"When will this weather be clear?"

In the county government of Hui'an County, Quanzhou, Li Sanjian looked at the drizzle that had turned from pouring rain with sad eyes, and muttered to himself.

Li Sanjian went to Quanzhou here, and after entering Fujian Road, he encountered the most weather, which was rainy days. Along the way, it rained heavily, or it rained prostrately, and it never stopped. These days, Li Sanjian has hardly seen the sun.

The bad weather has seriously affected Li Sanjian's itinerary.

At this time, Li Sanjian was injured in the leg, and the rain was heavy or small, so he was trapped in Hui'an County and could not set off to Quanzhou.

Li Sanjian was anxious, but he was helpless.

"Meng County Order." Li Sanjian was lying on a recliner to recuperate from his injuries, and asked Meng Guangxi, the county commander of Hui'an County, with a sideways look: "How is the bandit in Hui'an County?" What is the bandit problem in Quanzhou? Do you know? ”

When Li Sanjian set off from Kaifeng Mansion, Emperor Zhao Ji of the Song Dynasty personally told Li Sanjian to strictly guard against Quanzhou pirates.

But at this time, Li Sanjian did not encounter the pirates, but first encountered the bandits.

Therefore, Li Sanjian was anxious to understand the situation of the bandits in Quanzhou so that he could prescribe the right medicine in the future.

"Li Fuzun... This... Meng Guangxi looked at Li Sanjian when he heard this, and he looked like he wanted to say something.

"Meng County Order, if you have something to say, what else can't you say in front of this official? Are you afraid that if you say the wrong thing, the judge will punish you? Seeing this, Li Sanjian said to Meng Guangxi with some displeasure.

Through two days of contact with Meng Guangxi, Li Sanjian felt that Meng Guangxi was an extremely cautious person or a timid person, and he was very good at slapping horses in front of Shangguan, which made Li Sanjian secretly disdainful in his heart.

How can such a man rule a good place? Govern Hui'an County, one of the "Quanzhou Sanyi"? At this time, Li Sanjian already had the idea of replacing the county order of Hui'an County in his heart.

"Li Fuzun, forgive your official for speaking bluntly." Meng Guangxi didn't know that Li Sanjian had so many thoughts in his heart, and hesitated for a moment and said: "There are bandits in Hui'an County and even Quanzhou, and the matter of bandits has been delayed for a long time. However, at present, banditry is not the first thing, and it is not a top priority. ”

Li Sanjian is good at observing words and feelings, and Meng Guangxi is the same, even more so than Li Sanjian.

Meng Guangxi is in his thirties today, and his age is not too old, but he has also been in the Quanzhou government for more than ten years, and he has already developed the ability to figure out what he wants.

After Meng Guangxi came into contact with Li Sanjian for two days, he found that Li Sanjian was different from his predecessor Quanzhou Zhizhou, and even different from most officials, that is, Li Sanjian was extremely enterprising and a young official who wanted to make a great career.

Therefore, if Meng Guangxi doesn't come out with some skills, how can he cause Li Sanjian to look sideways? If he didn't make a deep impression in front of the new Zhizhou, or even left a good impression, then his future would be worrisome, Meng Guangxi said secretly in his heart.

"Oh? Banditry is not a priority, so what is a priority? When Li Sanjian heard this, he immediately came to his senses, sat up from the recliner and looked at Meng Guangxi and asked.

"Li Fuzun, at present, the top priority in Hui'an County, and even in Quanzhou, is the flood." Meng Guangxi replied.

"Flooding? Ouch... Li Sanjian was taken aback when he heard this, stood up from the recliner, touched the wound on his right leg, and immediately grinned in pain.

"Fuzun, are you okay?" Seeing this, Meng Guangxi hurriedly helped Li Sanjian and asked.

"No problem, no problem." Li Sanjian waved his hand and said, "Is there a map of Quanzhou here?" It's a topographic map, so if you have it, get it quickly. ”

"Yes, the lower official will go and get it." Meng Guangxi replied and went to get the map.

Li Sanjian also had a map of Quanzhou that he had taken from the Ministry of Officials, but it was a map of Quanzhou's population and commerce, not a map of the terrain, so Li Sanjian instructed Meng Guangxi

A moment later, Meng Guangxi took the topography map of Quanzhou and spread it on the wooden table.

How could I not have thought of this? Why such negligence? Li Sanjian looked at the topography map of Quanzhou, and secretly blamed himself in his heart.

Heavy rain for days will inevitably lead to flash floods, and the river will surge, which will definitely produce waterlogging.

Therefore, the top priority in Quanzhou at present is indeed the flood, not the banditry. 020 reading

"Fuzun, please see." Meng Guangxi pointed to the map and said: "The terrain of Quanzhou is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. There are many mountains, more water and less flat land, the first peak of Quanzhou is Daiyun Mountain, more than 60 zhang high, extending from northwest to southeast, during which there are mountains, hills, river valleys, plains and so on. Hui'an County is located in the northeast of Quanzhou, so the flood in Hui'an County is relatively light, and the lower official estimates that the flood in Nan'an and Nan'anjiang counties in the southeast should be heavier. ”

"Nan'an, **?" Li Sanjian looked at the map and was silent for a long time.

Nan'an, ** floods, is it true or false, if it is true as Meng Guangxi said, the above two counties are more flooded, so how heavy?

And so on, a series of questions, Li Sanjian at this time was blinded and knew nothing.

The top priority is not the flood, but to rush to Quanzhou immediately, even if there are knives in the sky, Li Sanjian said secretly in his heart.

"With such flooding, I don't know how many more people have been displaced." Li Sanjian then sighed after looking at the heavy rain outside the window.

After Li Sanjian sighed, he was about to say that he was about to leave Hui'an County, when Meng Guangxi said: "What Li Fuzun said is that there will be a lot of homeless people in Quanzhou because of this, and there are actually many thieves in the mountains, among them, there are actually many homeless people who are forced to make a living, so they take risks. ”

When Li Sanjian heard this, he suddenly became angry.

It's really damn good, what you say is better than what you sing, Li Sanjian said secretly in his heart, since you know all the Mengxian orders, and know that there are many thieves who are forced to go up the mountain, but why do you still order the autumn tax to be collected in advance? persecuting the people like this, but still pretending to be compassionate? Hypocrisy is so disgraceful.

Of course, Li Sanjian understood that many of the bandits could not survive, so they took risks and occupied the mountains as kings, and they were forced to be helpless.

Anyway, there are good days, but who is willing to risk losing their heads and succumbing to thieves?

Li Sanjian had not mentioned this matter before, just to investigate it clearly or wait for him to say it himself.

"The flood in Hui'an County is relatively light, but there are still floods, why don't you Meng County order not to help the people, but stay in the county government and talk to the official?" Li Sanjian then asked lightly.

When Meng Guangxi heard this, he was stunned for a moment and replied: "Li Fuzun, the lower officials have no food and no money, how can they help the people?" ”

"No money, no food? Where is your money and food in Hui'an County? Li Sanjian frowned and asked when he heard this.

"Li Fuzun, the county warehouse is empty, there is no grain in stock, there is no copper plate, and the county government has long been unable to make ends meet." Meng Guangxi replied.

"Smack!" Li Sanjian was furious, slapped it on the wooden table, and asked loudly: "Meng Guangxi, is this the reason why you collected the autumn tax in advance?" Is that why you are exploiting the people? Where did you go in Hui'an County every year? Where is it used? ”

"Huh? Li Fuzun, wronged! Meng Guangxi saw that Li Sanjian suddenly became angry, and was so frightened that he trembled all over, and then his knees were weak again, and he knelt on the ground and shouted: "The lower officials really have unspeakable secrets, I hope Li Fuzun will be clear." ”

"What do you have to hide?" Li Sanjian lowered his face and said to Meng Guangxi.

"Li Fuzun, my annual income in Hui'an County is only 17,000 or 8,000 yuan, but my annual income in Hui'an County is 25,000 or 6,000 yuan, and the gap is enough to be 8 or 9,000 yuan." Meng Guangxi said as he spoke, tears flowed down, and he reached out to wipe his tears, revealing the coarse cloth underneath the official robe at the cuffs.

The gap is so big? Li Sanjian was secretly frightened when he heard this,

Presumably as he said, maybe there is something hidden in it, right? Thinking of this, Li Sanjian stretched out his hand to help Meng Guangxi, and said warmly: "Get up and speak slowly, as long as you tell the official the truth about the matter of Hui'an County today, the official will never pursue it." ”

"Li Fuzun, Hui'an County is indeed unable to make ends meet, and the gap is unusually large, Hui'an County's annual income is nothing more than two taxes, salt, workshop money, land rental money, silk lease money, etc., and some state governments allocate etc., the annual income is only about 17,000." After Meng Guangxi was helped up and sat down by Li Sanjian, he replied slowly: "But the annual branch has reached about 25,000 yuan, including army money, money for supply, money for rice, money for shipbuilding, money for weapons and materials, silver money, etc., and there are also money for returning to the ancestral hall and asking for money from the officials of the ancestral hall, etc. ”

"Wait... Li Sanjian interrupted Meng Guangxi's words and said: "There is no war in Quanzhou, why do I still have army money?" Returning to the ancestral hall to worship the ancestral hall, what is the money for the ancestral officials? ”

"Li Fuzun!" Meng Guangxi replied when he heard this: "Quanzhou is often attacked and disturbed by pirates, of course, there is a large army of the imperial court stationed, even if there is no army stationed in Quanzhou, but when the army crosses, the lower officials and others will also give the army money." Returning to the ancestral hall is the cost of returning to the hometown after the court officials pay for the officials, and the money for the ancestral hall officials is also a kind of reception fee, and there are also the food of the Lu officials, the county officials, the officials, the miscellaneous servants, and the extortion of the past officers and soldiers. . . Wait, Li Fuzun, the lower officials are really unbearable. ”

Meng Guangxi paused for a moment and then said: "I can't make ends meet in Hui'an County, and the county government has been in arrears for half a year. The lower officials even... Even the ancestral property has been taken out to fill the gap, but it is still far from enough, and the lower officials even borrowed usury, but... This time, Li Fuzun crossed the border, and the officials borrowed some autumn taxes in advance, which was really helpless. ”

Meng Guangxi said that he was very sad.

After Li Sanjian listened, he looked at Meng Guangxi and was silent for a long time, wondering whether Meng Guangxi's words were true or false.

If Meng Guangxi really said, a dignified county order was actually forced into such a situation? This is true of the county order, and even more so should be the county officials, county lieutenants, and officials under the county order.

When people are forced to be in a hurry, they may lose their minds, such as exploiting the people.