It's broken, and was picked up by a femme fatale

The leader of Qila State was assassinated and the whole state was shocked.
However, for the governor of Jidong County, it was just a matter of replacing a subordinate.

Of course, it is also necessary to intensify the pursuit of the remnants of Zoroastrianism.
Three days later, the new ruler arrived at the city of Qilabang in a simple carriage.
He only brought a butler and a guard.
In addition to the Zhu family, there were two other forces that came to welcome the new leader.
The state lord's residence had already been vacated.

The new lord read out the governor's order.
Looking at the bright red official seal, the three major forces all bowed their heads and submitted.

As the saying goes, one becomes an official only for money.
After the new leader exchanged greetings, he began to openly extort money as soon as he got the tiger-shaped talisman of the city defense soldiers.

"To prevent unfortunate incidents from happening again,

It is urgent to wipe out Zoroastrianism! Do you have any good ideas?"

When the cannon is fired, a fortune of gold is won.

The main purpose of the so-called "suppression of bandits" is to make money.
Sure enough, some people said that they would send troops to surround and search for them.
The new leader immediately proposed to increase taxes on all industries.
"I know very well that people's livelihood is difficult, so I will never ask for more. I think it would be better to increase the tax by 10%..."

All the overlord mayors looked embarrassed.
Increasing taxes by 10% out of thin air is not a small amount of money, and the landlords don’t have any surplus food…

Unexpectedly, the new lord continued:

"Don't bother two people with one thing. Just pay the taxes for this year and next year at once!"

Wow!
Everyone was surprised.
The new leader is going to spend his money before it's due and overdraw in advance!

I can't handle the 10% increase just now.
Now they are charging double the amount... I might as well just cut my throat and jump into the Huangpu River!

The new leader seemed not to notice the ugly faces of the crowd, and said without caring:
"You have three days to hand it in. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

A group of local leaders left in dismay and discussed countermeasures on their own.
After all, the common people are starving to death and exhausted, and they can't pay no matter how hard they try.

So what about the landlords and merchants?

However, as the heads of the towns,
I have long been tied to the rich.
When one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer.
To plunder them is like cutting one's own flesh with a knife.
It's not a life-and-death situation yet, so there's no way I'd do something stupid like killing the goose that lays the eggs!
The captain of the city defense troops immediately said to the new lord:

"My Lord, it seems to me that they don't want to pay..."

The new lord smiled slightly:
"As the old saying goes, it's hard to give up good fortune. I understand that.

However, as long as they have foreign guns, they will eventually have to hand them over obediently..."

The captain of the city defense troops raised his thumb and said, "Master, you are wise!"

"Hahaha!"

The new state leader laughed proudly: "It's just a trivial skill, why should it be worth mentioning?
By the way, all businesses in the city will be charged a security fee of twenty dollars per household!

There is also a head tax on residents, two dollars per person!
Plus the entrance fee, each person will be charged 20 coins, and leaving the city will also be charged 20 coins!"

Ah!
The city defense captain was stunned and asked blankly:

"Master, do you have to pay to leave the city?"

The new state leader laughed and said:
"Let me ask you, the water plant charges water usage fees once, so why do they also charge sewage fees?"

The city defense captain thought about it and it seemed that this logic made sense...

"Hey! I understand. I'll give the order right away!"

As soon as the new leader came, he began to plunder the land unscrupulously, sparing no one regardless of gender, age, rich or poor.

As a result, everyone inside and outside the city complained.

The Zoroastrians were overjoyed, as if they had found a treasure.

A large number of people were sent to various towns to take advantage of the situation to fan the flames, hoping that the world would not be in chaos!
People, especially those at the bottom, are ignorant.

And the worst thing is that once the scar heals, the pain is forgotten.

Of course, the new leader must be a corrupt official, but the White Lotus Sect is not a good thing either.

One conspiracy after another blossomed everywhere, giving rise to big and small evil flowers and evil fruits.

Although they are just budding, sooner or later, earth-shaking changes will break out.

As the new official took office, all walks of life were caught off guard.

The captain of the city defense troops faithfully carried out the orders of the new lord and posted notices.

There are four city gates, and no matter who is entering or leaving the city, there is a toll in both directions.

Look, the delivery worker of the Chihe brand coal briquettes factory is pulling a cart of honeycomb briquettes to sell in the city.

He was immediately held down by the gate guards, and both he and his car were detained!

When Lu Yuan arrived after hearing the news, the gatekeeper spoke bluntly
"According to the notice issued by the prince,

You businessmen need to pay a "civilian security fee" of 20 yuan per household.
Then, each person had to pay two dollars.
Oh, and there's that, yes, it's called the city entry and exit fee, 40 coins per person, hurry up and take the money!"

"That's not right, we have already paid..."

"You had dinner yesterday.
Why do you need to eat today? Hurry up and stop talking nonsense! "

Lu Yuan was almost laughing out of anger.
My god, is the new lord a starving ghost reincarnated? He is too careless about his eating manners...

Actually, Lu Yuan is fine in the suburbs.
All the merchants in the city were in trouble.
The city guards went door to door to collect money, and if you didn't pay, they would arrest you.

Some merchants could not afford it and had to sell off their belongings to pay the money.
Then, the city defense soldiers began to collect the head fee and even forced to collect a year's entry and exit fee.

Judging from the situation, they will not stop until the residents of Qila City are squeezed dry.

That night, the city defense captain carried several heavy boxes into the prince's mansion.

Open the box, yellow, white, gold, silver, shining brightly,
"Reporting to the Lord, the total amount collected was

Thirteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-five dollars... and we can collect about the same amount tomorrow!"

"Hahaha!"

The new lord looked at the money with great joy.

"Good! Captain, you did a great job! Don't worry, you will definitely benefit from it in the future!"

"Thank you for your cultivation!"

The large-scale resistance to forced collection was followed by arbitrary arrests.
From morning till night, the prisons and detention centers in Qilabang are overcrowded...

No fewer than 300 people were arrested and imprisoned.

This is also a precedent in Far East County!
However, this is not the end.
Three days later, the prince ordered three of the five squadrons of the city defense to go out of the city and collect taxes from every town and village.
For merchants and landlords, they just robbed money.
For the poor peasants, they took whatever they had at home.

Chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, hoes, rakes, dustpans and shovels... just take them and run.

Finally, the people's anger could no longer be suppressed and erupted like a volcano...

Villagers from hundreds of villages have launched a struggle against exploitation and oppression.
The three major forces, for their own interests, and the White Lotus Sect, for the purpose of expanding their power,

Instead of suppressing or stopping it, they intentionally or unintentionally fanned the flames.

This led to more villages and a large number of villagers participating in the unrest that swept across the state.

In less than three days, the whole state of Qilabha was in chaos.
Some of the city's defenders were killed, captured, or surrendered.

Thousands of people, either voluntarily or under manipulation, besieged the city.
The captain of the Qilabang City Defense Battalion, seeing the critical situation,
When he hurried to the prince's mansion, he couldn't find the new prince.
This is strange!

How could a living person just disappear? !

Not only was the prince missing, but even the butler and guards were gone, as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth...

The entire state palace was empty.

I searched the whole yard and found the one that was delivered a few days ago.
Several large boxes of gold, silver and valuables are also nowhere to be found. This is bad!

I'm afraid this new leader has run away with the money or deserted the battlefield?
So he quickly sent a fast horse to report to the county governor.
Bangcheng is 150 miles away from the county seat.

Even with a fast horse, it would take at least two days to go there and back.
The city defense captain had to take over the city.

The four doors were tightly closed and hung high to prevent fighting, isolating the traffic inside and outside.

The Chihe honeycomb coal factory in the northern suburbs,
Lu Yuan and Judy looked at the three Zoroastrian killers.
As well as four large boxes of gold, silver and jewelry, he smiled without saying a word.

At first, the first seven assassinated the state leader,

It was Lu Yuan who worked with the three Zoroastrian assassins.
The final fatal shot was fired by Lu Yuan, and the spear was naturally provided by Judy.

In fact, on the eve of the assassination,

Lu Yuan also made a second plan.

After killing the state leader, the county governor's office will certainly appoint a new state leader.
In an era without photo phones and the Internet,

It's so easy to pretend to be someone!

So, the two sides decided to cooperate again.

In the no-man's land at the junction of state and county,
Judy and the female killer sneaked close to the new lord's sedan chair.

They joined forces to launch a sudden attack and subdued the new leader in one fell swoop.

Then, Lu Yuan and the core members of the Zoroastrianism set up ambushes everywhere.

All the new lord's dozen men were captured alive.

Then, there was the saying "A cat replaces the prince, a fake Li Kui pretends to be Li Kui".
The elite members of the Zoroastrianism are good at speaking and adapting to changing circumstances.
Under Lu Yuan's guidance, the three killers sent out three newcomers.
Not only did he pretend to be the new ruler and plunder the country, but after plundering enough, he fled by sea.

Today, the female killer secretly delivered half of the money as agreed.

"Mr. Shen, what should we do next?"

Lu Yuan smiled and said:

"The whole nation of Qira State has revolted.

Even if the county governor knew, they would be powerless.
The credibility and prestige of the government are gone... Only four major forces remain.

It's bound to be a head-on clash. I guess the first to suffer will be the Li family!"

The female killer asked meaningfully: "And then?"

"The three Zhang brothers are still a step behind, and they will most likely lose!"

"Oh! So you mean,
Finally, only the Zhu family and our Zoroastrianism were left.
Who do you think will win in the end?"

Lu Yuan smiled and said, "I think it's best to take turns to be the banker. Harmony brings wealth!"

The female killer thought about it and smiled:
"Will Second Master Zhu agree?"

Lu Yuan shrugged:

"To be honest, I'm not him, so I don't know.
However, I can pass on a message for you... By the way,
Are you sure you can unite all the Zoroastrians?"

According to the female killer,

Zoroastrianism has now recovered to a size of 5,000 people.
Although they don't have foreign guns and cannons,

However, lofty beliefs + human wave tactics + iron will are also an invincible force!

There is only one thing, that is, the White Lotus Sect is now divided into more than 20 groups.
Because there is no one to take the lead, and the system is flat,
This leads to a situation where there is no leader and it is difficult to exert greater power.

The charming female killer, after an in-depth conversation with Lu Yuan,
Finally I plucked up the courage and decided to give it a try.

In fact, they are also a team with great "war achievements" within Zoroastrianism.

He assassinated the prince twice, captured the new prince once, and got more than 10,000 dollars in money.
The most important thing is,

They learned a new concept of struggle from Lu Yuan.

This is the magic weapon to defeat the enemy, win every battle, and achieve one victory after another!

A piece of gossip revealed privately,
Because I admire Shen Beixuan's profound knowledge,
The female killer willingly...became Lu Yuan's disciple and became his founding disciple!

According to tradition, Judy is the master's wife of the female killer.

I have a question for you.

Zhu Di is from the Zhu family, so why doesn't she oppose Zoroastrianism and fight with her father and brother for the world?
Actually, the most important thing is,

Zhu Yingjun used her as a bargaining chip and gave her to the old lord, which hurt her heart.
Another thing is that she is already Shen Beixuan's woman.

According to tradition, she is no longer a member of the Zhu family.
The Kingdom of Tifa has always respected teachers and has a tradition of "once a teacher, always a father".

In other words, the female killer has the obligation to take care of Shen Beixuan and Judy in their old age and see them to the end of their lives, and is closer to them than a son.

So, since both sides of the hand are flesh and blood, Judy just turned a blind eye and stayed out of it.

Anyway, the meat in the pot is rotten, so it doesn’t matter who eats it.
It was from this moment that the political struggle in Qila State entered a new chapter.

Then, some people will ask,

Why doesn't the county governor's office do anything when Qilabang is in such chaos?

Well, this is very easy to understand.

There is a saying in the Kingdom of Tifa: "The king's power does not extend below the county level."
That is, the lowest-ranking officials in the imperial court,
The governors and county magistrates, as well as the villages and towns, have been controlled by the powerful for more than two thousand years.
Because the inertia of this tradition is so strong,

As a result, the imperial court could only control the cities, while the vast rural areas were left to fend for themselves.

Another reality is that the chaos in Qilabang is not an isolated case, but a widespread one.
There are nine cities in the Far East County.
The powerful people in other states and counties were also fighting for power and profit.

why?
Because the Japanese powers that were born out of industrial civilization,
It not only brought a large number of cheap goods, but also brought technology and civilization.
People’s hearts want change!

In addition, the emergence of firearms greatly simplified the training time of the army.
For example, it takes at least two or three years to train a crossbowman.

However, it only takes three months to train a musketeer, or even one month to be able to carry a gun and fight in battle.

This resulted in the gap in power between the government and the powerful being visibly narrowed.

Faced with these two major situations, local tyrants expanded rapidly through mergers and acquisitions, and were already threatening the state capital.

However, due to the bloated bureaucracy of the imperial court,
The rigid inertial thinking has greatly restricted their perception of grassroots social changes.
For example, when the old prince was assassinated, the county governor simply sent a subordinate to take over the post without conducting a serious investigation.
This inevitably gave Lu Yuan and the Zoroastrians an opportunity to take advantage of it.
At present, the mysterious disappearance of the new state leader, the unrest among the people, and the fighting among the powerful are all giving the county governor a headache.
After two successive state leaders met with trouble, the third state leader had to be put on hold.

After all, his life was his own, so the county magistrate was unable to decide on a candidate for a while.
The chaos in Qilabang became even more chaotic during the reorganization of Zoroastrianism.

When there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey becomes king.

Since the prince has not arrived yet,

The city defense captain simply "proclaimed himself king".
At the suggestion of the "Dog-Head Military Advisor", he gave himself the title of "Acting Gang Leader".

Five or six people started to take up their posts.
However, no one paid any attention to this irregular prince.

Moreover, because the three squadrons of city defense soldiers were besieged by the people,

At this time, there were only more than 200 city defense soldiers in Bang City, and they dared not leave the city at all.

More than a month passed.
Shen Beixuan's eldest disciple, the female killer, once again came to the Chihe Honeycomb Coal Factory.
"Master! I'm here!"

All the guys in the audience were terrified when they saw this... (End of this chapter)