In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

In the spring of the second year of Qingli in the Song Dynasty, the imperial court promulgated new policies, reduced and reduced taxes on a large scale, and began to rest with the people.

After the decree was promulgated, local officials from all over the Song Dynasty quickly summoned local lizheng, household heads and other township officials to hold a meeting in the county government office.

This shows the importance of rectifying the administration of officials first.

Because in the early Song Dynasty, all government officials in various states and counties implemented the "sex service" household law, also known as the service law.

Among them, there are two types: "rural service" and "official service".

Li Zheng in the township service is mainly responsible for collecting taxes, while the household head is mainly responsible for receiving official documents from the government, similar to accountants, secretaries, and clerks, assisting Li Zheng in collecting taxes.

In the past, if local officials did not do their job well, they would most likely ignore the new policies of the imperial court and forget about them.

These rural servants are responsible for conveying the government orders from above. If the local officials do nothing, the only result is that the local rural servants and government officials will collect the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes that they should pay. If they pay less tax, the rest will become their own pockets.

But now the official administration is in place, and local officials are provided with policy subsidies and wages. In addition, the promulgation of new policies must be included in the examination law, and every month there are censors from the prefecture coming to inspect. Once it is found that there is no notification or there are mistakes in the policy, you will not be protected.

Therefore, county magistrates and county magistrates in various county governments are focusing on the New Deal.

Jiangnan East Road, Xinzhou.

Liu Yong, the new governor of Xinzhou, was transferred from Mingzhou, Zhejiang Province at the beginning of this year.

He became a Jinshi in the first year of Jingyou, served as a training and promotion officer of the Muzhou regiment for three years, and served as the magistrate of Yuhang County for three more years. In the second year of Baoyuan, he served as the salt supervisor of Dinghai. He has been a local official for nine years and has outstanding political achievements.

Therefore, this year the Ministry of Civil Affairs revised the officials and Liu Yong was selected as the top grade. Under normal circumstances, one should first be the sixth-rank magistrate of the prefecture, but because of his meritorious service in solving the Jiangnan illegal salt case in the magistrate's court and his really good political performance, he was promoted to the rank of fifth-rank magistrate of the prefecture.

At this moment, Liu Yong first convened the county magistrates at the prefectural government office in Shangrao County, the seat of Xinzhou, to convey the imperial policy. In April, about half a month later, he suddenly disguised himself and went on patrol incognito. It depends on the local situation.

Shangrao, as the administrative seat, strictly conveyed the imperial decree. The Shangrao County Magistrate not only urged Yaqianli Zheng and the head of the household to convey the news, but also personally went to the fields in each township to tell the story of the happy event over and over again.

When the farmers learned that their taxes would be significantly reduced this year, they cried with joy and rushed to tell each other. Farmers who were in good spirits and even straightened their waists could be seen everywhere in the fields.

Liu Yong was very happy to see this situation. He praised the Shangrao County Magistrate, reported his achievements to the Yushi Division, and then went to other counties.

There are six counties in Shinshu. The area is mountainous and hilly, so many villages are located among the mountains. It is not easy to deliver news. Sometimes, it may take a day or two to walk from the county seat to the villages under its jurisdiction. .

Among them, there are several villages in Junyang Mountain in Baofeng Town, Yiyang, among the high mountains. They are called Qingshan Township, which runs more than 70 miles south along the Qingshan River, which is the Shuanggang River, a tributary of the Rao River in later generations.

Baofeng Town is only more than thirty miles away from Yiyang County, but this township is the most remote township in Baofeng Town. Few local villagers go to the town, let alone the county.

Seeing the New Deal and seeing that summer taxes had to be paid, the rural landlords got into trouble with Li Zheng and concealed the news of the cancellation of a large number of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, urging the farmers to continue paying taxes. Almost all of the taxes that were not required to be paid fell into their hands. In the fanny pack.

By July, Liu Yong had inspected many places, and most places had basically completed the issuance of government orders. The farmers were in high spirits, and the entire state was filled with enthusiasm and joy.

"Your Majesty is known for his benevolence today. In the past, the Liao Kingdom and Xixia Kingdom were forced so hard that they had too many redundant troops. The country had to pay more taxes to maintain the military. Now Fan Gong defeated Yuan Hao in the west, defeated Zongzhen in the north, and promoted our Song Dynasty. The country's prestige means that we should lighten the corvee, reduce taxes, and rest with the people."

At the foot of Qingshan Township, Liu Yong, disguised as a mountain goods merchant, and Xinzhou general magistrate Jiang Xu were walking on the mountain road by the river. They had now walked more than half of Xinzhou. After inspecting Baofeng Town, they were heading to Guixi, where the final one point.

Liu Yong was wearing an ordinary long coat, and Jiang Quan was also wearing a similar look. The two of them were accompanied by guards composed of seven or eight state government officials, who seemed to be dressed in casual clothes.

Although the bulges around the waist look strange, it is usually difficult for those who are not knowledgeable to see it.

Jiang Xu said with a smile: "What the prefect said is true. The emperor is kind and loves the people like his own son. And the same goes for Mr. Liu? This time we traveled all over Xinzhou to see if the local people have enjoyed the grace of the court. "

"When you are in office, you have the responsibility of tending the land. The imperial court values ​​people's livelihood and the common people, and we dare not slack off."

Liu Yong let out a long sigh.

They then followed the rugged mountain road and entered the mountains under the guidance of a guide.

Just as they passed a small ridge, a figure appeared in front of them. It was a man about thirty years old, carrying a load. There were baskets on each side of the load, and two children were sitting in the baskets.

Seeing Liu Yong's large group of people, the man was stunned for a moment, and then continued to walk forward.

Seeing this scene, Liu Yong frowned, then walked over to ask for directions and said, "My dear friend, is this Qingshan Township ahead?"

In the Song Dynasty, Yiqin basically meant fellow villagers and fellow villagers.

The man only replied: "Yes." He didn't stop any longer and continued to move forward.

Liu Yong said hurriedly: "My dear Yi, where are you going with Li'er?"

The man stepped faster and did not respond.

When Liu Yong saw this, he ordered his surroundings: "Catch him."

In an instant, several government officials went up and held the man down. The man was shocked and said, "What are you doing? What do you want to do?"

"Don't arrest my grandpa, don't arrest my grandpa!"

a little girl yelled.

Liu Yong was stunned for a moment. He thought the man was in a hurry and was suspicious. He thought he was a trafficker who stole children.

Unexpectedly, he was actually the father of these two little girls.

Just as he was about to go up for questioning, a woman's voice from behind was getting closer and closer, with a whimper mixed in: "UuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuCome by, that's your own daughter!"

After a while, a woman hurriedly ran out from the end of the road.

She was wearing coarse linen clothes, which were patched, and her face was sallow and thin, but at this time her face was extremely sad, and she was crying loudly.

Seeing this situation, Liu Yong became even more confused and had to ask his men to let go of the man first.

At that moment, the woman had already arrived, rushed to the two children, hugged them, and said like a tearful person: "You want to sell your own daughter, are you still a human being?"

The man burst into tears and cried: "What can I do? There will be so many taxes this year. Manager Wang even took away the family's hoes. If they don't sell them, they will starve to death this year."

In an instant, Liu Yong understood. He looked at Jiang Can next to him with a solemn face. Jiang Can's whole face also darkened.

Nowadays, all parts of the country are focusing on political achievements and new policies. If Xinzhou fails to do the job at this juncture and is caught by the censor and reported to the court, then they will not be able to pass the assessment at all.

Performance pay is a trivial matter. The key is that they are all Jinshi. In ancient times, it was often difficult for people who entered the officialdom to be promoted to high positions, so they paid more attention to practical performance.

However, a diploma from a Jinshi background is much better than Menyin entering an official position or having the same Jinshi background, and the court often gives priority to promotions.

If they fail the assessment at this juncture, it will undoubtedly put their future in jeopardy.

The young couple was already crying in each other's arms.

Jiang Xu walked over and was about to speak when another large group of people came from behind.

The leader was a skinny man. When he saw the young couple on the boulevard on the hill ridge ahead, he said overjoyed: "Hurry, take them back."

"Manager Wang, what are you doing? I just want to sell my child, don't you allow me to do that?"

The man was shocked.

"Who allowed you to go down the mountain and sell it in the town? If you want to sell it, you can only sell it to our father-in-law."

"But your family only contributes so little money, and you have to use it to pay off debts. You don't give us any money or food at all. If this continues, we will starve to death this year."

"It's natural to pay back debts. Who made you owe money?"

Manager Wang sneered.

Liu Yong could no longer control his anger at this time, and said righteously: "You are so young, you have forced people to have their wives and children separated, what do you want to do? Do you have to force people to death to destroy their families and people?"

"You're such an unreasonable old man."

After all, Manager Wang was just the housekeeper of a wealthy landlord family in the village, and he couldn't be said to have any discernment. When he saw that Liu Yong and others were dressed like rough clothes, he sneered: "They owe our father money, so they should use their children to pay off the debt. Children If you can’t afford it, take your wife!”

Liu Yong was extremely angry and was about to have someone copy him.

Next to him, Jiang Xu calmed down. Seeing that there were quite a few people on the other side, there were about a dozen of them. She felt that a good man would not suffer the immediate loss, so she whispered to him: "Prefect, there are many of them, why not go back first and gather more people before coming back."

This sentence awakened Liu Yong. If he was in his twenties, he would probably have sex, but he is getting older. Although he used to hang out in romantic places and was sought after by prostitutes.

But because of this, I am used to seeing people smile when they are greeted, and I am used to people being so sophisticated. On the contrary, I have become more mature and mature, and not so cruel.

He had no choice but to take a few steps back.

When Manager Wang saw this, he smiled proudly and said, "You old man, just be your salesman, stop meddling in other people's business, and take this person back."

"Manager Wang, we will naturally pay back the money we owe, you guys?"

The young couple wailed.

But many thugs rushed forward, tied them up and marched back.

At this time, Liu Yong frowned, thinking about one thing.

Are you really just watching?

Although what Jiang Xu said made sense, even going to the Yiyang County Yamen to transfer people would take two days. The young couple didn't know how much difficulty and torture they would have to endure.

Moreover, it is difficult to say whether this landowner is involved with the Yiyang County Magistrate.

All joking aside, he was here for a private visit incognito. If it was near the county seat, or even in the surrounding mountainous villages, everything would be fine if he revealed his identity.

But in this deep mountain and old forest, if someone beats them to death and buries them anywhere, I'm afraid no one will know where they are in this life.

So Liu Yong was confused for a while.

‘What should I do at this time? ’

'If we go back to mobilize troops, I'm afraid it will be too late, and they may destroy the evidence. ’

'This is the best time to arrest people. The witnesses and material evidence are all there, and there is no room for denial! ’

‘But I have fewer people now. ’

‘By the way, think about what Zhiyuan would do if he were here? ’

‘He must be able to think of a way. ’

‘Yes, it can be outwitted! ’

Liu Yong immediately came up with a plan, and then said to everyone: "Everyone, I have a plan. If it works, it will definitely be a great achievement. By then, there may be hope for this year's clerk exam quota."

This clerk exam is the clerk exam, which was conducted after the two taxes were separated this year.

In this way, local clerks will have a salary and a promotion channel, which will very likely make clerks start to study and pursue progress. It can also greatly prevent clerks from colluding with others and breaking the law.

Knowing that there is a credit to be made and there is a chance to take the clerk exam. If you are lucky, you can become an official after passing the exam, and all the yamen runners are excited.

"Please tell me, even if it means going through fire and water."

"Please rest assured, these villains will be killed one by one by me, and they will not be allowed to get away!"

"Governor, give the order."

Everyone took out weapons from their backpacks or waists.

Liu Yong made a plan, and after listening to it, everyone immediately acted according to the plan.

Then the group quickly followed.

Among them, Liu Yong and Jiang Yu followed behind the steward Wang and suddenly stopped them, saying that they had something to discuss.

While the other party was stopping, the yamen runners who had already entered the deep mountains and old forests suddenly rushed out of the forest. There was a small slope more than one meter high on the right side of the road. Several people raised knives and roared, saying that they were the yamen runners of the state government.

This scene obviously scared the steward Wang and others. After all, they were just thugs and housekeepers in the countryside. The most common ones they encountered were the yamen runners in the county with water and fire sticks. Where had they seen those with knives?

If Liu Yong had clashed with them at the beginning, it was possible that under the situation that the other party was already vigilant, even if he revealed his identity, the other party might simply go all out and fight with them with the sticks in his hands.

But now the sudden sneak attack and the knife on the neck of everyone immediately made these people unable to react at all.

Then Liu Yong quickly revealed his identity, and after a yamen runner chopped down a thug who was trying to escape with a knife, the situation was instantly under control.

The yamen runners tied up more than ten of them, and then Liu Yong released the young couple and told them that he was ready to arrest the landlord, but he was not familiar with the situation in the village and hoped that they would help.

The young couple was still in a daze, but when they heard that Liu Yong was the prefect and was coming to arrest people, they burst into tears and expressed their willingness to lead the way.

However, Liu Yong was also worried that the landlord would resist, so he asked him to find the people in the village who were oppressed by the landlord and gather them together. He didn't say anything first, but just said that he saw hares and pheasants in the mountains and asked them to bring sticks and weapons to hunt.

Liu Yong specifically told him not to look for people who colluded with the landlord, but to find people who were oppressed by the landlord and owed debts, and they must be young, brave and strong.

Upon hearing this, the man immediately ran to the village to find someone.

With Liu Yong as his backer, he was also bold in doing things, and soon gathered about 30 young and strong people he knew in his village in Qingshan Township and two nearby villages.

After everyone arrived, Liu Yong shouted from a high place, revealing his identity, and then everyone rushed to the landlord's house with sticks, hoes, and shoulder poles.

In an instant, the landlord of Qingshan Township was outsmarted!