Going is always different from returning.

When they first gathered in Fanyang and went to Luoyang, there were dozens of scholars, and they all brought their servants and dependents to salute the carriages and horses, and they were constantly tossing and dragging along the way.

When the trip returned to Hebei, only Gongsun Xun, Gongsun Yue and Zhen Yi returned together...... The latter is older, and it means that he can just mix up a name after studying for a year, and even Zhen Dayin still has a wife and children at home...... Therefore, there is inevitably some homesickness along the way, and even the Gongsun brothers have to follow suit.

In this way, all the way through Zhouyue County, when they came to Zhongshan Wuji, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Two junior brothers, since you are here, you might as well take a moment for two days, and let me do my best to be a landlord." The first to breathe a sigh of relief was Zhen Yi.

"Fortunately, nothing happened, and I was about to bother with it."

"As it should be."

The Gongsun brothers didn't have any excuses, after all, the classmates came back in a year, and the friendship between the two sides had long been different, and Zhongshan Wuji Zhen was also a well-known wealthy family in Hebei, and there was nothing else.

In this way, the convoy moved into the territory of Wuji County together, and the atmosphere became pleasant.

"Why is Brother Dayin in such a hurry along the way?" Gongsun Yue, who was riding a horse beside Zhen Yi's car, asked curiously. "Even before, it seems that you suddenly wanted to go back home with us, and it seems to be a bit hasty."

"But let Brother Yue see it." Zhen Yi shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I'll tell you the truth, something happened at home after I left, and I couldn't bear it, so I decided to come back as soon as possible."

"I see, dare to ask......"

"I won't hide it from you, but after I left, my wife suddenly added a daughter to me, and I was very anxious after I left for more than a year!"

Gongsun Yue was stunned, and even the horses under his crotch inadvertently stopped, and then he re-followed the other party's car and said: "I see, Brother Dayin, don't worry, you and my brother, but if you need it, just speak up...... If your wife comes from a wealthy family in the same county or neighboring county, and it is inconvenient to do it, leave it to our brother to do it. And what kind of 'daughter', if you can't tear your face, you can leave it to us, my aunt is a very good person, we brought it to Liaoxi and handed it over to her to raise, how about not letting you see each other again in this life? ”

Zhen Yi sat in the car, looking dazed for a long time, and then suddenly held on to the eaves of the car and said angrily: "What kind of bastard are you talking about?" My daughter was born nine months after I left home, and the day is right, where do I need you to help me kill my wife and son?! ”

Gongsun Yue was so embarrassed that he apologized again and again.

Of course, this kind of thing is just a small episode after all, and the group still went straight along the official road in Wuji County without any delay. However, it was not until they came to the gate of the palatial Zhen Mansion that everyone was speechless to find that one of the main owners of this trip, Gongsun Xun, was gone. After careful questioning, I realized that as soon as I entered the territory of Wuji County, this person took a few companions to ask about customs.

"Brother Dayin, don't worry about my brother." Gongsun Yue also looked helpless. As soon as he arrives in a new place, he will inevitably go to the countryside to ask about any customs, look at the local population and geography, ask the local people about taxes and miscellaneous labor, and secretly check whether there are many abandoned babies in the local area, and whether the Taiping Road and Buddhism are prosperous...... Let's go visit your parents first, and let someone who knows him wait for him at the door! ”

"Either way." Zhen Yi originally wanted to say something, but after all, he was homesick and stepped into his own door first.

It is said that at this time, the spring ploughing is imminent, the people in the countryside are almost pouring out of the nest, turning the ground and drying the soil, Gongsun Xun and several people came all the way from the countryside early, and there is a busy scene everywhere, at this time, the horse is stationed on a small slope and looks at the past, and it is quite emotional.

"Hebei is a horse and a flat river." Han Dang sighed slightly. "But compared with Saiwai, there are still more rivers, and the cavalry crisscrosses here, but they also have to explore the geography in advance to prevent falling into death."

"The eyes are full of fertile land and farmers, and the land of Hebei does not mean to be rich and prosperous." Lou Gui on the side was pale because of the bumps in the horse, and it took a long time to recover his strength, and then joined the ranks of mouth cannons. "Guangwu entered Hebei alone, took this as the foundation, peeked into the world according to the Yellow River, and dominated the world in 12 years, not without roots."

"You......" Gongsun Xun, who had been looking at the Taihang Mountains in the west, couldn't help but shake his head when he heard this. Still too young. And he was born in the Wanluo Shi clan, and his eyes are low. Hebei is certainly the foundation of the king's hegemony, but just looking at the people plowing the fields and saying that this place is rich and prosperous, isn't it too child's play? ”

"Tian Mu is the foundation of the world, what should I look at if I don't look at this?" Lou Gui was quite unconvinced. "Gongsun Shaojun has just been crowned, so he may not be as old as me, right?"

"Look at the abandoned baby!" Gongsun Xun told his experience in a positive way. "To see whether a land is rich or not, whether it is prosperous or not, we must first see whether there are more abandoned babies compared with the population...... It must be known that it is human nature to reproduce, and no family is willing to kill or abandon their own flesh and blood unless they are really unable to feed them. In today's world, no abandoned babies are nonsense, but if there are too many abandoned babies in one place, even if it looks thriving, it is just an illusion! ”

Lou Gui bowed his head and was silent, as if he thought of some situation in his hometown...... He has had 'strange ambitions' very early, and when he became an adult, he kept accepting outlaws, because he vaguely sensed the signs of some collapse of this world, but he really didn't think about what was wrong and why it was wrong.

While thinking about it, there was a companion in return, and he told in detail about the number of abandoned babies in the remote places here...... This is not the first time these people have done this kind of thing, according to them, this place is actually no different from the rest of Jizhou, and the proportion of abandoned babies is frightening.

"I thought about it." Lou Gui asked with a puzzled expression. As Gongsun Shaojun said, if the baby is abandoned to a certain extent, it must be the people's livelihood...... But why is this happening? Hebei's acres of land are so fertile, and commerce and trade are accessible, and this Zhongshan County only abolished the national system of counties the year before last, and the county guards used are also quite famous, and it seems that they are not people who can do things that cripple the people, right? ”

"Since you don't understand, then let me ask!" Gongsun Xun couldn't help but shake his head and said, in fact, he wrote to his wife for advice a long time ago, and learned the logic from her...... It's just that it's okay anyway, so it's better to accompany this Lou Gui for a walk.

said that he was asking, but he didn't ask the peasants in the fields as Lou Gui thought, on the contrary, Gongsun Xun led people, tall heads and horses, swords and bows, and actually broke into a nearby village temple directly.

The so-called temple is not a temple, but refers to the public office, the public office, the public house, in fact, the temple of the temple is actually the temple that originated from the Honglu Temple, and it is also the meaning of the public office, so the township temple is naturally the public place where the village officials live.

Gongsun Xun and his entourage broke in directly, and they were so shocked that those township officials were at a loss and came out to greet them. And Lou Gui was just curious about how to ask, but he saw that Gongsun Wenqi was snorting at Han Dang, and the latter suddenly stepped forward and slipped up the countryman led by him, then clamped it under his armpit, turned around and left...... It's like a robber!

Then, Han Dang went first, and the rest of the people pulled out their knives one after another, signaling the villagers not to move forward, and then followed slowly, Lou Gui was dumbfounded, but there were bright knives on both sides, and he had to grudge to clamp the horse's belly and quickly followed.

When he came to the small slope before, Han Dang threw the villager Qiang on the ground, and Gongsun Xun signaled to Lou Gui: "The person has been invited, you can ask!" ”

Lou Gui opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't help but turn around: "How to ask?" ”

Gongsun Xun shook his head again and again, and had no choice but to step forward in person, drawing his knife and pointing at the man: "I'll ask, you come to answer, do you know?" ”

The townsman was smashed to pieces, and was pointed at by a knife, where did he dare to say more, but he nodded again and again.

"Let me ask you, how many times did your township collect money last year?"

"Seventeen times!" The Qiang replied unusually neatly.

The so-called money calculation is the property tax and the population tax, the former is called the calculation, and the latter is called the oral calculation, which should be collected once a year.

"Not too much." Gongsun Xun smiled and put away the knife. "You county guards really live up to your reputation......

"Stay!" Lou Gui on the side was dumbfounded. "Counting the money and collecting it seventeen times, how can it be said that it is not too much? The poor people are just living on a few acres of thin fields, and the money of more than 100 yuan becomes 2,000 yuan, so it is natural that the people will not have a good life, right? Can such a county guard be called a virtuous man? ”

"This county guard is really good." Gongsun Xun reluctantly corrected. "During the Wenjing period of the former Han Dynasty, the money of some counties was already counted five or six times a year."

"It's really good." Han Dang also echoed. "The inland counties have received seventeen times, which is too guarded as if there are not too many additional Qing officials......"

"That's not right, is it?" Lou Gui became more and more puzzled. "It's the collapse of the system, from one time to five or six times in a hundred years, and then to a dozen times in seventy or eighty years...... It's not going to be levied seventeen times, is it? ”

Gongsun Xun and Han Dang, and even a few companions behind him shook their heads and said nothing.

"I see." Lou Gui seemed to have woken up to something, and then suddenly wanted to draw a knife and point it at the Qiang Fu, but when he touched it back, he remembered that he didn't have a sword, so he had to dismount and point his finger at the other party and ask. "How many times have you added it privately in your township?"

"Ladies and gentlemen...... Heroes. "The villager who has recovered a little bit of his spirit is extremely aggrieved while coughing." This is not in terms of the number of times, but in terms of the amount. The number of households and population of a township is there, the number of households and population of a county are also there, and the same is true of a county! The county magistrate will not order the money to be counted several times at all, he only needs to meet the number of households and the population of the money, and the county magistrate is roughly like this, but when he comes to our township, he has to collect it himself, in order to make up the ......."

"You stop," Lou Gyu heard the question again. "Since the calculation of money is only relatively immediate with the household registration and population, why do you have to collect it seventeen times to match it? Isn't one time enough? ”

The villager glanced at Lou Gui, and was secretly helpless in his heart, how could he meet such an unsophisticated idiot? But although the knife was taken back, it was still in the hands of others, so this person still reluctantly gave the well-known answer: "Back to this young gentleman, this is because the number of households and population that can collect money is only one-tenth of that on the books, plus every time it is levied, it costs money and food, and it has to be sent up layer by layer of oil, so the countryside does not collect seventeen or eighteen times to make up the insufficient account, and if it is insufficient, the upper will give you a subordinate evaluation, and you can only go to the official to dismiss you......"

"You stay again!" Lou Gui, a scholar from the Wanluo clan, only felt that his three views had been refreshed. "This land of Hebei is densely populated, and the fields I see along the way are full of people, how can I say that the household registration is not enough and the account is eleven?"

"This young gentleman!" This countryman is really helpless. "It's not that the hukou is really insufficient, but that the hukou that can be collected is insufficient! A big family in the countryside, who doesn't know how many hukou and fields they have hidden, who dares to really collect their family's money? Hasn't it been like this for many years? Ordinary households, expropriated many times a year, and then bankrupt, can only sell their land to large households, becoming the vain of large households, and large households obviously have more people and land, but no one dares to really collect them, so they can only count the lost household registration money and then count it on other small people...... In such a hundred years, this money naturally changed from once a year to five or six times, then to a dozen times, and finally to the current seventeen or eighteen times...... Where are our remnants? It's really the world that has gone wrong! ”

Lou Gui was dumbfounded.

This is the logic of land annexation that corrupts the world! Rao has long understood the truth in his heart, but Gongsun Xun still couldn't help but shake his head again and again.

"That's not right!" Lou Gui was a man with brains after all, and suddenly reacted again. "Since you can be a villager, you must be a big family in this township, right? Whether it's concealing your household registration or not daring to come to the door, isn't there your own home? And after all, the township is a county official with rank, whether it is oil or money, it costs money and food, and you have a share, right? ”

The villager had already seen that these people were not really evildoers, so he was a little bolder: "This young gentleman is invited, I dare not deny what you said." However, why is my family in the township? It's nothing more than eating meat and we drink soup. Do you know that more than half of the land population in our county is a family, and the rest of the so-called large households are just a drop in the bucket compared to this family...... If you want me to say, as long as the family is willing to hand over the money normally, then the village people's annual money calculation is afraid that it will be directly changed to three or five a year! ”

Gongsun Xun next to him couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "The big family you are talking about, but the Zhen family I am going to be a guest this time?" ”

Qiangfu's face turned pale in an instant.

"That's it!" Gongsun Xun shook his head again, and then immediately bent down and stretched out his hand, pulling the other party up. "We are not evildoers, we frightened the township chief, but we are not waiting......"

"Don't dare!" Where does the countryman dare to say more.

"If you are frightened this time, where is the discomfort when you go back, please come to the Zhen family today or tomorrow to look for me, if you can't find me, you can go directly to Zhen Yi of the Zhen family......"

"Don't dare!" The countryman's face was almost as dead as ashes.

"What's not the case?" Gongsun Xunfu turned his head to look at Na Lougui again. "It's your family and my family, a Wanluo clan, a Liaoxi clan, can you be spared? The world is broken, no one is innocent, but my generation needs to be transparent in my heart! ”

"Taught." Lou Gui was stunned.

"Don't dare!" The villager actually bowed his head and begged for mercy.

"What's the matter with you?" Han Dang asked with a frown. "My young gentleman hasn't spoken to you anymore...... Besides, I held you hostage before, and you didn't kowtow when a few knives lit up, and now I'm going to let you go, why are you kowtowing again? ”

"I really didn't know that you were all children of wealthy families, and you were also friends of the Zhen family...... "This countryman kowtows faster." A lot of nonsense, and please don't take it seriously! ”

"I'm not a person who doesn't know the severity, you can go back with peace of mind, the anxiety of the officials in your township in the province." Gongsun Xun shook his head again and again, and then walked away, no longer caring what this villager thinks.

The group walked through the field again, and suddenly a crisp children's voice could be heard faintly in their ears: "I'd rather lose two thousand stones, and I won't lose everyone." Two thousand stones, go to my crown; Everyone, go to my head. Go to my crown, especially the first; my head, the crown doesn't exist! ”

When Lou Gui heard this famous nursery rhyme in the old days, he couldn't help but turn pale and shake his head again and again when he remembered what he had just heard.

On the other hand, Gongsun Xun also frowned, but what he thought was different-I am afraid that a large army will be raised in the land of seclusion in a year and a half, and it will be inevitable that this Jizhou will have to levy and distribute military rations at that time.

However, after thinking about it, he laughed at himself a little, if this battle can really alleviate the border troubles, then Jizhou will also benefit a lot, why should he be such a child? Moreover, instead of lamenting things that are beyond one's power here, it is better to think about how to take the opportunity to make some contributions, and then achieve one's long-cherished wish of 'striving to reach the princes in order to save one's life in troubled times' as soon as possible!

"In the past Han Yuankang years, Zhuo County had the surname Xigao and Donggao, and the county officials were afraid of it. After a hundred years, Taizu crossed Hebei, saw that the people's livelihood was difficult, and heard that the boy spread this old rumor on the side of the road, but he was stationed on the side of the horse, and he muttered for a long time. Lou Gui and Han Dang were on their side, but they avoided sarcasm left and right: 'The world is collapsing, and when heroes use force, you should be reluctant. Taizu reprimanded: "The fields are barren, the people are not happy, and they don't want to serve the country, how can they talk about themselves?" 'Gui, when you are ashamed, you are retreating. —The Book of Old Swallows, Vol. 1. Emperor Taizu Wu Benji

PS: I'm recommending it again, thanks to the editor, and the new book group, interested students can add it, 684558115.