The Tongji Canal flows from the Yellow River in Zhengzhou to the Huaihe River in Xuyi. It is an important water system on the Grand Canal.
Songzhou is a city on the canal south of Ningling. During the Anshi Rebellion, because Zhang Xun resisted the rebels, Songzhou City did not suffer much damage. It remained the same size and densely populated.
According to original history, Du Fu revisited his hometown after he was old, which triggered the memory of his deceased friends Li Bai and Gao Shi. He wrote a poem to recall his past travels to Songzhou. He said: "There are 90,000 houses in the city, and the high buildings illuminate the thoroughfares. The boats and cars are half the world."
, the hosts and guests had much fun." This shows the prosperity of Songzhou.
In today's world, the Tang Dynasty has not reproduced the situation of "lost friends and lost time together". There is one less "Remnant" in the world, and the city of Songzhou is more prosperous.
The governor of Songzhou was named Zheng Ciming, who was born in the Zheng family of Xingyang.
He heard that the emperor was on patrol in Songzhou, and he was ready to go to Ningling to greet him. However, just before setting off here, he got news that the emperor had already returned to Luoyang.
Zheng Ciming was not surprised by this and immediately wrote a letter to the current Henan transshipment envoy Li Hong.
After sending the letter, he suddenly felt sleepy, so he stroked his beard and said to himself: "I have been working hard all night, and I can finally have a good sleep."
It was night, and thousands of sailboats were still passing by on the Tongji Canal.
The sound of the boats could not be heard in the city, and the mansion was quiet. Zheng Ciming had a good sleep.
He slept until noon, lying on the bed with his eyes open, too lazy to get up, until his confidant knocked on the door several times outside.
"Alang, something happened."
"Come in and talk."
Zheng Ciming calmly opened the door, picked up a newspaper, sat back on the couch, and said, "Tell me slowly, what happened?"
"This morning, a young man went to the transshipment office at the canal pier and said he wanted to hand over official documents. The one he showed was the talisman of the Ministry of Revenue. Liu Jie didn't think much about it and asked him to go to Cangcao. An hour later
, before that person came out, Liu Jie asked someone to ask again, and the other party actually brought more than ten accountants to check the accounts of the Tongji Canal passing through Songzhou this year."
"Those accounts are fine, what are you afraid of?"
"Liu Jie thought that Yujia had just left yesterday and something like this happened today. He was worried that someone was targeting Alang, so he quickly sent someone to report it and asked if he would be detained?"
Zheng Ciming thought for a while and said slowly: "If you are upright, you are not afraid of the shadow. Let him check it. Just pretend that you don't know about it."
Having said that, he couldn't read the newspaper in his hand, and he didn't even bother to eat breakfast. He rushed directly to the prefectural government office, summoned his subordinates and beat them again, saying that the imperial court was now implementing new policies and had to supervise them.
It's also strict, telling them to do their job well and not to violate laws or discipline.
Having said this righteously, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves, and someone actually rode directly outside the state office.
Zheng Ciming secretly wondered who could be so rude, and then he saw Henan Transport Envoy Li Xi striding in. He was stunned, and quickly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "How come Li Envoy is here in person?"
At this point he realized something was wrong.
Sure enough, Li Xi frowned, pulled him over, and asked in a low voice: "Have you not seen the saint?"
"Didn't the imperial commander return to the eastern capital?" Zheng Ciming replied in astonishment.
Li Hong's face became more solemn and said: "The guard of honor has indeed returned. I went to Ningling to pick it up in person, but the saint was not among them. He only took a few people to continue the southern tour."
"What? But I haven't seen the saint yet,"
Zheng Ciming couldn't believe that such a thing would happen. He heard that Yu Jia had turned back yesterday and thought that such a big thing could not go wrong.
I didn't expect that this emperor would be so willful and have no sympathy for his ministers.
It should be noted that there is a whole set of etiquette procedures for welcoming and seeing off a driver. It is often extremely laborious for officials like them to prepare for these procedures. If the emperor does not cooperate, all this hard work will naturally be in vain.
"You haven't seen the saint?" Li Xi's frown deepened and he murmured to himself, "But where will he go?"
"yes."
Zheng Ciming also began to think about it, and then he thought of what he heard at noon.
After hesitating for a moment, he said: "Your Majesty, there is something...Today a young man came to the transfer envoy in Songzhou to check the accounts..."
"Follow me to pick you up."
Li Hong was very decisive. After hearing this, he turned around and walked away with a long stride.
Zheng Ciming quickly followed up and said, "Let me rest assured that the accounts on the canal can withstand inspection, and so can the lower officials."
"Of course I know, but now the court is making changes, and changes are like changing the sky."
The weather was very nice that day, so they hurried to Songzhou's transfer envoy Si Yamen. When they got off their horses, they began to tidy up their clothes and quickly entered with neat little steps. They took a deep breath and prepared to salute the emperor.
"The lower official has met the envoy and the governor!"
However, it was the transfer judge Liu Jie who came out and greeted them diligently.
Li Hong asked directly: "Where is the saint?"
"What?"
"The young man who came to check the accounts today." Zheng Ciming picked up Liu Jie and asked, "Where is he?"
"I left, taking some account books with me."
When Li Hong heard this, he asked worriedly: "Did you stop him? There was a conflict?"
He is well aware of the nature of these local officials. They are used to being praised in the local area. They often make remarks and make excuses, and there are also many who act arrogant. When encountering such a matter of being asked for account books, Liu Jie is afraid that he will be offended.
other side.
"No." Liu Jie was very smart and said: "I was very angry at first and wanted to teach that man a lesson. But thinking that Yu Jia was in the territory yesterday, I didn't dare to make any mistakes, so I asked the governor first. He was indeed sent by the saint.
Right?"
Li Hong thought that it might be the sage himself and asked: "Where are you going?"
"The lower official sent someone to follow him and headed south of the city."
"Follow me to find it."
Without stopping, Li Xi left the city and walked along the official road for a while. He saw the people sent by Liu Jie. After asking about them, he lost them in front of them.
He then asked for a map to check, and chose a difficult path to continue searching. Sure enough, he saw a large group of people in front of a mountain temple. Judging by their momentum, he knew they were the saint's entourage.
"It's really here." Zheng Ciming was amazed and asked, "How did you know?"
Li Hong was not proud, but the worry on his face deepened, and he said: "This village has a piece of official land that was only allocated in recent years."
"I see."
As Zheng Ciming spoke, something suddenly occurred to him, and his pupils shrank unconsciously, as if he was frightened.
He realized that although there was no problem with the water transportation accounts, the autumn tax paid for shipping and sent to Dongdu this year and the grain transported by farmers to the wharf were all recorded, and they were not even with the accounts of various county offices.
He opened his mouth, wanting to give a few words to the people around him.
"Let's go." Li Xi had already said.
They straightened their clothes again, stepped forward and said: "The transfer envoy from Henan, the assassin of Songzhou, wants to see the saint."
Then a man came out, looked them over, and said, "The saint is not here, but in the village ahead."
~~
Li Hong and Zheng Ciming changed into coarse clothes and walked to the door of a farmer's house. They could already hear the conversation coming from inside.
"Of course, the year is going to be good this year. If there is no war and the rivers are dredged, how can we not have a good harvest?"
"With such a good year, I can live a good year." A young voice asked: "After delivering the autumn grain, how much grain is left?"
"Twenty-five stones, the little old man has also planted eight acres of mulberry fields, and he can weave four pieces of silk later."
"My father-in-law, a family of four, lives a very tight life with twenty-five kilos of food a year. In the end, it can barely survive, right?"
"It's good to have something to eat all year round. It's better than previous years."
"How many acres of land have your father-in-law planted?"
"On thirty-eight acres, we have grown fifty-three shi of grain."
Hearing this, Zheng Ciming quickly stepped inside and looked around, only to see an extraordinary man in his thirties sitting across from an old farmer, chatting in the yard.
In an instant, he was sure that this person was the person he was today, but he still glanced back at Li Xi to confirm.
Li Xian was already saluting.
"minister……"
Xue Bai glanced at them with a majestic look and waved his hand to indicate that they should not reveal his identity.
What Li Hong wanted to say suddenly stopped.
Zheng Ciming started to speak but stopped, feeling restless.
"These two?" The old farmer stood up.
"I don't need to pay attention to them. They are here to find me." Xue Bai said: "I planted fifty-three stones, but there are only twenty-five stones left."
He picked up a branch, scratched it on the ground a few times, and started counting.
"Thirty-eight acres of land. Songzhou is a medium-sized land. The land tax is tenths. One dou per mu is required. My father-in-law can only pay a land tax of four shi at most."
Although the old farmer had never read a book and was illiterate, he was still confused about this matter and started talking with his fingers.
"Mr. Lang, you don't know. The little old man didn't have any land originally. The thirty-eight acres of land he cultivated were official land rented three years ago. He had to pay 20% of the land rent. The land rent was eight stone, and the land rent was four percent.
The stone field tax is twelve stone miles, and there are also three bolts of silk."
Xue Bai glanced at Zheng Ciming, and if he had any deep meaning, he continued chatting with the farmer and said, "Since you don't own this field, why do you still have to pay the field tax? This is a double taxation."
"What are you talking about, Mr. Lang? Can this little old man not pay taxes?"
"The court collects this land tax from the landowners, not from the tenants. If the landowners rent out the land, they will charge 10% more. If the state and county yamen do this, wouldn't they steal 10% of the land?"
Tax?"
Following these words, sweat began to form on Zheng Ciming's forehead, and he opened his mouth to explain something.
Xue Bai had already asked the old farmer: "Then there should be forty-one shi of grain left, how come there are only 25 shi?"
"There is still money to move. The little old man can't transport twelve shi of grain to Luoyang. The county office has to send people to transport it..."
"Well, the court has stipulated that foot money will no longer be collected, so the place has been given a better name."
The old farmer felt a little timid when he heard the young man mocking the government, and quickly said: "Master, you should be careful what you say."
Zheng Ciming felt even more timid, but he didn't know what to say.
Then I listened to the old farmer counting on his fingers.
In addition to the transfer, there is also money for farm equipment. This is because there are so many acres of land that have just been allocated, and many farmers do not have farm equipment.
Although the imperial court asked smelters in various places to forge these agricultural instruments and let local governments lease them to farmers, the local governments levied additional money on the grounds that distributing these would require a lot of manpower.
In addition, Hebian is still the big head, that is, the government pays to buy farmers' grain for use as military ration or disaster relief.
But when Xue Bai asked the old farmer carefully about the price of his crops, he shook his head, then looked at Zheng Ciming and stopped talking for a long time.
Zheng Ciming became more and more flustered when he saw it, and finally couldn't help but knelt on the ground and said: "I ask your Majesty to give me a chance to explain!"
"Explain it."
Seeing this scene, the old farmer was stunned for a while, then he blinked and said, "Mr. Lang, don't act like this just to have fun, and you're going to behead your head."
Xue Bai smiled and joked with Zheng Ciming: "Did you hear that? I'm going to be beheaded."
Zheng Ciming was shocked and kowtowed several times. He wanted to explain, but he didn't know where to start.
"These are all the county officials who deceived the superiors and concealed the truth from the subordinates! I...I failed to observe!"
"It was an oversight." Xue Bai said, "But your accounts are done beautifully, and your achievements are well arranged and eye-catching. I have seen them all."
"I...I am scared."
"There's no rush. Let's stay in this village for one night and talk about it when we return to Songzhou tomorrow."
~~
On the way back to Songzhou, you can see the gurgling water of the Bao River, with canals leading the river water to various farmlands, just like a scene in a peach blossom garden.
Continuing forward, the Tongji Canal is very prosperous with ships and boats passing by, the city is also prosperous, the roads are wide and clean, and the trade is lively.
It is undeniable that these are all the achievements of Zheng Ciming, and these are not easy to achieve.
For example, the Tongji Canal often needs to be dredged because it carries a large amount of sediment from the Yellow River. The river was blocked during the An-Shi Rebellion. It must have taken a lot of effort for Zheng Ciming to manage it like this, and it is not easy to build these canals.
If Xue Bai had not paid a private visit incognito, but had come with the guidance of officials, all he would have seen were these achievements.
When he arrived at the state office, Zheng Ciming quietly winked at someone, meaning that he should quickly handle the account books of each county office.
However, when he followed Xue Bai into the lobby, he was stunned again.
Because he saw that there were more than ten accountants already checking accounts in the lobby.
"how?"
Xue Bai sat down on the main seat and said, "Did you find anything wrong?"
"Your Majesty, there is nothing wrong. The taxes in Songzhou are collected properly. They are levied according to the imperial regulations of one dou per mu, which is consistent with the number of acres. Forty percent of the tax collected is paid to the state, 30% is retained in the state, and the rest is
The minister’s money is good, the accounts are clear, and the amounts are accurate..."
Zheng Ciming listened, but he did not feel relieved, but became more and more nervous.
Sure enough, I heard Xue Bai ask: "These taxes are collected from all the acres in Songzhou. It is not that only some people pay and others do not."
"Back to Your Majesty, according to the records, it is exactly like this."
"There are 500 hectares of fertile land in Ningling. All of them belong to the Zheng family in Xingyang. They also pay taxes?"
Soon the sound of books being turned was heard in the hall.
But it took a long time before the accountant replied: "Your Majesty, we have not seen anyone occupying 500 hectares of fertile land in Ningling."
Xue Bai asked again: "There is a farmer named Wang Xi in Yucheng County. How many stones of land tax have been paid."
The sound of turning pages sounded again, and this time about half a moment later, someone answered: "Six stones, three buckets of millet, four bolts of silk, of which five buckets were lost and moved..."
"Xiayi County, Pan Ergou."
"Five stones and two buckets."
"Where's Meng Xiaobing from the same village?"
"Five stones and four buckets."
"But I asked them personally, and the number is not this number."
"This, this is all my subordinates can see from the accounts."
Xue Bai clapped his hands and said: "The accounts are well done. I will check the accounts of the Transshipment Department with those of the county offices and merchants, and check all the official warehouses in Songzhou."
During the process, Zheng Ciming kept wanting to speak, but he hesitated every time.
In the end, he had no choice but to give Li Xi a look of help.
"Your Majesty," Li Hong said, "I have something I want to report."
"good."
Xue Bai nodded and asked the people he brought to continue the investigation. He stood up and asked Li Hong to follow him to the back hall. His behavior seemed very casual, but vigorous and resolute.
If he didn't act vigorously and resolutely, with Zheng Ciming's ability, it would have been impossible for him to figure out the clues so quickly.
Xue Bai walked to the courtyard of Liu Cao of the Prefecture Department, stopped, pointed to the inscription on a stone, and said: "The calligraphy is well written, 'Gongsheng Ming', and the principles are also understood."
"Your Majesty, Zheng Ciming has only been in charge of Songzhou for two or three years. No matter how big the problem is in Songzhou, it is not something he can control."
"I know."
"What the governor of a state can do is to urge the county to pay grain. There are only a dozen county officials, and most of the grain for each household is collected by local gentry."
"I know everything you said."
Li Xian said: "Your Majesty can go to any farmer's home in the world and find something wrong. It is easy to deal with officials in a county or state, but appointing another person may not change it."
Xue Bai said: "I have heard a story before. It is said that an emperor paid a private visit incognito. He went to a common people's home in the suburbs of Chang'an and asked how the people were doing. The other party cursed the imperial court for excessive exploitation. After hearing this, the emperor felt very ashamed.
He issued an order to exempt the people of that family from all taxes. Because of this, he was praised as a wise king."
Li Xian was silent for a moment and said: "The Mingjun is worthy of the world."
"I understand." Xue Bai said, "I am not a wise king to investigate you in private like this. You have to put on a show and only talk but don't do anything, then you are a wise king."
"I am bold." Li Xian said: "Ruling a country depends on rules. Your Majesty will always find fault with the prince by breaking the rules. If you do this, you will not be able to convince the public and will only make people panic and make everyone resentful."
"You are saying that it was not the local officials of Songzhou who were at fault, it was me who was at fault."
Li Xi felt helpless because Xue Bai was so aggressive.
He made it very clear that Zheng Ciming's mistakes were made by all the local officials in the world, but Xue Bai found out the mistakes of the local officials all over the world by acting wantonly and breaking the rules, which was not convincing to everyone.
In his opinion, this is a slander and a piece of advice that goes against the ears.
He was not afraid of Xue Bai, because he was a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty, frank and honest, and had a clear conscience.
"I dare not say that Your Majesty is at fault. I only ask Your Majesty to be considerate of the officials in the world."
Xue Bai asked: "During the crusade against Shi Siming, did you support me and personally carry the grain from Yangzhou to Bianzhou for meritorious service?"
Li Hong said: "I serve the Tang Dynasty."
"Then this time, my reform is for the Tang Dynasty. Why don't you support it?"
"I think it's ridiculous." Li Xi said truthfully, "I saw that your Majesty has been deliberately going against the officials. The officials are the heroes who supported your accession to the throne and were helpers in governing the Tang Dynasty, but your Majesty never sympathizes with them. The imperial court
The dilemma is that it is becoming more and more difficult for the central government to collect taxes, but His Majesty keeps reducing taxes."
"You are right. It is precisely because of this that the court has to reform and collect taxes from those who should pay taxes to reduce the burden on the people."
"I dare to ask Your Majesty again, if Your Majesty is standing on a branch and needs wood at this time, will he cut off the branch under his feet?"
Xue Bai looked at Li Hong carefully and said, "You think so, so you tried every means to persuade me to return to the Eastern Capital, right?"
Li Xi hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes."
He had not said anything about what was on his mind before, but now he finally spoke and said: "I am worried about your majesty's safety, so please return to the Eastern Capital as soon as possible."
"Why?"
Even after talking to this point, Xue Bai still wanted to ask more questions, which made Li Xiang feel a little embarrassed.
That is to say, as a member of the clan, he was brave, so he simply said bluntly: "Your Majesty is determined to go his own way, and the new policy is too strict. It is inevitable that some officials will rebel, and I am afraid that some people will be detrimental to Your Majesty."
"For example, Liu Zhan?"
The tone of Xue Bai's question clearly didn't believe that Liu Zhan would rebel, and seemed to believe that Zheng Ciming would be detrimental to him.
In other words, he believed that some conservatives deliberately forced Liu Zhan to rebel in order to prevent him from continuing to reform, such as Li Hong in front of him.
"Yes." Li Hong said: "Liu Zhan was once under my command. After receiving the report, I asked Li Zang to investigate him secretly and learned that he had the intention of treason. Therefore, I rushed from Zhengzhou to Songzhou to persuade your Majesty to go east.
Come back and beg your Majesty to trust me. I am definitely not here to protect Zheng Ciming."
According to his statement, he received a report and found out that Liu Zhan was planning to rebel. On the one hand, he told Yan Zhenqing to ask Yan Zhenqing to persuade the emperor to return. On the other hand, he also wrote to officials in various states to ask them to stop the emperor from continuing to go south. At the same time, he
He also rushed over to persuade him.
It's just that his previous performance was too anxious, and problems with Songzhou's taxation were found. In Xue Bai's eyes, it seemed that Li Hong was a corrupt official who came here to cover up his crimes.
That evening, the Imperial Army caught up with the envoy sent by Zheng Ciming to deliver the letter and obtained the letter written by Zheng Ciming to Li Xiang.
Xue Bai opened it and read it. What the letter said was a reply to Li Hong, saying that the emperor had not gone south, asking Li Hong to rest assured, and then praising Li Hong's loyalty.
From this point of view, everything Li Xi said came from the bottom of his heart.
The next day we played again, he still had the same attitude.
"I sincerely request your Majesty to return to Beijing. The stability of the country depends on the order of dignity and inferiority. It is definitely not a private visit in disguise."
Xue Bai didn't seem to hear it. Instead, he asked a digression and said: "You said that there is a tax problem in Songzhou, and Zheng Ciming is not to blame. This is a mistake made by officials all over the world. Then you say
Let’s judge whether Zheng Ciming was embezzling money, taxing people, or occupying land?”
"I know him well. He comes from a well-known family and has a noble character. He may not be strict with his subordinates, or may be conniving and covering up, but he has never been corrupt or embezzled." Li Hong said: "The taxation in Songzhou is just a long-standing malpractice that is difficult to solve.
That’s all.”
In Li Hong's view, Xue Bai forced local officials to achieve tax balance by relying solely on new laws, which was completely overwhelming.
"Okay." Xue Bai said, "Then let's make a bet. If it's true as you said, I will immediately drive to Dongdu. But if I get evidence that Zheng Ciming is corrupt, you can meet Liu Zhan with me.
Bar."
"I obey the decree."
Li Hong saluted, but before he could stand up, someone came in with a bloody box and handed it to Xue Bai with both hands...