Now that the Chinese New Year's Eve is approaching, the army training has not been lightened in the slightest, and it is different from the past, but the meals are much better.

Zeng Guofan's biggest problem in training the Hunan army was the army's military salary, and in order to raise military salaries, he had a lot of trouble with local governors and local officials.

Yang Lin has no power and no power, and it is difficult to raise money and food, and now that the end of the year is approaching, he came back from the inspection warehouse and looked at the money and food in the army.

Although the sneak attack on the ancient city of Yunshan seized 3,000 taels of silver and 1,000 taels of grain, after the expansion, there were 1,000 Pengzhou soldiers, as well as more than 400 displaced people who cultivated in tun, more than 1,000 mouths a day, and more than 100 meters of more than 20 taels of silver were needed every day, but until now, the government's grain has not arrived.

Seeing that the year was approaching, Yang Lin couldn't stay any longer, and on this day he hurried on the road with the cavalry team, crossed the Jialing River by boat and entered the city to the Zhizhou Yamen, and saw rows of sedan chairs in front of the yamen from a distance.

Seeing Yang Lin arrive, Menzi stepped forward and said, "Master Yang, Lord Zhouzun is discussing with all the adults, or you wait, or you should report it to a small one." ”

The guard Wu Dazhu pushed the other party and scolded: "Ungrateful thing, if it weren't for the master, you would still be suffering under the hands of the local thugs, get out of the way." ”

Menzi didn't dare to resist, shouting while blocking in front, just not letting everyone drive straight in.

The two guards in front opened the way, and Yang Lin came to the lobby despite the obstruction of the officials, and saw from a distance that Xu Kongtu and a cadre of officials in Zhizhou were discussing.

Seeing Yang Lin standing with his head held high, Wang Guangxian, the official next to him, said: "Ruzhen, Lord Zhouzun was originally going to invite you to come, but I heard that you couldn't get out of your day and night training, and everyone was hesitating, I didn't expect you to come." ”

Yang Lin arched his hand, raised his head and asked Xu Kongtu, the head of the Zhizhou: "Xu Zhizhou, the last general came here this time to discuss with you about the money and food of the Pengzhou soldiers."

The governor and the Daotai lord personally promised, and the official document is here, I Pengzhou military establishment one, each person has six quintals of rice per year, and the military salary is raised and provided by the local squire.

At present, most of the three counties of Pengzhou have been recovered, and each market has sent 1 security chief and 2-3 officials, and all the collected business endowments are sent to the army except for personnel and administrative expenses.

Xu Zhizhou, I have been training for more than a month, and now it is the New Year's Pass, there are not only more than 1,000 elite soldiers under my command, but also 400 soldiers and displaced people, so you have no money and food for such a long time, you say, what should I do about this? ”

Zhizhou Xu Kongtu's face was flushed, purple and red, and he held back the anger in his heart and said: "Mr. Yang Qian, this official is an official of the imperial court, and he governs the place on behalf of the saint.

You have also been a Pengzhou magistrate for two months, of course you know that Pengzhou has just suffered from the scourge of local riots this year, and now some local disdainful people are resisting donations and taxes, and the government has not collected money and grain to this day.

Heaven does not fall to the ground and does not give birth, since the money and food cannot be collected, what money and food do you want the old man to give you? ”

Yang Lin pressed his hands on the hilt of the knife, and said with a smile: "I thought that you knew that the lord of the state was so forgetful, that I had served as a judge and was an assistant official, and I had also acted for state affairs for several months.

Pengzhou has been hit by local violence this year, some people are living in hardship, and they can't pay money and food, but during my acting state affairs, as long as the people still have food to eat, they can eat and wear, and pay more land and Ding Fu, how has the world changed in just one month?

When I was acting as the state minister, there was no one who resisted donations and taxes, so why is it that the whole state is resisting taxes today. ”

Zhizhou Xu Kongtu was quite annoyed, glared at Yang Lin and said: "Mr. Yang Qian, you actually have the face to ask, the official was trying to settle accounts with you, but you came over instead."

During the period of recovery, you sent people to various markets, to the entrances of various villages, to preach what to exchange business endowments for government apportionment, and said that as long as the government withdraws the right to collect commercial taxes from each market, it will no longer be apportioned in the future.

If the official dares to apportion, everyone should not pay.

This official asked you, these words are what you said, you were born as a local guard and the general manager openly interfered with local administration, can you be guilty? ”

Yang Lin laughed and said, "That's what I said, is there a problem?" This commercial endowment was originally set by Hong Wuye, it is a formal endowment of the imperial court, you do not levy commercial endowments, but forcibly apportioned them to ordinary people, you say, in the end, you violated the Ming law set by Hong Wuye, or yourself?

As for interfering in local administration, before you took office, I served as the judge of Pengzhou, and Pengzhou had just been regained as an assistant official, of course, I had to calm the people's minds, and these duties were within my duty, when would I interfere in local administration. ”

Xu Kongtu was quite annoyed, pointed at Yang Lin and said: "The manly husband spit on a nail, you openly declare that what is the exchange of business endowments for the government will no longer be apportioned layer by layer, in previous years, Pengzhou apportioned more than 10,000 taels of silver for money, but now it has been canceled by you, everyone has no way to live, you now pay this 10,000 taels of silver for these common people." ”

Yang Lin said with a smile: "The Pengzhou soldiers were newly built, and the governor yamen and the Daotai yamen promised the Pengzhou soldiers to collect commercial taxes in various markets in lieu of military salaries for military training. At present, the Pengzhou soldiers have only set up points in various markets under Xiangru County and Yilong County, but they cannot collect them at all in Yingshan and the three county seats.

In any case, you have to make up for my local business endowment, didn't you just ask me for 10,000 taels of silver, I will suffer a loss in these places, as long as you make up 5,000 taels, this is always okay, right? ”

Qin Mintang, the magistrate of the county, was shocked when he heard this: "General Yang, you are different from those big bosses, you are born to be reasonable, you must always be reasonable." Can these places collect five thousand taels of silver a year? ”

Yang Lin smiled and said: "Qin Zhixian, I am different from everyone, I was born in the city Peng (the manager of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States market, Tian Dan who helped the Qi State to restore the country) was born, of course I know the depths.

Everyone knows Shen Wansan's cornucopia, these are all cornucopias, as long as everyone is safe, a good year can collect seven or eight thousand taels of silver a year, I only need five thousand taels of silver now, it can be said that benevolence is the most righteous. ”

Everyone was silent for a while, and Xu Kongtu shook his head and said: "Yang Lin, the world says that you like to talk big, and a few small markets can collect so much money in a year, you are not collecting, you are robbing."

Yang Lin laughed and said: "Those who don't know are not guilty, you are just a nerd if you read too many books, you don't know the people's feelings and folk customs, you don't know the people's suffering, although you are a Zhizhou, but what face do you have to say about me?"

If you want to talk about robbery, in the past, you used to rob as a magistrate, not to mention those who have money, many people with four walls of the family sent people to tie them up and put them in prison, you say, are you robbing, or am I Yang Lin robbing?

Although I Yang Lin met the governor's yamen and the Taoist yamen to collect business gifts and train soldiers in the local area, but the eyes of the world are bright, how much the squires collected in the past, I collected a lot less, and the local people praised me for my benevolence, except for those squires who were fished and meat, who said that I robbed? ”

Xu Kongtu was extremely angry, but there was nothing he could do, so Li Shikai came out to mediate: "Ruzhen, if according to the quota you set that day, 1 bucket per mu of fertile land and 6 liters per mu of dry land, except for some farmers who have really suffered from the disaster, there is not much opposition at all.

However, last month, the prefect's yamen official document apportioned some expenses, so that two buckets of each mu of fertile land need to be paid, plus some government officials are clever and robbed, so it can't be collected at all. ”

Yang Lin smiled and scolded: "What Li Juren said is reasonable, it's not that I have any people in Pengzhou, but that you officials are corrupt and perverted the law, but that the money and grain are collected and the servants are cleverly grabbed, which arouses the anger of the people.

The one that pulls the sparse and the one that pulls, and it is natural for the people to pay money and grain according to the quota of the imperial court. ”

Ma Hongyuan, the magistrate of Yingshan County next to him, persuaded: "Having said that, the above meaning cannot be ignored." ”

Yang Lin turned his head and glared at Ma Hongyuan fiercely, and sneered: "The will of the above, the will of the above, the official is not the master of the people, it is better to go home." In the past few years, the grain harvest has been poor year after year, and this year has been subjected to local violence, you still have to obey the order, if in the time of Grandpa Hongwu, officials like you will not be stripped of the skin and daylily, and you will also be tied up by the local government to the Jinluan Hall to be disposed of by the saint. ”

The Ming Dynasty implemented the system of serving in different places, and most of the people in the county and the prefecture were people from other provinces, and they needed to govern the place with the help of local squires and officials.

Xu Kongtu and the others were very embarrassed, glared at the other party and said hatefully: "The old man said that, you Yang Lin kept saying that you had been acting in Zhizhou for several months, and now you are guarding the royal Qian, and you have the responsibility of assisting the government to collect money and grain.

Tell me, pour ecstasy soup on the scholars in the academy all day long, as if I, Xu Kongtu, were a big corrupt official, and I want everyone to guard against this and that. ”

Yang Lin sneered: "Whoever dares to apportionment to the people is a corrupt official, as long as he dares to corrupt the people's fat and people's ointment, of course, he is heinous, what is there to talk about?"

Consequences, what are the big consequences? I am doing the right thing, I am completely following the will of the court, what are the consequences?

As the saying goes, if you don't have a good name, you want to unload the burden and hand things over to me now, there is no basis for your words, as long as you dare to write it, there is nothing you dare not do. ”

Xu Kongtu sneered a few times, immediately wrote down the power of attorney, and threw it over, Yang Lin took a closer look, and it was written that taxes would be levied according to the prefect's yamen documents.

Yang Lin turned to leave, and everyone was frightened and ran up one after another, hoping not to interfere and cause trouble.

Yang Lin ignored it, turned around and stared at Qin Mintang of Yilong Zhi County and Ma Hongyuan of Yingshan Zhi County and said with a smile: "Both of them have seen it, since this Xu Zhizhou thinks that his talent and virtue are shallow, then he will be responsible as the general manager of the guard."

You go back and tell the security chiefs that according to the decree of the governor and the Daotai lord, all the necessary personnel expenses deducted by the local merchants will be sent to the army for military training.

You go and tell the chief of the security that the land is levied according to the laws of the state, that is, one mu of fertile land and one bucket of dry land, and six liters of dry land, and then I will send people to the various markets, and the villagers can be directly handed over to the local soldiers. ”