Qin Official

In the past few days, Tian Jiao has been thinking about the purpose of the banquet held by Heifu County and the wealthy families in Jimo City before Heifu County went to the county.

It has been almost half a year since Heifu took office. Tian Jiao has not had many opportunities to deal with him directly, but through his own informants, he is always keeping an eye on the governor's movements.

If we talk about Heifu's impression of Takuya, it is that he is a capable official who also likes to mess around. He has done more in half a year than his predecessor did in five years combined.

At the beginning, Heifu supported the old Jiangqi clan, opened public schools to encourage Confucian scholars to enroll, and recruited farmers to enter Jiaodong. He had plans for the nobles, scholars, and farmers. His far-reaching intentions made Tian Jiao shudder.

But three feet of ice did not last in a day. After half a year, the results of these things were not as great as imagined: the old Jiangqi clan had been weak for a long time, and it was difficult to support them and compete with the fields with big trees and deep roots. Although the public school was open, there were not many disciples in the first batch, and most of them were young men, making it difficult to entrust them with important responsibilities. As for the farmhouse? Although "Song of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms" is widely circulated, the people only believe what they see. They must see the new methods used in the autumn harvest to increase the yield of the fields before they will believe the government.

In addition, the government recently had to repair roads and build a palace for the emperor. There was a temporary shortage of money and food, and all kinds of projects had to be suspended. The county officials could only receive half of their rations first.

Governor Heifu pinned his hopes on the two gold mines discovered in Huangxian and Yeyi, but those mines are in remote places and are not easy to excavate. It will take tomorrow to achieve stable output.

Therefore, when he invited Tian Jiao and others before traveling to the county, he actually proposed that wealthy households take the lead in donating grain in exchange for titles in the Qin Dynasty. Although his attitude was still tough, in fact, Tian Jiao could see the powerlessness and power behind it. Give in...

Heifu even said to Tianjiao after drinking a few more sips of wine: "All clans in the county should pay equal attention." He began to try his best to invite the Tianjiao family to send their children to the public school. Seeing this situation, the county governor finally recognized the fact. Do you understand that without the fields, it would be impossible to govern Jiaodong?

This trip to the counties, according to Heifu, was also to encourage wealthy households to donate food to help the government tide over this crisis.

"As long as the government seeks help from powerful officials, there is nothing to worry about." This is Tian Jiao's experience.

But he was used to being suspicious, and he always felt that there was something wrong with it. Therefore, he had been thinking about this matter for the past few days, and at the same time, people kept a close eye on the Xingxian team. He wanted to know what Hei Fu had done along the way. .

At this moment, his younger brother Tian Jian walked in and said with a happy face: "Brother, have you heard? Chunyu's case of plotting to assassinate the county governor and commit rebellion has been closed!"

"Case closed! So soon?"

Tian Jiao was stunned: "Didn't the Sheriff say before that he would investigate to the end? For this reason, he did not hesitate to go to war in Chunyu, killing many people, including the Yi and Qi tribes, and filled the prison with suspects."

"I thought so too, but unexpectedly, the thunder was loud and the rain was light. Maybe it was because the investigation was fruitless."

Tian Jian told him that Heifu finally pinned the crime on a group of rangers in Chunyu County, but that group of people had died for resisting arrest when Chunyu County was cracking down on gangs and evil at the beginning of the year.

Tian Jian smiled and said: "I have said before that the Korean visitor is famous for his secret plans. Even if the matter fails, he will never go on a business trip. Don't say that my family is not involved in this matter. Even if it is, the county governor He and his dogs can’t catch him!”

"I hope so……"

Tian Jiao nodded. Although this case has nothing to do with his family, if the root cause is traced and the Yeyi Tian family is found to be the mastermind of this matter, Jiaodong will probably start a bloody storm!

As long as nothing serious happens, Moroda will have the capital to drag it on and use it up.

Combined with the hasty ending of the assassination case and the tendency of Jimo's New Deal to be abandoned, Tian Jiao gained a new understanding of Governor Heifu and secretly said in his heart:

"I just hope that he is really a person who starts from the beginning but ends at the end!"

…

"Junjun, this case could have been investigated further, but it was settled hastily. Why is that?"

At the same time, Heifu and his party had already left Chunyu County, but Cao Shen, who was in charge of catching thieves and public security, was unwilling to do so. Those villains are illiterate pavilion soldiers and fishermen, but they are so bold as to plot to assassinate the county governor. There must be someone behind this plotting secretly. As long as he is sent to assist Gong Ao, he will definitely be able to pull out the carrots and bring out the mud!

But now, Heifu hastily closed the case on his own, and without explanation, sent Gong Ao to Linzi to "do things", but what exactly he was doing, Cao Shen didn't know.

"After nearly half a year of investigation, it was finally discovered that it was just a young man in the county who caused trouble. If we continue to investigate, it will only make the place uneasy."

However, Heifu looked disapproving, as if everything was under his control. After letting Cao Shen take full charge of guarding the convoy, Huan Xiao pointed to the small city ahead with interest and asked Wei Yang beside him:

"The name of this county is Xia Mi. Do you know why?"

Wei Yang touched the back of his head and said he didn't know.

"Didn't we just pass through Gaomi a few days ago?"

Heifu said: "The river next to the road is glue. It was called dense water in ancient times. The dense water flows through Jiaodong. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north. Therefore, the hills upstream are called Gaomi, and the plain beaches downstream are called Xiami!"

Wei Yang suddenly realized that Chunyu County, which they had just left, was between the two secrets.

Heifu asked him again: "Although the top three big cities in Jiaodong are Jimo, Yeyi, and Gaomi, the importance of Xiami is no less than that of Sanyi. Do you know why?"

This time Wei Yang finally answered: "Is it because Xia Mi offshore produces salt?"

"Of course."

Heifu said: "The ancients said that Fu Chu has the gold of Ruhan, Qi has the salt of Quzhan, Yan has the cooking of Liaodong, and the three countries are rich because of it. The salt of this canal is in Jiaodong! In Weishui, Where glue and water enter the sea.”

Therefore, Xiami is also the place with the most abundant oil and water in the county. Seven of the twelve salt fields in Jiaodong are in Xiami, producing half of the county's salt every year. However, in recent years, the output has been declining day by day, which has made Jin Bucao's life miserable. My hair is almost falling out.

From what Heifu secretly inquired about, the dense water here is not as deep as usual. The public salt is in a sluggish state, but the private salt is rampant...

However, they did not go straight to the seaside, but sailed into Xia Mi City.

The magistrate of Xiami County is named Zhou Zhen. Hearing that the magistrate was visiting the county, he had already taken his staff and waited at Shiliting. That night, he prepared a banquet in the county to welcome Hei Fu.

Qin Law stipulates that when minor officials are on a business trip, the pavilions along the way are responsible for meals, and different levels of meals are provided according to the official's status. For example, when Zu Shi was on a business trip, every meal included half a bucket of polished rice, a quarter of a liter of sauce, sunflower soup, and leeks. If you are a person with a title, if the title is a doctor or above, you will have fish to eat. Officials' entourage will receive half a dou of brown rice for each meal, slaves will receive one third of a dou, and every expense of the pavilion will be recorded and handed over to the county every month for statistical review by the accountant to ensure that no one dares to embezzle it. Public food.

But the higher the rank, the looser the restrictions. For a big official like Heifu with two thousand stones, no matter where he goes, there will be a banquet waiting for him.

However, the Mi County reception banquet was full of big fish and meat, and the wine was the best in the area. The dancing prostitutes were graceful and graceful, and the standards were much higher than those in Gaomi and Chunyu counties that they had passed through before.

Even the followers of Hei Fu enjoyed food beyond the legal provisions. The purpose of giving secret orders to please is obvious...

But Hei Fu didn't think it was strange, and after letting people try the poison, he happily accepted it.

At the table, he kept asking about the achievements of Xia Mi County magistrate in the campaign against the Six Kingdoms. It turned out that he was Wang Jian's old subordinate, and he also participated in the battle to destroy Chu. He was a Duke and a senior official in the army. The reason why he was sent to serve as an official in a wealthy place like Xiami shows that he has some background...

After they had had enough wine and food, they issued a secret order and even hinted that the maids and dancers at the banquet could warm the beds of the county governor and important staff members...

"No need, the Sheriff has one more thing to ask you."

Hei Fu waved his hand and asked everyone and the dancer to go down, leaving only a few disciples standing outside the door holding swords.

He issued a secret order and asked Hei Fu with some anxiety: "I wonder if the governor has anything to ask the subordinates?"

But Heifu took out a letter from his sleeve and said with a smile: "I gave you a secret order. During my official stay in the county, someone reported that you accepted bribes, indulged in illicit affairs, and enriched your own pockets. Is it true?"