Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Chen nodded repeatedly, "Exactly."
Xiao Zhi on the side immediately said: "This is the same reason for me."
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him and first asked the Chen family, "How many people are there in the family now, how old are they, how many servants are there, and how many acres of land are they farming?"
Zhao Hanzhang asked carefully. Mrs. Chen's face turned pale and she was a little embarrassed. She glanced at the people watching outside the county government office. From this distance, if the voice was lower, it would not be heard outside, but...
She looked at the Xiao family.
Zhao Hanzhang also turned to look at the Xiao family. When he was weighing whether to ask someone to invite the Xiao family down first, Mrs. Zhao had already reported in a low voice.
The Chen family...has no money.
The Chen family did not leave Luoyang at the beginning. Of course, the houses, fields and shops were also preserved and were not occupied by Zhao Hanzhang. There was even a lot of money left.
But when Zhao Hanzhang led his army into Luoyang, they were short of food and drink. In order to feed his soldiers and wait for the subsequent grain and grass to arrive, Zhao Hanzhang asked them to "donate" a batch;
Later, the emperor moved the capital and left. Food in Luoyang was expensive, so they spent a lot of money. They also had to bury their family members, so there was little money left.
Nowadays, fixed assets in Luoyang are not valuable. They have to wait a long time to sell shops, and the prices are very low, let alone the land.
There is a large area of abandoned land outside the city. Those who want to buy land can do so with the Yamen.
But the Chen family is a noble family, and if they want to maintain a decent life, they need to pay money, and the current situation in Luoyang is not good, and supplies are a bit expensive.
Zhao Hanzhang asked them to pay back taxes. Even if their family was not mature and exempted from labor service, the burden would still be heavy.
So they decided to escape and seek refuge with other relatives and friends.
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at them and asked, "Where do you plan to go to visit your relatives?"
Mrs. Chen lowered her voice even lower and said with a guilty conscience: "Go to Yuncheng."
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at them incomprehensibly, then turned to Xiao Zhi and asked, "Are you going to Yuncheng too?"
Xiao Zhi also felt guilty and responded in a low voice: "I have an uncle who serves as an official for His Majesty, so I wanted to join him. He happened to be on the same road as the Chen family, so..."
Zhao Hanzhang couldn't help but shook his head, and Zhao Kuan on the side also secretly said "idiot" in his heart.
Zhao Hanzhang did not give any clues and asked about the Xiao family's assets, population and taxes to be paid.
A family's assets are a secret. If it's a lot, it's fine, but if it's a little, it's too embarrassing.
That's why Mrs. Chen looked so embarrassed. The family was really embarrassed.
However, the Chen family all told the truth in front of the Xiao family. Xiao Zhi hesitated for a moment and told the truth.
Zhao Hanzhang then said: "Do you know why it is difficult for you to continue?"
Because you collect our taxes.
The three families replied silently in their hearts.
"Because you have more registered fields but less actual cultivated fields, and the tax is calculated based on the acres you registered. Even if I halve the tax this year, you will still have to pay a lot of grain tax." Zhao Hanzhang asked.
, “Why should we report the inconsistent number of acres?”
Mrs. Chen hesitated for a moment and then said: "You issued a decree saying that even if the land is owned by an owner, it will be taken back to the government if it is not cultivated for more than three years, so..."
Zhao Hanzhang understood that they were reluctant to abandon the property in their hands.
She expressed her understanding. Who is willing to take out the meat in his mouth and give it to others?
Zhao Hanzhang sighed and said: "It's my fault, I take it for granted."
Mrs. Chen and the others were startled and a little uneasy, and couldn't help but look at each other.
Zhao Hanzhang had already made up her mind quickly. She said to Mrs. Chen and Xiao Zhi: "You two, your merits deserve rewards and your mistakes deserve punishment. Since you have violated the law, you must be punished. However, since you are the first offenders, please help me."
If I improve the law, the Yamen will give me a lighter punishment."
Zhao Hanzhang turned to look at Zhao Kuan.
Zhao Kuan immediately said: "The lower officials will reduce the crime and punishment at their discretion."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded.
Xiao Zhi was greatly disappointed, "I still have to be punished..."
Zhao Hanzhang said meaningfully: "Of course, otherwise who else will abide by my laws?"
"Xiao Zhi, who suggested you go to Yuncheng?" Zhao Hanzhang looked at him with a half-smile but said, "Do you know that Yanzhou and Qingzhou now have no laws at all under the governance of Gou Xi and Gou Chun?"
"Gou Xi kills even his confidants who have been with him for more than ten years at his will. What capital do you two have to give him preferential treatment?"
Xiao Zhi's face changed slightly, and Mrs. Chen also turned pale.
Zhao Hanzhang said quietly: "Here, I can guarantee that everyone under me will follow the law. You should have heard about the conduct of Gou Xi and Gou Chun. I would like to advise you that even if one day you really want to escape from Luoyang, you should not do it.
Instead of going to Yuncheng, we should go directly south to Jiangnan."
Most of the way to Yuncheng is in Yuzhou, and there are not so many bandits. If they go to Jiangnan, it is unknown whether they can make it to Jiangnan alive.
Both the Chen family and the Xiao family looked unhappy.
At the same time, he secretly regretted it. Zhao Hanzhang was right, they should not have fled. This time they really lost everything.
Mrs. Chen glanced at Xiao Zhi, pursed her lips and said nothing.
The reason why she decided to flee with her family was because of Mrs. Xiao, with whom she was somewhat related. When she heard that she could not survive in Luoyang and wanted to escape, she decided to escape with them after weighing the considerations.
Who knew that he would be caught on the way.
However, Mrs. Chen did not betray Xiao Zhi in front of her.
But Zhao Hanzhang is not a fool. She doesn't dare to say that she is first-rate in observing words and expressions, but she is not bad either.
She looked at Mrs. Chen and then at Xiao Zhi. What else didn't she understand?
So she just stared at Xiao Zhi.
Xiao Zhi's face changed, and he whispered under Zhao Hanzhang's gaze: "Yes, it's the Xiao family from Xin'an who said that if I intend to go to Yuncheng, I can meet outside the city and they will send someone to escort us all the way."
Zhao Hanzhang asked: "Why are you going and they won't go?"
"They are going too, but they still have some family business to deal with, so they will leave later than us."
Zhao Hanzhang raised his eyebrows, his eyes fell on Xiao Zhi's eyes, and asked: "How many people know that you are trying to escape?"
Xiao Zhi opened his mouth but said nothing.
Zhao Hanzhang stood up, turned sideways and said, "Xiao Langjun, please speak in the back hall."
Xiao Zhi sat on the mat and didn't want to go, but although Zhao Hanzhang was smiling and his eyes were light and not fierce, he still shuddered and felt great pressure, so he couldn't help but get up and follow her back.
There was also a table in the back hall. Zhao Hanzhang dragged the inkstone over and poured a little water into it to slowly grind it. She pointed to the white paper on the table and said: "Xiao Langjun, you can think about it carefully while I am grinding the ink."
, who knows this."
Xiao Zhi was dripping with cold sweat. He wanted to show his strength and unyielding strength, but as soon as he raised his head and met Zhao Hanzhang's cold gaze, he couldn't help but pull the white paper in front of him.
He quickly lowered his head, trying to calm down his mood. His mind was in a mess, thinking about the words to refuse. He finally came up with a few words, but as soon as he raised his head, he couldn't say those words again. His heart was beating so hard that he couldn't help but
Go grab a pen...
Zhao Hanzhang also polished the ink, gently placed the ink stick, and pushed the inkstone in front of Xiao Zhi, "Let's write."
Xiao Zhi almost cried, but he still shook his hands to dip them in ink and began to write his name.