I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 303: Leave it to the future
Facing Zheng Yi, who was so shocked that he seemed to have been subverted, Cheng Yu was not surprised at all.

He asked Zheng Yidao: "Do you know how many people the Han family had when Emperor Guangwu was resurrected?"

Zheng Yi shook his head. He had no way of knowing this.

Cheng Yu said: "There are more than 20 million people. Up to Emperor Xiaozhang, the population doubled in more than 20 years. However, under the prefecture, the number of counties and townships has not changed much, and the number of officials in the townships remains the same."

Thanks to him being the censor, he was able to access these precious data through his dedicated pursuit.

Zheng Yi suddenly realized it and asked: "What the public is referring to is that the population of the people is increasing, but the number of rural officials is insufficient. Is this omission excusable?"

"No." Cheng Yu shook his head, and his neatly trimmed beard swayed smoothly with his movements, "What I said is just an excuse. No matter how busy I am, as long as there are people from top to bottom who are willing to make corrections, it won't be a big deal. No modifications have been made.”

"What he wants is that, firstly, he does not have to work hard, and secondly, it is... profitable."

Things related to oral poetry are by no means trivial. When Cheng Yu said this, even though Zheng Yi, as the son of Zheng Xuan, was brought up by Zheng Xuan to be very benevolent and moral, he couldn't help but hesitate at this time.

I just think of my father’s earnest teachings and the words and deeds he has given him since childhood...

Zheng Yi said with difficulty: "Does Mr. Cheng want to use this as a crime? So, although Yi is not talented, he is willing to help."

After finishing speaking, Zheng Yi felt weak all over and his heart was pounding, as if it took all his strength to say the words just now.

Then he regretted it a little, but he always finished what he said and would never take it back.

"Yi En is so ambitious!" Cheng Yu praised Zheng Yi sincerely, and Zheng Yi's words really made him look at Zheng Yi in a new light.

While praising him, he also revealed his true intention: "The purpose of looking at the documents here is to have a general understanding of the situation in the counties of Liang State. After that, I can go to the countryside and verify each other, so that I will not be deceived by others." "

"As for the false plan, the world is so big that there is more than just one Liang country, so it is not appropriate to expose it hastily." Compared to before, Cheng Yu was more sincere, "If you cannot properly deal with the consequences of exposing this matter, it is better to leave it to the future. Wait until everything is ready.”

After Cheng Yu obtained enough information from the documents, he began to go to the county and township to meet with the officials he had sent out earlier.

He will not be like Kong Rong who can't wait to show what it means to kill decisively when caught with a crime, but he will never be merciful and will do everything in accordance with the law.

Along Cheng Yu's journey, there were many officials with guilty consciences who took action before their crimes were exposed, in order to have their crimes reduced.

Facts have also proved that even with the deterrence of the inspection by the imperial censor the year before last, there are always people who are greedy and continue to commit corruption based on luck.

The only good news is that no officials have been found who continue to collect oral taxes.

Zheng Yi followed Cheng Yu and gained a lot. Halfway through, Cheng Yu sent Zheng Yi out to take charge of his own affairs.

Zheng Yi was not afraid, but eager to try.

His father is famous all over the world, why would he want people to laugh at his father and his son?

For some officials who are like fish on a plate, the escape route is almost blocked, so how about resisting with force?

In the past, Liu Bei defeated the enemy in the Beihai Kingdom, and the local powerful families suffered a big loss from Liu Bei. Now, the chariot general Huangfu Song holds the emperor's battle and leads his army. This means that Huangfu Song can completely bypass the emperor and complete the three tasks. Family fun.

As for Huangfu Song's cruel methods when suppressing the Yellow Turbans, the wealthy families in these five states had seen it before. No one would think that Huangfu Song, who came from Kansai, would show mercy to the people of Kanto.

The most important thing is that those who control the most local resources are mostly in high positions in the Han Dynasty. These people have long seen the direction of the wind and are accustomed to following the trend. Without these people taking the lead, the officials will not be able to cause great chaos.

And the leaders at the lowest level are happy to see the officials who once oppressed them pay the price they deserve.

The combined efforts of the two parties have made this increased effort to rectify officialdom achieve unprecedented results.

Of course, just like last time, although the manpower has been increased and the scope has been reduced this time, it can only go to the township level. If we want to go further, the manpower required is huge.

The officials sent to the five states organized the place in an orderly manner. These actions were transmitted to the Shangshu Taiwan as the center through various methods. Finally, they were put together under the auspices of Gai Xun and presented in front of Liu Bian. Among them, the names of those who committed small crimes could not reach Liu Bian's eyes. After screening, they had the flavor of big data.

Because of this, after seeing too much of the same news, Liu Bian became a little angry.

Fortunately, a group of moral and capable honest officials emerged during this process, including many of them, like Chen Deng and Dong Zhao, whose names Liu Bian could remember. The anger provoked by some unruly officials.

Quiet and restless, Liu Bian planned to go out for a walk to change his mood.

It's March, the time of year when the economy is at its worst and food prices are the highest.

Not long after he took office, Pingzhun ordered Li Ru to play his role and use coercive means to control the price of grain in Luoyang to one hundred and eighty yuan per stone.

Not surprisingly, Li Ru's actions caused some courtiers to impeach him.

One of the reasons is that there is a large population inside and outside Luoyang City, and grain merchants are needed every year to transport grain from other counties for sale. Once grain merchants become unprofitable, does the government have to fill the vacancy in grain?
As we all know, the cost of official grain sales is inevitably higher than that of grain merchants, no matter how hard we reorganize the government.

To this, Li Ru’s answer is yes.

The stabilization order, which is coordinated with the equalization method, has such confidence in maintaining prices.

Moreover, Li Ru claimed that even one hundred and eighty yuan was enough for the grain merchants to get sufficient remuneration.

If the businessmen are greedy and you don't want to do it, there are many businessmen who are willing to do it!

But judging from the feedback Liu Bian received from all parties, Li Ru seemed to have had a bad start. He dared to be a grain merchant in Luoyang, and there must be some background behind it. These merchants had some overt and covert behaviors.

This is the background for Liu Bian to leave the palace again.

Although he still travels in casual clothes, the security work around Liu Bian has never been left behind, and it is still Zhao Yun who travels with Liu Bian.

After leaving the palace, he went straight to a grain store in the suburbs outside the south gate of Luoyang. Around the grain store, the guards responsible for guarding had already occupied a favorable terrain.

But the people who were buying food at the food store had no idea that they were still worried about not being able to get 181 shi of food——

"The couscous has been sold out, and only the finely ground wheat flour is left. Do you want it? If you don't want to buy it, you might as well ask elsewhere. Hey, let's see if there are any couscous elsewhere! What, how much does it cost? Chenghui Liang One hundred and twenty-five cents per stone!”

"Ordinary rice has also been sold out. There is also precious fragrant rice shipped from Guandong. It is not expensive. It originally costs two hundred and three yuan per stone, so I will charge you two hundred yuan..."

Looking at this undisguised scene, Liu Bian didn't know whether to be angry or laugh.

He said to Zhao Yun: "This is called policies from above and countermeasures from below."

Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment and asked, "Lang Jun, should I send someone to deal with this place?"

"No need, send someone to find Pingzhen Order Li Ru and ask him to come here to take a look. If he can't solve this problem, there is no need for him to continue with Pingzhen Order." After thinking about it, Liu Bian added, " By the way, I told him that all the official offices in Luoyang are not for show. If anyone shirks the responsibility privately, he can just file a petition for impeachment."

After giving these instructions, Liu Bian left the place.

Not far away, Liu Bian saw some ragged people lying on the roadside not far from the grain store.

The weather was still very cold, but some of them had no protective clothing on their arms and legs, and their emaciated bodies were still exposed even after huddled together.

Except for the Youfufeng earthquake last year, there were no natural disasters affecting grain production around Luoyang. However, even in this prosperous year, there are still Tai students who are township officials and are still hungry in Luoyang County, which is at the foot of the emperor. people exist.

Liu Bian was about to say something when he saw a group of people who looked like police officers yelling and cursing at the people who might be refugees, trying to drive them away.

(End of this chapter)