Ye An and his wife finished their "evaluation" of Fan Zhongyan. In their hearts, Fan Zhongyan was still the same Fan Wenzheng who cared about the country and the people, so they instinctively felt that this person was trustworthy.
Although I had not had much contact with him before, the things he did had already spread in the court. Whether it was the management of weirs in Taizhou, teaching and establishing schools in Yingtian Mansion, or his upright and forthright speech in the court, he had a clean image.
manifestation.
But what matters most to Ye An and Qin Mumu is that he "takes advantage". If a person is too clean and upright, then they must stay away from him. Such people can only watch from a distance and dare not
Be inbred, otherwise when you make mistakes or even think differently from you, he will turn against you for his own ambitions.
Fortunately, Fan Zhongyan is not such a person. After getting in touch with him, Ye An and Qin Mumu can confirm that he is a person full of revolutionary ideas and still full of humaneness, and not an extremist like Wang Anshi.
It is impossible for an extremist to succeed in reform. He sees everything too simply. Black and white have become the main colors in his eyes, but the world is never black and white.
The weather has begun to get hot, and the land of Jianghuai will only get hotter. Ye An didn't bring many things, and Fan Zhongyan traveled lightly. Because Ye An's personal soldiers were all powerful, Fan Zhongyan simply brought an old servant.
He and Shutong set off on the road, and the safety of the team was left to Ye An's personal entourage.
In ordinary military generals' families, most of the janitors are the nephews of their own clan, but the difference between Ye An's family is that they are mostly battlefield veterans. This was a taboo thing in the Song Dynasty. The janissary system was abolished when Taizu Taizong began, and the generals
Private soldiers are not allowed to be recruited, but the generals are still retained, but the court mostly turns a blind eye, and most of these soldiers have protected the head of the general family and even saved his life, just like the Cao family.
Sun laizi is generally a person, and most of them are worshippers.
The personal soldiers of Ye An's family are personal soldiers, but the name has been changed to personal followers. Fan Zhongyan turned a blind eye to this matter. After all, Ye An is not a civil servant, let alone a military commander.
, having some personal followers around who had retired from the battlefield was nothing.
What's more, when these people go to that station, they have a breathtaking aura. The young people don't dare to approach, which also saves time on the way.
After leaving the city of Tokyo, the motorcade headed south along the official road to Jianghuai. Fan Zhongyan looked at the changing scenery, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter. Under the hot weather, the surrounding flowers, plants and trees seemed to have lost their energy, and they had not yet left Gyeonggi Road.
Is that already the case?!
"Marquis Ye, if you go south to appease Jianghuai this time, the disaster may be far greater than we thought!"
Ye An glanced at Fan Zhongyan, then spread out the map in the carriage and said: "The water network in the Yangtze and Huaihe River areas is still sufficient, but this drought has affected many places. I suspect that it was caused by the victims fleeing their hometowns. Mr. Fan, please take a look.
There are Bianshui, Huanshui and Feishui rivers flowing through the prefecture, but there are no lakes. In the past, wells were dug and water cellars were naturally used for irrigation. However, when the weather is hot, the water level naturally drops, and the people who cannot store water will naturally
By blocking the river and raising the water level, the people downstream will be affected, and there may be a drama of armed fighting!"
Fan Zhongyan's expression changed and he said: "That makes sense. Your business is full of people. I'll tell you more news!"
Ye An nodded and pointed at the map and said with a wry smile: "Actually, we are not afraid of natural disasters, we are afraid of man-made disasters. The situation in Suzhou is similar to that in Haozhou. The river also passes through it, but Sizhou is different..."
“There is Hongze Lake in Sizhou!”
Fan Zhongyan saw the problem at a glance, and then he stroked his beard and said: "You are very good, Shouzhou has Shapi Lake, Luzhou, Chaozhou, and Hezhou has Chaohu Lake!" After speaking, he pointed to the map and said: "
It seems that the disaster-stricken areas are mostly in Haozhou, Suzhou, and Chuzhou on Huainan East Road. Among them, Haozhou and Suzhou are adjacent to each other and cover a vast area. Suzhou alone can be worth two Chuzhous, and the number of people is naturally greater.
The people of the two prefectures of Haosu went north to Yingtianfu, so Yingtianfu reported several times the Jianghuai disaster, and there were so many people..."
Ye An smiled bitterly and nodded: "Maybe so, but the truth needs to be seen with one's own eyes. It is not easy to doubt Yingtian Mansion. Maybe Yingtian Mansion is unable to cope with the influx of people."
"We are afraid of being unable to respond to natural disasters like this! The people are panicking, but the prefecture and even the county government can't help themselves. How can the two prefectures know how to make the people flee in droves? How can they not open warehouses and release grain to help the people?!
"
This is a bit taken for granted. Not everyone is like you Fan Zhongyan! Opening a warehouse to release grain is the last resort. If the documents from the court are not available, who would dare to open a warehouse without permission from the magistrate and magistrate?
Although Ye An and Fan Zhongyan were still on their way to Yingtian Mansion, they had already sent people to inquire about the Jianghuai disaster. As long as the people who inquired about the news came back, they would know part of the truth in advance.
"O Changsheng! The people of Jianghuai and Zhejiang are very heavily taxed. Many miscellaneous taxes such as Dingkou, labor, apportionment, and transfers are still there. This time we want to appease Jianghuai and look more. Maybe we should go to Zhazi to admonish the officials.
!”
Fan Zhongyan was right. Ye Anke knew more about these exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes than he did, because Puhui Company had branches in Jianghuai, Zhejiang and Guangxi, and it also had branches wherever there were shipping companies. How could it not be possible?
Do you know the local miscellaneous tax situation?
But it is a pity that Fan Zhongyan still said that there is less. The land and house deed taxes, bone money, river crossing money, tribute money, etc. have already overwhelmed the people. Why is the reaction after the Jianghuai disaster so strong this time? People flocked to Yingtian Mansion
Become a disaster victim?
It’s not just to avoid these miscellaneous taxes! Once you become a disaster victim, the court will waive most of the miscellaneous taxes, and even summer and autumn taxes can be exempted!
Fan Zhongyan once served as an official in Jianghuai and taught in Yingtian Mansion. He would not believe it if he said that he did not know these things about beating Ye An to death, but he said it in such a "tactful" way... for the sake of the court's good looks.
ah!
Ye An said unceremoniously: "The disaster is still a minor matter. If the miscellaneous taxes are not removed, there may be more civil unrest. Don't blame the people for killing officials and rebelling. They are really forced to have no choice. People who can't survive are afraid of death?"
The miscellaneous taxes in the south are already heavy enough. Why don't we let people be treated as disaster victims to get tax exemptions and take a breather? Believe it or not, as long as this disaster lasts for a while, the civil unrest in Jianghuai and even Zhejiang will be reduced!"
Fan Zhongyan's face turned red. This was what he was most worried about. People were struggling to survive in the face of a major disaster. This disaster was not only an opportunity for the people in the Jianghuai land to be exempted from miscellaneous taxes, but it was also the final step that forced them into desperation.
step.
"The disadvantages of miscellaneous taxes are so obvious. If the court cannot exempt miscellaneous taxes, this disaster may become what the people pray for in the future!"
Fan Zhongyan's worries are not unnecessary at all. Anyway, the current disaster in the Song Dynasty generally means that people will not starve to death. A large amount of potatoes and sweet potato products can be released from the warehouse for relief at the first time. But is this relief what the people need?
No! What they want is to be exempted from exorbitant taxes!
The wheels were rolling, Fan Zhongyan's expression became more solemn, and Ye An leaned on the carriage and fell asleep as the carriage bumped.
He clearly knew that everything at the moment was just speculation between the two of them. The real details would only be known after arriving at Yingtian Mansion. By then, the investigators sent out would probably have returned to Yingtian Mansion.