The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 38 Tax collection on a lump sum
The next day, Wang Wenlong came to the market in Yuegang and saw that the scholars and the people were talking a lot. Even the tax collectors under Gao Yin did not dare to be so arrogant.

As expected, the civil servants in the court of Queen Taibai Jing began to write desperately, led by Feng Qi, the Minister of Civil Affairs, asking Wanli to practice self-reflection to eliminate the disaster.

The world had long been tortured by the group of eunuchs sent by Wanli, and the scholars and common people responded one after another.

After Taibai Jingtian, Gao Yin stopped going out at all. He closed the door of his mansion and held intensive meetings with his staff all day long. Although Wang Wenlong had not yet reached the core circle and could only sit in and observe, it was not easy to go out all day.

The conclusion that Gao Yin and the others came to during the meeting was that they must collect taxes quickly, otherwise they may not have a chance in the future.

That's right, what they were worried about was not the emperor's punishment of the eunuchs, but the fear that the emperor would withdraw the tax collectors if he could not withstand the attacks of the civil servants, leaving them no way to continue to make money.

So under the call of Eunuch Gao, all the tax collectors in Fujian went into crazy tax collection mode, and they were even more violent than they were before September. For a while, the merchants and people of Fujian were complaining, and the whole country was really in chaos.

Gao Yin made arrangements and sent out all the minions in the government. Even Wang Wenlong was sent to supervise the taxation of a market in Yuegang.

Gao Yin was just a eunuch, and he did not give full power to the official position. However, there were many external personnel in the Yuegang Tax Supervision Department. Taking Gao Yin's note to go out to work was more effective than anyone else. Wang Wenlong even had the power to recruit his own minions.

Moreover, Gao Yin also set a bottom line for him, requiring him to collect at least 300 taels of silver.

Li Bajin was very happy and felt that there was finally something to be gained, but Wang Wenlong only felt a headache. With a tax of 300 taels, he could only pocket 100 taels at most, which was less than half of the money for copying a book, but he was left behind for this. With a reputation as a eunuch's minion, he would only be willing to do it if he was crazy.

A few days later, Wang Wenlong, Li Guozhu, Li Guoxian and Li Bajin were walking together in the market at Dianzi Wharf.

Looking at the bustling crowd in the market, Wang Wenlong had a grimace on his face.

Li Guoshu laughed loudly when he saw this: "This is your fiefdom, Wang Jiansheng. No one dares to ask for money when entering the restaurant to eat, so why are you miserable?"

At this time, Yuegang trade was booming. Seven wharves were opened along the coast from the end of Yuegang River to the sea. Merchants from the mainland drove boats from Yuegang River to the coast. They traded goods and sold goods at these wharves. products shipped out of the mainland, or overseas goods unloaded from the dock.

The Dianzi Pier that Wang Wenlong was assigned to was the third one from the Guangdong River. The location was not far or close, and the products traded were all small things such as needles and threads. However, the passenger flow was large enough, and it was on the street for a month. It's not too difficult to extort 300 taels of silver.

But Wang Wenlong would rather have less passenger traffic at this pier, so that he can tell Gao Yin that he can't make any money because business is not good.

Wang Wenlong and Li Guozhu have been wandering around the dock these days. He doesn't want to harm the people, but he really can't think of a way to make money.

Wang Wenlong even thought about using his own money to fill the shortfall, but after much thought he was reluctant to do so.

He hasn't received the royalties from Chengde Hall yet, nor has he received the subsequent royalties from Shuangfeng Hall. He now has more than 600 taels on hand, and after spending 300 taels, half of his net worth has been lost.

Fortunately, the deadline is still a few months away, and Wang Wenlong is now planning whether to trick some local tyrants and evil gentry to pay off.

Seeing Wang Wenlong's frown, Li Guozhu laughed indifferently.

This guy doesn't know how much money Wang Wenlong earns from writing books, he just thinks he can't make up the 300 taels.Although Li Guozhu's family had strict restrictions on his pocket money, he still had a way to come up with 300 taels of silver.

Li Guozhu had already made up his mind that if Wang Wenlong really had no idea by then, he would ask his father to pay a sum of money to help Wang Wenlong fill the shortfall first. This would make Li Dan angry at most, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Li Bajin, who was on the side, had a depressed look on his face, and followed him. Mr. Wang obviously had the opportunity to make money, but he was so benevolent and righteous that he didn't make any money, causing him to lose the opportunity to make money.Fortunately, Wang Wenlong treated him quite well, and other Gao Yin's men would share some of the money they made with him, so his loss was not too great, so he continued to work with Wang Wenlong honestly.

Among the three, only Li Guoxian looked at Wang Wenlong with admiration in his eyes.

Li Guoxian grew up in a merchant family and disliked the literati and doctors who bullied merchants. He was distressed when he learned that Wang Wenlong was unwilling to blackmail merchants. He only felt that Wang Wenlong was a truly good person.

At this time, she was walking with a few people. She was wearing a men's clothing. Her face was a little too beautiful, her height was a little short, and her bulging body in front made her look a little fat. Fortunately, she was young and looked like a delicate teenager. , so as not to be too revealing.

Since Li Guoxian and Li Guozhu had several quarrels, and Li Dan was not at home, Li Guozhu couldn't control her at all, so he allowed her to dress up as a man and travel with Wang Wenlong.

When Wang Wenlong turned around, he saw Li Guoxian's big eyes looking at him secretly. When she saw him looking back at her, she quickly turned her head away and pretended to fix her hair.

I saw a slight blush on Li Guoxian's fair and tender cheeks. Because of his nervousness, his little nose was breathing hard, and his nostrils were moving. Wang Wenlong was also stunned, and then he had an even worse headache.

Wang Wenlong kept Li Guoxian at a distance and was unwilling to talk to her these days. He wanted to make Li Guoxian retreat when he saw the difficulties, but Li Guoxian just did this.

This little girl seemed to be in the eye of the beholder. Although Li Guoshu repeatedly reminded him that he had no literary talent, and Wang Wenlong tried not to show off in front of her, Li Guoxian seemed to find him more and more interesting.

This girl is now completely attached to him and can't get rid of him. Every time Li Guozhu goes out, she follows him like a bug.

A few people walked aimlessly on the pier, turning around in a circle, unable to think of a way. Wang Wenlong was about to suggest that the group should break up, when he suddenly saw a group of people making a noise in the middle of the market.

Wang Wenlong frowned and walked there. When he got closer, he saw a few guys dressed as naughty guys dragging a Confucian scholar there to make a fuss.

Those guys with plasters on their faces were as thin as chickens, and the plasters on their faces were obviously used to cover up the gold seals. However, the Confucian scholar they were pulling was nearly 1.9 meters tall, tall and big, and his appearance was just average. Early twenties.

The Confucian scholar had a hundred-pocket bag hanging on his body, and there were several books inserted in each pocket of the bag. Wang Wenlong took a closer look and saw that they were Cheng Wen's ink scrolls. He probably hung this bag and sold it along the street.

The people who were pulling him all had local accents, and they scolded him: "What a good boy, you are selling and doing business at the dock, and you dare not pay taxes. Have you ever heard of Eunuch Gao's name?"

Amid the tugging of a group of people, the Confucian scholar said angrily: "I'm selling as I go, but I just happened to get here. I haven't sold any of them, so what's the point of paying taxes?" He spoke with a Fuzhou accent.

Wang Wenlong frowned upon hearing this, collecting taxes?
I haven't recruited any minions yet, where did these tax collectors come from?

Has this matter ever been overturned?
(End of this chapter)