Miao Xiting, the commander of Qishui County, heard that Li You, the king of Qi, had lived in a post station in Qishui County, so he came over for a courtesy visit.

In the territory of Qishui County, there was an incident of someone pretending to be the Prince of the Tang Dynasty, although it happened on the river and had nothing to do with him as the county commander, but he was somewhat responsible.

Miao Xiting looked like a very simple man, he was about thirty-four or five years old, he was of medium height, with a thin face, slender eyes, a little dark skin, and his forehead was full of wrinkles, and he looked older than his actual age.

He had not been a county magistrate for a long time, and he had never been in contact with a big official like the prince before, so he looked very cramped and nervous, and after he sincerely apologized to Li You, he stood there not knowing what to do.

Li You saw that he was nervous, so he sat him down and handed him a piece of candy casually. Miao Xiting didn't dare to eat candy in front of him, and held the candy tightly in his hand. However, Li You's move made his spirit relax a lot.

Li You casually talked to him and asked about some basic information about Qishui County. Li You found that this county magistrate was very diligent in government affairs, and when it came to the affairs of Qishui County, he talked eloquently, like a few treasures, and he was very confident at this time.

Li You asked, "Who are the people in Cishui County who are closely involved with the river?" ”

Miao Xiting said: "Boat owners, they rely on water transportation for a living. Not only does the shipping tax have to be paid, but the freight tax is also paid according to the size of the vessel......"

On the river, there are many professional transport households, who walk on the river all year round, and each toll station has to pay the corresponding tax, and they are also subject to the exploitation of the checkpoint and the river water division. If the boat owner fails to make a point, the checkpoint and the river sailor can make an excuse to seize the boat owner's boat, and according to the regulations, even if there is no mistake, the boat can be seized for up to 12 hours at a time.

Therefore, in order to pay less taxes and make it easier to sail, boat owners must have a good relationship with toll booths and river sailors. However, the average shipowner does not have the means and strength to have a good relationship with all aspects. As a result, they have to rely on some big families with doors.

There is a lot of interest in this, so there are people who specialize in eating this bowl of rice and are responsible for dredging the relationship between the toll station and the river water master. These people are called Caokou. The boat owners were associated with Caokou, and gradually the Cao Gang was formed. However, the Tang Dynasty was not called Caogang, it was called Caokou.

The Caokou of the Tang Dynasty was generally based on a state as a Caokou, and the boss was also called Caokou. The boat households in Xishui County rely on Caokou in Luoyang. There is a certain connection between the caokou of each state, but they do not interfere with each other's caokou.

There are a lot of cats in the toll booth, and the water is very deep, which is one of the most prone places to breed corruption. 、

Not to mention anything else, it is the missing tax supervisor Chen Jun, who is just a petty official of Jiupin, not only owns two big mansions in Luoyang City, but also has four rooms in the concubine room. It can be seen how big the oil and water in the river is.

Miao Xiting's uncle is the largest boat owner in Cishui County, and he sometimes complains to Miao Xiting and complains about his grievances. Miao Xiting therefore knows more about things on the river.

After the incident of pretending to be the prince, Miao Xiting also used his brain, and his first feeling was the same as Li You's, and he first considered the interests of the river.

Li You asked, "Can you call your uncle to come and talk?" ”

Miao Xiting said: "Don't hide it from Your Highness, it's inconvenient. I suggest that you send someone to find out in private, otherwise the shipowners will not dare to tell you the truth for fear of retaliation. ”

Li You said: "You are responsible for arranging, and I will go to see him in plain clothes." ”

Miao Xiting said: "Yes, the minister will arrange it." ”

17 miles downstream of the Luokou toll station, there is a small fishing village, with only a dozen households, and the residents here are not only fishermen, but also boat households. The small fishing village is close to Jiming Mountain, with lush vegetation and complex terrain.

Not far from the village, there was a cave with the entrance in a ravine, hidden behind a dense thicket, and it was difficult for an unknown person to find the entrance even if he passed very closely.

The entrance to the cave is about one person high, so you have to keep your head down when you enter. After entering the inside, it is very spacious and can accommodate hundreds of people. There were two more holes further inside, which were too deep for anyone to enter.

There was a bonfire lit in the cave, and by the flickering light of the fire, several figures could be seen, one of whom was wearing an official uniform, it was the tax collector of the toll booth, Chen Jun, who was tied to a large stone and sat on the ground against the stone.

Opposite him, there were several young strong men, and a woman of about sixteen or seventeen years old. These people are the ones who pretended to be Li You.

At this time, a tall and big-eyed young man said, "Aunt Xiu, the hearts of these guys in the Caoyun Mansion are really too dark. You see, these guys collect more than 1,000 yuan in taxes a day, and on the registered bill, only 187 yuan is written. They're too corrupt. ”

Xiu Gu stood with a delicate melon seed face, big eyes and a nose bridge, and two sharp little tiger teeth looming when she spoke. She said: "These guys are really damned, they can be corrupted by the officials." We, the people, can't control it. However, they are insatiable, and that's it, they have to increase our taxes and give them all kinds of filial piety. It's really not a good place to live. ”

After speaking, she said to Chen Jun: "You dog official, the shipowners transport some goods to collect freight, they want to find a source of goods, worship the dock, and take care of the government, and if you come and go in the wind and rain, you can't drop a few dollars." But you will raise taxes at every turn, and all white joys will be scavenged from us. Your conscience let the dogs eat. ”

Chen Jun has been beaten a lot in the past few days, and he has not eaten enough, so he has long lost the courage and strength to speak, he lowered his head and did not say a word, allowing them to insult and reprimand.

Soon after, a man dressed as a boat owner walked in from outside the cave, carrying a basket, and said, "It's time to eat, there are steamed buns and pickles." ”

He put the basket on a stone and said, "Aunt Xiu, the old master said, this dog official should take care of it, don't hurt his life." Now the outside is tight, so let's not go out easily, and wait for the limelight to pass. ”

The tall young man from earlier asked, "What's going on outside in the last few days?" ”

The boat owner said: "We borrowed the name of the King of Qi, it seems that he is angry, and he stayed in the post station, and he must find someone who pretends to be him and will give up." ”

……

That night, Miao Xiting sent a cronie to the post station, saying that things had been arranged, and asked Li You and others to follow him to meet with the boat owners.

Li You took Zhang Guigui and Baihu, followed the comers, and took a carriage to the eastern suburbs of Cishui County. Xue Rengui led the people of the special combat team to secretly follow for protection.

Luoyang Governor's Mansion.

In a spacious room, three officials were talking. Dressed in a purple official uniform in public, he was in his 50s, tall and burly, with a red face and a big beard, majestic and very magnificent.

He asked, "That kid Li You, did he really stay in Luokou and not leave?" ”