In the spring of the second year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, the imperial court promulgated new policies, greatly reducing taxes and beginning to give the people a rest.
After the decree was issued, local officials from all over the Song Dynasty hurriedly summoned local village heads, household heads and other rural officials to hold a meeting in the county government office.
This shows the importance of rectifying the administration of officials first.
Because in the early period of the Song Dynasty, all the yamen runners in the prefectures and counties implemented the "color labor" rotation system, also known as the labor service law.
Among them, there are two types: "village servants" and "official servants".
The village head in the rural service department is mainly responsible for collecting taxes, while the head of the household is mainly responsible for receiving official documents, similar to the duties of an accountant, secretary, or clerk, assisting the village head in collecting taxes.
In the past, if local officials did not do their job properly, they would most likely ignore the court's new policies.
These rural officials were responsible for conveying government orders from above. If local officials did not take care of things, the only result would be that the rural officials and yamen runners would collect all the heavy taxes and fees they were supposed to collect, or pay less, and the rest would go into their own pockets.
But now the civil service is in place, and local officials are given policy subsidies and wages. In addition, the promulgation of new policies must be included in the performance evaluation system, and every month the state has censors come to inspect. If they find that a policy has not been notified or there are loopholes, their official hat will be lost.
Therefore, the county magistrates and county magistrates in various county governments were all busy with the new policies.
Jiangnan East Road, Xinzhou.
The new Xinzhou prefect, Liu Yong, was transferred from Mingzhou, Zhejiang at the beginning of this year.
He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the first year of Jingyou, served as the Tuanlian Procurator of Muzhou for three years, and the magistrate of Yuhang County for another three years. In the second year of Baoyuan, he served as the Salt Supervisor of Dinghai. He had been an official in the local area for nine years and had made outstanding political achievements.
Therefore, during the Ministry of Personnel's official examinations this year, Liu Yong was selected as a top-rank official. Normally, he would have been a sixth-rank prefectural magistrate, but because of his meritorious service in the crackdown on illegal salt trafficking in Jiangnan, coupled with his excellent political achievements, he was exceptionally promoted to the rank of fifth-rank prefectural governor.
At this moment, Liu Yong first summoned the county magistrates of various counties at the provincial government office in Shangrao County, the seat of Xinzhou, to convey the court's policies. In April, about half a month later, he suddenly disguised himself and went out incognito to see the local situation.
As the seat of government, Shangrao strictly conveyed the imperial court's decree. The Shangrao County Magistrate not only urged the village head and household head of the yamen to pass on the news, but also personally went to the fields in various villages and talked about this happy event over and over again.
When the farmers learned that their taxes would be greatly reduced this year, they cried with joy and told each other the news. In the fields, one could see farmers everywhere, looking energetic and even standing straight.
Liu Yong was very happy to see this. He praised the Shangrao County Magistrate, reported his achievements to the Censorate, and then went to other counties.
Xinzhou has six counties, and the area is mostly mountainous and hilly, so many villages are located among the mountains. It is very difficult to convey news. Sometimes, it may take one or two days to walk from the county seat to the villages under its jurisdiction.
Among them, there are several villages among the towering mountains in Junyang Mountain, Baofeng Town, Yiyang, named Qingshan Township. They are located more than 70 miles south along the Qingshan River, which is the Shuanggang River, a tributary of the Raohe River in later generations.
Baofeng Town is only more than 30 miles away from Yiyang County, but this township is the most remote township in Baofeng Town. Local villagers rarely go to the county, let alone the town.
Seeing the new policy and the time for summer taxes, the landlords and the village head started to have evil ideas. They concealed the news of the cancellation of a large number of exorbitant taxes and urged the farmers to continue paying taxes. Almost all the taxes that were not required to be paid fell into their pockets.
By July, Liu Yong had inspected many places, and in most places the government orders had been basically implemented. The farmers were excited, and the entire state was filled with enthusiasm and joy.
"Your Majesty is renowned for his benevolence. Previously, the Liao and Western Xia forced us to suffer excessively, resulting in a large surplus of soldiers and the state having to pay increased taxes to maintain military supplies. Now that Lord Fan has defeated Yuan Hao in the west and Zong Zhen in the north, enhancing the prestige of the Great Song, it is time to reduce labor service and taxes, and give the people a rest."
At the foot of Qingshan Township, Liu Yong, disguised as a mountain goods merchant, and Xinzhou Tongpan Jiang Qu were walking on the mountain path by the river. They had now walked through most of Xinzhou. After inspecting Baofeng Town, they would head to Guixi, which was the last stop.
Liu Yong was wearing an ordinary long gown, and Jiang Qu was wearing a similar outfit. The two of them were followed by seven or eight guards from the provincial government, dressed like long-term servants.
Although the waists are bulging and look strange, it is generally difficult to see if you are not an expert.
Jiang Qu smiled and said, "The governor is absolutely right. The emperor is benevolent and loves his people like his own children. And isn't Mr. Liu the same? This time we traveled all over Xinzhou to see if the local people have benefited from the court's grace."
"When you are in office, you have the responsibility to govern the land. The court values the people's livelihood and the people, and we dare not slack off."
Liu Yong sighed deeply.
They then followed the rugged mountain road and entered the mountains under the guidance of a guide.
Just as they were crossing a small ridge, a figure appeared in front of them. It was a man in his thirties, carrying a load on his back. On each side of the load was a basket, with two children sitting in the baskets.
When the man saw Liu Yong and his group, he was stunned for a moment, then continued walking forward with his head down.
Seeing this, Liu Yong frowned and walked over to ask for directions, saying, "Excuse me, is this Qingshan Township?"
In the Song Dynasty, "Yiqin" almost meant fellow villagers or fellow villagers.
The man just replied, "Yes," and continued walking forward without stopping.
Liu Yong hurriedly asked, "My dear, where are you going with this bag on your shoulder?"
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