The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 92 : Pacifying the Western Great Mountain (5)

"No, look at these people. They say they founded a sect as secular disciples and then did business as it was. Where else is there such a deliberate act?"

"Still..."

"Look closely at their faces. Aren't they all local powerful people who have been farting around and living with their shoulders squared?"

"Come to think of it..."

"They were living well by evading taxes until now. You all think about it too. If you didn't have to pay taxes for the rest of your life, how much money would accumulate? Moreover, they would have had to pay much more taxes than us."

A penny or two might not be much, but if it accumulates for a lifetime, it becomes an enormous amount of money.

If that was the case for ordinary common people, what about them?

"C-certainly!"

"How many sacks of rice is that money!"

"Eeei, you bastards!"

"Are you not afraid of the heavens!"

The common people spat and cursed at the severed heads.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard continued to read the official document.

"According to the inspector's investigation, among the fifty-two Daoist sects, there are twenty-five that can truly be called Daoist sects. The twenty-seven Daoist sects other than these twenty-five were a means of tax evasion, only Daoist sects in name. Besides the five traitors of the sects whose heads are now displayed, the remaining twenty-two sects are under strict investigation."

"Twenty-seven!?"

"There are not just one or two thieves!"

"Therefore, the number of criminals to be beheaded will increase in the future. The sects currently under investigation are as follows, so be sure to check."

"Let's see, heok!"

Most of the common people of the Western Great Mountain could not help but be surprised to see it.

"To think the shop next door was actually a Daoist sect!"

"The furniture store too?!"

"You daylight robbers! You should be ashamed!"

"To evade taxes! May you be punished by the heavens!"

Surprise, and then anger.

As any common person would, taxes were a burden on a poor household.

Was the tax of the rich the only tax? The tax of the poor was heavy because it was the tax of the poor. A silver tael was not a big deal to the rich, but to the poor, it was half a year's life.

And yet, they had been paying their taxes diligently even in such poor circumstances. The person they had thought of as a friend, the acquaintance they had considered a good person, the generous relative who lived a comfortable life, was a daylight robber who had been evading taxes.

"And after all that, they say that if you work hard, you can become rich like them?"

"Was that effort an effort to insult and deceive the lord of the country!"

"They deserve to die. Yes!"

"The justice of the country has been set right."

The anger of the common people was just, and that anger was poured out entirely on the dead.

The military official of the Embroidered Uniform Guard shouted again.

"I will give you ten days' time, so those who are entangled in a monetary relationship with these people should report to the government office and reveal in detail the money they should receive and the money they should give!"

"The amount of credit I have to receive from those guys is considerable. Can I receive that too?"

"There was a strict order from His Majesty to take special care so that no innocent victims would emerge from this incident. If the ledger is properly recorded and the accounts are correct, it will of course be paid."

"Thank you, thank you."

Recovering illegal money and stabilizing public order. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was very skilled at this kind of work.

Moreover, this incident was a table that the inspector had already set, and there was even an order from His Majesty. Since it was a matter that required all their strength, there should be no complaints.

Even in the midst of such thorough work, there were some who could be called real victims. They were those who were only connected by blood to the traitors who had embezzled taxes, and who had not enjoyed any benefits because they had cut off their relationship.

But treason was a law that exterminated three generations. So the punishment for treason came to them as well. If there was a crime, it was the blood that was the crime.

Jang So-gil submitted evidence and petitioned for the lives of those who had not enjoyed the benefits of the traitors. Emperor Yongle listened to the petition and personally exempted them from the collective punishment.

The one who had petitioned was Jang So-gil, but the one who had made the decision was the emperor. And the one who carried it out was the Embroidered Uniform Guard. So the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pressing down on their waists that felt like they would break at any moment from being overwhelmed with work, carried out the work.

* * *

Dozens of couriers ran towards the capital of the Ming, Beijing. They were couriers who had departed from the Western Great Mountain.

The head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhang Ji, reviewed the countless reports that came up and let out a low groan.

"The Western Great Mountain is really being organized."

"The work is easier and faster than expected, so it seems the processing will be finished within half a month."

"Half a month, that's too fast. Isn't the work being done sloppily?"

"Inspector Jang So-gil is helping with the tax processing in a simplified manner, and his speed is faster and more accurate than twenty customs officials combined, so they say half a month is enough."

"That complicated tax law? Weren't the calculations wrong?"

"There was a customs official on site who suspected him, so they compared it based on the same data. But it is said that the numbers on the customs official's side were wrong. So the word 'innate' is not enough to describe his sense of numbers."

"He is truly a talent of the world."

Zhang Ji had never met Jang So-gil in person. But since he had received the letter from the Martial Alliance inspector, the ways to deal with the villains who were abusing the tax exemption privilege of the Western Great Mountain were densely organized there.

The content was so absurd that he had thought it was impossible. But looking at it now, it had all come true without a single error. He couldn't help but get goosebumps.

"I allowed it because he said he could check the Huashan Sect while calming the complaints of the common people, and in the end, would be able to partially resolve the financial difficulties of the imperial family. But to think it would go so well. It really became as he said. The person named Jang So-gil is a person who is quick at calculations and can draw a big picture."

"I heard he was an orphan who had a meteoric rise after catching the eye of the Martial Alliance Leader with his innate beauty. But if that's the case, doesn't it mean that the Martial Alliance Leader's insight was outstanding?"

"That's also true. Ha, this is a big problem. Since his ability is so outstanding, he can't help but catch the eye of His Majesty."

To think that catching the eye of His Majesty was a big problem?

The adjutant, bewildered, asked back.

"What does that mean...?"

"As soon as His Majesty saw the report I submitted, he was happy in a way that was rare to see recently. It's no wonder. He is a fellow who has filled the storehouses of the imperial family and turned the complaints of the common people into praise. Even if he has the wicked intention of filling his own pockets, if the result is this good, he is a fellow worthy of receiving His Majesty's grace. And what about when he submitted the petition? Didn't he even kick the ministers who were trying to stop him and defend him?"

"They say that Grand Secretary Yi Qian, who was kicked, was in a lot of pain. It seems that His Majesty has taken a great liking to that inspector. But how is that a big problem?"

Zhang Ji gathered his brow and shook his head.

"What is our job?"

"Well, the first is to protect His Majesty's safety, the second is to catch and kill those who don't pay taxes, and the third is to dry up the local powerful families."

"Yes. That is all our authority."

"Then what is the problem?"

"That fellow named Jang So-gil is an inspector of the Martial Alliance. And if it's the tax of the Martial Alliance, isn't it in reality a protection fee? It's not our business to catch those who don't pay that kind of protection fee, but this time, he has boldly stepped into our territory."

"That is so, but wasn't it a happy assistance?"

"If he had done the work only to a certain extent, I would have been happy too. But isn't he too good at it? It has come to the point where even His Majesty is paying attention. If this is not a big problem, what is a big problem? Won't our position be narrowed!"

The adjutant moved his lips as if in trouble. It seemed he wanted to make a counterargument.

As Zhang Ji slightly nodded his head, the adjutant replied.

"However, isn't the Embroidered Uniform Guard as a whole suffering from a manpower shortage? There are too few people."

There was not just one reason for the manpower shortage.

No matter how extreme the punishment, fellows who evaded taxes kept appearing.

Emperor Yongle's will for a northern expedition was too strong, so no matter how much the storehouses were filled, the money would soon disappear. Because war was a monster that ate money.

Was that all?

"The matter of Tang Saier has not been resolved yet."

"Keuheum."

It was around the time Jang So-gil was rolling in the mud in Sichuan. There was a famine in the world, and the common people were suffering from starvation.

And yet, Emperor Yongle's ambition for a northern expedition did not die down, so there was a harsh requisition. In response, a woman named Tang Saier from Shandong Province called herself the 'Buddha Mother' and rose up, gathering numerous farmers and White Lotus followers and starting a rebellion.

"At that time, we caught Tang Saier after many sacrifices, but didn't she eventually escape because there was an internal collaborator? Even now, three-tenths of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are tracking Tang Saier. Besides, since three-tenths of the troops are stationed to guard His Majesty. The current full available force of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is only four-tenths."

Only four-tenths of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had to rule the entire central plains. It was only natural that there was a shortage of manpower.

Zhang Ji let out a groan.

"Kkeueum... There's a limit to supplementing the personnel. The talents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard require a strict screening even when they are selected, and after that, various educations are needed."

"The matter of collecting taxes is not something that can be entrusted to other departments. At best, the limit was to cooperate with the Eastern Depot, so the manpower shortage is a serious problem."

"Even so, should we let a mere martial artist be used in an important position?"

"Even if he is a martial artist, wouldn't it be okay as long as he is competent?"

"That kind of thinking creates carelessness. Eeeit, this is a headache."

Emperor Taizu Hongwu, after destroying the Yuan, had once conceived a plan to hire martial artists to stabilize the world. And the emperor's conception meant that he would actually try it out through a lot of investment.

According to a secret document passed down in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, fifty martial artists had been hired at that time. But the endings were all not good.

The people of the Unorthodox Faction were as cunning as snakes, so the one sent to catch embezzlement ended up abetting the embezzlement and only thought of filling his own belly. The people of the Black Way went one step further and even led the embezzlement themselves.

Then wouldn't the people of the orthodox sect be okay? The orthodox sect was a headache in its own way.

What kind of politics would it be if there was no filth? Just as fish cannot live in water that is only clean, politics is inevitably dirty and shabby.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was one of the dirtiest places among all the imperial institutions, along with the Eastern Depot. It was because it was a place that handled money. And it was also because it was a place that sometimes created non-existent crimes and framed them to deal with the enemies of the imperial family.

The people of the orthodox sect could not accept this and often went against the imperial order and helped criminals escape.

As a result, appointing a martial artist as an official was a kind of taboo.

But what about this Martial Alliance inspector?

He was not of the Unorthodox Faction, nor of the Black Way. Although he was in the orthodox sect's Martial Alliance, his actions were far from those of the upright people of the orthodox sect.

Besides, until last year, he was a merchant without a handful of internal energy. So wouldn't it be okay to use him in an important position?

To the extent that Zhang Ji, who had a rebellious feeling towards martial artists, unconsciously thought so, other people would think more easily. Moreover, what about the emperor, who did not care about the judgment of others?

Zhang Ji's premonition was right. Soon, a secret letter from the emperor arrived.

(End of Chapter)