The people who were a little angry at first were shocked when they heard that it was the chief clerk of the county government who had arrived, and they quickly returned the courtesy respectfully:
"The little old man has seen Mr. Xiao!"
Xiao Fang smiled and waved his hand and said: "No need to be polite, I am here. Xiao is here to clear up my doubts!"
The common people were stunned when they heard this and said in confusion: "What kind of confusion does Master Registrar want to solve for the little old man?
The little old man seems to have no doubts now,"
Xiao Fang shook his head, pointed at the grain container and said:
"Yes, of course.
Dad, aren't you wondering why the government officials won't let you continue pouring grain into the bucket? "
The people nodded immediately and complained:
"That's right, isn't it what the little old man said, Mr. Registrar, the yamen servants in this yamen still need to recruit smarter people. This fool, he doesn't even understand how Hu Dou counts as a dou, yet he dares to come to collect taxes. It’s just nonsense!”
Xiao Fang smiled and shook his head and explained: "My father-in-law, you misunderstood, but this government officer is not wrong."
The old man and the common people were suddenly stunned: "Is it possible that the little old man is wrong?"
However, Xiao Fang still shook his head and said: "My father-in-law, you are right too!"
So who is at fault?
Question marks appeared on the heads of the old man and the government servant at the same time.
Xiao Fang pointed in the direction of the pass and said, "The Song Dynasty was wrong!"
The two of them didn't quite understand, and still looked at Xiao Fang blankly.
Xiao Fang sighed and explained: "Normally, one bucket of grain only needs to be filled with one bucket of dendrites. This is also the most correct way to use the bucket of dew.
But in the Song Dynasty, those officials and traitors invented a new idiom in order to embezzle grain taxes! "
"New idiom?"×n
When Xiao Fang said this, not only the old man and the government officials, but also the people around him gathered around curiously to listen to his story.
Xiao Fang said four words in a leisurely manner: "Lin Jian Ki Hu!"
After saying this idiom, Xiao Fang first looked around at the people present, and then explained:
"You may be unfamiliar with this idiom, but for those who have been or are still working as servants in Guannai Yamen, this idiom can be described as familiar to them.
The so-called "leaching the tops and kicking the dendrobium trees" means that when the tax collectors collect taxes, they first ask the people to pile up the buckets of dendrobium trees into sharp points.
Then he deliberately kicked the dendrobium with his feet, causing the top of the pile of dendrobium noodles to spill. The people were not allowed to take back the spilled grain, which was considered a loss.
Moreover, after kicking with your feet, the grain in the bucket will be closer together, and the grain in the bucket will be much less. The common people will have to make up for this.
Then the common people weighed the remaining grain in Dendrobium, and the scattered grain went into the pockets of officials and petty officials, becoming their extra income.
In addition, when they pay taxes and grains to their superiors, they don't have to kick the grain, so the excess grain they put in because of kicking will eventually end up in their pockets. "
"What!!! Aren't those grains on the rise caused by losses during grain transportation?
How could it be possible that those officials deliberately engaged in corruption? "
As soon as Xiao Fang finished speaking, a commoner who had experienced similar incidents before exclaimed in disbelief.
The rest of the people also agreed.
"Yes, the yamen officer in our hometown said at that time that these scattered grains were lost on the way back to the capital. Otherwise, the amount of grain transported to the capital would be less, and it would be remembered that we did not pay enough taxes. This It's troublesome.
How could it be that those officials and petty officials were corrupted? "
"Yes! If they are greedy for these losses, will our food supply be short soon after it arrives in the capital?
How are they going to explain it to their superiors? "
All the people in the original pass started asking questions one after another, and they were full of confusion about this matter.
In their opinion, this is a very reasonable thing. When the food is transported to the capital, the civilians who transport it must also eat the food, and these losses are for them to eat.
In this way, they will not eat the grain taxes they pay, and when the grain enters the national treasury, the accounts can be properly accounted for.
If those officials were corrupted, wouldn't the food be able to keep up with the accounts?
This is impossible, right? !
Facing the doubts of the people, Xiao Fang's heart was complicated.
There is both helplessness due to the simplicity of these people, and guilt and relief due to their trust in the government.
What I felt guilty was that the Song Dynasty government had betrayed their trust.
As a scholar, he was extremely angry at those officials who were also scholars but became officials who exploited the people so despicably and shamelessly.
How can these people behave like gentlemen who read books from sages? They are clearly hypocrites who talk about benevolence, justice and morality, but are despicable and shameless in actual actions!
What makes Xiao Fang gratified is that the kind-hearted Baiyin people actually accepted the reasons given by those hypocrites, and they actually thought it was reasonable.
They themselves also believed that they should pay this amount of money, otherwise the common people would have nothing to eat.
Xiao Fang knew exactly why they thought this way.
First, these people did not understand the system of the Song Dynasty because of their knowledge.
Secondly, they felt the same way and believed that if they did not provide these grains, the government would not provide grains to the people who transported the grains, and they would be hungry, so they willingly gave these "losses".
In fact, according to the laws of the Song Dynasty, the losses on the road were already included in the grain tax collected.
The imperial court will determine the corresponding road loss based on the distance between the tax collection place and the capital. As long as the remaining quantity after the grain is stored in the warehouse, it will be verified as correct after deducting the loss.
Therefore, the food of those civilians has already been included in the levied grain tax, and there is no need to add additional taxes at all.
The reason why those officials do this is to increase their income.
These losses are not levied by the court at all!
After Xiao Fang told the truth, the food collection point that was so noisy just now suddenly became quiet.
All the people who heard Xiao Fang's words looked at Hu Dou on the ground in confusion.
In the silence, an old man raised his trembling hand, took two steps forward and gently touched the edge of Hu Dou's mouth, and kept murmuring:
"No loss, no need to stand out, no need to kick...
Those who killed a thousand swords, they deceived me, deceived us!
What they cheated was not the food, they cheated our lives!
It’s fate! "
As he murmured, tears unknowingly covered the old man's face, which was covered with ravines and years.
The other people also lowered their heads. Looking back on the past, tears could not help but fall down.
The sound of sobbing instantly became loud!
After a long time, the old man who cried first came to Xiao Fang tremblingly, and respectfully gave Xiao Fang a big gift.
He said with gratitude in his tone:
"Thank you, Lord Registrar, for clearing up the confusion for us ignorant commoners, if it weren't for what you said today.
There is no way that we, the common people, will be kept in the dark by the lies of corrupt officials all our lives, thinking that everything is reasonable.
Mr. Xiao is really a master of Qingtian! "
Xiao Fang, however, did not dare to accept the old man's gift. He hurriedly hid aside and waved his hands repeatedly:
“My father, don’t do this, don’t do this!
As the chief registrar of Huer County, Xiao naturally wants to explain these things clearly to everyone so that you will not be confused.
This is really nothing to be grateful for, it's all a matter of duty. "
Xiao Fang was hiding, but the old man insisted on saluting. When he saw Xiao Fang hiding, he turned around and saluted.
After going back and forth several times, seeing that his father-in-law was out of breath from exhaustion, Xiao Fang could only let him salute.
But what Xiao Fang didn't expect was that just after the old man finished saluting, a group of people behind him who had just recovered from sobbing all saluted him and shouted loudly at the same time:
"We, the common people, would like to thank Master Xiao for clarifying our doubts!"
Xiao Fang was numb.
He didn't expect that he just explained to the people the meaning of Linjian Kihu, and the people's reaction would be so great!
In this way, it looked like he had saved their lives.
Xiao Fang didn't understand all this very well.
But he didn't know that for these people who had been kicked out of the water, the extra food was a thing of the past, and even if they knew about it, they would not be able to get it back.
But knowing the truth is the greatest comfort to them.
Being able to know the truth instead of being fooled for the rest of their lives. Although the people were sad that they were deceived, they were very happy that they were not deceived for the rest of their lives.
I am even more happy that among my current county government officials, there are good officials like Chief Secretary Xiao who will not lie to the people.
The combination of these two points is the main reason why the people are so excited.
After understanding the meaning of Linjian Kihu, some people immediately came forward and asked cautiously:
"Master Xiao, since you have informed us of this matter, is it possible that in the future our county will not have such a thing happen again?"
…
Anyone who likes to read history should be familiar with the idiom "Lin Jian Ki Hu", right?
It is true that there are policies from above and countermeasures from below, and it is the common people who suffer.
(End of chapter)
