Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 493 Someone Must Take the Blame
Liu Dexiang could clearly hear what the people next door were saying. He looked at the stage in front of him and felt extremely satisfied.

I watched one scene after another and listened to the conflicts next door.

Finally, he got tired of sitting and stood up and moved to the side.

The servant of the Li family quickly went to Mr. Li's ear to inform him.

The people who were forced to stay until now saw Mr. Li's face change and quickly went to greet him.

The door opened wide, and soon Elder Li led a middle-aged man in. "Everyone, please stand up and salute. This is Lord Liu, the governor of Liangzhou."

The identity of the distinguished guest was beyond everyone's expectations.

Regardless of whether they believed it or not, everyone in the room knelt down in front of Liu Dexiang and said, "Greetings, Mr. Prefect."

Liu Dexiang did not ask them to stand up, but walked around them and sat in the main seat in the room. As the host, Mr. Li immediately handed a cup of hot tea to Liu Dexiang when he saw him sit down.

Liu Dexiang drank half a cup of tea slowly before saying, "Everyone, get up."

The kneeling people exchanged countless messages with each other through their eyes, but some people were afraid of miscommunication and asked in a low voice, "Is this man really the prefect? ​​Why is the prefect here?"

Someone asked Zhou Xiwen, "Can you tell the real from the fake?"

It's not surprising to ask Zhou Xiwen.

Everyone with some wealth in Quping County knew that Zhou Xiwen was related to the county magistrate, and that the county magistrate wanted his sister as a concubine.

Zhou Xiwen shook his head and said nothing.

Someone who is good at communication spoke up, and that person said to Mr. Li, "Mr. Li did not tell us that the prefect was here, so we have to sit here and wait foolishly. It's very rude.

You know that you are the distinguished guest, and we should kneel at the door to welcome you."

Liu Dexiang nodded towards the person who spoke. His facial expression showed no emotion, making it hard to tell how to respond.

Zhou Xiwen had a bad feeling. If this man was a liar, it would be fine. But if he was really the prefect, then that would be a big problem.

Why did the prefect suddenly appear here? He was not accompanied by the local county magistrate, but the old man surnamed Li was busy running around? He also called these people with some wealth together. What was he going to do?
Thinking of this, Zhou Xiwen approached Mr. Li and was about to ask a question when the man sitting on the throne looked at him, "I guess you are from the Zhou family?"

Zhou Xiwen nodded and pretended to smile, "Yes."

"I have already found out the relationship between you and Zeng Jing." Liu Dexiang looked at everyone, "As for the purpose of my coming here, I might as well tell you..."

It was already late at night, there was still a little light outside, but the room was lit entirely by candlelight.

Although the Li family's servants lit candles early, the room still felt dim.

"Among the counties in Liangzhou, your Quping County has the most fertile farmland, and is blocked by Hongjia County and Bishan County. Even if the Yan army attacks, the flames of war will not reach you.

In theory, your county should pay the most land tax, but what is the actual situation?"

Liu Dexiang stretched out his voice, his eyes sweeping across everyone's faces, "How much land do you have? How much tax do you pay every year? Does anyone in your family pass the imperial examination and become an official? This government has already sent people to check."

Liu Dexiang gave a look and the old servant next to him immediately took out a stack of papers from his arms, on which were densely written many words.

Without Liu Dexiang's instructions, the old servant forcefully thrust the papers in front of everyone, "Take a look!"

The people in the front squinted their eyes and saw their names written on the first line of the paper. Below it was written how much tax they actually paid last year, how many acres of good farmland they had, how much tax they should have paid, how much they were short of, and what excuses they had made for underpaying. Everyone rushed to see it, but after taking a look, they turned away hastily, not daring to read on.

"Do you know your guilt?" Liu Dexiang opened his mouth and everyone knelt on the ground.

"Please forgive me, sir. I will make it up to you when I get back." Someone replied, and the others seemed to have found a way out of the predicament and followed suit.

"How can you violate the laws of the country?" Liu Dexiang said. "You have already violated the law, how can you just make up for it?"

After he said this, he stood up and left.

Mr. Li hurriedly followed behind to see him off.

The group of people in the room were stunned for a moment, then immediately followed, wanting to keep Liu Dexiang to plead for them, but when they reached the door they only saw Liu Dexiang getting into the car and leaving, and they couldn't say a single useful word.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Someone who was quick to react understood the meaning and quickly walked up to Mr. Li and said, "Please give me some clear instructions, Mr. Li, what should I do to make up for it?"

"Everyone." Elder Li stroked his beard, "It's cold outside, let's talk inside."

This time no one complained, and everyone followed Mr. Li back into the room they had just been in. No one knew when the play on the stage stopped.

Liu Dexiang left, and it was Mr. Li's turn to sit in the main seat. He picked up the hot tea and seemed to be sitting in the seat that Liu Dexiang had just sat in, and he also had some of Liu Dexiang's airs.

"You all blamed me for being negligent before, but I can't do anything about it. The prefect is here, and I really can't spare the time to accompany you..."

"Let's not talk about that." Someone with a quick temper interrupted, "Let's talk about it quickly. What should we do next?"

"Everyone present here is smart. You should be able to see that since the governor has come here, it means he is willing to give us a chance to correct our mistakes." While Mr. Li was speaking, he bowed in the direction Liu Dexiang was leaving.

"I will pay double the tax I didn't pay before." Someone said, "I will pay double the tax I didn't pay before."

Mr. Li looked at the person who was speaking. "According to the law, you have committed a crime that requires you to go to jail and have your property confiscated. What's the point of just paying double the amount?"

"Mr. Li, don't just sit there and laugh at us. Do you have any part in what the governor is talking about?" Zhou Xiwen sneered.

Mr. Li put down his teacup and said, "That's funny. I tried to find a solution for you, but you dragged me down with it. Being a good person doesn't bring me any good rewards. How can this be possible in the world?"

Others immediately advised Mr. Li not to take Zhou Xiwen's words to heart, and also advised Zhou Xiwen to be careful with his words and to find a remedy.

"I called you here because I wanted to help you," said Mr. Li. "In my opinion, since you are sincerely repentant, why don't you write a letter of repentance and personally deliver it to the Liangzhou government office together with the taxes you should pay."

"If that thing is written, won't it be a death sentence?"

"Whether you write a letter of repentance or not, the prefect has evidence of your crimes.

The most important thing now is to let the adults see that you are sincerely repentant, so that there is room for improvement. "But I tell you the truth, if there is a crime, someone must take the blame.

No one wants to be the one who bears the guilt.

I will also show you a clear way. You can pay less tax on your own or be coerced into paying less. As for where the underpaid tax goes, do I need to teach you how to say it?

Tell the governor the truth about where you were going. "