Civil servants of the Tang Dynasty

Arriving at the Yamen the next morning, there was nothing special. Tang Cheng was thinking about what Zhang Zishan had said last time. Counting the time, Zhang Xiangwen should have arrived in Zhoucheng, so why hasn't there been any movement?Thinking in his heart, he took the time to go to the east courtyard. After asking, he found out that it was Zhang Xiangwen and his wife who was reluctant to let her son leave. Going to Zhoucheng will save you the hard work of running around in the first lunar month.

When Zhang Zishan said these words, although Zhang Zishan didn't comment, but Tang Cheng could see that he obviously didn't take it seriously, but it was inconvenient to intervene in such a family matter, so Tang Cheng got up and left after saying a few more gossips.

If you want to say that things in this world are really so evil, at noon when I went home from Sanya and was eating, the porter boss Gao came to report, saying that Zhang Xiangwen had come.

"Zhang Xiangwen?" Tang Cheng was taken aback when he heard the words, "Did you recognize the wrong person?".

"Your official is just joking, I have very good eyesight." The old concierge Gao was also taken aback when he heard this, and then said with a smile: "Besides, Mr. Zhang used to see it a lot."

Seeing that Zhang Xiangwen really came, Tang Cheng stopped eating, put down his bowl, got up and walked out quickly.

Less than half the distance from the gate of the mansion, I saw that Xiangwen was walking in, looking left and right while walking, and his out-of-shape appearance was exactly the same as before.

"I was impatient to wait at the concierge, so I came in by myself." Seeing Tang Cheng who was walking quickly, Zhang Xiangwen grinned, "I have been running for a whole morning, and I am already hungry. Brother, hurry up and order food."

"Why do you come here just like a ghost? I asked your second uncle in the morning and said that you won't come until after the year." Seeing Zhang Xiangwen's grin, Tang Chengcheng felt kind and walked quickly He punched him hard in front of him, "Stinky boy, sweat all over his head, why, haven't you gone to your second uncle's?".

As Tang Cheng asked, he turned his head and told Lao Gao to go to the kitchen to inform him to add more dishes.

"I didn't go. I was supposed to arrive ten days ago according to the time my second uncle stipulated that day, and I didn't come until now. If I hit this point, I won't even have lunch. I'll come to you first, in the afternoon Let’s go to the state government office to see him again, no matter how unhappy he is, he can’t give me family law in the government office.” Zhang Xiangwen said, while Guzi smirked, “My old lady won’t let me go, the second uncle here I should be beaten and scolded more than my father, and I didn't break it. The later I came, the more I would eat. After thinking about it, I simply left a note and ran away from home this morning. My mother is not sure how to scold me at this moment. White-eyed wolf."

"It's okay, your mother is soft-hearted. It's good to go back and coax you when the time comes. If you come here later, your second uncle won't be able to spare you. After thinking about it, it's worth running." Tang Cheng said here, hooking his shoulders The two brothers who put their backs on each other looked at each other, and they both laughed.

Because of the arrival of Zhang Xiangwen, Tang Cheng had a very happy meal at noon. After eating and chatting for a while, the two went to the state office together.

Although the yamen are different in size, the layout inside is similar. After arriving at the state yamen, Zhang Xiangwen went to Zhang Sima's office in the east courtyard, while Tang Cheng went to Sitian Cao in the west courtyard.

Not long after sitting down in the office, Lao Liang walked in holding a volume.

"My lord, this year's co-owner of the official land has been made." After entering the door, Lao Liang said with a smile, and then closed the door of the office with his backhand.

Since Tang Cheng was promoted to judge, as long as he was in Caoli, the door of the office room was always open. Speaking of which, this is also a habit developed by later generations when they work in the company, not to mention that the effect is good.

Lao Liang's action of closing the door made Tang Cheng a little puzzled, why should he be so secretive in normal business affairs, but he didn't say anything, just looked at Lao Liang with a smile on his face.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but Tang Chengcheng felt that the old Liang's eyes were a little evasive today.

"My lord, please take a look." Lao Liang tilted his head and spread the document in front of Tang Cheng, then turned to the last page, pointed to a number and said, "This year's official land statistics are 87 four acres ".

The so-called official land refers to the land in the hands of the imperial court. At this time, Li Tang’s country has not yet reached a hundred years, and the population has not yet reached its peak. Therefore, the number of official land is still a relatively large number. It is necessary to make the latest statistics every year and report to the household department.

"Well, I see." After looking at the number, Tang Cheng raised his head and looked at Lao Liang. This was just a routine, so why did he keep it secretive.

Facing Tang Cheng's puzzlement, Lao Liang moved his fingers on the document, "Look at this again, my lord, this is the general manager of the official land last year."

"87 three acres, what's the matter?" Tang Cheng didn't like this secretive tone, "Old Liang, just tell me if you have anything to say."

"Yes", Lao Liang turned his head and looked at the door, then lowered his voice and said, "My lord has only been here for a short time, so I must be ignorant. According to the loss of 380 mu, according to the total loss of last year, the loss that can be reported this year is 380. Three hundred and nine acres, there are still 520 and 520 acres. From the remaining 310 and [-] acres, minus the [-] acres sold by the state government, there are [-] acres left. A reasonable loss of six acres".

"Reasonable loss?".

"Yes, reasonable loss." Old Liang looked at Tang Cheng with burning eyes, "This loss is within the amount set by the head of the household department, and it is optional to report it or not. The matter is serious, and the subordinates are really not sure. That's why I'm here to ask your lord for instructions."

Although what Lao Liang said was not straightforward enough, Tang Cheng understood it. Due to the damage caused by floods every year or the construction of local government offices, the Ministry of Households specially gave such a reasonable loss of five thousandths, that is to say As long as the annual figure of official land is within the loss range of five thousandths, the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs will not hold the local government accountable.

However, this year's five-thousandth quota has not been used up. After deduction and deduction, there are still 310 mu left. This 100-odd mu of land is in the middle of reporting or not. Of course, it is nothing to report, but If it is not reported, as long as the account on the document is equalized at five thousandths, it means that the thousand acres of land will disappear openly between the pen and ink changes, and it will no longer belong to the imperial court or the Personally, how to deal with the place that legally disappeared from the document depends on how he, Judge Si Tian Cao, decides.

"Well, let me think about this matter, you go out first." Following Tang Cheng's instructions, Lao Liang picked up the document file with a low eyebrow, turned around and left the office. He casually closed the door again.

But this time Tang Cheng didn't dislike Lao Liang's actions. As soon as the door was closed, he grabbed the teacup and stood up, pacing up and down the room, feeling restless.

More than 1000 mu of land, even if you only move on unobtrusive slopes for insurance purposes, the average market price can be converted to four per mu, 310 and six mu, that is 260 and four pennies. Count on the less.

More than 5000 guan, rely on me. In this era, when people describe a rich family, they just say "millions of family wealth". What is the concept of more than 5000 guan?According to his current monthly salary of four consecutive months, it means that he will have to work for [-] years without eating or drinking to save this amount of money.

When he calculated this number in his heart, Tang Cheng himself was startled, and then his heart beat suddenly accelerated.

As long as you nod your head and don't even need to say too much, you can get the more than 5000 yuan legally. Even if you take away the points that should be given, at least half of it should be no problem. More than 2000 sticks!Even Xiu Bili, who is ten times more beautiful than Li Yuan, is enough!

Calculating from the bottom of his heart, Tang Cheng paced faster and faster. Even though he was holding a teacup in his hand, he still felt extremely parched.For him who was poor in the past and has just escaped poverty but has not yet received the money from the tung oil business, this number is really too much temptation. Even if he is rich, more than 2000 is not a small number Ah, who else thinks that too much money will bite the hand?

What's more terrible is that the more than 1000 mu of land is still within the scope of loss allowed by the head of the household department. What does this mean?It means that even if he nods, no one will pursue it.

As long as it is a person, when faced with such a temptation, Tang Cheng is no exception. He walked around unsettled. Several times he couldn't help reaching out to the doorknob, and finally let it go with difficulty. .

This feeling is indescribable. In the end, Tang Cheng, whose whole body was on fire, came to the corner of the office.

There is a wooden frame, copper basin and water pot in the corner for occasional washing and grooming. Tang Cheng did not pull the rope to let the handyman deliver hot water, but lifted the water pot and poured all the water in it into the copper pot. pot.

This water urn is filled with cold water. Although there is a fire cage in the house, the water is still bitingly cold in winter. Tang Cheng shivered as soon as he put his hand into the water, but he didn't stop there. He pulled out his hand, but lowered his body, and his entire face was buried in the bone-chilling cold water.

Cold, so fucking cold!However, it was precisely this cold energy that dispelled the heat from his heart. Although his mind was still churning with the temptation of huge interests, at the same time, on that moonlit night in the Yunxi County Government, Zhao Huhu Zheng Most importantly, the four words that warned him also emerged.

The profit makes the mind faint!

Chapter 137 Digging a Deep Pit, Waiting for You to Jump

After soaking in the bone-piercing ice water for a long time, Tang Cheng raised his face from the copper basin until he completely calmed down. After wiping his hands and face with a handkerchief, he returned to the desk and sat down.

After breaking through the temptation of the vortex of interests, or putting aside the huge interests for the time being, Tang Cheng, who calmed down, quickly found out the irrationality of this matter.

It has been nearly a hundred years since the emperor Taiyuan launched the army, and the imperial court has been in charge of the world for nearly a hundred years. In this century, various systems should have been completed. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to leave such a big loophole for others to take advantage of; Said, if there is such a loophole, doesn't it mean that as long as someone is the judge of Sitian Cao, he can amass tens of thousands of wealth in three or two years?It's true that it's a fat job, but when it's really fattening to this point, it's obviously a little out of line with the norm.

When Tang Cheng thought of this from the imperial system to the state of the world and human relations, what Tang Cheng thought of was Lao Liang's mysterious appearance. After these three things got tangled together, Tang Cheng had a faint feeling that there should be some problems in it.

If there is a problem, where is the problem?After carefully sorting out the memories that Lao Liang said just now, Tang Cheng found nothing unusual. After all, he had been in the Yamen for too short a time. Although he was familiar with the basic procedures, when it came to such matters, his professional knowledge was lacking. , so that it is impossible to make an accurate judgment.

Since he couldn't figure it out, Tang Cheng temporarily put this doubt aside, and then began to think about Lao Liang.

The temptation just now was put in front of him. If there is something wrong with the weird old Liang, what is his purpose for doing this?Do you want to share a piece of the pie and get some benefits from it?or……

The more he thought about it, Tang Cheng was startled when he thought of the worst possibility.

At this moment, think about the scene where I couldn't help but want to pull the door a few times just now. In the cold weather, a thin layer of sweat quietly dripped from Tang Cheng's forehead.

Li Lingzhi stunned!In many cases, it's not that people are not smart enough, it's that they can't think of anything else under the stimulation of huge interests, or subconsciously don't want to think about the results that are contrary to their own interests.

When poppies bloom, the greatest poison is always hidden under the most beautiful flowers; Liling is the poppy of the heart.

After pouring the cold tea, Tang Cheng, who had regained his composure, prepared a cup of hot tea again. While sipping it, he continued to read the unfinished manuscript. Now, at least in front of Lao Liang, he I'm not going to ask about the details.

When he was about to arrive at Sanya, Lao Liang walked in again, saying that he had something to report, but what he said was an obvious and innocuous reason.

"My lord, then Mr. He..." Under Tang Cheng's gaze, Lao Liang licked his chapped lips in the winter, and said with a smile: "Seeing that the New Year is coming, this needs to be reported to the Taoist office as soon as possible." , the higher-ups have urged me several times."

"Well, it's a big matter, let me think about it, and I'll give you an answer tomorrow morning." Seeing the disappointment that flickered between Lao Liang's brows, Tang Cheng's heart sank, but he still smiled warmly and said : "Old Liang, you are old Sitian, you must know that there is a whole piece of sloping land in this state that is easy to sell."

Old Liang, who was turning around to leave the office, turned around immediately after hearing the question, "Your Excellency means...".

"It's not interesting, hehe, just asking casually." Tang Cheng, who was turning the teacup in his hand, smiled, "I'm talking about the official land, the slopes in the official land."

"Wangjiazhuang", Lao Liang looked excited, and reported the name of the place without thinking, "My lord, this Wangjiazhuang is not far from the state city. Although it is a slope, it is very convenient to get water. Besides, this piece of land is also neat and tidy. It's more than a thousand acres." At this point, Lao Liang looked back at the closed office door, gestured with his fingers and said in a low voice: "The market price of this land has already reached five or eight. If it is sold, Liuguan will try its best to find a buyer."

"Wangjiazhuang! Okay, I've made a note, Lao Liang is good, not bad!" With a chuckle, Tang Chengte, who put down his teacup and got up, opened the door of Lao Liang's office, "By the way, the mountains and rivers of this state Who is in charge of the geographic map? Oh, it’s Feng Haizhou, Lao Liang, go out and greet him, and ask him to bring in the geographical map of mountains and rivers for me to have a look at, Wangjiazhuang, what a name!”.

"Oh, oh", Lao Liang's expression changed, "I'll go right away."

While Kankan was waiting for him to go out, the bell of Sanya rang leisurely.

After a while, Feng Haizhou walked in with a geographical map of mountains and rivers.

When Feng Haizhou came in, following Tang Cheng's habit, he never closed the door of the business room. Tang Cheng looked through the open door, and Lao Liang, who used to be the most active in the office, was a little abnormal now, dawdling on the desk Arranging something, occasionally glanced into the room.

"Haizhou, you go first, wait for me in Wanfulou after leaving the Yamen, I'll be the host tonight and let's have a drink or two." After glancing outside, Tang Cheng shook his hand before Feng Haizhou could say no again and said: "Well, that's it, let's go."

Feng Haizhou turned around and left the office with some doubts. The Shangguan invited him to have a drink alone.

After Feng Haizhou entered Tang Cheng's office, he basically put down the geographical map of mountains and rivers and then came out. After he left, Lao Liang's speed of cleaning up the books and cases was also accelerated. Immediately after he finished his work, he called some other people The colleagues who were delayed left together.For a while, Tang Cheng was the only one left in Sitian Cao.

After Lao Liang and the others left, Tang Cheng waited for a while, then Shi Shiran got up and left the Yamen.

……

After leaving the state office and turning to the street in front, Lao Liang suddenly patted his head, "Oh, look at my memory, why do I keep dropping things?" After finishing speaking, he smiled and bowed his hands to the colleagues around him , "Let's go first, I have to go back here to make it."

A few colleagues made fun of him and left. After Lao Liang watched them go away, he turned and entered an alley next to him, followed the side door at the end of the alley and went back to the state office.

In the office of Chen Liang, the recorder who joined the army, Lao Liang explained clearly what happened in the afternoon.

Chen Liang, who was sitting behind the desk, listened quietly. He pondered for a long time after listening to Lao Liang's words, and then he started to ask questions, one question after another, and each question became more detailed.

"It seems that he is really tempted! Well, tomorrow morning, you will take care of this matter, first send me the papers with his signature and seal, and more importantly, once you find out that he has contact The buyer's actions, come and report to me immediately." Chen Liang tapped the book case lightly with his fingers, making a clear and clear sound that seemed to be in rhythm. Jin Yushi is flustered right now, and his forehand is itching."

"Yes!" Chen Liang agreed, but did not leave, looking at Chen Liang anxiously.

"Don't worry, as long as this matter is done well, don't drive me, I won't treat you badly." Chen Liang got up and went to the middle of the room, and reached out to pat Lao Liang on the shoulder, "I know that you usually have friendship with Xiao Li. Well, you must have known the news he brought back yesterday, that the state government will undergo major changes, Lao Liang, this time you have seized the opportunity."

"It's all because of the support of the adults who joined the army." Lao Liang's face flushed, and his waist, who was half a head taller than Chen Liang, also bent even more, so that it would be more convenient for Chen Liang to pat him on the shoulder, "In the future If the subordinates can really achieve that position, they must thank you very much."

"It's easy to say, easy to say...".

……

In the Accord of Wanfulou Restaurant, Tang Cheng added wine to Ou, looked at the surprised Feng Haizhou and asked with a smile, "Haizhou, what's the matter?".

"Oh, thank you, my lord." After Feng Haizhou bowed to give way, he said with a self-conscious smile: "I didn't expect my lord to ask me about this. There are many evils in this, and all previous judges have kept secrets. This is the first time your lord has asked for such an inquiry."

"Well, tell me." Tang Cheng picked up a few peas and put them into his mouth. While chewing, there was a "cracking" sound, and he raised his hand for Feng Haizhou to eat, "Tell me carefully."

"This is the biggest part of Sitian Cao Youshui, and it is also the part that is most prone to accidents." Feng Haizhou also picked up a soybean and chewed it slowly. In the past 21 years, I have seen with my own eyes in 16 years that three Sitian Cao judges were planted on this."

Tang Cheng became interested, but he didn't interrupt him. He took a sip of wine and listened intently.

"Since my lord thought of asking this question, I already know the benefits of it, so I don't need to say more; what I want to talk about now is the risk." Feng Haizhou put down the chopsticks in his hand, sat upright and said: "The risk comes from two, The attitude of the head of the Ministry of Officials towards the loss of [-] per year is that it can never be used up, but it must not be exceeded. If the loss is small, there may not be rewards, but if it exceeds a little, it will be strictly pursued.”

"Jinzhou has the Han River running through it. The so-called unforeseen circumstances, it would be great if the river flow was as smooth as it has been in the past two years. The loss is far more than [-], so what will happen?" Feng Haizhou shook his head, "It is easy to report to the head of the household department for the addition of new land, but if you want to report the disaster, it will cost thousands of baht. It is extremely difficult, and at this time, Si Tiancao can only use the losses accumulated over the years to fill this hole."

"Well, it makes sense," Tang Cheng nodded approvingly, "Go on."

"Second point, my lord only knows that the head of the Ministry of Households has given us a depletion, and I probably don't know that this Cao also has the task of adding official land. This task is summarized every five years, no matter whether there is new official land or no prisoners. Family property, or setting fire to reclamation, or even some local yamen organizes the people to use the cost of corvee to level new land, etc., no matter what method is used in the locality, in short, the amount of new government land will be added to the report every five years But not even an acre is missing, and this is also the most important criterion for measuring our Sitian Cao's political achievements."

"Adding new officials is easy to say, but it's hard to do! The newly silted official land is purely hopeful. Even if there is, the newly silted fields are far from being destroyed by water; In addition to these two methods, if you want to increase the official land, you must mobilize a large number of people, but how easy is it to expropriate the people? The number of days that the people need to serve corvee in a year is regulated. After the Dao Yamen is transferred, there are very few people left to the state government to control. Such an idea is not enough for other things in the government office. How can it be Si Tiancao's turn? Even if there is, how many days? But the leveling of the new land is not It can be done in a day or two. By this time..."

"At this time, the gap in newly added official land will still be filled by the loss accumulated in the front area." Before Feng Haizhou could say anything, Tang Cheng had already said this, "In this way, the ten thousand middle five The loss of ten is a mending stone. Although there are more or less leftovers every year, it is necessary to prepare for natural disasters and the collection of newly added government land every five years! I said, how could the head of the Ministry of Officials be so generous? Wait here!"

"Your Excellency is right." Feng Haizhou drank the glass of wine in front of him. "Although every judge understands this truth, it is a pity that few can hold back. Everyone has a lucky heart. People always boast that they are lucky, thinking that they will not encounter any major events in their tenure, so they can't help but eat the loss, but the result is that the food is hard to swallow, and they finally fold themselves into it. Everyone says Si Tian Cao is a fat man in the yamen. In fact, this place is a fire pit. Counting all the state government yamens all over the world, I can guarantee that the officials who have the most accidents and the most criminals must be Si Tian. Cao".

"The profit makes the mind faint!" Thinking of the struggle in the office in the afternoon, Tang Cheng sighed, "Haizhou's words are brilliant".

Feng Haizhou, who was talking eloquently just now, was a little embarrassed, "Your Excellency praised me absurdly."

"You understand what's going on, how can it be absurd praise?" Tang Cheng smiled and raised a cup to invite him to drink, "By the way, are you familiar with Wangjiazhuang?".

"According to Cao Li's errand arrangement, I will be in charge of any changes in the fields within a hundred miles of the state city, so it is naturally clear." Among the slopes of the land, Wangjiazhuang is the best one, with easy access to water and neat fields. But speaking of this, when I joined Cao, the first judge was planted on this land.”

"oh?".

"This piece of land is good, so the price is high. That Ren Tian Pansi moved his mind. Originally, his luck was really good in those years. If you look at the losses accumulated in his hands, it would cost hundreds of acres of raw land. I can afford it. What I didn’t expect is that although this land is an official land under the jurisdiction of Sitian Cao, most of the tenants are family members of the town army.” Speaking of this, Feng Haizhou’s voice became deeper and deeper, “The town The army’s food, rice and pickles are not much money at all, these tenants are very important to them, the Tian judge’s thoughts on this land have poked a hornet’s nest, and the town army has joined forces to make a noise, and there is almost no mutiny , and it is precisely because of this that Tian Sansi was beheaded outside the town barracks gate for "corruption of public property and insanity", and his body was exposed for three days. Human beings are doomed.”

At that time, the Tian judge was really kind to Feng Haizhou who had just entered the yamen, so when he talked about this old incident, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.After drinking up the remaining wine in the cup in front of him, Feng Haizhou noticed that Tang Cheng, who was sitting opposite him, had something wrong with his face, looking gloomy and terrifying.

"My lord, what's the matter with you?"

"Ah, it's nothing! Come on, Haizhou, let's continue drinking." Tang Cheng raised the wine cup as if nothing had happened.

Looking at his face, everything was the same, but Feng Haizhou always had a feeling that the young judge in front of him was suddenly different, and he couldn't tell the specific difference for a while, and it was when he walked out of Wanfu Building after drinking After waking up, yes, it was cold. The feeling after Tang Sansi's sudden change was like the cold wind blowing in front of him, showing a sense of coldness.

……

When Tang Cheng returned home, it was already dark. If he came back normally, Lan Cao'er would have greeted him out of the inner courtyard, but today until he reached the door of the West Wing, there was still no movement.

Originally, he wondered if she had gone out and did not come back, but when Tang Cheng opened the door and went in to light the candlesticks, he found that Lancao was lying on the couch in the house.

"Why don't you light the lights in the house?" Tang Cheng's tone was not good because he had something on his mind, but Lancao didn't answer him.

"What's the matter?" Tang Cheng realized something was wrong when he walked to the couch, and the blue grass lying on the couch was crying silently.

It was the first time I had seen such a scene since we knew each other. Tang Cheng felt a pang in his heart, and he pulled up the bluegrass in his hand, "What happened, tell me quickly."

The pulled bluegrass slammed into Tang Cheng's arms, and the silent tears turned into sobs, "Ah Cheng, please save Xiaotao."

"Xiao Tao?"

"Well, when it was getting dark in the afternoon, there was a man..."

Chapter 138 Compared to digging a hole, who is afraid of whom?

"Ah Cheng, wake up so early? Let's sleep a little longer."

"Can't sleep anymore", Tang Cheng was dressed in a small coat under the service of Lancao, "When did you wake up? You tossed and turned restlessly".

"I woke you up?"

"A little bit," Tang Cheng yawned, "I saw you staring at me as soon as I opened my eyes, and I can still sleep there."