Han official!

Chapter 141 Sealed
Before sunset (16:30-17:15), there were only a few minutes left before the powerful people led thousands of people to Wushili, and their shouts could already be heard from both inside and outside the gathering.

Wei Guang and Su Jian looked a little more anxious as they stared at the hundreds of young and strong tribesmen in front of them, tightly gripping their two-foot swords, ready to fight for their lives.

"Zhao Meng!"

A woman with a flowery hairpin and a large bun came over. Madam Zhao said angrily, "If you were a man, go and capture Zhao Tuo immediately, confine him to the house, and support your son to work in the fields."

son?

Zhao Shiyuan was confused: "Your sister and I only have sons and daughters, but no sons. Where did the son come from?"

He suddenly shuddered and said excitedly, "The day before your wedding, you came to your brother-in-law and cried, saying you didn't want to marry Zhao Tuo. That night, we became a couple. Could it be that..."

Mrs. Zhao knew that the sonless Zhao Shiyuan was desperate for a son, so she deliberately lied to him: "Yes, the son I gave birth to is actually your son. As long as you are still a man with balls, rush over and grab Zhao Tuo immediately, and help your son control the Wushili."

"Zhao Tuo!"

Zhao Shiyuan's eyes were red, and he pointed his two-foot sword at the inner wall, angrily saying, "How can I not avenge the abduction of my wife? My son cannot continue to recognize a thief as his father. Today, I will imprison you."

He shouted, "Brothers! Capture Zhao Tuo and divide up the property of Zhao Tuo and his relatives!"

Under Guo Jie's watchful eyes, the young and strong tribesmen who had been guarding the border all year round, armed with spears and wooden shields given by Zhao Tuo, charged towards the ramparts on the inner wall.

"Mr. Guo."

An Guo Shaoji came over with disheveled clothes, smiling broadly, and said, "Madam Zhao said that a powerful person outside has brought people to help Wushili. Now that the gathering is temporarily under the control of Madam Zhao, please quickly close the inner gate to prevent the people brought by the powerful person from rushing in."

Guo Jie nodded slightly.

Su Jian couldn't help but look at An Guo Shao Ji a few more times. He never thought that the person who helped Guo Jie overcome the crisis was not Chong Huangrou, the best swordsman in Chang'an, nor Wei Guang, who had amazing archery skills.

It turned out to be the most inconspicuous An Guo Shao Ji.

What made him even more confused was that Mrs. Zhao walked over and looked at An Guo Shao Ji with eyes full of tenderness and affection.

this.
An Guo Shao Ji went to Madam Zhao's house to cook a goose, but instead of seeing the cooked goose, he ate Madam Zhao.

In just half a day, he conquered Mrs. Zhao's body and mind completely.

Su Jian did not envy Chong Huangrou's swordsmanship, nor did he envy Wei Guang's archery skills.

I am actually somewhat envious of An Guo Shao Ji's method of conquering women.

"Ha ha!"

Wei Guang laughed and patted An Guo Shao Ji's shoulders a few times. "Cai! I used to look down on you, thinking you were a coward and a villain. I thought your brother-in-law shouldn't have kept you around. But now it seems that your skills are no less than my archery and Chong Huangrou's swordsmanship."

An Guo Shaoji's shoulder was hurt by his slap. He grimaced and covered his painful shoulder, feeling overjoyed and indescribably relieved.

He actually got Wei Guang's recognition.

In the past, the person who looked down on him the most was Wei Guang.

"boom!"

"what!"

There was a sound of falling at the gate of Yanmen. Zhao Tuo fell heavily on the rammed earth ground, splashing a large amount of dust.

Guo Jie looked at Zhao Tuo who was lying in front of him groaning in pain, sneered, walked over and stepped hard on his neck.

"What are you going to do?"

Zhao Tuo's face was filled with panic: "I am Li Tian, the Right Secretary of the Interior. How dare you kill someone? You killed a county official in public!"

"what!"

After a scream, Zhao Tuo's neck was broken by Guo Jie's foot. Blood spurted out of his mouth and he lay on the ground like a corpse.

Don’t dare to kill anyone?
impossible.

Guo Jie's habit of doing things has always been to cut the grass at its roots and not leave any trouble. The two men were fighting each other, and neither of them used copper or iron weapons, so he would only sentence one of them to endurance.

He offered money to redeem himself, but he would not even be punished.

When Zhao Shiyuan saw Zhao Tuo's tragic death, his heart tightened and he looked at Guo Jie with fear in his eyes. However, he thought that he was also a Cao Yuan in the Chang'an official temple.

The Menxia Gongcao and the Shiyuan are colleagues of the same rank.

Zhao Shiyuan felt a little relieved. When he heard the increasingly clear shouts of the powerful outside Wushili, he felt relieved. "You can take the woman Zhao Tuo has conscripted with you, but you are not allowed to go to Wushili again. I will spare your life."

Behind him stood hundreds of young and strong ethnic people, who had just seen blood and were full of murderous intent.

Zhao Shiyuan thought he was in control of the situation and actually threatened Guo Jie.

"boom!"

Guo Jie sneered and punched Zhao Shiyuan in the neck. "Have you forgotten that I once killed a tiger with my bare hands? Without a weapon, not only you, but even Chong Huangrou and Lei Bei might not be my match. How dare you come this close, you idiot?"

"boom!"

Guo Jie stepped heavily on Zhao Shiyuan's neck with his white leather shoes, breaking his trachea. Another corpse with its eyes open appeared at the gate of Yanmen.

Before Zhao Shiyuan died, he had only one thought in his mind.

How dare Guo Jie kill an official in public?

He was still a Cao official in the Chang'an official temple.

Hundreds of young and strong tribesmen were instantly in an uproar when they saw the tragic death of Zhao Shiyuan. The atmosphere near Yanmen was tense again. They clenched their spears and wooden shields and stared at Guo Jie and his men with hatred.

"Who dares to move!"

At this time, Chong Huangrou, covered in blood, walked over. The crimson-edged robe on her body had long been stained with blood. She held a head in her hand and threw it casually. The head rolled to the feet of hundreds of young and strong people.

It turned out to be the head of Zhao Tuo's last son, Tian Dian.

Hundreds of young and strong people stood there in a daze.

Zhao Tuo, Zhao the market official, Zhao the head of the pavilion, the village official, and Tian Dian were all dead.

Madam Zhao's pretty face lit up with joy, and she hurriedly said, "If you still regard me as your queen, block the entrance to the inner gate immediately and close it to prevent the powerful people from the nearby villages from taking the opportunity to rob Wushili."

The only person in charge of the Wushili was Lady Zhao.

From now on, the person in charge of Wushili will only be Mrs. Zhao’s son.

Regardless, Mrs. Zhao gave birth to a son with her eldest son Zhao Shiyuan or her eldest son Zhao Tuo.

Mrs. Zhao's son is the only heir to the legitimate family.

The young and strong people of the tribe had no choice but to follow Mrs. Zhao's instructions, walk past Guo Jie, close the inner door, and walk up the stairs to the top of the outer wall.

Guo Jie and his companions also climbed up to the top of the wall and saw the dense crowds of powerful and influential clansmen. They finally arrived at Wushili.

Just at the moment when the gate of Wushili was closed.

Outside the thick inner wall made of cattail and ramie stalks, a large number of powerful tribesmen appeared with swords and knives in their hands. Three or four powerful men rode on Hexi horses and shouted loudly towards Wushili.

"Open the inner gate quickly! Don't delay the capture of Guo Jie!"

"We saw the burning firewood and came to help as agreed."

"Where is Zhao Tuo? Open the inner door quickly!"

Guo Jie stood on the wall and sneered, saying, "You little brats, you still want to arrest me? Look carefully at who is standing on the inner wall."

Several powerful men looked towards the inner wall and were horrified. They could never have imagined that the person standing on the mountain inside the wall was Guo Jie.

"Does this mean that Wushili has been taken over by Guo Jie?" "It's hard to say. Otherwise, why would Guo Jie appear on the inner wall with so many Wushili residents next to him?"

"Unbelievable! Guo Jie only has a handful of men, how could he have taken down over a thousand men, including hundreds of young and strong soldiers guarding the border!"

The powerful people couldn't understand why it was impossible to catch Guo Jie by guarding the gate of Wushili, so they could only go back in frustration.

Coming over aggressively.

Go back with peace of mind.

If today's events were to spread, it would only boost Guo Jie's reputation and bring great shame to the powerful people.

At dusk (18:00-18:45), the tyrants followed the loess gully and had not yet completely left Wushili when they ran into Yi Zong, Yin Qi, Wang Wenshu, and dozens of thief catchers and prison clerks.

The thief catcher who came this time was the thief catcher from Xiyin Street, and also the jailer from Dongshi Jail. They walked into Wushili together and saw Guo Jie and a few others tying up thousands of Wushili people who were kneeling on the ground.

The reputation of the heroic hero Guo Jie was once again elevated in the minds of the thief catcher Gan and the prison clerk, and they looked at Guo Jie standing at the door with admiration.

Thief catchers and prison clerks often arrested criminals. They knew how many county soldiers were needed to arrest thousands of criminals in a large village. Hundreds of county soldiers, including thief catchers, prison clerks, and prisoners, were dispatched.

In addition, it was necessary to mobilize the guards from various townships and villages, which cost a lot of manpower, to capture the residents of a large village.

Guo Jie was in a good mood when he saw the shocked faces of the thief catcher and the prison clerk, and he could understand their surprise.

Wushili, where counterfeit coins were made, looked very much like Tazhai, a village in later generations.

At the beginning, the encirclement and suppression of Tazhai was a joint operation by land, sea and air, with only 3,000 armed police dispatched, as well as a large number of other police forces.

Guo Jie and his few companions captured Wushili, which was equivalent to a few police officers capturing Tazhai, causing great astonishment to the thief catchers and prison clerks.

"Are they arresting thousands of people from Liju again?"

A carriage covered with soap cloth appeared behind, involving Jun Litian. Zhang Tang came personally to arrest Zhao Tuo to avoid being blocked by Dou Ying's guests or even besieged by the powerful.

Zhang Tang's sharp eyes swept across the open space in front of Yanmen. Even though he knew that Guo Jie had arrested all the residents of Wushili, he still couldn't believe that the scene before him was real.

Wushili is a large village with thousands of people. According to the records in Yueyanbu, there are also hundreds of young and strong ethnic people. These are the garrison soldiers who have been exposed to the war at the border all year round.

With just Guo Jie and a few others, they were able to arrest thousands of members of the host Zhao family?

"They are afraid of the reputation of their superiors."

Guo Jie did not say that he relied entirely on An Guo Shao Ji to capture the 40-year-old Madam Zhao. He said that he was afraid of Zhang Tang's reputation, as if mentioning Zhang Tang's name could bring the prisoner to justice.

Zhang Tang was not yet the Chief Justice Zhang Tang, one of the Nine Ministers in charge of criminal law in the world. Although he knew that this statement was Guo Jie's flattery, he still gained fame and fortune after it was spread.

The rumor that leaving a name can suppress the prisoner.

Zhang Tang could hardly suppress the smile on his face.

"All of them were taken to the Chang'an official temple for interrogation."

Zhang Tang knew that his subordinate Guo Jie liked to use violence when arresting criminals. If it were someone else, they would have been dealt with according to Han law.

That's Guo Jie.

It is completely understandable that people with outstanding abilities have some minor flaws.

As long as it's a fight.

A few casualties wouldn't be a big deal.

Just as Zhang Tang was sitting in the cloth-covered carriage, preparing to leave Wushili, he heard a voice crying out for justice nearby.

"I am innocent!"

Mrs. Zhao's son Zhao Shi glanced at his mother and cursed her inwardly, "What a fool! You didn't even realize you were being deceived by that mediocre dog named Anguo Shaoji."

Although still a teenager, Zhao Shi had listened to Dong Zhongshu's lectures many times and was well-versed in Han law. He solemnly stated, "Guo Jie is arresting members of the Dongdao Zhao clan on the charge of counterfeiting coins. According to the criminal law, all counterfeiters and their collaborators should be beheaded and thrown into the streets."

An assistant is an accomplice.

Guo Jie arrested all the members of the Wushili clan using assistants, who were also accomplices and were guilty of the same serious crime as beheading and public display.

Zhao Shi said firmly, "The people who exchanged the bad cloth for money were Zhao Tuo, Zhao Tingzhang, and Zhao Shiyuan. The three criminals have been executed. However, the members of the Dongdao Zhao family did not violate the Han law. They wove cloth, not bad cloth."

Zhang Tang looked at Guo Jie.

He came here for another purpose.

What method did Guo Jie have to convict the host Zhao family?

Weaving is not a crime.

It is a crime to weave cloth and make money.

"You said that the host Zhao family weaves cloth, not money?"

Guo Jie sneered and bowed to Zhang Tang, saying, "The superior official, please follow the subordinate official to the treasury. Once you have a look at the treasury, you will understand why they say that the five scholars weave money, not coarse linen."

Zhang Tang and other officials from the government and temple followed.

Zhao Shi and other members of the host Zhao family were also taken there.

At the entrance of the treasury, Wei Guang was sealing the door of the treasury with the official seal of Gongcao.

Sealing means that after the government collected taxes, it would put a thousand copper coins in a basket and seal it with the official seal. It was not allowed to distinguish between good quality coins and bad quality coins, and both good and bad coins had to be sealed together.

Money is divided into grain, copper coins, and cloth coins.

The original meaning of the Han law was to restrain officials and not to deliberately discard old grain, old cloth, and worn copper coins. They had to be sealed up like new grain, new cloth, and new coins and counted as taxes paid by the common people.

Guo Jie sealed the warehouse where the coarse linen was stored.

The burlap in the storehouse became tax money.

Burlap is money!
"According to the records in the Yueyan Book."

Guo Jie took out a scroll of monthly notes and said, "The five scholars have not yet paid the labor tax for the cloth they have woven this year. This has been overdue for several months. According to Han law, this official has sealed several warehouses to pay the labor tax."

The labor tax is an industrial and commercial tax levied on merchants and powerful people.

Commoners only had to pay agricultural taxes.

The Han Dynasty established special industrial and commercial taxes to levy taxes on merchants.

The policy of the Han Dynasty was to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce. It would not protect merchants, which would allow wealthy merchants to reasonably avoid taxes. Instead, they would be charged heavy taxes, and their descendants would not be able to become officials.

"Sealed"

The moment Zhao Shi saw the seal, he understood Guo Jie's plan. His legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

As long as the coarse linen in the treasury was stamped with the official seal and sealed, it could be turned into money.

The burlap became bad cloth.

The members of the host Zhao family were the ones who counterfeited coins.

Zhao Shi could never have imagined that Guo Jie would use this method to convict the host Zhao family.

Zhang Tang, who was formulating the laws of the Han Dynasty, was suddenly enlightened when he saw the seal and could not help but exclaim in amazement.

"Cai!"

(End of this chapter)