In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

During his journey, he crammed on all the laws and regulations from the Zhenguan era.

The real Tang Dynasty was different from that in TV dramas and movies. In TV dramas and movies, people are often depicted collecting money per person at ancient city gates, but that's fake, at least not in the Tang Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers guarding the city gate immediately looked disheartened; they had actually encountered a stubborn person!

The officer in charge, in particular, went directly to Li Yuanchang and arrogantly said, "You brat, I told you to hand it over, so hand it over!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"If you don't pay, you're going to spend the night in the middle of nowhere!"

Guo Chao was furious and drew his knife, ready to kill the man.

This is absolutely outrageous!

boom!

Li Yuanchang pressed it down in time.

He doesn't want to reveal his identity yet. If he takes down the corrupt official, everyone will know that he, the Prince of Han, has arrived.

How will we be able to uncover more problems then?

When the soldiers of Yangping County saw Guo Chao draw his knife, they were enraged and rushed over with their swords drawn, cursing him for being reckless!

Chaos erupted at the scene, and tensions rose.

The people coming and going were so frightened that they kept backing away, and some children even cried.

Guo Chao and the others were furious, staring at the other party with eyes that looked like they were looking at a dead man.

In order to avoid revealing his identity and to obtain more inside information, Li Yuanchang stepped forward, pretended to yield, and accepted a string of cash from Fang Weng.

One string of cash is equal to one thousand coins.

"Sir, please calm down."

"It's just a small city gate tax. Here you go. It's not a good look to be fighting in broad daylight. Consider this extra two hundred coins as tea money for the brothers, how about it?"

His obsequious manner made it impossible for even a ghost to know that he was the Prince of Han, the top official in Liangzhou, equivalent to a municipal party committee member in later times, and someone with connections in the central government.

Upon seeing this, the officers and soldiers' eyes lit up instantly. They didn't look like officers and soldiers at all; instead, they looked like... bandits!

"Kid, you're smart to know what's good for you!"

"Remember, this is Liangzhou, not some other place. I don't care who you are, even if you're a dragon or a tiger, you'll have to behave yourself here."

"You'd better behave yourselves and follow the rules, or I'll make you regret it!" The officer in charge took the money bag and pointed his knife at Li Yuanchang's nose with an air of arrogance.

This infuriated Guo Chao and his guards. If Li Yuanchang hadn't stopped them, they would have dragged out the county magistrate and hung him up to beat him in no time.

Damn it, this is a small temple with a lot of evil spirits!

"Yes, yes, yes."

"You're right, sir. May we go in now?" Li Yuanchang asked with a forced smile, but the other person was already dead.

Over thousands of years, many things have changed, yet many things have remained the same.

With the officials and soldiers behaving like this, it would be strange if the local area didn't become poor.

"Get out of here!" The officer in charge stuffed the money bag into his pocket.

Li Yuanchang beckoned to the crowd and they entered the city discreetly.

Halfway there, he turned back, his expression meaningful: "May I ask this official's name? So that I may pay him tribute in the future."

Upon hearing this, the officer in charge of the troops smiled, looking very confident and smug.

His subordinate chimed in, "Kid, judging by your grandfather's manners, he must come from a well-off family."

"Listen up, this is He Wei, a military officer from the Pingyang County Garrison Command!"

"He's also the brother-in-law of the magistrate of Pingyang County, and lives in the He family residence in Siping Lane within the city!"

"From now on, if you want to conduct business safely, you know where to go, right?"

The officers and soldiers' eyes held a half-smile, as if they were all giving a hint.

The people from the Prince of Han's mansion looked at the local bullies with the eyes of someone looking at a dead man.

"Okay, I understand."

"We'll meet soon," Li Yuanchang said with a smile, looking every bit the part of someone about to "carry a fruit basket."

"very good!"

"Go in!" He Cao made a splash, enjoying the awe-inspiring looks from the people passing by the city gate.

Li Yuanchang didn't say anything more, he just remembered the name, and then entered the city.

This is a small town that has been in disrepair for many years. The ground is mottled and full of silt. There are not many shops, and the clothes of the people coming and going are all patched.

In short, they were poor.

Li Yuanchang's eyes were not pleasant. He was someone who had lived in the future and had witnessed the prosperity of Chang'an. Seeing such a low standard of living, he felt somewhat guilty.

Besides coming to Liangzhou to complete his deal with Li Shimin, and to stay away from the turmoil and cultivate his own power, he also wanted to do something for the people.

After all, the well-being of the people of Liangzhou was already intertwined with his personal fate and the power he was cultivating.

This is his fiefdom!

The fiefdom meant that Chang'an was no longer involved in any affairs; it was Li Yuanchang's territory, and Li Yuanchang only needed to provide Chang'an with annual revenue.

This wasn't done for Li Shimin, but for Li Yuanchang himself.

"Your Highness, why did you stop me just now?"

"That bastard dared to block the road and extort money!"

"That's outrageous! One coin can buy a pound of rice, but he charges eight coins for a single head. Isn't that blatant robbery? Where in the Tang Dynasty is there such a regulation?" Guo Chao said indignantly.

Li Yuanchang remained calm, showing no surprise whatsoever.

If this is the case in later generations, one can only imagine how isolated it was in ancient times. It is no exaggeration to say that news from these places would not reach Chang'an for ten years, unless an honest official from Chang'an came.

"I know this is a capital offense, but if we kill him, our identities will be exposed, and we won't be able to find out more things and people. Other counties will also immediately go into hiding."

Guo Chao asked in bewilderment, "Your Highness, if the people below are doing this, it must be because someone above has given their approval. You are the Prince of Han and the governor, what else do you need to investigate?"

"Why not just execute them all? Does anyone dare challenge you here?"

Li Yuanchang simply smiled upon hearing this.

Wang Hongzhi, who was standing to the side, said, "Captain Guo, don't be anxious. His Highness has his own considerations."

"Your Highness is here to govern Liangzhou. Everything must be based on evidence, otherwise you will not be able to convince the people and will be resisted. Besides, even His Majesty needs a charge to kill someone, let alone Your Highness."

"If we kill them directly, someone will report us to Chang'an and turn around and accuse the Prince of Han."

Li Yuanchang gave Wang Hongzhi an approving look, but did not blame Guo Chao.

Civil officials and military generals have different ways of thinking and different uses; there is no question of who is stronger or weaker.

Upon hearing this, Guo Chao could only suppress his anger and said nothing more.

At this moment, Li Yuanchang stopped and looked at several ragged vendors sitting not far from the city gate.

There were vendors selling firewood and wild vegetables.

He walked over, squatted down, and said with a smile, "Old sir, how much are your wild vegetables?"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." The old man was very thin. He was slightly flustered by the respectful address from the visitor, but then he smiled and said, "Young master, these two baskets only cost one coin."

Li Yuanchang nodded: "Then I'll take them all. Here's three coins, old man, please keep them."

Upon hearing this, the old man was overjoyed and almost knelt down to kowtow to Li Yuanchang, as his wild vegetables were not worth three coins at all.

"Sir, there's no need for that."

"I want to ask you something, is that alright?" Li Yuanchang said with a smile.