Water Margin people

"Lord City Lord!"

A group of merchants looked at the city lord.

"You are here for business taxes as well?"

The city lord looked at the merchants.

"Lord City Lord, we have done so much for Qi State, how can they do this to us now!"

The merchants looked at the city lord and said.

"Keep your voice down. If you anger the people of Qi, killing you will be a piece of cake!"

A noble spoke up to remind them that they dare not make trouble here.

Everyone just stood outside the military camp. They had handed in their business cards, but there was no response for such a long time.

"You want to see Military Advisor Xiao?"

Li Ying, who was dressed in official clothes, looked at everyone and asked with a smile.

"I wonder who you are?"

It was the first time that the city lord and others saw Li Ying and they didn’t know who the person was.

"I am Qi's commercial director in the West! Li Ying!"

Li Ying looked at the city lord and others and spoke.

"Business executive?"

Those people were stunned. They didn't expect that Qi State would send such an official.

"Yes, I will be responsible for all future business affairs of the West. Ladies and gentlemen, the military camp is not an ordinary place. You can't go in now. Please come this way!"

Li Ying pointed in the direction of the port, where several houses had been tidied up to serve as offices for commercial activities.

The city lord and others followed Li Ying away silently.

Arriving at a conference room, Li Ying sat directly on the main seat.

Li Ying looked at those somewhat restrained people and shook his head slightly in his heart. These Westerners were nothing special.

Li Ying and Hu Ben were originally responsible for commercial activities in the South China Sea, but as the Qi navy continued to grow stronger,

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Li Ying looked at those people and asked.

"We want to ask about the business tax!"

The city lord hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

"Commercial tax? What's the problem? That's all the result of discussion. Do you have any questions?"

Li Ying looked at those people and asked.

“This tax is too heavy!”

"We have made great contributions to Qi, and Qi should not destroy the bridge after crossing the river."

"And you can't just throw the donkey away after it's done with its work!"

……

Everyone said in a hurry.

"You seem to know a lot about Qi culture. You have a lot to say."

Li Ying looked at everyone in surprise and asked. He didn't expect that these foreigners actually understood the idioms and allusions of Qi State.

"But the rules of Qi are rules. If you want to follow them, that's fine. If you don't want to follow them, you have to follow them!"

Li Ying looked at everyone and spoke. Although his tone was calm, his words were full of unquestionable force.

The city lord and others did not expect Li Ying to be so strong and not give them any room for negotiation.

"Sir, we cannot accept this level of commercial tax. It is much higher than before! After paying the tax, we will have no profit left!"

The businessmen are not afraid of anything at this time. It would be better to kill them than to take away their profits.

"No profit? That's great! Then you shouldn't do business anymore!"

Li Ying said disdainfully.

"what?"

The businessmen looked at Li Ying in disbelief. "I said, if you can't do it, don't do it!"

Li Ying slammed the table and said this, the murderous aura on his body clearly revealed.

This time no one dared to speak, the fierce murderous aura made them tremble with fear.

These people didn't expect that a businessman could be so murderous, and they also realized that Li Ying had killed many people.

"I said, Qi's rules are the rules! You don't have the right to choose!"

Li Ying looked at the businessmen and said coldly.

"Master Supervisor, can you please give us a way out because we have made some contributions to Qi?"

A noble looked at Li Ying and begged.

"Life, everyone is living well according to the laws of my Qi country, why are you the only ones who want to die?"

Li Ying looked at those merchants and said coldly, from Qi to the South China Sea to India and then to the Arab Empire, everyone is very nice, why should these Venetian merchants be exceptions?

The merchants lowered their heads and dared not speak. Venetian merchants were most sensitive to money and profits. When they saw the commercial tax law, they had already calculated how much their future profits would be.

These profits are definitely enough for them to make a fortune, but they are used to making huge profits and are not willing to make money in an honest way.

"What does it mean to keep silent? To accept or reject!"

Li Ying picked up the teacup on the table and threw it. The sound of the teacup breaking echoed throughout the hall.

Footsteps were heard outside the hall, and executioners filed in, surrounding the city lord, nobles, and merchants.

"I'm very busy and don't have time to waste. Just give me a straight answer whether you agree or refuse!"

Li Ying looked at those people and said that he didn't have time to waste with them. Those who agreed today could leave standing up, and those who disagreed could leave lying down.

Faced with swords and axes, the city lord and nobles dared not disobey.

But the Venetian merchants were different. They valued money over their lives and refused to surrender.

"Okay, okay, there are always warriors!"

Li Ying laughed.

The executioner was not polite at all. Swords and axes fell to the ground, blood gushed out, and heads rolled everywhere.

The bloody scene stunned everyone present. They all thought that Qi was just trying to scare them, but they didn't expect that Qi would really dare to take action.

"Who else is dissatisfied?"

Li Ying looked at everyone and asked.

No one dared to have any ideas anymore. The heads at their feet were staring at them with wide eyes. If they made a sound, that would be their fate.

"say!"

Li Ying shouted with his voice raised a lot.

"We agree! We agree!"

Everyone immediately pointed to the sky and swore.

"Very good, let's search the houses of these dead people. They say these people are very rich?"

Li Ying waved his hand to let the executioners go back.

The city lord and others were even more stunned when they heard this. This Qi official was too direct. He killed the person and then confiscated his house without any hesitation since they were still nearby.

But the arrogant behavior makes those survivors even more afraid. Even if they lose the huge profits in the future, they can still accumulate wealth faster by relying on the money they have accumulated in the past. Even if it is difficult, they will be ahead of ordinary people.

At this moment, these people were somewhat grateful for Qi's kindness. Qi was only taking away future profits, and did not plunder past savings.

The meeting ended happily. Li Ying took people to search the houses and seized a large amount of money from those merchants.

"So much money! I really underestimated these Western businessmen! How much did they plunder?"

Li Ying looked at the mountains of money and stroked his chin in thought. He was also a businessman and knew it was not easy for a businessman to accumulate wealth. Such a large amount of money must not have been earned through legitimate means.

"This is going to be a one-pot affair!"

Li Ying was a little tempted when he saw the businessmen shrinking their necks in the distance. He thought how much money he could get if he raided the homes of these people.

When the merchants who were secretly observing met Li Ying's eyes, they were frightened like quails.

"Forget it, we haven't caught anything yet!"

Li Ying finally shook his head and gave up. Qi was the most law-abiding country. Since these people had not broken the law and had helped Qi occupy Venice, it was not impossible to give them some favors. (End of this chapter)