Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 260 Borrowing a Knife

The morning light shone on the field. Xue Bai woke up and found that he was covered in dew.

There is only dew, no love.

The horses also stood up from the ground and snorted. Lao Liang and Jiang Hai took out the steamed buns from their backpacks. The three of them sat on the ground, ate in silence, and continued to move along the river.

In the evening, there were more and more houses in the front. When we arrived in Yancheng, we could no longer walk along the river. Lao Liang was good at finding the way. While walking, he asked about "Gongsun Jianzhuang, far from Xiangtang, North Street", and finally came to a house. Knocked on the door.

With a "squeak", the door was opened, and Li Twelve Niang's head came out, holding a wooden sword in her hand, with a slight trace of sweat on her forehead.

"Eh? Why is Lieutenant Xue here?"

Xue Bai then asked: "Were you punished by your master to practice sword practice?"

"Hey, that's not true. I am diligent." Li Twelve Niang waved her sword and asked, "You county officials can't leave the country without permission, right?"

"Of course I have something to do."

If nothing happens, maybe Xue Bai has gone to Luoyang to meet Li Qiniang at this time.

"I'll take you to see the master, but there are only female disciples in our sword village, so it's not convenient for you guys to stay here. You guys will stay at a farmer's house outside tonight, right?"

"it is good."

Aunt Gongsun was dressed as a peasant woman and was planting vegetables in the field. After not seeing each other for several months, she felt much better. When she saw Xue Bai, she couldn't help but be extremely surprised and said, "Although it's a joy to see old friends, why did Lieutenant Xue come to Yancheng?"

"I heard that there is a group of thieves on Wuyang Erlang Mountain. I want to recruit them and make a trip for this purpose." Xue Bai did not tell the truth completely, but his attitude was very candid.

Aunt Gongsun was puzzled and asked: "You come so far to recruit thieves?"

"There are bad guys in the county who are secretly colluding with them." Xue Bai joked, "I'm afraid they'll hire thieves to kill me if they can't defeat me, so I might as well take the lead."

When he used the word "bad guy", it was easier for Aunt Gongsun and Li Twelve Niang to understand him, although they still had only a partial understanding.

Aunt Gongsun asked no more questions and said, "But it's too dangerous for you to go to Erlang Mountain alone."

Lao Liang and Jiang Hai straightened their backs, indicating that Xue Bai was not going alone.

"No." Xue Bai said: "I started to get to know them last winter. They are quite friendly and have some friendship with each other. It's just that we are not familiar with the place. I also asked Madam Gongsun to find someone trustworthy in the local area to lead us there."

"Me." Li Twelve Niang said, "I have been to Erlang Mountain."

"You can't, it's inconvenient."

"What's the inconvenience? My martial arts skills are better than those of the county captain."

Lao Liang also felt that something was wrong and whispered to Jiang Hai: "We are taking her with us because we are afraid that we will look like traffickers who robbed and sold beloved people."

Xue Bai would not take a little girl with him, so he rested for the night in Yancheng. The next day, Aunt Gongsun arranged for a guide to lead him to Erlang Mountain.

~~

Erlang Mountain cannot be called steep, but it faces a lake called Shiman Lake.

On this day, all the men had gone to Iron Mountain to mine, and some women were fishing by the lake.

I saw someone coming from a distance, it looked like two villains kidnapped a rich man. But when they got closer, the women couldn't tell whose family these two villains belonged to. In short, they all looked quite strong.

"Is Fan Lao here?"

"who are you?"

"Please also tell him that he should have an answer to what Winter asked him to consider."

It was not until evening that Fan Lao led the men back from Tieshan. After hearing this, a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

He sighed helplessly and said, "I'll go and welcome him up the mountain."

……

Xue Bai was led by Fan Lao to Mount Erlang. There was a waterfall in the mountain, which was quite spectacular. Unfortunately, there was no water curtain cave behind it. After walking across the suspension bridge, you will see a huge stone. It is said that Liu Xiu once tied his horse here.

Fan Lao was not in the mood to talk. After walking for a while, he said in a low voice: "The scenery here is not bad."

Xue Bai replied: "It's not as good as Luhun Villa in Shouyang Mountain."

Although Fan Lao had transported copper materials to the Song family, he had never been to Luhun Villa, so he remained silent.

There was a row of houses in front of them. Qiao Erwa had just come down from Tieshan and was chopping wood. She was very surprised when she saw Xue Bai. She rushed forward and bowed her head, but she only called "County Captain" and couldn't do anything for a long time. Speak up.

Xue Bai helped him up and asked, "Are your mother-in-law and Liu Cui okay?"

Qiao Erwa's mother was not used to living in the mountains, but he opened his mouth and responded loudly: "Okay!"

Xue Bai followed Fan Lao and asked, "Master Fan is not worried that Qiao Erwa is the spy I sent."

"It's all bitterness, haha, I can tell it apart."

When it came to this topic, Fan Lao rarely spoke more and said: "When Diao Geng brought him back, he just dug iron to earn a living. I won't treat him badly for heavy work, and he won't owe me anything."

Xue Bai said: "You have a lot of people here, can you feed them all?"

"There weren't so many in the beginning. I only brought back a dozen brothers." Fan Lao said, "In the past few years since I was not the leader, I have watched the food in the official warehouse pile up more and more, and it has been hard to make a living. More and more. The money distributed in Iron Mountain is small, so those who are willing to live a hard life with me can stay."

"What about those who don't want to?"

"Go to the Copperfield. There is a shaft down there, and people often die in it. If we don't go, there is no reason to exchange our brothers' lives for money. The county captain is laughing at us, and we have no ambition."

Fan Lao seemed to be making a vague statement.

I earn serious wages in Tieshan, but I don't earn much. He smuggled and sold copper, and he must have had to maintain relationships in the process. After all, he had fed so many people in this mountain den, and he didn't want to do anything more dangerous.

But there are no control over things in this world. Now that we have reached the stage of smuggling, more beheadings will come sooner or later.

Opening the door, the two entered a wooden house.

Different from the lobby like Juyi Hall that Xue Bai expected, this wooden house is very small and is Fan Lao's own living place. As for discussing matters, maybe just find an open place in the mountains. In short, we didn't build a gathering hall in the mountains.

Unexpectedly, there were several books in the wooden house, and the one on top was "The Continuation of the Green Messenger".

"Do you also like to read this kind of story?"

"I kidnapped a wealthy businessman a few days ago and picked it up from his luggage."

"Do you know how to read? Oh, yes, you have been a class leader."

Xue Bai put down the book and inspected the messy house. In the process, he crushed a few bugs to death. When he found that he couldn't stop them, he let them crawl around his feet.

He found that Fan Lao was old and had not yet married, and his life was not that good. It was not that he was poor. There was a box of shiny copper coins piled in the corner without even a lid, but he was not rich in supplies.

"How can you live like this hiding in the mountains? Wouldn't it be better to buy a mansion in the city and live in it?"

"How dare you?" Fan Lao kicked the box, "You can't buy it in this area, and with so many people following me, I can't ignore it."

Xue Bai understood from this sentence that the officials here knew that the copper materials from the copper yard were smuggled out to make private money, and they just turned a blind eye.

"Do you regret it? If I hadn't lost my position as squad leader, I might be an official now? Like Gao Shang."

"County Lieutenant, you came here specially. If you have anything to say, please say it directly so as not to make me panic."

If it were an ordinary matter, Fan Lao would not be flustered, but what Xue Bai told him was unusual.

Xue Bai asked: "Have you considered it? Are you willing to work for the emperor's grandson?"

If he didn't ask, Fan Lao would be worried; if he really asked, Fan Lao would be even more embarrassed.

"Of course I have a sincere heart for the Tang Dynasty." Fan Lao thought about it for two or three months, and then suppressed such a useless sentence, and then said: "But after all, I don't even know which emperor's grandson supported the county captain. I don’t know either.”

"So? You want to bypass me and see him directly?"

"No, I am just a commoner in the mountains. Even if the county captain told me, I don't know which emperor's grandson he is, let alone what he can do." Fan Lao said: "Let me put it this way, if the gods in the sky fight, What use can you get from the mortals on earth?"

Xue Bai smiled when he heard this. Fan Lao saw that his analogy was useful and became more enthusiastic and continued to use the analogy.

"Two dragons in the sky are fighting, and the county captain asked us chickens and ducks on the ground to help. If we really greedy those two mouthfuls of rice, it won't be enough for the dragon to get through."

Xue Bai said: "As long as His Highness can achieve something, and you have the merit to support him, what kind of glory and wealth will you have?"

Fan Lao was usually stern, but at this moment he was willing to give up his smile and said, "Just let us go, county captain. This box of copper coins..."

"You dare to smuggle with Gao Chong and don't want to contribute to the country?!" Xue Bai shouted sternly, "You already know the matter. If you reject the emperor's grandson, do you know what will happen?!"

Fan Lao's expression changed and he lowered his head.

Xue Bai said: "You can kill me, but the emperor already knows that I am coming to win over you, as long as you can bear the consequences."

"I don't dare." Fan Lao raised his head, looked at Xue Bai sincerely, and said: "To tell the truth to the county captain, my brothers are all untouchables. They can't afford to be involved in the struggle for the throne..."

Xue Bai asked: "Why don't you hear how much glory and wealth your Highness can give you?"

"It's really not a blessing. I have no reason to push my brothers to death just for the sake of my own wealth."

If he wanted to be rich, Gao Chong had promised Fan Lao.

When Fan Lao was a shift leader in Huaizhou, he had long seen how the officials and gentry looked down upon them and the common people. If you really agree to sacrifice your life and wait for a living brother to become a victim, will the powerful people care?

"I know that this matter is not my fault. I just ask the county captain to be considerate and help explain something to His Highness."

Xue Bai looked at Fan Lao's eyes for a while, but he breathed a sigh of relief, because he came to Henan Mansion to find such a person.

He has been thinking about who can be his supporter at this stage. The aristocratic family always pursues profit. Although it can win over the side branches, it is always easy to sway. The poor still need time to grow up. He cannot buy people who are too selfish.

At this stage when Xue Bai has nothing, the people he can buy must be the bottom, and the capable and powerful people at the bottom often know how to get together to find a way out, and those who are greedy for profit have often been bought by various interest groups...the rest Yes, that's what he's looking for.

Xue Bai didn't come to recruit Fan Lao just to deal with Gao Chong and Gao Shang. Now that Gao Shang is dead, the world gentry of Yanshi has realized that he, the county captain, has great ambitions. The important thing is that he needs to have his own manpower and complete his own business.

"I can explain it for you." Xue Bai said: "But even if His Highness understands you, you can live well? From the time you smuggled copper and iron, you were destined to become someone else's knife. Do you think this matter is seamless? I tell you You, the Lishan assassination case, the saint was furious, and it has been found that many of your people are from the same hometown as Liu Hua!"

Fan Lao was completely unaware of things at this level and had no way of distinguishing them.

Xue Bai said: "The emperor and grandson knew An Lushan's rebellious intentions a long time ago. I came here just for Gao Chong. Now that he has been entrusted with the title, the traitor cannot succeed. But what will you do? If Gao Chong is not dead, he will avoid being implicated in the people behind him. The forces in the border town, aren't they taking the blame on you? You deserve to die, so the emperor and grandson are lenient, so they can persuade you. What about you? You are in the business of beheading, and you don't know that you are about to die, and you hide your ears and steal the bell in the name of caring for your brothers. ?!”

"I……"

"Since you are working with your head tied to your belt, instead of just making small fuss, it is better to do the biggest cause in the world. All you have to do is the same effort, and the most you risk is your life. Why not make a big splash and be famous forever?!"

Fan Lao was confused by what he said and subconsciously refused: "The county captain thinks too highly of me..."

Xue Bai said: "Believe me, His Highness is completely different from what you imagined. He is the person in the clan who is most willing to stand on the side of you Kuhaha. You have been a class leader and paid taxes, so you should understand the shortcomings of the Tang Dynasty. , when I was crossing Tongguan, I encountered heavy rain and the Yellow River was running fast. In order to sell more Yellow River carps, a few fishermen took advantage of the heavy rain to go down the river. Five people were swept away by the river, leaving only the orphans and widows wailing on the bank. It was clear that they Each person earned fifty yuan the day before, and they still had acres of land at home. Why did they still have to go into the river during the heavy rain? Blame it on their greed? But I went to Yanshi County and saw their lives in the farmers' homes, and I felt for them. They calculated the taxes and purchases they borne every year, and came to the conclusion that heavy taxes are stronger than the turbulent Yellow River.

You just said that the grain in the official warehouse is getting more and more year by year, and the hardship of abandoning the farmland to make a living is also getting more and more difficult. What we see is the same as you. Datang is like a man in his prime. He is sick and can no longer carry out the mediocrity. It is like a patient who cannot breathe. It seems that the disease is in the lungs, but no, the disease is in the brain. His Highness wants to eliminate old diseases and inspire the world, so he needs help. You just said that mortals can't help when gods fight. You're wrong. Your Highness has kept in mind Taizong's teaching, "The reason why a boat is like a king is like a king, and why the water is like a common people. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it." "

Fan Lao was speechless for a long time.

He may not be able to fully listen to Xue Bai's words, but he can feel Xue Bai's sincerity. He has rarely encountered the sincerity of people in high positions towards untouchables like them. For example, when Gao Chong persuaded him to smuggle iron and stone, he said: "Who am I? If I'm not afraid, what do you have to fear?"

"Let's talk more practical things. You have a lot of strength, but what you lack is official protection. I can give it to you."

Xue Bai said, kicked the box of copper coins, and said: "Just like you have these coins, but can't spend them, are you really living well? Don't you look like rats hiding in dark holes to steal food? "

Fan Lao was still hesitating when someone outside suddenly shouted.

"Handsome!"

Fan Lao woke up and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Someone from Yanshi County is looking for you."

After Fan Lao listened, he turned to look at Xue Bai, a little confused.

Xue Bai knew who was coming and said with a smile, "You'll know when you see him."

Fan Lao nodded and went out.

His place was not a heavily guarded place. Xue Bai left the house, called over Lao Liang and Jiang Hai, and whispered: "Let's go take a look too."

~~

Xue Bai didn't go too close, standing in the forest and watching Fan Lao meet someone.

Lao Liang, who was born in Tanma, went over and listened. The person who came was a young steward of the Song family, named Song Tiangui. He had come to Erlang Mountain to explain the matter of copper materials to Fan Lao, but today he came to convey a message for Gao Shang. A noble thing.

No one knew the whole story better than Xue Bai, and he was too lazy to go over and listen more until there was a quarrel.

"What is the use to tell me?! You either hand over the murderer or explain to Gao Langjun!" "Song Guan does not have to be excited. It is a man who is a fond man. But there is another hidden story behind this matter..."

Fan Lao also knew that this was Xue Bai's deliberate attempt to create a rift, but they were all officials, and he was the only commoner, so he didn't know what to say.

As expected, Song Tiangui shook his head and said, "Shuai Fan doesn't understand yet. Who cares whether you have hidden secrets or not? Do you care? The important thing is that the Song family has to give an explanation to Gao Langjun, do you understand?"

"We didn't kill him."

"Why can't I tell you clearly? Is it you who killed him? Diao Geng has already admitted it in front of the people in the county. Mr. Gao Lang must avenge his sworn brother in public."

"If Diao Geng is not the murderer, how can we call him revenge?"

"You still don't understand?!" Song Tiangui spat and said loudly: "Kill Diao Geng, and others will think that Gao Langjun has taken revenge."

"If you don't report it, you don't report it..."

"Shuai Tou, I can't tell him clearly." Diao Geng said, "Damn, I'll just take a trip. The Gao family brothers are so awesome that I won't be afraid of them."

Diao Bing said: "I'll go. Gao Shang begs the handsome man for mercy. At worst, I'll give him my life."

The crowd became commotion, and the men came forward noisily to stop the Diao brothers.

"Don't move!" Fan Lao shouted: "Can't the misunderstanding be resolved?!"

Song Tiangui said: "The Song family gives you so many copper coins every year, it is so difficult to give an explanation..."

"puff."

Before he finished his sentence, there was a sudden flash of cold light, and a knife struck Song Tiangui's neck diagonally, causing blood to spurt out.

It was Jiang Hai who took advantage of the chaos and stepped forward to kill him with a single blow.

"尻!"

Everyone exclaimed: "What are you doing?!"

Jiang Hai pulled out the machete, turned around, wiped the blood on his face, looked at everyone with disdain, and said, "Mother-in-law and mother-in-law, you are all a bunch of women."

When Fan Lao saw that he was committing murder on his own territory, he immediately pounced on Jiang Hai and pinned him down.

Jiang Hai was not afraid of him. He threw away the knife and cursed: "Come on! Little bitch..."

~~

Yanshi County.

This is the seventh day of the noble life, and things are going smoothly. Although he didn't do anything, he just reminded Yanshi officials and gentry with a few words.

Only Xue Bai didn't respond at all, which made him very worried.

But as far as noble aspirations are concerned, his enemy is not Xue Bai, but the Tang Dynasty. I don’t know when this idea came to him, maybe it was innate.

He is from Yongzhou. When he was a child, he begged with his mother and went all the way south to Huaizhou. During this growth process, his hatred for the Tang court has been growing day by day, so much so that when he was the most hungry, he gritted his teeth and became determined.

"I would rather die for doing something than bite the roots of grass to survive!"

At the time, I probably just talked about it and treated it as a crazy idea. It wasn't until he met An Lushan that he gradually sorted out his ideas... He once assisted Li Qiwu in governing Henan when he was the Yin of Henan, so he thought that if something happened, the first step would be to attack Luoyang and arrange for Gao Chong This is also the case in Luoyang.

In this long-term plan, the officials of Henan Prefecture who worked hard to collect taxes and the aristocratic families who desperately occupied acres of land and hid the population were all his "helpers".

As for Xue Bai, it is a stumbling block. There have always been officials who worked hard to rectify the long-standing abuses and strive to maintain the Tang court. Those who can be won over must be won over, and those who cannot be won over must be removed, otherwise they will become obstacles in the future.

After Xue Bairuo resisted, he was naturally defeated by the general trend. Gao Shang would not be surprised, but it was too smooth and made him wary. For this reason, he dreamed of Linghu Baniang last night.

When he was in Huaizhou, Linghu Ba Niang was the daughter of Linghu Chao, the then Prime Minister of Hanoi County, but she disguised herself as a maid and interacted with Gao Shang.

Gao Shang was very happy that although he was born as a pariah, he still had a handsome appearance. Of course, he was able to charm Linghu Banniang, mainly because of his dangerous temperament.

He had warned her that the Linghu family would rather not have her as a daughter than him as a son-in-law, but she still followed him regardless... They gave birth to a girl, and the Linghu family did not recognize it and only called her Banniang. She was a maid, but she still gave Gao Shang a chance to be a minor official.

I heard that Xue Bai probably made his fortune in the same way, but he was more carefree. While he was clinging to Mrs. Guo Guo, he was also clinging to the prime minister's daughter.

This time the prime minister's daughter came to Luoyang specially and brought Jinwu Guard with her. If it wasn't for Xue Bai, Gao Shang would never believe it. Girls' feelings are always spring, he understands.

Thinking about Xue Bai's love for his children, Gao Shang decided to go to Luoyang. He needed to deal with Xue Bai in person.

As for Yanshi County, he doesn’t need to do anything. The collusion between officials and gentry is something Yanshi can’t break...

"Mr. Lang, the boat is ready."

"Let's get going."

"Here."

Tian Qianzhen has gone to Luoyang, and now Gao Shang is escorted by Kang Bu, who is a ten thousand enemy in Fan Yang's army. He is tall and strong, and uses a double axe.

The two of them didn't need to carry their luggage. They had their own residence in Luoyang. Kangbu carried a double ax on his back, led the horse and left.

After arriving at the pier and boarding the ship, before untying the mooring, someone from the Song family came running from a distance and shouted: "Gao Langjun, wait a minute!"

……

"What's the matter?"

"The steward we sent to Erlang Mountain was killed, and Xue Bai is at Erlang Mountain!"

"What?" Gao Shang was surprised and got off the boat directly.

"But Fan Lao released the slaves that Song Tiangui had brought back with him, saying that when he was imprisoned in Huaizhou, it was Lord Gaolang who helped him plead for mercy. He was willing to use Xue Bai to apologize to Lord Gaolang, and the whole matter would be wiped out from now on."

Gao Shang was even more surprised and asked: "Has Fan Lao captured Xue Bai?"

"Yes. He said that if Gao Langjun can agree not to pursue the Diao brothers anymore, he will personally take Xue Bai to Yanshi to plead guilty."

"What did Duke Song say?"

"can."

After Song Zhiti realized Xue Bai's ambition, he actually wanted Xue Bai to die more than Gao Shang.

Noble but feels wrong.

It was so smooth, smoother than he originally thought. In addition, he didn't think Fan Lao had the courage to kill officials.

"No, it's fake. Fan Lao told a lie." Gao Shang shook his head and murmured: "Why did Fan Lao tell this lie? It's a cover-up. Xue Bai's back-up plan is on the prime minister's daughter..."

~~

"Promise Fan Lao that as long as he kills Xue Bai, the Song family will let bygones be bygones."

At the same time, Song Mian gave a cheerful reply.

When he got the news, he was discussing matters with several uncles. He was eager to prove that he had no personal relationship with Xue Bai, so he didn't care about any deception at all.

Especially since the Song family cooperated with Xue Bai several times to sell counterfeit money, they were even more eager to kill people and silence them.

This matter has just been dealt with, and new news has arrived.

"The county magistrate has approved the official document, and we can take over Fenghui Bank."

"Call all the people." Song Mian said, "Where are the people from Yang's Trading Company?"

"I originally thought that I was protecting Du Wulang and went to Luoyang. In the past few days, we found out that Xue Bai, his concubine, and the female owner of Yang's Trading Company all went to Luoyang with him, and only a few people were left pretending to protect him. 'Xue Bai' is sick, but in fact Xue Bai is not in Yanshi at all."

"go!"

The Song family had to call Fenghui Bank because their fake copper coins were inside. Once Xue Baiyu's death net is broken, it will be fatal evidence.

"The county department is investigating the case, get out of the way!"

There are indeed not many clerks in Fenghui Bank. They don't resist when someone breaks in, and they retreat consciously.

Song Mian was very surprised and strode to the backyard. He turned around and saw that half of his copper coins had been melted.

"Why?"

"At least it shows that this son is not sincerely cooperating with the Song family and harboring evil intentions. Search!"

"Search! It's best to find evidence of Xue Bai's crime..."

"look at this!"

Everything happened very quickly. Before Song Mian could find the accounts of Fenghui Bank, several of his uncles had already handed him a letter.

The letter was written by Yang Guozhong, an important official of the dynasty. Yang Guozhong was now in the limelight for helping the saint manage internal funds. Song Mian first read the seal and handwriting and knew that the letter could not be fake.

It was just a letter left behind when moving, but it caused everyone in the Song family to get entangled.

"What should I do? If I offend Xue Bai, will I also offend this person?"

"I've been offended to death, what else can I do? It's nothing more than buying Yang Party."

"It can be seen that Xue Bai's biggest reliance is indeed the Yang family."

……

But when Lu Linghao saw it, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Don't worry, Yang Shaoqing is still easy to talk to. This county will explain to him."

Song Mian couldn't help but be confused and asked: "Does the county magistrate still know Yang Shaoqing?"

Lu Linghao stroked his long beard and did not answer. He just said confidently, "As long as this county and Gao Shang are here, you don't need to worry about Xue Bai."

In this way, the matter was over, and someone from the Song family asked: "What about the losses of the Song family?"

"What's the loss?"

"Not to mention the tragic death of Ba Lang, my family paid for two hundred hectares of land, but Gao Langjun promised to return it to the Guo family..."

Lu Linghao was still easy to talk to. He nodded and said, "That's right."

Now that he has regained control of the Yanshi County Office, he should once again establish his authority.

"Xue Bai's evil lies in clearing land and household registration, wasting money and wasting money, just like Yu Wenrong and others, who harmed the country and the people."

Yu Wenrong was the prime minister during the Kaiyuan period. His main achievements were to enclose households and fields. In simple terms, he cleared the land of his father-in-law. He used tax reduction policies to attract refugees back to their place of origin, which increased the number of households registered in the imperial court by more than 800,000. A large amount of land, the so-called "flooded households" and "Wang Tian Zai Li".

Of course, Yu Wenrong was eventually convicted and relegated, and died on the road to exile. His policies also became a bad policy that persecuted returning refugees. Nowadays, when he is mentioned, people are scolding him, saying that he embezzled tens of thousands of official money when he was in Bianzhou.

This was Xue Bai's fate, but Xue Bai's official position was not worthy of it.

Lu Linghao pondered deeply and said slowly: "In the name of Qingzhang, but actually out of selfish interests, the county persecuted and confiscated things. Since this county has found out, it cannot tolerate... someone comes and takes Xue Bai's newly created field records, The household register was burned!”

"Here."

In this way, the Song family was relieved. Lu Linghao meant that they could occupy as much hidden land as they wanted to make up for their losses.

"burn!"

The brazier had been set up, and with this order, each booklet was thrown into the fire, and was instantly engulfed in flames.

In this way, no matter how many people in Yanshi County have fled their households, the number of registered households and the number of acres of land will remain unchanged, and the amount of taxes on rent adjustment will also remain unchanged. No matter how many hidden fields there are, the farmers who are paying the tax will still be registered.

No one can change it, not even the prime ministers, because it is never a bad person who dominates all this.

The smoke rose, like a sigh.

~~

The next day, Lu Linghao summoned the high-ranking officials and made a statement.

"Field books and household books do not need to be recreated. Taxes must be paid according to the old books. If there is a dispute over the ownership of the land, just bring the land deed to the county office for resolution."

"The county magistrate is lenient and his government orders are simple and concise, which is beneficial to people's livelihood."

"That's right. It's better to burn that booklet. There's no need for it."

……

At the same time, a young man named Hu Laishui told Xue Bai about the incident.

"Just burn it." Xue Bai said, "There's no need for it."

(End of this chapter)