After three hundred years of cultivating immortals, he suddenly discovered that he was a martial arts man Chapter 92 Zhumen wine and meat stink, the road has frozen bones
Chapter 92 Zhumen wine and meat stink, the road has frozen bones
Outside the official office of Lu County Prefecture.
Countless people knelt down on the roadside, not to avenge themselves, but to save Cui Heng.
At this time, more than ten days had passed since Wang Qinghe and Xie Beixing were hung from the flagpole of the city gate tower.
Cui Heng's letter to the governors of various counties has long been known to everyone.
Naturally, the people in Lujuncheng already knew about it.
Therefore, starting from three days ago, people would gather outside the county magistrate's office to petition, hoping that Cui Heng could stay as the prefect of Lu County.
Although in the past when Liu Litao was the county governor, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, they were afraid of comparison in everything.
After Cui Heng came here, he divided the land among the local tycoons and purged all the merchants, families, sects and other forces that oppressed the people. The people's living standards improved by an unknown number of levels.
As long as you are a normal person, you will hope that the place where you live will always be managed by a chief official like Cui Heng.
Inside the County Sheriff's Office.
Liu Litao reported helplessly: "My lord has been so kind and generous that the people can't bear to let you go. May I ask your lord how to deal with this matter?"
Cui Heng was still looking at the map of the thirteen counties of Fengzhou and said with a smile: "You are the county magistrate, you should already have some ideas."
Liu Litao was slightly silent when he heard this, nodded and said: "Your Excellency, your eyes are as bright as a torch. This subordinate has indeed thought of a way."
Cui Heng nodded gently and said, "Speak."
Liu Litao said in a deep voice: "Sir, what the people are worried about is that after you leave, if other county guards are replaced, those who have been purged will counterattack and ruin their hard-won life.
"As long as the people know that even if you leave Lu County, your eyes will still be on this place, and the previous decrees will continue to be implemented here, you should be able to put your mind at ease."
"You mean..." Cui Heng thought for a moment and chuckled, "Even if I take the position of Fengzhou Shepherd, I will not let go of my jurisdiction over Lu County?"
"Sir, this is what the people want." Liu Litao bowed and asked, "After your Excellency becomes Fengzhou Mu, can you imitate the governor system at the beginning of the Jin Dynasty and make Lu County directly under the jurisdiction of Changfeng Prefecture?"
Changfeng Prefecture, also known as Changfeng County, is the capital of Fengzhou and the official residence of Fengzhou Mu.
If Lu County is under the direct jurisdiction of the state capital, there will be no need to establish a county governor.
You only need to retain the county magistrate and the captain to handle government and military affairs, and at the same time send an official directly under the state capital to inspect the entire army regularly and report back to the state capital.
This situation is similar to the state pastor at the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, when he was still called the state governor.
At that time, when the world was first established, the imperial court divided the thirteen states of the world into 241 counties in order to divide local powers. They were independent of each other and at the same level.
The central government would regularly dispatch governors to inspect local government affairs, and then report the inspection results to the court to maintain direct jurisdiction over local government and military affairs.
At that time, the territory of a state was only a patrol area. The governor of the state did not have direct administrative and military power, and he did not even have a government office. He could only visit and record everywhere, and regularly returned to the court to report.
The inspection scope is not fixed yet and will change location every year.
The mountains are high and the roads are long, the journey is tiring, the power is small, the benefits are poor, and it is a real coolie.
However, this situation only lasted for a few decades before it was discontinued.
Because each county is independent and local power is too decentralized, it cannot resist the rising rebels from time to time, nor can it suppress the major sects and families. Therefore, the Jin Dynasty could only change the prefectural governor to the prefectural shepherd, establish a government office, and recruit subordinates.
Official, the prime minister has military and political power in a state.
"In ancient times, there were governors inspecting a state, but there is no special case of a governor sending a governor to inspect a county." Cui Heng smiled and did not object to this. After thinking about it, he said, "The reason for setting up a governor for counties is
Fujun, who does Liu Juncheng think can be appointed?"
"Of course it's Chenfu County." Liu Litao understood what Cui Heng meant when he heard the name of the official position.
And it is true that Hui Shi is the most suitable.
Now Hui Shi has been in charge of seventeen Fu counties. If Cui Heng had not been temporarily sent to deliver the letter, I am afraid that he would have been in charge of twenty-one Fu counties in the county by now.
In order to implement Cui Heng's new decree in various counties, Hui Shi has offended all the families, sects, and merchants in the county. Many landlords have put villains with Hui Shi's name on them in their homes, and they secretly carry out enough crimes every day.
he.
There is absolutely no room for relaxation.
In fact, if he hadn't known that Hui Shi was the sharpest knife in Cui Heng's hand, Liu Litao would have wanted to persuade Cui Heng to appoint Hui Shi as the governor of Lu County.
The people will certainly not object.
After all, Huishi has long been on irreconcilable opposites to those who want to fight back, and they will fight to the death.
"Hui Shi is indeed a good candidate." Cui Heng nodded slightly and said, "Now that Fu County has been decided, there will be a county magistrate, so you have to make a good selection in the next period of time."
"Jun Cheng?" Liu Litao was stunned when he heard this. Aren't he the Jun Cheng? But he quickly realized and said in surprise, "Sir, are you going to take your subordinates to Changfeng Prefecture?"
"I'll take you there after I've chosen my successor." Cui Heng chuckled, "Zhou Mu always needs someone to help with government affairs. You've done a good job in recent times. By the way, let me tell Chen Tong,
Let him also find a successor."
"Thank you, sir!" Liu Litao knelt down excitedly on the spot, his whole body trembling with excitement. He never dreamed that he would have the opportunity to be a member of a state in his lifetime.
There are many main subordinate officials of the state pastor, the most important of which is Biejia, who is engaged in history and assists the state pastor in managing the government affairs of the state. His authority and status are extremely high.
If we purely look at the territory and powers under its jurisdiction, the current state is not as good as the prime minister of the overlord country a thousand years ago when the kingdoms were fighting each other!
"It doesn't have to be like this. How you do it depends on yourself." Cui Heng waved his hand and asked with a smile, "By the way, where is Hui Shi's letter sent now?"
"Sir, Chenfu County sent someone back early this morning to report on the progress, saying that all eleven counties have been delivered." Liu Litao said respectfully, "There are still Luo'an County and Changfeng Prefecture that have not been delivered."
"So, the next place he is going to is probably Luo'an County." Cui Heng thought for a moment and then laughed, "I remember that the Luo'an County Governor is called Ren Yuankui. It is said that he has obtained two of the seven surnames.
Does everyone support you?”
There are two necessary conditions for succeeding as state pastor.
The first is to get the support of two of the Qiwang surnames, or the support of one of Youdao Yigong and Baolin Temple. The second is to have another current state pastor support.
This means that Ren Yuankui now only needs the support of one state pastor before he can follow the normal procedures to succeed Fengzhou pastor.
"Yes, sir." Liu Litao nodded, "This Yuan Kui is the best at maneuvering, and has very good relationships with major families, sects, and merchants. It is said that he has also begun discussions with several state pastors early on, hoping to gain support from them.
.”
"If you want to gain the support of other state pastors, I'm afraid it's not without conditions." Cui Heng said with a smile.
"I heard that they want to use the taxes of all the people in Fengzhou as a bargaining chip." Liu Litao was quite well-informed. "It's just that the distribution ratio has not been reached, and it has not been finalized this time."
"Tsk, tsk, using the taxes of the people of a state as a bargaining chip." Cui Hengzhu turned to look in the direction of Luo'an County and sneered, "This is really a business without capital!"
…
Luo'an County was once the richest place in Fengzhou, and even served as the capital of Fengzhou during the previous dynasty.
Although it has lost its former glory, it is still the place with the military strength second only to Changfeng Prefecture among the thirteen counties of Fengzhou.
When the former Zhou Mu Cao Quan was still alive, Ren Yuankui, the governor of Luo'an County, was a little self-respecting and ignored the Zhou Mu's order to conquer the Yan rebels.
This directly caused the Yan rebels to have no one to resist them in a short period of time. As a result, they quickly captured several major counties as if they were in an uninhabited country.
A few months ago, Cao Quan was assassinated and the Yan rebel army was defeated. Ren Yuankui started to think hard and began to contact all major forces. After paying a lot of money, he finally gained the support of the Ye family in Jiangnan and the Jiang family in Nanhe.
.
Next, as long as he obtains the support of a current state pastor, he can become Fengzhou pastor as he wishes.
In order to realize his dream, Ren Yuankui now has the opportunity to host banquets at home every day, or entertain envoys from major forces, or greet people sent by other state pastors.
Of course, the most grand banquet is definitely the banquet for guests sent by other state pastors or even the state pastor himself.
Such as today.
Youzhou Mubiejia Weixiong came to discuss with Ren Yuankui the recommendation of Fengzhou Mu.
This is already the third negotiation.
As usual, as long as both parties are satisfied with the outcome of this negotiation, the matter can basically be settled.
Therefore, Ren Yuankui attached great importance to it.
The banquet included three cattle and sheep, twelve kinds of candied fruits, sixteen kinds of melons and fruits, nine kinds of rare wild birds, monkeys, snakes, rabbits and other native game, as well as countless fine wines.
The entire banquet hall was filled with the aroma of wine and meat.
Even if more than a hundred people are invited to such a banquet, it will be more than enough, but they may not be able to finish it all.
But in fact, the only "dinner guests" were Luo'an County Governor Ren Yuankui and Youzhou Biejia Wei Xiong.
Of course, there were also seventy-two musicians playing music on the side, and twenty-four young girls wearing tulle swaying and dancing in the middle of the table.
However, they were not qualified to taste the delicacies at the banquet.
Wei Xiong is already over sixty years old, but his physique is still strong. He is a tall man nearly nine feet tall and has a beard.
Not like an official, more like a military commander.
He squinted his eyes to admire the graceful figure of the young dancer, pointed at two of them, and said with a smile, "Prefect Ren, these two are pretty good. Bring them to my room to play with in the evening."
"Haha, as long as you want, sir, you can take all of these!" Ren Yuankui laughed and said, "These are all our carefully selected chicks. Each one is 28 years old and has never been exposed to rain or dew.
.”
"No, no, when you get older, you can't show off anymore." Wei Xiong's eyes swept over the half-covered bodies of the girls, shook his head and said, "If you were ten years younger, I would definitely fight.
So happy, haha!"
"Don't talk nonsense, you are still very young." Ren Yuankui poured Wei Xiong a glass of wine and said flatteringly, "You must be as powerful as before."
"Haha, I just like listening to you talk. Okay, I'll add two more girls." Wei Xiong laughed and ordered two more girl dancers. Suddenly he changed the subject, "But it's all fun, you can Don’t think about relying on this to let me help you bargain with Shen Zhoumu.”
Shenzhou Mu is Shen Yu, Youzhou Mu.
"This is nature, this is nature." Ren Yuankui nodded repeatedly, and then lowered his voice and asked, "Don't drive, what does Shen Zhoumu mean? Is it settled?"
"Hey, I was just waiting for you to ask." Wei Xiong took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "The tax of 12 counties in Fengzhou is 30% for ten years, and Lu County is rich, so how about an additional 20%?"
"This..." Ren Yuankui's brows suddenly jumped when he heard this, and he smiled bitterly, "Don't drive, you know that in order to win the support of the Ye family and the Jiang family, I have divided Fengzhou's tax revenue by 40%. If this Divide another 30%..."
"Haha, Prefect Ren, don't hide it from me." Wei Xiong sneered, "I don't believe you didn't increase the tax rate after you took office. Now the taxes we set are all based on the current tax rate!
"Even if you give out 10%, as long as you double the tax rate for these idiots after you become Fengzhou Shepherd, won't you make everything back?"
"Don't drive, the taxes are too high, I'm afraid the officials will force the people to rebel!" Ren Yuankui still looked bitter.
"Damn it, are you pretending to be a people-loving parent for me now?" Wei Xiong laughed and scolded directly, "People in your county starve to death on the roadside every day, and no one has ever rebelled."
"Well, hehe..." Ren Yuankui was speechless. In fact, under his rule, many people had starved to death in order to ensure the expenditure of the army.
"Shenzhou Muke told me when I came." Wei Xiong then used another killing move, "If you can't negotiate here, let me ask the prefect of Lu County to ask."
"Looking for that Cui Heng?!" Ren Yuankui's eyes widened when he heard this, and everyone stood up, "How can you possibly find him? This guy is implementing administrative orders in the counties under his rule and forcibly purchasing the properties of major forces at 10% of the market price. Ah. If we let him become the state pastor, it will be difficult for us all.
"Moreover, he flooded the Wang-Xie coalition, captured Wang Qinghe and Xie Beixing, and offended both the Wang family of Langya and the Xie family of Pingshan to death. How can he be allowed to serve as a state herdsman? No, absolutely not."
Although after the destruction of the Wang-Xie coalition, all counties in Fengzhou sent spies to investigate, and they all found out the truth. That is, the county governor Cui Heng used his great magical power to kill all the tens of thousands of Wang-Xie coalition forces, as well as Dahe. The Great Lake serves as proof, but not many people believe it.
Because this is so unbelievable, it completely challenges people's common sense and cognition. At most, some people are a little skeptical. More often, people think that they are using the terrain to set a trap in advance and flood the army.
Unless you experience or see this kind of outrageous thing with your own eyes, it is difficult to truly believe it.
"Hehe, can it be done? I still have you, the prefect of Luo'an County, to make the decision." Wei Xiong slowly took a sip of wine and said with a smile, "Fengzhou Prefecture and Twelve Counties will pay 30% of the tax for ten years. Plus 10%, this is the final bottom line."
"..." Ren Yuankui's expression kept changing. Many thoughts flashed through his mind. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll do it!"
…
A grand banquet was held in the Luoan County Sheriff's Office.
It was freezing cold on the street outside, and every door was closed. Many beggars were hiding from the cold wind in the alleys, and they were all shivering with cold.
It was already night when Hui Shi came here. The road was very quiet, there were no people around, and it was pitch black. He could hear the barking of dogs. When he turned his eyes, he saw a beggar grabbing a bone from a dog.
Not far from the beggar, a child who looked less than ten years old was lying. His body was stiff and motionless. He had obviously been left to die for some time.
"Is this the county seat?" Hui Shi frowned slightly. Before he came to Luo'an County, he had heard that this was the most powerful county besides Changfeng Prefecture. He didn't expect it to be like this.
However, he couldn't control this kind of thing for the time being, so he walked straight towards the county magistrate's office.
There are two government officials in front of the Luo'an County Sheriff's office.
When they saw Hui Shi approaching, their eyes suddenly lit up and they murmured: "Haha, there are people who are not afraid of death and dare to walk in front of the governor's house at night. I have money for the drinks!"
So, the two government officials immediately stepped forward, stopped Hui Shi, and shouted sternly: "Stop! Where did you come from and dared to break into the prefect's mansion at night?!"
"I am the envoy sent by Cui Heng, the governor of Lu County, to deliver a message to the governor of Luo'an." Hui Shi's temper has improved a lot recently, and he patiently explained, "I am not a troublemaker, and I don't want to break into the governor's house at night.
, please give me some advice."
"What bullshit, Prefect of Lu County, I've never heard of it! I think you just want to break into the Prefect's Mansion at night!" The two government officials couldn't understand human speech, so they stretched out their hands and sneered, "Five taels of silver, or you can squat down.