Chapter 114： tax free

Xie Yucheng looked stern when he saw the embarrassed three people, "What happened?"

Dong Ze nodded repeatedly.

“But the investigation didn’t go well?”

Dong Ze shook his head.

Xie Yucheng's frown relaxed, and he rubbed his chin and looked at the three of them, "Does that mean you met bandits? That shouldn't be the case! Could it be that the three of you had too much **** with women yesterday?"

Gao Yong’s face changed drastically, “Sir, there is a fierce woman in my family, please let her go!”

"Hi! Such a promising thing! Tell me, what kind of big event could happen that would make all of you who have been through the storm so embarrassed!" As long as it's not official business, it's not a big deal for Xie Yucheng, and he can take it lightly.

As he spoke, he stretched his arms lazily and took a leisurely sip of tea.

Dong Ze suddenly said: "It's about imperial examination fraud."

“Pfft!” Xie Yucheng squirted out a mouthful of tea and coughed loudly.

 County Lieutenant Xu Dongming came in with a stack of volumes. He happened to see this scene and hurriedly stepped forward to put down his things and clean up Xie Yucheng's body. "Sir, what's wrong with you? I will have someone come over and clean up immediately!"

Xie Yucheng waved his hand, and after a while he calmed down. He frowned and looked at Dong Ze, "What did you just say?"

Dong Ze shook his head expressionlessly, "Sir, my subordinate said that they have found out the situation in Rongshu Village. The reason why only one person froze to death last winter was because they were sleeping on the bed.

You also know that the kang is only found in the northernmost part of Qi State. The people in Quzhou Prefecture have never seen it or even heard of it. Madam Jiang happened to know a thing or two about it, so she tried to make a kang, because she didn’t know whether it was a kang. It is safe. They only promoted it in this village and did not shout about it everywhere. Now after a winter, the kang is still strong and durable, which shows that it is done. My subordinates want to invite people from Rongshu Village to go to various villages to play kang.

This winter, we will ensure that all poor families in the county have access to kangs, which will greatly reduce the number of people who freeze to death. "

Xie Yucheng was deep in thought, and after a while he seemed to notice the county captain, and said warmly: "Xu County Lieutenant, I have nothing to do here, you can go and do your work."

Xu Dongming was suspicious, twitching the corners of his lips unnaturally, and went out slowly, even deliberately delaying at the door for a while.

Xie Yucheng seemed not to notice, and said thoughtfully: "Is the Lady Jiang you are talking about the one who took in Miss Zhong in the first place?"

“Exactly.”

Xie Yucheng breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought that woman was unusual before, but I didn't expect that she could even pull out the bed. It's really surprising. Did you tell her what you thought?"

Dong Ze nodded slightly, "My subordinate has made it clear that Mrs. Jiang readily agreed without asking for anything in return. My lord, what I mean is that Mrs. Jiang is so sensible and generous. Shouldn't we also reward her?"

Xie Yucheng nodded in agreement, "Of course, I will never take advantage of the people. In this way, the entire village of Rongshu Village will be exempted from taxes this year. I ordered the villagers of Rongshu Village to go to various places in the county to play Kang. The monthly payment is 400 Wen. Before winter this year, people in all poor and remote villages in Ping'an County will be allowed to sleep on Kangs, and the county government will be responsible for all the expenses required for sleeping on Kangs."

Dong Ze was stunned for a moment, "Sir, the taxes collected this year may not be enough to deliver!"

"What are you afraid of! It's not like the county government has spent money in vain. The money for Pan Kang can be used by the people to offset it in kind, or they can pay more tax every autumn and pay it off over several years. In this way, everyone will be relaxed." Xie Yucheng was not worried. Said slowly. Dong Ze was overjoyed and said, "You are still smart, I will do it now."

Xu Dongming listened outside for a while, and then left with peace of mind when he saw that they were talking about things that had nothing to do with him.

As soon as Xu Dongming left, Gao Yong immediately winked at Dong Ze.

Niu Yiwu cleverly ran outside to guard the door.

Seeing how nervous they were, Xie Yucheng's expression became serious unconsciously, "What is the imperial examination fraud you are talking about?"

Dong Ze worriedly relayed what Jiang Ning said word for word, "Sir, I have been in contact with Lady Jiang several times, and it is definitely not groundless for her to say that. I feel that she even knows more inside information, but I can't explain it clearly. Maybe there are some scruples.

Originally, the county examination was to be held in February this year. Because too many people froze to death last winter, you obtained the consent of the governor and postponed the county examination to May. It was an unintentional attempt to find a chance for yourself.

Now we must find a way to investigate this matter, but my subordinates are afraid that this matter will be widely implicated. What if even the prefect is involved? "

Xie Yucheng is riding a tiger now. If he lets it go and turns a blind eye, it is equivalent to burying a hidden danger for himself. If this matter breaks out in the future, he will also be implicated. If he takes care of it, he will be like Dong Ze. To put it bluntly, if even the prefect was involved in this matter, killing him would be easier than killing an ant.

Gao Yong saw Xie Yucheng's frown and suggested: "Sir, I think you can go see Mrs. Jiang again. If you can get Mrs. Jiang to put down her inner scruples, maybe you can get more inside information."

Xie Yucheng thought the same thing, but Jiang Ning was a widow. He couldn't go alone to see her, so he had to think of a way. After thinking about it, he looked at Dong Ze and said, "In a while, you can go to Rongshu Village in person to give my order, and at the same time, give Jiang Ning the order." Madam sent some silver reward, it would be better if Madam Jiang could go to the county office in person."

Dong Ze went to do it immediately, and before leaving, he also took Gao Yong and Niu Yiwu with him.

The three of them came to Rongshu Village just yesterday, and they came again this afternoon, but they surprised the people in the village.

Ms. Li was supervising the work in the workshop. When she received the news, she couldn't help complaining: "What's happened to our village? The county magistrate's lair has been stabbed? Why do officials come to us every day to cause trouble?"

Every time official duties came, the villagers working would be absent-minded, and Mrs. Li became angry when she saw them.

As soon as she finished complaining, the village chief started beating gongs and drums in the village. Now it was better. The workers couldn't stop. As they rushed to the village ancestral hall, they kept patting the ashes on their bodies and touching the ground. The acquaintances who work will also chat a few words.

When the village chief saw people coming from every household, he said to Dong Ze, "Master Dong, everyone is here."

Dong Ze nodded with satisfaction, glanced at Jiang Ning in the crowd, and said: "The county magistrate knows about Rongshu Village's kang-making business last winter. He is now hiring villagers from Rongshu Village to go to various villages in Ping'an County to make kang-making. The monthly payment is 400 Wen, and he must be there before If it is completed before winter this year, as a reward, Rongshu Village will be exempt from taxes this year.”

The villagers were overjoyed. You looked at me and I looked at you, and they all looked in disbelief.

The village chief asked with a trembling voice: "Master Dong, did you really say that?"

“Your Excellency wrote it in your own hand and stamped it with an official seal. How can it be false?” Dong Ze handed the official document to the village chief.

The village chief couldn't understand the words on it, but the red seal was particularly eye-catching. He immediately took it into his arms carefully and asked anxiously: "Did the county magistrate say how many people are needed?"