Chapter 934: The City Lord's Wife

"Why did the champion come to the border town?" Du Wen asked cautiously.

Did this big man's appearance in the border town bring the king's decree?

"Just passing by to see friends."

Zhou Ran said calmly, naturally he would not tell the lord of the border city about what happened in the North.

Du Wenbian immediately came to Lin Xuan and complimented: "Mr. Lin, I didn't expect you to be a friend of the champion. What happened today has offended me a lot, so please don't mind, Mr. Lin!"

Lin Xuan was flattered that the lord of the dignified border town was actually very polite to him, an outsider.

All of this was Zhou Ran's contribution. Lin Xuan didn't know what Zhou Ran had done, but it was conceivable that Zhou Ran had made great contributions to Jing Guoli.

"Champion Marquis, I will order the city lord's palace to arrange a banquet right now. I also ask the Champion Marquis and Mr. Lin not to shirk!" Du Wen nodded and bowed.

Zhou Ran was indeed a little tired after a long journey. After arriving at the border town, he had no place to stay. It would be good to stay in the city lord's mansion for a few days.

As for Lin Xuan, he will stay in the border town for a while. In order to keep the Lin family's business safe, he will naturally not let go of the opportunity to get close to the city lord Du Wen.

Zhou Ran and Lin Xuan both agreed. Du Wenbian was overjoyed and immediately ordered people to prepare wine and good meat.

The lord of the border town held a banquet in the backyard of the lord's mansion to entertain Zhou Ran and Lin Xuan.

Not only were there delicious wines and delicacies, but there were also singing and dancing to add to the fun, and the entire city lord's mansion became lively.

"Marquis Champion, the border town is located in a remote area with poor resources. You are a village girl from the mountains and have a simple diet. Please don't mind and just make do with it!"

Du Wen toasted and apologized to Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran didn't say anything.

No matter how bad the wine, meat, singing and dancing are in the border towns, they are still much better than those in the north.

Zhou Ran ate happily, while Lin Xuan took this opportunity to chat with Du Wen about business matters.

Thanks to his friend Zhou Ran, Du Wenbian was able to comply with all Lin Xuan's requests, opening the door to convenience.

After three rounds of drinking, a woman rushed into the backyard.

"Du Wenbian, the pot is no longer open at home, but you are still entertaining guests here! As soon as today is over, tomorrow the city lord's mansion will have a northwest wind!"

Zhou Ran and Lin Xuan were stunned. Why did this woman come in and say a bunch of nonsense?

Du Wenbian became even more furious and said: "How outrageous! Kick her out quickly!"

Several servants came to the woman and wanted to drive her out of the backyard.

But the woman refused to give up and kept chattering: "Du Wenbian, what's the point of driving me out? Do you really think you can handle everything?"

The servant was afraid of the woman's identity and did not dare to stop her too much. Everything the woman said reached Zhou Ran's ears.

Zhou Ran asked curiously: "City Lord Du, who is this?"

Du Wenbian made a sad face and said, "This is my wife. Her rude words have offended the champion. Please forgive me."

Zhou Ran added: "Since there is a banquet in the city lord's palace, why did you turn your wife away? I am very concerned about what she said just now. City lord of Jingguo Border City, why can't the pot be revealed at home? City lord Du, let your wife come forward say."

"yes."

Du Wenbian had no choice but to order his servants to release Mrs. Du.

Mrs. Du still had a bad face when she saw Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran asked: "Mrs. Du, you said that the city lord's mansion is almost out of control. What do you mean? The city lord is a dignified and well-off family. He shouldn't have to worry about food and clothing, right?"

Mrs. Du sneered,

Said: "Champion Hou, you are so high up, how do you know the sufferings in the border towns? The border towns are poor and there is not much oil and water in the first place. As the city lord, my husband can only live on a meager salary. But now, the city lord's mansion actually wants to use the money to repay , already unable to make ends meet. Now, he is still entertaining you at the City Lord’s Mansion. Once you leave the border town, everyone in the City Lord’s Mansion will go to the streets to beg for food!”

Mrs. Du spoke truthfully, and Zhou Ran also picked up some clues.

"The City Lord's Mansion took the money and repaid it? What did it repay?"

Mrs. Du opened up the conversation, and naturally she would not hide anything anymore.

"It's not like those people from the Taxation Department. The City Lord's Mansion wants to hand over the money they get to the Taxation Department, so they are getting poorer and poorer!"

"Taxation Department? Where does Jingguo's Taxation Department come from?"

Zhou Ran was confused.

Although I don’t know much about Jingguo, I also know about Jingguo’s national institutions.

The city-states of Jingguo have always had a high degree of autonomy. The city-states are responsible for their own profits and losses, and pay taxes to the country on time. There is no such department as the Taxation Department in Jingguo.

"Jushi Qingfeng is the tax department of Qingguo."

Lin Xuan whispered, he is a businessman and knows everything about the tax department.

Mrs. Du also heard Lin Xuan's words and said: "Yes, it is the Taxation Department of Qingguo! Since the new leader of Qingguo took office, he has monopolized power and deprived the city-states of their power! The Taxation Department is directly under the leadership of Qingguo. An agency that collects taxes for the country’s owner. They not only collect taxes from their own country, but also taxes from neighboring countries!”

"That's unreasonable!"

Zhou Ran threw the wine glass to the ground.

The border town is the city-state of Jingguo, and the tax department of Qingguo actually dares to come to the border town to collect taxes. It is really audacious.

When Du Wen saw Zhou Ran was angry, he quickly knelt down in front of Zhou Ran.

"Marquis Guanjun, I have no choice but to do this! Border Town is remote. If the Qing army invades, Jing State will not be able to quench its thirst. I am afraid that people will suffer! That is why I use the money from the City Lord's Mansion to subsidize the taxation department. This is also for the peace of Border Town, so that merchants from foreign and inner regions can do business safely!"

Zhou Ran's face sank, and he said: "In the battle of Jianjia Pass, the Jing army won a great victory. As the lord of Border Town, you did a cowardly thing, which really brought shame to Jing State!"

"Marquis Guanjun, spare me! Marquis Guanjun, spare me!"

Du Wenbian kept kowtowed, and his head was broken.

Mrs. Du stopped blaming him and began to plead for Du Wenbian: "Marquis Guanjun, if the country is weak, the people will be weak. If Jing State's diplomacy is strong, how could my husband be bullied? All this is caused by the inaction of the Lord of the State!"

Mrs. Du slandered the Lord of the State in public, but Zhou Ran did not blame her. Instead, he gave Du Wenbian a break for her sake.

"City Lord Du, for the sake of your wife, I will not punish you for the time being, but you have given so much money to the Qing State Taxation Bureau, you must return it!"

"Return it? How do you want it back?"

Du Wenbian was trembling with fear. The money given away was like water spilled, how could it be returned?

"Don't worry, this time, I will go with you! If you don't get all the money back, you can't be the city lord anymore!".

Zhou Ran was determined, and Du Wenbian had no choice but to announce the end of the banquet.

Afterwards, Du Wenbian took Zhou Ran to the location of the Qing State Taxation Bureau.