Jincheng County was originally just a small county, there were only two subordinate counties during the Tianbao period, one was called Wuquan County, that is, the county was governed, and the other was called Guangwu County, the population of Jincheng County during the Tianbao period was less than 3,000 households, and the population was only 14,000 people, but after the Anshi Rebellion began, a large number of Guanzhong people fled westward, so that the population of Longyou area surged, and Tubo went eastward, and the Han people in the Hehuang area returned to the east, two major dynastic turmoil, so that the population of Jincheng County increased rapidly, and the population of Qingzhi ten years, the population has reached 70,000 households, more than 300,000 people, The number of counties has also increased from two to six.

Among them, only Wuquan County, where Jincheng County is located, has a population of more than 200,000, and the city has expanded again and again, and finally became the second largest city in the Helong region after Kaiyang City, starting from the end of the second year of Xuanren, with the first family in Longyou District Wei was sent out of the country, the political center of gravity in Longyou Region was officially transferred from Kaiyang County to Jincheng County.

The New Year's Jincheng County is particularly festive, on the eve of the Shangyuan Festival, the city is full of lights, the voices of the people are boiling, last year's grain harvest makes this New Year extraordinarily rich, you can see the smile of joy everywhere, but more people's faces are looking forward to the beginning of the land change in the new year, this is the hope of their survival, last year the myth of Hexi military households obtaining a large number of land can become a fact in Longyou?

The west of the city is a prosperous place of commerce, the streets and alleys here, all kinds of grade restaurants, inns, brothels, gambling halls and other service shops stand up, the business is particularly hot during the New Year, at noon on this day, the business of the Xihuang restaurant that is most close to the city gate is prosperous as usual, the three-storey hall is full of more than 200 diners, the Xihuang restaurant can only be regarded as a low-grade restaurant, its biggest feature is that there is no elegant room, and the three-story building is all the same color. There are 20 soft seats on each floor, which can accommodate more than 100 people to eat at the same time.

Most of the guests here are middle- and lower-class civilians, and there are also many farmers who go to the city to go shopping and shop, and after dinner, talking about current affairs has become a common feature in major restaurants, and there are five people sitting in a seat by the window on the second floor, and two old people who meet to have lunch. One was a long-distance muleman, one was a farmer who went to the city to buy oil and salt, and the other was a young man, according to himself, who worked as an errand boy in the county government. Originally, they ate their own meals, but as they chatted, they talked about common topics.

Their topic is the possibility of Longyou implementing the military household land system, and the topic was first triggered by the conversation between the two old men, both of whom thought that Hexi was feasible, but Longyou was not feasible, at this time. The farmer who had been eating like a storm and clouds listened to it, the more unpleasant it became. He finally couldn't help but slap the table and said angrily: "The two old men only said no, but they couldn't say a reason, when recruiting soldiers last month, the officers said that they wanted to divide the fields, so I let my son go to the army, what qualifications do you have to say no!" ”

His voice was so loud that it was like a broken gong, which made the whole hall laugh, and the two old men saw that they looked rude, and they didn't know each other, so they raised their voices and put themselves in an embarrassing situation. Both of them snorted contemptuously and ignored him, and the farmer punched him in the air, and couldn't help but blush and explain: "That's how it is, the army is also full of soldiers. It's all about fighting with their heads on their heads. Why do some people have land and some people don't? Isn't that unfair! ”

"Brother has a point!" The mule man next to him saw that the farmer's eyes were about to turn red, so he couldn't help but comfort him and said: "I have two younger brothers who got twenty acres of land when they were soldiers in Wuwei, and took my father and mother away, which are all real land, and I often go to Wuwei, where the people's hearts are stable after the implementation of the military household system, although Hexi is barren, but everyone can at least eat enough, this is a good system, why can it be done in Hexi, but not in Longyou?" I see that the two old gentlemen are frozen here. ”

At this, the mule driver smiled and pointed to his own land, and the people next to him laughed when they heard him say something funny, and the farmer grinned even more.

The two old men saw that the mule driver was even more damaged, one of them had a gloomy face and was silent, while the other couldn't help but say angrily: "The old man has lived for more than 70 years, what has he never seen?" It's okay for the kid to be arrogant and ignorant, and he hurts people, small

He wanted to say that he had checked out and left, but suddenly found that he hadn't eaten a few bites of the wine and food he wanted, and it was a pity to leave like this. ”

At this time, the young man who had been silent raised his hand to stop the old man, "Two old men, I'm here to treat you to this wine!" ”

He pointed to his table to the man who ran up and said, "Bring me three more jugs of wine and put them on my account!" The man agreed, and three pots of wine were sent in a moment, and the two old men saw that he was polite, and hurriedly thanked him: "Young man, this is not necessary, we don't know each other, how can we let you break the bank?" ”

"Well, a few jugs of water and wine won't cost much." The young man smiled slightly, picked up the wine jug and filled the wine glasses of the five people at the same table, and then took the wine glass and saluted the two old men and said, "I heard the old man say that he has reached the age of seventy, which is very rare!" I have something to ask, and I hope my husband will give me advice. ”

The two old men saw that he was bold and polite, and they had a good impression in their hearts, and they didn't know how many times stronger than the two rough people next to them, so they hurriedly picked up their wine glasses and smiled: "Young man, it's okay to ask." ”

The young man pondered for a while and asked: "This year's New Year, the government specially gave each old man over 70 years old three buckets of rice, ten catties of meat and consistent money, I wonder if the two old men have received it?" ”

"And the money?" The two old men looked at each other and said in unison: "There is only rice and meat, and there is no money!" ”

"No, it won't!" The young man confirmed again: "As far as I know, this is specially arranged by the new Jiedu envoy, will it be to give rice and meat first, and then give money in a few days." ”

"There was no mention of money!" The two old men shook their heads again and again, and then the farmer also said: "The government officials have also been to my house, and brought rice and meat to my father, there is indeed no money, but with rice and meat, we are already grateful, my father said that this is the first time in his life, and he does not dare to have too much extravagance." ”

Hearing that the old man had not received the money, the young man's face slowly darkened, and he held back his anger, glanced at the farmer, and suddenly remembered something. He also asked, "Your son is a soldier in the army, and his salary can be paid to his family on time?" ”

The farmer scratched the back of his head and grinned embarrassedly, "This, this is there, or where will I get the money to drink here?" ”

The young man's face paleated slightly, and he turned back to the two old men and saluted, and asked, "The two old men said that it is feasible for the military to make acres of land in Hexi, but it is not feasible for Longyou. Why is that? ”

One of the thin highland elders took a drink from his wine glass, and said with a slight smile: "Wuwei is a remote rural area, which is dispensable for the imperial court, and there are very few powerful people there. Therefore, we say that it is feasible to implement the military household land system because the imperial court will not take it to heart, and there is no resistance force, but Longyou is different, not to mention that acting without the consent of the imperial court is ultra vires, and there are many powerful landlords in Longyou, especially the four major families of Wei, Xin, Ma, and Li. Most of them have official backgrounds. Most of the land is also concentrated in their hands, which is related to their core interests, of course they will oppose it en masse, and the festival degree envoy has just arrived in Longyou, if there is no support from them, it will be difficult to last, so we say, it is difficult to be right in Hexi, which is what it means. ”

The young man was silent for a long time. He asked again: "According to the old man's opinion, is it absolutely impossible for Longyou to implement the military household acre system?" ”

The two old men shook their heads together, and the short and fat old man said: "Think about it, why was Zhu characterized as a Zhu bandit, in fact, he didn't hurt the interests of ordinary people at the beginning." Isn't it that he has killed too many powerful landlords? What is a powerful landlord? To put it bluntly, it is a famous family. Our Datang is now the world of the family, and I don't think that Zhang Jiedu will not think about it carefully. Moreover, the local government may not be willing to cooperate. ”

"But! But! The farmer was so anxious that his face was red and his neck was thick, and he shouted almost in a straight voice: "When they recruited the soldiers, they clearly said that they wanted to divide the land, so I sent my son to be a soldier, and now they don't give it, isn't it a lie?" ”

The young man suddenly smiled, pressed down on the farmer who was about to jump up, and comforted him: "Don't worry, although the two old men are reasonable, but after all, they don't represent the government, I think since you have been promised when recruiting soldiers, there will definitely be." ”

At this time, the mule driver who had been silent next to him saw that the young man was obviously talking to everyone, and remembered that he had said that he was on an errand in the official mansion, and the mule driver suddenly remembered something, so he couldn't help but interject: "This little brother, could it be that you are the wind picker?" ”

It is said that there are hundreds of people, all of whom are born in the military, specifically in Helong to visit public opinion, supervise magistrates, and have great power, which is equivalent to the imperial court in the left and right of the collection and supervision of the imperial history into one, the mule driver has come out, and the people who eat around are stunned, although the wind pick-up has not yet spread anything terrible, but after all, it is the people of the government, and the two old men are even more frightened. For fear of affecting his family, he begged the young man again and again: "We are all people who are about to enter the earth, please don't embarrass us." ”

The young man shook his head and smiled, "Where do you think you have gone?" If I were a messenger, would I say that I was on an errand in the government? Moreover, the purpose of collecting wind is to visit public opinion and supervise the magistrates, why are you afraid of them like tigers? ”

When everyone heard that he was not bad, they put down their hearts one after another, and they ate and drank again, and at this moment, a young woman's complaining voice came from the staircase, "Third uncle, I don't like this restaurant, go to the opposite one!" ”

Immediately, a middle-aged man's voice complained, "My aunt, who told you to be hot-headed and give all the money to the food, if I hadn't hidden a little bit, not to mention entering this restaurant, we would have to ask for food." ”

"It's not that you said that Daddy is in Jincheng County, so I scattered the money, who would have thought that Daddy would actually settle his home in Kaiyang County, you should be blamed."

"Forget it, forget it, let's eat first! I'm hungry. ”

These two people spoke very specially, and their voices were not loud, but everyone could hear them clearly in the noisy restaurant, and the lobby suddenly fell silent, and the two guys also looked at the staircase dissatisfied, wanting to see who they were in the restaurant and who were higher than the people who asked for food.

But a strange color flashed in the young man's eyes, he smiled and called Xiao Er, and asked him to put two more pairs of dishes and chopsticks next to him, and soon, the two walked up quickly, both of them were vigorous, and it could be seen that they were martial arts people, and in front of them was a young woman, with a mediocre appearance. But the figure is very good, with a small silver pan pinned to his waist, and a long sword on his back, which looks heroic, and behind him is a middle-aged man, also with a long sword, but he has a sad face. He followed the young woman as if she were following.

Needless to say, these two people are naturally Pingping and Third Uncle Lin, since the first battle of Xibao. Lin Pingping was brave enough to kill the enemy and get a reward of 200 taels of gold, and with this money, she took Uncle Lin to the Western Regions to play, and went west to Persia before returning, and only after arriving in Wuwei did she know that her father had moved to Jincheng County. This is coming in a hurry. After nearly half a year of travel and life, Ping Ping is obviously much more mature than before.

Xiao Er wanted to ask them what they meant first? Comparing their own restaurants with the places where they want to eat, it can be seen that they are all people who practice martial arts, and they swallowed back their anger, and greeted them with a smile and said, "You two, but come for lunch?" ”

"Didn't I come here to eat, did I ask for a debt?" Third Uncle Lin said angrily, thinking that Lin Pingping had made his own decisions and distributed more than a dozen yuan to the people who asked for food. He was depressed and panicked.

Ping Ping didn't speak, she saw the young man at a glance, looked at him with some incredulity, and muttered, "Eighteen Lang? ”

This young man is Zhang Huan, the envoy of Longyou Jiedu, and he is full of interest today. Come to the bottom to visit public opinion. Unexpectedly, he happened to meet Lin Pingping, and he waved to Lin Pingping with a smile. Motioned for them to sit down.

More than a dozen of Zhang Huan's personal guards were disguised as diners and mixed in the crowd, and one of them closest to Lin Pingping saw that she seemed to know the governor, and hurriedly reminded in a low voice: "Girl, don't reveal the identity of the lord." ”

Lin Pingping was stunned, she reacted immediately, smiled and walked in front of Zhang Huan, "Eighteen Lang, we haven't seen each other for a long time." ”

"Pingping, I remember, I still have a little bit of gold hidden in my shoes, otherwise I'll go to the other side

Lin Deqi rushed over, and suddenly saw Zhang Huan, he opened his mouth wide, and he couldn't close it for a long time, Zhang Huan smiled and nodded, "Third Uncle Lin, we haven't seen each other for a long time." ”

Without waiting for Lin Deqi to speak, Lin Jiuhan next to him dragged him over, "What do you want to eat, I'll treat you!" ”

"Huh! Then you're welcome. Lin Deqi immediately left Zhang Huan behind, he rubbed his hands and smiled: "Let's have two pots of good wine first, and one plate of each of the store's signature dishes." ”

"Sit down!" Zhang Huan moved a little to the side and gave up a seat, at this time, the farmer and the mule driver had already eaten, settled the bill and left, while the two old men kept looking at Zhang Huan with suspicious eyes, they just found out that this young man actually had a lot of entourage, and all of them seemed to be extremely powerful characters, he was definitely not a picker, so who was he?

Pingping sat down, she took a pair of chopsticks, picked up the wine jug and filled herself with a glass of wine first, and poured a glass for Zhang Huan, she picked up the wine glass and smiled: "I just heard about it, congratulations." ”

Saying that, she drank all the wine herself, picked up another bowl of rice, and ate it first, Zhang Huan took a sip of wine, he silently looked at this junior sister who grew up with him, they have been separated for two years, although they have not spoken a few words, but Zhang Huan has clearly felt that Lin Pingping has changed, and the stupid and small girl in the past has disappeared and become a little strange.

"Pingping, where did you go after the First Battle of Huixibao? I asked the master and the master, but they didn't know. ”

Ping Ping quickly finished eating, she poured herself another glass of wine, picked up the wine glass, stared at the hops in the cup disappeared, and said with a faint smile: "I went to the Western Regions with the third uncle, thank you for your concern!" ”

You Zhang Huan wanted to ask her why she didn't get married yet, but she felt a little abrupt, so she changed the topic and smiled: "Then what are your plans in the future?" ”

"I don't know." Lin Ping smiled lightly, "Let's just go!" When you are tired of walking, find someone who likes you and marry. ”

Zhang Huan was also silent, the two didn't speak for a long time, Pingping glanced at him, and suddenly smiled: "Why do you grow a beard, I don't even know you anymore." ”

"You know what? I'm a daddy. ”

"Really? Congratulations, come! I'll toast you again. Pingping smiled and picked up the wine jug, poured him a glass, and poured another glass for himself, Zhang Huan was quick, pressed the wine jug, stared at her and shook his head slowly: "You used to be a drop of wine without touching the ground, and now you have only sat for a while." I've already drunk four glasses, which is not good! ”

Lin Pingping didn't speak, she raised her head and smiled proudly after a while: "What is this?" When I was in Persia, I met a group of Persian men who deceived me into being a Han woman, and I drank a glass of wine to kill a person, and drank eighteen glasses of wine in one go. Kill the eighteen villains cleanly, that's the joy!"

Speaking of this, she put the flask down and smiled, "But Eighteen Lang won't let me drink it." I won't drink it. ”

Zhang Huan didn't say anything more, he stood up and arched his hand to the two old men, "The two old men have extraordinary opinions, I thank you here." ”

The two old men had vaguely guessed that Zhang Huan was very likely to be a high-ranking official who was petitioning the people, they didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly stood up to return the salute, Zhang Huan looked at Ping Ping again and smiled: "Since you came to Jincheng County." Of course, you have to go to my house for a few days. Cui Ning also mentioned you two days ago, and it just so happened that you came. ”

Hearing that Cui Ning was also there, Ping Ping nodded happily and agreed, "I haven't seen her for a long time, so I'll look for her." ”

She glanced at the two old men, and suddenly showed a mischievous look in her eyes, and arched her hand to Zhang Huan: "Thank you Zhang Dudu for inviting me to drink!" ”

With that, she grinned, turned and ran downstairs. Lin Deqi also hurriedly followed, and the two old men looked at Zhang Huan dumbfounded, their legs trembling, and they saw that they were about to kneel, Zhang Huan's eyes were quick. A handful of them held them up. He smiled bitterly and said, "The two old men don't have to be polite, I will never disturb the two of you in the future." Take care! ”

He turned around and went downstairs, and when he walked to the street, Lin Pingping had disappeared, Zhang Huan shook his head, and his uneasy heart quietly fell, thinking that Pingping had completely become another person, until the last moment, he found that she still maintained a childlike heart.

"Governor, where are we going now?"

Lin Jiuhan reminded Zhang Huan with a question, and his face sank and said, "Go and stab Shi Yamen!" ”

Jincheng County is different from Wuwei County, it is not a metropolitan governor, so it is the same as the states and counties in the interior, there is a complete set of civil official systems such as Thorn History, Long History, Sima, etc., Jincheng County Thorn History is still Du Ya, this Jincheng County parent official has not changed because of the change of Longyou, he is still conscientious to deal with every government affairs, there is a major event, he will still send people to report to the court in time, and at the same time, he will strictly implement every decree issued by the court.

This is the difference between Longyou and Hexi, Hexi is only a county of Wuwei, the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, Zhang Huan appoints officials as he wants, the court may not know, even if he knows, he will turn a blind eye, but Longyou is completely different, the magistrate here is still appointed by the imperial court, although he can interfere in some government affairs, and he can also impeach the magistrate to the imperial court, but the imperial court still has a strong control over the locality, Zhang Huan really completely seized the land, in fact, there is only one military control.

Since he did not enter the cabinet in the court, he can't even have the right to recommend officials like Wei Ge, he doesn't have it yet, and Wei Ge actually controls Longyou through family members as local officials, Zhang Huan does not have this condition at present, in fact, he really wants to completely turn Longyou into his own territory, and there is still a long way to go.

This is also the fundamental reason why the imperial court can tolerate Zhang Huan but not Zhu, Zhang Huan seized only the interests of a family land, and did not violate the interests of the imperial court, and the army of other places did not break the upper limit of 140,000, and Zhu completely trampled the interests of the imperial court under his feet.

Duya had just returned from the Yellow River, and when he heard that the Yellow River was thawing, he was afraid that it would form a flood, so he rushed to inspect it.

"Hurry up, please come in!" Du Ya put down the teacup and walked out quickly, he saw Zhang Huan's uncertain face from afar, and his heart sighed! All of a sudden, I don't know what happened.

He smiled and welcomed Zhang Huan into his room, and asked the waiter boy to pour tea, and when Zhang Huan sat down, Du Yacai smiled and asked, "What did Zhang Yuanjun encounter?" ”

Zhang Huan snorted and said coldly: "Let me ask you, a few years ago, I issued an order that all elderly people over the age of seventy should be given three buckets of rice, ten catties of meat and consistent money per person to support the New Year, why only rice and meat are distributed, but the money is not deducted?" Or the money has been allocated, but some people have intercepted and embezzled! ”

"That's what happened." Duya picked up the teacup and slowly sucked it and said with a smile: "There is nothing to intercept corruption, this is not the money I have approved." ”

Zhang Huan stared at him tightly, and only after a while did he ask word by word: "Why didn't Du Tingshi approve it?" Could it be that Zhang's order is dismissive?"

"It's not, it's all serious." Du Ya felt the murderous intent in Zhang Huan's eyes, and he hurriedly explained: "If I don't take the governor's order to heart, I won't send rice and meat, but I also have difficulties!" ”

"What's the difficulty?" Zhang Huan asked urgently.

Du Ya sighed and said: "I have roughly calculated, there are 6,500 people over the age of 70 in Jincheng County, that is, 6,500 yuan of money will be used, but according to the laws of the imperial court, more than 5,000 yuan in the official treasury can be used at one time, and it must be reported to the Ministry of Household for approval. ”

Speaking of this, Du Ya hesitated for a moment and then smiled: "Otherwise, let's be flexible, each person will send 500 wen first, and then 500 wen during the Cold Food Festival, so that it will be split into two and become two sums of money, and I will explain to the household department." ”

"Don't bother Du Tingshi, this money will be paid by my Liangzhou Governor's Mansion!" Zhang Huan replied coldly.