The so-called 'Tongsheng' is also Xiucai.

Zhao Xu watched from a short distance, the two groups of people did not get very close, but each other's 'weapons' were picked up and confronted, and the big battle seemed to be about to break out.

The two leaders on both sides, one is a half-centenarian who looks like a half-hundred-year-old, hunched over his waist, and has a lot of momentum; On the other side was a sturdy middle-aged man, quite tall, arguing with the old man about something.

Zhao Xu waved his hand, pressed the person behind him, and walked forward.

Chen Pi was startled, and hurriedly whispered: "Official, rural wilderness, it's very dangerous not to bring people." ”

Zhao Xu didn't stop and said, "Don't worry, come close and listen." ”

Chen Pi was not at ease, so he still asked Hu Zhongwei to bring a few more people, only a little farther away.

Zhao Xu came to a nearby tree and heard the sound of the two sides arguing.

The old man raised his head and said angrily: "This is the ancestral property of our old Chen Village for generations, how can you measure it!?" ”

The middle-aged man said in a low voice: "You are a scholar, don't you know that under the Putian, it is not the king's land; On the shore of the land, isn't it the king's minister? Why can't this land be held? ”

The old man snorted coldly and said, "You are quibbling!" I want to plunder the people's wealth to enrich myself, but I don't agree! ”

The middle-aged man said: "This is the major policy of the imperial court, and Kaifeng Mansion knows about it!" Besides, we are only measuring the land, who is going to rob your land? ”

The old man held his head high and said arrogantly: "The land of Lao Chen Village has not been moved for a hundred years, why is it suddenly moving, it's not you traitors, bullying the king and the people!" Tell you, dare to move the ground here, unless you step over my corpse! I am a child, the rules of the court, I can't punish the doctor, you move me, you know the consequences! ”

The middle-aged man's face turned pale, and he said, "You should have read the newspaper just sent by the imperial court!" It's about people like you, who don't have any family and country in their eyes, and they are selfish! I tell you, I have to be in this land today! ”

The old boy was furious when he heard this, and said, "I'm sorry! Zhang Dian is a big traitor! The ancestral system dares to break casually, he is disloyal and unfilial, sooner or later, he will be divided by five horses! The newspaper he wrote, Lao Tzu didn't recognize a word! If you dare to touch my village today, I will fight with you! ”

The person behind the middle-aged man, seeing that the old boy was clearly unreasonable and unreasonable, and his expression was not good-looking, a servant stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Zhixian, this person is a scoundrel, it is better to be careful, if you make trouble above, you can't say that there will be trouble, and it will hinder the future." ”

The middle-aged man didn't seem to hear it, stared at Lao Tongsheng, and said directly: "Now, this official gives you two choices, get out of the way, and cooperate with the county government to measure the acres of land; Or, the official will take you and ask the bandit army to come over and raze all the scoundrels in your village! ”

The old boy suddenly jumped to his feet, and roared with a hideous face: "Try it!" I sue the court, I don't have your good fruit to eat! ”

More than 20 people behind Lao Tongsheng quickly picked up shovels, sickles, sticks, etc., looking fierce.

The middle-aged man is the magistrate of Yongqiu County, Zheng Hezhi, his face was hard, he took a step back, and said in a deep voice: "Take them all down for me!" ”

The officials couldn't bear it for a long time, and more than 20 people, plus more than 10 people in the measurement team, nearly 40 people, drew their swords together and surrounded this group of people.

When Lao Tongsheng saw it, he was shocked and angry, sat directly on the ground, and said sharply: "Zheng Hezhi, come on, kill me, go to Zhang Dian to ask for credit, in the future, you will not have good results!" ”

Zheng Hezhi ignored him at all, stared at the more than 20 villagers, and said coldly: "Disobeying orders and attacking officials is a capital crime, and you will be harmed by your relatives, you have thought clearly!" ”

Except for the people who are arrogant, very few people have such courage, and there are obviously more officials than them, more than 20 people, looking at each other, obviously hesitating.

"Everyone, lay down your arms, or you'll be killed!"

Zheng Hezhi looked at them and suddenly shouted loudly.

bang

Someone was frightened, and one slipped his hand and threw away the stick in his hand.

"Take it!" Zheng Hezhi didn't give them time to react, and directly waved his hand and ordered.

The officials and the people of the measuring team quickly rushed over and knocked more than 20 people to the ground, and the control was very fast.

This kind of operation, unusually skilled, seems to have been rehearsed many times.

The old boy lay directly on the ground, shouting that he had killed someone.

Zheng Hezhi didn't care about him at all, let people give him a sturdy set, and said, "Send it to the Kaifeng Mansion Daya." ”

Several officials responded and escorted more than 20 people away.

The old boy yelled, desperately shouting his fame, cursing, and making Zheng Hezhi pay the price.

Zheng Hezhi cooked this old boy neatly, looked at the village not far away, thought for a while, and said: "Bring more people, you have to enter the village today, and if there is any obstruction, you will be arrested first!" ”

The leading official responded, looked at the big tree where Zhao Xu and the others were located, and said in a low voice: "County Zun, there are still people there, I've been watching it for a while." ”

Zheng Hezhi turned his head to look at Zhao Xu, who was not far away and couldn't see clearly, and then looked at a large group of people in the distance, frowned, and said lightly: "It is estimated that he was sent from above to inspect, but if he doesn't come, he will not see it and continue to do things." ”

Now the intensity of the imperial court's inspections is unprecedented, not to mention the Criminal Department, the Imperial History Observatory, the other six departments, and even the Political Affairs Hall have also sent people, which are really everywhere and overwhelming.

The official nodded, ready to enter the village.

Zhao Xu took in everything that happened just now, smiled, and said, "This Zhengzhi County is not bad......

Chen Pi was on the side, and said with a smile: "The villain heard that this Zheng Zhixian is known for his upright temper and does things without delay, and Zhang Xianggong specially summoned him back from Lingnan." ”

Zhao Xu nodded, wrote down the name of 'Zheng Hezhi', and said, "Keep moving forward." ”

Hu Zhongwei responded and waved his hand to let the follow-up guards follow.

Zhao Xu led people to cross by, stunned Zheng Hezhi and the people around him.

Zhao Xu's group of people numbered more than 300 people, especially the guards. They have never seen this situation, even if they are the prime minister, there is no such battle, right?

The official looked at those fierce guards, a little uneasy, and whispered to Zheng He: "County Zun, this is a big man in the city, right?" ”

Zheng Hezhi looked at Zhao Xu, who was walking in front, thought carefully about the big man in Kaifeng City, shook his head, and said, "I don't know." Don't provoke, though, let them pass. ”

The officials nodded one after another, who would dare to provoke such a big man?

Zhao Xu didn't plan to meet anyone, now, he just wanted to see the reality with his own eyes.

When Zhao Xu was visiting around, Cai Bian arrived in Zhongmu County, bringing only the writing guards and scribes.

He acted vigorously and resolutely, directly deposed more than 20 officials, large and small, in Zhongmu County, and at the same time, he added the alternate officials at all levels he brought in, and directly appointed the village chiefs of many villages.

This move made Zhongmu County very panicked, because the previous imperial court would not interfere at this level, when Cai Bian revealed that he wanted to go deep into the armor, Zhongmu County was startled, forced to suppress uneasy, and quietly expressed his opposition.

'Baojia' is the lowest organizational structure now, and they are all local prestige people, if you send outsiders, I am afraid that a lot of things will happen.

Cai Bian was just tempting, but did not come hard, and then went to the front line to observe the measurement of acres of land.

The magistrate of Zhongmu County and officials of all sizes dare to be careless, accompany them throughout the process, and be cautious and cautious.

Now because of the measurement of acres, Zhongmu County is in a mess, and everyone has it. For example, a few days ago, the county Cheng finally had time to go home to visit, and was stabbed by an old servant in the house for more than ten years, and was almost killed on the spot.

The old servant confessed because the county measured the land.

Now, the people in the county are panicking, everyone is in danger, and everyone is afraid of the people around them, so they suddenly jump out and give a knife.

Cai Bian was really shocked when he knew about it, he didn't expect that things would develop to this point, and if he made trouble, he was afraid that it would be ironclad evidence of the 'new law and bad government'.

Cai Bian did not let these people lead the way, fearing that he would be fooled, and tried his best to find out the clearest situation.

Suddenly changing the route, seeing some peasants, gentry, and even, scattering 'notice boxes' in various places, welcoming anonymous letters, etc.

The next day, Zhao Xu came to Taikang County, which is an important place in Kaifeng Prefecture and produces a lot of grain.

But in the fields where Zhao Xu walked, he saw patches of wasteland, not the kind of mountain wasteland, these lands looked good, the ditches were vertical and horizontal, overgrown with weeds, but no one cultivated them, and they couldn't see the end at a glance.

Zhao Xu walked for a long time and didn't see a single family, and there were thousands of acres of abandoned fields.

I don't know how long I walked, and finally came to a house, Zhao Xu pulled people back, took tangerine peel, and Hu Zhongwei stepped forward.

This is an old family, with no children and no daughters.

There are more than 60 old people, bent over their waists, with an extremely amiable smile, looking at Zhao Xu and others coming, he opened the door and said with a smile: "Guest, are you lost?" ”

Zhao Xu looked left and right, raised his hand a little shyly, and said: "Don't hide it from my father-in-law, I want to go to Taikang County, but when I came here, there was no one to see, and there was no one to ask for directions." ”

The old lady came out of it on crutches, with white hair, and said with a cheerful smile: "The guest is not the first, come in and have a cup of tea and rest." ”

Seeing their enthusiasm, Zhao Xu raised his hand and said, "Thank you, old man." ”

The two old men were very enthusiastic, welcomed Zhao Xu in, and poured three cups of tea for Zhao Xu and the three of them.

The old man was making something like a dustpan in his hand, and said with a smile to Zhao Xu: "There are often people who get lost here, and guests have to turn back if they want to go to Taikang County." ”

Zhao Xu took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "It seems that we have taken a lot of wrongful paths. By the way, my husband, I didn't see anyone along the way, but there were so many lands, and no one planted them? ”

The old man sat not far away, busy with his hands, and said: "It has been abandoned for more than ten years, and no one has planted it." ”

Zhao Xu was stunned and said, "Such a good land, no one cultivates it?" If the people don't plant, don't the rich don't so? The court still doesn't care? I have always heard that Taikang County is rich and is a large grain-producing county. ”

The old lady came out with a plate of steamed buns, handed it to Zhao Xu and the others, sat down at the table with a smile, and said with some emotion: "This land belongs to a large household, but there are few people in the big household, and it can't be planted." In addition, those people in the past had bad land, they couldn't sell it, and they couldn't grow anything, so they had to run away. So, over time, that's it. ”

Zhao Xu has some understanding, there are too many lands, and they can't be planted; If there is little land or the land is not good, you have to pay taxes if you can't grow it, and you have to do it except run away.

Chen Pi glanced at Zhao Xu and didn't dare to speak.

Zhao Xu thought in his heart, picked up a steamed bun, and took a bite gently.

A alkaline smell, unpalatable, and hard, Zhao Xu ate slowly and quietly, and suddenly asked: "Then, how did the big grain-producing county in Taikang County come from?" ”

"This old woman doesn't know, anyway, those ministers have a way." The old lady said.

The 'Xianggong' she said was not the imperial court, but an official.

Zhao Xu snorted, and slowly scrutinized in his heart.

He remembered a record, a conversation during the reign of the True Sect.

It is said that the taxes in the world are uneven, and those who are strong have more land and less taxes, and those who are weak and weak have heavy taxes, so that the rich will benefit the rich, and the poor will benefit the poor. Wang Dan said: The uneven land endowment is as true as the purpose, but it must be gradually revised, and it cannot be achieved overnight. ’

To put it simply, Emperor Zhenzong asked about Tianmu, and Zai Zhi Wang Dan said that there are things, but you need to take your time and not rush it.

In other words, the land annexation was already serious during the Zhenzong period, but no effective measures were taken to deal with it, and it has been delayed until now.

Zhao Xu was very clear about the taxation situation of the Song Dynasty: summer tax and autumn grain, summer tax were mainly commercial taxes such as cloth and silk, and autumn taxes were mainly grain.

Commercial tax is more complicated, there are many categories, and the tax is relatively heavy. And grain, relatively simple, even if it is a field, it will be harvested per mu, the middle field is eight liters, the lower field is seven liters, if the money is combined, the land tax per mu in the middle and lower fields is less than five cents.

Such a tax is actually very low, but the farmers still abandon their land and flee, and the problems inside are worth studying.

The old man was weaving something in the shape of a dustpan, and when he saw that there was no movement, he looked at Zhao Xu and said, "Guest, don't think about coming here to buy land and seeds, there have been before, and they have all run away." ”

Zhao Xu was stunned, he didn't have this idea, his heart moved, his face was curious, and he said with a smile: "Please also ask the old man for advice." ”

The old man said: "Here, the land is poor, even if you can recruit young and strong seeds, if you don't put in the effort, you can't grow many things, not to mention that other locals are red-eyed, grab water, grab land, even the government's taxes, you can't pay enough." ”

Zhao Xu expected these snakes, and he said puzzledly: "The government's tax is very low, only a few pennies per mu, and some earn ......."

The old lady suddenly smiled, glanced at Zhao Xu, and said, "The guest shouldn't be an ordinary person, right?" Let me tell you, the taxes of this government are not one or the other, and in the end, no matter how much land or grain you have, at most I will leave you some rations......"

Zhao Xu suddenly understood, four words: harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes. There is no certain standard for this, and the people who collect taxes will squeeze desperately according to what you produce.

Ordinary people have no power and no power, what else can they do except let others slaughter?

There is an official mansion above, and there is a snake below, and the people's lives are really sad, and this land is very difficult to plant......

Zhao Xu's heart sighed, slightly heavy.

The unspoken rules of those officials' notebooks that cannot be written about are all major events on the surface, which cannot be clearly explained in private, and which actually control the life and death of the people, have never been put on paper.

'The people have no way to live......

Zhao Xu whispered in his heart, the prosperity on the surface covered up the difficulties at the bottom, and it is no wonder that all kinds of 'uprisings' are occurring one after another now and in the future, and it is difficult to quell them.

That is, the Song Dynasty did not encounter any major natural disasters, and the territory is small, if it is a large unified dynasty, I am afraid that this superficial prosperity will be difficult to maintain.

This country has been established for less than 100 years!

Zhao Xu finished eating a steamed bun, looked at the old lady, and said, "Old man, Taikang County, no, is there a lot of wasteland like Kaifeng Mansion?" ”

The old lady thought for a moment and looked at the old man.

The old man kept his hands and said, "I've been to some places before, quite a few. ”

Zhao Xu understood, took out a few pennies from his arms, put them on the table, stood up and said with a smile: "Thank you two old men for your hospitality, we are resting, and we are on our way." ”

When the two old men saw each other, they refused to accept the money and forced it back to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu had no choice but to take it back, repeatedly raised his hand to thank him, and left the house.

Zhao Xu walked back, feeling a little depressed.

Today, he can be regarded as seeing the true side of Da Song.

Hu Zhongwei followed behind, and said as if unconsciously: "Official, this matter has been in my memory since I can remember, and my father and mother took me to escape from the famine." ”

Zhao Xu glanced back at him and didn't speak.

Hu Zhongwei is over forty years old this year, doesn't it mean that more than thirty years ago, that is, the Renzong Dynasty?

The prosperous era of Qingping that the courtiers talked about and thought about?

Chen Pi glanced at Hu Zhongwei, who was talking nonsense, with a smile and said to Zhao Xu: "Official, my Great Song Dynasty is still prosperous, don't worry too much." ”

Zhao Xu was silent, no, he knew it in his heart.

Zhao Xu bypassed here, went to a few more places, didn't take a few people, went deep into the farmer's house, and even stayed overnight.

The next day, Zhao Xu went to Dongming, not only walking in the fields, but also pretending to be some identities, circulating in several large households, and even pretending to be businessmen, and the detectives heard a lot of things.

It was not until the beginning of February that Zhao Xu left the place and returned to Kaifeng City.

In the carriage, Zhao Xu looked at the experiences recorded along the way, and all kinds of thoughts flashed in his heart.

The 'Fangtian Tax Law', measuring land, is only the first step, and then it will be divided into land, new taxes will be formulated, and so on.

But now it seems that some things are not so well thought out. Relying solely on the laws formulated by the imperial court to implement them was not enough to solve the land conflict.

"Changing the law is also ...... in the law"

Zhao Xu whispered to himself, no matter how good the law is, someone has to enforce it, if the person who executes it understands the deviation, or simply uses it for personal gain, it is simply better not to change.

Therefore, it is necessary to forge a firm, clean, and indomitable team to change the law!

Zhao Xu arrived in Kaifeng City, and when he had not yet entered the palace, the political hall was in a meeting.

Four ministers, six Shangshu, and Shilang are waiting for him, and Cai Bian is making a report.

Cai Bian took the codex, looked at everyone, and said, "First, there are many people who oppose the law change. I don't need to say much about that. Opponents occupy the majority, from the county yamen to the localities, and even the ordinary people, who are resolutely opposed. Second, judging from the preliminary measurement of land, the situation of concealed land is serious, and there are many acres of land. Measuring one hectare of land, it will cost more than one or two hundred acres, which is shocking. Third, resisting the new law, the gentry are large households, and most of them are non-functional. Most of the officials are behind the scenes, and the means are endless, dizzying, and all localities are tired of coping. As an aside, it is said that all roads outside Kaifeng Mansion are now surging in land transactions, and there are thousands of ways to launder whitewashing, and we will have a headache in the future. Fourth, it is not uncommon for officials at all levels to be seriously corrupted, neglect their duties, become overly superficial, and even openly rebel against the new law......"

Cai Bian said one by one, it was the result of his investigation during this time, it can be said, 'the results are quite fruitful', and the people who were listening to it looked solemn and listened carefully.

Prime Minister Su Song sat on the main seat, listening and observing everyone's expressions, while thinking in his heart.

Zhang Dan's expression was stern, this was his expressionless state, but everyone was still in an awe-inspiring state.

Cai Bian spoke for half an hour before he stopped, sat next to Zhang Tun, and took a sip of tea.

Su Song glanced at Zhang Duan and said, "Let's talk about it." ”

In the imperial history, Cheng Huang Lu was the first to speak, and his tone was very decisive, and said: "In troubled times, the lower officials believe that the imperial court should be equipped with a law on the implementation of the new law, and for lawbreakers who resist the new law, the existing law is not enough to punish and warn!" ”

Shao, the secretary of the Criminal Department, answered the call and said: "The lower officials believe that it is difficult for a department to deal with the complicated situation, and it is not effective enough to hold a meeting in the political hall for everything. The lower officials suggested that a special agency should be set up to deal with the situation in order to take a comprehensive plan. ”

Lin Xi, the secretary of the ministry, looked indifferent and said: "There is still something lacking in the examination method, and I didn't take into account the chaos now. Xia Guan believes that at present, the rule of officials is the most important, more important than the implementation of the new law! ”

……

Others spoke one after another, all of which were aimed at Cai Bian's inspection, asking for an increase in the 'new law' and the implementation of a more stringent law to ensure that the 'Kaifeng Mansion Pilot' can be implemented normally and effectively.

Zhang Dian listened quietly, turned to Su Song and said, "Su Xianggong, what do you think?" ”

Su Song listened, where can I not see, these people have already discussed in private, thinking that if this continues, Kaifeng Mansion will have to be completely chaotic, thinking left and right, and said: "For the chaos in Kaifeng Mansion, we must deal with it, but we can't overreact." The government affairs hall needs to be comprehensively considered, and a set of ways and means that are realistic and will not arouse too much local public resentment, and cannot be arbitrary......"

Su Song's words are decent, and at first glance they seem to make sense, but after careful analysis, there seems to be nothing wrong with them.

In short, it's just a cliché and doesn't have much practical significance.

Zhang Dian seemed to just ask casually, and said in a deep voice to everyone: "First, in response to the chaos in Kaifeng Mansion, the imperial court must respond harshly. Second, upgrade the Kaifeng Prefecture Law Reform Group, which is directly under the control of the official, and Cao Zheng is the implementation and unification of the decree. Third, it is necessary to strictly enforce the administration of officials, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the Imperial Historical Observatory to formulate new laws in view of the chaos of the new law, strictly enforce them, and crack down on lawbreakers. Fourth, all villages, the head of the armor, are required to sign a military order to complete the task within a time limit, and those who can't do it will be exiled to Lingnan! Fifth, the criminal department's campaign to rectify the atmosphere should continue to expand the scope and targets, and those caught should be sentenced severely and quickly, and the sentence should be executed as soon as the sentence is given, and the mud and water should not be dragged ......."