Liu Datong and Dong Hui looked at each other and laughed in unison.
"Sir, you have a good idea. Let's send people to arrest those seven literate people, and then post the imperial list."
"The remaining illiterate and unruly people in Pingliang County can't understand what is written on the imperial list anyway. By then, the contents will not come from our own mouths!"
Liu Datong slapped his thigh excitedly and said with a smile: "You're right, those mud-legged people are illiterate anyway! We put up the notice and it's not up to us to decide whether to levy taxes or how much taxes to levy!"
Anyway, Pingliang County is located in the northern border area, where the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Even if the general's orders from the foreign troops are not accepted, what's the big deal if he secretly changes the emperor's order here?
Just as he said, Liu Datong immediately ordered his servants to deceive several literate people from Pingliang County into the county government and imprison them in prison.
However, what Liu Datong didn't know was that the record book in the hands of his nemesis Dong Hui was the statistics book when Zhou Yi first came to Pingliang County.
When the "last" literate person in Pingliang County was imprisoned by Liu Datong, Liu Datong and his dog-headed military advisor Dong Hui took the imperial list to the square in the center of the county.
Dang~dang~dang~
A big bell in the center of Pingliang County was rung.
This big bell was made by Zhou Yi to gather the people of the county when the Huns invaded. However, before Zhou Yi could use it, the fat man Liu Datong took the lead in using it.
All the people thought that there was a foreign invasion, so they followed Zhou Yi's original request, picked up the weapons and rushed to the center of the county.
The ringing of the assembly bell not only alarmed the ordinary people who were working hard, but also surprised the head catcher and Master Sun who were plotting to kill Liu Datong.
"Is there an invasion by a foreign enemy? Hurry up and gather at the county center!"
Qian Captou and Master Sun didn't care about the comprehensive plan. One of them held a horizontal knife and the other held a pole and hurriedly followed the crowd towards the center of the city.
When Liu Datong and his dog-headed master Dong Hui saw the people in Pingliang County rushing here in panic one by one with weapons, they were a little surprised at first.
The two of them didn't know why all of these people were holding weapons, and some even ran over in a hurry carrying a load of cow dung.
After being explained by others, Liu Datong learned that the bell in the county could only be rung to protect the county and defend the people when the war came, and to summon the people of the county.
But Liu Datong didn't care about this. In his opinion, tax collection and exploitation were much more important than protecting the county and protecting the people.
As for the effect of this clock, it worked very well. It didn't take him a while to make a cup of tea, but Liu Datong was surrounded by people.
Liu Datong gave in immediately. His own dog-headed army master board will post the imperial list and show it to all the people.
Liu Datong also pretended to be reasonable and said: "I know that you people are illiterate, so I specially summoned the people of the county to read the yellow list issued by the emperor to all of you in front of everyone."
Originally, it was no big deal to read the imperial announcement.
But Liu Datong's next operation stunned everyone present. Liu Datong actually told lies in front of the people of Pingliang County and randomly changed the contents on the yellow list.
"Dear fellow citizens, it is written on the imperial list that the Huns, Khitan, Qiang, and Di have invaded the border for many years, captured our Dachen people, and killed our border people. Fortunately, Wuwei Guards are stationed at the border to ensure the safety of the people in our territory..."
It has to be said that Liu Datong's dog-headed master is quite clever. On a whim, he was able to make up the word count of the imperial list written by Yan Song himself, and the word count was not bad at all.
Dong Hui continued to make up, and he did not notice at all that the people in the audience were clenching the weapons in their hands, squinting at the poor performance of the two of them.
Finally, Dong Hui pointed to the four characters "Tax-free for one year" on the imperial list and said something like "30% more tax".
Although there are still many words on the imperial list that the people of Pingliang County do not recognize, they clearly understand the words "tax-free for one year".
The people in Pingliang County in the audience said nothing, but looked at Liu Datong and his group on the stage coldly and quietly.
Seeing that everyone in the audience was silent, Liu Datong thought they were depressed because of heavy taxes.
So Liu Datong pretended to be considerate of the people and said: "Dear fellow citizens, this 30% increase in tax is not from me. It is from His Majesty the Emperor to give to the border soldiers so that they can better defend themselves." The border is protecting our safety!"
Someone in the audience suddenly said: "Sure enough, the great master does everything for our own good..."
Liu Datong thought that the elder people in the audience were referring to him. When he was about to praise that person, he heard that the person changed his tone.
"If the eldest master hadn't opened a night school, we might have been fooled by this pig monster!"
"That's right, the old man said that being uneducated is terrible. Now that I think about it, every word of the old man is the truth."
"While the eldest master Qingtian is still alive, we cannot let the eldest master be driven away by this pig monster."
…
Everyone in the audience spoke highly of Mr. Zhou Yi, and as they spoke, everyone became agitated.
Originally, the people in Pingliang County thought that Zhou Yi taught them how to read. That was because there was really nothing to do in Pingliang County at night, and the elder wanted to have some fun for himself.
But now it seems that Mr. Zhou Yi is entirely for the benefit of the common people.
Being illiterate is really a disadvantage. It turns out that the people in Pingliang County are also heavily taxed.
I don’t know if those dog officials in the past were like the pig demon in front of me, bullying the common people into being illiterate!
Now Liu Datong was no longer calm on the stage. Didn't he say that there were only seven literate people in Pingliang County? Is it possible that these idiots in the audience are really literate?
"Impossible, impossible, they must be tricking me!" Liu Datong thought secretly in his heart.
He walked up to the imperial list again and pointed at the four characters of tax exemption for one year and said: "Fellows, the 30% bonus written on it is written with a jade pen and gold hook. If you resist and disrespect, you will all be killed..."
Before Liu Da finished speaking, two lumps of black, wet and sticky cow dung were stuck on the faces of him and his dog-headed military advisor Dong Hui.
"You, uncle, will be tax-free for one year, but you can equate it with a tax increase of 30%. How dare you, a dog official!"
The common man who entered the market carrying cow dung was so anxious that he could even use and speak the idioms spoken by Zhou Yi.
Liu Datong and Dong Hui, who were off the stage, were really in a dilemma.
Liu Datong, whose face was full of cow dung, came to Dong Hui and asked in a low voice: "Didn't you say that there are only seven people in Pingliang County who can read? How come these mud-legged people are all literate!"
The crowd in the audience was excited, and everyone wanted to ask the pig-headed magistrate for an explanation.
