In the twenty-one counties of Qin, the prefect took office. That night, all the county magistrates from all over the country attended the banquet, and no one was absent.
Naturally, Xiao Yuan was sitting on the main seat directly above, and Guo Qian was sitting next to his subordinate. This banquet was also arranged by him.
People lined up on both sides, each with a case in front of them. After the food and drinks were served, everyone picked up the wine glasses in front of them, faced Xiao Yuan one after another, and said in unison: "Let us toast you, sir..."
"Okay! Have a full drink of this cup, everyone, please!" Xiao Yuan drank it in one gulp without leaving any ink.
The atmosphere at the scene was pretty good. After having a drink, Guo Qian was the first to say:
"My lord, when I first arrived, I checked the official documents as soon as I arrived. You are really self-denying and diligent. I admire you in my heart. I just don't know how your lord checks the official documents. If my lord has done something bad before, my lord just punishes me."
"Huh?" Xiao Yuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "The official has read some of the official documents and found that they are all very good, but the tax..."
He lost his voice mid-sentence, and Guo Qian couldn't help but feel nervous, but before he could ask, Xiao Yuan said again: "It's too much, one hundred thousand taels of silver, how can that be done?"
Too much? It must be too little, right? When Guo Qian heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then asked in a solemn voice: "What do you mean, sir..."
"I am a new officer, Mr. Guo understands." Xiao Yuan was still smiling.
There was something in his words. After hearing this, Guo Qian's eyes rolled around. After thinking for a moment, he immediately understood that this new prefect wanted a share of the pie!
Thinking of this, he immediately smiled and said with a smile: "I understand, I understand, sir. You can rest assured."
"It's easy to talk about." Xiao Yuan nodded repeatedly and said: "Before I came, I thanked Mr. Guo for handling political affairs on my behalf. Come, you and I have another drink."
He was the prefect and toasted in person. Guo Qian was flattered. While hurriedly holding the cup, he couldn't help but say: "What the hell, sir, your words are serious. These are what lower officials should do."
After finishing the glass of wine, Guo Qian also wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and continued: "In addition, in the opinion of the lower officials, the prefect's mansion should be expanded and decorated. What do you think, sir?"
This is a reason to make money. When Xiao Yuan heard this, he looked up and smiled and said: "Yes, yes, Mr. Guo is absolutely right."
"Then, the lower official will be responsible for this matter?" Guo Qian asked again.
"Okay, okay, then Mr. Guo will take the trouble." Xiao Yuan said repeatedly, acting like a corrupt official.
The two of them talked happily. During the test, Guo Qian thought he knew Xiao Yuan's nature, and the two of them laughed from time to time.
But at this moment, an official sitting below couldn't help it anymore. He immediately stood up angrily and said in a loud voice:
"Although Qin is poor, last year, the tax revenue of Lin County alone exceeded 30,000 taels of silver. Qinzhou has 21 counties under its jurisdiction, but the official document from the state government said it was only 100,000 taels! This is extremely ridiculous! Lord Taishou The new appointment is supposed to be considerate of the people, appease the people, and investigate the situation, but at this time, he is preparing to make a big fuss about taxation! It is ridiculous! "
The official's words stunned everyone, and the banquet, which was originally a good atmosphere, suddenly became awkward.
Xiao Yuan's expression darkened. When Guo Qian saw this, he hurriedly pointed at the official and shouted: "You are so brave!"
"Hmph!" Unexpectedly, the official snorted coldly and continued in a serious voice: "Corrupt officials! They only know flattery and clever words! I have been holding back these words for a long time! If it weren't for you, Mr. Guo Qianguo, Qinzhou will never end up like this!"
As he spoke, he added: "I thought that the new governor would be a wise master, but I didn't expect that he would also join in the evil!"
"Presumptuous!" At this time, Xiao Yuan spoke. After slamming the table, he pointed at the official and asked, "Who is this person!?"
"Sir, this person is Liu Changqing, the magistrate of Lin County." Guo Qian returned in a hurry.
"Okay, how dare a small county magistrate dare to contradict me like this! Here comes someone!" Xiao Yuan's face was furious and he immediately shouted.
Following his shout, two guards walked in quickly, clasping their fists at the same time and saying, "My lord."
"Take it!" Xiao Yuan pointed directly at Liu Changqing without saying a word.
"No!" The guards didn't care about that. After receiving the order, they stepped forward directly, held Liu Changqing on the left and right, and walked out.
The latter was restrained, but he was still shouting: "Now we have seen the face of the prefect! What should Liu Changqing be afraid of! Corrupt officials! Corrupt officials——"
He was wearing a county magistrate's uniform. He was about thirty years old. He was relatively thin and looked like a scholar. When he was dragged out, he yelled like this. Xiao Yuan remembered his name in his heart, but his face was not clear. Pretending to be angry again, he couldn't help but point at Liu Changqing and said angrily:
"Okay, okay! This little county magistrate is so audacious! Drag him down! Put him on death row! He will be executed on another day!"
"Corrupt official! Corrupt official -" Liu Changqing was still shouting, but he was quickly dragged away.
After the incident, the other officials swallowed their saliva, and Xiao Yuan sat back down again, as if nothing had happened, he held his cup and said:
"Don't pay attention to the following traitors. Come, come, I will have a drink with you all."
"Ah, here's to the prefect..." People came back to their senses and hurriedly took their glasses.
Xiao Yuan's performance during this banquet made Guo Qian and the others relax their vigilance. In return, they regarded Xiao Yuan as the same role as the previous eunuch.
The banquet was about to end and Xiao Yuan drank a lot, so he pretended to be drunk and was helped back.
As soon as he left, other officials began to whisper among themselves, and someone said:
"It seems that our Lord Prefect is no different from the previous ones."
"Hmph, being an official for thousands of miles is all about money."
Guo Qian also sneered and said, "It just so happens that he got rid of Liu Changqing for us, so that guy doesn't get in the way."
"However, Xiao Yuan is a bit cruel in that he kills him whenever he wants." Someone else said.
"It's not cruel. It's because Liu Changqing exposed his shortcomings. How could he bear it?" Guo Qian sneered.
Hearing this, the official nodded: "That's right, Mr. Guo can see clearly."
On the other side, after returning to the prefect's mansion, Xiao Yuan also rubbed his forehead and asked a little tiredly: "By the way, where is the Lin County Magistrate Liu Changqing?"
"Being put on death row." Liu Yuzhi said with a smile.
"Yes." Xiao Yuan nodded: "Let's aggrieve him first, and then I will go and apologize in person."
"My lord, this is a wise move."
Liu Yuzhi said: "At that time, Liu Changqing was put on death row and asked to be executed at a certain date, but no one of the officials at the scene came out to plead for mercy. This is very revealing."
"Yes, this just shows that these people want Liu Changqing to die."
