Tie Qiu's scheming is not too much, his surname is relatively straightforward, and when he saw that someone dared to be rude to Yue Su, he was immediately annoyed. Yue Su saw him raise the whip, afraid that he would make trouble here and affect the original intention of Weifu's private visit, so he hurriedly stopped: "Tieqiu, Hugh is unreasonable, quickly put the whip down." ”

"Yes." Reluctantly, Tie Qiu squeezed a word out of his teeth and slowly lowered the whip.

When the man on the other side saw this scene, he smiled disdainfully, snorted, and said: "Even if you know each other, you can see that you are people with some status, but what can you do, on the territory of Songtao County, you are not allowed to play prestige." Rules are rules, even if the emperor Lao Tzu comes, he has to pay this bridge tax. Boy, you can't cross the bridge, if you do, pay the money quickly, but if you do, don't be in front of the people behind! ”

"Since you're here, of course you have to pass, and ask this master to help calculate, we have to pay a lot of money in total." Yue Su is peaceful and authentic. Saying this, I have already made up my mind in my heart, and when I return to Tongren, I will see how I treat you.

The man raised his eyes and asked loudly, "Is there anyone else in the car?" ”

"There are three." Yue Su replied truthfully.

"Thirteen people, eleven horses, one cart, a total of seventy-eight Wen." Unexpectedly, although this man was rude, his arithmetic level was not bad, and he quickly said the numbers.

Yue Su thought to himself, "A carriage, with horses and carts, together it is twelve Wen, this guy can really calculate." It costs 78 yuan for us to cross a bridge, and there are not a few people who pass by this bridge in one day, and it is also a considerable income, but I don't know who thinks of this bridge tax method. ”

After letting Tie Qiu pay the bridge tax, Yue Su asked, "This master, brother wants to inquire, this bridge tax is collected by the county government?" ”

"Is this what you inquired about, pay the money and hurry up, don't get in the way here!" After the man finished speaking, he flashed to the side.

Yue Su nodded and crossed the bridge. Shen Aoyue pouted on the side and snorted: "The dignified and noble man is willing to be blackmailed by a gang of ruffians, if I had ...... before"

"You used to be just a rich lady, if you hadn't gone out with your father-in-law, you would have been abducted and trafficked if you were so beautiful." Yue Su said disdainfully, and then added, "It's not too late to know that you have to settle accounts after the autumn."

After getting off the bridge, I saw an old man in front of me, staggering on crutches, with a blanket on his shoulders. Yue Su had seen the old man cross the bridge before, urged the horse to catch up, went to the old man's side, turned over and dismounted, and said politely: "This old man is polite." ”

When the old man saw Yue Su riding a horse, he knew that he was a rich man, but he didn't expect this person to be so polite and polite that he could dismount when talking to him. The old man smiled kindly and said, "This son, you are very polite, I don't know what is the matter with the old man?" ”

"Dare to ask the old man if he is a local?" Yue Su said politely.

"The old man is a native of Dawang Village five miles away, and his son is doing some small business in Songtao City, and a few days ago he came to write a letter, saying that he bought a house in the city and asked me to go to the elderly. He was too busy to get out of business, so I rushed there on my own. ”

"Oh." Yue Su nodded and said, "I am a foreigner here, I came here to visit friends, and I crossed the bridge at the right time, but I was asked for bridge tax, these money are nothing, but I am very puzzled in my heart." I'm also a traveler, I've been to many places, and I've never seen anything like this, so I'd like to ask for a word or two. I wonder if the old man can know the reason? ”

"This son, don't you know that there are many places like this in Songtao County to collect taxes. From here into the city, there are five more cards along the way to collect taxes, and almost every town and bridge you cross has to pay taxes. Even entering the city gates had to pay taxes. The old man shook his head and sighed as he spoke.

"Why is that? The imperial court also does not have this rule, can it be said that the county order here dares to increase taxes privately? As soon as Yue Su heard that there were still so many cards on the road to collect taxes, his heart was even more angry. Suppressed the anger and said.

"This tax is not collected by the county magistrate, but by the regular members of the city. I heard that this relative outside the ordinary staff is an official in the capital, and even the county lord has to be afraid of three points. He blocked the road and set up a card to collect the toll tax, but no one dared to care, no one dared to ask. You can only pay honestly, and if you don't pay, don't think about it. In the past, some people stubbornly resisted and did not pay, but they were all taught a hard lesson, and they went to the county to complain, but the county lord did not accept it, and even if they went to Tongren Mansion, no one took the lawsuit. So everyone is now silent and paying their taxes. ”

"Isn't this toll tax collected by the Yamen? Then how did I just see an errand officer standing there at the bridge? Yue Su asked puzzled.

"Of course, the clothes of this errand are lent by the county lord to the regular staff, and I heard that every month, the regular staff will regularly give them to the grandfather."

"That's what I said." Yue Su asked again: "Uncle, do you know what the name of this permanent member is and where he lives?" ”

"Chang Xiu's name is Chang Xiu, but where I live in the city, I don't often go into the city and don't know, I guess the people in the city should know."

Changxiu! Yue Su remembered the name and said, "Thank you, uncle, I am still in a hurry to meet friends, so I will leave." ”

"You're welcome."

Yue Su got on the horse, and continued to hurry with Tieqiu and others, all the way to the county seat. The situation on the road, as the old man said, Lanhe Town is more than 50 miles away from Songtao County, but there are really five cards on the road to collect taxes. Yue Su endured his anger and paid taxes as usual, but in his heart he was thinking that if he dared to collect taxes from the government, the government would settle accounts with you. And they went into the city in the evening.

As usual, I found a small inn to stay in, settled the room, and everyone went to the front hall to eat.

When the meal was ready, Yue Su was just about to call Xiao Er and ask him about Chang Xiu, when suddenly four big men walked in from outside the door. The man who walked in the front shouted loudly as soon as he entered the door: "Tell your shopkeeper to come out and pay the money." ”

When Xiao Er saw these people coming in, he was so frightened that he shuddered, and hurriedly said, "Our shopkeeper is eating in the back, I'll call him immediately." With that, he ran to the back room.

After a while, the elderly shopkeeper walked out, and when he saw the big man, he nodded and said, "Master Chen, you are here." ”

"Nonsense, of course I'm going to come when it's time. Today is the first day of the new year, so I hurriedly handed over the peace silver, and I am still in a hurry to collect it in the next house. The leading man said loudly.

"Master Chen, the business of the small shop was really sluggish last month, and there were too few people who came to stay in the store, so let's see if you can be accommodating, otherwise you won't even have the money to buy vegetables." The old shopkeeper said in a pleading tone.

"If I am accommodating you, who will be accommodating me. You don't know Master Wei's temper, if you can't pay this peace silver on time, I'm afraid your small shop will not be safe. Dahan said coldly.

"Yes, yes...... I really don't have enough money right now......" said the old shopkeeper pitifully. But before he could finish speaking, he heard the big man say, "Then what do you mean is that you can't hand over the peace silver in full today?" After speaking, he picked up the chair on the side, and looked at the posture, as long as the old shopkeeper didn't pay the money, he would start smashing it.

"Wait...... Master Chen, please wait first......" the old shopkeeper said hurriedly. Then, he walked to Yue Su's table and said, "This guest master, you have also seen that the small shop is in urgent need of turnover now, I don't know if you can pay the store money in advance." ”

Yue Su has already seen what people mean, the so-called peace silver must be what modern people call protection money, it seems that this ancient underworld is much more powerful than the new society. He didn't want to make more trouble at this time, and said, "It's okay, the old gentleman just settles the accounts." After saying that, he gestured to Tieqiu and asked him to pay the bill.

After settling the account and paying the money, the old shopkeeper opened the counter again, took out a bunch of money from it, and together with the store money he had just gotten, held it in front of the big man and handed it over.

Dahan took it, counted the number, and said, "Count your acquaintances, let's see you next month." Brethren, go! With that, he took the people and walked away.

When the big men walked away, Xiao Er, who was still trembling just now, spat on the ground fiercely and scolded: "These bastards really eat people and don't spit out bones." He was indignant, and the old shopkeeper walked dejectedly to the back room.

Yue Su took the opportunity to take over the conversation and said, "This little brother, what is the matter with the peace silver that these people are talking about?" ”

Xiao Er said angrily: "What kind of peace silver, it is clearly a robbery." If they don't, they can smash the store. ”

"And this kind of thing, these people are too arrogant, don't you have a royal law in Songtao City." Yue Su said deliberately: "When I came, I paid a lot of toll taxes along the way, and I heard that it was collected by a permanent peripheral card, so this peace silver wouldn't have been collected by him, right?" ”

"It's not, the regular staff set up cards outside the city to collect taxes, but in the city, he is not the most horizontal. It was Wei Yuanwai who collected the safe silver, and his cousin heard that he was in the capital as a royal history, and he was very ruthless, so he couldn't afford to provoke Wei Yuanwai, so he could only collect road tax outside the city. But if you want to say the most horizontal, these two can't be ranked. The royal law you mentioned, it was all set up for the small people, and it was not close to the rich and powerful people at all, and the county magistrate was not allowed to listen to others. The more Xiao Er spoke, the more annoyed he became.

As soon as Yue Su heard that Chang Xiu, who set up a card to collect taxes, and Wei Yuanwai, who collected Ping'an silver, were not the most horizontal lords in the city, he immediately became curious and asked: "You said that these two are not the most horizontal, so which one is the most horizontal in your city, I just came from other places, and I want to do some business here and do some souvenirs to go back." But if you don't know the place well, if you don't have eyesight, you offend the big families in the city, and you're worried that you won't be able to return to your hometown. ”

"The guest is worthy of being a businessman, and if you can think of this layer, we are the most horizontal outside. I don't know what kind of road this fielder is, but I know that he is a big salt lord, specializing in selling illicit salt, and he is ruthless, and there is nothing he dare not do. Although there are people in the court outside the Changyuan and Wei Yuanwai, they are also afraid of the Tianyuan outside the Songtao City. Whoever wants to provoke him will definitely not survive the next day. ”

"It seems that your Songtao County is really mixed, I want to inquire more, what are the names of these Wei Yuanwai, Tianyuanwai, and Changyuanwai, and where do you live in the city? Hehe......" Yue Su smiled heartily and said, "Where their family lives, I can't get close to it even if I kill them." ”

The sale of illicit salt has been confiscated in all dynasties, and it is the same crime as illegal mining in Yinjiang County. Of course, Yue Su couldn't let it go.

"What you said is not bad at all, the descendants of these three families are very fierce, and you have seen it just now. If you accidentally walk to their door, people will look at you unpleasantly, maybe they will be in a bad mood that day, and they are very likely to beat you, and the beating will be in vain. No one in our city dares to approach these people's mansions now. Then, Xiao Er really told Yue Su in detail the name and address of the Songtao Sanba. In addition to Chang Xiu Yue Su, the other two, one is called Wei Gang and the other is Tian Chong.

Yue Su kept it in mind, and said: "If you open a store in the city, you have to pay the peace silver, and I, who go south and north to do goods, don't know whether to pay or not." By the way, how much do you have to pay for this store in a month, and the rest is enough to make ends meet? ”

"Those who came from other places to do goods did not pay the money, and Wei Yuanwai also knew that if he forcibly collected money from foreign merchants, who would come to Songtao to do business in the future, wouldn't the shops here have to close down, and it would be of no benefit to him. As for how much peace silver to pay, it depends on the size of the store, and the average store has to pay two or three dollars a month. Although this number is not small, it is not so bad that the shops in the city can only break their teeth and swallow in their stomachs, and the business has to be done as usual. Like our small inn, this small profit is thin, aside from food and clothing, and every month's safe silver, there is not much left, catch up with which month the business is sluggish, even the safe silver can not be paid, the old shopkeeper has to borrow. Speaking of this, Xiao Er looked very helpless.

Yue Su nodded slightly, rewarded Xiao Er with a handful of copper, asked him to go down, and then started to eat.

stayed here for one night, and the next morning, everyone went home, this kind of dirty place, Yue Su didn't want to stay for a moment. He has already made up his mind that once he returns to Tongren, he will punish these bullies and corrupt officials.

******************************************************

Turning back to Tongren Mansion, along the way, Yue Su no longer had the mood to play in the mountains and rivers, there were so many bastards under his rule, and in the long run, the people would be forced to rebel if they did not escape.

After a private visit for more than a month, this day, I finally returned to the mansion, and as soon as I entered the door, the golden cicada came out, and the steps were very anxious.

"Your Excellency, you're finally back." Jin Cicada took three steps and made two steps, and came to Yue Su.

"Jin Chan, what happened during this time?" Yue Su hurriedly asked. Then he said to Ruan Aoyue, Du Shi Niang and others: "These people are tired and tired, you go to the inner house to rest first, and I will go to the back hall." ”

After speaking, he didn't stay any longer, and went straight to the back hall, Jin Cicada followed, and when he arrived in the back hall, he closed the door, and Jin Cicada said: "My lord, something is wrong." ”

"What the hell is the big deal, you can tell me more."

"As soon as I arrived in Guiyang, I heard that An Bangyan had taken the lead in rebelling, commanding 20,000 troops, conquering Zunyi in one fell swoop, and the Quartet Tusi responded, and then sent troops to Guiyang, and now the army has 100,000 people, An Bangyan calls himself the king of Luodian. Mr. Zhang played against An Bangyan in Longli, and the two sides fought seven battles, winning and losing each other. At the end of the war, our army was short of food and salary, and the governor Li went to the imperial court to ask for more troops and salaries, but the imperial court was actively raising troops for Liaodong, and had no time to care about anything else, so he ignored Lord Li's urgency, and at the same time heard that the court officials were attacking Lord Li. In a fit of rage, Lord Li sent a letter to the court urgently with 800 li, asking Zhishi to return to his hometown, and the court gave an explanation, allowing Lord Li to retire, and ordered a man named Wang Sanshan to be the governor of Guizhou, and ordered Lord Li to stick to his duties before the new governor arrived. However, the government still did not pay salaries and salaries, and only allowed the local government in Guizhou to raise funds on its own. After Jin Chan finished speaking, he took out a large envelope from his arms and said, "This is the official document that Master Li asked me to forward to you." ”

Since the death of Zhang Juzheng in the Ming Dynasty, the treasury has gradually exceeded its means, and the imperial court under the pressure of military spending on the nine sides has been out of breath. Usually paid, layer by layer, mostly replaced by treasure money, in the hands of the soldiers, half of it is considered good, at the time of the war, if you are still so paid, who will give you your life. The front line is in an emergency, if the imperial court does not pay full salaries, if the army mutinies, Guiyang will not be guaranteed.

This is not unknown to the imperial court, but Liaodong is too close to Yanjing, and after weighing the pros and cons, it can only take care of Liaodong first. At this time, Nurhachi in Liaodong had built the capital of Shengjing, changed the name of the country to gold, swore to the "Seven Hatreds" to seek clarity, destroyed Fushun, and pulled out the river fort. Emperor Wanli couldn't sit still any longer, gathered heavy troops to prepare for encirclement and suppression, and in terms of food and salary, of course, he had to take care of this side. Therefore, the reply to Guiyang is to raise its own voice to solve the urgent need.

Yue Su opened the official document and looked at it carefully, the content written earlier was the result of the court's handling of the murder of the county mastermind. Ge Yong was sentenced to be beheaded all over the house, and Ge Zhidai was sentenced to death and imprisoned for seven years. Nie Gaochao, the former political envoy, was beheaded all over the house. General Lin Xiaofeng is a relative of Chen Weihan, and it is still unknown whether he was involved in the case.

After reading the verdict, Yue Su nodded slightly, and then continued to look down, the content was similar to what Jin Chan said just now, An Bangyan rebelled, the front line was tight, and the imperial court ordered Guizhou to raise its own military salaries. Tongren Mansion must raise 30,000 stone of grain and 30,000 taels of silver within two months to replenish military salaries.

"Thirty thousand stones of grain, thirty thousand taels ......of silver," Yue Su looked at it, couldn't help but groan, and muttered to himself: "So much, where can I raise it for a while......

"Jin Chan, you quickly call the master of the government office."

"Yes, sir." Jin Chan hurriedly went out and went to the public house to call the master book to the back hall.

The main bookkeeper's surname is Qiu, his name is Qiu Ju, and after entering the door, he first asked Yue Su for peace, and Yue Su asked directly: "Master Qiu, now that the prefect's yamen has an order, let the local government raise military salaries to fund the front line, how much grain is available in our treasury?" How much money is deposited? ”

"Lord Hui, there are 1,300 stone of grain and 1,600 taels of silver." Qiu Ju replied truthfully.

"So little?" I remember that when I was the magistrate of Guangxi County, there were nearly 1,000 stone of grain in the county yafanku, and there were more than 1,000 taels of silver. How can a government office be like this? Yue Su asked suspiciously.

"Back to my lord, our Guizhou is not a grain-producing area, and most of the people's grain is sold by Huguang rice merchants, and there are already a lot of stocks that can be used for emergency needs such as natural disasters. As for depositing silver, the previous prefect had repaired the government and paved the road before he became a magistrate, and the cost was really not small, and there was only so much left. ”

Yue Su smiled bitterly, and said that since ancient times, the former prefect can still repair the government and pave the way, whether it benefits one party or not, it will still be meritorious for the next office. He said: "Now the governor yamen has an order to ask for 30,000 stone of grain and 30,000 taels of silver for military needs, and the deadline is two months. We only have this little bit of food and silver, how can I explain it then? ”

"My lord, you are shrewd in handling the case, why did you make a mistake at this time, this kind of thing is nothing." Qiu Ju said lightly.

"Oh?" Yue Su's eyes lit up and asked, "Do you have any good ways to raise so much in two months?" ”

"This is not simple, the governor's yamen can be apportioned to the lord's head, and of course the lord can also be apportioned to the heads of the surrounding counties, give them a deadline of one month, raise silver taels and grain, and if it is not overdue, the lord will do them first. These people are usually the emperors of the soil below, and there are ways to get money, and within a month, they will definitely be able to raise it. ”

"Apportionment to them......" Yue Su's heart moved, but after thinking about it, he thought that he must not do this unless he had to, and he said loudly: "This government apportioned it to them, then who they apportioned it to, not all of them will fall on the innocent people." Even if this government doesn't want this black veil, it can't do such a thing that poisons the people. If the officials force the people to rebel at this juncture, wouldn't it be even more chaotic! ”

......Seeing that Yue Su was angry, Qiu Ju lowered his head and said in a low voice: "But if you don't apportionment to them, then what will you do...... Where are we going to get so much silver......

"Go down, let this house think again."

Sending Qiu Ju out, Yue Su sat behind the public case and thought about it, but he couldn't think of any good way to make money. He is not a person who can do business by nature, let alone make money, Jin Chan is also anxious to watch it from the side, but he and Yue Su have the same idea, they would rather not be this difference than put the burden on the people.

Yue Su was depressed, and walked to the courtyard on his own, and now that it was time for Shen, he looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "It must not be apportioned to the people, so where can I get the money......

He stood in the courtyard with a sad face, and Jin Chan also followed, seeing that Yue Su was worried, he couldn't think of a way, after thinking about it, it was better to go to Tong Xuan and they would sum it up, after all, Tong Zhou had been a head catcher for so many years, and there must be more ways than himself. He trotted all the way to find Tong Xuan, leaving Yue Su standing there alone.

After a while, Yue Su suddenly heard a woman's crisp voice behind him, "Lord Yue, why are you worried, it seems that there is something troublesome." ”

As soon as he heard a woman's voice, Yue Su hurriedly turned around, and when he saw someone coming, he immediately bowed down and saluted, "The lower official asked the county lord to say goodbye, but I didn't know that the county lord was coming, and I missed the distance to welcome ......."

The person who came was none other than Mu Tianjiao, the county lord of Muguo Mansion, she didn't wait for Yue Su to finish speaking, she smiled and said: "Lord Yue is polite, it was Tianjiao who asked his subordinates not to pass it on, take the liberty of disturbing, and please don't be surprised." Seriously, it's the first time I've seen Lord Yue so sad, I don't know what's going on my mind? ”

Yue Su smiled bitterly and said: "An Bangyan rebelled, the front line was urgent, and there was an urgent need for food, and the imperial court allowed Guizhou to raise it by itself, and the governor Yamen came with an official document to ask the lower officials to raise 30,000 stone of grain and 30,000 taels of silver. Xiaguan here, not even a fraction of the money, the people of Guizhou are suffering, and the government can't bear to bear the burden on the people, so I don't know what to do for a while. ”

"Adults really love the people like children, and would rather not have a future than increase the burden on the people, Tianjiao admires." This time, Mu Tianjiao did not call herself "Benjun", but called herself by her name. "But the front line is tight, even if you think about the people, you have to think of a way to deal with it, you must know that once you are defeated, the whole territory of Guizhou will be destroyed."

"The lesson of the county lord is that he really can't think of a way to do both things for a while." Yue Su shook his head helplessly.

"Don't worry, don't worry, the so-called rise and fall of the country, the husband is responsible, the sky is not talented, I am willing to donate 3,000 taels of silver to help the adults solve their urgent needs." Mu Tianjiao said sincerely.

"How does this make ...... The county lord ......"

"Lord Yue is polite, the lord is worried about the country and the people, and he avenged the blood and hatred for his late husband, and Tianjiao has not had time to repay it. This money, even if I do my best for the country, I just hope that adults will not dislike it. When I get home, I'll call someone to send it as soon as I get home, and don't shirk it. ”

"In this way, the lower official thanked the county lord on behalf of the people of Tongren." After Yue Su finished speaking, he took a deep look.

Mu Tianjiao followed and returned the salute. Yue Su followed and asked, "I don't know what happened when the county lord came?" ”

"I ......" Mu Tianjiao said today that she had come to say goodbye to Yue Su, and she received a letter from her father yesterday, mentioning that An Bangyan had rebelled, worried that Tongren would change, and asked her daughter to go back to Kunming to live first. But after she arrived, she couldn't help but be deeply moved when she saw Yue Su serving the country and the people, and suddenly she didn't want to leave. Since she was carried back to the mansion by Yue Su to solve the Gu, she had an unrelieved feeling of this young prefect. I also had the urge to tell my father to marry Yue Su, but in the end I couldn't muster up the courage.

Her face was slightly red, she paused for a moment, and said: "My news is also well-informed, An Bangyan has heard about the rebellion, and I know that the adults may have difficulties, so I came here to take a look." Sure enough, the adults were really worried about the military salary. ”