Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

Chapter 359 Do you have a conscience?
Yan Zhengqian originally wanted to sow discord between these government officials and Gu Yunji, and draw out the resentment in their hearts so that Gu Yunji would not come to power.But I didn't expect that the yamen servants were willing to listen to him. The appearance of working together as one, on the contrary, seemed solemn and modest, maliciously speculating on others, and treating the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain.

Seeing this, Yan Zhengqian couldn't help but said sarcastically: "'The additional allowance will come from your private property'? Mr. Gu is really arrogant. But I remember that the salary for a one-month sentence is not much, right? Mr. Gu So rich and powerful, I don’t know where the money came from?”

Hearing this, Gu Yunji's face suddenly turned cold and he said unceremoniously: "Where does my money come from and what does it have to do with you? Sir Yan, there is no need to be sarcastic in a roundabout way. If you suspect me of corruption and bribery, just say so! As long as Sir Yan can provide evidence." If you come here, your home will be ransacked and you will be beheaded, I, Gu Yunji, will not say anything about it."

"But if we can't produce evidence... If Magistrate Yan continues to slander people's innocence with his red lips and white teeth, I will report it to the Chief Secretary and accuse you of falsely accusing a court official!"

On other topics, Gu Yunji is willing to play Tai Chi with Yan Zhengqian, but when it comes to matters such as corruption and bribery of officials, they need to be cautious and not even make a joke.

Gu Yunji has not confiscated any filial piety since he took office in the Xuzhou Mansion, nor has he offered filial piety to the officials or the officials in the capital. In the final analysis, it is because this is his bottom line, and he is unwilling to join forces with those people.If you don't ask for anything from others, naturally you don't need to spend money to build relationships and please Shangguan.

Of course, Gu Yunji had the capital and confidence to maintain his integrity - he had too many relatives and friends in the capital. With just a cousin who was the Minister of Punishment, even if he did not show his filial piety, others would not dare to hinder him.

He has this confidence, but other people may not have it. It doesn't matter if the whole world is in trouble but I am alone. But don't try to change the operating rules of the entire bureaucracy.So as long as he doesn't go too far, as long as he doesn't make trouble in front of Gu Yunji, he will turn a blind eye to some tacit official "hidden rules".

In Yan Zhengqian's view, these things are commonplace in the officialdom. Who dares to say that he is completely clean?He just stabbed casually, but he didn't expect Gu Yunji's attitude to be so tough, and he was so angry that his face turned green.

After a long while, Yan Zhengqian slowly calmed down, and changed the subject abruptly: "...that's a long way off. What about subsidies and government servants, they are all trivial matters. The most urgent thing is to ensure irrigation and resist drought. Mr. Gu still has his hands on it." Let’s put the matter aside and think about how to provide disaster relief first.”

Gu Yunji really couldn't understand his logic: "The purpose of ensuring irrigation is to prevent the crops in the fields from dying from drought, so that the people can have food to eat, and planting potatoes is also to reduce famine. After all, it is to ensure food. They both take different paths to achieve the same goal. , why doesn’t growing potatoes protect against drought?”

"Not to mention the high yield of potatoes. The current rice production in the fields is reduced, which is a good time to promote potatoes. Mr. Yan will ensure irrigation, and I will persuade the people to plant potatoes. Anyway, both are to make the people have enough to eat, and the two methods do not conflict. It is completely It can be done at the same time, why does Mr. Yan have to dwell on this?"

"Why isn't there a conflict? It's a conflict!"

I don't know what Gu Yunji said wrong. Yan Zhengqian suddenly became angry, bulging his eyes and said: "Gu Yunji, are you really stupid or are you pretending to be stupid?! The summer tax will be collected by the court in more than two months. Let's talk about it. The state government pays grain taxes, first on rice and second on wheat. Let me ask you, are potatoes included in this?"

"Originally, the production of rice and wheat has been reduced. You are still promoting artichokes now. If farmers listen to it, as you said, artichokes are so high-yielding. Who is willing to rescue the crops in the field under the drought? When the rice and wheat production Wouldn’t it be even lower?!” “The production of rice and wheat is reduced. Under normal circumstances, the food tax must not be paid in full, and we will be reprimanded and punished if we fail to pay. None of us get any good results!"

Speaking of this, Yan Zhengqian tore off his usual disguise, his eyes turned red, and he shouted at Gu Yunji emotionally: "You are the nephew of the Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, and you are covered by him. You are not afraid, but I can't! I will leave next year." I’m sorry, I still want to get above average in the last year’s assessment, but I don’t want my good resume and political achievements to be ruined by your poor performance!”

Gu Yunji was stunned for a moment after being yelled at, and then he reacted belatedly: "So you are worried about this? Is this why you don't let me grow potatoes?"

No wonder Yan Zhengqian had been waiting in the government office for a long time today, waiting for him to come back. Love and irrigation were just a cover, Yan Zhengqian just didn't want him to promote potato cultivation.Because of the drought, the increase in the production of yams means the decrease in food production, which may lead to the incomplete payment of the tax stipulated by the court.

Yan Zhengqian was about to be transferred in a year, and he was devoting all his attention to pleasing the superiors and clearing up the relationship. He dreamed of finding a good official position.The premise of being promoted is to do a good job in his official duties. There is a drought in the Syrian state capital, and he is more anxious than anyone else. Naturally, he will not allow any variables that may affect his performance.

After thinking about this, an unknown fire surged in Gu Yunji's heart, and he said in a deep voice: "Okay, if you want to protect your political performance, then I will talk to you about political performance. You are the prefect of Xuzhou Prefecture, and I am Xuzhou Prefecture. As the general judge of the government, and for all matters within the government, if there is any accountability, it will first fall on you, me, and Chen Xunzhou."

"It's our fault that we don't pay enough grain and taxes, but it's also our fault that the people don't have food to eat and people starve to death. Since ancient times, all disaster relief has been to rescue food and people at the same time, and even to save people at the same time. Before rescuing food, after all, the purpose of rescuing food is to have food to eat, and ultimately it is to save people."

"Now that the drought has appeared, even if water is diverted for irrigation, the dry crops will not be able to survive, and it will be light if they cannot pay taxes at that time. If a large number of people starve to death, and the people sell their fields and houses, and starve to death everywhere, your Doesn’t the performance book look good?!”

Facing Gu Yunji's question, Yan Zhengqian swallowed a sigh of relief with a sullen face: "...What you said is true, but it is difficult to balance the two. There must always be a choice. Grain tax is a real thing. How much is stipulated by the court? You have to pay as much as you want, even if this year’s situation is special, the court may not reduce or reduce taxes because of the drought.”

"As for people starving to death due to lack of food, this is really a common thing. In which year did people not starve to death? In which place didn't people starve to death? Let's talk about the great locust plague in the north a few years ago. More than a few people died of starvation. One hundred thousand?"

Speaking of this, Yan Zhengqian's eyes flashed, and he finally said: "In the final analysis, they are all untouchables who live worse than livestock. If one group is gone, there will be another group. If more people die and less people die, what's the difference?"

Gu Yunji's expression changed instantly. He was completely angered by him. He slammed the table and shouted: "Yan Zhengqian, do you still have a conscience!"

(End of this chapter)