Great Blue Night Watchman

"who?"

Before Zeng Shigui could answer, a voice suddenly came from outside: "Brother Zeng!"

Zeng Shigui jumped up suddenly and saw the two people standing at the gate of the county government at a glance. His face suddenly turned red. With a roar, he jumped directly from the second floor, breaking a brick under his feet. , the wind brought up almost blew the poor old catcher over...

On the second floor of the county government office, Zeng Shigui raised his tea cup: "Brother Lin, I have been looking forward to your coming to Beichuan day and night, and you are finally here."

Lin Su smiled slightly: "What's going on? Tell me..."

I talked about this all afternoon...

Lin Su looked up at the sky: "I see, no wonder you are helpless!"

Zeng Shigui and Lin Jialiang essentially belong to the same type of people, the kind of people who are full of books from sages and full of rules and regulations.

People like them, in a good environment, will be a breath of fresh air in the officialdom, but in a bad environment, they will be mediocre officials who achieve nothing, because their hands and feet are all bound by invisible rules and regulations. Able to spin in circles.

Sanping County at that time was actually similar to Beichuan County. Lin Su used the thieves from Liehu Mountain to pacify the hometown of Zhizhou Ding Jiye, and then reshuffled Sanping County. For such a method, Lin Jialiang did not say that he would do it himself, but let him He couldn't stand watching from the sidelines.

Zeng Shigui's eyes lit up: "Brother Lin, do you have any good ideas?"

"There are still too few available things... By the way, has Li Zhiyuan arrived?"

"I've been back for three days!"

"Okay, let's go to his place and have a look..."

Zeng Shigui was slightly shocked: "Brother Lin, the black swamp he was in was almost the Haining River Beach back then. Brother Lin is quite looking forward to his visit..."

When thinking of dirty places, Haining River Beach naturally comes to mind. This may be a common problem among people in Lin Su's circle of friends.

The two figures flew away in the air. Old Li, the head catcher who was on guard at the gate, looked at the sky and was a little confused. The Lord has been working in Beichuan for two years, and this was the first time he saw such a cheerful smile on the Lord's face. Could it be said that the person who comes today is the person you are waiting for? Who is he?

Beichuan County, to the south is Yuping Mountain. On the other side of Yuping Mountain is Dongting Lake, which is thousands of miles away. Yuping Mountain is not a barren land. It is a mountain of flowers and fruits with rich soil and flesh. The flowers and fruits are fragrant all year round. Even in the current summer when thousands of flowers are withered, there are still late-ripening yellow peaches hanging on the branches on the mountains.

Its greatest treasure is not the fruits on the trees, but the vineyards under the trees.

The vineyards all over the mountains and plains have given Beichuan County the reputation of a wine town.

It must be said that Zhao Xun is a good hand in officialdom, and he is very good at giving back to his hometown. He has good friends with the court officials. He is His Majesty's favorite. He told the court officials that the officialdom also needs wine anyway, so use The demon clan’s wine doesn’t taste good, so it’s better to use the human clan’s own good wine to be in line with the holy way. Beichuan, the hometown of the little old man, is rich in high-quality wine. Why not buy it from the officialdom? On the one hand, the officialdom has wine available, on the other hand, Beichuan Thirty Thousands of people can make a living because of this, killing two birds with one stone, why not?

Not even His Majesty can object to this statement.

Beichuan wine gradually became the official reception wine, the brand was polished, and the money came rolling in.

Few people in the capital know that what Zhao Xun said about benefiting 300,000 people in Beichuan is a bit watery. What really benefits is his Zhao family and the tens of thousands of people who are closely related to the Zhao family, ordinary people who account for an absolute proportion of the population. , not to mention taking a share in this feast, not even a bit of oil or water.

Ordinary people were driven north.

Huaguo Mountain is to the south and swampland is to the north.

Before leaving, Zeng Shigui introduced Lin Su to the swamps in the north of Beichuan, which was on the same level as the Haining River Beach in the past. However, after arriving at the boundary, Lin Su still felt that Zeng Shigui had shown some kindness. This place, To be honest, it is really not as good as the Haining River Beach.

As long as it is not the flood season, the Haining River Beach is dry.

Here, the ground is a big mud puddle. As long as the ground is a little dry, thatched houses have been built. There are puddles outside the front rooms of the thatched houses. The visible puddles are easy to deal with. As long as you are not blind, you can get around them. The key is those There are some weeds growing on the ground, which looks like solid ground, but there may be a swamp below. If you accidentally step on it, you will slip away and no one will be seen!

Zeng Shigui told Lin Su: Maybe there is only one good place here. The children are quite well-behaved. Almost all the children running around are gone...

Lin Su said she couldn't laugh at this cold humor.

In front is a forest, which is the main settlement area for 300,000 residents. In the swamp area, the biggest threat comes from under the feet. Places with grass are not safe, but places with trees are safer. Big trees can grow. Below There must be hard ground, so they all gathered in this forest. On the outer edge of the forest, they planted crops on a few limited pieces of land, and they were reluctant to leave even the ridges. Even the road is reluctant to leave.

They walked towards the settlement between the crops.

"How many people are here?" Lin Su asked.

"This settlement is the largest. From this mountain to Wutan, there are a total of 33,000 households, about 130,000 people."

“What do they do for a living?”

"There is no land here, and it is obviously impossible to rely on crops. The only crocodiles in the swamp can be made by killing them, but this is an extremely risky way of survival. Thousands of people are killed every year by the villagers' crocodile hunting team. . Even if there is income, the market price is not high and the income is meager."

Crocodiles get little?

This is difficult to understand in modern society, but it is very normal here. No one thinks that crocodile leather belts are higher-end than cow leather leather belts. No one carries a crocodile leather bag. There is no such thing as a wallet. Crocodile meat is no more hungry than pork... …

Zeng Shigui was very conspicuous in his official uniform. He was surrounded by people as soon as he entered the village...

"The county magistrate is here!"

"The common people pay homage to the county magistrate!"

"Sir, the old man was reluctant to sell the crocodile meat that you personally killed a month ago. He made it into dried fish and is waiting for you to come and taste it. You must have this meal today..."

Lin Su's eyes widened. Zeng Shigui was so popular here. The reason for his popularity was that he took off his official uniform and followed the villagers to kill crocodiles...

Zeng Shigui spoke: "Is Mr. Li Zhiyuan back?"

Zhiyuan? Since he came back three days ago, he has been killing crocodiles. Sir, you must not have imagined that he killed a thousand crocodiles in these three days. If they were sold, he would get three thousand taels of silver. Everyone said that a literary expert, Worthy of thousands of team members, our village is lucky to have Li Zhiyuan...

Lin Su swallowed speechlessly.

A royal inspector's role is actually a high-end crocodile hunting force?

As an inspector, Li Zhiyuan was always worried about being unable to change the appearance of his hometown. However, the villagers were not disappointed. They were still proud of him, because as soon as he, a literary expert, came back, his record of killing crocodiles went straight to the top. With the rapid rise, the villagers can have enough to eat for a month.

On the outskirts of the village, by the swamp, Lin Su stared at the man running away with a large crocodile on his shoulders, unable to connect him with the strict Li Zhiyuan of the Capital Supervision Department.

"Master Li, others are going back to their hometowns to visit relatives, but you are going back to your hometown just to work overtime..."

The crocodile on Li Zhiyuan's shoulder slipped down. Watching Lin Su's expression change, the crocodile under his feet opened its mouth and bit Li Zhiyuan in one bite.

Several people behind him exclaimed in unison. Li Zhiyuan stepped down without even looking, accurately stepping on the upper jaw of the crocodile. The crocodile was pressed into the mud and struggled desperately, but could not get out.

"Coming?" These two words have endless meanings.

"coming!"

"Sit at home!"

"good!"

Li Zhiyuan waved his hand behind him: "Today's crocodile hunting is over. Brothers, come back!"

Li Zhiyuan's home is located on a hillside in the center of the scattered village. Lin Su also met his family. His father was an ordinary farmer with a broken hand, but this was just the appearance in front of him. Twenty years ago, The Li family is still a prominent family in Beichuan. His father also has a literary degree and is a scholar. It was only after his family fell into decline that he completed his magnificent transformation - from a scholar to a crocodile hunter in the black swamp. His arm is a crocodile hunter. Discarded.

His mother was already haggard, but her former ladylike demeanor could still be vaguely seen.

His sister was a village girl through and through. When she saw Lin Su being a little distracted, she almost knocked over the broken table when she brought him tea. Her father gave him a fierce look and hid...

His wife and a pair of children are all standard villagers. The only difference from the surrounding villagers may be that their demeanor is different from ordinary people. His son can still come over and treat Lin Su with standard etiquette. Meet Zeng Shigui.

Everyone knows Zeng Shigui.

Regarding Lin Su, Li Zhiyuan introduced to his father: This is Lord Lin Sulin, a top scholar who debuted as a champion, and is currently also in the Supervision Department, a fourth-rank official.

As a result, the old man almost knocked over the table...

It can be seen that Li Zhiyuan's status in the hearts of the villagers is still very high, basically equivalent to Lin Su's status in Haining River Beach. How do the villagers reflect this? Send food!

They brought all kinds of food, including fresh vegetables, dried crocodiles, and even wine. Although this wine was extremely muddy and sour, it was something that the villagers would never bear to drink. Lin Su forced herself to swallow it, and Li Zhiyuan was quite moved. A person like Lin Su, a person who enjoys food and enjoys food, can drink this kind of wine, which is really a great honor...

After dinner, chatting...

Lin Su raised his head and said: "Dear fellow villagers, Mr. Li and I are both from the Supervision Department of the capital. I might as well tell you frankly that I am here to deal with the Zhao family. So, do you have any grievances that you want to redress? If you want revenge, tell me any grievances you have..."

At the beginning, the floodgates were opened to release water. The floodwaters of the villagers were released for thousands of miles and could not be stopped at all...

Mr. Lin, I am originally from Yuping Mountain, and my ancestors have lived there for generations, but the Zhao family is too overbearing. They insist that my grandson stole his peaches and want the old man to pay three taels of silver. The old man cannot afford the compensation, so they will Drive down the mountain...

Mr. Lin, I have seen the shamelessness of the Zhao family with my own eyes. They planted peaches everywhere, even at the door of my house, blocking the door. My old man accidentally broke a branch, and they dared to ask for five dollars. Two taels of silver, poor old man, he couldn't turn around in one breath, he was so angry, it's been ten years since I came here with my three-month-old grandson...

Mr. Lin, you must make the decision for us. Half of the people in the entire Black Marsh have lived in Yuping Mountain for decades. Now all of them have their families broken up. In order to drive people away, they will do any despicable thing. When I came out, I saw with my own eyes that they pushed my son off the cliff and threw him to death. However, when I brought the case to the government, they said that my son had made a mistake on his own...

Mr. Lin, everyone says that the Zhao family is a high-ranking official in the capital, and officials protect each other. No one can do this for us ordinary people...

From the afternoon until the sunset, Zeng Shigui held a pen in his hand and wrote twenty pages. Every word and every word recorded the blood and tears of the people. Every word, he complained about the Zhao family's sins. …

The people finally dispersed, and the Li family yard was finally empty, but the people did not leave and were still outside the yard...

They seem to be waiting for a miracle, but they also know that this miracle is almost impossible to happen.

In the fenced yard, Li Zhiyuan's eyes slowly withdrew from the distance: "Two adults, even if the villagers talk about three days and three nights, it is just the tip of the iceberg of the evil deeds committed by the Zhao family. However, the biggest problem is that the Zhao family has He is well versed in the ways of doing evil and is good at evading legal punishment. The evidence you can find will be ineffective against him, but for a real felony, you will never find evidence of guilt."

"Exactly!" Zeng Shigui said: "Perhaps in the eyes of the villagers, I, the county magistrate, am afraid of the second-rank high-ranking officials in the court. No one will believe it. I would rather hold iron evidence and go head-to-head with the old thief Zhao. Even if I die, it is better than living in this country." Suffering in this quagmire..."

Lin Su slowly raised his eyes...

Both of their eyes were focused on his face...

Lin Su spoke: "There is something I don't understand."

"What?"

"Whose is Yuping Mountain?"

In order to drive people away from Yuping Mountain, the Zhao family really used all kinds of tricks, including extortion and fraud. This shows that Yuping Mountain does not belong to the Zhao family. If they have the land deed, they only need to Once the land deed is revealed, everyone has to get out, so why do you need these underhanded tactics? The design alone of these methods is quite laborious. Why?

Therefore, Lin Su first concluded that Yuping Mountain did not belong to the Zhao family.

Secondly, it seems that Yuping Mountain does not belong to these villagers, because the villagers have listed thousands of clues, and none of them involve the land deed. If there was a land deed, they would have said it long ago.

Li Zhiyuan replied: "Yuping Mountain used to be a barren mountain. According to the provisions of Da Cang Law, anyone can occupy the barren mountain to open up wasteland."

Zeng Shigui also agreed: "I checked the county annals and found that Yuping Mountain was indeed a barren mountain before."

Precisely because it is a barren mountain, there are these loopholes to exploit.

Lin Su frowned: "Beichuan County at the foot of Yuping Mountain has been established for 800 years. What reason is there for such a mountain to be deserted to this day?"

Li Zhiyuan's brows also tightened suddenly, yes!

Beichuan County is not a new county. It has a history of 840 years. Yuping Mountain is just outside the county seat. It is definitely not an inaccessible deep mountain and old forest. Moreover, the mountains are rich in soil and meat. How can it be deserted? Even if it was indeed a barren mountain when the county was founded, there have been four nationwide "explorations" in Da Cang's history. What is "exploration"? That is to carry out a large-scale re-examination, issue title deeds to the developed barren hills, and recognize the sovereignty. In any case, there is no reason why Yuping Mountain remains an ownerless barren hill.