"It's so unusual, it's so unusual!"

Xu Yan complained to Wu Yan vigorously: "What do you see here...... What is the budget? This is a list of feasts, right? ”

Wu Yan was stunned when he heard it, why did it become a feast list? So I hurriedly picked it up and took a look...... Hey, it's really a feast list, and it has nothing to do with the budget at all.

"In this palace, the master of each palace is the same as said in advance, needless to say, the feast is not to be said, it is sent by the Ministry of Rites, and the sacrifice is not said...... It's just a lot of demand! Is it necessary to increase by so much? ”

Wu Yan roughly counted that the increase in the expenses of the harem alone has exceeded last year's level, especially the cost of fasting and Jiao. Generally, Zhaijiao Riguanglu Temple will prepare hundreds of food tables, and the tea and fruits used in Zhaijiao do not need to be scattered, but sticky, the sticky height of the two-foot plate is two feet, the lychee round eye needs to be used to more than 100 catties, and the jujube persimmon is more than 260 catties.

Not only is there a lot of fruit consumed, but these fruits are basically discarded after the Jiao sacrifice, so Guanglu Temple needs nearly one million catties of fruit cooking materials every year. And most of the concubines in this harem believe in Buddhism, and they take hundreds of thousands of catties of incense.

Wu Yan is very unaccustomed to this, and those women in the harem generally believe in Buddhism, you say that you are bored and like to do things...... Isn't it good to read some books and read some poems? No matter how bad it is, it's okay to embroider a purse, isn't the concubine's self-cultivation fragrant? Maybe the emperor will look at you differently.

"And that's not all! If you look at this budget: 11 Qianmingmen cats, 5 hedgehogs, 247 sheep, 53 Xihuamen dogs, 200 and 2 royal horse dogs, 3 tigers, 3 foxes, 1 tiger and leopard, and pigeon houses in Xihuamen and other places, a total of 35,900 catties of livestock and mutton, skin and bones, 360 pairs of liver, and 4,480 stones of mung beans and millet grains. There are also insect and ant houses and livestock for monkeys, leopards, eagles and dogs in Qinghe Temple and other places......"

Wu Yan secretly spoke, to be honest, this animal eats better than humans.

"There are no less than 8,000 leopards, eagles, dogs, etc., 37,800 catties of meat, 1,440 chickens, 3,960 chickens, 4,680 catties of jujube millet, and 7,776 stones of japonica rice and other materials......"

"Is it a lot more than last year?"

"It's doubled!" Xu Yan was so angry: "If you follow these lists, then the money of Guanglu Temple for a year is not enough to fill these expenses in the palace!" ”

Wu Yan knows what the people in the palace think, and he doesn't care about how the money comes from, he will only try his best to spend it, and he won't care about the wasted food, which may be able to keep many people alive.

She lowered her eyes and pondered, and then said with a smile: "Xu Weng, don't be in a hurry, I think this matter is easy to do, just present the list listed in each palace to Your Majesty." If His Majesty agrees to these excesses, then there is nothing to worry about, and there are no people who pay for them, they will stand up and speak anyway. ”

"Hey, that's what I mean......"

"In this case, it is better to strike while the iron is hot, and go and present it to Your Majesty now, so that his old man can see how much his harem can be......"

————

It is said that the masters in the Forbidden City are worried about spending money every day, and the four dimensions of Liuhe County, who are three thousand miles away, are also worried every day......

His anxiety comes from the uncontrolled skyrocketing land prices.

It's just that his anxiety is useless, and the price of land is still rising wildly and he can only watch. In fact, in the current Liuhe County, it is no longer the land that has risen wildly, but also firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea...... All of them are crazy price increases.

Fang Siwei was worried about the runaway land price at the beginning, but now, all the worries have become a reality...... But there was nothing he could do.

When he was distressed and unable to do anything, he received a letter from the county. This letter is a joint public submission (note) of the elders, squires, and students in Hexian County, and the weight of this public submission makes Fang Siwei can't help but pay attention to it.

It is said that the imperial power does not go to the countryside, why can't it go to the countryside? It is because the role of the county government is missing. But why does the county government lack its functional role in connecting the central and local governments? In fact, we have to start with how the elders and squires participate in local public affairs.

They represent the will of the people, reflect the collective will of the local society, and have sufficient ability to influence the central government's decision-making. This kind of public presentation is a 'presentation' and a 'suggestion' to solve the practical problems of the locality. The magistrate could not make a decision and could only submit the public to the request for ruling, and in this process, they only played a role in spreading the voice, but the real administrative ability was greatly weakened.

On the other hand, the county also needs the assistance of this kind of group that can represent the will of the people to jointly govern the local government.

In fact, not long after Fang Siwei received the name submission, he also received a plaque from the local squire. Unlike the Lian Name Presentation, the unveiling post is a type of exclusive use for the squire.

'The unveiler, the knower, the knower', the unveiling post is mostly used between the official documents of the government, and the squires are different from the common people and the students, they also have to maintain a kind of 'system', so it is often 'the public disclosure of the gentry', and the order of the gentry is presented in the public', and they will write different forms of official documents separately. The old man and the student even made a public presentation, and the squire even made a public announcement.

After Fang Siwei read both kinds of official documents, his brows still did not stretch, in fact, what was said in the two official documents was the same thing, but their respective purposes were completely different. Soaring prices due to soaring land prices have affected people's daily lives.

It is also because the speculation of capital participation in land prices has really affected the interests of the squires, who are the largest local landlords and the holders of preferential exemptions. In the traditional society, the land of large families is only in and out, and there is no such thing as selling land, but it can be mortgaged, and selling land is a ruined behavior for children and grandchildren.

Even if you sell land, you will never be able to sell it at a high point, and there seems to be no end in sight to the crazy rise in land prices, there is no highest, only higher.

Master Huang reminded Fang Siwei in one sentence: "Honor, it is better to gather the gentry and elders together to discuss the solution now, rather than asking for a holy judgment before the problem is solved." ”

"Master reminded me right, I really should convene it, and invite some more people by the way, I think the place will be in the county Confucianism."

The master should go down, and soon write to the whole county, and discuss the land price issue.

Two days later, in Confucianism, the hearing convened by Fang Siwei was being held, presided over by the master, and the people who participated were not only the elders, but also some students, as well as representatives of the squire.

Fan Xiucai is also among them, he can be regarded as a vested interest, but he is also an ordinary person, it is impossible for the soaring prices not to affect his family and life, and he has this experience, people seem to be more thorough.

The Hao family also sent the clan elders, but it was not the father and son of the old man Hao, and the identity of the Hao family was particularly special, because they were not only landlords, but also local nobles, and the leaders of local merchants.

Gu Jue also came, he was invited to come, after all, Liuhe is a huge racecourse, and its influence should not be underestimated, and he can also be regarded as the representative of Fulai Pavilion and Wu Yan.

Fang Siwei looked around, his perceptive eyes swept over everyone present, and took their expressions into his eyes one by one......

It is undeniable that he is very intelligent and talented, but what is the feeling in his heart at this time? Perhaps a deep sense of frustration was hitting him...... He has always been smooth sailing, and for the first time since he became an official, he has experienced what powerlessness is.

Seeing that land prices are soaring, prices are also soaring, and the south gate used to be a prosperous scene, but now it is showing a decadent atmosphere. In the two largest markets in the city, East Market and West Market, both the shops and the common people are complaining......

He still doesn't understand how all this happened. It's like being in the dark, knowing that there is danger somewhere ahead, but you can't even find the way.

A squire offered a suggestion that the tax department should first postpone the processing of the deed, that is, suspend the conversion of the white deed to the red deed.

Was this helpful? Fang Siwei couldn't help but doubt: "Master Hu, how do you understand this?" ”

"The county lord, the meaning of a certain one, to suspend is to delay for a few days, as if the buyer and seller signed the contract document at the tooth shop, and the money has been delivered, then the rest is to pay the deed tax, and then the yamen issues the deed end, this whole process is completed, and the transfer of the land is completed. Nowadays, land sales are frequent, and this law may be able to curb the price of land, which is changing every day. ”

"But......" Fang Siwei understood what he meant, but he still felt that something was wrong: "If you sell the field house according to the law, you will be flogged fifty, and half of the price of the field house will still be recovered and the official will be ...... The problem is that it is impossible for the yamen to deliberately delay and not apply for the tax deed? ”

"So it's like putting a spoonful of cold water on boiling water, for example, it's like pouring a scoop of cold water on boiling water......."

"Master Hu, I'm afraid this method is inappropriate...... someone interrupted him.

Everyone followed the prestige, and it turned out that it was Fan Xiucai who opened his mouth.

"Instead of delaying the army, it is better to directly increase the deed tax silver, and in the past, it is better to directly raise it to four or five points, or higher, so as to suppress the transaction, wouldn't it be more effective?"

"Eh, this method is very good," the master couldn't help but nod in praise.

Fan Xiucai pondered for a moment, and then asked: "County lord, Xiaosheng has always had something unclear, why don't you take this opportunity and ask the county lord to solve Xiaosheng's doubts." ”

"Fan Xiucai, please speak," Fang Siwei replied.

"That's the case, Xiaosheng has always had doubts about the official land in the county of the horse farm, although the price of the tenant land given is extremely generous, but Xiaosheng has also understood something, 200 taels and one mu in exchange for 70 years of tenant rights, so it may not be generous to calculate......"

Gu Jue's face turned cold when he heard this: "Fan Xiucai, what you are discussing today is the price of land, but you are mentioning the racecourse at this time, what is your intention?" ”

Fan Xiucai smiled slightly, not intimidated by his aggressiveness: "Of course, Xiaosheng is not here to question what is wrong with the tenant price, but in that piece of official land, there is a piece of land that used to be the official field of Confucianism and social studies in the county, and the silver collected in the field every year is used to supply the expenses of the two schools......"

"So what!" Gu Jue frowned fiercely.

"It stands to reason that Confucianism and sociology are all for the children of ordinary families to study, since their existence has this meaning, then when the horse farm tenants this piece of land that was originally a sub-grain official field, the income from the land belongs to Confucian sociology? I'm afraid not......"