Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 113 Corrupt Officials
In Heyuan County, Guangdong Province, not far from the city gate, there was a relatively large team parked.
There were about 100 to 200 people in the convoy. There were 30 to 40 carts parked in the team. All of them were piled with boxes and covered tightly with black waterproof cloth.

The last few cars seemed to have insufficient waterproofing, and the boxes on the cars were exposed without any cover.
The black box was tightly closed, with seals on the left and right sides of the box. On the seals was a large red seal, with the words Chaozhou Prefecture faintly visible.

Outside the cart sat a group of young men, more than a hundred of them wearing coarse linen clothes, looking like laborers helping to escort the autumn tax. Outside them were seventy or eighty soldiers wearing military uniforms and long swords on their waists.

In front of the city gate, the people waiting to enter the city subconsciously avoided the convoy and lined up in front of the gate to enter the city.
Several yamen runners in black robes were patrolling in front of the city gate, and behind them were several clerks who looked like clerks, checking the goods entering the city and collecting the city tax.

There were several tables not far from the city gate, with teapots and teacups on them. A short and strong man in a black robe, who looked like a leader, was looking at the convoy not far away, with a greedy look in his eyes.

He thought for a moment, then called a middle-aged man in a blue shirt who looked like a tax collector and whispered a few words to him. Then he sat back at the table and watched the people entering the city through the city gate.
In front of the motorcade, Li Chengdong, wearing an old military uniform and a red headscarf on his head, frowned slightly as he looked at the long queue in front of the city gate.

Li Chengdong gave a few instructions to the team behind him, and soon Du Yonghe came with seven or eight soldiers and followed Li Chengdong to the city gate.

Li Chengdong took a quick look at the scene in front of the gate, then walked directly to the table on the side of the city gate, bowed to the short and strong man sitting at the table and said:

"I am a servant of Chaozhou Prefecture. I am escorting this year's autumn tax to Guangzhou under the order of the imperial court. I am passing through here and my water supply is running low. I am going to enter the city to buy some. I hope you will be lenient."

The short and strong man at the table heard this and glanced at Li Chengdong in military uniform in front of him, but he didn't stand up at all.
The short and strong man picked up the tea bowl on the table and took a sip. Then he looked at Li Chengdong opposite him and said coldly

"Brother, who are you brothers with? Don't try to get close to the head of our class."

"Recently, Heyuan County has been in turmoil, with frequent banditry. The county magistrate has already issued an order that people of unknown origin are not allowed to enter the city."

The short and strong man said this with an impatient look on his face, and waved his hand directly at Li Chengdong.

Li Chengdong looked at the short and strong man waving his hands to drive him away. A cold light flashed in his eyes, but he soon returned to his normal expression.
Li Chengdong smiled, took out a document from his arms, handed it to the short and strong man in front of him, and said

"I see. I am sorry for being rude. But we are servants of Chaozhou Prefecture, not people of unknown origin. This is a document issued by Chaozhou Prefecture. The squad leader will know it at a glance."

The short and strong man seemed to see that Li Chengdong was not giving up, and his expression became more and more impatient. He stood up and looked at Li Chengdong in front of him with a cold expression on his face.

"Don't you understand what I said? I said that people with unknown origins are not allowed to enter."

"This is Heyuan, Huizhou. I don't care about you, Chaozhou yamen runner. Get out of here!"

The short and strong man said this without even looking at it. He just waved his hand and the document in Li Chengdong's hand fell to the ground.
Li Chengdong raised his hands and looked at the document that fell to the ground. His face was stunned, and then his eyes were suddenly filled with bloodshot.

Li Chengdong raised his head in surprise, staring at the short and strong man in front of him, his eyes turned red

But before he could say anything, a middle-aged man wearing a green shirt and with a short beard came forward from behind the short and strong man.
The middle-aged man in green robe picked up the document on the ground and glanced at it. Then a smile appeared on his face. He inserted himself between Li Chengdong and the short and strong man and said

"Master Zhang, why are you so angry? I have seen it. It is indeed the document from Chaozhou Prefecture. We are all brothers working for the court. Why should we hurt the harmony?" the middle-aged man said with a smile, bowing his body.

"I don't care where you are from. The county magistrate said that outsiders are not allowed to enter. If there is any trouble, I will be punished," the short and strong man snorted coldly.
"Yes, Master Zhang, please calm down."

The man in green robe smiled and responded to Zhang Bantou in front of him, then walked to Li Chengdong and said

"This is Brother Li, please excuse me for a moment."

"I am Liu Qing, and I am the tax collector of this county."

"There have indeed been riots and bandits in the county recently. In order to track down this group of thieves, Captain Zhang has not been home for nearly half a month. I am a little angry, please forgive me, brother."

The official document had already stated that the person being escorted was a sentry officer named Li Bao. Since the man in front of him was leading the group, he must be Li Bao without a doubt.
Li Chengdong looked at the short-bearded man in front of him, but his face was still cold and he didn't say anything.

The middle-aged man in green robe saw that Li Chengdong refused to reply, but he didn't care and continued to speak.
"In order to prevent the gang of thieves from sneaking into the county, the county magistrate has issued a strict order not to allow outsiders to enter the city. I'm afraid you won't be able to enter the city today."

"Just now I heard from Brother Li that he seemed to be preparing to buy drinking water."

Liu Qing asked, but Li Chengdong remained silent with a cold expression.

Liu Qing didn't care and continued to speak
"We are all working for the court, so there is no reason for us not to help each other. Although Brother Li cannot enter the city, I can transport the things Brother Li needs out."

"This will not only save Zhang Bantou from trouble, but also allow Brother Li to get drinking water. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

The middle-aged man chuckled
"Really? Thank you very much then."

Li Chengdong responded softly, but his expression suddenly calmed down.
When Liu Qing saw Li Chengdong respond, a smile appeared on his face. He led Li Chengdong to one side, and Li Chengdong followed Liu Qing to the side.

"I also run a grain business in the city. I own the Risheng Grain Shop in the city. If Brother Li needs anything, I can help him." "Then I wonder how much rice, meat and other goods cost in this city?"

Li Chengdong's face flashed with interest. He looked at the short-bearded man in front of him and said softly:
"That's easy. Rice costs two taels and five cents per dan of silver. Pork costs eighty cents per jin. Mutton costs sixty cents..."

Liu Qing smiled and listed a series of prices.

This price is obviously not a normal price. If it were this price, ordinary people in Heyuan County would have fled long ago.

Li Chengdong listened to the price, but his face remained calm. He looked at Liu Qing who was staring at him and spoke softly.

"You are trying to force a sale."

Seeing that Li Chengdong was being rude, Liu Qing put away the smile on his face and looked at Li Chengdong in front of him with a calm expression.

"You can't say that. If you want to buy, I'll sell it. If you don't want to buy, you can leave."

"But I have one thing to make clear first. All the grain stores in Heyuan County belong to Zhang Bantou's family."

"Without the approval of Captain Zhang, you won't be able to buy even half a bushel of grain in Heyuan County."

"If you don't believe it, you can try it yourself."

"Liu has official business to attend to, so I won't accompany you. You can decide for yourself whether to buy it or not."

After Liu Qing finished speaking, his expression turned cold and he turned around and walked towards the city gate.
"Since you said so, what choice do we have?"

Liu Qing heard a sigh behind him, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, knowing that Li Bao must have surrendered.

With so many people, chaos will break out in an instant if they run out of food and water. If the autumn tax cannot be escorted to Guangzhou on time, Li Bao will lose his head. Does he have any choice?
Liu Qing turned around, smiled, looked at Li Chengdong in front of him, and said

"That's it. Brother Li was able to escort the autumn grain this time. He will definitely be promoted when he returns. Hurry up and escort the autumn grain. This is the most important thing."

"I wonder how much rice and meat Brother Li is going to need. I will definitely collect and transport all of them within an hour and will not delay Brother Li's trip," Liu Qing looked at the man opposite him expectantly.

"How much?"

"Of course I want them all"

Li Chengdong glanced at Liu Qing in front of him, his face suddenly turned cold, and a sharp knife tip suddenly stabbed into the abdomen of the man in front of him.
The smile on Liu Qing's face suddenly froze, as if he had not reacted. He lowered his head and stared blankly at the long knife inserted into his body. After a moment, he screamed loudly.
Li Chengdong's face was calm. He twisted the long knife in his hand and pulled it out of Liu Qing's body. However, the sharp tip of the knife was already bloodshot.

Liu Qing's screams stopped abruptly, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

His eyes were wide open, and he stared blankly at the sky. He was silent until his death. He never figured out why he lost his life when he had only bullied a few soldiers.
Under Liu Qing's body, red blood flowed out like water, instantly dyeing the ground red.

"Murder...Murder"

The place where Li Chengdong and Liu Qing were talking was not a remote place. Several people who were waiting to enter the city saw Liu Qing's blood all over the ground and screamed.
Several people looked pale, screaming in fear, and ran away desperately.
The screams of the people soon attracted the attention of the short and strong man in front of the city gate.
When Zhang Bantou saw Liu Qing lying on the ground covered in blood, he was furious and shouted

"Courageous"

The short and strong man looked shocked and angry, and suddenly drew out his long sword. Seeing this, several yamen runners who were originally leaning against the city wall also suddenly drew out their swords and surrounded Li Chengdong.

"It's work"

Du Yonghe, who had been standing quietly by the door as if asleep, saw the blood flowing on the ground, and a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.
Du Yonghe called out, and the seven or eight soldiers behind him immediately drew their swords.
A bloodthirsty light flashed in the eyes of the soldiers. They formed into groups of three and charged forward.

Before Zhang Bantou's several yamen runners could take a few steps, a group of soldiers rushed up to them and killed them all. Several yamen runners fell to the ground with their eyes wide open, holding their necks, and blood immediately spread all over the ground.

The other group rushed to the city gate and firmly controlled it. All the government officials, tax collectors and civilians along the way were chopped down to the ground, like wheat, lying on the ground in front of the city gate.

The fight was so quick that in less than half an hour, the crowd in front of the city gate had fled.

The ground was littered with dead yamen runners and civilians, with dozens of bodies twisted and overlapping, blood flowing everywhere, and an astonishing bloody smell rising.
The convoy not far away saw the chaos in front of the city gate. The hundred people who were originally sitting on the ground suddenly drew out their long swords from nowhere, formed into formations of three or two, and rushed towards the city gate silently without saying a word. All the people who fled along the way were chopped to the ground.

Li Chengdong sat at the tea table, with a scarlet long knife stuck in the ground in front of the table. He picked up the teacup beside the table and took a sip, sniffing the bloody smell in the air, and suddenly felt a sense of peace in his heart.

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(End of this chapter)