Gao Mingheng had been in Qixian for three days, and he met with the officials and gentry who had come to complain, and listened to their appeals, but he did not accept their petitions.

County office, back hall.

"Su County Order," Gao Mingheng asked, "When General Li and these gentry forcibly requisitioned grain, did you know?" ”

This is the back hall, which is used to talk about some secret things, that is to say, Gao Mingheng is here to talk to him about this matter, that is, to discuss with him. And he didn't accept the pleadings of those gentry, which shows that Gao Mingheng did not intend to take this case.

So Su Jing had a bottom in his heart, nodded and said, "Xia Guan knows." ”

"And what do you think?" Gao Mingheng asked curiously. He had served two terms as the county magistrate, but he didn't have the courage to offend the gentry and officials in the county.

Su Jing arched his hand and said: "Presumably, Gao Xunji also knows that there is a drought and locusts now, and the harvest is not good. Moreover, these gentry and officials all paid less through various connections, or even did not pay taxes or pay for servitude. However, there is a fixed amount of taxes above, and they can only be paid to those yeoman peasants, and there will be various other additional taxes and contributions, and the burden on the peasants is getting heavier and heavier, and many of them simply abandon the land and run away. If there is no one to farm, naturally there is no way to collect taxes. However, whether the court is a captive or a thief, there is no need for food and salary, and there is no way to humble it. ”

Gao Mingheng nodded and said: "These situations do exist, but there are too many interests involved, and no one dares to tell His Majesty about this situation, and no important minister dares to make up his mind." In the same way, His Majesty wanted to ask Xun Qi to come up with some money to sponsor the soldiers' salaries, but it was also unsuccessful. It's hard, no one wants to take out what they have in their hands. ”

Su Jing asked in surprise: "Could it be that the relatives ~"

Gao Mingheng waved his hand and said, "Don't guess, just do your part." ”

"Xia Guan knows." Su Jing said in horror. After wiping the sweat from his forehead, he spoke again: "It's just a county, and there is no powerful family here, at most, it is about to be the director of the engineering department." However, Director Huang has already sent a letter, and he has acquiesced to Mr. Li's behavior, and will not use other methods to solve it. ”

"Well, it's good that there are no high-ranking officials." Gao Mingheng nodded and said, "If these people are involved, even if they are relatives of these people, it will be troublesome." ”

"Xia Guan knows the severity," Su Jing said lightly: "When Li Jiang was going to do this, Xia Guan thought of this layer, so he asked him to do it." ”

Gao Mingheng smiled: "That's good, then I'll rest assured." I won't take this case, you can handle it yourself. ”

Su Jing hurriedly bowed his hand and thanked: "Xiaguan Xie Gaoxun pressed back the grace of protection." ”

Gao Mingheng waved his hand, let Su Jing get up, and sighed: "As subordinates, you and I can only do this for Your Majesty and the imperial court." If you can keep a county safe, you can keep a county safe. ”

Su Jing also nodded and said, "Xiaguan thinks so too." Fortunately, Li is always loyal and righteous, and the soldiers are very well trained, and he just defeated the attack of tens of thousands of people from the giant thieves 'One Dragon' and 'Yuan Laoshan' some time ago. These two giant thieves beheaded Gao Yuanheng, the defender of Guide, and also defeated Zuo Liangyu's 5,000-strong army that went to Guide, which is really lucky. ”

"And Zuo Liangyu's troops?" Gao Mingheng frowned and said, "How could his troops appear here?" ”

Su Jing shook his head and said, "This subordinate doesn't know." ”

Gao Mingheng didn't ask anymore, and it was useless for him to ask. Governor Li Xianfeng should still be blocking in Dengzhou, isn't he also back to Kaifeng now? Now the world is really declining, and discipline is not in place, especially the generals, who are becoming more and more lawless.

Gao Mingheng opened his mouth and said: "You call Li Yan and ask him to send someone to Suizhou to see if there are any thieves and how the public security situation is." My next stop is going to Suizhou. ”

Su Jing hurriedly persuaded: "Think twice, Suizhou is not safe." Although 'Yuan Laoshan' and 'Yilong' were defeated, their strength was not greatly damaged, after all, General Li always did not have a few cavalry and could not pursue the thieves. ”

Gao Mingheng nodded and said, "Well, that's why I asked Li Yan to send someone to take a look first." ”

After waiting for half an hour, Li Yan came to the county office.

"Why did it take so long to come?" Su Jing asked with a frown.

Li Yan clasped his fists and saluted, "I went outside the city to check the progress of the camp construction, but I couldn't come in time, so the two adults waited for a long time." ”

Gao Mingheng waved his hand and said, "Don't worry." Ben called you here to ask what you had to say about your forcible collection of grain from the gentry? ”

Li Yan said calmly: "There is nothing to say about the humble position. ”

"That is, you fully accept their accusations?" Gao Mingheng asked puzzled.

Li Yan replied with a smile: "No, this can't be considered an accusation, it's just a contractual relationship between us." They need my soldiers to protect their property, and my soldiers need food. So we signed a contract where they provided the food and I provided them with protection, and that's it. As for their complaint against you, it's just that they feel that their property doesn't need me to protect it now, so they want to get back the food they were given. Therefore, it is not the lowly office that is wrong, but the treacherous gentry and rich families. ”

"Huh? Hahaha. Gao Mingheng listened to Li Yan's explanation, was stunned for a moment, and then laughed and said, "This is your explanation?" Or do you think you're right? ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "Yes, I think it's very fair." They pay for food, and my soldiers pay for their blood and even their lives. But they don't want to give anything, they want their property to be properly protected, and I think everyone knows that they are doing the right thing. ”

Gao Mingheng said with a smile: "The truth is the truth, and the world is the world." If everybody were to act according to reason, it would be the rule of three generations in the book. But now is a troubled time, and it is still far from the prosperous era. It's good that you can have such thoughts, but after all, it's just hard work and trouble. ”

Li Yan arched his hand and said, "Xie Gao Xun according to the teachings." ”

"I mean, this is the only thing that happens. If you do it again, I won't be able to protect you. Gao Mingheng looked at Li Yan and said solemnly.

He attaches more importance to Li Yan's ability, and wants Li Yan to have a better future and make greater contributions to the imperial court, but he doesn't want Li Yan to have such dangerous thoughts. After all, he is also a person with industry, and he also has the selfishness to get benefits without paying, and people are the same. Once Li Yan's idea of fairness is put into practice on a larger scale, then all the privileged people will come to attack Li Yan, even if Li Yan is really a figure like Yue Wumu, it will inevitably be stormy.

Li Yan nodded and said, "The humble position has been recorded." ”

Gao Mingheng explained: "Okay, you send someone to Suizhou to take a look to see if there are any thieves there and how the defense is." ”

"Please wait for two days, and the lowly will be rewarded as soon as possible."