In the restaurant not far away, in the single room by the window, there are also people watching the chaos on the street.

Here is a man and a woman, the man is middle-aged, with vicissitudes of life, and the woman is delicate and beautiful, just at a good age.

"Interesting. The woman lightly opened her cherry lips, her red lips were as gorgeous as blood, she lowered her head and looked at the long street, with a smile on the corner of her mouth:

"As soon as I arrived in Anle County, I saw such a farce. ”

The woman should not be very old, but her eyes are deep, as if she is used to seeing the world, and she sees the scene in front of her as a farce.

"It seems that some people are dissatisfied with that prince. The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said:

"In the past year, there has been no master here, let the palace do it, Zhu Dingwu has done so many things, his reputation has been great, and his prestige is extremely high, which will naturally arouse the vigilance of the new dynasty. ”

Saying that, he gave his hand to ask for instructions:

"Miss, let's ......"

"Ignore it. The woman raised her hands lightly, and her voice was lazy:

"Although his father-in-law has some relationship with us, he is an outsider after all, so we don't need to care too much. ”

"Besides, if someone suppresses his arrogance, it will also be good for what you will do in the future. ”

"Yes. The man should be, and said:

"However, the prince has a good reputation here, and he does more practical things, I am afraid that it will be difficult to find the wrong place. ”

"I think the people of the new dynasty saw the gold and silver in and out of the palace like flowing water, and they were greedy and wanted to get a piece of the pie. ”

Raising soldiers, building academies, and covering the entire Anle County, the consumption is huge, and it is by no means a small amount.

The sunrise is far more than that.

This huge wealth, not to mention the people of the new dynasty, is their underworld, and they will also be excited.

If you can get a piece of the pie......

"Do less and make fewer mistakes, do more wrong, and do more, how can there be no flaws. The woman shook her head slightly:

"Zhu Dingwu doesn't have the skill of turning stone into gold, but the gold and silver he starts with will definitely not be less. ”

"Where did he get it?"

"I don't know what I do. The man bowed his head:

"However, to support such a large consumption, the accumulation of the palace alone is obviously far from enough, and the people in the imperial court may know something. ”

"Hmm. The woman nodded:

"Let's see. ”

"Yes. ”

On the long street, the man who sued the official was still crying.

This person is more than half a hundred years old, full of gray hair, and now he can't kneel on the ground, crying, but also a little desolate.

But except for the people who were traveling with him, the rest of the people on the street were all glaring.

How dare this man sue the prince?

In the past year, the prince has built academies, popularized martial arts, sheltered displaced people, expanded commerce, and suppressed gangs......

has done so many good deeds, so that nearly one million people in Anle County have been spared from war and the people have no worries.

It's a real blessing!

In the eyes of everyone, this person is an ungrateful person who deliberately framed the blame for the prince.

"Lord Chincha!" the old man raised his head and cried:

"The villain Saturday is a cloth merchant in the county town, and he also runs a pawnshop, which can be regarded as a small wealth. ”

"The days are not said to be fulfilling, but they are also happy. ”

"I have also donated to the academy, dug well water, and done some good deeds, and I have never done anything illegal and undisciplined. ”

He sobbed for a while, and said:

"But since half a year ago, the royal palace has ordered to scavenge gold and silver, but it has directly cut off the roots of our Zhou family!"

"Oh?" upstairs, Chincha's voice sank:

"Are you telling the truth?"

"As far as I know, the prince loves the people like a son and is known as a virtuous person, how could he deliberately target you as a small cloth merchant?"

"No wonder the official didn't remind you in advance, the following crimes are committed to slandering the prince, but it is a big crime!"

"The villain doesn't dare!" said sadly, Saturday hurriedly kowtowed:

"My lord doesn't know, that prince loves fame, although he has done a lot of good deeds, but he uses the money we have worked so hard to earn!"

"In all dynasties, the taxes of agriculture, commerce, industry and trade, and land and water checkpoints were mostly 30 taxes and 1, and the high ones were only 15 taxes and 1. ”

"And the prince ......"

He cried aloud and said:

"The tax set by the prince for the villain, but one of the two, the highest is even seven and three for him!"

"What?"

"How is that possible?"

"Fake, right?"

As soon as these words fell, the faces of the people who heard the audience all changed color, and the people on the street were also in an uproar.

A man and a woman belonging to the forces of the underworld in the restaurant frowned, and the man sneered with disdain:

"No wonder it can afford so many people, such a heavy tax, unprecedented, it's really an official forcing the people to rebel!"

"Heh......" The woman also shook her head lightly, showing disdain:

"Such a demanding person can have such a good name, it is really the greatest in the world, this is a long insight!"

"Is this true?" In another restaurant, the senior Liao also frowned and looked at the shopkeeper on the side:

"One out of ten taxes can force a family to ruin, and taking one of the two is unprecedented, which is too ......"

Before he finished speaking, he shook his head again and again.

As the cloth merchant said on Saturday, most of the taxes in the past dynasties were thirty taxes and fifteen taxes.

Even if there is a tax in addition to the tax, it will never be large enough to be half or even three or seven cents.

If it is true, then the tax set by this prince is really unprecedented and unprecedented.

"This ......" shopkeeper hesitated:

"The villain earns more than one or two taels of silver a month, and has never paid taxes, but the shopkeeper has said that the tax set by the prince is slightly higher. Slightly complaining. ”

"But, it's certainly not that exaggerated!"

As he spoke, his voice was heavy, and he said:

"That's right, even if there is a tax, it can't be so high, this person is deliberately framing the prince!"

"Not necessarily. Qi Qianxiao shook his head with a cold face:

"The palace raises soldiers and builds academies, the cost is a lot of money, with these two bottomless pits, there must be a place for his money, right?"

"And since the person below dares to report to the official in full view, there is a high probability that he will not be able to lie and deceive. ”

"This kind of thing, you can find out at a glance!"

This time, no one refuted, and even the white-clothed Xiushi nodded lightly when he heard this, with a solemn face.

If this is the case, then this prince who loves the people like a son is just generous to others, and he is not a character.

"No, it won't. The shopkeeper was flustered, and suddenly thought of an explanation, saying:

"Even if there is really such a high tax, it must be because this person has done something illegal and undisciplined that he has provoked the prince to punish!"

"......" Senior Liao shook his head slightly.

He could see that the prince was deeply in the hearts of the people of Anle County, and even spontaneously made excuses for it.

But......

I'm afraid this is true!

"Really?" In the restaurant, Lord Qincha also seemed to be a little surprised:

"Take one of the two, divide it into three or seven, that's too exaggerated, right?"

"What the villain said is true!" The cloth merchant boss knelt on the ground and cried, and even raised his hand and swore an oath:

"If I have half a lie on Saturday and today, I wish to be thundered by the sky, and I will never be able to live forever!"

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

Behind him, several more people fell to their knees and shouted:

"The villain's money is here, the local wood merchant, is willing to testify for the shopkeeper Zhou, the prince's tax is indeed so!"

"The villain Li Fu, the grain merchant in the county town, as the shopkeeper Zhou said, the tax set by the prince makes me miserable!"

"The villain Wu Liangcai, the salt merchant ...... the county town"

"The villain is in the waterway business, with cargo ships, caravans, and several inn businesses under his name. ”

“......”

For a while, more than a dozen people who followed behind Saturday fell to the ground one after another, crying one after another, accusing the prince of atrocities and heavy taxes.

Their words were earnest, and their faces were sad, which did not seem to be a fraud at all, and also made the onlookers look panicked.

Could it be that the image of the prince who loves the people like a son is really an illusion made by squeezing other people's wealth?

Even the shopkeeper was pale, holding the cloth towel on his hand with both hands.

They don't want to believe it, but for now, it seems to be true!

"My lord!" Seeing that everyone's faces had changed, and there was no sound upstairs, Saturday hurriedly spoke again:

"Everyone in the world says that the harsh government is fiercer than the tiger, and the heavy tax is forcing people to die, and it is difficult for the villain to bear such a heavy tax. ”

"Just the day before yesterday, because I couldn't pay the tax, someone from the palace came and directly took away the villain's two sons!"

"It is even more threatening to the villain, if he does not pay the tax and silver within three days, he does not know that he will be charged with me, and he will steal the cloth shop and confiscate all the family property. ”

"Your Excellency. Others shouted:

"I'm waiting, I'm waiting!"

"The prince loves the people like a son on the surface, but in fact he lives a luxurious life, and since he drove away the princess, he is even more nostalgic for the Fengyue place, spending money like dirt, but he uses the money we earn to promote his reputation. ”

"Let me ask, I have also donated to the academy, charity sales, and soup kitchens, but I was scolded for being rich and unkind, and the prince did all kinds of evil things, looting the people's fat and ointment, but his reputation was all to him!"

Everyone, you say a word, I say a word, every sentence is heart-wrenching, and every word is hard, which shows that the grievances are deep.

When they heard it, their faces changed, and even those who admired the prince couldn't help but be shaken.

"Is that really the case?" upstairs, Chin Cha spoke slowly:

"I heard that the prince is known as a virtuous person, and I am afraid that there is some misunderstanding. ”

"It's all an illusion!" shouted Saturday:

"What we said is absolutely true, if Lord Qincha doesn't believe it, you can invite the prince to confront him!"

"I'm afraid he won't dare!"

"Your Excellency. Upstairs, the voice of the king of the county government sounded, as if he was holding back a smile:

"Anle County, but the prince's territory, it stands to reason that how he governs and practices the law here is reasonable and compliant. ”

"Adults are working all the way, and you don't need to take these things to heart. ”

"Moreover, the prince is not something he can see if he wants to, and if the official wants to meet him, he needs to be in line after half a month. ”

"Hmph!" Hearing this, Lord Qincha's voice sank:

"The whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's ministers, although this place is the prince's territory, the people are the people of the court, how can they tolerate such oppression?"

"And what he did represented the court, if he did evil deeds, it would damage the reputation of the court!"

"This official patrols on behalf of the sky, even the prince can't avoid it, come here, go and invite the prince to come over!"

His voice was full of anger, and he said loudly:

"We're here, just here waiting for him to come and confront him!"

"I'd like to see if he dares to come, and what else is there to say!"

"Yes!" someone should be, and then turned over and jumped out of the restaurant, and after a few ups and downs, he soared into the distance.

There, it is the direction of the palace.

............

Little by little, time passed.

On the long street, not only did the crowd not decrease, but more people rushed to hear the news.

More and more, leaving almost no gaps.

Under the restaurant, the cloth merchant and more than a dozen shopkeepers on Saturday kept kneeling on the ground, even if the Qin sent an order, it was useless.

Their faces were haggard and their eyes were full of anger, as if they were planning to fight to the death today.

The sound of whispering spread all over the world.

Even the shopkeeper no longer greets customers, and peeks out from time to time in front of the window, his face changes from time to time.

"Something isn't right. The white-clothed Xiushi squinted slightly, and said:

"It's been so long that the soldiers who patrol haven't even appeared on this street. ”

According to his observations, it should have been two batches!

"Someone deliberately amplified the influence. Senior Liao said slowly:

"It seems that this is aimed at the prince, to ruin his reputation and suppress his prestige. ”

"Is it from the new dynasty?"

Judging from the current situation, although the prince claims to be no matter what, his prestige is too high.

Only by suppressing this prince can the people of the court really control Anle County in their hands.

Or......

Fill somebody's shoes.

"Corruption?" the white-clothed Xiushi shook his head slightly:

"I'm afraid otherwise, the prince's taxes, I'm afraid it's really as the cloth merchant said, it's amazingly heavy. ”

"If not, where will his money come from?"

"Hmm. Senior Liao nodded slightly.

The two of them are highly cultivated, and there are many whispers below, but they can also hear clearly.

There are indeed some people who are complaining about the heavy taxes paid by the prince.

This is true.

"It's coming!"

Suddenly, someone shouted.

Immediately, the crowd stirred up and looked towards the end of the long street.

There, a luxury sedan car is slowly approaching, and the logo of the palace is particularly eye-catching.

"Get out of the way!"

"Get out of the way!"

In front of the sedan, the palace guards waved their hands and carved out a passage in the crowd.

This was not common in the past, and even many people would take the initiative to back down, but today there are some complaints.

The atmosphere, apparently, has begun to shift.

After a while, the sedan car came to the bottom of the restaurant, and the coachman jumped out of the carriage and bowed inward:

"Lord Wang, the place has arrived. ”

"Hmm. In the car, there was an indifferent response, and then the side curtain was slowly pulled up.

Standing in the restaurant opposite, Liao seniors couldn't see the appearance of the prince, but they could see that the cloth merchant and others were all afraid.

They all bowed their heads and didn't dare to say more.

"Lord Xu. Guo Fan did not get out of the car, but sat in the sedan car and spoke towards the restaurant:

"Why did you invite this king here?"

"Pedal ......"

In the restaurant, the footsteps of going downstairs sounded, and a group of more than ten people walked out of it slowly.

Among them, there is the envoy of the prefecture, Lord Gao, and the king of the county government.

Zhengzi is a middle-aged man with a white face and a beard, with a solemn expression, and he should be a yin cha Xu Lord.

Lord Xu walked to the front and arched his hand towards the car:

"I know that the prince likes to be quiet, and the official doesn't want to disturb him. ”

"It's just that this official was ordered to inspect the world, and today a local rich businessman suddenly sued the prince. ”

"I have to ask the prince to condescend to come here!"

"Oh?" Hearing this, Guo Fan's face remained unchanged, and his cold eyes swept towards a businessman who couldn't stand on his knees, and said:

"I don't know why I sued this king?"

"Tell me about it!"

His voice was indifferent, but when it fell on the ears of a dry merchant, it made them tremble and hardly speak.

"What a majesty!" In another restaurant, the eyes of the red-lipped woman lit up:

"The power of the mind and the breath of the body are combined, and every word and deed can be breathtaking, this son is amazing!"

"Really?" Opposite him, the middle-aged man also nodded slightly:

It is said that this son is gifted and intelligent, and his endowment is different from ordinary people, and he has already achieved success at a young age. ”

"In addition, his father-in-law is that one, and it should be normal to have this kind of cultivation. ”

"Nope. The woman shook her head slowly:

"You don't understand!"

Although she said that the other party didn't understand, the woman didn't mean to explain, but just smiled at the corner of her mouth and whispered:

"Interesting young man, the master of the Thousand Machines Cave has a good son-in-law!"

"Lord Wang. Swept by the other party's eyes, Lord Qincha Xu also trembled in his heart, and subconsciously frightened.

But after all, he was a master of art and bold, so he immediately gave up his hand and spoke in place of a businessman:

"I heard that the prince has set a heavy tax, and he wants to take one of the two, or even divide it into three or seven, but is it true?"

As soon as these words fell, the audience was instantly silent.

Everyone held their breath and listened to the answer in the car, even the bystanders.

"Not bad. Guo Fan spoke, his voice as indifferent as ever:

"It is true. ”

"What?"

"It's true?"

"How so?"

All of a sudden, there was an uproar.

In the restaurant, the shopkeeper's body shook, almost far away.

And the senior Liao frowned, even Qi Qianqiu couldn't be happy after getting the confirmation.

"Lord Wang!" Lord Qin Cha Xu immediately said in a solemn voice:

"Taxes have never been so important in all dynasties, don't you think it's been too much?"

"Isn't it forced to ruin people with such heavy taxes and heavy taxes, and is this cloth merchant Saturday's family also captured by the palace guards?"

He questioned in a loud voice, his voice getting louder, and the anger in him almost turned into a roar.

Spread almost half of the county!

And everyone in the audience didn't feel wrong, but cast their eyes of approval and admiration.

"I remember. Guo Fan said slowly:

"Anle County is the territory of this king, what kind of tax is established, it seems that there is no need for the consent of others, right?"

"Lord Wang!" Lord of the County Mansion immediately stepped forward and said in a cold voice:

"This is so true, but what the prince has done represents the imperial court, don't you abandon the imperial court in this way?"

"Lord Wang. Even the tall man, who has always had a good impression of the palace, said:

"Take one of the two, divide three or seven, it's too much, doesn't this force others to rebel?"

"Not bad!"

"That's it!"

"took other people's money to promote yourself, you didn't do anything, and you got a reputation for loving the people like a son. ”

"In my opinion, this is the real big businessman!"

For a while, all kinds of yin and yang strange voices sounded from the surrounding crowd, and although some people wanted to say something to justify, they were also suppressed.

"Someone deliberately made trouble. The white-clothed Xiushi chuckled, his eyes swept over some figures in the crowd:

"This prince, I'm afraid I'm going to be unlucky!"

"Hmm. Senior Liao nodded slightly.

"Lord Wang!" On the long street, Lord Xu stepped forward at the right time and said:

"Such a heavy tax, heaven is intolerable, Xu Mou inspected the Quartet on behalf of the sky, and categorically did not allow this to happen. ”

"Please also ask the prince to take back his order, release the detained people, and return the overcharged tax silver!"

"Oh?" Guo Fan raised his hand, his eyes finally flooded, and then he lifted the curtain, got up and slowly walked out of the car.

"Lord Xu thinks that the taxes set by this king are too high?"

"Really?" Lord Xu frowned, looked at Guo Fan's gaze, and said:

"Don't you think so?"

"Heh......" Guo Fan stood on the sedan car, put his hands behind his back, and said indifferently:

"Then the king asks you, why do you have to pay taxes?"

"This ......" Lord Xu frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"I take it from the people and use it for the people!"

"So. Guo Fan opened his mouth again and asked:

"Why do you want the court to collect it?"

"I want some people who don't want to hand it in. The king raised his head and said:

"Lord Wang, what are you going to say? No matter what you say, it is difficult to convince the public with such a heavy tax!"

"Not bad!"

"That's right!"

The crowd chimed in.

"Take it from the people, use it for the people. Guo Fan ignored the disturbances in his ears, got off the carriage on foot, walked with his hands in his hands, suddenly changed his head, and said:

"Now that the new dynasty has been established, and there are constant disputes in the world, Lord Xu knows why Anle County can be left alone?"

"It's the work of the prince!" Lord Xu bowed.

"Not bad!" Guo Fan nodded:

"The land of Sichuan and Shu is in turmoil, but Anle County is not affected, and there are some reasons for this king. ”

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and pointed at the kneeling merchants:

"Then Lord Xu thinks that if it weren't for the solitude of Anle County, he would be able to raise these wealthy businessmen?"

"Lord Wang. Lord Xu's face sank:

"The situation in Anle County has created rich merchants, but they themselves have also worked hard for it and paid taxes, which is not a reason for such heavy taxes!"

"Really?" Guo Fan glanced at him and said:

"What do you think are the reasons why Lord Xu can become a wealthy businessman?"

"I know that. The tall man chuckled, stepped forward, and said:

"First, it's the environment of Anle County!"

"Not bad. Guo Fan nodded.

"The second is the vision of the merchants, without their insight, how can they accumulate so much wealth. ”

"Not bad. Guo Fan also did not object:

"Anything else?"

"This ......" the tall man blinked:

"Isn't that enough?"

"Of course it's not enough!" Guo Fan's voice raised slightly, and said:

"In the midst of the chaos in the world, this king provided the place of Anle County, which was the foundation for them to become rich merchants. ”

"Without the stability of this place, no matter how proficient you are in commerce and trade, you will also be in the midst of war, and you will not be able to display your talents!"

"Hmph!" someone snorted coldly, but did not refute.

Because it is true, but it is far from justified to impose such a heavy tax because of it.

"Second, it's because of the people here!" Guo Fan spoke again.

As soon as this remark fell, many people frowned.

"If there were no people here, how could they run such a big business alone?" Guo Fan's eyes were indifferent, and he swept over the kneeling merchant and said:

"The world is in turmoil, the people only want food and clothing, and the gold and silver they spend on hiring the people are less than one-third of what they did in previous years!"

"If it weren't for the large amount of gold and silver that many of the people of the county town had earned for their cheap work, they would have been able to accumulate such wealth?"

There was silence in the field.

In the restaurant, Senior Liao, the white-clothed Xiushi, and the woman in another place all frowned.

This truth seems to be true, but ......

Unheard!

"Again. Guo Fan spoke:

"The county town is unimpeded, where does the so-called come from?"

His face remained unchanged and he said:

"It's because there are soldiers patrolling, it's because there is a prosperous commercial market established by this king in the past year, and there are many people who need rice, flour, grain and oil!"

"Everyone has made Anle County prosperous and prosperous, everyone has credit, and everyone has contributed to their wealth, why should only rich businessmen monopolize the lion's share?"

"This ......" Lord Xu's face turned pale:

"They also helped, and besides, the tax burden you set is too high. ”

"They did help. Guo Fan nodded and agreed:

"The king also allowed them to live in a good life, and only a small tax burden was levied below five hundred taels, and only began to increase above one thousand taels. ”

"The part above 5,000 taels is only 55 points, and the part above 10,000 taels is only 37 points, isn't that enough?"

"Besides. ”

Ignoring the complicated expressions of the crowd, he continued:

"The merchant market established by this king, the rent is reduced and reduced, and the soldiers are allowed to guard the trade road, which is very convenient for them. ”

"This rice grain merchant, if he encounters a military disaster outside, the purchase price of rice and grain will rise sharply, and there will be subsidies from the royal government, and so on......"

"You're talking nonsense!" Suddenly, Saturday stood up and shouted:

"Having said so much, it can't change the fact that you are greedy for gold and silver for yourself to eat, drink and enjoy!"

"Kneel!" Guo Fan's eyes sank, his voice fell, and he fell to the ground on his knees that Saturday.

For the question in his mouth, Guo Fan didn't pay any attention to it.

"Take it from the people, use it for the people. ”

With his hands behind his back, he walked towards the sedan car:

"With the help of geographical advantages and people's power, you should think that you will have to use it for the people one day, and you are unwilling, so you have to pay taxes!"

"The county academy, tens of thousands of soldiers, the city defense business market, and even hundreds of officials are in silver, otherwise where did it come from?"

"After receiving all kinds of benefits, but wanting to abandon the people who have paid for it, how can there be such a reason in the world?"

"Get up and go home!"

"Yes. The coachman bowed down and took the reins.

Ahead, everyone avoided one after another, all bowing their heads.

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