novelhk Chapter 192
Chapter 192
"Zuojia Village?" Guo Xi asked with pursed lips.
"That's right. There are no landlords in Zuojia Village," said Landlord Liu. "Their village chief and village head are in charge of all village affairs, so I'm not very familiar with them."
Guo Xi asked, "What about the remaining villages?"
"The remaining villages were all in similar situations. Most of the dead were the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Several landlords I knew reduced their rents in those years to help the local people."
It's obvious that the affairs of Zuojia Village are a collusion among officials. There's no need to inquire too much about the complicated matter.
But it would be fine if one landlord was kind, but it would be abnormal if several landlords reduced the rent for the village tenants.
Fang Peilin then calmly said, "Merchants are always looking for profit. Wouldn't the reduction in rent lower your standard of living?"
"Oh, of course." Landlord Liu wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead. "But we live on the rent. If we can't make ends meet for these tenants, what harvest will we have in the future?"
Guo Xi looked at Fang Peilin, his brows slightly relaxed. Peilin was indeed the same person he knew. He then turned to look at Landlord Liu, "So, is this also why the landlords reduced the rent?"
"Of course, who would do something that doesn't benefit them? Seeing that the market is going to improve this year, they've started to slowly make up for the rent they didn't collect."
When Landlord Liu talked about this, sweat suddenly began to form on his forehead, and his eyes kept looking towards Mr. Liu in the corner. Unfortunately, Mr. Liu had been looking at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose since he entered the house, so he couldn't see his eyes.
Guo Xi naturally noticed this subtle movement, and was even more certain that there must be something behind it.
"I've seen the official register before. Combined with this year's rent increase, I'm afraid the average tenant's harvest this year will barely make ends meet. Did you know that?"
Fang Peilin sat on the stool, staring straight at Landlord Liu, releasing a subtle sense of pressure.
Landlord Liu forced a smile and stammered, "Sir, I'm just the landlord. I don't know the harvest. I just want to recover the rent I lost. It's not intentional."
The two men took in the landlord's expression, looked at each other, glanced at the landlord, turned and left, and Mr. Liu followed closely behind.
Landlord Liu, upon seeing this, took out a brocade box from behind the screen, quickly caught up with Guo Xi and the others, and bent down to hand over the brocade box. "I'm sorry to have you two gentlemen come to my house. I'm sorry for the poor hospitality. This small gift is not a token of my respect."
Guo Xi was about to return the brocade box, but Fang Peilin smiled faintly and handed the box to Mr. Liu behind him, looking deeply at Mr. Liu.
When they returned to the carriage, Mr. Liu handed over the brocade box and was about to take another carriage alone when Fang Peilin called him, "Mr. Liu, please ride in the same carriage with us. The carriage is quite big and can accommodate three people."
"Thank you, sir." Mr. Liu, helped by the servant, got into the carriage. "Is it because of what happened with Landlord Liu that you are looking for me?"
Guo Xi stared at the brocade box at his feet: "Exactly."
The brocade box was not heavy and was small and exquisite, but what good things could a landlord in a village have? I was afraid it was filled with silver bills.
Mr. Liu followed Guo Xi's gaze and looked at the brocade box. "Landlord Liu's case is actually very simple. Enclosing land is against local laws, but there's nothing wrong with his actions."
"It's indeed land grabbing." Guo Xi picked up the brocade box on the ground, revealing a thick stack of silver bills. "This is all the people's money."
Mr. Liu remained silent. There were too many such things happening.
If the landlords didn't tacitly approve from above, how could they dare to be so bold? To put it bluntly, it's just collusion between officials and businessmen.
Merchants have no power but have money, while officials have power but no money. When the two are combined, they have everything.
Guo Xi closed the brocade box and looked at Fang Peilin, who had remained silent. "If it were you, what would you do?"
This question sounds very much like a policy paper. If I were to discuss it in detail, I could write for three days and three nights.
However, this is not just talk. When it comes to practice, everything becomes so difficult.
Fang Peilin took the brocade box and wrapped it up with a small piece of chair cloth. "I don't want to be the first to come forward, but I want to keep the silver. If His Majesty orders a thorough investigation in the future, this will serve as evidence."
Guo Xi fell silent. Most people would choose to protect themselves. Would he choose to expose this matter?
He didn't know either.
For a moment, the carriage fell into silence.
……
In the capital, a bloody storm is about to come.
Since His Majesty allowed the Prince of Qi to thoroughly investigate the corruption, everyone in the capital has been feeling insecure, fearing that they might be implicated one day.
After receiving the imperial edict, the King of Qi stayed indoors for several days, and only the account books from the Ministry of Revenue were continuously delivered to his palace.
The five surnames of Cui, Lu, Zheng, Wang and Pei have controlled the six departments for decades, which has always been a thorn in my father's heart.
Even many princes in the palace were born into these five families, and he was one of them.
Therefore, he was still a little reluctant to really remove Pei's minions.
The Minister of Revenue postponed the task due to his advanced age, so the person who accompanied the Prince of Qi to check the accounts in the palace at this time was the Assistant Minister Zhang, who came from a humble family.
Suddenly, a man in black hurriedly walked up to the side of the King of Qi and said something. The King of Qi looked at the Minister of Revenue dimly.
"How long have you been working in this Ministry?"
"It's been several decades." Minister Zhang paid no attention to the King of Qi's gaze and continued to check the account book.
"How much do you know about the Ministry of Revenue?"
"That depends on how much Your Highness wants to know and how much he wants to find out." Minister Zhang raised his head and looked straight into the eyes of King Qi. He had been an official for many years and stood out from a group of children from aristocratic families. What he lacked the most was bravery.
"Your Majesty's decree requires a thorough investigation to clear the name of the people of Dazhao."
Minister Zhang was silent for a moment, stroking his long beard. "If that happens, the capital will undergo drastic changes. Suddenly, not many people will be able to attend the morning court."
In the big dye vat, if you want to stand out, you must first be dyed with color.
In order to integrate into the officialdom as quickly as possible, many scholars from humble backgrounds also chose to dye their clothes.
The King of Qi looked at Minister Zhang calmly and gave his answer: "I heard that someone in the capital is lending money at high interest."
Minister Zhang smiled knowingly and looked down at the account book in his hand.
There are many places in Beijing that can lend money at high interest rates, but only a few of them dare to do so.
It seems that His Majesty is very determined this time, but I don’t know if it is to establish the authority of King Qi. Thinking of this, he looked at King Qi secretly again.
He did not delay his actions. After a while, he picked out more than ten account books and handed them to the King of Qi.
He had prepared this early in the morning just for this moment.