On the afternoon of the day when everyone worshiped Mao Gong, Mrs. Mao decided to move out of the back office of the county government.

After all, the county government is generally inhabited by the family members of the county order, although Mrs. Mao has lived in the back office for more than 20 years, but now the county order of Ye County is no longer her husband Mao Gong, but the new Yang Ding, so Mrs. Mao naturally has no reason to continue to live here.

Therefore, Mrs. Mao took the initiative to move out of the back office, which also avoided making Yang Ding embarrassed.

But the problem is that the officials in the county government may not think so, Yang Dingchu has just arrived, but he doesn't want the officials and county officials in the county government to think that he is a mean and unkind person, and he can't wait to drive out the old lady Mao who has lived here for more than 20 years when he first arrives in Ye County.

Seeing this, Yang Ding tactfully persuaded Mrs. Mao: "The old lady has lived in the Houya for more than 20 years, and this is home for you. ”

He knows that Mao Zheng, the eldest son of Mao Gong and Mrs. Mao, is probably by Mrs. Chen's side now for some reason, and it is estimated that it will take a while to come to Ye County, and at this time, Mrs. Mao is only the youngest son Mao Bing's family - the matter of Mao Gong's burial in Ye County was presided over by the younger son Mao Bing on behalf of his eldest brother.

After listening to Yang Ding's words, Mrs. Mao said: "The so-called name is not right, in the past, the deceased husband was the county order, and the old body could live here, but now that you are the county order, how can the old body be cheeky and rely on the back office?" What's more, the old body heard that you also have a family......"

"I can buy a place to live near the county government and settle my family......"

"Why bother? In short, the old body has made up his mind, and the future life does not need to be persuaded. Old Madam Mao resolutely refused.

Yang Ding couldn't help this old lady with a strong personality, so he retreated and said: "Since the old lady has made up her mind, please allow me to find a place to live near the county government for the old lady......"

Old Madam Mao waved her hand and refused: "The deceased husband has been the county commander for a long time, and the family has some surplus wealth, not to mention that there are two sons, which are enough to support the eldest son of the old man to return to Ye County, so there is no need to worry about Yang County......"

Seeing that Mrs. Mao refused to accept her help, Yang Ding hesitated for a moment, and simply made her words clear: "Old lady, I am not here to help you, but I hope you will help me." …… I know that the old lady doesn't like me, just because my teacher Wang Taishi has a bad reputation in the court, but please believe that the old lady really wants to govern Ye County well. But now, I have only been in Ye County for a few days, and the old lady has taken the initiative to move out of the back office, and people who don't know may think that they are persecuting the old lady, and under the misunderstanding, they must have prejudices against me...... The county Cheng Guo Zhi and the county lieutenant Gao Chun are all people who were promoted and reused by Mao Gong during his lifetime, Ye County has no county order for four years but can maintain law and order, which shows the ability of these two, if the two of them have prejudices against me because of this, and are unwilling to try their best to help, how can Yang, as an outsider, govern Ye County well? ”

As he spoke, he bowed to Mrs. Mao and said sincerely: "Even if it is for Ye County, please ask Mrs. Mao to help me, don't shirk the kindness of the subordinates." ”

"You are sincere, but you ......are sincere," Old Madam Mao looked at Yang Ding with some surprise, and then showed a little hesitation on her face.

As Yang Ding said, because the former is a member of the 'Wang family's party', Mrs. Mao really doesn't have a good impression of him, but Yang Ding's remarks at the moment made Mrs. Mao hesitate.

If it is really like what Yang Ding said, because of her 'non-cooperation', the people of the county government have a prejudice against the former and refuse to obey him, then in the future, she will not be able to properly govern Ye County in this future life, then how will she explain to her wife when she goes to Jiuquan in the future?

After thinking about it for a while, Mrs. Mao finally made a concession, frowned and said, "Housheng, I hope you can keep your promise and govern Ye County well." ”

Hearing this, she was obviously persuaded by Yang Ding's words.

Seeing this, Yang Ding immediately arched his hand and said, "Don't worry, old lady. …… Since the old lady agreed, then I immediately arranged for the old lady to stay for a few more days, and waited for me to make arrangements here. ”

“…… That's hard work for you. ”

"The old lady is serious."

After a while, bidding farewell to Mrs. Mao, Yang Ding took Wei Dong from his hometown and left the main house of the Houya.

"Hoo ......"

When he walked out of the house, Yang Ding breathed a sigh of relief.

From the side, Wei Dong said with a smile: "The young master is worthy of being the young master, even if the old lady doesn't like the young master, she was dumbfounded by the young master, and she can only accept the young master's kindness." ”

Yang Ding smiled slightly.

He is not in vain, how can he not even convince an old lady?

At this time, a county official hurriedly walked not far away, and said to Yang Ding, "My lord, Guo Xiancheng is waiting in the adult's house to ask to see you." ”

"I see, thanks for telling me." Yang Ding nodded, his face was not surprised, because that Guo Zhi was the one he sent to call.

A moment later, Yang Ding took Wei Dong to the party room.

The decoration of the party room was very simple, except for a desk and a few chairs for handling government affairs, only a full bookcase.

As for what kind of books are placed on those bookcases, Yang Ding doesn't know - in order to avoid suspicion, so as not to spread some unpleasant words, he has not been impatient to enter this house these days, but has spent his energy on Mao Gong's sacrifice day, hoping that this move can win the hearts of the people in the county government.

Including him to persuade Mrs. Mao, mainly to win the hearts of the county government.

Probably noticing the footsteps behind him, Guo Zhi, the county seat who was waiting in the party room, turned his head and saw Yang Ding walking into the house with Wei Dong, and immediately turned around and saluted: "Yang Gong." ”

Yang Ding waved his hand and said humbly: "Yang has just arrived, and he has neither merit nor hard work for Ye County, how can he be worthy of the honorific title of 'Gong'?" ”

County Cheng Guo Zhi took a deep look at Yang Ding a few times, and changed his words and said: "My lord, my lord ordered me to sort out the account books of recent years, and my lordship has been sorted out, please take a look." ”

"There is labor."

Yang Ding arched his hand, and immediately under Guo Zhi's gaze, he walked towards the desk.

The desk in this room looks like it has been around for some years, and there are inevitably some cracks on the table, and even some missing, but the whole desktop is quite clean and tidy, Yang Ding stretched out his hand and scratched the table with his fingers, and did not find any dust on his fingers, which shows that the people in the county government often clean it.

Guo Zhi noticed Yang Ding's movements, a few different colors flashed in his eyes, and he said calmly: "The furniture and furnishings in this room are really a little old, if the adults are dissatisfied with this, you can order the lowly to send someone to replace the ......."

What kind of person is Yang Ding, how could he not hear Guo Zhi's words insincerely, he immediately smiled and said: "No need, although it is an old thing, it is an old thing used by Mao Gong, seeing things and thinking about people, these old things can prompt me to encourage myself and take Mao Gong as an example." ”

This is a remark that is very favorable, whether Guo Zhi believes it or not, but it does sound very comfortable.

I saw him smile slightly, bowed down and said: "Then the lord will look at it first, and retire first, if there is any command, the lord will send someone to summon the lowly position." ”

"Wait."

Yang Ding called out to Guo Zhi, and then explained with a smile in the latter's puzzled gaze: "That's the case, Guo Xiancheng, I just went to see Mrs. Mao, the old lady understands me and insists on moving out of the county office, you know, Mrs. Mao will live in Ye County for a while, and when his eldest son returns to Ye County, he will move Mao Gong's cemetery to his hometown...... Considering the merits and hard work of Mao Gong, and then thinking about the old lady's advanced age, I intend to find a place for the old lady near the county government, and it is also convenient for my county government to send someone to take care of it. ”

Guo Zhi looked at Yang Ding meaningfully, and after thinking about it for a while, he arched his hand and said, "My lord is benevolent." ”

"It should." Yang Ding shook his head humbly, and then said: "I'm new here, can I ask the county to do it for me?" ”

Guo Zhi is a person promoted and reused by Mao Gong, how could he refuse this matter, and immediately surrendered: "Obey the order, this matter will be handed over to the lowly position, please rest assured." …… Do you have any other commands? ”

Yang Ding shook his head.

Seeing this, Guo Zhi bowed down and retreated.

Watching Guo Zhi bow and leave, Wei Dong stroked his beard and said to Yang Ding with a smile: "The young master is doing things more and more steadily and decently, I believe that in a few days, the people of this county government will have the ...... to eliminate their prejudice against the young master."

"I hope so."

Yang Ding smiled slightly, pulled out the chair behind the desk and sat down, and then took out a thick book from the mountain of account books on the table, sat on the chair and looked at it.

Although the county book of Ye County seems to be a little complicated, every income and expenditure is listed clearly and clearly, so that people can't find anything wrong.

Even if Yang Ding hadn't gone to the warehouse to count, he didn't think there would be anything wrong.

Looking at the old furniture and furnishings in the house, and then looking at the account book in his hand, Yang Ding said with emotion: "What an honest county official, it's a pity that he can't die ......."

Hearing this, Wei Dong interjected: "I heard that Mao Gong died violently that day, because of the matter of the Luyang Township Hou family, right?" ”

"Hmm."

Yang Ding nodded and said: "I talked to Mrs. Mao about this, Zhao Jing, the townsman of Luyang County, lost his father when he was young, and his mother also passed away soon after...... Listening to Mrs. Mao's attitude when she talked about that Zhao Xianghou, it can be seen that the old couple has a lot of feelings for that Zhao Xianghou......"

"No wonder Mao Gong left a suicide note before his death, ordering his eldest son to go to Handan to avenge the Zhao family." Speaking of this, Wei Dong's eyes flashed a little different, and he said unclearly: "Good people don't live long, and disasters will last for thousands of years, this is the peaceful and prosperous world......

"Ahem." Yang Ding coughed and interrupted Wei Dong's words.

The old man reacted at this time, sighed and said: "Don't blame the young master, the old man is just ...... I just thought of the old man again......"

“……”

Yang Ding was silent for a moment, and then reminded meaningfully: "Although you have left Handan, you must not relax because of this, you need to be careful not to let things come out of your mouth, as for other ...... Think long way. ”

"Hmm." The old general nodded solemnly.

In the afternoon of the same day, Yang Ding was flipping through the account books in the party.

It is not difficult for him to see from the account books of the county government that this Ye County is worthy of being one of the most prosperous counties in Nanyang County and Yingchuan County, although Yang Ding has not served as a county magistrate in other places before, and he does not know how much tax a normal county should have, but the tax revenue recorded in the account books every year and quarter still makes him feel quite surprised.

Fortunately, there was an old man at home, and he immediately asked the old general: "Old man, come and see the annual and quarterly taxes in this Ye County." ”

Wei Dong walked to Yang Ding's side, bent down and frowned and flipped through the account books, and immediately affirmed: "The young master is right, the tax of this Ye County is really higher than that of ordinary counties...... The young master still remembers Bao Tong, right? He served as the county magistrate in Cangting, and I once went to visit him, and I had a conversation with him at that time, and I am afraid that the tax revenue of this Ye County can reach four or five Cangting. …… Strange, where does this Ye County get so much tax? ”

He flipped through the pages in a row, and as he flipped through them, his face showed a little surprise: "Hmm? Missing ......"

Following Wei Dong's fingers, Yang Ding also found a little strange, he flipped through the account books back and forth, and finally confirmed his guess: Ye County's tax figures soared to an unbelievable level about four to five years ago, and then plummeted, and as of last year, it was a full thirty percent less.

That's not a small amount.

"Could it be that there are people in the county government who are fake and fill their pockets?" Wei Donghu asked suspiciously.

“……”

Yang Ding frowned and said nothing.

In his opinion, Ye County's tax revenue has gradually fallen from the initial height of five Cangting County's tax revenue to only two Cangting County's tax revenue last year, and there must be something strange about this.

Considering that Ye County has been vacant for four years, all the affairs in the county are handed over to the county Cheng Guo Zhi and the county lieutenant Gao Chun......

After thinking for a while, Yang Dingzheng said: "I look at that Guo Zhi, I don't look like a greedy person, instead of you and me speculating, it is better to call him over and ask him clearly." ”

"Hmm."

The old man nodded slightly.

Anyway, with him there, he didn't worry about what Guo Zhi would dare to do.

Seeing this, Yang Ding summoned an official and instructed: "Go and invite Guo Xiancheng to come to our place." ”

"Yes." The official went away.

Not long after, the county Cheng Guo Zhi came to the house again.

Probably because of Yang Ding's means of winning over people's hearts, Guo Zhi's attitude at this time was obviously much kinder: "My lord, what are your orders?" ”

Secretly signaling to his hometown to be calm, Yang Ding stood up, invited Guo Zhi to the desk, and immediately pointed to the account book on the table and said: "Don't hide it from the county Cheng, just now Yang looked at the account books, and felt that the account books were a little different, I don't know if Guo Xiancheng can solve my doubts?" ”

At first hearing this, Guo Zhi's face immediately sank, but immediately, he seemed to think of something, and said tentatively: "Your Excellency, is it that you have seen a sharp drop in taxes over the years?" ”

"Yes." Yang Ding glanced at Guo Zhi with some surprise.

After receiving Yang Ding's reply, Guo Zhi was immediately relieved, and sighed and said: "Then don't blame the adult, when the humble position was liquidated, it was also ...... Alas, it's a long story. ”

As he spoke, he took an account book on the table, flipped it straight to six or seven years ago, and immediately explained to Yang Ding: "My lord, I'm afraid I don't know, although my Ye County is a big county, the annual tax revenue in the past ten years is roughly like this, until it ...... five years ago."

Yang Ding looked down at the tax figures six or seven years ago, and then realized that Guo Zhi was right, and he asked puzzledly: "Five years ago?" ”

"Hmm."

Guo Zhi nodded and explained: "Adults should have heard that Zhao Jing, the townsman of Luyang, has a deep relationship with Mao Gong, when Mao Gong was still alive, there were often people in the county government who joked with Mao Gong, and joked that Mao Gong treated Luyang Township Hou like a parent, of course, it was just a joke." …… Five years ago, Zhao Yu, the second son of Zhao Jing, the marquis of Luyang Township, came to Ye County to persuade Mao Gong, and then with the help of Mao Gong, united the merchants of Luyang and Ye County, and jointly created the Lu Ye Freemasonry, gathering the power of the merchants of Luyang and Ye County, and went to Wancheng to trade with General Wang's military market...... Regarding the matter of the Luye Freemasonry, this is the pride of my Ye County, and everyone in the county knows it, so I won't say much about it. ”

After a pause, Guo Zhi said again: "Later, the Luyang Township Marquis's family suffered, and the second son of Zhao also suffered an accident. When the second prince was alive, he promoted Wei Pu and Lu Kuang as his deputy to assist him in managing the Freemasonry, after the death of the second son of Zhao, Wei and Lu turned against each other in order to compete for the throne, and in the end, Wei Pu failed, and led nearly half of the Yexian merchants to Ruyang and created another Freemasonry. The Luye Freemasonry created by Zhao Ergongzi was divided into two. …… Although the same one, but these two Freemasons are in the same situation, Ye County is deeply affected, so the tax is far less than back then, and even more, in the past two years, Kunyang County has been plagued by thieves, this thief is called 'Black Tiger Thief', does not hurt the people, does not disturb the people, and specializes in robbing the caravan of the Luye Freemasonry...... Chairman Lu went to Kunyang County many times to negotiate, and Kunyang County also organized officers and soldiers to encircle and suppress the black tiger thieves many times, but they could not eradicate it...... Among them, the details of the humble position are not very detailed, and the adults may wish to summon Lu Laojia and listen to him talk about this matter in person. ”

After listening to Guo Zhi's story of the twists and turns, Yang Ding suddenly realized, and said apologetically: "Yang has just arrived, and everything is unknown, so he misunderstood Guo Xiancheng, and asked Guo Xiancheng not to be surprised." ”

Guo Zhi waved his hand and said: "This matter is indeed not to blame the adult, even if the lowly official suddenly sees the account book, the lowly will have doubts." But please rest assured, you will never dare to do anything that enriches your own pockets. ”

"I naturally believe this."

Yang Ding's kind words comforted Guo Zhi.

After Guo Zhi left, Yang Ding shook his head and said, "It's okay to ask, otherwise...... Having said that, I can't imagine that there are such twists and turns. There is also the second son of the Zhao family, who is not very old, and can even think of uniting the merchants of Luyang and Yexian to trade with General Wang's military market......"

Speaking of this, a little surprise flashed in his eyes, and he lowered his head thoughtfully.

Wei Dong didn't notice Yang Ding's expression, and said with a sneer: "This second son of Zhao seems to be a smart person, but it's a pity that he doesn't have a good eye for picking people, as soon as he dies, the two businessmen he promoted will start a civil struggle for power......"

When he said this, he noticed Yang Ding's thoughtful expression, and asked puzzledly, "Young Master, what's wrong?" ”

I saw Yang Ding reminiscing and saying: "I suddenly remembered that in September and October five years ago, Taishi had received a letter from Wang Shangde, in which General Wang hoped that Taishi would help him in the court, so as not to investigate him for setting up a military market without permission...... With Wang Shangde's character, he must have cut this kind of thing first and then played, in other words, when Taishi received the letter, Wang Shangde had already opened a military market in Wancheng, but it should not be long...... Since time is running out, how did the second son of the Zhao family know that Wancheng had opened a military market? Could it be that this son and General Wang met? ”

Wei Dong smiled when he heard this: "Is it worth bothering the young master for a dead man?" This little thing, if the young master wants to know, write a letter and ask Wang Shangde. ”

"Yes."

Yang Ding smiled when he heard this.

Although he was a little interested in that second son of Zhao, since the other party was no longer alive, there was naturally no need to bother with more energy.

Instead of thinking about those who have and don't, it is better to find a way to invite back the Yexian businessmen who are in Ruyang, led by Wei Pu, and then find a way to persuade Lu Kuang so that the two Luye Freemasons can eliminate their prejudices.

And the black tiger thief......

The next day, Yang Ding sent someone to invite Lu Kuang, the president of the Luye Freemasonry.

When he learned that Yang Ding was the county commander sent by the imperial court to take over, although Lu Kuang was impressed by Yang Ding's youth, he was also respectful.

At that time, Yang Ding said to Lu Kuang: "Yesterday, I looked through the account books of Ye County over the years, and listened to Guo County's explanation afterwards, and then I learned that Ye County's tax revenue has been greatly reduced in recent years, mainly because of the split of your Chamber of Commerce and the Black Tiger Thief......

At this time, Lu Kuang had also learned that the Nanyang army he invited from Wancheng to Kunyang County to suppress thieves had been expelled by Yingchuan County, so he was very dissatisfied with Yingchuan County: If you don't suppress thieves in Yingchuan County, forget it, I invited the army of thieves from Wancheng, and you actually drove them away?

But dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction, and Lu Kuang is helpless about it, he can't go to Yingchuan County to make trouble, right?

He's not stupid!

In desperation, he had no choice but to run to Wancheng again, hoping to see General Wang Shangde again.

However, to his surprise, the moody General Wang sent troops to help him encircle and suppress the black tiger thief last time, but this time he didn't even see him.

So Lu Kuang found Kong Jian, the chief secretary of the military market, and learned that this general Wang was preparing to fight against the Jingchu rebels.

The threat of the Jingchu rebels was certainly not comparable to a small group of black tiger thieves, and Lu Kuang naturally didn't dare to use a group of bandits to disturb that General Wang, so he could only go back to Yexian County to watch for a while.

Unexpectedly, at this time, someone from the county government came to see him, and the person who passed on him was none other than the new county magistrate, Yang Ding and Yang county magistrate.

This made Lu Kuang hope again, and immediately told Yang Ding about the various evil deeds of the black tiger thief, including the black tiger thief wearing the coat of 'brotherhood' and developing his power in Kunyang County.

I have to say that even Yang Ding was shocked by what Lu Kuang said, after all, according to Lu Kuang, wouldn't half of Kunyang County have fallen into the control of the black tiger thief?

Yang Ding was a little unbelievable.

At the junction of Yingchuan County and Nanyang County, under the nose of Wang Shangde's 100,000 army, a group of bandits occupied the mountain as the king, and even extended their power to the county seat?

Frightened, he asked Lu Kuang in a deep voice: "Do you know who the leader of this group of black tiger thieves is?" ”

Lu Kuang shook his head and said, "I don't know the details, I only know that his name is ...... Zhou Hu. ”

"Zhou Hu?"

Yang Ding secretly kept this name in his heart.

Immediately, an idea suddenly occurred in his heart.

If he can eradicate this group of bandits who have been in trouble for Ye County for a long time, this may help him win the hearts of the people as soon as possible and gain the trust of the county government and even the entire people of Ye County?

Well, it's worth a try!