Chapter 777 Sophistry
The county magistrate of Dingshui is a middle-aged man in his forties, with a carefully trimmed mustache and an official robe that looks quite majestic.
At this time, the county magistrate was writing furiously with an oil lamp in the yamen study, and there was a pile of waste paper.
Originally, the official work of fixing water would not keep the county magistrate busy until midnight. What he is currently writing is a memorial to be submitted to the superior. I don’t know what happened today. I feel restless. I have written it many times and am not very satisfied, so I procrastinate. Pulled until midnight.
For a while, the magistrate tried to put down the brush in one breath, hoping that when the ink dried, nothing would happen today.
He was about to get up to get some hot water when suddenly a hard object hit his back: "Don't move, are you the magistrate of Dingshui County?"
Suddenly, there was an extra person in the room, and everyone was startled.
But the county magistrate was only slightly startled at first, then relaxed and replied in a neither humble nor overbearing tone: "It's me."
"Let me ask you, why are you feeding bran to the refugees outside the city? It's obviously for feeding livestock!"
"Hahahaha, you charlatans are all the same."
The county magistrate was still not afraid at all and even laughed.
"That's a refugee? That's wrong, Heroine, do you know that these refugees are no longer human beings, they are just animals. They can do anything to stutter."
"Stop talking nonsense, I'm asking you!"
Yang Yiyi was almost irritated. With just one impulse, she could smash the magistrate's head into his chest with the steel mace in her hand.
"Okay, Heroine, if you want to know, I'll tell you that if you don't have food, you can only feed the homeless people bran."
"Nonsense, the imperial court clearly sent relief food!"
"We have sent it down, but the food provided by the court is enough for how many people? How long will it last? Do you know, Heroine?"
The county magistrate still did not panic and said calmly:
"Disaster relief can't be saved. The emperor only knows how to distribute food and send people to check. He doesn't care whether these people have enough to eat."
"Nonsense, you clearly sold the relief food!"
"It seems that the heroine asked about it in Dingshui. Well, can you find out where the bran I feed the refugees comes from?"
Yang Yiyi really didn't know this. She made inquiries around the city during the day, and hurriedly came to investigate at night.
"I sold the disaster relief grain but bought it into bran. Otherwise, how would I have food to feed the refugees?"
"If you don't have enough food, you can go to the court to ask for it. You are obviously trying to make a profit from it."
"The imperial court? Oh, where can the imperial court still have food? The past few years have been bad, and no food can be collected anywhere. The little food stored can only be enough. There is a big disaster in Quzhou, and there are changes in the north. Although our country, Yuezhou, We don't have to face the barbarian troops in the north, but we can't stay out of it. The emperor has also transferred food, weapons and armor to the north. Even my official warehouse for fixing water has been transferred a lot to fill the deficit. How much food do you think the court still has? "
Of the ten countries in the Central Plains, only two are actually bordering the Northland, and the Yuezhou Kingdom is not adjacent to the Northland.
But everyone knows the truth behind the death of lips and teeth. In normal times, the ten countries can conquer each other. Once they encounter an invasion from a foreign enemy, they must unite as one, otherwise the country will be destroyed.
Therefore, due to the recent changes in the north, the other eight countries, including the Yuezhou Kingdom, have mobilized grain and military equipment and sent them to the two northern countries in order to block the north.
But it happened that there was still a drought in Quzhou at this time, and a large amount of food relief was already needed, so things were all crowded together.
Yang Yiyi also heard about the changes in the north, and Li Chengqi specifically said not to go north, but she never connected the two things.
I wanted to question the county magistrate, but I was a little unconvinced. Then Yang Yiyi thought that no matter what the reason was, the county magistrate must have embezzled a lot of money here. "Yes, I have received benefits, and I am not the only one who has received benefits. When the disaster relief food came out, everyone from top to bottom extended their hands, but so what?"
"How? You, a corrupt official, have no shame at all?"
"What am I ashamed of? One pound of refined grain can be exchanged for five pounds of bran. The grain that saves one person can save five people. Why should I be ashamed?"
"Sophistry! You are evading the important and taking the easy. You are greedy for ink!"
The county magistrate sighed: "The heroine is not deeply involved in the world. It seems that she does not understand the ways of the world. If the officials do not have enough to eat, who will take care of the people below? Yes, there are honest officials, and I also admire honest officials, but Is it enough to be an upright official? Look at the county next door. They are the upright officials, the great master Qingtian. As a result, most of the refugees died within a month of arriving there. Many of them even fled to my place and are still alive. ’ s good.”
"An honest official is a matter of moral character. That is because he is incompetent and cannot be generalized!"
"That's wrong. He is just too innocent. He can't handle anything. He doesn't understand the ways of the world."
The county magistrate shook his head and said:
"Woman, do you know why our place is called Dingshui? It's because we have been experiencing droughts for many years and are short of water. County magistrates in the past have always reported to the court, hoping to allocate some money to build reservoirs and dig ditches. But it always comes to nothing. If I hadn’t worked hard to get to Tianting, what would be needed to do it? Of course, no one would do it for you.”
This is indeed the truth. There is no benefit in doing things, so why should others do it for you?
If you don’t do it, the other person is not wrong. In this case, you have to give benefits.
"No matter how capable you are, you can't erase the fact that you are a corrupt official!"
"I have never said that I am an upright official. Even if the Holy Spirit is here, I dare to say that I have done the work and taken the money. You can check how many political achievements I have made since I became the magistrate of Dingshui County. , you can also check how much money I have embezzled.”
"Then can't you be an upright official and petition for the people?"
"You heroes come and go, so naturally you can talk nonsense. I'm not greedy. Where does the money come from? I'm not greedy. Where does the money from personal relationships come from? I'm not greedy. Who among the officials inside and outside the yamen will do anything for them? I work hard?"
This man is quite magnanimous.
"I am not a gentleman. I also want gold, silver and jewelry, and I also want fine clothing and food. If you don't have money, who will give it to you?"
“In the final analysis, it’s for yourself!”
"Of course, what's wrong? If you don't do it for yourself, heaven and earth will kill you. I studied hard for more than ten years when I was poor. In order to support me in my studies, my parents got up early and worked hard just to make a living. Am I wronged?"
If you are an official and do not make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes.
This is too idealistic and too self-respecting.
Just like today's students, after six years of primary school, six years of middle school, four years of university, and postgraduate entrance examinations, they studied hard for more than ten or twenty years, and finally found a job. At the end of the month, they calculated their accounts and realized, hey, this month's work was in vain again.
Who can accept this?
Yang Yiyi has hesitated. She doesn’t understand the ways of the world, but she is not stupid.
Originally, he wanted to call an army to hold him accountable, but he was stunned for a long time.
"Nvxia, what you are today must have been practiced in winter for three to ninety years and in three days of summer. It took more than ten years of hard work to develop your kung fu. Are you willing to go home and farm? You don't want to make a name for yourself. How are you different from me? "
"Nonsense, I act upright and sit upright, so I'm not the same person as you, a greedy person like you!"
"It's true that it's not all the way, but you obviously don't understand that a sword can't save the world, but it's corrupt officials like me who save people."
This sentence is a killer.
The magistrate felt the hard object behind his back loosen up, and when he looked back, he saw no one, only the open window swaying slightly...
(End of chapter)