The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 25 Majiagou

Jiang Han pondered Dong Erzhu's suggestion and felt that it did make some sense.

After all, when he first started working there, he had seen those two cold caves with his own eyes. They were spacious and perfect for storing ice and snow.

With this in mind, Jiang Han made a quick decision to go to Majiagou with Dong Erzhu.

Crossing the dried-up Yan River, the two saw from afar an old man wrapped in a tattered sheepskin digging at the roots of a crooked tree at the village entrance.

Jiang Han pulled out half a bran cake from his pocket, just about to step forward and start a conversation:
"Excuse me, sir/madam?"

Before he could finish speaking, the old man looked as if he had seen a ghost, threw down his hoe, and ran away.

"what's the situation?"

Jiang Han stood there, stunned, holding the bran cake in his hand.

He had originally intended to use the grain to try and get on their good side, but the person ran away before he could even finish speaking.

With a sigh, Jiang Han put away the pancakes and walked along the path into Majia Village.

Majia Village is not completely dilapidated; a few living people can still be seen moving around in the village, all thanks to Ma Maocai.

When the memorial "Prepared for the Great Famine" was submitted, Emperor Chongzhen immediately exempted several counties around Anse from taxes and allocated some silver to relieve the disaster victims.

(According to records: "Yan'an received only 3,400 taels, and Qingyang received only 880 taels.")
As soon as Jiang Han and his companion entered the village, sharp-eyed villagers began to shout loudly:
"The government troops are here! The government troops are here!"

As soon as these words were shouted, the entire village instantly erupted in excitement.

The woman who was drawing water from the well platform threw down the windlass and ran away. The thick hemp rope, along with the bucket, fell to the bottom of the well, smashing into the ice and creating spiderweb-like cracks.

Three men who were peeling bark from a tree rushed into the yard in a panic. One of them tripped over his own belt and fell to the ground, revealing a festering sore on his waist.

Jiang Han was slightly taken aback, and finally realized that he was still wearing Ming army armor, just like the government troops who came to collect grain.

"No wonder."

Jiang Han gave a self-deprecating smile, sighing inwardly. It is said that bandits pass by like combs, soldiers pass by like fine brushes, and in chaotic times, human life is as worthless as grass.

For ordinary people, there is actually no difference between soldiers and bandits, and soldiers are even more dangerous than bandits.

Encountering bandits might only result in losing some money; but encountering government troops is a different story. Losing money is a minor matter; you might even lose your head to claim credit and rewards.

Jiang Han shook his head helplessly. It seemed he would have to change his clothes before coming back. Wearing this armor, he doubted anyone would dare to talk to him.

But since he was already there, Jiang Han decided to wander around first and visit the Ma family on the way.

After bypassing the mill, Jiang Han and Dong Erzhu arrived at the Ma family's old house and knocked on the door.

"squeak"

With a creaking sound so sour it made your teeth fall out, the door slowly opened, and a thin old servant peeked out from behind it, squinting at Jiang Han and his companion.

"Sir, please return."

The old servant stretched out his bony right hand, pointed to the slightly messy courtyard, and said impatiently:
“My master just moved to Yan’an Prefecture last month. Now there’s not much left in the house, at most a few bushels of old grain.”

"We simply cannot afford to provide the rations and pay, sir. Please forgive us."

After saying this, the old servant bent over and coughed incessantly.

Jiang Han was taken aback, and quickly took out a few taels of silver from his pocket and handed them to the old servant:

“Old man, you misunderstand. We are not here to collect grain. We are from Baijiagou next door. We just want to borrow your humble dwelling.”

The old servant glanced at the silver in Jiang Han's hand, feeling somewhat hesitant.

After much deliberation, he finally succumbed to the lure of money and pointed in a direction:
"The Cold Kiln? The general can see it if he goes half a mile west from the threshing ground."

"However, there may still be villagers living in the cold cave. If the general wants to use it, he should discuss it with the villagers carefully."

After saying this, the old servant took the silver and turned to close the door.

Seeing this, Jiang Han quickly reached out to stop him:
"Don't be in a hurry, sir, there's something else."

"I wonder if the land in Majia Village can be rented? I plan to rent some land to plant some crops in the spring." Upon hearing this, the old servant's eyes widened, staring at Jiang Han with astonishment, as if he were a fool.
"Growing grain?"

"General, have you lost your mind? How could any grain possibly grow in northern Shaanxi in this weather?"

Faced with the old servant's gaze, Jiang Han felt somewhat helpless, but after all, he was an old man, and he couldn't be bothered to argue with him too much.

"I have a way of handling this, old man, there's no need to worry."

Jiang Han pointed to the open space outside the village and then asked:

“I see that there are only a few households left in Majia Village. Do you know, sir, how much usable land is there in Majia Village now?”

“I plan to rent all the land in Majia Village and ask the villagers to help cultivate it. The payment is negotiable.”

The old servant of the Ma family shook his head and slowly explained:
“Since the disaster, the number of people in Majia Village has been decreasing day by day, and bandits and government troops have been coming to plunder from time to time.”

“There are countless cannibals around Ansai. To ensure our safety, the entire Ma family has moved to Yan’an Prefecture, leaving only me to look after the old house.”

"Now, most of the farmland in Majia Village has been sold to the Li family."

"The Li family?"

Dong Erzhu, standing to the side, scratched his head, looking puzzled.

"I'm practically a member of Majia Village myself, so how come I've never heard of the Li family?"

After hearing this, the old servant looked around warily, and only relaxed when he found no one was around. He then lowered his voice and explained:
"The Li family is a newly arrived prominent family in Yan'an Prefecture, and I heard that they are related by marriage with Prefect Zhang Nian."

"After Zhang Lian took office, the Li family followed him to Ansai and took advantage of the famine to buy up land around Yan'an Prefecture at low prices."

"Most of the land in Majiagou and Baijiagou was sold to the Li family."

So the Li family came later; no wonder I'd never heard of them before. Jiang Han nodded.

"We would appreciate it if you could take us to the cold cave, since it belongs to the Ma family."

"My father-in-law is practically a member of the Ma family, so he'll probably have better communication skills with the villagers."

The old servant, having accepted Jiang Han's money, couldn't very well refuse, so he led Jiang Han and Dong Erzhu to the cold kiln.

"That humble dwelling, along with the surrounding land, belongs to the Ma family. It's only half a mile from the threshing ground..."

The old servant introduced things to Jiang Han as they walked.

"However, the Li family is now eyeing this cold cave and wants to acquire all the surrounding land."

“If it weren’t for my master’s influence in the court, these fields would probably have been seized by the Li family long ago.”

Jiang Han was puzzled by what the old servant of the Ma family said:
"The Li family are outsiders, so they shouldn't be able to compete with you local gentry. How come they're so powerful?"

The old servant sighed, utterly helpless:
“My husband is an official in another city and doesn’t have the energy to deal with these things, and no one else has the ability to do so either.”

"That's why the Li family was able to acquire land so extensively, and anyone who disobeyed would be severely beaten or even have their entire family wiped out."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han was immediately taken aback:
"Bury the whole family and wipe them out? Surely not? That land is useless anyway, just sell it, why go to such extremes?"

The old servant of the Ma family sighed, somewhat indignant:
"Who can argue with that? The Li family, relying on their kinship with the prefect, runs rampant in Yan'an Prefecture and monopolizes all the businesses in the surrounding area."

"Grain, cloth, clothing, food, housing, and transportation—everything had to pass through the Li family's hands."

"If they take a fancy to a company's property, they can just find some excuse to bring the person to the yamen and lock them up for ten days or half a month."

"After the jailer has dealt with him, even the Heavenly King himself would have to bow his head."

Jiang Han was quite helpless after hearing this:

"So, if I want to farm in Majiagou, I have to go to the Li family to pay my respects first?"

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(End of this chapter)