I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

Chen Qingyun frowned slightly. The person outside was the eunuch who had been with him through thick and thin for half his life. He had seen all kinds of scenes, so how could he suddenly lose his composure?

Could it be that we encountered some barbarians from the grassland?

She leaned forward and was stunned when she saw the scene clearly.

A construction site actually appeared on the rugged mountain road in this remote and poor area. A large group of strong men were shouting slogans and tamping the road with great effort.

Not far away, there were many people unloading blue-gray powder from carts, adding water and mixing it with sand and gravel.

Several clerks were surrounding the cart, apparently counting.

Looking at the bustling construction site, Chen Qingyun felt anger burning in his chest.

A minor official stated that this was an official project, which meant that these people were all corvée laborers!

But now is the time for sowing. If all the young men go out to perform corvée, what will happen to the family's land? If the sowing time is missed, what will the people eat?

The common people had land but nothing to eat, so they had to sell their land and become tenants, and they had to pay three extra levels of rent for no reason!

No, according to the report from Qianqisi, three floors are considered too few. The rent in the Jiangnan area is not only five or six floors, but it has been collected for more than ninety years!

Chen Qingyun knew that some wealthy families would annex land during years of famine, and would seize it through lending and other means in normal times.

However, Jiang Zuo's approach opened her eyes. As long as the people were forced to perform labor service during the spring ploughing season, the effect of starving them to death could be achieved, and then the land could be annexed.

You have to know that corvée labor means neither food nor money, it means working for the government at a loss.

Chen Qingyun's chest heaved violently, and the murderous intent in his eyes almost solidified into reality, making Qiuyue beside him even more frightened, and she silently lit a candle for Jiang Zuo.

The prime minister who made Chen Qingyun so angry last time has had his nine clans and three generations buried in two acres of land.

Originally, Chen Qingyun had some good feelings towards Jiang Zuo. After all, he always cried poor and kept delaying the payment of taxes.

But every time he brought a lot of rare things, such as a palm-sized mirror, soap, white sugar, and even perfume.

No matter how valuable these things are, they make Chen Qingyun very satisfied. After all, there is no woman who doesn't like perfume.

Moreover, all taxes were paid in full afterwards. Chen Qingyun had seen all kinds of tricks before and could probably guess that Jiang Zuo was just crying poor.

However, the news reported by the Qianqi Division made her curious. She wanted to see whether Jiang Zuo was really capable or was just hooking up with the grassland people.

No matter which one it is, Chen Qingyun can ensure his own safety. Ten thousand frontier cavalry have already silently moved south and can raid Anding County in half an hour.

If it is the former, Chen Qingyun will get a capable general. If it is the latter, she can also use Jiangzuo to hook the grassland people and make a profit.

But I didn't expect to encounter this scene as soon as I entered Anding County.

Chen Qingyun got off the carriage with a face as gloomy as water.

"Order! The Tiger Army should immediately..."

She was halfway through giving the order when she suddenly frowned again, as if... something was wrong.

Chen Qingyun discovered that the construction site in front of her did not feel lifeless. After she stopped thinking, she saw that each of these strong men had a smile on his face.

This is totally wrong, because corvée labor means working for the government at a loss. How can you still laugh about it?

After pondering for a moment, Chen Qingyun did not mobilize the army, but took the initiative to walk towards the construction site.

Seeing a stranger coming, the clerk did not stop him. He just looked at the sundial and shouted.

"dinner time!"

A group of people suddenly lined up in a long queue. Chen Qingyun walked up to an old man at the back of the queue and asked curiously.

"Old man, how old are you this year?"

The old man glanced at Chen Qingyun beside him, his eyes full of amazement.

"Nell, you're pretty."

This accent of Yuzhou dialect left Chen Qingyun silent for a moment. How could there be a Yuzhou accent in the northern border?

She silently changed to an older man who was further back in the row.

The old man waved his hand to interrupt her question: "I know what you want to ask, isn't it just about why we are still working at our old age?"

He said to himself: "Judging from your attire, you should be the daughter of a wealthy family. We are different. We are refugees from all over the world."

"Our county magistrate is kindhearted. Whenever there is a disaster, he quietly sends people to pick up refugees and gives us work to do. He is like a living Buddha!"

Chen Qingyun: “…”

Is it a good thing to take you here to work? Are you serious? Are you sure this is not the devil?

No wonder the refugees from the two recent droughts in Yuzhou and Jizhou were much fewer than expected. It turns out that the missing people are here.

After all, she was an empress, and she quickly figured out the problem. This group of people were different from the ordinary corvée laborers. Those minor officials were distributing meals.

Everyone was given a bowl of soup and two large steamed buns. Although he didn’t see what the soup was, Chen Qingyun saw clearly that they were white flour steamed buns!

Chen Qingyun couldn't believe his eyes. White flour buns? You feed white flour buns to refugees doing corvée labor?

Why don't you have another bowl of broth?

This is probably the food that an ordinary small landlord gets, right?

You have to know that in ancient times, even farmers who owned land could not necessarily eat a piece of white flour steamed bun during festivals, let alone these refugees?

The refugees can eat white flour buns by working. No wonder these people are happy about such a good thing. They also say that Jiang Zuo is a living Bodhisattva. Isn’t he? It’s rare for a county magistrate like him to have a longevity tablet at home.

Moreover, as an emperor, Chen Qingyun saw at a glance the other level of this matter, which is work-for-relief!

If this method is used in other disaster areas...

The more Chen Qingyun thought about it, the more possible it seemed to him. He almost clapped his hands in admiration. Jiang Zuo was truly a talented person. He could actually come up with such a good idea!

A smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. Just based on this one thing, as long as Jiang Zuo did not violate the laws of Dayan, his position as a small county magistrate would be moved.

Chen Qingyun felt that Jiang Zuo had the potential to enter the cabinet!

For a moment, she felt a little excited, wondering if Jiang Zuo could give her more surprises.

Chen Qingyun did not continue to ask questions. He turned back to the convoy and said calmly.

"Continue to Anding County."

In fact, she had missed one thing, which was the cement piled quietly not far away.

Compared with work-for-relief, cement that can build cities on the grassland is the real military weapon.

Along the way, Chen Qingyun's carriage no longer shook, which made her a little curious. After sticking her head out, she saw that the carriage had taken to a flat road at some point!

This road that looked like a bluestone pavement made her feel a little confused. She knew at a glance that the cost of building this road was astronomical!

Why was this road built in Anding County, a poor and dilapidated place like this?

Thinking of the refugees who had just performed labor service and were still eating steamed buns, Chen Qingyun narrowed his eyes.

Where does this money come from?

In fact, no matter what era, the methods of making money are written in the criminal law.

And in this borderland, if you want to make money...

Chen Qingyun already has the answer: smuggling!

Her good mood just now disappeared, and was replaced by murderous intent. No matter what dared to smuggle into the grassland, there was only one word for it: kill!

With murderous intent in mind, she arrived outside Anding County and saw another reason why Jiang Zuo had to die.