The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 394 Changes
Datong Prefecture was also known as Shanxi Provincial Military Command. As the name suggests, it was still under the jurisdiction of Shanxi. However, due to the special nature of Datong Prefecture, a separate governor was appointed to report directly to the imperial court. The prefect of Datong was also different from the prefects of other prefectures in Shanxi.

Located in the north of Shanxi, it has two main passages.

One route runs from the north through Ningwu Pass to Datong Shuozhou, and the other runs from the east through Daizhou through Pingxing Pass to Datong Lingqiu County.

The road from Datong Prefecture to Shuozhou is relatively flat; the road to Lingqiu County is mostly mountainous, belonging to the tail section of the Taihang Mountains.

Therefore, Zhou Wen only reinforced the garrison at Ningwu Pass.

After trade flourished outside the pass, the trade route from Datong to and from Shanxi Province also passed through Ningwu Pass, and local people in Daizhou rarely even drank soup there.

Since Ningwu Pass increased its troop strength and strengthened its checkpoint inspections, savvy merchants began to look for alternative routes. To avoid risks, many small-scale merchants preferred to take the long way through Daizhou.

Daizhou also administers three counties.

Besides Wutai County in Wutai Mountain, including Daizhou City, Chun County and Fanshi County are located on the same main road. In less than two months, the original road has become more lively.

Finally, it entered Fanshi County, which is within the territory of Datong.

There's an extra hurdle.

"What kind of goods are these?" A clerk led the constables to inspect them.

"Mostly cotton and linen."

The middle-aged businessman leading the group quickly replied, bowing and looking at the other party with an extremely enthusiastic expression.

"It's a small business," the middle-aged businessman said nervously. "It can't compare to others."

"Are they all your guys?"

"No, no, this is my son, he is my younger brother. We run a small business, just enough to make a living, how could we afford to hire employees?"

The officials were picking and choosing on the mule cart.

The three men were driving a cart, and they had actually come from Huizhou.

Why didn't you go east?

"There are too many people walking over there, and our small business can't compete with them. We find places they don't care about, but we don't earn much there," the middle-aged man tried to explain.

"what is this?"

The clerk's eyes lit up as he found a small package containing scraps of cloth.

The three of them were shocked.

The constables excitedly opened it and found it contained silver, more than a hundred taels.

"Take them away."

The clerk laughed and said, "We suspect you are bad people. Come with us."

"That makes no sense."

Having heard so many stories, the middle-aged man was hesitant to travel far to do business. However, with the booming trade outside Datong, many people had made a fortune, and his family couldn't resist the urge to come to Datong to sell leather and other goods.

Leather is cheap outside the pass, but expensive inside the pass, especially in the Jiangnan region. A single trip can yield profits that double the cost.

With a capital of over one hundred taels and goods worth forty-odd taels, as long as this transaction is completed, the goods can be resold for over three hundred taels after being transported back.

What bad luck, we actually ran into them.

You absolutely cannot go into the yamen (government office); once you go in, you can forget about getting out. The middle-aged man tried his best to explain: "I have a travel permit, I have everything, I can show you."

The minor official tore it apart with a cold laugh.

The middle-aged man, having given up hope, shoved his son and said, "Run away."

He and his younger brother wanted to steal the knives hidden in the mule cart so they could use them for self-defense. If they encountered robbers, they would fight to the death to protect their goods.

This time, however, they were facing constables.

"Yo."

"Isn't this evidence?"

The clerk's smile grew even more smug. The bailiffs, being experienced and knowledgeable, had long anticipated that the two might resort to desperate measures. Before the two could even touch their weapons, they were separated by the bailiffs, and iron bars and chains were hurled at them.

"Let's go quickly."

The middle-aged man desperately blocked the constables, shouting without turning his head.

The young man wiped away his tears, realizing that his whole family was doomed today, and with a determined heart, he ran to the side.

The constables failed to catch up.

Who would be willing to risk their life for a little public money?

The goods and silver were taken back.

The two men who were captured were thrown into a cell and tortured for two days. When they couldn't get any information out of them, they were left to fend for themselves. First, the younger brother died, and a few days later, the middle-aged man also died.

Having received the reward and met the quota, the clerk finally reported back to the county magistrate and cursed the other officers.

"They actually let them get away! What are you guys doing?"

"You ate the rice for nothing?"

"If you don't work hard next time, get out of here. We don't support idlers here."

"Did you hear that?"

"heard it."

A dozen or so constables responded sparsely.

Datong next door.

Early in the morning.

Inside the city.

"Mother, my brother and I are leaving."

The older child led the younger child to say goodbye to their mother at the door. Every morning, he and his younger brother would go to the Boy Scouts, where they would eat, learn, train, and play until they returned home after dinner.

After my father's sacrifice, the army made arrangements.

The older child often heard his uncles say that he would be the pillar of the family and grow up. Encouraged by this, the older child straightened his back, feeling that he had many uncles supporting him and was not afraid of being bullied.

"Be careful on the road," the woman instructed. At first, she was not at ease, but later, as more inspection teams appeared in the city and the army conducted a large-scale crackdown, and with her two sons being familiar with the route, she was no longer worried.

After the child left, the driver who delivered honeycomb briquettes to the city every day returned to this neighborhood.

The woman waved from the doorway.

The driver immediately noticed the large sign above the entrance that read "Family of Martyrs." With these four words, even if the family had committed a crime, the county government would require military personnel to accompany them during the trial.

"Still one hundred yuan?" the driver asked politely with a smile.

Although she was a widow, no one bothered her. If the widow told the army, the army would come out and arrest her, then send her to the yamen for questioning. If the crime was confirmed, she would be severely punished for offending the family of a martyr.

The military and civilians have little to do with each other, and even those with connections wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

The woman nodded.

The driver skillfully carried in one hundred honeycomb briquettes, neatly stacked them in their usual spot, and was about to leave when the woman called him back, clutching a four-cent grain coupon in her hand.

Upon seeing the grain coupons, the driver's eyes lit up, and he immediately smiled ingratiatingly, "No rush to settle the bill."

The woman smiled kindly and said, "We don't need that many grain coupons at home, so I'll settle the bill for you."

The driver then carefully took it.

The grain and vegetable store had two types of grain coupons: one type needed to be used in conjunction with cash, and the other type could be used to directly purchase grain. These grain coupons came in four denominations: ten yuan, one yuan, one jiao, and one fen.

Ten yuan could be exchanged for two shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, which, according to the official selling price, was worth one tael (another unit of silver). However, this was the price within Datong.

Outside, one tael of silver wouldn't even buy a shi of rice, let alone three taels. As for Datong, one tael of silver could buy two shi of rice, and outsiders, no matter how envious, couldn't buy it. They either had ration coupons or the kind of coupons available now.

One hundred catties of honeycomb briquettes cost three cents. If you add the honeycomb briquettes made of yellow clay, the cost is even lower, but one hundred catties will sell for four cents.

Not only are grain prices stable in Datong, but commodity prices are also stable.

Each day, drivers would haul honeycomb briquettes from the coal mine and earn only five coins for every hundred jin (50 kg). Therefore, in order to earn more money, the drivers had to work hard to get more people to buy honeycomb briquettes. Except for windy, rainy, and snowy days, they could usually sell around a thousand jin (500 kg) a day, which would fill a whole cart.

Fifty coins a day, that's one tael and five mace a month. It seems like a much higher income than farming, but you need livestock to haul a thousand catties of honeycomb briquettes every day, and the cart needs to be repaired occasionally.

It comes down in bits and pieces, and I can still make about an ounce or two each month.

The old woman washed clothes and did needlework and mending for city dwellers to earn a living. With an elderly person and three children, the whole family of six depended on her mule and cart, so the driver dared not stop.

With the jobs he earned in the past two years, he not only supported his family, but also managed to enjoy some fish during holidays.

However, the driver was very careful.

They take better care of the livestock than of themselves, fearing that the animals might get sick. The same goes for the cart; they try to do the repairs themselves. As long as these two things go smoothly, they can earn a solid 1.5 taels of silver a month, which they can then use to buy new clothes for the whole family at the New Year.

After hiding all the money in a small pocket close to his body, the rickshaw driver went back to find new regular customers. He had been running the rickshaw for more than two years and was familiar with the neighborhood. A smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

There is no shortage of coal or water at home.

The woman closed the door and went to the military dependents' farm, where they made quilts, cotton clothes, flags, and uniforms for the army, giving priority to settling the families of soldiers.

Besides working during the day, they would occasionally sing new songs and new plays.

"Liu Er's wife."

As soon as the woman arrived at the venue, the woman in charge rushed over and grabbed her, saying with a smile, "There's a great job with high requirements, and you're the most suitable one here."

The woman in charge was elected by everyone.

He is kind to everyone.

"Me?" the woman said instinctively, "I can't."

"You have the best voice, everyone says you're the most suitable." The woman in charge laughed, "You'll still be singing a new play, but from now on the army will listen to you sing, so the young men and women can have some fun and be encouraged."

"Okay then."

Hearing that the song was for the army, not for singing outside, the woman wasn't too opposed to it, just a little embarrassed.

Performing opera is considered a lowly profession, and that's been the case for many years.

Although everyone above says that scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants are all equal and that no one is superior to anyone else, no one can change that perception.

The drought has lasted for two years.

The reforms in Datong have been underway for three years.

New merchants came to Datong in search of its abundant wealth. Upon seeing it for themselves, they were so astonished that they were speechless. They were especially surprised to see how the people in the city took it for granted.

"Have they really changed like that?"

"You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're in the mountain yourself." My companion sighed, "Maybe they've been living in Datong all this time, so they don't really feel it."

It wasn't just disaster victims, but also many business people.

In particular, many of them were from Huizhou, a region known for its people who ventured out into the world. Huizhou was poor, with mostly mountainous land and a large population. Staying in their hometown meant certain death from starvation, which prompted young people to go out and find a way to make a living.

Like the people of Fujian in the 20th century.

Therefore, most people from Huizhou were engaged in business, and most of them were purely businessmen.

There were many people on the street.

Although most of them looked hungry, their clothes were clean, so they didn't appear to be poor.

"Datong is not short of money or goods, but it is short of food. Because food is distributed according to the population, business has not been affected, which is something I did not expect. Other disaster-stricken areas should really learn from Datong."

Many businessmen sighed in the teahouse.

Nowadays, teahouses no longer offer food or snacks, only tea.

on the street.

A young man squatted by the door, listening intently to what was happening inside. Despite being a beggar, he didn't seem to care about begging; he paid close attention to what the people in the teahouse, especially those with inside information, were saying.

And it's far away.

"Should we take him back and question him?"

Two ordinary-looking people, one of whom was younger, asked.

Older people should think carefully.

They all joined the inspection team through an assessment. The assessment was simple and the pay was good, but the requirements were high. For example, they had to have a clean background and three neighboring households with no family members working in the public sector were willing to act as guarantors.

There were also regulations that if someone bribed or coerced three households to collect taxes, they would not only be imprisoned for more than three years depending on the severity of the offense, but would also be fined a minimum of twenty taels of silver and ten times the amount of the bribe.

If someone breaks the law while at work, they will be punished just like any other citizen; there are no exceptions.

So no one dared to act recklessly, but slacking off was also unacceptable.

If discovered, they will be dismissed and their names will be recorded, and they will never have the opportunity to rejoin the inspection team.

Although the requirements are high, and it's no easier than being a shop assistant in a merchant guild, it still attracts many people. The inspection team has extremely high standards for itself, especially the rules of the inspection team, and they must memorize the laws of the Ming Dynasty and other relevant laws thoroughly.

If the inspection team doesn't even understand the rules, then what's the point of talking about rules?

This proves that the rules are all false.

Older people don't want to make mistakes at work, what if they get fired? They can't just not do their jobs either. The state farm team said that the disaster victim didn't want to go to the state farm team, which is unreasonable, but they can't just ignore it.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it will still be his responsibility.

"Let's take a look first."

Older people should wait and make their decisions; they can always work harder on their own.

The kid at the door suddenly got excited, as if he had heard some incredible news.

The next day, before dawn.

Wang Xin had already left and boarded a carriage, heading towards the camp of the largest children's corps in Datong, escorted by more than thirty personal guards cavalry.

There weren't many people on the street.

In the Song Dynasty, collecting night soil from households and sending it out of the city was a legitimate business, so the wages for this job were relatively high, even though it wasn't respectable and few people were willing to do it. However, in the Ming Dynasty, night soil collection became a form of corvée labor.

Not only do they not make money, they also have to spend their own money.

Wang Xin naturally chose the Song Dynasty's approach.

Because the night soil collectors earn money, they have an excellent attitude; otherwise, city dwellers would pay other night soil collectors.

For an individual household, the amount contributed was not much, only a few cents a month. Like the coal deliveryman, one hundred pieces of coal cost only four cents, enough for cooking and heating for a month.

As long as everyone has enough to eat, business can continue as usual.

Suddenly a commotion broke out on the street corner. Wang Xin looked over and saw two civilians holding down a disaster victim. From their actions, it was easy to tell that the two were members of the inspection team.

"Go and ask."

Wang Xin gave an instruction.

Although he dislikes the kind of righteous indignation that disgusts him the most, he will definitely ask questions when he encounters them. As for ignoring the issue and making excuses like "taking action from a management perspective afterward," that's an even more disgusting excuse.

(End of this chapter)