jdhmnovel Chapter 186: Ten thousand tax silvers, I think it is better to raise ten thousand elite soldiers!
Chapter 186: Ten thousand tax silvers, I think it is better to raise ten thousand elite soldiers!
"Jian San'er, don't be impulsive~"
Wen Yanzhao grabbed Gu Jianmen, whose inner energy was surging.
"How can I not be impulsive? That bastard official is about to shit on my Gu family's head!"
"When my brother was alive, he also gave him a lot of benefits, including a lot of gold, silver and treasures!"
"At that time, I was still young and my martial arts skills were limited. For the sake of my family's cause, I had no choice but to compromise..."
"Now, I, Gu Jianmen, with my sword, am enough to kill him and leave his corpse lying in the government office!"
Gu Jianmen's voice was cold and his eyes were staring into the distance.
Wen Yanzhao put his arm around Gu Jianmen's shoulders and pulled him to sit at the table.
"Of course I understand this, but I still have something to tell you..."
"With your ability, you can certainly make that bastard official's head fall off, but what happens after that?"
"Killing an official like the prefect is considered a serious crime of treason. What will happen to the hundreds of people in your Gu family?"
At this time, Li Suli on the side also advised:
"Master, what Master Xiao Wen said makes sense. Almost all of our Gu family's assets are in the Southwest Road."
"As the saying goes, the monk may run away, but the temple cannot. Even if we count the servants and brothers in our Gu family who are skilled in martial arts, there are only about thirty or twenty of them!"
"There are over 50,000 troops stationed in Bingzhou alone. Even if we were to break all our swords, it would still be difficult to kill them all."
Gu Jianmen's chest heaved, so he sat down, picked up the wine jug, and took a large gulp.
"Then according to what Brother Wen said, how should I respond?"
Wen Yanzhao smiled slightly:
"The people do not fight against the officials, unless we have officials who are greater than them!"
Gu Jianmen frowned slightly:
"An official higher than them? You mean... let me ask Junior Brother Xiao Ruofeng for help?"
Wen Yanzhao waved his hand and said:
"Why would you go to him? He's a good prince who always obeys Emperor Tai'an's orders. Even if we go to him, it's just to speak a few fair words on your behalf."
"Once he leaves, the governor will continue to do as he pleases and will still use your Gu family as a cash cow!"
Gu Jianmen sighed:
"That's right. My relationship with Junior Brother isn't particularly close... so what?"
Wen Yanzhao held the chess piece that Gu Jianmen had stolen earlier and said with a smile:
"His prefect is only of the fifth rank, and the Chaisang City Magistrate only commands one or two thousand soldiers!"
"To me, these one or two thousand people are nothing more than a few more handfuls of poison..."
"But right now, it's a critical time for all prefectures to collect taxes. Let me ask you, how much silver can Chaisang City collect in taxes in a year?"
Gu Jianmen lowered his head and thought for a moment before answering:
"I haven't calculated this in detail. Chaisang City is a place where merchants from the north and south gather, and it is famous for its wealth and prosperity."
"Just our Gu family pays a whopping four or five taels of silver in taxes every year, and that doesn't even include the benefits given to those corrupt officials!"
"If you include the grain tax, the capitation tax, the salt, iron and tea taxes, Chaisang City would have to earn more than one million taels a year!"
After hearing what Gu Jianmen said, Wen Yanzhao thought about it and found that it was not much different from the information Ji Ruofeng gave him.
"One million taels of silver... this is no small sum. If we use this money to support an army, I think it will be no problem to provide a hundred thousand elite soldiers!"
When these words came out, Gu Jianmen was shocked:
"Wen Yanzhao! Are you planning a rebellion?"
Wen Yanzhao exerted a little force with his fingers, and the chess piece was crushed into pieces.
"Who said I wanted to rebel?"
"I'll show you a clear way. The southwest road is five, four, or six hundred miles away from Qiandongcheng. The Marquis of Zhenxi, who guards Qiandongcheng, is none other than your junior brother Gu Jianmen's grandfather!"
"I don't need to say the rest!"
……
Chapter 187: Concealing the truth, Qiandong City calls for help
Qianyue City.
Baili Dongjun struggled to lift up a dark, heavy, one-handed long sword. He frowned and said:
"Brother Chunshui, this knife is too heavy!"
Nangong Chunshui was sitting in front of the millstone in the yard, drinking Qianyue Gongju with Yin Luoxia. He responded without even looking up:
"Bu Ranchen is light, but this knife is heavy. One sword and one knife, one light and one heavy, only then can they be balanced!"
"That's how you can learn my two-handed swordsmanship!"
Luo Sheng, who was sitting and smoking nearby, widened his eyes when he heard this:
"Do you really want this kid to learn Li Changsheng's two-handed swordsmanship?"
Nangong Chunshui picked up the tribute chrysanthemum tea, blew on it gently and said leisurely:
"Of course, why would I go through so much trouble to ask Li Changsheng for that item, and come all the way here to ask you, the God of War, to forge this sword for him?"
Baili Dongjun instantly became interested:
"Brother Chunshui, could the two-handed sword technique be my master's famous skill?"
Before Nangong Chunshui could speak, Luo Sheng put down his pipe and said:
"Speaking of Li Changsheng's two-handed swordsmanship, it has a great origin!"
"His two-handed swordsmanship, his swordsmanship is domineering and his swordsmanship is light and agile. The combined power of the heavy and light makes him invincible!"
Baili Dongjun's eyes suddenly shone, and he dragged the heavy knife to Nangong Chunshui's side:
"What are you waiting for? Give me the sword manual quickly and I'll start practicing now!"
Nangong Chunshui said nothing more, and took out an old, yellowed sword manual from his bosom and threw it to Baili Dongjun.
Baili Dongjun took the sword manual and took a quick look at it, and instantly lost his spirit:
"No way... this sword manual is sold at a street stall for two cents a copy, and my guards are practicing it too!"
"Brother Chunshui, are you mistaken?"
Nangong Chunshui smiled slightly:
"Don't underestimate this swordsmanship. I have a friend..."
Before Nangong Chunshui finished speaking, Baili Dongjun pouted and said teasingly:
"I have a friend who's become famous for this sword technique... Please! Do you have any new ones?"
Nangong Chunshui glanced at Luo Sheng who was smoking opposite him, and said to Baili Dongjun:
"The Luo Bingshen sitting opposite me, although he and you both have the same cultivation level as the Vajra Mortal Realm."
"But if he were to take action, even ordinary Free Heaven Realm cultivators would not be his match. Do you know why?"
Baili Dongjun glanced at Luo Sheng and shook his head:
"A Vajra Mortal Realm wants to defeat the Free Heaven Realm? Stop kidding. If he relies on his own unique skills and luckily defeats the Free Earth Realm, I think it's possible!"
When Luo Sheng heard Baili Dongjun questioning his own strength, he flicked the sparks from his pipe onto his foot.
"What? Do you look down on my Vajra Mortal Realm?"
Baili Dongjun put down his knife, raised his head and said:
"It's not that I look down on you, Senior, I just think that Brother Chunshui's joke is a bit too outrageous!"
Luo Sheng stood up suddenly, like an iron-clad arhat breaking free from his shackles.
He stared at Baili Dongjun and spoke word by word:
"Boy, how about using your Immortal Palace-grade Unstained Dust Sword to compete with me?"
"Since you've called me Senior, I'll let you use one hand and fight you single-handed!"
After being provoked by Luo Sheng, Baili Dongjun's blood boiled and he responded without hesitation:
"it is good!"
With a clang, the Unsheatheedling Blade, which was placed on the millstone, was unsheathed, and Baili Dongjun took up his stance...
Before the sword was swung, a loud bang was heard, and a fist flashed before Baili Dongjun's eyes and he flew backwards!
……
The next morning, Baili Dongjun, lying in bed, forced himself to open his eyes.
Yin Luoxia cooked some osmanthus porridge and was having breakfast with Nangong Chunshui at the table with pickles.
Baili Dongjun only felt his arms were sore and weak, and every muscle in his body became numb and painful when he moved!
He smelled the sweet aroma of osmanthus porridge, struggled to sit up, looked at the two of them and asked:
"How long have I slept?"
Hearing Baili Dongjun's question, Yin Luoxia chuckled:
"Not long ago. Since I was punched by Senior Luo yesterday afternoon, I have been sleeping ever since!"
Baili Dongjun lay back on the bed in frustration:
"This is too much! I even blocked his punch with my Undying Dust. Otherwise, if it had hit me, I would have turned into two little pancakes!"
……
After Luo Sheng's punch, Baili Dongjun finally realized that Nangong Chunshui's words that the Vajra Mortal Realm is better than the Free and Easy Heavenly Realm were not a joke.
The reason why the God of War Luo Sheng has such terrifying strength is only because he deliberately and continuously tempers his physique in the Vajra Mortal Realm.
He has cultivated external martial arts to the level of perfection, so ordinary weapons and fists and feet in his hands can exert strength to rival those in the Free and Easy Heaven Realm!
Baili Dongjun endured the pain all over his body and climbed up. He picked up the bowl of porridge that Yin Luoxia had served him and drank it all up in one gulp.
"Slow down, there's more in the pot!"
Yin Luoxia looked at Baili Dongjun who was eating voraciously and said softly.
"I'm done eating, Sister Luoxia, Brother Chunshui... I'm going to practice the 'Five Tigers Breaking Mountain Blade' now!"
"Senior Luo is right. My Vajra Mortal Realm is not worth mentioning. I will follow his example and practice every move to perfection!"
Baili Dongjun put down the bowl of porridge, his eyes extremely determined.
Nangong Chunshui was extremely pleased. It seemed that his closed disciple, who he could never close the door to, had finally gained enlightenment.
"Go ahead, go ahead. When you can wield that knife like an arm, I think your knife skills will be perfect!"
Hearing Nangong Chunshui say this, Baili Dongjun suddenly remembered that this knife didn't have a name yet:
"Oh, Brother Chunshui! This sword was meticulously crafted by Luo Bingshen. I haven't even given it a name yet!"
"My sword is called Bu Ran Chen, so this knife should be called..."
Nangong Chunshui raised his head and pondered for a moment, then murmured slowly:
"The gentle breeze that touches my face is dust-free, and the peach blossom water is the best, washing away all the worldly things and purifying my body!"
"This knife is destined to be paired with Bu Ran Chen. In my opinion, it should be called Jin Qian Hua."
A smile that hadn't been seen for a long time finally bloomed on Baili Dongjun's beautiful face:
"What a great name! Untainted by dust, free from all worldly desires! Thank you, Brother Chunshui, for both the sword and the name!"
……
Chaisang City, Gu family.
Gu Jianmen followed Wen Yanzhao's advice and gave up his plan to rush to the government office with a sword.
At this time, Wen Yanzhao had just returned from outside. He left the Gu family compound at three o'clock in the morning.
With the help of Chengying's concealment, he rushed all the way to the Chaisang City government office and found out the location of the treasury where the tax silver was stored.
He also sneaked into the garrison camp south of Chaisang City, and took advantage of the soldiers' deep sleep to trick them into falling asleep.
These soldiers may not wake up in three to five days!
"Brother Wen, how was the harvest?"
Gu Jianmen, dressed in white, stood in front of the hall and asked.
Wen Yanzhao smiled slightly:
"Luckily, fortunately, Chaisang City is indeed rich. The treasury half a mile west of the city has more than 700,000 taels of tax silver."
"That bastard official has melted down all the loose silver he collected into ingots of official silver weighing fifty taels each. If you add the loose silver from the other two small treasuries, the total would be no less than a million!"
Gu Jianmen nodded and said:
"It seems that what my brother told me before was right. This doesn't even include the money that that corrupt official embezzled!"
Wen Yanzhao sat down at the table in the courtyard, poured himself a cup of cold tea and asked:
"Jian San'er, how many carriages and horses can your Gu family muster?"