Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 109 Strikes hard
"My name is Shi Yanwen, nice to meet Princess Xiuning!"

Li Xiuning looked at the middle-aged scholar in front of him, dressed in black and white Confucian clothes, with a refined manner and holding a folding fan. He saluted him politely and muttered in his heart:
Why hasn't anyone mentioned this person in the underworld?
"Mr. Shi knows my father?" Li Xiuning asked tentatively, "Why haven't I heard my father mention it before?"

"It's been a long time since I last knew your father." Shi Yanwen said elegantly, "I met your father more than 30 years ago. At that time, I was studying abroad and met your father."

"Later, I went to Cangyun Prefecture in the southwest and made a name for myself. I was called the great scholar and hero of Yunzhou. I wonder if the princess has ever heard of you?" Shi Yanwen looked at Li Xiuning with a slightly expectant look in his eyes.

"So it's the great scholar and hero Shi Yanwen from Yunzhou! I've heard a lot about you! I've heard a lot about you!" Li Xiuning performed a street etiquette.

As for Cangyun Prefecture, she had never even heard of it.

I guess it’s an unknown and remote place?

But facing Shi Yanwen's expectant eyes, she couldn't say, I have never heard of Cang Yunzhou, nor have I heard of the great scholar-hero of Yunzhou.

That would be too hurtful to one's self-esteem.

"Oh! I didn't expect my fame to spread to Chang'an. I am so happy!" Shi Yanwen smiled from ear to ear.

He looked quite happy. If his reputation as a hero could spread to Chang'an and reach Li Xiuning's ears, then he must be a famous hero in Chang'an!

"..."

Where did this bumpkin come from?

Li Xiuning couldn't help but wonder why her father sent such a person?
"I wonder what your opinion is on the Tax Administration Bureau?" Li Xiuning asked Shi Yanwen.

Shi Yanwen opened the folding fan in his hand with a "swish". There were only two on it.

Gentleman!

He waved his folding fan and said, "I understand your father's intention. Your father wants the Tax Administration to strike hard at the gambling houses and brothels!"

"How to strike hard?" Li Xiuning asked again.

"Naturally, we should convince people with reason and make them pay taxes."

Li Xiuning asked: "How much tax do they pay?"

"Open the account book and take 90%!"

Li Xiuning was surprised and asked, "Isn't that robbery?"

"Princess Xiuning, you are joking. Aren't we keeping 10%?" Shi Yanwen smiled, but the smile was particularly cold: "Besides, they opened gambling houses and brothels, which is robbing other people's money, right?"

"..." Li Xiuning felt that Shi Yanwen was a vicious scholar and a bandit.

Could it be that this person was the one who asked my father to set up the Tax Administration Bureau?

"Let's go now without further delay!" Shi Yanwen said, "I can't wait to let them understand how glorious it is to pay taxes."

"Being able to pay taxes to the Tang Dynasty is such a loyal thing!"

"Now?" Li Xiuning said hesitantly, "Don't you want to think about it again?"

"Right now, the Tax Administration Department has only two thousand imperial guards besides us. Who else do you need to consult?" Shi Yanwen urged, "Princess Xiuning, why hesitate? Your father is here to take care of everything!"

Li Xiuning asked: "Where is the tiger talisman?"

A tiger talisman is needed to mobilize troops.

Shi Yanwen took out the tiger talisman and said, "The tiger talisman is in my hand. Princess Xiuning, what are you still hesitating about?"

"..."

Li Xiuning looked at Shi Yanwen holding the tiger talisman, and then she realized that she was just a puppet! The Tax Administration Department was actually controlled by this great scholar from Yunzhou!

"Well!" Li Xiuning sighed. He wanted to see what Shi Yanwen was up to!

"The princess is concerned about state affairs, which is really admirable! On the first day of the new year, she will wipe out the cancer in Chang'an and make the residents of Chang'an happy and peaceful." Shi Yanwen took Li Xiucheng out of the princess's mansion and kept nagging: "I really admire you."

Li Xiuning didn't want to pay attention to Shi Yanwen, so he just got on his horse and mobilized 500 guards with Shi Yanwen. In Chang'an City, 500 guards were enough.

"I wonder if you are planning to go to Mingtangwo or Liufu Casino?" Li Xiuning said while riding on a horse.

There are two famous gambling houses in Chang'an, namely Mingtangwo and Liufu Casino.

Mingtangwo was backed by Yin Zuwen, the father of Li Yuan's favorite concubine Yin Defei, and Liufu Casino was protected by Li Yuanji. The gambling houses that made so much money were all controlled by nobles, which shows the other businesses in Chang'an City.

"The princess is still young. In my opinion, both of them can be surrounded!" Shi Yanwen said while waving a paper fan.

Riding on a horse in the heavy snow, waving a fan, such a person is probably suffering from some disease.

"Just the two of us and five hundred guards?" Li Xiuning asked.

"Divide into 300 people to surround the Mingtang nest, and take another 200 people to go to the Liufu Casino with us." Shi Yanwen said calmly: "Do they dare to attack first? Attacking the imperial guards is treason!"

"I hope they attack the Imperial Guards, so that we don't have to leave any of them!"

"..."

No, are you really a Confucian knight? Aren't you a poisonous scholar?

Li Xiuning was completely silent!

"Princess, don't worry. We can't treat these disloyal tax evaders as human beings!"

"..."

When Shi Yanwen, Li Xiuning and two hundred guards surrounded the Liufu Casino, the people inside the casino didn't know what was happening.

"I don't know...what did Liufu Casino do to displease the princess that she is making such a big fuss?" Chi Shengchun, the owner of Liufu Casino, saw that his casino was surrounded and hurriedly came out to speak.

He was a little confused and didn't know what was going on.

"Princess Xiuning is now the director of the Tax Administration Department, mainly responsible for collecting taxes." Shi Yanwen said: "I am Shi Yanwen, the deputy director of the Tax Administration Department."

"We came to Liufu Casino today because we suspect that Liufu Casino is evading taxes and tax evasion. We want to check the accounts and make Liufu Casino pay the taxes."

"Taxes?" Chi Shengchun said blankly, "We at Liufu Casino have always paid taxes! We are good citizens!"

"That's all in the past!" Shi Yanwen said, "Starting this year, the tax rate for casinos has reached 90%."

"Ninety percent!" Chi Shengchun widened his eyes.

Where can you pay 90% of the taxes? Isn't that robbery?
Chi Shengchun blurted out: "Isn't this robbery?"

Shi Yanwen explained: "How can robbing money be as quick as gambling money? Our tax administration department collects different taxes for different industries."

"Everyone in the world is working hard to live, why is it so easy for you to make money?"

"You guys who run gambling houses make money from commissions and turnover. We'll leave you 10%, which is what you've worked so hard for."

"This, this..." Chi Shengchun's fingers were shaking with anger.

What a hard-earned reward! They are simply being treated like beggars!
"Next, we will check your account books and estimate the specific values of your assets and profits for tax collection. Please cooperate." Shi Yanwen said as he put away his folding fan.

Chi Shengchun looked at Li Xiuning. Li Xiuning didn't say a word the whole time, as if she agreed with what Shi Yanwen said.

"Well... okay!" Chi Shengchun said helplessly, looking at the imperial guards behind him.

While he welcomed the two men and the imperial guards in, he went to inform his patron Li Jiancheng.

Soon Li Jiancheng came with a message.

Li Jiancheng had no choice!

(End of this chapter)