The back office of the lifting division, Xu Ping half lay on the chair, listening to the chirping of cicadas and insects on the big tree not far away, as well as the chatter of the mulberry around him.

Seeing that Xu Ping's eyes were half-closed, and he didn't know whether he was asleep or awake, Sang Yi said, "Are you listening?" ”

"I'm listening, you go on."

"It's all over, what else to say!"

Seeing that Xu Ping's eyes were closed, Sang Yi hurriedly said, "You are talking!" This kind of thing, the thieves are all old people and children, and they should be punished according to the law, but how can they do it! ”

"If you can't do it, you won't be able to—"

Listening to Xu Ping's lazy voice, Sang Yizhi sighed: "You said it lightly, I sat in the court, accidentally neglected something, and it was me who made people laugh!" ”

Xu Ping opened his eyes and looked at Sang Yi, and said slowly: "The matter is clear, the human and material evidence are all there, what is there to be negligent about?" ”

"Yes, the evidence is conclusive, and it should be beaten according to the law! Why do you say it's exempt again? ”

"The law is just human feelings, how can it be so rigid? The law says that it is necessary to fight, but it is not necessary to fight, so is it not possible to break the bronze? ”

"The old and the young, seeing that the family can't even eat, where can I be punished?"

"As long as people live, they have hands and feet, are you still afraid that there will be no place to be punished?"

"Those two old and young, do you still think they can earn money?"

"Why not? Isn't there still a cane sugar business? The old man can still chop wood, but he can't do anything else, and he can get a few hundred dollars a month to make a fire in the cane sugar. ”

Sang Yi looked at Xu Ping, his face was straight: "You don't really want them to enter the sugar business, do you?" This is no joke! They're cochinese! ”

Xu Ping said: "I don't care where he is, and I can't beat you." Then I had to be punished. How can you pat your ass and walk when you owe money to the government? Where in the world is there such a cheap thing! ”

"Don't say it so easily! First, they were not under the rule of the Great Song Dynasty. When you receive the cane sugar, someone must be talking about it. Moreover, they themselves can't even open the pot in Jiaozhi. When they received cane sugar, they were not punished, and they couldn't ask for food and drink. Do you think that's appropriate? ”

"Haha - what's inappropriate? You, you're used to staying in the Central Plains, and you're a little timid about doing things. Afraid that the cochin people are looking for trouble? How idle do the Jiaozhi people have to be to make trouble for such two people! As for whether it's a good thing or a bad thing for the two of them in the sugar cane business, what are you doing with so much care! As long as the cane sugar business really saves money, can they really make money to resist the war? You're thinking wrong! ”

"It's not that I'm biased, it's you who are lying to yourself! In this way, the two people who crossed the border to steal entered the cane sugar business, and once the matter was reported back to Jiaozhi. I don't know how many people who don't have enough to eat cross the border to come to the cane sugar, do you collect it or not? ”

"Close! This year, there is a shortage of people in the cane sugar business! ”

"There are too many people to collect, will Jiaozhi or Jiatong send someone to negotiate with you?"

Xu Ping shrank back in the chair and closed his eyes: "Come on, come on, I'll wait here." ”

"Yun Xing, I don't know what you're thinking, but I feel like you've been deliberately angry with Jia Yu for the past two months, for fear that they won't provoke you. Side matters are sensitive, so you should be careful. ”

Xu Ping didn't say anything, as if he was asleep.

Since Wei Dalang and Ding Xiaoniu received the first reward. The reward for the lifting division has been changed. Unless there is a fight, no human life shall be harmed. Even if the thief is killed in the course of the fight, the corpse can only receive five guan money, and the living one rises to ten. After discussing with the people of the promotion department, they felt that if they didn't change it, those who were greedy for money would only attack the old and weak, and the real thieves would be left alone.

And Ponyho and his grandfather were recruited into the sugar cane business, and they made a fire to cook at a field opening site near Pingxiang Mountain. Although the wages were not paid to the government as a fine to offset the cane punishment, the grandparents and grandchildren also lived a life of food and clothing, even if the fine was paid one day, they would not leave.

The matter of the ancestors and grandsons spread, and the number of people who escaped from Jiaozhi was more and more day by day, and the expansion of the sugar business was short of manpower, and Xu Ping was coming to collect as much as he could.

Menzhou, which was the closest, bore the brunt, but looking at the Zhennan Pass, which was being strengthened day by day, and the more and more imperial court officials and troops gathering in Pingxiangtong, Menzhou Huang Guanshou and his son finally endured it and quietly watched the development of the situation.

In August, Xu Ping's regular army of the Xiang Army, which was transferred to Pingxiangtong, had reached more than 3,500 people, including the newly recruited commanders of Zhongrui and Anyuan. Coupled with the two commanding township soldiers of the cane sugar business, it is close to 5,000 people.

With the courage of the soldiers, the pace of expansion of the sugar business is getting faster and faster, and the south road has been repaired to Zhennan Pass, and the southeast direction has begun to extend to Luzhou. Cane sugar is not only cultivating the land, but also absorbing the surrounding population like a sponge. The original slave families of the surrounding Tuzhou, some idle people, and even those as far away as Langzhou were sucked in.

Menzhou is a small place in the end, the Huang family takes a closer look at their own people, and they can hold it through gritted teeth, but Langzhou, as the northern center of Jiaozhi, can't stand it.

The mountains are vast and sparsely populated, and the population is the greatest wealth, for the sake of the population, the various forces have fought for thousands of years, and which one can watch their own population being sucked away?

On the tenth day of the first month of August, the Jia family first sent someone to find Xu Ping in the name of Langzhou.

After receiving the report, Xu Ping turned to the chief's hall and saw a middle-aged man in his forties standing in the hall, with a medium stature and a little rich.

Seeing Xu Ping come out, the man hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "Xiaguan Li Qingcheng, I have seen the promotion official." ”

Xu Ping looked Li Qingcheng up and down, and said: "Li Zhizhou is a distinguished guest, and it has been a few years since the official was promoted by Zuojiang Dao, and I only met you this year." ”

Li Qingcheng's face was embarrassed: "The officials are entangled in mundane affairs, and they have never had to meet the officials, which is rude." ”

Langzhou was also nominally a vassal to the Great Song Dynasty, but at the same time, it was actually controlled by Jiatong. But no matter what, nominally it is a subordinate place of the Great Song Dynasty, but it does not meet Xu Ping, the top boss, which is unreasonable.

Xu Ping said lightly: "It's really not easy to wait for you to be free, since you're here, let's sit down." ”

After speaking, he sat down on the main seat first.

Li Qingcheng said with a smile: "In front of the upper officials, how can the lower officials have a place to sit." ”

"It's okay not to sit. I'm an informal. The following officials will come to see you. All have seats. - But. You are an exception, you haven't come to see me for a few years, and you think you're very busy. If you have something to say, stand there and say it, hurry up and finish it, don't delay your business. Those of us who are sent out by the imperial court to be officials are not good at harassing the locality. ”

"The official's words are serious."

Beads of sweat were already oozing from Li Qingcheng's forehead. When he came here, if Xu Ping regarded him as a magistrate in Jiaozhi, everything would be easy, but Xu Ping regarded him as a courtier of the Great Song Dynasty. Then you can't say anything. Xu Ping, as the top boss, didn't even say hello for a few years in office, and suddenly came to negotiate, what is there to talk about?

Seeing Xu Ping sit down and ignore himself, Li Qingcheng didn't know how to speak, and the scene froze for a while.

The soldier brought the tea, Xu Ping motioned to put the two cups of tea on the table beside him, picked up one and drank it slowly, ignoring Li Qingcheng.

Seeing Xu Ping's calm and relaxed appearance, Jia Chenggui's explanation when he remembered it again. Li Qingcheng sighed in his heart, and said stubbornly: "Official." Xia Guan came this time, there is a little thing to say. ”

"Oh, let's talk about it." Xu Ping put down the teacup in his hand, "You don't have to be polite when you come to me, just say it if you have something to say." Everyone is busy, don't go around the bush. ”

Li Qingcheng said: "That's right, in the past two months, many local people under my rule have fled, and I heard that they all went to the officials and went to work in cane sugar. ”

Xu Ping said indifferently: "Oh, is there one? ”

"Yes, of course, and quite a few! My subordinates reported it, and there were hundreds of people in two months! ”

"Well, when you have time, I'll ask you at the sugar cane business, you don't have to worry."

"Official, why am I not in a hurry? If this continues, there will be no one to plant the fields in my state! How can the sugar company recruit the population under my rule? ”

Xu Ping made a face: "Why can't you recruit the population under your rule?" Could it be that I still took your money and food? ”

"No, official, that's not what I meant!" Li Qingcheng was so anxious that he couldn't say anything, "I am a foreign Tuzhou, and I should rely on the support of these local people, how can I do it if the population is small?" The imperial court rewarded me at the beginning, but I was allowed to inherit the Li family from generation to generation, and pay taxes on money, grain, and food. ”

"Could it be that I am asking you for it now? Or do you want to pay it yourself? ”

Li Qingcheng was stunned for a moment, and suddenly found that it was boring to fight with Xu Ping according to the words of the imperial court, and the Great Song Dynasty allowed their family to be hereditary governors, but there was no guarantee that he would ask for people and land.

"Anyway, I think the imperial court shouldn't compete with us local officials for population."

In the end, Li Qingcheng could only say such a sentence.

Xu Ping said coldly: "They are all the people under the rule of the Great Song Dynasty, where do they want to go, as long as they don't violate the law, why should I stop those people?" Wherever they are well fed and warmly clothed, they will naturally go there. The court asked you to guard the place, but you let the people under your rule not eat and clothe, and you still think that the court owes you, right? Do you think that the court should do what you want? ”

"What the official said is reasonable, but no matter how reasonable it is, we can't let our local officials suffer, otherwise who will guard the place for the court? Without us local officials, would the court have to take care of everything? ”

Xu Ping didn't speak, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, before slowly speaking: "Do you know that Zuo Jiangdao has already practiced the Bracket Ding method?" I remember that the proclamation was delivered to you as well. ”

"You know, what's the matter with me?"

"It is clear in the notice that only Bozhou and Tian Prefecture and a few related places will not be implemented for the time being, how can you think that it is not your business to forgive the state."

Li Qingcheng was taken aback: "The officials still want to bracket Ding in Langzhou?" ”

Xu Ping slapped the table suddenly: "Do you think the notice sent out by the lifting division is to coax children to play?" I didn't look for you before, because you can't be idle, and I can't be idle, since I'm here today, you can go back and prepare. ”

"Do the officials really want to practice the law in Langzhou?" Li Qingcheng was so surprised that his eyes were about to fall out, what is Langzhou? It's just nominally a subordinate of the Great Song Dynasty, and this official is serious!

"You are an official of the Great Song Dynasty, and you use the official seal of the Great Song Dynasty, so you should honestly serve the Great Song Dynasty, why do you think that the promotion department can't control you?"

Li Qingcheng shook his head, he only felt incredible about Xu Ping's words, did he think that with just this one name, he could annex such an important place as Langzhou?

Xu Ping was too lazy to pay attention to him, he knew that he had to listen to Jia Yu for everything, so why bother to say anything. Now Pingxiang is full of soldiers and horses, Xu Ping is just waiting for Jiatong to come to the door, and the two sides have a showdown.

(Two shifts will be resumed tomorrow.) (To be continued.) )