There were also three horse-drawn carriages coming from Heye County towards Huanglin Village.
In the middle carriage, the chubby County Magistrate Sun Zhiguo was fanning himself desperately, cursing:
"Damn God, and that damned Prefect Qian... That bastard's surname is Qian, and all he can think about is money!"
"The world has already changed, and he's still trying to get this last bit of money! Ugh...!"
Sitting across from him was his trusted advisor, Wang Shu, who was also fanning himself furiously. With his other hand, he smoothed his sweat-soaked clothes and said softly, "Boss... I'm afraid the situation isn't looking good. Prefect Qian is trying to take advantage of the fact that the new governor, Ning, hasn't gotten the hang of things yet. He definitely doesn't want to be the prefect anymore..."
Wang Shu glanced at Magistrate Sun and whispered, "A new emperor appoints new ministers. Boss, our Heye County is the poorest. This time, they're collecting taxes in advance... Boss, you better be more cautious and save some money."
"I'm going to say something inappropriate, Boss, do you still want to continue serving as an official in Far North Road?"
"These years should be enough. Why not... why not take this one last gamble, take all the money I have, and find a place to live happily forever."
County Magistrate Sun's expression was gloomy and uncertain.
A few days ago, he sent Wang Shu to Dading Prefecture. He originally wanted to visit his mentor, Cai Yang, the current Minister of Personnel, to give him some filial money and inquire about any changes in the Far North Road.
This tribute of money was sent regularly every year, and Cai Yang accepted it with a smile every time. He also couldn't help but encourage himself, saying that he knew how to behave, and if there was a vacancy for the prefect, he would definitely be the first one to be promoted.
But this time... this time he was rejected!
Wang Shu knocked on the door of Cai's mansion, but did not take a single step inside.
Not only did he not see Minister Cai, but the doorman directly kicked Wang Shu out and said to Wang Shu, "How dare you come to give me money at this time? The master is so anxious that he is about to go crazy, and you are still making him uncomfortable!"
This sentence is very profound.
This shows that Minister Cai is not having a good time either - he even doesn't like money!
This shows that the new governor is probably serious about the policies and decrees he issued!
Exempt all farmers from taxes...If these taxes are exempted, where can we plunder and make money?
This is going to cut off the financial resources of us officials!
Now the way to make money is secondary. As long as you have an official position, why worry about not finding a way to make money?
But the problem now is that even the Minister of Personnel seems unable to protect himself!
Minister Cai is a very versatile person, but he can't even protect himself. This shows that he has not been welcomed by the new governor, and it is very likely that he was dismissed by Governor Ning!
That Ning Daotai was appointed by the current emperor himself. He carries the emperor's sword and can kill people at will!
It seems that the wind direction has really changed. From now on... it seems that being an official will not be easy.
No wonder Prefect Qian issued this order in such a hurry. This is most likely the last sum of embezzled money.
"You're right." Magistrate Sun stopped fanning himself, his triangular eyes rolling. "We only have one town left. When we get to Huanglin Village, tell the detectives to cut the crap. If they can't pay the tax, they'll be arrested. We can't leave empty-handed!"
"Also... now that today's business is over, you should hurry back home and let my wife pack up first. Then take my son, daughter, and three concubines with you and go to Jiangnan!"
Wang Shu was startled, then his face lit up with joy, "What about you, Master?"
"There's one last town left. I'll go after you after I've plundered it, sir!"
"Master, I'm worried this situation will pick up very quickly. You must leave first. If we wait until Ning Daotai is free, he will definitely take the lead in rectifying the administration... Hehe, in such a vast Liao Dynasty, it would be great to have even 10% of honest officials!"
Wang Shu nodded. The darkness of the Liao Dynasty officialdom was a consensus and nothing new.
"Master, you said the first thing this governor did upon taking office was to abolish the agricultural tax. Honestly, the Liao Dynasty couldn't even collect a few taels of silver from commercial taxes; it relied entirely on agricultural taxes for support. He abolished it all at once... How can the Far North Circuit operate without money?"
Magistrate Sun took a sip of cold water from the kettle and wiped his mouth. "You don't know, Daxia is rich. You'll understand once you get to Jiangnan. That place is fucking heaven!"
"Really?" Wang Shu asked in surprise.
"It's more real than real gold and silver. Enough, talking is exhausting. This damn weather, if it weren't for the silver, I wouldn't go out. How long will it take to get to Huanglin Village?"
"It will probably take another hour."
"It's so damn far... Such a shabby place... Just pick up as much silver as you can, because there won't be anywhere else to pick up silver later."
…
…
Li Xiucai has been looking at the young man in white shorts through the window.
It seems that the man is the real owner of this convoy - the imperial envoy.
It was such a hot day, but instead of hiding in the shade to cool off, he ran to the edge of the field... What was he doing?
Fu Xiaoguan walked on the narrow ridge of the field with a serious expression on his face. Occasionally he squatted down beside a rice field to take a look, and occasionally he pulled up a handful of seedlings to take a look.
He stopped at the edge of a field, looked up at the clear blue sky again, and said, "Let's go."
He took Liu Jin back and drank some water in the poplar forest. "Liu Jin, please prepare your writing brush and ink."
Liu Jin quickly ordered someone to bring a small table. He ground a piece of ink into the inkstone. Fu Xiaoguan took the brush and wrote quickly on the paper:
Famine has occurred in Far North Road, and disaster relief is imminent.
The three provinces were ordered to cooperate, with the Ministry of Revenue providing funds, to purchase grain from various prefectures and quickly transport it to Far North Province. The Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate were ordered to send officials to Far North Province immediately to count the number of people affected so that relief could be provided as quickly as possible.
In addition, the Ministry of Works was ordered to send people to the Far North Road to survey the road network from the Far North Road to Xixia and the Chilechuan area. The rest would follow the old practice and adopt the method of road construction on behalf of the contractors, so that the people could earn money.
Urgent! Fu Xiaoguan!
…
"Is it that serious?" Xu Yunqing asked.
"I'm afraid it's even more serious than this."
"...Officer Fu is gone."
Fu Xiaoguan was stunned. "Where did he go?"
"He said, go to the other side of the sea."
Fu Xiaoguan was silent for a moment and did not ask any more questions. "Liu Jin, send this letter to Guanyun City by carrier pigeon."
"I'll go to that village and take a look."
"Shall I go with you?"
"You guys just rest here, I'll go by myself."
Fu Xiaoguan walked towards Huanglin Village, followed by three people, three old men.
Qin Bingzhong said with a smile: "Young Master, this is a private visit in disguise. The three of us will accompany you to take a look."
Su Su followed behind, "Young Master, of course you have to bring a maid with you when you travel."
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