golden scales

"Master Zhang, what do you think the crown prince is thinking?" A group of wealthy merchants gathered in Zhang Delong's residence, each with suspicious expressions on their faces.

They "ate" the prince's banquet that day, and each of them donated a sum of money, so they could support two or three singers, and occasionally thinking about it would still make my heart hurt for a while.

Unexpectedly, ten days later, the prince actually sent a statement of account to their home.

At first glance, this seems like rubbing salt in their wounds.However, once he calmed down, these old Jia were a little startled.

It not only lists the total money received that day, each donor has a name, so that it will not be swallowed up in secret, but also lists the amount of lime and firewood purchased during these days, and the remaining taels of silver.The accounts are more detailed than those made by the account room at home, and what is even rarer is that they are clear at a glance.

How can these businessmen who have become good at doing business not know the value of it, this account sheet alone is enough to be worth the money they donated.

What gave them a headache was that the prince never said anything to ask them to donate money other than these actions.Although some people made up donations one after another after the banquet, the crown prince just accepted it with a smile, one tael was not too little, and a thousand taels was not too little—of course, no one donated that much.

It stands to reason that the emperor would never be so delicate!

"Perhaps it was really the prince's own fundraising." Zhang Delong looked at Bai Yuruyi on the nave, stroked his beard and said, "This prince is young, but he has great ideas. I'm afraid we are thinking too much."

After hearing Zhang Delong's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but soon tightened their hearts: "If the prince has such an idea, will you think we are unwilling to contribute?"

"He grew up in Da Nei since he was a child, so he knows what people's suffering is?" Zhang Delong said disdainfully: "It's really impossible, and it's almost enough to donate another hundred taels. By the way, have those servants collected the money?"

"Take it, take it." Everyone responded one after another, seeming to be much more relaxed.

"Just accept it. When the plague is over, let the prince go back earlier. We just have a good relationship, and nothing will happen." Zhang Delong said leisurely.

The scene calmed down for a while, and many wealthy businessmen discussed how to buy land after the epidemic and solicit farmers.

Zhang Delong is getting old, let his son entertain guests, and he has to go to the back hall to rest.After walking a few steps, suddenly the front door came to report that it was a visit from the guards of the Eastern Palace.It is necessary to put a number plate on the door and count the population of the family.

"Shouldn't Shuntian Mansion do this?" Zhang Delong frowned.

At that moment, someone stepped forward and explained: "Someone from Han's family went there yesterday, followed by the guards from Shuntian Mansion, the Chief Jia from our workshop, and people from Bing Ma Si and Jin Yi Wei."

"This time we have to spend again." Zhang Delong frowned.

The man smiled and said: "Master Zhang, don't worry, this time you don't need to spend too much money. Although it looks like a big battle, in fact, these people have obtained the order of the crown prince not to disturb the people, and they are allowed to report their own population. The upper class households just want one The house number of money and silver is Gongbenyin, [-]% off for middle-class households, and free for low-class households.”

It is also a national policy of the Ming Dynasty to divide households into three classes. Every few years, counties have to re-plan households to collect taxes and pay food.

"That's okay." Zhang Delong breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Housekeeper, go and give me a tael of silver, and the number of people in the family should be reported to ten."

There are more than ten close relatives in the rich merchants of the Zhang family, not to mention the servants.However, in this era, hiding the population is the same as not revealing the wealth. It is never a good thing to be targeted by the court, so I would rather say less.In case the crown prince was to repair the plank road secretly to save Chencang, and he would be smoked per household when he turned around, wouldn't it be a heavy loss then?

Steward Zhang got the master's order, went out to meet the guards of the East Palace and others, took out a tael of silver, stuffed it into the hands of the leader, and said: "This is the leg money from my master, please accept it."

The leading Eastern Palace guard weighed the weight, put it in the bamboo basket on his waist, and said, "Thank you very much. What is the population of your family?"

"Return to the chief, the epidemic has come in, and the population has dispersed, only ten." The housekeeper said, with one hand ready to collect some more money.

The guards of the Eastern Palace supported the wooden board with one hand, and opened the wide-open book with the other, and glanced at the newly hung house number, which read "[-] Tianshui Hutong".He found the house number in the book, and wrote a "ten" with charcoal against the "Population" column.

Someone next to me handed over a printed note, and the housekeeper took a look, and it read: "I have received one coin for the house number of Zhang's house at No. [-], Tianshui Hutong. I hereby certify it."

"Sir, this is..."

"Receipt." The East Palace guard quickly replied, turned the wooden board in his hand, and said, "Look, if there is no problem, just sign and draw on the back."

The butler leaned closer to the book, and saw that it was just for population statistics, and the house number was followed by a careless "ten".He was afraid that someone would tamper with the book after it was uploaded, so he simply added the traditional Chinese character "Yishi" after the word "ten", and then signed his own monogram.

The guards of the Eastern Palace took it and took a look, but didn't say much, and went to the next house under the guidance of the old man.The steward suddenly saw that there was someone he knew in the team, and hurriedly stepped forward to stuff a small string of money, and asked, "Brother Wu family, what is this for?"

"Anti-epidemic." The man said: "Don't lose the house number. If you don't have the house number, you will be regarded as the death of the whole family. When the time comes, the door will be sealed with earth and rocks, and you will die if you don't die."

"Yes, the house number will not be lost." The housekeeper responded repeatedly.

Daming had the habit of putting up a house number, and the information on it was more complete than the only one number in later generations.The prince re-numbered each house and household, which is just a supplement.In many places where the poor live together, there is no need to remake the house number at all, just hang a square or road name board at the entrance of the square, and then write a number on each door with black paint to be the address of the house number.

These things were naturally done by the Eastern Palace Guards.

……

Wu Changchun went the farthest into Linqing, Shandong, but it was a pity that this place had already been plundered and killed by Jiannu. Not only the young men were taken away, but there were not many women and children left.What is even more heinous is that Jiannu not only plundered, but also massacred the city.Linqing was originally an important town at the junction of the north and south of the canal, where merchants gathered and were extremely wealthy. After being ravaged by Jian slaves, the ten rooms were empty, and the ground was full of stumps. It was like a hell on earth.

Wu Changchun picked up some people from the pile of dead people and went back, so where else do they need to buy?As long as they have something to eat, they are content.Then they returned all the way north, recruiting people along the way, and when they returned to the capital, they recruited enough, and even slightly exceeded the quota.

After handing over these people, Song Hongye recommended Wu Changchun to the prince with great loyalty.The crown prince is currently employing people, so Wu Changchun is asked to recruit helpers, report and keep files, and prepare to number all the families in Yanjing City.The prince also borrowed scribes from the Ministry of War to revise and draw a map of Yanjing, marking streets, squares, roads, and roads for epidemic prevention.

Wu Changchun could have rested for a few days, but he couldn't stay at home, so he walked around the streets with the guards of the Eastern Palace, watching them do their business.The guards of the Eastern Palace who came out to handle errands were all called by Song Hongye. After a few days of practice, they really had some appearance. Out of order.

In contrast, the people from Bingmasi, Shuntianfu, and Jinyiwei walked beside them like a mob.

——The prince said that he wanted to accept people as a warrior. Why did he just let them do this after accepting them?

Wu Changchun was puzzled.

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