Lord Yuan

Chapter 31 Visit
Li Zan called to the driver and stopped.

He came from Yingchuan with the mission of his father Li Ying.

It was a life-long matter related to his sister Li Wan. Even if his father didn't mention it, he still had to sneak out and find out what the reputation of Runan Yuan Shao was.

If he is a talented person, his sister will be a good match for him, and the reputation of the Yuan family in Runan can help his father return to the court as soon as possible.

But if the old man lied and intended to deceive my father, then it would be difficult to tell.

The Yuan family in Runan was so famous that he had many disciples and former officials in the world.

However, I, the Li family, have many generals coming out one after another, and thousands of students in my family, many of whom are sons of wealthy families, not to mention the help of aristocratic families such as the Xun family of Yingchuan.

While Li Zan was thinking, the squeaking sounds of wheels rolling against the ground could be heard one after another next to him.

He quickly came back to his senses.

A large group of farmers wearing farm clothes and pushing wheelbarrows pushed toward the county town without hesitation despite the scorching sun.

Seeing this, Li Zan hurriedly stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves and stretched out his hands to rest on the unicycle of one of the old men who looked to be over fifty years old.

The old man was pulling hard in front and was about to take a rest when he suddenly felt that the car suddenly became much easier.

He thought other farmers were stealing the grain tax he was about to pay.

He hurriedly stopped the wheelbarrow, threw down the rope on his shoulder, and cursed angrily: "It's that bastard who stole the old man's food!"

The old man blew his beard and stared angrily. The unicycle was so small that he only took two or three steps before he walked behind the wheel.

She saw a young man in well-dressed clothes who clearly looked like a young man from a nearby aristocratic family, but at this time he was helping him push his cart with his arms exposed in the scorching sun.

The old man was embarrassed and at a loss. He could not tell that the man in front of him was helping him push the cart.

Looking at the other party's clothes, which were obviously not ordinary things, the old man's rough hands that had been tempered by time quickly rubbed his body vigorously.

After doing this, he hurriedly stepped forward and pushed away Li Zan's hands, and said with a smile: "I don't know how to help you, but I have a misunderstanding. I know my mistake, I know my mistake."

Li Zan didn't care, but looked at the old man's hands in front of him with curiosity.

It was covered with marks. After a little thought, I realized that my hands were probably cut by the grain in the field. Over time, marks gradually formed on my hands.

"At your age, uncle, you still have to work so hard. What are you going to do driving the car into the city?"

The old man was stunned for a moment, looked around and then said: "Young man, I don't think you are from Puyang."

Li Zan nodded in response.

"It's not surprising. Today is the day when the county government collects household tax statistics. The only son in Laowan's family is now joining the army in other places, so the land allocated to him will naturally be planted by Laowan."

When the old man mentioned his son, a trace of pride flashed across his vicissitudes of face.

Li Zan felt even more strange.

Don’t the county government send people to collect taxes from the pavilion chiefs in each village to collect taxes?Why is it that the rules in Puyang County are completely different, and people are still required to voluntarily push wheelbarrows to pay taxes.

With such behavior, could it be that the county magistrate did nothing and only knew how to plunder the people's wealth, regardless of the life and death of the people?

Li Zan looked at the endless crowd in the distance. Most of them lowered their heads and pushed their wheelbarrows towards the city in a muffled voice.Then he continued to ask: "Isn't it stipulated above? Every household only needs to go to the local pavilion chief to pay all the required taxes, and there is no need to worry about the rest?"

The old man smiled and didn't care: "You don't know something. This is all the result of the current county magistrate. If it weren't for him, our whole family wouldn't know what to eat."

Li Zan's eyes widened. Could it be that the old man was out of his mind and crazy? He was making such a big show and wasting manpower, and he actually said it was the local county magistrate's contribution.

Is it possible that the official authority of this county magistrate has reached such a level that he is always in contact with the people and dominates and brings blessings?

This dog officer!
Li Zan cursed in his heart, but remained calm on his face: "How can we say that it is the county magistrate's contribution to such a huge effort?"

"You don't know that these are all left by the previous county magistrate. The new county magistrate has maintained the previous policies and will not change them."

"If it weren't for Magistrate Yuan, our Puyang City would have become an isolated city long ago."

The old man became more and more excited as he talked, and the excitement on his face didn't look like a disguise at all. When he mentioned the name of Magistrate Yuan, the reverence in his eyes made Li Zan even more confused and confused.

"You are confused, please help me clarify my doubts." Li Zan couldn't restrain the doubts in his heart and asked aloud.

The old man was so happy that he forgot that Li Zan was not from Puyang. Then he suddenly realized that he quickly explained: "The county magistrate ordered us to send all the grain collected by our family to the government office, and have a special person record it in the book, so that it can be higher than the previous one." The purchase price is [-]% of the market price, and then the money is given directly after deducting taxes.”

"At the same time, grain seeds for the next season will be distributed free of charge."

"The prerequisite is that you must be a registered Puyang person, regardless of age."

"If you want to save trouble and send the grain to the pavilion chief, you will only get next season's grain seeds. When the superiors send people to come down to count, the tax will be deducted and returned according to the household."

"This time, I have lost [-]% of my income."

Li Zan suddenly realized this, and at the same time he was secretly surprised by the county magistrate.

"Then what is this county magistrate trying to do? After all the trouble, he finally bought it at a high price, and even subsidized the grain seeds himself. Won't this move make the county government more and more difficult and barren?"

The old man said as if he was a fool: "How is it possible? Magistrate Yuan has left enough property to keep the county government running for ten years. The current magistrate Zhang is even more knowledgeable."

He suddenly lowered his voice and looked around to see that no one was paying attention. Then he leaned close to Li Zan's ear and whispered softly: "I also heard that a few days ago, Magistrate Yuan, who had resigned and returned home to honor his mother, sent someone again. Several carriages of property were sent, and Magistrate Yuan had to pay out of his own pocket every year during his three-year term to pay the salaries of the fast-moving government officials."

"I just heard about it, please don't spread it." The old man quickly reminded him for fear of being uneasy.

Li Zan was confused by this series of operations, and he became more and more confused about what kind of medicine Yuan Shao was selling in his gourd.

When other people become county magistrates, they are all thinking about how to enrich their own pockets. No matter what, they just want to be an impartial magistrate.

Why did Yuan Shao do the opposite? Not only did he heavily subsidize the people's taxes, he even took money out of his own pocket to enrich other people's pockets.

Weird.

Li Zan has never heard of anyone serving as an official to this extent in his life.

The old man chatted for a long time. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, he did not care to continue chatting. After bidding farewell to Li Zan, he happily pulled the wheelbarrow and ran towards the city again.

Li Zan secretly made a note in his mind, and then followed him into the city to explore.

(End of this chapter)