Chapter 158 Waiting for the Wind to Come
"Young Master, please have some tea."
Cai Hua put the tea cup on the low table next to Qi Heng and came to stand next to Miss Shen. Certainly.
Qi Heng picked up the teacup and took a sip with some embarrassment.
“Young Master.”
Miss Shen San pursed her lips, broke the silence, and said, "I've heard about what happened today."
"Ms. Shen laughed." Qi Heng said with a bitter smile.
Miss Shen San is his fiancée, and this is the first time the two of them have met.
Qi Heng felt that he could not even serve as a county magistrate, which was a bit embarrassing.
"What did the young master say? It is normal for you to encounter some difficulties when you have just taken office. I am a woman and do not understand these things. But I think that since His Highness the Crown Prince ordered the land survey, he must know about it. The young master is in trouble now, so he might have prepared some back-up plan, so he might as well ask His Royal Highness." Miss Shen said.
Although she is a woman, she is very smart, and her father is the prince of the dynasty, so she is very sensitive to some things due to her hearing and seeing.
After learning about the general process of Qi Heng’s appointment, Miss Shen saw some of the problems.
She had heard some comments from her father about His Highness the Crown Prince, and believed that His Highness the Crown Prince's proposal to inventory the fields was not a decision made on a whim, and there should be some back-up.
At this time, the best way is to go to His Highness the Crown Prince for help.
“But…”
Qi Heng opened his mouth when he heard this. He also understood the truth.
But Qi Heng left Bianjing in high spirits and wanted to make some achievements.
Now that he seeks help from Zhao Xing, he always feels that he can’t save his face.
The most important thing is that he feels that he has betrayed Zhao Xing's trust.
Miss Shen San has a delicate mind. When she saw Qi Heng's hesitation, she roughly guessed what he was thinking. Said: "Young Master, what do you think is more important, face or His Royal Highness?"
Qi Heng was startled when he heard the words. He was silent for a while, stood up and bowed: "Yuan Ruo has learned a lesson!"
He was so focused on the issue of face that he almost delayed Zhao Xing's important event.
Miss Shen quickly responded with a gift: "You are so polite, young master. This is just a superficial opinion."
When I first learned that she would marry Qi Heng in the future, Miss Shen felt in her heart Full of joy.
The ancients paid attention to the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words when it came to marriage.
Apart from childhood sweethearts, the person involved can only understand his significant other through the words of others.
Qi Heng comes from a good family, is humble in his treatment of others, and is highly motivated. He is an anomaly among the Lord's children.
In addition, Qi Heng has passed the examination for meritorious service. It can be said that he is the person that many girls in Bianjing want to marry most.
Girl Huaichun, for this future husband, she is naturally very satisfied with these things alone.
However, when passing through Weishi County this time, she was a little disappointed when she heard Qi Heng's performance after taking office.
She felt that Qi Heng was just a showman and couldn't even deal with this little trouble.
However, the marriage between the two has been decided and there is no room for change. She must help Qi Heng even for her own sake.
However, Qi Heng's behavior after meeting made her change a lot.
At least Qi Heng didn't feel that he was losing face because of her reminder, so he couldn't listen to her words.
On the contrary, Qi Heng was quickly able to distinguish between priorities and realize his mistakes.
The matter was resolved. Qi Heng was in a good mood and asked, "Why is Miss Shen here?"
"My grandmother didn't want to stay in Bianjing and had been living in her hometown in Zhengzhou. This time she made a special trip back I passed by this place on my way back to Bianjing to visit my grandmother," said Miss Shen.
"Oh." Qi Heng nodded slightly.
......What happened in Zhongmu County is happening in other counties except Weishi County.
This is what Zhao Xing asked Yin Hanzhang to prepare.
There are many ways to hide the field, but no matter which one, two points will not change.
The first point is that people from the government must cooperate. After all, the amount of registered land in a county has decreased, and it will be difficult for the government to pass the test.
Secondly, those who can hide their fields are local landlords and squires.
This resulted in the formation of interest ties between landlords, squires and local officials.
After Zhao Xing issued the order to inspect the fields, the officials in these counties could not change it, but they could obey it or disobey it.
To put it simply, as long as the county magistrate reports that after the inspection, there are no problems with the land in the county, Zhao Xing can't go and check it himself, right?
Zhao Xing can also send people to do spot checks, but if all the officials in a county are colluding, even if he sends people to check, they may not be able to find anything.
So Zhao Xing thought carefully and made complete preparations.
To give a direct order was to show his attitude, and to ask Yin Hanzhang to take the secretly discovered evidence to the counties to report was to give the county officials a chance to make a choice.
These officials are all smart people. In the dozen or so counties under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture, many people sued the local landlords and squires at almost the same time. The complaints were almost all related to land. It was impossible for them not to see that someone was involved. Instigating behind the scenes.
And the only one who can do this is the prince Zhao Xing.
They will now face the question of how to make a choice.
After all, Zhao Xing found the people, and they didn’t have the courage to act. If they didn’t deal with it, these people would go directly to Kaifeng Mansion to file a complaint, which would be even more troublesome.
So they have to choose a side.
But there will definitely be people who get confused at critical moments and try to make peace with it.
But people’s hearts are complicated. With so many officials in one county, who can guarantee that no one will stab them in the back?
No matter what choices those people make, he has a way to deal with them.
Then just wait for the results.
Although there are some minor troubles in Bianjing, it will not have any impact for the time being as my father is suppressing them.
.........
"Your Highness, we have brought it."
A eunuch led a middle-aged man into the hall.
"Shi Jingbo, the Prime Minister of Yangwu County, pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince." Shi Jingbo saluted.
“No courtesy.” Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, “Why are you here to see me?”
"I want to see His Highness to report Zhang Xiuting, the magistrate of Yangwu County, Shijingbo. Zhang Xiuting colluded with the local landowners and squires to hide tens of thousands of acres of land. This time His Highness ordered a thorough investigation of the land, but Zhang Xiuting still violated it. In the past few days, there have been many bitter attacks. After complaining about the injustice, Zhang Xiuting accepted the petition on the surface, but secretly colluded with the landlords and squires to make up for the hidden land deeds," Shi Jingbo said.
"Do you have evidence?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I have you." Shi Jingbo took out a folded piece of silk from his sleeve and said, "Your Highness, please take a look!"
Sanshui stepped forward to take it and sent it to Zhao Xing before.
"Expand." Zhao Xing ordered.
Upon hearing this, Sanshui unfolded the silk cloth and saw a map decorated on it.
"Your Highness, this is a map of Yangwu County, which details the location and area of land owned by landlords and squires in Yangwu County. This area is the area recorded by the county government. Except for the hands of foreign ministers There is also a booklet recording the number of acres in Yangwu County, but because it is too large to be carried, I did not bring it." Shi Jingbo said.
Zhao Xing took a cursory look and found that more than 80% of the land in Yangwu County was in the hands of landlords and squires, and the land owned by the common people was pitiful.
Zhao Xing withdrew his gaze and said calmly: "The evidence is so detailed, why didn't you report it before?"
(End of this chapter)