Quang Binh City!

Since Wang Mang said goodbye to Shangguan Ningxuan, he has strengthened his belief in his heart. vowed to eradicate all corrupt officials and corrupt officials, and return to the future.

When he came here, he dressed up as usual, made secret visits, blended in with the people, and inquired about the situation of the city from the mouths of the people.

However, it is clear that the world is as black as a crow, and the people have complained a lot about what the city lord of Quang Binh City has done in recent years. complained that the lord of the city refused to uphold justice for the people and favored the powerful and powerful.

After Wang Mang understood the general situation, he sighed and said: "Hey, the city lord is the foundation of the country. At present, corruption is widespread at the root, and officials and businessmen collude to compete with the people for profit. It can be seen that there is still a long way to go if we want to completely innovate. ”

----

He came to the City Lord's Mansion, saw the City Lord, and said straight to the point: "Lord Li Yuan, you must know what I want to do, right?" I have inquired about what you have done in your daily life, and what do you have to say about what you have done before? ”

Li Yuan, the city lord of Guangping City, knew what Wang Mang had done in Wei City before, and now that he saw Wang Mang come to the door to question, he was mentally prepared and had the right words.

At that moment, he knelt down and said, "Lord Wang is above, please allow the official to speak." ”

"You say!" Wang Mang said lightly.

Li Yuan replied: "Lord Qiyu, you also know the attitude of those wealthy and powerful people in the current dynasty. When several princes managed Qingzhou, the lower officials did not say that they were the great masters of Qingtian, but they did not harm the people much, and at least the basic food and clothing of most of the people were still somewhat guaranteed. If you don't believe me, ask the people again. Three or four years ago, how was Xia Guan.

Since several princes lost control of Qingzhou due to court disputes, the land of Qingzhou was in chaos, the emperor's order was not obeyed, and the major families took advantage of the situation to meddle in local political affairs.

Now in my Guangping City, how many of those wealthy businessmen take the lower officials in their eyes? How many of them don't have the support of big forces behind them? What do the lower officials want to do, and they can't look at their faces? If the subordinate officials disobey them, then the subordinate officials will only have a dead end. ”

When Wang Mang heard this, he nodded and said, "Well, there is some truth in what you said. Nowadays, many princes and magnates in the imperial court are interfering in local political affairs, exploiting the people, amassing wealth, and carving up the world.

I've inquired about what you've done in the past few years, and although you're not a good official, you're not bad to the extreme. Otherwise, where would you be destined to talk to me? ”

Li Yuan replied: "Thank you Lord Wang for your understanding!" ”

Wang Mang asked, "So for now, how do you plan to manage Guangping City?" ”

Li Yuan replied: "Lord Qiqi, before you came, I issued an order from the city lord to the major wealthy merchants, urging them to pay the taxes they owed before. And the lower officials have opened the granary and ordered the soldiers to distribute the grain to the needy farmers. Xia Guan knew about your arrangements in Wei City, so Xia Guan had already begun to implement them one by one. ”

When Wang Mang heard this, he asked again: "Those rich businessmen, what are the measures?" ”

"They are afraid to disobey the orders of the city lord of the lower officials, and they have paid back taxes one after another, admitting their past mistakes."

"Back taxes? Hum. I'm afraid they did it because of my power, right? When I left Qingzhou and went to the frontier, I was afraid that they would make trouble again. ”

"This...."Li Yuan looked embarrassed and couldn't speak.

Wang Mang pondered for a long time, and said slowly: "Li Yuan, in your opinion, how should I act now?" ”

"The lower officials don't dare to speak presumptuously." Li Yuan replied.

"You have something to say, but it doesn't hurt to say it, no need to scruple."

Li Yuan hesitated for a while, and then replied: "Lord Wang, according to the humble opinion of the lower officials, even if you go to a few more cities, it will be of little use, and the situation in other cities will definitely be the same as my Guangping City."

Now that the major wealthy businessmen have reached an agreement, the forces behind them have also unified their views, and they will not confront you for the time being. Therefore, if you want to settle this matter once and for all, and restore the prestige of the local officials, the only way to do this is to remove the forces behind these wealthy merchants. Otherwise, as soon as you leave Qingzhou, they will naturally take advantage of the situation again. ”

"I know that, too, but how easy it is to get rid of those people?"

Wang Mang got up and said: "Li Yuan, I don't care what happens in the future, but as long as I am still in Qingzhou for a day, you must be honest with me, seriously judge the case, and be your city lord well."

I will not allow any more unjust cases to occur in this city, nor will I allow a single citizen in the city to starve to death. If I leave here with my front foot, and you make trouble with your back foot, and continue to do mischief, then don't blame me for not giving you a way to live. ”

"The lower officials don't dare, the lower officials don't dare. The lower officials can assure you, my lord, that as long as those powerful rich businessmen do not interfere in political affairs and do not use the situation to embarrass the lower officials, the lower officials will definitely not deliberately embarrass the people. In addition, in your name, the lower officials have ordered the master to retry the previous unjust and wrongful cases and seek justice for the people. ”

"Yes, that's very good. Those unjust cases can be tried one by one, and the people can live a stable life day by day. After all, the road has to be taken step by step, and it is impossible to achieve it in one step. ”

After speaking, Wang Mang didn't stay any longer, and led the guards out of the City Lord's Mansion.

In this way, he visited other major cities in Handan County.

But obviously, whether it is those city lords or the rich merchants in the city, they are all prepared.

Therefore, before Wang Mang came, they honestly admitted their mistakes, paid back taxes, investigated grievances, opened warehouses to help the people, and implemented policies that benefited the people.

Now they have all reached a consensus, that is, when Wang Mang is still in Qingzhou, he will resolutely not confront Wang Mang and be a good citizen, so as not to end up dead. Wait for Wang Mang to leave Qingzhou, observe the situation again, and act at the opportunity.

For this situation, Wang Mang is also very helpless.

It is impossible to kill these corrupt officials and corrupt officials and rich businessmen who are bullying people at present. Otherwise, there will be a lot of revolt, which will cause chaos and the people will suffer even more.

The fact that Wang Mang confiscated the Zhao family gave other major wealthy merchants and city lords a deterrent, so that they did not dare to act rashly for the time being, did not dare to continue to do evil, and held their tails one by one and behaved.

Therefore, after Wang Mang dealt with the affairs of the Zhao family, the people of other cities in Handan County also lived a relatively peaceful and peaceful life. Previous grievances have been washed away, and previous humiliations have been smoothed and compensated.

Therefore, these people praised Wang Mang from the bottom of their hearts, hoping that Wang Mang could truly be the master and govern the world.

For more than ten days in a row, Wang Mang also visited all the cities in Handan County.

He thought that since no one could say what would happen in the future. It is better to do more things now when we can do something for the people. Try to let the people know what life is like without corrupt officials and corrupt officials, without rich businessmen bullying others.

In their hearts, we must first plant the seed of such a truly happy life. Save it for later to stimulate the seed and make it germinate and grow.

On the fifteenth day, Wang Mang returned to General Wuhou's Mansion and began to work on the affairs of the court.

(End of chapter)