The more respectful Liang Fu was, the more unsteady Liu Xiu was.

Let him lead him to check the county's household registration and acres roster, this person found a reason to shirk in every way, which made Liu Xiu even more suspicious, what was he afraid of?

Presumably, these officials have manipulated various rosters.

"Where's the master book?" Liu Xiu asked the officials behind him.

"The villain is here, please command the county magistrate." A middle-aged man dressed as a clerk hurriedly answered.

"Lead the way." The master book is not allowed to shirk, Liu Xiu directly ordered.

"This?" The master book was a little embarrassed, and squinted at the county man who gave him a look.

Liang Fu came quickly and arbitrarily, he must ask for instructions on everything, and he made decisions without asking for instructions, I am afraid that he will be settled after the autumn. Liu Xiu is gone, Lao Tzu is the county magistrate, the number one, no one listens to what I say, or I am too good.

"Why, can't this county summon you? Don't forget, this county is in charge of the agriculture of a country, who dares to stop it? "Liu Xiu became strong.

"The villain doesn't dare, I'll lead the way." The master didn't dare to offend the court officials.

If Liang Fu wears small shoes afterwards, then Liu Xiu, who is in a prominent position, can now remove him, a nine-rank sesame official.

It is self-evident which is more important!

Liang Fu also wanted to say something to stop him, but he didn't want Liu Xiu to raise his legs and leave, so the chief secretary and other officials had to follow closely.

"This is where the roster is kept." The chief bookkeeper led him to a storeroom.

Liu Xiu is a discerning person, and he saw the problem at first glance.

"How long has this warehouse not been cleaned, look at the door lock covered in cobwebs, and look at the door beam is full of dust." Liu Xiu was already very angry, and he didn't care about such an important file as the household registration field, and let it become moldy and rotten, saying that the key point constituted the crime of dereliction of duty.

"Liang Cheng, how do you do your work?" Liu Xiu's fire finally burned to the county Cheng Liangfu.

"The county public is angry, it is a dereliction of duty, he did not strictly control his subordinates, and he asked for punishment." Liang Fu was grabbed by someone, how dare he quibble.

Even if you are not convinced, you don't dare to say half a word.

The clerk opened the copper lock, and a musty smell spread from the house.

"Ahem", everyone couldn't help coughing.

The box was filled with various rosters, leaving Liu Xiu speechless, could this perfunctory attitude be more perfunctory?

What are these gongcao used to eat?

If you can't do this thing, what's the use?

Liu Xiu thought that it was imminent to build his own team.

Flipping through the bamboo slips casually, the bamboo pieces of these records have long been decayed.

This is true of many cabinets.

The main bookkeeper saw that Liu Xiu's face had changed, and he also said with sincerity: "The county princess is good, and the roster of the past three years is in the bottom box. ”

Liu Xiuyi said that when she opened the cabinet to see, the bamboo slips inside were well preserved, so she didn't get angry.

Liu Xiu picked up a scroll, all of which were bamboo slips written by Han Li.

As the official script of the Han Dynasty, Lishu was widely used in frequency and scope.

"In the first year of the emperor, there were more than 4,000 households in Jianyang County, with a registered population of more than 24,000 people and more than 120 acres of cultivated land; In the second year of the emperor, there were more than 2,000 households in Jianyang County, with a registered population of more than 10,000 people and more than 100 acres of cultivated land; In the third year of the emperor, there are more than 1,000 households in the county, more than 4,000 registered population, and more than 40 acres of cultivated land. ”

He also picked up a roll of registers, which recorded in detail the number of household registrations at the township and village levels, the name of the head of the household, and the amount of land owned by the head of the household.

Liu Xiu looked at this set of data, shocked, from the first year of the emperor to the third year of the emperor, the population and cultivated land decreased year by year.

Another key point is that the number of acres of land registered on the register can be divided into how many acres of land can be divided into each farmer.

Moreover, in three years, the area of arable land has been reduced by two-thirds, where has this land gone?

Liu Xiu vaguely felt that a huge corruption case was about to surface.

Of course, Yun said lightly: "I won't pursue it this time, if there is a next time, I will be severely punished." ”

Liang Fu and the officials breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, and at that moment they were really afraid that the new chief official would investigate to the end and involve them all.

How big is the stake behind this?

The large and small officials in Jianyang, the wealthy gentry and landlords, and the high-ranking officials of the first dynasty, who have a clean face?

Liu Xiu knew the seriousness of the problem, and after reading the household registration book, he thought about inspecting the county government grain depot and treasury, and did not want Liang Fu to resolutely veto it on the grounds that the two warehouses were usually sealed and must be sealed when they were opened.

I had to give up.

……

A relatively remote small village on the outskirts of Jianyang City, only three or five hundred steps from east to west, there are some low and dilapidated houses scattered around, a total of more than 20 households.

On the household register, there are more than 120 permanent residents, and there is a big difference between the field and the data.

Sure enough, there was a problem!

Liu Xiu stood at the head of the village, and as far as the eye could see, the village was deserted and overgrown, like a place that had been forever forgotten.

The impression is desolate and withered, and now it is a cold winter, the weather is cold, and it is snowing heavily, which makes the originally dilapidated village even more deserted.

There is not a trace of human smoke. It's scary!

"Uncle Wen, what a place, a place where birds don't!" Old classmate Zhu You complained.

I saw that the two of them had changed into wool coats, and protected their ears and necks tightly.

This ghost climate was first a widespread drought, and now it is encountering a cold winter that is rare in a century.

"I don't really know that there is such a desolate place in the world." Liu Xiu seemed to be talking to herself.

The person who came was Liu Xiu and his old classmate Zhu You.

In order to verify the actual number of acres of land for more than 1,000 households in the county, Liu Xiu called Zhu You early in the morning and went down to the grassroots level to visit and find out.

As a result, when I saw such a scene, I blamed myself and became even more angry!

This matter must be thoroughly investigated!

Walking all the way forward, not to mention the crowds, even the shadows of chickens, dogs, cows and horses can't be seen.

This is no longer your usual desolation.

Knocking on the woodwood from house to house, no one answered, until they reached the end of the village.

I saw a rickety figure in the snow, carrying firewood on his back, walking in the snow with difficulty, taking one step at a time and resting one step at a time, so tired that he had an asthma attack and coughed incessantly.

"Go and help." Liu Xiu shouted Zhu You.

Zhu You caught up with the old man in three or two steps, supported the old man with Liu Xiu, and took the bundle of firewood from the old man's hand.

"Uncle, will you be old this year?" Liu Xiu was afraid of the old man's ear, so he asked loudly close to his ear.

The old man understood, and smiled honestly: "Eighty and five." ”

"Who else is in the house?" At this age, if there are young adults in the family, they will never come out to do heavy work.

The old man's voice was a little sad: "It's gone, just me and Sun." ”

People in their 80s have to raise young grandchildren, and the difficulties can be imagined.