"It turns out that there was no evil tax before?" Xia Fan asked.

"Yes, this is something that only came out after Lord Hu took office, he said that evil spirits are becoming more and more frequent, and it is difficult to cope with the allocation from above, so he let the county people share the points. Eun Gong, can you talk to the big guy above, we really can't afford to pay this money......

In the end, the old man stood up tremblingly against the door frame, as if he wanted to kneel, Xia Fan quickly got up and supported him.

"I'll figure it out, you don't have to rush. By the way, when did the magistrate take office?"

"I remember it...... Ten years ago. ”

Ten years and eight years...... The difference is not far off, plus the later extermination tax, is this some kind of coincidence?

Wait a minute! An electric light suddenly flashed in Xia Fan's head, if he deduced according to this speculation, then wouldn't the stable days of the previous ten years be-

He picked up the bowl and took a sip of cold well water to make his voice sound less dry, "Do you remember how many Renzhi counties have been changed in Gaoshan County?"

"This ......," the old man hesitated, "I don't know about my father's generation, but in the past few decades, there should have been four or five." The short ones are three or four years, and the long ones are more than ten years. ”

"How long has the magistrate before Lord Hu been there?"

"It's quite long, maybe fifteen or six years. ”

Fifteen or sixteen years, isn't this a perfect connection with the frequency of evil spirits?

Xia Fan suddenly felt a chill in his back.

He'd been trying to find clues in anomalous cases or disappearances, but now he realized that the clues were just around the corner.

"By the way, do you remember the name of the magistrate......?

"Hui Engong, that adult's surname is Zhu, and he has passed away. ”

"How did you die?" Xia Fan asked subconsciously.

"I heard that he was entangled in something unclean and died of illness. ”

......

When the sky was reflected in the afterglow as a bloody orange red, Xia Fan returned to the inn.

In order to avoid omissions and misinformation, he deliberately visited several more families who had received financial assistance.

The answers were pretty much the same.

There is a strange correspondence between the frequency of evil and the timing of the turnover of local officials.

After settling the fox demon first, Xia Fan summoned the other companions to a side room and told him what he had heard from beginning to end.

After listening to the final narrative, Wei Wushuang gasped, his eyes widened in disbelief, "Do you suspect that Hu Zhixian has something to do with this?"

"It's just speculation at the moment, and I'd like to hear what you think. ”

"But there's really not been any major problems in the county—"

"It's a problem if there hasn't been a big problem," Wang Renzhi interrupted Wei Wushuang's words, "If you want to make a dozen lives disappear quietly, it will indeed be more convenient to have official cover." ”

"Where do you come from?"

"Shipped from outside!"

"Huh?" Wei Wushuang didn't expect the other party to answer like this, so he couldn't help but pause, "Lord Zhixian, what is he trying to do......"

"Isn't there a tax to eliminate evil spirits?" I think he just wants to make money from this!" Wang Renzhi patted Xia Fan on the shoulder appreciatively, "Heh, you are quite bold, I misjudged you before." ”

"But...... That's not really a lot of money. Wei Wushuang whispered.

"What, not much?" the prince of the Wang family raised his eyebrows.

"While listening to Brother Xia just now, I made a silent calculation in my heart. The extermination tax is only collected from the neighborhoods that have been attacked by evil spirits, and each household is ten taels of silver, and there are only about 300 households in a block, and the land can be sold at a discount, and the fields of the county magistrates can also be exempted from payment, and it is good that 300 households can collect 2,000 taels. In addition, he will also distribute this money to the families of the victims, and each person who dies can receive thirty-five taels, plus the hard work of errand labor and fast arrest, this set will probably be able to keep such a number after the county magistrate-" Wei Wushuang stretched out a finger.

"A thousand?"

"Almost, and that's a high estimate. ”

"That's all there is to it. ”

"Of course, it can't be said that a thousand taels of silver is a small amount-" Wei Wushuang glanced at Xia Fan secretly, "It's just that compared to what needs to be done, it's obviously not very cost-effective." ”

"What if he wasn't in it for the money?" Shangguan Cai said suddenly.

"And what else?"

"If you just ask for money, it is not reasonable to collect taxes uniformly, and instead of setting up so many ways to reduce or reduce taxes, it is better to expand the scope of apportionment and take a little more from large households. She drew half of her spear and slashed it lightly on the ground, "His purpose in setting this line is to push those who are nervous at hand into a corner, and at the same time not affect the majority of the county. ”

"What do you mean...... Fields?" Wei Wushuang quickly reacted.

"Not exactly, he wants both the field and the people, or rather, he wants the grain that grows in the field. Shangguan Cai raised the corners of his mouth slightly, "You may not know that there was a locust plague in Fengguo last year, which affected several states in the west, and everything that could be eaten was speculated to sky-high prices, and it has not completely subsided this year, so that riots have occurred in many places." And something similar happened seven or eight years ago. ”

"Where did you hear this news?" Wei Wushuang said in surprise, his family was a grain seller, and he didn't know anything about it.

"There is no shortage of well-informed people in Gyeonggi, if you can find them. She spread out her hands, "Of course, at this time, if you want to resell grain, you are killing yourself, like your family, it doesn't make a difference whether you know it or not." The only thing that can be sold at a high price is uncounted private grain, and there must be a channel to transport it to Fengguo. A small magistrate is estimated to be just a participant. ”

"I don't think either of them are the main motivations. ”

Xia Fan listened to everyone's speeches before speaking slowly.

"What do you think?" Shangguan Cai asked with interest.

"Gao Jian is not counted, but the magistrate of the county more than 20 years ago did not mention the tax on eliminating evil spirits, and locust plagues cannot occur every year. Xia Fan looked around at everyone, "But at that time, evil incidents were still frequent, so we might as well think about things simply." ”

"Simplicity means ......"

"Someone instructed, bribed, or required the magistrate to do so, which already includes risk compensation, and the only difference between Hu Zhixian and his predecessor is that the former is more greedy. ”

His summary caused a brief silence in the room.

"That...... Brother Xia," Wei Wushuang cleared his throat after a while, "After saying so much, after all, it is just everyone's speculation, without actual evidence, no one will believe us, and if we say it, we are suspected of slandering the officials of the imperial court." ”

"That's right, but at least we have the direction to investigate further. Xia Fan stood up, "The next thing is to find out the flaws of the other party!"

"You already have an idea?"

"That's right," he decided, not giving the other party a chance to composure, "tomorrow a day will know the result." ”