Chancellor's servants announced loudly, "Twenty men form a team, and each household must pay at least three shi of grain or goods worth twenty thousand coins!"
"yes!!"
The guards agreed and then rushed toward the houses in the alley.
"Bang bang bang~"
"Open the door!!"
Knocking and shouting echoed through the alley.
The Right Chancellor's servants, leading a group, arrived in front of a courtyard and had someone knock on the door knocker.
Soon, the courtyard gate opened, and a woman poked her head out, looking at the crowd outside with a puzzled expression.
"What are you doing here...?"
A guard stepped forward and said, "We have come by order of the King to collect taxes!"
"Collecting taxes?"
The woman frowned: "You must be mistaken. According to the king's orders, my family is not required to pay taxes!"
Previously, the King of Wusun had issued a special order that all soldiers' families would be exempt from taxes in order to gain the support of the soldiers and encourage them to guard the capital more diligently.
"That was before, the orders have changed now!"
The Right Chancellor's servant stepped forward and said, "Now the Xianbei people have also arrived and are demanding a large amount of supplies from us. In order to appease the Xianbei people and prevent us from suffering the calamity of national destruction, His Majesty has specially ordered that everyone must pay taxes to gather the supplies needed by the Xianbei people!"
The woman paused slightly, "But my husband is..."
"Your husband is nothing!"
Before the woman could finish speaking, the Right Chancellor's servant interrupted her, then waved his hand and said, "Go inside!!"
With that, he pushed open the courtyard gate, blocked the woman aside, and led twenty guards into the courtyard.
"Search!"
At the order of the Right Chancellor's servant, twenty guards excitedly responded and rushed towards the various rooms.
The woman was also frightened and hid to the side, her face full of anger and fear.
Soon, the soldiers in charge of the search moved all the food and valuables from the woman's house into the courtyard.
"Move everything out!!"
Looking at the food and supplies that had been found, the Right Chancellor's servant waved his hand and directed the guards to start carrying them out.
Seeing this, the woman disregarded her fear and hurriedly stepped forward, saying, "You only said you were collecting taxes, why are you taking everything away?"
"Hmph~, your stuff isn't nearly enough, of course you'll have to move it all out!"
The Right Chancellor's servant snorted coldly and led his men out.
"At least leave me some! You took it all. How are we supposed to survive?"
Upon seeing this, the woman stepped forward and blocked the doorway while speaking.
The Right Chancellor's subordinate said coldly, "If we can't gather enough supplies, our country will perish. Do you think it's more important for your family to survive, or for us to save our country?"
"I……"
Upon hearing this, the woman was stunned for a moment, opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"Get out of the way!!"
While the woman was still in a daze, the Right Chancellor's servant suddenly reached out and pushed her to the side.
The woman was suddenly pushed and lost her footing, falling to the ground with a cry of pain, tears streaming down her face.
"Let's go!!"
The Right Chancellor's servant merely glanced at the woman indifferently before leading his men to carry the things out of the courtyard.
The woman lying on the ground watched as those people carried away all her food and money, and she couldn't help but sob.
"What difference does it make whether a country like this perishes or not?"
As the woman wept, she couldn't help but whisper a sentence.
After the Right Chancellor's servants led their men out of the courtyard, those responsible for searching the other military dependents' houses also gathered together with their respective finds.
At this moment, the cries of the families left behind echoed throughout the alley.
"Heh~, let's move on to the next place!"
Listening to the commotion coming from each household, the Right Chancellor's servant sneered, and then led the group toward another area where military families lived.
Led by the Right Chancellor's men, these guards would confiscate all the food and property from the families of soldiers whenever they arrived, leaving them no way to survive.
At the same time, the royal guards sent by the Wusun king to collect taxes were also dispersed to the outermost areas where ordinary people lived.
The people were bewildered and confused when the guards suddenly came to collect taxes.
"Sir, we've already emptied our savings to pay the taxes. Where would we find any extra food or money to pay now?"
Inside a civilian house, an elderly man looked at the guards who had come to collect taxes and pleaded with a bitter expression.
His wife also protected their two teenage granddaughters, hiding behind them trembling and not daring to make a sound.
"Hmph~, enough nonsense. The previous taxes were yours to pay, but the current taxes are to ensure that our country is not attacked."
"If you don't pay, what if the Xianbei come? Are you going to fight them off? If the city falls, your whole family won't even be able to save their lives. What use will all that grain and money be then?"
The officer in charge snorted and then waved his hand: "Search! Take out everything that can be eaten or exchanged for money!"
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