With the development of tax and grain collection priorities, Pingzhou City has become much sluggish in the next period of time.

Many people know that the imperial court generally does such actions, and it is necessary to prepare for war.

According to the Pingzhou government's decree on grain requisition, the progress of grain requisition in Pingzhou City was naturally much smoother.

In addition to opening the granaries that were left to collect grain, the government grain management team also temporarily set up granaries in several important locations.

For most of the month, Zhang Xiang and the prefect Zheng Wei ran between these granaries every day, supervising the people's grain donation and grain collection affairs, Zheng Wei's expectations were good, for the richer people of Pingzhou, this grain did not produce too much burden on them, those merchants, rich gentry, etc. were the most refreshing, without saying a word, they sent people to pull the silver and grain into the granary.

A very small number of households with little food, or those who do not want to donate food, have donated a little more or less after being persuaded by the government.

Since this period (rì), the granaries of Pingzhou City have also been almost full.

On the third day of the second lunar month, the grain collection affairs in Pingzhou City also came to an end.

In the evening, Zhang Xiang was in the study of the east room, and Li Yanzhi was still doing statistics.

Li Yanzhi looked at the densely packed books and reported to Zhang Xiang: "The horse, a total of 63,532 stones, I have calculated it a few times with the government, and the error of this number is about 20 quintals. ”

"It's only more than 60,000?"

Zhang Xiang frowned slightly, and thought: "The imperial court's target for Pingzhou Mansion is 100,000 stones, which is measured according to the standard of Pingzhou Mansion taxation in previous years, due to the consideration of last year's famine, the imperial court has also lowered the standard by two percent, Pingzhou City's tax revenue accounts for seventy percent of the entire Pingzhou Mansion, and the fifteen counties under its jurisdiction are only thirty percent, and now, Pingzhou City is only more than 60,000 stones, which is about sixty percent, how can the following fifteen counties make up for the remaining forty percent?" ”

After finishing speaking, Zhang Xiang shook his head again: "And the calculation is not like this, the famine has little impact on a city like Pingzhou City, but for those poor and remote areas, it is tantamount to adding insult to injury, on this basis, at least two percent of the decline has to be made, then the following fifteen counties, it is already good to be able to make up for the remaining 20,000 stones." ”

Li Yanzhi also fell silent.

Zhang Xiang asked again: "Have you negotiated with the government about the situation of the fifteen counties below?" ”

Li Yanzhi nodded: "A few times ago (rì), I talked to the grain official about this issue by chance, and the grain official didn't know very clearly, he said that until now, the grain collected by the fifteen counties below is less than 10,000 stones, and up to now, I'm afraid it is only more than 10,000 stones." ”

"Cai Wanshi?"

Zhang Xiang smiled bitterly, this was still far from his prediction.

He said slowly: "All the households in Pingzhou City have been counted? ”

Li Yanzhi nodded: "It's almost the same, the next thing is to do some finishing statistics, and if you don't count it, it's not too late for the government to come to collect grain." ”

At this time, the little slave pushed open the door and walked in with two bowls of white fungus soup: "Horse, Li Gongzi, this is what the princess told the slave to prepare." ”

Zhang Xiang nodded and said to Li Yanzhi: "Then let's do this today!" 明 (rì) I'll discuss it with Governor Zheng again, in other words, it's not too early this day, you can go back and rest after drinking this bowl of soup! ”

After Li Yanzhi drank the white fungus soup and said goodbye, Zhang Xiang sat down at the desk again.

He stretched heavily and opened the book that Li Yanzhi had recorded.

The little slave shook his lips lightly on the side: "Donkey, are you still busy?" ”

Zhang Xiang smiled and said, "It's not too late, you go down first!" ”

The little slave said: "When the slave came, the princess told the slave and the maid that the concubine (cāo) had worked for so long, and was tired every day, so let the concubine rest early, and many important matters would be dealt with by the government. ”

"It's because I'm worried about the government that I'm going to take it more seriously." Zhang Xiang shook his head and didn't explain much.

There are a lot of hidden things that this little girl doesn't understand.

He smiled and said, "Little slave, don't worry about me, I know in my heart, you go down first!" ”

The little slave was still indifferent, and after she saw Zhang Xiang lower her head, she thought for a moment, then plucked up the courage to walk up and suddenly blew out the candle on the desk.

The room was darkened in an instant, except for the dim glow of the candles on either side of the door.

Zhang Xiang was stunned for a moment, glanced at the little slave staring at him in the dark, and said helplessly: "Little slave, what are you doing here?" ”

"Colt, go and rest now." The little slave said heavily.

Looking at her serious appearance, Zhang Xiang was also a little unable to turn around: "Little slave..."

"If the horse does not rest, the slave and maid stay here until the horse rests." The slave interrupted him.

Zhang Xiang knew very well that this little girl was stubborn.

In desperation, he had no choice but to get up (shēn): "Okay, then I'll go and rest now." ”

The little slave smiled, and after seeing Zhang Xiang walk out of the study, she hurriedly took away the candlestick and the fire fold on the desk.

When Zhang Xiang was lying on the couch (chuáng), the little slave blew out all the candles in the house.

Zhang Xiang, who was lying on the couch (chuáng) on his side, watched the little girl tiptoe away, and also smiled lightly, and after the little slave closed the door, her naughty voice came from outside the door: "The horse, the slave and the maid are guarded, if the horse is secretly up, the slave and the maid also know, so the concubine or rest obediently!" ”

Zhang Xiang flipped (shēn) speechlessly, then closed his eyes.

It's just that although he is tired, he doesn't feel sleepy at all, which may be a problem that has developed for most of the past half a month.

Then think about the next thing (qíng).

The grain production area of Southern Chu, in addition to Jiangnan, is the Yuandu Mansion of Xichuan, and the grain output of the two places accounts for about seventy percent of the entire Southern Chu, so these two places have always been the places that the imperial court attaches the most importance to.

Of course, these two places also hand over the most grain every year.

Nowadays, Jiangnan and Xichuan are also the two major ones who bear the brunt of taxes and grain.

However, as far as he knows, the Xichuan area did not escape the flood last year, and the flood caused nearly half of the fertile land in the Xichuan area to be washed away, and in the second half of last year, many people in the Xichuan area also ate official food.

If Jiangnan can't complete the indicators given by the imperial court, it is a trivial matter that the war cannot be fought, and if the war starts, the army will not have enough food, and the number of dead people will be astronomical.

Although Zhang Xiang didn't think that the battle of the imperial court to capture Liangzhou could be won, he still thought in his heart that he wanted to win, Liangzhou could not be in the hands of the Northern Liao, which would be tantamount to becoming a time bomb in Southern Chu all the time.

Jiangnan Two Roads, Jiangnan East Road and Liangzhejiang Road, Pingzhou Mansion and Linzhou Mansion are the capitals of the two roads, and the pressure on them is naturally the greatest.

Pingzhou Mansion is still far from the indicators laid by the imperial court, and Linzhou Mansion must not be much worse, not to mention most of the places in Southern Chu that are still in the midst of famine.

Southern Chu was wealthy, but that was relative to the Northern Liao, Eastern Yan, Western Jin, and previous dynasties.

In the Southern Chu region, the gap between the rich and the poor is not ordinarily large, and the rich are only a few capital cities, and in this era, food is always the most scarce resource.

Next (rì) early in the morning, Zhang Xiang came early to inspect and direct the grain requisition affairs.

Half an hour later, the prefect Zheng Wei also came.

He invited Zhang Xiang to eat a bowl of chaos on the side of the road.

Zhang Xiang asked about the progress of the government's grain collection in the following fifteen counties.

Zheng Wei also said a little helplessly: "Don Ma, the rest of the ten counties are basically not too big a problem, the pressure on these ten counties is relatively small, the government over there has always been actively encouraging big households and squires to donate more grain, but the worst Yuan County, Rong County, Liyang County, Ning County, He County, these five counties have always given the government a headache, these five counties are located at the southwest end of Jiangnan East Road, next to each other, the counties are about the same, a year ago, the county orders of these five counties have come to find the lower officials, they all said that the food indicators given by the government are too heavy, Many people can't afford it, and their government has also lobbied the people for a long time, but the number of households willing to pay grain is still too small, and it is still too far from the target, and they want the lower officials to lower their requirements. ”

Speaking, Zheng Wei said: "But I don't know, in the entire Pingzhou Mansion, the requirements issued by the lower officials for these five counties are already the lowest, as long as every household is willing to pay grain, it should still be able to make up for it, but there are many people who are unwilling." The magistrate of Narong County also cried to the lower officials, saying that if the government demanded it, there would be many people who would have no food to eat in the next few months, and many people would starve to death, and they were all parents and officials, and they did not want to see those people suffer. ”

"But what can the lower officials do?" Zheng Wei shook his head: "For these five counties, I only ask for 10,000 stones, 2,000 stones for each county, and now Tongzhi and Tongju are running around in these five counties, lobbying every day, but until now, the grain received is only about 4,000 stones, which is too far away." In January, the imperial court's grain collection team will come to collect grain, and when the food is not enough, we will all be punished. ”

Looking at his depressed appearance, Zhang Xiang also knew his difficulties.

The imperial court issued the local state capital, and the state capital then issued the local counties, for the imperial court, only the result, how the local people (qíng) were, the imperial court basically did not care much, relatively speaking, those who understood the people (qíng) were also these local officials, but under the hard (xìng) requirements of the imperial court, even if they understood it again, the local government could not change much, they were nothing more than trying to figure out how to meet the requirements of the imperial court.

Zhang Xiang didn't speak, sending the last chaos into his mouth.

In this era when science and technology and agriculture are underdeveloped, agricultural development can only rely on labor.

The total population of Southern Chu is only more than 50 million, excluding the old and young, women and children, the disabled, and only half of the people who have a labor force, and this half of the men have to subtract half of the miscellaneous industries such as soldiers, businessmen, and students, how much can the rest do?

In fact, there is a lot of wasteland in Nanchu, but none of them can be cultivated.

According to the labor force of each household, it can only make a few acres of fertile land, and those big households, squires, and gentry are just a little more.

Ordinary people can only fill their stomachs after doing it in a year, except for what they have handed in.

In the event of a natural disaster**, there are countless hungry people.

This is the sorrow that every imperial era has to face, and it is only a handful of people who can really achieve the level of fine clothes and food from birth.

In the face of this phenomenon, Zhang Xiang at this time was powerless to change.

Zheng Wei continued: "The horses, with the current prosperity of the south of the Yangtze River, let alone other poor places, every year famine, refugees from the west, the horses have never been seen, but anyone who has seen it, a little conscience, the heart will be stinging. ”

Zhang Xiang said slowly: "But if the imperial court wants to fight, the grain and grass must be sufficient, and there is no way." ”

Zheng Wei nodded: "This is also the place where the lower officials are embarrassed, the imperial court wants food indicators, but the lower officials can't let people take out all the life-saving food!" The most difficult thing is how to weigh the balance between the satisfaction of both parties. ”

Zhang Xiang pondered: "Governor Zheng, now everything that Pingzhou City can take out, right?" ”

Zheng Wei nodded: "After all, Pingzhou City is under the government's eyes, how the people (qíng) are, the lower officials are clear in their hearts, and there are many wealthy businessmen in Pingzhou, the government gives them some titles, and then drives them some business conveniences, most rich families are still willing to give more money and grain, but for more than half a month, what Pingzhou can collect is already the limit, no matter how much, it will make up more officials like us, big families, etc., but this is also a drop in the bucket for the total amount." Pony, where can we find so much food to make up for the rest? ”

Zhang Xiang said: "Governor Zheng, in this way, if Pingzhou City works harder, do you think it can achieve 70,000 stones?" The following fifteen counties, I will mobilize and achieve 30,000 stones, isn't there still a month! If we work harder, we should be able to do it! ”

"The colt is going to go in person?" Zheng Wei was surprised.

Zhang Xiang nodded: "I have to come up with a way, Tongzhi and Tongju have been down for so long, what they can do should be almost done, if I go, see what else can be helped, as long as I can do the 30,000 stones in the following fifteen counties, the problem should not be big." ”

Zheng Wei nodded: "If the following fifteen counties can achieve 30,000 stones, and I will lobby some big households in Pingzhou City, it should be able to achieve 70,000 stones, but..."

Saying that, Zheng Wei shook his head: "I'm just afraid that the horses are not safe, those places, the people, and the evil gentry are more difficult to handle, and now in such a situation (qíng), most of them are tied together, if someone is unwilling, there will be someone who is unwilling, and fighting with the government is also a very common thing (qíng), in case they are in a hurry and hurt the horse, it will be difficult for the lower officials to make a difference." ”

Zhang Xiang shook his head with a smile: "Governor Zheng, you don't have to worry about this, if I go, I will protect myself, besides me, do you have any better candidates?" ”

"Government affairs are important, I will go back to prepare today, and 明 (rì) will move (shēn)." As he spoke, Zhang Xiang stood up (shēn).

Zheng Wei also got up (shēn) and gave him his hand: "Well, then, the lower officials will send a team of officials to go with the horses to protect the safety of the horses." ”

"No..."Zhang Xiang hurriedly waved his hand: "I'm here to solve the problem, not to play the prestige of the government, if a team of officials goes with me, then don't scare the people there, then what good impression do they have on me?" Therefore, in this regard, the Zheng Governor's Mansion does not need to have (cāo) heart, and next, the Zheng Governor's Mansion only needs to do the 70,000 stones of Pingzhou City. ”

After discussing the next matters with Zheng Wei, Zhang Xiang returned to the Horse Mansion.

He called Li Yanzhi over, discussed with him about the matter of Ming (rì) letting him accompany him, and then asked him to go back and prepare.

Zhang Xiang also asked the little slave to prepare for him to change clothes for the next month.

After dinner that day, Zhang Xiang came to Zhao Hanyan's west room and told her about leaving tomorrow (qíng).

"Are you sure you're going?"

"I don't know, I don't know the situation of the fifteen counties below, but after that, I can learn from the two adults of Tongzhi and Tongju, just now I also took a look at it with Li Yanzhi, according to Governor Zheng, today's Rong County and Liyang County are the most difficult to do, Tongzhi sits in Rong County, and Tongju sits in Liyang County, so I will go to Rong County first."

"The horse is going this time, but be careful in everything, if you can't do it, it's inconvenient to force it, and your own safety is the most important."

"Don't worry, princess, I'll be careful."

"Do not clash with the people, much less hurt them, for the people do not want to give bread, because they have their own afflictions."

Zhang Xiang grabbed her: "After I leave, the affairs of the house will all depend on the princess." ”

Zhao Hanyan smiled slightly: "There is no business in the mansion now, Gao Ping doesn't need (cāo) labor, and he will also help Governor Zheng to lobby those big families in Pingzhou City, and try to let them contribute more money and food." ”

"In addition, I have sent a letter to the capital, imploring my father to exempt half of the taxes of Pingzhou Mansion this year, and the business of the Horse Mansion is not bad now, enough to maintain the expenses of our government, and the half of the tax exempted will be borne by our Horse Mansion."

Zhang Xiang was a little moved, which he didn't expect, he held Zhao Hanyan's hand tightly: "The princess is so kind, I believe that the people of Pingzhou will also miss the princess." ”

Zhao Hanyan shook his head with a smile: "They are all my Nanchu people, and it is nothing for us to do this." ”

"The colt is going this time, and I will let the little slave go with you."

"No need!".

"Yes, after all, there are no conditions for the Horse Mansion in those places, and only the little slave takes care of the horse's food, clothing and daily life, Gao Ping will be more relieved, and the horse will not refuse."

“……”

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