GBP Chapter 419: Severe Punishment of the Rural Gentry Bully
Chapter 419: Severe Punishment of the Rural Gentry Bully
The emperor and his entourage disguised themselves as a family and went out for fun, except that they were accompanied by a lot of servants.
They looked like a wealthy master and mistress.
The emperor made a secret visit with a purpose, which was to examine the real living standards of the people and to secretly investigate whether officials were exploiting the people.
So they are really busy.
Sometimes we have to travel for a long time, and sometimes we have to walk on muddy country roads.
For these wealthy people, life is still quite hard.
But the Queen never complained. The Emperor loved her and wanted her to stay in the villa where he was going to stay and wait for his return, but the Queen did not agree.
She followed the emperor closely, without complaining or feeling tired!
The queen likes the food outside. Even when eating at a small stall, she can taste a different flavor.
"Master, these wontons are really delicious, please try them."
The emperor picked up the bowl that had already been eaten by the queen and tasted one. It was indeed very delicious.
Seeing that the emperor liked it very much, the queen asked for two more bowls.
The stall is run by a middle-aged couple. The man kneads the dough and rolls the skin, while the woman is in charge of wrapping the wontons and cooking them in the pot.
The two of them worked in perfect harmony, and it was obvious at first glance that they had been practicing this craft for many years.
The emperor was full after eating one bowl of soup. He put down his soup spoon and started a conversation:
"Your cooking skills are really good. The soup is fresh, the wontons are fragrant, and even the chives are just right."
The man kneading the dough replied with a smile on his face:
"Hey! It's just a family-inherited skill to make a living."
Emperor: "Oh? It's a family craft!"
Man: "Of course not. My mother used this skill to support my three brothers. When we grew up and started our own family, she passed the skill to me."
The Emperor: "I can tell from the first glance that you are capable, that's why your mother passed it on to you!"
Man: "You are wrong, sir. I do this because I am not in good health and cannot do farm work."
Emperor: "So, how much land does your family have? Is it enough for your two brothers?"
Man: "My family has ten acres of dry land, four acres of paddy fields, and two acres of mountain land. We have a lot of land in the village."
Emperor: "Well! That's a lot. Your brother is quite capable. What kind of livestock do you use to plow the land?"
The man said proudly: "I have an old yellow cow at home, which my mother bought with the money she earned from setting up a stall."
The emperor nodded with satisfaction. A farmer who could own a cow was truly a wealthy family.
After Prime Minister Ma finished his wontons, he picked up the bowl and drank the soup in one gulp.
He wiped his mouth and asked, "Do you have a lot of taxes here?"
The man looked up at him, then lowered his head and kneaded his dough without saying a word.
The emperor's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the officials were increasing taxes?
After the treasury was full, he clearly exempted taxes for several years!
The woman cooking wontons said angrily, "Humph! We have a Zhou Paopi here, and the tax depends on his mood."
The Emperor: "Isn't this tax managed by the government? I heard that the government is exempt from tax."
The woman curled her lips and said disdainfully: "We don't know whether the government will pardon him or not, but the government and Zhou Paopi are in cahoots, so if Zhou Paopi says yes, then yes."
His husband glared at his wife and scolded her:
"What nonsense are you talking about? How can we still set up the stall if they hear us?! Why don't you go and make wontons?"
The woman turned away unconvinced, but did not say anything else.
Prime Minister Ma held the bowl and waited for the wontons in the pot, and said casually:
"Hey! We are not government officials. We are just chatting while having a meal. It's no big deal."
The woman nodded and agreed, "That's right, I haven't told the government yet, what are you afraid of?!"
It is not appropriate for a man to scold his wife in front of guests, he can only stare blankly.
The woman said proudly: "Besides, our family doesn't owe them any taxes, so they won't keep an eye on us."
The man sighed, but said nothing.
The woman said: "Although our Zhou Paopi is not an official, he is much more ruthless than the officials."
Prime Minister Ma: "Didn't you say that he was in league with the government?"
Woman: "Huh! The Zhou family is the landlord here. The government collects 20% tax from them, but they can collect 50% from us, not counting the rent."
If you farm his land, you will only get poorer! If someone gets sick or dies, you will still owe him the loan shark.
The emperor looked unhappy, and the queen touched him quietly.
He suppressed his displeasure and asked:
"Whose official is the Zhou family related to? Otherwise, how can they raise taxes whenever they want?"
The man couldn't help but complain:
"That's right. It is said that the Zhou family is backed by royal relatives. How can we ordinary people afford to offend them?"
The emperor narrowed his eyes. Royal relative? Who is it?
Prime Minister Ma: "Isn't he just bragging? I've never heard of anyone with the last name Zhou among the royal family?"
The woman interrupted, "Hey, in fact, their Zhou family just married a daughter to the Prince of Yan's house as a concubine. If one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit!
With the support of Prince Yan, the Zhou family has been robbing and occupying land here, and the government does not care, so they have become landlords!
He turned over a new leaf and became even more ruthless than the landlords here before, so everyone privately calls them Zhou Jia Zhou Ba Pi! "
The emperor's eyes flashed with coldness, Prince Yan's concubine!
Very good! I just dealt with the eldest, fourth and ninth, and now the tenth one has popped up again.
A concubine's family can turn into tigers and exploit his people. Who gave them the courage?
And the local government actually assisted the tyrant!
The emperor lowered his head and thought carefully, but Prime Minister Ma was chatting enthusiastically with others.
The more they talked, the more local gentry and wealthy people they found out, all of whom had close ties with the imperial court.
Some of these were even related to the cabinet ministers present. At that time, Lord Xiao almost choked to death on wontons.
Colleagues looked at him with sympathy.
Lord Xiao really wanted to cry out that he was wronged. He didn't even know the people in this place. How could they be relatives of his Xiao family and become a nuisance to the place?
There is no need for anyone else, Lord Xiao will go and investigate personally. You won’t know until you investigate, and you will be shocked when you do!
If you think about it, there is indeed a close relationship between them, but they are already five generations apart, and yet this can still be involved. Lord Xiao is in tears!
Meeting the emperor's half-smile, Lord Xiao said nothing and dealt with the pest himself!
You mean I am a relative of the Xiao family, right? Okay!
First, he was dealt with according to the national law and his family's illegally acquired fields, shops, and manors were confiscated.
He punished him again according to the family rules, confiscated all the slaves and servants who were not registered in the family, and gave each of the Xiao family relatives who committed the crime twenty strokes of the cane.
Why are there only twenty boards?
Because they were all already crippled, they barely managed to get away with the twenty boards.
Lord Xiao dealt with his family members severely and strictly, without any leniency!
That's so fair and strict!
In addition to earning a good reputation for our family, it also set a good example for the adults present!