"In order to thoroughly clarify, this government has decided to seal all the accounts of these gentry and wealthy merchants for all the records in this account book. They will be returned after the accounts are checked!"
"Tongzhi Jiang, please follow what is recorded in this account and lead troops to blockade all these people's residences and ask them to hand over their account books."
After Yanshan Guard Jiang Liang finished making arrangements, Zhou Tingru looked at the crowd and said coldly: "You can also refuse to cooperate and destroy the account books.
But if they are discovered by our government, we guarantee that anyone who destroys the account book will be executed, all their property will be confiscated, and they will be exiled for three thousand miles! "
“Now, those who voluntarily admit tax evasion or evasion can pay ten times the amount of tax evaded.
If we wait for the government to find out, the nature will change. It will be investigated for ten years and ten times the back payment. The head of the family and the main responsible persons will be punished with a hundred rods and exiled for three thousand miles. The descendants of the next three generations will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination!
I will be waiting here until midnight tomorrow. If you don’t wait after the expiry date, please leave! "
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you. It is very likely that some wealthy businessmen and gentry will have their homes raided early tomorrow morning, and their shops will be vacant.
If there are any neighbors who want to do business, they can come to the prefect’s Yamen tomorrow morning to subscribe for one.
In this way, the goods in the hands of the merchants who came from afar will have a place to go, and the needs of the people in the city can also be met! "
"Remember, you need to pay the back taxes first with food, then with silver, and you don't need anything else!"
"Let's all disperse!"
"Tongzhi Jiang, please arrange for people to block both ends of Daoqian Street after the people disperse. No one is allowed to enter or exit without the permission of the government. Those who break in by force will be treated as spying on the military!"
After finishing this, Zhou Tingru said in a deep voice to the person next to him: "Are you all ready?"
"Don't worry, sir, we are ready and can start at any time!"
"Then let's get started!"
After the Fu soldiers cupped their fists, they waved their hands behind them, and tables and stools were moved out from various yamen in Daoqian Street. There were pens, ink, paper and inkstones placed on the tables.
Then hundreds of people slipped in from both ends of the street. These people were tall, short, fat, and thin, but they had only one thing in common, and that was that everyone held an abacus in their hands.
"You are all the accounting clerks in Suzhou City. You are the ones who do the accounting. Your main task today is to check the account books that will be delivered later and find out the problems. Five people are responsible for one household.
Don't think about covering it up. After you have checked it, we will conduct a random check. If there is an error, five people will sit together. If you do well, each person will be rewarded with five taels of silver. Go and prepare! "
Although the onlookers on the street didn't know what Zhou Tingru said, they could guess a thing or two from the abacus in their hands and what had just happened.
The people suddenly became energetic and started talking.
"Oh my god, are you really planning to play?"
"Nonsense, first they closed the shops of wealthy merchants and gentry, then they built some novel things, and then they almost killed dozens of people. Which of these things is not serious? The prefect is determined to fight with them. !”
"Hey, that's not right. Didn't the prefect tell us to give us a solution? Why does the whole process seem like a public trial?"
"Idiot, the prefect is encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao. The method he is using now is to force the wealthy merchants and gentry to surrender, return to normal, and then solve the problem!"
"The idea is good, but what if these people die? The wealthy businessmen and gentry will directly pay the missed taxes and ignore the rest.
The reputation level has little impact on them. At worst, if they do it well, the road guidance restrictions will have no effect.
Reviewing the store calendar has no effect. The government can just stay stuck if it wants to. The needs of hundreds of thousands of people are not small. The government can solve it in a few days, but how many months can it solve it?
In the end, it was the government that couldn't bear it first! "
"How do you know that the prefect has no backup plan? You can think of it, but the prefect can't think of it?"
"Hey, I really hope these wealthy businessmen and gentry can be tougher, otherwise their homes will be confiscated, and we will have a chance in those shops. Brothers, do you want to work together to buy a shop, and we can also be the shopkeepers?"
"This is a great idea. If we can't win it alone, let's join forces and invest all our money into it. We'll definitely make a profit without losing anything!"
…
The onlookers were in small groups making small plans, while the gentry and wealthy businessmen who got the news gathered in a restaurant. The entire restaurant was blocked by the servants. At this moment, there was no need to hide it.
On the top floor of the restaurant, everyone stared with gloomy and frightened faces.
Sun Youzhi, governor of Yingtian, could guess that there were also smart people among them.
They have money, and they have been cultivating this land in the south of the Yangtze River for hundreds of years. Their interests are complicated, and if they mess with one family, they will implicate another family.
If they join forces, the entire Ming Dynasty will be shaken, but this is before the new emperor ascends the throne.
Wei Zhongxian, who had all the power in the government and the public, was so strong and ruthless that he had never done anything to collect taxes in Jiangnan. He just turned a blind eye and muddle along.
First, because of the persecution of Jiannu and Mongolian tribes, Jiangnan could not be in chaos. Second, the water in Jiangnan was deep, and many civil servants came from Jiangnan.
But things are different now. The Mongolian tribes in the northern part of Xuanda were destroyed, one was crippled, and the other surrendered.
The Mongolian tribes and the Jiannu coalition forces in Mobei were besieged and killed 60,000 to 70,000 people, and 80% of the clan members and senior officials of the Jiannu were killed.
The royal family has been reduced, the prince has confined the city of Beijing, the treasury is sufficient, and he controls hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and generals.
Although Ming Dynasty still has many problems, it already has enough strength to face any problems within its borders.
If they dare to resist completely, the emperor will really kill them.
Even if it is to resist or support a certain vassal king, the vassal kings are now imprisoned in Beijing. Without a suitable gimmick, the rebellion cannot succeed.
"Everyone, what do you think? Are you giving in, or resisting to the end?"
"Resist? Haha... Why resist? Do you think Zhou Tingru really doesn't dare to kill us?"
"Zhou Tingru's series of actions, as well as the approvals from the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet, make it clear that the imperial court wants to rectify Jiangnan, and we are just one of them.
Maybe they just wait for us to resist, accuse us of rebellion, massacre us, and cleanse Jiangnan. The emperor is ruthless and unjust, and he can definitely do it! "
"This possibility is very high. The Yanshan Guards, Jinyi Guards, and Warrior Battalions of the Forbidden Army are all here. These are the emperor's three absolute confidants, and they are here to scare us.
The little power we have in our hands is more than enough to deal with bandits and bandits and ordinary people, but we are absolutely vulnerable to the Yanshan Guards and the Warrior Camp! "
Everyone was silent. They were not good at writing or martial arts. What awaited them was either complete surrender or being eliminated.
When everyone was feeling a little desperate, two voices sounded one after another, which immediately shocked everyone.
"I do have an idea, maybe I can win!"
"I also have an idea, but it's a little dangerous!"
