Ming'an City has a tall city wall, but when you get closer to the city, you can see that the buildings, markets, and population in the city are only the size of a small town and are not worthy of the size of a county.
Although the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs.
There are various shops in the city, but they are all relatively small.
Today is the third day of the new year, and there is not much business in the market.
However, the doors and windows in the shops and houses along the street are opened one by one, and residents come out one after another.
He looked at Liu Cheng and the thousand cavalry accompanying him.
Liu Cheng was not surprised that there was no awe on the faces of these residents.
The sky was high here and the emperor was far away, the living environment was harsh, and the people were tough.
Let alone Liu Cheng, even if the emperor Liu Bian's chariot came, he would not be as good as the locals.
The county magistrate is a deterrent to them.
The faded wine flags fluttered in the cold wind, and the dilapidated windows kept clanking when the wind blew.
Apart from the crisp sound of horse hooves on the street, there seemed to be no other sound.
Everything showed that this place of depression.
When he came to the gate of the county government office, Liu Cheng looked at the two huge red-lacquered doors with copper nails, the two thick-mouthed corridor pillars, and the two ferocious-looking bluestone lions.
He couldn't help but say: "I didn't see a single person in the city along the way.
It’s a decent house, but your county government has built it quite elegantly.”
The county magistrate Yao Deshui looked embarrassed and held up his hands and said: "General Rong, make this county government more impressive to deter the unruly people and demonstrate the authority of the government.
You saw it just now, the unruly people saw your Even the great officials are not polite, they are all so bold, they don’t take the court and the government seriously at all.”
Liu Cheng couldn't help but laugh and said: "Your statement is very novel.
Only when the county government is built with a beautiful style can it intimidate the common people and demonstrate the authority of the government."
"General, you have to know that this place is located at the border, and the people don't know the king's laws.
One of them is brave and fierce, but they are all countrymen after all.
They have never seen much of the world.
The magnificence of this county government is here.
They have arrived.
I don’t dare to make mistakes here.”
Liu Cheng wanted to kill people, but he also knew that the quality of these grassroots officials in the Eastern Han Dynasty was at this level.
Although they were from big families, they were all unlearned and unskilled people who were sent here to serve as officials.
He could not I hope they can reach a higher political level.
Sooner or later, the rectification of officialdom must be carried out, and it doesn't matter whether it's a day or two.
Liu Cheng did not kill anyone, nor did he reprimand Yao Deshui.
He walked into the county government office.
The government officials and police officers at the door clasped their fists and bowed in salute.
After entering the door, , some maids immediately knelt down to salute.
In the Han Dynasty, only when meeting the emperor did courtiers and officials need to kneel down.
Subordinates did not need to kneel when meeting superior officials.
Only Dong Zhuo believed that he had the power over the world, so he forced courtiers and officials to kneel when they saw him.
The cavalry guards took over the defense posts and security of the county government.
Liao Hua also sent patrols to patrol the streets to maintain law and order.
The news spread quickly, and the people in Ming'an County knew that the people who came were high officials from the imperial court and powerful officials.
Sikong, General Hussar, and Marquis Liu Cheng of Anyi, who were all over the government, had ten thousand cavalry stationed outside the city, and the people began to be a little afraid.
After Yao Deshui led Liu Cheng and others to the county government hall to rest, he went to prepare food and drinks.
Liu Cheng was a little uncomfortable sitting in the position of the county magistrate.
He was now wearing armor, and the county magistrate's position was to sit on his knees.
It was really inconvenient, so he ordered his bodyguard to remove his armor and put on regular clothes. .
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Ma Chao and Xu Huang were on the right, and Chen Qun, Liu Ye and other officials were on the left.
They were drinking tea and discussing what they had seen along the way.
The focus of the discussion was that local officials were not able to govern effectively, and the people did not care about the court, the king's laws, and the government.
No matter how awe-inspiring, the living standards and conditions are far from comparable to those in Guanzhong and the Central Plains.
Yao Deshui brought some maids over with wine and meat.
The low table in front of everyone was filled with wine and meat.
He knew that he was not qualified to sit with these generals and officials, so after the maids brought the wine and meat, he bowed to Liu Cheng.
He said: "General, this place is remote and there is nothing to entertain the generals and superior officers.
Please forgive me if you are negligent.
I have to ask my subordinates to prepare meals for the soldiers and generals on duty.
I will leave now."
Liu Cheng waved his hand: "Don't do it yet.
Let's set up a table to eat together.
I, the general, have something to ask you."
Yao Deshui now knows that Liu Cheng has the final say in government affairs.
If he can embrace Liu Cheng's lap, he will not be able to rise to prominence in the future.
"Yes" Yao De agreed with joy on his face.
Yao Deshui immediately ordered someone to set up another table and serve wine and food.
He raised his wine cup and saluted Liu Cheng, and then saluted all the generals and officials present.
Liu Cheng saw that this guy was a little dizzy after paying homage.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Magistrate Yao, who is in charge of the Prefecture now?"
Yao Deshui was a little drunk and his vigilance was greatly reduced.
He replied: "The general should know that there has never been a prefect in Dunhuang County.
The affairs of the prefecture are naturally decided by Wang Min, the prime minister."
"What kind of person is Wang Min?"
Yao Deshui hesitated and said: "General, it's hard for a lower official to say this.
How can a lower official evaluate a superior official casually?"
Liu Cheng didn't say anything, and Chen Qun said: "Master Yao, although the prefecture official is a higher-level official, he is only an assistant to the prefecture, and you are the chief official of a county.
You are not directly subordinate to Wang Min.
Now the general is asking you to Say it, just say it, don't worry too much.
If you don't say it, will the general never know?
You would rather offend the general than Wang Min."
Cold sweat broke out on Yao Deshui's forehead.
Only now did he remember that Liu Cheng was the powerful Sikong.
He held great military and political power.
The promotion and appointment of officials were all based on Liu Cheng's thoughts.
As long as Liu Cheng said a word, he could not succeed as county magistrate. , even Yao Deshui didn't dare to think about it anymore and cleared his throat and said: "Since the general asked the lower official to say it, then the lower official will say it.
However, this is just hearsay from the lower official and there is no actual evidence.
Since the previous prefect was transferred, The imperial court has not sent a new governor.
Maybe the imperial court has sent a governor, but due to the turmoil in Liangzhou, the new governor failed to meet him halfway.
Due to an unexpected incident, he was unable to take office.
In the first two years, the officials of the Taishou Mansion were doing their job well, but the court never sent a new governor.
The officials of the Taishou Mansion were concerned, and news of the unrest in Liangzhou continued to spread.
The county magistrate Wang Min designed to kill the county lieutenant Jia Zhen, and let his brother-in-law He Chun temporarily take over the post of county lieutenant and control all the county soldiers."
"Then Wang Min summoned the county magistrates to go to Dunhuang to discuss matters, and asked Xiaguan and others to obey face to face.
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However, Xiaogu County Magistrate did not obey, and was ordered to be executed by Wang Min on the spot.
If Xiaguan had not obeyed, I am afraid he would have become a bastard.
A pile of dry bones” An angry look suddenly appeared on Liu Cheng's face, and he asked coldly: "This Wang Min is so bold, why don't you send someone to report to the court and report Wang Min's evil deeds?"
Yao Deshui had a look of fear on his face, "At that time, I also wanted to secretly send someone to Chang'an to report Wang Min, but someone beat me to it.
He was the Magistrate of Yuanquan County, but the person he sent was intercepted and killed by Wang Min on the way.
He himself was arrested by Wang Min and tortured to death in a prison.
There were only six counties in Dunhuang, and he was killed by Wang Min one after another.
Two of them, who would dare to act rashly?
After Wang Min killed them, he appointed his cronies to take over as county magistrate.
Although he did not have the official appointment certificate from the court, who dared to do so?
Wang Min had already become the local emperor general of Dunhuang County and led the army.
We should have passed through Yuanquan County when we arrived, and I am afraid that the messenger sent by Yuanquan County to report the news to Dunhuang should already be on the way."
Liu Cheng put down the meat-cutting knife, picked up the wine cup and drank it all, and asked: "Besides these, what else has Wang Min done?"
Yao Deshui added: "After Wang Min took over the power of the Prefecture, he ordered each county to double taxes.
Now the taxes collected by the Prefecture have reached more than 60% of the people's income.
He also colluded with the barbarian horse bandits to intercept and kill business travelers to obtain In the past, there were only a thousand soldiers and horses in the county, but now Wang Min controls five thousand soldiers and horses."
Liu Cheng was very calm.
He knew it was useless to get angry, and he also knew that this was just one-sided words from Yao Deshui.
The truth of the matter needed to be further understood.
After the banquet was over, Yao Deshui retreated.
Liu Cheng said to Chen Qun: "Send someone to inquire about Yao Deshui, his family background, official reputation, etc.
The more detailed the appointment, the people we bring will be outsiders to the locals after all.
The locals are likely to They are wary of us and don’t want to cause trouble, so those sent there must be patient.”
Chen Qun raised his hand and agreed: "Promise" The army stayed in Ming'an County for two days.
Liu Cheng also learned about Yao Deshui's situation from Chen Qun's report.
This man was from a noble family in Hedong, but he was a side branch.
He was an official and did nothing, and he had no political achievements.
The superiors asked him to Whatever he does, he does.
The exploitation of the people has become more and more severe in recent years.
According to what he said, he was forced by Wang Min, but the taxes this person collected from the people were higher than what Wang Min stipulated, which means that this person also enriched his own pockets. part of it.
The local people did not know the actual situation and thought that the taxes were levied by the imperial court.
They had an even less favorable impression of the imperial court and hated Yao Deshui.
However, Liu Cheng knew that the imperial court had not received a penny of taxes from Liangzhou in these years, and the taxes had been withheld by local officials.
The situation in Dunhuang County was actually not as serious as that in the Guandong region.
The imperial court had lost contact with Dunhuang County, but it was beyond its jurisdiction.
However, the princes in Guandong did not obey the imperial court at all.
The nature of the two was completely different.
But even so, Yao Deshui's accusation and what he learned from the local people made Liu Cheng feel frightened.
The local officials here completely ignored the people's life and death, and the level of exploitation and oppression was simply outrageous.
Although the princes of Guandong acted on their own initiative and did not obey the control of the imperial court, they were still developing people's livelihood and strength, and they still paid attention to laws and regulations
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