Han official!

Chapter 150 Yan Yi
Guo Jie rode in a cloth-covered carriage to Chengleli. Luli was the most basic administrative unit with strict planning and management. Each Luli was an independent residential area with tall rammed earth walls, Lumen, and bomb rooms on the outside.

There are streets, houses, workshops and other buildings in the village. The residents are managed according to the organization of ten and five to facilitate household registration management, tax collection and public security maintenance.

Guo Jie's official position in the county was Shangjili, with a rank of 600 stones. The carriage he used for traveling changed from a carriage covered with white cloth to a carriage covered with black cloth, which was used by the Chang'an Wei.

The carriage stopped at the gate of Cheng Leli. He walked in, recalling Chong Huangrou's introduction to Yan Yi in his mind.

Yan Yi was the tenth generation grandson of Yan Hui.

In the minds of Confucian scholars, Yan Yi is the descendant of a saint.

Nowadays, Confucianism is the only doctrine that is respected. Yan Yi has a high status and is noble, so there is nothing wrong with him living in a big house.

Yan Yi lived in Chengleli, one of the poorer neighborhoods in Chang'an.

There are many neighborhoods in Chang'an, and the people Guo Jie planted to infiltrate the grassroots level have only infiltrated a small part and have not yet infiltrated Chengleli.

However, Tian Dian from Chengleli came out of the bullet room and saw the unfamiliar face of Guo Jie. He was worried that he was a wandering criminal, so he took five people to go over and was about to interrogate him. But when he heard that he was the accountant of the Right Secretary of the Interior, he was almost scared to death.

Tian Dian hurriedly bowed deeply until Guo Jie turned into an alley with a grand gate. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

One of the soldiers was surprised and said, "The last time Tian Dian saw the new Chang'an Wei on patrol, he wasn't as nervous as he is today. How could he be so scared when he saw the county magistrate of the Right Internal Affairs Bureau?"

"How can I not be afraid? He is a senior accountant."

Tian Dian gave a bitter laugh. "The Right Internal Affairs Secretary is in charge of the 27 counties, and all the township, pavilion, and village accounts are in his hands. What is an account? To put it simply, it's merit. Junior officials want to be promoted based on merit. If you offend this accountant, you will never be promoted in your life."

Tian Dian watched Guo Jie's back disappear from Hongmen. He was still frightened and did not dare to ask more questions. He just hoped that the account book reported by the local clerk was not false.

The purpose of the accountant Guo Jie's visit.

Most of them are routine inspections to verify whether the household registration, money, lawsuits, military affairs, industry and commerce, etc. recorded in the account books are true.

Guo Jie stopped in the middle of the alley.

It was the house where Yan Yi lived.

This is a standard upper-class house with an area of only two houses and a square of sixty steps. The walls of the house are low and covered with various cracks, and the door is even more dilapidated.

Through the tattered wooden door, you can see more than a dozen children with hanging hair kneeling in the courtyard. The courtyard is relatively small and they are crowded together.

These children were holding branches in their hands and writing in official script on the ground, learning to read from an old man.

This old man was not very old, and was none other than Yan Yi, whom Guo Jie was looking for. He wore a linen jacket, hemp shoes, and a two-foot sword hung from his waist. He did not look like the tenth-generation descendant of the sage Yan Zi, but rather like a poor country Confucian scholar.

When Guo Jie looked at Yan Yi in his linen jacket and hemp shoes, a sentence popped up in his mind.

A bowl of rice and a jug of water.

In the humble alley, people cannot bear the worry, but Hui does not change his joy.

The only valuable thing on Yan Yi was a jade ring on the other side of the two-foot sword. When he walked, the jade ring made a crisp sound.

The peaceful scene in the yard was broken by Guo Jie who suddenly walked in.

Yan Yi originally thought that it was the parents who took the child away, so he looked over with a smile. However, when he saw that the man standing at the door was a stranger, he was startled, worried that it was a group of bandits. His hands, which were full of calluses, clenched the two-foot sword.

It was not the first time that the children with long hair saw Master Xiang holding a sword. They all put down the branches in their hands, looked at the stranger at the door, and chattered.

"How many swords do you think this person can block from Master Xiang?"

"Hehe, at most he'll be knocked down by Master Xiang in three or five strikes. After all, Master Xiang's sword fighting skills are no worse than that of Guo Haoxia, who killed a tiger with his bare hands."

"I think I can defeat him with just one sword. I heard that when Master Xiang first came to Chang'an, he competed with the number one swordsman in Chang'an, Chong Huangrou, and the two ended in a draw. Master Xiang is the number one swordsman in Langya County."

Children don't like boring learning to read, but prefer stories about knights fighting and killing. When they see the old man Yan Yi preparing to take action, their eyes light up and they eagerly wait for Yan Yi to make a move.

Guo Jie was startled when he saw Yan Yi preparing to take action. He had heard from Chong Huangrou that Yan Yi was not an ordinary corrupt scholar, but had the demeanor of a gentleman from the Spring and Autumn Period.

He was well versed in the six arts of a gentleman, namely rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics, and his swordsmanship was even more superb. Chong Huangrou once challenged Yan Yi to a sword fight, and the number one swordsman in Chang'an and the number one swordsman in Langya County ended in a draw.

The two men were not enemies who met on the battlefield, so they could not fight to the death and there was no way to determine the winner.

Guo Jie made his identity clear: "I am Guo Jie, the chief accountant of the Right Secretary of the Interior. Are you Yan Yi, the previous chief accountant?"

In his early years, Yan Yi was a pavilion chief in Jinan. Later, he was recruited as a senior accountant of the Right Internal Affairs Bureau. Until the cruel official Zhao Yu became the Right Internal Affairs Bureau, Yan Yi voluntarily resigned from the post of senior accountant.

"Guo Jie!"

"He is Guo Jie, the man who killed a tiger with his bare hands!"

"So this is what Guo Jie looks like!"

Before Yan Yi could react, more than ten children were completely excited. They gathered around Guo Jie with excited faces and chattered non-stop.

There was also a brave child who reached out to touch Guo Jie's white clothes.

When Yan Yi heard Guo Jie's name, his expression relaxed. It seemed that they were not the bandits who kidnapped children, so he let go of the hand that was reaching for the two-foot sword.

He smiled gently and said, "Today's literacy training is over. Don't forget to practice your official script when you get home. I'll come over next time to check your official script one by one."

When the children with long hair heard that they could go home, their faces were filled with surprise. But when they heard that there was a sentence about checking the official script, they became unhappy again. They walked out of the wooden door of the house, and looked back at Guo Jie in the yard from time to time.

Until only Guo Jie and Yan Yi were left in the yard.

Yan Yi bowed to Guo Jie and made a gesture of invitation: "If Guo Bianhu doesn't mind, please sit in the guest room and chat."

Yan Yi's Shangzao house is an ordinary straight-line house with one hall and two inner rooms. The hall is built in the middle of the house, with the inner rooms on both sides. The plan is in the shape of a straight line, which is a standard house with one hall and two inner rooms.

The hall is the guest room, and the two inner rooms are the main inner room and the bedroom.

Yan Yi's guest room obviously has more functions. There are many wooden slips piled in the corner of the guest room, a horseshoe stove in the middle, and a room that serves as a reception room, study, kitchen, and so on.

The family was poor and could only use one room for multiple purposes.

Guo Jie and Yan Yi were sitting on the table in the guest room. There was only a ladle filled with clear water on the desk. There was nothing else in the simple guest room.

"Mr. Yan."

Guo Jie looked around the guest room and said in surprise, "The Yan family is a prominent family in Langya County. Your life is undoubtedly too hard. You don't even have a usable bowl at home. I just saw that you teach quite a few students. The monthly tuition is enough to live a comfortable life."

Yan Yi is the tenth generation grandson of Yan Zi.

The princes and dukes of the upper class all vied with each other to invite him to be the schoolmaster.

If Yan Yi followed Dong Zhongshu's example and gave lectures behind the curtain several times a month, he would be able to recruit at least a hundred disciples, and even hundreds of disciples.

Yan Yi is content with his current poverty.

I don’t feel that life is hard.

Yan Yi shook his head and said, "These children are from poor families with an income below 20,000 yuan. They can't afford tuition. A bowl of coarse wheat rice every day is enough for them."

If each family provides two bowls of coarse wheat rice every month, a dozen children can learn to read and write with Yan Yi.

No wonder Yan Yi lived a simple life. He was happy with it.

Guo Jie hinted at Yan Yi's character and had a rough idea of what was going on. He then asked about the situation in Pingshan Township and whether there were any Yao clan girls who had reached the age of fifteen but had not been reported. He was now very confident.

"Guo Bianhu, you're not here to visit a friend, are you?"

Yan Yi was not embarrassed. He was thirsty, so he picked up the wooden ladle in front of Guo Jie and drank a big gulp of well water. He then scooped another ladle of water from the wooden barrel and placed it on the table in front of Guo Jie.

He suddenly remembered that someone had brought him a basket of roasted soybeans yesterday. He walked to the corner of the guest room, rummaged through it, and divided it into two piles.

A pile of cooked soybeans was placed on the table in front of Guo Jie.

Yan Yi took the basket and placed it in front of him. He picked up a grain and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly. He looked quite enjoyable, as if he was eating a delicacy.

Guo Jie was deceived by his look of enjoyment.

"Ok?"

Guo Jie picked up a cooked soybean and put it in his mouth. It didn't taste very good, and he didn't know why Yan Yi looked so delicious.

"I want to ask about the plan."

"Are there any errors or omissions in the account book?"

Yan Yi frowned. "Before I left the Right Internal History post, I had already sorted out all the account books to ensure there were no mistakes or omissions. Hmm. Perhaps the lower-level counties and towns, seeing that you weren't from a powerful family, deliberately produced some account books with errors and omissions in an attempt to deceive and gain some personal benefits."

Conceal household registration and land to avoid paying taxes.

It is one of the ways that powerful officials like to pursue personal gain.

The purpose of the checking system of accounting books was to avoid the emergence of a large number of hidden households and hidden fields, which would result in the court being unable to collect taxes.

Guo Jie nodded gently. "The purpose of my visit is to inquire about some matters concerning the hidden households. I have only been in office for a short time, so the number of account books I have received is relatively small. I will soon be able to find out if there are any concealments in the account books. I have come to see Mr. Yan to inquire about the households in Pingshan Township that were concealed in the past."

Unfortunately, there was no system of job exit review in the Western Han Dynasty.

In the system where Guo Jie worked, whenever a supervisor was transferred, the accounts would be checked as soon as he left his position.

This is the exit review.

Avoid the deficit left by the previous leader, which would cause the next leader to take the blame.

The exit review is to check the accounts of the leader before leaving the job clearly to avoid leaving a pile of bad accounts.

Pingshan Township

Yan Yi was a true gentleman. He frowned, as if he really knew something about the hidden household situation, but he sighed.

He shook his head and said, "I only heard about it before. At that time, we sent a minor official to investigate, but they found nothing. If there is no real evidence, we can't talk about it. If we talk about it, it will be spreading rumors."

When Guo Jie heard that Yan Yi was unwilling to speak, he could not force him to speak.

For a moment, the two of them froze.

Guo Jie glanced at the narrow courtyard and had an idea: "Your house is too small to teach many children from poor families. I have an idea that can allow you to teach more children."

These words touched Yan Yi's heart.

Yan Yi hurriedly asked, "What exactly is the idea? Please tell me as soon as possible, Guo Bianhu. I have been worried about this matter during the time I lived in Chang'an. I can't help more children learn to read and write."

He is not greedy.

It was not easy to buy this house with that meager salary.

It was the clerk in Chengle Village who, considering that Yan Yi wanted to teach him knowledge, half-sold and half-gave an unused house to Yan Yi.

Guo Jie looked at his impatient look and knew in his heart that he could learn the hidden households in Pingshan Township from Yan Yi.

"Give me a house."

Guo Jie said sternly, "Right Internal Secretary Zhao Yu has said that whoever is most successful in identifying the hidden households in Pingshan Township will be rewarded with a mansion with five mansions."

A house is thirty steps square.

The five houses are a full 150 steps square.

Yan Yi was given a house with five rooms, which was large enough to accommodate dozens of children from poor families, who learned to read and write with him.

"this."

Yan Yi hesitated. When he thought about how the upper class had monopolized knowledge and how the common people at the bottom would never have the chance to become officials in their lifetime, he decided to educate more poor children.

It made him struggle in his heart.

Yan Yi gritted his teeth and said, "In order to allow more children to learn the knowledge mastered by the upper class, even if I lose my character, it's worth it!"

He revealed the clues he had discovered: "A month ago, the account book sent over from Pingshan Township contained a major error. The head of the Yao family in Beidao had a younger brother who died young. That younger brother had a daughter, Yao Ji. Yao Ji's age should have been recorded as fourteen in the account book, but it was written as thirteen."

The purpose is simple.

If you report your age one year less, you can postpone the payment of the five-year tax.

I am fourteen years old this year. If I don’t get married, I will have to pay five hundred thousand yuan in tax next year.

"wrong."

Guo Jie's brows knitted together. "My disciple Su Jia married Yao Ji, but she wasn't brought home because of the dowry. I heard Su Jia mention Yao Ji's age. She was fifteen last year, so she should have paid the five-year tax. How could she be fourteen this year?"

Yan Yi was stunned.

If what Guo Jie said was true, Yao Ji would have had to pay the five taxes last year.

However, because he concealed his age, he did not pay the five-year tax.

If we add this year's tax, we will have paid less for two years, which is 1,200 coins.

Yan Yi's face was filled with shame. "Because of my own fault, the government temple suffered a deficit of 1,200 yuan. I feel deeply ashamed! And even more so, I am incompetent!"

He felt so guilty that he directly scolded himself for being incompetent.

Guo Jie was delighted. When he heard that Yan Yi was the best swordsman in Langya County, he set his sights on Yan Yi.

But Yan Yi is the tenth generation grandson of Yan Zi, and he would not hang out with a ranger.

Yan Yi felt guilty.

The opportunity has come.

"That's wrong."

Guo Jie said solemnly: "The tax evaders are from the Yao family of Beidao. It has nothing to do with you. Now we should investigate as soon as possible and make up for the deficit of the government and temple."

(End of this chapter)