I, the queen and the father, start with a deer as a horse

After carefully looking at these children, I found out.

Several of them were little beggars who used to beg on the official road.

In an instant, an unknown fire rose from the chest of the little empress.

"The imperial court allocated money to establish Salesian Bureaus in various state capitals, but the local government swallowed up all the money, and turned these unwanted children into beggars for a living. It is really abominable!"

Think of this.

The little empress could no longer restrain the anger in her heart, and said coldly:

"Bring the magistrate of Anhua! I have something to ask him!"

"Yes!"

The guard took the order and turned to leave.

at the same time.

Knowing that Fang Xiu and his party are the good people who gave them food before.

The vigilance of the little beggars was also much weaker.

At the very least, dare to look up at the appearance of Fang Xiu and Wu Mingkong.

Wu Mingkong looked at the little girl who wanted to talk before, and said gently:

"You just said, how many uncles are there, what happened to the uncles?"

The little girl was a little nervous, she lowered her head, clenched her hands tightly, and said nothing.

The little boy on the side was much more courageous and answered for her.

"She just wanted to say that there are a few uncles who usually send food and clothes...

It was also the idea of ​​those uncles to let us take the bowls and go begging on the road. "

Wu Mingkong's face revealed a sudden look, and he understood in his heart.

Those uncles may be the big beggar who followed the little beggar earlier.

Probably because he couldn't bear to watch these children starve to death, so he taught them some begging skills.

"Beggars still have the heart to care for children. How can those dogs in the government who have read sage books turn a blind eye to these seven or eight-year-old beggars!"

Thinking of this, Wu Mingkong felt more and more angry.

After a while, he asked again: "Then why didn't you let her talk just now?"

The little boy replied: "Who knows if you are bad people."

Wu Mingkong was speechless, thought for a while, and asked again:

"What about your family?"

The little boy said, "It's just me!"

Wu Mingkong was silent for a while, then looked at the little girl again, and asked, "What about you?"

The little girl clutched the corner of her clothes and said timidly:

"In Liu's Village."

Wu Mingkong was a little surprised and asked, "Then why don't you go home?"

The little girl lowered her head, as if remembering something sad, her voice trembled with tears:

"My dad said I was a loser and sent me here."

Hearing this, Wu Mingkong suddenly felt as if his heart was tightly clenched by something, unable to breathe.

After a while, he asked, "How old are you?"

The girl tremblingly said: "Thirteen."

Wu Mingkong's eyes widened in disbelief, and he looked her up and down carefully.

The girl was wearing tattered cloth clothes, she looked very short and thin, she looked like she was eight or nine years old.

Wu Mingkong looked at her, speechless for a long time.

Seeing this, Fang Xiu stood behind her, leaned over and explained in her ear:

"According to the Dagan law, people over the age of 16, regardless of gender, have to pay taxes.

Some poor families gave birth to girls, and they were able to raise them at first, but when they were thirteen or fourteen years old, they planned to marry off the girls.

Those who can't get married can only stay at home, can't do much work, and have to eat and pay taxes, so they become losers.

As parents, even if you lose money, you have to support them, but there are always some cruel people in this world..."

Speaking of which, stop abruptly.

But the little empress understood.

After all, those who are a little cruel will lose their own flesh and blood to reduce the burden on the family.

Hearing Fang Xiu's explanation, Wu Mingkong felt anger rising in his chest, but he had nowhere to vent it.

Looking at the skinny children...or teenagers or girls in this room.

Wu Mingkong really wanted to throw himself into Fang Xiu's arms and cry loudly.

But she knows that on the road of life, some things must be faced alone after all.

What's more, what are these?

This is Anhua County, which is very close to Chang'an.

If you go to Qingzhou, where the disaster has just ended, I'm afraid there will be worse scenes everywhere.

What about her?

Have you been crying in Fang Xiu's arms?

Thinking so, the little empress took a deep breath to calm down her emotions.

Looking at these little beggars, he forced himself to ask a few more questions.

These little beggars also answered one by one.

After a while.

The little empress's heart was already full of anger.

In her opinion.

It is understandable that something like this happened in Qingzhou.

But what happened in Anhua County is entirely the responsibility of the government!

Don't say anything else.

The government can't even give out the money to help some small beggars!

It's nothing more than being enriched by these crazy guys!

Think so.

The little empress looked at the guards, and ordered: "Go and urge, let the magistrate of Anhua come and see you quickly!"

The guard cupped his hands and was about to leave.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps at the door.

Immediately afterwards, a strange voice came.

"My lower official is Du Fang Township, Magistrate of Anhua County, and I greet you, Your Excellency!"

Chapter 157 What the Salesian Bureau Sees and Heards

Wu Mingkong turned his head to look, and saw a man in an official robe standing at the door, bowing to salute.

He looked 40 years old, his face was full of wrinkles, and he looked a bit vicissitudes.

Not tall, very thin.

"You are Du Fang Township?"

Wu Mingkong stared at him and said coldly.

The man in the official robe saluted again: "Exactly."

Wu Mingkong burst into anger in his eyes, snorted coldly, and said coldly: "You are guilty!"

Du Fangxiang looked up, saw Wu Mingkong's exquisite face, and immediately lowered his head.

Almost sure of my guess.

This lord from Chang'an is His Majesty who visited in private!

He took a deep breath, summoned up his courage, and said in a deep voice:

"I don't know where the crime is."

Hearing this, Wu Mingkong became even more angry, gritted his silver teeth, and said coldly:

"The imperial court allocates money every year to set up Salesian Bureaus in various places to take in orphans, but what did I see when I came to the Salesian Bureau in Anhua County today?

These orphans, who should be supported by the government, are crowded in dilapidated houses, naked, and even go to the street to beg for food and drink. As the county magistrate of Anhua, you tell this official that you are not guilty?

Since you feel innocent, tell me where you used the money allocated by the imperial court! "

When Du Fangxiang heard this, he turned his head and glanced at the arrester behind him, and ordered:

"Go get the account books of the yamen!"

The catcher was still thinking, what is the origin of this lord in front of him, looking so young, he actually scolded the lord magistrate bloody.

Hearing the order, he was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said:

"Yes, my lord!"

Du Fangxiang turned his head, looked at the ground, and said in a deep voice:

"The imperial court allocates ten taels of silver to the Salesian Bureau every year. The use of each of these ten taels of silver is recorded by the lower officials..."

"Twelve taels of silver?"

Wu Mingkong was slightly taken aback, somewhat disbelieving.

She has a fairly good understanding of the prices in Dagan, and knows that for a Salesian Bureau that supports hundreds of orphans, ten taels of silver is just a drop in the bucket.

Du Fangxiang nodded and replied, "Twelve taels."

Seeing that Du Fangxiang was calm and composed from the beginning to the end.

Wu Mingkong's expression was still cold, but his tone softened a bit, and he asked, "Why are there only ten taels? But because of the exploitation by all levels of government?"

Du Fangxiang hesitated for a moment, and said seriously: "As far as I know, the Ministry of Households allocates not much money to the Salesian Bureau, and there are only ten taels left in the county government, which is reasonable."

After a pause, he said to himself:

"The Salesian Bureau is only set up in a few state capitals around Chang'an, and there is not much money. The lower officials think that no one will be greedy for the money.

Moreover, the lower officials thought that the imperial court needed money in all aspects, and it was not easy to leave ten taels of silver to orphans and children. "

Wu Mingkong fell silent when he heard this.

After a while, she seemed to think of something, looked at Du Fangxiang, and said in a deep voice:

"If I remember correctly, the imperial court set up the Salesian Bureau, and there will be about [-] acres of official land. The output of these official lands is not enough for them to eat?"

Du Fangxiang smiled wryly, and raised his eyes to look at Wu Mingkong: "When the Salesian Bureau was first established, there were indeed corresponding official fields... Now that decades have passed, those original official fields have long been annexed, but now they are There isn't even an acre left."

The fields of a group of orphans are easier to occupy than the fields of farmers and military households.

Wu Mingkong took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said coldly: "Tell me, who occupied these official fields?"

Hearing this question, Du Fangxiang's face was solemn and he fell into silence.

Wu Mingkong snorted coldly and said coldly:

"I don't need to think about it, I know it must be a local gentry in Anhua County! You dare not say it because you took their benefits?!"

Du Fang Township was silent for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "Anhua County is only half a day away from Chang'an. The gentry in this county dare not think about the fields here."