After Hai Rui gave such instructions, he continued to hurry with Lu Kun and Tang Chuanxun, stayed overnight in Xiaoxing, and came to Danyang, Zhenjiang.

During this time, except for the evening, Hai Rui would always carefully read and comprehend the content of Zhu Yijun's edict, and basically inquired about the people's situation while walking during the day.

Not long after, they were in Danyang, Zhenjiang, and joined the main force of Jin Wuwei led by Hu Shouren.

Hai Rui, Lu Kun, and Tang Chuanxun also changed into official uniforms because of this.

Not long after Hai Rui changed into his official uniform, he asked Hu Shouren: "Has the perpetrator of the shelling of the official ship of the National Tax Department been caught?" ”

"No, they have already prepared a secret passage in the Buddhist temple there."

Hu Shouren replied.

Hai Rui was not surprised, but said, "Got it." ”

Then, Hai Rui learned that Sun Guangyou, the governor of Yingtian, Lu Yi, the governor of Caojiang, Tian Le, Li Yi, the military garrison, Yin Li Ji, Ying Tianfu, Cao Daye, and Zhong Gengyang, the prefect of Zhenjiang, came to greet him.

Hai Rui also met with these officials, and he didn't say much to him, so he asked Ying Tianfu and Zhenjiang to report the tax payment to him.

On the day of his arrival in Nanjing, Hai Rui did not see any other officials except for Pan Jitao, who had been promoted to the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, and ordered Hu Shouren to send troops to the countryside to collect taxes from large households that had not yet paid their taxes.

Like Yangzhou Prefecture, most of the official gentry in Zhenjiang and Yingtian Prefecture still paid their taxes on time, but there were still many big gentry who did not pay their taxes.

Therefore, there are not many officers and soldiers who need to be sent to collect taxes by force, and they are still just some objects that need to be broken through in key areas.

Hai Jui has now received the royal approval, that is, the holy decree to ask for permission on the relevant issues related to the establishment of the credit reporting system.

Therefore, Hai Rui directly sent people to arrest the big officials and gentry with a tax of more than 500 taels of silver, and waited for the Ministry of Industry to arrange the service matters in a unified manner.

However, when Hai Rui had just ordered Hu Shouren to send troops to arrest Tian Yijun's family, who had tens of thousands of dollars in tax arrears, Luo Shanggong, the general manager of the Qian, had just led his troops to the house of Zhou Maoyan, the head of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy, when he saw Tian Yijun hanging himself under his roof.

Luo Sigong was quite shocked when he saw this, and immediately felt bad.

And at this moment, a member of the life suddenly appeared and shouted: "The tax difference of the National Taxation Department forced Mr. Jingmin to hang himself!" ”

Suddenly, many students appeared here.

A student named Ran Yuan even rushed directly towards Luo Sigong and the others: "You forced Mr. Jingmin to death, we will fight with you!" ”

When Luo Sigong saw him rushing over, he had to kick the student away, and shouted, "What are you doing!" As soon as we came, he hanged himself here, what does it have to do with us?! ”

"The National Taxation Department forced Mr. Jingmin to death and beat the scholars, let's ignore these martial artists, go to Hai Gangfeng, and ask him, is it still the Hai Qingtian who was the master of the people back then!"

At this time, the member of the life suddenly smiled coldly, and then said loudly.

"Let's go!"

Immediately, the other students followed suit.

Luo Shanggong said: "......"

"They forced my father to death and broke my arm, I'll go with you!"

At this time, Zhou Zhiyi, the son of Zhou Maoyan, walked out of it, and after being slightly stunned, he also said a few words loudly, and then glanced at Luo Shanggong and the others coldly.

"Since Brother Zhengzong wants to be together, let's go together, and go together to ask for an explanation for Mr. Jingmin!"

The members of the life echoed it.

Luo Sigong couldn't help but sink his face for a while, and immediately arrested Zhou Zhiyi back: "You can't go, your Zhou family owes taxes, if you can't mortgage the amount owed by the confiscated income, all the masters must serve!" ”

Seeing this, these students shouted for Luo Sigong to release Zhou Zhiyi.

Luo Sigong let his firearms team directly raise the firearms.

Seeing this, these students hurriedly left.

Among them, Ran Yuan, who was helped away, covered his stomach and shouted: "Brother Zhengzong, we will inform Yu Haibu Hall about Ling Zun!" ”

……

On this day, when the sky was clear, the blue sky and white clouds spread over the roof of the governor's yamen.

And the governor Hai Rui just got up after finishing his work, and turned his neck, about to go to the courtyard to see the blue sky, when he saw Lu Kun walking in quickly: "Ministry, something is wrong, and many students have come outside, saying that they want to complain about the original bachelor Zhou Jingmin!" ”

Hai Rui's expression turned cold when he heard this, and he said to Hu Shouren: "Go out and have a look!" ”

Hu Shouren said yes.

Then Hai Jui walked out, and saw that outside his governor's yamen, there were no less than two or three thousand people.

"What are you going to do!"

"The holy decree has long been clearly written, and students are not allowed to discuss politics, but should concentrate on academic affairs, so as to nourish their minds, and avoid being misled by treacherous people!"

"Wait for you to leave quickly, otherwise the church must first get rid of your fame, don't think that the church doesn't have this power, the Son of Heaven has let the church act cheaply, and hung up the constitutional office in the courtyard, and the power to get rid of your fame is still there!"

Hai Rui asked loudly and reprimanded the students.

"Ministry, although these people are wearing square scarves, they don't look like students, many of them are obviously practitioners!"

Hu Shouren spoke from the side at this time.

Hai Rui replied in a low voice: "I know, you transferred Luo Shangzhi's troops who stayed in the yamen to the front, intercepted both sides of the street, and were ready to suppress it by force at any time!" ”

Hu Shouren said yes, and then retreated.

At this time, these students carried out the body of Hanlin Zhou Maoyan, and the members of the life team arched their hands and said: "We just ask the ministry to be the master of our Wu people!" The people of the National Taxation Department forcibly collected taxes, abused Confucian ministers, and beat scholars, and then made Mr. Jingmin unbearable and hanged himself! Do the ministries still want to blindly urge the tax and silver, so that more scholars and doctors will hang themselves because of this, and the etiquette will be greatly damaged?! ”

"How did the IRS people mistreat them?"

"Bring out your evidence!"

Hai Rui asked and commanded loudly.

At this time, Ran Yuan, a student, stood up and said: "Brother Zhengzong, the son of Mr. Jingmin, can testify that he has been forcibly arrested by the people of the National Taxation Department, and his arm has been broken by the people of the National Taxation Department!" ”

After hearing this, Hai Rui asked Tang Chuanxun, "Is there such a thing?" ”

Tang Chuanxun replied: "There is such a thing, this person's name is Zhou Zhiyi, but Jin Wuwei brought him back because they did not pay taxes on time, and they did not copy enough money and food. ”

Hai Rui nodded: "Bring him here!" This parish is here to ask him personally! ”

Ran Yuan and the other troublemakers all smiled when they saw this.

Not long after, Zhou Zhiyi was escorted.

As soon as Hai Rui saw Zhou Zhiyi, he asked, "Ling Zun was forced to death by someone from the National Tax Department?" ”

"Yes!"

Zhou Zhiyi replied.

"Your arm was broken by someone from the IRS?"

Hai Rui asked again.

Zhou Zhiyi nodded: "Yes!" ”

"Then why did they force Ling Zun to death, and why did they beat you?! Tell the truth. ”

Hai Rui asked sharply.

Zhou Zhiyi said: "Without knowing the reason, they broke in and beat us, and forced my father to kneel, and my father hanged himself because he was humiliated." ”

As he spoke, Zhou Zhiyi also whimpered and cried.

Ran Yuan and the others laughed more and more proudly, and then raised their arms and shouted: "Give me justice to Confucianism!" It is not allowed to strictly urge the tax silver! ”

】

"Give me justice back to my Confucian ministers! It is not allowed to strictly urge the tax silver! ”

All the students present chanted along.

At this time, Hu Shouren came with a group of firearms and signaled to Hai Rui that he was ready.

Hai Rui also nodded, and then said, "Don't rush now!" ”

Hai Rui continued to look at Zhou Zhiyi: "Are you sure that everything you said is true and that you did not deceive the official?" This official will give you another chance to tell the truth, if you tell the real truth, this official will regard you as meritorious, and ask the court to exempt you from the battle of compensation tax and silver, and only let the other masters of the Zhou family serve. ”

Zhou Zhiyi was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and immediately fell to the ground: "The ministry forgives the sin, the student did lie, my father was not forced to die by the National Taxation Department, but when the National Taxation Department came, he suffered from back gangrene and died, so he decided to hang himself, in order to let the court know that such a tax has made the gentry unable to bear the humiliation!" ”

Ran Yuan and the other troublemakers were stunned when they saw this.

Zhou Zhiyi's decisive betrayal to save himself from hard labor was indeed very surprising to them.

Hai Rui glanced at these troublemakers, and then continued to ask Zhou Zhiyi: "Is there any evidence?" ”

"Yes!"

"My father already had a suicide note written before he hanged himself, and the suicide note was only to accuse the imperial court of canceling the preferential exemption and treating the gentry with disrespect, so as to express his protest, and to express his intention to discourage him by hanging himself, rather than accusing the State Taxation Department of urging the tax to be too strict."

"This suicide note is on me now."