wait for another year

As soon as he entered the dungeon, he saw Zhizhi reclining on the soft couch, his whole body nestled in the thick fur, his face was sickly pale, and a maid was gently beating his shoulders.

Xuanyuan Hui said with a smile: "Sir, I'm really in a good mood, so comfortable, Xiao Wang is envious."

"Mister, is your body still not feeling well recently?" Zhao Xu asked with concern.

Zhizhi's lifeless eyes seemed to glance at him, "Thank you, Princess, for your concern, the useless man still has a sigh of relief."

Every time he called himself a cripple, it meant that he was in a good mood, Xuanyuan Hui smiled, "Let him come out."

Zhizhi nodded, and a black-clothed warrior opened the door of a stone room, and a person walked out from inside. He was walking like a dragon and a tiger, and his appearance was extraordinary. He looked like a man who could accomplish great things.

"My little one has met the prince and concubine." He bowed his hands in salute, neither humble nor overbearing.

Zhao Xu frowned, "He is?"

The man didn't answer presumptuously, but looked in the direction of Xuanyuan Hui and Zhizhi, saw Xuanyuan Hui nodding slowly before answering: "Little man Zhang Renbao, from Wuyuan family, 32 years old, is now the leader of the rebel army."

Zhao Xu was stunned, and looked at Xuanyuan Hui in disbelief: "Your method is too risky. How do you know that he doesn't have parents, wife, and close friends? Even if they just chat casually and talk about the past that only a few people know, if he I don’t know, wouldn’t it be revealed in an instant?”

Zhizhi was displeased and said: "Wangfei can't trust me?"

Zhao Xu knew that he had made a slip of the tongue, and smiled embarrassingly, and heard Zhiji say: "This Renbao is an orphan, and he has never married a wife. Since the famine, all his colleagues who used to be small officials have also been scattered. When the rebel army rose up, I had already arranged for him. With people around him, they know everything about his life habits and even the secrets of the Rebel Army. To tell you the truth, this person has served Zhang Renbao for a month before, and it is not easy for ordinary people to find the difference."

"I was too cautious," Zhao Xu thought for a while, "Then how does Prince Zhang Renbao plan to deal with it?"

Xuanyuan frowned, "I'm also hesitant about this matter. If I kill him, he is a hero after all. I'm a little bit helpless. If I keep him alive, I'm worried about accidents..."

"Why don't you leave this person to me?" Zhao Xu thought about it, "I always think it might be useful to keep this person."

Xuanyuan Hui didn't make up his mind at all, since he said so, he didn't bother to think about it, so he agreed directly.

The two bid farewell to Zhizhi, and returned to Yunli Building, where they saw Zhao Hue wandering around the door with anxious faces.

"What's wrong? It's rough." Zhao Xu frowned.

Zhao Hue hurriedly stepped forward, "Brother Nineteen, Mr. Shen asked me to check the account books a few days ago, but I found several incorrect numbers."

"Oh?" Zhao Xu turned his head, "Is it from Suzhou, or from Yaluke, or from the capital?"

Since everything was on the right track, Zhao Xu didn't get into the eyes of money like he did when he first came to Suzhou. In addition, the political situation was turbulent later, and he didn't have the heart to do it himself again. Unexpectedly, such a negligence would still go wrong.

Xuanyuan Hui was always polite to Zhao Hue, seeing him waiting at the door for a long time in the cold weather, he felt sorry and said: "Zhao Shijiu, you wear thick clothes, and you don't care whether your brother lives or dies, if it gets cold, I'm afraid he will be in the house." Behind the scenes, I arranged for me to treat my brother-in-law harshly."

He was not in tune, and Zhao Hue had also experienced it before, half-jokingly said: "Wang Su's trustworthiness and concubine are known all over the world, and I also ascended to heaven with chickens and dogs, how can I be treated harshly?"

Shouning had already prepared the tea in the hall, several people went in and sat down, Zhao Hue took out the copy of the account book and presented it to the two of them.

"What? Is it a tax issue?" Zhao Xu casually flipped through the pages and put them aside.

Zhao Hue couldn't help being surprised, "How did my cousin know about it before he saw it?"

Xuanyuan Hui swallowed his tea, "Let's not talk about this little Suzhou, look at Kyushu, how many people are smarter than your cousin? These people want to play tricks in front of him, it's too big."

"You guessed it too, my lord?" Zhao Xu smiled and raised his eyebrows after hearing the compliment.

Xuanyuan Hui said to Rao: "You also know that I never ask about common affairs, but only about military affairs. I'm afraid I don't know as much about money and food as Shouning. If what I say is wrong, it will show my eyes to my brother-in-law."

Zhao Xu squinted at him, "Where is the prince, there are no outsiders here, so why not guess, even if you guess wrong, you can win you a smile and bring us some fun."

"Hmm..." Xuanyuan Hui pondered for a while, and asked Zhao Huo, "How much is missing?"

"Twelve thousand gold."

Xuanyuan Hui counted with his fingers, while Zhao Xu laughed beside him, and said to Zhao Huo, "My lord was not good at arithmetic since he was a child, but now he is stumped."

After all, I don’t want to embarrass him anymore, and said directly: "There are about 240 households in Suzhou, with more than [-] people. Previously, the imperial court paid one tax per ten to Suzhou, which is almost a tax rate of six stones per person per year. Suzhou has to pay a tax of [-] million shi, which is about [-] gold..."

Xuanyuan Hui immediately realized, "About [-]% of the tax bill is missing, that is to say...we fell out with the court in August, and we haven't paid the tax burden since then, and now we are short of taxes from August to October. Taxes for the four months of January!"

"My lord not only has icy skin, but also icy intelligence." Zhao Xu teased.

Xuanyuan Hui raised the corners of his lips, with a half-smile, "No wonder Renzong, who was the most merciful in my dynasty, had killed two corrupt officials alive in public. This is still in Suzhou, and they could have been greedy for months of tax money. If you become an official in the capital, wouldn’t you be able to wipe out all the money in the treasury? They really think that this Suzhou is the Suzhou of this king alone?”

Although he was smiling, there was no warmth in those blue eyes, which made Zhao Huo who was beside him shudder.

"This Suzhou belongs to my king, but it also belongs to more than 40 people. They really think that all the tax money collected is enjoyed by me alone? Is it true that the people pay taxes because they respect and love me, a brat? Boy, do you want to support the king from the bottom of your heart? Of course not, they pay taxes so that during wars, the imperial soldiers and horses will protect them from foreign enemies; during natural disasters, imperial officials will control the water Building embankments, providing disaster relief and food, so that they will not starve to death by the side of the road; when encountering injustice, someone will come out to uphold justice, so that they will not be wronged and die. What are they greedy for today? Four months of tax money, They are greedy for [-] people's hearts, and they are destroying the foundation that I have worked so hard to build in Suzhou over the past five years!"

"How does the lord plan to deal with it?" Zhao Xu said in a leisurely manner.

Xuanyuan Hui sneered: "This matter must be thoroughly investigated to the end, and will not be tolerated! Ask Shen Mi to come over, these days he is too lazy, and he has not noticed such a big matter."

Zhao Xu remained calm - up to now, King Su has established himself as a rival to the Deng Party and the imperial court, and it is time to start to show his authority.