25: Chapter 25: The honor of paying taxes cannot be taken away from every citizen of the Great Sui!
25: Chapter 25: The honor of paying taxes cannot be taken away from every citizen of the Great Sui!
Zhang San had someone investigate the matter concerning the widow at his residence, and soon gathered the information.
It wasn’t that the Town Martial Office agents were particularly skilled at gathering intelligence.
It was entirely because there was a lot of gossip in front of the widow’s house.
In Jingyang County, countless aunties gossiped, and one didn’t even need Martial Artists to actively ask around; you could simply stand at an intersection and listen, and a steady stream of information would come your way.
It turned out that the widow was named Yu Zhen, and her husband, Yu Daoning, was a hunter.
Although Jingyang County was a county, it was in fact not very large, and its population was not very big.
The surrounding mountains and forests were vast and suitable for hunting.
Plus, with Mingzhi Mountain nearby, which had many wild animals, it provided the hunters with a livelihood.
Although Yu Daoning’s hunting skills were mediocre, he was extremely lucky.
He would leave home just before noon and return by dusk.
Especially recently, for some unknown lucky streak, he would return less than a two-hour period later, bringing back high-quality prey like leopards and wolves that were meaty and had valuable fur.
Just as everyone envied him and some even felt jealous, bad news arrived.
Yu Daoning went hunting in the mountains and was eaten by a Tiger Demon.
Not a trace of his body was left.
His brother, Yu Daorong, went up the mountain to find his brother and only brought back a bloodied and tattered garment.
Everyone lamented Yu Daoning’s tragic life, as he died so young, merely in his early thirties.
Meanwhile, people gossiped about the beautiful widow he left behind, Yu Zhen, who had grown plump and pretty from the good life during the past years.
They doubted she would remain a widow for long.
Zhang San compared the information collected from various sources and found they were mostly similar.
However, in very few places, people also envied Yu Daorong.
After all, Yu Daoning had earned quite a bit from hunting, and with Yu Daoning gone, the considerable family wealth likely went to Yu Daorong.
Yu Daorong had always been an idler and a troublemaker, living off his brother.
Now that his brother had passed, while many hunters grieved for Yu Daoning, this brother did not shed a single tear and was even seen unable to suppress his laughter at the wake.
Zhang San vaguely felt something was not quite right about this situation.
As a hunter, how could Yu Daoning not know where the Tiger Demon roamed?
Moreover, a Tiger Demon is not just a tiger; it is a tiger that has transformed into a demon, far more formidable than an ordinary tiger.
In places where a Tiger Demon roamed, would there still be other ferocious beasts?
So why would Yu Daoning go to such a place?
And how could his brother, Yu Daorong, be so sure his brother was eaten by a Tiger Demon and not just an ordinary tiger?
The more Zhang San thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss.
But as night had already fallen, Zhang San asked people to prepare, and wait until midnight when everyone had gone to sleep, to ‘invite’ the County Magistrate over to the county government office.
Poor Long Zhengren, the County Magistrate of Jingyang County, had just crawled into his concubine’s bed quilt, not even having had the chance to show off his prowess, when he was to experience something even more formidable.
He was suddenly bagged with a sack by Martial Artists and carried to the courtyard where Zhang San and his associates were.
Of course, interrogating a seventh-rank County Magistrate in the courtyard during the night wasn’t very appropriate.
Being a properly appointed official from the Imperial Court, some respect was due, so Zhang San had the County Magistrate carried to the kitchen instead.
After all, everyone was a bit hungry from the night’s activities, so Zhang San ordered some food to be prepared while the County Magistrate, on his knees in the kitchen, was conveniently interrogated.
As the sack was removed from his head, the County Magistrate finally saw, amid the smoke and fire, quite a few people staring intently at him.
“Who are you people!?
Do you know who I am?”
“I am a dignified official appointed by the Imperial Court, a seventh-rank County Magistrate!
If you dare touch me, you are defying the current Emperor himself!”
“You are defying the Great Sui Dynasty!”
“You are defying the Town Martial Office that suppresses martial activities across the land!”
Upon hearing the last sentence, one of the martial artists couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Zhang San glared at the person who just laughed, and the martial artist immediately bowed his head.
Zhang San noticed that this was the man who had just been bragging in front of Ling, the one who nearly had certain spongy tissues actually cut off by Ling.
It seems, he doesn’t wear “small shoes” often enough!
“Speaking of which, our Heavenly Punishment Sect seems to naturally be at odds with what you’ve just said.
Now that I think about it, bumping into you doesn’t seem too bad.”
County Magistrate Long Zhengren initially thought it was just some ignorant bandits who had climbed in from the backyard, thinking they had encountered a wealthy household looking to extort money.
But he never expected, it was the Heavenly Punishment Sect!
The Heavenly Punishment Sect!
That is the merciless Demon Sect!
Forget what they say about the Heavenly Punishment Sect saving people from fire and water, supporting the weak against the strong, robbing the rich to aid the poor.
Those lowly people don’t count as humans, do they?
Plus, he himself was a major target of the Heavenly Punishment Sect!
At this moment, the life of County Magistrate Long Zhengren, short yet swiftly passing, flashed through his mind.
Long Zhengren directly kowtowed on the ground, immediately starting to admit his faults.
“Mercy, honorable heroes of the Heavenly Punishment Sect!
I’ll say it, I’ll tell you everything…”
Zhang San looked completely baffled.
I haven’t even asked yet, what are you talking about!?
However, before Zhang San could interrupt Long Zhengren, the latter’s words flooded out like a burst dam, ceaselessly and continuously.
“I’ve been the County Magistrate in Jingyang County honestly for twelve years, and although I’ve been sending money to the Governor, I really haven’t done anything bad!”
Zhang San listened and thought to himself, that’s not right at all!
“Where did that money you sent come from?”
The kneeling Long Zhengren immediately explained: “It’s just plain taxation.
Near Jingyang County, Mingzhi Mountain has a Tiger Demon, so many martial artists avoid this area, which actually makes Jingyang County much safer.
There are constant travelers, so naturally, we manage to collect some money, plus many local people run inns and sell small items, which makes them quite wealthy.”
“So, you took the opportunity to overtax them?” Zhang San asked coldly.
“I didn’t overtax them, I just collected an extra three… three… thirty times the amount prescribed by the Imperial Court.”
Zhang San almost slammed his fist on the table in anger.
However, considering that the County Magistrate was confessing without being asked, revealing his own anger would make him seem as if he was unaware of these matters beforehand.
That won’t do, I have to maintain the act.
“Nothing, I really am a good official!
I…I…alright, two-tenths of the merchant caravans’ goods were seized by me as a toll tax.”
At this moment, many in the kitchen were so angry they were nearly ready to draw their swords and slash the County Magistrate.
The person slicing meat wielded the kitchen knife with a bit more force than before.
“Nothing, I really am… well, adult men had to pay a manhood tax, women who married had to pay a household transfer tax, and those who died had to pay a departure tax…”
Long Zhengren blurted out seven or eight absurd taxes in one breath.
This was the first time everyone learned that every month, those carrying manure had to use a tenth of it to cultivate the County Magistrate’s fields, euphemistically called the pollution removal tax.
After the County Magistrate finished confessing, the person in charge of recording had already switched to the fourth sheet of paper, as the previous three were completely filled.
Zhang San coldly asked, “Is overtaxing all you did?”
“Of course, I think it shouldn’t deprive every citizen of Great Sui of the honor of paying taxes!”
Zhang San glanced at the Horizontal Blade by his waist, contemplating whether he should also not deprive everyone the right to meet the King of Hell.