Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 246 Village (600 monthly tickets)
The three of them talked until night. At night, Zhao Zhen and the other two sat together and feasted on the pig's head that had been braised for two hours.

After eating and drinking, Ruan Xiaowu and Ruan Xiaoqi returned to the military camp to rest, while Zhao Zhen went to Ji Xuan's room to rest.

Because Zhao Zhen was going back to the fantasy world tomorrow, Ji Xuan was naturally very enthusiastic. She was wearing a light gauze, and was dimly visible in the light, with shoulders as sharp as a knife and waist as thin as a slender waist.

There is a saying from ancient times: wine makes people lose their temper, and sex makes people fascinated. Zhao Zhen was already drunk, and when he saw Ji Xuan dressed like this, he could no longer resist. He pulled her into his arms, took off her clothes and belt in front of the bed, and had fun together.

The next day, after breakfast, Zhao Zhen took rice and seeds back to the fantasy world.

Zhao Zhen ordered Zhao Yuanli to store the grain, and to put the pearl rice seeds and rouge rice seeds in a warehouse and keep them carefully.

Half of the white jade cucumber and green shell pea seeds were sent to Kushu Village and asked the village head Tang Sen to plant them in the spiritual fields.

After unifying Liangshan and occupying Dulonggang and Heihu Temple Town, there was no shortage of spiritual fields after the land was demarcated. From now on, the remaining two acres of spiritual fields in Kushu Village will be used as a vegetable garden.

Even the more than two acres of land where mirror-shaped persimmons were grown was moved from Baishi Manor and will be used as a vegetable garden in the future. Zhao Zhen has the skills to grow them.

After arranging the trivial matters, Zhao Zhen called Zhao Ji and invited Xiao Rang, Pei Xuan and Zhu Wu to come to the village to discuss matters.

After greeting each other, the three of them sat down, and Zhao Zhen asked, "Brother Xiao Rang, have all the affairs in the county been sorted out now?"

Xiao Rang said, "Don't worry, owner. Everything is fine in the county. Farmers have started to cultivate the fields during the spring ploughing season, and many cattle and mules have been rented out. Brother Tao Zongwang's [Craftsmen's Camp] is building a village in Dulonggang. Many farmers have come forward to help, and the materials are complete. Now four village blocks have been built. In another three to five days, the other three village blocks will also be completed."

Zhao Zhen asked, "Have you chosen the village heads?"

Xiao Rang said, "I was just about to discuss this with the great official."

Zhao Zhen asked, "What do you two brothers have in mind?"

Pei Xuan said: "Zhujiazhuang, Lijiazhuang, and Hujiazhuang, the three villages with a population of 1,000, will have Zhong Liming, Li Ling, and Hu Taigong as village heads respectively. The remaining seven villages will have to re-elect people."

"Brother Xiao Rang and I have discussed selecting a few clerks from the county government to serve as deputy village heads, and asking farmers in the villages to nominate village heads. The two can work together, and these clerks can also serve as our eyes and ears."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "There won't be enough clerks in the county."

Xiao Rang said: "Choose a few people from the county school to serve as this position, and it will be a way out in the future. If the head of the village does a good job, he can also be transferred to serve in the sixth house of the county."

Zhao Zhen also thought it was a good idea. As long as people have hope, they will naturally have motivation. At that moment, the names of the villages and the selection of clerks were decided. Zhao Zhen used his seal and asked Zhao Ji to post notices in Xixi Village and notify the seven people. They were asked to take over for one day and go to their respective villages to take up their posts the next day, familiarize themselves with the households, fields, etc. in each village, and assist Tao Zongwang in building the village.

As for the election of village heads, after the seven villages are built, Xiao Rang will supervise the selection of village heads who are prestigious and close to Liangshan.

Pei Xuan said: "Sir, this idea is very good in my opinion. Most villages in the county have one person as the head of the village. Why not choose one person as the deputy head of the village? The two of them can supervise each other, and there will be fewer cases of deceiving the subordinates and hiding the truth from the superiors in the future."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen nodded repeatedly.

Xiao Rang said, "These villages have all received the great official's kindness and are much more loyal than Dulonggang. There is no need to transfer personnel from the clerks. How about letting each village nominate one? This will also show the great official's kindness."

Pei Xuan said: "It's feasible."

Zhao Zhen also said, "That's good. From now on, we can make it a rule for the two of us to work together. But how should the salary be determined? Have you two brothers thought about it?"

Xiao Rang said, "I was just about to tell you, sir, that we two are planning to divide villages into four categories: small villages with less than 100 households, medium villages with less than 300 households, large villages with less than 500 households, and lifang villages with more than 500 households." "The head of a small village will receive 1 guan per month, a medium village 15 guan, a large village 2 guan, and a lifang 25 guan. For more than 2,000 households, there will be a township head. Township assistants, township elders, township cadres, and traveling tax collectors are not permanent positions and are set up according to demand."

"The township head does not live in a certain place all the time, but works in different villages in turn. His position is one level lower than the county yashi, and is above the jingcheng and shuli. After the shuli becomes the village head, he can be promoted to jingcheng, and after the jingcheng becomes the township head, he can be promoted to yashi."

Zhao Zhen listened and thought about it carefully. This way of doing things can indeed improve the county government's control over the villages. But the salary is not enough for a family. He asked, "Brother Xiao Rang, your idea is good, but isn't the salary of the village head a little too little?"

Xiao Rang said: "Sir, this salary was proposed by Brother Pei Xuan. This is indeed a job salary."

Pei Xuan continued, "In addition, the village head has six to ten acres of official land, which is cultivated by farmers and soldiers from each village. For example, in a small village, after deducting taxes, the annual surplus is at least six stone of rice and wheat, which means an annual salary of at least 24 strings of cash, which is enough to support a family."

Zhao Zhen listened and nodded repeatedly, saying, "You two brothers have given it careful thought. I will do as you say."

Xiao Rang and Pei Xuan were also happy after hearing this. After all, as scholars, who doesn't want to govern a region?

After being happy, Zhao Zhen said, "It's a pity that there are few scholars in the county. The two brothers should pay more attention to them. If any knowledgeable students, especially those with achievements, come to apply, they should be promoted as appropriate."

After hearing this, the two of them bowed in agreement.

Zhao Zhen turned to Zhu Wu and asked, "Brother Zhu Wu, how is the situation in the army?"

Zhu Wu said, "Sir, the heroes in the army have been training the soldiers without slacking off. The soldiers recruited by Zhang Jiaotou, assisted by Zou Run, Zou Yuan, Shi Xiu and others, as well as the minions of Huiyan Peak, Dengyun Mountain, Shaohua Mountain, and the three villages of Dulonggang have all completed the formation training. Now they are strengthening the military discipline training, and then we can let the heroes go to select soldiers."

Zhao Zhen nodded and asked, "Brothers, is there anything else you need my advice on?"

Xiao Rang said, "I have another matter. A few days ago, a man who called himself [Golden Retriever] Duan Jingzhu came to seek refuge with the great official. He is now staying temporarily in the east wing of the great official's old residence in Xixi Village. This man is a man from Zhuozhou, born with a very strange appearance, skinny as a stick, with red hair and yellow beard. Would the great official like to meet him?"

Zhao Zhen said, "If a brave man comes to surrender, I must meet him. Since he is from Zhuozhou, I wonder if he knows Shi Xiu and Shi Qian?"

Xiao Rang said, "Brother Shi Xiu is in the Wanzi City camp and has not met Duan Jingzhu yet. But Brother Shi Qian and Duan Jingzhu hit it off right away. Brother Shi Qian has been accompanying him these past two days."

Zhao Zhen was very happy after hearing this, so he asked Zhang Qi to invite Duan Jing to live in his farm.

"Sir, there is one more thing. Li You, the ranch manager, reported that the livestock have become unstable since the beginning of spring, so he wants to recruit some herders from Shangwang Village."

Zhao Zhen asked, "Liu Shi, the village chief of Shangwang Village, are you willing to release the people?"

Xiao Rang said, "Sir, I asked Liu Shi. There are fewer prey on Xigouzhaozi Mountain now. Raising black goats alone is not enough to support so many farmers. He is willing to do so."

Zhao Zhen said, "In that case, brother, go and coordinate. Not only Li You, but also the ranch managed by Chao Cuo. Shangwang Village has the most hunters, and they are good at using bows and arrows. We can recruit a group of archers. Brother Zhu Wu, you can also go with us to see if it is feasible."

After hearing this, the two of them bowed in agreement.

Zhu Wu said, "Sir, Brother Bai Sheng disguised himself as a merchant and went to Jingyang Town to monitor Zhu Yongqing's movements. Yesterday, Brother Li San sent a message saying that the chief steward Yun Tianbiao has returned from Dongping Prefecture."

Zhao Zhen said, "Now that Yun Tianbiao has returned, I think there will be some changes. I wonder what the scholar is doing. Let Bai Sheng keep a careful watch. We can take action when Zhu Yongqing is alone. Jingyang Town is an important town. Without an order, Yun Tianbiao dare not mobilize the imperial guards to go out, and we dare not fight him here. There will be friction in the future. Let Brother Chao Gai pay more attention."

(End of this chapter)