When the strong wind blew up, Li Twelve, with an inexplicable but strong sentimental emotion, left the east capital city from the upper east gate where he grew up, worked as an official, and spent more than 80% of his life.

But Dongdu City only stood firm in the strong wind.

In the next few days, the south wind blew gusts, but it did not bring enough water vapor between Huaishang and Jianghan. There were only a few light rains in the western part of Tojing and Kinki, which were supposed to be rainy in May.

At this time, Zhang Xing was still inspecting villages in Dongjun and Jiyin counties where he was responsible for inspection.

Different from before, more and more accompanying documents and staff were temporarily transferred from Hebei and various counties and counties. Many leaders also came together, and more and more items were investigated and recorded. This made the speed of inspecting the villages fluctuate and the pace of the inspections fluctuated.

When it was slow, we only visited three or five villages a day, and when it was fast, we visited seven or eight. But after about ten days, we still visited seventy or eighty villages.

At the same time, the captains and deputy captains of the two counties, who generally serve as county magistrates, county lieutenants and other middle and high-level officials who received the order, also went to the counties to make supplements, and even the leaders of the two counties

, there are also imitative behaviors.

There is actually a tendency to visit all the villages in the two counties in one summer. This is the so-called practice that leads to effective results.

On this day in late May, Zhang Dalongtou arrived at a village east of Jiyin City on the south bank of Jishui River. After completing his routine inspection, he wanted to go directly to the city, but unexpectedly, the wind suddenly picked up, and then there were dark clouds in the sky.

It was densely covered with faint thunder, as if it were a summer storm, so I simply stayed in the village with the others and took some shelter.

Moreover, because the village here is close to the county town and has an official road on the outside, there are workshops inside and pavilions outside, which is quite different from ordinary villages. Naturally, Zhang Xing and others were allowed to move into a place near the road early.

Within the building.

Between the wind and rain, upstairs and downstairs are completely different.

On the lower floor there were mostly accompanying documents and staff, who were taking the opportunity to summarize the various situations in the village, causing it to become a mess.

To be honest, the voice was a bit loud, even over the sound of wind and rain outside, but it was understandable that many of these people were county officials, and Zhang Xing had promoted four or five people in succession in the past ten days.

Transferred to his staff and clerical class, they couldn't wait to show their abilities.

It was much quieter on the upper floor. This does not mean that the leaders and Zhang Dalongtou's confidants above were so personable, or that they deliberately listened to the sounds below... On the contrary, these people were all carefully observing what was happening outside at this time.

It was raining so hard that I chose to go upstairs just for this ridiculous reason.

The sound of rain and the sounds below formed an obvious and rhythmic symphony.

"This village is different from the previous places. No one here wants to be a soldier..."

"You have an industry, and you don't have to worry about food and clothing when you come back. Why do you have to work hard as a soldier?"

"First ask if it is true, and then why is it so? Who told you that no one here wants to be a soldier?"

"I asked personally and also checked the records of seven or eight families who want to be demobilized. They are all willing to let people come back, including several wealthy families, and they are not willing to let their children serve in the army."

"Then do you know how many of these two are serving as sergeants in the gang, apart from those who were demobilized this time?"

"How many?"

"Forty-seven! Thirty-nine of them are serving in the army in Hebei, and they all joined the army themselves!"

"How can it be?"

"How is it impossible? These are street gangsters, ruthless knights, so-called brave men who are not afraid of death and seek fame. When the uprising happened, Jiyin was lagging behind. They didn't get to join the first wave of uprisings and defected to the army, so they were already very anxious.

But then the gang cheered up a little, and they joined the army one after another. Some people joined the army after Lishan, and some people went to join the army after crossing Hebei... This kind of people, who have no property at home and are unwilling to work hard for a long time, are mostly in this kind of people.

This is the place where countryside and towns meet. You, Brother Zhao Qi, are also an old official with many years of experience. How come you forgot about this?"

"But...but if that's the case, why are all the demobilized..."

"After experiencing Da Longtou's inspection of 50 villages in Dongjun, Jiyin people have long understood a lot of truth, and they have readjusted the list of retired soldiers early."

"I see... But, isn't there a saying in selecting soldiers, that is, those who have perseverance have perseverance?"

"That was the time to defend our hometown. Nowadays, most of the wars are in Hebei. For the people in the east, it is more like making meritorious services and seeking careers. At this time, they are not as brave as those street knights who dare to fight."

"What Xiao Liu said makes sense."

"..."

"..."

Zhang Xing lowered his head and listened for a while, put down the ice-cold sour plum soup in his hand, and looked up again to look at the rain outside. His expression remained unchanged the whole time: "The rain has lightened up?"

"I'm afraid we can't expect too much from this rain." Chen Bin, who was standing by the window with his hands behind his hands, replied with a dark face. "In previous years, it rained continuously for ten or twenty days, but now it only rains intermittently for two or three days."

In the field, there is still little water, and the light rain cannot penetrate the soil...I am afraid that the production will really be reduced during the autumn harvest."

"Actually, it's not that serious." Xie Minghe persuaded from the side. "I asked specifically a few days ago, and the locals said that in previous years, waterlogging would be drained after the rain in May. Even if there is a drought this time, it is not a major disaster. It is like this every year.

Good weather? It's just a common occurrence. And we have also seen these days that the people in Dongjun and Jiyin are trying their best to save food. There was obviously new millet last year, but they were unwilling to eat it. I will definitely be able to survive it when the time comes. "

"That's not what you said." Yan Qing, who had obviously restrained himself a lot since being criticized by Zhang Xing last time, interjected. "There were no wars in the past years, but now the world is in chaos. Moreover, our territory is limited after all, and we have fought many battles.

, there is basically no warehousing, and we have no way or ability to learn how to confine and control the victims like Bao Wei... Therefore, if one thing is not handled well, a small disaster will become a big one."

"That's what I mean." Chen Bin nodded immediately. "That's what I'm worried about."

"I don't know what will happen to Hebei..." Dou Lide also added with a sad face.

"According to the information passed back, Hebei is similar to here, but with timely water conservancy improvements, it is actually a little better. The Qilu area east of Juyeze has better rainfall, but Dengzhou can be said to have good weather this year... You guys

You really don’t need to worry too much. No matter how difficult it is, can you still be sad about the past two years?” Xie Minghe blurted out, but he was curious for a moment. “Chief Dou, you can also see these messages, and you must have read them specifically, but you didn’t make any judgment.

? Several times in Hebei, didn't you tell me that you knew farming since you were a child? Did you still lie?"

"It's not cheating, it's just that I haven't participated in farming for a long time." Dou Lide rarely blushed. "In the early years, working in the fields was indispensable, but after becoming a county official, it was actually less, let alone now?"

Xie Minghe nodded, noncommittal. Ma Wei, who had never had much to say on such topics, turned his head curiously and looked over. Xu Dalang, Wang Wulang, and Zhai Qian, who were sitting next to him, also took the opportunity to look at them.

I looked at this person and didn't know what he was thinking.

"We still need to take precautions as much as possible." Zhang Xing responded seriously. "If the rain period in May is over, if it still doesn't work properly, then we can't make it in time. We might as well renovate the small water conservancy projects around Jishui. It will be a little slower if we can."

"That's the only way." Chen Bin sighed, worried. "But I'm still afraid of war."

"If it really happens, we can't escape it." Zhang Xing answered calmly. "Just do our part."

The horse is surrounded by words.

However, at this moment, as the sound of rain at the beginning gradually fell with the momentum of the rain, the sound of the argument below surfaced again, and it was obviously high-pitched. Everyone stopped and listened attentively.

"This is actually a good thing..."

"This... can this all be a good thing?"

"If you think about it, the taxation of two li of this kind of village is actually equivalent to ten li of an ordinary village. And we all know how much trouble these market wanderers will cause to the village if they stay here, and make those who have the heart of constant production

Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to leave the people behind for production and centrally organize the rangers to join the army?”

"I always feel like something is wrong."

"Of course not... Xiao Liu is only talking about the things in these two areas at the moment, but can the things in these two areas be generalized? Next to the official road, close to the city, etc.? In most rural villages,

You still have to use your previous experience.”

"Um……"

"Furthermore, the situation of people from the eastern border joining the army in Hebei is only temporary. In the future, there will be more territory and the situation will definitely be more complicated."

"That's right. It's not complicated. I just say that it is more powerful to have a permanent guard to guard the hometown. So why don't we stop guarding here in the East?"

"What the two of you said, don't you think that there is only one rule for selecting soldiers in the gang, it's either this or that? Why can't we classify them into different categories and design a set of paperwork specifically for this kind of village, and make a specific law?"

"You have violated a huge taboo."

"Not bad...Xiao Liu is still young."

"If there are more categories of things like laws and regulations, we will have to work several times harder at each level, but it is just our hard work. The most important thing is that as long as there are new classifications, in practice, they will often be

It has become a place for wealthy and powerful families to take advantage of... and it has also become a loophole for many officials to collude with wealthy families."

"Do you mean that there are no loopholes in the previous land recruitment system? Will wealthy and powerful families not collude with officials?"

"Of course there is collusion, but in the final analysis, under the system of land grant and equalization, the corresponding system is definitely the system of fair recruitment based on land... Dalongtou has also said in the past few days that the main thing we want is fairness, fair taxation and fair corvee

Only when it is done well can it win people's hearts. But now that you have added an extra category, you only choose market wanderers and do not touch workshops and merchants. From another perspective, is it unfair? In particular, how to delineate which places?

In this kind of combination of urban and rural areas? How can we identify who are the scoundrels in the city?"

"this……"

"Isn't that true? With one strike, a good man who wants to stay at home will be regarded as a scoundrel and sent to the army just because his wife and daughter are beautiful."

"..."

"Xiao Liu, don't be discouraged. Of course I know you have good intentions, and in this kind of place, the rangers in the city prefer to gain fame. If you just select them, you will get two birds with one stone. But the law cannot only consider the benefits and ignore it."

The impact and practical implementation difficulties.”

The rain has become lighter, the clouds have dispersed significantly, and the vision has become clearer.

Listening to the conversation downstairs, Cui Suchen made a formal request to Zhang Xing: "Longtou, I think this experienced county official below can be promoted a little so that I can consult with him when revising laws. He should do the paperwork himself."

It’s quite sophisticated.”

Zhang Xing nodded: "Actually, both of them can be promoted. The mature one has more experience and knows the complexity and dangers below. The young one is also good. He can see the specific situation at the junction of urban and rural areas, and then dare to propose

New methods should be encouraged...Whether they work or not is another matter and can be discussed again, but having such people is better than being lifeless."

Several people nodded one after another.
To be continued...