Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

After more than ten days of trekking, they finally arrived at Haiyuan City.

Looking at the city gate of Haiyuan City, Xie Xian couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

The thickness and exquisite construction of the city gate far surpassed the scale of Taoyuan County.

He couldn't help but admire the wealth of the salt merchants' territory.

Even the city walls and gates were far superior.

Du Lingfeng, seeing his expression, had expected this and explained, "Brother Xie, this city gate was funded and built by the Lü family."

"Each of the studs on the city gate is made of solid gold!"

Looking at the city gate, Xie Xian felt for the first time that Taoyuan County seemed a bit shabby, and he complimented, "The salt merchants are indeed extraordinary..."

"Haha, this is nothing. Let's go in and take a look!"

The group prepared to ride into the city, but they were immediately stopped by soldiers. Du Lingfeng dismounted, produced a document, and a silver note.

After chatting with the soldiers for a while, he led the group into the city.

During the process of entering the city, Xie Xian curiously asked, "Brother Du, even with a road permit, do we still need to pay silver? How much silver did you give just now?"

"Fifty taels!"

"What! Fifty taels?!" Xie Xian was greatly surprised.

Fifty taels! Enough for an ordinary family of three to eat for many years! To charge such a high toll was simply outrageous!

Taoyuan County wasn't even this corrupt!

"Brother Xie, you don't know, if I were entering the city alone, I wouldn't need to spend money. But this time, I brought too many people, so the toll is naturally higher."

"Is the collection of money so excessive that the government doesn't care?"

Du Lingfeng laughed: "The government? Now that you're inside the city, we can be considered truly on the inside, so I'll be honest with you!"

"The post guarding this city gate has always been a lucrative position. Ordinary people without connections can't even get to watch this gate!"

"Since everyone here relies on connections, why would the government investigate?"

"Those who come here are all wealthy merchants; ordinary people naturally have no chance to enter the city, so paying some money is no big deal."

Xie Xian remained noncommittal.

What he said made sense. Ordinary people were almost nailed to their birthplace for their entire lives. Except for scholars going to the capital for the imperial exams and merchants traveling north and south, people hardly moved.

It was not surprising that such a situation existed. He had seen it before when he was running business outside.

However, a fee as high as this was unheard of!

"Brother Du, since the Lü family can fund the construction of the city gate, they must be very important in Haiyuan City, right?" Xie Xian asked.

"Very important?" Du Lingfeng smiled contemptuously: "You're making it too simple. It's more than just important."

"What do you think of this street scene? These are all the Lü family's businesses!"

Du Lingfeng pointed his hand. The street in front of them was exceptionally clean, and the shops on both sides were orderly.

However, this scene seemed a little strange to Xie Xian.

"Hmm... it is indeed remarkable, but why are there no old people or children on the street?"

Xie Xian quickly noticed the strangeness of the street. Although there were people walking on the street, there were no young women.

This seemed odd.

"Brother Xie is indeed observant!" Du Lingfeng sighed: "Young women are afraid of being fancied by the Lü family, so they dare not go out on the streets."

"Don't be surprised. To say something treasonous, the Lü family is the emperor of Haiyuan City. In the city, the Lü family can do whatever they want, and no one dares to interfere."

Hearing this, Xie Xian's expression began to become strange: "How can this be? Is there no government office here?"

"Of course, there is, but with the Lü family's influence, what can even the local governor do? Not only have the shops along the street been bought by the Lü family, but there are also the forces of the Salt Gang outside the city. The government here is already in name only."

"If the government wants to do anything, it still has to rely on the Lü family to provide money."

"The combination of officials and merchants benefits both parties. Why not?"

Xie Xian had his eyes opened today. He didn't expect that, far away from the central government, things had already gotten out of control to this extent!

"According to you, isn't the Lü family free to exploit the people, defy the law, and disregard the laws of the Great Jing?"

"Alas... in Haiyuan City, I find it laughable when you mention the laws of the Great Jing." Du Lingfeng gave a bitter laugh: "That's right, just as you said, the Lü family can do whatever they want in Haiyuan City, exploiting the people!"

"The current head of the Lü family is named Lü Renjie. To be honest, I'm a little afraid of him. This man is lecherous and tyrannical. When he sees a woman he likes on the street, he often drags her away. If she refuses, he will kill her on the spot! But if you want to sell smuggled salt in Jianjiang, you can't do it without his approval."

"Hey, don't tell this to anyone else. When you see him, keep your head down and speak softly."

Seeing Du Lingfeng's frightened appearance, Xie Xian's expression gradually became serious.

Damn it, the situation here is beyond imagination. I'm afraid I brought too few people to solve the problem....

"Brother Du, since this person is so lawless, isn't he afraid of causing popular resentment?"

Du Lingfeng said bitterly: "What's there to be afraid of?"

"The common people, after all, just want an explanation."

"If things get out of hand, find a scapegoat, lock him up, and give the higher-ups an explanation. After a few days, when things have calmed down and popular resentment has subsided, the higher-ups won't ask any more questions, and everything will be fine."

"And those scapegoats? They're all old actors. They get good food and drink inside and can come out after living there for a while."

"If anyone makes trouble again, just kill those who expose and cause trouble."

"This way, it ends without resolution."

"The people, of course, aren't stupid. After a few times, they give up their illusions. They think, 'Let it be! Anyway, it's not happening to me, so who wants to stick their neck out?' What's the use of a surge of passion? Even if you're lucky enough to survive, who knows which prison you'll end up in."

"Shameless!" Xie Xian clenched the reins tightly, his teeth clenched: "Brother Du, I observe that you probably don't like this kind of thing either, do you?"

Seeing his expression, Du Lingfeng said helplessly: "Brother Xie, since we're here, let's just accept it. There are too many injustices in this world to manage!"

"You and I are both scholars. Which of us didn't have the ideal of governing the world and benefiting the people when we were young?"

"But after seeing too much, we realized that it was all because we were young and didn't know the difficulties of the world. Look, do we still have the qualifications to be called scholars now?"

"Bear with it. Making money isn't shameful."

"After meeting Young Master Lü, you can return to Jianjiang. We won't have too much contact in the future, just once or twice a year. As for me, I'll find another place, and we can still correspond by letter."

Xie Xian suppressed the undercurrents raging in his heart and twitched the corner of his mouth: "Brother Du, my eyes have been opened today."

Du Lingfeng was silent and did not speak.

The group walked for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea and arrived in front of a large mansion. Du Lingfeng said: "Brother Xie, this is one of my residences. You can settle down here first, rest for two days, and also take the opportunity to see the scenery of Haiyuan City."

"Although there are some special circumstances here, when it comes to enjoyment, it's by no means inferior to your Fenghua House."

"I'll come find you in two days."

......