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

Li Tiancheng was holding back his anger. He felt very relieved to see the young noblemen of the aristocratic families being dealt with by Zhou Wu with just a few words. In the past few days, he had been angered by these young noblemen quite a bit, but as the emperor, he could not confront them directly like Zhou Wu did.

At this moment, Zhou Wu was like a savior to Li Tiancheng. He even thought that if he had known earlier, he would have just made Zhou Wu the Junior Steward of the Tax Office. However, this thought only flashed through his mind.

Other young men from prominent families wanted to help, but Zhou Wu only gave them a murderous look, and they stopped in their tracks in fright.

The commercial tax reform achieved its first victory at the morning court session. Although it was just a verbal dispute, it made Li Tiancheng very happy, perhaps more so because he felt he had gotten rid of a grudge.

The capital city, the residence of a prominent family.

"We really underestimated Zhou Wu. He's just a kid, yet he's so quick-witted."

"Hmph, all talk and no action. As long as we stick together and persevere, we will definitely win in the end."

"Yes, yes."

. . . . . .

周武

"Red Bean, do you know any reliable people in the capital?"

“Brother Wu. Hongdou was of low status at the time, and the people she knew were all from all walks of life.”

"Red Bean, these are the kinds of people I need. Find me a few; I have a great use for them."

"Ok."

Having lived in the lower rungs of the capital for so many years, Hongdou, though not very old, had made many acquaintances among the lower classes. Soon, three of them came to Zhou Wu's side.

"We, Hua Rong, Wang Cang, and Song Gong, greet Lord Zhou."

Although the three men were dressed in rags, they were very familiar with official etiquette.

"Please, all three of you, have a seat."

Zhou Wu, of course, would not be impolite.

"No, no, we humbly listen to your teachings."

It seemed that the three were not some impoverished nobles, but just ordinary people, so Zhou Wu did not press the matter further.

"I need someone trustworthy to do something for me. Since Hongdou recommended the three of you, they must be trustworthy."

"Rest assured, sir, the three of us are willing to serve you faithfully."

Hua Rong, Wang Cang, and Song Gong grew up in the capital. Lacking background and family connections, they had to accept the harsh reality despite their desire to make a name for themselves.

Upon hearing their old friend Hongdou's summons, saying that Lord Zhou, the Junior Supervisor of the Tax Bureau, was looking for a trustworthy person to handle an important matter, the three of them readily accepted. In their view, this was an opportunity, and perhaps the only one in their lives.

"As you all know, I am now the Junior Supervisor of Commercial Affairs, mainly in charge of commercial tax reform. However, the powerful families in the capital are now rampant and have become the only ones who can openly resist."

"Those damned aristocratic families never do anything human."

"Exactly, they only know how to bleed the people dry."

"We are willing to serve you, sir."

Before Zhou Wu could finish speaking, the three men pledged their loyalty.

"Good, indeed you are loyal and righteous men, worthy of being recommended by Hongdou. I have something I need the three of you to do."

"Oh."

"I need you to spread some news in the capital, saying that the aristocratic families are openly opposing the court's commercial tax reform, not only to evade taxes, but also to monopolize all trade in the capital. In the end, they will be able to dictate the prices of all goods. I believe everyone knows what kind of people the aristocratic families are. There's no need to say more."

The three of them never expected that they would be dealing with a powerful family. They were full of confidence just now, but now they were hesitant.

"Rest assured, all three of you. I will not treat those who are willing to do so unfairly, and those who are not willing are fine too. We can just pretend we never met and leave now. I will not make things difficult for you."

A choice, a choice of fate, is now placed before the three of them.

"What are you two still thinking about? It's our honor to serve you adults. Do you still want to live a life of uncertainty, where you have to think about how to earn money to support your family and ensure that your wife, children, and elderly mother don't go hungry every day?"

Hua Rong clearly figured it out quickly, and seeing the other two still hesitating, he couldn't help but yell and curse.

Although Hai Rong's words were sharp, they were very true, and the other two immediately looked at each other with firm eyes and expressed their willingness.

"Okay, take this money first. I won't treat you unfairly after the job is done."

The three men took the money and left happily.

After leaving the Zhou residence, the three of them came to a dark alley. They were too embarrassed to open their money pouch in front of Zhou Wu, so after looking around and seeing that no one else was around, they excitedly opened their money pouch.

Wow!

"Brother, this, this is at least a hundred taels."

"I've never seen so much money in my life."

"Lord Zhou is truly generous."

One hundred taels of silver might only be enough for a rich kid to spend one night at a brothel in the bustling capital, but for these three ordinary people and their families, one hundred taels was enough to support them for several years.

“My two brothers, let me say something unpleasant upfront.”

Hua Rong looked at the silver in his hand, as if he had made a decision in his heart.

"Brother, just say what you need to say. We'll all listen to you."

"Yes."

“I see that Lord Zhou is no ordinary man. We happen to be old friends with Hongdou. I think we must do a good job for Lord Zhou this time. If Lord Zhou takes a liking to us, the three of us brothers will rise to prominence. Second brother, you will no longer have to empty the chamber pot in the middle of the night, and third brother, you will no longer have to do those petty thievery things.”

"Brother, I've been retired from the criminal life for a long time."

The third brother, who was called out, tried to put on a stubborn argument, but Hua Rong scolded him back.

"piss off."

. . . . . .

Hua Rong, Wang Cang, and Song Gong used their respective channels to spread the news arranged by Zhou Wu in the capital.

It's already inconvenient for people to buy daily necessities, and with the spread of rumors, they quickly became known to everyone, and their exaggeration has evolved several times over.

"Why is the door closed again?"

A middle-aged woman, carrying a bag of rice, came to the rice shop to buy some rice, but there wasn't a single grain of rice left in her house.

"Sister-in-law, you don't know? This rice shop is run by a powerful family. They not only don't want to pay taxes, but they also want to raise the price of rice."

"What price increase, and by how much?"

For the eldest sister-in-law, whether or not taxes were paid was not important to her; she was more concerned about the rising price of rice.

"Who would have thought? These powerful families are not only ignorant, but their hearts are blacker than ink. Rice is currently 20 coins a dou. If they monopolize it, they can sell it for 100 coins a dou. We ordinary people will still be at their mercy."

"What? One hundred coins? How dare these people? Do they not want us to live? We work hard to earn some money, but it's not enough to live on. How can these heartless people be so black-hearted?"

"My goodness, I can't live like this anymore."

The spread of misinformation has been vividly demonstrated. Just now, someone was expressing their opinion, but now the price of grain has risen to 100 coins per dou, which has been spread by everyone as a foregone conclusion.