"Liu County Cheng!"
As soon as Liu Taozi walked to the door of the County Cheng's Mansion, the door opened wide and a man walked out with a big smile.
Everyone dismounted, and the man grabbed Liu Taozi's hand and looked up and down, "Liu Jun is much younger than I thought. He is really a formidable young man!"
This man was handsome in appearance, magnanimous in manner, and open-minded. Li Jun followed him, bowed to Liu Taozi, and introduced him: "Mr. Liu, this is Duke Zhao. All matters in this county, big and small, pass through Gong Zhao's hands."
.”
Liu Taozi was about to bow to meet him, but Zhao Juncheng grabbed him and said, "No need to be polite! Come with me!"
He enthusiastically led Liu Taozi into the courtyard. He had a separate house in the county, but his house was not luxurious. It looked ordinary. It only occupied a relatively large area and the interior was ordinary.
"Mr. Liu, my house is quite simple. Don't dislike it. Don't dislike it!"
"Hong! Go and urge the kitchen to stop saving and get more food. I think Liu Jun is big and broad. He is a strong man and can eat!"
He shouted all the way and led Tao Zi into the reception hall.
Zhao Juncheng sat on the upper seat, and Taozi sat beside him. As for the other minor officials, they could only stand outside the door and were not qualified to come in.
After the two sat down, Zhao Juncheng looked at Taozi again.
"Liu Jun is really young. At such an age, he can be promoted directly from the temple. It seems that Liu Jun also comes from a high family?"
"Not from a high family, but from an Orion background."
"Well, I see, Liu Jun is a few years younger than me, so I will call him brother, how about that?"
Zhao Juncheng didn't wait for Liu Taozi to respond, so he said, "Brother Liu Xian, you came at the right time."
He patted his forehead, "You don't know that although I am in the county, I still have to worry about the counties. And Li Yangling, you must have met him, right?"
"I've seen it."
"Logically speaking, I shouldn't speak ill of your Shangguan in front of you. It's just that this Magistrate Shi is really ridiculous!"
"He doesn't care at all about the affairs of the county government, or he feels that the temple only allows him to be the county magistrate, and he is dissatisfied. Of the three counties in the county, Liyang is the most miserable!"
Zhao Juncheng took a sip of the bitter wine, his eyes filled with sorrow and anger.
"Liyang is a major grain-producing county. Since the early years of Tianbao, there has never been a shortage of tribute grain payments! It has been like this for two years since Magistrate Shi took office!"
"The grain depots are empty. If it weren't for the county government's relief, even the county soldiers would starve to death."
Zhao Juncheng complained a lot. During this period, the food was already ready. There were not many things, but they were very rich. They were all beef and mutton, and they were steaming hot.
Zhao Juncheng took a bite, and his tone became slightly more relaxed, "Now that my dear brother is here, I won't worry anymore."
"The evidence of the crime of Magistrate Shi has been reported to the temple by the county."
"In less than three months, I'm afraid he will have to leave Liyang. I have to worry about this matter for my dear brother."
Zhao Juncheng raised his head and looked outside the door. Someone walked in immediately. He held a package in his hand and placed it in front of Liu Taozi.
Zhao Juncheng said with a smile: "Brother, you have come all the way. I am an honest man and have nothing to give you. This is the house deed. I have prepared three big mansions for you in the south of the city, and there are also some land deeds. You are the ninth grade, so it stands to reason
Come to me, you should be granted 100 acres of official land, but I will give you an additional 400 acres privately."
"In addition, I have arranged all the servants and maids in this mansion for you."
As he spoke, he quickly stared at Taozi's face again, trying to see some expression on his face.
However, Taozi still had the same 'face', her eyes were as calm as water, without joy or anger. Zhao Juncheng was silent for a long time, and then added: "I just think that my dear brother is so kind, that's why he is like this."
The atmosphere was still a bit depressing. Zhao Juncheng kept talking, but Taozi barely responded.
Zhao Juncheng has been in the officialdom for many years, and this is the first time he has met such a person.
This made him even more fearful. Could this guy have a great background?
Just when Zhao Juncheng was thinking about it, Taozi finally said, "Is the south of the city the territory of monks?"
Zhao Juncheng was stunned for a moment, and then he said with a smile: "Ah, that's not entirely true. Chongguang Temple is a large temple in the county. There are many famous monks in it, all of whom are respected by others. I don't know this, but our prefect is the most Buddhist.
.”
"He wholeheartedly worships the Buddha, advises people to do good deeds, and does the best in Buddhist practice. He is also very close to many eminent monks in the temple."
"My dear brother, do you believe in Buddhism?"
Zhao Juncheng asked, then suddenly slapped his forehead, "I almost forgot your name, my dear brother, I believe you."
"It's okay even if you don't believe it. Just don't offend me. This Chongguang Temple really has magical power over the years. Alas, my dear brother will know it later."
"Come on, don't just chat, eat more and don't waste it."
Liu Taozi also immersed himself in eating. The more he ate, the more he ate. Pieces of meat were swallowed by him, and the bones were chewed clean. Zhao Juncheng sat on the upper seat, holding tea in his hand, watching Liu Taozi eat in amazement, motionless.
.
It wasn't until Taozi ate all the food on the table, wiped the corners of his mouth, and looked at Zhao Juncheng that Zhao Juncheng woke up.
There was still a trace of fear in his eyes, "My dear brother, you have a good appetite! You are truly a strong man!"
Liu Taozi picked up the package, saluted to Jun Cheng, and left here immediately. Zhao Jun Cheng took him all the way to the door. Until Liu Taozi disappeared, he still stood there, marveling.
Li Jun came out of nowhere and stood beside Zhao Juncheng, "Mr. Zhao, has the agreement been reached?"
"have no idea."
"Um??"
"You are indeed right. This person is quite weird. I have never seen such a person. He didn't say a word, but he just asked about the monks. Also, he ate all the food I prepared.
, Meat for three people. This is a big bug."
Li Jun smiled flatteringly, "In Liyang County, even a real giant insect would have to lie down and beg for mercy when encountering you, let alone a fake giant insect?"
Zhao Juncheng ignored him and just stared blankly in the direction Liu Taozi left.
"I hope this person knows right from wrong and doesn't want to become our enemy."
When Liu Taozi returned to the county government office, it was already very late.
Everyone gathered at Liu Taozi's residence again, except that Kou Liu was missing, and no one asked.
Everyone went out today and gained a lot.
Everyone was a little anxious at the moment.
Tian Zili was the first to speak: "Brother, I understand that this county government does not care about anything at all. All the officials in the county know nothing about the situation of the county government. From the city gate officials to those patrolling the streets, they are all county government officials."
People, this Liyang County is basically managed by the county government and has nothing to do with the county government!"
"Besides, these officials are not good people. During the conversation, I tried a few words and asked them for a bribe, but it didn't work. They were overjoyed and hurriedly took me to the banquet."
"Their mansions are all in the south of the city. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary mansion, which is not surprising. But after entering, it is completely different inside. It is a magical place. A few petty officials dare to give me a big feast and there are more than ten beauties.
Keep me company!!”
Yao Xiong's eyes widened, "You disappeared for a day and went to the south of the city to play?"
"Also, there is one more thing. Those officials are very familiar with Chongguang Temple in the south of the city."
Liu Taozi listened carefully to Tian Zili's words, and then looked at Yao Xiong aside.
Yao Xiong cleared his throat, "I went to the school field. There are not many soldiers here. There are no Xianbei people. They are all Han people. There are not enough personnel. The officers are not at the school field at all. They say they go home often. In short, they are completely different from Cheng'an. Those soldiers
I'm gambling in the camp and I don't know anything about the situation in the city, so I can't ask anything."
Chu Jiande looked at both of them and grinned, "I found that the people here are very respectful to Buddhism. You can earn three hundred yuan by reciting sutras, which is much better than the money I can make by seeing a doctor for several days. I knew that I had
Instead of learning any medical skills from Mr. Magong, just come here and become a monk."
After combining everyone's information, Liu Taozi also told everyone what he had experienced.
For a moment, the room was silent.
This small and inconspicuous county seems not as simple as it appears.
Tian Zili couldn't help but frown, "This situation seems a bit complicated."
Chu Jiande looked at everyone, but couldn't help but shake his head, "You guys. Is this your first time out of Cheng'an?"
"The situation in Liyang is so common. How can it not be like this? Greedy officials, overbearing monks, and suffering people are the same everywhere. Don't make things so complicated. In my opinion, this is a money-making scheme.
Great place!!”
Liu Taozi ignored this guy and looked at Tian Zili beside him.
"These are the house deeds and land deeds they gave me."
Liu Taozi handed the gifts from Zhao Juncheng to Tian Zili, and then said: "Keep these for now, maybe they will be useful later."
"Zili, I will let you record the history of Li Yang."
"Tomorrow, you will bring people back to get some food. If it is not available here, go to the neighboring county."
"It doesn't take much. It's enough to feed the county government officials for more than ten days."
Tian Zili stood up quickly, "Wei!!"
Liu Taozi looked at Yao Xiong again, "Yao Xiong, I will let you travel around Liyang. You choose your own subordinates. Starting tomorrow, you will patrol Liyang. Everything will be like a Cheng'an story."
Yao Xiong was stunned. He was stunned for a moment, and then he came back to his senses, "Ah, okay, it's Zun Wei!"
Liu Taozi finally looked at Chu Jiande, who was stroking his beard with a particularly scary smile, "Mr. Liu, could it be that I am also a part of it? I have received a medical post, not to mention, I don't know how to govern the government.
"
"Twice the salary."
"Please give me your instructions, Mr. Liu!!"
"You will be a civil servant, Cao Shi, responsible for the appointment of civil servants."
"But I don't know about government affairs."
"No problem, your face is enough. The main thing is that you can scare the officials."
"only!"
Yao Xiong looked around, but Kou Liu was not here. He knew that Kou Liu was often sent out by his brother to do sneaky things, but he didn't know where he was tonight.
In the south of the city, Chongguang Temple.
The temple occupies a huge area, with four courtyard walls inside and outside. It is not inferior to the Murong family in Cheng'an.
There are patrolling warrior monks everywhere in the temple, armed with swords and sticks, in teams of ten, patrolling the courtyards back and forth.
The pagoda is in the middle, and along the pagoda, in the front is the living room, and in the back is the monastery. There are different buildings on the left and right, which are enough to accommodate the temple's slaves, female relatives, tenants, guards, etc.
Kou Liu was lying on the wall of the courtyard, huddled up. He carefully stared at the situation in the courtyard, looking a little dazed.
He always felt that this temple looked familiar. No matter how he looked at it, it looked like the arrangement of the Murong family.
From the location of the residences of personnel at all levels, to the patrolling guards and barking dogs.
The only difference is that these people's hair is shorter and their looks are weirder.
In the front hall, huge Buddha statues showed strange smiles and stared forward. Kou Liu raised his head and looked at the Buddha statue. This made Kou sweat profusely and his hair stood on end.
Kou Liu believed in Buddhism, and his mother recited Buddhist scriptures at home all year round. He was also influenced by this, and he could barely recite some Buddhist scriptures.
But even so, these Buddha statues did not bring any sense of sanctity to Kou Liu. Under the torch, the Buddha statues almost turned into blood. Kou Liu became more and more frightened as he looked at them, so he did not dare to look any further.
Just as he stood up and was about to walk in, he suddenly heard crying coming from below.
He hurriedly lowered his body again. Under the night, a group of people were quietly walking out of the temple. They were all monks. They were driving a car. The car was filled with all kinds of packages, large and small, of all kinds.
, some packages were even squirming, and Kou Liu couldn't see clearly what was under the tarpaulin.
These carriages went out from several gates and then drove into the dark alley. Kou Liu found a big one and followed them.
Kou Liu quickly jumped back and forth on the roof and courtyard wall, constantly approaching the carriage. Suddenly, a strange sound came from the carriage, and Kou Liu lowered his body.
Kou Liu stayed for a moment, then raised his head again, only to see that there was nothing in the alley.
Kou Liu hurriedly chased the other carriages, only to find that all of them had disappeared.
It's like they never appeared.
A gust of wind blew, and Kou Liu couldn't help but shiver.
"What the hell"
Just after dawn, the Sanli Courtyard in Liyang became lively.
The casual officials here sleep directly in the courtyard. Not only that, their feet are tied with ropes and tied to each other. If one person moves, the others will be awakened.
Under the continuous sitting system, they naturally did not dare to make any movements.
After they got up, under the supervision of several county soldiers, they took off the ropes and began to solve the physiological problems.
The county government provided them with food, but it was not an exaggeration to say that the food was pure water. There were a few wild vegetables floating in the bowl of water. Someone took a few mouthfuls, and suddenly began to vomit violently, vomiting and diarrhea, and fell to the ground, crying bitterly.
At this moment, someone suddenly broke into the house.
"Everyone, get up and go to the lobby! The county magistrate has something important to announce!"
The casual officials stumbled to their feet and lined up very skillfully. The county soldiers were a little surprised, but when they saw that the person coming was a knight who followed the county magistrate, they didn't dare to ask any more questions.
When this group of people arrived at the lobby, they found that except for the four officials, almost everyone else was there.
Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat and looked at the people in front of her.
"Everyone, if you want to leave, you can leave the county government now. I can remove your official status and allow you to go home."
Hearing these words, everyone trembled and looked up at Tao Zi.
Tao Zi continued: "In the future, I will replenish the grain storehouse and distribute salary on time. Two meals a day will not be deducted. If anyone is willing to stay, they can stay."
No one spoke.
Liu Taozi looked at Tian Zili who was standing aside. Tian Zili stood up and said, "My county magistrate never does anything to force people to serve as officials. If you are willing to go home, tell me now. The county magistrate has made his word and will let you go if you want."
Go and never break your promise."
"If you don't open your mouth, then it will be assumed that you want to stay."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone stood up, and the man's lips trembled, "Mr. Liu, my wife just got pregnant, and I was arrested as an official. Now I don't know the situation at home. If you are willing to be merciful, I want to go home."
Look at the family”
Taozi didn't hesitate and waved her hand.
Tian Zili stepped forward and put a bag of millet into his hand, "Take it and take it home. You can go."
The man was stunned for a long time. He took a deep breath, as if he had made some great determination. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and took a step, then another step, and then another step, and he walked out cautiously.
He didn't dare to relax until he walked out of the county government gate.
The soldiers at the gate of the county government office had already been replaced. They watched this man leave without saying a word.
The man's speed became faster and faster, and finally he ran and escaped from here.
Everyone was shocked immediately, and some people stood up.
Tian Zili also gave him a bag of rice. Soon, almost all the officials in the county government got up, but no one wanted to stay.
Liu Taozi was not discouraged at all. Some people bowed and kowtowed to Liu Taozi, almost breaking their heads. Some people could not suppress their cries.
Finally, there was no one left in the lobby.
Liu Taozi stood up and ordered: "Zili, send someone to issue a notice to let the people in the county take the examination to become officials. In addition, go to the county school and ask them to organize a law school as soon as possible."
While the two were talking, Li Jun and others arrived belatedly. Li Jun quickly walked up to Liu Taozi with a look of astonishment on his face.
"Mr. Liu, you let all the officials run away??"
Liu Taozi walked down slowly and stood in front of him, lowering her head and staring into his eyes.
"What? Do you have any objections?"
Li Jun frowned, "I dare not, but there are not many people studying in the city. If we let them go, who will take care of things in the future?"
"What is it doing? What has this county government done in the past few years?"
Li Jun hesitated, his face turned red.
"Besides, starting from today, you don't have to come."
After hearing this, they finally couldn't bear it any longer. Someone stepped forward and asked, "Why?!"
"Why? Just because you guys embezzled county government salaries, enriched your own pockets, robbed the people, and seized the women of the people."
The man was furious and pointed at Liu Taozi, "Don't think that you can do whatever you want if you have a backer! My fucking surname is Li, Li Gonghou of Wuyi County!!"
"Pfft~~~"
Just as the sword flashed past, the man's head flew up and blood splattered.
The other three were stunned. Li Jun was so frightened that he fell to the ground, his whole body weak, "Spare my life!"
"Zili, sent people to seize the properties of these four people to subsidize the county treasury. In addition, they cut off their heads and hung them on the city gate to publicize their crimes and let everyone know the consequences of evildoers."
"only!!"
"Liu Taozi!! You don't deserve a good fucking death!!!"
"Pfft!"
Chapter completed!