Fang Yingwu didn't want to get involved in the matter of requisitioning grain, and there were two considerations that he didn't say. One is that the past and the present are not comparable, he is a little afraid of his feathers, he doesn't want to worry too much about mundane affairs, and participating too much will reduce his character in the impression of others;

The second is to let the patriarch of the clan exercise his ability to deal with things, and he can't bother him with big and small things. What's the use of asking him to be the lieutenant? It's better for others to work part-time directly.

Two days later, it was a good day, and Fang Yingwu was studying in the courtyard. He now realizes more and more deeply that reading is the foundation of his life, and a preparatory show is just the starting point.

It was rare to have such a bright sunshine in late autumn, and Fang Yingwu hadn't finished reading a few pages of the book, when he suddenly saw the clan uncle running over with a sweaty head.

Before he got to the front, he heard him shouting repeatedly: "Little Xianggong! Big things are wrong! ”

Fang Yingwu asked a little impatiently, "What's the matter?" ”

"Although the autumn grain is not harvested for a while, it can be delivered in batches. Yesterday, I sent the first batch of tax grain to the county warehouse, but I was told by the county government officials that all the grades of my Huaxi fields had been changed from Zhongtian to Shangtian! ”

Ueda? Fang Yingwu was also surprised. Chun'an County is a mountainous county, the condition of the fields is very different, according to the county's tax rules, the fields are divided into three grades according to the degree of fertility.

The total amount of tax grain was set by the imperial court, and then it was divided into various levels of fields according to a certain proportion, and the taxes borne by the upper fields were higher, and the taxes borne by the lower fields were relatively low.

From the institutional point of view, this is to embody the principle of equal taxation, so as to avoid the disadvantage of paying the same taxes to the upper field and the lower field. Of course, the system and reality are not necessarily uniform, and the human factor in operation is another matter.

The fields in Huaxi are not good or bad, and they have been designated as Zhongtian since several decades ago, and they only need to pay taxes according to the Nakata standard. Why was it suddenly replaced with Ueda? That's not a good thing.

Specifically, the tax paid by Ueda in Chun'an County was one-third higher than that of Nakata, and the common people would rather lower the rank than increase it. Whenever the land is upgraded, there is only one reason, it is hacked.

Fang Fengshi was a little unmastered, and said incoherently in detail: "This time, I gave thirty-seven stones of regular tax grain plus a few consuming rice, and I thought that I would hand it over first to deal with the half-month limit."

Who knew that the little official in charge of the warehouse took out the field cadastral book, and said that my Huaxi field has been changed to Shangtian from this year, and I must pay taxes and grain according to the standard of Shangtian. ”

"Panic what!" Fang Yingwu said very calmly, and asked directly about the key place: "How much tax has been raised this time?" ”

"There are twelve more stones in the main item, and twenty-four more stones in the connection. Now a total of 98 stone of imperial grain has to be paid, and counting the cheap rice consumption for the county officials, at least 100 stone must be paid! ”

Fang Yingwu was silent, and made a simple calculation in his heart, from seventy-four stones to one hundred stones, which is not a low increase.

It may not seem like much to increase the tax grain of thirty or forty stones, but there are many people in Huaxi and little land, and five or six hundred people are guarding a thousand acres of land, and the grain can only be enough to eat, and it is a very worrying thing to pay more taxes and grain.

Fang Fengshi complained again: "How can the little minister think this is good? Those officials were like wolves and tigers, I reasoned with them in the county for a long time, and I was beaten, there was really no way. ”

Only then did Fang Yingwu notice that Fang Fengshi's clothes were torn in several places, and his face was slightly bruised, and it looked like he had really been beaten.

Things have come to this point, Fang Yingwu must think about it, and he can't ignore it. This is not only the face of Huaxi, but also the face of Fang Qingzhi, the top squire of Huaxi Village.

Internal disputes are just that, if the interests of outsiders are violated, and Fang Yingwu still leaves it alone, then it will be "people's hearts are scattered, and the team is not easy to lead". Ordinary people rely on the squire to be sheltered and have a backer, if you can't shelter, then who will listen to you in the future?

But where do you start? Fang Yingwu remembered another question, which made him puzzled.

The state dynasty strictly controlled the amount of taxes in the system, and the total amount of money and grain in the world was fixed in advance, and the amount of various places was also fixed in advance, and Chun'an County was no exception, which was a political principle set from the time of Taizu.

Localities can make a fuss about attrition, regular money, and other deviations, but they cannot increase positive taxes without authorization. If you openly increase taxes without the permission of the imperial court, you will be making a political mistake and will bear the reputation of being eroded by the upper echelons.

That is to say, if the three villages of Huaxi pay one more positive tax, then there must be other places in the county that pay one less, so as to achieve the effect of the overall unchanged positive tax in the county.

So who took advantage of this and paid less taxes? This question is important, there is a law in the detective world, and the biggest beneficiary is the biggest suspect.

Thinking of this, Fang Yingwu felt that he had grasped the context of the matter, and immediately asked Uncle Clan again: "Since you have gone to the county to pay grain, have you heard that there is a place where taxes have been reduced?" ”

Fang Fengshi carefully recalled, "This time I went to the county seat, and on the way I met people from Cixi, my hometown, and I heard that their tax grain this year was 20% less than last year. ”

Cixi? Cixi Hu family? Fang Yingwu completely realized, this is no need to guess at all! The truth is here, and the truth is the only one!

The cadastral books of the fields are in the county government households, and the modification of the field grade and tax amount must be passed through the household officials! With the strength of the Hu family, as long as you want to do this kind of thing, there is no doubt that you can probably do it!

The thoughts of the small officials in the house, Fang Yingwu can also figure out eight or nine without leaving ten. The Fang family, an emerging squire, doesn't seem to have a strong foundation, and it doesn't look so terrible and difficult to mess with. When you have the support of the Hu family, you can make some benefits by the way, which is not a big deal.

The Hu family has lost face here in the Fang family, whether it is actively lost or passively lost, they must find their way back, otherwise it will be equivalent to showing weakness.

Last time, they lost face in soft power, and they didn't have any good opportunities for a while, so it seems that they want to get back from hard power. Using hard power to make up for soft power, and reducing ten meetings with one force can be regarded as a way of doing things.

Its purpose is not only to get back on the field, but also to hit the momentum of the other family and maintain the façade of the old family.

And the timing was also good. Fang Qingzhi, the real pillar of the Fang family, went to the capital, no matter what the results of the exam were, he would not come back until at least April next year. At present, only a small child is supported by other parties.

For the Hu family, this time is the most haode opportunity. Otherwise, when Fang Qingzhi returns, the situation will only be more tricky than now.

Besides, Huaxi and Cixi both belong to Zitong Township, and it is only easier to coordinate the tax and grain issues in one township, and even the county does not need to be alarmed.

Hu family, Hu family, why did it come out again, the means are still good, Fang Yingwu sighed. This is a bit difficult to do, my grandfather has to clean himself up, and it is very difficult to resist by himself.

However, if the fire is not angry, it is easy to be regarded as bullying the elders, which is the sadness of the younger generations.

Fang Fengshi looked at Fang Yingwu for a long time and didn't speak, unlike in the past, when he talked and laughed, he was full of plans, he just stood there and thought about it, and his heart was even more bottomless.

He couldn't help it, and said loudly: "Little Xianggong, you can talk to the county lord, why don't you go to the county lord to talk about this matter?" ”

"That's not going to work!" Fang Yingwu denied it, how could he go directly to the magistrate for this matter? The magistrate is unlikely to help them out, this is purely self-deprecating.

First of all, this time the Hu family seems to be angry and angry, and every cautious person must consider it when facing this situation. Fang Yingwu didn't know whether Zhixian would lean towards the Hu family, but it was certain that he would not be inclined to the other side.

Secondly, even from the perspective of strength comparison, the Fang family's Xie Yuan has not yet been transformed into hard power, but the Hu family already has an old qualified high-ranking official in the court. If it is not handled properly, the boss will fold it up, and he Wang Zhixian may have to change places.

I don't know if there is a talisman like that in the Dream of Red Mansions this year, but if there is, the Hu family must be on the talisman in Chun'an County.

Third, no matter what the result is, there is not a lot of tax grain in the county, but it is just a question of who pays more and who pays less, and it will not affect the performance of the government. Therefore, there is no need for Wang Zhixian to stand out between the two sides, why bother thanklessly?

Xiang Zhu thought in his heart, maybe he would like the local squires to fight to the death, so that the local magistrates from outside the household can ride the wall on both sides and the fishermen benefit. If it was someone else, he would definitely have done it.

Moreover, judging from Fang Yingwu's experience in dealing with him a few times before, Wang Zhixian himself is an indecisive person, and it is not very reliable to put his hopes entirely on him. So it's better to rely on yourself.

"So what's the solution?" Fang Fengshi asked.

Fang Yingwu smiled, "You go to the village and order people, as long as you are young and strong, there are twenty or thirty people!" Come with me tomorrow! ”

"Then find more people, call the Wang family and the Cheng family, and gather hundreds of young people will not be a problem!" After hearing the main heart make up his mind, he gave an order, and Fang was ready to move.

"What do you want so many people for?" Fang Yingwu was surprised.

Fang Fengshi said impassionedly: "Although the Hu family is good at reading, they can't fight!" This time, the Cheng and Wang families also suffered, and the three families worked together, but I don't believe that they can't beat the Hu family! ”

Fang Yingwu smiled dumbly, and couldn't see that this clan uncle was quite aggressive. He almost forgot that in this kind of clan settlement, disputes between big families arose, and weapon fights were common, no wonder the clan uncle heard him summon the young man, and thought that he was going to solve the problem by force.

"You don't need these people, you just need people from my family. I want to go to the county, not to find the Hu family. "Fang Yingwu stopped the clan uncle who was preparing to make a big point in Huaxi.

Not fighting with the Hu family? Fang was inexplicable, "What do you want to do?" ”

Fang Yingwu replied succinctly: "Go and bully people!" ”

"Bully whom?" Fang was even more confused.

"Whoever bullies you in the county, we will bully you back!"

Fang Fengshi realized something: "You mean those officials? Is this okay? ”

Fang Yingwu said proudly: "Weishenme can't do it? I can't afford to mess with the Hu family, can't I afford to mess with these sluts? My father is also a master of Xie Yuan! ”

"Good idea!" Fang Fengshi was not completely incompetent, and he comprehended Fang Yingwu's thoughts.