The group walked for three days before arriving at Baiyang County.
Along the way, Zhang Beichen saw that the territory of Qin was almost filled with mourning victims. Displaced refugees can be seen everywhere. There were no natural disasters this year. These refugees were caused only by man-made disasters.
The double oppression of the war and the landlords left them with no food to eat and no clothing to wear. But even so, no human corpses were seen on the road. Some were devoured by wild beasts and monsters, and some were eaten by hungry refugees.
As a person living in peaceful times, seeing such a scene for the first time, Zhang Beichen felt deeply in his heart.
A group of people came to Baiyang County Government Office. It looked like just a private house, in dilapidated condition.
"Where are the people from the government office?" Hu Cheng shouted outside.
After shouting for a while, an old man came out with two thin and short farmers.
"Who are you? Let me tell you, there is nothing in this yamen. If you want to rob, go somewhere else!" The old man looked at them with fear.
Hu Cheng pointed at Zhang Beichen and said, "This is the newly appointed magistrate of Baiyang County, Mr. Zhang Beichen. Who are you?"
"Lord County Magistrate?" When the old man heard this, he quickly knelt down and said, "This villain is Liu Wen, the chief registrar of the county, and these two are county servants."
Zhang Beichen showed him the appointment documents and confirmed that he was the county magistrate. Liu Wen sighed: "Sir, you are here. If you don't come, this Yamen will be demolished by those unruly people!"
Zhang Beichen sat in the hall, looking at the dilapidated scene in the yamen, and asked: "What is going on?"
Liu Wen explained: "Baiyang County has only been established for three years. It needs money but no money, and it needs people but no one."
"Aren't there any funds allocated from above?" Zhang Beichen asked.
"The Qin State goes to war every year, and every year it has to go to various places to ask for money, food, and people. How can there be any money to allocate to us?" Liu Wen complained, "The income of the county government depends on the county's taxes and the output of the official fields. .”
"In Baiyang County, we don't get a few taels of grain all year round. The official farmland is small and barren. We can't even feed ourselves, let alone find ways to pay taxes."
Zhang Beichen looked through the county documents and asked, "I see that Baiyang County has a large population and a lot of fields. How could this happen?"
Mentioning this, Liu Wen even looked bitter and said, "Yes, there are a lot of fields and people in Baiyang County, but they all belong to the Bai family and the Yang family. Most of the fields in the county belong to them. private land."
"Taking advantage of their huge power, they pay less taxes every time, and often the food they pay is less than one-tenth! As for the population, most of the people in the county have gone to the fields and become slaves of these two families. , it’s not under our control.”
After Zhang Beichen heard his description, he understood why the Qin State had perished in the first few simulations. In this case, if Qin is not destroyed, who will destroy it?
Reform is still needed. Slavery is not suitable for agricultural production and must be abolished! But reality is not a simulation, and it cannot be solved in one sentence.
Even if he now convinces the Ying Yi people to abolish slavery, the law may not be enforced because the old clan is too powerful.
"The first test Ying Yiren gave me was indeed not easy." Zhang Beichen also found it tricky and started in hard mode.
While he was thinking, there were shouts and shouts outside, and someone was banging on the door of the county government office.
"Who is making the noise?" Zhang Beichen shouted.
I saw two men walking in swaggeringly, and the government officials did not dare to stop them.
One of them looked at Zhang Beichen and asked, "Are you the new county magistrate?"
"I am the county magistrate. Who are you, dare to cause trouble in the government office?" Zhang Beichen asked.
The two of them looked indifferent, and one of them said: "I am Mr. Bai's servant. The master asked me to tell you. Let us Bai family members go quickly. In addition, the master invites you to be a guest at home today."
Another person said: "I am a servant of the Yang family. We, Mr. Yang, also want to invite you to the mansion as a guest. It is best to bring people from our Yang family back."
"Today is our Bai family's treat. Why are you, the Yang family, joining in the fun?" The two actually argued in front of Zhang Beichen.
"What's so great about the Bai family? We, the Yang family, are treating guests, and the Bai family will go on their own!"
The chief clerk and the two yamen servants pretended not to see it. They were probably afraid of being bullied by them and did not dare to speak.
Zhang Beichen said angrily: "Shut up. What do you two think of the county government? You are lawless!"
"Come here, drag one person down to hit the ten big boards!"
He shouted, but the officials did not dare to take action.
The two men laughed and said, "How dare you hit us? I wonder why there was no such thing as the previous county magistrate?"
"What a stupid boy, he doesn't know how powerful our two families are!"
"Ah Da, come on in!" Zhang Beichen saw that shouting could not get anyone, so he called out to the refugees he had raised.
"If you dare to disobey the adults, I'll get you beaten!" These people listened to Zhang Beichen and immediately swarmed up, captured the two of them, picked up the boards and started beating them.
"Ah, you dare to do it!"
"If you dare to offend our two families, our master will not let you go!" the two shouted.
When Zhang Beichen heard this, he ordered: "Hit thirty more boards to prevent them from getting off the ground!"
"Papa papa!" The two of them were beaten to pieces.
"You, wait for me!" The two of them rolled and crawled out of the county government office.
Liu Wen looked worried and said: "Sir, if you deal with them like this, those two families will not let it go!"
"This is the effect I want!" Zhang Beichen said coldly, "When I take office, I must rectify this Baiyang County!"
He scolded Liu Wen and several government officials at the same time: "If you continue to pretend that you don't hear my orders from now on, you will end up like the two people just now!"
"Yes, sir!" Several people said, but they were thinking in their hearts that the new county magistrate has never seen the Baiyang family's methods, and he is still pretending to be like this. He will know in a few days.
Zhang Beichen continued to understand the situation and asked: "The two people just said they wanted to release them. What happened?"
Liu Wen explained: "The previous county magistrate went to mediate a fight between the Baiyang family. As a result, he was beaten to death, which also alerted the elders of the clan. The elder led the troops to arrest several people, and they beat the county to death together. Those of the Grand Master are locked up in the Yamen."
"We can't be shut down, and we can't be released."
"If you kill someone, you will be punished according to law!" Zhang Beichen said coldly.
Liu Wen looked embarrassed and said: "Those are the direct descendants of the Baiyang family. If we really kill them, things will be even more troublesome!"
"Master Liu." Zhang Beichen emphasized again, "After I take office, all laws and regulations must be obeyed by me. If there is any crime in the future, no matter who it is, arrest it first!"
"Yes!" Liu Wen still responded verbally, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart.
Zhang Beichen also knew very well that the local power was too strong. If he couldn't establish his authority, he probably wouldn't be able to accomplish anything.
He then said: "Show me the county records and documents."
Liu Wen handed everything to him. At this time, the description was concise, and Zhang Beichen could finish it quickly. After questioning, he almost understood the situation.
"The fundamental problem of Qin State still needs to be reformed. The old legal system can no longer adapt to the current Qin State, but I don't have the ability and prestige yet. It's better to reform Baiyang County first and establish a new charter." Zhang Beichen thought. , and began to plan.
…
On the other side, the two servants returned to the Bai family and the Yang family respectively with injuries.
In the Yang family's office, a middle-aged man with a beard was looking at the servant who was kneeling and crying, frowning and said: "That Zhang Beichen, really don't even give him any face?"
He is the head of the Yang family, Yang Shan.
The servant added to the jealousy and shouted: "Master, not only did he not give you face, he also beat me up. He has the final say in Baiyang County from now on, and our Yang family is nothing!"
An angry look appeared on Yang Shan's face, and he cursed: "This kid is really ignorant. In terms of title, I am two levels higher than him! I can't deal with him anymore!"
The local powerful are basically nobles with titles, so they are not afraid of the county magistrate.
On the Bai family side, Bai Liangpu, the head of the Bai family, also knew about this.
"Master, it is said that this new county magistrate was appointed by the king himself. Do you want to inform the eldest master?" the tribesman asked.
The Bai family in Baiyang County is a branch of the Bai family, one of the three oldest clans in the Qin Kingdom.
Their eldest master is the Duke of Qin.
"No need, an unknown person still needs to trouble the great master?" Bai Liangpu snorted coldly, "He is in the wrong place to put on airs here! I will take care of him easily!"
