Chapter 451 The Golden Belt of Murder and Arson
Four years.

It was only four years.

To Xu Wenbi, it seemed like a lifetime.

Four years ago, he was just a well-known son of an honorary official in Beijing, a dissolute playboy who rode horses in search of pleasure.

Now, four years later.

He is also famous.

But the fame we have today is not comparable to what it was in the past.

He was a former soldier of the Shan Camp of the Qi Family Army, who was already famous both at home and abroad, and the governor of the tax and military office who was feared throughout the south of the Yangtze River.

In the dozens of prefectures and counties in Jiangnan, from the prefect and county magistrate to the peddlers and hawkers, everyone was terrified when they heard it and shocked when they saw it. He was known as the Ghost of Jiangnan, the King of Hell of the Southeast, and the knife that carried human heads and killed the whole family.

Xu Wenbi's current reputation was built up by his own sword and with the heads of people who resisted taxes!

He pressed the knife hanging at his waist.

Xu Wenbi looked up at the tall city wall that was exposed in his sight not far ahead, with a faint light flashing in his eyes.

Behind him were five hundred officers and soldiers wearing armor and carrying swords, with spears and three-barreled guns as their main weapons.

A wooden plaque was hung around the officers and soldiers' waists, with the words "Tax Soldiers' Office" engraved on the front and the words "Tax evasion is punishable by death, and tax resistance will lead to the extermination of the entire family" engraved on the back.

Everyone was riding a horse, and everyone had a murderous look on their face.

Five hundred people stayed here at this moment, but no one spoke a word.

Only the five hundred horses lifted their hooves from time to time, shook their heads and exhaled uncontrollable breath through their noses.

Xu Wenbi looked at the city of Nanjing in front of him and saw several people on horseback approaching.

The Tax and Military Office was stationed in Suzhou Prefecture. As it developed, it often had nearly three thousand officers and soldiers under its jurisdiction, as well as hundreds of clerks who were proficient in arithmetic.

The reason why Xu Wenbi, the governor of taxation and military, personally led his men to appear outside the city of Nanjing this time was naturally because he was summoned.

Looking at the people who came out of the city to greet him, Xu Wenbi smiled.

Zhu Shitai and Zhu Qi, accompanied by several guards, soon reined in their horses and stopped in front of Xu Wenbi.

Everyone dismounted, and Zhu Qi was the first to look sideways at Zhu Shitai.

Zhu Shitai understood, and immediately laughed out loud, opened his arms and walked towards Xu Wenbi who was doing the same thing.

The two brothers who had experienced the battlefield together finally reunited after a long separation.

Zhu Shitai patted Xu Wenbi's back heavily and said, "Well, well, well, we brothers finally meet this time. The only thing missing is that Lao Zhang still stays in our Shanzi Camp to fight the Japanese pirates with General Qi."

Xu Wenbi was obviously more calm, or perhaps he became like this because he had seen too many people take the lead in exterminating entire families in the tax and military office.

"When I heard that Runwu was going to take up his post in the south, I knew that he would do something big, so I have been preparing for it. This time, I immediately gathered the troops and rushed over after receiving the news. If there is anything, just tell us. Even if it is a job of exterminating an entire family, we are already familiar with it!"

Hearing that his good brothers, who used to walk bird cages, sightsee and have fun together in Beijing, were now threatening to kill the entire family, Zhu Shitai could not bear it, even though he had been in the Shanzi Camp of the Qi Family Army for several years and had killed many Japanese pirates.

Zhu Shitai quickly glanced sideways at Zhu Qi who followed along.

Zhu Qi first glanced at the 500 tax collectors brought by Xu Wenbi.

Xu Wenbi knew what the other party was looking at, and immediately said, "Don't worry, Master Qi. Although we are not as good as Master Qi's brothers, they are all top-notch fighters. Suzhou is not far from Nanjing. We set out the day before yesterday and arrived today. No one feels tired yet."

Zhu Qi nodded, but he didn't believe it completely, and continued to observe carefully. He didn't feel relieved until he confirmed that all the tax soldiers were in high spirits, breathing vigorously, and their horses were impatiently stomping on the ground.

"Governor Xu has worked hard along the way, but now we have to work harder for you and your brothers to surround these places in Nanjing."

While Zhu Qi was talking, he had already handed a few pieces of paper with addresses written on them to Xu Wenbi.

Xu Wenbi looked down and saw that they were all good locations and positions in Nanjing city.

Without saying anything, he nodded at Zhu Qi and called two of his tax soldiers.

"According to the address on these papers, take your brothers and immediately enter the city and divide your troops to besiege it. Except for the orders of our tax and military office and Prime Minister Yan, no one has the right to interfere or stop us. Violators will be killed without mercy!"

The two captains immediately bowed their heads and accepted the order, then returned to the team to arrange matters and deploy troops.

After everything was arranged, five hundred tax soldiers drove five hundred war horses and rushed to Nanjing City.

Seeing these tax soldiers rushing past, even Zhu Qi couldn't help but sigh: "They are really as quiet as a forest and as fast as the wind. At the command, they are like a tiger rushing down the mountain, so powerful!"

Zhu Shitai explained on his side, "My brother from the Xu family was personally with General Qi at the beginning, and he knows very well how the Qi Family Army's Shanzi Battalion trains soldiers. The tax and military office has been here for more than a year now, and apart from his usual duties outside, he must have been training diligently on weekdays."

Zhu Qi immediately exclaimed with admiration: "General Xu is truly a master at military planning. Given time, he will surely live up to the reputation of the former King Wuning of Zhongshan, and be comparable to General Qi Jiguang who is now destroying the Japanese in the southeast."

Xu Wenbi seemed more humble.

He shook his head repeatedly, waving his hands and said, "It's just copying. It's a blessing that I didn't add unnecessary details. How can I compare with General Qi, let alone the reputation of my ancestors."

After some refusals.

Xu Wenbi looked at Zhu Qi and said, "Premier Yan has summoned my troops here. We all know his intention. He wants the Tax and Military Office to handle matters in accordance with the law and without criticism from outsiders. Now that my troops have been ordered to come here, I wonder which of the addresses I should go to in person?"

Faced with Xu Wenbi's official and respectful inquiry, Zhu Qi was stunned and glanced sideways at Zhu Shitai beside him.

Zhu Shitai immediately walked forward with a laugh and put his arms around Xu Wenbi's neck.

"We are all good brothers. Although I know that your tax and military office has a heavy responsibility and everyone in the capital is watching you, there is no need to be so nervous."

"This time, let your men go first. We brothers haven't been together for many years. Let's go to the West Garden to eat and drink and fill our stomachs first."

As he spoke, Zhu Shitai had already pushed the still confused Xu Wenbi onto the horse's back, and then he and Zhu Qi flanked him on the left and right, and led a group of guards to rush towards Nanjing city.

……

in the city.

The atmosphere in Nanjing has been a bit weird recently due to various rumors.

Several days have passed since Yang Zongqi walked into the West Garden, and during this period no one has seen Yang Zongqi walk out of the West Garden again.

So the rumors seemed more and more real.

However, the various ministries and government offices seemed to be increasingly feeling the pressure of a storm.

Just when the bigwigs who made the plan at that time were nervously waiting to see whether Yan Shaoting in West Garden would take any countermeasures, they found that West Garden had done nothing in the past few days.

as if……

It seems like there is nothing we can do but wait, wait slowly, until the rumors outside disappear on their own, or are replaced by bigger, newer and more interesting rumors.

If it was someone else, the various departments and offices in Nanjing would not be so nervous. After all, the memorial impeaching Yang Zongqi and secretly implying that Yan Shaoting might have colluded with him had already been sent to the capital.

But this person happened to be Yan Shaoting.

Not only is his surname Yan, he is also the grandson of Yan Song, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.

If this matter is not handled properly.

Nanjing has crippled someone's grandson. God knows how angry the prime minister of the empire, who is over 80 years old and doesn't know how many days he can live, will be. And how much anger can the prime minister of the empire in such anger burst out and how severe the punishment can be. So this is why Wang Yongbao came out to remind everyone to single out Yan Shaoting from this matter when everyone was denouncing Yang Zongqi and Yan Shaoting. He mainly attacked Yang Zongqi's corruption and illegality, and also expressed concerns that Yan Shaoting might be connected with him, or might be dragged down and corrupted by treacherous people like Yang Zongqi.

in this way.

It not only reflects their loyalty and strict law enforcement, but also shows their obedience, sincerity and prudence to the Prime Minister.

However, there has been no movement in the West Garden, which has made these people feel uneasy all day long.

Even if you, Yan Shaoting, were furious, even if you blew up the city gate tower, they would be relieved and would each pay to repair the collapsed city gate tower. But Yan Shaoting did nothing, and there was no news from West Garden.

This is the scariest thing.

Even scarier than going out in the middle of the night and seeing a pair of embroidered shoes!
However, just when these people were worried and didn't know how Yan Shaoting would retaliate.

The news came suddenly.

"what?"

"Why did the tax collectors suddenly come to Nanjing?"

"Who gave them the courage to do this for my house?"

"What excuse did they use? Could it be that they, the tax and military officials, broke the law knowingly. Are they planning to rebel?"

While the officials sitting in the various ministries and government offices were still worrying about when Yan Shaoting would retaliate, these people had already received the news.

original.

Today, Xu Wenbi brought people to Nanjing City. The papers with address records in their hands were all the official residences of various departments and offices in Nanjing City.

After gaining the position, the tax soldiers entered the city and surrounded the houses one by one.

Of course, there were too many houses surrounded, and even if 500 tax soldiers entered the city, they would not be able to help.

However, since the tax collectors, who had all sorts of reputations that could make a child stop crying, came in person, no one would be foolish enough to flee privately.

Nanjing Ministry of Rites.

After hearing the news, the Minister of Rites Yin Tai stood up in astonishment. He frowned as he listened to his subordinates' reports: "How many people are there? Who asked them to come? And what reason do they have to surround my house?"

"To answer the minister's question...the tax soldiers only said that something had happened in the minister's mansion, and it happened to fall within the responsibility of the tax soldiers' office, so they came to find out what happened..."

This sentence basically explained Yin Tai's doubts.

But Yin Tai couldn't help wondering: "Could it be that Yan Shaoting didn't instigate his involvement?"

The subordinate immediately shook his head.

Yin Tai's expression immediately relaxed.

However, the subordinate who reported the incident said, "We dare not speculate whether Yan Shaoting ordered this, but after receiving the letter of assistance from the Tax and Military Office, the Bandit Suppression Camp immediately sent troops out of the camp and completely surrounded the Ministry's Mansion..."

Yin Tai's hands on the table softened, and he widened his eyes: "You said...you mean the Loyal and Brave Battalion has also moved?"

The subordinate nodded, but did not notice that the "Bandit Suppression Battalion" he mentioned became the "Loyal and Brave Battalion" in Yin Butang's mouth.

He suddenly patted his head and added: "Reporting to the Ministry, not only the bandit suppression camp, but also the garrison government has sent people out from the West City Camp, but they are just going to surround other places."

"West City Camp?"

Yin Tai shuddered all over.

He just felt his legs go weak, forcing him to sit back on the chair, and said in a daze, "Did the people sent by the West City Camp go somewhere else?"

At this point, he still couldn't figure it out.

It was clear that the main force was the Tax and Military Yamen, with the Zhongyong Camp and the Xicheng Camp as auxiliary forces. They surrounded the houses of all the prominent families in the entire Nanjing city.

Is this Yan Shaoting’s counterattack?

Yin Tai was panicking: "What did they do? Did they hurt my family?"

As he asked the question, Yin Tai became more and more worried. He stood up again and was about to walk out, as if he wanted to go home and check the situation himself.

But the subordinate reacted quickly and immediately replied: "Don't worry, Minister, those people are just surrounding the mansion, and they didn't say what they were going to do. They just said no one is allowed to enter or leave, and those who disobey the order will be executed."

Hearing that the ferocious soldiers did not enter his house, Yin Tai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But he didn't frown, and looked puzzled: "But why do they do this?"

……

"Stupid!"

"What else could it be for?"

"Is he asking us to go to the West Garden and apologize to him..."

In the Ministry of Revenue, not far from the Ministry of Rites, Zhang Shunchen was also speaking with a grim expression.

Zhang Shunchen was really shocked by the unexpected method Yan Shaoting used today.

If Yan Shaoting had any bad thoughts, his family members might be killed.

The gold belt for murder and arson.

As for the internal officers, soldiers and clerks of the Tax and Military Office, which had only been established for more than a year.

It means killing people and setting fires to get promoted and make money.

As long as they were targeted by the tax soldiers, as long as they were indeed evading taxes or resisting taxes, they would be held guilty. The people in the tax soldiers' office would naturally make great contributions, and they would also receive certain rewards based on the confiscated property. The most important thing was that this reward was allowed by the emperor!

Xu Yangzheng was covered in cold sweat.

Because his house was also surrounded.

He quickly said, "Minister, do we have no choice but to go to the West Garden and apologize? Don't we have any other choice? Can Yan Shaoting use the tax and military office so recklessly?"

Several questions in a row.

The three words "unconvinced" were written all over Xu Yangzheng's face.

Zhang Shunchen sighed silently, and Zhang Bin turned his head and looked over.

Facing Xu Yangzheng's gaze that was also looking at him.

Zhang Yan.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing spoke softly.

"Could it be that...Minister Xu has another way to solve the current problem?"

…………

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(End of this chapter)