"This is! The honor guard of the new county magistrate?"
Zhu Tong saw the ceremonial guard and the sedan chair in the distance, which were only available to the county magistrate. Qinbei Pavilion
"Didn't the genius come here?"
Lei Heng was startled, and secretly said he was lucky. Fortunately, Shi Yong had already left. If he was encountered, everyone would get the stolen goods, and there was no way to argue.
“Officials cross the border, but idlers avoid it!”
A guard-looking officer saw Zhu Danglei waiting by the roadside and stepped forward to scold him.
"Yuncheng's capital is Zhu Dian and Lei Heng!"
Zhu Tong and Lei Heng clasped their fists.
"It turns out it's Zhu Dutou and Lei Dutou, and I, Zhang Shuye, are the new magistrate of Yuncheng County!"
A powerful voice came from the sedan that was being carried, and then the curtain of the sedan was opened. There was a man in his fifties sitting inside. He was tall, with gray temples and a slight trace of weather on his face. He was not like an ordinary civil servant. So white, it seems that it is often baptized by the sun, wind and frost.
"this……"
Zhu Tong and Lei Heng were shocked when they saw Zhang Shuye's appearance. If he were not wearing civilian clothes, they would probably think that the person in front of them was a military attaché.
"Greetings to the magistrate!"
Zhu Tong and Lei Heng reacted quickly and bowed to Zhang Shuye.
"Why are both of you here?"
Zhang Shuye looked at Zhu Tong and Lei Heng and asked, it was getting late at this time, how could Zhu Tong and Lei Heng be alone outside the city? He had heard that there were Liangshan giant bandits near Yuncheng, which was very dangerous.
"The two of us are going out to inspect the city."
Lei Heng explained quickly.
"Why did the county magistrate arrive today? The official document stated that he would arrive tomorrow, and the officials were ready to welcome him..."
Zhu Tong asked. He had specially arranged a welcome ceremony but it would be tomorrow.
"It doesn't have to be that way. I came to Yuncheng immediately after meeting the prefect in Jeju Prefecture. How is the situation in Yuncheng now?"
Zhang Shuye looked at Zhu Tong and Lei Heng and asked.
"Yuncheng is currently safe and there are no thieves attacking."
Lei Heng said quickly.
"No thieves attacked? Why did I hear that Liangshanbo was so arrogant under the rule of Yuncheng that even the army was defeated many times?"
Zhang Shuye asked with a frown.
"This...please ask the county magistrate to come to the city, and the junior officials will gather everyone to report."
Zhu Tong was a little embarrassed to answer, so he had to ask Zhang Shuye to go to Yuncheng first.
In Yuncheng, Zhu Tong quickly summoned a group of officials to go to the government office to meet Zhang Shuye.
"There's no need to be so polite. Let's talk about the situation in Yuncheng first. Why has the population here lost so much?"
Zhang Shuye closed the population book and looked at everyone and asked. The key for an official to govern a place is population. Only a prosperous population can ensure local prosperity.
"Why don't you say anything? How to explain to the superiors when there are so many refugees? These are top priorities!"
Zhang Shuye looked at the silent officials and asked, "When the former magistrate is away, these officials have the responsibility to manage the place well. How can they lose nearly 40% of the population in just two years, 20% of which were lost this month?" Yes, this is a serious dereliction of duty.
"Mr. Magistrate, we have tried our best. Those unruly people are unrepentant and bent on becoming thieves. We can't help it."
One person spoke.
"A thief?"
Zhang Shuye heard a problem from those words. Are civilians going to become thieves? He thought the civilians were fleeing because local thieves were rampant. How did they become thieves?
"Mr. Magistrate, those unscrupulous people have gone to join the thieves in Liangshan. The villages and towns near Shuibo have been occupied by thieves for a long time. Now all the common people are running to Liangshanbo. This is not only the case in Yuncheng, but also in all parts of Jeju, including Yunzhou. The same goes for the sides.”
Someone started to explain that the new magistrate wanted three things for the new officials to take office, but this fire could not be burned on them. They had been working hard for more than a year, but the Liangshan thieves were too powerful and they were no match for them.
"Civilians ran to join the thieves?"
Zhang Shuye only felt that his own cognition had been subverted. How could it be possible for civilians to take refuge in the thieves who took over the mountains and plundered them wantonly? Civilians should run to the government for justice when they see a thief!
"Mr. Magistrate, this Liangshanbo has been pretending to be a hypocrite to confuse the common people. After defeating the army last month, he even called the people to reclaim wasteland. The ignorant and cunning people, greedy for small profits, have left their household registration and gone to join the thieves!"
Zhang Wenyuan said.
"Tell me the details!"
Zhang Shuye has been an official for decades, and he knows very well that the petty officials in front of him are avoiding the important and taking the easy, and he can't figure out why the civilians surrender to thieves.
Everyone was talking about the situation in Liangshanbo. The more Zhang Shuye talked about it, the more he frowned. He had heard before he came that the thieves in Liangshanbo were vicious and untamable, and the local government and army were defeated twice. , the imperial court's deployment of troops and horses also failed miserably.
But looking at it now, defeating the government and the army is secondary. The thieves in Liangshanbo are trying to buy people's hearts. They really want to rebel.
"Are you telling the truth? Why aren't such important things reported to the superiors?"
Zhang Shuye looked at the officials and asked. It was obvious that Liang Shanbo's thieves were rebellious. He had never heard of it before.
"I have reported it, but..."
Everyone looked at me and I looked at you. The meaning was obvious. They did not have the right to submit a letter to Tokyo. The most they could do was report it to the state capital, and they would not be able to contact the higher authorities.
"Tell me about the previous battle. How was the 20,000-strong army defeated?"
Zhang Shuye sighed and asked. Looking at the expressions of these officials, he knew that the news must have been concealed by the state government. If this spread to Tokyo, it would have a great impact on the career of local officials.
After learning about the fiasco of Hu Yanzhuo and Guan Sheng, Zhang Shuye's face turned gloomy. The thieves in Liangshan were far more difficult to deal with than him.
"A notice will be posted tomorrow. From now on, Yuncheng County will reduce or exempt various taxes. Tenants' rents will be collected according to the imperial regulations. I will be in charge of the government office, but I will not be lenient if I bully the people..."
Zhang Shuye looked at the officials issuing orders, almost exactly like Liang Shanbo.
"Mr. Magistrate, I'm afraid I have to report this matter to the magistrate. This matter of taxation..."
All the officials were hesitant and unwilling to implement it. Taxes had to be handed over to the court. Tax reductions required court documents. Zhang Shuye had no right to do this. Moreover, a large part of the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes had to be distributed to everyone and managed by the Jeju government. Yes, how can this be done without it?
"Didn't you hear the order of this county?"
Zhang Shuye didn't talk nonsense with these officials. It was a common phenomenon that the officials were strong and the officials were weak. If he didn't show some courage, he might not be able to suppress these people in the future.
"I was ordered to come to Yuncheng to deal with the Liangshan bandits. How can we let the civilians surrender to the bandits? What is Yuncheng County like without a population? How can there be a large number of county officials in the world who turn to bandits?"
Zhang Shuye saw that everyone was afraid to speak, so he briefly explained that the taxation of a county was a trivial matter, and it would be terrible if the population lost a large amount.
Although all the officials still wanted to object, they saw Zhang Shuye's strength and finally did not speak up. It was not that they did not understand the reason. If the population was lost in large numbers, tax revenue would not be guaranteed, and they would not be able to make much money.
Watching everyone retreat, Zhang Shuye frowned and looked at the official documents on the table. Every official document in the past two years was related to the Liangshan bandits.
"It seems like this Yuncheng is not that simple."
Zhang Shuye sighed and began to read the official documents from the beginning by candlelight. He wanted to understand Liangshan's situation clearly.
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