Lonely non-good minister

Chapter 398: Everything can be exploited
He opened the door and went out, but stopped in front of the door.

"Master Huo." The soup in Mu Wantang's hand had already condensed with a layer of grease. She looked a little panicked, and her guilty expression immediately revealed that she had just been eavesdropping, and that she had been eavesdropping for a long time.

Huo Ying looked back at Song Yuan, but Mu Wantang suddenly bowed his knee and said, "Sir Huo, please forgive me."

"The people around His Highness don't seem to understand the rules." Huo Ying reminded him tactfully. He didn't mind eavesdropping on such things.

Song Yuan looked at Mu Wantang: "Master Huo is talking to me about serious matters. These matters cannot be spread out."

"Yes." Mu Wantang's cheeks turned red. She didn't mean it. She just happened to hear Song Yuan ask if he wanted to impeach her, so she was worried and listened outside for a while.

Huo Ying didn't say much and left. He didn't live in the post house, so there were officers and soldiers waiting outside.

"Get up." Song Yuan was not angry. Looking at Mu Wantang's frightened look, he motioned for her to sit down: "Master Huo enforces the law strictly, and I am not innocent. You don't have to feel unfair for me."

Mu Wantang put down the soup and frowned slightly: "Will Mr. Huo's impeachment be harmful to His Highness?"

"A few scoldings are unavoidable. You have to do it for the sake of appearance. It won't be a big deal." Song Yuan didn't care much: "You don't have to worry."

Mu Wantang lowered his eyes: "Compared to what other His Highnesses have done, the mistakes His Highness has made are really nothing."

"But I did know that I broke the law, and you can't say that I am innocent." Song Yuan looked at the soup she sent: "I have a bad spleen and stomach. If I don't drink these things at night, you don't have to work hard."

Mu Wantang looked stunned: "I was careless."

Song Yuan waved his hand: "It doesn't matter, we won't be able to stay here for long. We have to continue setting off tomorrow when we go out for a walk. You are probably very tired from the bumpy rides these days. If you can't keep up with our speed, don't force it. Your health is the most important thing. .”

"I can keep up." Mu Wantang said urgently, "Your Highness, don't worry, if you really can't keep up, I will stop on my own and I will never drag Your Highness down."

"Okay." Song Yuan agreed: "Then you have a good rest tomorrow. If you feel the saddle is uncomfortable, you can have someone add a thicker cushion to you, which will make you more comfortable. It's getting late, so go back and rest early. Bar."

"Then your Highness should rest early." Mu Wantang took away the supper.

The next morning before dawn, Song Yuan got up. The county magistrate, who had already received the news, was already waiting in the yard. As soon as Song Yuan came out, he hurriedly greeted him and followed him to talk about the recent autumn harvest. Wei Yan They also gathered all the people who were following them. Because this place was close to the border, they were very careful and brought their bows and arrows with them.

The group left the post house and walked along a dirt road for about a stick of incense. They saw a half-harvested farmland. The wheat in the field was brilliant. Although it was uneven and not in good quality, the busy farmers cherished it. Even a small ear of wheat must be picked up and put away.

"This season's harvest is larger than last year, but it still cannot completely solve the problem of food and clothing. The county magistrate has issued an official document saying that he will summarize the grain production in various places, so the official plans to wait until the grain is collected and stored in the warehouse. I will report it later." The county magistrate said carefully, for fear that Song Yuan would be dissatisfied.

Song Yuan nodded, walked forward along the ridge of the field, and looked at the twenty or so households not far away: "Is such a small village included in the water conservancy construction plan?"

"My lord, yes, they originally had their own wells for storing water, so after the Yamen issued the order, they just expanded their own wells."

Song Yuan noticed that there were a few scattered sloping fields in front of and behind the house. Although they had been picked, they could be seen to be planted with cotton. For this reason, Song Yuan specifically glanced at the county magistrate: "Those that were grown casually at home." Will you also report cotton?"

"The Yamen has already said hello, there is no need to report these." He still has a conscience, but if he reported this small harvest to the higher authorities and asked to pay taxes, he would really be a human being.

Just as she thought this, an old man suddenly rushed forward, kowtowed and cried loudly: "Please make the decision, sir."

Something happened suddenly, and the following government servants hurriedly stepped in front to pull the old man away. The county magistrate on the side looked more like he had seen something unlucky and had a headache.

The old man was crying miserably. The two government officials couldn't hold him back, and they couldn't beat him in front of Song Yuan. They were still making a fuss, and a few more people rushed towards him. The old, weak, women and children were all gathered together.

"Sir, this person is from Qiantou Village." The county magistrate finally spoke, not forgetting to signal the yamen servant not to pull him away.

He was not afraid of people complaining, so Song Yuan said, "Let him go. What happened to your family?"

The old man came over and knelt down with a sad look on his face: "Your Majesty, the little family dug some land behind the house to grow some things, but the yamen insisted that those things must be taxed and forced the little family to pay taxes. If they don't pay taxes, , we have to destroy the fields and ask the Lord to make the decision.”

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the rest of his family began to cry, looking very miserable.

Song Yuan did not express her position immediately. She has been in charge of civil affairs for so many years. She has never seen any monsters and monsters, and she no longer knows how to speak for anyone based on one-sided words.

She looked at the county magistrate and waited for an explanation. After all, she had just asked the magistrate about the situation.

"Your Excellency, it is clear that their family did dig the land behind the house to grow cotton, wheat and some vegetables. But it is not a small piece of land, but a quarter of land. My government stipulates that if the land exceeds one cent, tax will be levied. , the Yamen also operates according to the rules."

After hearing this, the old man quickly said: "My lord, my lord, that's not the case. The land is divided into small pieces, and the small pieces will not exceed one point."

"Go and have a look." Song Yuan didn't want to hear them arguing on this issue and walked forward.

A group of people came to the old man's house and looked at the land divided into small pieces by the field ridges. Song Yuan pointed and asked, "Do these belong to your family?"

"Yes." The old man said very confidently: "Our government stipulates that taxes must be paid only when a piece of land exceeds one cent. I am not violating this rule."

He really knows how to take advantage of loopholes.

Song Yuan covered her mouth with her fist and coughed, then turned around and walked away with an unknown smile. Before the old man understood what she meant, the county magistrate already understood. He looked at the old man's family and said, "If your family is divided like this, why don't we just divide it?" All the fields in the world should be divided into small pieces so that no one has to pay taxes. The government has told your family many times that this will not work. If you continue to mess around, your family will be punished. "

The old man was frightened. Although he was still unconvinced, his timidity prevented him from making any more trouble.

After calming the old man, the county magistrate quickened his pace and chased Song Yuan, looking apologetically: "I made your Excellency laugh."

"It's okay, this kind of thing is not unusual." Song Yuan didn't take this episode seriously: "This is located on the border, will there be any Huns attacking? How did you deal with it?"

(End of this chapter)