The college in the city is the only college in Shiliba Village. There are a lot of students. The college is not bad. This dean, since he became the dean, has not dared to make a single mistake, and he did not dare to move the money from his hair. He could use it wherever it should be used.
He also has a good reputation among the students, and scholars also regard him as a model for the dean.
Last year, the imperial court also sent a banner of brocade. When it was sent, the dean burst into tears, crying in front of all the teachers and students of the school.
Da Zhuang was also called Da Zhuang in the academy. He was thinking of letting his husband give himself a big name in the future.
Erya took Da Zhuang's hand and walked in the city. She opened her mouth and felt that everything in the city was so unreal. She had never been out of the village when she grew up, and she didn't know what the world outside the village was like.
There are street vendors selling on the street, but the roads are clean and tidy. The pedestrians and the cars are separated. The vendors are shouting, and many women are walking on the street, carrying cloth bags or vegetable baskets. .
Erya felt novel when she saw everything, looked around and bumped into a woman in front of her.
"Little lady." The woman's eyebrows were curved, her thin eyebrows were gentle, "Be careful."
Erya's face flushed and she said quickly, "I didn't mean to..."
Da Zhuang pulled Er Ya's hand: "How did I teach you?"
Erya said again, "I'm sorry."
The woman smiled and said, "There are many people in the morning and at night, so be careful."
The two nodded hastily.
The woman looked at Da Zhuang's clothes and said, "This little boy is a student?"
Da Zhuang hurriedly handed over: "I'm studying at Changqing Academy."
The woman said warmly: "Knowing the book and honoring the ceremony, the son must be a good student. I hope that the son will succeed in his studies and be named on the golden list."
Da Zhuang was also blushed by the woman's words. Their local customs are sturdy. Where have you seen this gentle woman? Da Zhuang thanked him again and again, and the woman looked back reluctantly after she left.
Erya laughed softly at him: "Everyone has gone away and can't see anymore."
Da Zhuang blushed even more: "What's the matter? Hurry up, so as not to delay the time."
Erya covered her mouth and smiled, but she stopped joking. Since her eldest brother studied, her skin has become much thinner than when she was a child.
The woman walked to the end of the street, and two people came out of the store, following her from left to right. One of them whispered, "Sir, I have inquired about it. Last year's drought affected eight villages and three towns, and only three towns received subsidies. ."
The woman, that is, Hong Xiu, walked forward with a blank face, she looked coldly ahead, her tone unwavering: "Let the province check the file first, I want to see how a small prefect can swallow so much. Silver, cover the sky with one hand."
This year's big investigation was carried out quietly. No one knew about it beforehand except for the imperial court and the emperor in the capital. Hongxiu is no longer the court envoy. She has made a lot of achievements. Good quality, can be regarded as a person in the capital, out of the capital, this official position is enough to startle the local officials.
The local leadership team is elected every five years, and the lower officials are not easily moved.
The red sleeves inspected, and the general problems were caused by these petty officials.
There are also small officials who will collectively pull the above into the water, but fortunately, the current His Majesty is very famous, and few dare to do so.
Like this place, there are still a few prefects who dare to be greedy for ink. In the final analysis, the poorer the place, the more greedy it is.
Because there is no other way to get money, even if it is a collusion between officials and businessmen, there is not much greed, and the local economy cannot recover, so they can only rely on the disaster relief funds allocated by the imperial court every year.
Everyone in the big town knew that if the disaster relief funds from the imperial court were not available, they could write to the province to ask.
Only the small village is closed, and they are unwilling to move around outside, and they are at a loss, and they may not even know they are at a loss.
Hong Xiu rubbed his brows and said to the man beside him, "Go to the province yourself... Forget it, don't go there, so as not to leak the rumors."
The man nodded and asked cautiously, "Sir, what shall we do next?"
If you don't reveal your identity, you are not an official body, and you can't enter many places.
But revealing the identity is to free up the opportunity for the corrupt officials to prepare.
It doesn't feel right to be exposed or not.
"Get ready, go to the village and collect evidence first." Hong Xiu sighed, "I just don't know if the village chiefs of those villages have listed the post-disaster subsidies for the past few years."
Man: "Xiaguan Kanxuan, in this kind of place, it is difficult for the village chief to be able to read and write."
Hong Xiu pursed her lips: "Let's go and have a look first, we can only stand up if there is iron evidence."
What Your Majesty hates most today is to fight against unwarranted charges against dissidents. To do things, you must have evidence.
Once there is evidence, neither the prefect nor the officials involved in the matter will try to escape.
It's been a long time, and I really don't cherish my own head.
This time, Hong Xiu came out with a total of 30 people. These 30 people are all good players. If nothing else, they are first-class in disguise.
This disguise is not only about clothes and conversation, but also with work experience. If someone pretends to be a woodworker, he must be the one who really knows this business, really understands this business, and no one doubts opening a woodworking shop.
It was also Zheng Qingfeng who attached great importance to this major tune, so he gave so many good players to Hongxiu.
The two who followed Hongxiu had been practicing martial arts since childhood, and had also experienced in the military camp. They were admitted to the Metropolitan Court after a lot of selection and selection. They were all upright people, and they obeyed orders. Like everyone's son-in-law, wearing clothes can't see the size of the skin, and it won't let people see that he is a trainer.
They entered the village in an ox cart, saying that they were here to find relatives. When they were lost in troubled times, they searched village by village.
Hongxiu is the wife of the family, but she is only a widow. After her husband dies, she is the master of the family.
The first village they went to was Xiaowan Village. As the name suggests, there is a stream running through this village, dividing the village into two. The houses are beautifully built. people.
Among the foreigners, the surname Feng is the one with the largest number of people, so there have not been many fights in this village. After all, the Zhao family does not dare to bully the foreigners too much.
There is no inn in the village, so Hongxiu rented a bigger house. The family was very happy, it was money, they lived for a few days, and they had all the expenses in the past few months. They moved away happily and lived with relatives. Home, and also gave some sweetness to relatives.
Hongxiu did not hide her head and tail in the village, and occasionally went out for a walk, talking to her aunt and daughter-in-law nearby.
Probably because Hongxiu is from the city, and he doesn't like to go to men, and only talks to women. The aunt and the daughter-in-law have a good impression of her, and they are willing to please her to see if I can get any reward. , plus there is no defense against others, they will say whatever Hongxiu asks.
Pour out the beans like a crackle and pour out.
"It hasn't rained these days?" Hong Xiu asked pretending to be strange.
The aunt smiled and said: "Go, I only went down last month, although I don't go down very often, but it is better than the previous two years. The first two years were very dry. The stream in our village was dry, and we can only go to drink water. Drink muddy water in the fields."
Hongxiu: "But in the drought a few years ago, I heard that many villages are digging wells."
The aunt smiled and said: "It must be a rich village. Our village has no money, so we can't afford well diggers!"
Hong Xiu had a smile on her face, her hands were already clenched into fists, and her nails were sinking into her flesh, but she didn't feel any pain.
The well-drilling team is paid by the local government, not the villagers.
When you think about the drought, these men, women and children can only lie on the ground and drink muddy water. What does it feel like
The aunt continued: "Our life is getting better and better every day, eldest sister, you don't know, our Xiaowan village was notoriously poor in the past, but now it's better, we don't need money for studying! The imperial court also pays the poor Subsidy for birth! My baby is studying in the academy, and every year I can save some subsidies from the court to return to my family.”
"How could you have imagined such a good day before?"
Hong Xiu also smiled and said, "The days will get better and better."
The auntie is not without regrets: "It's a pity that my parents died early. If I lived for two more years, I would have been blessed."
"Our family raises chickens. If you eat eggs and chicken, eldest sister, you can come to my house and it will be cheaper for you."
The aunt also said, "I also had meat sausages for Chinese New Year. If you want to eat it, you can come to my house."
The little daughter-in-law next to me said, "Girl, I have geese and sausages at home!"
Hongxiu asked around again, and found that the families who raised chickens and geese were all from Zhao surnames, and their fields were better than those of foreign surnames, so they could afford meat, and more Zhao surnames and foreign surnames could not eat two stews all year round. Meat, a family that can raise a few old hens that lay eggs is living a better life.
The village chief’s family is not very wealthy either. Both of the village chief’s sons became carpenters and worked in the city. They have not married yet, so all the money they earn is given to the family, so that the life of the village chief’s family can be relaxed.
When Hongxiu came to the door, the village chief's family was eating, a plate of sausages, a plate of wild vegetables and a pot of tofu soup. Seeing Hongxiu entering the door, the village chief was dumbfounded and forgot to wipe the soup from the corner of his mouth.
"This... girl, what are you doing here?" the village chief asked curiously.
Hongxiu: "Come with me, don't eat the meal."
The village chief's daughter-in-law was also confused, and then shouted: "What are you doing! You, a widow, dare to hook up with my man in front of me?!"
Hongxiu glanced at the village chief's daughter-in-law. The two people behind her stepped forward and directly stood up the village chief. Hongxiu said, "Let's go, go to the village hall."
The hall is where the village committee works.
The village chief wanted to struggle, but he was supported by young men with arms as hard as iron. Just as he was about to call someone, Hong Xiu lowered his head and whispered in his ear: "This official is here to investigate, and the village chief is in charge of Be careful with your mouth, or I will kill you right now, saying that you are the one who corrupts and perverts the law in this area, and you are all dead, so I can't even tell."
The village chief nodded frantically and kept his mouth tightly shut, expressing that he would never talk nonsense.
His daughter-in-law was locked in the house, and if the village chief did not go back, she would not be able to come out.
When they arrived in the hall, Hongxiu asked her subordinates to let go of the village chief, and then she gave the village chief a serious salute, and said solemnly: "It is a matter of great importance, so I have to make this last resort, and I hope the village chief Haihan."
The village chief said quickly: "Han, I'm... I don't know... This adult, what are you doing in the village this time?"
Hongxiu: "Village chief, please take a seat. This official is here to investigate the vile criminal behavior of the prefect of this prefecture for corruption and perversion of the law and exploitation of the people."
The village chief swallowed his saliva and said subconsciously, "The prefect is an honest official!"
Hong Xiu also stared at him with good eyes: "The village chief again?"
The village chief did not dare to say it. He now knows who the woman in front of him is. Those in officialdom know that there is a female adult in the Metropolitan Court. She is the most vicious and selfless. The official, even if she doesn't die, she will lose a layer of skin. Many people hate her, but they can't touch her. This adult is protected by the emperor.
There are also rumors that she is the emperor's confidante. The emperor has not been married for so long because of her, but this adult is determined to eradicate treacherous evil, so he does not want to enter the palace. The emperor can't, but can only condone his beloved woman.
He couldn't afford to offend the prefect, and he couldn't afford to offend such a big man. The village chief said with a crying face, "Sir, if you ask me, I can't tell you..."
If the prefect was done, it would be fine, but if it was not done, wouldn't he be finished
If a prefect wants to kill a small village chief, it is not a matter of raising his hand.
Hong Xiu's face turned gloomy: "I didn't expect that the surnamed Meng actually became the emperor of this place! He was only transferred for two years!"
The village chief said tremblingly at this time: "The last one was his cousin."
The red sleeves and the black face can drip water.
"How did the provincial government judge!" Hong Xiu stood up angrily, slapped the table with her hand, and the village chief trembled in fear.
Having dealt with corrupt officials all the year round, Hong Xiu is no longer the red sleeve of the year, and when he gets angry, he has a fierce aura.
Hong Xiu took a deep breath: "It's okay, you go on."
Only then did the village chief realize that he had already said what he was going to hide in his stomach, and he wanted to cry without tears: "Sir, I am just a lowly official. I don't dare to talk nonsense about the things that are quarreling inside, and the things above and above."
Hongxiu: "Zhao Village Chief, I will show you a clear path. The clearer you are, the better your life will be in the future. I don't dare to say anything else, but I can promise you this. If you and the man surnamed Meng are convicted of the same crime, where do you go to complain about grievance? Everyone outside knows that I have never handled a case that was wrongly or unjustly, and that there is no iron evidence that no one will die."
The village chief trembled, trembled, trembled, and finally said tremblingly: "Meng Zhifu took office two years ago, and the government and businessmen colluded first. There is a lot of filial piety every year, and the disaster relief money distributed by the imperial court, the big ones dare not be greedy, and the small ones are all greedy.”
"If it weren't for the fact that the dean of Changqing College was a serious man and had a pennant bestowed by the emperor, then the college would probably be..."
Hong Xiu: "The pennant bestowed by His Majesty saved his life."
The village chief nodded again and again.
These small village chiefs don't seem to have real power, and they can't be regarded as serious officials, but in fact, they are watching carefully. After all, the village is poor, and it is not uncommon to point to the government's disaster relief money. After researching it, I thought that no matter how much, as long as a little money was distributed to the village, life would be much better.
I have found all the doors I can find, but every time I am closed.
There are not only closed doors, but also threats, and even the temptation is saved.
Yes, these poor places with no connections and no way out, even if they want to worship the mountain, they can't find the mountain.
When the village chief thought about this, he suddenly felt a surge of anger, yes, he entered the city, even if he had to bow his head in front of a small clerk who was not a rank and was not an official, and he was a low-ranking junior, he still remained They couldn't ask for the disaster relief money that belonged to their village.
What is he afraid of? What are you afraid of? Now that the envoys of the imperial court are here, and he is still the most unselfish adult, why doesn't he give it a shot
If they win, their village will not have to live in poverty.
There are many poor people in the village, he took out his small salary subsidy, and even provoked his wife to scold him all the time.
He knew that it was not easy for him to be a wife. If his two sons didn't live up to their expectations and learned the craftsmanship and left early, the family might not be able to open the pot long ago.
Only two or three households with the surname Zhao lived well, and that was also because they had contributed to the village in their early years.
There are only a few households with big surnames in the village, let alone foreign surnames.
The village chief had bitterness in his mouth. When he first became the village chief, he also wanted to lead the whole village to live a good life. How did he say that? To get rid of poverty and become rich, and when they went to the school to study at that time, they often heard some examples, how a village became rich by raising pigs, and a village became rich by raising chickens.
When they heard it, their hearts swayed, what if their village would be so good.
Everyone in a village raises pigs or chickens, and can contact merchants to collect them. As long as they are willing to raise them, as long as they are raised well, they can live well, and they can eat and clothe themselves well.
But they soon discovered that it was useless to them no matter how hard they tried.
The court will not help them!
They don't have the money to buy pigs, build a shed to raise chickens collectively, or buy looms to weave cloth.
The village chief said to Hongxiu, "My lord! If the lord is sent, the little one will die!"
Hongxiu asked him: "When the time comes, I will ask you to identify, do you dare to go?"
The village chief gritted his teeth and said, "Little dare."
Hongxiu nodded: "That's good, show me your village's notepad. Do you remember how many subsidies the government has given you over the years?"
The village chief smiled bitterly and said, "If I go back to the adults, what kind of subsidy? I haven't seen a single copper plate in the past ten years."
Hong Xiu was stunned: "Not for so many years?"
The village chief shook his head: "In the early years, the master above was an honest official, but at that time the court didn't have much money, and the master didn't have a place to make money to subsidize us, and the disaster relief funds were all given to the most severely affected. Villages and towns, our Xiaowan Village is neither serious nor unaffected."
"Afterwards, it was replaced by the cousin of the current Lord Meng, so we have no part in it."
For more than ten years, they have looked forward to the top of the court from the beginning, and now they bow their heads and accept their fate, and their sorrow is not enough for outsiders.
To put it horribly, they actually hate the surnamed Meng, but the Meng family are all so-called Qingliu, and they have quite a right to speak in the court. .
If Hongxiu knew what the village chief was thinking, he would definitely say: "The surnamed Meng has never registered with the emperor. What kind of onion is it?"
But in such an underdeveloped place, no one knows what the capital is like, only knowing that the Meng family came from the capital is enough to scare them.
"Village Zhao has the intention. I have to visit the other seven villages. I hope the village head will go with me, but I can't tell Mrs. Zun and the villagers." Hong Xiu said, "But I have already made arrangements, and tonight the adults will follow me. I'll go."
The village chief asked in surprise, "What's the arrangement?"
The next day, rumors spread throughout Xiaowan Village, and their village chief ran away with the widow! No wife and son! The village chief is also wrong! O sin! Where is a widow! That's a fairy!
The village chief's daughter-in-law had been crying in the house all day, and she even asked someone to go to the city to call the two boys back.
Those aunts and daughters-in-law who had spoken to the widow didn't dare to speak anymore. They were just glad that they didn't let their man see her, otherwise, whoever ran away would not know.
But at this time, the village chief was already sitting on the ox cart, and he was still holding rice cakes in his hand, eating fragrantly.
This rice cake is sweet. It is made of high-quality rice, and it tastes good even when it is cold. The village chief narrowed his eyes. He has never eaten such a fragrant pot in his life. After all, at home, he also eats multigrain rice, only rice— Hey, that's what the former landlord can do.
Hongxiu saw that he was eating deliciously, and asked someone to pour him a cup of tea. This teacup has a lid, so you don't have to worry about spilling it in the car, just drink it from the small sip.
Hongxiu said to him: "When this matter is over, the new prefect must be a sensible one. At that time, all of your villages will rebuild roads and build factories. You have to take your villagers out of poverty and become rich. Then you will watch Rice cakes, maybe I still feel tired."
The village chief shook his head frantically: "It's not greasy, it's not greasy, this rice cake will never get tired of eating it for a lifetime!"
Hong Xiu was amused by him: "Zhao Village Chief, it's too early to say this."
The village chief smiled at Hong Xiu to please.
He doesn't regret going out with Hongxiu. If he can really get some benefits for the village, it's okay for him to be dangerous, but he just doesn't know how he came out like this... How to explain to his wife and children after returning, they may not believe the truth, after all, they must be sure There is still an investigation. When the prefect is really investigated, he may be beaten to death by his daughter-in-law.
... His daughter-in-law is the daughter of a pig slaughterer. She learned a lot of styles from her father when she was a child. Even though she is short and thin, she is stronger than a man and has a broken palm.
The two of them had an argument before, and his wife slapped him down, making him dizzy.
Although his wife apologized to him afterwards and said that he would never hit him again, he still left a shadow. Every time he came to quarrel, he would think about the slap.
So before the quarrel, he shut himself in the room, quarreled with his wife through the door, and waited for his wife to calm down before going out after the quarrel.
It's like finding a way to get along.
Village Chief Zhao touched his face, and he had already predicted that he would not be able to escape this time.
Hey, I hope my sons can help stop it.