The exquisite reliefs inside and outside the county government office take on different shapes as the sun moves.
The gravel path is sparkling, outside the pavilions on both sides, the rockery is still covered in green, the water in the small pool is clear, and you can see various fish swimming back and forth.
The high walls in the backyard are all red, and beautiful pavilions protrude from each other.
The county officials stood at the entrance of the county government office, looking at each other, but they did not dare to go in.
Logically speaking, they should work here, but since Lou Rui came here, they have lost the qualification to enter the county government office, and the entire county government office has been renovated for more than a year.
Of course, Lou Rui could not directly order the county officials to work elsewhere, so he made an excuse, saying that during the renovation of the county government office, the county officials would work in the side courtyard.
The so-called side courtyard is worse than even the county government office.
From then on, Lou Rui began to monopolize the county government office, and he renovated the county government office into a state where even the county officials did not dare to live there.
At this moment, Lou Rui left, but the county officials felt troubled when they looked at the luxurious mansion in front of them.
The county official looked at Liu Taozi and said in a low voice: "Mr. Liu, why don't we go back to live in another courtyard? We are used to living there, but we are not used to it here."
Shi Yao was standing next to Liu Taozi, and he was really in high spirits at this moment.
Liu Taozi still remembered that when he first went to Cheng'an County, Lu Qubing told him more than once that as long as the emperor died and the prince came to power, the world would be saved.
Almost all the scholar-bureaucrats seemed to be waiting for this moment, waiting for Yang Xiang to assist the new emperor, open their own chapter, drive out those Xianbei people who only knew how to fight on horseback, and establish a real country.
The wish they had been waiting for for many years has finally come true.
Emperor Daxing passed away, a new emperor ascended the throne, and Prime Minister Yang assumed power. The new emperor did not disappoint them. After he ascended the throne, he issued a general amnesty to all the dead, pardoned the elderly military households and slaves, and at the same time prohibited large-scale construction projects in various places and stopped many projects.
.
Now they are sending people to inspect local areas, remove corrupt officials, and promote talented people.
Everything went as perfectly as they imagined, and these scholar-bureaucrats ushered in a carnival.
Shi Yao raised his head and was very dissatisfied with everyone's words. He picked up the appointment letter in his hand and said, "Before Ambassador Cui leaves, you asked me to act as the county magistrate and take charge of the affairs of the county!"
"You are county officials, how can you work in a small courtyard?!"
"You have to move in today, don't disobey!"
Several county officials were very embarrassed. They looked at Liu Taozi secretly, their eyes full of fear.
It doesn't matter if you move in, but what if you offend Lou Rui and get revenge from him in the future?
Seeing that they were silent, Shi Yao became even more angry, "Lou Rui has already been taken away, what are you afraid of? Lou Rui is scary, but the temple order is not to be feared?!"
Liu Taozi looked at everyone's evasive glances and said softly: "Come in. If Mr. Lou asks, he will say it was my order."
Several county officials breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed to Liu Taozi.
"Thank you, Mr. Liu! Thank you, Mr. Liu!!"
They hurried into the courtyard, followed by more officials.
Shi Yao was a little angry.
"How can you be so afraid? How can you be so fearless?"
"Stone Lord."
Liu Taozi interrupted him, then glanced at him coldly, "Has Mr. Shi Shi ever been an official?"
Shi Yao was stunned, "No."
"The life of an official is very low. It's different from people like Shi Jun. No matter how much Lou Rui hates you, he doesn't dare to execute him directly just because he is an official. But the official is different. He will kill whenever he wants. Today's birth
, No matter how many people die tomorrow, no one will hold them accountable.”
"You don't need to use your own morals to demand these people, just do your own thing well."
Shi Yao was scolded like this, but he didn't refute.
He was still very convinced of Liu Taozi. He cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Liu is right."
"What are we going to do next?"
“Prepare plenty of winter clothes and charcoal to survive the cold winter.”
Shi Yao thought thoughtfully, "What Liu Gong means is that those evil people are about to counterattack? We must be prepared to fight them??"
"No, I mean, let you prepare thick clothes and charcoal for heating, so that the people of Liyang County will not freeze to death."
"Ah, okay. Okay."
"There is plenty of cloth, silk, money and food in the county government office, and Mr. Shi can just use it."
"But aren't these all Lou Rui's private property?"
"Why, Mr. Shi doesn't even have the courage? Why are you so afraid?"
"I'll do it now!"
"Your Majesty has issued an edict to grant amnesty to the whole world. You should issue a notice to accept the dead inside and outside the county and place them properly. If you don't know the specific method, you can ask my subordinates."
"only!!"
Liu Taozi turned around and left the county government office and walked towards the opposite side. As soon as he arrived at the gate of the county government office, Kou Liu was already waiting for him.
"Brother!!"
Seeing Kou Liu, Liu Taozi's expression softened a little, "Why was it delayed for a whole day?"
"Brother, don't mention it. I encountered cavalry crossing the border on the way. They checked me for a long time. Now there are cavalry everywhere on the official road, and the official cards are useless in front of them."
Liu Taozi motioned to Kou Liu to follow him, and then they walked into the county government office together.
The county government is very busy. The current county government has resumed normal operation. Under the leadership of Liu Taozi, Liyang was restored to Cheng'an and began to conduct a thorough investigation and land grant here. A large number of public land was once again distributed to the people.
Those poor people who were recorded in the temple as being granted 40 acres of farmland and 20 acres of mulberry fields, but in fact did not even own five acres of land, now truly owned the cultivated land recorded on the list.
Starting from tomorrow, they can cultivate these cultivated lands. Maybe this will not make them rich, but it will allow them to survive.
As a central county, Liyang has very few officials, and it is even more busy at the moment. There are almost no people free. Even Tian Zili and other minions have gone out to do things.
Liu Taozi and Kou Liu returned to the back room and sat down.
"Is your mother okay?"
"Brother, she is very good. She often walks around with the neighbors. There are many people of her age there."
"Well, it's also a good thing for the elderly to move around more with people of the same age. In the future, if nothing happens, she can go and have a look. Even if she doesn't say anything, she hopes to see you more."
"only"
Kou Liu took out a pair of shoes from his arms and handed them to Liu Taozi with some embarrassment, "My mother made these for you. She said she wanted me to give them to my brother, but I don't know if they will fit."
"Thank you."
"Brother, please don't say thank you. Also, this is the letter Lu Gong asked me to give you. He said he hoped you would reply."
Kou Liu gave everything to Liu Taozi, and Liu Taozi saw that he was a little tired, "You go and get some sleep first. The county government has a lot of errands at the moment. You will go and help them starting tonight."
"only!!"
Kou Liu went out to rest, and Liu Taozi put the shoes aside and opened Lu Qubing's letter.
"My brother knows it. Long time no see. Are you okay?"
In the letter, Lu Qubing first exchanged greetings and expressed his great concern for the current situation of Liu Taozi and others, and then talked about his own affairs.
Lu Qubing's letters were the same as his words. They were full of words and it took a long time just to read them.
Cheng'an has reached the ideal state of Lu Qubing, which can be described as a great cure.
Lu Qubing has nothing to worry about anymore.
But Lu Qubing expressed considerable concern about the current situation in the temple.
Lu Qubing is no longer the same Lu Qubing. He has already seen that something is wrong with the current situation.
The prince ascended the throne as emperor, the queen mother supported him, Yang Xiang held the power, and all the officials obeyed his orders. It seemed that everything was under control and on the right track, but Lu Qubing felt that things were not that simple, and names were just names.
Cheng'an cannot be governed in this name. Cheng'an is governed with a sword. The same is true for the world. If he wants to govern the world in the name of his prime minister without using a sword, Lu Qubing feels it is inappropriate.
At the end of the letter, Lu Qubing advised Liu Taozi to be more careful and to act cautiously and not to get involved in the disputes in the temple.
Liu Taozi shook her head and put away the letter.
Just as he was putting it away, he saw Tian Zili hurriedly walking in.
"Brother."
He sat next to Liu Taozi, opened his mouth several times, but stopped talking.
"Do you want to use some money from Mr. Lou's family?"
Liu Taozi asked.
Tian Zili was shocked, "How did brother know??"
"Oh, use it if you want. Use money and food as you wish. Don't use gold, jewelry, calligraphy and painting, etc."
Tian Zili explained: "Brother, although we also have a lot of money, there will be more and more places where we need money in the future. Besides, I help win over officials at all levels, as well as those officers in the county army.
I think some of them are really good, brave and strong, but they don't get the chance to be promoted because of their background!"
"I want to gather these people together again to build good relationships and recruit more useful talents for my brother."
"I understand, you go ahead and do it."
"only!!"
Yecheng.
The tall palace reflects the warm red color in the sunlight, and there are many armed soldiers inside and outside.
Lou Rui was dressed in mourning clothes and walked up the steps with his head lowered, surrounded by several soldiers.
The steps are extremely high, there are three in total, and they are decorated with various kinds of reliefs, which are extremely exquisite. Lou Rui's reliefs at the county government office are completely incomparable with this. Lou Rui walked on the leftmost step and walked all the way to the end.
, there is a tall wall in front of you. Looking in a row, you can see a total of five gates. Each gate has a tower and is guarded by soldiers. Standing here, you can feel your own insignificance more and more.
The door was slowly pushed open, and Lou Rui followed the soldiers into the door. Outside the door was the Emperor's Palace, with left and right courtyards on both sides. The soldiers led Lou Rui to the other hall on the right.
Lou Rui walked to the door with small steps and knelt down.
"Caomin Lou Rui pays homage to the Empress Dowager!!"
He shouted three times in succession before a palace maid came out and said, "Please come with me."
Lou Rui followed the palace maid and walked into the Xuanguang Hall.
The Queen Mother Lou was sitting in the upper seat, with some food in front of her, and some palace maids standing on both sides. The Queen Mother Lou had a serious face and a gloomy look. Lou Rui's heart trembled, and then she paid homage again.
"alright."
"Pretending."
Queen Mother Lou said, "Sit over here."
Lou Rui carefully sat in front of Empress Dowager Lou, and then began to wipe her tears and sob, "Aunt Yang Dadu bullies people too much."
Queen Mother Lou was furious. She glared at Lou Rui and cursed: "What do I tell you on weekdays?!"
"I asked you to be diligent and thrifty, not to be greedy for money and lust, to govern the place carefully and to serve the country!! But how did you do it?!"
"aunt."
Lou Rui quickly raised his head and said seriously: "I have always followed your teachings and have never done any evil."
"Have you never done any evil?! Yang Xiang told me about you!!"
"Aunt! That was framed by these people! I was in Liyang, and the Hou family of Li County was doing evil, occupying farmland, and preying on the people! So I sent people to kill them, distributed food to the people, and served as the county government. Not only did I pay enough
We pay tribute and let the people have food for the winter!"
"Then the local tyrants in Dongli became afraid and attempted to rebel. I personally led the troops to attack them, destroyed their clans, freed the slaves and dead people in Dongli, and resettled them!"
"When Dunqiu learned about this situation, he quickly rectified the situation and did not dare to violate the law."
"There is also the Chongguang Temple. They relied on your protection to do evil. At first, I tolerated it because of my aunt's kindness to me, but they actually wanted to rebel! For the sake of state affairs, I can only abandon personal feelings and send people
Destroy Sogo Temple!! Distribute farmland and food to the people again!!"
"I have dealt with all the evil officials in the county. I have promoted and rewarded the talented people. I have even given the swords given to me by my uncle to the meritorious people. I have even trained the county soldiers.
.”
Lou Rui's face was full of sincerity, and his eyes were filled with tears.
"I have gone so far, but Yang Dadu refused to give up. He sent people to investigate my crimes. In the end, he couldn't find any fault, so he said that I used too much torture, aunt! How can I deal with these crazy evil people?
Can't we use heavy methods? I think Yang Dadu is in the same group with these people. He was angry that I attacked his people, so he arrested me!!"
Queen Mother Lou's eyes widened and she looked at Lou Rui in front of her in shock.
After Lou Rui finished speaking, Empress Dowager Lou slowly said: "You grew up in front of me, don't I know who you are?!"
"I believe that you colluded with these people to prey on the common people. You said that you eliminate harm for the people? You?"
Lou Rui raised his head and said righteously: "If aunt doesn't believe it, I can confront Yang Dadu. You can also send someone to Liyang to investigate now. I didn't lie!"
"I used to be a little young and ignorant, but after so many years of teaching from my aunt, I have changed my mind a long time ago. It was Yang Dadu who wanted to harm me!!"
Queen Mother Lou looked at Lou Rui in front of her again, her eyes full of scrutiny.
"Did Liuzi do it for you?"
Lou Rui was stunned and said, "Well, King Changshan has exchanged letters with me and often advised me to do a good job in government affairs."
Queen Mother Lou fell silent.
Lou Rui took the opportunity and said: "Aunt, don't be deceived by Yang Dadu. He says he wants to govern the world. I think he just wants to depose us Xianbei nobles and promote the Han people around him!"
"You are trying to take away my empire in Daqi!"
"If the Han family belongs to the Han family both inside and outside the court, up and down, then does Daqi still belong to my family?"
"What are these big families? Although I don't read, I have heard people say that in the past dynasties, it was because of these big families that the people were in dire straits and the country was in turmoil. We can't let these moths crawl up and suck blood again!!"
"Aunt, you may not know it in the palace, but I know it very well. Let's talk about the Li family in Liyang. Li Gou has a good reputation, right? But what about his heirs? They are inhumane in Liyang. That is
They took all the cultivated land for themselves and threw all the taxes to the poor people. Those people had countless land grants on the list, but in fact they couldn't even keep their own mulberry fields. In the end, they had to pay extra taxes. I don't know how much.
People are being driven to death!”
"Aunt!! You have to think about the world!!"
"Enough!"
Empress Dowager Lou scolded her sternly.
Lou Rui lowered his head and did not dare to speak any more.
Queen Mother Lou was silent for a moment and then asked: "You destroyed Chongguang Temple??"
"Aunt, they secretly hide armor and weapons, confuse the ignorant people, say that the dead are all in black, and they occupy farmland and do shameful things. If you want to punish them, then punish me! As a local governor, how can I do this?
Turn a blind eye and ignore it. When I ordered the attack, I was already prepared to be dealt with by you! I am willing to die!!"
Queen Mother Lou laughed, she picked up the crutch and gave it to Lou Rui's head.
"You can't do anything else, but no one can talk as much as you! Can I still kill you for some monks?"
"I will restore your original title, and you will stay in Yecheng and study hard for me!"
Lou Rui's eyes lit up and he quickly stood up and saluted, "Thank you, aunt! Thank you, aunt!"
"Get out!"
"only!!"
Lou Rui came out of the palace, got into the car and went straight to the leader's mansion.
Soon, Gao Yan walked out quickly, followed by many close friends. He opened the door, looked at Lou Rui who was standing outside, and bowed, "Brother!"
Lou Rui quickly grabbed him and took a few steps back, ready to salute him.
Gao Yan hurriedly supported him again, "What are you going to do, brother?! How dare you accept this gift from me?"
There were tears in Lou Rui's eyes, "Your Majesty, if it weren't for you this time, I'm afraid I would have suffered more humiliation. I really can't repay your kindness!!"
Gao Yan was stunned for a moment. He looked around and said, "Brother, let's go in and talk."
Gao Yan's leadership mansion was quite simple, not at all like a place where the children of the Gao family would live. Gao Yan held Lou Rui's hand, and the two of them walked all the way to the inner room. Gao Yan asked everyone left to leave, and the room was filled with
There were only two of them left.
Lou Rui held Gao Yan's hand tightly, "Your Majesty, because of the villain's instigation, I almost misunderstood you, and now I realize how stupid I was."
"Brother, there is no need to be like this. This is what I should do."
"No, thanks to Liu Taozi. Your Majesty is really right. This Liu Taozi is really my Qianliju. I wonder what his real name is?"
Gao Yan pursed his lips, "Actually, he is somewhat close to the Lu family. I just gave a few instructions. I haven't heard about the situation in Liyang yet. Brother, why don't you tell me about the things there?
"
Lou Rui nodded, and then began to talk about many things that happened to Liu Taozi after he arrived in Liyang, from when he started killing county officials, to when he started looking for big families to share the debt, and then when he started looking for Chongguang Temple to share the debt.
Gao Yan was stunned for a while.
"Fortunately, I have him, otherwise, I would have lost all my face this time and would not even have the face to see the Queen Mother!"
"I see."
Lou Rui said sternly: "Your Majesty, I will not say thank you for your great kindness. Although I have lost my official position, I still have my title. I have many followers and friends around me, and there are still good murderers at home! If your Majesty goes there,
If you have something to do later, no matter what you ask, I will never refuse!"
"It's just that I still want to know Liu Taozi's real name. Can your Majesty tell me?"
"Um"
"His name is Qi Haizhen."
Lou Rui was stunned, "The murderer? He really deserves his name!!"
Chapter completed!