Tang Dynasty: The seventh rank of official residence, and you will be given the Ten Thousand People

"Reporting to Lieutenant Tan County, Fan Xin asked for an audience at the door and said he was here on an errand." A yamen servant in the study said with clasped fists.

Tan Yue put down his brush and said calmly: "Did the person come empty-handed, or did he bring a gift?"

"Back to the county captain, I came empty-handed."

Tan Yue's face suddenly darkened when he heard that Fan Xin didn't even take any gifts.

"Hmph, no wonder the imperial court asked me to masturbate. How can I be an official if I don't understand this worldly thing?"

"Let him in."

The yamen servant bowed and exited the study. After a while, he took Fan Xin into the study.

"Brother-in-law, I'm on a business trip as promised. Where is the tax collector's room?"

"Tax collectors, don't be in a hurry." Tan Yue said with a smile, "I'll teach you some rules before I go on duty."

"rule?"

"Yes, there are all kinds of people in Youzhou, hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It's no better than your Wushui County where you can bump into acquaintances even when you piss."

"If you want to gain a foothold here, you must understand the rules of officialdom."

"And the first rule is that you are not allowed to sit down without permission from your boss."

Speaking of this, Tan Yue's smile suddenly dropped, he slapped the table and shouted.

"Get up, sir! Did I let you sit down?"

"And from now on, you will call me brother-in-law in the Yamen. I am a ninth-rank official in the imperial court. Do you deserve to be related to me?"

"If it weren't for your sister's sake, I wouldn't bother to support you!"

Fan Xin didn't expect that Tan Yue, who was not of high rank and had such a bad temper, would dare to slap the table with him.

I wanted to teach him a lesson, but when I thought of my sister, I suppressed my anger.

"Since you don't want to be a errand, you can just say that there are no rules and say goodbye!" After saying that, he stood up and walked out.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Tan Yue's eyes rolled around and he said angrily.

"When you come back, the young man can't even bear this anger. How can he be ranked in the ninth rank in the future?"

"Sit down first and I'll tell you about the tax collector."

Fan Xin came here this time to penetrate into the Youzhou government through Changping County and see how they harmed the people.

So he sat back down and looked like he was listening.

Tan Yue didn't show off, and said: "Our small place in Changping County is not like Youzhou where there are big shots everywhere."

"As long as you collect Beicheng's three-year arrears in taxes, I will protect you as a catcher for at most half a year, how about that?"

Fan Xin knew that Tan Yue was deliberately making things difficult for him. He knew what kind of person he was who could default on taxes for three years in front of the government.

But he came here to find out, and he didn't care whether taxes could be raised.

So he nodded and agreed: "Okay, send me a few brothers to lead the way, and I'll go to Beicheng to collect taxes."

"Don't worry, everyone has made arrangements for you." Tan Yue smiled and shouted outside the door.

"Zhong Er, take Fan Xin to the north of the city to identify the door. Remember to put him in charge!"

The man named Zhong Er showed his big yellow teeth and laughed.

"I promise to cooperate well with Brother Fan."

Tan Yue nodded and said to Fan Xin: "Go ahead and identify yourself so that you can collect taxes tomorrow."

"Then you get busy first, while I go to Beicheng for a walk."

Watching Fan Xin and his entourage leave, the clerk hesitated and said: "County Lieutenant, Fan Xin is also your brother-in-law. Is it too much to ask him to go to Beicheng to collect taxes?"

Tan Yue withdrew his gaze and said coldly: "Since being promoted to county captain, Fan Xiaolan has long been unworthy of me, and her brother is nothing."

"After a few days of catching up with Yun Changshi's daughter, I will immediately divorce Fan Xiaolan and send their whole family to Lingnan to save the countrymen from poking my spine."

At the end of the sentence, Tan Yue's face turned into a ferocious look.

A small person is not a gentleman, and a person who is not poisonous is not a husband. In order to go further, he can only kick out the burden of the Fan family!

……

Changping County Main Street.

Fan Xin walked towards the north of the city under the leadership of Zhong Er. The streets he passed along the way were lined with teahouses and restaurants. Judging from the passenger flow, it was obviously much busier than in the south of the city.

"Brother, our Beicheng is the most prosperous place in Changping County, and it is also the place where the most powerful people are concentrated."

"If you want to collect all the taxes, you must be careful everywhere, otherwise everyone will die."

Fan Xin glanced at Zhong Er and said, "How much tax could this area in the north of the city collect in previous years?"

"Thirty percent," Zhong Er said with a bitter smile, "We only got this 30% after we begged grandpa to sue our ancestors."

"It's okay for people from a small family. Treating them to a few meals and making friends can give them some face."

"But that's not the case for those big households. They don't take us tax collectors seriously because they have backers."

"So far, we have been in arrears for three consecutive years, totaling 90,000 copper coins."

While they were talking, the group came to the door of Yanlai Tower, Zhong Er pointed to the plaque and said.

"There are three companies in the north of the city that are in arrears with taxes. Among them, Yanlailou is the largest. It is said that the backer behind it is Shi Yunshan, the governor of You."

"No wonder he doesn't pay taxes. It turns out that he is protected by a fifth-grade official." Fan Xin chuckled lightly, with a cold light surging in his eyes.

There are three levels in the Tang Dynasty. The upper-level states are higher than the smaller states in terms of population and official rank.

Youzhou is a strategic town in the north. If the rank of Changshi is obtained from Bozhou, it will even be more powerful than the power of the governor.

So they have the confidence to refuse to pay taxes!

Seeing that Fan Xin understood the whole story, Zhong Er was about to go to the next place, but Fan Xin suddenly walked towards Yanlai Tower.

They were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

"Brother, we are just here to recognize the door. You will risk your life if you go in without permission to collect taxes."

Fan Xin looked at the figure above and said calmly: "You are already here, wouldn't it be looked down upon if you don't go in?"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and robe and strode into Yanlai Tower. Seeing this, Zhong Er and others followed him bravely.

If they had known that Fan Xin was so impulsive, they would never have accepted this errand.

Now that he is well, the beatings he received are all minor, and it is hard to say whether he can save his life.

As Fan Xin and his party entered, the lively brothel lobby suddenly became quiet.

Everyone stared at the tax collector with their mouths wide open, as if they didn't expect them to dare to break in.

The big teapot and a few thugs came over quickly, blocked Fan Xin and said impatiently.

"I said you didn't even say hello when you came. Do you really think that our Yan Lai Building is a place where we can come whenever we want?"

Zhong Er obviously knew the other person, he nodded and bowed and said with a smile.

"Master Yun, Brother Fan is our new leader. I will bring him here to identify..."

However, before Zhong Er could finish his words, the big teapot slapped him in the face.

"Go away, is there any place for you to talk here?"

After scolding, the big teapot looked at Fan Xin and said: "Boy, why don't you ask where Yanlai Tower is? Do you want to live here if you dare to come here to collect taxes?"

Fan Xin said calmly as he glanced at the big teapot.

"You, Yan Lailou, have been in arrears with taxes for three years without any reason. Plus the fine, the total is 48,000 guan."

"Go and call the old madam out and ask her to pay the tax arrears."