Daming: Mixed in Dangzhi County, Beiping

"90% of the time it's that one!"

Tan Ping nodded slightly, "I have never seen anyone dare to pretend to be Xiaoxiao named Zhu.

Moreover, that man was full of aristocracy, and no other family except that family could produce such a child! "

"hiss……"

Hearing this, the chief minister immediately took a cold breath, his face filled with shock and regret.

"Then don't they know what we are waiting for?"

After saying that, the big boss couldn't help stroking his beard, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"For the sake of my family and my life, I will simply kill them..."

"No!"

Tan Ping was shocked and said hurriedly: "Master, this is not the case!"

"Ok?"

The chief minister immediately looked at Tan Ping expectantly, "What's the county master's plan?"

Tan Ping said hurriedly: "The cause of this incident was just that the chief asked the caravan for some tolls and safety fees, and it was not the fault of Suzhou officials!

Therefore, this was the work of an individual gentry family in Suzhou Prefecture. Even if the court traces it, it only needs to introduce a scapegoat.

As for the guy from Peking... he seems to know the rules quite well. As long as I apologize properly, he probably won't take the initiative to sue me..."

"Moreover, this time, we also offended that person. Even the gentleman in charge of the caravan specifically mentioned compensation for delaying the caravan's delivery..."

After hearing this, the headmaster's eyes lit up. They were too familiar with this kind of thing!

"Is that one asking for compensation?"

"Ok!"

Tan Ping nodded slightly.

"That's good!"

The headmaster's face lit up with joy, "As long as we can talk about it, let's talk. I'll go back and report this to the master first!"

"That person has left Suzhou Mansion and gone to Songjiang Mansion. Although he doesn't seem to take it seriously, this kind of person is the most difficult to deal with. Please go quickly!"

"I know..."

……

And on the other side.

The caravan went all the way out of Suzhou City Gate without encountering any obstruction.

After getting on the cargo ships, Zhu Gaochi finally asked: "Teacher, is there something wrong with me pretending to be the second brother this time?"

"Your Highness, how can this be called impersonation?"

Guo An looked surprised, "Your Highness is a member of the Ming Dynasty's royal family with the surname Zhu?"

"Yeah!" Zhu Gaochi nodded slowly.

Guo An added: "But we didn't say that we are His Highness Prince Yan of Peiping. We just said that we came from the north and showed that we were familiar with Beiping Mansion!"

Zhu Gaochi looked at Guo An in surprise, "Did they think too much?"

"That's for sure!"

Guo An nodded, "However, if they think more, they can save us a lot of trouble!"

Zhu Gaochi pondered for a moment and nodded slowly, "What the teacher said makes sense!"

Guo An looked towards the shore and said no more.

After a while, Zhu Gaochi was thinking about something and asked again.

“Teacher, these county magistrates and local gentry families are all in the same boat, and they actually dare to collude with each other and ask for tolls from passing caravans...

I wonder if any of the officials in Beiping Mansion behaved like this when they were in Beiping Mansion? "

"Beiping Mansion?"

Guo An glanced at Zhu Gaochi in surprise, "Your Highness, when we were in Beiping Mansion, the Zhangjiawan Wharf used by those merchants was the wharf of Prince Yan's Mansion, and both Prince Yan's Mansion and Beiping Mansion relied on that wharf to make money. Which official Do you dare to embarrass those merchants?"

"Then why, in the county government, are teachers so skilled?"

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but be a little confused.

Guo An smiled slightly, "Your Highness, these things happen in many places!"

Zhu Gaochi was shocked and asked again: "Does the emperor know?"

"There should be no official who would take the initiative to report this matter to His Majesty. As for whether the Imperial Guards will report it, I don't know!"

"Teacher, I thought that even if the Ming Dynasty was not a paradise of kings and kingdoms under the rule of the Holy Emperor, even if it was not a place of Confucianism, it would still be able to govern the Qingming Festival under the supervision of the year-end bonus and the Beijing Inspectorate, the Metropolitan Inspectorate, and the Jinyiwei...

Unexpectedly, each of these officials looked disgusting, and the clerks spoke harshly. They all wanted to chop the meat on the egret's legs, and their stomachs were like gluttons, and they would never be satisfied! "

"His Highness can see this, I am very relieved!"

"I wonder if the teacher has any good ideas to severely punish these corrupt officials and evil gentry of the Ming Dynasty?"

"I am ashamed!"

"Ugh!"

"Your Highness, you might as well continue to take a look!"

"Alright!"

……

Guo An, Zhu Gaochi and others took a boat and wandered all the way, and just entered a small county under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture.

Behind him, three ships chased him.

The leader is the fast class leader.

"The villain Chenghai has met you all!"

Guo An chuckled and asked, "You brought so many people with you, but you want to take me to the Yamen for interrogation?"

Chenghai shuddered and quickly knelt down to salute.

"You nobles are joking, I am here this time specifically to apologize to you!"

With that said, Chenghai introduced another person next to him to Guo An.

"This noble man, the one next to the little man is the big boss!"

"Master? Apologize?"

Guo An smiled softly and ignored the big boss, looking directly at the three large ships behind him.

Seeing this, the chief minister was not upset and explained with a smile on his face: "When we were in Suzhou Mansion, it was the villain who had blind eyes and failed to recognize Mount Tai, and disturbed the noble man.

The goods and properties on these two large ships were all apologies from the people in Suzhou to the nobles.

When the nobleman returns to Suzhou Mansion again, the Suzhou Mansion will entertain the nobleman again and apologize to the nobleman in person! "

"Two ships?"

Before Zhu Gaochi could speak, Guo An frowned slightly.

How greedy!

The big boss cursed in his heart and hurriedly explained: "Reporting to the noble man, there is also a big ship, which is the ship for the villain to go back!"

"Yes, you have come all the way, so you need to take a boat back..."

Guo An nodded slowly.

The chief officer suddenly had a smile on his face, and quickly handed the two big ships to Guo An, then took a group of his men, got on the big ships, and went back as if they were running away.

"As expected, he is from the north. This is the first time I have seen someone with such a big appetite!"

"The goods on their ship may have been robbed along the way!"

"Hmph, after we get back, we will send someone to the north to check!"

"Yes, the big boss!"

……

the other side.

As soon as Cheng Hai and others left, Guo An took Zhu Gaochi and boarded the ship to look around and apologize to everyone in Suzhou Mansion.

"There are so many?"

Zhu Gaochi's eyes widened.

The two ships were full of silk, cloth, porcelain, sugar and other goods, as well as two large boxes of gold and silver jewelry, worth at least 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver.

"Your Highness, it seems that the gentry officials in Suzhou Prefecture are richer than we imagined!"

Guo An smiled softly, "With these goods and money, we will be more like a caravan heading to Songjiang Mansion!"

Zhu Gaochi's face was still full of anger, "Teacher, these money and goods are the people's blessings. All the officials in Suzhou Prefecture should die!"

"Your Highness, these matters are not urgent. You can write a memorial and ask your Majesty to send out the royal guards to secretly investigate one by one!"

"We must dig out all those insects one by one!"

"Your Highness is wise!"

"teacher……"

"Your Highness, the most important thing for me to come here this time is Songjiang Mansion!"

"Songjiang Mansion?"

Zhu Gaochi suddenly reacted, widened his eyes, and stared at Guo An, "Teacher, do you mean that Songjiang Mansion is more serious than Suzhou Mansion?"

Guo An asked: "Your Highness, do you still remember what the county magistrate said in the Suzhou government office?"

Zhu Gaochi's expression suddenly became even more angry, "These thieves!"

Suddenly, Zhu Gaochi seemed to notice something and looked at Guo An in surprise.

"...Teacher, why aren't you angry?"

Guo An was startled, but he explained slowly: "Because no matter how angry you are, you can't cure those corrupt officials!"

"..."

Zhu Gaochi sighed slightly and looked quietly at the people working hard on both sides of the river, his face full of contemplation.

Guo An didn't bother either.

As the ship moves forward, there are more merchant ships in the river.

On both sides of the Taiwan Strait, there are more and more people braving the scorching sun and wearing purple-black arms.

There are even some men, wearing only tattered shorts that can only cover their crotch, leading boats and carrying cargo on the shore or in the water. It seems that the closer you get to Songjiang Mansion, the poorer the lives of the people here become.

"Teacher, these children are really greedy. They actually catch insects on the roadside and eat them..."

Suddenly, Zhu Gaochi pointed to a path along the river in the distance. There was a skinny child, naked, one of them holding a wooden stick in his hand, lying on the ground, digging hard.

It seemed that after he dug something out, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth, took a few bites, and swallowed it directly.

The children around him glanced at him with envy, and then began to search separately.

Whether it is white and tender grass roots or some wriggling insects, these children will not refuse anything that comes, treating it as something delicious and devour it in one bite...

"Ugh!"

Guo An couldn't help but sigh again, and said slowly: "Your Highness, you may have misunderstood these children!"

"Misunderstand?"

Zhu Gaochi looked at Guo An with some doubts.

Guo An ordered Wang Zhong beside him: "Stop the boat and dock!"

"Yes!"

Soon, the fleet stopped, attracting the attention of a group of soldiers on the shore.

However, after seeing the vicious Shenji Camp soldiers on the fleet, the soldiers could only watch helplessly and did not dare to come near.

Guo An took out three remaining flatbreads from the cabin.

He waved to the group of children not far away, "You guys, do you want some cake?"

"Eat cake?"

The group of children looked up and ran over, eagerly looking at the big cake in Guo An's hand, with longing on their faces.

"You nobles, do you really want to give us cakes?"

In the distance, some warriors saw this, their expressions changed greatly, and they hurriedly walked towards this side.

"naturally!"

On the boat, Guo An smiled gently, "How about I give you these three big cakes in exchange for answering some questions?"

"it is good!"

A child said hurriedly.

"Very good!"

Guo An directly divided the two large cakes into several pieces and handed them to the children respectively.

Those children immediately stuffed it into their mouths hungrily!

Guo An couldn't help but sigh slightly, "Eat slowly, be careful not to choke!"

However, those children ignored Guo An's words.

Soon, these children finished the big cakes in their hands, and then looked eagerly at the last big cake left in Guo An's hands.

Guo An asked: "We just saw you lying on the ground, catching insects?"

"Ok!"

A child nodded in response.

Guo An asked again: "Why are you lying on the ground catching insects to eat?"

"We are hungry..."

As he said that, several children looked at the big cake in Guo An's hand and couldn't help but swallowed again.

"How many meals do you eat at home every day? Why are you still so hungry?"

"A meal!"

"A meal?"

Zhu Gaochi's expression condensed, "You are so young and only have one meal at home?"

"Ok!"

"Then you're not hungry..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but sneer slightly. He said something stupid.

Then, he asked: "You are so young and growing up, why don't your parents let you eat more?"

After saying that, Zhu Gaochi noticed something was wrong in his words again.

A child looked at Zhu Gaochi as if he were a fool, "We have no food at home! Otherwise, we wouldn't eat bugs and grass roots in the fields..."

Zhu Gaochi opened his mouth, his head buzzing.

These children, who were only six or seven years old, actually looked for worms and tree roots in the fields to eat because they had no food at home...

"Gou Shengzi, Xiao Shitou, you little beasts, how can you be so bold and forget what I told you at home?"

At this time, the few force servants in the distance finally ran over, cursed angrily at the children, and then bowed and saluted to Guo An, Zhu Gaochi and others with fear on their faces.

"It's the little man who failed to take good care of these little beasts and disturbed several noble people. Damn it, damn it... The little man should take good care of these little beasts..."

As he said that, he waved his hand and slapped the children on the buttocks.

"Wow……"

Those children immediately started crying.

However, all of them stood firm and did not run away, staring at Guo An with stubborn eyes.

Obviously, he is still waiting for the big pie in Guo An's hand.

Guo An frowned slightly, "Don't blame these children. It was I who called them over for questioning. I also promised to give them three pieces of pie. I already gave them two pieces just now, and the remaining piece needs to be divided as well." give them!"

"Pancake?"

The few soldiers looked at the big cake in Guo An's hand, and their throats moved up and down uncontrollably.

"Take it!"

Guo An said again.

"Thank you, noble man, thank you, noble man!"

A servant quickly stepped forward, took the pie, turned around and handed the pie to a child again.

However, what is surprising is that the child did not take the pie, but shook his head, "Dad, we have already eaten two pieces of pie!

I was just greedy, so I couldn't hold it back, so I ate them all. You can share this big cake and eat it..."

The man paused for a moment, then shouted with a stern face, "You brat, just eat it as fast as I can, why are you so long-winded!"

But those children were also stubborn and refused to take it.

Guo An smiled slightly and asked Wang Zhong on the side: "How many big cakes are there on the ship?"

Wang Zhong replied: "Sir, there are five more!"

"Take them all out!"

"Yes, sir!"

Wang Zhong responded, walked into the cabin, and took out the remaining cakes.

At this time, the laborers and children all looked at the big cakes in Wang Zhong's hands with bright eyes.

"I'll use these big cakes to exchange some questions with you. Are you willing?"

"Really?"

Those few soldiers looked overjoyed.

"It's true!"

Guo Andao: "However, in order to prevent others from knowing what I am asking, someone needs to come up and stand nearby to answer!"

"let me try!"

A force servant stood up directly.

"it is good!"

Guo An nodded with satisfaction and walked inside.

Na LiYu jumped directly onto the ship.

"May I ask this noble man what you want to ask?"

Guo An glanced at Zhu Gaochi who was standing aside, and then asked slowly: "I want to know why the children in your family come to the fields to catch insects to satisfy their hunger?"

The Liyu trembled all over, his face flushed, "I am ashamed that I cannot support my family, so I have no food in the house. I can only eat one meal a day to barely satisfy my hunger..."

It's okay for me to wait for these adults, I'll be patient and get over it, but these little cubs are just growing up and can only dig some food in the ground..."

Guo An asked again: "Your place should already belong to Songjiang Prefecture. It is not only close to the sea, but also rich in cotton. It should be rich. Why are you so poor?"

"Ugh!"

Hearing this, the man's face suddenly became filled with sadness.

“What does this noble man, Songjiang Mansion’s wealthy people, have to do with us untouchables?

In fact, if it were not for the household registration control, we would all want to escape Songjiang Prefecture... The richer Songjiang Prefecture becomes, the more untouchables we pay every year, the poorer we become! "

Hearing this, Zhu Gaochi could no longer bear it and asked: "I remember that Songjiang Mansion's taxes seem to be collected on time every year! So how do you collect taxes when you are so poor?"

"How to collect it?"

The man looked angry and gritted his teeth and said: "You are all running caravans, so you should know how much toll you have to pay when passing through these state capitals?

The same is true for us. As the sea opens, the taxes of Songjiang Prefecture have increased again, and all of this has fallen on us ordinary people!

However, once the sea opens, those gentry and businessmen will become rich, so what does it have to do with us common people?

The increased taxes fall on us, and we have to pay the taxes on time. If not, we will have our fields, houses, children, and mothers taken away..."

"You know, even if my family wasn't that wealthy before, after paying the taxes, we would still have some food in the house, and we could eat two meals a day... But as the taxes increased, my family's ten acres of fertile land were reduced to just Six acres, maybe in two years, the family will not be able to leave even one acre of fertile land..."

"How could this happen?"

Zhu Gaochi's eyes widened with astonishment on his face, "Why are Songjiang Mansion's taxes so high?"

The man glanced at Zhu Gaochi with some surprise, and then said angrily: "We don't know, but those officials sent those officials and tigers down to collect it, and every household like us must pay it in on time!"

"These thieves!"

Zhu Gaochi's face was gloomy and he gritted his teeth.

Guo An asked again: "How much tax do you need to pay every year?"

...(End of chapter)