Huaizhou, Fangfu.

This is a very ordinary-looking mansion, but no one dares to look down upon it because the owner of this mansion is Huaizhou Prefecture Mu Fangjie!

Fang Chi was born in the Water Transport Gang. He rose up in the late Longjing period and became the leader of the rebel army. He was later awarded the title of Uncle Zhongyong and became the governor of Huaizhou. It has been more than ten years now!

He is truly deeply rooted, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a prince of one side. Even if he is the governor of Jiangzhou, he does not dare to neglect him.

The night is already deep.

In the backyard of Fang Mansion, a room was still brightly lit. There were more than twenty people gathered in the room, all of whom were important officials from Jianghuai and Huaihe. They were wealthy businessmen and powerful people!

Huaizhou Prefecture Mu Fangchi was sitting in the main seat, and sitting next to him was Jiangzhou Prefecture Mu Wenxu. Sitting below him were all the local officials, even Dong Zheng, the general of the Nanfu Army, Liu Qianhu of the Jianghuai Guards

Dong and others are all on the list...

The Nanfu Army is an army stationed in the Jianghuai area, with a total strength of 30,000 people. After the war broke out, 10,000 Nanfu Army were transferred to the front line, and they are still in Wei State today.

This shows the high standard of this gathering. Among them, one young man stood out the most. He was the youngest person present. He was sitting next to Fang Chi. He was dressed in fine clothes and showed a bit of nobility.

He is Fang Chi's son, Fang Wenyao.

In private, he is also known as an underground state pastor.

Fang Wenyao is twenty-nine years old. He is not a white man, but a clerk in the state government.

Fang Chi loved his son very much and almost always responded to his requests. Fang Wenyao wanted to be an official, so he arranged for him to be a clerk, which was just a name.

Little did he know, it gave Fang Wenyao the opportunity to do harm.

Fang Jie sighed lowly.

Why did you bring your son to such an occasion? In fact, it was only your son who brought this situation to you!

What a cheat!

Strictly speaking, Fang Wenyao was not an ignorant second-generation ancestor. On the contrary, he was very smart and knew how to use his father's power for profit.

To be honest, his biggest shortcoming is greed!

Fang Chi had no intention of forming a clique. The longer he stayed in the position of state pastor, the more he felt like he was walking on thin ice.

He knew very well that His Majesty had not touched him because he was peaceful. But as the years went by, even if he did nothing, he would naturally have a group of people around him... not to mention a restless son!

Regret it!

It should be strictly controlled, but now it is like this.

Now the official documents have arrived, and so has His Majesty's decree, asking him to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

The rules for passing the exam are here!

The inspector is here too!

Everyone is panicking!

Could it be that the same mistakes that happened in Yuanwu's three years are coming again?

Fang Jie was also a little panicked. After all, he still couldn't land smoothly...

The atmosphere in the room was extremely depressing.

After a long silence, someone finally said in a low voice: "It seems that we are about to repeat the same mistakes. In the third year of Yuanwu, the imperial court implemented the policy of integrating officials and gentry into paying grains. His Majesty came in person and carried out mass killings. The Lotus Pavilion was destroyed and the Lotus Party was destroyed. What is the difference between now and then?"

It’s so similar, I’m afraid we can’t escape it.”

The speaker was an old man who was nearly sixty years old. He was dressed in rich clothes and was a wealthy businessman in the Jianghuai area.

At that time, he was just a small businessman and was not included in the investigation, but he knew that many wealthy businessmen were under investigation due to collusion between government and businessmen.

"We have been notified that the inspector will come the day after tomorrow. Before that, we must have a countermeasure!"

Jiangzhou State Shepherd Wen Xu gritted his teeth and said: "Otherwise we will all be finished!"

Apparently he's not clean either.

Wen Xu was forty-five years old. He was a local official and took office in the twelfth year of Yuanwu.

"Your Majesty is really... how much military supplies the Food Collection Administration provided to the imperial court during the war. After the war, they started to conduct inventory and liquidation. This is really not a way to survive!"

The speaker was a middle-aged man whose official position was the Prefecture Yahu Kelangzhong and one of the chief officials of the Grain Collection Administration.

"Is it really easy to raise so much money and food in a short period of time? It's like burning bridges across rivers!"

The conversation started, and everyone began to speak boldly. It wasn't that they didn't have a sense of awe, but the knife was already held to their necks.

This is also their injustice.

You have made a contribution to the imperial court, what happened to taking some hiding places?

Before the reward came, the investigation came.

Why?

The emperor can't be so ungrateful to martial ethics, right?

"More than that, our taxes increased during the war, but we didn't lose even half a penny. It's like the officials and gentry paid the same tax. We have paid so much tax over the years, and the people below have grudges."

One word per person.

After hearing this, someone immediately echoed: "If you increase taxes on the people, the people will rise up and rebel. If you increase taxes on us, we won't be able to bear it?"

This is actually true.

When war breaks out, military supplies, military expenditures, and salaries must keep up.

Where does this money come from?

The imperial court had no money and could only obtain it through taxation, so it was inevitable to increase taxes. In the past, they would increase taxes on the people, but Guan Ning did not do this.

He raised taxes, but they were still affordable, and part of it was borne by the officials and gentry.

When gathering wool, you must also look for sheep with wool. This is Guan Ning's consistent principle. There is no doubt that the officials and gentry in the Jianghuai area are the most powerful, and this has caused a lot of dissatisfaction.

It has been criticized ever since the official and gentry paid the grain together. If Guan Ning had not personally come to kill the people, it would not have been implemented at all, and it has become a system to this day.

It’s just that people haven’t really accepted it yet.

It's normal to think about it, after all, it is a matter of interest.

For so many years, they have never stopped resisting the government and gentry's unified payment of grain, and they have always had grievances!

Now, the resentment has exploded!

"I have a list of signatures and seals of subordinate officials here!"

Another official said: "They are resisting the imperial examination. If the court implements it, they will be dismissed from office!"

The person who spoke was the governor of Fengxiang Mansion under Jiangzhou. He said directly: "I have added my name to it. If the examination method is implemented, I will also be dismissed from office."

Obviously he is a local official to say such a thing.

As the state pastor, Wen Xu didn't say anything. He just supported it.

"It's useless to say this. We are all grasshoppers on the same rope. No one is cleaner than the other. Let's think about what to do."

Dong Zheng, the general of the Nanfu Army, spoke out.

The establishment of the grain collection bureau was mainly based on local officials. After all, they were sent from outside the country and were not familiar with the situation, and no one bought in. How could they collect grain?

Dong Zheng, as the general of the Nanfu Army, was also among them, but he was also complicit.

The power of the Food Expropriation Administration is too great!

They did it randomly under the banner of war, not only collecting food, but also taking the opportunity to collect money and goods, everything!

The benefits here are naturally huge!

As a local garrison, the Nanfu Army is not subject to local jurisdiction, but is under the orders of Tiance Mansion. At first, Dong Zheng reached out for the Nanfu Army.

The whole country is short of food, and the Nanfu army is also in short supply. Do you think that if you become the chief officer, why not get some military supplies for yourself?

I couldn't hold back my hand.
Chapter completed!