In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

Yang Xuan then looked at Pei Zhao.

"You don't need to make a move on someone tonight."

"Let Lu Cheng and Dou Ping each take a route."

"County Magistrate, Registrar, He Liu, and those few most active ones at the gate, who ran which way and who went to see whom, write it down first."

Pei Zhao nodded.

Where is Chen Ye?

"Let him go with He Liu."

Yang Xuan said calmly.

"That man is fast on his feet, fast on his tongue, and restless at heart."

"It's perfect for him to keep an eye on someone who's equally cunning and slippery."

Pei Zhao's lips twitched very slightly.

This is just tormenting someone.

"clear."

After everyone had left, only Yang Xuan, Cui Shen, Han Jitong, Yan He, and Wen Bo remained in the hall.

Wen Bo first had two lamps brought over, then took out medicine from the back and watched as Yang Xuan drank half a bowl.

Yang Xuan didn't argue.

The moment the medicine enters the mouth, the bitter taste spreads across the back of the tongue.

But he seemed not to notice at all, only staring at the missing list on the table.

Before long, footsteps began to sound outside in waves.

The first thing that arrived was the household registration book.

This booklet is as thick as the county's population.

Next came the corvée labor register and the list of servants.

It was so thin that it seemed there were hardly any people in this government office who could actually do any work.

Finally, the warehouse storage register and the salt tax register were delivered.

As soon as the clerk delivering the documents entered, his eyes first glanced at Yang Xuan's face before he lowered his head and placed the documents on the table.

"County Magistrate."

"Everything that could be delivered has been delivered first."

Cui Shen didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Can you deliver it?"

The minor official choked on his words.

"There are still a few... that make sense."

"Make a note of it."

Yang Xuan said calmly.

"Which ones are still valid, who has them, and why?"

The clerk turned pale and could only repeatedly say yes.

As soon as the others left, Cui Shen spread out several booklets.

The candlelight in the hall was not very bright.

As soon as the old paper is turned over, a damp, ash, and musty smell rushes out.

Some of the page corners were even soft and blackened, as if they hadn't just been taken off the desk.

It looks like it was temporarily dug out from under someone's bed, in a crack in the wall, or from an old box.

Cui Shenxian flipped through the household registration books.

The more he flipped through the pages, the more his brow furrowed.

"wrong."

"What's wrong?"

Ah Fu returned just then, his forehead covered in sweat from running. Upon hearing this, he immediately rushed over.

Cui Shen pressed his finger on one of the pages.

"According to the household registration book, Yanjing County currently has 1,326 registered households."

"But on this corvée register, there are only 781 people who can be assigned to this year's spring corvée."

Afu didn't understand.

"So much less?"

"Not just few."

Han Jitong took over the conversation.

"It also depends on what kind of people are in short supply."

He leaned over, glanced around, and pointed to a few spots.

"Look here."

"These households are still registered, but their corvée labor records have been approved as 'substituted by Inoue'."

"And here too."

"He was clearly registered under the name of a able-bodied man, but he was recorded as a sick and disabled person."

"Look at this page now."

"A family with two able-bodied members, registered in the household register, yet their corvée labor was simply skipped."

Cui Shen's gaze grew increasingly somber.

"In other words, it's not that there's no one in the county."

"There are people who simply don't participate in public service."

Han Jitong nodded.

"right."

"Those who should have contributed manpower, effort, and favors to officials were all shunned by layers of bureaucracy."

Upon hearing this, Afu finally realized something.

"Who will do the work in the county, like repairing ditches, patching walls, carrying grain, and escorting carts?"

Han Jitong gave a wry smile.

"Whoever is unlucky, does it."

"Porters by the roadside, migrant workers from other places, temporary laborers, plus those who have no connections, no backers, and can't afford to pay the compensation fee."

"So this place looks crowded, but when the government actually needs to call for people, it always seems like there are very few who are actually capable."

Cui Shen closed the household register and then opened the list of servants.

This time, his expression was even more unpleasant.

"The names on the list are: 26 bailiffs, 4 gatekeepers, 3 storehouse servants, 5 night patrolmen, and 6 escorts."

"But how many people actually showed up in the hall today?"

Afu counted on his fingers.

"One doorman, two old clerks, one He Liu, plus a few others who were temporarily called back..."

"At most, it's less than half."

"Moreover, among these twenty-six bailiffs, seven of their names did not have handprints."

Cui Shen twirled the pages, his voice already turning cold.

"There are three more, whose place of origin is only listed as 'from this county'."

"This isn't a flower name."

"This is called 'muddling the name'."

Yang Xuan remained silent throughout.

Only then did they ask:

"Are there really that many people?"

Han Jitong shook his head.

"not necessarily."

"Some died early and were never sold."

"Some people are still listed in name, but they've long since gone off to work for Inoue, the caravan, and the brokers."

"And some are simply empty titles used to claim the allowance."

Ah Fu's teeth started to ache from listening to that.

"In a government office, even the roster of servants can be left blank?"

"This is how people disperse."

Yanhe sat to the side, quietly flipping through another document.

Suddenly, she turned the page in her hand over and placed it on the table.

"It's not just that people have dispersed."

Even the money was scattered.

This page is the monthly book.

The records above detail the rations, wages, repair expenses, and miscellaneous expenditures of the yamen runners.

At first glance, the characters are all written neatly.

But upon closer inspection, problems emerge one after another.

"The servants' rations were distributed twice this month."

"Three records were kept of the lamp oil used for the night patrol."

"Repairing the door lock, mending the drum skin, and adding a table to the hall were all written down."

Yanhe gently pressed down with his fingertips.

"But when we came in today, the door lock was old, the drum skin was cracked, the table legs were crooked, and there was dust in the hall."

"If the money had really been spent properly, it shouldn't be like this."

Uncle Wen, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but curse.

"This group of people are treating the government office like a sieve."

"No."

Yang Xuan said calmly.

"The sieve is leaking millet."

"They leaked entire bags of grain."

Upon hearing this, Cui Shen went to look through the warehouse's sealed inventory.

Upon turning the page, he actually laughed first.

But that smile showed no sign of relief; instead, it was even colder.

"Curry has 17 strings of cash and 632 coins."

"One hundred and ninety shi of aged grain."

"The new grain has not yet been delivered."

"The records in the Ever-Normal Granary are quite respectable."

Han Jitong, however, said:

"If there really was that much grain, when Uncle Wen went into the back today, he wouldn't have only seen half a granary of moldy bean husks."

Uncle Wen was taken aback.

"You know?"

"I used to work as a clerk here."

Han Jitong's voice was hoarse.

"I know which storeroom in the back office has rotten wood, and which door makes a rattling sound when you push it open."

"If the Ever-Normal Granary really had 190 shi (a unit of dry measure), even a mouse would have gotten fatter."

Cui Shen's eyelids twitched.

"In other words, there are still fakes in the register."

"More than just fake."

Han Jitong leaned back, his face turning even paler.

"It's written with a mix of truth and falsehood."

"It's all fake; anyone can tell."

"Writing in a mixed style is actually the most grueling."

"Some money was indeed spent, and some grain was indeed delivered, but after going through layer by layer, what actually ended up in the hands of the government was often just an empty shell."

Only then did Yang Xuan reach out and open the last salt lesson booklet.

This one is dirtier than the others.

The edges were blackened, and fine salt grains were stuck in the crevices of the pages.

Cui Shen immediately spread out the old well survey book and the distribution book that Han Jitong had brought out.

The old and new volumes are together in one place.

The atmosphere in the hall gradually changed.

The previous ones were in disarray, with people scattered, but at least it was just an empty government office starting from the inside out.

But once the salt is served, the taste changes.

Because this is not simply a dilapidated county government office.

It was the most valuable piece of meat, and it wasn't in the hands of the government at all.