"I am willing to help the envoy and take over the vacant captain position. But I really don't have time now. Guard Jia found me and asked me to help him lead this village corps. There is nothing I can do. You know, Guard Jia helped me a lot last time. Thanks to him for helping him rescue the thief's nest, do you think so!"

In the military camp, Luo Chengzhang Yichen presented tea and said helplessly.

"You are a village soldier and lieutenant, and it doesn't affect your return to the county to take over as the captain!" Zhang Yichen picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, but found that there were only some tea leaves in the tea cup, neither ginger, garlic, nor orange peel, nor salt or chopped green onion. He felt tasteless and put it down again.

"Your conditions are still a little bit simple."

"It's already very good. I have to thank Wei Duwei Jia for finding such a good place to build a barracks for us. I have to thank the county for its strong support, otherwise the township corps would have neither barracks nor soldiers."

Zhang Yichen shook his head.

"Shicheng, I won't say much about the polite words on the surface. As for you, I can be regarded as a kindness from the people. I'm a kind of kindness to you, right?"

"Of course, if it weren't for the envoy, I would be just a rural farmer now."

"Shicheng, the situation is not very good now. There may be a big war next year, and maybe the war will start the next year at the latest, but the tasks before the war are also very heavy. In the face of the tight tax urging, all those who have been arrears over the years must be made up. In addition, the tasks assigned by the higher authorities are getting heavier and heavier, and many people will have to be recruited to serve. In addition...

County Magistrate Zhang lit up one after another. As a county magistrate, his task was also very heavy. The tax collection was the duty, but he had to pay back all the debts from previous years. In addition, the war was imminent and there was an additional collection. Not only did the rich landlords have to charge a large amount of war donations, but even ordinary people had to pay more.

The heavy tax service has led to many fugitives, some even resist taxes and laws, and some simply go up the mountain to make enemies. There is Changbai Mountain next to Zhangqiu County. Not only Zhangqiu's escaped from the mountain, but many nearby counties are running there.

Those who escape into the mountains want to live. Some will open up land and farm on their own, but more people choose to be bandits, so they often go down the mountain to rob.

In order to maintain public order, the county had to increase the number of yamen runners' idles. The increased personnel and money and grain expenses had to be raised by the county. Without the above-mentioned funds, the county could only transfer the expenses to the people.

This is in a vicious cycle.

The heavier the taxes and more escapes, the more bandits and the worse the public security.

If the public security is poor, the government will have to send additional vassals and increase the staff, and the expenses will be increased. They can only be paid to the people.

"In the past, Fan Hu and others could no longer adapt to the current situation. Moreover, these people have been in the yamen for many years and have a bad reputation. Letting them stay will only make the situation more tense. What I need now is a more capable person, and I am very optimistic about you."

"It's just that I am young and unqualified, so I can't take on the post of captain. No one in the third class of the yamen will submit to me." Luo Chengdao.

"How do you want to?"

Zhang Yichen is also a smart person. After a conversation, he understood many things.

"If the envoy really believes in me and is willing to use me, then I will dare to make a few requests."

"Though say it!"

"First of all, if I am the captain, then I hope that all three yamen runners will be disbanded."

"Did you all quit?" Zhang Yichen didn't expect Luo Cheng to have such high requirements.

"As the envoy said, the people in the county government are both incompetent and greedy. In the years they have been there, the people have deeply complained about them. Now they continue to keep them. Under the current situation, they are afraid that they will easily cause deeper conflicts between officials and the people. Moreover, they are indeed incompetent, and keeping them is useless."

"If the envoys have all of them at this time, and even have a few special reputations to conduct public trials and liquidate them, then they can immediately calm down the resentment of many people, and the envoys' reputation will also rise rapidly, which will be of great help in the future."

Zhang Yichen frowned, "If you open it all, will you be too big?"

Although there are only 30 yamen runners in three squads, in fact, there are more than 300 yamen runners in Zhangqiu County and their gangs. After all, a county is so big, and the population of tens of thousands of households must be maintained by these people.

"Everything is done, they are fired. The envoy doesn't have to worry about the county government being unable to maintain it. I can bring the village group here."

There were 231 people in the village group, and Luo Cheng could hang two signs in one team at any time. At that time, the people were still this group of people, but they were both rural soldiers and yamen runners.

"Is this difficult?"

"Of course it can be done. If you are worried, you can still start the people and ask them to re-examine them. As long as you don't have many bad deeds and are willing to reform and work diligently, you can still recruit them to investigate."

Zhang Yichen smiled and stopped the staff next to him who wanted to speak.

"If I promise you this request, have you ever thought about how to improve the current situation in the county?"

Luo Cheng replied, "As far as I know, the county government is facing several urgent matters now, first of all, tax collection, including the annual regular tax, the additional taxation now that the war is coming, and the payment of accumulated debts in previous years. This is the top priority, but now the large households in the county generally resist, and they disobey and refuse to pay for various excuses, which makes the county government very passive."

"The second most urgent task is that more and more fugitives are pouring into Changbai Mountain, some of which have become desperate bandits, and severely punishing and threatening our Zhangqiu County."

Taxation and bandit suppression are two troubles that Zhang Yichen urgently needs to solve.

"Then what can you do?"

"I think it's possible to suppress the bandits first and then collect taxes?"

“Why?”

"Of course, it's a killing chicken to warn the monkey. If one or two big families can find evidence of secret collusion with the bandits, then the effect will be better if the person gets the stolen goods."

"But it's not easy to suppress the bandits. I asked Guard Jia several times before to ask him to send county soldiers to suppress the bandits. He refused to agree to send troops on the grounds that the new county soldiers had not completed the training."

"Empression, in fact, it doesn't have to suppress many bandits. The key is that we have to let the people know that we have suppressed bandits, or to put it bluntly, we just have to borrow a few heads to see the big and powerful people in the county who are fighting against taxes."

Zhang Yichen never had such a way of thinking.

He was secretly surprised that Luo Cheng was so cruel at such a young age, but he also felt that this seemed to be a good way.

"I'll consider this. Are there any other requirements? Let me put it forward together?"

"There is also a little private request. I hope the county magistrate can help me. I will recruit and dispatch troops next year, so I will not send my family to the squad."

"That's all?"

"Um."

Zhang Yichen nodded, "I can agree to your three conditions now. When will you come to the county government?"

"From now on, I will be the head of the county. The more than 200 people outside are the yamen runners and gangs in our third squad of Zhangqiu County. We will always wait for the envoy's orders!" Luo Cheng stood up and said loudly.

Zhang Yichen nodded with satisfaction.
Chapter completed!