Chapter 38: Is there anyone above you?
However, before the Green Snake Gang disciple's hand could touch the long sword, a stream of energy shot out from between Chu Qinghe's fingers.
It was so sudden that even an ordinary warrior in the middle stage of the acquired realm might not be able to react.
Not to mention this disciple of the Green Snake Gang.
Without even having time to react, the Green Snake Gang disciple was hit in the acupuncture points by Chu Qinghe's powerful energy.
As the acupoints were pressed, the body of the Green Snake Gang disciple suddenly stiffened and he could not move.
The hand of the Green Snake Gang disciple was still two inches away from the long knife on the table.
Faced with the immobile body, the Green Snake Gang disciple's eyes narrowed.
"Damn it, isn't it said that this guy is just an ordinary person? How could it be?"
While cursing in his heart, the Green Snake Gang disciple who realized that Chu Qinghe was not simple looked even more terrified, and hurriedly said: "Chu... No, Master Chu, I was blind and offended you, please show mercy, please show mercy..."
After keeping his gaze on the Green Snake Gang disciple who kept begging for mercy for a few moments, Chu Qinghe gently shook his head.
Honestly speaking, Chu Qinghe felt that the other party's unruly look just now was more pleasing to the eye.
Seeing this situation now , Chu Qinghe felt like he was bullying others.
After suppressing the strange thoughts in his mind, Chu Qinghe slowly said: "I will ask a few questions, please cooperate with me."
Facing what Chu Qinghe said, the Green Snake Gang disciple's expression froze for a moment, but he immediately nodded as quickly as a chicken pecking at rice, and said with difficulty in a low voice: "If you ask, I will cooperate."
He looked as if he was afraid that if he spoke a second later, he would follow in the footsteps of the three Green Snake Gang disciples on the ground.
Seeing this, Chu Qinghe asked, "How long have you been in the Green Snake Gang?"
Green Snake Gang disciple: "Three years."
Chu Qinghe: "What position do you hold in the Green Snake Gang now?"
Green Snake Gang disciple: "I don't have a position. I'm just an ordinary disciple."
After two questions, Chu Qinghe asked the crucial one.
"Is there anyone above you?"
After speaking, Chu Qinghe thought for a moment and changed his words, "Is the leader of the Green Snake Gang related to you?"
The disciple of the Green Snake Gang nearby said with a bitter face: "How can I be so lucky? What does it have to do with the gang leader? I spent ten taels of silver to be able to join the Green Snake Gang."
As he spoke, the disciple of the Green Snake Gang glanced at the few disciples of the Green Snake Gang who were unable to move but had blood on the corners of their mouths. His heart tightened and he begged for mercy again.
"Master Chu, I was obsessed with money this time. Master Chu, just treat me like a fart. I promise that I will never dare to appear in front of you again."
Chu Qinghe did not respond to what the Green Snake Gang disciple said, but muttered softly: "No background? That's good, it saves trouble."
After all, nepotism is always troublesome.
If this person has any connections or background in the Green Snake Gang, the Green Snake Gang will definitely not let this go after this incident.
It is possible that after dealing with these guys, Chu Qinghe will have to make a special trip to the Green Snake Gang.
Otherwise, with a hostile force watching over Yu Shui City, Chu Qinghe would feel a little uncomfortable.
Unless we want to solve the problem once and for all, we can also get rid of the Green Snake Gang at the same time.
But if the people in front of me had no connections or background, then things would be much simpler.
Even if the four Green Snake Gang disciples in front of them were dealt with, the Green Snake Gang probably wouldn't have any thoughts of revenge.
After confirming this, Chu Qinghe glanced at the Green Snake Gang disciple in front of him and suddenly asked curiously, "Speaking of which, now that you are doing this kind of money-stealing business, aren't you worried about bringing trouble to your Green Snake Gang?"
In this world, the underworld and the imperial court are said to be clearly separated, but in fact, over the past hundreds of years, they have long been inextricably linked with each other.
There are often two kinds of order in any place.
One is the apparent order.
One is the order behind the scenes.
The apparent order is the imperial court.
And what happens behind the scenes is naturally the underworld.
Some things are difficult to resolve even with the intervention of the imperial court.
Therefore, over hundreds of years, the martial arts world and the imperial court have formed a unique system in this world.
Every city and even village will divide its annual commercial tax and civilian tax into two parts.
Seven of them were sold to the imperial court.
The other 30% is divided among underworld forces.
The lower-level forces, on the other hand, need to provide supplies every month to the higher-level forces who are responsible for managing their area.
As for how much tax the lower forces need to pay, it is determined by the top forces in the area.
For example, Wudang requires the subordinate forces to pay 50% of the monthly tribute.
Split it in half, it’s good for you, me and everyone else.
Some more ruthless ones might even ask for 70% or even 80% of the money to be handed over.
And these money will eventually flow into the top forces in the area.
The Yu Shui City is located in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty. The top power in charge is the Yihua Palace in the Xiu Yu Valley.
Half of the monthly salary of the Green Snake Gang and the Iron Fist Sect, second-rate forces in Yu Shui City, needs to be handed over to the Hengshan Sect, the second-rate force in charge of their area.
Then hand it over to a higher-level first-class force.
But because the Hengshan School itself is within the Five Mountains Sword Schools.
The Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Sun Moon Divine Sect have been at odds for hundreds of years.
Therefore, the money earned every month by the Hengshan Sect and its surrounding areas is submitted to the Yihua Palace without going through the proper channels.
Otherwise, there would be top forces like Wudang and Shaolin with tens of thousands of disciples.
How can it be maintained without a lot of financial support?
Are you all going to steal the Beggars’ Gang’s business?
In Chu Qinghe's opinion, the court's move was indeed a smart one.
I'm afraid that the world has long been in chaos with warriors running rampant.
The knight breaks the law with force. Now that he has the power, who would be willing to resign himself to fate and abide by the law?
Of course, being fed is another matter.
In this regard, we have to say that the court was smart.
Thirty percent of tax revenue is not a small amount for a country, and it is even a large sum of money.
But the question is, how much of this 30% tax will eventually go into the national treasury?
After all, corruption and other things have been difficult to eradicate since ancient times.
But if they are thrown directly into the martial arts world, there is no need to worry about these martial artists rebelling due to lack of money. By letting all the martial artists fight for the 30% of the tax revenue, it will have a soothing effect.
Secondly, it can also enable these underworld forces to play a supervisory role in a different direction.
It can't be said that 70% of the taxes collected by Yu Shui City this year amounted to 100,000 taels of silver for the national treasury, but the 30% distributed to the underworld amounted to 1 million taels of silver, right?
Everyone will know the problem after checking it this way.
It kills two birds with one stone.
It is also because the taxation of various places is also linked to their own income. Therefore, in the underworld, from the top forces to the third-rate forces, once something , they will not ignore it.
In addition, this world is much larger than the world in Chu Qinghe’s previous life.
The land is vast and rich in resources, and the environment is relatively stable. With the court and the underworld working together to manage it, public security is actually quite good.
In addition, strictly speaking, the taxes have not been increased, so as long as ordinary people do not rashly provoke warriors, they can live a decent life.
Normally, there wouldn't be too many underworld forces bullying ordinary people or merchants for no reason.
Otherwise, if the Hengshan Sect finds out in the long run, the Green Snake Gang will not have an easy time.
If this causes the Six Gates of the Ming Dynasty, the Eastern Depot and other imperial agencies to intervene, the Hengshan Sect will surely have a headache.
How will things be easy for the Green Snake Gang from now on?
Therefore, Chu Qinghe was also curious as to why these disciples of the Green Snake Gang dared to do something so blatant that was almost like robbery.
