Ming politicians

Liu Dahua's residence is on Nanzhi Street.

Official residences are not too conspicuous. After all, there are only so many salaries. If there is a luxurious residence covering many acres, it is hard to explain.The magistrate, Tongzhi, and Tongju are not locals. Besides, their residences in the government office are all very good, and they will not buy a mansion in Fucheng.

Under such circumstances, the mansions of officials are all very ordinary dwellings, so the so-called wealth is not exposed.

At Sishi, Su Tiancheng arrived at Liu Dahua's mansion on time.

Liu Zhongji was waiting at the door, and he was a little surprised when he saw the servant behind Su Tiancheng carrying the burden.

After entering, Su Tiancheng discovered that this was a courtyard house, not very large in size. There are quite a few houses like this in Fucheng, including all ordinary people living in courtyard houses. It seems that Liu Dahua is very low-key.

There is a small courtyard facing you, followed by the main room.

Liu Dahua was sitting in the hall.

Today is the second day of December, Xiu Mu's day.

It's the end of the year, and there aren't many things going on in the yamen. The common people also have to celebrate the New Year. The atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty's New Year is very strong. It starts from the 24th of the twelfth lunar month until the [-]th of the first lunar month, which is about a month.

It's just that in the past few years, the farmers have encountered a lot of disasters, coupled with the riots of bandits, life is not easy.

"The younger generation pays respects to uncle."

Liu Dahua is older than Su Huawen.

Of course, Su Tiancheng doesn't need to kneel down, cup his fists and bow in salute, that's all he needs, after all, he is a student.

"Hehe, Kun Yuan, the old man has been entrusted to me."

Liu Dahua was not polite, and naturally accepted Su Tiancheng's visit. He is an elder, so he can naturally do so.

"Kunyuan, you and Quanzi are classmates. I should have invited you to the mansion a long time ago. Zhongji often went to Su's mansion to disturb him. The so-called coming is not indecent. Today I called you here under the name of the old man, but in fact Zhongji invited you." You."

"The younger generation dare not, in fact, the younger generation should have come to visit uncle a long time ago."

"Hehe, okay, okay, it's great that you have such an idea. You and Zhongji are classmates, so you need to see more. The old man heard from Zhongji that you are already studying your homework and preparing for the provincial examination next year."

"The junior hasn't reviewed his homework for a while. Recently, when he flipped through the book, he felt a little strange, so he read more."

"Well, the old man believes that you will be able to pass high school."

After chatting for a while, Liu Dahua stood up.

"Kun Yuan, follow the old man to the study to have a look."

The study room of every family is generally a very important place. Any important matters are discussed in the study room, including some senior executives of the court. Although the mansion has a living room, when discussing important periods, they still come I went to the study.

This time, Liu Zhongji did not follow him to the study.

After entering the study, Liu Dahua spoke just as Su Tiancheng sat down.

"Kun Yuan, the old man has heard some rumors in Fucheng recently, and I feel a little curious. I want to ask you. If it's convenient for you, you might as well tell me what you think. If you find it difficult, don't say it."

"Even if uncle asks, this junior will definitely answer truthfully."

Liu Dahua didn't speak immediately, and looked at Su Tiancheng with a smile on his face, but his eyes were a little sharp. He had been in the Yamen for so many years, and he had never seen any kind of person. This Su Tiancheng, from the moment he entered the main room, gave him I was deeply impressed, neither arrogant nor humble, spoke well, and behaved politely. It is not easy for a 17-year-old young man who was not born in a family of officials to have such a bearing.

"Hehe, the old man just said it straight."

"The first thing, I heard that you distributed food, coarse salt and seeds to the tenants of the Su family. The old man is a little strange. I don't know why you would think of doing such a thing. Speaking of which, there are not many tenants of the Su family. The land is only [-] hectares, so it is not a big deal. In the past two years, the farmers have suffered disasters, and the imperial court is aware of it. Last year, there was a famine in Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province, and the imperial court specifically exempted them from taxes. Pingyang Prefecture is a little better. But it is also a heavy loss, the taxes cannot be collected normally, and the servants sent out are complaining endlessly because of the collection of taxes, and the magistrate is very troubled."

Su Tiancheng listened very carefully. Rather than saying that Liu Dahua was asking a question, it might be better to say that he wanted to express a certain meaning, or to remind himself that he needed to pay attention to something.

After Liu Dahua finished speaking, he immediately answered.

"Uncle, the younger generation did distribute grain, coarse salt, and seeds to the tenants. Fortunately, all the seeds were sown, and the farming season was not delayed. There is still hope for the coming year. The reason why the younger generation did this is out of helplessness."

"Oh, how do you say that?"

Liu Dahua quickly became serious, and the smile on his face disappeared. Su Tiancheng actually answered like this, not knowing what it meant.

"The younger generation is mainly thinking about the future. Last month, the younger generation went to see the tenant's house. There is no food in the house, and there is no cultivation in the field. If things continue like this, what will happen is self-evident. The tenants fell into such a field, on the surface, it seems that they have encountered a disaster, and it has nothing to do with my family, but if the younger generation ignores it, it is estimated that there will be more and bigger troubles in the future."

"Tell me, what trouble will arise?"

"Although there are not many tenants in the Su family, they really have no food to eat. They are either waiting to starve to death, or trying to find other ways to find something to eat. The most terrible thing is that they are confused for a while and do outrageous things. In the first half of the year, the rogue bandits from Shaanxi had already invaded Pingyang Mansion. If these tenants were bewitched and joined the team of rogue bandits, wouldn't this cause a lot of trouble to the government office? The younger generation gave them food and Seeds, so that they can farm with peace of mind, not only preserves the stability of the family, but also reduces the pressure on the government."

"Hehe, that's not bad, but you seem to have something else to say, just say it, don't have any worries."

"The younger generation is bold. There are many big households in Pingyang Fucheng. If these big households can do this, even if they spend less food, they can stabilize the tenants and prevent them from despairing. Many farmers were also hit by disasters. Some well-meaning wealthy merchants took out some silver to help farmers survive the famine. The younger generation believed that if bandits invaded Pingyang Mansion again, these farmers would also rise up and fight. It just lightens the burden on the government.”

Liu Dahua's eyes became deep, but he didn't make any comments.

"Hehe, for the second matter, Lei Wentong went to the Su Mansion and talked with you about some things. The old man also heard some rumors. I don't know if these things are true. Boss Lei, it was you I don’t know why my elders went to Su’s residence, your father has already gone to Taiyuan Prefecture, so he shouldn’t have gone to Su’s residence.”

"Boss Lei has indeed arrived at the mansion, but Boss Lei is an elder, and he went to the mansion to find the younger generation, and he also wanted to warn the younger generation. The younger generation just had some opinions on Boss Lei's opinion and did not agree with it. He just said some ideas and did not spread them outside. It's as mysterious as it is."

"It seems that this matter is true, you are brave enough."

"Uncle, the younger generation is not courageous, because Boss Lei is an elder, the younger generation has no scruples, just say what comes to mind, the younger generation believes that it is reasonable to travel all over the world."

Liu Dahua's expression was a little uncertain.

The conversation didn't last long. Su Tiancheng spoke concisely without dragging his feet. Some questions he explained in detail, and some questions he covered up. For example, Liu Dahua asked why Lei Wentong came to the Su residence, including his own Regarding Lei Wentong's evaluation, these things are very sensitive. Lei Wentong has been in Pingyang Fucheng for so many years and has status and status. It is impossible to say that he has no relationship with the government.

Su Tiancheng's caution aroused Liu Dahua's interest.

Liu Dahua didn't follow up on the questions that Su Tiancheng didn't answer.

During the meal, Liu Dahua toasted Su Tiancheng, urged Liu Zhongji to also toast Su Tiancheng, and specifically asked Liu Zhongji to associate more with Su Tiancheng in the future. The two are classmates, and they can communicate and discuss together to improve together.

Seeing such a scene, Su Tiancheng believed in his own judgment even more. It seemed that Liu Dahua didn't intend to invite him to the banquet. Behind him was the chief official of the government office.