Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 210 They are all setting examples

The military containment, combined with the new official land leasing policy introduced in local governance, was a combination of civil and military measures, and the effect was remarkable.

The first is the small group of rioters who have not accumulated much. They originally went to the mountain because they could not survive.

At first, I was afraid to go down the mountain because of fear. After all, the army would really hack you to death. Later, a group of rioters with women and children could no longer hold on and made a bold attempt. The leader went down the mountain alone and took the initiative to find the officers and soldiers.

"I, Wang Ermazi, came down the mountain this time to fulfill my promise to Mr. Jia. I know that I am guilty and I am not afraid of death. But I beg you to spare the women and children on the mountain." The man who was brought to Jia Lian was a tall and thin man who had been nourished for a long time. Bad, looks like a dish. When he spoke, there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He was really here to die. He could obviously eat better by himself, his face was glowing.

Jia Lian looked at the leader who was in his prime and didn't even have a decent name. He couldn't help but hide his face and sighed: "The people are not afraid of death, so why should they be afraid of death? If you have to say that you are guilty, it is just because you are forced to do nothing."

Wang Ermazi was just a nickname. When he learned that he had no famous name, Jia Lian said, "How about I give you a name?"

The five-foot-tall man pushed the golden mountain over the jade pillar, kowtowed and said, "I once heard that Mr. Jia saved many people in Nanyang. I am grateful to you for being named by him."

It can only be said that Wang Ermazi was very lucky, and Jia Lian needed a role model.

"Your nickname is Wang Ermazi, and the second is Zhong. Now that you have been reborn, it is your majesty's kindness that you should remember. Therefore, I take the homophonic pronunciation and give you the word Zhongen as your name." Jia Lian is really not just showing off, it is mainly about going south. After looking at local affairs, I feel that the bureaucrats and gentry of this era are really a big mountain weighing on the heads of ordinary people.

Therefore, there is no reward for the efforts, and people still complain about not being willing to do 996 and 007. It is strange for young people nowadays not to blow up their nests.

This shows how ruthless the local officials and gentry are in their exploitation!
Wang Zhongen kowtowed repeatedly. In front of everyone, Jia Lian stepped forward to help him up and said: "There is an abandoned village at the foot of the mountain. It will be renamed Wangcun from now on. You will settle down in Wangcun after you go down the mountain. When you go back, take it with you." Bring some dry food so that everyone can have enough energy to go down the mountain.”

In fact, Jia Lian felt that Wang Ermazi should be called Wang Yi, but unfortunately, it did not meet the needs of the court.

It was getting dim the next day, and the people in Wangcun all got up. They took a sip of steaming sweet potato shredded rice porridge in the cold wind. Women and children cleaned up their homes and washed old clothes. Children went in groups to collect firewood. Adult men Go to the ground. The land that has been abandoned for a year needs to be plowed, weeded, dried and burned before it can be cultivated next year.

In addition to bestowing names and dry food, Jia Lian did not do much to avoid scaring the people.

The people who saw these supplies couldn't hold back their excitement at all, and they knelt down and kowtowed in the direction of Fucheng.

Many people at the bottom of the farming society can only move within a radius of fifty miles in their lifetime. Is it because they don't want to go further? No, the court used laws to bind the people to the land. If no one cultivates the land in a farming country, big problems will arise.

Wang Zhongen, who had had a good meal for several months, drove his bullock cart back to the mountain. The women and children who were waiting for food suddenly cheered when they saw the food. Ants are still trying to survive, but it is natural for people to seek survival. Sacrificing one's life for righteousness is a sense of responsibility that has been forged by the nation for thousands of years.

The combination of rice bran, sweet potato leaves and sweet potato was used to feed pigs at home when Jia Lian was a child in his previous life.

A few days later, Wang Zhongen and more than 200 people who came down from the mountain arrived at Wangcun. Because of the government's rebellion and the people's encirclement and suppression, the local residents could not survive and ran away one after another. When they saw the officers and soldiers, the people who came down the mountain were a little scared. Fortunately, these officers and soldiers were friendly and the leader handed over to Wang Zhongen.

"Two hundred and three people, including women, children, old and young, are given 200 kilograms of grain to tide you over this winter. In addition, there are a batch of farm tools, a cart of seeds, a cart of old clothes, and a thousand kilograms of salt. Axes, saws, etc. There is a cart of tools, everything is here, please check it to make sure it is correct, and press your fingerprint so that I can go back and report to Mr. Jia."

The people's demands are really not high, and the officials in a government that can be forced to rebel by the people are really damned.

People cannot live without hope. Once they despair, they will either break out or lie down.

It's not that Jia Lian doesn't want to give more, but he really can't give too much, because in the future, people will continue to come down the mountain to seek a living.

Asking for something in return after giving is the simplest requirement for everyone, and it is also the bottom line of social fairness. Once this bottom line is trampled, don't blame other young people for not giving you face.

"Thanks to Mr. Jia for surviving. From now on, a memorial tablet for Mr. Jia will be set up in Wang Village to worship him every day."

In the name of the leader, Wang Zhongen issued the first collective agreement of the new village.

In terms of food, the main food is sun-dried sweet potato shreds, and only two thousand kilograms of rice.

Just these few things that people can eat to satisfy their hunger cannot be guaranteed to be full in this land of Yunyang.

There are many mountains in Yunyang, and they can't eat even a bite of the rice grown by the people in the few paddy fields. They can only eat a mixture of rice bran and wild vegetables. The sweet potato introduced in the late Ming Dynasty and vigorously promoted by Taizu of the Zhou Dynasty is the most commonly eaten food by the people here.

The dilapidated house was simply repaired and a thatched roof was added. Food and supplies were first placed, while the people stayed up all night shivering in front of the bonfire, relying on the ruined walls. Just like that, there is light in everyone's eyes. Because, I see hope.

Jia Lian, who has always paid close attention to Wangcun, couldn't help but sigh after learning about the rewards: "The hard work has penetrated into the bone marrow. The vitality of the people is like weeds. If they are given a little sunshine and rain, they will thrive. Only when there is no hope at all can we see it." Take risks."

After a model is born, countless people follow suit. Small groups of rioters kept coming down the mountain, and there were some good conditions at the beginning, such as being given a plowing cow. Don't even think about what happened later. Having food, seeds and farm tools is already the result of all the efforts to support them.

Fortunately, this policy received strong support from Emperor Chenghui, who strictly ordered surrounding governments not to take the opportunity to increase prices.

At this time, the government was unreasonable to businessmen. A kitchen knife usually sold for fifty cents, but now if you dare to sell it for eighty cents, they would be arrested. Let you know what the iron fist of the government is.

Wang Village is a special case. Most of the people just returned to their original villages. Even so, the effect was astonishing. The rioters on the mountain are like a fish in a pond that is gradually drained of water, and their days are getting harder and harder day by day.

As the New Year is approaching, there are not many gangs left in Yunyang Mountain. There are still six or seven people scattered, among whom Xu and Ding, the two leaders, have been having a really hard time recently.

Others dare to go down the mountain, but these two brothers really don't dare. There was too much hatred from the government, and too many lives were involved. Really scared and afraid to take risks. Because this is almost definitely a life-threatening situation.

When he got up early in the morning, Xu Liang called all the leaders under his command together for a meeting: "I decided to go down the mountain first to have a meeting with Jia Engong, whom the people of Nanyang call him."

His subordinates objected one after another, and the reasons were very good. The magistrate was killed by his eldest brother, and the gentry involved in the incident were also killed by his eldest brother. Life is hard right now, but if you endure it for a while, after one winter passes, things will get better.

"The main problem is the lack of salt. I carried a load of firewood to the city to see if I could get some salt back."

"Brother, the price of salt in the city is indeed not high. It is said that it is the rule set by Mr. Jia. The salt is one hundred and fifty cents per catty. If you pass it, you will be arrested. The check at the pass up the mountain is strict, and you can't bring any salt up the mountain. Ah." "This is easy to do. Just hide it under the mountain and bring it back when it's dark."

At the end of the year, the city gate gradually became lively. As long as the garrison was there, there was demand. At first it was some small businessmen and hawkers, and later it was some private prostitutes, and then a market spontaneously formed. After Jia Lian heard the news, he took the opportunity to announce that every tenth day would be a small gathering and every fifteenth day would be a big gathering.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the last big market of the year, the market flow in Chengguan reached its peak.

Of course, you have to pay a fee for setting up a stall, which ranges from one penny to five penny.

The newly established government officials saw a way to make money. Control popular stalls while cracking down on those who bully the market.

Officials at all levels have arrived one after another, and local officials have arranged exchanges with other places. This is the territorial principle of being an official.

Only the prefect of Yunyang has not yet taken office. It's not that no one doesn't want to come, but Emperor Chenghui instructed the officials to hold back first. Jia Lian did a good job. The ground in Yunyang was basically stable. The armies from various provinces gradually retreated, leaving some troops behind. As long as they held the pass, the difficulty of the task was greatly reduced.

Jia Lian's method is simple and effective, but the disadvantage is that it costs money. But this money-burning intensity is far less than the Battle of the Western Regions.

The large amount of materials needed to settle the people of Yunyang greatly enlivened the surrounding business activities. After careful calculation, I discovered that the investment in Huguang over the past year far exceeded the money and food Jia Lian spent recently.

Sit down!

Emperor Chenghui felt that local officials in Huguang were not necessarily a bunch of pigs, but they were certainly not people willing to bend down and look at the place.

Understanding is understanding, but Emperor Chenghui does not accept it. He took my salary but refused to work hard. He only wanted to make money in his pocket. Looking at Sun Qing, Zhang Qing, and Jia Qing, Emperor Chenghui wished he could just expel the remaining three ministers from the capital. It would be better for you guys to suffer outside and be stigmatized.

Liang Daoyuan stood in front of Emperor Chenghui, with cold sweat breaking down his spine.

There have been a lot of people coming to the position of Yunyang Magistrate recently.

Don't ask why, just ask diligently and love the people. I really want to make progress.

The reason why a special case is a special case is that it will never happen again. No one can guarantee that it will happen again next time. After all, there is huge public dissatisfaction.

What Jia Lian said in the capital contained everything. Jia Mansion shipped back hundreds of boxes of gold and silver, Jia Lian enclosed tens of thousands of hectares of land in Yunyang Mansion, brought back a boatload of beautiful young women, and so on.

To say it was unfair, it was not unfair. After all, Wu Han had robbed Jia Lian of his wealth for more than a year.

Emperor Chenghui doesn't believe these nonsense, how can there be so many good things waiting for him. Captain Long beside Jia Lian was not blind.

But many officials don't think so. I don't know if there are any benefits. It is true that the official land policy in Yunyang is flexible.

If you have nothing to do, invite the gentry here and hint at the official land policy. Can they not know what to do?

Looking at the list of officials, Emperor Chenghui suppressed his anger under the current situation, raised his hand and knocked on the table skillfully: "Leave your things, please go back." Then there was nothing more to say.

Just as Liang Daoyuan was about to fight for it, Qiu Shi'an came in and announced: "Your Majesty, Jiang Chaozong has been escorted to Beijing. This is a secret report of confiscating his home."

Liang Daoyuan suddenly had a change of thought and promptly changed his words: "I resigned."

Emperor Chenghui refused to let him go and stopped him, saying: "Read this secret report before leaving."

The so-called secret report was delivered ten days ago. This was specially arranged by Emperor Chenghui. As long as you have the inclination to be noisy, let me show you Jiang Chaozong's [great achievements].

Liang Daoyuan couldn't help but look at it, so he quickly took it and looked at it carefully. It doesn’t matter if you don’t look at it, but you will be frightened after looking at it.

Damn Jiang Chaozong, you really dare. Not to mention land, the cash at home was 10,000 taels of gold and 2 million taels of silver. With such a family background, this cannot be achieved through individual efforts. It definitely requires the cooperation of everyone.

Oh, one of the people who recommended Jiang Chaozong was Liang Daoyuan.

Fortunately, Emperor Chenghui did not hold on, but said angrily: "The Yunyang civil uprising was forced by this dog official. Mines in the world are mine. Taizu was kind and allowed the people to mine them. It is intended to give the people a chance. However, Jiang Chaozong took all of his livelihood and enriched his own pockets. He was still dissatisfied with the vast hectares of farmland at home, and read all the books of sages into the dog's belly. "

Liang Daoyuan quickly agreed, and after some condemnation, Emperor Chenghui let him go in despair.

Emperor Chenghui really doesn't care whether Jia Lian is greedy or not, he is my man. So what if you are greedy?

The key is that judging from Lieutenant Long's secret report, this guy is really not greedy. Official procurement is done under the account of Ambassador Zhang Ting'en, and bidding is open to the public, with priority given to those with lower prices and better quality. This pair of master and apprentice, not to mention having a breeze, at least they didn't take too much.

If they are accused of being greedy, all officials in the world should be killed.

In Rongguo Mansion, Wang Xifeng has been experiencing mixed joys and sorrows recently. What is worrying is that Zhang San came back with dozens of people. These people went out with him. Those who don’t have a wife can bring one back. I don’t know how many of the second masters are left with him. Alas, It's too far away and can't be managed.

Fortunately, Zhang San brought back a letter from Jia Lian and an envelope full of banknotes. Zhang San also brought back a hundred boxes, which were mainly filled with brocades of various colors, as well as some antiques, calligraphy and paintings. This was Jia Lian's private collection. One box of jewelry was asked by Wang Xifeng to divide it between the east and west houses. Everything that should be taken care of.

The surprise was the moment I opened the envelope. I counted it several times with my fingers before I figured it out. The total was 2.3 million taels, and the notes from Shanxi Bank were universally accepted. Jia Lian said in the letter that Wang Xifeng kept the money quietly and did not tell the outside world because their mouths could not hide things. So, I won’t tell you how the money comes from.

Wang Xifeng was so angry that her throat hurt. You said I was lax in my mouth, right? Don't think I don't know, Guixiang has a strict mouth! Still deep! Hum!
Naturally, there was a lot of longing for her in her heart, and she made it clear that she was used to seeing the lovely wives and concubines in the Rong Mansion and looked down upon the vulgar fans outside. In addition, I am busy with official duties and have no time for romance. Please rest assured Wang Xifeng!
Jia Lian's gift was sent out, and the two houses burst into joy. The servants all got the brocade sent back by Master Lian. Wang Xifeng said that Master Lian was out of town and wanted to prepare (grab) some New Year gifts for everyone.

As for the envelope of banknotes, that was a secret between Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian, and they could not be told to the outside world either life or death.

(End of this chapter)