At this time, Zheng Wuji was also having a lively chat with Mr. Che.
Their family has no other land except one acre of thin farmland.
The food produced by this acre of land is not enough to feed the family for three months.
The father and son worked long-term jobs for the landlords and worked hard to barely make ends meet.
Granny Che feeds some chickens and ducks at home and exchanges the eggs and duck eggs she saves for food.
"Everyone in this village is like you. They don't have much land! Can they only work for the landlord?" Zheng Wuji asked.
"Eight out of ten households are like us. Just one or two households have 2 or 3 acres of land, which they cultivate by themselves. Although they can't make a fortune, they don't have to go hungry." Mr. Che shook his head and said, "I remember my father back then.
I was left with two and a half acres, but unfortunately, I couldn't keep it."
Mr. Che and his wife are capable and able to endure hardships. Logically speaking, they should be able to hold on to these acres of land.
However, the harvest varied from year to year, and when there was a bad harvest, there was almost nothing left after the food was delivered to the court.
What's more, this place is the fiefdom of the King of Huaiyang. In addition to paying tribute to the court every year, he has to pay another tribute.
"None of these officials are good," Che Laozhang said in a low voice. "The food is obviously full, but they insist on kicking it. The rice they scatter is theirs."
The rice handed over is not enough, so the people have to add more."
The Che family had no choice but to sell off their land in order to find a wife for their son. There are countless families like them.
"Old man, in addition to doing work for the landlords, do you have any other services in the government?" Xu Chunjun came over and asked.
"Why not?" Mr. Che couldn't help but sigh, "We ordinary people can't tell whether it's a corvee from the imperial court or a corvee from the Wang family in Huaiyang.
Twenty years ago, people from these counties went to build the mausoleum for the eldest princess, and it took seven or eight years to build it.
Four or five years ago, my son was recruited to dig a canal, saying that everyone benefited from it.
In fact, if ordinary people sail there, they don't know how much they have to pay to pay for the passage.
Only the high-ranking officials and their families took flower boats for fun, while the common people had to stretch on the shore when the current was against the river.
This is a large amount, not to mention the small ones, we can’t even remember them.
Anyway, after the spring plowing is completed every year, the work begins to be apportioned, and there are always about three months in a year."
Xu Chunjun and the others had lunch at Mr. Che's house and chatted with them for a long time. After seeing that the sun was in the west and the weather was not so hot, they stood up to leave.
Before leaving, I left two ounces of money with their family to express my gratitude. To Xu Chunjun and the others, these two ounces of money were nothing, but to this family, they were almost a year's expenses.
After leaving this village and walking another sixty or seventy miles, we came to a town.
The town is naturally more lively and prosperous than the village. Zheng Wuji doesn't need to be in a hurry, just stay here.
There are two inns in this town and a small restaurant not far away.
After resting in this town for a night, they hit the road at dawn and headed to Tongqiu County while it was cool.
"The magistrate of Tongqiu County has been here for three years." Zheng Wuji had memorized the resumes of officials in every county in Chenzhou before he came here again. "Let's ask the people together, and they said that the magistrates in any county are the same.
I have also heard long ago that officials serving in Chenzhou never seek merit but no fault from the court.
When I came here, my uncle specifically told me that all officials who came to Chenzhou to serve were required to pay a visit to the King of Huaiyang before entering the government office.
Anyone who doesn't understand the rules won't be able to stay here long."
"The King of Huaiyang is so powerful that he has become the local emperor here. All officials who work here want to be safe, they have to collude with him.
Not to mention trying to turn the tide, if you want to clean yourself up, I'm afraid you won't be able to." Xu Chunjun believed deeply.
"As we watched along the way, we found that the local people hated and feared the King of Huaiyang.
This is just Chenzhou, and if you look around the world, you don’t know how many Huaiyang kings there are.” Zheng Wuji hated him deeply, “These people are domineering and exploiting the common people.
I think that when I was fooling around all the time, it was just because I was born into a noble family.
Now think about it, damn it!"
"This has always been the case. When the country was first conquered, people's livelihood was in decline and everything was in need of improvement.
Those in power know how to be considerate of the people's sentiments and cherish their power.
As time passed, the nobles became more metaphysical, greedy for pleasure, and self-respecting.
Squeezing and exploiting the people and being greedy will inevitably lead to the decline of people's livelihood over time."
"Actually, Emperor Xuanqing's reforms back then had already achieved results, but unfortunately..." Zheng Wuji didn't finish his words, but Xu Chunjun understood what he meant.
It was his grandfather Xu Youguang who presided over the reform that year.
Mr. Xu is very clear about the country's shortcomings. If the law is not followed, there will be serious troubles in the future.
Emperor Xuanqing insisted on reform despite the obstruction of the royal family and nobles, but it was a pity that the year did not stop.
The new law was repealed ten years after its implementation, and the previous ills slowly revived and have now become a trend.
"If you don't destroy it, you won't establish it. If you destroy it, you will establish it." Xu Chunjun looked into the distance, "For so many years, the government has been controlled by certain people.
It is rigid and rigid from top to bottom, and we must strengthen our strength and make serious rectifications before we can have a new look."
"Look, isn't that the city gate of Tongqiu County?" Zheng Wuji said, "This city wall is built high enough."
"This city wall was left over from the Tang Dynasty," Xu Chunjun said. "Chenzhou has always been a battleground for military strategists, so the city wall is extremely strong."
"There are quite a few guards at the gate of the city." Zheng Wuji said with a smile, "Look at these sergeants, each of them looks fierce and vicious, and you will know what kind of virtue the county magistrate here is."
The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked. These soldiers guarding the city gate are tough and philistine. It is conceivable that their superiors must also be of the same mind.
However, Zheng Wuji and the others did not deliberately go to meet the county magistrate here this time. They just wanted to see the folk customs along the way.
It’s good to feel confident.
After spending a day in Tongqiu County, Xu Chunjun and Zheng Wuji visited several main streets here.
"Have you noticed? There are quite a few wealthy businessmen in such a small county town." Zheng Wuji said with interest, "It seems that there are not local emperors here, but large local households."
"To make a big fortune in a small place, it must be the collusion between government and businessmen." Xu Chunjun knew it well, "otherwise it would be impossible to make it big."
"It's just as I thought." Zheng Wuji nodded, "No wonder people say that in three years, the prefect will be cleared of one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver.
There has long been a saying in the official circles of the capital: If you want to have peace of mind, don't be an official. If you are not greedy or greedy, you will be in vain.
This is especially true in Chenzhou. Although it is too early to say this, in my opinion, none of the magistrates in these seven counties is innocent."
This Chenzhou is like a big dyeing vat. No matter you are white or blue, you are all dragged in and dyed black.
