Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 113 Fishing Law Enforcement
Pingzhou.

It is located in present-day eastern Hebei, equivalent to part of the boundaries of Tangshan and Qinhuangdao.

It is the gateway to Liaodong and the entire Northeast.

Pingzhou has two counties under its jurisdiction, one is Lulong County where the government is located, and the other is Linyu County.

According to the household registration data of the 13th year of Zhenguan provided by Fang Xuanling, there were 3,113 households and 25,086 people in Pingzhou.

Well, the population of almost one community is spread across the two cities like pepper.

"There are only so few people. Do you think I should believe it or not?"

Li Ming sat in the car, resting his hands on his head, looking at the main street of Lulong County.

As far as I can see, it can’t be said to be completely contrary to the stereotype, but it can be said to be on a different level——

Although it is far from being as prosperous as Chang'an, Lulong County has all the basic facilities such as inns, taverns, blacksmith shops, and mills.

There was even a special market modeled after the East and West Markets in Chang'an.

As for the pedestrians on the road, they can't be said to be shoulder to shoulder.

But it is by no means sparsely populated.

The population of Lulong County alone seems to be more than 20,000 people. Such a small population cannot support such a wide range of basic facilities.

Not to mention, the urbanization rate was extremely low in ancient times, and the residents of the county town only accounted for a small part of the total population, while the majority of the population was still living in the villages and towns under the jurisdiction of the county town.

Not to mention, in addition to Lulong County, there is also a Linyu County.

Did Fang Xuanling make a mistake in putting the decimal point, missing a "hundred"?
"I really have to come here in person. This is a pleasant surprise. It's better to have a larger population."

And besides population, there is an even bigger surprise.

That's the climate.

Only when he stepped on the land of Pingzhou in person did he truly feel it.

Contrary to popular stereotypes, the autumn in Liaodong is not as cold as imagined!
Come to think of it.

The Tang Dynasty was in an interglacial period. Even Chang'an, located north of the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River, was warm and humid, which did not make Li Ming feel uncomfortable.

As for the later economically developed Jiangnan and Lingnan, it was so hot that it could melt your heart, and full of tropical atmosphere.

The economy in the early Tang Dynasty was still stronger in the north than in the south, and the climate was also a factor.

After all, you can put on more clothes and make a fire when it's cold, but you can't peel off your skin when it's hot.

Even the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which was originally unsuitable for human habitation, gave birth to an agricultural civilization that posed a serious threat to the Central Plains.

For example, the Tubo people who made the incompetent young men of the Tang Dynasty change their homes one after another.

Under such rare climatic conditions, there is no reason why the Northeast cannot develop.

This was also one of the reasons why Li Ming was so creative and chose the Northeast as his base.

The early Tang Dynasty was perhaps the last window of opportunity within a thousand years for the Central Plains to move towards the Northeast.

If you miss this trip.

The next trip would have to wait a thousand years, when the Northeasterners entered the pass and the Northeasterners rushed to the Central Plains.

The reality of Pingzhou's street scenes also seems to confirm Li Ming's idea.

The seat of government is Lulong County, which has a relatively prosperous population with frequent coming and going.

In addition, Han and Hu people live together here, and it is the gateway to the northeast, so trade is relatively prosperous.

However, the Emperor had promised Li Ming to send talents and materials to Liaodong, but not a single word had been released before Li Ming officially took office.

In other words, Pingzhou has developed to this level entirely relying on its own natural endowments.

Objectively speaking, the people of Pingzhou were dressed simply and looked pale, and it was obvious that they lived in poverty.

But the population is a real issue.

Liaodong has every potential to become prosperous.

However, this makes the problem seem particularly strange.

"There are only 3,000 households and 25,000 people in Pingzhou? Who counted them? Did Fang Xuanling count them one by one?"

Li Ming's hand slapped "Pingzhou Household Registration Population in the 13th Year of Zhenguan" as if he was spanking Fang Yize's butt.

I can even remember clearly how many squirrels and birds my grandfather shot. Can't you, a bunch of incompetent officials, even count the number of living people?

He stood on the moral high ground and pointed fingers wildly.

"this and that……"

This question was too advanced for Fang Yize.

Wei Daijia defended Xiaofang by saying:

"Your Highness, in a border city, it is inevitable that some household registration records are missing."

"But this is too much to remember!" Li Ming felt extremely puzzled.

He had organized several activities at the grassroots level, so he had a basic idea of ​​the number of people involved.

A rough estimate with the naked eye shows that there is an order of magnitude difference between Pingzhou's actual population and the household registration data.

This is definitely not something that can be explained by "error".

Hou Junji was not surprised by this:

“This is not the fault of Fang Xiang.

“Because the more people there are in a household, the more taxes they have to pay.

"So the more remote the area, the weaker the imperial court's control, and the fewer registered populations are reported, in order to pay less tax."

It had to be the Minister of Personnel, who hit the nail on the head with just one sentence.

The taxation system of the Tang Dynasty was "zuyongdiao", which was essentially a population tax.

Every male adult paid two dan of millet as rent every year, which was called "rent"; performed twenty days of labor, which was called "yong"; and a certain amount of cotton, linen, and silk cloth, which was called "diao".

Everything is centered around male adults; women, children, the elderly and landless farmers are called "exempt households" and do not have to pay taxes.

Therefore, from the perspective of ordinary people, there is a strong urge to conceal the population.

It’s human nature, who likes to pay more taxes?

This situation happened frequently not only in the Tang Dynasty, but also in ancient times when the population tax was the main type of tax.

Therefore, in times and regions when the imperial court had strong control, the population sizes remained roughly the same.

However, once the times were turbulent or in the remote areas ruled by the dynasty, the court's control weakened.

The registered population figures are starting to become mysterious.

This is why the population suddenly collapsed at the end of the dynasty.

It’s not that the war was really that brutal, but because of the chaos in household registration, a large number of people concealed their information and evaded taxes.

And when the reign of Emperor Gaozu began, the officially registered population never exceeded the 60 million at the peak of the Han Dynasty.

This is roughly the limit of a feudal dynasty's control.

Therefore, during the reign of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, the emperors of Northeast China, one policy was to "never impose additional taxes on the additional population" and the other was to "distribute the tax rate based on the amount of land", which essentially abolished the population tax.

The national population directly “exploded” to 300 million.

It's not about unlocking some agricultural black technology.

If you have actually grown them, you will know that southern crops such as sweet potatoes and corn cannot feed several times the population with just a wave of their hand as is portrayed on the Internet.

What later rulers mastered was actually digital magic.

Statistics, isn't it amazing?

"My grandfather also said that the population registration should not be counted too detailed." Chang Sunyan said seriously:

"A truly wise ruler will not haggle over every penny with the people."

Li Ming glanced at him:
"Will you, Grandfather, make up for the rent and taxes I owe you?"

"Uh..." Chang Sun Yan was speechless for a moment.

tsk...

Li Ming realized the real problem in Pingzhou.

Not in external enemies.

And internally, in the officialdom.

There is such a huge discrepancy between the registered population and the actual population. He, an outsider, can see the trick at a glance. How could the local grassroots officials not know it?
But how dare you come up with such an outrageous number?

A small clue can reveal a big thing, which made Li Ming doubt all the information reported by Pingzhou.

Including the pile of basic information they have been studying for the past month. Including the so-called "Border Urgent Report" that brought him all the way from Chang'an to Pingzhou -

Along the way, apart from the famine, Pingzhou did not suffer any serious external threats and people's life was peaceful.

But Li Ming has already seen some of the internal troubles in the officialdom.

"Jun Ji, do you see the problem?"

He held his head with his hands and squinted his eyes to look at his Sima.

The Minister of Personnel naturally understood what the young master meant and nodded:
"Liu Xin, the governor of Pingzhou, also served as the magistrate of Lulong County. He was ranked only in the middle of the Ding class in the past years of assessment.

"Especially this time, the number of households in Yingzhou, where the Hu people are the majority, far exceeds that of Pingzhou in the Han area.

"This is totally unreasonable, so your majesty sent me to thoroughly investigate the officialdom in Pingzhou."

To thoroughly investigate the Pingzhou officialdom, this was the superficial reason why Hou Junji was able to accompany Li Ming to Liaodong.

For His Majesty the Emperor, people can be released but the procedures must be followed. Otherwise, if he really sets up a country within a country and a government within a government, will the imperial power still have its dignity?
And Li Ming also heard the hidden meaning -

After realizing that his brother Liu Xin and his team were useless, Li Shimin was probably prepared to do Li Ming a favor and hand over the personnel power of Pingzhou to Li Ming.

Because Hou Junji, who was in charge of evaluating officials, was Li Ming's man.

Isn't it obvious that sending Hou Junji here is allowing Li Ming to reorganize the local officialdom at will?

Liu Xin must be removed and replaced by Wei Daijia.

As for the others, if I don’t like anyone, I will simply fail the assessment and fire them!
Yes, Datang civil servants also have to participate in annual assessments.

This is quite similar to the modern times.

Even the content of the assessment is similar. Although Dai Tang does not have the concept of gross domestic product, it also assesses quantifiable indicators such as population and taxation.

The ambitious military commander Hou Junji's main job is actually to use Excel to assess officials throughout the country.

It can be said that the bureaucrats of the Zhenguan Dynasty had very pragmatic and advanced ideas about governing the country.

However, in Liaodong, the ancient feudal dynasty had indeed reached its limit of rule.

It is inevitable that the administration of officials is lax and some rogues have come into the picture...

fine!

I, the Liaodong Jiedushi, will take action and bring this place back under the control of our Li family!

"Oh, our grandfather is so arrogant. He is so shy even when giving a big gift." Li Ming smiled.

After being sprained in the waist by a feint shot from Goguryeo, he realized it was a false alarm.

He found the real purpose of this trip to Pingzhou——

Gather evidence of inaction and misconduct by Governor Liu Xin’s cronies, impeach them all, and replace them with your own people!

"Minister Hou, what do you think of Envoy Liu's performance in governing Pingzhou?" Li Mingming asked knowingly.

Hou Junji understood:
“The documents submitted by Pingzhou officials to the court contained many false information.

"Especially this time, the false report of the emergency has caused His Majesty to worry in vain. The officials have failed the Emperor's grace."

Li Ming nodded with great sorrow and ordered:
"Envoy Wei, please write a letter first and tell His Majesty what you have seen and heard, so that he can rest assured."

"As ordered."

Wei Daijia naturally understood what he meant.

The officials of Pingzhou are in trouble.

There is no need to fight wars, no need to suppress bandits, and at the moment there is no need to distribute porridge.

Fang Yize, Changsun Yan and Yuchi Xunyu, although relieved, couldn't help feeling bored.

All that remains is boring political maneuvering, and it seems that they are of no use at all.

"Mingge Mingge, what should we do next?"

Li Ming looked out the window and rubbed his chin.

Yes, what should we do next to thoroughly understand Pingzhou's background and make our "reporting materials" more detailed?

If you are a relative of the emperor or a high-ranking official, some things are difficult to investigate...

"Shall we go on a secret visit?"

"The private room of the Wei Mansion?"

The two adults and three children looked at each other in bewilderment, having heard this unfamiliar term for the first time.

"That's right." Li Ming lowered his voice:

“People from Pingzhou may not dare to tell the truth to the Minister of Personnel and the Liaodong Jiedushi.

"But what if it's a wealthy merchant traveling to Pingzhou?"

Several people immediately understood what Li Ming meant.

Chang Sunyan looked out the window, panic in his eyes:
“Since you don’t reveal your identity, we can’t stay in the state capital, so let’s find an inn quickly.

"This carriage seems a bit too ostentatious..."

Outside the car window, many people were watching this low-key, luxurious and meaningful carriage.

Although Lulong County is not as uninhabited as imagined, it is obviously not rich.

The car that Li Ming was riding in was already low-key enough compared to the star-studded passengers inside.

However, in Lulong County, far away from the Central Plains, it is still a rare thing.

The spacious carriage is almost wider than the alley.

Many people stuck their heads out, and there were even young mothers holding their children who came out to watch.

If the mounted guards hadn't scolded them, these curious babies would have definitely touched it.

"You're right. Let's go to the inn first before any trouble occurs."

…………

More than half an hour later, three people, old and young, walked out of Fulai Inn in Lulong County.

The three people, who were said to be wealthy businessmen from Chang'an and his two family members, were all dressed in fine and elegant silk clothes.

The carriage that the three of them were riding in was extremely spacious, beyond the poor imagination of the people of Pingzhou.

If they could go out in a carriage like this, they would be willing to travel around the mountains and rivers!
The people of Pingzhou, who had never seen the world, followed the carriage all the way to Fulai Inn.

In the end, the waiter had to work very hard to kick him out.

"It should be safe to leave the car at the inn, right?"

The youngest of the three was a little worried.

He is Li Ming, and now he is the nephew of the mink fur merchant Awei.

"Those people are just curious, they have no ill intentions, and there are guards."

Hou Junji was relatively relaxed.

The intuition honed on the battlefield told him that the people of Pingzhou were just a little poor and a little curious, but their human nature was still simple.

He plays Awei's uncle, a veteran ginseng and deer antler merchant.

"Your Highness, where should we go to get information first?" The sable fur merchant "Awei" Wei Daijia asked Li Ming for his opinion.

This time, only three of them went out to "survey the situation".

The other three were just a burden and were all locked up in the inn, under the euphemism of “guarding the house”.

Li Ming pointed to the tallest building in the county:

"Let's go there first."

"Pingzhou Prefecture?" Wei Daijia was stunned.

Li Ming's mouth curled up into a wicked smile:
"If you want to find out the truth about a local officialdom, how can you not start with the official himself?"

He already had an idea about how to rectify the officialdom in Pingzhou.

That is "fishing enforcement."

When facing his two immediate superiors, the Jiedushi and the Minister of Personnel, Governor Liu Xin must have been cautious.

But what if you are facing a wealthy businessman from other places who is thin-skinned, big-stuffed, weak, helpless, but rich?

Can Liu Xin and his men still pretend to be decent people?

As long as these guys dare to do anything that is not in line with official ethics, the Minister of Personnel will write them all down in his little notebook.

If you reach out, you will be caught!
When the time comes, we will settle the score, uproot them all, and replace them all with our own people!

Not to mention Li Shimin, even Changsun Wuji couldn't find any fault with him!
Reasonable and legal, enough to convince the public!
These insects even dare to fleece His Royal Highness the Prince, so one can only imagine how they will exploit the common people!
Must hit hard!
(End of this chapter)