The first poisonous scholar in Daxia, starting from the abdication of the prime minister

Chapter 222: Suspicions in Ningzhou!

After getting to know the Lin family, the old lady took the women to the backyard to talk.

The male members of the Lin family all stayed in the inner hall. The old man then asked, "Jingzhi, Feng'er said that you came back this time to repair your Gu family's ancestral tomb?"

"Ok!"

Gu Jingzhi nodded and said, "Your Majesty posthumously conferred the title of Duke of Ning on my grandfather, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to repair the Gu family's ancestral tomb. Also, there's something I'd like to ask my maternal grandfather's opinion on!"

"I want to move my mother's grave into the Gu family's ancestral tomb..."

“That’s how it should be!”

Hearing Gu Jingzhi talking about his mother, the old man sighed: "It's also because I'm useless that my mother... Alas!"

Gu Jingzhi said silently: "Grandfather, there is no need to feel guilty. In the early days, the Gu family was powerful and had the support of aristocratic families. It was difficult for Grandfather to preserve the Lin family. My mother... this is probably her fate!"

"Ok!"

The old man nodded, then said: "But now that you have avenged your parents, it can be regarded as a comfort to the Gu family and your mother's spirit in heaven!"

"That's right! Now we have finally gotten our reward after all the hard work. Our lives will only be better than before!"

The second uncle of the Lin family said, "In fact, it was Jingzhi's hard work that earned him this honor! Back then, when Chong'er wrote back, we heard that you had used your eloquence to win back several prefectures for Daxia. At that time, the old man was also very drunk!"

"Straightforwardly, my younger sister has done herself a great service by giving birth to a talent like Jingzhi, bringing honor to the country and the Gu and Lin families!"

"No!"

Lin's uncle also laughed and said, "He dared to attack the Beili people's food camp with 3,000 people, and finally won the battle, forcing Beili to give up more territory. Jingzhi is now becoming a role model for young men in the entire Daxia!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingzhi smiled bitterly and said, "My two uncles, you are too kind! Back then, it was my eldest cousin and the others who led the charge. I was just hiding in the back and making plans for them!"

"Speaking of this, I want to thank you, Jingzhi! If it weren't for your recommendation, Chong'er would probably still be following me as a bodyguard! There's absolutely no way he could have such a future!"

The uncle, who had been silent all the time, couldn't help but express his gratitude when talking about his son.

Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Uncle, this is too much of an honor. If my cousin didn't have the ability, it would be useless even if I helped him!"

"We are all family. If my cousins have a good future, it will be good for me too!"

"correct!"

Gu Jingzhi suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "Doesn't my eldest cousin have a pair of children? Why haven't I seen them today?"

"Oh! The two kids followed their mother to her parents' home to deliver some things. Isn't the spring plowing season coming up soon?"

Oh?

Speaking of spring plowing, Gu Jingzhi suddenly thought of another purpose for his visit.

He thought for a moment and said, "Grandfather, I'm here to ask for your help on a few matters!"

"But is this a government matter?"

The old man was not vague and said directly: "Now that you have taken over the position of Ningzhou prefect, my Lin family is originally from Ningzhou. If you can use me, just tell me!"

"In that case, I will not refuse you, Grandfather!"

Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Although I have been appointed by His Majesty as an official in charge of the Northwest Tour, I have only been in the court for a short time. It is generally not my turn to interfere in the affairs of the Northwest."

"This time I am mainly responsible for the government affairs of Ningzhou Prefecture, and then protecting the prince's family!"

"The prince? The prince is here too?"

The Lin family immediately became curious.

Gu Jingzhi quickly said, "Grandfather, and all my uncles, we are not allowed to discuss matters concerning the royal family. Just know it in your hearts. The Crown Prince is now involved in some disputes, so His Majesty has placed him in Ningzhou, which is actually a form of protection!"

"Therefore, what I am doing now is for the people of Ningzhou!"

After hearing this, the Lin family immediately assured: "Don't worry, Jingzhi, we Lin family members are not good at prying, and this matter will definitely be kept to ourselves!"

"Tell me about the Ningzhou incident first!"

"Ok!"

Gu Jingzhi said, "Although I have just arrived in Ningzhou, the biggest problems in Ningzhou are population, food, and bandit suppression!"

"Among these three, suppressing bandits is the most important!"

"If this bandit problem is not eliminated, the people will not be able to farm and grow crops in peace. Without food, our Ningzhou will not be able to grow its population rapidly. Therefore, I am planning to completely eradicate the bandit problem before the spring plowing season!"

"Eradicate the banditry?"

Old Master Lin frowned and sighed, "Jingzhi, I'm afraid you don't know something!"

"Our Ningzhou capital is fine, but the other four counties, even the poorest Fufeng County, has 20,000 to 30,000 bandits!"

"so much?"

Gu Jingzhi frowned and asked, "Grandfather, there are so many bandits, even more than civilians. How do they feed all these people?"

There are only a few thousand people in the entire Fufeng County, and there are indeed 20,000 to 30,000 bandits. How do these people survive?

"Most of them were originally from Ningzhou, but they had no choice but to become bandits. Among these 20,000 to 30,000 people, many are the elderly, the weak, women and children. It's just that the people can't survive here, so..."

"That's right, Jingzhi! My uncle usually escorts convoys, so he's quite familiar with the banditry in these counties! There are nearly 200,000 bandits in the four counties, and eighty-nine out of ten of them are the elderly, the weak, women, and children! They are just the families of these bandits!"

"..."

"Is this weird?"

Gu Jingzhi wondered, "Since there are so many women and children, why don't they go down the mountain to farm and make a living? Why do they have to do such harsh jobs to make a living?"

"What else?"

Old Master Lin said, "Ningzhou is located on the side of the Ning River. Whether it's to the north or northwest, it's a strategic point. Merchants come and go incessantly, and everyone relies on tolls to survive!"

Gu Jingzhi frowned and asked, "Grandfather, do you think the main reason why Ningzhou couldn't develop was because of the banditry?"

Although Ningzhou's geographical location is not very advantageous, since there is business and travel, it should not be so bad. It is obviously unreasonable that it has fallen into such a state now.

After hearing this, Mr. Lin immediately said, "It is indeed because of the banditry!"

"Although most of the bandits in Ningzhou are just a mob, there's one group that's incredibly slippery and impossible to wipe out!"

"The imperial court once sent tens of thousands of troops into the mountains to suppress the bandits, but they found nothing. Over time, no one mentioned the idea of suppressing the bandits anymore!"

"That's weird!"

Gu Jingzhi frowned. "Since the bandit problem in Ningzhou is so serious, why haven't we heard of it in Beijing?"

"After all, these are all local affairs. Your position in Beijing doesn't involve them!"

Old Master Lin didn't think much about it, but sighed, "Ningzhou doesn't produce any food, so it's not very valuable to the imperial court. Now that not many people have settled here, it's even more... Alas!"

As a Ningzhou native, he couldn't bear to see Ningzhou develop into this state.

However, Gu Jingzhi realized the problem.

It is true that the Hanlin Academy and the Dali Temple do not interfere in local government affairs, but he has another identity - a secretary!

This position allows access to all memorials except confidential ones.

However, he had never seen any memorial from Ningzhou reporting the bandit problem. In theory, the bandit problem was not a secret, so...

There is a huge problem here!