“In this way, does the money return to the hands of the county magistrate?”
"Also, the landowners have a lot of land in their hands, but they want to buy and sell more land. What should they do? They have to give gifts to the county magistrate, right? In case the owner of the land who has been forced to buy the land comes to complain.
then what should we do? Sell the fields under your name to the county magistrate's family and relatives.
Under normal circumstances, an acre of land costs one or two and a half silver. What price did they sell it to the county magistrate's relatives? One and a half copper plates!
What's the difference between that and giving it for free?
On the other hand, who would want to give a gift to the county magistrate and buy land belonging to a relative of the county magistrate? For two thousand taels of silver per acre, he bought it without even frowning.
Ouch, can gold be grown in that field? It’s worth two thousand taels, bah!
There are so many tricks like this, including tipping, kicking, and damaging fire, they are all so low-level that I don’t even bother to talk about them.
What we are saying is, can the county guard find out these things? Is there evidence? And the county guard is clean? Doesn’t he also have to give him filial piety money from the county magistrate? "
"Anyway, as long as an official is willing, there is always a way to make money."
Hearing this, Nie Chen laughed dumbly and said,
"Yes, when big businessmen give money to officials, they don't do business at a loss, just to make more money.
Whose money is it making? Naturally, it is to make money from the people.
People's money, food, and land are getting less and less, and they can no longer survive.
A few days ago, I heard from County Magistrate Zhao how to make money as a soldier, and now I heard from my little brother about how to make money as an official.
As long as you have some power, you have to bully the people.
The people have been suffering from the officials for a long time. "
Hearing this, Zhou Hu said angrily,
"Sir, let's go and kill this dog officer too."
"grown ups?"
The waiter looked at Nie Chen in surprise and suddenly panicked.
Nie Chen smiled and said,
"Don't be surprised, I am County Governor Nie Chen."
Hearing this, the waiter was dumbfounded and fell to his knees on the ground, immediately ready to kowtow.
He just said that the county guard might not be a good person either.
Unexpectedly, the county governor was right in front of him.
He scolded the official for a long time in front of the largest official in Weihu County.
"Little brother, please wake up quickly. Don't be afraid. What you said today has benefited me a lot."
The waiter was supported by Nie Chen and sat down on the chair again. Then, he tremblingly took out the ten taels of silver he had just given and was about to return it to Nie Chen.
"Keep it, just think of it as the fee for your lectures to answer my questions. No one in the county would say these things to me, and I didn't know that the officials below have so many skills."
Nie Chen smiled kindly, and the waiter felt relieved.
"Sir, I hope you will forgive me..."
"You are not guilty. You have done a good job. Waiter, how about I give you a task?"
"Sir, you tell me, I will fight to the death."
"Okay, you are in the restaurant and you come into contact with a lot of people and information. If you know something about big families, landowners or officials harming the people, go to Guiren's Pawnshop in the west of the city and tell the news to the shopkeeper there.
Those are my people, they will check these things, and as long as they are true, they will report to me, I will deal with those bad people, and you can get generous rewards.
Of course, whether it is true or false, they will strictly keep secrets and protect your personal safety without leaking anything. When you get there, just say the words Shadow Guard. "
"Okay, I understand. Sir, you are really a good official."
The waiter was moved to tears.
"Of course, you have to keep what we talked about today, as well as the matter about the pawn shop and the Shadow Guard, secret and don't tell anyone.
If you don't do things, live a normal life, do good things, and be prosperous and wealthy. But if something goes wrong and the secret is leaked, think about the consequences yourself, okay? "
"Don't worry, sir, I will keep my mouth shut!"
"Okay, let's get to work."
Nie Chen waved the waiter to leave, then took the chopsticks and hit Zhou Hu hard on the head.
"Sir, why are you hitting me?"
Zhou Hu looked aggrieved.
"Look at what you're wearing, look at what I'm wearing?"
"Um...they're all in casual clothes, what's wrong?"
"Yes, you are not wearing armor, and I am not wearing official uniform. Why? It's just to hide your identity. Don't you understand? You still call me Sir. If this happens again in the future, you will call me Young Master. Do you understand?"
"I understand, I understand. It's my fault. If you reveal your identity, it will easily attract the attention of bad people. They will come to assassinate you. I understand."
Zhou Hu nodded repeatedly.
After the group finished eating, they paid the bill, mounted their horses and left.
Walking all the way west, when we arrived at Caishikou, we happened to see the people dispersing. On the ground, there were a row of fallen corpses and tumbled heads.
On the trial stage, there was a young man in his twenties, wearing a black official uniform, with a serious face but high-spirited eyes.
Judging from his appearance, he is a smart, capable and energetic good official.
"I hope he can maintain his original intention and not do bad things."
Nie Chen looked at him deeply.
At this moment, Zhang Xiucai, no, County Magistrate Zhang, also saw Nie Chen. He was attracted by his temperament and couldn't help but take a second look.
Nie Chen led the escort all the way south. After leaving the city gate, he looked at the map and traveled south for twenty miles, and finally found the location of Panlong Mountain.
This place is relatively close to the county seat, and the bandits don't dare to be so arrogant in building a cottage here, so it is relatively safe.
Nie Chen and others followed the mountain road, waded through streams, walked through woods, and waded through mountains and rivers. After searching for a long time, they finally found a bamboo forest and the thatched cottage in a shady valley.
Zhou Long complained dissatisfiedly,
"Finally we found it. This Ouyang lives in such a remote place and makes us suffer too. Can't he live in the city?"
Arriving outside the thatched cottage courtyard, Nie Chen dismounted and shouted,
"Is Mr. Ouyang at home?"
After a while, a child dressed as a bookboy came out and trotted to the door.
The child, who was only twelve or thirteen years old, held his hands and bowed in a decent manner,
"May I ask your guest's name and why you are here?"
"Nie Chen, the governor of Weihu County, came to visit Mr. Ouyang. Is Mr. Ouyang at home?"
"Greetings to Mr. Nie. Mr. Nie is visiting friends and is not at home."
"Oh, that's it. When will sir come back?"
"I'm not sure about this. It usually takes as short as two or three days and as long as half a month. Sir, why don't you come back another day?"
After saying this, the bookboy was about to close the door, but Nie Chen kicked the door open.
"Brothers, Mr. Ouyang is not at home, so let's wait for him to come back at his house. It just so happens that it is quiet here and the scenery is good. It is a good place for self-cultivation."
Are you kidding, you want me to take a second look at the thatched cottage? Impossible. It would take at most one trip to carry Mr. Ouyang back to the county town even with a knife.
