Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 40: The Governor is about to set off on a boat

Governor Guo was determined to go to Xinping Township to find out what industry had earned the money of a county for a hundred years in that year. He remembered that he had even taken a special look at the data of that shabby Xinping Township, a township with about 3,000 elderly, weak and sick people. Even if Xia Lin was a genius in governing the country, it was impossible for him to turn it into the largest tax-paying township in the whole state... no, the country in just two years, right?
How many powerful counties are there around the capital? Although the amount of 270,000 taels cannot be compared with places like Chang'an, Luoyang, Hanyang, and Jinling, what kind of place is that? What kind of place is this Xinping Township? Chang'an has a population of 820,000 and taxes of 410,000. Luoyang has a population of 790,000 and taxes of 470,000. Hanyang has a population of 1.04 million and taxes of 660,000. Jinling has a population of 1.85 million and taxes of 1.09 million. Xinping has a population of 3,000 and taxes of 270,000.

Please find one of the five areas above that is different from the rest.

Obviously Chang'an, right?

But Chang'an is now the defense gateway of Wei to the north. The population is large because there are many soldiers, and the money is small because there are few businesses. As for Luoyang, Luoyang was also a big city a few years ago, but later because of the big problems in the officialdom in the north and the relocation of the capital to Jinling, the economy of the north naturally declined. Moreover, this year, the focus of the Tang family, a major taxpayer in Luoyang, also moved to the south, which made the two big cities in the north less prominent...

But this Xinping... it has already started to compare with Luoyang and Chang'an. Based on this data, Mu Guo really dare not report it with his eyes closed. If something really goes wrong, he will at least be charged with lax discipline. What's more, the capital has been in turmoil recently. The civil service group headed by Gao Shilian is using the southern gentry to eliminate dissidents. If he makes a mistake now, he, a frontier official, might be transferred to the northwest to defend against the Huns.

However, as a governor of a state, Lao Guo would certainly not just pull up an ox cart and charge forward like Xia Lin did. He had to follow the rules. Even if he didn't care, the laws of the Wei Dynasty were there, unless he went on a secret visit.

"It's too late. I have to leave for the grand court meeting in ten days, so I have to hurry. Don't prepare the boat. Ask the military camp and the post station to prepare an 800-mile express horse for me. I will leave immediately."

To put it bluntly, Lao Guo is actually a local emperor here. If Prince Teng was not right next to him, what he, the governor of the state, says in this small area would be more effective than what the emperor says. If he says the matter should be sent urgently, then it should be sent urgently.

But Old Guo was really a capable man. Even at the age of over 50, he still looked very heroic when riding a horse. He took a dozen guards with him and rushed to Xinping Township.

Eight hundred miles is fast. The postmasters in the post stations along the way were so busy that they were smoking. Lao Guo didn't even get off his horse except to eat, drink, go to the bathroom. He set out in the morning and arrived in the afternoon of the next day.

You should know that it took Xia Lin ten days to travel via Poyang Lake.

This time, Lao Guo came here in disguise, mainly to witness why this shabby place is so rich, so he acted very low-key.

However, when he entered the post station in Xinping Township, he squinted his eyes and looked down for a long time.

This post station... isn't it too grand?
Although the three-story building is not decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, it is lacquered with vermilion lacquer. A large sign is inlaid with wood on the outside, with the words "Xinping Welcomes You" and "Ten Miles Away from Xinping Township" written on it in a mixture of cinnabar and lacquer. Next to it are several imposing large lanterns with words such as "catering", "accommodation", "hospitality", "resting" and so on hung on them.

After entering Xinping Township from Naleping Township, the road is obviously wider. The entire road is paved with loess and gravel is laid underneath. Horse hooves feel very comfortable running on it. There are people digging the road surface and laying blue bricks nearby. It is obvious that this is something that only people with money can do.

While Lao Guo was in a daze, he suddenly caught a glimpse of an old man with the word "sanitation" embroidered on his clothes, who was smoothing out the potholes on the road they had just stepped on. This made him curious, so Lao Guo walked up and asked, "Old man, the law of the Wei Kingdom says that people do not need to work after they are seventy years old. Why are you still doing this at your age..."

"Why are you talking so much?" The old man didn't care who was talking to him: "If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb!"

After cursing, he continued to carry a bamboo dustpan and began to level the road. When had Old Guo ever suffered such an injustice? He stood there in a daze for a long time, but what could he do? This kind of old Deng could not be scolded or beaten, let alone a small governor. Even if the emperor came and met such an old man, he could only smile shyly and stand there shaking his head helplessly.

After all, the foundation of the Wei Dynasty is loyalty, filial piety, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness. Respecting the old and the young as well as those of others has long been one of their national mottos. Who dares to cause trouble to these old men? As long as it is not one of the ten unforgivable crimes, the old men will not be held accountable for breaking the law...

He couldn't ask Lao Deng, so he could only go to the post station to ask the waiter. However, as soon as he entered the yard, he was overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol. He turned around and saw a young man in a green cap selling alcohol: "Changshouquan, Changshouquan. One bowl of it will make you invincible. Two bowls will make you powerful. After three or four bowls, you will be scared when you meet a tiger."

At this moment, the servant saw Lao Guo coming over, and noticed that he was wearing gorgeous clothes made of expensive fabrics, so he immediately greeted him with a smile, holding a wine pot and wine glass in his hands: "Sir, sir, have a drink, it's free. If you think it's good, you can buy a jar, if you think it's not good, you can spit on me."

"interesting."

As soon as Governor Guo took the small wine glass, the guard beside him reached out to stop him, but was scared back by a look from Old Guo. He took it and sniffed it, then took a deep sip: "Hmm, what a strong wine..."

After saying that, he stuck out his tongue and dipped it in the wine. The smell of wine immediately spread from his mouth to his nose. He opened his mouth and drank the five-cent wine glass. Immediately, the wine turned into a raging fire and went down his throat. Old Guo, whose hands and feet were already cold due to the wind and frost along the way, felt his blood heating up within a few breaths.

"Hmm! That's a good liquor!" Lao Guo nodded and praised: "Yes, yes, good stuff."

"Would you like to buy some? I will fill the jars for you right away."

"Well, buy five pounds. I have many brothers with me this time, so it's just enough to warm them up."

The waiter chuckled and hurried over to get some wine, saying as he did so, "Sir, I'm afraid you're not a local. Our wine is very strong. Most people would not be able to drink more than three taels, but five jin is just enough for a dozen of you. After you finish drinking, you can take a rest and take a bath in our inn. That's how comfortable it is."

"Take a bath? In this cold winter, no, no, I'm not a young man anymore." Lao Guo waved his hands repeatedly, "I can't stand the cold."

"Hahahaha... Sir, don't worry, I guarantee you'll scream out in comfort."

Old Guo smiled and didn't care at first, he just asked: "Why did that old man in his seventies have to do corvée? No one cared?"

"Hahaha, what are you talking about? This is the 'Old People Have Dependence' plan in my village. Anyway, that's what the village head said. He said that we should let those old men and women find something to do, and the village will subsidize them with some money every month. In the past, these old people were very pitiful. Now they are so enviable. Not only do they have food and clothes, but they can also get three taels of silver every month. You want him to stop working? He will definitely scold you."

I see...it's not corvée but money, which is more like it. But it's interesting that they actually asked these old guys with weak legs and feet to do the work, which is not a good policy.

"In that case, I'll go to the post station and take a rest. I want to ask you, is the food here delicious? As an old man, I have no other interest but to eat delicious food."

"You can rest assured. The chef here is a master chef invited from Luoyang. He used to cook for the Tang family in Luoyang. You can eat with peace of mind. If you are dissatisfied, come out and chop me. If I snort, I am not a man."

"Is the young man also from the North?"

"Yes, I came from Luoyang with my eldest brother. Many people from Heluoshan West came here with the Tang family." The young man was also honest: "You should go in quickly, or there will be no room if you are late."

(End of this chapter)