Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

Snowflakes fell from the sky, and the chill slowly penetrated into the room through the crack of the door, so that Liu Er had to tighten his clothes, and at the same time moved closer to the fire pit, using the temperature of the remaining fire to drive away the chill. [ ] Beside Liu Er, a full-bodied guest is embroidering the children's clothes stitch by stitch. The six-year-old eldest son and four-year-old second daughter are frolicking around the firepit. It's also fun.

Liu Er was originally an ordinary farmer in Xiangcheng, Chenzhou. Although his family still had three or four acres of Susukida, the heavy taxes forced him to eat chaff and vegetables. When I was a child, I made some income as helpers for the landlords in the surrounding villages, and I couldn't survive the days.

However, after harvesting the wheat, they had a rare full meal for a few days, and this kind of chaotic and barely subsistence life was interrupted by the sudden war.Liu Er, his family and thousands of fellow countrymen who tried to escape the war but were found were forced by the former government's disguised army to bring the family's only belongings, and were driven all the way hundreds of miles away from their hometown. The place.

Liu Er was also prepared to resist, but the biggest landowner in the village refused to leave. As a result, he was beaten to death after a thunderbolt was shot from an iron pipe in the hands of the soldier.Liu Er also thought about escaping on the way, but the well-known Wu Juren in the village was hanged to death on the big tree by the roadside because he organized the escape.With these lessons learned, Liu Er, like those timid villagers, can only take one step at a time. Even if he dies in the future, at least the whole family can die together.

But what is astonishing is that after arriving at the destination, behind a small village located by the river named Fushui, what was left of me and the families I knew and didn't know were taken over by the arrogant official. Thirty acres of land.Everyone who fell into a dream still couldn't believe it, but the official lord who spoke with a strange accent that was hard to hear clearly led the heads of each household to see the land the next day. [ ] Looking at the wasteland full of weeds, the tenants were crying with joy. As for Liu Er, he didn't know why he was panicking.

The land is allocated, but we can't weed and dig the soil immediately. This is because there are few houses in the village that are intact. Temporary residence is fine, as long as there is no wind and rain, you can make do with it. But it's going to be winter. If houses are not built well, people of all ages may not be able to survive the ice and snow weather.

But to build a house, you must first have building materials, and secondly, you must have a builder.Although there are some masons in this reassembled village and others who can help as laborers, there are no major workers for erecting beams, nor are there any building materials.I was in trouble, and suddenly one day, several boats appeared on Fushui.The official, who had been missing for a few days, led the big guys to unload 10,000+ pieces of red bricks and some wood from the boat, so that there were materials for building houses.That's right, the brick house was built. This is a house that only rich people can live in. It surprised the villagers for a while.

With the materials, the lord official sent a house builder. Of course, it is said that because houses are being built everywhere, each village is limited to two people. Both of them are carpenters. In addition to making door frames and window frames, He also gave instructions on how to install the beams. As for the work of the plasterers, the villagers had to do it themselves.So according to the instructions of the official, the women and children of each household went to burn wasteland and plow the land to prepare for sowing winter wheat. The men were responsible for carrying water, mixing mud, transporting bricks, and building walls. Because they were doing things for their own families, everyone was full of energy. .

Because of the deadline for construction, each household first built a main house in the designated courtyard. As for the wing rooms on both sides, that will be a matter of later.Moreover, this brick house, like the grain growing and farm tools in hand, is not for nothing. It is considered to be loaned to everyone by the court, and it will be returned in three years.For this reason, many people also gossiped, hoping to replace the brick house with an earthen house, but they quickly changed their minds amidst the nagging of their mothers-in-law and aunts.Of course, the more important thing is that the official who often appears, by the way, it is said that he is an official of the township chief, this eighth-rank elder said that the emperor in the south, no, what prince gives preferential treatment to the people, the first three The national tax on imperial grain was not collected in the first year, and the tax was halved in the fourth and fifth years. The tax was not collected in full until the sixth year. This relieved the villagers who were worried that they would never be able to pay back the money owed to the government. [Thanks for supporting the novel]

But is it possible not to pay the imperial grain and national tax for three years?Thinking about the faces of those servants back then, Liu Er obviously couldn't believe that the two imperial courts would be so completely different, but now that they were at this point, what else could he do, he just had to muddle along.

"It would be great if this day could always be like it is now." Looking at the sweat beads on the faces of his son and the girl, Liu Er thought quietly. "If only there was another cow"

Liu Er couldn't think about it anymore. At this moment, there was a faint sound outside the house. He hurriedly opened the door. Before he could go out, he was already shivering from the cold: "Who, it's such a cold day, who is outside."

"Liu Er, open the gate of the courtyard." Liu Er was stunned, it was the voice of the township security chief, it was snowing, why did he come here, but thinking about it, Liu Er didn't dare to neglect, and rushed He went over and opened the crossbar that served as the courtyard gate. "Liu Er, this is Mr. Wu, the inspector of the county. He came here to check on the order of his lord. There is nothing wrong with your house."

"No, no." Liu Er replied hastily. "You two elders, it's such a cold day, hurry up and invite them inside."

"No." Master Wu waved his hand, and also spoke Nanjing Mandarin with a strange accent that Liu Er couldn't understand clearly. "Since there is no problem with the house, it will be fine. Remember to clear the snow in time when the snow stops. If the roof collapses, you will not live this winter." Liu Er is a little confused. When did the government care about the people so much? I can't figure it out He was obedient and listened to Mr. Wu continue. "Come here and get it." A piece of frozen pork weighing two catties and two oiled paper bags were stuffed into Liu Er's hands. "This is a New Year's gift specially issued by the king to pity you and others to leave their hometown. The paper package contains sugar and salt."

Surprised, Liu Er knelt down in the snow and kowtowed to the two of them, "Thank you, Master Qingtian."

"What nonsense!" Master Wu's face darkened. "This is the king's grace, and I'm just on an errand." Liu Er also knew who the prince in the Southern Dynasty was in charge these days, so he immediately changed his words, and waited for him to finish, Lord Wu said. "Get up, that's right, put your thumbprint on the paper, you've got the item." Liu Er obediently stretched out his finger and pressed his thumbprint on the place Mr. Wu pointed. "Okay, go back quickly, so as not to suffer from the cold."

Liu Er went back to the house like sleepwalking with something in his arms. The children immediately cheered when they saw the meat and clamored to eat it. smile.Liu Er carefully poured the salt and sugar into the bowl and put them away. At the end of the day, he dipped a few grains of sugar into his children's mouths, making the children who had never eaten sugar say sweet, sweet.

"It's so strange, how did Nanmian make such a big difference to the Qing Dynasty? The king treats us so well." Liu Er said puzzledly. "But why do you have to bring us here from our hometown? It would be nice if we stayed in our hometown."

Liu Er was puzzled, Mr. Wu and his party, who had delivered things from door to door, returned to the cart and were also talking: "Brother Cheng, these days have been hard, the reputation in the village is good, I want to pass the exam this year." It must be an excellent, maybe it will be promoted next year."

Regarding Mr. Wu's compliment, the township security chief surnamed Cheng gave a wry smile: "It's just in time for the meeting, but this prize is not easy to get. I have been busy for more than three months, and I have to compete with my neighbors for this competition." Well, I really fell asleep when I fell down, I never thought that a mere township official would be so tiring."

"That's why you and I are so hard-working. I heard that a few of them who passed the provincial examination were either reprimanded or resigned. It's ridiculous to say that this kind of literary ruffian usually has a moral character. The articles are decent, once you do some practical work, each one will be revealed."

"Didn't it mean that those who pass the rural examination cannot go down to work in the countryside first? What's the matter?"

"It's not that I didn't expect to implement the government's government to go to the countryside in Huguang at the beginning. If the king said a word, the subordinates would be heartbroken and make mistakes in their busy schedule." Master Wu sighed. "That's fine, the mud and the sand are falling together, and the big waves wash away the sand."

"That's true." Cheng Baochang nodded. "However, once the fame of ten years of hard study is gone, he won't yell at him. This dry and rotten scholar has always relied on his numbers."

"They dare!" Master Wu interrupted with a serious face. "Although the king has not founded the country, he is the king who founded the country. He is decisive in killing and attacking. How can he allow mere rotten scholars to disrupt the established national policy? Those rotten scholars are really making trouble, and they presumably want to kill themselves."

"The rotten Confucians dare not attack the king and state policy, but they may not attack you and my generation."

"Criticism, what's the point of criticism. Although you and I are both subordinates, there was no way to go up in the past, and we could only use some means to enrich ourselves. But now that the king has given us the ladder to heaven, don't you and I want to glorify our ancestors?" Wu Wu The adult said with a serious expression. "Besides, when you reach the eighth rank, you have to be an official in a different place. Without a foundation, it is difficult to make money in private."

"Hey, Brother Wu, you're an amateur at what you're saying." Seeing Mr. Wu's righteous and stern words, Cheng Baochang laughed. "You dare to say that you have never taken advantage of the grace bestowed by the king. The meat will be cut a little less, the salt and sugar will be less money, and even report some losses on the way. Isn't this just money?"

"Maybe someone dares, but I don't dare." Master Wu shook his head. "Firstly, this matter involves many yamen such as the Internal Affairs Department, Treasury, Criminal Chamber, etc. If one of them makes trouble during the period, everyone will be finished; secondly, the county, the government and even the Overwatch Council are closely watching this, and dare not do anything reckless; Thirdly, Wang Shangzhao is about to establish a new dynasty, and everyone has something to do, at this time, I don't want to lose the big because of small things."

Cheng Baochang pondered for a moment: "This is true, is it a new era?"