On this day, Su Cheng was checking the account books in the county government office.
Although it only lasted a few days, buying materials was a waste of money.
Fortunately, the money donated by large households has been collected, and the county government already has more than one million taels of silver.
Among them were the previous three hundred thousand taels, the money confiscated from Qingfeng Village, the Wang family, and donations from large households in the county.
But in just three days, more than one hundred thousand taels were spent.
That is to say, Su Cheng kept the accounts himself and knew where every money went. If someone else kept the accounts, if he saw that one hundred thousand was spent in three days, he would definitely want to check the accounts.
Seeing so much money going out, Su Cheng could only shake his head.
Sure enough, it was not as easy as he thought to govern a county. In addition, the county government still lacked many official positions, so he had to handle many things alone.
We still need to find ways to find trustworthy people as soon as possible to serve as masters and county magistrates, otherwise we will exhaust ourselves to death.
Moreover, the government officials can now be expanded. After all, if we want to build a super large county, only thirty government officials will definitely not be enough. He plans to expand the number ten times!
Now that the population of Liuhe County is large, even if there are 300 government officials, it is still a bit stretched.
Fortunately, there is no need to report matters like this to the government officials, as long as the county government itself can afford the salary of the government officials.
For the people above, as long as you don't ask for money, it's easy to talk about anything.
Moreover, a yamen servant is not an official position and does not need approval from above. He, Su Cheng, can make the decision himself.
Just when Su Cheng was thinking about adding new yamen servants, Tian Dazhuang's voice suddenly came from outside:
"Sir, what a great thing!"
Seeing Tian Dazhong running in shouting, Su Cheng couldn't help but said with a smile: "What happened to make you so happy?"
Tian Dazhuang chuckled: "Sir, please go out and see for yourself."
Seeing Tian Dazhuang's betrayal, Su Cheng shook his head, then got up and went to the front yard of the county government office.
And here, Niu Chong and others were waiting with several tied-up people.
Seeing Su Cheng wearing official uniform, Niu Chong and others immediately knelt down on the ground: "Sir, we are all bandits near Liuhe County, and we have never killed anyone. We came here this time to submit to you, please.
Your Excellency and Liuhe County can accept me!"
When Su Cheng heard that he was a robber, his heart moved and he suddenly had a bold idea.
But on the surface, he calmly pointed to the group of people captured by Niu Chong and asked: "Who are these people and why do you want to arrest them?"
Niu Chong quickly replied: "Sir, these people are also bandits, but they have killed people, and they don't want to surrender or leave Liuhe County. I will take them all down with these guys as a vote of honor for you!"
This kind of behavior is very rare among robbers and bandits. If you want the other party to accept you, you must show some sincerity.
Niu Chong and others used the name of these bandits who had killed people and were unwilling to surrender to Liuhe County as a form of surrender, which also expressed their desire to start a new life.
Su Cheng narrowed his eyes after hearing this. This Niu Chong still had some brains and actually knew how to take down these people.
But in this way, all the bandits around Liuhe County can be completely eliminated.
"Get up and talk!" Su Cheng asked them to get up first.
Niu Chong and others were overjoyed, knowing that there was something going on, otherwise Mr. Su would not have let them get up.
"Thank you, sir!" Niu Chong and others stood up one after another.
Su Cheng looked them up and down and found that all of these surrendered people were quite tough and looked like they might have some skills in their hands.
In addition, those who are robbers are also very courageous!
I am planning to expand the number of government officials and am thinking about where to find some strong men. Aren't these people readily available now?
However, the other party is a bandit after all. Now that they have captured those bandits who have killed people, they just want to return to Liuhe County and do not want to become bandits.
If you want to make these people reliable, you need to test their character.
"These people should be the leaders of several other villages, right?"
Su Cheng glanced at the group of people who were arrested and said slowly: "We arrested them, but they still have people under their control."
"Well, this county has seen your sincerity."
"However, if you can help the county deal with these bandits, the county may consider incorporating you into the government service."
As soon as these words came out, Niu Chong and others were stunned.
They never dreamed that they might become government servants!
You know, what they were most afraid of before was the government servants!
But now, they actually have the opportunity to become government servants.
Yamen servants are paid a salary, and their status is higher than that of ordinary people, which even allows them to get rid of other people's discrimination against them.
Originally, they were worried that even if they reformed and turned over a new leaf, they would be ostracized in the county because they had been bandits.
But if you can become a yamen servant now, who will dare to exclude you in the future?
"Sir... Sir, is this... true?" Niu Chong couldn't believe his ears. He wanted to confirm again.
Su Cheng chuckled lightly: "This county has always kept its promises, how could it be possible to lie to you?"
"However, this matter must be our county government's business, so the county will send some people to go with you!"
"Tian Dazhuang, take a team of people with them and report anything to the county immediately!"
"I know!" Tian Dazhuang responded.
Niu Chong was overjoyed when he saw that Su Chenglai was serious. He knelt on the ground again and kowtowed three times.
"Thank you sir for giving us a chance to be human again!"
"We will definitely live up to your trust and capture all the remaining bandits who refuse to surrender!"
"Brothers, Mr. Su has already spoken. What are we waiting for? Let's take down the remaining people together!"
Niu Chong stood up and shouted to the other bandits behind him.
"Yes, let's go together!"
"We will catch them all this time!"
"Yes, I know the location of Menghu Village, and I will take you there."
Everyone was full of excitement and wanted to catch the remaining robbers immediately.
Tian Dazhuang also followed with others, but before leaving, Su Cheng grabbed him.
"Beware of these people escaping secretly, and after taking down the remaining bandits, you have to pay attention to whether they will hide the money secretly."
Tian Dazhuang was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and replied: "I understand!"
After saying this, Tian Dazhuang followed him out.
Su Cheng stood in the yard, watching the people leaving, with a smile on his lips.
In fact, he had seen Niu Chong's name when he was sorting out information on bandits around him in the past two days. He had a calm personality, was brave and resourceful, and his family was in Liuhe County.
This person usually collects tolls and has never done anything to ordinary people. He can be regarded as a good thief.
It was precisely because he knew this person that he asked him to lead others to catch the remaining bandits.
This is a test for Niu Chong!
If when arresting people, Niu Chong and others took the opportunity to rob other villages of money, then he would not let these people serve as yamen servants.
But if these people can stay safe, he can give them a chance to serve as yamen servants. In this way, the manpower of yamen servants can be fully replenished at once!
Now, it depends on whether Niu Chong and others cherish this opportunity.