A thin man with a sallow complexion stood half-bent next to Su Hao, pointing to the ground in front of him, and said timidly.
Su Hao raised his eyes and saw an undulating wasteland in front of him. Traces of the flood half a year ago could be seen vaguely. In some places, the topsoil was washed away by the water, exposing the sandy soil underneath. In other places, the river silted up the land.
The mud appears to be higher than elsewhere. The wasteland is covered with weeds and occasionally has a few half-dead trees. There is no special landform that can distinguish this plot from other plots.
"How can you be sure that this land is your family's farm?" Su Hao asked.
The man lowered his head and remained silent. He must have some secret that he didn't want to reveal. Su Hao could understand a farmer's mood of protecting property, so he didn't embarrass him. He just walked forward on his own, looking around.
He was waiting for the Andong County government officials to bring in Zeng Fengxian, the powerful local landowner, for questioning.
After Su Hao agreed to help Han Wen resolve the dispute between powerful people who took advantage of the flood to occupy farmers' land, Han Wen began to make arrangements. He first sent a letter to his subordinate prefectures and counties, claiming that the government would send people to investigate the matter.
They asked the states and counties to cooperate. Although the magistrates and magistrates in each state and county had their own secrets, they did not dare to openly object to the government's intervention in this matter. They all expressed their gratitude to the magistrate for personally intervening in the disputes of the people under their rule, and at the same time arranged for officials
The officer is ready to receive the commissioner sent by the government.
On Pan Jixun's side, Han Wen also went to say hello. Pan Jixun was busy discussing with Ma Yu and others about digging a tunnel for the Huaihe River to cross the yellow culvert. Su Hao could not play any role in this matter, so he said nothing.
He agreed to Han Wen's loan to Su Hao, but added a request for Su Hao to take the opportunity to survey the downstream river, to which Su Hao naturally agreed.
After everything was arranged, Han Wen handed over dozens of farmers who complained to Su Hao, and asked him to take people to implement the situation one by one and solve the problem. Su Hao asked people to settle the families of these farmers, and then took them with him.
They set off, accompanied by more than twenty soldiers from the survey camp, as well as Chen Guanyu and the newly recruited down-and-out Juren Zhou Ruyuan. The reason for bringing the latter with them was that Zhou Ruyuan claimed that he was very familiar with the situation in the states and counties under the Huai'an Prefecture.
If you understand, you can provide Su Hao with some behind-the-scenes information.
After receiving dozens of cases, Su Hao naturally couldn't solve them at the same time. He could only investigate them one by one in order of distance. The place they went to today was at Sangyuan Manor, Chaohe Town, Andong County. The place next to Su Hao was
The famous man was the farmer who complained, named Hu Lin. He claimed that Zeng Fengxian, a big landowner in Zhuangzi, had seized his family's land, and it was Su Hao who brought him to confront Zeng Fengxian.
"Master Su, Yuan Zeng has already been invited."
Zhao Hua, the yamen servant of Andong County Government, came to Su Hao with leisurely steps, bowed slightly to him, then pointed to the fat man he brought with him and introduced to Su Hao.
The fat man was wearing a silk cotton robe, and his face was full of red light, which was in sharp contrast with Hu Lin's yellow face. When he heard Zhao Hua introduce himself to Su Hao, he stood up straight, clasped his fists and saluted Su Hao,
He praised: "Mr. Su, student Zeng Fengxian is so polite."
Student..., Su Hao looked at the wrinkles on Zeng Fengxian's face and his huge belly, and couldn't help but feel a little funny. Such a rich man from the countryside actually imitated the polite manners and called the officials students. He nodded slightly.
He turned his head and asked Zeng Fengxian calmly: "So, Zeng Yuan is also a person with a good reputation?"
"Don't dare, don't dare, the student is just a scholar and is not worth mentioning in front of adults." Zeng Fengxian said. He just heard from Zhao Hua that the commissioner sent by Huai'an Prefecture is a sixth-rank official. I heard that he was sent by Beijing.
Yes, according to common sense, a sixth-grade civil servant must be a Jinshi, so he can only call himself a student.
"My master Zeng has also passed the provincial examination, and he is only one place away from passing the imperial examination." A loser following Zeng Fengxian interjected proudly, presumably because he wanted to put some gold on his master's face.
Zeng Fengxian turned around and pretended to scold the scoundrel: "Zeng Gui, what are you talking about in front of Sir? How can my meager knowledge be brought up in front of Sir Su?"
After training the bitch, he turned back to Su Hao and said: "Master Su, Master Su, don't blame me for being ignorant and bragging. However, when the student took part in the provincial examination, he was only one place short, which made him regret it for the rest of his life."
Su Hao was not originally someone who cared about the imperial examination, so how could he be interested in these things? He interrupted Zeng Fengxian, pointed at Hu Lin, and asked: "Zeng Fengxian, do you know this country farmer?"
"We know each other." Zeng Fengxian said repeatedly, "Brother Hu Lin is also from our village. We have been fellow villagers for many years. How could Zeng not know him?"
"Oh, it's good to know each other. Then I sent you here today, do you know why?" Su Hao said. He had to be a little more arrogant towards these powerful landlords. After all, he is a sixth-grade official with official authority.
It should be enough to frighten such rich people.
"Zeng knows." Zeng Fengxian said, "Brother Hu's family's fields have been washed away by the water and cannot be cultivated. He wants Zeng to give him a few acres of good land. Logically speaking, as a fellow villager, Brother Hu's family has suffered.
The floods in the past two years have been very serious, and Zeng’s family has not been spared, so there is nothing I can do to help him.”
"Zeng Yuanwai, please speak more clearly!" Hu Lin said angrily. In front of Su Hao, he did not dare to speak loudly, but facing Zeng Fengxian who had occupied his own land, he could not control his emotions. He stepped forward two
He stepped forward, pointed his finger at Zeng Fengxian's nose, and said loudly: "This land was originally my home, but you took it away, and now you are still hitting the target, saying that I want to blackmail you. Except Zeng, how shameless are you?"
Face!"
"How dare you!" Before Zeng Feng could say anything, the officer Zhao Hua stepped over, pressed his hand on the handle of the knife, glared at Hu Lin and shouted: "How dare you make such a noise in front of Mr. Su!"
"This..." Hu Lin subconsciously took a step back, turned to look at Su Hao, lowered his voice by half, and said: "Mr. Su, you must not believe what this person named Zeng said. This land clearly belongs to my family.
I have the land deed as proof."
Before Su Hao went out, he was mentally prepared for this kind of scene where the public is right and the mother-in-law is right. What Zeng Fengxian said did not exceed his expectations. He put his hands behind his back and said to Zeng Fengxian: "
Zeng Fengxian, this Hu Lin does have the land deed, which proves that he has eight acres of land. If you say he is blackmailing you, where is his land?"
Zeng Fengxian pointed to the side with his hand and said: "Master Su, the Hu Lin family's field is actually over there. Because the flood washed away the boundary stakes, no one can tell exactly where the boundary is.
"
Su Hao followed what Zeng Fengxian pointed out and looked to the side. He saw that there was a vast expanse of white sand with not much grass growing. Such land could not be cultivated at all. If Hu Lin recognized this land, what would happen to his family?
People can only wait to drink the northwest wind.
"Mr. Su, he is talking nonsense!" Hu Lin defended, "That piece of land is the original riverbank land. It has always been ownerless and cannot grow crops at all. The villain's eight acres of land are actually cultivated.
The man surnamed Zeng said that the floods washed away the boundary posts, which is completely nonsense. The boundary posts were buried several feet deep in the ground. How could they be washed away by the water? It was obvious that he asked his servants to take advantage of my family's escape from the flood.
The boundary posts of my house have been removed.”
Zeng Fengxian said: "Mr. Su, he is talking nonsense. It is true that his land is farmland, but when there is a flood, the soil in these fields is washed away by the water, leaving only some sand, so it becomes like this.
. He wanted to blackmail the poor man into going to the farm because the original land could no longer be cultivated. The county magistrate had already decided this case, but who would have thought that this scoundrel came to complain again and even bothered the Lord to go there himself. "
"You..." Hu Lin couldn't help but get angry again when he heard what Zeng Fengxian said, and wanted to step forward to argue.
Su Hao raised his hand to stop Hu Lin, then turned his head to Zhao Hua and asked: "Zhao Yamen, you are the first to handle this matter. Do you have any insights on this matter?"
Zhao Huadao: "Mr. Su, the floods washing away the boundary posts is nothing new in this county. Logically speaking, the boundary posts should be buried deep underground, but some people want to save trouble and don't want to spend money on making too big a project.
There were boundary posts, so when the flood came, they were washed away."
"Oh, that's it." Su Hao nodded.
The boundary stakes used to demarcate land boundaries are usually made of granite and buried in the ground, with only a little bit exposed. According to regulations, boundary stakes must be buried more than two feet in the soil, so that they are difficult to wash away even if there is a flood. But there are indeed some
Because farmers were reluctant to spend money to buy long granite, they buried it relatively shallowly. When the water was particularly strong, there was a possibility that the boundary stakes would be washed away.
However, when it comes to this case, Su Hao doesn't quite believe that the boundary stakes were washed away by water. Hu Lin told him that the boundary stakes in his field were buried very deep. If they could be washed away by water, the ground would be damaged.
It must have been washed away several feet. The piece of sand that Zeng Fengxian pointed to was clearly sand that had been exposed to the ground for many years, not the sand left after the flood as he mentioned. The thickness of the soil in the alluvial plain of the lower reaches of the Huaihe River
It is indeed not big, but to say it is this thin would be to despise the IQ of dignified geologists.
"The land deed of Hu Lin's family states that his eight acres of land are 180 steps from the big locust tree at the entrance of the village to the east and 135 steps to Xishendun in the north. It was originally very clear. Unfortunately, the floods washed away more than half of Xishendun.
The big locust tree was also washed down and moved more than ten steps away, but it could not be found in its original position. Mr. Su, you also know that within a dozen steps, the upper field would become a barren field. Zeng Yuanwai and Hu Lin were fighting over it.
, in fact, it’s just a dozen steps away.”
Zhao Hua seemed to be speaking humbly, but there was an unquestionable attitude in his tone. (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)