Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 221 0216 [This is not what it used to be]

Not seeing him for more than a year, Bai Zongwang has aged a bit, and his energy is not so strong anymore.

It's not good to refuse to accept the old man. This old white member not only showed humility when he saw Zhu Ming again, but he even treated the villagers more tolerantly.

Perhaps because he did too many bad things when he was young, he actually followed his late mother to eat fast and chant the Buddha, and cleaned out the long-abandoned Buddhist hall.

He invited Zhu Ming into the living room to serve tea, asked his son to greet Zhu Ming's entourage, and asked his daughter-in-law to accompany Zheng Yuanyi to talk.

Ju Ming sipped the tea, chatted for a while, and then asked: "The Daming Village is mostly reclaimed land, and according to the system, taxes can be reduced or exempted for a few years. I think I don't know much about the exorbitant taxes in this county. I asked other people, and they also I don’t want to tell the truth. Please tell me the truth, what’s the life of the peasants in Xixiang County in the past two years?”

Bai Zongwang took a careful look at Zhu Ming, and seeing that he did not seem to be a fake, he sighed and said: "The imperial court ordered the reorganization of Baojia, and the number of households in each insurance was halved. Not to mention ordinary farmers, even landlords can't bear it."

"The county magistrate of Xixiang County, or the one from last year?" Zhu Ming asked.

Bai Zongwang said: "The plank road collapsed, delaying the delivery of money and food, and the county magistrate was demoted to Guangnan. The new county magistrate has not come for a long time, and it is estimated that he will arrive after the beginning of spring."

"Where's Master Zhang? That's Zhang Su." Zhu Ming asked again.

Bai Zongwang said: "It may be that someone in the court has been promoted to be a county magistrate elsewhere. The new master is called Ye Qian. He was a new scholar last year. He is currently acting as the magistrate's affairs."

Zhang Su is Zhang Shangying's nephew. It is estimated that one of Zhang Shangying's protégés and old officials joined Zheng Juzhong to become the Zheng Party, so he entrusted his relationship to Zhang Su's promotion.

Bai Zongwang added: "Since last year, in order to raise military rations in the Northwest, even the fourth and fifth-class households have to pay and buy money, and the first-, second- and third-class households have to share more. Fortunately, Sanlang of my family is an official, and Erlang is in the county. It’s not too much to be a security guard in the village, and it’s not too much to apportion the money. Other gentry can’t do it, and a big family in Zhuwan Township has been forced to go bankrupt and flee.”

Ju Ming said with emotion: "How difficult the world is."

The original intention of buying money and buying money is that the government pays for the supplies of the people, and obtains food and cloth nearby for military use.

At first, the government suppressed the price and forcibly bought it at a low price.

Then he began to renege on his debts, buying goods from the people on credit, and kept saying that he would not pay the money, saying that it was used to offset the tax for the next year.

Afterwards, he didn't even bother to pretend, and asked the common people to provide food and cloth directly, without mentioning spending money to buy it.

Then, it is too difficult to transport all the food and cloth, so let's convert it into a part of the money and hand it over.

It took only a few decades for these four changes to appear, and they were only levied on households (first, second, third, etc.).No matter how hard they are, the rich are the ones who are cheated.

In the Huizong Dynasty, they actually started to attack fourth and fifth class households!

Bai Zongwang suddenly laughed and said, "The big family in Zhuwan Township fled to Daming Village to open up wasteland."

Zhu Ming smiled when he heard that Daming Village has become a place where "filth and dirt are hidden".First there were a bunch of thieves, then all kinds of fleeing households, and now they are accepting rioters, and there are even bankrupt rich households defecting with their entire families.

The Bai family slaughtered chickens and sheep temporarily, and the banquet started only when it was dark.

Zheng Yuanyi was surrounded by the women of the Bai family and sat down, and the rest of Ju Ming's entourage were also warmly received.

Bai Zongwang read the family letter written by his son, and couldn't help asking: "Although the dog has won the Jinshi, but his qualifications are blunt, and he may be difficult to be promoted. According to the usual practice, how many years will it take to get a new job?"

Zhu Ming said: "It's hard to say, two or three years sooner, five or six years slower."

Bai Zongwang asked again: "Is gift giving a rule?"

Zhu Ming said with a smile: "There is no set price, it depends on how close you are. If it's Cai Dang, the money will be less. Don't worry, the veterans, my father will help with the conversation. Next year, San Lang will be released."

"Toast to Da Lang, old man!" Bai Zongwang hastily raised his glass to thank him.

When Cai Jing was in power, the phenomenon of selling officials was actually not serious, because this old thief had various ways to make money.

Until Cai Jing fell and was replaced by Wang Fu, it was called a miasma.

As the saying goes, "Three thousand claims, straight to the secret court; five hundred guan, promoted to pass the judgment", it does not mean that bribery of three thousand guan can lead to the secret court, but that the trend of selling officials at that time intensified, and even the ministers of the secret court could Get it for money.What's more, even if you get promoted because of meritorious service, you still have to give money to Wang Fu's henchmen, otherwise there will always be various accidents.

Cai Jing's loss of power not only failed to improve the atmosphere, but made it worse because the successor was worse than Cai Jing!

After drinking, Bai Zongwang personally sent Zhu Ming to the guest room to rest.

The servant helped him to go to the study, and Bai Dalang also followed in, happily said: "Zhu Dalang never cheats, the third brother will be promoted next year."

Bai Zongwang was also beaming: "There must be someone in the court, otherwise your third brother will be wasted for a long time. During the holidays, you should visit Daming Village more and show respect to Grandma Yan and Lady Shen."

"It's not that I didn't go," Bai Chongwen said with a smile, and then sighed with emotion, "In just over three years, their father and son have become high-ranking officials. Thinking about those three years ago, they didn't even have enough to eat, and they didn't even have a place to live." The world is unpredictable, who can predict it?"

Bai Zongwang started to brag, putting gold on his face: "The first time I saw Master Zhu, I felt that this man is not simple, he has an extraordinary bearing, and he has a lot of money, so I asked someone to be a matchmaker for him."

This is not a lie, the main reason is that Zhu Guoxiang calmed him down.

Bai Chongwen said flatteringly: "It's still Daddy's eyes like a torch, he never makes mistakes in seeing people."

Bai Zongwang educated his son and said: "The problem with you is to hold the high and step down. You must know that the high ones will fall, and the low ones will also meet the sky. You can't judge people by their status, but by their temperament. If you really If you don’t understand, you should be kind to others, and treat the poor with courtesy.”

"Remember, my child." Bai Chongwen was taught humbly.

His state of mind is different now, encountering thieves and experiencing life and death is only one aspect.What's more, because the second brother is an official in the county government, he has already settled in the county; the third brother is an official outside, so it is impossible to come back to fight for the family property.

The property of the Bai family belongs to him, Bai Chongwen.

When the position changes, the state of mind changes.

When the mood changes, words and deeds will change, and they will not be as small-minded as before.

Bai Zongwang said with emotion: "Zhu Dalang will only be 19 years old next year. A court official who is less than 20 years old and knows the state can also be a prime minister with the qualifications of the Kankan. Otherwise, our family can't climb high. Bai Qi is both the son of the Bai family and the stepson of the Zhu family. , can be married."

Bai Chongwen said: "I will visit Mrs. Yan and Mrs. Shen more often, and make them happy, so this marriage can be settled."

Bai Zongwang said: "Both you and Chongwu can't afford to climb high. It must be your third brother, who also has the honor of Jinshi. Choose a girl from your third brother's father-in-law's family to betroth to Bai Qi. If it is not possible, marry him as a concubine That's fine too. The future wealth of our Bai family will depend on the Zhu family."

Bai Chongwen laughed and said, "Bai Qi is only ten years old this year, so he has plenty of time to get married."

"Confused," Bai Zongwang lectured, "Madam Shen will move to Tokyo sooner or later, will she still stay in Daming Village? This marriage must be settled before she moves away."

Bai Chongwen thought about it carefully, and found that this was indeed the case, and hurriedly said, "Father is still thoughtful."

The next day, Zhu Ming left Shangbai Village, and the villagers came to see him off one after another.

With the increasing exploitation by the imperial court, sweet potatoes and corn became more and more precious, and the people at the bottom relied on these things to fill their stomachs.

And after the promotion, the price is too cheap.

The taste of corn is rough, and because of the lack of calories, it also gets hungry quickly.Eating too much sweet potato will cause acid reflux and flatulence.

These two things, rich people just try them out, or eat them as snacks, and they are not regarded as staple food.In this way, the price is low, and the poor can afford it, and they can even get their fill.

Not only the poor in the city love it, but even the farmers in the countryside sell the rice and wheat they grow and replace it with cheaper corn and sweet potatoes.

Zhu Guoxiang, who brought sweet potatoes and corn to the people, has an inestimable prestige in the hearts of the poor.

The villagers spontaneously sent Ju Ming off. Although there were factors of Mu Qiang mixed in, it was more out of respect.I am grateful to Zhu Ming for killing the thieves, to Zhu Guoxiang for bringing food, and to them for inventing the method of frying tea.

On the side of Shangbai Village, they also learned to fry tea, and even learned to fry black tea.

Black tea has far lower requirements for raw materials than tuan tea, and more tea leaves can be picked, and villagers have more opportunities to make money by picking tea.

Seeing the people sending eggs and vegetables, Zhang Tong couldn't help feeling: "The villagers respect Zhu's family so much! You can see such a situation in Puzhou?"

Li Bao shook his head: "I've never heard of it. Whether it's Xingren Mansion or Puzhou, the villagers respect the gentry even if they respect the gentry in their own village. The gentry in the neighboring villages all treat them like snakes and scorpions. Thieves are everywhere on Jingdong Road, and the folk customs in Yangzhou are not as simple and honest. .”

They haven't reached Daming Village yet, that's where it is called Xanadu.

While talking and joking, I followed Zhu Ming to board the boat and headed downstream to Daming Village.

Ju Ming observes both sides of the Han River, Xiabai Village has not changed much.On the riverside opposite Xiabai Village, there are more houses and many hillsides have been reclaimed. It is estimated that some new immigrants have been resettled here.

Arriving at Daming Village Wharf, the changes here are even greater, and Ju Ming can hardly recognize him.

The river beach that was overgrown with weeds has all become flat ground, and there are even a few old women selling snacks such as dried sweet potatoes there.Although there are not many merchants, the old lady has no labor force. She can always earn some pocket money while setting up a stall and doing needlework.

When Zhu's father and son first crossed, the Tian's house where they stayed was demolished and converted into a two-story building, which became an inn and salt shop.

The salt shop is very hidden, after all, it is an illegal business.

The private salt dealers wholesale the goods, the salt shop is responsible for retailing to the villagers, and the back door of the inn is the shop that sells salt.

In addition there are schools with several village offices.

As soon as they landed, some villagers shouted: "Lang Jun is back!"

Zhu Ming used to be the head of the village, and later Zhu Guoxiang became the head of the village.Gradually, Zhu Guoxiang became a husband and Zhu Ming became a gentleman.

The people of Daming Village have constantly changed their attitudes towards Ju Ming. Currently they regard him as the "elder young master" and Zhu Guoxiang as the "master".This comes from a kind of attachment psychology. They rely on Zhu's father and son to resist the government's exorbitant taxes.

(End of this chapter)