Wu Mingkong turned his head to look and saw a man in an official robe, standing at the door, bowing and saluting.

He looked thirty or forty years old, his face was full of wrinkles, and he looked a little vicissitudes.

He is not tall, but very thin.

"You are Du Fangxiang?"

Wu Mingkong stared at him and said coldly.

The man in the official robe saluted again: "Exactly." ”

Wu Mingkong's eyes burst out with anger, snorted coldly, and said coldly: "You are guilty!" ”

Du Fangxiang raised his eyes and glanced at it, and when he saw Wu Mingkong's delicate face, he immediately lowered his head.

It's almost certain of your own guess.

This adult from Chang'an is His Majesty who paid a private visit to Weifu!

He took a deep breath, plucked up his courage, and said in a deep voice:

"The lower officials don't know where the sin is."

Hearing this, Wu Mingkong became even more angry, gritted his silver teeth, and said coldly:

"The imperial court allocates silver every year and sets up Salesian bureaus in various places to take in orphans and children, but what did this official see when he came to the Salesian Bureau of Anhua County today?

These orphans and children who should have been supported by the government are crowded in dilapidated houses, unclothed, eating and drinking and begging on the streets.

Since you feel innocent, tell the official where you have spent the money allocated by the court! ”

When Du Fangxiang heard this, he turned his head to look at the catcher behind him, and ordered:

"Go and get the account books of the yamen!"

The catcher was still thinking about what the adult in front of him was coming from, looking so young, he actually scolded the county magistrate with blood.

Hearing the order, he was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said:

"Yes, sir!"

Du Fangxiang turned his head, looked at the ground, and said in a deep voice:

"The imperial court allocates ten taels of silver to the Salesian Bureau every year, and the use of each of these ten taels of silver is recorded by the lower officials......

"Ten taels of silver?"

Wu Mingkong was slightly stunned, a little unconvinced.

She has a good understanding of the price of prices in Daqian, and knows that for a Salesian bureau that supports hundreds of orphans and children, ten taels of silver is just a drop in the bucket.

Du Fangxiang nodded and responded, "It's ten taels." ”

I saw that Du Fangxiang was calm and calm from beginning to end.

Wu Mingkong's expression was still cold, but his tone softened a little, and asked, "Why is it only ten taels?" But is it because of the exploitation of the government at all levels? ”

Du Fangxiang hesitated for a moment, and said: "As far as the lower officials know, the amount of money allocated by the household department to the Salesian Bureau is not much, and it is reasonable that there are only ten taels left in the county government. ”

After a pause, he said to himself:

"The Salesian Bureau is only set up in a few state capitals around Chang'an, and there is not much oil and water, so the lower officials don't think anyone will be greedy for this money.

Moreover, the lower officials thought that all aspects of the court needed money, and it was not easy to have ten taels of silver for the orphans. ”

When Wu Mingkong heard this, he fell silent.

After a while, she seemed to think of something, looked at Du Fangxiang, and said in a deep voice:

"If this official is not mistaken, the Salesian Bureau set up by the imperial court, and it will be equipped with about 100 acres of official land, and the output of these official fields is not enough for them to eat?"

Du Fangxiang smiled bitterly and raised his eyes to look at Wu Mingkong: "When the Salesian Bureau was first established, there was indeed a corresponding official field...... Now, decades have passed, and the original official land has long been annexed, but now there is not a single acre left. ”

The fields of a group of orphans can be better occupied than the fields of peasant households and military households.

Wu Mingkong took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said coldly: "Tell this official, who is occupying these official fields?" ”

Hearing this question, Du Fangxiang's face was solemn and fell silent.

Wu Mingkong snorted coldly and said coldly:

"This official doesn't need to think about it to know, it must be the local gentry of Anhua County! Don't you dare to say that it's because you received their benefits?! ”

Du Fangxiang was silent for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Anhua County is only half a day's journey from Chang'an, and the fields here and the gentry of this county dare not think a little. ”

Wu Mingkong stared at him and asked, "It seems that you know the inside story!" Why not! ”

Du Fangxiang lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing this, Wu Mingkong was almost certain that Dufang Township, as the county governor of Anhua, colluded with the gentry and turned a blind eye to the phenomenon of land annexation!

There was a touch of coldness in her eyes, and she said coldly:

"Don't say yes?"

"Someone! Drag down Dufang Township, Anhua Zhi County, and the rod is thirty! Hit it hard! ”

The voice fell.

The little beggars, who were trembling just now, suddenly became anxious, and cried:

"Don't hit Uncle Du!"

"Don't fight!"

Wu Mingkong was slightly stunned, looking at those little beggars, his eyes revealing incomprehension.

"He coveted your food and clothing, so why do you defend him?"

The little boy who was a little bolder before, with a crying voice, said loudly:

"After Uncle Du came, we had a place to live, a quilt to cover, and something to eat!"

"You're not allowed to hit him!"

The little girl on the side, while crying, stretched out her little hand full of frostbite and pointed at Wu Mingkong.

"Bad guys! I don't care about you! ”

When Du Fangxiang heard this, his face changed, he looked at the little girl, and scolded:

"Shut up!"

Wu Mingkong stretched out his hand and stopped him.

Squatting in front of the little beggar, he asked:

"You know this Du ...... Uncle? ”

The bolder little boy wiped his tears, looked at Du Fangxiang, and then at Wu Mingkong, and said with a crying voice:

"Uncle Du came last year, he let us stay here, got us clothes, and food...... Later he gave us bowls and taught us how to beg...... He told us that if we got food, we should give it to our brothers and sisters......"

The little boy said a lot in one breath.

Listening to this, Wu Mingkong's brows furrowed, he slowly got up, looked at Du Fangxiang, and said coldly: "You taught them to beg?" ”

Du Fangxiang lowered his head and said, "Yes!" ”

Without waiting for Wu Mingkong to ask, he explained:

"These children, except for a few who have no families since birth, most of them are abandoned and more or less sick.

The ten taels of silver allocated by the imperial court every year may not even be enough for medicine, let alone clothing and food......"

Speaking of this, Du Fangxiang raised his eyes to look at Wu Mingkong and continued:

"The tattered clothes on their bodies were collected from all over the place, and the lower officials' money could only barely feed their families, and occasionally gave them some food, which was already the result of frugality......

If the lower officials want them to live, in addition to sending some people who are not sick to big families or inns and workshops, the only way to let them beg is ......"

Wu Mingkong's eyes showed a flash of flickering, and it took a while before he calmed down and asked, "You are the magistrate of the county, the parent official of a place, and you are so downcast?" ”

Du Fangxiang listened, laughed at himself, and said slowly:

"Adults don't know, the same county, but the income is not the same, some counties can earn thousands of taels a year, or even thousands of taels.

And some magistrates have a salary of 22 or 90 stone a year, but they can't even afford to hire a teacher, so they can only teach ...... by themselves after the value is scattered."

Talking and talking.

He seemed to think of something, lifted his official robe, exposed the inner lining, and laughed at himself: "The clothes on the lower official's body are all sewn and mended by the lady, and they are worn and worn." ”

Wu Mingkong looked at his patched clothes and fell into a long silence.

I don't know how long it took.

There was a rush of footsteps in the courtyard.

The catcher went and returned, holding the account book of the Anhua County Ya in his hand.

"My lord, the account books have been fetched."

"Hmm."

Du Fangxiang nodded, stretched out his hand to take the account book, turned to a certain page, and presented it with both hands.

"Your Excellency, please look!"

Seeing this, Lin Wan'er stepped forward to take the account book and presented it to Wu Mingkong.

After Wu Mingkong stretched out his hand to take it, he looked at it carefully from top to bottom, and indeed did not find any problems.

She put down the account book and took a deep breath, a deep sense of powerlessness rising in her heart.

After a while, Fang calmed down, looked at Du Fangxiang, and asked:

"You haven't told the official who annexed the official field that originally belonged to the Salesian Bureau?"

Hearing this question, Du Fangxiang lowered his head again, still not saying a word.

Seeing this, Wu Mingkong said in a deep voice: "The official is so young, and he is from Chang'an, I think you can also guess the identity of the official, you boldly say, no matter who annexes the field, the official will support you!" ”

Du Fangxiang was still silent, and only after a long time did he say:

"The fields that can be annexed in Anhua County have been annexed decades ago, and the lower officials have answered the question of adults, and it is meaningless."

When Wu Mingkong heard this, a trace of anger appeared in his eyes, and he said coldly:

"Can the old eucalyptus be turned over?!"

Du Fangxiang lowered his head and remained silent.

Wu Mingkong opened his mouth, and he wanted to say something.

Fang Xiu on the side walked over, patted her shoulder, and said softly: "Du Zhixian is right, this question is meaningless. ”

Wu Mingkong was slightly stunned, and raised his eyes to look at Fang Xiu, his eyes revealing a touch of incomprehension.

After a while, she seemed to realize something, looked at Du Fangxiang again, and asked in a trembling voice:

"What do you mean...... Those fields are all Huangzhuang? ”

The so-called Huangzhuang refers to the farmland directly operated by the royal family, which is generally operated by people sent by the palace, and the income is attributed to the emperor's internal funds.

In Daqian, Huangzhuang has been set up since the beginning of Emperor Wuzong, and has developed so far, there are 21 of them, almost all of them are around Chang'an Mansion, and there is one in Anhua County.

After all, it was for the emperor to do things, and it was common for the people in charge of the village to rely on their power, annex the fields, and exploit the peasants, and even if the local government knew, they did not dare to say anything.

When Du Fangxiang heard this question, he lowered his head and did not answer.

At this time, no answer is the best answer.

Wu Mingkong suddenly understood why he didn't dare to say who had annexed these fields.

Because the person who annexed is her ancestors and ancestors of Wu Mingkong!

"So it was so ......"

Wu Mingkong, who learned the truth, showed a flash in his eyes, and a deep sense of powerlessness rose in his heart, and he was at a loss for a while.

She looked at Du Fangxiang, who was thin and vicissitudes in front of her, at the little beggars around her, at Lin Wan'er, and at Fang Xiu.

Suddenly, it felt like the world was spinning.

His eyes were dark, and he fell into Fang Xiu's arms.