"Let's go to Yingchang Prefecture to meet Li Maoguo." Zhao Huan finished eating the tofu pudding, stood up and clapped his hands.
"Douhuazhuang, how are you preparing this month's allowance?" A crooked-mouthed scoundrel came over with two of his men and slammed the table.
It turned out that the tofu pudding vendor's surname was Zhuang, and people in Yingchang City called him Douhua Zhuang, but no one knew his real name.
Douhuazhuang hurriedly said with a smile, "Hey, Mr. Jia San, someone is sick this month. Can you give me a few days?"
The crooked-mouthed scoundrel named Jia San, holding a blade of grass in his mouth and one foot on a stool, said in a very scoundrelly tone: "The tax on this street is set by the imperial court. Don't say I didn't warn you. Three days, at most, you must pay the tax in full."
Douhuazhuang looked embarrassed. At this time, a big man in official clothes came to the stall of Douhuazhuang with a sword in one hand.
Douhuazhuang was overjoyed: "Brother, why are you here?"
Jia San, with a crooked mouth, looked at the official and said, "Oh, isn't this Zhuang Xiongqiang, the head of the village? What brings the head of the village here? Oh, I forgot, this Douhuazhuang is your brother."
Jia San was sarcastic and didn't take Zhuang Xiongqiang seriously at all.
Zhuang Xiongqiang said coldly: "Jia San, how much money does my brother owe?"
Jia San chuckled and held up three fingers: "Not much, including the three taels of silver from the month before last."
Zhuang Xiongqiang pulled out three taels of silver from his pocket and threw them on the table: "That's all!"
Jia Sanyi clasped his fists and said, "Zhuangdutou is so generous. Let's go!"
Jia San's men hurriedly picked up the silver and started to leave.
With a "hiss!", a folding fan opened, blocking Jia San's way, Zhao Huan.
Zhao Huan waved his folding fan gently and said, "Brother, this captain is probably your colleague. He said his wife is ill and needs money for medicine. Why don't you give him a few days?"
Jia San was the type who would pick a fight even if you didn't cause any trouble. How could he not be furious when Zhao Huan came to him? "Who are you? How dare you block my way?"
Zhao Huan laughed and said, "Who are you to let me block your way?"
Jia San was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand what Zhao Huan meant, so he angrily said, "I am Jia San, the finance official of Pang County. Who are you?"
Zhao Huan was secretly shocked, but his expression remained calm: "How dare you, a mere tax official from Pang County, come to Yingchang City to collect taxes!"
Jia San smiled and said, "Let me tell you, Zhang Sanpai, the magistrate of Pang County, is my uncle. Humph, the prefect Li Maoguo is incompetent and can't collect taxes, so my uncle has to collect them for him."
Zhao Huan was furious: "A mere county magistrate is so arrogant and domineering as to overrule the prefect. Who gave you the right?"
Jia San was even more furious: "You kid, are you bored? How dare you meddle in the court's affairs!" As he spoke, he reached out with his big hand. Zhao Huan stretched out his folding fan to block it, but the fan was torn by Jia San.
At this moment, Linghu Yunlong took action. He slammed the table and the sword on the table flew into the air.
The long sword and its scabbard slapped, knocked, swept and hit, knocking Jia San and others to the ground in an instant.
Zhao Huan didn't even look at it, strode out of the tofu pudding stall, and went straight to the Yingchang County Government Office.
The three of them walked to the government office as if they were in an empty place. Zhao Huan frowned secretly. Li Maoguo was being too frivolous as the prefect. There was not even an official at the door.
"Where are the people?" Zhao Huan came to the lobby and shouted.
After a while, a man came out from inside in a panic. He was adjusting his hat and said, "I'm coming, I'm coming."
This person was none other than Li Maoguo, the prefect of Yingchang. Suddenly, Li Maoguo's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, still unable to believe what he saw. When he saw Cao Dongsheng behind Zhao Huan, Li Maoguo knelt down with a plop: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, I, Li Maoguo, pay my respects to you! Long live my lord!"
It turned out that Li Maoguo was one of the officials exiled from the capital by Zhao Huan due to the Duan Yunpeng incident, so he recognized Zhao Huan. However, seeing the emperor here was so strange that he couldn't believe it and thought he had recognized the wrong person. It was not until he saw Cao Dongsheng that he realized that the emperor had arrived.
Perhaps because he was too nervous or too excited, Li Maoguo lay on the ground and trembled slightly.
Zhao Huan ignored him. The two of them walked straight to the hall and sat down. "Get up! Li Maoguo, I want to ask you, what's going on in Yingchang City?"
Li Maoguo then stood up tremblingly and said, "Your Majesty, why did you come to Yingchang? Why didn't you notify me in advance so that I could prepare to welcome you?"
Zhao Huan slammed the gavel with a bang: "I'm asking you a question!"
Li Maoguo shuddered with fear: "No, I don't know what your majesty is asking about."
"I ask you, why did the magistrate of Pang County secretly bypass his authority and send people to Yingchang to collect taxes? Who gave him the power? Where is the law of the Song Dynasty?"
With a bang, Zhao Huan slammed the gavel again.
Li Maoguo shuddered again. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty. Yes, it was Zhang Sanpai himself who came to collect the taxes. I once sent people to Yingchang City to collect taxes, but they only collected less than 70% of the taxes. Then Zhang Sanpai said he had a way, so I taught him. And surprisingly, as soon as Zhang Sanpai sent people, Yingchang City's taxes were immediately paid in full."
Zhao Huan sighed: "You are a prefect, a second-rank official. Why are you being bullied by a mere sixth-rank county magistrate? Where is the face of the court?"
Li Maoguo knelt hurriedly and said, "I deserve to die, I deserve to die!"
Li Maoguo was such a coward that Zhao Huan really wanted to give him a good beating.
"I ask you, what is the origin of this three-row piece? Why are you so afraid of him?"
Li Maoguo stammered, "Zhang, Zhang Sanpai was a Jinshi in the second year of Xuanhe. He later served as the magistrate of Pang County until today."
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