Xian Dynasty Era

Chapter 164
Fengle County, the next day

The rain seemed to be a little lighter, but the sky was still gloomy. Inside the study of the sheriff's yamen, the lights of the candlesticks were flickering. With the sound of a rooster crowing outside the courtyard, Su Zhao raised his head from the pile of official documents and put them down. Although the pen and ink hadn't slept all night, there was no sign of exhaustion on his face.

On the table are some official documents compiled by all parties in the past few days when Fengle County supervised the construction of the embankment.

Su Zhao gave an order, and the few assistants who were dozing off outside the door got excited and hurried to the study, listening to the order.

"Send all these to the counties and counties, and let them verify and verify in advance." Su Zhao ordered lightly.

In fact, there was another order. At midnight last night, he ordered someone to send it to General Chunyu overnight.

Thinking of the urgent information that Xu Chun sent last night, Su Zhao's eyes were deep, "Zheng Guoda Sima Pang Guan has arrived in Yingyin County, it seems that Zheng Guo is already on the verge of death, and wants to assassinate Gu, a member of the Haoyang Sect, What an audacity!"

But last night, Xu Chun, through a secret communication channel, tipped off Fan Tai's plan to assassinate Su Zhao in Fengle County.

Watching Shuzuo leave, Su Zhao turned around and ordered: "Come here, get a basin of water."

At this time, a servant responded, fetched a basin of clean water, and prepared towels and other things.

After Su Zhao washed up, he asked someone to prepare steamed stuffed bun, soybean milk and other breakfast, and went to call Zou Yi. Zou Yi was already waiting in the yamen hall, upon hearing the summons, she came to the back yamen.

"Zou Qing hasn't eaten yet, let's sit down and eat some." Su Zhao smiled and said, "I heard that the Xiaolongbao in Qianjie is also a specialty of Fengle County."

Zou Yi got up early in the morning and hurriedly came to wait for orders, but she really didn't eat, and her complexion was a little strange.

"You and I, the monarch and my subjects, don't need to be formal. Later, the two of us, the monarch and the subjects, will meet with the aristocratic families in Fengle County. Our mouths will meet dozens of them. If you don't eat, how can you have the strength to argue with your generation?" Su Zhao opened a joke.

Even if it wasn't very funny, not only Zou Yi but also the secretary Shi Shi who was serving at the side laughed at the right time.

This is the power of power, even if Su Zhao is a young man with no power to restrain a chicken, some old officials who have lived for dozens of years dare not take it lightly.

Only power and color are the most seductive.

Zou Yi took her seat, but she didn't dare to sit in the real place. At this time, the little official looked for a pair of bowls and chopsticks.

Su Zhao picked up a few steamed buns, put them in the bowl in front of Zou Yi, and said with a smile: "Our monarchs and ministers are eating and talking, and Zou Qing will introduce some of the origins of these noble families to Gu later, so Gu knows well. "

Zou Yi, on the other hand, was a little cramped, sitting on half of the chair with her buttocks, holding chopsticks, and eating in small bites.

Su Zhao smiled and said, "Don't be restrained, Zou Qing."

In his previous life, he watched a movie called "1942". There was a scene that he remembered deeply. Li Peiji, starring Li Xuejian, went to see Chang Kaishen. Because he scooped up a few bowls of soup, Chang Kaishen secretly satirized him, "He's hungry. A few days?"

Su Zhao thought about this, and said with relief: "Zou Qing, just eat at home, be more casual."

Only then did Zou Yi feel a little more at ease.

After a while, Su Zhao asked: "What do the Wu families among the eight prefectures do?"

The so-called prestige of the county must be a public official who has produced at least a thousand stones within three generations of his ancestors.

Zou Yi hurriedly put down his chopsticks, and said seriously: "Your Majesty, the current head of the Wu family is Wu Deben, and his grandfather served as the governor of Changshui County, but after his grandfather became an official, the Wu family gradually declined. The job of the Fighting Officials could not be kept until they gradually recovered through the construction of weapons for the county soldiers. Later, more than a dozen iron ore mines were discovered in Fengle County, and the Wu family followed the former county guard's door to mine iron ore. Helping the county soldiers to forge weapons and iron implements, in the past few years, they have gradually become a top-ranking county family."

Su Zhao frowned, and said: "I remember, isn't salt and iron monopolized by the government? There seems to be a "Salt and Iron Law" in the system of my country of Su."

Zou Yi pondered and said: "Your Majesty doesn't know something. When the Majesty was there, there was a mansion that opened mines with half the effort, and opened up the right to build some salt and iron workshops. Since then, the Law of Salt and Iron has become a written document."

This also involves a stubborn disease, government-style enterprises, low organizational efficiency, overstaffed, and much inferior to private companies in terms of flexibility.

Su Zhao was silent for a moment, then said: "The tax on salt and iron is related to the lifeblood of the country's finances, entrusting it to private hands is not the way to long-term stability."

Since ancient times, the collapse of political power has often started with fiscal deficits, and there are no exceptions in ancient and modern China and abroad.

Zou Yi nodded in agreement.

Su Zhao did not delve into this issue, and said, "Continue to talk about the other companies."

Zou Yi introduced them one by one, and Su Zhao could not help frowning secretly after listening patiently.

Gein, the industries run by these noble families in the county almost involved all aspects of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and their influence was not limited to Fengle County, and it was already a trend that could not be lost.

"No wonder, Zhou and Jiang's family have such great confidence." Su Zhao sneered with a gloomy gaze.

But when it fell into Zou Yi's ears, his complexion changed slightly, and he thought to himself, Your Majesty is really angry.

After breakfast, Su Zhao asked Zou Yi to go to the flower hall where the county guard's yamen received guests, first to receive the family of the county king who was going to the meeting first.

Zou Yi waited for about half an hour before some Patriarchs came.

Compared with Zou Yi's visit, when the door was closed frequently, at this moment the king of a country personally summoned him, except for the Zhou and Jiang families who deliberately didn't know the meeting, almost all the heads of the family came.

The entire flower hall was crowded with people.

There are some little Patriarchs who just whisper to each other, but they still care about Zou Yi, who is the leader, and just exchange greetings in a low voice.

"Your Majesty is here!"

As the voice of the little official resounded, Su Zhao stepped out from the Yamen. At this moment, the young nobleman had changed into a black princely uniform, with a dignified demeanor and a heroic face. He was sitting in a chair, walking past the crowd indifferently.

"I've been waiting to see you."

The governor of Fengle County and the head of the aristocratic family stood up and saluted together.

"Everyone, take your seats without courtesy." Su Zhao said lightly.

Everyone sat down in twos and threes.

Su Zhaodao: "Zou Qing should have disclosed to you the reason why Gu is visiting Fengle County at this moment. Presumably you have already understood that the torrential rain in ten months has the potential to cause disaster, but Gu has no choice but to come."

At this time, an old man in a long gown and a goatee said: "I heard that your majesty has observed the people's sentiments and worried about the embankment of the Hong River. We, the scholars and people of Fengle County, are all deeply moved and grateful."

Others also echoed, saying compliments.

Su Zhaodao: "I don't know what to call this elder?"

The old man is not one of the eight prefectures of Fengle, but the patriarch of a lesser family. After hearing the inquiry, he said in a loud voice: "Hui Junhou, the little old man Wu Xiang, when my father was there, he once served as the head of Yangping County. make."

Su Zhao nodded, and said, "The old gentleman has also lived in Fengle County for generations."

"Your Majesty's lesson." The old man nodded and responded.

The other patriarchs in the flower hall looked at Su Zhao in amazement, guessing the intention of this young prince.

Su Zhaodao: "Since I have lived in Fengle County for a long time, I should know that the safety of the Honghe embankment is of great importance, which concerns hundreds of thousands of people in the county. Now that the heavy rain has caused disasters, the embankment of the Honghe River is in danger of bursting. I want to repair and strengthen it. The embankment, but at present, whether it is a peasant or a craftsman, there are many deficiencies... Renovating and strengthening the embankment alone will not only benefit ordinary people. You live in Fengle County for generations. There will also be losses. Now the county soldiers and civilians are working on the embankment. They consume food, food, wine and meat every day. How can you bear it? Yesterday, I asked Zou Qing to declare righteousness to you, but I didn’t want one or two thieves , deeply regretting the country's kindness, stingy and evil, sincerely hateful!"

As he said that, with a "snap", he slapped heavily on the table beside him, and the wooden table suddenly split into spider webs.

In the flower hall, when everyone saw this scene, they immediately fell silent.

Wu Xiang's complexion changed drastically, and he braced himself, saying: "The little old man has prepared three thousand stones of grain and fodder, and I will show my heart to help you build the embankment."

Wu Xiang made a start first, and other small aristocratic families also began to pledge donations in twos and threes, but most of them were a few thousand shi.

Interestingly, the prefects of several major counties seemed to have made an appointment, and they all donated [-] shi of corn, no more, no less.

Adding up this way, there is also [-] to [-] stones of grain and fodder.

But these, for Su Zhao, shook his head secretly.

According to the people he sent to visit, even Wu Xiang, who was the first to donate food, had 20 shi of grain accumulated in his family, but paid out [-] shi. Is this a beggar?
Zou Yi looked at this scene with cold eyes, how similar this scene was when he visited Zhou Guangji yesterday!

Wu Deben was among the crowd at the moment, seeing the cold expression on the young gentleman's face, with a trace of sarcasm gradually appearing in the corner of his mouth, he couldn't help thinking of the scene of discussing with his own daughter before leaving.

"Father, if the prince asks you, the Wu family must spend at least one-third of the family wealth, otherwise disaster will happen."

"This...how could it be?" Wu Deben hesitated: "This...would it cause dissatisfaction with other families, and advance and retreat together as agreed earlier..."

Wu Xianzhi frowned and said, "Daughter just figured it out, the prince asked Zou Junshou to come here, it was a gift before soldiers, today is an ultimatum, as for the Zhou and Jiang families, catastrophe is not far away."

Wu Deben said in disbelief: "Your Majesty is not afraid of the chaos in Fengle County?"

"Great chaos?" Wu Xianzhi shook her head slightly, pursed her cherry lips, and there was an inexplicable excitement in her eyes, "If the river embankment is not repaired, the flood river bursts its embankment, floods the counties, and the people are displaced. Su was originally a small country. This matter will inevitably shake the country, this is the great chaos of the country's downfall! Last night, my daughter repeatedly thought about the various actions of this young prince since he took the throne. If he was afraid of the so-called chaos, he would not cut off the powerful officials first, and then remove the clan. The matter is not brewing chaos, but where is the chaos now?"

Wu Deben was shocked when he heard this.

"This kind of prince, no matter how mean and ungrateful, hot-tempered and stubborn, he is still a hero. As long as the hero has not lost the prince's sword for a day, he will kill people without blinking an eye!" if.

Wu Deben came back to his senses, gritted his teeth, and said in a loud voice: "Wu Deben, a grassroots man, is dressed in white, but he also knows the righteousness. If there is something wrong with the embankment of the Hong River, and the people are suffering, how can the grassroots feel at ease? Special offer 50 shi of grain and fodder, [-] sheep, [-] mules and horses, for you to build embankments..."

(End of this chapter)