allonlinenovel Chapter 267 Your Ningyang County is so poor it's practically bankrupt.
Chapter 267 Your Ningyang County is so poor it's practically bankrupt.
Upon returning home, Liu Bowen immediately went into his study.
If it weren't for Chang Yuchun's five thousand iron cavalry, and if Emperor Zhu hadn't been able to firmly control the army, Liu Bowen believed that the gentry of eastern Zhejiang would never have sat idly by and waited for their doom. Even if Emperor Zhu didn't cause any trouble, they would definitely not let that Yang guy get away with it.
But now, the gentry of eastern Zhejiang could only wait, wait for Emperor Zhu to officially issue an edict to cancel the preferential treatment of exempting scholars from taxes, and wait for Emperor Zhu to begin to implement the progressive tax system and the royal land system.
The feeling of being cut with a dull knife is certainly unpleasant, but compared to being beheaded with a sharp knife, at least you can live a little longer with a dull knife.
Liu Bowen was able to understand the current state of the gentry in eastern Zhejiang.
After all, Liu Bowen himself had thought about overturning the table more than once, but whenever he made up his mind to do so, he would lose the courage to do it once he actually got to the palace.
However, while he could understand, what Liu Bowen truly couldn't accept was that the Zhejiang gentry group was constantly trying to put pressure on him, as if he were the culprit behind all of this.
Why?
Why do you dare not overturn Emperor Zhu's table, dare not send someone to chop up that guy surnamed Yang, but dare to come and cause trouble for me?
After a long silence, and only after the steward urged him several times, Liu Bowen finally sighed and got up to go to the front hall for a meal.
In fact, Liu Bowen understood that even if the gentry of eastern Zhejiang knew they were being slowly tortured, they would never dare to send someone to kill Yang the Madman.
There was an unwritten agreement between officials and the gentry: the methods could be dirty, such as smearing, ruining reputations, and digging up ancestral graves, but assassination was absolutely forbidden.
To put it bluntly, gentry could send people to kill each other for fun, because if gentry A sent someone to kill gentry B, it would only be considered a revenge killing.
However, when officials send people to kill each other for fun, or when gentry send people to kill officials, the nature of the matter changes drastically.
If you can send someone to kill that Yang guy today, can you send someone to kill me tomorrow?
Therefore, if any official dared to use assassination, it would make all the other officials sleep soundly and they would be attacked by the other officials.
If the gentry dared to send someone to kill the officials, the end result would be that all the officials in the Ming Dynasty would strongly support Emperor Zhu in sending troops to quell the rebellion.
Even if it were Yang Dianfeng who was killed, it wouldn't be acceptable.
Government officials need evidence when handling cases, but suppressing rebellions only requires coordinates, not evidence.
If Yang the Madman really gets killed, everyone who's even remotely connected to this will have to play the Nine Clans Elimination Game.
The gentry of eastern Zhejiang were bad, not stupid.
No one would be foolish enough to joke about their own extended family, much less allow others to joke about their extended family.
To put it simply, the people most afraid of something happening to Magistrate Yang right now are the gentry of eastern Zhejiang and even all the gentry of the entire Ming Dynasty. The officials in the court are even less likely to stand by and watch Yang the Madman be killed.
Besides, even if some idiot dared to send someone to kill Yang the Madman, would they necessarily succeed?
Yang Xianfeng may not have known how many inspectors were around him, but Liu Bowen, Yang Xian's mentor, knew many unknown secrets.
That madman Yang must have at least a dozen inspectors by his side, some of whom are the best among them. To kill Magistrate Yang under the protection of a dozen inspectors, it would take at least the strength of an elite centurion.
Based solely on the gentry of eastern Zhejiang?
Not to mention that a fully staffed thousand-household garrison was stationed outside Ningyang City.
Liu Bowen did not believe that this thousand-household garrison would be completely unprepared.
……
With a long sigh from Liu Bowen in his study, Magistrate Yang's reputation was ruined once again.
This was to be expected, since Magistrate Yang had already been mentally prepared when he wrote the memorial on the progressive tax rate and the Wangtian system.
But it doesn't matter.
Slinging mud is a childish tactic that only works on those face-conscious officials. For an elite like Magistrate Yang, the level of these gentry in the Ming Dynasty is simply not up to par.
Magistrate Yang lay on his recliner, took a sip of the tea poured by his maid, and put down the teacup before saying to Chen Zhong, "Husband Chen, you must have heard some rumors lately, right? It's about that corrupt official Yang, how he bullies men and women."
Chen Zhong chuckled and said, "I certainly heard it, but I'm not a stupid fool. How could I not know that these people are trying to smear Magistrate Yang?"
Magistrate Yang shook his head slightly and sighed, "Actually, I really want to try what it's like to bully men and women, but Ningyang County is so poor that I don't even have the chance to do so."
Chen Zhong automatically ignored the nonsense that Magistrate Yang wanted to experience what it was like to bully men and women.
If you really want to bully men and women, why don't you bully that pretty little maid standing next to you?
No, that little maid is completely smitten with you, Magistrate Yang. You probably wouldn't even need to deceive her. If you just showed a little interest, she would throw herself into your arms.
What truly annoyed Chen Zhong was that Magistrate Yang actually said Ningyang County was so poor it was practically bankrupt.
Do you want to listen to what you are saying?
Is this even something a human would say?!
If your Ningyang County is so poor, what are the other thousand-plus counties in the Ming Dynasty besides your Fuliang County?
So poor they don't even have a butt?
Pshaw!
After silently cursing in his heart, Chen Zhongcai said, "If Magistrate Yang really wants to experience the feeling of bullying men and women, after we return to the capital, how about I find a playboy from a noble family to take you to a brothel?"
After hearing Chen Zhong's words, Magistrate Yang was somewhat tempted.
Brothels and pleasure houses are said to be elegant places for composing poetry and music, and the girls there are all talented, not only proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also with beautiful voices, making them seem like paradise on earth.
But after a second thought, Magistrate Yang abandoned this tempting idea.
Leaving aside whether I can get past my father-in-law and brother-in-law, I can't even get past the hurdle in my own heart.
Going to brothels and pleasure houses before you have a boyfriend is considered elegant, but it's a bit inappropriate to do so after you have a boyfriend.
Thinking of this, Magistrate Yang shook his head and said, "What's so great about going to places like brothels and pleasure boats?"
Chen Zhong chuckled and said, "There are Japanese women, Annamite women, Korean women, and women of different ethnicities inside."