The straight man who wears bright clothes is also afraid of messing with him

In the 18th year of Hongwu (1385), Yan Wang Zhu Di sent people to Nanjing, and a few days later a secret decree was placed on Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial case.Zhu Yuanzhang was furious after seeing it, and smashed an inkstone on the imperial case, and then a letter was sent to Yan Wang's mansion by the secret envoy.

Cui Miao followed behind Shen Qing, and walked quickly towards King Yan's study, he walked a few steps closely, walking alongside Shen Qing, and asked in a low voice: "Brother Shen, do you know why the lord summoned us?"

Shen Qing replied flatly: "It should be related to the coming of the secret decree in the capital today."

"Secret decree?" Cui Miao frowned subconsciously, and said, "But there is another movement from Beiyuan?"

They are military generals, all Cui Miao can think of is that Beiyuan's side is not stopping anymore.

"No, you don't need to ask any more questions, you will find out when you meet the prince later."

Cui Miao didn't ask any more questions, following Shen Qing all the way to the door of King Yan's study, it was not Wang Yan who was on duty today, but a strange face.Seeing the two people coming, they hurriedly greeted them, bowed and saluted, and said, "Little Three Treasures, I have met Qing Ninghou and Cui Fuqianhu."

"Sanbao?" The other party's accent should be from Yunnan, and he called himself Sanbao, which reminded Cui Miao of Zheng He, the famous navigator "Sanbao eunuch" in Ming Dynasty.Cui Miao looked at Sanbao with bright eyes, and asked excitedly, "Is your surname Ma?"

Cui Miao's fiery eyes stared at Sanbao, making his heart tremble, and he murmured, "Returning to Deputy Qianhu, the younger one's surname is Ma. I don't know how Deputy Qianhu knew?"

When Cui Miao heard that it was really the 'Sanbao eunuch' Zheng He, her eyes became brighter, and she said excitedly, "Sanbao, it's really Sanbao."

Sanbao was confused by Cui Miao, and said blankly: "Deputy Qianhu, it seems that this is the first time I see you."

Cui Miao felt that she had lost her composure, and said, "Isn't there a saying called 'like old friends at first sight'? Besides, there is a relative in my hometown who is also named Sanbao, so I was a little excited and lost my composure."

Sanbao nodded in understanding, and said: "It is a small blessing to be able to share the same name as the relative of Deputy Qianhu. Two adults, the prince has been waiting in the study for a long time, if there is an order, I will talk about it later."

Guided by Sanbao, the two entered the study room, saluted and said, "Biaoxia has met the prince."

Zhu Di glanced at Three Treasures, and Three Treasures understood, exited the study respectfully, and closed the door behind him.Zhu Di handed the secret decree in his hand to Shen Qing, and said, "Let Zhan Lin take a look."

Shen Qing took it with both hands, opened it and looked carefully, and said, "What does the lord mean?"

Zhu Di said lightly: "Secret investigation. Cooperate with the people from the capital to investigate the case to the end."

Seeing Cui Miao's confused face, Zhu Di explained: "Last year, my king received a secret report that the chief minister of Beiping, the second division of punishment, and the Beijing Central Committee were in collusion. Those who sent people to make unannounced visits were not allowed to pay back. The king of Japan sent envoys to Beijing to undertake the secret papers and inform his father about the matter. His father was furious and sent back a secret decree, asking this king to secretly investigate the two divisions of the Beiping Mansion. Therefore, this king summoned you because he wanted to hand over the matter. Do you have any doubts about the two of you?"

Shen Qing and Cui Miao looked at each other, and said in unison: "Report to the lord, I will do my best under the bid!"

Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction, looked at Cui Miao and said slowly: "I know that you are very good at solving cases. I leave this matter to you. I don't worry about it. It's just your safety. Zhan Lin, his safety is a problem for me." It's up to you."

Shen Qing glanced at Cui Miao, bowed and responded: "Don't worry, my lord, I will guarantee that he will be safe and sound."

Cui Miao said gratefully: "Thank you for your concern, and I am willing to die for you!"

Zhu Di smiled and said: "Okay, okay, leaving this matter to the two of you will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!"

In February of the 18th year of Hongwu, Shen Qing and Cui Miao appeared in Daxing County in the appearance of Confucian scholars in round-neck and large-sleeved shirts. Looking at the large barren farmland around them, the two couldn't help frowning. Daxing County is the seat of Beiping Prefecture. Compared with the garrison fields of their sergeants, the soil quality of the land is better. When it comes to spring plowing, there are actually very few people in the fields. Compared with the hustle and bustle of their military garrison, it is a world of difference.

Cui Miao looked around and saw an old farmer resting at the edge of the field, so she walked over.When he came close, Cui Miao bowed and saluted, and said, "Old man, young man is polite."

The old farmer seemed a little panicked, stood up quickly, and said, "Sir, you are polite, polite."

Cui Miao said warmly: "Don't panic, old man. Our two brothers are scholars. We came to Daxing County to visit relatives. We happened to pass by here. We were very puzzled by the vast barren land. I wanted to ask the reason for this. I hope the old man can clarify."

The old farmer looked at the two carefully, seemed to be relieved, sighed, and said: "You two don't know, the situation in Daxing County was not like this in the past two years, but in recent years, the imperial court has paid more and more taxes every year. The harvest in the field is not even enough to pay taxes, and how can people live. Many people in the village starved to death. In desperation, many people left their homes and went to other places to ask for a living. This field has no one to take care of it, so naturally it will be desolate."

"Then why didn't the old man leave?"

"I'm getting old and don't eat much. I'm the only one at home. I don't want to die in a foreign land when I get old, so I stay here. I can live a day to day." The old farmer said it calmly, but it made people worry. .

Cui Miao frowned and said, "According to what I know, the taxes in Beiping Prefecture have been decreasing year after year. Why doesn't the tax in Daxing County increase instead of decreasing?"

The old farmer looked around vigilantly, and said in a low voice: "Young students, you'd better not inquire about this kind of thing, or you may suffer disaster."

"Old man, there is no one else in this wilderness, so you might as well tell us." Cui Miao took out a cloth bag from her bosom, opened it, took out a few pancakes and a few pieces of beef jerky, and handed them to the old farmer and Shen Qing respectively. , Said: "It's noon, we're talking while eating, it's time to talk about dinner."

The old farmer wanted to decline, but seeing Cui Miao's sincerity, he stopped being pretentious, moved two stones, put them next to the two of them, and said shyly, "The old man, I'll have the audacity to eat some."

The two of them didn't bother, they lifted their clothes and sat on the rock. Cui Miao said with a smile, "You don't have to be polite, you don't have much food, but you can still fill your stomach."

The three sat on the ground, chatting while eating, and Cui Miao also got the information he wanted from the old farmer.It turns out that their land tax is the same as that of other areas in Beiping Prefecture, except that there are many miscellaneous taxes in other names, such as water foot money, mouth food money, treasury money, god and Buddha money, and so on.The total amount of these miscellaneous taxes is more than twice that of the land tax, which increases the burden on the people, so that they can't even make a living.

After the two learned the information, they left all the rest of the food to the old farmer, and gave him a few treasure notes. Although they were not expensive, they could be exchanged for some grain, and it would not be a problem to support them until the autumn harvest.

Saying goodbye to the old farmer, the two wandered around the surrounding villages. What they saw was a barren scene. Nine out of ten houses were empty houses. Even if there were people, they were all old people.After finally finding a village that seemed to have a large population, the sky had already darkened.The two went around and stopped in front of a house. The house covers a large area, and there are at least three courtyards. It should be one of the richest households in the vicinity.In such an environment, they can still have such financial resources, which means that this must be the private residence of an official or a wealthy family, and there may be unexpected gains, so they plan to spend the night here.

"Dong dong dong", Cui Miao stepped forward and patted the copper ring on the gate. Before long, she heard footsteps coming from inside, and she came to the door and asked, "Who is it?"

Hearing the voice was full of spirit, Cui Miao guessed that it should be a young and middle-aged man.

Cui Miao responded: "Brother, our brothers came to Daxing to find relatives. After driving for a day, we couldn't move anymore. We would like to stay overnight in your residence. Please make it easier for us."

"Go sleep elsewhere, it's inconvenient here." The man's voice seemed a little impatient.

"Brother, wait a moment, we have money, we don't eat and live for free, if there is no inn here, we wouldn't bother."

The sound of footsteps stopped, and they came to the door again. The door opened with a "squeak". A middle-aged man poked his head out and looked at the two of them carefully. He opened the door after seeing the two of them clearly. Said: "Let's talk about it first, one tael of silver a night, if you agree, you can live there, if you don't agree, you can find a place elsewhere."

Cui Miao bowed and said with a smile: "May I ask if this tael of silver includes food?"

The middle-aged man hesitated, and then said: "Rough tea and light food."

Cui Miao nodded and said, "As long as you can have a full stomach, that's fine, then follow what elder brother said."

The middle-aged man didn't expect Cui Miao and the two to agree, and took a deep look at the two of them again, with an inexplicable look in his eyes, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said, "In that case, please come in, both of you."

The two followed the middle-aged man all the way to the backyard. While paying attention to the surrounding environment, Cui Miao asked with a smile, "I don't know what the name of this elder brother is? Do we want to meet the master of the house?"

The man replied casually: "My name is Li Wang. I'm the manager here. The master doesn't live here. I'll take you to the place where you live, and I'll deliver the food to you later. Stay honest in the room and don't wander around. If you find out, don't blame me." I will drive you out mercilessly."

Cui Miao and Shen Qing looked at each other, and responded with a good temper: "Brother Li, don't worry, we brothers are really tired after a day's driving. We just want to have a full stomach and sleep soundly."

Li Wang looked at Cui Miao and said with a smile: "You are a good-tempered scholar, unlike those sour scholars with eyes on the top of your head."

"It's better to be kind in this world, so as not to cause trouble and bring disaster."

"It seems that you are young, but you have a clear mind. You are a wonderful person! Come on, here is a bedroom, where one of our workers lives. He has something to do these two days, so you can stay in his room for the night. .”

Cui Miao hurriedly bowed and said, "Xiaosheng thanked Brother Li."

Li Wang glanced at Shen Qing, moved to Cui Miao's side, and said, "Your elder brother is not dumb, is he?"

"My brother was stimulated when he was young, and he has always been reticent. Please forgive me, Brother Li."

"Okay, you go into the house and rest, I'll make you something to eat, don't run around!"