In July, the blazing heat in the countryside quickly subsided, and sporadic rains began to appear. Whether it was Hebei or Henan, the number of pedestrians on the road became noticeably denser, and commercial agricultural activities also quickly resumed. Everything seemed to be back to previous years. in good times.
In Sanhuangli, the northwestmost area of Jiangling County, a group of seven or eight knights arrived amidst the chirping of cicadas. They found a platform and overlooked the surrounding fields. Then several people discussed with each other, recorded a form, and hurried down. Chushuang Huangli left.
Repeatedly, the group was just looking around and did not even enter the countryside. That afternoon they galloped back to Jiangling City. They first went to the "Cow and Horse Camp" three miles south of the city to return the horses, signed the papers, and fed the animals themselves. Then leave.
Those who prepare to enter the city enter the city, and those who return to the camp return to the camp.
However, as soon as the group came to the official road, a middle-aged officer headed by him looked around and saw many new wine shops and grocery stores beside the official road. He also saw that the sergeant behind him was obviously tired and hungry, so he simply came in a low voice. Asked another young scribe beside him who was struggling to walk: "Liu Wenwen, the weather is nice and the brothers have been with us for another tiring day. Should we invite them to have a drink on the street?"
Hearing this, the young scribe felt a little embarrassed and touched the leather bag in his waist: "I'm ashamed, I didn't bring any money with me."
"It doesn't matter, I have enough here." The middle-aged officer laughed on the spot, patted the leather bag on his waist, and exposed the black ribbon. The two white decorations on it, which were either ivory or jade, were particularly conspicuous.
Obviously, this is an officer at the level of guardian of the gang. With such status, once transferred to the local area, he will start as a county lieutenant.
The young scribe actually had a similar ribbon on his body, but it was only decorated with a white hard strip, which seemed to be inferior.
Without further ado, he turned around and saw that the middle-aged officer was already laughing loudly: "Brothers, I almost forgot, today is a five-and-a-half-day break. I don't work in the afternoon. Even if I enter the city, I won't be able to do my job. It just so happens that the gang recently Great reward, Liu Wenwen and I still have some money left here, so let’s buy a drink with everyone and take a breather.”
The accompanying sergeants were naturally overjoyed and expressed their gratitude, saying that Zhao Da had participated in Liu Wensheng.
Sure enough, these two people were not the leading officers and local officials below, but the staff and clerks directly under Chief Zhang here in the general mausoleum.
In this way, everyone gathered around the two of them and walked along the official road twice. Because most of the wine shops and restaurants here had just opened in the past six months, they didn't choose any special place. They just pinched their noses to find a restaurant. Went into the wine shop on the second floor, and because there were so many people, we just sat downstairs on the street.
It was the beginning of autumn, the summer heat had dissipated, and there was no shortage of melons, fruits, chickens and ducks. However, due to the ban on alcohol, most of the drinks were brought from outside the area controlled by the Dragon Gang, so they were a bit expensive. That is, only when a Shangguan was treating you could you have the opportunity to visit. Enjoyable.
But as soon as the drinks were over, all the sergeants spoke freely and immediately started talking nonsense. Not counting this, before the wine was over thirty, a similar group of people came. There was also a senior counselor and a clerk leading four or five people. The two groups of people joined the table, especially the sergeants below. After reading his name, hometown, and qualifications, he couldn't control his mouth even more because of the drunkenness.
And talking about it, it is natural to talk about the busy work today.
"Let me tell you, the higher-ups are overly concerned about this drought." Probably because of the hard journey, one of the team leaders couldn't help but complain. "In May, we rested and repaired the ditch. In June, we went to fight. It is said that we did not stop here. When we came back, the leader became the chief, but he still focused on this matter. It is said that he even launched a self-criticism, saying that it was because of the drought. We shouldn't have fought the battle in Xuzhou, but this happened again... Today was okay. Last ten days, a big ginseng and I went directly to Bohai County, and the big ginseng didn't know how to treat us to a drink... ...Tell me, who gave the chief the idea?"
Everyone went to see the four leaders, and among them, Xiao Liuwen was the first to laugh: "I'm afraid it was the chief's own idea." The scene became inexplicably solemn.
The team leader suddenly woke up and quickly explained: "I don't understand... If I was busy before, it was for disaster relief, what about now? It's July now, no matter how busy I am, this is the way it is here. Right? Why do we need to conduct this disaster inspection?"
This time it was Zhao Dacan's turn to smile, and he was the first to answer cheerfully: "Old Wang wants to
not enough....."
"Of course I don't think too much. Otherwise, if we were team captains together, you would have already joined the team, but I would still be the team leader." Team leader Wang also laughed quickly. "Anyway, how can you, Kuaishan Zhao, think so much?"
"I just have quick legs, how can I think too much? I can't understand even if I think too much? The truth is all what I heard from these scholars in Taiwan. For example, today's matter was explained clearly to me by Xiao Liu Wenwen that day. " Zhao Dacan pointed to his partner beside him and smiled, then immediately became solemn. "He said that since ancient times, famines have been divided into 30% natural disasters and 70% man-made disasters. In the past, disaster relief was to reduce natural disasters, but now to explore disasters is to Less trouble..."
Everyone was silent.
And then, Zhao Dacan pointed at Xiao Liuwen and said something.
The first thing to talk about is the drought itself.
First of all, the scale of this drought is particularly large. It basically covers Kinki, Dongjing, Hebei, and Jianghuai, and affects as many as 70 or 80 prefectures and counties.
Secondly, the situation of this drought is very complicated. The eastern coastal areas are more common, Huainan is much better, Kinki to Hanshui area is slightly better, and the most severe ones are in central and western Hebei, western Tojing, Huaixi, and eastern Kinki. .
And in the core territory of the Deposed Dragon Gang, the drought situation is equally complex and chaotic. The eastern border is different from Hebei, Dengzhou is different from Dongjun, and the Bohai Sea is different from the plains, including the same county because it is not next to a major river. , whether it is irrigated in time is completely different.
After saying this, Zhao Dacan began to talk about this errand: "When the chief was still the leader, he set several basic rules. One of the most important ones was the fairness of taxes and corvee... As soon as the drought breaks out now, there will definitely be appropriate tax reductions and reductions after autumn. For example, if the harvest is less than half, it will be exempted; if the harvest is less than 10%, it will be collected normally; if the harvest is 20% to 30%, there will also be corresponding reductions and exemptions. .....But as I said just now, the drought is so complicated and it all depends on the local officials to report it, which is very troublesome."
"I understand." After hearing this, Captain Wang suddenly realized. "I'm afraid that the local officials will over-report and report indiscriminately! If they can't pay the taxes then, they will lose the military rations for next year!"
All the sergeants were also stunned.
"That's right." Zhao Dacan sighed. "However, I personally heard the chief tell Chen Internal Affairs that what he fears most is actually underreporting the disaster, or even not reporting..."
Except for a few staff officers and clerks, all the sergeants were surprised.
Liu Wenwen finally couldn't bear it anymore and sneered: "Don't forget that during the late Wei Dynasty, didn't they always not report or underreport? When disasters occurred, they didn't report, and the people suffered, and taxes and taxes were collected... .Anyway, people with political integrity cannot rise as high as those from Guanlong, but they rise just as fast."
"This is the same as conferring fields." Someone once reacted
Come. "When the rebellion first started... the chief sent someone to say specifically that the Wei court granted one acre of land, not two acres of land, and paid double taxes to make the Wei emperor happy. As a result, It’s just that we people from the East and Hebei have worked hard for a whole year and can only barely survive, waiting to die when disaster strikes."
"Isn't that what we say when we encounter a calamity year and wait for death? This is a connection."
"That's why I rebelled against him!"
"Does our Deposed Dragon Gang also have such an officer?"
"There are officials like this everywhere. As long as they can be promoted, they don't care about anything... Besides, many officials were originally appointed by people from the imperial court who surrendered directly."
"Anyway, I know the whole story." Mr. Wang became the general manager.
Knot. "Here's a rough comparison to save the local officials from cheating. Once you know it, you won't be tired anymore. Come on, let's drink!"
"Drink, drink, drink!" There was a commotion in the store.
"Did you hear that?" At this moment, in front of the window on the second floor, a man in a wide robe and long sleeves, twirling his beard and smiling, was none other than Xie Minghe, the foreign affairs director of the Deposed Dragon Gang. "The staff officers, clerks, and these sergeants in the station are all here. Knows more than you do."
"What's the matter with Xiao?" The person facing him turned out to be Chen Bin, the internal affairs manager of the Deposed Dragon Gang. Hearing this, the man just responded coldly. "Is what I just told them the same thing? Do I care about this matter? I think the chief should not do any self-criticism under any circumstances...it's right to beat Xuzhou
No matter whether it is good or wrong, you cannot review it! Did he think that after self-examination, the people below him would be sincerely convinced and admire his magnanimity? In fact, it will only make those military leaders feel contempt! What's even worse is that if something goes wrong due to drought, those people will take advantage of the situation and blame the chief! "
It turned out that due to the drought, Chief Zhang had sincerely reflected on it and believed that the battle in Xuzhou should be endured. Langya Banjun did not want it and went directly to Jiangdu to buy Li Wenbai's head, which was enough to fool him. Anyway, it was not necessary. The disaster relief opportunity was delayed for more than half a month, and a lot of food was wasted!
Of course, this was just a review based on Zhang Xing's personal values. Most others did not agree with it, but he still insisted on issuing an internal review and admitted the mistakes made in the Xuzhou battle.
This matter did not attract other people's attention, especially Chief Zhang's recent majesty. Not only did Xuzhou win a lot of whale bones, but at the beginning of this month, after he returned from crossing Hebei, he only sent a letter to Xue Changxiong. This put the general's thoughts of scratching Jiangdu's thief queen away, and he went back to the river to look at the whale bones.
What's even more exaggerated is that when General Nancheng who was far away on the riverbank heard that Zhang Xing had become the chief, he immediately raised troops. Across Huaixi, he respected Chief Zhang as his superior and sent all his sons!
Even people from the south of the Yangtze River have come recently, and people from the north have come to congratulate them. It seems that the Breaking Wave Saber in northern Shanxi also has a letter of surrender.
Under such power, some strategic review naturally did not cause any waves of authority, but Chen Bin was extremely dissatisfied with it.
"It's still the same old thing, the battle between power and virtue." Xie Minghe thought for a moment and continued to laugh while holding up his wine glass. "Power has quick effects, virtue has profound effects, power is easy to win, virtue can withstand defeat, it's pointless to fight over and over again." . Anyway, although our chief prefers those who are virtuous and virtuous, he often ignores everything when he encounters opportunities to establish his authority. It can be said that he has both authority and virtue... You don't need to think too much. "
"In today's troubled times, one has to establish prestige in order to establish authority. Unless you are too idle, you will not be able to build any virtue." Chen Bin, the housekeeper sitting opposite, frowned and answered, but he just looked out the window, where cicadas were chirping and insects were calling. The sound continued, and the city, field, barracks, and market were mixed. "This is my always-held view."
"If that's the case, why didn't you stop me?" Xie Minghe asked in surprise after finishing the drink. "Instead you only seek to complain to me? The way you have been since you defected to the Deposed Dragon Gang, no matter what the outcome is, you will always make a statement, instead of being silent on the surface and showing off in private."
"I won't hide it from you." Chen Bin was silent for a moment, and finally said the key. "Because my heart is in confusion, or in other words, I came to see you today and I don't know how to speak, so I can only start from what happened just now...
"Isn't it because of this that you wanted to drink with me?" Xie Minghe was even more surprised. Just as he was about to say more, he suddenly thought of something and suddenly woke up. "Are you tempted?"
"Sure enough, I also asked you to tell me?" Chen Bin asked calmly.
"I am in charge of foreign affairs. The person from Jiangnan came to me first, and then I made the report. Then he asked me what I meant on the spot. "Xie Minghe was even more helpless." But he never expected that I was not tempted, but instead You are actually tempted... Mr. Chen, I can be tempted, but how can you be tempted? "
"Because my surname is Chen?" Chen Bin still said coldly. "Is it easy to be taboo if you go to Jiangnan to start a business?"
"No." Xie Minghe was speechless. "It's you who have done an excellent job here... Let me ask you one thing. If Zhang Sanlang really becomes a big deal in the future, would it be you, Manager Chen, whose position is higher, or Zhou Xingfan's second uncle's position? high?"
Chen Bin was slightly startled, but still shook his head: "If I go to Jiangnan, how can it be possible that it is only the land of three counties of Zhou Xiaoshang?"
"Can you take all the eighty-one states and counties in the south of the Yangtze River?" Xie Minghe asked with a sneer.
Chen Bin looked at the other person while holding the wine and wanted to speak.
"If that's the case." Xie Minghe continued to joke and laugh, not giving the other party a chance to speak. "Even if you share my last name with Xie, you will only die."
Chen Bin was stunned on the spot.
"I know what you're thinking." Xie Minghe sighed upon seeing this
road. "It's not like you're out of your wits because of your sudden ambition.
, you were forced to board the ship that day, and then you only had one way to go until dark. Now there are suddenly more ways, and you can't help but think about it... But let me tell you, stop thinking about it, you are in this situation now Although it is a path I have taken, it is already very good. Don’t jeopardize your future. "
Chen Bin also sighed quietly: "That's true, but I do feel homesick. I haven't seen Jiangnan Feng for decades.
View. "
"Then don't go there." Xie Minghe sighed more and more. "After decades, the old place in Jiangnan is naturally still the same place, but it is no longer the same scenery as it used to be... If you really want to go back, I am more suitable than you. Because this time the emperor is eyeing Danyang, and what he wants to build is Danyang Palace. I can gather the manpower and material resources of the Eight Families with just one sentence, and then find a few masters of the True Fire Sect, and then use the banner of the Deposed Dragon Gang. Then contact the rebels in Jiangdong and Jiangxi, send a proclamation to Nanling, and echo Zhou Xiaoshang. It will be difficult for four or five counties to do it for a while, but it will be easy for two or three counties. Even if Danyang is close and suppressed, I can still go to Yuhang and Kuaiji to catch up with those two. As for the surname Chen, don't be angry if I tell you. No one in Jiangnan misses the Chen family, and everyone misses the Xiao family even more. Otherwise, how do you think the queen who was captured once lived so peacefully in Jiangdu? "
After hearing this, Chen Bin took a long breath and said, "The chief shouldn't ask me."
"If he doesn't ask you, you have to think too much. The road has only branched out here." Xie Minghe said disapprovingly. "But it's just a polite question. Who can think that you really take it seriously? Let me tell you, go back and wash your face, blow some air on the chair where the whale bone is sitting, and you will wake up immediately... That's all Among the people who came, including Zhou Xingfan and his second uncle, they were just making noises. Wang Daiji didn't pay attention to them. There was only a Polangdao from northern Shanxi and a Dupo Formation from Huaixi. They just couldn't hold it back in their hearts and wanted to. For overseas release, we should go to the North, not Jiangnan!"
Chen Bin could only nod casually, then lowered his head to drink.
In this way, the two of them had already talked about it and should have left directly, but there were all subordinates downstairs, and it was difficult to jump out of the window, so they continued to drink some drinks from Jindi, talked about some miscellaneous things, and waited until daybreak. Hei, he was just about to leave downstairs, but he struggled a lot when doing the accounts. Hearing that, it meant that the clerk Liu didn’t bring any money, so the two senior clerks simply paid the money together, and they were happy to save money even with the other clerk. got money.
After a group of subordinates walked away, Chen Xie paid the money and walked downstairs.
It was the evening of early autumn, the evening breeze was blowing slightly, the fields were noisy, people were coming and going outside Jiangling City, the huge barracks, the rows of shops, the endless crops in the sunset... Who dares to believe that it was only at the beginning of this year, Is this still a rural place that has fallen into some kind of deathly silence due to two consecutive years of military disaster?
Chen and Xie looked at each other for a long time, each looking at each other. They didn't know whether it was because they were in sync with each other or if they were just about to close the city gate. The gate drum was beaten on the top of the city, and then they went north together with their hands behind their hands and followed the flow of people into the city.
Halfway through, Xie Minghe suddenly stopped. Chen Bin stopped in surprise, and then followed the other person's gaze... It turned out that in the twilight, little Liu Wenwen didn't know when he separated from his friends. After driving, I walked into a shop along the official road.
The so-called "bang shop" is a shop that has accepted a license and can obtain certain exemptions on taxes or land deed purchases. The condition is that some goods from the Dragon Gang's own workshop must be transported to a designated place in a monthly ration or according to a total amount.
This is a new thing that Chief Zhang quickly launched after returning to Hebei in order to fulfill his previous reward promise.
And this kind of store quickly became a trading center for reward coupons, giving the coupons real currency value. In other words, this kind of store became the first type of store that could use reward coupons to purchase all kinds of goods.
The shop selling items was very popular among the sergeants.
Xiao Liu Wenwen, who had no money for a treat just now, arrived at the store, opened his leather bag, took out a small bag from the leather bag, and then took out a dozen reward coupons from it, and carefully handed it to the shopkeeper. people. The latter counted them one by one, turned around, took out a box, and opened it in front of him.
But it is a golden phoenix hairpin inlaid with pearls.
At this moment, Xiao Liu Wenwen, who was completely pauper, felt like he had found a treasure. He read it several times and carefully put it away.
He carried the box and headed into the city, unaware that his two immediate superiors were hiding in the dusk and could see clearly.
"This kid is not only cynical, but also a bit stupid." Xie Minghe looked at the other person's back and couldn't help twisting his beard and sneered. "Wouldn't it be better if he exchanged the reward coupon for a pearl in the city's warehouse and asked the other party to use a gold hairpin to set it in, and he could save money and exchange it for a piece of silk? I have to replace it with a complete one!
Chen Bin shook his head without saying a word, bowed his head and moved forward, and Xie Minghe followed suit with his hands behind his back.
The two of them entered Jiangling City before the city gate was closed.
