Chapter Twenty-Seven: Pursuit

Xie Xiangcun said: "When I first came to Hangzhou, I saw a forest of restaurants and teahouses in the city, shops all over the street, exquisite houses, and busy traffic. But when I arrived in Taizhou, I saw that there were many people in the city who were begging for food, while most of the villagers in the countryside were in rags. ”

Qian Hongzuo looked at Xie Xiangcun suspiciously, he trusted Xie Xiangcun, but what Qian Hongzuo heard all day long was the praise of Wu Yueguo's wealth in the world, and as the lord of the country, he naturally listened to these words more pleasantly. So even though he likes Xie Xiangcun, it is somewhat difficult to accept the words that the people are poor when he tells him.

Xie Xiangcun did not stop talking because of Qian Hongzuo's displeasure, and continued: "Take the two old couples who rescued me as an example, they are from Wuyue and have ancestral land, but because the two sons have joined the army, they are old and unable to farm, so they have to hire displaced people to help cultivate, but they can't afford to pay their wages, and they sigh every day. They told me that if they didn't farm, they wouldn't be able to pay their taxes and they would be arrested and imprisoned, but they would be paid to hire someone to farm. They have little left of the previous year's income except for paying taxes. If this continues, there will be only one way left to sell their houses and land, and they themselves will become homeless. Only then did I know that Hangzhou was prosperous and prosperous because it was the capital of the country and was full of powerful and wealthy merchants. This is not the case in other state capitals of Wu Yueguo. ”

Qian Hongzuo was suspicious: "That old couple, shouldn't they see that you are rich, pretend to be poor, and deceive you into giving alms." ”

Xie Xiangcun said: "When they rescued me, I fainted in the carriage, not only the silver taels, but also the clothes were stripped of by the charioteer. They didn't need to pretend to be poor in front of me, because at that time, I was poorer than they were. They are really good people with the heart of a bodhisattva! ”

Qian Hongzuo was silent for a long time, and said: "Not only are they poor, but the treasury is also poor, otherwise they wouldn't even have any silver to renovate the fire-damaged houses for the forbidden army." Where do all those taxes go? ”

Xie Xiangcun got up and knelt on the ground, and said, "Holy Lord, the house of the forbidden army is important, but there is no worry about your life if you slow down. However, increasing taxes is related to the livelihood of the people, and cannot be careless. The head of the household department only said that it was difficult to make expenditures, but why it was difficult to make expenditures should be clarified and then consider whether taxes should be increased. ”

Qian Hongzuo hurriedly helped Xie Xiangcun up and said, "Aiqing doesn't have to be so heavy-handed, the Lone King will definitely act cautiously." ”

Xie Xiangcun bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you, Holy Lord." After the salute, he took his leave.

Looking at the background of Xie Xiangcun's gradual distancing on the nine-song corridor, Qian Hongzuo suddenly understood his mother's intention to ask Xie Xiangcun. Xie Xiangcun's own experience doomed him to resist increasing taxes.

Qian Hongzuo will inquire about Xie Xiangcun's situation and reply to Empress Dowager Xu. Empress Dowager Xu said happily: "Holy Lord, the mourning family sees that you like to have fun with Xie Xiangcun, lest you be ridiculous and playful." Now it seems that the mourning family is too worried. Zhuge Wuhou once said: The king should be close to the virtuous minister and far away from the villain, the saint, what kind of courtier do you mean by the virtuous minister? ”

Qian Hongzuo said: "A minister who is loyal and capable to King Gu. ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "These are important, but if a courtier does not focus on selfish interests and cares about the suffering of the people, he can hope to become a virtuous minister." And Xie Xiangcun can have such feelings at a young age, and he will accompany the king in the future, and the mourning family is very relieved. ”

Qian Hongzuo asked: "Queen Mother, the child will check all the accounts of the household department tomorrow and see where the taxes collected are used?" ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "Holy Lord, this is the first thing you preside. The mourning family will mobilize all the chamberlains and female officials in the palace who know the accounts to assist you. ”

A sense of pride in growing up is spontaneous in Qian Hongzuo's heart. Said solemnly: "Thank you Queen Mother." ”

The next day, the accounts of the household department were suddenly seized by the forbidden army on the order of the king, and the mansion of the head of the household department was also blocked by the forbidden army on the periphery, and no one in the house was allowed to go out. All the ministers, including Wen Minghui, the commander of the forbidden army, believed that the king was too eager to raise the cost of building the houses of the forbidden army in Luocheng, and the household department also said that it was difficult to pay for the expenses, which led to the king's anger and led to the seizure and inventory.

The officials of the household department were terrified, but they did not dare to disobey, so they had to hand over all the accounts for the past three years. Xu Wei, the head of the household department, regretted it even more, if he had known that this was the result, even if he demolished the east wall to make up the west wall, he would not have shirked the fundraising for the renovation of the houses of the forbidden army.

The practice of Wu Yueguo's three-day dynasty was terminated, because the king was checking the accounts with the chamberlains and female officials in the palace who knew the accounts, and checked the accounts in the main hall of the court meeting on weekdays. The king looked through the accounts on the dragon book case on the jade steps and gave various orders. Facing him was no longer the civil and military officials in the court, but rows of attendants and female officials sitting on their seats, constantly making calculations. The guards with knives in front of the palace didn't understand the accounts, but they still surrounded Qian Hongzuo.

For many days, Qian Hongzuo led people to check the accounts. When they left the Qinzheng Palace at night, the personnel were divided into men and women to rest, and the accounts were left in the Qinzheng Palace, guarded by Xie Xiangcun and other guards in front of the palace. Xie Xiangcun eats and lives in the Qinzheng Palace, and sleeps behind Qian Hongzuo's throne during the day. But at night, he stayed up all night guarding the accounts, and the perimeter of the palace was guarded by guards.

Dai Yun, the generalissimo of soldiers and horses, asked his daughter in the palace, Hoopoe Nan, to inquire about the situation of the audit. The hoopoe man was quite strange about his father's orders, and the king's account of the household department should have nothing to do with his father, who was in charge of the army. But since he was told, he had no choice but to do it. The difficulty is that the personnel who audit the accounts go in and out the same day at all, and she has no chance to ask privately alone. Otherwise, with her power, it is not difficult to ask what to ask for by scolding and beating each other. In desperation, the hoopoe man had to put down his body, prepared a lot of wine and food, and took the palace maid with him to visit Qian Hongzuo in the Qinzheng Palace.

When they came to the Qinzheng Palace, the hoopoe man and his entourage were stopped by the guards in front of the door, saying that they needed to report to the saint first and let the hoopoe man wait. The hoopoe man had to wait for the summons, but after a while, Qian Hongzuo, who was originally quite cold to her, stepped out of the Qinzheng Palace and greeted her in person. After the hoopoe man saluted, he explained his intention and said: "The courtiers saw that the saint had been working hard for the past few days and was very hard, so she prepared some wine and food to pay tribute to the saint. ”

Qian Hongzuo said: "Miss Dai bothered, I accepted the wine and food." After a while, the lonely king made a special trip to see you, so you can go back to the palace first. ”

With that, he turned around and entered the Qinzheng Palace. When the door opened and closed, the hoopoe man only saw a room full of people settling accounts, and accounts piled up everywhere, and nothing else could be seen.