I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 254 The kindness of the Ming Dynasty comes at a price!
Lu Xiang was so angry that his face turned black.

I have seen shameless people, but I have never seen such shameless people!

Under the pretext of petitioning the imperial officials, they simply wanted to sneak into Ganghwa City. Once inside, even if the rioters crossed the strait and reached Ganghwa Island, they would be safe under the protection of the Ming army.

Seeing Lu Xiang, Li Xing, and Zhang Kai riding over, they were obviously Ming generals and officials. One of the petitioning Korean officials came out, wearing a red robe and a black hat, with a dignified and upright demeanor. He stepped forward, stopped the horse head of Lu Xiang, and shouted: "We ask the Celestial Empire to quickly send heavenly soldiers to eliminate the traitors for the vassal state, eliminate the bandits, and support the government.

If you are unwilling, we will kneel in front of the government office and refuse to get up. We must let the officials of the Celestial Empire know that there are still loyal ministers in Korea who are willing to serve the country!"

"Yes!" Dozens of North Korean officials behind him echoed enthusiastically, "We sincerely ask the Celestial Empire to quickly raise a large army, rescue the country from danger, and correct social norms."

These people were so excited that their faces turned red, as if the survival of North Korea depended on them. It seemed that if No Sang and others did not agree, they would crash into the city gate and die.

Lu Xiang's face turned even darker, and he cursed, "Get lost!"

The leading Korean official's face darkened, as if he had been greatly humiliated. He said angrily, "Confucius said to sacrifice one's life for benevolence, Mencius said to pursue justice. Only when one has fulfilled one's righteousness can one achieve benevolence! We admire Prime Minister Wen's integrity and we want to learn from him. Why do you trample on us like this?"

"Get your mother out!" Lu Xiang continued to curse, "When the mobs came to kill us, you ran the fastest. When we got to Ganghwa Island and had a break, we started to pretend.

Please, if you have the time, why don't you gather people to help the fleeing officials and civilians on the shore? If you are more courageous, you can gather the people, ask us for weapons and armor, go ashore to kill the bandits and serve the king.

You come to us to petition us! Please, f*cking petition! We don’t need anybody to tell us whether or not to send troops! "

The North Korean official was so angry that his face turned blue and he stamped his feet repeatedly: "Vulgar!"

If it were North Korea's Western military attaché, he would have been scolded to death by these North Korea's Eastern civil servants.

But Lu Xiang is a general of the Ming navy. You are on his territory. If you anger him, he will directly drive you out of Ganghwa Island, what should you do then?
Seeing that these North Korean officials were still trying to follow them into Ganghwa Island, Noh Sang-hwa ordered, "Come here, drive these bastards away! There are so many North Korean refugees on Ganghwa Island, but they didn't come to help. They are all crowded here.

Drive them away, drive all these disgusting things away!"

The personal guards rushed forward, wielding their whips and scabbards, and started beating the Korean officials, forcing them to flee in panic.

Li Xing and Zhang Kai knew that the officers and soldiers of the Ming Navy, from top to bottom, were so rough and straightforward, so they were not surprised.

When these North Korean officials made a fuss just now, Li Xing remembered something: "Should we invite the King of Korea to Ganghwa City?"

Lu Xiang immediately stopped him and said, "What the hell! The King of Korea has entered the city, and his disgusting subordinates will follow him in like slugs.

Besides, regarding the survey of Liaodong border, the Korean king and his ministers disobeyed the emperor's will, and their treacherous intentions were known to everyone.

The imperial court has not yet issued an edict to enthrone the Korean king, and it is also said that the Ming Dynasty has not officially recognized the Korean king and his subjects as vassal states. Allowing them to go to the island is already a great kindness.

Humph! If you want to be a dog of our Ming Dynasty, you can't just wag your tail and act pitiful. In my opinion, this is how we can let the Korean monarchs and ministers know that to gain the kindness and love of the Ming Dynasty, you need to pay a price! "

Li Xing and Zhang Kai looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

This is the Ming Dynasty Navy, the Ming Dynasty Navy trained by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It is good at fighting, but also extremely arrogant.

On the Huangpu River, a civilian boat was sailing upstream.

This is a centipede boat, but the hull is wider and rounder, making it more stable and able to carry more people and cargo.

Hai Rui and Yang Jinshui were dressed in casual clothes, sitting in the cabin, watching the scenery slowly passing by on both sides of the river. Hai Rui couldn't help but ask, "There are endless fields on both sides of the river. I wonder how many of them belong to the Xu family."

"I'm afraid even the Xu family doesn't know the exact number." Yang Jinshui replied with a smile.

"Well, the Xu family doesn't know either?"

"The Xu family has wantonly occupied the fertile land in the Songjiang area, and relatives, stewards, and people of all sizes have used the name of the Xu family to sneak in and occupy countless fertile lands.

Lord Xu eats the meat, and everyone else drinks the soup."

Hai Rui chuckled, but his smile was uglier than crying. The boat arrived at the Huating County dock, and the two men got off the dock and left first with a few of their followers. Liu Da and Yang Jinshui's trusted followers brought more than 20 guards and followers, dressed as various characters, and followed behind from a distance.

Hai Rui and Yang Jinshui entered Huating County and soon found Xu's mansion.

The Xu Mansion occupies almost one-third of Huating County. Its attics are lined up one after another, and its eaves stretch like clouds, creating a magnificent atmosphere. It is worthy of being the leader of the aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River.

There is a street in front of the gate of Xu's mansion, with three memorial archways inscribed with "Englory of Jinshi", "Venerable Elder" and "Grand Secretary of the State", respectively. They were all erected by imperial decree during the Jiajing period, fully demonstrating Xu Jie's power and glory.

Turning into this street, you can see shops lining both sides with flags fluttering, and it is very lively, as if it is the most prosperous place in Huating County.

Not long after walking down the street, I saw a huge crowd of people ahead. Thousands of people gathered on the street, surrounding the gate of Xu's mansion.

With the secret help of their followers, Hai Rui and Yang Jinshui squeezed through the bustling crowd to the front and saw an official in his forties, wearing a scarlet robe and a black gauze hat, standing in the front of the crowd, only a few steps away from the gate of Xu's mansion.

Three green-robed officials stood behind him, with their heads lowered, some with helpless expressions, others with numbness and indifference.

"Cai led the co-magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture and the magistrates of Huating and Qingpu counties to visit Master Xu and ask the Xu Mansion to give thousands of people in the two counties a way out!"

The scarlet-robed official spoke loudly.

However, the gate of Xu's mansion was closed, and several servants sitting at the gatehouse were wearing brocade clothes and small hats. They tilted their bodies, raised their heads, squinted their eyes, and looked at everyone with disdain.

The people nearby pointed and talked a lot.

"Excuse me, we are businessmen who have just arrived in Huating County. What's going on?" Yang Jinshui asked.

"Alas, the Xu family has gone too far, forcing the officials and people of Songjiang Prefecture to have no way to live."

"Oh, so serious, what happened?"

"I dare not say, I dare not say." The old man shook his head and stepped aside.

A young man nearby said angrily, "What is there to be afraid of? It's because the Xu family is bullying us too much and leaving us no chance to survive."

"Lin Laosan, you are very brave. Tell these foreign merchants to tell others about the sufferings of the people of Songjiang!"

"Yes, Lin Laosan, you tell them about it."

"Just say it!" Lin Lao San said angrily, "The eldest son of the Xu family returned to his hometown two years ago. He used all kinds of tricks. I heard that by the end of the first year of Longqing, he had occupied more than 50,000 acres of good farmland."

"More than that, definitely more than that. In addition to the fields in Qingpu and Huating counties, there are also fields in the garrisons, and fields in Suzhou, Kunshan, and Jiading. There must be more than this number."

"Anyway, it's 50,000 acres or more."

"Yes, yes, just more, no less!" everyone echoed.

“The Xu family occupied so much land, so they certainly didn’t pay taxes. However, there are still so many fields in the Yellow Book of Fish Scales, so the Xu government asked each county to distribute the taxes of these more than 50,000 acres of good land to other people.

It's not 5,000 acres, it's more than 50,000 acres, it's not a small amount when divided. Everyone's life is already hard, and with this amount, life is simply unbearable.

The common people could not pay the land tax, and the officials were also upset. It was said that Songjiang Prefecture was short of a large part of the autumn grain in the first year of Longqing, and the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing was chasing after it every day.

Songjiang Prefecture Governor Cai had no other choice but to bring along the officials of Huating and Qingpu counties to ask Master Xu to give everyone a way out.

Everyone talked at once and added many details.

Yang Jinshui sneered twice and turned to look at Hai Rui, implying, "Hello, the other tiger in Songjiang is much more powerful than me! Lord Gangfeng, you decide for yourself!"

(End of this chapter)