There were originally some green spring wheat in Shanggui County, but after continuous exposure to the scorching sun, it began to slowly turn yellow. When the strong wind blew, the layers of wheat waves rattled, and a heavy-fruited wheat ear kept bending with the wind. Waist nodded.
Although the wheat is not yet fully ripe, farmers will not wait until the wheat is fully mature before harvesting, because after harvesting this crop, they have to seize the time to plant another crop to ensure that the field can be harvested again.
In the fields of wheat, people can be seen everywhere braving the scorching sun to harvest. The men, women, and children in the wheat fields are all bent over, harvesting along the waves of wheat in front of them with sharp sickles.
There were also some half-grown children following the adults. They used prepared ropes to tie the wheat that the adults had cut neatly and firmly, and then moved it to the flatbed truck parked at the edge of the field, dripping with sweat. These children were afraid that the ripe wheat grains would fall to the ground, so they were very careful when moving them.
When the oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages at the edge of the field were loaded with wheat stacks, they walked creakingly on the deeply rutted yellow mud road and drove to the distant village. The man who drove the cart followed the cart with a whip. As they walked, they sang cheerful folk songs in high pitched voices.
The broad sun drying flat in front of the village has long been as smooth as a mirror after years of hard work by the people. Harvested crops are stacked on the flat. The wheat ears and bean pods have been burned to a crisp by the scorching sun. More than a dozen workers The men holding the flails were divided into two rows, facing each other, flapping and moving vertically and horizontally; both sides raised and lowered the flails in unison, one up and one down, each other, and the crackling rhythm seemed to be the most beautiful piece of music.
There were also people driving cattle and horses, dragging big round stone sticks to crush the crops all over the field. The wheat grains and beans fell off one after another during the beating of flails and the crushing of the stone sticks. Waiting for these crushed millet straws When the bean stalks are picked up, there is food on the ground that people have worked hard to get.
There were more than a dozen men in different colors resting under the shade of the trees next to Shaiguping. They were chatting and laughing while watching the threshing of grains and dusting with winnowers. Judging from their clothing, it was obvious that they were not from this village.
The young man leading the charge was Li Daliang, who was ordered to investigate Yuan Shan. He was going to start from among the people and was determined not to deal with any local officials. He would do some secret work first to prevent Qinzhou from covering up and covering up each other, so he took ten people with him. The royal guard returned to Shanggui County as a merchant in Guanzhong.
Although he is still only a personal staff member of Prince Wei's Mansion, he is someone who grew up with Yang Ji after all. He is exposed to everything in the center. His starting point, vision, and knowledge far exceed that of Bai Ding's average Yuchi. Gong, Wei Zheng, Ling Jing, and he had been following Yang Ji in Liangzhou for a year or two, so although he was not in the officialdom, he was well aware of the many ways in the officialdom.
Of course, the most important thing is that in order for Yang Ji to mature as soon as possible and become a qualified frontier official as soon as possible, Yang Jian continuously sent copies of some major cases to Yang Ji for study, so that he could know the usual tricks of local corrupt officials. With the reference of these cases, Daliang and others not only had a detailed understanding of the various ways in which corrupt officials commit crimes, but also learned a lot of skills in dealing with corrupt officials.
Li Daliang knew that the common tactic of corrupt officials in the local area was to increase exorbitant taxes and seize people's wealth for their own use under clever pretexts. This can be easily found out from the people. If there are complaints, then there is definitely something wrong with the local officials; higher-level corrupt officials are much smarter. They generally do not exploit the miserable people, but use illegal means to misappropriate relief money and food allocated by the court, embezzle project money and food, and steal official wealth.
He once saw a case in which the previous governor of Lanzhou, Chang Shi, and Sima were imprisoned for tampering with food. Not only did they overprice grain and weaken the purchasing power of official money, they also added a large amount of bran to the rice, stirred it with warm water to swell it, and then sold it as high-quality rice.
Such major cases cannot be handled by one or two people. They are usually completed by relevant officials, charlatans, and grain merchants. In short, it is collusion between officials and businessmen.
Most of the corrupt officials that Xiao Yu and others punished in Liangzhou were for stealing the court's wealth and greedy for relief money and food. What's even worse is that the court clearly exempted and exempted the people's taxes, but some local officials still accepted them, and these were collected Of course, the taxes are the proceeds of corrupt officials.
With so many cases in hand, Li Daliang believes that if there is really a problem in Qinzhou, he can still find real evidence.
Li Daliang was talking to an old man standing under the tree at this time. This old man's name was Zhang Lu, and he was the village mayor. He smiled and said to Zhang Lu: "Zhang Village, is this year a good harvest for you?"
"Of course it's a good year!" Zhang Lu bared his yellow teeth and said with a cheerful smile: "The weather has been good these years, and the harvests are getting better and better every year. The days are getting better and better."
Li Daliang asked with a smile: "Do you pay this year's rent from this batch of grain?"
"No!" Zhang Lu shook his head and said: "The rent paid to the government is millet, millet, and rice. Wheat and beans are not collected. Wheat is food for us to eat ourselves, and beans are used to sell money. "
At this time, millet, millet, and wheat are mainly grown in the north. Rice is also grown in some places with sufficient water resources. Although wheat is a dry crop, the irrigation conditions are higher than that of millet and millet. In addition, flour processing is backward, so all ordinary People cook the wheat and eat it. Although the taste is not good, it can still fill the stomach.
Children of wealthy families eat coarse wheat rice during the period of filial piety, which is the most pious mourning for their ancestors; if someone eats the rice himself and gives the wheat rice to his elders, it is an unfilial act that is despised by others. Because this wheat rice is unpalatable, the government's taxes are still mainly based on millet, millet, rice, and wheat can only be eaten by farmers and common people.
Li Daliang asked: "Do you have to pay rent every year? Have you ever encountered a year of rent reduction or exemption?"
"Of course the rent is paid every year." Zhang Lu thought about it carefully and then answered Li Daliang's second question: "I am fifty-six years old this year, and I have never experienced a rent reduction or exemption year since I was a child."
Li Daliang suddenly laughed and asked casually: "Oh, how many acres of land do you have, and how much rent do you have to pay per year?"
Zhang Lu was a simple man without any scheming. Seeing that this foreigner was very polite and polite, he naturally answered all questions.
Li Daliang learned about the harvest and rent payment situation from this village over the years, and left with his subordinates. Afterwards, he visited three other villages and obtained the same information.
After he separated from Yang Ji, he also divided his troops into six groups, and the other five groups also conducted the same investigation. When he asked these four villages in succession, he was convinced that there was a huge shady story in Qinzhou.
Apart from anything else, it is inevitable for Qinzhou to have tax-free money and food from the imperial court, because since the founding of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian has taxed the whole world several times: one time was in the year of the Sui Dynasty on behalf of Zhou Dynasty, he taxed the entire north. The second time was when Yang Jian heard that Yang Shuang burned the Holy Mountain of Turks, he was overjoyed and exempted taxes for the seventh year of Kaihuang; the third large-scale tax exemption was in the tenth year of Kaihuang, because Yang Guang was in the ninth year of Kaihuang. The Nanchen Dynasty was destroyed in the year, successfully ending the nearly 400 years of chaos in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and officially unifying the Sui Dynasty. So when Yang Guang's squadron returned to the court, Yang Jian completed the prisoner sacrifice ceremony at Zhuque Gate and announced in public that he was exempted from the second dynasty. In the second year of taxation, which was the tenth year after the founding of the emperor, this large-scale tax exemption was for the whole world.
The most recent time was this year.
After Yang Ji destroyed Bujia Khan, the once prosperous Turkic Khanate fell apart. When the victorious army concluded the prisoner presentation ceremony at Zhuque Gate, Yang Jian was delighted and announced on the city tower that this year's taxes would be exempted. Faced with The group is still the common people of the whole country.
However, the people in the four villages in Qinzhou said with one voice: The government has never exempted people from taxes, and they must pay the rent as scheduled every year. When they say this, a problem arises.
On the way, Zhu Can, who was sent over by Yang Ji as his deputy, said excitedly: "Li Junjun, these four villages have had good harvests year after year, and the people have paid taxes in full every year. Even if they are exempted nationwide, they still have to pay this year; these taxes will obviously be squandered by corrupt officials." The officials have eaten them all, we have dug up a big moth! Do you want to report it to the Young Master immediately?"
"It's not the time yet!" Li Daliang was also very excited, but he considered the problem far more comprehensively than Zhu Can. He said: "These four villages are all in Shanggui County. If the investigation is completed, Yuan Shan can completely shift the responsibility to The state governor and county magistrates naturally stayed out of the matter. Even if the court held them accountable, it would only be a crime of dereliction of duty at most, so we have to wait for news from the other five counties."
Zhu Can said in confusion: "Shanggui County is the seat of Qinzhou's prefecture. This happened under Yuan Shan's eyes. Can't we kill him with the information we collected?"
"If Yuan Shan comes from a small family, it is indeed enough, but he is not only a descendant of the Yuan family among the Guanlong nobles, but there is also a powerful Yuan sect behind him." A cold and stern look flashed in Li Daliang's eyes, and he said calmly The voice said: "Based on our little evidence, this huge group can definitely help Yuan Shan exonerate him. At most, he can move to another place, maybe stay silent for a few years, and then come up again through personal connections. By then, Yuan Shan will definitely be He is a powerful enemy of the young master. So what we have to do is to collect more evidence that will send him to hell."
In the political background that has been formed over thousands of years in which the collective is valued over the individual, no matter how great a person is, no matter how powerful his human rights are, sooner or later he will be chewed into bones by the vicious crowd. If you think you can hug the emperor's lap tightly, If you can be invincible in the world, then sooner or later the game will be over.
Li Daliang's father, Li Chong, is a typical example of this. Li Chong once led troops to defeat the Turkic army in Hebei and Mayi. He also followed Wei Zhaowang Yang Shuang in his northern expedition to the Turks many times. He severely defeated the Shabolu Khan and became the Shangzhu Kingdom. The general manager of Shuozhou was conferred the title of Duke of Wuyang County. While he was in charge of Shuozhou, the Turks did not dare to approach Bingzhou. However, when Yang Shuang died of illness, Li Chong also lost his most powerful backer. Someone immediately framed him for treason. He returned to Beijing to defend himself but failed, was dismissed, and finally died in sorrow and hatred. There is also Liu Fang, who was also in charge in the north at the beginning, but he also ended his career sadly because of Yang Shuang's death. If Yang Su hadn't taken pity on his talent and recommended him to go to Jiaozhou to take charge, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been able to get ahead in his life.
No matter Li Chong, Liu Fang, or Zhang Dinghe, they all accomplished extraordinary feats by following Yang Shuang; however, the north has always been dominated by the Guanlong nobles, and their extraordinary achievements and illustrious reputations have all replaced the Guanlong noble generals; when they After losing the protection of Yang Shuang, the Guanlong nobles immediately used their strong connections to jointly kill the King Wei clan in the north, share the "kingdom" established by the King Wei clan, seize the position of the King Wei clan, and take advantage of their power. , occupying the trade in the north and northeast.
Thanks to the painful lessons learned from his father and the King Wei clan, Li Daliang did not have the slightest fondness for the Guanlong nobles; in addition, Yang Ji, the new generation leader of the King Wei clan, had completely broken with the Guanlong nobles. As a subordinate, Li Daliang's target Naturally, he will follow Yang Ji to the end. Now that I have finally obtained the evidence of Yuan Shan's crime, I naturally don't want to alert the snake and settle the matter hastily, but I am preparing to collect more evidence that can lead to Yuan Shan's death.
If the Yuan sect dies of a governor-level figure, and if Qinzhou loses its long-term control, it will not be a serious blow, but it will still be a heavy blow.
Zhu Can was limited by his background, vision and experience. Naturally, he could not think as much and see as far as Li Daliang. This is also the biggest difference between the children of ordinary people and the children of officials.
"Li Canjun, where are we going now? Are we going to the city to wait for other detachments?" Zhu Can asked.
"Shanggui City is Yuan Shan's territory. I'm afraid the whole city is under his surveillance. Send a brother to inform the team in the city and remind them that their mission is to communicate in the middle, not to inquire about information. Don't go around asking for information stupidly, just wait for other detachments in the inn." Li Daliang looked up at the sky, smiled slightly and said: "We will leave for Tianshui Town immediately. Because the Weishui River and the Ji River meet in Tianshui Town , which is also the largest commercial terminal in Qinzhou. If Yuan Shan intends to sell these illegally taxed grains, he cannot do without this terminal."
"Here!" Zhu Can called a guard and told him a few words. The guard left the team and ran up to Gui City.
"Let's go!" Li Daliang smiled and said, "I hope the Suzaku Guards in the city will also gain something."
. . . . . . . . . .
At the same time, Zhang Chuchen, Liu Rumei, Murong Xianyue and seven leading soldiers also entered Shanggui City in disguise.
The Suzaku Guard is composed of ten maids from Yang Su's mansion. Although the maids they trained have not yet become talents, there are already female maids among the slain soldiers in the palace. Dugu Min has secretly observed them until now and determined that they are They were trustworthy and reliable, and their families were all within the palace's sphere of influence, so a hundred female dead soldiers were assigned to the Suzaku Guard, which finally eliminated the embarrassment of having only the leader of the Suzaku Guard.
Although Liu Rumei is already Yang Ji's concubine, her position in the Suzaku Guard is still a deputy commander. It's not that Yang Ji has not considered breaking her away, but she thinks that once she breaks away from the Suzaku Guard, she will be useless. She was useless and had no value except sleeping with Yang Ji, so she decided to continue to be the deputy commander.
Yang Ji didn't want his woman to lose herself and lose her personality because of him. Moreover, her superb makeup skills could produce unexpected effects on Zhuquewei, so he agreed to her insistence.
Their mission this time was to assist the Xuanwu Guard headed by Li Daliang. It was also the first official operation of the Suzaku Guard since its establishment. The three leaders attached great importance to this opportunity. After some discussion, they decided to come together to avoid any surprises. When something unexpected happened, there was no one to discuss it.
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Thanks to the book friend "People from a foreign land will not fall into the clouds" for the reward.
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