Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 325 Chapter is more hateful than corrupt officials
Yuan Wenshao didn't know Xue Weimin's plan, and even if he knew it, he wouldn't care.

Because at this time he had an arrow on the string and had to fire it.

Ancient agricultural technology was backward and food output was not high.

However, land annexation was serious in Dazhou, and ordinary people had very little land in their hands, and even if they did, there were not many. Many families needed to rent some land from landlords.

Even if the weather is good, life is still very poor.

Not to mention it’s still in the northwest.

This is why a small number of natural disasters in ancient times would result in the birth of a large number of refugees.

Because ordinary people really have no ability to withstand disasters.

If a good man is not a soldier and can join the army, his family conditions will naturally not be much better.

Most of Takeo's soldiers are young and strong, and they should be an important labor force in the family. Each of them has a family behind him.

Now that military pay has not been paid for three months, many people's families may not be able to open the fire.

Now some people are spreading rumors that he, the strategic pacifier, will pay the army.

Ordinary soldiers have little ability to distinguish, not to mention that this is what they expect.

So whether it is true or false, they will treat it as true.

If the military pay is not distributed as soon as possible, the soldiers will definitely mutiny.

Compared with the rebellion of the army, Yuan Wenshao could still tell the difference between moving some wealthy businessmen and mutiny in the army.

After returning to the inn, Yuan Wenshao ordered people to find Chen Ze.

"General, I will pay my respects to you, sir!" Chen Ze saluted.

Yuan Wenshao waved his hand, asked him to sit down, and said, "I heard that people in the army are saying that I will solve the problem of military pay. I want to know, what is the current situation in the army?"

Hearing this, Chen Ze cupped his hands and smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, this army lieutenant general is not bad. He has some family fortune. If the military salary is not paid for three months, he will not be hungry. But the soldiers are different. Let alone three months, they will not be hungry for one month. , many families can no longer survive. To be honest, there have been dozens of desertions in the past few months. If military pay is not paid, mutiny is inevitable. "

Yuan Wenshao waved his hand and said: "I know your difficulties, but I didn't come to you to listen to your complaints. Let me ask you, how long can you hold Wu Xiong's army steady?"

Chen Ze's eyes darkened when he heard this. He had taken the initiative to come to Yuan Wenshao before, even threatening him in his words, but he couldn't stand it anymore.

And hearing what Yuan Wenshao wanted, he was told to continue to hold on.

Thinking of this, Chen Ze stood up angrily and said: "Sir, the general has some prestige in the army, but no matter how prestigious the soldiers are, their families will starve to death. Can they still listen to the general? With the current situation in the army, The general can hold his own for at most five days. When Takeo's army rebels, the general will have no choice but to die."

Yuan Wenshao didn't care about Chen Ze's attitude. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Five days is enough."

"Sir, what did you say?" Chen Ze was stunned and looked at Yuan Wenshao in confusion.

"Commander Chen, don't be angry. I have already thought of a way to raise money. I may not be able to pay all the arrears in five days, but at least part of it can stabilize the morale of the troops. All the arrears can be paid within half a month at the latest. Qi." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Sir, are you serious about this?" Chen Ze asked in surprise.

"Do you think I'm in the mood to joke with you now?" Yuan Wenshao said lightly.

Chen Ze was startled when he heard this. Indeed, once Takeo's army mutinied, although it was caused by the imperial court's arrears of military pay, he, the commander, could not escape the blame.

And Yuan Wenshao, the newly appointed economic and strategic pacifier, will also take the blame.

After all, the army mutinied after he took office.

Thinking of this, Chen Ze felt relieved and bowed: "General, on behalf of all the generals and commanders in Takeo's army, I would like to thank you!"

Although he had forced and even threatened Yuan Wenshao before, he only wanted Yuan Wenshao to pay attention to him, so he quickly reported to the court and asked the court to allocate funds to solve the problem of arrears.

Even if you don't send all of it, even part of it will do.

At that time, he was still sure of holding on for a few months.

I had been talking to Yuan Wenshao for five days. Apart from being angry, another reason was because someone deliberately spread rumors.

Without this rumor, he would still be sure to convince the soldiers. After all, it would take a long time to report to Bianjing.

Now he can only guarantee to stabilize the soldiers for five days.

This did not deceive Yuan Wenshao.

Yuan Wenshao said that part of it could be paid within five days. Although he didn't know how Yuan Wenshao could do it, the money was definitely not given by the court.

As for the local situation, it was impossible. He knew what the situation was like locally.

"Commander Chen, I'm curious about something. Since the situation of Wu Xiong's army is so serious, why didn't you report it to the court?" Yuan Wenshao frowned.

This was what confused him. Wu Xiong's army was about to mutiny. As long as Chen Ze reported the situation, even if he had no money, Zhao Zongquan would find a way to solve it.

After all, Takeo's army only has more than 10,000 people and only a small amount of money.

It is impossible for Zhao Zongquan not to know the impact of the army's mutiny.

"Why didn't the general report it? Since last month, the general has submitted several memorials, but it seems like nothing has happened. There is no response." Chen Ze said with an ugly face.

"Shouldn't it?"

Yuan Wenshao felt that this matter was a bit unusual. The current Privy Councilor was a British minister. A veteran like him should not be unaware of the seriousness of the matter.

Yuan Wenshao couldn't figure out the reason for a while, so he didn't think about it anymore and said: "Go and appease Wu Xiong's army, and make sure that Wu Xiong's army can't be in chaos within five days. You also know that Hehuang is in chaos now. I came here this time to prevent Xixia from annexing Hehuang, which means that there will probably be a war soon. I have taken care of the military pay issue. If Wuxiong's army goes to the battlefield and is unable to fight, don't blame me for falling out. ”

Naturally, he knew the consequences of checking those merchants.

But he knew better why Zhao Zongquan asked him to come to Qinfeng Road.

As long as he can prevent Xixia from annexing Hehuang, Zhao Zongquan will naturally protect him.

If it fails, even if there is nothing else, Zhao Zongquan will not let him go.

"Don't worry, sir. If Wu Xiong's army doesn't work, I will come to see you!" Chen Ze said firmly.

Yuan Wenshao nodded slightly. Judging from some of the information Chen Ze heard from, the military management was quite strict. Wu Xiong's army had also repelled some small groups of marauding Tubo and Qiang troops in recent years, and it still had fighting strength.

"Okay, you go back." Yuan Wenshao said.

"General, I will retire!" Chen Ze bowed and retreated.

……

Facing the tasks assigned by Yuan Wenshao, the chief officials of various states and counties had different thoughts, but on the surface they did not dare to slack off at all.

The next day, some old cases and already handled case files were delivered to the inn.

Yuan Wenshao had already sent people to nearby counties to inquire about the news.

Now that the files have been sent, I can compare the information I learned with the files and find many unjust cases at once.

As the saying goes, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. This place is close to the border of Hehuang and Xixia, and smuggling is common.

Those who dare to engage in this kind of beheading business have two things in common: first, they are ruthless, and second, they have a good background.

Of course, these businessmen still look like good people on the surface.

Some people even helped the government build bridges and pave roads, and they still had a good reputation in the local area. But behind the scenes, they often bully men, dominate women, and seize land.

These people were cunning and cunning, and they did things cleanly. Although they got some information, the time was too short to find any evidence.

But their heirs are different. Depending on their family background, some of their actions can be unscrupulous.

Yuan Wenshao saw a case where a young man from the Cheng family in Qinzhou was accidentally hit by someone while playing on the street, and he was beaten to death by the guards in the street.

As a result, after an examination by the government officials, they said that the man had an old disease and that he died of an old disease rather than being beaten to death.

That son of the Cheng family only lost a little money and it didn't matter.

Of course, these will not be recorded in the file. Other information was found by the people he sent.

In addition, there are many similar things.

Yuan Wenshao knew that there were countless such things in the entire Zhou Dynasty, let alone Qin Fenglu.

He doesn't have the ability to manage it, and he can't manage it.

But he needs money now, and these families are his targets, and he can also eliminate harm for the people.

Yuan Wenshao ordered people to check all the files, pick out all the cases involving local wealthy businessmen, and then investigate and find evidence.

In just two days, evidence of several crimes in Qinzhou was found.

Two of them also involved the person in charge of the family, and the evidence was conclusive. Yuan Wenshao directly ordered Sheng Changwu to lead troops into the city to seize people's homes.

He promised Chen Ze to settle part of the military salary within five days. Three days have passed and he has no time to wait any longer.

The soldiers went into the city to arrest people, and they arrested two well-known wealthy businessmen in Qinzhou, so the commotion was naturally not small.

Before Sheng Changwu came back, Hu Huaining came to the inn angrily.

"Master Marquis, even though you are the envoy of the strategy and pacification, there is no reason to send troops into the city to arrest people at will, right?" Hu Huaining said with an ugly face.

Yuan Wenshao said calmly: "Master Hu, don't be anxious, sit down and talk."

Hu Huaining snorted and sat down, looking at Yuan Wenshao, waiting for him to explain.

"I have conclusive evidence that these two families have taken people's lives seriously and occupied thousands of acres of people's fields. As the economic and strategic envoy and in charge of the military and political power of Qin Feng Road, I can naturally order people to take people." Yuan Wenshao said calmly.

"The Marquis should know that this is not what I am talking about? The imperial court has its own rules and laws. Even if they break the law and the Marquis has the evidence, they should be handed over to the Qinzhou General Magistrate for trial, and the arrests will be done by the government officials. How can they send troops? Taking someone?" Hu Huaining asked.

"Haha, many people went to the Yamen to complain about the crimes committed by these two families. However, the officials said that they wanted to investigate and collect evidence and let the people who complained go back first. But those people did not leave the city, but they were arrested by the local gangsters and intimidated them. They were beaten and forced to stop complaining. Some people refused to listen and a whole family was set on fire to death at night.

It only took me three days to find out the evidence. Does Mr. Hu think the officials in Qinzhou don't know? "

Yuan Wenshao's tone was somewhat sarcastic.

To be honest, when he first came to Qin Feng Road, he still had a good impression of Hu Huaining.

After all, Hu Huaining had a good official reputation on Qinfeng Road, and he was given enough respect for his arrival without making things difficult.

But this investigation revealed that these were just appearances.

Among other things, the Cheng family, one of the two families he ordered to arrest today, had repeatedly contributed money to Hu Huaining to build bridges and pave roads, and even provided him with food to help victims.

Hu Huaining has been an official on Qinfeng Road for many years and has some contacts with the Cheng family. How could he not know what the Cheng family did?

Although Yuan Wenshao did not find out that Hu Huaining helped others cover up crimes, he felt that people like Hu Huaining were more hateful than some corrupt officials.

Hu Huaining did not commit corruption or bribery on Qinfeng Road, built bridges and paved roads, and provided relief to the victims.

He seems to be a decent man and a good official.

But it was impossible for him not to be aware of what those powerful squires were doing.

However, he never cared about it. It was not that he had any interests in dealing with those people, nor was it that he wanted those people to fund his political achievements.

But he didn't regard ordinary people as ordinary people at all.

In ancient times, it was important that imperial power did not go to the countryside. Officials relied on the squire to govern the place.

Whether it is government decrees or taxes, they are actually all completed through the landlords and gentry.

In the eyes of most people, there is no concept of people.

The landowners and squires are the people in their eyes.

Hu Huaining stubbornly believed that if he built bridges and paved roads himself, an honest official would be considered a good official.

Such people are often more hateful than corrupt officials.

Corrupt officials will leave behind evidence, whether they are impeached by honest officials or exploited by political opponents, it will not last long.

But self-righteous and honest officials like Hu Huaining became good officials in the eyes of the emperor because they had made political achievements and were not corrupt.

This kind of officialdom is getting bigger and bigger, causing more and more harm to people.

"If the Marquis thinks there is something wrong with the Qinzhou officials, he can impeach the court. If there are no rules, there will be no rule. If the Marquis does this, where will the court's laws be placed?" Hu Huaining said righteously.

No matter how reasonable what Yuan Wenshao said was true, in Hu Huaining's view, the army should not interfere in local affairs. Even if it was just arresting people, it should not be done by the army.

"If Mr. Hu feels that what I have done is inappropriate, you can impeach me to the court. Now I am Qin Feng Road's economic and strategic envoy. Before the officials remove me, I will be the highest official of Qin Feng Road." Yuan Wenshao said calmly.

There is no point in arguing with a brainless person like Hu Huaining.

In Hu Huaining's eyes, he only values ​​rules.

"You don't need to say anything, I will impeach you. I will not let you mess around on Qinfeng Road." After Hu Huaining finished speaking, he snorted coldly and walked away.

Not long after Hu Huaining left, Sheng Changwu came back.

"General, both families have been arrested, and no one has been missed. The properties of the other two families are being counted. A rough estimate is that the silver alone is more than 100,000 taels." Sheng Changwu said.

"I understand, you must remember to supervise it well. Even if you have property, you can't lose a penny. Do you understand?" Yuan Wenshao said with a solemn expression.

It was only a small amount of money that the two families confiscated, which was not a lot.

But what these rich people like to do most is to build fixed assets such as land and shops.

Yuan Wenshao also read some time-travel novels in his previous life, which said that developing business is the best way to prevent land annexation.

After all, the output of land is much slower than making money from business.

In fact, this is nonsense.

The commercial development of the Great Zhou Dynasty far exceeded that of any dynasty, but the land annexation also far exceeded that of any dynasty.

After all, there were no financial management stocks in ancient times. The more money businessmen made, the more they liked to buy fixed assets.

Because these fixed assets will bring them income, but the money will not increase if they are kept at home.

The two houses that were inspected had more than 100,000 taels of silver alone, and the other properties would only be even more.

But the more this happens, the more important it is to prevent anyone from being blinded by money.

(End of this chapter)