Become a founding empress in ancient times with the system

After a long sleep, I wonder how County Magistrate Wu is doing. What's that gurgling sound? Sheng Changan touched her belly and found it was hers.

Sheng Changan stared blankly into the air. She now felt like she could eat a whole cow.

"Sir, please eat something." Changqing walked in slowly.

Sheng Changan ignored the fact that the bed seemed to be unable to bear the weight and climbed up. Her face turned green as she looked at the bowl of wild vegetable porridge. It couldn't even be called wild vegetable porridge. If she was not mistaken, these should be wild grasses.

Sheng Changan found it really hard to swallow. In her memory, she had never eaten anything so disgusting: "Changqing, have you eaten?"

"Eat it, sir. You can't be picky about food." Changqing had a serious face, still savoring his breakfast in the morning. If it weren't for the potatoes given by the sir, he could only eat one meal a day. Although it wasn't much, he was already very satisfied.

Sheng Changan's heart sank. Was she being so obvious? Even a child could see it.

Forget it, there's nothing much to be done about this situation. Sheng Changan took the bowl of wild vegetable porridge and swallowed it, resisting the urge to vomit. Thinking that she would have to live like this for several more months, she felt that there was no hope for this life. She could only silently say in her heart: "Xiao Liu, sign in, sign in quickly."

'OK, the system is signing in'

It was corn, or a hundred kilograms of corn kernels. Sheng Changan was so excited that tears were about to come out. She could even leave some to eat: "Changqing, where is County Magistrate Wu?"

"Go out and see them planting potatoes." Changqing looked at the adults who suddenly became happy in confusion. It was really strange.

Sheng Changan smiled and rubbed his head: "Then Changqing can take me to find him? I have something important to talk to him about."

Changqing frowned: "Sir, it's a bit far." Although he was small, he also knew that the master was very weak now.

A bit far? Sheng Changan felt a little uneasy: "Don't we have a carriage?"

Chang Qing looked at Sheng Changan in surprise, as if she had said something very strange: "Sir, we don't have a carriage. It was robbed a long time ago."

Sheng Changan breathed a sigh of relief. She should have thought of this earlier. This county government office was so shabby, how could there be something as high-end as a carriage? It would probably be difficult to find a donkey in the entire county. "Then take me out for a walk!"

Sheng Changan looked at the people on the street with mixed feelings. Everyone was pale and thin, and their eyes were full of numbness.

The houses on the street were all made of loess and stones, with hay spread on the roofs. They were very simple, and most of the clothes on people did not fit them. In comparison, the clothes I was wearing were actually pretty good.

She walked out slowly along the main road and saw from afar County Magistrate Wu walking briskly towards the city. This time she really believed that County Magistrate Wu was only about forty years old. It seemed that the people here just looked older.

"Sir, why did you come out? Do you have more grain seeds?" County Magistrate Wu's eyes lit up.

"I came out to take a look." Seeing the disappointed look in Wu County Magistrate's eyes, he immediately added, "But it is indeed there."

"Sir, let's go back quickly!" County Magistrate Wu was a little excited.

Sheng Chang'an raised his eyebrows. This County Magistrate Wu was a very disciplined person. He walked slowly, and although he was anxious, he did not cross his path. He was also a good official. Even though he was a new official and knew nothing, he did not commit any offense.

And judging by the way he walked, he seemed to be from a noble family. But that wasn't important, she just wanted to know that this person was useful.

Sheng Changan sat down in the main seat, took out the corn, and calculated that one liter of corn was about four pounds. "Leave five liters of corn. The county government needs to recruit some people. Take the rest and distribute it to the people to plant. If all goes well, there will be no shortage of food in about ninety days."

"Yes." County Magistrate Wu's hands were shaking with excitement. The fact that there was no shortage of food meant that the output was definitely not low.

However, he did not forget his job: "I wonder how many people we need to recruit, and what are the requirements?"

Sheng Changan rubbed his hands. It was such a poor place, so there were probably not many people who could be used. "Recruit three first, and then recruit more if needed. The condition is that those who can read and write will be given priority. The compensation will be provided with food first! The compensation will be increased later. If the conditions are very good, you can also recruit more."

Although this is unlikely, but what if!

“By the way, how are taxes collected here?”

Wu Xiancheng's heart sank. Did he misjudge the man? This newly appointed county magistrate was so quick to exploit these civilians. Wu Xiancheng said dryly: "According to past practice, the total amount is 80%."

Sheng Changan took a deep breath. With 80% tax, plus being robbed from time to time, how could anyone survive? "First, reduce the tax. In the early stage, collect 10% to maintain the basic expenses of the county government, but I promise that the maximum increase in the future will be 30%."

Wu Xiancheng's heart dropped rapidly: "Your Excellency is wise, but the court..."

Seeing the hesitant tone of County Magistrate Wu, Sheng Changan knew what he was thinking: "Even if we want to take it back, we have to wait until next year. A general is not bound by the orders of his emperor when he is away from home. We'll talk about it when the time comes." This place is located on the border, and the imperial court will not send people to fight casually, not to mention that if it really doesn't work, we can rebel against it. Anyway, we will rebel sooner or later. She can't stand such a court exploiting her.

County Magistrate Wu also vaguely felt something, but he just lowered his head and responded. No matter whether the person standing in front of him was a human or a ghost, as long as it was good for the people of Guangping County, he would obey his orders.

Sheng Changan thought for a moment: "Is there a map of Guangping County?"

Wu Xiancheng smiled awkwardly and said "No"

"What about the county annals? Any books on the subject will do."

"No, they were all burned. But I have been the county magistrate for more than ten years. If you have any questions, please ask me."

As soon as this sentence came out, Sheng Changan also knew almost everything. The people of Guangping County could not burn these things. Only those bandits could burn them: "Tell me what's going on with those bandits."

"Your Excellency should also know that this bandit is a Xianbei in disguise. Apart from using the name of bandits, they have no other disguise. Everyone here knows this, except the imperial court."

County Magistrate Wu smiled bitterly: "They can't say they don't know, they just covered their eyes and blocked their ears. The flatterers are in power and the loyal and good people are suffering. The Xianbei have robbed our food and slaughtered our people. As a result, there are more than 10,000 people in Guangping County, but now there are only more than 3,000 people left." When he said this, County Magistrate Wu had tears in his eyes and was almost crying.

At this moment, Sheng Changan felt that all words were insufficient. Although he had known that the people here were not having a good time, it was still hard to hear it with his own ears. Sheng Changan said in a hoarse voice: "Are there no soldiers guarding here?"