Martial Arts World Assassin

Chapter 179 Marshal's Mansion

Xi'an Fuyuan in the city.

This is the former residence of the Mu family, Duke of Qian in the Ming Dynasty. It has tall buildings and pavilions inside, and its luxury is second only to that of the Prince of Pingxi's Palace.

Ever since Huang Sixi decided to announce to the world his oath to fight against the Qing Dynasty, he moved his residence into Anfu Garden, and all his daily official duties and meetings with distinguished guests were conducted in the garden.

That afternoon, four old men dressed as Confucian scholars came to the gate of Anfu Garden.

They were invited by Huang Sixi to come to the garden to discuss important matters.

Now the news that the Dragon Subduing Hero has recaptured Yunnan and Yunnan has spread, the government of Kunming City has also changed hands, and anti-Qing heroes from all over the country are pouring into the city.

These four Confucian scholars had been fighting against the Qing Dynasty for decades and their reputations were well-known in the Central Plains. They received an invitation from Huang Sixi just one day after they entered Kunming City.

They knew that Huang Sixi led tens of thousands of troops and called himself the "Grand Marshal of the Heavenly Dragon-Subduing Army". Wu Sangui's Pingxi Army was defeated and incorporated by Huang Sixi's Dragon-Subduing Army.

All four of them were great scholars of the time, well-versed in classics and history, and they understood very well that heroes like Huang Sixi who rose up in rebellion would have a great chance of competing for the Central Plains and expelling the Tartars in the future.

They regarded Huang Sixi as their hope for recovering the Central Plains and prepared to join him in assisting them.

As a result, when they arrived at Anfu Garden, they were all dumbfounded. They found that there was not a single guard standing guard outside the gate, and there was no aura of a commander at all.

The garden was open, and they stretched their necks to look inside the door, but there was not a single person in sight in the huge yard.

They couldn't help but become suspicious, wondering if the Great Marshal Jianglong was out and not in the palace? But if the Great Marshal Jianglong had official business to go out to handle, why would he invite them to see him?
Just as they were wondering, they saw a female official walking across the yard and coming to the door.

This female official looked very young, probably only seventeen or eighteen years old, but her manners were steady and dignified.

She smiled and asked, "Are you Mr. Tinglin, Mr. Lizhou, Mr. Chuanshan, and Mr. Wancun?"

Mr. Tinglin's full name is Gu Yanwu, Mr. Lizhou's full name is Huang Zongxi, Mr. Chuanshan's full name is Wang Fuzhi, and Mr. Wancun's full name is Lü Liuzhong. Huang Zongxi is the oldest among them, and he is sixty years old this year. Lü Liuzhong is the youngest, but he is also forty years old.

The four of them are the most famous Confucian scholars in the Central Plains today. They are resolutely anti-Qing and at the same time do not follow the rules.

A few years ago, Huang Zongxi wrote a great work "Waiting for the Visit of the Mingyi", in which he proposed the idea that "the world is the master and the emperor is the guest". He was indeed a wise man who cared about the people of the world.

However, they were weak and could not find a good way to save the situation in the world in the face of the bloody massacre by the Tartars. However, their idea of supporting the Central Plains never wavered.

A few months ago, Huang Sixi re-emerged in Hejian Prefecture. At that time, Gu Yanwu witnessed the return of the Dragon Subduing Hero with his own eyes. He concluded that the opportunity to recover the Central Plains had come, so he invited Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi and Lu Liuliang to go to Yunnan and Yunnan together to serve under the Dragon Subduing Hero.

Although the four of them were old, they were still strong and determined to do their best to help recover the Central Plains. They were the first group of anti-Qing heroes who rushed to Kunming to gather together.

Unfortunately, they stayed in Kunming for several months but still couldn't get any news about the Dragon Subduing Hero.

Until a few days ago, the hero Jiang Long suddenly announced to the world that he had destroyed the Palace of Pingxi, executed the traitor Wu Sangui, and took control of Yunnan and Yunnan.

When the four of them first heard the news, it was as if they were dreaming and they were extremely happy. After Huang Sixi sent them the invitation, they went without hesitation.

This time they came together to see Huang Sixi with the dream of recovering the Central Plains.

When they heard the female official asking, they all nodded, "May I ask what your name is, young lady?"

The female official smiled and said, "My name is Fang Yi. I am a secretary in the Grand Marshal's Mansion. My main job is to greet and see off guests for the Grand Marshal and handle some paperwork."

After hearing this, the four Confucian scholars felt subconsciously disappointed. They were worried that Huang Sixi would be obsessed with beauty and not make progress. After taking power, he would select beautiful girls on a large scale and send them into the harem as female officials. There were many such unjust and tyrannical emperors in history.

However, there was not even a single guard in the Grand Marshal's Mansion, and he only met one female official. Perhaps Huang Sixi appointed Fang Yi as his secretary for other considerations.

They decided to wait and see, and wait until they met Huang Sixi and listened to Huang Sixi's strategy to recover the Central Plains before deciding whether to stay in the Jianglong Army.

They also kept up with the times and smiled at Fang Yi, saying, "We are visiting the Grand Marshal's Mansion today at the invitation of the Grand Marshal. Please ask Secretary Fang to lead the way and take us to see the Grand Marshal!"

"Four gentlemen, please come this way!"

Fang Yi stretched out her arms and invited the four people to enter Anfu Garden, saying, "The invitation from the Grand Marshal to the four gentlemen clearly stated that the four gentlemen should come at 3:30 pm. You arrived an incense stick of time earlier, so I went out later to greet you!"

They arrived early because they naturally didn't want to neglect Huang Sixi.

If they knew that Huang Sixi would strictly meet at the agreed time, they would not have arrived early and waited.

Several people entered the yard side by side.

After passing through layers of buildings, there was no sight of other guards or female officials.

Huang Zongxi couldn't help but ask, "Is there no guard guarding the Grand Marshal's Mansion?"

Fang Yi pursed her lips and said, "The Grand Marshal is the Dragon-slaying Hero of the past. It's as easy as taking something out of a bag to assassinate the king. Does he still need guards?"

Huang Zongxi stroked his beard and smiled: "That's true. The Dragon Subduing Hero is the best fighter in the world. He can fight against thousands of troops and can go in and out seven times. Naturally, he doesn't need bodyguards. Then how many female officials does he have around him?"

"I'm the only one!"

Fang Yi seemed quite proud: "There are only four people living in the Grand Marshal's Mansion at present. Leader He and Granny Hongyao never take care of things. I take care of all the affairs of the mansion."

Huang Zongxi and the other three did not know who the 'Master He' and 'Grandma Hongyao' she was talking about were, and immediately asked about their origins.

When Fang Yi revealed that the tens of thousands of main forces of the Dragon Subduing Army were all recruited by "Master He" and "Grandma Hongyao", Huang Zongxi and the other three had already understood that "Master He" and "Grandma Hongyao" must be the closest people to Huang Sixi.

Gu Yanwu saw that Fang Yi was the housekeeper of the Grand Marshal's Mansion and must have a high status around Huang Sixi, so he smiled and asked, "When I entered Kunming City, I heard that the Grand Marshal sold the Pingxi Palace to merchants in the city. The Pingxi Palace is the largest palace in Kunming. Why didn't the Grand Marshal use it as a temporary palace, but moved it to Anfu Garden instead?"

Fang Yi replied, "The Grand Marshal will soon recover the Central Plains, and he needs to raise money for the military, so he sold the Pingxi Palace!" Originally, Huang Sixi had returned Anbu Garden to Mu Jiansheng, but when Mu Jiansheng heard that Huang Sixi had moved out of the Pingxi Palace, he immediately gave up the house.

Gu Yanwu could not help but frown: "When Li Zicheng conquered the capital, he forced the merchants in the capital to pay military pay, but he was rebellious and had to withdraw from the capital in disgrace! The Grand Marshal only occupied Yunnan and Yunnan, so it is understandable that he raised military pay, but he forced the merchants in Kunming to pay military pay. Was it through coercion?"

There are close ties between the merchants in the capital and the officials in the capital. When Li Zicheng forced the merchants in the capital to donate their wealth, he was actually threatening the officials in the capital. It was because Li Zicheng was too ruthless and lost the foundation for governing the capital that he had to withdraw from the capital.

The reason why Gu Yanwu asked about the issue of raising military pay was that he wanted to know how Huang Sixi would treat local forces. If Huang Sixi indiscriminately confiscated the properties of local officials and merchants, it would undoubtedly be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, and would definitely not last long.

Fang Yi glanced at Gu Yanwu and said to him, "Don't worry, sir. The merchants in Kunming are all willing to pay the military pay to the Dragon Subduing Army! Because the Grand Marshal has signed an agreement with them, in the future, whenever the Grand Marshal recovers a territory in the Central Plains, he will allow Kunming merchants to move in. If the Grand Marshal can recover the 18 provinces in the Central Plains in the future, their business will flourish in all the 18 provinces. Why wouldn't they do it?"

In fact, the situation changed dramatically, and Huang Sixi replaced Wu Sangui. Merchants in Yunnan and Yunnan had no better choice than Huang Sixi, so they had to obey Huang Sixi's wishes.

However, Si Xi made a big promise and decided to implement it thoroughly. Once he turned all his propositions into laws, the enthusiasm of all merchants in Kunming would be mobilized. By then, they would only be afraid that Huang Sixi would not be able to recover the Central Plains and would never rebel against Huang Sixi.

When Gu Yanwu and the other three heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other. Is this even possible?

Soon, the four followed Fang Yi to the lobby of Anfu Garden.

They walked forward and looked around, only to see three people sitting in the hall.

Fang Yi had no taboos and introduced them to them with a smile: the woman in soft armor on Huang Sixi's left was 'Master He Tieshou', and the old woman dozing off on the right was 'Grandma Hongyao'.

At this moment, Huang Sixi and He Tieshou were sitting together, holding a map of the Central Plains, discussing the plan for the Dragon Subduing Army to march north.

After Gu Yanwu and the other three entered the lobby, Huang Sixi and He Tieshou also stopped communicating.

Huang Sixi pointed at Fang Yi and ordered, "Go and bring chairs to the four gentlemen!"

Fang Yi did as she was told immediately.

After Gu Yanwu and the other three sat down, Huang Sixi said straight to the point without any nonsense: "I invited the four gentlemen here to help form a cabinet. The Dragon Subduing Army will start the Northern Expedition soon. In the future, every time we recover a place, we will need to appoint officials to appease the local people. The four gentlemen are great scholars of the time, so I believe it will be easy for you to handle this kind of task!"

Gu Yanwu immediately said, "It is indeed not difficult to form a cabinet, but the Marshal's most urgent task right now is not the court, but what name to use to start an uprising against the Qing Dynasty. The more legitimate the Marshal's name, the greater the support he will get."

Huang Sixi said, "I have decided to raise an army in the name of reviving Han. What do you four gentlemen think?"

Gu Yanwu and the other three looked at each other and felt that it was not appropriate: "In today's world, the people of the world still miss the Ming court. If the commander-in-chief raises an army as a remnant of the Ming court, he can win the support of the people of the world and the righteous army..."

They did not have to "restore the Ming Dynasty", but it would be smoother to march north in the name of the Ming court. After expelling the Tartars and recovering the Central Plains in the future, they could naturally discuss slowly whether to restore the Ming Dynasty or revive the Han Dynasty.

Huang Sixi interrupted them: "The people of the world just want to live a good life. It doesn't matter whether it's the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty! In order to win the hearts of the people, the Tartars proposed never to increase taxes. After I start my army, I will also announce to the world that I will cancel agricultural taxes in various places. In the future, the people will not have to pay the imperial grain for their crops. If this policy can be promoted, do you think the Dragon Subduing Army can win the support of the people of the world?"

"what."

When Gu Yanwu and the other three heard Huang Sixi's "bold words", their faces changed.

Gu Yanwu shook his head vigorously: "Agricultural tax is the foundation of the country, how can it be abolished? If the people of the world are not required to pay the imperial tax, it will be of great benefit to the people, but how will the court function and the salaries of officials in various places be distributed? The court is no longer a court without money and food, and then the world will usher in unrest again."

Huang Zongxi did not think that Huang Sixi's idea was unrealistic. He himself was an expert in agricultural taxation and had conducted in-depth research on the pros and cons of agricultural taxation. However, his thoughts and plans remained only personal ideas and he never had the opportunity to put them into practice.

Today, Huang Sixi suddenly proposed to abolish agricultural taxes. Huang Zongxi felt that he had found a close friend and regarded Huang Sixi as a like-minded friend. He had already decided in his heart to support Huang Sixi's "audacity".

But he also mentioned an incident: "When the Chuang army started the rebellion, they also proposed the slogan of not paying taxes, but they immediately went back on their words after they broke through the capital. Do you intend to follow the old path of the Chuang army?"

He was worried that Huang Sixi was not truly working for the welfare of the people of the world.

Huang Sixi would certainly not repeat Li Zicheng's mistakes. He said: "I am me, and the Chuang army is the Chuang army! The Chuang army relies on squeezing the people of the Central Plains to raise food and wages. I have never harmed the people of the Central Plains. I let them live and work in peace and contentment. I will solve the food and wages through other means!"

"What way?" Gu Yanwu and the other three asked in unison.

"The four gentlemen don't need to know too much!" Huang Sixi said, "In short, the food and wages I have accumulated are enough for the Dragon Subduing Army. Even if we recover the provinces in the Central Plains in the future and don't collect royal food from the local people, we can still maintain the operation of the court and local governments!"

The taxes of this era were entirely collected from farmers, and their functions were monotonous. Apart from maintaining the operation of government, they were provided for the emperor's extravagance. There was almost no infrastructure or public welfare.

What kind of people are the current government officials? Huang Sixi knew it clearly. Most of them were oppressing the people. Even if more than half of them were laid off, it would not matter.

Therefore, as long as Huang Sixi can make money from outside of agriculture and ensure that local governments can continue to operate, it naturally does not matter whether agricultural taxes are collected or not.

After Huang Sixi captured Kunming, he took over all the wealth accumulated by Pingxi King Wu Sangui over decades. This wealth was enough for Huang Sixi to use in the Northern Expedition.

As for how to obtain income outside of agriculture after the Northern Expedition, Huang Sixi would definitely start with business.

However, business policy cannot be achieved overnight.

Huang Sixi knew that there were several huge treasures buried in the world with extremely rich reserves of gold and silver. As long as he took out these treasures, Huang Sixi would not lack food and money for at least ten years. He could completely use the abolition of agricultural taxes to win the hearts of the people and recover the Central Plains as quickly as possible.

When the entire territory of the Central Plains falls into Huang Sixi's hands, he can then gather troops to expand outward, obtain wealth through plunder, and subsidize the people of the Central Plains. That is not a bad idea.

However, these plans could not be made public for the time being, so Huang Sixi had no way to tell Gu Yanwu and the other three clearly.

Huang Sixi only said: "I hope that the four gentlemen will enter the Marshal's Office and formulate a national policy to exempt agricultural taxes, form legal provisions, and implement it in Yunnan and Yunnan first. Whether this policy is feasible or not, we will know the answer after the four gentlemen personally implement it."

Huang Sixi's invitation was very attractive.

Gu Yanwu and the other three were all very excited. If they could abolish the agricultural tax, they could still maintain the operation of the imperial court. This would definitely be an unprecedented feat. Then people all over the world would sing their praises and win the hearts of the people.

(End of this chapter)