Chapter 79 Rioting Merchants (1/2)
Chapter 79 –Rioting Merchants
The city was thrown into an uproar. Many scholars were debating the new announcements and the changes among each other. Majority of these self-proclaimed wise men disagreed with these policies.
The nobles who were serving as officials of Julu happily yielded to the laws as they were fairly compensated. Secondly, they did not have to take responsibility for the farmers who used their lands. It would be the city hall staffs who would take care of the farmers and the lands instead of them, which freed up their times. Lastly, they no longer had to support the cost of their private troops because they would be transferred to the infantry division under Zhou Cang, Zhang Liang, and Zhang Bao.
Bo Cai Cavalry Division was the only unit that would not take in any more troops until Tong permitted it. Warhorses were hard to breed or sought for. As a result, Tong limited the number of the horsemen.
They might lose a portion of their influence and power, but they gained back their free times and gold as a compensation. Moreover, the trust toward to new governor and the new system was high due to the good reputation of Zhang family past deeds.
Most importantly, more than half of the officials were secret members of the Immortal Yellow Turban Society. They lobbied the non-members into submission and recommended them into the club. As a result, they followed through Zhang Jiao's plan without resisting.
Lu Zhi was also invited into the club, but he declined the offer. Later on, He told Tong about this organization, which reminded him of what had happened in the assembly a few days earlier.
After ten minutes trying to figure out the event and combined with his deduction and conjecture, Tong was so astonished to the point that he blurted out.
”My silly father created the Illuminati!?”
Tong did not realize that the original founder of the society was none other than Hua Shi. She gave Zhang Jiao the idea of the secret organization because she had the inspiration of her previous life.
In her former country, there was a deep state which was the underground government that dealt with all the conspiracies and all sorts of unethical acts that the ”Real Government” could not publicly execute the tasks.
Zhang Jiao was interested in the idea and found the organization with him as the leader and the trustworthy government officials who joined his Taoist Sect to be the members. He also used this society to gather information around the city, which worked faster and more efficient than the intelligence agency that Lu Zhi had trained.
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On the same day.
On the contrary of the nobles, all merchants were shocked by the announcements. Several laws hit them on their sore spots.
Unlike the representatives who had visited Tong in the government hall, these people were small-time merchants who took advantages of the farmers as their source of incomes.
When the harvest season began, they would buy crops from merchants with cheap price, for example, 10 tons of grain per one tael of gold or 1,000 coins. Once winter or spring arrived, they would sell it back to buyers at 2 tons of grain per one tael of gold.
”What the hell is this!? This is absurd!”
”Who said that the governor is capable? He's obviously a retard!”
”We can't buy provision from the civilians? What kind of logic is this!?”
”Foolish Zhang Jiao!”
”We can't have private troops? Then how are we going to travel between cities!?”
”No weapon zone!? Then what am I going to protect myself with? A pan?”
”What kind of pricing is this? Five tons per a tael of gold? I call it bullshit!”
They were discontent by the monopoly system that Tong had issued because they would lose out provision resources that they would get from coaxing and conning with the local citizens. Thus, they filed a complaint to the city hall, which was ignored by the officials.
”We want an explanation!”
”We want to see the governor!”
”Answer us, or else!”
”Compensate us!”
”Do you think you can be a governor because you are appointed by the emperor?”
”We can kill you easily if we want to. Get your ass down here and apologize to us! Or we will take back what's ours!”
Half of the merchants swore and curse at every officer on duty they found and threatened them that they would use force to take over the title of the City Governor if Zhang Jiao did not give them an explanation.