Thief Emperor

Chapter 43 Remember to pay it back!
The state required each household to collect five hundred coins, but Magistrate Xue did not add any more money and continued to collect five hundred coins, which made him a rare good official.

But even so, Qingyang's tax increase still could not be collected, which shows that the people, at least the people in Xuanzhou, are already overwhelmed.

Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the neighboring counties still dared to increase taxes, which made the people anxious and caused trouble.

When Li Dadutou heard the name Shidai, his eyes rolled and he said, "County Master, we just came back from suppressing the bandits, and some of our brothers have been injured or killed. Can you let us rest for a day?"

"Well, I will take some people to Shidai tomorrow to check out the situation. What do you think, County Master?"

"it is good."

Master Xue agreed very straightforwardly. He shook his head helplessly and said, "I don't really want to get involved in this kind of thing, but since the higher-ups asked me to do it, there's nothing I can do."

Li Dutou went to get a glass of water, raised his head and took a sip, then asked, "Don't we have soldiers in the state? There is also a Sima above. Why do we need Qingyang to send people over? We only have a few people in Qingyang?"

"You don't understand. You don't understand."

Mr. Xue sat back in his seat and sighed, "If the people are causing trouble at the county level, it will be a riot at best. We can arrest a few people and execute them, and the matter will be over. But if the state troops are mobilized, it will really be a rebellion."

"Let's not talk about how the rebellious people will deal with it. If Xuanzhou forces the people to revolt, the court will probably send the imperial censor to investigate."

"The soldiers in the state dare not move."

Magistrate Xue drank a sip of tea and sighed, "Who doesn't care about his official hat?"

Village Chief Li curled his lips and said, "If the people from Shidai really overcharged, which of the masters in the state would be clean? To put it bluntly, they are just guilty."

Master Xue's face darkened and he whispered, "Shut up!"

Li Yun smiled and said, "Don't worry, I am a man of the underworld, but I am not stupid. I will not tell anyone about this, and I will not cause the county lord to lose his official hat."

Magistrate Xue said in a muffled voice: "What does it matter if I am the magistrate or not? Now I just want the next one or two years to pass as quickly as possible, and when there is no discussion from the outside world, I will rearrange Yun'er's lifelong affairs."

"At that time, it won't matter whether I hold the position or not."

Hearing this, Li Yun looked at County Magistrate Xue seriously, then smiled and said, "The County Magistrate is quite free and easy."

Magistrate Xue shook his head silently: "I have been seeking an official position all my life, but in the end, this court..."

"That's all."

He looked at Li Yun and sighed, "Tomorrow, you should leave for Shidai and try to handle the matter properly and not make it worse."

Li Yun nodded first, then said, "County Master, this time when we went to Longwangzhai to suppress the bandits, one of the yamen runners unfortunately died. I will take the compensation from the seized spoils and send it directly to his family tomorrow."

Magistrate Xue said "hmm" and waved his hand, "These are all small matters. You can decide for yourself."

Li Yun stood there silently, not saying anything for a long time.

In his eyes, human life is a very important matter, and the deceased Zhu Gui was a subordinate whom he could already call by name, and a "colleague" who had been with him for almost a month.

Because of this incident, Master Li was in a bad mood.

But to County Magistrate Xue, Zhu Gui's death was just a trivial matter.

Li Yun stood there for a while before coming to his senses. He clasped his fists and said, "Your Excellency, I'm leaving now."

Mr. Xue sat in his seat, looked up at him, and then sighed: "Thank you very much this time."

Li Dadutou stopped and asked, "What do you mean by that, County Master?"

"We have already raised taxes once in the first half of the year. If it weren't for you this time, we in Qingyang would have to continue to raise taxes. By then, it might even provoke a civil uprising. If the anti-civilian groups in several counties get together, things will get out of hand very quickly."

"you…"

Magistrate Xue paused and commented: "He is a man who gets things done. He is only a captain in Qingyang."

"Pity."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I don't have any other skills, but being able to do something for my hometown can be considered as accumulating merit for myself."

After saying that, he clasped his fists and left the study.

After he arrived at the front yard of the county government office, the skinny Li Zheng and Zhang Hu were still waiting for him. The head of the Li village walked over, patted the two men on the shoulders, and said in a deep voice, "Let's go back."

Li Zheng followed behind Li Yun and asked, "What does Old Man Xue want to talk to my second brother about?"

Li Yun glanced at him and said unhappily, "He's still in the county government office. Be careful if anyone hears him."

Li Zheng grinned: "Don't you call me that in private, second brother?"

Li Dadu curled his lips and did not refute. Instead, he said, "Something happened in Shidai, a neighboring county. Some people made trouble and killed officials. Magistrate Xue asked us brothers to go to Shidai to help." Zhang Hu, who had been silent, suddenly scratched his head and asked, "Who to help?"

Li Yun and Li Zheng turned their heads to look at him at the same time, the latter having an innocent look on his face.

Li Zheng was too lazy to pay attention to him. Instead, he looked at Li Yun and whispered, "Second brother, the people of Xuanzhou have always been peaceful. If they want to kill the officials, they must have been forced into a desperate situation."

Li Yun remained silent.

The skinny monkey looked around and lowered his voice: "When we go over there, we can't help the government officials to kill the people."

"Let's find out the situation first."

Li Yun said silently: "After we leave the city tomorrow, Shouhou, you go back to Cangshan Mountain and ask Liu Bo to bring a few brothers down the mountain and go to Shidai with us."

Li Zheng was startled, then he seemed to understand something. He looked at Li Yun and asked, "Second brother wants to..."

“It’s hard to say right now.”

Village Chief Li looked up at the sky and said, "However, our village..."

“The number of people is indeed too small.”

Li Zheng said "Hey" and nodded: "I understand!"

Zhang Hu's eyes lit up, he patted Li Zheng on the shoulder and asked, "Shou Hou, do you understand who you are helping?"

Li Zheng gave him an unpleasant look and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a woman's voice.

"Li...Brother Li."

Li Zheng looked up and saw Miss Xue standing not far away.

The skinny monkey winked at Li Yun, grinned, turned around, grabbed Zhang Hu's collar and dragged Zhang Hu away.

Li Yun looked at the two's backs and said unhappily, "Go back to the yard and wait for me!"

After the two men left, Li Yun stepped forward, saluted Xue Yuner, and said with a smile, "Miss Xue."

Xue Yun'er looked at Li Zheng and the other man as they walked away. After they were far away, she turned back to look at Li Yun in front of her and whispered, "He...the two of them, are they from your village?"

“I remember what they looked like.”

Seeing that Li Yun didn't answer, Miss Xue gritted her teeth and said, "You brought them to Qingyang as well. What...what do you want to do?"

Li Dazhaizhu looked calm: "Of course they are doing their part for Qingyang. Miss Xue may not know that they are now the backbone of the anti-theft team. Our anti-theft team wiped out a group of bandits a few days ago."

"We have eliminated a great threat to the people of Qingyang!"

Miss Xue found Li Yun's righteous look a little funny.

"You...you are a bandit yourself."

Li Yun smiled at her and said, "No one will believe this anymore."

Xue Yun'er snorted, "Because you are so cunning, even my father was deceived by you."

She clenched her fists and said, "My father is so good to you, don't have any evil thoughts that would harm him."

"Otherwise, I...I will report you to the authorities!"

"Don't worry, don't worry."

Village Chief Li smiled and said, "I am very grateful to Master Xue. If I have the chance, I will definitely repay Master Xue."

"correct."

Li Yun said with a smile as he clasped his fists and said goodbye, "Ms. Xue's two books are very useful. I will return them to you after I finish reading them."

Perhaps because she was recognized, Miss Xue felt happy and nodded slightly.

"It's good that you still remember it."

Chief Li had a bright smile.

"Of course I will. I'm counting on you to borrow other books for me."

(End of this chapter)