After August, the county government began to collect taxes from the townships.

Wei Zhan sent people to follow the township officials who collected taxes, and recorded how much grain each family paid.

There are a total of 12 townships in Zhouhe County, and each township has about a dozen villages, and each village should have at least ten households.

However, some villages are sparsely populated, and some have less than 10 households.

That's very wrong.

Wei Zhan told Yingbao everything he had investigated: "There are many people who have fled from the fields in this county, and most of the land properties are concentrated in the hands of the officials and gentry, and they have even registered the high-grade fields as the low-class fields, and also rated the families who have three or four houses as fourth-class villagers."

Fourth-class and fifth-class villagers can pay a lot less taxes, so those gentry collude with officials and let them rate their own fourth-class and fifth-class villages.

In this way, you can pay a lot less tax.

However, there is a fixed number of high-grade fields and low-grade fields recorded by the county government, and when the tax is reported to the imperial court, the tax is formulated according to the recorded field.

However, because of the gentry's tricks, the county government could not collect the prescribed grain, so it had to put the remaining tax task on the heads of the poor people.

It is estimated that Zhouhe County did this, so groups of poor people who had no power and no power were forced to go away.

Sakura Bao looked at the investigation file with a calm face, and said, "First pick one of the most arrogant squires to open the knife, compare his land with the land recorded by the county government, and then report it to the household department.

The emperor's master handed over this county to himself, probably just to let her govern it well.

In this case, you don't have to be soft-hearted.

Wei Zhan nodded: "Okay, I'll take someone to check tomorrow."

"When you go, take Song Changshi with you." Sakura said, "In the future, when you go out, bring more people to prevent someone from deliberately retaliating."

Wei Zhan smiled: "Don't worry, I bring dozens of people every time."

He is not stupid, doing these things is actually cutting off people's financial routes, and he will definitely arouse people's resentment.

But since this county has become his wife's fiefdom, it must be governed well, otherwise the people will not be able to make a living, and it is strange that he and his wife will not be impeached.

The two talked for a while, and then told the servant to bring the food, and the two of them to eat, and then wash and rest.

In the next few days, Wei Zhan was busy every day without touching the ground, and really arrested a big gentry.

However, pulling out the radish and bringing it out of the pit, Wei Zhan quickly dug up several officials who were in collusion with the squire, that is, helping the squire conceal the land and underreport taxes.

There are still the figures of the lord and the county lieutenant here.

After that, Wei Zhan urged the county order to arrest the squire and several officials.

Mei Xian Ling was exhausted, but he didn't dare to disobey, so he had to throw out a few arrest cards and let the arrest go and get people.

The next day, all those people were arrested and taken to the county office, and the county ordered a trial.

In the end, it was decided that the squire's family would compensate the court for thousands of stone of grain, and if they couldn't get it, they would mortgage the fields and houses.

Several other officials who colluded with his family were beaten dozens of boards and deprived of their posts.

Wei Zhan also recruited several students with good moral character to fill the vacant work of the junior officials.

Next, the work of collecting taxes went very smoothly, and those squires knew that they had encountered hard stubble, and they did not dare to deceive, so they silently made up all the taxes and grains, and did not dare to be a demon at all.

Seeing that the grain in the warehouse was filled little by little, Sakura finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The people take food as the sky, and they can finally spend the New Year with peace of mind.

After passing the sacrificial stove, several families in the county sent New Year's gifts and prayers to the county lord's mansion.

Sakura picked up a prayer note and read it, and instructed Mu Dan: "Let these prayer posts check with the gift list, and then return the gift, if anyone comes to visit, say that I am not free for the time being."

Mu Dan agreed, and went out with the prayer note and gift list.

In the evening, Wei Zhan came back and told Yingbao about the loom.

"The five hundred looms we customized, according to your wishes, have been given to the Five Good Families."

Five good, that is

Do not be a female offender, family harmony and filial piety to the elders, friendly brothers and sisters love the younger generations, hardworking and capable, plus friendly neighbors.

In order to improve the economic situation of the poor people in the county, Yingbao bought 500 looms out of his own pocket, and gave them to the poor people who were rated as five good families on credit at cost price, so that they could repay two taels of silver every year until they were repaid.

"I asked Chu Shun to go to Qinchuan County to transfer a batch of cotton seeds, and when the spring of next year begins, let the people plant them." Wei Zhan sat down at the table and picked up his chopsticks to eat.

"That's very good." Sakura gave him the vegetables, removed the thorns from the fish, and put the fish in his bowl.

Wei Zhan has been busy outside for a while, and the whole person is dark and thin, and Ying Bao is very distressed when he sees it in his eyes.

But it is not easy to govern the two counties, if you want to make your fiefdom of the people have enough food and clothing, the hard work in the early stage is indispensable, especially in Zhouhe County, the rich are not benevolent, the poor are ruthless, and some villages actually take advantage of the slack season to go out together to rob the road.

"After the New Year, I'll go to Sixiang with you to have a look." Now not only does she want to make the whole county rich, but she also wants to set up a free school in each township so that all the villagers' children can study.

Only by establishing the etiquette of incorruptibility in their hearts can their behavior be changed.

She has made people write a lot of picture books of hard work, humility, friendliness, filial piety and benevolence, and posted them on the grass markets in each township every time they come to the fair, so that the villagers can see, even if they are illiterate, they can understand it.

Wei Zhan glanced at her and said, "The villagers in this county are barbaric, no better than Qinchuan County, you should stay at home."

He didn't want his wife to suffer any danger, because not only were the villagers barbaric, but some of the big gentry were even more unscrupulous, and he was poisoned twice when he ate out.

Fortunately, he was always on guard, and even if he received food and water from those people, he would not eat them, but feed them to the chickens and dogs first.

Sakurabo: "It's okay, don't forget, no one can beat me here."

Wei Zhan chuckled: "Okay, when Kaichun goes out to inspect, I'll take you with me, but you have to listen to me when you go out."

Sakura nodded, "Listen to you."

It's New Year's Day.

Wei Zhan took his wife to his father's place for the holiday.

When I walked into the gate of the Wei house, I saw that the huge courtyard was full of people.

The seven concubines of Wei Shixian, the head of the Wei family, all came to Zhouhe County and lived in the Wei house.

Not only that, but the children born by the concubines also came, tall and short, and some were held in the arms of the nurse, and the cherry blossoms were dazzled.

They saluted Ying Bao and Wei Zhan together, and said goodbye to the county lord.

The head of the Wei family stood under the eaves of the upper house, smiling and watching, very complacent.

Wei Zhan was also speechless, and waved his hand: "You all go play, don't gather around here." After that, he took Yingbao and walked to the courtyard of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang.

Seeing this, the head of the Wei family also followed, and the most favored seventh aunt around him also wanted to follow, but he glared at him: "Go back!"

The lady was the most impatient to see his concubine, and it was boring to go there.

The seventh aunt pursed her lips aggrievedly, and her tears were about to flow.

Cao Shi walked over and said in a low voice: "Aunt Seven, why bother, Mrs. and the county lord don't like us the most, don't say it's you, it's my husband, who works hard to earn money for the family, and it's not like it's not like it's not popular."