4332 (the eighth year of Chongzhen), May 2nd.
In front of the Yamen of Dali Temple in Guangdong Province, hundreds of members of the Liu family and their housekeepers were tied up in the square.
When Yang Wencai got the news, he and Li Gong were tasting wine.
Carrying gourds of wine, they came to watch the excitement outside the Yamen of Dali Temple.
Yang Wencai said with emotion:
"Zhou Qiniu's attacks are really steady and ruthless.
I also know the Liu family and the housekeeper. They are very proud maritime merchant families.
I went to these two companies to buy a sea-going boat. Not only did they not sell the sea-going boat, they also insulted me verbally.
These two families are so courageous. The people who got into trouble before in Hanzhong were at most making false accounts and evading some taxes.
They didn't want to pay a penny and just sailed out to sea for smuggling.
Smuggling is a crime that can easily lead to the death penalty if you resist arrest with force.
If you resist arrest without force, the sentence will be frighteningly high and you will be in prison for the rest of your life. "
Li Gong said with a smile: "This is his own fault. King Qin is most concerned about tax laws and taxes.
The annual allocations made by the Prince of Qin to local governments are related to local taxes.
This is closely related to the performance of officials. The government is helping people like the tax bureau.
The tax police are very motivated to get the share and credit for solving the case.
The entire yamen is rich and has the best welfare benefits.
The patrol attaches great importance to homicides, and every time a murder occurs, large-scale personnel are dispatched.
But their level of enthusiasm is completely incomparable to that of the tax police.
We have a member of the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce. He opens two stores, one of which sells expensive products and the other sells cheap ones.
The two stores opened opposite each other, and the cheaper one got the most sales.
They paid a large amount of taxes every month, and the tax police suspected that the expensive family had tax problems.
The tax police sent people to this shop to work undercover for two months to find out everything.
They are such a persistent group of people, and it would be really difficult to evade taxes under their noses.
The tax police also have powerful weapons.
The tax department has money and can buy the best equipment.
The force of the tax police is second only to the regular army, and it is stronger than the force of the garrison.
As long as there is definite evidence, tax evaders can be arrested directly. "
Businessmen from the north like Yang Wencai are already used to this situation.
Local businessmen in Guangdong saw for the first time the power of the tax police.
Li Shengli looked at his friend's family, and the main members were detained in front of the Dali Temple Yamen.
These people were imprisoned, and the Liu family and the housekeeper were basically ruined.
The main personnel of the main branch line were wiped out in one fell swoop.
He did not expect that the Shibo Division would be so tough and use thunderous means to directly arrest Liu Sanfeng and others.
Li Shengli predicted that someone in the Liu family's team would definitely leak the secret.
Otherwise, their whereabouts would not be known so accurately by the Shipping Department, and they would simply wait and see.
As soon as Liu Sanfeng went out to sea, he was caught by the anti-smuggling team including the people and the boat.
The evidence was conclusive, and Dali Temple directly initiated a speedy trial procedure.
Li Shengli saw a group of officials walking out of the Yamen of Dali Temple.
These officials quickly completed the sentencing of the Liu family and the housekeepers.
Liu Sanfeng and other people who are mainly engaged in smuggling because the amount of smuggling is huge.
Several crimes were punished concurrently, and all were sentenced to more than five hundred years of hard labor and exile in border areas.
The shopkeepers and sailors on the ship were all sentenced to about twenty years of hard labor.
When Li Shengli heard the verdict, he was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat.
The sentence can be anywhere from five to eight hundred years. Do you still have to serve your sentence even if you turn into ashes?
Wei Shuhang saw Li Shengli's doubts. He now works as a minor official in the Guangdong Governor's Office and knows the "Laws of the King of Qin" better.
He explained to Li Shengli: "Brother Li, the "Laws of the King of Qin" promulgated by King Qin only stipulates two types of punishments.
Death penalty and hard labor sentence.
I don’t need to say much about the death penalty, it’s basically execution by firing squad.
Hanging was also used where guns were not available or suitable for use.
The prison sentence of reform through labor is different from the punishment of Ming Dynasty.
The King of Qin believed that criminals could also produce value.
If you want to eat well, drink well, and receive certain treatment in prison, you must work to earn work points.
The more work points you earn, the more you can get a reduced sentence.
The minimum sentence is three months in labor camp and the maximum sentence is unlimited.
Depending on the egregiousness of the crime committed, the sentence received varies.
The crime of rebellion can easily last ten to twenty thousand years.
Murder is not punishable by death, and it also starts with a hundred years.
For multiple crimes, their sentences are added together to form the final sentence.
The purpose of stipulating so many prison terms is mainly to prevent criminals who behave badly from having their sentences reduced.
Every time the King of Qin granted a pardon, his sentence could be reduced by up to fifty years.
In this way, serious criminals will not be released due to amnesty. "
When Li Shengli heard Zhang Shuhang's explanation, he knew that the Liu family was completely finished.
Liu Sanfeng's sentence is eight hundred and twenty-nine years. Even if he is lucky and encounters several amnesties, he will not come out of prison.
Li Shengli asked puzzledly: "By doing this, King Qin will not be afraid that criminals with too high sentences will lose hope in the future and do something outrageous."
Wei Shuhang smiled and said: "These people deserve what they deserve. If they had not committed a major crime, they would not have been sentenced to so many years.
If they are sentenced to so many years, they will basically stay in prison for the rest of their lives, and they will not harm society.
In prison, it is extremely difficult to live, and it is too easy to die.
Most people want to continue living if they can survive.
If you are really capable, you can commute your sentence on your own. "
Wei Shuhang explained so much to Li Shengli just to thank him.
If he hadn't learned from Li Shengli the approximate time and location of the Liu family's departure to sea.
He, a little person, has no way to avenge his father and uncles.
His third uncle owns 90,000 acres of mulberry forests. He is a great gentry with a lot of land.
Wei Shuhang's mother's family was so prominent that it was impossible for her to marry an unknown scholar.
Before the Wei family, they were also famous merchants in Guangdong.
When they shipped goods four years ago, none of their merchant ships came back.
The Liu family traveling with them didn’t miss a single boat.
The Wei family has always suspected that it was the Liu family who was taking advantage of others.
There are rumors in the family that the Liu family has an unclear relationship with a big pirate outside.
The Wei family has no evidence, because the family leader and others were killed in battle, plus they lost a lot of manpower and silver, and they were no longer able to compete with the Liu family.
They kept silent, looking for an opportunity to capture a shopkeeper of the Liu family, and tortured him to make him speak.
It was indeed the Liu family who joined forces with the great pirate Liu Xiang to annex their Wei family's fleet.
Just when the Wei family was looking for an opportunity to take revenge, the Qin army attacked Guangdong. This earth-shaking change interrupted their revenge plan.
Wei Shuhang learned about the approximate time and place when the Liu family went to sea.
The Wei family was also a maritime merchant before. They knew all the details of going to sea and sent people to keep an eye on the Liu family's movements secretly.
It is impossible to mobilize so many people and materials without leaving any trace.
Wei Shuhang confirmed the Liu family's movements and immediately reported the news to Guangdong Governor Honeysuckle.
Unexpectedly, the Shipping Department was so powerful that not a single ship of the Liu family escaped. All the main characters were sentenced, leaving only some orphans and widows.
"Master, I want you to go home as soon as possible."
Li Shengli saw the housekeeper at home coming to inform him.
"Brother Wei, my father has something to ask me about. Let's get together again when we have time."
"I also have to go back to the Works Office to do some work. Let's get together when we have time."
Li Shengli bid farewell to Wei Shuhang and rushed home in a carriage.
He looked at the steward who was driving the carriage. According to the "Laws of the King of Qin", all the servants in their family had re-signed labor contracts.
Belonging to the workers they hired, not the slaves they were before.
"Uncle Fu, you don't have to call me Master, just call me by my name."
"Master, Lao...I have been calling you this for more than twenty years, and it is not easy to change my name."
Li Shengli returned home soon and saw the patriarch, who was in poor health, sitting on the main seat.
Several maritime businessmen who had good relations with their family came to their home for a meeting.
This kind of solemn scene had not been encountered in the past few years, but now it happens frequently.
The last time he saw this kind of scene, it was his brother who was in charge and wanted to donate the city of Guangzhou.
"Shengli, you will chair this meeting."
"Okay, uncle."
Li Shengli knew that the patriarch was cultivating him.
This also benefited from his brother's relationship. If his brother had not become an official in the Qin Palace, he would definitely not have his share as the heir.
No matter how talented I am, I can only be a shopkeeper, responsible for a certain aspect of affairs.
Li Shengli quickly stood next to his uncle and said humbly: "Dear uncles and uncles, the main reason why you can come to our house today is to see what happened to the Liu family today.
Our Li family will definitely pay taxes on time from now on.
My nephew suggests that everyone pay taxes honestly for the time being and wait for the situation to develop.
My nephew has said before that before we can figure out King Qin's nature, we are in a weak position and we must first abide by the rules set by King Qin.
The King of Qin holds a sword and a spear in his hand and wants to rob our property. It is just a matter of words.
Now the King of Qin is willing to follow the rules. Even if the rules are outrageous, we must abide by them.
Not to mention just paying taxes. "
Li Shengli directly stated the Li family's attitude.
He didn't dare to be ambiguous now. Who knew whether these people would leave their door and turn around to report them.
If the Liu family perished so quickly, someone inside must have tipped off the news.
The officials of the Prince of Qin's Palace had just arrived in Guangdong, and without insider guidance, they did not know the details of smuggling at all, and it was extremely difficult to arrest people.
“Paying taxes and paying taxes is easier said than done.
Now my family members, not even the maids at home, dare to touch me.
You have to pay taxes when doing business. Ming Dynasty is such a waste. Why can't it be stronger?
The King of Qin did not respect the teachings of Confucius and Mencius at all, and thought about competing with the people every day.
well! It's hard to be a businessman. "
"This is the only way to deal with the current situation."
“In the current situation, we can only pay taxes.
The anti-smuggling team of the City Shipping Department is so awesome that I went to the beach to watch it.
Three large warships and dozens of small boats.
Seeing Shibosi's attitude that he would rather kill by mistake than let him go.
As long as they are found to be related to smuggling, they are immediately taken away for interrogation.
With our bodies and bones, if we go around the squad room, who can withstand the interrogation?
There is endless money to be made, and if the family is gone, there is no point in making more money. "
“When we go to sea, we earn a lot of money, so we can just let go of the small money like business taxes.
It's just that when you go to sea, you have to pay royalties to the pirates and taxes to the government.
It would be easier to accept it if the government wiped out all the pirates.
When the government collects taxes, at least the prices are clearly marked.
If officials want to collect more taxes, we can still resist in various ways.
The pirates were in a bad mood and increased the amount of membership money at will. "
“It would be great if this is possible, the annual share would be a lot of money.
I am in the tea business, and tea is an agricultural product. The tax on ordinary tea is not high, but the tax on famous tea is high.
If you really don’t need to pay a share, you can just pay taxes. "
“Mother Diurei, the government collects taxes but does not protect us.
We pay taxes so that those officials can eat, drink and have fun. Thinking about it makes me angry to death. "
Li Shengli watched their constant quarrels, but most of them were inclined to pay taxes.
"Dear uncles and uncles, my nephew understands that Guangdong Sea Trading Company is preparing to go to sea on the 5th.
They also prepared a large number of armed merchant ships to escort them.
We can try it out with the Guangdong Sea Trade Company.
Let's see if their armed merchant ships can protect the waterway. "
"Old Mother Throwing Lei is just an armed merchant ship. Whose ship is not an armed merchant ship?
For ships like ours, it's okay to scare small pirates, but if we encounter big pirates, we'll be a living target.
In order to carry a large amount of cargo, merchant ships have a relatively flat bottom and a relatively high load capacity.
Merchant ships cannot outrun warships and are a big target at sea. "
Li Shengli cupped his hands and continued: "Uncles, please be patient. The armed merchant ships of the government are different from the armed merchant ships we understand.
The ships used by the anti-smuggling team of the Municipal Shipping Department are what they call armed merchant ships.
Their armed merchant ships cannot carry goods, but only cannons and soldiers. "
"What? The government calls warships armed merchant ships.
Such large warships are called armed merchant ships, so how big will the warships used by their navy be?
Could they be the big warships with two masts and two layers of plywood used by the Western Yi people? "
"It may be true that the government drove away the Portuguese in Haojing.
They captured so many Portuguese craftsmen, among them there should be craftsmen who can make warships.
If these craftsmen fall into the hands of the government, there are many ways to deal with these people and let them build warships. "
“In this case, we can also give it a try.
For the sake of safety, take out one or two ships first to observe the strength of the government.
They can really protect us at sea, and paying taxes is not bad. At least it is more stable than paying taxes.
The person talking about the situation in Guangzhou is Liu Xiang. He has taken refuge with the Xiyi people and is working as a lackey for Hong Mao.
One day the red hair is in a bad mood, and if we find another dog, we have to send women and money again to establish a new relationship. "
Li Shengli cupped his hands and said, "Uncles and uncles have reached an agreement, and I will leave this matter to my nephew.
I went to the Guangzhou Governor's Yamen to communicate and wait for the good news about my nephew. "
Li Shengli finally felt relieved when he saw that his family's allies had reached a consensus.
These families are all married to each other, and each family is related to them.
If something happens to one family, it could affect them all.
Li Shengli went to the Guangzhou Governor's Yamen to contact him. He went directly to Wei Shuhang to connect him with Yu Fuyun, general manager of Guangdong Sea Trade Company.
After Li Shengli explained his intention, Yu Fuyun agreed to his request and agreed to go to sea together on May 5th.
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