Early the next morning, Han Xiufeng asked Director Zhang for help again, and went to the Ministry of Officials to find the pen post style yesterday, stuffed another ingot of silver, and applied for a military department survey.

If you have a survey, you can stay at the post station along the canal, but for Han Xiufeng, you can't actually save a few dollars, after all, the inspection officer is too small, and the post station will neither take care of food nor arrange cars and ships. At most, one room is given, and it is never possible to be comfortable in the upper room.

However, this survey is still of great use to Han Xiufeng, not only can save dozens or even hundreds of cars and boats for the group, but can even earn dozens of taels.

Because when merchant ships and civilian ships sailed on the canals, they were invariably extorted by Cao Yun Bingding and tax officials in Tianjin, Linqing, Huai'an, and Yangzhou. When the ship travels to the section of the Shandong Gate, in order to ensure that the canal has sufficient water, the lock official must wait for the number of ships to accumulate before opening the gate to release water, and follow the Cao boat and the imperial court fast horse ship first, followed by civilian ships and merchant ships. Therefore, in order to seek refuge, many ship owners and even cargo owners stayed at the Zhangjiawan wharf to recruit officials to take their boats.

It is worth mentioning that the imperial court has regulations on how many family members officials can bring to office, and the number of family members brought by the governor is not allowed to exceed 150. Forty family members can be brought by the feudal platform, thirty can be brought by the provincial government, twenty can be brought by the Tongzhi, Tongju, and prefecture and county officials, and ten officials below the same prefecture and county level can be brought with them...... The family of the flag officer and the lower level of the official can be doubled according to the Han official.

In short, although Han Xiufeng is only a nine-grade inspection, he can bring ten family members to work as usual. With the official certificate issued by the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of War, the owner of the ship and the owner of the ship can be counted as his family, and the goods loaded on the ship will also become his luggage, and there will be no need to pay taxes when passing through the customs of Tianjin, Linqing, Huai'an, etc., and the owner of the ship will not only not care about the four of their masters and servants asking for money, but will give him silver.

After receiving the survey, Director Zhang asked with a smile: "Zhixing, everything is done, I don't know when I can get together tomorrow, why don't you find a place to have a few drinks?" ”

"Director Zhang, I still want to ask you for a favor."

"What else?"

"You must know where that Master Liu lived last time, I want to ask Master Liu for advice before leaving."

"The last time I patronized the food and wine, I didn't ask in detail about the situation in Taizhou, you can't take office with both eyes, you have to ask for advice." Thinking that Master Liu was busy going to the door to find errands these days, Director Zhang smiled again: "I know where he lives, let him invite him for this wine at noon, and you don't need to pay for it." ”

Han Xiufeng couldn't help laughing and said: "I have a request for someone, how can I let someone invite!" ”

"If you ask him, he will ask you."

"Please?"

"You forgot what he used to do, he was an ambassador of the Salt Division! The two Huai Salt Transportation Division's ones are short of more fat, he tasted the sweetness and naturally wanted to continue to do it, these days he has gone a lot of ways, spent thousands of taels of silver, and there should be no problem in finding a distribution to the two Huai Salt Transportation Division's alternate trials, but the two Huai Salt Politics and the two Huai Salt Transportation Envoys will not use him. ”

Thinking that the Lianghuai Salt Administration was concurrently served by the Governor of Liangjiang, and Lord Guo was likely to act as the Lianghuai Salt Envoy, Han Xiufeng suddenly reacted: "Director Zhang, are you saying that he wants to befriend Lord Guo?" ”

"I just knew, he has already gone to Lord Guo's mansion to ask to see him several times, how can Lord Guo have the time to see him. The door bag was not stuffed, but I didn't see it once. ”

"Master Guo is not particularly busy."

"You are now Lord Duan's nephew, Lord Guo doesn't give face to anyone, and you can't not give face to Lord Duan, so if you can see Lord Guo, he may not be able to see him." Director Zhang thought about it and reminded: "Actually, there is a reason why Master Guo didn't see him, he didn't leave office and returned to Beijing, but was involved in a private case of official and was dismissed, you can ask him about Taizhou and even Huainan Salt Farm, but he can't be a deep friend." ”

"A private case involving an official?" Han Xiufeng asked in surprise.

"If I remember correctly, it was the 28th year of Daoguang, when there was a lot of trouble, shocking the government and the opposition, Zhao Zuyu, the then commander of the Tongzhou Branch of the Lianghuai Salt Transportation Division, and Yan Jinmin, the probationary governor, and other salt officials, together with more than 30 boat households, carried more than 20,000 bags of smuggled salt, totaling more than 1.1 million catties, and the amount of smuggling Huai salt was unprecedented.

Han Xiufeng thought to himself that I had seen a bolder one, but he still nodded: "I know." ”

"It's good to know."

……

The two rushed to the inn where Mr. Liu was staying, and Mr. Liu was really enthusiastic, and hurriedly asked his family to buy a table of banquets, and invited the two to sit in the room and chat while eating and drinking.

"Brother Han, don't ask for advice again, you and Director Zhang can come to look down on Liu, and Liu must know everything and say everything." While greeting the two of them to eat, Master Liu said like a few treasures: "It seems to have been said in Chongqing Hall last time that Taizhou City is in the east of Yangzhou, one hundred and twenty-four miles away from Yangzhou City, east to Rugao, south to Taixing, and one hundred and sixty miles north is Xinghua. The town of Hai'an you are going to this time is in the southwest of the state city, if you remember correctly, it is one hundred and twenty miles from Taizhou City to Hai'an. ”

Han Xiufeng muttered, "Hai'an is so far away from Taizhou City! ”

"What's wrong with it?" Master Liu asked rhetorically, put down the wine glass and said with a smile: "In other Sanzhou, officials and inspectors can only be shaken heads, but Taizhou's officials and inspections are different, not only have their own official offices but also can manage things." ”

"What's the matter?"

"Except for the collection of grain and silver, everything is in charge." Master Liu was worried that he couldn't say it clearly, so he asked his family to serve with pen and ink, put aside the dishes and chopsticks in front of him, drew another picture, pointed to the picture and said: "Yangzhou Mansion is rich, and the states and counties under its jurisdiction are not comparable to other places. ”

"What about the Maritime Security Inspection Division?"

"At the junction of the three counties, the waterways must be rushed, and they will be as prosperous." Master Liu looked up at Han Xiufeng and said with envy: "The Hai'an Inspection Division has jurisdiction over more than 250 villages on both sides of the Yunyan River, from the border of Rugao County in the southeast, to Jiangyan Town in the west, and to Dongtai County in the north. There is a scribe and more than a dozen archers in the inspection department, and if a major case occurs under its jurisdiction, it is natural to send it to the state city for the lord to judge, and the inspection of small lawsuits such as the field house and the quarrel can be broken. ”

"Master Liu, according to what you say, Zhixing's inspection is actually similar to the general state and county main hall."

"It's almost the same, I think it's better than the average state and county hall."

"Why did Master Liu say this?" Han Xiufeng asked curiously.

"Although Jiangsu and Zhejiang are rich but there are many taxes, as far as I know, there seem to be few of the main halls of those states and counties in Jiangsu that can be promoted to the prefect, and many of the main halls of the prefectures and counties are not even able to serve one term because of the uneven collection of silver and grain, and the longest of the few counties and governors I knew when I was in office is only two years, and Brother Han's inspection is different, as long as there are not many bandits and robbers under his rule, let alone one term, I think it is not impossible to do two or three terms in a row."