In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 621: Taxes are paid by the court, but life is your own

The room suddenly became a little quiet.

Zhou Xiong probably didn't expect Zhao Yurui to say such a thing. His words just now were a bit threatening to Zhao Yurui, but Zhao Yurui's words were also similar to threatening him.

Of course he had investigated Zhao Yurui's background. He was an ordinary Jinyiwei general flag bearer, a seventh-rank military officer, the lowest level of military officers in the Yuan Dynasty.

There are eight and nine ranks in civil and military affairs, and military officers are the lowest.

The Zhao family is not a great noble family, nor is it a local powerful family. People like this have no background or backing and are easy to control.

But I didn't expect Zhao Yurui to say such things right away.

Zhou Xiong's brain raced for a few seconds before he calmly said, "Xiao Zhao, do you mean I must bring money to invest?"

"Bring money to invest." Zhao Yurui nodded heavily: "Mr. Zhou, you have to understand that if it were someone else, they wouldn't be able to invest even if they had money."

These words are truly heartfelt and there is nothing wrong with them. If he was not Zhou Jun's son, you would have invested five million and not bought any shares in Zhao Yurui.

But Zhou Xiong doesn't think so.

He has been living like this since he was a child. He can buy shares in any company he wants. No one in the entire Qingyuan Prefecture dares to refuse him.

Moreover, he had done his homework and took action because he saw that Zhao Yurui had no background or support. Now that he was rejected by Zhao Yurui, he was quite annoyed.

"Xiao Zhao, do you know who I am?" Zhou Xiong tried again, because Zhao Yurui didn't make it clear just now, and he was afraid that Zhao Yurui had recognized the wrong person.

"Mr. Zhou, the son of the Zhou Zhishi, the son of the former prefect of Zhou. Of course I know everything."

"Hehe." Zhou Xiong smiled, but the smile on his face was uglier than crying.

He slowly stood up and said calmly: "What if I don't want to bring money to invest?"

Zhao Yurui also had a stern face and said calmly: "I'm sorry, the company does not belong to me alone. Even if I agree, other brothers will not agree."

"Are you talking about the coolies at the docks? Do they have the final say?" Zhou Xiong had indeed investigated everything thoroughly, and even Lao Zhu, Lao Zhang and others knew about it.

"Coolies are also human beings. Moreover, these people value money more than their lives." Zhao Yurui said coldly: "If anyone tries to steal their money, they will fight to the death."

"Bang!" Zhou Xiong was furious and slammed the table and stood up: "Xiao Zhao, are you threatening me?"

Aren't you threatening me? Zhao Yurui laughed and said, "How dare I threaten Mr. Zhou? I'm just telling the truth."

"These country folks have not received much education, and they rely on brute force."

Zhou Xiong stared at him grimly.

Zhao Yurui looked back at him with a smile on her face.

The two looked at each other for a long time. Zhou Xiong wanted to overwhelm Zhao Yurui with his momentum, but Zhao Yurui did not avoid him or give in. They just kept looking at him with a smile.

I don't know how much time had passed, but Zhou Xiong finally turned around, took out a stack of documents from a briefcase on the sofa, and threw them in front of Zhao Yurui.

"The document from the Commercial Taxation Bureau of Qingyuan Prefecture will take effect tomorrow."

"Cigarette factories will have to pay income tax starting next month."

"I'll tax you 1.2 million."

"If you want to prove that you don't have so much income tax, you can apply for a review by the audit department—"

Zhou Xiong said a lot of things, just to impose taxes.

Although he was not a member of the government office, he had a say in the government office.

Zhao Yurui took the document and looked at it for a few seconds. Suddenly, he reached out and tore the document into pieces right in front of him.

"Fuck." The two people standing behind Zhou Xiong were furious. They took a step forward at the same time, wanting to beat Zhao Yurui.

Zhou Xiong stretched out his hand to stop them and looked at Zhao Yurui in disbelief.

Do you dare to tear up court documents?

Are you crazy?
"If you have any documents, just send them to my factory." Zhao Yurui said calmly, "Mr. Zhou is not from the government, so it's best not to interfere."

"Zhao Yurui, don't be so arrogant." Zhou Xiong finally got angry: "Do you believe that I can shut down your factory?"

"You try it." Zhao Yurui stood up and looked at him straight.

Zhou Xiong did not evade this time and said coldly: "You will definitely beg me."

"Haha." Zhao Yurui smiled, turned around and walked out the door.

The two people beside Zhou Xiong looked at him. As long as Zhou Xiong nodded, they dared to keep Zhao and Rui here.

But Zhou Xiong thought that Zhao Yurui was a member of the Jinyiwei after all, so he shook his head. Even if he wanted to deal with him, he couldn't do it here.

Watching Zhao Yurui walk out of the room, Zhou Xiong became angrier and angrier. He immediately returned to his office and made several phone calls to some people in Qingyuan Prefecture, asking them to immediately dispatch relevant departments to start collecting taxes. If they didn't pay the taxes, the cigarette factory would be closed down.

After making a few phone calls, Zhou Xiong felt better.

"You don't know how to behave." He cursed inwardly, then stood up and picked up a briefcase: "Let's go to the Commercial Taxation Bureau."

He got up and went out with two bodyguards.

There is a parking lot behind Tianhe Trade Building. After the three of them left the building, one of the bodyguards immediately prepared to drive the car, while Zhou Xiong was thinking about something.

Before I had taken a few steps, I suddenly heard footsteps behind me.

Zhou Xiong and his bodyguard turned around subconsciously.

Then I saw two men wearing masks approaching quickly.

When Zhou Xiong saw that they were wearing masks, his face changed drastically and the bodyguard quickly reached out his hand.

But the other party raised his gun at the same time.

Bang bang bang bang, the bodyguard was shot instantly. Another bodyguard turned around after hearing the sound, and was also shot all over. Bang bang bang.

"Ah!" Zhou Xiong screamed in fright and squatted on the ground with his hands on his head.

After a burst of gunfire, the two bodyguards were killed on the spot.

Zhou Xiong was trembling when the big man came over, grabbed his long hair roughly and lifted his head up.

The other one just reached out and pulled.

Bang, bang, bang, he was slapped several times in the face, leaving his face and mouth covered in blood.

"You're looking for death, this is just a warning, will you try again next time?"

After Chang Yuchun finished speaking, he was still not satisfied, and bang, the handle of the gun hit him hard on the nose.

Well, Zhou Xiong squatted down, covering his nose, tears and snot pouring out at the same time.

When he stood up, the two burly men who had covered their faces had disappeared.

No matter how dumb he was, he knew that Zhao Yurui was simply lawless in openly killing his people in front of his company.

After the shock, Zhou Xiong was deeply frightened again.

If Zhao Yurui dared to kill his bodyguard, then it is possible that he could also be killed.

Those dock coolies he worked for were all from poor backgrounds and they valued money more than their lives. It was absolutely true.

Zhou Xiong was angry, afraid and unwilling.

Do you want to find someone to deal with Zhao Yurui?

If I look for someone, I'm afraid I'll only have one chance. If I fail to kill Zhao Yurui, I'll be in big trouble.

While Zhou Xiong was struggling with how to take revenge, Chang Yuchun was also cursing on the other side.

"He should be killed." Chang Yuchun was not convinced. Why couldn't Zhou Xiong be killed? In his opinion, killing Zhou Xiong directly was better than anything else.

Zhao Yurui shook his head: "After all, his father is a provincial governor. Don't worry about it. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"This kind of young man is still very afraid of death."

He himself was a member of the Jinyiwei, and murder cases like this were handed over to the Jinyiwei for handling. This was one of the reasons why he dared to kill Zhou Xiong's bodyguard.

It is impossible for Zhou Xiong to ask the Jinyiwei to solve the case.

As for the yamen runners and garrisons on the ground, that depends on whether Zhou Xiong's connections are strong enough and whether others are willing to help.

But without evidence, no one can do anything to him.

He and the two of them stayed in Qingyuan Prefecture, and around five o'clock in the afternoon, many bicycles came out of a building next to the Qingyuan Prefecture government office.

In the Yuan Dynasty, only special departments such as the Jinyiwei had official buses, and most other officials rode bicycles or walked to and from get off work.

Of course, there are wealthy officials who buy cars, but they are a minority after all.

After several groups of people on bicycles and on foot came out, finally, an old car slowly drove out of the government office.

Many people in the government office turned their heads around, looking jealous.

There are not many people in Qingyuan Prefecture who can drive to get off work, and the official at the Commercial Taxation Bureau is one of them.

The Commercial Tax Bureau can set tax amounts for shops and businesses below it, making it one of the most powerful departments at the grassroots level in Dayuan.

Naturally, wealthy bosses and companies flocked to it, all wanting to curry favor with the top leader and get promoted to an official position.

The official in charge of Qingyuan Prefecture was Xu Jie.

He was just an eighth-rank official and one of the heads of more than a dozen departments in Qingyuan Prefecture, but in the eyes of some wealthy people, he was more powerful than the yamen's Tongzhi, Tongpan, and Tuiguan.

Of course, in the prefectural government of the Yuan Dynasty, all other departments are Caos, such as the Household Department, the Military Department, etc., only the Commercial Tax Department is an Office. This also means that this department is different from others and is the most important department of the Yuan Dynasty, because commercial tax is now also an important source of taxation for the Yuan Dynasty.

Xu Jie's car is a second-hand one, which he bought for 25,000 yuan. The annual cost is 2,000 to 3,000 yuan, which most people think is not cost-effective.

The cost of a few years is enough to buy another one.

But Xu Jie doesn't think so. People who own cars are different in Dayuan now.

Either you are rich or you are noble.

There are so many officials in the yamen, but there is only one bus, which is used by the prefect alone.

There was another official car, which was said to be only used for collecting taxes. Usually, it was used in turn by the Tongzhi, Tongpan, and Tuiguan, and the heads of various departments could not use it.

So his car was the third car in Qingyuan Prefecture, and it was very impressive.

Xu Jie drove along the way, humming a little tune, feeling very happy.

Recently, Mr. Zhou has taken a fancy to a cigarette factory. According to his investigation, the profits are astonishing.

Xu Jie was quite happy and agreed to impose heavy taxes on them.

This tax will be collected successfully, and the tax revenue of Qingyuan Prefecture will be greatly increased. This is also his contribution, and his year-end bonus will not be small.

His position is very prominent in Qingyuan Prefecture, and everyone wants to sit in this position.

Fortunately, he has Master Zhou backing him up. Although Prefect Zhou is no longer around, Deputy Governor Zhou is still someone that no one can afford to offend.

Maybe he will be the deputy governor of Zhejiang Province someday and return to Zhejiang Province. Therefore, officials usually do not want to offend such officials, even if they have been transferred.

Moreover, since Zhou Zhifu was able to become the prefect of Zhejiang, he must have connections in the province. If the provincial people say something bad about him, it will be difficult for the people below him.

Precisely because of the relationship with Mr. Zhou, Xu Jie attached great importance to the cigarette factory and decided to do as Mr. Zhou requested.

In less than half an hour, Xu Jie's car arrived at the gate of his own compound.

His home was actually not far from the prefectural government office, and it would only take half an hour at most to ride a bicycle.

But there were many people on the street and it was time to get off work, so cars were driving slower.

Beep beep beep, Xu Jie honked the horn, and after a while, the gate of his house opened with a squeak.

In order to be able to drive the car into the house, Xu Jie flattened the threshold of the house and replaced the front door.

Buzz, he drove into the house.

Bang, and the door behind him closed.

Xu Jie stopped the car, turned off the engine, whistled a little tune, and got out of the car.

Uh, the expression was stunned.

There were two strangers standing in front of me.

"Who are you?" Xu Jie was puzzled. He turned his head again and his expression changed drastically.

I saw my beloved dog lying dead on the side, motionless, with blood all over the ground.

Outside the chicken coop further away, there were dead chickens everywhere.

It's like leaving no one alive. This word came to Xu Jie's mind instantly.

"Xu is the boss, right?" Chang Yuchun took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, gave one to himself first, and then passed it to Xu Jie.

As soon as Xu Jie saw the smoke, he seemed to understand it instantly.

"I don't smoke." Xu Jie said in a deep voice and looked up at the room.

"It's okay, my family is fine." Chang Yuchun said, "Depriving someone of their money is like killing their parents."

"If Xu Ganban keeps making money, his family will be fine."

"This official, this official, is also following the rules..." Xu Jie pretended to be calm.

"Bang" Zhang Youcheng slapped Xu Jie in the face, making him dizzy and almost falling down.

"Zhou Jun is no longer in Zhejiang. No matter how hard you work, Zhou Xiong can't help you get promoted to a higher position." Chang Yuchun asked, "What taxes do you collect?"

“What tax?”

"The taxes are paid by the court, but your life is your own. Why would Xu Gan bother you?"

Xu Jie remained silent.

Zhang Youcheng, who was standing beside him, suddenly said, "Why don't we cripple one of his hands first?"

"Don't." Xu Jie was startled and quickly begged for mercy.

Chang Yuchun took out a dagger, and the sharp dagger dazzled his eyes.

Xu Jie was so frightened that he leaned against the car: "Don't mess around, don't--"

"You won't cry until you see the coffin. Xu Gan will do it. We all need money to survive." Chang Yuchun said as he stepped forward.

"No more, no more." Xu Jie shouted hastily, his expression uglier than crying: "No more, no more."

"Really not going to collect taxes anymore?" Chang Yuchun asked, holding a knife.

"I really won't collect it anymore." Xu Jie was about to cry: "The tax belongs to the court, but my hands are mine."

Phew! Chang Yuchun was amused by him. This guy is very smart. He understands everything at once.

Zhang Youcheng said, "I'm afraid he won't keep his word. What if he changes his mind after we leave? Let's cripple one of his hands first."

"I swear, I swear." Xu Jie raised his hands and cried, "You have come to my house before, how dare I go to war again?"

The one who just returned the title of official has suddenly become a subordinate.

"Remember what you said." Chang Yuchun said coldly, "Zhou Xiong can't protect himself, and he can't protect you either. If you want to cut off my money, we will kill your whole family."

After saying that, Chang Yuchun slashed the body of his car with a knife.

This made Xu Jie very heartbroken. He was angry but dared not say anything, and tears fell uncontrollably.

"Let's go." Chang Yuchun threw the cigarette in his hand to the front of the car, and drove away with Zhang Youcheng and the other man.

Xu Jie quickly ran to the inner room, and when he opened the door, he saw a family tied to the ground, their faces pale as dirt.

Damn it, Xu Jie cursed in his heart and hurried to save his family.

His family asked him to report it.

"What's the use of reporting Jin? They are all desperate criminals." Of course Xu Jie also knew that there was a Jinyiwei on the opposite side.

The next day he received news that Zhou Xiong had also been attacked the day before.

The other party shot and killed two of Zhou Xiong's bodyguards at the entrance of Tianhe Trade.

Hiss, Xu Jie took a breath of cold air, and after returning to the office, he quickly tore up the tax increase documents.

The taxes belong to the court, but his life belongs to himself. He secretly thought about Chang Yuchun's words.

(End of this chapter)