After five years of teaching support, Daming became an empire on which the sun never sets.

Chapter 14. Pig cage soakers abound

"Your Majesty, there is indeed such a village." Only then did Lu Wei dare to raise his head and answer with folded hands, "Lujia Village is surrounded by mountains. Since the Qin Dynasty, it has been an extremely poor village. Let them get rid of poverty.” The meaning of the words is that the officials of all dynasties have no way to get rid of poverty in Lujia Village, so the current situation of Lujia Village is not incompetent.

Lujia Village is under his jurisdiction, if Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him because of this matter...

"In addition, there are 23 households in Lujia Village. The villagers are all surnamed Lu, and they make a living by farming and hunting. Because of the dangerous terrain, the previous war did not affect the village, and there are still many young and strong people in the village."

"Well." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, expressing his satisfaction with the answer of the county magistrate Lu Wei.If a county magistrate doesn't even know the name of the village he rules, how many people and how the villagers live, then he doesn't need to be the magistrate.And because Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely strict with officials, he was very diligent in responding to the magistrates around Tianfu.

"From now on, we will be the head of Lujia Village under your rule."

"Village chief?" Lu Wei didn't understand, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, what is a village chief?"

"As the name suggests, the village head is the head of a village, do you still need us to teach you?" Zhu Yuanzhang said.Because Qin Yu misunderstood him as the village head last time, he must appear in front of Qin Yu as the village head in the future.

"Your Majesty." Lu Weidao, "My Da Ming's land plan is the largest in the province and the smallest in the county. The county implements the Baojia system, and ten households set up a head for one head and ten heads for one head, so there is no guarantee. The village chief said."

"It didn't exist before, but it will be there from now on." Zhu Yuanzhang said lightly.

"Your Majesty is the honor of the ninety-five, why did you suddenly think of being the head of a poor mountain village?" Lu Wei was surprised.

"This matter has nothing to do with you." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, you just need to do things according to our will."

"The minister obeys the order." Lu Wei respectfully took the order, guessing in his heart that Zhu Yuanzhang probably wanted to make a private visit in a micro service, so as to observe the people's sentiments. Almost all emperors in ancient and modern times have done this kind of thing.

"Your Majesty, the village has the Baojia system on the surface, but it's actually the township elder system. The village chief and a few seniors with high morals and morality jointly discuss matters big and small in the village, and then make a decision. To put it simply, the patriarch and the seniors in the village, that is, the village elders, are the actual power-holders of a village.”

"If Your Majesty were to become the head of the village out of thin air, I'm afraid the villagers would not listen to you. Because even the head of the armor and the head of the security are only responsible for registering the household registration, and the village elders have to decide on important matters."

Patriarchs and seniors with high rank hold real power, and even the chief guards should listen to them?After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: The concept of clan and family is really ingrained in the hearts of the common people.

In their eyes, those with the same surname are their own, and the others are outsiders.

"If Your Majesty is the head of the village as an emperor, then you can definitely command the villagers. But if you are the head of the village as an ordinary person, it will be difficult to get their welcome." Lu Wei continued.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression became even more solemn when he heard it: the clan and family were indeed the real source of confusion in the imperial court.Even if the imperial court in a small mountain village wanted to put a village chief in it, let alone those wealthy families and century-old clansmen.

They are like independent kingdoms, separated from the imperial court.

Zhu Yuanzhang used to be a peasant, and he deeply knew the power of the clan.

The clan has even the power to kill.

For example, if a woman is found stealing a man behind her back in the village, the patriarch can order the villagers to soak her in a pig cage and deprive her of her life without going through the government.When disputes arise between villagers, the patriarch and the village elders can decide who wins and who loses the case after consultation. If they disagree with the ruling, they will ask the ancestral family law and make them have to obey.

Even if a villager killed someone, the patriarch and the village elder would not be allowed to sue the officials, and none of the villagers would dare to sue.If no one sues the official, then the court will naturally not deal with it.So many times there is a murder case in the village, and the government is still kept in the dark.

It is precisely because of such rules that people who die unjustly and die among the people can be found everywhere.Because the patriarch and the village elders use their simplest emotions to decide a matter.

And their level is very limited, they only know that everything is according to the rules of the ancestors.

Even some patriarchs and village elders are not good people themselves, and they will use the power in their hands to seek benefits for themselves.It does not mean that high morality means high moral character.

Of course, the clan is also beneficial. For example, if the children of a family have no money to study, the clan head will organize everyone to contribute money and help together.When a man from a family dies, everyone will help the orphans and widows together.

There are also clansmen who are filial to their parents and women who observe festivals.

"In the early days of the founding of the country, the dangers of clans and families cannot be seen, because they have just experienced wars and their energy is limited. Once peace has passed for hundreds of years, and the dynasty has experienced several generations of emperors, then some clans and families will develop into giants." Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself. , "They will continue to annex land, accumulate wealth, and even recruit private soldiers."

"If there are many such clans and families, then the power of the court will be virtually divided up, so that the country will be shaken in the end. In the end, the power of the clan is rich enough to rival the country, but the treasury has no money to use. This is what Mr. Qin said. As the saying goes, the country is poor and the people are rich. What is even more frightening is that the court has no power, and the people will only know that there is a clan but not a court.”

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang realized the forward-looking and profoundness of what Qin Yu said to him yesterday.Qin Yu's remarks can be said to have seen through the whole society.

This person's vision is indeed very poisonous, there is no one before and no one will come!
"We just want to go to Lujia Village to be the village chief as ordinary people. Whether you can live up to the name, you can find a way yourself." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"This..." Lu Wei looked embarrassed, "Your Majesty, I am afraid it is difficult to do this. The local officials of all dynasties have basically followed the principle of not interfering in the internal affairs of the clan as much as possible. Because once there is too much interference, It will cause dissatisfaction with the entire clan, and they will stand up and resist under the leadership of the patriarch. If the resistance fails, the clan will even die."

"So as long as there is no criminal case of murder and arson and someone reports to the officials, the local officials will turn a blind eye. And if someone in the village has violated the national law and has been known to the court, the clan chief will also take the initiative to let the criminal be arrested. Send it to the government. The local officials have always been very careful when maintaining the relationship with the clan."

(End of this chapter)