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

Inside the dock, the skeleton of the new ship has been erected, and the shipwrights are currently repairing the body panels.

"You're pretty quick."

"Sir, because we have complete design drawings, we can now carry out construction and make modifications at the same time."

"That's right. Many chambers of commerce now have the Bull Demon King, so we need to complete the construction of the new ship as soon as possible so that we can maintain our leading position in maritime trade."

"Yes, my lord."

"Have there been any reports of pirates lately?"

"Sir, just a few days ago, a buyer came to us to order ships. They said that a fleet of ships was robbed by pirates a few days ago, and no one in the entire fleet survived. The methods were extremely cruel."

"Isn't the imperial court going to take any action?"

"The imperial court is too busy managing things on land to care about anything at sea."

Gong Sheng is right. In feudal society, the government generally either closed itself off from the world or let things drift. People in that era did not have a correct understanding of maritime territories.

"Gong Sheng, hurry up with the construction of the new ship. If it's really not possible, postpone the external orders. We don't have much time left."

"My lord, if we can hold back the orders, we can start working on three ships at the same time. However, we may lose some of the Bull Demon King-level orders."

“It’s alright. One trade trip will be enough to make up for the losses of the Bull Demon King level. The imperial court is turning a blind eye to the pirates now, so we can only rely on ourselves. If the sea trade route is blocked by these pirates, then the losses will be severe.”

"Yes."

. . . . . .

The county government office of Qingyang County.

"Master, the imperial court is collecting autumn taxes ahead of schedule this time. How should we distribute the taxes?"

The imperial court was left with an empty treasury due to the indemnity payments. Without money, many things could not be carried out, so the court had no choice but to resort to this measure. However, under normal circumstances, the local government would collect a portion of the taxes in advance from the treasury, and then collect the rest from the local government. The portion collected from the treasury would be made up after the normal collection. This was a generally accepted method. However, it was clear that Kang Wen, the magistrate of Qingyang County, did not want to do this.

"Sir, this is a great opportunity! Niujia Village has many industries, so we can allocate more resources to them."

The advisor knew that his magistrate harbored resentment towards Zhou Wu, so this was a rare opportunity.

“Hmm, good idea. Although the government can pay on your behalf, there is no law in the imperial court that requires it to be paid on your behalf.”

"It's the lean season right now, and the harvest in the fields won't be ready for at least another month. The people in the villages and towns don't have any extra grain to hand over. If Niujia Village can't produce any grain then, we can openly and honestly hold them accountable."

The advisor stroked his mustache, a wicked grin on his face.

Soon, a detailed list of taxes collected by Qingyang County was released. Because the county government could not push the lower levels too hard, other villages and towns were allowed to pay a portion of the taxes on behalf of the county government, and they only needed to pay a small amount themselves. The remainder would be returned to the county government after the autumn harvest. However, Niujia Village was not included in the tax collection on behalf of the county government, and the taxes it paid far exceeded those of previous years by several times.

Niujia Village.

Grandpa Niu was anxiously waiting for Zhou Wu at the village committee. The document on the table was like a death warrant, making Grandpa Niu afraid to touch it.

"What's the matter, Uncle Niu? Why did you call me here in such a hurry?"

Zhou Wu was enjoying his rare time at home when he was suddenly summoned over by someone from Master Niu, who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Scholar, you've finally arrived! Take a look at this."

Master Niu grabbed the documents from the table and handed them to Zhou Wu. Zhou Wu, puzzled, opened them and began to read.

"Are all the other deposits like this?"

Zhou Wu's words were devoid of any emotion.

"How could that be? We're in a period of food shortage right now. If every village were to pay taxes like this, wouldn't that be outrageous?"

"So you mean that Kang Wen, that bastard, is deliberately targeting me?"

"The amount of tax levied on this document is not only not paid by the county government, but is even several times higher than in previous years. The reason given is quite ridiculous. It is said that our Niujia Village has many industries, including marine trade and marine fishing. Those who are capable should do more work to share the burden of Qingyang County."

Even a seasoned veteran like Master Niu couldn't help but complain. Having served as village head for decades, he had never seen such a shameless person.

"How about we don't hand it over?"

“Scholar, you mustn’t do that. Although he is clearly targeting you, there is no clear law or official document from the court regarding the matter of paying on your behalf, so in the end he is not wrong.”

"What about the extra taxes he collected?"

“He’s not wrong. We do have trade and fishing activities, and Magistrate Chen used to turn a blind eye to it.”

"Okay, since it's legal and compliant, let's pay. If we don't have enough grain, we'll just pay the money."

Zhou Wu had some grain, but not much, and since he had just finished paying reparations, grain prices remained high, so Zhou Wu was more willing to pay. However, this time Kang Wen and Zhou Wu had become enemies.

"If you hadn't provoked me, I would have let it go, but since you've crossed me, don't blame me for being impolite."

Zhou Wu never provokes anyone, but if someone crosses him, Zhou Wu is not a saint, so Kang Wen has been blacklisted by Zhou Wu.

When Zhou Wu sent someone to deliver the tax money to the county government, Kang Wen's face turned green. He had thought the other party would not be able to pay, but unexpectedly, he checked the other party first.

"I didn't expect Zhou Wu to be so rich?"

"Sir, this is not right."

The advisor, who was standing nearby, noticed another problem.

"How to say."

"Although he is a sixth-rank official, how much is his annual salary? Where did he get all this money?"

"did you mean?"

"It must be corruption."

Kang Wen thought about it more and more and found it more believable. Zhou Wu had only risen to prominence in the last year or two. He had heard that his family was so poor before that they had to raid bird nests. Although he was now a sixth-rank official, even a first-rank official would not have such a large sum of money.

"Okay, arrange for someone to investigate Zhou Wu."

"promise."

The two of them were once again immersed in their own world with great joy. If they had used their brains even a little, they probably wouldn't have done something like this.

Jinshan Prefecture.

"Qingyang County completed the land acquisition so quickly, and even exceeded its target?"

An was surprised that his old unit was so successful, and he felt proud. However, when he opened the list of items to be requisitioned from Qingyang County, he immediately knew that things were not so simple.

Why are there so many Niujia Villages?

"My lord, it is said that it was imposed by Magistrate Kang of Qingyang County."

"What's the reason?"

"They said that Niujia Village has many industries, so even the portion of the tax payment on their behalf has been cancelled."

Listening to his subordinate's report, An said nothing, but fell into deep thought. He knew very well that Kang Wen was settling a personal score, but he knew Zhou Wu's character even better. Now the feud between the two was truly sealed.