Xu Liang was stunned, and asked strangely: "What's the matter, didn't the official report to the court after the vacancy?" ”

Huang Daozhou said: "Why didn't you report it?" It's useless to report, and no one wants to come to a chaotic and poor place like Zhenyuan. ”

Xu Liang sighed, and asked curiously: "Lord Huang, I remember that you are a Hanlin cultivator, how did you get here, did something happen?" ”

Hearing that Xu Liang finally asked about this matter, Huang Xiancheng, who was over forty years old, couldn't help but blush with anger, and said indignantly: "The traitors in the DPRK and China are in charge, and loyalty is difficult to survive. Three months ago, Xia Guan returned to the capital from his hometown in Fujian, and along the way, he saw that local officials took advantage of the opportunity of the court to collect grain, and after returning to Beijing, he handed over a fold to the Shengshang. Xia Guan also wanted to give the saint a wake-up call, and he didn't name him at all. It's hateful that I don't know which god I offended, and I was inexplicably sent to this place. Hey, Lord Xu, how did you get here after you were an official in Jianchang? Could it be? ”

Xu Liang nodded with a wry smile, sighed and said, "It's careless, let the villain calculate." The reason for this is not to be mentioned. ”

The group bypassed several depressed streets and came to the front of the Zhenyuan County Ya. Xu Liang's eyes widened suddenly, and he shouted in disbelief: "This, this is the Zhenyuan County Ya?" ”

Huang Xiancheng nodded with a wry smile and explained: "Before March, Zhenyuan fell, and thieves entered the city, burned and looted. Most of the important land in the dignified county was also burned by thieves...... Xia Guan later repaired some more. ”

This is really the most shabby county government Xu Liang has ever seen. The archway was demolished, only two piles of stone bricks remained, the outer wall of the county government also collapsed in many places, the re-built wall courtyard was only built to more than half of the height of the original wall, and the times were uneven, the previous section was a green brick, the latter section was a stone, and then it was likely to be a loess wall, into the front yard, there were only a few poor wings on both sides of the lobby, and most of the big trees in the courtyard were caught by fire, and only the black trunk was left standing alone, witnessing the ups and downs of this yamen.

The two scribes and seven officials from the Yazhong Office had already been informed that they had come to the front yard to greet the new magistrate who had come forward.

Xu Liang counted, sighed, and said, "Needless to say, there are only a few people left in the entire county government, right?" ”

"Yes......" Huang Xiancheng nodded.

Xu Liang didn't know what to say. waved weakly to let these people disperse, and let people take people to the backyard to find a place to settle the nearly 100 guards he brought. He took Huang Daozhou and Huang Ziren into the county hall.

The lobby is also in a dilapidated state. Fortunately, the desk is still there, and the plaque hanging high in the mirror is still hanging. Xu Liang sat down first, Huang Ziren also found a chair to make, Huang Daozhou looked left and right, moved the chair with the missing leg from the corner, and sat down carefully.

Xu Liang coughed lightly and said, "Don't talk about it, the situation in this Zhenyuan County is really beyond the imagination of this official." ”

Huang Ziren chuckled lightly and said, "It's beyond imagination, this county government is inferior to our Chenghuang Temple in Jianchang." ”

Zodiac Zhou smiled bitterly. Xu Liang glanced at Huang Ziren, and then said: "If you come, you will be safe." Lord Huang, you have been in Zhenyuan for more than three months, and you can tell me about the current situation in Zhenyuan County. ”

"Yes." Huang Daozhou arched his hand, thought for a while and said: "Zhenyuan County is under the jurisdiction of Pingliang Prefecture, under the jurisdiction of nineteen townships, at the beginning of the seventh year of the Apocalypse, there were more than 56,000 people, at present, there are still more than 3,000 people in the city, and there are less than 10,000 towns outside the city. ”

"What? In half a year, it has decreased by nearly 40,000 people? Where have these people gone? Xu Liang exclaimed.

Huang Daozhou sighed deeply, his face wrinkled into a twist, and said slowly: "Pingliang has been dry and rainy since the winter of the sixth year of the Apocalypse, since the beginning of the seventh year, there has not been a heavy rain, the land is not harvested, the taxes are heavy, the people are miserable, and the thieves from time to time make trouble, the people will not be able to live anymore, since the beginning of the year, the people in the county have fled to the grass, the grass has fallen to death, the starving, the sick to death, the killed, and the thieves have joined the ranks of the thieves to make trouble, countless...... In the end, it became like this. ”

Xu Liang listened, was silent for a long time, waved his hand and said: "There is no need to elaborate on these, Lord Huang will talk about the configuration of our county government." ”

"Yes." Huang Xiancheng thought about it for a while, and said: "Since the turmoil in this county, there are still two scribes in the county office, one person in the torture room and one in the workshop, seven people in the third class, two prison guards, sixteen soldiers in the inspection department, plus the lower officials, Zhenyuan County Cheng, a total of 28 people on the register. ”

Huang Ziren was happy and shouted: "I said Lord Huang, how can you call the county government, ordinary small households, and there are more than this number of families and nursing homes?" ”

"Why don't you make up for it?" Xu Liang frowned and asked.

Huang Xiancheng spread his hands and said: "It's not that you don't make up for people, it's that you can't make up for people." ”

"Hey," Xu Liang said in surprise: "There are still people in this Ming Dynasty who don't want to eat public meals?" ”

Huang Xiancheng glanced at Xu Liang and explained: "The reason why I can't make up for people is because there is no money in the county office. I won't tell you that since he took office, he has never received a penny. The Yacha at the bottom, Bing Yong, not to mention, has not been paid for half a year. ”

Xu Liang was stunned. He expected Zhenyuan to be poor, but no matter how poor Zhenyuan is, it is also a county seat, and the county yamen will not even have the money to pay officials and soldiers? This is no longer called poverty, this has reached a dead end.

"There is no money to pay, not only are people from outside unwilling to come to the county government to do things, but even the people who were originally in the county government are clamoring to leave and find another way out." Huang Xiancheng said again.

"If we don't have money in the county government, can't we go to Pingliang Mansion to borrow something?" Xu Liang asked.

"Go." Huang Daozhou said: "Lord Pinglianghong can't pay him there. ”

This, what a world! Xu Liang scolded secretly, thought about it, waved his hand annoyedly, and said, "Others can't count on it, we have to figure it out ourselves." In this way, Brother Ziren, you will pay two thousand taels of silver in a while, hand it over to Lord Huang, and pay the county government officials for a month's salary first. He looked at Huang Daozhou again and said, "Lord Huang, you can take the rest of the money to repair the outer city wall for the official." ”

"Okay." Huang Daozhou solemnly said that he had been here for more than three months, and he had no money in his hands, and now that Xu Liang could come out with two thousand taels of silver, then he would naturally be able to recruit people and repair the city wall.

Xu Liang nodded, pointed at Huang Ziren again, and said: "From now on, Huang Ziren will temporarily take the post of Zhenyuan Inspector, and the manpower of the Inspection Department is too small, at least four hundred people must be replenished." ”

"Yes." Huang Ziren grinned and patted his chest to reassure.

Huang Daozhou's lips moved, he wanted to say that Lord Xu's arrangement was not in accordance with the rules, he was a small county magistrate, and it stands to reason that he has no right to appoint a county inspector. But thinking that the inspection of Zhenyuan has been vacant for a long time, Lord Xu can arrange someone to temporarily replace him, and the so-called urgent matter is in power, so let's do it.

Thinking of this, Huang Daozhou hurriedly put back the words that were about to come to his throat.

Before Xu Liang finished speaking, he looked at Huang Daozhou and said: "Lord Huang, you pay attention to the official and look for a few people who are literate and hyphenated, preferably those who have a meritorious reputation in the county, and the official wants to ask them to do something first." If there is a grade, don't care about it first, at least the head of the house, and the officials who have no grade requirements such as the history of a county must make it up. Hmph, no one in the court came, so can't the official find it himself? ”

"Never!" Huang Daozhou hurriedly said: "My lord, it's okay to say that the head of this house is a county canon, and the history of that county is the court official appointed by the ministry, if the lord is also appointed, it will be a big mistake, and if you don't get it right, you will lose your head." ”

"Bullshit." Xu Liang scolded angrily, brushed his sleeves and sneered: "Lao Tzu arrived in this town and Yuanpo County to clean up this mess for the court, and his head was already tied to the waistband of his trousers. Lord Huang doesn't need to say much, he will do what the official wants, and if something happens, the official will bear it. ”

"But ......," Huang Daozhou said anxiously.

"Nothing!" Xu Liang said angrily. After speaking, he ignored him and got up and walked towards the backyard of the county government. There, Feng Suqin was directing the people under his escort to vigorously clean the houses and prepare to settle down.

"Your Excellency?" Huang Daozhou saw that Xu Liang was about to leave the county hall, and said again.

"What? Lord Huang still has doubts? Xu Liang stopped and said coldly.

"Well, no." Huang Daozhou wanted to speak and stopped, weighed it in his heart, gritted his teeth, and said: "Xia Guan still has something important to report. ”

"Say."

"The county government has been out of food for three days, and the granary is so clean that even rats don't want to visit it. If no more food is distributed, the people in the yamen will starve to death. ”

Xu Liang listened, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "Didn't this official just give you two thousand taels of silver, you won't buy grain if you have money?" ”

"My lord doesn't know that the grain store on Zhenyuan City Street has closed down five days ago and no longer sells rice."

"Don't even have any rice to sell in the grain store?"

"That's not going to ...... The lower officials thought that this must be a deliberate accumulation of rice by the grain store to raise the price of rice. "Zodiac.

Xu Liang suddenly jumped like thunder, pointed at Huang Daozhou and scolded: "The officials in the county government are fast, and the inspection department is all-eaten?" Can the dignified government yamen still let a few broken rice shops threaten? Huang Ziren! Go, take people to buy grain, and if you dare not sell it, even people and stores, all of them will be taken by Lao Tzu! It's the other way around! ”

"Yes." Huang Ziren ran out of the county hall with a cruel smile and shouted in the courtyard: "Little ones, do your job!" ”