imprinted you in my heart

After the Lantern Festival in the second year of Tianfu, Xing Boen bid farewell to his parents and cousin Liu Fei, and left Fandu with a letter of appointment issued by the officials, full of enthusiasm and four entourages, and went to Guanghai County below Huanhai Province to take up his post.

Last year, when they went west with the army, there were five of them, Yang □□ and the others, and they fought and romped along the way, which was quite lively. Thinking about it now, she felt that they were not going to fight at that time, but rather went for fun .

It wasn't until half a month after arriving at the front line that the six of them went to the battlefield for the first time, killed the enemy and were injured by the enemy, did they realize the cruelty of war. She almost died on the battlefield once, but fortunately she reacted quickly to save the day.

She felt that it was due to the fact that she never failed to practice martial arts every day during these years as a servant, especially in the following nine years, under the influence of His Majesty, she became more and more vigorous, so her martial arts improved greatly.

Fighting with the army for nearly half a year, she witnessed with her own eyes that the corpses piled up like mountains when cleaning the battlefield. After a battle, tens of thousands would have to be hundreds of thousands. She remembered the smallest battle, when the scouts from both sides met and all died. After contacting more than a dozen people, she realized that the blood written in the book was so bloody.

She still remembers the day when they survived the battlefield for the first time, neither they nor Yang, who was the most talkative, didn't talk much. It wasn't until they went to the battlefield more times and suffered more injuries that they began to get used to it. What they didn't expect was that the war ended in less than a month after they got used to it.

They have also gradually grown from ordinary soldiers to mature lower-level officers. After the war, under the guidance of Teacher Gu and Marshal Gu, they handled many post-war affairs, which also made her full of enthusiasm for the upcoming county magistrate. confidence.

It would take at least a month to go from Fandu to Guanghai County by land. This is still the state of riding a horse for a hundred miles a day. I chose to go to Danzhong Province by land first, and then turn to the waterway to reach the territory of Huanhai Province.

Arriving in Linxian County, Guanghai County in early February, she just disembarked. Because there are only lakes and some tributaries in the city, the boats are also places for painting and entertainment, so when she first planned to take the waterway, she was very excited, excited to sit for so long But after sitting on a boat for so long, she no longer has any expectations about taking a boat.

As soon as Xing Boen entered Guanghai County with her four companions, she asked a vague but completely different question. After staying in Guanghai County for half a month, she realized that it was the saltiness of sea water. fishy smell.

After entering Guanghai County, Xing Boen did not go to the county government immediately to take office, but a businessman disguised as a businessman lived in an inn, spent two days mingling among the lobby, teahouses, and shops, and let the four attendants also Look around secretly.

"Know yourself and the enemy, and you will be victorious in all battles." This is what her teachers taught her, and it was also taught by her majesty, and it was also taught by her mother before she left. After nearly half a year of training with the army, she understood this truth even more deeply, so From now on, she will never fight an uncertain battle.

On the third day, he went to the county government office with his entourage, and after showing his documents and private seals to prove his identity, he successfully completed the work handover and official seal handover with the acting county magistrate, Yuan County Wei Wu Wenhua, and officially took office.

Until now, she still remembers the reluctance and commemoration of Wu County Lieutenant when he handed over the official seal to her. Also, the acting county magistrate has been domineering for half a year, so it is normal to be reluctant.

She will always remember the scene when His Majesty summoned her privately on the tenth day of the first lunar month, when a light snow fell from the sky, His Majesty retreated to the left and right, and stood alone outside the hall to catch the snow with his hands, with a dignified back that she had never seen before.

"Born, do you know that the current Dahua is no longer the Dahua of the Four Emperors?" Shi Min

"I know it, but I also know that Dahua will be restored to its former glory in His Majesty's hands." Xing Boen

"I sent you to work in Guanghai County. You have complaints. There are only you and me here. Boen can be blunt." Shi Min

"I don't have any complaints, and I believe that His Majesty has intentions, lest I live up to His Majesty's expectations." Xing Boen

Shi Min put down his hands and turned around, "I believe you won't let me down. You go to Guanghai to take office. In addition to being a good county magistrate, you also need to find out what the local government is doing for me, especially whether there are large salt farms along the coast. Violation of the operation, once found, you can send a secret letter back'.

"I will do my best to complete the task, and I will not disappoint Your Majesty." Xing Boen felt that the burden on his shoulders was heavier than ever.

Looking back now, she has a sense of honor and responsibility that "heaven will send a great task to everyone", and she is willing to do everything for the task that His Majesty privately entrusted, because she knows that although His Majesty has never said it, she is very clear in her heart now. Greed is prevalent in Dahua's officialdom, and she can also find her disgust for it in her words and deeds.

She also hates corrupt officials, because these officials already hold the state's salary and enjoy a very high status, but they don't want to be loyal to the king and serve the country. Instead, they try their best to squeeze the people and fill their pockets.

She, Xing Boen, would never take the common people's needles and threads, greedy for a copper coin from the common people, if she is an official in the court, she will be innocent and seek the well-being of the common people, and if she is in the wild, she will work hard to be a prosperous common people, so as to live up to His Majesty's love.

After more than a month of forbearance and secret collection of evidence, Xing Boen has already grasped some corruption evidence of Lieutenant Wu, and even accidentally discovered that there is someone behind him. Who is it?And what is hidden?she does not know.

Moreover, the entire Huanhai officialdom was very wary and repulsive of her because she was once a servant of His Majesty. In order to better complete the tasks assigned by His Majesty, she spent more than two months contacting, acting, and dressing up as another It was only because of her appearance that they gradually accepted her.

Even in order not to make them suspicious, she never wrote a secret letter to Fandu after she arrived in Guanghai County. The words of the memorandum have no confidentiality at all. She is afraid that she will be intercepted before she reaches His Majesty, and she dare not take risks. .

But the money she received from them was already 100 taels in less than a month, which was more than a county magistrate's annual salary, which was beyond Xing Boen's imagination. With so many points, does it mean that the higher you go, the more you will get?Xing Boen didn't dare to think about it, so he wrote a secret letter and sent it to Fandu together in his home letter.

It was already mid-May when Shi Min received the secret letter from Minister of War Xing An privately forwarded for Xing Boen. After reading the letter, if he didn't have enough self-control, he would throw the table and throw a tantrum.

In fact, apart from Xing Boen, Shi Min also met Yang □□ and the other five in private at different times, and arranged similar but not identical secret missions, and all of them received their secret letters before Xing Boen, unfortunately. The content is far less substantial and shocking than Xing Boen's.

A small county magistrate can have a gray income of 100 taels a month, which is equivalent to 200 taels a year, and this is the lowest, because her instinct tells her that there will definitely be another income at the end of the year.

There are several counties with large-scale salt farms in the coastal provinces of Dahua, and countless small-scale salt farms. The situation in Huanhai Province is by no means unique. No wonder the price of salt has been rising steadily since Yingzong. In short, it is comparable to modern housing prices.

As far as Shi Min knows, the table salt produced in Huaguo mainly depends on sea salt. Although there is also well salt, the quantity is small and the output is small, so it mainly depends on sea salt.

According to historical records, Dahua's salt is not only used for the consumption of domestic subjects, but also traded with Kang, Qing, Wolf, and Braque, which are not near the sea, in exchange for their minerals, cattle, sheep, horses, and precious furs. The price of salt in China keeps rising, and the trade in salt is less and less. Up to now, most of them rely on trade with Anguo and Nanluo in exchange for salt.

Shi Min now understands that with so many moths, the price of salt is hard to imagine, and the trend of extravagance is really on the rise!Typical sunset view!

Xing Boen also wrote in the letter that if the people want to sue or do things, they have to pay bribes first, and then the gate guards will run errands for them to report inside, and even specially attached a saying that reflects the truth: the Tianzi Yamen opens to the south, Don't come in without money.

It is very similar to the common sayings that reflect the greed of ancient officials in modern times. Corruption is really an eternal problem that different eras, different time and space, and different courts have to face. Shi Min suddenly felt a little headache.

She knows that when the water is clear, there will be no fish, and she also knows that the corrupt officials in the world cannot be killed, so she never thought of governing the country without a single corrupt official, because even if she worked hard all her life, she would not be able to achieve this effect.

She doesn't have high requirements, as long as most of the officials are upright officials, and even if they are greedy, they only dare to be small, not big, or even corrupt groups in Xingcheng, and stop the greed that has gradually formed since Yingzong, that's all. .

But these are easy to say, but difficult to do, because once she vigorously punishes corrupt officials, it will inevitably affect the interests of many people, and there will be a price to be paid if she touches other people's cheese.

For the next two afternoons, Shi Min stayed alone in the Wenxuan Hall to write and draw, wrote and revised, and only after he was satisfied did he put the written memorial in a secret place to prevent people from seeing it. .

Shi Min wanted to see if the Fandu mansion under the emperor's feet was like Xing Boen's letter said, "Don't come in if you have a reason and no money", so he changed into casual clothes and left the palace one morning after the court, and only brought Xixia and two people with him. All the imperial guards also changed into casual clothes.

Not long after leaving the palace in the carriage, Shi Min asked the driver to go back, and took Xixia and the others on foot. Fandu Mansion is in the west of the city. She left the palace through Yongsi Gate, and walked a certain distance before getting out of the carriage. , It should be about half an hour.

Fandu Mansion is not only the capital of Yong'an Province, but also the government office that directly manages the daily affairs of Fandu, the capital of Huaguo. According to its nature, it should belong to local officials, but because of its particularity at the foot of the emperor, it is actually designated as Beijing officials.

When Shi Min and Xixia arrived in Fandu Mansion, they happened to see an old lady talking with the gatekeeper. After they shook hands and bribed, the servant went in to report, and the little hope that had been reported was wiped out.

Dare to do this at the feet of the emperor, not to mention those yamens far away from the emperor, Shi Min could imagine what other yamens would be like, and finally turned around with a sneer and left with a brush of his sleeves.

Xi Xia and the Imperial Guard who witnessed the whole bribery process together with the master lowered their heads because they had done the same thing before, as if the shame of being seen through by the master made them unable to lift their heads. ?