Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Ju Ming found a stone, sat down at the foot of the mountain, and asked, "Who is in charge of the sacrifice?"

Geng Dingchen, the chief clerk, stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the prefect, it is the lower officials who are handling the matter."

"Bring up the account books." Ju Ming said.

Geng Dingchen offered it with both hands, feeling uneasy in his heart.

As Ju Ming flipped through the pages, he said, "Bi and ink!"

The county magistrate holds the pen, the county magistrate grinds the ink, and the chief clerk brings the paper and inkstone.

Ju Ming did not touch the wine, cloth, etc. He drew with his pen and halved all the double sacrifices, such as millet, rice, beans, etc. He also said: "Although the officials are offering sacrifices to Yao's mausoleum on behalf of the emperor, they are not the emperor's personal visit after all. Not to mention the emperor, they are not even counted as princes. Tailao and Shaolao are both over the limit. From now on, they will be changed to Xiaosan animals, and chickens, ducks and fish will be used as sacrifices. That’s it.”

There was no such thing as a god in the Song Dynasty.

Then, Ju Ming saw the amount of wine: "One hundred and twenty jars of wine, who wants to drink with Emperor Yao? Change it to eighteen jars! Also, hazelnuts and other grains are not part of the five grains, so they are all cancelled."

Ju Ming invited Liu Taigong again to inquire about the local prices of these sacrifices.

After some calculations, there were only 32 strings left.

Ju Ming said to everyone: "32 guan is definitely too compact, and the price may increase in disaster years. Including the husband's money, from now on, the quota for sacrifices to Yao's mausoleum will be 80 guan. Do you have any objections?"

The officials had complaints in their hearts, but they did not dare to object in person.

They can make hundreds of sacrifices for one sacrifice, and the money can be divided up and down. Ju Ming's approach is no longer to cut off the funds in half, but to cut off the funds to the knees.

However, Ju Ming set the funding at 80 yuan, which also left room for making money.

The attitude is very clear. Your hard work in offering sacrifices cannot be in vain. Especially for subordinate officials, who are busy and have little salary, so you are allowed to be greedy for a few small sums.

But you can only be greedy for small money, and you are not allowed to be greedy for more!

Ju Ming continued: "The eighty-dollar fee will be shared evenly throughout the county. Do you have any objections?"

This question was asked of the squires present. After Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty refined the protection system, 250 households constituted a large protection system. Eighty guan of money is spread evenly across the county, and each guarantee can only be spread out a few times, which is completely within the affordable range.

However, the squires were afraid that the subordinate officials would act randomly.

In the past, it was only distributed to the villages near Yaoling, but now it affects the entire county. What if after the magistrate leaves, the subordinate officials expropriate the entire county? By that time, Ju Ming's order not only failed to reduce the burden on the people, but instead became an excuse for subordinate officials to make a lot of money.

The squires didn't say anything. They knew the subordinates too well.

Ju Ming pointed to the small book brought back by Bai Sheng and Li Bao: "The local subordinates are very good at making money. Not only are the exemption money collected together with the Ding servants, but they are also collected repeatedly at the Dubao, Dabao, and Xiaobao levels. Pay them back. Damn it, you dare to levy more under the pretext of knowing the state! Bai Sheng, how much do you think they levied?"

Bai Sheng spent three days fishing and two days drying nets, and studied with Zhu Guoxiang for a while. Although his cultural level was still not high, he had completely mastered the four arithmetic operations.

He picked up the stones and placed them in a vertical position on the ground. After a moment, he said: "A total of 552 stones were collected."

Zhu Ming asked Cao Yuangui: "Of these more than five hundred guan, how much can you get?"

Cao Yuangui quickly defended: "The prefect Rong Zhen, the subordinate officials will not take any money!"

Ju Ming glanced at the other officials and sneered: "Even if you are telling the truth, 80 guans will be distributed equally to the whole county. You can calculate for yourselves how much money should be returned to the people. Return not a penny, right away!"

The three county magistrates gathered quickly to settle the accounts, and also called the custodians, scribes, and postmen.

After repeated calculations, Cao Yuangui whispered: "Return the excess money immediately and warn the subordinates not to reach out. If Zhizhou can send people to secretly investigate once, he can send people to secretly investigate two or three times. This time it is to give us face." , I’m afraid I’ll be jailed next time!”

Ju Ming then said to the squires: "You representatives will protect each other, hand over the money, and go back and divide it yourself. Remember, whoever dares to take the opportunity to blackmail the people, I will send him to Hebei to deal with the Liao people."

"Don't dare!"

The squires hurriedly offered money, and there was very little in the county. As long as the subordinate officials did not mess around, they were willing to give money.

Ju Ming continued: "From now on, you are not allowed to eat or drink in the village for sacrifices. Everyone who participates in the sacrifices must bring their own food. Two days ago, my entourage and I harassed Taigong Liu, and all the money used was paid from the sacrifice fees. This is a special case. , this expenditure cannot be made again next year. As for the inscriptions, additional money will be allocated by the county government. Also, since the entire county has shared the money, no more laborers can be recruited, just spend money to hire husbands!"

"I will obey the orders of the Grand Administrator!"

Officials and squires responded one after another.

Zhu Ming stood up and said, "Follow me to offer sacrifices to Yao Ling. The pigs, cattle and sheep will be withdrawn and immediately replaced with chickens, ducks and fish."

Taigong Liu, who was in his eighties or nineties, was also carried into the mountains by his descendants and insisted on attending the event in person.

The sacrifice took a long time, and it looked particularly shabby.

Where pigs, cattle and sheep should be placed, there are only pitiful chickens, ducks and fish. Di Yao has switched to lighter food this year.

After the sacrifice was completed, he did not leave immediately.

Ju Ming asked the officials and squires to sit down under the altar. He pointed to the four directions and said: "Within a radius of one mile, I will erect several boundary monuments. The boundary monuments encircle the restricted area. Outside the boundary monuments, you can log wood and herd sheep. Anyone who dares to intrude on the people can go to the state government to file a complaint!"

A series of actions made everyone understand that this Zhizhou was not just showing off.

Taigong Liu lamented with tears in his eyes: "The old man is half buried in the earth, but today he can actually see the blue sky!"

Suddenly a person said: "May I ask the prefect, since woodcutter and sheep herding are allowed, can the papermaking mill at the foot of the mountain be restored?"

Zhu Ming shook his head: "No. If the common people cut wood and collect livestock, if I go to the court personally, the officials will probably agree. But if Yaoling trees are cut down to make paper, the officials and ministers will definitely reject it."

The man sighed secretly and said nothing.

Zhu Ming asked again: "If you have any other wishes, tell me everything. You can also talk about things that have nothing to do with Yao Ling."

Officials were present, but no one dared to respond to the situation.

Ju Ming glanced at him and said: "All the officials retreat and wait at the foot of the mountain."

The three county officials looked at each other. They were already frightened and left with the officials.

When the officials had gone away, the squires still remained silent.

Ju Ming smiled: "Give me some paper and pen. Write them all down. You don't have to write your name."

There are not enough pens, so I write in turns.

The squires looked up at Zhizhou in front of the altar. Some were at a loss and did not dare to write, and some deliberately wrote with their left hand.

Bai Sheng, Li Bao, Deng Chun and others all stared at it. When they saw whoever had finished writing, they immediately went to get it. After collecting three copies, they were given to Ju Ming for review.

After carefully reading these public opinions, Ju Ming said: "The ones you have the most complaints about are taxation and horse administration."

Ju Ming elaborated separately: "I will ask the county government to reduce the excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes. As for the money for buying and selling, each road has a quota. This is what the officials and prime ministers have to collect, so I can only agree to try to limit it. I'm really sorry, I can't do it for you. Please order me."

A gentleman said: "We are so grateful to the prefect for taking such good care of us. Why do we need to apologize?"

Another squire said: "In the past, state and county magistrates only knew how to collect taxes. We are satisfied that the prefect can tell us this."

The squires flattered each other one after another, some sincerely, and some just as a matter of course.

Ju Ming smiled and continued: "I will find a way to change Ma Zheng. Remember, it is just a change, not a sudden abolition, because I don't have the authority. You all say that Ma Zheng harms the people, but in fact the court cannot recruit people who can fight. Horses. When I know more about the situation, I will reduce the number of horses you raise, and then ask you to allocate money every year based on the number of horses set by the court. The apportioned fees will be handed over directly to the state government, and county government officials are not allowed to handle it! You can willing?"

The squires looked at each other, worried that Zhizhou would take the opportunity to make money and they would lose more in the future.

Ju Ming knew that he had just arrived and his prestige was obviously not enough to win the trust of these gentry.

He continued: "The third thing you are reacting to is that there are too many gangsters, and there are even powerful gangsters who collude with subordinates. Four gentry mentioned one name. This person is called Sun Zongdan, who bullies the market, and in the fish and meat village, his Brothers are still the captain of this county. Is Sun Zongdan here today?"

A strong man stood up and angrily scolded everyone: "Who is accusing me of this? The governor, don't believe their lies. I have always abided by the law. Where did the things in the Fish and Meat Village come from?"

The squires all bowed their heads and remained silent, not daring to look at this man, obviously showing fear.

In front of the magistrate, he scared the gentry into silence. What is he if he is not a tyrant?

Ju Ming could see clearly and was almost certain, and said in a calm tone: "Deng Chun, take someone."

It's really about "taking people". Deng Chun was born tall and tall, half a head taller than Sun Zongdan, a big man from Shandong. Sun Zongdan was so proud of his martial arts skills that he even wanted to resist. Deng Chun kicked him down and then picked him up with his belt.

Li Bao's eyes widened and he exclaimed: "What a great strength!"

Sun Zongdan was still struggling and roared: "My uncle is Wang Keshu, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel. Let me go quickly! The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of officials like you. If you offend me, you can't get promoted again!"

"Wang Keshu, the doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, right? They happened to be impeached at the same time." Zhu Ming wrote down the name in a small notebook.

The squires were surprised, especially those who complained anonymously. No one thought that Ju Ming would really dare to arrest people.

Where did Leng Tou Qing come from?

No, it’s not Leng Tou Qing. For such a young Zhizhou, it is obvious that there is someone in the court, and he is not afraid of offending anyone when doing things!

Zhu Ming added: "The chief of this county is this man's brother, and he will do evil things even if he comes here. Li Bao, take someone down the mountain to catch him. That guy is waiting outside."

"yes!"

Li Bao was extremely excited. Although he also had the nickname "Poor Li San", he was not a real naughty one. He just spoke and acted too casually.

He immediately took two people down the mountain, both of whom were sumo wrestlers brought as dowries from the Zheng family.

But he said that the three county magistrates had been waiting for a long time before they saw Li Bao coming.

Just as he was about to step forward to ask, Li Bao had already shouted: "Sun Dutou, please take a step to speak."

Sun Dutou trotted over, thinking that Zhizhou had some mission.

Li Bao caught him by surprise, picked up the scabbard and threw it out, hitting Sun Du dizzy and saying, "Tie him up!"

The two sumo wrestlers held Sun Du's head down, took out the ropes and tied him up.

Geng Dingchen, the chief clerk, was Sun Dutou's immediate superior. He was so frightened that he asked: "This, this, this... what is going on?"

Li Bao said: "Sun Zongzhen, the capital of this county, bullies the market and preys on the common people. I am ordered to arrest him! Do you want to stop him?"

Geng Dingchen quickly clarified the relationship: "I have nothing to do with this guy!"

Wang Tian looked at Cao Yuangui, who shook his head slightly.

Wang Tian said in a low voice: "This Zhizhou doesn't save any face."

Cao Yuangui said: "He is so vigorous and resolute, and he has a backer in the court. It is not something you and I can resist. Whatever he wants to do, just follow him, and don't get us involved."

"Do you still want to work with Zhizhou?" Wang Tian reminded, "Today's arrest of Sun Dutou has offended Wang Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel. There are people in his court who are not afraid of him, but how dare you and I have a grudge against the officials of the Ministry of Personnel?"

Cao Yuangui thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said: "If we don't have any grudges with the officials, can you and I be promoted? It's not a waste of time. Why not take a gamble, completely become attached to Zhu Zhizhou, and risk your life for a better future!"

Wang Tian felt that this statement was reasonable. They had no backer, and Zhu Zhizhou was a ready backer, so he also said: "Let's do it, I'm afraid of the eggs!"

This kind of surrender is not about swinging from side to side, always leaving a little leeway.

Instead, he will completely work as a pawn for Ju Ming and be tied to the same boat as Ju Ming. It will be difficult for him to change jobs in the future because he will offend others if he really does anything.