A group of people walked for three days before arriving in Baiyang County.

Along the way, Zhang Beichen saw that the territory of Qin State was almost devastated. Displaced refugees can be seen everywhere. There are no natural disasters this year. These refugees are only caused by man-made disasters.

The double oppression of the war and the landlords made them hungry and poorly clothed. But even so, there were no human corpses to be seen on the road, some were devoured by wild beasts and monsters, and some were eaten by extremely hungry refugees.

As a person living in a peaceful age, Zhang Beichen was deeply touched when he saw such a scene for the first time.

A group of people came to Baiyang County Government Office, which looked like a dilapidated private house.

"Where are the people from the government office?" Hu Cheng shouted outside.

After shouting for a while, I saw an old man walking out with two thin and short farmers.

"Who are you? I can tell you that there is nothing in this yamen. If you want to rob, go to another place!" The old man looked at them with fear.

Hu Cheng pointed to Zhang Beichen and said, "This is the newly appointed magistrate of Baiyang County, Mr. Zhang Beichen. Who are you?"

"Master County Magistrate?" The old man quickly knelt down and said, "The villain is Liu Wen, the county's master bookkeeper, and these two are the county's servants."

Zhang Beichen showed him the paperwork for taking office, and confirmed that he was the county magistrate. Liu Wen said with emotion: "My lord, you can count yourself here. If you don't come again, this yamen will be demolished by those unscrupulous people!"

Zhang Beichen sat in the hall, looked at the dilapidated scene in the yamen, and asked, "What's going on?"

Liu Wen explained: "Baiyang County has only been established for three years, and it needs money and no money, and no people."

"Isn't there any appropriation from above?" Zhang Beichen asked.

"The state of Qin fights every year, and every year we have to go to various places to ask for money, food, and people. How can there be any money for us?" Liu Wen complained, "The income of the county government depends on the tax revenue of the county and the output of the official farms. .”

"In Baiyang County, we don't receive a few taels of grain throughout the year. The official farmland is small and barren. We can't support ourselves, let alone find a way to pay taxes."

Zhang Beichen flipped through the county documents and asked, "I see that Baiyang County has a large population and a lot of fields. How could this be?"

Speaking of this, Liu Wen looked even more bitter, and said, "Yes, Baiyang County has a lot of fields and people, but they all belong to the Bai family and the Yang family. Most of the fields in the county are owned by them. private field."

"Relying on their huge power, they pay less taxes every time, and often the food they hand over is less than one-tenth! As for the population, most people in the county lost their land and became slaves of these two families. , not in our control."

After Zhang Beichen heard his description, he realized why Qin State had perished in the first few simulations. In this case, if Qin is not destroyed, who will destroy it?

Still have to change the law, this slavery is not suitable for agricultural production, it has to be abolished! But reality is not a simulation, and it cannot be done with a single sentence.

Even if he persuaded the Yingyi people to abolish slavery now, it is estimated that the decree would not be enforced because the old clan was too powerful.

"The first test Ying Yiren gave me was really not easy." Zhang Beichen also felt that it was tricky, and the start was in difficult mode.

He was thinking, when there was shouting outside, someone was smashing the door of the county office.

"Who is making noise?" Zhang Beichen shouted.

I saw two men walking in swaggeringly, and the yamen servants didn't dare to stop them.

One of them looked at Zhang Beichen and asked, "Are you the new county magistrate?"

"I am the county magistrate, who are you, dare to make trouble in the government office?" Zhang Beichen asked.

The two looked indifferent, and one of them said: "I am Master Bai's servant, and the master asked me to tell you. Let the people of our Bai family go quickly. In addition, the master invites you to be a guest at home today."

Another person said: "I am a servant of the Yang family. Our Master Yang also wants to invite you to visit the mansion. It is best to bring back people from our Yang family."

"Today is our Bai family's treat, why is your Yang family joining in the fun?" The two actually started arguing in front of Zhang Beichen.

"What's so great about the Bai family, our Yang family treats guests, and the Bai family will go!"

The head secretary and the two yamen servants pretended not to see it, probably because they were afraid of being bullied by them and dared not speak.

Zhang Beichen said angrily: "Shut up. What do you two think of the county government? Lawless!"

"Come on, one person drags down to hit the top ten boards!"

He yelled, but the yamen servant didn't dare to make a move.

The two men laughed and said, "You dare to beat us? I don't know how the previous county magistrate disappeared?"

"What a brat, I don't know how powerful our two families are!"

"Ada, you go!" Zhang Beichen saw that he couldn't shout, so he called out to the refugees he raised.

"If you don't listen to your lord, get a beating!" These people all listened to Zhang Beichen, and immediately rushed forward, captured the two of them, picked up the board and beat them.

"Ah, you dare to do it!"

"You dare to offend our two families, our master will not let you go!" The two shouted.

When Zhang Beichen heard this, he ordered: "Play another 30 boards, so that they can't get off the ground!"

"Papa papa!" A slap beat the two of them to pieces.

"You, you wait for me!" The two scrambled and ran out of the county office.

Liu Wen looked worried, and said, "My lord, if you deal with them like this, those two families may not let it go!"

"This is what I want!" Zhang Beichen said coldly, "When I take office, Baiyang County must be rectified!"

He scolded Liu Wen and several yamen servants at the same time: "From now on, if you don't hear my orders again, you will end up just like those two!"

"Yes, my lord!" Several people said on their lips, but they were thinking in their hearts, this new county magistrate has never seen the methods of the Baiyang family, and he is still pretending like this, and he will know in a few days.

Zhang Beichen continued to understand the situation, and asked, "What happened to those two people who said they wanted to release them just now?"

Liu Wen explained: "The former magistrate of the county went to mediate because of the fighting between the Baiyang family. He was beaten to death and alarmed the lord of the clan. The lord led his troops to arrest several people and killed the county Those of the grandfather are locked in the yamen."

"We don't shut it down, and we don't let it go."

"If you kill someone, you will be punished according to law!" Zhang Beichen said coldly.

Liu Wen looked embarrassed, and said: "Those are all direct descendants of the Baiyang family, if they are really killed, things will be even more troublesome!"

"Director Liu." Zhang Beichen emphasized again, "After I take office, all laws and regulations must be obeyed by me. In the future, no matter who commits crimes, no matter who they are, they must be arrested first!"

"Yes!" Liu Wen was still talking about it, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart.

Zhang Beichen is also very clear that the local power is too strong. If he can't establish his prestige, he probably won't be able to accomplish anything.

He said, "Show me the county annals and documents in the county."

Liu Wen handed everything over to him. At this time, the narration was concise, and Zhang Beichen could read it quickly. With the addition of inquiries, he has almost understood the situation.

"The fundamental problem of the Qin State is to reform. The old legal system can no longer adapt to the current Qin State, but I still don't have the ability and prestige. It is better to reform this Baiyang County first and establish a new constitution." Zhang Beichen thought , and began to plan.

...

On the other side, the two servants returned to the Bai family and the Yang family respectively with injuries.

At Yang's house, a middle-aged man with beard was looking at the servant who was kneeling and crying, frowning and said: "That Zhang Beichen, really doesn't give face?"

He is the head of the Yang family, Yang Shan.

The servant added fuel and shouted: "Patriarch, not only did he not give you face, he also beat me up violently. He will have the final say in Baiyang County after what he says, and our Yang family will be a fart!"

An angry look appeared on Yang Shan's face, and he scolded: "This kid is really ignorant. In terms of title, I am two levels older than him! I can't deal with him anymore!"

The local tyrants are basically nobles with titles, so they are not afraid of the county magistrate.

On the other side of the Bai family, Bai Liangpu, the Patriarch of the Bai family, also knew about it.

"Patriarch, it is said that the new county magistrate was personally appointed by the emperor, do you want to inform the elder?" the clan asked.

The Bai family in Baiyang County is one of the three old clans in Qin State and a branch of the Bai family.

Their grand master is the Duke of Qin.

"No, an unknown person, still need to bother the old man?" Bai Liangpu snorted coldly, "He's looking for the wrong place to put on airs here! I want to deal with him, it's easy!"

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like