Chapter 160 Wait for the wind to come
"Young Master, please have some tea."
Caihua held the teacup and placed it on the low table next to Qi Heng, then stood beside Miss Shen.
Qi Heng picked up the teacup and took a sip with some embarrassment.
"Little father-in-law."
Miss Shen San pursed her lips, broke the silence and said, "I also heard about what happened today."
"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Miss Shen." Qi Heng said with a wry smile.
Miss Shen San was his fiancée, and this was the first time they met.
Qi Heng felt that it was a bit shameful that he couldn't even be a county magistrate.
"What are you saying, young master? You have just taken office, so it is normal to encounter some difficulties. I am a woman and do not understand these things. But I think that since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ordered the clearance of the land, he must be aware of the difficulties involved and may have prepared some backup plans. Young master is in trouble now, so why not ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Miss Shen said.
Although she is a girl, she is very intelligent. Her father is a prime minister of the dynasty. She is very sensitive to some things due to what she has seen and heard.
After learning about the general process of Qi Heng's taking office, Miss Shen saw some problems.
She had heard some of her father's comments on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and believed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's proposal to investigate the land was not a decision made on a whim, and that there should be some backup plan.
The best way at this time is to go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for help.
"But…"
Qi Heng opened his mouth when he heard this. He also understood this logic.
However, when Qi Heng left Bian Jing, he was full of energy and wanted to achieve something.
Now he always feels embarrassed to ask Zhao Xing for help.
The most important thing is that he felt that he had let down Zhao Xing's trust.
Miss Shen San was very thoughtful. Seeing Qi Heng's hesitation, she roughly guessed what he was thinking. She said, "Young Master, which one do you think is more important, saving face or the Crown Prince's important affairs?"
Qi Heng was stunned when he heard this, and was silent for a while. He stood up and bowed: "Yuan Ruo is grateful for your advice!"
He was so busy worrying about his face that he almost delayed Zhao Xing's important plan.
Miss Shen quickly returned the greeting: "You are too polite, young master. This is just my superficial opinion."
When she first learned that she would marry Qi Heng in the future, Miss Shen was filled with joy.
In ancient times, marriage was based on the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers.
Apart from childhood sweethearts, the parties can only learn about their significant other through what others say.
Qi Heng had a good family background, was humble and ambitious, and was an outlier among the sons of nobles.
In addition, Qi Heng passed the imperial examination and could be said to be the person that many unmarried girls in Bianjing most wanted to marry.
The young girl was in love, and based on these alone, she was naturally very satisfied with her future husband.
However, when she passed by Weishi County this time and heard about Qi Heng's performance after taking office, she was a little disappointed.
She felt that Qi Heng was just a show-off and couldn't even handle this little trouble.
However, their marriage has already been decided and there is no room for change. Even for her own sake, she has to help Qi Heng.
However, Qi Heng's performance after meeting her changed her mind a lot.
At least Qi Heng didn't feel embarrassed because of her reminder and ignored her words.
On the contrary, Qi Heng was able to quickly distinguish the importance of things and realize his mistakes.
The problem had been solved, Qi Heng was in a good mood, and asked: "Why is Miss Shen here?"
"My grandmother didn't want to stay in Bian Jing and has always lived in her hometown in Zhengzhou. This time I made a special trip back to visit my grandmother and passed by here on the way back to Bian Jing." Miss Shen said.
"Oh." Qi Heng nodded slightly.
…………What happened in Zhongmu County is happening in all other counties except Weishi County.
This was the backup plan that Zhao Xing asked Yin Hanzhang to prepare.
There are many ways to hide the field, but no matter which one, there are two things that will not change.
The first point is to have the cooperation of government officials. After all, if the amount of registered land in a county decreases, the government will not be able to get through that hurdle.
Secondly, those who can hide the land are local landlords and gentry.
This led to the formation of a bond of interest between landlords and local officials.
After Zhao Xing issued the order to check the land, the officials in these counties were unable to change their mind, but they could pretend to obey and secretly disobey.
To put it simply, as long as the county magistrate reports that there is no problem with the land in the county after the investigation, Zhao Xing can't go and check it himself, right?
Zhao Xing could also send people to conduct random checks, but if all the officials in a county were in collusion with each other, even if he sent people to check, they might not be able to find anything.
So Zhao Xing thought carefully and made full preparations.
Giving a direct order showed his attitude, and asking Yin Hanzhang to take the evidence he had secretly found to report to the counties was giving officials in each county an opportunity to make a decision.
These officials were all shrewd people. In the dozen or so counties under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture, many people sued local landlords and gentry at almost the same time. Almost all of the cases were related to land. It was impossible for them not to see that someone was behind the scenes directing them.
And the only one who could do this was Crown Prince Zhao Xing.
At this point they are faced with the question of how to make a decision.
After all, these people were brought here by Zhao Xing, and they didn't have the courage to move. If they didn't deal with them, these people would go directly to Kaifeng Prefecture to file a complaint, which would be even more troublesome.
So they have to choose a side.
However, there will definitely be people who will get confused at critical moments and try to smooth things over.
But people's hearts are complicated. With so many officials in a county, who can guarantee that there will be no one to stab you in the back?
No matter what choices those people make, he has a way to deal with it.
All you have to do now is wait for the results.
Although there are some minor troubles in Bian Jing, with my father's support, there will be no impact for the time being.
…………
"Your Highness, someone brought it."
A eunuch led a middle-aged man into the hall.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is greeted by your servant Shi Jingbo, the magistrate of Yangwu County." Shi Jingbo bowed.
"No need to be polite." Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "Why do you want to see me?"
"I'm asking to see Your Highness to report Zhang Xiuting, the magistrate of Yangwu County, Shi Jingbo. Zhang Xiuting colluded with local landlords and gentry to conceal tens of thousands of acres of land. This time, Your Highness ordered a thorough investigation of the land, but Zhang Xiuting still pretended to obey. A few days ago, many victims beat the drum to complain, and Zhang Xiuting accepted the complaint on the surface, but secretly colluded with those landlords and gentry, preparing to make up for the hidden land deeds." Shi Jingbo said.
"Do you have any evidence?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I have it." Shi Jingbo pulled out a folded piece of silk from his sleeve and said, "Your Highness, please take a look!"
Sanshui stepped forward to take it and presented it to Zhao Xing.
"Unfold." Zhao Xing ordered.
Upon hearing this, Sanshui unfolded the silk cloth and saw that there was a map printed on it.
"Your Highness, this is a map of Yangwu County, which details the location and area of the land owned by the landlords and gentry in Yangwu County. This area is the area recorded in the county government. In addition, I also have a booklet recording the number of acres of land in Yangwu County, but because there are too many, it is inconvenient to carry, so I did not bring it with me." Shi Jingbo said.
Zhao Xing took a quick look and found that more than 80% of the land in Yangwu County was in the hands of landlords and gentry, and the common people owned very little land.
Zhao Xing retracted his gaze and said calmly: "The evidence is so detailed, why didn't you report it before?"
(End of this chapter)