Sure enough, it didn't take long for two officials to collect taxes from stall to stall in the market. Each vendor politely offered the money. There was only an oil seller in his teens and a half, and for some reason, he reasoned with the two of them, but was slapped in the face.

"How dare you hit someone?" Seeing this, Shu Yan angrily wanted to teach them a lesson, but remembered that the purpose of his micro-service today was to learn more about the real situation, so he put up with it for the time being.

"Does Jun Cheng know who the oil seller is?"

"Look at his age, he is only a teenager. When I left Ruyin, this child was just born, how could I know him? ”

"Of course you don't know him, but you should remember his father. His father was Zhao Youlang, who sold oil. ”

"Zhao Youlang?" Shu Yan thought about it, there is indeed this person, who often met in this city at the beginning, and after the matter of the labor army, everyone is familiar with it. "His son came to sell oil, why didn't Zhao Youlang come?"

Zhao Youlang died of illness some time ago, and his son continued to do this business. This kid is new to the city, and he doesn't know the rules. Yesterday, the tax-collecting Si Shi took two catties of oil, but only threw away one catty of oil money, and this kid didn't do it, insisting on asking for two catties of money. Therefore, it offended the city. I guess I deliberately found fault today. ”

As he was talking, he saw that the two Sishi had finished beating the Zhao family Xiaolang, and they came to Bai Mizhang's stall, still scolding in their mouths. They didn't notice Shu Yan, but asked Bai Mizhang for five dollars as usual. One of them squinted his eyes, threw over two rice bags, and said, "Fill two buckets of rice for each of us, and come and get them before noon." ”

"Nono. Just come and get it. Bai Mi Zhang agreed respectfully.

Shu Yan couldn't help but ignore them, watching them leave, he just wanted to wait until the afternoon to see if what Bai Mi Zhang said was true. So he still stood next to Bai Mizhang's stall and reminisced with him: "There were many familiar people in the market back then, but most of them can't remember it now." I remember that in addition to Zhao Youlang, there were also Liu Butcher who sold meat, Cui Er who sold porcelain bowls, and Wang Yidan, who sold firewood, why didn't they see them? ”

"Butcher Liu is old, his waist and legs hurt badly, and slaughtering pigs and sheep is a hard job, and he is no longer competent; Cui Er couldn't stand the exploitation in the market, and would rather go to the countryside to sell than come to the market; Wang Yidan's chopping wood broke his leg and he couldn't come for a long time. ”

"A farmer like Wang Yidan has a few acres of land at home, and he can barely make ends meet, but people like Liu Butcher and Cui Er have no fields in their homes, and they are pure small traders, how can they live when they are old?"

"Although Wang Yidan's family has land, it is not much, except for the rent of the imperial court, there is not much left, and it is difficult to eat and wear. If we and other landless craftsmen and small traders could not save more money when they were young, they would have to rely on their children. A person like Butcher Liu, who is alone and has no children and no daughters, can only ask for more blessings for himself. ”

How miserable the people are. Shu Yan thought of the prosperity on the copper camel street in Luoyang City, and the wealth in front of the Golden Horse Gate, and he was stunned for a long time. Tongtuo Street and Jinmamen cannot represent the entire Luoyang, and Luoyang cannot represent the entire Dajin. The drunken and extravagant lives in Luoyang City, which are praised by Siyi, only belong to those children of the family, and what they currently understand is the real people's livelihood.

"Under my rule, whether there are children or not, no one is allowed to be old and helpless, and to wait for death with their eyes open."

Bai Mi Zhang thought that what Shu Yan said was just a kind word, didn't everyone in the officialdom promise the people like this? Mostly empty words! He was a little disapproving: "Although the county is worried about the people's suffering, saving the poor people in the county with your own efforts is tantamount to a drop in the bucket and will not help at all." ”

"Of course, my own strength is modest, but now the county has set up a support fund to help those who are poor and helpless. Do you know where Butcher Liu and Wang Yidan live? I want to see them. ”

"I know where both of them live. Wang Yidan's home is in the countryside north of the city, a little farther away; Butcher Liu's family lives in an alley in the city, and he is a neighbor with Zhao Youlang and Cui Er, so he can let the little oilman lead him. However, is the help money thing real? ”

"I initiated it myself, of course it's true. Why, you've heard of it too? ”

"I've heard of it. Originally, we all thought that it was just a means for your officials to accumulate money. ”

Shu Yan was surprised when he heard this: "Helping money, helping money, just to help the poor and weak, how can it become a means for officials to collect money?" ”

"Why not? Raise money from everyone with one hand, and help the poor and weak with the other. But no one knows how much money was raised, and no one knows how much money was released. When he raised ten points, he released only three points, and then put seven points in his pocket. ”

"Whether it is in or out of the account, it is clearly recorded by me and Du Zhushu, and every transaction must be publicized, and there will never be any problems......"

Seeing that Shu Yan was a little excited, Bai Mi Zhang knew that he had lost his words, so he hurriedly explained: "Shu Cheng, don't misunderstand. All of us are just thinking about it in our hearts according to the style of the official family in the past. If this support fund is in the hands of someone else, there will inevitably be fraud, but if you are in charge, then it is a different matter, to ensure that it is innocent and there is no problem at all. ”

Shu Yan and Bai Mizhang gave a detailed introduction to the operation method of the assistance fund.

The two talked for a while, and Shu Yan walked around the other stalls in the market again, and returned to Baimizhang, which was close to noon. Then he saw the two Sishi come over and shouted, "Is the rice ready?" ”

"It's loaded, it's loaded." Bai Mi Zhang politely handed over the two bags of rice.

But the two men looked arrogant, and each threw down fifty dollars to leave.

When Shu Yan saw it, Bai Mi Zhang really didn't lie. At this time, there was no need to endure it any longer, so he shouted: "White rice is thirty-five dollars a bucket, and corn is twenty-five dollars a bucket." You each have two buckets of white rice, and they should be seventy yuan, why did you only give two buckets of corn? ”

The two Sishi didn't expect that someone would dare to meddle in their affairs and stop and reprimand them. They glared at Bai Mizhang and said angrily, "Is he your family?" So ignorant of lifting! ”

Bai Mi Zhang was obviously frightened: "No, no, he is not my family. ”

Seeing Bai Mi Zhang's incoherent appearance, the two of them became even more arrogant, waving their fists at Shu Yan and saying, "It turned out to be a passerby!" I advise you not to meddle in your affairs, otherwise, I will give you a good look! ”

Shu Yan stretched out his hands contemptuously and grabbed their arms violently, and said, "Either put the rice down, or make up the money." Otherwise, I'll give you a good look too! ”

"Ah, where did the madman come from, he dared to meddle in his affairs!" As he spoke, one of them put down the rice bag, freed his other hand, and smashed it at Shu Yan with a fist.

Shu Yan had no choice but to let go of his hands, dodge the punch, and hit back with a punch, knocking the man to the ground. Seeing this, the other person also swung his fist over, and was punched by Shu Yan right in the door. This West Market is the world of their division, within their own jurisdiction, how can they be bullied by others? Of course, the two were not reconciled, and each picked up a flat pole from the stall of a nearby vendor and called at Shu Yan.

Bai Mi Zhang didn't dare to make a sound, but when he saw that he had copied the flat dan, he was afraid that the matter would make a big fuss, so he hurriedly shouted: "Stop!" Do you know who he is? He is the county Cheng Shuyan of our county office! ”

"Shu Juncheng?" When the two of them heard this name, they were immediately stunned and threw down their poles.

Shu Yan saw that they didn't dare to move again, so he glared at them angrily and said, "I am Shu Yan, and I will patrol in Weifu today." As the two of you, you are supposed to maintain market order, ensure public buying and selling, and promote the circulation of goods. But what is the reason why you are asking for money from the vendors, destroying the market and harming the circulation? ”

Of course, the two Sishi are familiar with Shu Yan's name, knowing his jealous and hateful character, and even Cao Pengshi in the county is afraid of him, so what are the two of them?

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, complete misunderstanding. The two of us always thought that the white rice was twenty-five yuan, but fortunately, the county reminded us that we were willing to make up for the lack of money. As he spoke, they each took out twenty pennies.

Shu Yan sneered twice: "You are clever and don't suffer immediate losses." But who can you hide from such a clumsy trick? ”

"We've never asked the vendors for a card, and this time it was a real misunderstanding. If you don't believe me, you can ask these merchants. ”

At this time, all the small vendors in the market gathered around to watch the excitement. The two Sishi threatened Bai Mi Zhang and the others with their eyes, signaling them to speak according to their own wishes.

Of course, the vendors very much hope that Shu Yan can use this opportunity to severely rectify these market rats, but they know that Juncheng needs to care about all aspects of affairs, and it is impossible to pay attention to the market vendors forever. If you provoke them, you will have to suffer at that time.

Under the double serious gaze of Shu Yan and the two Si Shi, Bai Mi Zhang and the others didn't know what to do, and they couldn't speak.

Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. These adults were worried, but the young man who sold oil just now shouted loudly: "They took my oil yesterday and didn't pay for it, and they beat me today." ”

Shu Yan guessed through the hearts of the vendors, and was worried that no one would dare to come out to prove it, but it happened that this kid solved the problem. "Little brother, don't panic, take your time to explain what's going on."

"They each took two catties of oil from me yesterday, but they only wanted to give one catty. Of course I refused, and insisted on asking them for enough money. But they held a grudge and came to my stall today and asked me for fifty dollars in taxes. My Ah Weng has been selling oil here for more than ten years, and the city tax is ten yuan each time, but he asks me for fifty yuan. I can't come up with it, so I'll reason with them. But they didn't listen and beat me. When the boy said this, he began to cry aggrievedly.

The more Shu Yan listened, the more angry he became, and he was already furious at this time: "You said that the rice money just now was a misunderstanding, how can you explain this child's words?" ”

The two divisions glanced at each other weakly, knowing that it was not good, but they still wanted to struggle, and quibbled: "We see that his business is very good these days, and we want to raise his levy standard a little more, in order to fill the treasury ......"

"Hmph, if only you really thought about the treasury, I'm afraid you are using your power to retaliate. The city tax of ten yuan has risen directly to fifty yuan, which has increased fivefold, is this called raising 'a little'? This is called rampant expropriation! What the treasury needs is legitimate taxes, not the blood and sweat of the common people! ”

Xiao Youlang's fearlessness and Shu Yan's resolute and stern attitude made everyone dispel their worries, and they all stood up to accuse the two of exploiting them in the past.

In the face of everyone's accusations, the two divisions could not deny it, and "pounced" knelt in front of Shu Yan and begged for mercy: "The two of us were confused for a while, and I asked the county for forgiveness." ”

"Forgiveness is impossible, but if you have a good attitude, you can consider mitigating. You have done evil for many years and hurt these vendors, don't kneel to me, and ask them if they agree? ”

The two of them knew what Shu Yan meant, and reluctantly turned around and knelt down at the vendors.

"We can't stand your kneeling, so we just want to give us back everything we have asked for before."

"Yes, we don't want you to kneel, we just ask for repayment."

......

This is everyone's pragmatic and legitimate demand, and Shu Yan must of course meet it. Then he asked, "If you want to make a conversion, each of you should return to them the goods that you have extorted from them." ”

But this made the two of them difficult, and said with a sad face: "There are so many vendors, scattered for many years, even if we want to return it, where do we remember it?" ”

At that time, it was cool to reach out, who would have thought that it would be repaid?

Shu Yan knew that they couldn't explain every blackmail one by one. They were willing to take them to the county office for trial, but these vendors were very concerned about the matter, and if they wanted to see a result, they had to be reassured. At this time, the mood at the scene was high, and the verdict on the spot would be much better than being escorted to the county for a separate trial. So he immediately decided: "The two of you have been messing up the market for many years and extorting huge wealth, which is the so-called petty official greed." According to the laws of the Jin Dynasty, it is enough to exile the frontier. ”

Hearing the word "exile", the two of them were immediately so frightened that their whole bodies went limp. But I heard Shu Yan continue: "I read that the two of you have shown remorse, so let me spare it." Do you have any objection to the dismissal of your duties as the chief of the city, and at the same time to a fine of 50,000 yuan per person to repay these vendors? ”

Although the two have been blackmailing the traders for many years, they are also petty fights, and the total amount is only 30,000 or 40,000 yuan, and a fine of 50,000 yuan per person is equivalent to 120,000 yuan. But they knew in their hearts that it was quite cheap. If he is taken to the county office, not to mention how to judge, the flesh and blood of a whipping blow will definitely be inevitable. In the end, he was really betrayed and exiled, and his life and death were unknown.

The guilty Si Shi kowtowed to thanksgiving, and the traders who had been redressed were even more rejoicing. When Shu Yan saw this scene, he was even happier than when he was promoted.

In addition to rejoicing, he saw the special costumes of these people again, and asked Bai Mi Zhang: "When I was working as a literary scholar in the county office, I suggested that the then Minister of State Qiu Shoutai relax the ban on businessmen wearing black and white shoes, why has it been restored now?" ”

"Except for you, Shu Guanren, who will consider our feelings? This rule was relaxed for a short time and was reinstated shortly after you left. Bai Mi Zhang said helplessly.

Shu Yan was silent for a while and said: "Although businessmen have the benefits of circulation, the reason why they have been discriminated against since ancient times is because businessmen can accumulate wealth more easily than farmers without working. This is also where the imperial courts of the past dynasties emphasized agriculture and suppressed business. The black-and-white regulations are indeed discriminatory, but they also warn businessmen to do business fairly. I have now decided to relax this ban and create a fair and open market to facilitate circulation. You must also be self-aware, operate honestly, pay taxes according to regulations, compete fairly, and be undeceived. Don't be mercenary and greedy. If it is violated, it will be severely punished. ”

The ban on black and white shoes was issued by the imperial court, and Shu Yan dared to lift it in private, how bold would it be? After listening to Shu Yan's words, the businessmen felt warm and thanked and supported.