Chen Feng, Liang Yong, Gao Yin and others are not an exception, but a microcosm of all mine supervisors and tax envoys. Before entering the palace, these eunuchs were basically unemployed vagrants who were poor but unwilling to accept the status quo, and in order to change their fate and soar, they would choose the promising job of 'eunuchs'.

The knife that cuts off the root of right and wrong also basically cuts off their conscience, shame and other human sides. When they were in the palace, they were servile, pampered, dignified, and extremely repressed. Once released, they will naturally have to compensate a hundred times more with the privileges granted by the emperor, the dense network of Dongchang spies all over the world, and the outlaws they recruited. Those repressed and distorted greed, hatred of society, especially the rich, and sexual repression that cannot be vented, have all exploded, so they show lawlessness, wantonness, and crazy perversion, bringing a catastrophe to the land of China.

To Liaodong in the north, to Yunnan and Guangdong in the south, to Susong and Shanghai in the east, to Shaanxi in the west, and in the central part of the country, such as Shanxi, Lianghu, and Jiangxi, all of them were ravaged by the eunuchs. The richer and more developed areas, the more serious the suffering, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which was originally in the blow of the financial crisis, all industries withered, and now they are regarded as the fattest prey by the eunuchs, and naturally they are subjected to particularly harsh exploitation and extortion, the people's livelihood is rapidly depressed, and the market is extremely deserted, which is very different from the prosperity scene in the early years of Wanli.

Among them, the biggest change is the city of Shanghai, which is completely supported by industry and commerce.

In the 35th year of Jiajing, Shanghai opened its port, and in the next year, five customs of the city were set up here, and the tax was divided into nine rules, and the right to do business was stopped, and no tax was levied, which had almost no impact on industry and commerce. Shanghai has also miraculously risen on the coast of the East China Sea and quickly become the economic center of the country, and the market is full of new atmosphere.

However, in September of the 11th year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun appointed Sun Long, the steward of Baohedian, the largest imperial store in the former capital, and obtained the fattest errand of the mine tax envoy - the tax of Susong County, including the taxes of Suzhou, Songjiang and Shanghai.

After his arrival, this vampire, who was three feet away in Beijing, ordered Huang Jianjie to recruit local hooligan leaders Tang Xin, Xu Cheng and others, all of whom were appointed as tax officials, known as the Twelve Taibao.

I have to admit that Sun Long is a tax wizard, he summed up the experience of taxation in the capital, and combined with local characteristics, in addition to the tariff, he also levied 'market tax' and 'head tax'. The former was a tax on the circulation of goods, which was done by the 12 Taibao under his command.

It is really a difficult reason to use scoundrels to do bad things, and once those hooligan leaders who have no moral bottom line take up their posts, their disciples and grandchildren will all become tax officers, and the tax collection outlets in the Susong area and the water and land channels. Immediately dense as autumn. As long as the vehicles and ships entering the country will be checked, although the people are 'only chicken bunches and vegetables, salty is not avoided', not to mention those cargo ships and trucks that continue to transfuse blood into the city.

In addition to the tariffs set by the Wanli Emperor, Sun Long also cleverly set up names and imposed various taxes; His tax ruffians also unceremoniously ate and took cards, and as a result, a shipload of goods worth 10,000 taels of silver was taxed at various levels, and more than 8,000 taels of taxes were charged. before it can be shipped to the market for sale.

The financial crisis brought about by the Royal Bank is still very serious, and the situation of expensive and cheap silver is becoming more and more serious. In order to survive, the merchant had to pinch his nose to collect the silver ticket, but in the case of cashing in the distance. A sharp depreciation of silver bills was inevitable.

The worst-case scenario is a skyrocketing price hike on the one hand, a monetary contraction on the other, and inflation and inflation at the same time. Citizens and businesses were unable to sustain themselves, leading to a 'Wu people boycott. Merchants have abandoned the huge market in Susong, Shanghai, hoping to avoid the terrible tax customs through domestic sales.

When the number of people trading in the market decreases sharply, it naturally becomes difficult to collect taxes, but it doesn't matter, Sun Long has a second trick, which is to levy a 'head tax'. The businessmen thought that they could escape if they didn't do business in Susong Shanghai? It's so naïve!

Sun Long asked the textile households in Susong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, 'one piece per machine, three dollars of tax silver, one horse of satin, five points of tax silver, one horse of yarn, and two points of tax...... The woven yarn and satin shall be sealed with tax and customs, and then allowed to be sold. That is to say, whether you produce it or not, each loom is taxed at three denises, and the woven gauze is taxed before it can be sold. In the blink of an eye, in the area of Susong Shanghai, the factories and shops related to the textile industry have been closed, and hundreds of thousands of weavers, yarn workers, dyers and other employees are unemployed.

The city of Shanghai, which used to be as prosperous as a paradise, was depressed in the blink of an eye, all industries were abandoned, rich businessmen went bankrupt, small people lost their jobs, and there was a scene of ghosts crying wolves......

Miaoqian Street in Shanghai, which was prosperous in the past, was hard to find, and the shops were closed for seventy percent, and it was a depressed scene.

When acquaintances meet on the street, they greet each other warmly as before, and then talk about the new plays staged in the Grand View Garden, where the sake lees crab is the most authentic, and how to raise the red-billed thrush...... Instead, they looked at each other and smiled bitterly, most of them didn't say anything, and passed by dejectedly, because no one wanted others to ask about their current situation.

Even if you speak, you are asking where there is cheaper food for sale, or if there is any information about recruitment.

In order to adapt to the current situation, the shopkeeper Ji, who was entrusted with taking care of the business, sold the original precious tables and chairs and replaced them with ordinary jujube wood tables and chairs. The calligraphy and paintings of celebrities that were originally hung on the wall are also gone, and they have been replaced by the warning of "don't talk about state affairs" and the warning of "no credit".

Not only the decoration is shabby, but the tea and food served in the store have also become very ordinary, the original Longjing, white tea, bird's tongue, Biluochun, dozens of famous teas for you to choose from, now there are only two, a large bowl of tea and chrysanthemum tea. The same is true of eating, where there are no more delicate and tempting refreshments, but instead very cheap and satisfying buckwheat cakes, multigrain noodle soup, and some finely chopped shredded vegetables and dried bamboo shoots.

Prices have skyrocketed to the limit, how many people have become poor overnight, where is there Yaxing, who used to be tired of eating and tasting fragrant tea? Now I just want to have a bowl of tea to drink, a bite to eat, and not to starve. Therefore, the original food and drink could not be sold, and could only be replaced with the current coarse tea and light rice.

Early this morning, the door panel had just come down, and the men were listlessly sprinkling water to wipe the table. The first guests arrived.

is not the old man Zhou who usually arrived first, but the majestic Ma Liuye. Although in just a few months, his hair has turned gray, Ma Liuye's spirit is still strong, and he greeted the guys in the store loudly as soon as he entered the door.

"Sixth Master is early, why did you rush to Daddy Zhou today?" Seeing his vigorous appearance, the guys all felt more energetic.

"When that old man is still an idler? He went back to his son's factory to help. Ma Liuye replied: "I work for a day during the day, and I can't get up in the morning." "To save money. The four of them no longer went upstairs, so they sat downstairs. After sitting down, Ma Liuye said to Shopkeeper Ji: "Give us some hot noodle soup this morning, beat an egg!" I haven't eaten it in days! ”

"Remember, you'll have to wait for the purchaser to come back. Who knows if you can buy noodles or not? Shopkeeper Ji said with a wry smile: "It's just that there is a coincidence of noodles in the grain store, who knows if we can afford it!" Alas! ”

"." Ma Liuye also understood, and scolded: "The price of grain has risen without bounds, one price a day!" ”

"Be content." As Chen Guanren spoke, he came in with an oiled paper bag and said, "At least you still have something to eat now, I heard that people are starving to death in the south of the city." ”

"Why do I smell meat?" Ma Liuye shrugged his nose and stared at the oily paper bag.

"Dognose." Chen Guanren scolded with a smile and said: "Yesterday, I followed the adults to the countryside to fight tooth sacrifices, and I brought a chicken. I'll bring you back the tooth sacrifice. ”

"Or how about an old fellow." Ma Liuye was overjoyed, took out a dime of silver from his arms for a long time, and instructed Xiao Er: "Go to Widow Liu to get two catties of burning knives, ***, this stinky girl doesn't even accept tickets!" ”

"Forget it, it's not cost-effective to spend cash now, so let's keep it for appreciation." Chen Guanren stopped him and said, "It's better to replace the bar with tea." ”

"Don't stop you." Ma Liuye waved his hand and asked the guy to go: "The birds have faded out of their mouths, what's the use of keeping this bit of silver." In the next step, I even have a pocket watch and gold teeth! ”

"It's all angry talk, can the situation be bad all the time?" Chen Guanren was also hungry for that wine, so he no longer stopped it.

The guy went out to buy wine, and there were customers in the teahouse one after another. It's not good. On the contrary, there are more customers in the tea house, so they rush to have a food supply that is 30% cheaper than the market.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ma Liuye was a person from all over the world, greeted the tea guests on the side warmly, and finally said to an old man with a big head and a thick neck: "Master Wang, why are you here too?" "Old man Wang is the chef of He Yunlou on Front Street. Guarding a kitchen in a big restaurant to eat, why did you come here to drink noodle soup?

"Alas......" Old Man Wang sighed, "I am unemployed, and I have no food to eat." ”

"You can be unemployed by your craft?" The people did not believe. Old man Wang is a famous chef of Huaiyang cuisine, he has been cooking in the homes of dignitaries when he was young, and when he was old, he planned to enjoy Qingfu at home, but he was invited by the boss of He Yunlou to visit the thatched house three times, and he was invited to pay a lot of money before he went out of the mountain again. It's incredible that a person like him can be unemployed: "Could it be that the restaurant is closed?"

"The restaurant is not closed." Old man Wang smiled self-deprecatingly: "It's just that the boss has changed to home-cooked food, why do you still use my old style of stew?" Saying that, he looked at Ma Liuye and said, "Sixth Master, is there a shortage of cooks on the dock?" ”

"You, a famous chef in Huaiyang, go to the dock to steam your nest?" Ma Liuye's eyes widened.

"What's the solution! People have to eat. Old man Wang said in a low voice: "I thought I had earned enough money in this life, but who knew that the money had become paper, and now I don't ask how much money I can make, just have a place to take care of food......"

Ma Liuye wanted to say that cooking on the dock requires strength, not technology, but seeing him like this, he swallowed the words again, nodded and said, "Cheng, I'll ask you." ”

"Alas, the way of the world." Listening to the solemn atmosphere, Liu Sanhe, who was singing a small song on the other side, sang loudly: "The trees are old, the leaves are thin, and the people are old and have their heads down." Sensei said that I can't mix, and Master Wang is not doing well. He has no money, he is old, and he has a torn cotton jacket left. Since that, the dead eunuch, occupied Shanghai Beach last year. Everyone is bitter, they can't mention it, and if they don't die, they will lose a layer of skin......"

Everyone heard that they were concerned, and Chen Guanren burst into tears and scolded: "Silence quickly, be careful of Dongchang to arrest!" ”

"Catch it, catch it, die it, live and suffer it, at least you won't starve if you die," Liu Sanhe said indifferently: "Shopkeeper Ji, do it well, and then take a bowl of noodle soup on credit, it's hot to say this." ”

Shopkeeper Ji scolded with a smile: "When did you not give it to you?" As he spoke, he brought a bowl of noodles and said, "You also learn from other people's yellow blind people, and you eat by mouth, why do people live more and more moisturized?" ”

"I am grateful for this world," the yellow blind man, who had been sitting quietly and listening, said with a smile: "The worse the world, the more fortune tellers there are, and I don't need money, just take care of the food, it's no problem to mix and be full." ”

"He is a fortune teller and someone is in charge of the meal, who is in charge of the meal for me, a storyteller and singer?" Liu Sanhe looked at Shopkeeper Ji and said, "Shopkeeper Ji, if you don't have a show here in the evening, I don't want money, just take care of my three meals a day." ”

"I can't afford it, I can't make money just by spending lamp oil." Shopkeeper Ji shook his head and said.

"This is a conscience," Liu Sanhe shook his head and said: "Last time I talked about "Five Rats in Tokyo", it was full of friends. ”

"It's full, but it's all rubbing, and it doesn't cost anything to listen!" Shopkeeper Ji poured bitter water.

"You insist on it."

"People complain that you don't work hard." Shopkeeper Ji complained: "Half-dead, I want to sleep when I hear it." ”

"Damn, why should I work hard when I spend the night, my throat is smoking, and I can't earn money for mixed noodles and cakes? Am I crazy? Liu Sanhe said extremely depressed.

At this time, Shopkeeper Hou and Zhou Laohan came together. Old man Zhou didn't look good, and the clothes of the shopkeeper Hou were also washed white. The shopkeeper Hou carried a small basket, there were a few plates of small dishes in the basket, and Zhou Laohan carried a jar of flower carvings.

"What's going on today?" Ma Liuye smiled: "Isn't it a festival?" ”

"When I went out, I met Lao Hou carrying vegetables, I asked him what he was doing, and he said that he would have a good gathering today." Zhou Laohan said: "I'll go back and find out the last vase of flower carvings." ”

"This is the last bottle?" Ma Liuye laughed.

"This time it's true." Old Man Zhou said gloomily: "It's really gone, not a bottle is gone." ”

"Brother, don't mind," Ma Liuye said apologetically: "I'm just a stinky mouth." ”

"How many years old man, what are you talking about?" Old Man Zhou smiled.

"yes." The shopkeeper Hou said with a miserable smile while distributing vegetables: "I'll leave today, I'll be the east today, invite the guys to have a meal, and when I think about it later, don't always say that I slammed the door." ”

"Let's go, where are you going?" Everyone was surprised.

"Where are you going?" Shopkeeper Hou said with a blank face: "Yes, although the world is big, where can I go?" ”