Naturally envious

Author: Potato Sweet Potato Pie

Naturally envious

Changping Prefecture has four counties under its jurisdiction. Initially, it was learned that a governor would be parachuted in to implement reforms. The entire prefecture felt like it was facing a formidable enemy. But now, it has already passed this stage, like a punch on cotton.

It was really useless to face a formidable enemy. I didn't even see the governor for twenty days.

As for the guarding eunuch, after he came to Changping County, he moved into the Changping Zhizhou Yamen unceremoniously and regarded it as his residence.

Without mentioning anything about the reform, we first recruited a lot of idle people to serve as helpers. There is no shortage of idle green-skinned gangsters in this county. As soon as they heard that the guarding eunuchs in the palace were recruiting helpers, they all signed up enthusiastically.

Then the guard Liu and Eunuch Liu would walk around the streets with people all day long to see whose mansion was grand, and then rush in. When they came out, they would be beaming with joy.

The host had a look of pain on his face.

In less than a month, this dead eunuch has brought disaster to the entire Changping County. No big family has escaped his murderous hand, and all of them have paid him filial piety.

Now, this dead eunuch has already begun to rush to Huairou Miyun and starts targeting the big households there.

But this situation made the entire Changping Prefecture breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that this dead eunuch did not come to reform the law, but came to seek wealth.

Even if they really come to reform, they have given up their filial piety, are short-tongued, and are soft-handed, but they will still have to take care of what they do in the future.

What makes people most unsure is that there is no trace of the governor so far.

The entire state and county speculated that the governor might have been killed.

Damn bandits!——

It's early summer now, and the wheat in the fields is already green and endless as far as the eye can see.

Many farmers are busy in the fields, weeding and watering fertilizers.

Walking between the fields was a young man in coarse cloth, about thirty years old, with a cloth scarf wrapped in a bun on his head, a bamboo hat on his back, and a pair of worn cloth shoes at his feet.

He was leading an old mule, which carried a small burden on its back.

If anyone is familiar with this young man, he will be able to recognize his identity. He is Wang Shouren. As for this outfit and this mule, he bought it from a farmhouse in exchange for a horse.

He tied the mule to a tree beside the road, looked back at the busy farmer in the field, then untied the baggage on the mule's back, took out two pancakes from it, and pointed it at a farmer who was busy in the field.

shouted:

"Is there any water, fellow villager? Ask for a bowl of water."

The farmer was weeding in the field. When he heard the words, he raised his head and followed the sound. He saw a young man about thirty years old. He looked very honest. Looking at his clothes, he could be said to be a fellow villager.

But the accent doesn't sound like someone from my hometown.

Wang Shouren bit a piece of dough in his mouth and walked forward. When he came closer, he handed over another piece of dough, shook it, motioned to the farmer to catch it, and continued: "I'm not free either."

Drink your water, and I'll trade this bread with you."

The farmer swallowed his saliva while looking at the bread, but waved his hands repeatedly, "It's just a bowl of water, there's no need to exchange bread for it."

"Fellow, go ahead. The weather is getting hot, and I have a lot of pancakes left. If I don't eat them all quickly, I'm afraid they will spoil."

Hearing this, the banker took it with some embarrassment, but did not rush to eat. He quickly ran to the side and scooped a full bowl of water from the bucket he brought with him in a large porcelain bowl, and handed it over.

"Young man, drink water."

"Thank you." Wang Shouren reached out and took it without being polite, and drank from the bowl.

The farmer asked: "Young man, your accent doesn't sound like our local accent, does it sound like you're from out of town?"

"Yes, I came here to visit friends. I was very hungry and thirsty when I passed by, so I thought of begging for a bowl of water."

Wang Shouren found an open space and sat down, holding half a bowl of water in his hand and a noodle cake in the other hand. He looked at the wheat seedlings in front of him and asked casually: "I think the wheat is growing well. This year

I'm afraid I can harvest a lot of food, right?"

"Hey!" The villager got the bread, but he didn't hide it. He said, "How can I harvest the grain? This land is not mine. We are just tenants of Mr. Zhang's family. We have to earn most of the year's harvest."

Hand it over to the Zhang family."

"Since you are the master, the Zhang family has a lot of land, right?"

"There are a lot of them. The land around here belongs to the Zhang family, and we are all tenants of the Zhang family. There are many people working in the fields. Go over there, walk another two or three miles, and there will be a large field.

, they all belong to the Zhang family. The Zhang family is one of the largest families in the area. The family has at least two thousand acres of land, and there are hundreds of tenant households."

"A thousand acres is indeed a lot of land, but it is not as much land as that of Mr. Liu's family in the next town. I heard that Mr. Liu's family has more than 5,000 acres of land."

The farmer must have known about this Mr. Liu, and he immediately twisted his mouth, "Who do you think Mr. Liu is? I'm telling you, the Zhang family's two thousand acres of land is only on the surface. Master Zhang's nephew is the Prime Minister of Wu County in Changping County."

, has a reputation for success.

Mr. Zhang dedicated most of the land to the name of Wu County Cheng, so that he does not have to pay the taxes of the court. There are many connections here, how can you, a young man, understand the calculations of these people."

"Yes, I really don't understand this." Wang Shouren smiled, "Then according to what the fellow villagers say, doesn't the entire land in Wudian Township belong to Mr. Zhang's family?"

"Wudian Township is a big township, with more than 20 villages. There are about 30,000 acres of land, and the Zhang family has 18,000 acres. Some of the rest belong to ordinary people, and some belong to other masters' families, but no one has it.

It’s not as much land as the master’s house.”

At this point, the old man seemed to have thought about it, "Why do you, a young man, want to ask about this?"

Along the way, asking questions all the way, Wang Shouren always used the same words every time he talked to people. One was to dispel the other party's doubts, and the other was to spread the news, so he said:

"My fellow villagers don't know. When I was passing by the capital, I heard that the imperial court was going to implement reforms in Changping Prefecture. It was going to measure the local acres, and it was also going to promote farming."

"The imperial court wants to reform the law in Changping Prefecture? What does it mean to be a stall owner?"

"The head tax is to be abolished. From now on, taxes will only be collected based on the number of acres of land in the family. The more land in the family, the more taxes will be paid. I just have no time to inquire about it. Don't you know this kind of thing?"

"We ordinary people don't know what's going on above. But it's a good thing. The emperor and the nobles in the court have the best ideas, but it's very difficult to do it."

Seeing the old man shaking his head and showing no hope for this reform, Wang Shouren smiled and said, "Then why do you think this is so difficult?"

After sitting in the field chatting for a long time, Wang Shouren said goodbye and left. He took out a notebook from the bag on the back of the mule. The notebook was full of handwriting.

He took out another brush from his pocket. The ink on the brush was a little dry. He licked it with his mouth and recorded it in his notebook.

"Wudian Township, Changping County, has more than 20 villages and more than 30,000 acres of land. There is a large Zhang family. His nephew is the county magistrate of Zhongwu County. He has colluded with others to conceal thousands of acres of land and surrounding areas."

After recording all the important information he had just learned in a notebook, Wang Shouren put the notebook back into his bag, led the mule and walked forward along the field ridge.
Chapter completed!