RPAGF Chapter 557 Contending for Hegemony
Chapter 557 Contending for Hegemony
Chapter 557 Contending for Hegemony
That evening, a group of people walked down the street in Hanshan, setting off firecrackers and playing musical instruments.
At the very front of the procession, four people carried a plaque that read "Hanshan Prefectural Government Office".
Young cyclist Sheng Liang rode his horse in the middle of the procession, occasionally waving to onlookers on the street.
"Brother Liang, what fun games are you playing today?" a passerby asked.
Sheng Liang smiled slightly and said, "The government office is relocating, and my elder brother asked me to bring people to deliver the plaque to the new government office."
"Oh?" the man asked. "May I ask, Master Liang, where is the new government office?"
Sheng Liang suppressed a laugh and said, "The new government office will be the public toilet in Hanshan Square."
"Pfft..." The onlookers burst out laughing. Lord Wang was really too talented, putting the prefect through all this trouble.
The people of Hanshan did not have a good impression of Li Decheng, the prefect of Hanshan, mainly because Li Decheng dared to order the arrest of Lady Zhang Jiao.
The people of Hanshan revered Wang Wenzhou and Wang Qingtian, and because of this, they extended their affection to Wang Wenzhou's wives and concubines, feeling deeply grateful to them as well. Furthermore, Zhang Jiao had successfully gained many fans at the Hanshan Heroes' Gathering. Li Decheng's order to arrest Zhang Jiao truly aroused public outrage.
The procession circled around Hanshan City once before heading straight for Hanshan Square.
Li Decheng was already waiting outside the public restroom.
Looking at the public toilet, Li Decheng was filled with grief and indignation. Wang Wenzhou was shameless, greedy, and had the ambition of a wolf. In order to suppress the imperial court's prestige in the hearts of the people of Hanshan, he actually did such a despicable thing.
However, Li Decheng was helpless, because he had checked the accounts and found that the Hanshan Prefectural Government had always been in deficit, relying entirely on the Hanshan Charity Foundation for subsidies. Currently, apart from public toilets, the Hanshan Prefectural Government had no other assets.
Logically speaking, Hanshan currently generates at least tens of thousands of taels of silver in taxes every month. However, since Wang Wenzhou left Hanshan, Sheng Lanbao has been manipulating the system, diverting all the taxes that should have been included in the public accounts into the Hanshan Charity Foundation's account.
For example, the city entry tax, according to the old regulations, should have been deposited first into the government's public account, and only a portion would be transferred to a charitable foundation later. Now, it doesn't go through the public account at all; it goes directly into the charitable foundation.
Li Decheng and his predecessors had all consulted with Sheng Lan about this issue, but Sheng Lan said that although the city entry tax was called a tax, the imperial court had no such regulation, and it was illegal. Now, all the people of Hanshan agreed that the city entry tax revenue should be put into a charitable fund, so that it could be used for the people, and how could the people's hard-earned money be squandered by officials?
Li Decheng and his predecessor were both helpless in the face of this statement. Moreover, there were simply too many official duties in Hanshan, and the government's meager income was simply not enough to pay their salaries. Fortunately, Sheng Lan was considerate and would pay their salaries on time every month.
The sound of drums and music grew louder as it approached. Li Decheng looked up, shook his head with a wry smile, and thought to himself that he was probably the most down-on-his-luck prefect in the Ming Dynasty, his office located in a public toilet.
As the group approached, Wang Qiang quickly instructed his men to hang up the plaque.
Wang Qiang cupped his hands in greeting to Li Decheng and said with a smile, "Lord Li, please bear with us here for now. My elder brother said that after some time, he will definitely take the lead in donating money to rebuild the government office, and then you can move to the new government office."
"Bah!" Li Decheng cursed inwardly. "That mad dog Wang Wenzhou, he'd never be so kind! He's using the banner of recovering Liaodong to recruit soldiers and horses; his wolfish ambitions are known to all. He's insulting me like this just to drive me away! I won't leave! I'll risk my life to make sure Wang Wenzhou's crimes of rebellion are proven!"
After the plaque was hung up, Wang Qiang said with a smile, "Lord Li, please go in and work. I won't disturb you any longer. Goodbye."
After Wang Qiang finished speaking, he led his men away smugly.
Li Decheng looked at the new government office, his heart filled with emotion. "Your Majesty, why did you spare Wang Wenzhou? You showed him mercy and spared his life, yet he has no gratitude whatsoever! One day, this traitor will be the one to destroy the Ming Dynasty!"
At that moment, Wang Wenzhou held a family meeting with the babies.
Liu Rushi, Sheng Lan, Zhang Jiao, Wang Ying, Chen Yuanyuan, Li Xiangjun, and Dong Xiaowan sat naked in a row. The little princess of South Korea, Li Ling, didn't manage to get a seat; she sat to the side, holding two male dogs. By the way, the male dogs, Rushi, were her husband.
Liu Rushi said irritably, "Wang Wenzhou, that's enough! What exactly are you trying to do?"
Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile, "Ruru, I'm doing this for the sake of my whole family. Since I came to the capital, several children have been harmed by villains! It's really hard to say who assassinated me. Moreover, that pig Zhu Youjian is on guard against me all the time. It's gotten to this point, so I can only protect myself with troops."
"Alas..." Liu Rushi sighed and said helplessly, "Wang Wenzhou, it was my fault back then. I acted impulsively and ended up in this state. But now that your life is not in danger, don't cause any more trouble. The wealth in the manor is enough for us and our sons to live a life of luxury. Why not put everything down and live the life of a wealthy man? What's wrong with that?"
"Yes!" Wang Ying nodded and agreed, "Sister Liu Rushi is right. Husband, you often say that family is the most important thing. Today, I want to tell you some good news: I am pregnant."
"Sister-in-law is amazing!" Wang Wenzhou rushed over, hugged Wang Ying, and kissed her.
Chen Yuanyuan pouted, looking very unhappy. "My sister is pregnant, but why haven't I gotten pregnant with my little devil yet?"
As a time traveler, Wang Wenzhou has some things he really can't tell you all. Zhu Youjian, that stubborn and wasteful son, will inevitably bring about the downfall of the Ming Dynasty in his hands.
Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and then lied, "Babies, my babies, I'm only doing this because I have no other choice. If I said I was loyal to the emperor and loved my country, I'm afraid none of you would believe me. But apart from a few minor things, I really haven't wronged the Ming Dynasty."
Wang Wenzhou's tone shifted, and he said sadly, "For that pig Zhu Youjian, I've almost offended the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom. I also wanted to be a wealthy man, spending my days cuddling my babies and having romantic time. But think about it, several of my babies have been murdered, and we can't find the culprit. There are just too many people who want us dead! If I really became a wealthy man, in a year, the grass on our family's graves would be taller than a person."
Wang Wenzhou continued, "Babies, babies, if we didn't have little flowers, we could live incognito in a sparsely populated mountain village and live happily ever after. But the little flowers can't stay in a small mountain village. They need to receive a good education, otherwise they'll grow up to be country bumpkins. They'll be looked down upon by girls."
Most of the children are mothers themselves, and when Wang Wenzhou mentioned his sons' future, they all felt that what he said made sense. They argued that it wasn't a real rebellion, but rather a matter of self-preservation, and therefore not too extreme.
Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly. "Babies, babies, I really didn't intend to conquer the world at first, but given the current situation, even if I didn't want to, I'm afraid I have no choice but to take this path. If I become emperor, all of you will be princes. There's nothing wrong with that!" Traveling back in time to become emperor is a universally accepted rule for time travelers in later generations.