In the early morning, the Nagasaki office was already full of traffic, and maritime merchants from all over the country waited to enter the office with a list of goods to inspect and count, and then set out on the return journey with a huge profit. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Because Spain and Portugal believe in Catholicism, and the interpretation of Catholicism is incompatible with the Japanese who believe in Buddhism and Taoism, especially the Catholic insistence that God is the supreme authority and everyone is equal before God, which is completely different from the shogunate system with the shogun as the supreme master and strict status hierarchy, and completely contradictory, the shogunate was afraid that the people's belief in the Catholic Church would make Japan a "demon country", so it went step by step from banning religion to closing the country, and finally completely banned Spain and Portuguese from entering Japan. Therefore, except for the occasional Dutch merchant or two (the new maritime powers of England and the Netherlands were Protestant), almost all of them were Ming merchants.

At three o'clock in the morning, the townspeople opened the gate of the office on time, and the merchants were about to enter in order, when rumbling footsteps sounded, and groups of soldiers with muskets on their backs trotted in unison, and divided into two columns at the entrance of the office, sandwiching the merchants in the middle.

The merchants, who had never seen it before, were stunned, and some of them asked the townspeople of the office uneasily, "What's going on?" In the past, I never used a sergeant to maintain order in trading, huh? ”

"yes, and these people don't look like the samurai of your country......"

"Why are these people still holding firearms?"

……

Amazaki Hyosuke, the town official who rarely appeared at this hour, came out at this time and explained to everyone in person, but there was a trace of embarrassment on his face that could not be concealed: "Gentlemen, the transaction will continue as usual, but a small process will be added - General Xia from the Ming Kingdom wants to check the tax ...... to you."

With the exception of a few who were shut down, most of the maritime merchants first showed a hint of surprise and uneasiness, and then turned into dissatisfaction and anger.

"Isn't this Nagasaki? It's not a Fujian ......."

"The military generals of the Ming Kingdom came to Japan to collect taxes, and their hands inevitably stretched too long, right?"

"Lord Machi, why did you allow this kind of martial artist to appear at the office and disrupt the normal order of trade?"

……

Amagasaki Hyosuke is good at dancing with his tongue and long sleeves on weekdays, but at this time, he was asked by everyone, and he had nothing to say except to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead in embarrassment.

Summer Nanqing coughed a few times, slowly walked out from behind Amagasaki Hyosuke, and said with a smile: "Everyone, I am the martial artist you said, and I am the one who collects taxes, if there is any problem, come to me, don't embarrass Mr. Townhold......"

Seeing the main owner appear, the merchants looked at the soldiers with loaded guns on both sides, and they flinched for a while, and the momentum just now suddenly disappeared.

A businessman with a Jiangsu-Zhejiang accent saw that everyone was afraid to speak, so he mustered up the courage to ask: "The imperial court doesn't collect Allah's taxes, so why does Nong collect taxes?" ”

Xia Nan smiled undiminishedly: "Since I asked, I will patiently explain, and I will not repeat such nonsense in the future." The imperial court has commercial taxes, but they are all collected through the canal banknotes, and the reason why they do not collect you is because the sea is forbidden in this dynasty, and you are smuggling, not protected by the laws of the imperial court, so how can you collect taxes? Why I collect taxes is also very simple, my fist is the hardest at sea, and the rules are set by me. Whether I collect taxes or not, and how much taxes I collect, it all depends on my mood! ”

The merchants were enraged by his empty arrogance, and they waved their fists excitedly and shouted, "You are just a dog of the imperial court, why do you collect customs duties privately?" We will use the DPRK-China relationship to impeach you! ”

Seeing the angry appearance of the merchants, Xia Nan put away his smiling face and waved his hand to arrest people.

The soldiers on both sides rushed up, brandished the butts of their guns and smashed their heads and faces, smashing the merchants into a ball of tears.

Amagasaki Hyosuke asked cautiously, "General, do you want to screen it?" It seems a little inappropriate to be so indiscriminate......"

"It's out of the way, Mr. Amagasaki, most of the people who can scold here are because of tax evasion and ghosts. In case of a mistake, I am willing to pay for the decoction. ”

In the midst of the chaotic crowd, a red-haired foreigner waved a pamphlet and shouted in unskilled Chinese: "Don't hit me, I, tax payer, tax payer!" ”

When the soldiers heard this, they pulled him out and brought him to Xia Nan. Xia Nan took the booklet and carefully examined it, and it was really a three-color set of printed tax collection booklets, and the first page clearly wrote in small letters: "On the second day of the fourth month of the seventh year of Chongzhen, Lindeloff, a Dutch merchant, sold 900 catties of pepper, 600 catties of spices, 700 catties of Javanese cardamom, and 100 pairs of Western armor to the east, and the total amount of silver collected by Bofu Customs was 4,600 taels of silver. ”

He immediately greeted him with a smile and affectionately pulled the Dutch businessman to walk into the office: "International friends are still at the forefront of tax awareness, and local businessmen should learn more from you." ”

Then he said to Hyosuke Amagasaki, "This is a Dutch merchant who pays taxes according to the rules, and he can go according to your process." ”

Amagasaki Hyosuke breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the townspeople next to him to take him in.

After a while, ninety out of ten of the merchants gathered in front of the commission did not pay taxes, and they were all beaten and tied up, and the voices of wailing and pain came and went. Xia Nan ordered: "Pull these people to the dock along with the group caught at sea, break their legs in front of their own boat, and confiscate the ship and cargo in front of them!" ”

Amagasaki Hyosuke had a cold war, and this general was really ruthless.

More than a hundred maritime merchants were bound with their hands tied, and only two feet were left to walk, and they were blasted to the dock like cattle and sheep, and then lined up. In front of them were a dense array of merchant ships, most of which they had purchased or hired, and the ship's boss, sailors, and men stood on the ship, cowering and looking at their hosts. On the pier, many Japanese locals are also looking at this side from afar.

Liu Quan walked up to these people, pointed to the merchant ship behind him and said to them: "This is your own ship, there are goods that you have worked hard to ship from Jiangnan, originally An An paid the tax in parts, and after selling the goods, there are four or five times the profit in the account, but unfortunately, immediately not a copper plate is yours." ”

He said to Yang Youji: "Captain Yang, I'll leave it to you." ”

Yang Youji nodded, waved his hand, and ordered loudly: "Do it!" ”

The soldiers of the guard stepped forward, reversed the shaft of their guns, and smashed the butts of their guns into the knees of the merchants.

The sound of "Kara" sounded continuously, accompanied by screams, and in full view of everyone, more than 100 maritime merchants fell with broken legs and rolled on the ground in pain.

Liu Quan said loudly: "You have to thank our general for his mercy for not tying you up and throwing you into the sea to feed the fish, and sparing a life." In the future, you must keep in mind that if you continue to evade taxes next time, it will not be as simple as confiscating the cargo and breaking your legs, and you will directly take your dog's life! ”

These merchants wailed and rolled, and their bowels were all remorseful, and in order to save the three or five thousand taels, they lost more than one hundred or two hundred thousand ships, goods, and originally healthy legs.