The two Wei beside Jiang Yunsheng immediately stopped the soldier.
Seeing this, the other soldiers nearby promptly gathered around.
Some commoners, afraid of being swept up in the trouble, hurried through the city gates.
"It's only a paltry thousand taels of silver. A wealthy gentleman with such extensive holdings can surely just pay up."
The soldier spoke with a smile that never reached his eyes.
"I do have a thousand taels of silver. I'm just afraid your county magistrate won't be able to stomach it!"
Jiang Yunsheng spoke with a false smile.
"There's no need for you to worry about that, sir. As long as you can pay it, our magistrate can certainly stomach it."
The soldier continued.
"Very well. In that case, I'll pay the thousand taels."
He only hoped that the magistrate would not regret it later.
Eunuch Wang immediately took a banknote worth a thousand taels out of his pocket.
Before he could hand it over, the soldier rudely snatched it from him.
Seeing Jiang Yunsheng "obediently" pay up after a little intimidation, the soldier smiled contemptuously. He had thought this was some important figure, but the man had buckled at the first scare. Someone like that was nothing to fear.
He exchanged a meaningful glance with a soldier behind him, who immediately understood.
Only after they paid this entry fee did the soldiers remove the barricade blocking the road and let Jiang Yunsheng's party through.
Seeing the contempt in the soldiers' eyes as they looked at Jiang Yunsheng, Zhu Zhizhuan shook his head. From what he knew of the magistrate, the man would see a caravan like Jiang Yunsheng's as somewhat troublesome but lacking sufficient strength, and would insist on giving it a harsh beating into submission on its first visit.
An ordinary person might truly