People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 457 Civil Servant: Are the common people eating rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs?

Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng were relatively willing to accept the statements made by Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao, because they both felt that the current civil servants were too bullying.

If these civil officials were not properly disciplined, they would always think that the military generals were still so easy to bully. So after Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao expressed their opinions, Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng actually felt better.

What Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng, and even Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao did not expect was that

The people of Beiping Prefecture were very angry when they heard that the civil officials actually suspected that the soldiers fighting on the front lines were cheating.

Because they are the ones who know best whether there is any fraud.

So many surrendered prisoners are being held outside the Great Wall, perhaps mixed with the Three Guards of Doyan, or a large number of prisoners may be sent to work in factories and on railway lines.

Zhu Di even suggested that it would be very easy to be a prisoner here, just serve the Ming Dynasty for five years first.

This is a special regulation of Beiping Prefecture. No matter where the captives come from, if you want to live a normal life, we will not stop you.

Even if you come here as a prisoner, no one will think you are inferior.

You have no way to come here to live with us, but we have to give you enough money to keep you alive.

This capital comes from the wages you get from working in a factory, mine or railway line.

This was originally the method used by the Ming Dynasty to deal with prisoners.

For example, among the prisoners brought back from Japan, there are 100,000 or 200,000 of them already working along the line.

In fact, for them, the work is even better.

Because in Japan, when you work for the lord, you work for free.

But here in the Ming Dynasty, at least there is some salary every month.

This amount of wages is nothing to the people of the Ming Dynasty, but it is a huge income for those Japanese devils.

So at first this little Japanese devil felt aggrieved, but after staying here for a while, he actually found that it was not bad.

Maybe this is the difference between countries.

Since the Ming Dynasty has become increasingly wealthy, wages are generally much higher than anywhere else.

So much so that captives from many places who came to the Ming Dynasty felt that they were living a more normal life than in their own country.

Just like these little Japanese devils, they thought that they would be exhausted to death if they came to the Ming Dynasty and did such heavy work for the Ming Dynasty.

It is indeed very tiring, but the wages I get are simply unimaginable in China.

The local people’s wages have now reached at least twenty cents a day.

So of course they looked down on the five cents a day wage offered by the railway line.

But for the Japanese prisoners, three cents a day was a sky-high price.

You have to know that even if they work hard in their own country, it is already very good if they can earn two cents or one cent a day.

Many ordinary people in Japan don't make any money at all.

Most of them work for free. Their cost of living is low, but correspondingly they don’t get much salary.

So when they arrived in the Ming Dynasty and saw that the wages here were only three cents a day, they felt that the Ming Dynasty was very good to its people.

Therefore, the common people would think that since Beiping Prefecture was offering such a high price, the captives were already living quite well.

The captives all felt that they were living well, so why did the civil officials think that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were lying about military intelligence at this time?

I feel that there is some falsification in the battle damage ratio.

They were very confused because even the captives admitted that they were living a good life in the Ming Dynasty.

On the contrary, those civil servants have always felt that the Ming Dynasty was not honest at all.

So many ordinary people were talking about this at this time, and they didn't know if those officials were just bored. Don't we in Beiping know what our soldiers have done?

"That's right. We saw with our own eyes that tens of thousands of prisoners were brought back. As many soldiers as went out, so many are coming back now.

A hundred casualties should be cause for great joy and national celebration, so why do you still feel like there are fewer deaths?"

"Who says it's not true? Those civil servants just have holes in their brains. They always think it's normal if more people die, and they're unhappy if fewer people die."

"This isn't a hole in the brain, this is a disease in the brain! Isn't it something we should be happy about if a few fewer people died?"

"No, no, no, for those civil officials, as long as more of the military officers die, that's the best thing for them. On the contrary, if a few fewer people die, in their eyes, something terrible is about to happen."

"I don't understand this, why is this happening?"

"Why? It's very simple. Once a general is sent out, isn't that the biggest obstacle for them? They don't want to see all the generals succeed. They even hope that the generals will suffer losses after leading the troops to the front line. This way they will have a reason to impeach the generals and say that they are simply warmongering."

With Yao Guangxiao's deliberate publicity, this incident soon caused a huge sensation around Beiping Prefecture.

Especially at the beginning when the people's morale for the army and the people was very strong, they even had civil servants who wanted to check whether the so-called news was fake.

This immediately aroused the disgust of all the people, and they decided to teach those civil servants who wanted to come to their doorstep a lesson.

Let them know that the people of Beiping will never allow such a thing to happen.

The common people of Beiping Prefecture want to let those civil servants know that Beiping Prefecture is now an ironclad entity.

We have long recognized that Beiping Prefecture is a paradise for all of us.

The soldiers are fighting the enemy on the front line, but if we can't provide them with a safe and warm harbor behind them.

Wouldn't that be too disheartening for the soldiers?

And if we let these things be disheartened, who can provide us with the greatest protection? This is complementary.

We should never keep asking for things, and we should never tell our soldiers that you are on the front line for the so-called merit, and we are entitled to enjoy it all in the back.

If you think so, it is really inhumane and hypocritical.

They are all good young men. Why should they sacrifice themselves for you?

Why should I risk everything for you?
Therefore, if we and others cannot support the soldiers behind the scenes, it will be easy for people to doubt the soldiers' hard work.

Won’t the soldiers feel disheartened?

Will they still be so willing to fight on the battlefield?
So the common people began to come to the city gate of Beiping Prefecture, waiting for the civil servants to come.

They want to let those civilian officials know that we are the most powerful shield for the soldiers.

We are the shield that the soldiers never have to worry about.

Therefore, the common people are very supportive of the soldiers and very disgusted with the civil officials.

Even the civil servants of Beiping Prefecture were the first to stand up and say, "We have seen the contributions of the soldiers, and we understand how difficult the soldiers are going through now."

The reason why those senior officials in the capital are suspicious is because they don't see it. The reason why those senior officials in the capital are so hateful is because they don't understand anything at all.

After making such a statement, they were finally freed from the attacks from the common people.

Otherwise, their government offices might be trampled down by the common people.

Five days later, the civil servants from the capital finally arrived.

Originally they came earlier.

However, these officials claimed that they were imperial envoys from the capital, so they walked very slowly along the way.

They think they need the best rest.

Especially when they stay in places like the Jiangnan water towns, the Jiangnan water towns are so nourishing.

It’s not as dry as Beiping Prefecture.

Especially during the Little Ice Age, although it was in the early stages, it also brought drought to Peking Prefecture.

A drought can make the skin unbearable.

There were even several civil servants who were used to enjoying a good life and had diarrhea for several days on the road due to unfamiliar climate and water.

For this reason, these literary contacts had even less favorable impressions of Beiping Prefecture and only wanted to quickly complete the investigation and then go back.

Who would want to stay in a place like Beiping Prefecture for any longer?

But they didn't think about the fact that you are just on a business trip to Beiping for a few days.

But the common people have lived in this place for hundreds and thousands of years. Have they ever complained?
In such a difficult situation, the soldiers were able to win several great victories and had such an exaggerated casualty ratio. Shouldn't they be encouraged?

Instead, they are aggressive and believe that there is falsification in the battle report, and even come to investigate. This is their moral integrity.

But when they arrived from afar, outside the city gate, they saw many common people "welcoming" them at the city gate, and they were immediately overjoyed.

Several officials even stuck their heads out and chatted with the officials behind them across the sedan chair: "See, see, this is what people want.

When the common people heard that we were coming to investigate Zhu Di's military achievements, they actually started to leave the city to welcome us.

It seems that the common people also have a sharp eye.

There must be something unfair on this battlefield, so the people want us to help them find out what's going on.

What the people want, what the people want!"

Several officials at the back also echoed: "Who said it wasn't true? We must thoroughly investigate what their problems are this time and give the people an explanation.

We must not let them get away with it.

Even if Zhu Di is a prince, we are investigating the prince.

We must be clear as a mirror and clear as water, and let the people know that no matter whether it is Beiping Prefecture or other places, fraud will never be allowed within the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

“This is absolutely true, and this is what we should do when we are in office.

Now that I see the people lining the streets to welcome us, I realize that if we stay in the capital and don't come out, it will be a real loss to the people.

In fact, the people have always hoped that we can come out and take a good look at what the situation is like outside.

Take a good look at the local generals and see what heinous things they did in order to defraud the rewards from above."

"My fellow colleagues, we have a heavy burden on our shoulders this time. Not only do we have to give an explanation to our superiors, but we also have to let the people know that we are not fooling around.

We must let the people know that the court will absolutely not allow any fraud or deception to exist.

Since the Duke has made it very clear that with the advanced weapons on the battlefield today, there will never be too many casualties.

But even though we are civilian officials, we know very well that war is a matter of swords and guns, and no matter how good the weapons are, it is impossible to achieve such a record.

Zhu Di thought that as a prince, he could fool everyone, but we have to investigate it thoroughly. No one can fool us here."

Many officials echoed: "This is true. Seeing the people lining the streets to welcome him, we know that Zhu Di is a prince here, but he probably hasn't done a very good job. Otherwise, the people wouldn't want us to find out what's wrong with him."

They had a good idea and thought that the people came out to welcome them. They thought that this might be the same as what they imagined. The people also felt that there was a problem, so they welcomed them to investigate.

But they may never know that the people are not here to welcome them, but to destroy their brand.

As their sedan chair got closer to the city gate, they noticed something different.

Because whether in vernacular novels or on the stage of operas, if the common people truly welcome an official into the city, they will definitely cheer and be happy.

But this scenario is exactly the opposite.

The people are very calm.

Even the vegetables in the baskets were not fresh.

It looks like some rotten vegetable stems from somewhere.

Why do the eggs in their baskets look like they are rotten?

Because at a glance, you can see mold spots on the surface of the eggs, which is an obvious sign that they are spoiled and no longer fresh.

So the civil servants were all very puzzled.

How is this going?

Are the lives of ordinary people here so miserable?
When many officials saw the people like this, they became even more indignant.

It seems that Zhu Di did not do anything good in Beiping Lake.

The lives of ordinary people are already so miserable that they have to eat rotten vegetable leaves and eggs.

We must report this to the higher authorities and let His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince know.

Zhu Di did nothing good in this place.

Yes, yes, yes, we must report this to the higher authorities.

These officials seemed to have grasped Zhu Di's braids and were ready to enter the city happily.

What they didn't expect was that just as they lifted the curtain and were about to greet the common people warmly.

He even tried to comfort the common people in a friendly way, making them believe that when he came, he would become their great ruler.

But as soon as they opened the curtain, they suddenly felt the sound of breaking wind.

Rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs rained down on them...

(End of this chapter)