I want to be emperor

Chapter 208 Armed Tax Police
In the northern suburb of Zhongxiang, in the frontline headquarters of the General of the Baoxiang Army, Xu Zhixian looked at Luo Zhixue in front of him while talking.

"After the fifth garrison brigade and the fourth infantry regiment went south, the defense of Nanzhang and Yicheng has been completely handed over to the third division according to your instructions, general. It’s the airs of six battalions, but most of them are recruits who have not yet completed their recruit training!”

"Of the six battalions that have been set up, three are stationed in Xiangyang, one is stationed in Nanzhang, one is stationed in Yicheng, and one is stationed in Zaoyang!"

"In addition, the seed troops of the [-]rd Artillery Regiment, [-]rd Cavalry Regiment and [-]rd Supplies Regiment are currently stationed in Xiangyang."

"Although the divisions of the third division are still relatively weak, the surrounding areas of Xiangyang are the hinterland of our rural protection army. As long as there are no problems in the west, north, and south lines, then there will be no major problems. As for some places Chaos, the third division can handle it!"

Luo Zhixue also said: "I have already ordered the tax department to make the tax patrol team actively cooperate with the military and assist the military in suppressing local governments!"

"When I was in Tang County, the tax patrol team did a good job, directly cooperating with the local garrison to suppress the local armed tax resistance."

Hearing Luo Zhixue talk about the tax patrol team, Xu Zhixian beside him couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He really didn't expect that the regular army of their dignified rural protection army would need a group of tax collectors to help suppress the local area...

No matter how you look at it, it is absurd.

Moreover, in the past dynasties, it is estimated that there are no dynasties as strange as their rural protection army.

Not only is the tax collection agency directly listed as a ministry, but its political status is equal to or even superior to that of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the tax department of the Township Protection Army actually has an 'army' under its command, and its combat effectiveness is stronger than that of the garrison. The army is even stronger...

That's the Tax Patrol.

The taxation department collected various grains and taxes to meet the financial needs of the rural protection army. From the very beginning, it took the path of anger and resentment.

In order to better collect taxes, they also want to arrest tax resisters. In addition to civilian tax officials, the tax department also has a group of tax patrol officers with law enforcement powers.

And these tax patrols are also divided into two parts. Some tax patrols are just ordinary law enforcement officers who investigate various tax evasion cases and go out with a pocket knife to enforce the law on a daily basis.

In addition, there are some tax patrols, which are armed tax patrols. These people wear armor, use military-style cold weapons such as spears, bows and arrows, and even some tiger crouching guns, attacking army guns, etc. captured from the Ming army firearm.

As far as equipment is concerned, it is no worse than the garrison at all.

At first glance, it seems that it has nothing to do with the word patrol, a proper regular army, but well, they are really tax patrols-ordinary tax law enforcement officers.

There is no essential difference from the local patrol police.

Patrolman, this is the security law enforcement officer under the system of the Rural Protection Army, that is, the former policeman, but the policeman in the Ming Dynasty belonged to the lowly family, but the Rural Protection Army did not have such a saying, plus the civil servants executed by the Rural Protection Army Unified grade system, regardless of whether it is the lowest-ranking officer or a police officer, there is a grade, even if it is only a ninth rank.

In order to prevent people from treating police officers as lowly, Luo Zhixue simply changed the title of police officers to police officers, and the inspection stations and inspection bureaus in various places were also changed to police stations and police bureaus accordingly.

Patrol police and tax patrol police together constitute the only two types of law enforcement personnel in the Rural Protection Army.

This shows the particularity of the tax patrol.

As for the armed tax police, they have to cooperate with the civilian tax police in law enforcement on a daily basis. If there are major incidents, such as armed tax resistance, then it is to crack down on armed tax resistance.

Under the rule of the Township Protection Army, especially the many powerful gentry in the newly occupied areas, they will not obediently pay taxes, and the tax department cannot call the military over every time they do something to a gentry.

After all, the Rural Protection Army has a small number of troops and more and more territories. Each department is very busy with tasks. How can there be time to clean up the local tax-resistant tycoons one by one.

In desperation, the tax department simply established its own armed forces to fight against armed tax resistance.

With Luo Zhixue's approval, the tax department paid for it and directly armed part of the tax inspections for tax law enforcement.

In addition to their own work, due to the limited strength of the regular army of the Rural Protection Army, the manpower of the patrol bureaus in various places is even tighter.

Therefore, the armed tax police of the tax department have an additional job, which is to assist the local patrol police in handling major cases.

When necessary, it also assists the garrison to suppress local turmoil. Well, it is said to be an assistant, but in fact it is mainly the tax police, and the garrison is supplemented...

This is not to say that the armed tax police have better weapons and equipment than the garrison, and the quality of their personnel is higher than that of the garrison.

In fact, their weapons are mainly cold weapons, supplemented by captured artillery, which are similar to the weapons and equipment of the garrison.

Anyway, the Township Protection Army seized a large amount of Ming Army standard equipment. If they were not so particular about the quality, they could easily arm an army of Ming Army standard weapons.

However, although the armed tax police have so-so equipment and so-so combat skills, their morale is high.

Every time they went to attack the powerful gentry, the members of these armed tax policemen rushed up, screaming and rushing up, as for why?
This is definitely not because of how much they are loyal to Luo Zhixue, let alone for the great cause of taxation.

The reason why their morale is high is that they are scrambling to kill each other.

It is purely that after breaking through the manor, they can make a fortune themselves.

It's too late, but it's no good, I can't get anything...

This broke Zhuangzi, although most of the things needed to be copied and returned to the public, but in this process, it is not too much to hide a piece of gold and silver secretly...

Even if the senior tax police officers leading the team saw this situation, they would often turn a blind eye to it...

If you want to let the horse run, you have to give benefits.

After all, the tax patrol officers do not have the treatment of three meals a day for military soldiers, and it is not easy for them to support their families with such a small salary.

If this benefit is not given, no one will come to work in the tax department... After all, even within the Township Protection Army, the tax policeman's reputation is not good...

An institution that ransacks homes and exterminates families every day, smashes and loots ordinary people in order to collect taxes, and arrests people and sends them to labor camps at every turn.

Because there are no normal people who are willing to work in the local tax bureaus, so when the local tax bureaus recruit people, they will always come. It doesn’t matter whether you were a bastard or a refugee before, as long as you dare to fight and kill and want to win a fortune, then you can do it. Can come.

In particular, green-skinned hooligans from all over the world are the first batch of key recruitment targets after the establishment of local tax bureaus.

Because they know who are rich in the local area, how much land they have, whether there is hidden land or the like.

With the information provided by these local bastards, the tax officials who have just come to take office and know nothing about the local situation don't have to bother too much, and they can start collecting taxes or arresting people according to the list...

And the joining of these people further tarnished the reputation of the tax agency in the Baoxiang Army, but the tax department didn't care, and Luo Zhixue didn't care.

The armed tax patrol unit with extremely complex personnel composition, if you let them fight with the regular army of the Ming army, it must be unreliable, and it is estimated that they will all run away before the fight begins.

But if you let them cooperate with the military to suppress places, it is very useful.

To put it bluntly, they are a group of bullying, greedy and lustful guys who have no sense of right and wrong.

Commonly known as scum...

But the Township Protection Army relied on these scumbags to collect a large amount of taxes, confiscated millions of money and food, and raised tens of thousands of troops.

It is precisely because of this that even in his heart he is dissatisfied with the actions of the tax department, but in any public or private occasion, he will and must praise the efficiency of the tax department.

Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart: without the scumbags from the tax department, tens of thousands of soldiers would have to drink the northwest wind!
Furthermore, those scumbags are a bit scumbag, but they are quite good at dealing with local civil uprisings and the like, even more reliable than the military's own garrison.

So although I felt weird in my heart, Xu Zhixian still had to say: "In this way, the surrounding area of ​​Xiangyang can rest easy."

"Now that the rear is stable, all the units scheduled for reinforcements have arrived, and the mortar troops have also trained, can Zhong Xiang fight?"

Luo Zhixue said: "It's time to fight, we can't keep procrastinating."

"And even if it drags on, it is estimated that no reinforcements will arrive, and the siege of the city will not be successful. It is better to take Zhong Xiang early, and then continue to Hanyang!"

Earlier, Luo Zhixue and the others had hoped to besiege the city and fight for aid, to see if they could take advantage of the opportunity of besieging Zhong Xiang to wipe out some enemy troops coming up from Hanyang and other places.

But after waiting for half a month, I still haven't seen it.

This is either because the Ming army no longer has any fresh troops in the northern part of Chu, or because they were frightened and did not dare to come.
No matter which one it is, there is no Ming army coming anyway, so there is no point in besieging the city and fighting for aid.

"Let's start fighting tomorrow. It's not a problem to keep procrastinating like this. Later, I will call everyone to a meeting to see the situation and arrange tomorrow's tasks."

After Luo Zhixue finalized the matter, at noon that day, the generals of the various rural protection troops under Zhongxiang City gathered at the temporary headquarters for a meeting.

During the meeting, Xu Zhixian, as the head of the staff department, once again introduced Zhong Xiangcheng's offensive and defensive situation in detail, and also made it clear that the offensive will be launched tomorrow, and discussed the tasks of each unit.

Specifically how to fight Zhong Xiang, in fact, there is already a plan. Today's meeting is said to be a discussion of tactics, and it is more like a pre-war mobilization meeting to convey the final combat order.

After all the plans were finalized, early the next morning, rumbling cannons rang out on time inside and outside Zhongxiang City.

The artillery units of the Township Protection Army, especially the mortar units, began to shell the top of Zhongxiang City for a long time!
Amidst the sound of rumbling guns, the prelude to Zhong Xiang's fortified battle was officially kicked off.

At first, the defenders in Zhongxiang City thought that the shelling of the rebel army this time was the same as the shelling half a month ago. They entered the city and destroyed some houses, killing and wounding some people living near the city wall.

But it didn't take long for the defenders in the city to discover that the shelling of the bandits was different this time!
(End of this chapter)