I, the queen and the father, start with a deer as a horse

Chapter 158 What the Salesian Bureau Sees and Heards

Wu Mingkong turned his head to look, and saw a man in an official robe standing at the door, bowing to salute.

He looked 40 years old, his face was full of wrinkles, and he looked a bit vicissitudes.

Not tall, very thin.

"You are Du Fang Township?"

Wu Mingkong stared at him and said coldly.

The man in the official robe saluted again: "Exactly."

Wu Mingkong burst into anger in his eyes, snorted coldly, and said coldly: "You are guilty!"

Du Fangxiang looked up, saw Wu Mingkong's exquisite face, and immediately lowered his head.

Almost sure of my guess.

This lord from Chang'an is His Majesty who visited in private!
He took a deep breath, summoned up his courage, and said in a deep voice:
"I don't know where the crime is."

Hearing this, Wu Mingkong became even more angry, gritted his silver teeth, and said coldly:

"The imperial court allocates money every year to set up Salesian Bureaus in various places to take in orphans, but what did I see when I came to the Salesian Bureau in Anhua County today?
These orphans who should be supported by the government are crowded in dilapidated houses with scant clothes, and even go to the street to beg for food and drink. As the county magistrate of Anhua, you tell me that you are not guilty?
Since you feel innocent, tell me where you used the money allocated by the imperial court! "

When Du Fangxiang heard this, he turned his head and glanced at the arrester behind him, and ordered:

"Go get the account books of the yamen!"

The catcher was still thinking, what is the origin of this lord in front of him, looking so young, he actually scolded the lord magistrate bloody.

Hearing the order, he was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said:

"Yes, my lord!"

Du Fangxiang turned his head, looked at the ground, and said in a deep voice:

"The imperial court allocates ten taels of silver to the Salesian Bureau every year. The use of each of these ten taels of silver is recorded by the lower officials."

"Twelve taels of silver?"

Wu Mingkong was slightly taken aback, somewhat disbelieving.

She has a fairly good understanding of the prices in Dagan, and knows that for a Salesian Bureau that supports hundreds of orphans, ten taels of silver is just a drop in the bucket.

Du Fangxiang nodded and replied, "Twelve taels."

Seeing that Du Fangxiang was calm and composed from the beginning to the end.

Wu Mingkong's expression was still cold, but his tone softened a bit, and he asked, "Why are there only ten taels? But because of the exploitation by all levels of government?"

Du Fangxiang hesitated for a moment, and said seriously: "As far as I know, the Ministry of Households allocates not much money to the Salesian Bureau, and there are only ten taels left in the county government, which is reasonable."

After a pause, he said to himself:

"The Salesian Bureau is only set up in a few state capitals around Chang'an, and there is not much money. The lower officials think that no one will be greedy for the money.

Moreover, the lower officials thought that the imperial court needed money in all aspects, and it was not easy to leave ten taels of silver to orphans and children. "

Wu Mingkong fell silent when he heard this.

After a while, she seemed to think of something, looked at Du Fangxiang, and said in a deep voice:
"If I remember correctly, the imperial court set up the Salesian Bureau, and there will be about [-] acres of official land. The output of these official lands is not enough for them to eat?"

Du Fangxiang smiled wryly, and raised his eyes to look at Wu Mingkong: "When the Salesian Bureau was first established, there were indeed corresponding official fields... Now that decades have passed, those original official fields have long been annexed, but now they are There isn't even an acre left."

The fields of a group of orphans are easier to occupy than the fields of farmers and military households.

Wu Mingkong took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said coldly: "Tell me, who occupied these official fields?"

Hearing this question, Du Fangxiang's face was solemn and he fell into silence.

Wu Mingkong snorted coldly and said coldly:
"I don't need to think about it, I know it must be a local gentry in Anhua County! You dare not say it because you took their benefits?!"

Du Fang Township was silent for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "Anhua County is only half a day away from Chang'an. The gentry in this county dare not think about the fields here."

Wu Mingkong stared at him, and asked forcefully: "It seems that you know the inside story! Why didn't you tell me!"

Du Fangxiang lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing this, Wu Mingkong was almost certain that Dufang Township, as the county magistrate of Anhua, colluded with officials and gentry, and turned a blind eye to the phenomenon of land annexation!
There was a hint of coldness in her eyes, and she said coldly:
"Don't say it?"

"Come on! Drag Du Fang Township, Magistrate of Anhua County, down to thirty sticks! Hit me hard!"

The voice fell.

The trembling little beggars suddenly became anxious and cried:
"Don't hit Uncle Du!"

"Do not hit!"

Wu Mingkong was slightly taken aback, looking at those little beggars, his eyes revealed a puzzled expression.

"He is greedy for your food and clothing, why do you still defend him?"

The little boy who was a little more courageous before said loudly with a crying voice:
"After Uncle Du came, we have a place to live, a quilt to cover, and something to eat!"

"You are not allowed to hit him!"

The little girl on the side, crying, pointed at Wu Mingkong with her little hand full of frostbite.

"Bad guy! Go away!"

When Du Fangxiang heard this, his expression changed, he looked at the little girl, and scolded:

"shut up!"

Wu Mingkong stretched out his hand and stopped him.

Squatting in front of the little beggar, he asked:
"Do you know this Uncle Du?"

The brave little boy wiped away his tears, looked at Du Fangxiang, then at Wu Mingkong, and said in a crying voice:
"Uncle Du came here last year. He let us live here, found us clothes, and food. Later, he gave us bowls and taught us how to beg. He told us that if we got food, we would give it to our younger brother. younger sister."

The little boy said a lot in one breath.

Listening, Wu Mingkong frowned, got up slowly, looked at Du Fangxiang, and said calmly: "You taught them to beg?"

Du Fangxiang lowered his head and said, "Yes!"

Before Wu Mingkong could ask any questions, he explained:
"Except for a small number of these children who lost their families right after they were born, most of them were abandoned and more or less sick.

The ten taels of silver allocated by the imperial court every year may not even be enough for medicine, let alone clothing and food."

Speaking of this, Du Fangxiang looked up at Wu Mingkong and continued:

"The tattered clothes on them were all collected by the subordinate officials from various places. The salary of the subordinate officials can only barely support the family. Occasionally giving them some food is already a matter of frugality.
The lower officials want them to live, except to send some healthy people to rich families or inns and workshops, the only way is to let them beg."

There was a trance in Wu Mingkong's eyes, and it took him a while to calm down, and asked: "You are the county magistrate, a parent official in a place, and you are so downcast?"

Du Fangxiang listened, laughed at himself, and said slowly:
"My lord doesn't know that the same magistrates have different incomes. Some magistrates can earn thousands or even thousands of taels a year.

And some magistrates, with a salary of 20 taels or [-] shi a year, can't even hire a teacher, so they can only teach themselves after the value is paid."

talking and talking.

He seemed to have thought of something, lifted his official robe to reveal the inner lining, and laughed at himself: "The clothes on the lower official are all mended by my wife, and I wear them again and again."

Wu Mingkong looked at his patched clothes and fell into a long silence.

I do not know how long it has been.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps in the yard.

The arrester went and came back quickly, holding the account books of the Anhua County Government in his hand.

"My lord, the ledger is here."

"Ah."

Du Fangxiang nodded, reached out to take the account book, turned to a certain page, and presented it with both hands.

"Lord, please see!"

Seeing this, Lin Wan'er stepped forward to take the account book and presented it to Wu Mingkong.

After Wu Mingkong reached out to take it, he looked it over carefully from top to bottom, and found nothing wrong.

She put down the ledger and took a deep breath, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness in her heart.

After a long while, I just calmed down, looked at Du Fangxiang, and asked:
"You haven't told me yet, who has annexed the official land that originally belonged to the Salesian Bureau?"

Hearing this question, Du Fangxiang lowered his head again, still not saying a word.

Seeing this, Wu Mingkong said in a deep voice: "I am so young and come from Chang'an. I think you can guess my identity. You boldly say that no matter who is annexing the land, I will support you!"

Du Fangxiang was still silent and said after a long time:
"The fields that can be merged in Anhua County have already been merged decades ago. It is meaningless for the lower officials to answer the question of your lord."

When Wu Mingkong heard this, anger appeared in his eyes, and he said coldly:

"Could it be possible to turn over the old case?!"

Du Fangxiang lowered his head and remained silent.

Wu Mingkong opened his mouth, wanting to say something else.

Fang Xiu, who was at the side, came over, patted her on the shoulder, and said softly, "Mr. Du is right, this question is meaningless."

Wu Mingkong was slightly startled, and raised his eyes to look at Fang Xiu, with a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.

After a while, she seemed to realize something, looked at Du Fangxiang again, and asked in a trembling voice:

"You mean those fields are all Huangzhuang?"

The so-called Huangzhuang refers to the farmland directly operated by the royal family, which is generally managed by people sent by the palace, and the income obtained belongs to the emperor's internal funds.

In Dagan, since the establishment of Emperor Wuzong, there have been 21 Huangzhuang, almost all of which are around Chang'an Mansion, and there is one in Anhua County.

After all, they are working for the emperor. It is common for the people in charge of the village to rely on their power to annex fields and exploit farmers. Even if the local government knows about it, they dare not say anything.

When Du Fangxiang heard this question, he lowered his head and did not answer.

At this time, no answer is the best answer.

Wu Mingkong suddenly understood why he didn't dare to say who took over these fields.

Because the people who merged are her Wu Mingkong's ancestors!

"It turned out to be so."

Wu Mingkong, who learned the truth, had a dazed look in his eyes, and a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart, and he was at a loss for a while.

She looked at the thin and vicissitudes of Du Fang Township in front of her, at the skinny little beggars around her, at Lin Wan'er, and at Fang Xiu.

Suddenly, I feel dizzy.

His eyes darkened, and he fell into Fang Xiu's arms.

(End of this chapter)