Fenghou

"The pigeon letter has been sent!"

Golden Fox nodded, "From now on, all actions must be stopped, and we must survive the test of life and death before we can consider making a comeback!"

In the afternoon of that day, Jin Hu and others quietly left Jingzhao City, went to live in the surrounding small counties, and completely hibernated, and there was no news of them in Jingzhao City.

……

Before dawn the next day, Chen Qing boarded a three-thousand-stone ship heading east at Jingzhao Wharf, and under the escort of six thousand cavalry on both sides of the strait, he headed for Tongzhou in a mighty manner.

Tongzhou is located in the easternmost part of Guanzhong. At the end of last year, a group of elderly people petitioned and pushed Tongzhou to the forefront. The land issue in Guanzhong, which had been covered up for a long time, was also uncovered because of the Tongzhou incident.

Although it has been found out that Jin Guo's intelligence chief, Jin Fox, is the behind-the-scenes driver of the Tongzhou incident. He spent money to subsidize more than 50 elderly people to come to Jingzhao to file a complaint.

His intention in doing so was also very simple, to let Chen Qing leave the heavily guarded Jingzhao Mansion and create opportunities for assassination in other places.

It's a pity that on the eve of Chen Qing's departure, the golden fox failed in a small adventure, which brought disaster to the Jin Kingdom's intelligence network.

Although the assassination is no longer possible, the Tongzhou land incident uncovered by Golden Fox has become the focus of attention of the entire Guanzhong officialdom. The Tongzhou land incident is by no means an isolated case, and similar incidents have occurred in all counties in Guanzhong.

The root cause of the Tongzhou land incident was the invasion of Jin soldiers, which caused a large number of people in Guanzhong to flee south to Bashu, causing a large number of unowned farmlands to appear in various parts of Guanzhong. This immeasurable land wealth made countless people envious.

At this time, in order to supply food for the Jinbing soldiers, the puppet state of Qi issued a farm-raising order, forcibly relocating nearly a million farmers from the northern Shaanxi states into Guanzhong, and asked them to distribute the unowned land in Guanzhong to them.

This farm-raising order has become a good opportunity for big landlords to grab land, and it has also become a good opportunity for puppet Qi officials to make a fortune. The main cultivated land has changed owners again.

It is full of irony that the real farmers in northern Shaanxi only received a few acres of Susukida symbolically because they could not afford bribes, and then became tenant farmers.

The Land Feast ended a few years ago. When the Western Army reoccupied Shaanxi Road, in order to stabilize order, it was not touched.

But the matter did not end. When Guanzhong began to become prosperous again, a large number of Guanzhong people who fled to Bashu returned to their hometowns, only to find that their ancestral lands had become the property of others. Of course they quit, and the conflicts gradually intensified.

The wasteland reclamation order issued by Chen Qing last year was actually launched against this background, allowing these Guanzhong people who returned to Bashu to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land, and the government recognized their land rights.

The effect of the land reclamation order is still good, adding millions of acres of new farmland, but it has little effect on solving the remaining land problems.

There are two reasons. One is that the returned Guanzhong peasants demanded to take back their ancestral land and refused to accept wasteland.

Second, wasteland is mainly concentrated in Binzhou, Jingzhou, Ningzhou, and Fangzhou in the middle of Shaanxi Road, while there is not much wasteland in Guanzhong area, and these people are unwilling to leave Guanzhong.

The conflict is becoming more and more acute. More than 50 elderly people coming to Jingzhao to file a collective complaint are just a wake-up call. If the land issue is still not resolved, tens of thousands of people will flood into Jingzhao. This issue has become the number one issue of the Xuanfu envoy. It's a big deal that has to be resolved.

Chen Qing's trip to the same state will naturally attract the attention of the people and officials in Guanzhong.

Chapter 723 Case

This morning, the fleet entered Luoshui, and soon arrived at Fengyi County, the prefecture of Tongzhou. Go to the pier to meet Chen Qing.

Chen Qing and the others saluted one by one, then got into the carriage and drove towards the city under the strict guard of hundreds of cavalry.

In the state office, Chen Qing listened to the report from Jiang Kuangyuan, the order of the first department of the Supervision Department, who was responsible for verifying the land case in the same state.

"There are two land cases in Tongzhou. One happened in Heyang County. The current magistrate Wang Xingmi used to be the magistrate of Heyang County, and the county captain was Han Sangnong.

Wang Xingmi later became the governor of Tongzhou, and in Fengyi County, he used the method of making false accounts to buy [-] mu of official land from the government in the name of his wife and brother. Qianguan money, this money was allocated to Jin Bing shortly after it entered the account. In fact, it was falsely recorded. He didn't pay a penny, and the county official who handled the matter had already confessed. "

These Chen Qing had already read the report, and Chen Qing asked again: "How many families pretend to be ordinary people in northern Shaanxi to apply for land, and how much land is involved?"

"Before the humble job, I investigated Han Sangnong and Wang Xingmi. The investigation has been completed. I just started to investigate the fraudulent territory. The county magistrate who made false accounts took out a record in order to make meritorious service and atone for his crime. He secretly copied it back then. There were 33 households who took possession of their land, involving [-] mu."

"Have you verified it?" Chen Qing asked.

"Haven't had time to verify it yet."

Chen Qing smiled slightly, "Take the list, let's go and have a look."

……

Leading them was Li Kuan, the magistrate of Fengyi County. He knew all the big households on the list. The first household was Wang Yuanwai's family from Xiaoqiu Village in the east of the city.

Wang Yuanwai is called Wang Qiang. He is about 50 years old. He is very shrewd and good at drilling camps. When the Jin soldiers came to kill him, he actively donated food. He also reaped benefits. Of the 550 acres of idle land in the same village, he took away 21 acres. 150 farmers from northern Shaanxi who migrated from northern Shaanxi divided the other [-] acres, and finally all became tenant farmers of his family.

As people from the same village came back one after another, Wang Qiang had a hard time in the past two years. Whenever she went out, she was blocked and abused by the villagers. Wang Qiang also continued to spend money to manage the county, hoping that the county could support her. It's not bad, at least he still occupies 550 acres of land.

But today his good days finally came to an end. More than a dozen senior officials and thousands of soldiers appeared on his property, scaring him and brought his two sons to visit him.

Today is the 21st of the first lunar month, the biting chill is no longer in the air, and the snow in the fields has begun to melt. In half a month, the winter wheat seeds that were planted in late autumn last year will thrive.

Chen Qing looked around, and there were endless wheat fields all around. The shadow of the village could be seen on the edge of the wheat field, and there were thick trees growing beside the ditches.

At this time, Li Kuan, the county magistrate, brought up three people, who were Wang Qiang and his son.

Wang Qiang finally met the county magistrate, who was never easy to please. Unexpectedly, the magistrate turned out to be the smallest official here, and the tall general in the middle turned out to be the famous Chen Qing, the lord of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and even the magistrate nodded and bowed beside him.

Wang Qiang and her two sons came forward and knelt down to kowtow, Wang Qiang said in a trembling voice, "Xiaomin Wang Qiang kowtows to the county king!"

Chen Qing pointed to the large piece of land around him and asked, "Is this piece of land yours?"

"Exactly!"

"Is there a title deed?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Wang Qiang quickly took out a thick stack of land deeds, and handed it to Li Kuan, the county magistrate, who then presented it to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing flipped through it and asked, "How much of this is your ancestral land?"

"Reporting to the king, there are a total of 950 mu of Shangtian, 550 mu of Xiaoren's ancestral land, and the other [-] mu were purchased a few years ago."

"Basically, they were purchased in Shaoxing in the second year?"

"Yes!"

"How much did you pay for it?"

"150 pennies." Wang Qiang did not dare to tell lies, and confessed honestly.

"This 150 guan is not a purchase! You bribed the magistrate at the time, right?" Chen Qing's tone became colder.

Wang Qiang wiped the sweat off her forehead, and said in a low voice, "From Xiaomin's point of view, they are all the same thing!"

Chen Qing snorted coldly, "At that time, the Northern Shaanxi Farmers' Order stipulated that farmers from northern Shaanxi moved south to Guanzhong, and each household was granted [-] to [-] acres of land. Are you a farmer from northern Shaanxi?"

Wang Qiang knew that a catastrophe was imminent, so he bit the bullet and said, "Xiaomin also knew that it was not in compliance with the regulations, but at that time it was done like this everywhere. At that time, the county magistrate even came to my house and hinted that if I give money, he can give me more. The land, my family only has 20 taels of silver and 550 pennies, I gave them all to him, and he gave me [-] mu of land, begging the county king Mingcha!"

All the officials nearby looked at each other in blank dismay. This old boy was indeed very shrewd. He shifted all the responsibility to the former magistrate, as if he was forced to grant the land. Anyway, the former magistrate had already left, so there was no way to prove it.

Chen Qing said coldly: "Everyone says they were forced, in fact! They got the most benefits, so I don't think you were forced, it was you who took the initiative to bribe to occupy the land illegally."

Wang Qiang's lower body became hot, and urine flowed down the trousers. Illegally occupying hundreds of acres of land would be decapitated!He was so frightened that he was completely paralyzed, and the two sons hurriedly supported him, one on the left and one on the right. They were also terrified, for fear that the soldiers would drag their father down and behead him if the county king gave an order.

Chen Qing glanced at the officials behind him again. He handled the case himself today, and he wanted to set up a case for all the officials in Guanzhong. All similar lands should be dealt with according to today's case, otherwise the officials would break the law.

The three clerks recorded very quickly, and basically wrote down every sentence Chen Qing said.

Especially the last sentence just now, 'I don't think you were forced, it was you who took the initiative to bribe to occupy the land illegally. '

This sentence is qualitative, it is illegal occupation of land.

"Jun Wang, spare your life! Spare me!" Wang Qiang pleaded with snot and tears.

"You don't have to be afraid. I didn't say that you forcibly occupied the land. The nature is different. You just took advantage of the loophole. You don't deserve death."

When Wang Qiang heard that he was not going to be killed, he was relieved for a long time. Once his fear of death was gone, he became nervous again. What about his own land?

Chen Qing turned around and asked the county magistrate, "How much is the land here?"

Li Kuan quickly asked the county magistrate behind him, bowed and said: "Qijun Wang, according to the price of last month's transaction, the price of Shangtian is six guanqian per mu."

Chen Qing frowned, "Is it so cheap?"

Jiang Kuangyuan, the commander of the Supervision Department, also whispered: "Jingzhao Mansion Shangtian is ten guan yuan per mu. Because Tongzhou is close to Shanzhou and Guozhou, the price cannot go up. It is true that Shangtian only costs six guan yuan per mu. The humble official has just investigated Pass."

"Okay! Let's count at six guans per mu!"

Chen Qing said in a stern tone: "You have illegally occupied 550 mu of land, of which 450 mu must be taken back by the government, and the title deed shall be voided. The remaining 150 mu of land has no right to grant the land because you are not a farmer in northern Shaanxi, but you can You are given a choice, either you return the land to the government, or you buy it for six guan dollars per mu, deducting the 450 guan money you paid before, and you need to pay [-] guan money, you choose yourself.”

Wang Qiang sat down on the ground, '450 pennies! He was so sad that he couldn't say a word, Chen Qing said to the magistrate Li Kuan again: "He said that he gave the former magistrate 150 guan, and he must be asked to produce evidence. The records of the year are also acceptable. What is the name of the former magistrate?"

"It's called Ma Changxing!"

"Want me this Ma Changxing, use Grade A wanted arrest, and offer a reward of [-] guan!"

Level A wanted people are wanted all over the world. Although they can't reach the Central Plains, there are many bounty hunters in Jianghu who specialize in getting rewards for the government's arrest of criminals. Five hundred guan is enough to tempt many bounty hunters.

More importantly, the Class A arrest warrant will be upgraded. If you do not voluntarily surrender within one year, you will be sentenced to death in absentia, and the arrest warrant will be upgraded to a reward for the head.

So once wanted, unless you have the ability and power to protect yourself, you will take the initiative to surrender to avoid being beheaded by bounty hunters for rewards.

Chapter 724 Shan County

At this time, Wang Qiang's eldest son, Wang Fei, kowtowed and said, "Report to the county king, the villain still has something to report!"

"What else?"

"Last year, we reached a contract with three families and purchased their ancestral land of [-] mu at the price of three pennies per mu. May I ask the king of the county, is this contract legal?"

"Have they all signed and pledged?"

"It's all signed and pledged, and there is an intermediary, and we have paid taxes to the government."

Chen Qing nodded, "Since this contract is between you and me, although the price is a little lower, it is still legal. The 450 mu of land can be removed from the [-] mu of land. You only need to pay [-] mu of the remaining [-] mu of land. The money is enough, but the other [-] mu of land is illegal and must be taken back.”

Jiang Kuangyuan, the First Department of the Supervision Department, nodded secretly, adhering to principles without losing tolerance. This is a classic judgment case and must be promoted throughout Guanzhong.

……

Two days later, Chen Qing tried another major land case in Heyang and created another case. The county captain Han Sangnong turned all his relatives into farmers in northern Shaanxi, and each family was granted two to three hundred acres of land. acquired [-] acres of land.

The nature of this case is different from that of Wang Yuanwai. It is an official who used his power to occupy the land privately. Therefore, all the land of Han Sangnong’s relatives was confiscated and owned by the government. There was no choice, and Han Sangnong was dismissed on the spot.

This is the second typical case involving officials' land.

And the third case is the big case of Zhizhou Wang Xingmi, involving nearly [-] mu of land. This case is even worse. He didn't bother to pretend to be a farmer in northern Shaanxi to take advantage of policy loopholes. Instead, he bought [-] mu of land with empty gloves. The idle land involves Fengyi County, Heyang County and Hancheng County.

In the name of his brother-in-law, Wang Xingmi successively purchased [-] mu of land from the government at a price of [-] yuan per mu. All done.

If it weren't for Han Sangnong and the county officials to expose him in order to exonerate him, this matter would really not have been discovered.

Wang Xingmi was confiscated of all his land and removed from all official posts. Both he and his brother-in-law were sentenced to exile in Yantian as coolies for five years.

This is the third typical major case, ten times worse than the case of Han Sang Nonggeng. He was an official who personally seized the land, and the crime was aggravated.

The judgments of three typical cases were printed, and Chen Qing ordered them to be distributed to all parts of Guanzhong, and ordered to be implemented by reference.

After the land case was over, Chen Qing came to Pujin Pass, where an army of [-] was assembled, led by Yang Zaixing and Liu Cui.

But Chen Qing's real goal is not Hedong, but Shanzhou and Guozhou.

Shanzhou is a narrow and long state, including the narrow and long states on both sides of the Yellow River. The south bank of the Yellow River is the old road of Weihan, and the north bank of the Yellow River is also a long and narrow area, located between the Zhongtiao Mountains and the Yellow River.

The north bank of the Yellow River is not difficult to attack. From Fenglingdu to cross the Yellow River and attack all the way, the enemy's garrison is not many, only a few thousand people. The difficulty is the south bank of the Yellow River, including Weihan Old Road, Hangu Pass and Shanxian County. They are all extremely hard to crack.

However, what Chen Qing considered was hard attack and outsmart.

On the second night after arriving at the Pujinguan camp, Chen Qing led an army of [-] troops to the south and headed for Tongguan.

Chen Qing divided his troops into three groups, one with Liu Cui as the commander, crossed the Yellow River from Fenglingdu, and captured the northern part of the Yellow River in Shanzhou, and the other with Liu Qiong as the commander, leading an army of [-] to capture Guozhou.

And Chen Qing personally led an army of [-], with Yang Zaixing as the deputy general, and Niu Gao as the vanguard, to attack Weihan's old way.

Since it is called outsmarting, Chen Qing's chess pieces have already been laid quietly...

Shan County is located in the east extension of the Qinling Mountains and the intersection of Funiu Mountain, Xiong'er Mountain and Xiao Mountain. The terrain is complex and dangerous. The county seat is located on the terrace on the south bank of the Yellow River. "The strategic position is extremely important.

Because of its important strategic position, Shan County's military status is also very prominent. The circumference of the city is about [-] miles, and the city wall is as high as three feet. It is strong and generous, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Ten years ago, Song general Li Yanxian and Wanyan Loushi fought a bloody battle with [-] Jin soldiers, and they defended Shanzhou for two years. Finally, the food ran out. Shan County was attacked by Jin soldiers with giant catapults. Died in a bloody battle.

Although seven years have passed, the traces of the smoke and fire of that year can still be seen on the city wall, and the impact craters on the city wall are still shocking.

However, the order in the city was gradually restored, with a population of more than [-]. Since the Puppet Qi did not prohibit commercial exchanges with Shaanxi Road, Shan County became an important transit point for east-west trade, and the business was very prosperous.

Every day, there is an endless stream of merchants entering and leaving the city. This morning, a caravan of more than [-] people came from the west, carrying hundreds of camels and fully loaded with goods. This is a relatively large-scale caravan. , the leader of the caravan is Qiao Lin, a native of Luoyang, who is well-known on the Weihan Ancient Road, and is known to both the generals and soldiers defending the city.

After Qiao Lin paid a few cups of tea money to the generals defending the city according to the rules, he led the camel team into the city. The first step in entering the city was to pay taxes. This caused complaints from merchants. On the contrary, Sichuan and Shaanxi exempted commercial taxes. The consequence of this was that a large amount of copper money flowed into the Central Plains and a large amount of materials flowed into Guanzhong.

As far as the puppet Qi is concerned, the harm of this one-way flow of materials is not yet visible. On the contrary, a large amount of copper coins entered the Central Plains, which made the official copper coins abundant and the army also had money to pay salaries.

Therefore, there are not many caravans like Qiao Lin bringing goods into the city. In the past, Qiao Lin would have a big fight with the tax collectors, thinking that their valuation was too high, but today he was very silent and paid the tax happily. The tax collectors felt strange and made fun of him.

"Old Qiao, did you get squeezed out by a woman last night, so you don't have the energy to quarrel today?"

The tax collectors laughed, but Qiao Lin didn't bother them, and went to the inn after paying the tax.

The inn is right next to the city gate. It is called the Three Bridges Inn. This bridge means Qiao Lin. He owns [-]% of the inn. The third is Du Sanlang, his brother-in-law, who is also a big businessman. home inn.