Chapter 63.

But there is another possibility-

Zhao Fusheng's gaze turned to Wu Dajing.

The old man had a pale face, sunken cheeks, and a bloodstained beard, the tip of which was condensed.

Could it be that what the old man of this village said is half-true and half-false, deceiving himself? Or maybe he was affected by a ghost and his memory was disordered, so his words were inconsistent.

Her eyes flashed, and she touched the withered and shrunken ghost arm without a trace, and her fingertips rubbed on the ghost arm for a long time, and finally slowly calmed down a slightly impetuous mind.

So far, there are still many suspicious things about this ghost case, but at this time, Zhao Fusheng has also gained a lot of unexpected information.

She showed extraordinary patience in the ghost case, and was not discouraged by the fact that her mind was in trouble for a while.

This clue can't be figured out for the time being, so Zhao Fusheng didn't want to think about it first, and then she asked Wu Dajing:

"When did your nosebleed start?"

The village elder didn't know that he had half stepped into the ghost gate at this time, and when he heard the words, he said:

"Just the other day—"

"After the disappearance of the Wuli family?" When Zhao Fusheng said this, he was already seven or eight points sure in his heart.

Wu Dajing was stunned for a moment, and then gave a thumbs up:

"Your Excellency is like a god, and that's true."

He said it easily, but Zhao Fusheng's heart sank.

The ghosts have already started to kill.

By now, she could almost conclude that Wu Liren's family had been killed.

And the reason why this ghost disaster is out of control is because of the death of Wu Liren's father, Wu Datong.

At the same time, this ghost case is very likely to involve the ghost case of the Liu clan ancestral hall forty years ago, and it is also related to the ancestors of the paper man Zhang, but unfortunately the paper man Zhang was hidden at this time and could not find a trace.

Wu Dajing saw that Zhao Fusheng's face was solemn, and thought that she was worried about her condition, so he was immediately moved:

"Adults don't have to worry about me, our village may have bad feng shui, and people have been bleeding to death like this over the years."

Zhao Fusheng raised his head to look at him when he heard this, and Wu Dajing said:

"We wonder if there is a family whose grave has not been buried well, which will cause trouble to the children and grandchildren." After speaking, there was a bit of hope in his eyes, and he looked at Zhao Fusheng and said:

"I wonder if you can go to our village to see the cemetery this time, point out our feng shui, and see if we can rectify it-"

Zhao Fusheng was already seven or eight points sure about his situation, and shook his head when he heard this:

"I don't look at Feng Shui."

There was a look of disappointment on his face:

"Ah, don't the people of the Demon Suppression Division know how to read Feng Shui?"

Zhao Fusheng shook his head, the brilliance in his eyes dimmed suddenly, and the old man, who was still a little talkative before, finally showed a little fear on his face at this time:

"So—what should I do—"

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak, and Zhang Chuanshi replied quietly:

"Life and death are fateful, and if you live to be sixty-seven years old, it will be enough for you a long time ago."

"I don't want to die—" Wu Dajing muttered.

After that, no one in the car made a sound, only Wu Dajing scratched the itch from time to time and occasionally coughed a few times.

Along the way, Wu Dajing didn't speak except for pointing the way.

Zhao Fusheng's words seemed to cut off his hope, making his whole body a little sluggish.

The car was not easy to walk out of the county road, and the wheels were so bumpy that they seemed to fall apart, and before dark, Wu Dajing, who had been silent all the way, finally seemed to recover a little bit of spirit, and said:

"Here we are."

His words broke the silence of the car, and Zhang Chuanshi, who had been affected by this atmosphere all the way and held it all the way, breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Fusheng looked out from the probe of the car, and sure enough, under the blue night, there was a mountain built against the mountain in the distance, hidden in the col.

At this time, the sun had set, and the family should have gathered together, but there was neither smoke nor lights above the village, and it was deserted, looking like a deserted village from a distance.

If it weren't for Wu Dajing's identification, Zhang Chuanshi probably wouldn't have found out that there were still people living in this place.

"Why don't you light a lamp when it's dark?" Zhang Chuanshi muttered.

The fog is heavy in the mountains.

From the surrounding topography, the village of Goutou is located in the col below, and the fog surrounds the village, and the moon has not yet come out, the sky is very dark, and the village without the slightest light looks a little crazy.

"Where is the money to light the lamp—"

Wu Dajing responded with a smiling face.

Zhang Chuanshi said:

"There's always a fire for cooking, right?"

Wu Dajing replied:

"I'll cook some food at noon, it's hot this day, why don't you use heat at night, and it costs a stove and firewood-"

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed his back again, making a 'Sisuo' sound.

The two broke the silence with this speech, although Zhang Chuanshi said that he didn't like this village old man who 'brought the ghost case', but he held back no one to speak for a day, at this time Wu Dajing replied to him, and he was also willing to say a few words to this old man.

"Your village is so poor?"

"Not poor." Wu Dajing said:

"We at least have something to eat, and we can get by."

"How much money can I earn this year?" Zhang Chuanshi asked casually.

"We have a large family, I have three sons and two daughters, two daughters have married, three sons have given birth to seven grandchildren, all of them have married wives and children, there are more than 20 laborers in the family, and the family can earn this amount a year." With that, he held out three fingers.

"Thirty taels of silver?" Zhang Chuanshi answered, and Wu Dajing nodded:

"Yes."

This topic has nothing to do with the ghost case, Zhao Fusheng didn't say anything, but when he heard this, he glanced at Wu Dajing and was slightly surprised:

"Your family turned out to be rich."

She received the memories of the original owner, only to know that the original Zhao couple had no money left over at all at the end of the year, but they were in debt.

Every year after the autumn harvest, there are countless people who come to ask for debts.

After a year of hard work, the grain was removed one after another, and in the end, there was no harvest.

This year, he was really desperate, and sold his daughter into the Demon Suppression Division, and finally the family ended up dying at the hands of powerful ghosts.

"That's not it." Zhang Chuanshi shook his head and explained to Zhao Fusheng:

"Don't look at their family, they can earn thirty taels a year, but they have to pay a lot of taxes every year, maybe it's just that the donkey dung and eggs are light on the surface, and they still owe debts behind their backs."

"Who's to say it's not."

At the mention of silver money, Wu Dajing's expression suddenly became more ugly than when he heard that Zhao Fusheng couldn't see feng shui:

"Our family has to pay a total of 289 taels of silver for a year of poll tax, tolls, and protection tax."

The rest of the money was not enough for the family to eat and drink, and when the farm was slack, the family had to do odd jobs and raise livestock to support the family.

In addition, "God willing, do not suffer calamity." ”

If there is a famine year, the harvest in the field is not enough, not only can you not make money, but you also have to pay upside down, and most of the people sell their sons and daughters.

"In the year of the disaster, as soon as you go to the county town, don't say give money, give food and you can take people away-"

When Zhang Chuanshi said this, he secretly glanced at Zhao Fusheng.

He knew Zhao Fusheng's origin, and he was afraid that she would be angry when she heard this.

Zhao Fusheng was stunned.

She knew that the people of the Han Dynasty were poor, but after being reborn, she entered the Demon Suppression Division, although she controlled the ghosts, life and death were unpredictable, but there were people waiting for her to eat and drink, and she had not tasted the pain of livelihood.

At this time, when I heard Wu Dajing mention these things, it seemed to be even more terrifying than talking about ghosts.

"Taxes are so high?" She asked.

Zhang Chuanshi turned his head and glanced at Wu Dajing, both of whom smiled bitterly.

The atmosphere was cold for a moment, and after a while, Zhang Chuanshi broke the silence:

"The court will measure the land and collect it." He drove the carriage in the direction of the village and said:

"Anyway, our local court has half given up, so it's okay to talk about it."

He said:

"A few years ago, when the old emperor was in power, farming was encouraged."

"Farming is a good thing." Zhao Fusheng hesitated for a moment and replied.

"Where's the good!" Wu Dajing shook his head:

"I think it's a stupid trick. At the beginning, the imperial court encouraged the opening of the wasteland, saying that it was a reward for how much rice and grain were opened, so we went to open it at that time, and we were busy for more than half a year, and in the end the rice grain was not received, and the government said that it was bookkeeping. ”

At that time, everyone complained, and the officials who had made meritorious contributions to the land were rewarded by the imperial court after measuring the land, and it didn't take long for them to rise to prominence and be promoted and transferred.

"The land that has been opened has been written down to us, and in the coming year we will have to pay taxes." These lands were opened at that time, but unfortunately the poor people did not have enough to eat, and there were not many seeds left, and most of the wasteland opened up was gone, and eventually gradually became barren.

But the people did not farm, but these wasteland was kept in the book, and it became an ironclad field, and the tax to be paid by each person was real.

"It doesn't add up year after year, but it's not a small amount."

Zhao Fusheng heard Wu Dajing say this, and his face showed an unbelievable look:

"Isn't this an official making a fake performance and leaving the confused accounts to the people?"

Wu Dajing smiled bitterly:

"In addition to that, there is another tax at the local level." When he said this, he was worried.

"What tax?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

"What about the protection fee of the Demon Suppression Division?" Zhang Chuanshi replied casually.

"What?" Zhao Fusheng was incredulous and said strangely:

"I haven't received protection money from the Demon Suppressor Division, have I?"

Zhang Chuanshi's face showed remorse, he spoke too fast, and some words were just mentioned in his brain, and when he heard Zhao Fusheng's question, he had to answer stiffly:

"Your kindness, my lord, you have indeed not received it yet."

"But according to the previous rules of the Demon Suppression Division, the work of the commanders and envoys above who do not collect protection fees and taxes is done by the miscellaneous servants below, and this money is more than the harsh taxes of the imperial court, and it must be paid to everyone."

After he finished speaking, he whispered again:

"In the past, we also had to pay, and the corpse slaves in my store had to pay two dollars of silver every year."

After the miscellaneous servants received the money, they divided half of it and handed it over to the Demon Suppression Commander, part of it to the envoys to spend, and the other part into their own pockets.

So when Zhao Fusheng mentioned that he wanted to recruit miscellaneous servants, Fan Wusu was very confused: It costs money to recruit miscellaneous servants? Isn't that a large number of people rushing to do it as soon as the news is released?

Zhao Fusheng's face was a little ugly.

Zhang Chuanshi could feel that she was in a bad mood, and he was uneasy, wondering if he should not bring up this topic with her.

"But my lord, you are different from the previous Demon Suppression Commander, after you take the position, we in Wan'an County-"

"Okay, stop the sycophants." Zhao Fusheng interrupted Zhang Chuanshi's words and asked Wu Dajing again:

"In the past few months, you have been charged the protection fee of the Demon Suppressor?"

"......" Wu Dajing didn't dare to say anything, and glanced at Zhang Chuanshi, his expression a little pitiful.

No matter how stupid he was, he knew that this topic made Zhao Fusheng feel bad, and he didn't want to say it again, so Zhao Fusheng said:

"Say!"

The village elder was frightened:

"Take, take." He nodded:

"The adults in the town said that the taxes of the imperial court can be temporarily delinquent until the beginning of spring next year, but the money of the Demon Suppression Division cannot be delayed for a moment."

"How much money does your family have to pay a year?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

Wu Dajing said honestly:

"A family has to pay twenty taels of silver a year."

“……”

Zhao Fusheng suddenly felt that the problem in Wan'an County was not just that the ghosts killed people.

In this world, the heavy taxes and miscellaneous taxes almost force ordinary people to be cornered, coupled with the powerful ghosts, how can ordinary people live?

"The Demon Suppression Division has collected so much money, and some ghost cases dare not be done?" She was a little surprised.

Zhang Chuanshi pursed the corners of his lips:

"What's so strange about that, whose life isn't fate?"

Ling Si uses the power of a powerful ghost, but he has to fight with his life.

It's another thing to collect money when you collect it, and it's another thing to kill it.

What's more, the powerful power is in the hands of Ling Si, and the people dare not pay? Even if the Demon Suppression Division collects protection money, and Ling Si is unwilling to make a move, so what? What can the people do?

"It's hard to say." Zhang Chuanshi shook his head.

Zhao Fusheng was stunned on the spot and didn't speak for a long time.

In a few moments, the carriage was getting closer and closer to the village, and the tall door plaque in front of the village entrance could be seen.

As Wu Dajing said, Kotou Village is not big, and there are not many people.

The shape of the village resembles a large alley courtyard, built around the mountain col, and enters and exits from the archway gate at the entrance of the village.

It's quite far from the town, so there shouldn't be many people visiting on weekdays, and the arrival of the carriage has attracted the attention of many people.

Many people stood at the door with bowls and looked into the distance, looking curious and speculative.

Wu Dajing approached the door, leaned out to look, and saw a middle-aged man serving a bowl in the distance, and suddenly beckoned to him:

"Stand, stand!"

He shouted twice, and the man turned his head, and when he saw him, he shouted:

"Daddy—"

"Go back and call your mother to take your daughter-in-law to make a fire immediately, there are guests at home, I invited Lord Zhao and Lord Zhang from the Demon Suppression Division to come to the village to handle the case all the way!"

As soon as they heard the 'Demon Suppression Division', there was a gasp from the crowd, and they all took a few steps back.

That Wu Li had a look of confusion, and Wu Da hated that iron could not become steel:

"Let's go!"

"Oooh." He answered, and then ran away, shouting as he ran: "Mother, mother-"

"......" Wu Dajing was a little embarrassed again, and felt beautiful.

The vehicle stopped at the entrance gate to the village, and the horses entered the threshold, but two wooden wheels were stuck on the outside of the threshold.

"Lord Zhao—"

Zhang Chuanshi jumped out of the car and shouted, but Zhao Fusheng didn't wait for him to urge, and also got out of the carriage.

As soon as she got out of the car, Wu Dajing also got out of the car, and the surrounding villagers hugged him, and everyone put aside the dishes and chopsticks, helped carry the car, and put the car into the hospital.

"Meritorious, you go and lead the horse away and wait for it."

Wu Dajing commanded:

"Adults come to our village to handle the case, you see what is good at home, take out some of them, don't hide them-"

At this time, Wu Dajing was completely different from the only promise when he was in the Demon Suppression Division, his back was straight, and the villagers all responded under the scolding, helping to pull the cart, leading the horse, and some people even enthusiastically wanted to greet Zhang Chuanshi to wash his face and hands.

These people recognize the wrong person.

mistook Zhang Chuanshi for the big man of the Demon Suppression Division, and regarded Zhao Fusheng as his attendant, and made a big fuss.

(End of chapter)