I’m The King Chapter 1247: : Carrying forward the past and ushering in the future (137) There are policies and there are countermeasures

In Ziyang County Government Hall, the county magistrate Guo Qingzheng held a banquet in honor of Lu Dafang, the imperial envoy sent by the imperial court to urge local reforms. Naturally, there are only a few people who sit with him, but all of them are prominent figures in Ziyang County.

Speaking of which, Lu Dafang and this Ziyangyang are also very closely related. He is from this county, and he is the only one in Ziyang County who is currently an official in the center of the court. It is also very ironic to say that this Lu Dafang was one of the first batch of officials who took the pilot test after Li Ru reformed the official system of the Qin State. He can be regarded as the earliest supporters of the Li Ru School. However, when the Li Ru School fell from power, he was also the first to turn against him.

Fan Sui, who was re-appointed as chief assistant, is not ashamed of this person's integrity, but he has to pinch his nose and reuse this person. These people gathered under their own banner, regardless of whether the person is virtuous or not, as long as he can be useful.

Lu Dafang changed his gate, not only was he not demoted, but he was promoted to a higher level. This time, he returned to Shu County as an imperial envoy to monitor the local reforms in Shu County. Show off your achievements, otherwise, wouldn't it be like a night walk in brocade clothes? Lu Dafang only stopped in the county for a few days before making his first stop in Ziyang County.

Actually, in Ziyang County, there is another well-known person. If we really want to talk about it, this talent can be regarded as the pride of Ziyang County. . But once the emperor and the courtiers. Now Mrs. Zhong is returning home from his official post, but he doesn't leave the door, and the second door doesn't move. Concentrating on being his old man in the house, during the Chinese New Year last year, even the county magistrate was shut out when he came to pay New Year's greetings, but the old man Zhong never saw any official figures.

However, Mrs. Zhong can afford this face and appearance, but the rest of the Zhong family can't, they must be on this three-acre land. Now that the old man has retired, he is no longer as powerful as before. If the Zhong family wanted to live a prosperous life, they naturally had to establish a good relationship with the county magistrate, so at today's banquet, Zhong Kui, the head of the Zhong family, was invited by the county magistrate to welcome the Lu Qin envoy.

Scene in the back hall. Compared with the current situation of extremely depressed Ziyang County, it is naturally different. There are all kinds of singing and dancing, delicious delicacies, and everything you expect. The so-called rich wine and meat stinks, and there are frozen bones on the road, which is nothing more than the same.

Guo Qing and Zhong Kui, the two leaders, toasted Lu Dafang frequently. This time, the top-down reform was coming fiercely, and both of them felt uneasy. Judging from some news and intelligence obtained in advance, it is extremely bad for a big family like them. They are not afraid of eliminating redundant officials, but a land equalization order is enough to make them terrified. Whether it is the Guo family or the Zhong family, they are all big families in the local area, and no one has tens of thousands of acres of land under their name.

"Lord Lu, what kind of regulations is the imperial court this time? Speaking of which, we are the brawn of the imperial court. But if Fan Shoufu does this, won't we have no way out?" Zhong Kui held his wine glass. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he looked at Lu Dafang and asked.

Lu Dafang didn't dare to neglect Mr. Zhong. Even if Mr. Zhong stepped back, he would not lose his prestige even if he died. Don't look at him as an old man who doesn't leave the gate now, but he really wants to compare Come on, I'm afraid I haven't seen enough.

"Mr. Zhong, what does the old man mean by this matter?" He asked Zhong Kui with a smile, "When we set off from Xianyang, Fan Shoufu repeatedly told us to discuss this matter with Lord Zhonghou. , I am planning to choose a good day to visit the old waiter!"

"Master Lu has a heart, but you, it's better not to bother with this matter. The old man didn't like to show his face, and now he doesn't see outsiders. You, even if you go." Zhong Kui shook his head repeatedly.

Lu Dafang smiled, "The old waiter is really high-spirited, now all the matters of the Zhongzhuhui are left to Dalang to take care of?"

"Yes, the old man doesn't care about anything now." Zhong Kui nodded.

"Da Lang is in full bloom, with both talents and virtues. It's no wonder that the old man let go of it. You can rest assured Da Lang. It's a pity that Da Lang will not be an official. Otherwise, he must be the emperor's arm!" Lu Dafang continued to smile. Compliments to Zhong Kui.

Bringing this matter up, Zhong Kui couldn't be happier. It wasn't that he didn't want to be an official, but that Zhong Li didn't allow him to be an official at all. Now, he felt resentful towards the old man in his heart. If the old man allows him to become an official, do I still need to be so respectful to Lu Dafang? There is still an old man in the Zhong family, so naturally no one dares to provoke him, but once the old man is gone and there is no one to support him, I am afraid that with the current family business of the Zhong family, it will immediately become a delicacy in the eyes of many people.

"I don't want to talk about this matter." Zhong Kui was a little dejected, "Master Lu, let's talk about this matter now! Master Lu is one of our own, and the Lu family is also a big family in Ziyang, so I don't have to go around Let’s go around, isn’t this way of land equalization to make us all poor? We support Fan Shoufu’s reform of internal affairs, but we don’t agree with this kind of way.”

"Is this what the old man meant?" Lu Dafang asked, turning his glass and staring at Zhong Kui.

Zhong Kui hesitated for a moment, but still shook his head, "No, the old man doesn't care, that's what I mean."

County magistrate Guo Qing went on to say: "Lord Lu, if we follow the order of equalizing land, big households like us will definitely suffer huge losses. In Ziyang, the current market price per mu of land is about twenty taels of silver. However, he was only willing to pay ten taels, which was a loss of half, and then sold it to civilians at a price of eight taels per mu. If there was a deficit, the imperial court would pay 20%, the county would subsidize 30%, and the remaining 50% would be paid by the government. The local government raises money by itself, not to mention that we have lost a lot of money, even this shortfall, we will never be able to get it out."

Lu Dafang smiled and said nothing, the land price in Ziyang will not exceed ten taels of silver now, and it has to be a rich and plump land. The county magistrate Guo has doubled in one go, so he is not afraid of flashing his tongue , Of course he wouldn't tell the truth, his family is also a big family in Ziyang.

"That's the reason. We don't care if the imperial court wants to subsidize those muddy legs, but why should we pay? Isn't this going to make us bankrupt?" Zhong Kui said dissatisfiedly.

"Although the official documents of the imperial court say ten taels of silver, there is another item that can be increased or decreased according to the actual local situation!" Lu Dafang said with a smile: "But the twenty taels mentioned by the magistrate Guo The price of silver is definitely not acceptable, fourteen five taels is still acceptable."

After hearing this, Guo Qing made some calculations in his mind. His family has about 10,000 mu of land. Once the price difference of four or five taels comes out, it will be four to five thousand taels of silver, which can be regarded as a gift for the imperial envoy. It is a certainty that I will earn another 10,000 to 20,000 taels for the cost of going through the door to the superior.

"Master Lu, this field is our lifeline, not to mention anything else, this time Ziyang's rebellion, if it hadn't been for our Lu and Zhong family to organize local soldiers from our hometown to resist, Ziyang would have been beaten by those mud legs We have come down, but after doing this, the mudlegs will have their own land in the future, and if something happens, can we still recruit people? Can we still afford to support Zhuang Ding?" Zhong Kui didn't mention these things. Putting the silver in his eyes, he thought further, "Besides, the fields are in our hands, and that is a matter for generations to come. Now that the fields have been taken back by the imperial court, these silvers are just a matter of sitting and eating. No matter how you count it, it is a big deal." What a loss. Master Lu, haven't you considered this matter?"

Lu Dafang coughed a few times. He has already touched the bottom of the two. He was most worried about the old man who lived at home acting as a ghost. Then he would be in wax. Now it seems that, The old man doesn't care about things, but this Zhong Dalang has the same thoughts as himself.

"Well, it's not difficult to say that it's difficult." He glanced at the dancers who were still dancing in the hall, Guo Qing immediately understood, and waved his hand to make these people retreat , The lobby suddenly fell silent.

"Master Guo, Mr. Zhong, we are all old people from our hometown, so I won't go around the bush. This time, Fan Shoufu's reform is also a good opportunity for us to make a fortune!" He chuckled Get up, "Don't you two see through the mystery here?"

Guo Zhong and the other two looked at each other, "Please enlighten me."

"Magistrate Guo, the number of acres of land you report to the county every year is fixed, right? I don't need to ask, I know there is a lot of water here, I'm afraid there are too many lands that have not been reported? "Lu Dafang laughed.

Guo Qing laughed a few times, but said nothing.

"The imperial court's focus is on the reported acres, but where are these lands, whether they are good fields or poor fields, is it not up to you, County Magistrate Guo?" Lu Dafang said.

Guo Qing's eyes lit up~IndoMTL.com~The meaning of Lu Dafang's words is very obvious. You can turn poor and barren fields into good fields. The price of these fields is only one or two taels of silver per mu at best, but you can sell them like this The lowest price to go out is ten taels of silver, and it will make a lot of money.

"As for the land equalization order!" Lu Dafang lowered his voice, "Your families have a lot of land, but from now on, the imperial court will no longer allow a large amount of land acquisition, but this is not impossible, you guys Each family has a large number of tenants, and it is enough to hang these lands under their names!"

"This is a great trick! Anyway, it's just to deal with the superiors. Since Master Lu has set the plate, what are we afraid of?" Zhong Kui was also overjoyed.

"I heard that tens of thousands of people died in Ziyang County because of the rebellion last year, and a lot of fertile land was ruined, and there are still no owners?" Lu Dafang asked.

"This..." Guo Qing glanced at Lu Dafang with some embarrassment. It is true that tens of thousands of people died, but those fertile fields are now owned, and of course they are concentrated in the hands of some people.

"Those who died don't cancel their household registration, but put some fields under their names, two, then your family's land property is not reduced, but increased." Lu Dafang laughed road. (to be continued)