mtl008 Chapter 996
Chapter 996
"Stop! This is the prefectural government office, what are you waiting for?"
Perhaps because they could see that Wei Wu and his companions had extraordinary backgrounds, the two yamen runners did not create any melodramatic plot.
Even if it was to stop him, it was a normal tone as part of his job, and Wei Wu didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.
However, he didn't need to say anything about this matter, as an official from the Ministry of Revenue soon came out behind him.
"How dare you! This is the Duke of Zhenguo! Hurry up and ask your prefect to come and greet him!"
Originally, the yamen runners just thought that these people had extraordinary origins, but they didn't expect that it was actually the Duke of the current dynasty who came.
The two were so frightened that their legs went weak on the spot, but when they were about to apologize to Wei Wu, he stopped them.
"Alright, it's your duty to inform your prefect. I'll be waiting for him in the court."
After saying this, without waiting for the two yamen runners to respond, Wei Wu led everyone directly into the government office gate and went straight to the court.
After arriving at the court, Wei Wu did not sit directly in his official seat, but found a chair nearby and sat down.
After waiting in the court for about three minutes, a figure walked in quickly from outside the door and looked at Wei Wu suspiciously.
Then he glanced at the officials of the Ministry of Revenue around Wei Wu, and after a pause he bowed and said:
"I am Zhu Zongshan, the prefect of Suzhou. May I ask your status? I have never heard of a Duke of Zhenguo in our dynasty."
Wei Wu was not surprised at all that Zhu Zongshan did not know his identity. After all, the times were restrictive.
Duke is one of the highest titles in the dynasty, second only to Prince. Conferring the title of Duke is a major event for any dynasty.
The decree must first be announced at the Meridian Gate, and then a copy will be sent to each province for posting for three days so that it can be announced to the world.
However, Wei Wu set out for Suzhou the day after he was conferred the title of Duke, so the yellow list should not have been delivered yet.
So when Zhu Zongshan asked, Wei Wu did not look displeased, but just took out an imperial edict from his arms.
"The imperial court conferred the title of Duke three days ago, and the official edict hasn't been delivered to the local authorities yet. It should arrive in two or three days."
"As for my name, before I was conferred the title of Duke, my title was Marquis of Changle. I believe Lord Zhu should know who I am."
In fact, Zhu Zongshan's response to Wei Wu's question was just a routine matter, and he was not deliberately trying to make things difficult for him.
After all, although the Ministry of Revenue officials around Wei Wu were not wearing official uniforms, they could be identified as officials at a glance.
When Zhu Zongshan heard Wei Wu introduce himself, he no longer had any doubts. He immediately bowed and said:
"Your humble servant greets the Duke of Zhenguo and congratulates Lord Wei on his promotion to the rank of Duke."
"Haha, no need to be so polite!"
Wei Wu waved his hand to signal Zhu Zongshan to stand up, then pointed to the Ministry of Revenue official beside him and said:
"This time we came to Suzhou to implement the tax system based on the amount of land used for land tax at the order of His Majesty. These are the officials from the Ministry of Revenue accompanying us."
"However, the imperial edict has not yet arrived, and it is not convenient for me to issue it with just the imperial edict. It will not be too late to discuss the implementation in a few days."
"Before that, I'd like to meet with the wealthy merchants and gentry in Suzhou. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Master Zhu to pass on the message."
Having said this, Wei Wu suddenly turned to look at Qingxia beside him and asked:
"Qingxia, what was the name of that person last time?"
"His last name is Bao, and his name is Bao Yu."
Wei Wu nodded, then looked at Zhu Zongshan and said:
"The others can just pass on the message. It's up to them to decide whether to come or not, but this person named Bao Yu must come!"
When Zhu Zongshan first heard Wei Wu say that he was here to implement the land-based tax system, his eyes lit up.
It can be seen that his eyes are full of joy, and there is even a smile on the corner of his mouth.
But when he later heard Wei Wu say that he wanted to meet the wealthy businessmen and gentry in Suzhou first, Zhu Zongshan became a little confused.
It was not until Wei Wu said that Bao Yu must be present that Zhu Zongshan finally understood Wei Wu's purpose.
If nothing unexpected happens, this so-called meeting with Suzhou's wealthy businessmen and gentry is just for Bao Yu.