Wild North America 1846

Chapter 552
Los Angeles

In a quiet Huaxia-style garden building with three courtyards, Gu Pinzhai, a well-known master of Chinese studies with some gray hair, was sitting in his study, carefully revising a majestic essay he had just written, "On the Harm of Disorderly Expansion", with an expression on his face. Satisfied look.

This is a manuscript requested by an old friend of the editor-in-chief, and it is going to be published on the front page of the "Los Angeles Times" in the near future.

Gu Pinzhai is well versed in the ingenuity of guiding public opinion. Articles must have explosive ideas and point out current disadvantages, in order to attract heated discussions and active participation from the public, thereby creating a focus of public opinion and forming a greater social influence and popular response.

Which country is not clearly targeted in this majestic article?

Just from the perspective of "disorderly expansion", going to South America for a while, and going to East Asia for a while, not to mention wasting money and losing morals and justice, is not the style of a great country!

As long as you are not too stupid, you can understand who is writing in his article?

"Master, Madam disagrees with you accepting Liu Xiang'er as the concubine of the fifth room. A dozen of her natal uncles came to ask for an explanation. The Eldest Young Master and the Second Young Master want to invite you to host, but they can't stop it." The housekeeper at the door Respectfully replied.

"It's just presumptuous..."

Gu Pinzhai's expression darkened when he heard this, he put down the brush in his hand, carefully pressed down the article he had just written with a ruler, then stood up with a flick of his sleeves and walked out of the study.

He looked towards the front yard with a gloomy face, and faintly heard the yelling from there, and he couldn't help saying angrily, "A group of bastards who have no regard for etiquette, justice and shame, how can we allow them to make irresponsible remarks about this old man?"

Gu Pinzhai is well-known for his profound knowledge of Chinese studies, and he has written many classics handed down from generation to generation, especially the "Interpretation of Chinese Model Version" for middle school students.

All of a sudden, he was acclaimed, and he was invited as a guest at the gatherings of the upper-class aristocrats. He was full of fame, prestige and money.

Gu Pinzhai taught at Molling College in Los Angeles, a private aristocratic school, was hired as a visiting professor by the University of Los Angeles, and held a number of social and public positions. He is one of the local celebrities in Los Angeles.

Out of respect for knowledge, Gu Pinzhai's personal income is quite high. The annual salary of teaching at Moling University is 1200 yuan, and the annual salary of visiting professor at the University of Chicago is 620 yuan. He also has income from various public affairs positions. After a year, the total is about 3000 yuan.

Coupled with the fact that I don't work hard, I get the retouching fees of top cultural celebrities. The few articles cost 10 yuan, and the many ones cost hundreds of yuan.

Otherwise, it would not be able to support the daily expenses of a family of more than 20 people.

It's not...

Gu Pinzhai is not old at heart, just fell in love with Liu Xiang'er, a 15-year-old pretty girl, and wants to accept her as the fifth concubine, which is originally an elegant thing.

It's a pity that Madam didn't do it, and she just started making such a fuss, how unreasonable is that?
Like many Chinese families, Gu Pinzhai’s main wife is also a Chinese immigrant. The second concubine, the third concubine and the fourth concubine are either Caucasian women or Indian women. It is difficult for people to do it.

The Imperial Marriage Law has very strict regulations on this. Anyone who marries a Chinese woman as a wife or concubine must pay a wedding tax. The regulations vary from place to place. In Los Angeles, it costs 540 yuan, and the rest is calculated in multiples.

What does "the rest shall be counted twice" mean?

For example, when Gu Pinzhai marries his wife, he needs to pay a wedding tax of 540 yuan. If the second concubine, third concubine and fourth concubine are Caucasian women or Indian women, then they are ignored and no additional tax is required. .

Because the household registrations of Caucasian women and Indian women are registered under the name of the head of the Chinese household, they do not belong to women with independent status, cannot divorce, have no right to divide property, and belong to the de facto vassal class.

Generally speaking

Ordinary citizens can get a full refund of the first marriage tax of 1 yuan, but they actually bear the registration fee and certification fee of more than 540 yuan, so the pressure is not great.

But marrying Liu Xiang'er is much more troublesome. This beautiful maid is a standard Chinese woman from a good family. She has an independent household registration book, has the right to sue for divorce, and has the right to divide property. She is a woman who has the same rights as the wife of the main house.

The marriage tax is calculated in multiples, that is, double the 540 yuan, that is, 1080 Tang yuan.

Since it is the second house of the Chinese wife, this is a non-refundable fee and needs to be paid in full.

In addition, a large dowry payment must be paid.

This amount of money is based on 20 years of annual salary income of ordinary people in Los Angeles. Based on the income of ordinary workers in Los Angeles in 1870 of 107 yuan, this dowry would start at 2140 yuan.

If you marry a Chinese concubine in the third room, the marriage tax will be doubled on the basis of 1080 yuan, which is 2160 Tang yuan, and so on. These taxes are also paid in full, and there is no tax refund.

As long as the 5th concubine and wife are all Chinese, the marriage tax will exceed tens of thousands of Tang Yuan, and it will double as time goes by. Even the rich and powerful cannot easily afford it.

The result of tax evasion is huge fines, which often lead to bankruptcy.

The purpose of this marriage tax is to restrict the aristocrats and wealthy families from excessively occupying the resources of Chinese women. Many Chinese women immigrating to the government subsidized preferential boat tickets, and it is really not easy to travel across the ocean to settle in North America.

Aristocrats and wealthy families take a large number of concubines and concubines, which is to occupy too many social resources, and must bear a high fine for this. This is the purpose of levying "multiple" marriage tax.

Just marry as long as you want, anyway, you have paid a high wedding tax.

The imperial government can use the high taxes collected to subsidize immigration, especially for female immigrants from the mainland.This is a way to adjust social inequality through tax means, which can be widely accepted by the public.

come to the lobby
Gu Pinzhai saw his wife, Mrs. Gu, crying and complaining to more than ten people, including her natal uncle and nephew. In her words, she accused him of "being old and not ashamed, disregarding the relationship between husband and wife, disregarding the relationship between husband and wife for more than ten years, and colluding with a foxy maidservant... "Yunyun, the crying pear blossoms are raining, sad and moving.

The natal uncle and others were full of anger, and when they saw Gu Pinzhai, they immediately reprimanded them loudly, without giving them any face.

Gu Pinzhai was trembling with anger, and said loudly;

"It's so ridiculous, you cunning grassroots know what is "the husband guides the wife"? What is "the relationship between the elders and the young"? How can the affairs of the gentlemen be accused of "disregarding human relations"?
Thinking that I, Gu's mansion, is a clear stream in the academic world, a home of scholars for generations, how can you allow me to bully you at will?
Butler, take my name sticker and go to the Los Angeles Police Department to ask Superintendent Hu, and ask him to send police officers to arrest the criminals and make them a warning to others! "

The butler is also a member of the Gu clan, so he responded and prepared to go to work.

This shocked Mrs. Gu's natal family, and Mrs. Gu, whose face was full of tears, also reflected it and reprimanded loudly: "The housekeeper is not allowed to go, sir, what are you mad about? What about my natal uncle and nephew?" Time to become an outlaw?"

"What family? I only saw these lunatics, regardless of their superiority or inferiority, roaring wantonly in the lobby of my private house, maliciously slandering my innocence, I am a great master of Chinese studies, how can I allow lies?" Gu Pinzhai retorted eloquently. .

The natal uncle is not easy to mess with. Although he is an ordinary employee of the Construction Department under the Los Angeles government, he is a veteran.Backed by the solid mountain of the Veterans Club, it is difficult for ordinary people to bully him.

The natal brother-in-law sneered, and said, "Gu Pinzhai, you old man with a good face, what are you talking about with me here?
I bother……

I am a veteran who has fought wars with the Holy Lord, and I am no shorter than you wherever I go. If I want to climb on my head and do my best, sooner or later your daydream will be blinded!
Back then, you were just a poor scholar.

It was me who misread the person, insisted on betrotting my sister to you, and missed my sister's lifelong happiness.

I never thought that you, an old bastard, would marry a 15-year-old yellow flower girl even after half of your body was buried in the soil. You are simply a beast with a human face!

You want Superintendent Hu from the Los Angeles Police Department, right? "

Speaking of here
The natal uncle said angrily to the son next to him; "Qiwen, take my name sticker to the Los Angeles Royal Cavalry Sixth Regiment Veterans Club, and ask the baron to come forward to uphold justice. I am a dignified royal soldier, and I can still be bullied by you, a literary thief." ?”

"Crude **** and degrading."

"You are really a pious literary thief, and you are despised by others."

"You, you, you..." Gu Pinzhai's fingers trembled, his face turned red and blue with anger, but he couldn't do anything about the other party's natal uncle.

This is also one of the reasons why he lashed out at the status quo of the empire. When warriors were in power, the arrogance of scholars disappeared in front of their social status, and they could only be reduced to one of the general public who wrote articles for entertainment.

Because the empire has implemented universal education, the social status of scholars is not high, and graduating from university is nothing more than entering a company or administrative agency as a staff member.Then you need to accumulate qualifications step by step at the bottom, and slowly climb up.

It is completely impossible to be a seventh-rank and eighth-rank county magistrate or county magistrate, and there is no land that is exempted from taxation. Ministers have to pay taxes honestly.

Gu Pinzhai and his like did not see the social fundamentals of the affluence of all the people in the Tang Empire, and only focused on the upper class without privileges, and scholars had no privileges, and they were full of food and drink every day.

This is the reason to vent all kinds of dissatisfaction with the excuse of blinking the current situation.

"Pick up the bowl to eat meat, put down the bowl to scold your mother" refers to these scholars.

Gu Pinzhai pointed and scolded; "*** warriors are despicable and shameless, and they are also great thieves of the country!"

trance

There were many strong men in the lobby above the hall, and they were looking at Gu Pinzhai, the master of Chinese studies in anger, with a strange look of "how did I offend you?" The eyelids of a white-faced middle-aged man headed by him couldn't help but twitched.

He coughed lightly and said, "This statement is absurd. We are all loyal and patriotic elites of the Tang Dynasty, and we act openly and aboveboard. That... let me introduce myself.

I'm Gao Zhensheng, the leader of the Fifth Division of Operations of the General Security Bureau. I was ordered by Shangfeng to summon Gu Pinzhai, who teaches at the Moling College in Los Angeles. I think you are right? "

these words
The fierce voices above the lobby were momentarily silenced. The so-called "General Security Bureau", anyone with a little bit of information in the empire, knew that it was the "Jinyiwei" of the Tang Dynasty, a mysterious and terrifying place.

The nobles would rather be found by the Police Department than get involved in the troubles of the "General Security Bureau".

As long as you go in, you have to shed your skin even if you don't die, and it can be said that there is no one in a hundred who can come out whole.

At this time, Gu Pinzhai's expression changed drastically, like an old dog who had exhausted his energy and energy, he couldn't stand still, and he murmured, "Could it be... Is it possible that my Tang Dynasty wants to have a literary inquisition?"

Although the voice was not loud, everyone present could hear it.

Group leader Gao Zhensheng nodded approvingly, and said softly;

"My Tang Dynasty has freedom of speech, open folk customs, advocates the flourishing of cultural and sports circles, and establishes an open and civilized society.

But this is not the reason for a small group of criminals hidden in the imperial body to deliberately slander and discredit the glory of the imperial court. This is the public enemy of the whole people, and the thieves of the country!
The suspect, Gu Pinzhai, committed serious crimes. When he was arrested, he still deliberately slandered the Datang government.

We found the latest incriminating evidence from the study, um...

This article "On the Perils of Disorderly Expansion" involves the great government of the imperial court, and the suspect Gu Pinzhai's insane remarks and attacks have lost his basic position.

The crime is undeniable, saving us a lot of effort! "

As he spoke, Team Leader Gao Zhensheng shook a stack of letterheads in his right hand, which was the work that Gu Pinzhai had carefully crafted in his study.

Now it is regarded as the latest criminal evidence, and it is handed over to the team members around him by the team leader Gao Zhensheng to keep it carefully, and it will be used as one of the evidences for conviction in the future.

It's really cool to vent beforehand, but I'm afraid of making a list afterwards!
At this moment, looking at Gu Pinzhai, who was eloquent just now, already paralyzed to the ground and incontinent, exuding a strong smell of urine, how can there be a dignified demeanor of a master of Chinese studies?
Team leader Gao Zhensheng has long been familiar with the stinky virtues of literati. When he was not attacking these literati thieves with an iron fist, he danced wilder than anyone else, and his tone was higher than anyone else. The appearance of giving advice and suggestions to society.

Once the essence is uncovered, there is no tough guy who can hold on.

At this moment

Mrs. Gu's natal uncle, nephew and others also knew that something big was going on, and their expressions of shock changed. After a while, they saw that the action team captured all the people in Gu's residence.

Then he asked cautiously; "My lord, we are members of the Gu family's natal family, and we don't know about this matter in the Gu family. Please be clear, my lord. I wonder if you can let me go back with your noble hands?"

"Be safe and don't be impatient. Since you are here, you will be interrogated. If you don't get involved, you can go back, but..." Team leader Gao Zhensheng said lightly, but his eyes frightened his natal uncle and nephew. Waiting for a shock in the heart.

What I am most afraid of is this "but...". Looking at this kind of violent situation, if it involves a little bit, the consequences can be imagined.

But now there is no other way to do it, only to scold Gu Pinzhai in his heart while waiting in trembling and trembling, he is really committing a serious death, jumping repeatedly on the edge of danger, this will bring misery to his natal family.

On the other side, he was worried about being implicated needlessly, so he couldn't even cry.

While taking action against Gu Pinzhai, powerful departments from all over the empire acted together to arrest the people involved in the case. Many places have the cooperation of police stations, including editors-in-chief of some well-known newspapers, leaders of the literary world, masters of Chinese studies, and professors of colleges and universities. He and well-known literati were arrested one after another, and the society was shaken for a while.

(End of this chapter)