"Change it. How are things going well these days?"
In the second hall of Huai'an Mansion, Han Wen sat at the top and asked Su Hao in a pretentious manner. Su Hao sat below him. Opposite Su Hao was Han Wen's master who had just arrived in Huai'an Mansion.
Fang Mengjin, he and Su Hao are also old acquaintances.
"Everything went well." Su Hao said, "Governor Pan really appreciates the river control strategy I proposed. Duwen and the others have already come up with a plan to divert the Huaihe River and cross the Yellow River. They are waiting for the Yellow River to freeze to start construction on this project.
If it can be completed successfully, the water level of Hongze Lake can be reduced by more than one foot, and millions of people in Huai'an Prefecture will no longer have to live with a basin of water on their heads."
"Great. If this can be done, Sizhou and Fengyang prefectures in the upper reaches can also avoid the disaster of the Huaihe River flooding. This will benefit millions of people." Han Wen said with emotion.
Su Hao said: "There are still some details that need to be worked out on this project. Xiong Qingcheng, Du Wen, and Jingxi are all busy day and night. I think it shouldn't be a problem to complete this project in the end."
"Alas, the flooding of the Huaihe River has brought too much suffering to the people of Huai'an and Sizhou. What's abominable is that those powerful people are still taking advantage of the disaster. I have only been in office for a few months, and I have received so many
There are already hundreds of lawsuits related to disputes in this area. In some cases, the government clearly knows that the victims are grievances, but there is no way to redress their grievances. It is really a failure of the divine grace." Han Wen said, who said these words
At that time, his eyes seemed to glance at Su Hao inadvertently, just waiting to see if Su Hao had any understanding in this regard.
Su Hao noticed Han Wen's hint. He sat upright and asked: "Master Fu, I don't know what the situation of these cases is. Students may be able to help Mr. Fu."
Han Wen laughed. He was waiting for Su Hao's words. Ever since he met Su Hao, Han Wen had been very happy in every aspect. His official position was promoted from the seventh rank to the fourth rank all at once, which was something he had never dreamed of before.
Something he didn't dare to think about. He already regarded Su Hao as his lucky star in his heart, so when encountering problems, he thought that Su Hao might be able to help him.
"There have been several cases recently, all of which involve powerful people occupying farmers' fields. Master Fang, go and get the files and change them." Han Wen turned to Meng Jin and said.
Fang Mengjin responded, got up and went out. After a while, he came back with several volumes of materials. He handed the materials to Su Hao and said: "These are cases that have been tried in the following counties.
The county ruled against the plaintiffs, but these plaintiffs were dissatisfied and submitted the complaint to the government office."
Su Hao took these materials, looked through them carefully, and couldn't help but frown.
These cases occurred in Qinghe, Yancheng, Andong and other counties under Huai'an Prefecture. There is no obvious connection between the parties involved in each case. However, these cases have a common feature, that is, powerful landlords seize farmers' fields, and the county government
But in the name of lack of evidence, they refused to seek justice for the farmers.
It turns out that private land is backed by land deeds. The owner has a copy of the land deed, and the government also has a copy. Once a land property dispute occurs, the owner can take the land deed to the government and ask for justice.
Determine the ownership of a certain piece of land based on the land deed in hand. This method of handling land disputes has been used for many years in Chinese history and is acceptable to everyone.
However, there was a fatal flaw in the land deed back then, that is, the definition of the location of the land in the land deed had to rely on some eye-catching local landmarks, such as what river to the east, what slope to the west, etc. This way of litigating
It can only be located when the time comes. If these landmarks change, the original land deed will become a piece of paper. If someone moves the stone monument dividing the land boundary, the owner will not be able to find a place to argue.
This is the case with these lawsuits that Han Wen received. Due to the flooding of the Huaihe River, all downstream counties were affected. Many small rivers were filled up by siltation. Some places that were originally flat land turned into rivers. Floods are coming.
At that time, many farmers fled with their families. When the floods receded and these people returned to their homes, they found that their fields had been merged into the boundaries of the powerful landlords. They had a piece of land deed in their hands, but they could not take back the land that belonged to them.
own land.
In this case, the landless farmers will of course choose to file a complaint with the government and ask the government to recover the land for them. The government officials took the land deed and went to the place indicated by the owner, but they could not find the landmark specified on the land deed.
Unable to make a judgment, we can only maintain the status quo and let the owner find evidence to prove the location of his land.
From owning a few acres of thin farmland to having nothing, the farmers certainly couldn't accept this reality. Unable to win the lawsuit in the county government, they flocked to Huai'an Prefecture, hoping that the government office could provide them with justice. These days, Han Wen
They received this kind of notice every day. These farmers were homeless anyway, so they simply sat with their children outside the government office, begging while waiting for Master Qingtian to make the decision for them.
"In your opinion, do these farmers have any grievances?" Su Hao put down the file and asked Han Wen.
Han Wen said: "I have read their land deeds, and they are all true, so their grievances must be true. However, they claim that the fields occupied by powerful landlords are their original fields, but this matter is difficult to determine. Next
The same principle applies to county government cases, and as the prefect, it is difficult for me to catch them."
"Master Fang, what do you think?" Su Hao asked Fang Meng Jin again.
Fang Mengjin said: "This matter is actually very clear. It is not uncommon to take advantage of flooding to move boundary markers privately to seize other people's fields. Among these cases, there may be one or two cases where farmers themselves found
There are also some unscrupulous people who no longer have access to their own fields, or whose fields have been damaged by water and cannot be cultivated, so they want to take advantage of the chaos to occupy other people's fields to make up for it. However, according to my judgment, the vast majority of the rest are
The collusion between officials and gentry makes the powerless people suffer the consequences of being dumb."
"Master Fang, are you sure? The corruption of officials is so bad?" Su Hao asked, these local officials below are all Han Wen's subordinates. Fang Mengjin said this, which is equivalent to beating all Han Wen's subordinates.
Fang Mengjin said: "There is nothing that can be done about the floods destroying the landmarks. But if the government intends to make the decision for the farmers, it can still be done by asking more village elders to understand the situation and restore the original land boundaries. These officials and officials
The officials are pushing the blame with each other, which must be the benefit of the powerful. In other words, you know too little about officialdom, this kind of thing is too common. "
Han Wen coughed lightly and interjected: "Master Fang, we can't generalize. There are still some honest officials in the officialdom of Ming Dynasty."
"That's it, that's it, otherwise how could the Ming Dynasty be at peace so far?" Fang Mengjin quickly changed his words. He knew that this was just the official talk Han Wen said in front of Su Hao. In private, Han Wen also often lamented the lack of officials in the officialdom.
Greedy.
Han Wen turned to Su Hao and said: "Then again, when I arrived in Huai'an Mansion, the official system was indeed a bit broken. I have been deeply aware of this for a few months since I took office. Natural disasters in Huai'an Mansion continued, and the officials
It is difficult to make political achievements. Without political achievements, it is difficult to be promoted. If there is no chance of promotion, you will naturally think about some crooked things. Can you understand this section instead? "
"I understand." Su Hao nodded and said. He patted the files at hand and asked, "Master Fu, how do you plan to deal with these disputes, and what can students do?"
Han Wen said: "As the head of the government, it is my duty to make decisions for the people under my rule. Since these cases have been brought before me, I naturally have to take care of them. Not only do I have to take care of them, I also want to take care of them."
We must also provide justice to these people. If we find out that officials in the following prefectures and counties are involved in corruption and perversion of the law, we will never be lenient."
"Yeah, that's what it should be." Su Hao responded perfunctorily. Just now Han Wen said that the official system was broken, and he was deeply touched. Now he said, "If I let this government find out," he would have checked it out long ago.
, will wait until now. The officials in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty are intricately connected, and one thing can affect the whole body. Han Wen is just a newly promoted prefect with no foundation. If he is smart, it is impossible for him to rectify his subordinate officials on a large scale.
What Han Wen said just now was indeed just an attitude and determination, and he did not take it seriously. After saying this, he continued: "Of course, investigating and punishing official corruption is not something that can be done overnight. The most urgent task is to find a way
Return the fields to those farmers so that they can live and work in peace and contentment. The city of Huai'an is now full of refugees. If some lawless people take the opportunity to incite, it will lead to great chaos."
"However, the state and county governments are unable to determine the ownership of these lands, so what can the government do?" Su Hao asked.
Fang Mengjin said: "You can do things that others can't do. Don't you have a survey camp? This survey and mapping is your specialty. Dong Weng
What I mean is that I want you to take action and go to various townships and villages to clear the land, and by the way, this land dispute can be resolved."
"Is this...student overstepping a certain level?" Su Hao hesitated.
Han Wen said: "Instead, you only need to say whether you are sure that this matter can be accomplished. As for whether it is a matter within your scope, this government will coordinate it. Governor Pan regulates the river here for the livelihood of these millions of people.
I think he will agree. Besides, you just mentioned that the Huaihe River crosses the Yellow River and flows into the sea, so you also want to dig a channel into the sea in my Huai'an Mansion? Isn't it your duty to do some river survey in advance? "
"Uh... what the governor said makes sense." Su Hao admitted defeat. In fact, after hearing what Han Wen said, he had some intention of helping these poor landless farmers, but he was hesitant about whether he had the intention to do so.
Qualification. Now that Han Wen said this, he felt that he could not refuse it. River management is for the people, and land clearing is also for the people. There is no conflict between the two things.
When Han Wen saw Su Hao nodded, he said happily: "Well, instead, you go back and make some preparations first, select some capable people, and prepare to go to the states and counties to clear the fields. I will first write a letter to the states and counties,
Just say that the government will send personnel to resolve these disputes and ask them to cooperate. After contacting the following states and counties, you can set off."
"I would like to comply with the arrangements of the Lord." Su Hao responded.
"You need to bring more people. Some powerful people below may rely on force to fight. If you don't have a few people at hand, I'm afraid you will suffer a loss." Han Wen warned again.
Su Hao said: "Master, please rest assured, the student knows what he is thinking."
"I have always been very at ease with you, Su Gaizhi," Han Wen said. After saying these serious things, he picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and then said casually, "My little girl has been with Fang a few days ago.
Master, we arrived in Huai'an together. Didn't you say that you still need her help with something else?"
"Help?" Su Hao was a little confused. When he came here today, he got the news that Han Qian had arrived in Huai'an, but he never said he wanted Han Qian to do anything for him. However, he was just stunned for a moment, and then
He understood and quickly said with a smile: "Exactly, exactly. The students have recently expanded the survey camp, and a lot of people have been added to the embroidery team. Miss Han has outstanding embroidery skills, and the student embroidery team is managed by Miss Han.
They are trained. So the student boldly wants to ask the palace master for permission to let Miss Han take time to come to my survey camp to give guidance to the embroidery team."
"This is a serious matter, how can I refuse to allow it?" Han Wen twirled his beard and said in a reserved manner, "Change it, my daughter is in the back office. If you have anything to do, go and tell her in person."
"Thank you, Lord." Su Hao stood up and bowed respectfully to his prospective father-in-law. (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)