Yingbao smiled as Wuyang stumbled towards her and threw himself into her arms.
"Auntie!" Wuyang hugged Yingbao and asked for praise.
"We are so lucky to be safe and sound." Yingbao touched his head and picked him up.
At this time, a shepherd boy riding a big buffalo came from a distance. When he saw a large group of people here, he stopped.
Wuyang pointed at the big buffalo curiously and shouted, wanting to go over.
Yingbao didn't move. Wei Zhan and Chu Shun had already walked up to the shepherd boy and asked about the local situation.
For example, whether there are people running away from the fields, whether there are people becoming robbers, or whether there are people collecting taxes indiscriminately and oppressing the people, etc.
The shepherd boy thought for a moment, then picked his nose and said, "Yes, a few days ago, several officials came and asked each household in our village to pay a stone of grain. They said that a princess had come from the capital, and that princess had many servants, so they needed a lot of grain to feed them. The officials said that they were collecting grain on the princess's orders."
When Wei Zhan heard this, he became furious and asked again, "Are those officials the ones who come to collect taxes every time?"
The cowherd boy nodded.
"very good."
Wei Zhan asked the cowherd to leave, then turned back and said to Ying Bao, "It seems that the government office is rotten from top to bottom. We have to clean it up."
While we are reducing taxes for the people, the officials there are coming to collect grain. This county will never be well until this kind of double-dealing is eliminated.
Yingbao: "Don't make it public yet. Let's go back and post a notice to recruit a few teachers. We'll say we're looking for them for the children. Two military teachers and two civil servants."
Wei Zhan was puzzled: "What's the point of recruiting just a few?" There are dozens of yamen runners in this county, and behind each of them is the shadow of a wealthy family. If you want to replace them, it is useless without recruiting more than a hundred people.
"We use this as a cover. Others don't know how many people we actually recruit. As long as they pass the review, they will all stay." Yingbao said.
Wei Zhan suddenly realized: "Alright, I will post the notice in every township and make sure that each township can recruit six people."
Yingbao: "Remember, you must be an honest person and very poor."
When looking for people to do work, you have to find poor people. In order to have a stable income to support their families, they will definitely do their best to protect his career.
She wanted to use children from poor families to replace those petty officials and yamen runners who had "inherited their positions without succession".
Of course, if those yamen runners behave themselves, it is not impossible for me to let them off the hook.
Because the court implemented a conscription system, that is, using money to hire yamen runners and runners, instead of letting the people take turns to serve as before, these positions gradually became a way for some people to make money, and were even monopolized by some people for generations. Over time, drawbacks arose.
The officials colluded with each other to oppress the poor families who had no power to resist. Even if they killed a few people, the victims' families had no way to seek justice.
Look, she had just made an example of someone to scare the monkeys before the New Year, but those people had been at peace for less than three months before they started to act recklessly again.
This time he actually acted under his own name, which is really abominable.
After returning to the county, Wei Zhan immediately had someone write recruitment documents and posted them in markets in various towns and villages.
Subsequently, people came to apply for the job one after another.
Among these people, Wei Zhan checked the household registration one by one to verify whether the people were the real ones. He also eliminated those families whose members had minor official duties, and also eliminated those who were from wealthy families. Only about 40 people were left.
"Send them to various villages to work and cooperate with the village officials in collecting taxes. If they find anything wrong, let them report it in time." Wei Zhan said to Chu Shun: "Take 20 guards with you. If anyone raises any objections, take them directly back to the government office and let the county magistrate teach them how to do things."
Whenever Wei Zhan thought of the Mei County magistrate, he became furious.
The old guy is over fifty years old and should have been promoted to other positions long ago, but he is still a county magistrate. I don’t know whether his political achievements are not enough or he deliberately stays in the local area to be a local official who is far away from home.
But no matter what, I must get rid of that old guy. If he stays in Zhouhe County, he will become a disaster sooner or later.
Chu Shunyi clasped his fists and said, "Yes!"
Wei Zhan came out of the study after finishing his official business.
Suddenly, I heard a commotion in the yard over there, as if someone was crying and screaming.
Wei Zhan frowned and walked over there with his hands behind his back.
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard of Wei's house, I saw a group of maids and women surrounding the two people who were constantly pulling each other and trying to stop them from fighting: "Madam, please let go, you have torn the clothes of the young master."
Cao's hands were pried apart by the crowd, and she cried even louder: "You are such a heartless person! I have worked so hard to run this family and raised your two children, but you want to marry my sister! Are you still a human being? Oh my God, how could you do such a thing?"
When Wei Zhan heard these words, he roughly knew what was going on, and he turned around and was about to go back.
"Qillang! Stop right there!" When Cao saw Wei Zhan, she was so angry that she rushed over and was about to bump into him head-on.
The maids and servants were shocked when they saw this and quickly grabbed Cao and said, "Madam, what are you doing? Why are you going after Mr. Seven again?"
Cao cried and pointed at Wei Zhan: "It must be you! You bastard... My sister is clearly..."
Before she could finish her words, Wei Wenbo slapped her in the face, which immediately stunned her.
Wei Wenbo said with a gloomy face: "If you keep talking nonsense, I will divorce you!"
Cao was speechless. She covered her face and looked at her husband in disbelief: "You hit me? You hit me in front of the servants? Ah... I won't live any longer!"
Upon seeing this, her wet nurse immediately hugged her in her arms and comforted her with love: "My dear, you have to think positively. It's all that bitch's fault. How can you blame Qilang?" The person who should not be offended the most now is Qilang. The dear lady is confused.
Cao was soon surrounded by a group of maids and servants and taken back to her own courtyard, and the others also dispersed one after another.
Wei Zhan glanced at his eldest brother, said nothing, and went straight to his mother's yard.
Wei Wenbai stood in the main courtyard for a while, clenched his fists, and went straight outside.
This time when he came back from the capital, he just told Cao that he had taken Qingqing as his concubine, but this woman made a fuss and directly embarrassed him.
She's really spoiled! She's even more unruly!
Wei Wenbai decided not to come back this year and let her stay in Zhouhe County with her children.
"Hitch the carriage and go back to the capital!" He ordered the servant, "Carry out the boxes in my room as well. Be careful not to bump into anything."
The box contained his personal belongings and valuables, all of which he was taking to the capital.
As for Cao's mother and son, they won't starve to death as long as they live with their parents!
"Yes! I'll go right away!" Several servants ran back to the house and moved the boxes into Wei Wenbai's house.
Cao didn't know that her husband had taken away all the money in the house, and even put some valuable items in a box, which was carried to the carriage by servants.