Moreover, in each village, not only the crops are well taken care of, but also the sound of chickens and ducks can be heard constantly, which shows that each family raises a large number of livestock. And the most conspicuous thing is that many houses in the village have obvious signs of being newly renovated. They even found that many new houses are under construction in many villages!
You must know that for farmers, houses and land are fundamental, but whether it is repairing or building a new house, it costs a lot of money! And the fact that the villagers are willing to spend money shows that their income is very high, enough to maintain their expenses!
Seeing this scene, the three civil servants felt embarrassed on their faces! Because after Wu Ninghou's troubles, Tianjin actually became vigorous and energetic, and it was actually more capable than the civil servants!
And Xu Wanjiang doesn't understand people's livelihood, and he also knows that the area around Tianjin seems to be no less prosperous than the area around the capital! More importantly, the farmers around the capital are all tenant farmers, and they look lifeless. The villagers here are full of energy! As for Zhang Shi's face, which was still smiling slightly, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
But the better the situation they saw, the more eager they became! This shows that there is a lot of money in Tianjin! If we can control Tianjin, we will have a lot of money! This further strengthened their idea of bringing down Wu Ninghou!
Thinking of the few people here, the four of them subconsciously exchanged glances with each other and understood their respective thoughts. They actually had some common hatreds and enemies!
When they arrived at a place 30 miles away from Tianjin, He Xianli looked up and saw no one to greet them! His anger rose and he loudly said: "The people in Tianjin are neglecting the angels, and no one greets the convoy when it arrives!"
Wu Yunshan also echoed: "That's true! Do these people in Tianjin not want to be officials?"
However, Jiang Yuzhong whispered at this time: "I'm afraid it's not that they didn't come to greet them, but that there was no one to greet them at all! Don't forget, the civil and military officials of Tianjin were detained in prison by Wu Ninghou, who interrogated them whether they had colluded with the White Lotus Sect. , otherwise they wouldn’t have stopped coming!”
He Xianli then slapped his forehead and said, "That's true. I've forgotten this!"
Wu Yunshan said with a smile: "In that case, why don't we take a long detour and go to the canal to have a look! Didn't Wu Ninghou set up a card there to collect taxes?"
Jiang Yuzhong snorted and said, "Very good, I was just about to see how Wu Ninghou conquered and extorted money!"
Xu Wanjiang also intervened and said: "Let's go together, go together! When we see it, I will explain it to His Majesty when I go back!"
He Xianli said: "Everyone, if we rush like this, we will probably alert Wu Ninghou's minions. Why don't we change into casual clothes and only bring a few guards with us."
Wu Yunshan also nodded and said: "Good idea! But should I inform Eunuch Zhang?"
Xu Wanjiang hesitated and said, "Is it better to inform him and see if he is willing to go?"
After sending someone to inquire, he replied that Eunuch Zhang was also willing to go, and he would also change into casual clothes. So everyone returned to the carriage and changed their clothes. Each person took only one entourage and drove several carriages to the canal.
When they arrived near the canal, they saw a water gate built on the canal from a distance! The water gate is quite wide, and there is a place for people to walk and look out. When they came closer, they saw that there was a group of guards patrolling the water gate.
Several people got off the carriage far away and walked towards Minato. At first they were worried that their group would be too conspicuous, but they frightened the carriage and discovered that there were many people looking at the canal. I think it's because the tax collection has just started here, and many people are here to watch the excitement.
Several people blended into the crowd and squeezed to the edge of the canal with the help of the guards. Then they looked into the river and saw ten small trestles on the left and right on the canal bank in front of the water gate. The canal boats on the canal docked on the trestles in turn.
When the ship stopped, two tax collectors and two royal guards on each ship boarded the ship to count, value and collect tax money. At this time, the pier was full of boats.
When a few of them squeezed to the shore, there was a boat right under their feet. Two tax collectors and two royal guards were stepping out of the boat. On the boat, a man obviously dressed as a eunuch was collecting scattered silver and tax bills.
Seeing this scene, Wu Yunshan
He whispered to He Xianli beside him: "Looking at the people on the boat who paid taxes just now, they are obviously dressed as eunuchs. Why are everyone in the palace so abiding by the rules now?"
He Xianli shook his head and said, "I don't know! But please pay attention to the flags. These ships seem to belong to the same person!"
Jiang Yuzhong also said: "That's right, you can see that the flags hung by the ships behind are very similar, but the flags are blown up by the wind, so it's not clear who they are? But maybe Eunuch Zhang can know who it is."
At this time, Wen Yan squinted his eyes and looked at the flag, but he couldn't seem to see it clearly. However, he thought for a while and said, "It is true that the flag cannot be clearly seen, but if we calculate the time, it should be the day when Eunuch Zhou, the eunuch guarding Hangzhou, returns to Beijing, and maybe his fleet."
While several people were talking, a large ship sailed over and leaned against the trestle. The ship was quite magnificent, and the flag was clearly displayed. Sure enough, the word "zhou" was written on it! Everyone immediately understood that it was indeed the fleet of Eunuch Zhou, the eunuch guarding Hangzhou.
It's just that these people all know that eunuchs are like quails when they are in the palace, and are as fierce and greedy as eagles when they go out. How can they honestly stop the ship for inspection and pay taxes after the eunuch is full? This is not like the people in the palace at all. Making a show?
Several people thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer. Xu Wanjiang couldn't help it and said to Eunuch Zhang: "Eunuch Zhang, I have a question. Eunuch Zhou is the guard of Hangzhou this time, so he has a lot of respect in the palace. How could he pay his taxes honestly? Does your Majesty have any special wishes?"
Zhang Shi glanced at him, and then laughed and said: "Long Live Lord will not care about such trivial matters, but we are all Long Live Lord's slaves. Naturally, our hearts are dedicated to Long Live Lord, and we cannot let Long Live Lord worry about it! So there are some Things will naturally be done according to the rules!"
When several people heard this, they cursed in their hearts: "When did you bunch of dog eunuchs actually obey the rules?"
However, Zhang Shi's words still gave them a hint, it is these eunuchs who live in the palace and are the best at watching the scenery! They can see who is close to the emperor most clearly! Now Liu Haojia is blushing in front of Lord Long Live, so naturally they will not tease Wu Ninghou at this time, lest they lose favor in front of Lord Long Live! What's more, for a little bit of money to go against the most popular person in front of Long Live Lord, it's totally not worth the gain!
