Fengxiang Prefecture is also called Qizhou, which is today's Baoji area. During the Tang Dynasty, the climate here was warm and humid, the land was fertile, and the population was large. Among them, Yi County was one of the wealthier counties among the many counties in Fengxiang Prefecture.
Like other counties in Guanzhong, Xi County immediately raised its flag to support the King of Jin after receiving the news that Chang'an had been captured. However, this quick statement was not due to loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, but out of practical considerations of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages.
The magistrate of Yixian County is called Jiang Xin. He was originally a civil servant in Yixian County and was good at working in camps. He followed the path of his uncle Yuanxiu and gave him a generous gift to get the post of magistrate of Yixian County. After spending the money, he
I had to get my capital back, so I used tricks to make money in the past two years and made a lot of money.
There is a tavern in the alley in the south of the county seat, called Laoshun Tavern. It is a tavern with only four or five tables. There is a shopkeeper and a bartender, and most of the people who come here are regular customers.
At noon that day, there were three tables of people sitting in the tavern, one of which only had three people. The three of them were chatting animatedly. The shopkeeper was familiar with two of them and had been his regular customers for many years, but the other young man seemed to have been there recently.
He is a genius, and his accent is not from Guanzhong. According to him, he is a businessman.
The three of them drank together twice and basically talked about everything.
"What Magistrate Jiang is best at is collecting taxes on tea and wine. Look at our pot of wine, before he came, it was only two hundred cents, but now? Five hundred cents per pot, which has increased by three hundred cents. This
He took away the three hundred coins."
"How does he collect the wine tax?" the young man asked in confusion.
"Shopkeeper, please tell this young man how our Jiang Qingtian collects wine tax?" a drinker said loudly, and the whole tavern burst into laughter.
The shopkeeper stepped forward and said: "These wines originally came from Yulong Liquor Shop and were brewed locally. The purchase price of this bottle of wine was 150 Wen. We made 50 Wen, but now we have to buy it from Xixian Liquor, which is opened by the county government.
When we buy wine, the wine is actually from Yulong Winery. However, this Xixian wine shop has a pole across the street and adds 300 yuan to each pot of wine. We still make 50 yuan per pot, but the customers pay more.
If you pay three hundred cents, this is the wine tax."
"Then can I not buy wine from him and buy it from somewhere else?"
"useless!"
The shopkeeper quickly waved his hand and said: "Once caught, not only will you have to pay taxes, but you will also be fined ten times the tax. In the end, the drinkers will have to pay for the drinks anyway, so no pub is willing to take this risk."
"That's it, I understand!"
Another man next to him said: "Actually, little brother, I don't really understand. Let me tell you this! In Fengxiang Mansion, Yong County does not levy tea and wine taxes, nor does Purun County in the north. Do you understand what this means?
"
"This... I don't quite understand. Please speak frankly."
"Don't you understand this? What he means is that the Chang'an court does not levy tea and wine taxes, but the officials below do so without authorization. The tax money received is nominally used for the daily expenses of the county government, but in fact most of it is used
The county magistrate took it all to himself."
"Is there any evidence?" the young man asked.
"Does this still need evidence? Who doesn't know that there are more than twenty people in Xi County? I have a relative who works as an errand in the county government and has never received a penny from the tea and wine tax."
"I understand, thank you both!"
The young man paid for the drink, said goodbye and left...
This gentle young man is called Zhou Ya, an inspector under Suzhengtai. He was sent by Cao Wannian to investigate several officials in Yi County. He has been here for three days, visited a large number of people, and gained a lot of first-hand knowledge.
Material.
Many things shocked him. The common people collected money to build bridges and roads, but the money was taken away by the government, and there was no news again. There was also an estimated 120,000 wealthy households, and countless families were extorted. From the county magistrate to the chief registrar, one
None can escape.
Zhou Ya finished writing the report in the inn and set off back to Chang'an that day...
While the inspectors were conducting investigations in various places, Chang'an issued the first order of the King of Jin to the prefectures and counties in Guanzhong, requiring all officials of the ninth rank and above in the two prefectures and three states of Guanzhong to come to Chang'an to pay homage to the King of Jin.
This is what everyone expected. Most of them were appointed when Zhu Si was in power. Now that Zhu Si has been driven away and has not been recognized by the new owner, their official positions are not reliable.
A county has four officials: the county magistrate, the county magistrate, the county captain, and the chief secretary. There are fifty-three counties in Guanzhong, plus state officials, a total of more than 230 officials rushed to Chang'an from all directions.
Chang'an has also made preparations for the reception. The three official posthouses in Chang'an can accommodate two to three thousand people. The posthouse in Taiji Palace and Honglu Temple is larger and can accommodate thousands of people. There is also a Huihe Pavilion covering an area of nearly 100 acres.
There are memorial halls from various places, all of which are currently open, including Taixue, Guozixue, etc., and there is no problem in arranging accommodation for hundreds of thousands of people.
Although there were only more than 230 officials, Cao Wannian, who was responsible for the reception, divided them into three official post houses to live in. They were of different natures. Some were officials retained by the previous court, some were officials selected by Zhu Si's court, and some were Zhu Si's relatives.
The soldiers took office directly, were divided into these three types, and lived in different official posts.
In Guo Song's official room, Du Youxiao asked: "How does His Highness plan to deal with them?"
Guo Song smiled and said: "To deal with them, you need to have a good reputation. I have thought about it for a long time. The best way is to take exams."
Du You put his hands on his hands and laughed, "This is a good idea. You will succeed every time you try it. I wonder what your Highness is planning to take the exam for?"
"I plan to test strategies, such as how to govern a county, which is completely consistent with their own official positions. If they can't even answer this question well, then I will remove them from their posts, and they will have nothing to say."
"But what if the answer is very good and excellent?"
Du You added: "I know that among the many officials in Guanzhong, some have real abilities. How does Your Highness plan to deal with them?"
"Just looking at the answer sheet is just a matter of paper. We also need to look at his public reputation. The people's eyes are sharp. Ordinary people still have the final say whether a county official is good or not. If the people's evaluation is high, the answer sheet is also good. Such an official must
If he is retained, he may be transferred to Hedong, but at least I will continue to use him."
Du You immediately understood that the King of Jin had decided to completely change people. Even qualified officials would be transferred away. He was ready to replace all Guanzhong with his confidants.
At this time, Cao Wannian hurriedly walked in and handed a thick booklet to Guo Song, "This is a summary of the reports of twenty inspectors. All counties in Chang'an were involved. Although some are good, most of them are disappointing."
I am disappointed, please take a closer look, Your Highness."
Guo Song took the report, turned it over, and asked, "Have all the officials arrived?"
Cao Wannian bowed and said: "There are still a few officials from Shangzhou who have not arrived. I think they will arrive today. I wonder what your Highness's arrangements are?"
Guo Song took a piece of paper and handed it to him, "This is my initial idea. You can enrich it according to my ideas."
"Test?" Cao Wannian took the paper and was stunned.
Guo Song nodded, "I don't dare to say that county officials at all levels need to have a professional background, but at least they can be good at writing and calligraphy. If he can't even reach the minimum level of literary fluency, then there is no need for him to occupy this position."
"I understand, I'll make arrangements for you. The exam will start early tomorrow morning."
Du You next to you said with a smile: "Let me remind Cao Lingjun, there are many county magistrates in this group who are illiterate. When they hear that there is an exam, they will definitely run away overnight. Cao Lingjun must be prepared."
Cao Wannian said gratefully: "Thanks to Du Shijun for reminding me, I know what to do!"
Among the three government-run post offices, the one located in Chongwen Pavilion is home to more than 60 people. They are all county magistrates appointed by Zhu Si himself. Most of them are his soldiers or fellow villagers. This group of people is the second largest group.
, the largest group was the officials appointed by the Zhu Si court, with more than 130 people, but they were also appointed through various relationships. Jiang Xin, the magistrate of Xi County, was a typical example of this type of official.
The third category is the officials appointed by the previous imperial court and retained by Zhu Si. There are about forty people, such as Li Shuguang, the governor of Fengxiang, and Liu Yiming, the magistrate of Xinfeng County. They expressed their allegiance to Zhu Si and were able to stay in office.
.
That night, notices were sent to various post offices that there would be an exam tomorrow morning, and the content would be a policy essay. This news immediately caused an uproar.
In the official post of Chongwen Hall, a group of burly officials gathered in the lobby to get angry. Zhou Wei, the Prime Minister of Xinfeng County, cursed angrily: "What a bullshit exam! This is clearly aimed at us. We know we are big bosses. If I had known it, I would have done it."
Quit it, pack your things and go back to Luoyang, and fuck the damned King Jin."
Fengxian County Magistrate Ma Hongbiao also said angrily: "We will not take part in this kind of exam. We will collectively boycott it tomorrow. If we want to take action, we will fight tooth and nail and cut off a big scar on our head, for fear of being a fucking ball!"
Some of the officials among them came back to their senses. The government actually put these people living together. It was obviously a deliberate arrangement. Is it possible that they really wanted to catch them all?