橫征暴斂 héng zhēng bào liǎn

DEFINITIONS

  1. to tax by force and extort levies (idiom); to screw taxes out of the people by force

CHARACTERS

橫 héng across, horizontal, lateral
征 zhēng
HSK 5
invade, attack, conquer
暴 bào
HSK 6
violent, brutal, tyrannical
斂 liǎn draw back, fold back; collect