If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Sir, three days have passed, and not a single company has come to apply for a business license."

"Sir, rumors are flying around that our tax office won't last long."

Since the Shaofu (Minister of the Imperial Household Department) didn't handle affairs, all the matters of the Tax Bureau fell to Zhou Wu.

"It's alright. You can continue to send out notices to various businesses in the capital to apply for business licenses. As for the merchants who didn't come to apply for business licenses in the first batch, I will handle it."

There are many merchants in the capital, so the tax office notified them in many batches. Zhou Wu never expected these people to obey obediently. The first batch was just to make an example of them.

"Jian'an,"

"exist."

"According to this list, all these shops will be sealed off. Anyone who tries to obstruct the operation will be arrested and imprisoned on charges of obstructing official business."

"Yes."

Lu Jian'an immediately led his men, armed with seals, to seal off each house according to the list, throwing the capital into chaos.

"You really dare to shut down the store?"

"Stop! Do you know who our boss is?"

"Come on, stop them!"

The first business encountered fierce resistance. Who in the capital could do business without some kind of background? Who would obediently surrender when faced with Zhou Wu, a nobody official with no background?

Seeing that the tax bureau guards actually dared to come and seal off the shop, the shopkeeper actually called on the shop assistants to grab their weapons and resist.

"Smack! Get out!"

Seeing that his men couldn't handle it after a long time, Lu Jian'an went up and slapped the shopkeeper across the face.

A slap from a fierce general like Lu Jian'an was far too much for a mere shopkeeper to withstand. One slap sent him spinning several times before he passed out.

"Damn it, they all want to die. If they dare to resist, arrest them all and lock them up in jail."

Lu Jian'an drew his waist knife and held it horizontally in front of him. His god-like appearance immediately silenced the chaotic scene. The shop assistants trembled and unconsciously dropped their "weapons".

Among the onlookers were many people from other shops. Upon seeing this scene, they turned tail and ran to report the situation to their shopkeepers.

"What? Hengyuanxiang has been shut down? That's Master Zhang's shop! How dare they?"

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. The shopkeeper tried to resist, but the officer in charge slapped him across the face, and he immediately foamed at the mouth and fainted."

Who is leading the team?

"He is Lu Jian'an, the eldest son of the Duke of Lu."

"Damn it, it was him. I'll go ask the boss right away."

If someone else had been leading the team, these shopkeepers would have definitely put up a fight, but as soon as they heard it was Lu Jian'an, they immediately backed down.

Lu Da was known as the "Devil King" because even the Emperor wouldn't punish him for his mistakes. His son, Lu Jian'an, perfectly inherited this trait from his father and was simply a reckless troublemaker.

On the first day of Lu Jian'an's operation, a total of twelve shops were shut down and more than a hundred people were arrested and imprisoned. Not only were the people of the capital shocked, but the court and the public were also shaken.

On the same day, many of the forces behind the sealed-off shops began to jointly petition the tax authorities, and Zhou Wu was also spoken to privately by his superior, Yu Xian.

"Your extreme methods have aroused the dissatisfaction of many people, who have already submitted a memorial to His Majesty, requesting your impeachment."

"Wait, sir, these people are not impeaching me personally, but our Tax Bureau. And you, sir, are the real boss of the Tax Bureau. I'm just a nobody."

Seeing Zhou Wu's attitude, Yu Xian was so angry he almost vomited blood. Why did he have to be soft-hearted and agree to become the tax official in charge of the tax office, which would offend people? Now he couldn't get rid of it even if he wanted to.

"you..."

"My lord, don't worry, this is just the beginning. They'll get used to it in a few days. So tomorrow morning at court, I'll have to trouble you to deal with them."

Zhou Wu didn't give Yu Xian a chance to speak at all, and started babbling on about the key points. After giving his instructions, he turned around and left, as if he were the leader.

The next day, as expected, another heated debate ensued in the court. Even though Yu Xian was quite senior and prestigious in the court, he was almost drowned in spittle. Fortunately, with the emperor's secret help, he barely made it through the first day. Thinking that the next few days would be like this, Yu Xian aged several years in an instant.

The court officials were restless, and the streets of the capital were not peaceful either. Lu Jian'an, accompanied by his guards, began the second round of shop closures. Today, the shops were much better; no one resisted, and instead cooperated unusually, leaving Lu Jian'an somewhat puzzled.

. . . . . .

A mansion in the capital.

"I asked, is this method feasible?"

"Hmph, if he's so capable, he can seal it all off to us. Then even eating, drinking, and relieving oneself in the capital will become a problem. Let's see if the tax bureau will still dare to be so arrogant then."

“That’s right. We control most of the businesses in the capital. If we shut them all down, the emperor will get anxious before we even have a chance to intervene.”

"Haha, that's right, what's there to be afraid of?"

The powerful figures behind the various businesses in the capital were not worried at all, even though several of their shops had been shut down. They were gambling that the emperor would not be able to withstand the pressure and would concede defeat.

. . . . .

In the following days, people began to come to the tax office to apply for business licenses one after another. However, when Zhou Wu was compiling the final statistics, he discovered a problem: none of the shops applying for business licenses belonged to the Shi family. In other words, the Shi family was preparing to confront them head-on.

"Someone is coming."

"Sir, what are your orders?"

"Go and do a quick survey to find out what kind of business the merchants who haven't come to apply for licenses are doing. If they have a monopoly or exclusive business, mark it down for me."

"Yes."

Because the tax authorities had already investigated these merchants' data in advance, the statistics were compiled very quickly.

"Sir, these are the statistics. Please take a look."

Zhou Wu took the ledger, which listed all the businesses operated by the sealed shops, covering clothing, food, housing, transportation, and daily necessities. However, Zhou Wu quickly discovered a problem.

"Aren't there any businesses here that will be monopolized by powerful families later?"

"My lord, there are basically no businesses that are monopolized by aristocratic families, but my lord, I have discovered a problem."

It's likely that this official now knows Zhou Wu's thoughts.

"You said."

"Although there are no industries monopolized by aristocratic families here, if these families were to collectively close down, it would still have a significant impact on the capital, because these families control the majority of the supply, and the other scattered merchants simply cannot meet the capital's demand."

"Do you know what I'm worried about?"

"The master is worried that the powerful families will collectively close their shops to resist the tax authorities."

"Sure, you're very smart. What's your name?"

"Your humble servant is Gongsun Dan."