Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 417 Peace
Outside Suixi County, Leizhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province, Chen Dagui, the village chief of Zhanchuan Village, hurried home barefoot.
Before Chen Dagui arrived home, he found two figures standing in front of his house. One of them was the head of the village, and the other was wearing a black robe.

Chen Dagui looked at the skinny man in the black robe, cursed in his heart, and quickened his pace.

These dogs only know how to cause trouble to the village all day long. If they really annoy him, the worst that can happen is that they will be killed with a knife and then go back to the sea to join the Red Flag bandits!

Chen Dagui was just complaining in his heart, but he would never dare to go out to sea and become a pirate.

He could go to sea and become a thief, but what would happen to his mother, wife and children if he became a thief? Who would be willing to become a thief if there was no other way out?

It was the third day of the second lunar month. Chen Dagui was planting rice in the fields, but suddenly he heard from the villagers that the dog messenger had led the village head to the countryside to look for someone. He had no choice but to abandon his farm work and rush back home.

The man in the black robe in front of the courtyard is named Yu Chun, and he is the grain official of Suixi County. He has always been responsible for collecting the grain tax of Zhanchuan Village.
Yu Chun was skinny, but he was not afraid of the tall Chen Dagui. When Yu Chun saw Chen Dagui rushing back, he looked impatient and said directly

"Chen Dagui, the county government will hold a spring plowing and parade on the sixth day of the first lunar month. Your village of Zhanchuan needs to send out 25 people. Lead them to the county government office at 7:00 pm on the fifth day to perform the duties. If you are short of one person, I will question you. Do you hear me?"

Yu Chun was about to leave when he finished speaking, but Chen Dagui was also dissatisfied when he heard that he was going to serve in the army. He immediately said

"What kind of military service? Last year, the county magistrate came to the village and said that after paying seven dou of grain tax, there would be no need to assign military service. We all paid taxes last year and paid so much grain. How can the county government go back on its word?"

Seeing that Chen Dagui dared to refute, Yu Chun's face darkened and he immediately started to scold him.

"What do you mean you don't have to serve? Do you think you are a county scholar?"

"You don't have to serve in the army yet, you are a rebel. In every dynasty, which good citizen didn't have to serve in the army? You are such a traitor that you dare to disobey the order of the county magistrate. Do you want to rebel?"

Yu Chun cursed as he hit Chen Dagui with the fire-water stick in his hand. Although Chen Dagui was tall and strong, he was terrified when he saw the stick coming at him. He didn't dare to fight back. The tall and strong man actually held his head and retreated repeatedly.

Yu Chun scolded and beat him for a while, and was about to leave after getting angry. Chen Dagui's arms, legs and feet were bruised all over. Looking at Yu Chun's back, he was angry and shouted:

"I paid a full five dan of grain last year, and I have all the receipts. How can the county government go back on its word? Yes, it must be you, the thief, who is bullying us again. I want to complain..."

Chen Dagui suddenly paused at this point. After a moment, he seemed to remember the names of the county masters and continued.
"I will report you and other thieves to the county's land cleaning officer."

Last year, several young gentlemen in official robes suddenly came to the village and said that the court was going to change the way grain was collected.
The court included all the labor service charges on the land, and from then on, seven dou of grain was collected for each acre of land. After paying these seven dou of grain, there would be no need to go to the government for labor service, nor would there be any other taxes such as Liao salary, Lian salary, carriage fee, and treasury fee.

Although Chen Dagui and others did not know how to count, they knew how much grain they would be charged every year. Although seven dou of grain was a lot, if they could really be exempted from the whole year's conscription, it would be a great benefit to them.

Chen Dagui didn't know what kind of official the Qingtianshi was, but he knew that even the county's chief clerks followed these Qingtianshi masters around.
The farm cleaning masters stayed in the village for two days and explained the grain collection to the villagers before leaving.
Before leaving, the land clearing masters told the villagers that if the county government still imposed extra labor service on them after paying taxes, they could report it to the county.
Although Chen Dagui remembered this incident, he did not hold much hope for it. The officials would naturally side with the officials. How could they make the decision for the common people?

Chen Dagui wanted to report it just because he was angry and wanted to vent. But when Yu Chun heard the name of the field cleaning envoy, his face suddenly changed. He suddenly turned around and shouted:

"Chen Dagui, please stop talking nonsense here. Who asked you to serve? The county government is hiring you to assist in the spring farming work."

"You go to the county to help, and the county government will give you three liters of rice every day as wages. If you dare to talk nonsense in the county, I will tear your mouth off immediately."

Chen Dagui looked at Yu Chun, who was looking angry and shocked. He hired someone and paid him. When did the government change its mind?

Every year around the Spring Equinox, the county government would hold a Spring Ploughing Ceremony to pray for good weather and good harvests for the year. This was also part of the court's encouragement of farming.

The county government held a spring ploughing ceremony to pray for the people, so the money should naturally be paid by the people.
The county magistrates are busy praying and offering sacrifices to gods for you and other common people. Do you think the county government should spend its own money? This makes absolutely no sense!

According to the custom in previous years, the people in Benli not only had to send people to assist the county government in the parade, but also had to pay five taels of silver as a spring gift.
Chen Dagui had never expected that the county government would not only not charge them any money but also pay them wages for helping to organize the parade. This was truly unheard of.
Seeing Chen Dagui's face full of doubt, Yu Chun looked grim and said

"The court has issued a new system, saying that there will be no conscription, so there will be no conscription. This is the elegant policy of the new dynasty. Do you understand elegant policy?"

"If you dare to speak nonsense and slander the court again, I will immediately arrest you and other unruly people and take you back to the county government office."

"This time the county government lets you helpers receive the reward. This is a great favor. It is a good thing that others can't find even with a lantern. Do you understand?"

Seeing that Yu Chun was willing to give in, Chen Dagui refused without hesitation.

"Since it is a job, I will not go. I have something to do at home. You should hire someone else, Mr. Yu."

Chen Dagui looked alert. They would be grateful if the county government didn't impose labor service on them. But now they were just helping to organize a parade, and they were paid. If there was a good thing, it would be for the common people like them.

Yu Chun, the thief, lured them to the county with wages. Who knows what bad ideas he had?
Yu Chun saw that Chen Dagui dared to refuse after saying so much nice things to him, so he immediately got angry and cursed
"According to the nomination book, it is your turn to serve in Zhanchuan Village this year. If you don't go, who will? The Spring Plowing and God Parade is a major event in the county. You dare to disrespect even the gods. Do you think you can afford to delay the county's major event, you troublemaker, troublemaker!"

Yu Chun cursed loudly, but he was getting more and more angry in his heart. He didn't know what the court was crazy about. They actually wanted to do something like "replacing labor with labor"

It is natural for the people to serve in the army. This has been the case for hundreds of years. The imperial court suddenly came up with a new system. Wouldn't this just cause trouble for them?

In previous years, the county assigned conscription to whomever they wanted, and no one dared to say a word.

In Yu Chun's opinion, the court should continue to impose labor service. The court did collect more rice last year, but so what? Money must be collected and labor service must be imposed. Do these unruly people dare to rebel?

Although Yu Chun was extremely dissatisfied, he did not dare to let Chen Dagui mess around in the county.
Those land surveyors are now in the county government office. Chen Dagui calls Yu Chun "Master", but Yu Chun calls those land surveyors "Master". Yu Chun cannot afford to offend them. After the court implemented the new system last year, fifteen land surveyors were sent to the county government office. These land surveyors are responsible for surveying the land in the county and promoting the new system to the people in the county.
According to the clerk of the Household Department, these land clearing envoys were all students from the Chuxian Academy, and they came with the imperial sword. If they were displeased, even the county magistrate would be impeached and lose his hat.

Although Yu Chun didn't know why these students were not from the Imperial College, but from some unknown Chuxian Academy, he knew one thing: these land clearing envoys were not something that a small household grain official like him could offend.
Last year, these land clearing agents were clearing the land in the county. Mr. Liu from the west of the county joined forces with several scholars in the county to incite the tenants to resist the land clearing.
After these land clearing agents found out, they brought a team of soldiers to the families’ homes and killed them. In the end, not only were most of their land confiscated, but even Mr. Liu’s title as a juren was revoked. After this incident, no one in the county dared to mess with these land clearing agents anymore.
These land surveyors not only surveyed the fields in the county, but also monitored the number of labor services in the county. Since the harvest of autumn crops last year, the county has basically stopped the labor service and collection of silver.
Not long ago, several old officials in the county secretly collected taxes under the names of previous years, and were reported to the county government by the villagers. When the county government's land clearing officials found out, they not only made these old officials pay back the money in multiples, but also directly imprisoned them.
As far as Yu Chun knew, these old officials would be exiled to Linggao in Qiongzhou soon because they committed crimes in defiance of the law. Yu Chun was staying well in Suixi, and he didn't want to go to Linggao!
After these land clearing agents entered the county, they acted recklessly, forbidding this and that, making the county clerks' lives miserable.
Although Yu Chun and his colleagues privately cursed these land clearing agents, he actually did not have much ill will towards them.

These land clearing envoys not only implemented the new system in the county, but also made major changes to the official system in the county government.
Originally, there were only two officials in Suixi County: the county magistrate and the chief clerk. Later, there were miscellaneous officials such as the teaching assistant and the deputy envoy. At the level of clerks, there were only six clerks and a few scribes under each clerk who could be called regular clerks.

In the entire Suixi County, including the county magistrate and clerks, there were only 40 to 50 regular officials.

However, after these land clearing agents entered the county, they suddenly expanded the number of clerks in the county to 150.
Because Yu Chun was ruthless in the process of clearing the fields and achieved outstanding results, he was selected by the county government and the field clearing envoy at the end of the year and successfully got a civil servant position.

Yu Chun was originally a grain official in Suixi County. In the eyes of the common people, Yu Chun was naturally a lackey of evil officials. But in fact, in the county government, Yu Chun could not be called an official at all. He was just a high-level idler.
After Yu Chun got the official post, he had transformed from a mere idler to a registered official in the county.

From now on, Yu Chun could receive a salary from the court just like the other officials in the county government.

Although being an official was good, there was one thing that made Yu Chun extremely dissatisfied.

The highest rank in Suixi Hufang is naturally Sili, and below them are the original bookkeepers. Yu Chun is the lowest rank assistant clerk after the Hufang system was reformed.
According to the new system of the imperial court, he could receive a salary of 1 tael and 5 coins from the county government every month. However, Yu Chun had been a civil servant for three months, and during these three months, he had not received even a coin of silver from the county government. All he received was rice.

This is also a matter of course. The court implemented the seven-dou grain system. Last year, all the taxes collected in the county were rice. Naturally, the salaries of these officials were all converted into food wages.

Although Su Guansheng in Guangzhou City had figured out a way to convert food and salary into silver, this method was not something that could be used by ordinary prefectures and counties.
The Hai and Wang families' grain offices had already spent all their efforts just to ensure that the grain and salaries of the officials in the capital were paid in silver, and they had no time to care about other places outside the capital.

Every month when Yu Chun went to the county government office to collect his salary, he had to bring a cart to move grain. This was simply outrageous.
After several old Confucian scholars in the county learned that the county government was paying grain as salary, they cheered loudly in the county, saying that during the time of Emperor Taizu, all officials in the court were paid grain as salary, and that the emperor was the most benevolent and filial, and was a sage and wise ruler unprecedented in history, and that the Ming Dynasty would surely be revived.

Yu Chun wanted to curse these sour scholars when he heard what they said. Damn it, Great Ancestor. It's been two or three hundred years since Great Ancestor came to this world. In this world, it's hard to move without money. Who the hell still uses rice to buy things now?

Yu Chun looked at Chen Dagui in front of him, but he felt more and more displeased. At this moment, Yu Chun suddenly discovered that Chen Dagui was wearing new clothes. Although it was just the cheapest linen, these country folk could actually wear new clothes.
The imperial court has been too lenient to these villagers in recent years. First, taxes were not allowed to be converted into silver, and then a new system of seven dou was implemented, and even miscellaneous labor was exempted.
The imperial court is so lenient and benevolent, yet Chen Dagui still dares to make excuses and resist. He is truly a troublemaker!

If it were in the past, Yu Chun would have definitely squeezed the oil out of Chen Dagui, but thinking of the power of the county's land cleaning envoys, Yu Chun was extremely afraid.
Yu Chun was annoyed when he thought of this. He took a grain bag from the head of the village behind him and threw it directly at Chen Dagui.

Yu Chun looked at Chen Dagui opposite him with a gloomy expression on his face and said

"These six liters of grain are the wages you paid to the county workers for two days. I will also have someone deliver the grain for the rest of the workers in Zhanchuan Village later."

"If you take the money and grain from the county government but still don't go to the county to help, you can try the consequences."

After Yu Chun finished speaking, he turned around and left without waiting for Chen Dagui to reply.

Chen Dagui opened the grain bag in his hand and saw that it was actually filled with white rice. He was a little overwhelmed. The county government actually gave them grain.
What Chen Dagui didn't know was that the county government paid each hired laborer one bushel of grain every two days instead of six liters. When the grain reached them, it was already 40% less.
But Yu Chun didn't think there was anything wrong with this. Silver would be consumed, and grain would be consumed!
It was good enough that Yu Chun did not ask Chen Dagui and others for money. Chen Dagui and others had already received 60% of the money and food. What else did they want?
Chen Dagui looked at the grain bag in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally walked towards the village to inform each household to send someone to serve.
As Yu Chun said, no one has ever dared to take the money and grain from the county government and not do anything.

Moreover, the Spring Ploughing and God-Worshipping Parade is a rare and lively day in the year. Even if the villagers do not need to serve in the army, they will still go to the city to attend the market on the day of the parade to join in the fun.

On the sixth day of the second lunar month, in the early morning, the magistrate of Suixi County, wearing a green official robe, waited until the parade team in front of the county government office was ready, and then led the county officials, as well as the gentry and common people in the city, to the east city.
Spring governs vegetation, and the wood virtue of Canglong corresponds to the east, so Chunniutai is also set up outside the east city.
On the East Suburb Spring Ox Stage, the colorful spring ox and the statue of Ju Mang had already been placed. The county magistrate and others received the statue of the spring ox, and then the procession set out again into the city.
The procession was filled with gongs and drums, colorful flags fluttering, and the procession carried the Spring Ox statue through the city before returning to the county government office.

The ceremonial gate of the county government office was already wide open, and the procession carried the statue of the Spring Ox through the ceremonial gate and finally stopped beside the Yingchun Pond in the lobby of the county government office.

The onlookers also rushed into the county government office at this time, looking around. The county government office was full of noise and noise.

At this time, an offering table had already been set up in front of the county hall, with three kinds of animals, fruits and other things placed on the table. The Suixi County Magistrate, wearing a green official robe, knelt on the ground facing north, offering wine to the gods. After offering three cups of wine, the county magistrate stood up and recited a blessing.
"The god is in charge of spring, his virtue is like that of the blue dragon, business is flourishing, and his virtue is spreading. I, the humble official, guard this land, welcome the new with courtesy, and admire his divine power, and bless our people. Please enjoy the feast."

After the county magistrate finished his congratulatory speech, he walked to the Yingchun Pond, and the county magistrate's officials followed him, holding colorful sticks and standing on both sides of the Spring Ox.

When the clerk of the etiquette room saw that everyone was standing still, he stepped forward and sang
"Please ask the county lord to beat the drum"

The county magistrate stepped forward and beat the drum three times. The crowd of onlookers and common people heard the drumbeats and gathered around, their faces eager to try.
The clerk in the clerk's room waited for the drum to stop beating, then he sang loudly again.
"Please ask the county lord to whip the spring"

The county magistrate led the officials of the yamen and a group of land cleaning agents to circle the spring ox three times, and then the county magistrate raised the colored stick in his hand and hit the spring ox.
The Spring Ox was made of clay and covered with colorful paper. The county magistrate only needed to hit it a few times, and the colorful Spring Ox would burst apart. The peanuts, walnuts, grains, dried fruits and other things in the Spring Ox's belly would burst apart, and all kinds of grains and dried fruits would pour out with a splash.
The county magistrate was also very experienced. When he saw the dried fruits and grains rolling out, he immediately stepped aside.

Sure enough, the next moment, the crowd of onlookers saw the Spring Ox shattered, and immediately cheered and rushed forward, scrambling for the Spring Ox mud, dried fruits and other items on the ground.

The people would eat the nuts and grains they grabbed, and bury the mud and debris from the Spring Ox in their own fields, hoping for a good harvest in the coming year.
Tourists and common people grabbed the spring cattle and grains, and the Spring Ploughing Ceremony was declared over. The people left the county government one by one. Although the Spring Ploughing Ceremony was over, the celebration in the city had just begun.

When the people left the county government, the folk parade team began to parade, with dragon and lion dances, stilt juggling, and vendors shuttling around, selling spring dishes, spring wine and other items.

Tourists and common people were walking around, all wearing new clothes, buying Mangshen pictures and spring ox decorations. The streets were extremely lively and noisy.

In front of the county government office, the old scholar in a blue shirt saw the noisy figures on the street, but at this moment he looked stunned and muttered to himself:
"The people live in peace, tourists come and go, everyone is dressed in fine clothes, drinking and reveling until dawn, just like the prosperous days of the past."

Since the Jiashen Year, the world has been in constant turmoil for ten years. The previous emperor died for his country, Jiangnan was lost, Fujian and Zhejiang were captured, pirates and bandits from all directions caused endless chaos, the Eastern Tartar invaded Guangdong and then retreated, the world was lost and then regained, kings and generals from all sides rotated endlessly, and today we finally see a peaceful and prosperous era.

After several years of fighting and rest, Guangdong Province has finally recovered, but no one knows how long this peace will last.

(End of this chapter)