"Since Commander Zeng has set an example, I, the Commander-in-Chief of Zigui, should also provide three thousand stones of food and grass to save the frontline." With the two governors of Luyue and Zigui taking the lead, the remaining six governors They all expressed their willingness to spend a thousand stones to save the danger on the front line.
The statements of the eight county guards made Xie Cang look quite unhappy. Is this a statement? This is totally deceiving people.
From the ten thousand dan in each county, it was suddenly reduced by nine-tenths, and the eight counties finally only had more than 10,000 dan. If it were somewhere else, I might not be angry at Xie Cang, but where is this?
Dongzhou is the richest state in Daliang. There are only eight counties. The annual output of any county town is 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, not to mention the subordinate counties. How could Su Qi'an propose to them 10,000 stones of grain and grass for each county to make it so difficult for them?
These county guards are not honest people. Their respective families occupy an unknown amount of fertile land. It is true to say that the people of Dongzhou are living a difficult life, but these local officials are all starved to death.
However, these officials still complained about it on the pretext of doing good for the people, and decided on this matter in their own statements.
Xie Cangyin looked at the eight county guards with a sullen face and said coldly.
"Governor Zeng and Sheriff Han, you two counties are big counties in Dongzhou. As far as I know, your two counties' annual output is at least three hundred thousand dan. You still want to be cunning in front of the inspector. , do you want to be punished for being so dishonest?" Xie Cang's words made Zeng Mo and Han Cheng change their expressions slightly, and they quickly stood up to explain.
"The Marquis and the Supervisor have misunderstood. Our county's annual output is more than three hundred thousand dan, but most of it is private land. We pay the due taxes on these grain fields, but less than 50% of it reaches our hands." First, it is really not easy for us to come up with thousands of stones of food and grass. Even if we have more, even the lower officials will not be able to do anything."
"Yes, it's not that I don't try my best, but about half of the land in this county is private land, which is in compliance with the laws of the court. Even we can't take their land. I hope the supervisor will , The Marquis can understand." What Zeng Mo and Han Cheng said was so helpless that Xie Cang's brows jumped up and down, just when he wanted to get angry.
Su Qian suddenly spoke,
"Okay, Brother Xie, I can't blame them for this. They also have their own difficulties. They can provide more than 10,000 stones of food and grass. They have tried their best, so don't embarrass them."
"Well, this matter is over for the time being. Your Excellencies, please go down and rest first and stay in Danyang County for a while. As for what to do with the food and grass later, I am contacting the state capital and discussing it in detail with the county guards."
"Thank you, Inspector, for your understanding." The eight county guards clasped their fists together, then turned and left. The two Danyang County officials who were standing aside and listening were about to turn around and leave, but were stopped by Su Qi'an, who signaled with their eyes that they stepped forward.
Su Qi'an whispered something to the two of them. After a while, the two county officials showed shocked expressions on their faces, obviously frightened.
"Why are you scared by such a small thing? If you can't handle it, you can refuse, and I can find someone else to handle it." The two county officials came back to their senses, shook their heads repeatedly, focused their eyes, clasped their fists and said solemnly to Su Qi'an.
"It's an honor for both of us that the inspector trusts us so much. If we can't handle this little thing, we won't be worthy of being county officials."
"Okay, go ahead. As long as this is done well, don't worry, we won't be in trouble." The two county officials nodded heavily, their eyes flashed with excitement, and then they turned and left.
What the two of them were waiting for was Su Qi'an's words. Although they had informed the other eight county governors about Su Qi'an's whereabouts before, they still had one code after another.
The eight county guards would not be grateful to them because of this matter. After all, the levels of both sides are there. Even though the two sides are only separated by one level, the county guard is always the highest officer of a county, and his deputy is always his deputy. .
Moreover, the two of them have no background. They were able to get to where they are today because of their hard work and hard work step by step.
Even though the eight county guards were usually quite polite to them, in private they didn't even take them seriously, these eight county guards were all from wealthy families.
The family's power is deep, and it has even reached the Wu and Jiang families, the two most powerful families in Dongzhou. It is even more arrogant. Except for Zhou Mu and Zhou Cheng, they will respect it and others will not pay attention to it at all.
If it weren't for Su Qian's sudden visit to Danyang County, the eight county guards would not have been so polite to them.
After suffering so much cowardice, suddenly, an inspector came from Dongzhou and visited Danyang County. They asked him to get on the car to accompany him and also let him listen.
This is the face given to them by the supervisor. They don't understand this matter, so when Su Qi'an asks them to do something, the two of them must complete it smoothly no matter what.
If you miss this opportunity, it will be too difficult to turn around in Dongzhou in the future. Watching the two county officials leave, Xie Cang said softly,
"Brother Su, are these two reliable?" Su Qian said calmly while holding the tea on the table,
"I've already lost track of their background. I came from a poor family and got to where I am today because I have both sides. I've served in Danyang County for many years. Although I'm not an honest official, I'm not a vicious person either."
"They are both smart people. They only have one chance. They know what to do." Xie Cang nodded slightly and said nothing.
His anger just now was just to cooperate with Su Qi'an and test their thoughts. As Su Qi'an judged, each of these eight county guards were old foxes. Even if Su Qi'an used power to suppress others, they still took it easy and acted like victims.
Especially Zeng Mo, the governor of Luyue County, and Han Cheng, the governor of Zigui County, who took the lead. These two were the leaders of the eight counties.
If nothing else, their family backgrounds are among the best in Dongzhou. More importantly, behind them, they have the support of the Wu family and the Jiang family.
The three giants of Dongzhou's aristocratic families are not just mentioned casually, except that the Shen family is engaged in business and has wealth that rivals the country, becoming one of the three giants.
The Wu family and the Jiang family are serious aristocratic families with hundreds of years of history in Dongzhou, even older than Great Liang.
In the imperial examinations held in Great Liang for so many years, countless candidates from both families have passed the exams. There are candidates and Jinshi candidates almost every year. Even the number one scholar has been several.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a family of imperial examinations, and the head of the family is the second-ranked Duke of the imperial court. It seems a bit bad, but looking at the imperial court, at least one-third of the officials are from two families. .
In addition to the number one scholar and Jinshi, the two families also produced some great scholars. These great scholars were basically in the official state and returned to the mountains and countryside.
But don't underestimate them, it is because of their existence that the Wu and Jiang families were able to establish themselves in Dongzhou.
Most of the great scholars who served in the imperial court had taught members of the royal family, and in terms of relationships, they were well connected to His Majesty. Even if these great scholars become officials, they will be respected and valued when they return to their hometowns.
Who would dare to attack a family like this from the imperial examination family? It's no different than seeking death. Therefore, after climbing these two big trees, the eight county guards were basically led by Zeng Mo and Han Cheng.
Originally it was nine counties, but Zeng Mo and Han Cheng didn't like Lu Wenliang at all. They usually didn't like him at all. They basically separated Danyang County.
The eight counties report to the group for warmth and exclude others. This is the root cause of the backlog of the nine counties. Su Qi'an's trip is to break the clique of these guys.
"This first step is done, now let's start the second step." The few people in the courtroom nodded slightly, and then dispersed.
The news that Su Qi'an had invited the governors of eight counties to Danyang County naturally spread to the state city like the wind as quickly as possible.
Zhou Zibin and Feng Nan had smiles on their faces after receiving the news, which was basically what they expected.
They could expect that Su Qi'an would hit a wall in raising food, but they didn't expect it to happen so quickly. But then I thought about it, hitting a wall is inevitable. Who would put this matter on the table from the beginning? Even if Su Qi'an is the supervisor, in some matters, let alone the supervisor, even if the prince comes in person, it may not be good. make.
The local states are not as good as when Daliang was founded, and the imperial court's control over the subordinates has gradually weakened. If the affairs of the states can be solved just by relying on the so-called status and identity, then it will not be enough to appoint just one person.
Su Qian's move was definitely a stupid thing in the eyes of the two of them.
"Sir, do you think we should let Wu Xian and Jiang Kun add fuel to the fire? Let them be busy." Feng Nan asked.
Zhou Zibin shook his head and said,
"It's not their turn yet. I think Zeng Mo and Han Cheng are enough to make Su Qi'an miserable."
"This Su Qi'an may have some savvy in leading troops in war, but he is still far from good at handling rear government affairs. Look, the government affairs in the eight counties are enough to give him a headache. Where is he now? The real trouble is not yet there. Here we are." On the other side, Su Qi'an invited the eight county guards to Danyang County for three or four days, but he never summoned them again.
The eight county guards met for a while and could not leave directly. They could only stay in their respective rooms or walk around the county mansion.
It's not that they haven't asked, but the answer they got was without exception: The inspector will summon him if there is anything.
This kind of waiting lasted for four or five days. On the sixth day, at dawn, they were awakened by the sound of rapid footsteps.
The eight county guards got dressed and ran out quickly, looking outside. At some point, groups of soldiers quickly gathered and left the county mansion.
These soldiers were all Su Qi'an's bodyguards on this trip. When they left, the eight county guards quickly realized that the inspector was leaving Danyang County for unknown reasons.
Normally, they would not care where the inspector went, but now they are all in Danyang County, and Su Qi'an is leaving without saying hello to them.
There was no notice about their arrangements, and no matter how they looked at it, they felt something was wrong. Zeng Mo and Han Cheng looked at each other with flashing eyes, and suddenly had a bad feeling in their hearts, and hurriedly walked out of the county mansion.
