I really don't want to take shortcuts anymore

Luo Qianhuai was so enthusiastic, Mr. Mo would certainly not disappoint her.

The caravan finally got its turn to enter the city, but was stuck because of the taxation issue.

"The tax rate is 10% everywhere in the world, why does Luancheng charge only 1%?" When the merchants in the team heard the words of the tax collector in front of the city gate, they all cried out in injustice.

These goods were transported to Cangzhou with great difficulty. In order to save costs, they had to sleep in the wild every day and were reluctant to even take a boat ride. If one third of the goods were taken away here, then this trip would be almost in vain.

Old Man Yan stopped the other merchants from complaining, walked forward with a smile, and stuffed a heavy cloth bag into the hands of the two tax collectors.

"I've been to Cangzhou more than a dozen times before, and the tax rate has always been 10%. What happened today? Why did the tax suddenly increase?" he asked, rubbing his hands.

One of the tax collectors raised his eyebrows and said, "Why are you asking for those old things? The Xiongnu are knocking on the border, and the court is raising taxes, which is three taxes and one tax. There is no room for negotiation!"

Young Master Mo and Luo Qianhuai were standing outside the crowd and heard everything clearly.

Luo Qianhuai raised her eyebrows and looked at Mr. Mo in confusion. The latter's eyes were filled with coldness, and he leaned close to her ear and said, "Absolutely not."

The tax collector did not shy away from the people around him. He weighed the purse casually, then opened the purse with a sneer and poured all the one hundred five-zhu coins inside onto the ground.

"What kind of place is our Luan City? Are you sending away beggars?" He said in a cold voice, and stepped on the pile of copper coins a few times: "If you refuse to pay taxes, all your goods will be confiscated. Come on!"

Immediately, more than ten soldiers guarding the gate rushed forward like wolves and tigers, heading straight for the goods loaded on the frame.

They seemed to be used to this kind of job and easily avoided several young merchants who bravely rushed forward to protect their goods, and went straight to drive the mules and horses.

To be honest, there were no valuable goods in this caravan. They were all local specialties from the northwest of Xianyang Plain, red dates, chestnuts, walnuts, and some leather and cloth with ordinary fur. No one in Xijing would look at them, but they could be sold at a good price in Cangzhou.

The three swordsmen and bodyguards clenched their swords, and veins popped out on the back of their hands. They took money from people and helped them get rid of their misfortunes. Even if the other party was a cruel official, it didn't matter. At most, they could just kill him and walk away.

They looked at Mr. Yan, ready to take action as soon as their employer gave the order.

"Stop, stop!" Yan Sou was no longer impulsive. He strode in front of the crowd and stretched out his hands to stop those who were angry and wanted to fight against the soldiers.

Yan Qian was also among them. He was young and energetic, and it was his first time out there, so how could he tolerate this humiliation?

"Don't you want to live anymore?" Old Man Yan glanced at everyone, and finally his gaze fell on his nephew's face: "If you dare to go against the government, you will be beheaded!"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the fire in everyone's hearts.

Old Man Yan turned around, put on a smile, and bowed to the two tax collectors: "I have no intention of resisting the tax. I just asked a question before, and I didn't mean any other thing. Three taxes and one tax, then three taxes and one tax. I hope you two adults will show mercy and forgive us this time."

The tax collector smiled warmly: "If you had done this earlier, everything would have been fine." He waved his hand, signaling the tax collectors to retreat:

"But your people said some lawless words before. If we really talk about it, they are all serious crimes that can be punished by imprisonment and exile. But we are kind-hearted people. Many things can actually be compromised. It's just that many people heard it, so it's not so easy to settle it all..."

"I can save it, I can save it." Mr. Yan's smile froze. He turned around and discussed with everyone for a while. When he came back, he had two more gold pieces in his hand.

The tax collector took it, put it in his mouth, took a bite, nodded with satisfaction, and patted Yan Sou on the shoulder: "Come again next time, if it's your turn here, I can take the initiative to charge you less."

"Thank you, sir." Mr. Yan responded with a wry smile, thinking that he had lost money on this deal and would never come again.

But he dared only keep these words in his heart and not show any sign on his face, for fear that the other party would get angry again and confiscate all his things, and then he would lose all his money.

When the convoy entered Luan City, everyone except Luo Qianhuai and the other two looked dejected.

Old Man Yan took everyone to live in a foot inn. This was probably the cheapest place to stay in Luan City. A large bunk bed was enough for the entire caravan to lie down. The foot inn provided hot water and meals, and also had a place for mules and horses to rest and eat. There were also gossips from all over the world. It was the most suitable place for small merchants to stay.

Old Man Yan quickly became friends with other travelers and chatted with a familiar shop owner for a long time. When he came back, his face was full of sorrow:

"We have to leave here as soon as possible." He said, "Everyone, sell the remaining goods as soon as possible and return home."

His words caused a chorus of opposition.

"We have already lost so much. If we rush to sell it, we will definitely not get a good price." A merchant named Zhuang said:

"We trust your experience, Boss Yan, so we have chosen you to be the boss along the way. We can't blame you for the tax increase, and we can't blame you for the unscrupulous tax collectors. But how to sell the remaining goods? We have to think about it ourselves, at least to minimize the loss, right?"

"Boss Zhuang is right." Another merchant named Zhao stood up and said, "We are not like Boss Yan. We have familiar channels in Luan City. Even if we sell immediately, we will not lose money. When it comes to business, everyone knows that we can't be impatient. If we are all in a hurry to sell, others will definitely unite to lower the price. By then, we will lose everything. Boss Yan, we are all from the same village. Can you really bear it?"

Old Man Yan frowned. He looked at the other merchants, and saw that they either lowered their heads and did not dare to look at him, or nodded slightly, indicating that they agreed with Zhuang and Zhao's ideas. But no one stood with him.

In fact, this kind of resentment towards Yan Sou had already accumulated before entering the city gate, when everyone pooled money to pay the entrance fee and no less than one-third of the total goods were forcibly taken away. Now it is just that there is an outlet for venting with the help of the trigger.

Old Man Yan sighed and said, "I understand everyone's concerns. But based on the information I just collected, I think Luan City may not be peaceful recently. It's better to leave as soon as possible to avoid losing lives."

"What's not peaceful?" The boss of the village stiffened his neck and said, "When did the Xiongnu not come to our border? But no matter how powerful they are, they can't reach Cangzhou. Boss Yan, don't exaggerate!"

"That's right." Boss Zhao also chimed in, "If Boss Yan doesn't give a plausible reason, please forgive me for not obeying your order!"

Old Man Yan had no intention of keeping the secret, so he immediately raised his voice and said, "Last year, Bingzhou and Yanzhou were free of disasters. Logically, the spring famine should be less severe than in previous years, and the number of refugees should have decreased accordingly, but there have been a lot more recently. Moreover, along the way, didn't you notice that the closer you get to Cangzhou, the more people with swords and knives you see?"

Luo Qianhuai and Mr. Mo looked at each other, and both felt that this old man Yan was indeed an old hand with a unique look.

Others also saw these phenomena, but they did not think much about it. When they heard Mr. Yan bring it up, they all fell silent, with deep thought in their eyes.

There were no fools among them, and most of them thought it made sense. No matter how important money was, it was not as important as life. But if they really lost everything, how would they explain it to their families?

The shy swordsman who had handed Luo Qianhuai a handkerchief before spoke up at this time: "I can help you with this. In five days, a martial arts conference will be held to elect a new leader. The reason why the three of us brothers accepted this mission is just for convenience. It has nothing to do with ordinary merchants and civilians."