Chapter 296 : Shaobai returned to Nanyang County and heard that Nanyang was rising...
Without spending a single shot or arrow, Qin Shaobai gained more than a dozen soldiers, and the young master also said that he would go back to the mountain to persuade his father to bring the entire mountain to defect.
Feiyu and the soldiers from the Imperial City Division admired Qin Shaobai so much that they fell into submission.
How did they know that the young master was from Nanyang County? Qin Shaobai had interacted with him and his father when he was the county captain of Nanyang County, drinking, chatting and boasting together.
By the way, strictly speaking, this young master still has to call Qin Shaobai Uncle Qin.
When Qin Shaobai brought the young master into the room, the affairs between his father and son popped out like popcorn.
The young master was so shocked that his mouth opened wide.
Naturally, Qin Shaobai could not say that he was Qin Shaobai, but he deliberately brought the relationship between the Sixth Prince and Qin Shaobai much closer.
The young master originally admired Master Qin very much, but now that he heard that the man in front of him was the friend that Master Qin wanted most, coupled with Qin Shaobai's confession of the imperial court's desire for talents, Shaobai immediately agreed to Qin Shaobai's request.
He wants to submit to Qin Shaobai and follow Qin Shaobai to do things that are beneficial to the people.
Qin Shaobai used his clever tongue to persuade the bandits to surrender.
Here, people from more than a dozen counties and towns have arrived at Meihua Villa.
Feiyu and the soldiers, under the command of Qin Shaobai, distributed the allocated food to them.
Qin Shaobai also asked people to make several flags, which said that Meihua Villa donated food and benefited the people all over the world.
He specifically asked the team collecting food to hold up this flag on their way home, which could be regarded as rectifying the name of Plum Blossom Villa.
Feiyu was very worried, thinking that this would easily cause bandits to rob food, and Qin Shaobai thought about it too.
So they selected some imperial city inspectors who were good at martial arts and formed a team of two to escort the food team back.
Both of these two people were wearing the clothes of the Imperial City Division. They looked majestic and somewhat intimidating, and actually allowed the grain teams to reach their destinations smoothly.
When each grain team collected grain, Qin Shaobai had already explained that the grain could not be entered into the official warehouse. He directly summoned the local officials at the gate of the county government to distribute the grain on site according to the population of each town and township.
Under the supervision of the Imperial City Supervisor, which county magistrate dared to tamper with the grains they received? It was rare for the people to actually receive rice grains.
Qin Shaobai arrived in Nanyang County. Nanyang County had alleviated some famine due to the last batch of rice grain.
The county magistrate of Nanyang County, whose surname is Li, just took office this year.
Master Li was a very upright person. He distributed all the rice he received from Meihua Villa to various towns and villages, but not a single grain of rice was left in his government office.
Nanyang County was relatively lightly affected, and every household still had some surplus food.
Coupled with the donated food that had just been received, no one was seen dying of hunger on the street.
Mr. Li took Qin Shaobai to a hundred acres of fertile land outside the county.
This is the season when the rice is ripe, and it should be golden.
The wind blows, and the alluring fragrance of rice ripples on the waves paved with gold.
However, what Qin Shaobai could see was full of desolation.
Weeds in rice fields grow more wildly than rice.
Some of the rice that is not easy to grow is like a child who has not had porridge for a long time. It is as skinny as a stick and makes people feel cold.
Master Li went down to the field, picked an ear of rice, and handed it to Qin Shaobai.
In Qin Shaobai's memory, rice ears are always described with words like "heavy".
But now when he looked at the rice stalk in his hand and touched the golden grains, the word skinny came to his mind.
"Our place is pretty good. You see there is a river next to it, and the people are also diligent and water it more."
Master Li's voice was full of pride, but his eyes were full of anxiety.
"The harvest rate is quite low."
Master Li glanced at Qin Shaobai doubtfully.
"I mean, how much rice can be produced from such an acre of land?"
Mr. Li shook his head slightly: "If it is your own land, it can barely survive this winter. If you rent someone else's land, after you hand over the land rent, there will really be very little left."
He hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "If you have a body, you will have corvee, and if you have land, you will have wealth. When you pay taxes, it doesn't matter whether it is a good year or a famine year."
Qin Shaobai knew that at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the tenant system was launched, and the imperial court began to organize tenant households into all households.
A piece of land has both a main owner and customers.
The farm owner is the principal householder, and the tenant farmers are the customers.
The land's main tax is paid by the owner, but the tenants still have to pay the so-called head tax and transfer tax.
This made the people of the Song Dynasty have a few more huge rocks on their heads.
The old master Zhu Xi complained that "the ancient methods of carving and peeling are all prepared in this dynasty." However, in the weak Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court exploited the people even more.
Qin Shaobai naturally knows these.
There was no way he could discuss the court's tax system with Mr. Li in one place.
In fact, he also knows that even if he is full of complaints about the tax system like Mr. Li, he cannot change this system.
"On my way to Nanyang, I also saw some fields. The situation there seemed to be much more serious than in Nanyang. Not only was there drought, but there were also insect pests."
Qin Shaobai could only change the topic.
"We used to have locust damage here. Later, a capable person came from our county and used some methods to eliminate the locust damage."
Qin Shaobai's eyes widened.
Not to mention the Song Dynasty, when technology was not very developed, even in modern times, locust damage is difficult to eradicate.
"Who is that capable person? Can you let me see him? I can also ask him to go to other places to help control this locust plague."
Mr. Li touched his head and looked embarrassed.
"What, is he a reclusive master? Isn't he willing to interact with people in the government?"
"The expert is indeed an expert, but she doesn't hide from the world, and she doesn't shy away from interacting with people in the government. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to ask her to help the government eliminate pests."
"Then why does Mr. Li look so embarrassed?"
"Before the Sixth Prince comes, she has informed her official that she has something to do and wants to go out for a walk."
Qin Shaobai's eyes flickered when Master Li said this, knowing that he must have something else to say.
Sure enough, Master Li hesitated for a while after saying these words, and then suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, I heard that you have been to Nanyang County?"
"Yes? I have stayed here for a while, but most of the friends I know have also left Nanyang County."
"Oh, oh."
Mr. Li was stunned for a long time, then turned around and saw Qin Shaobai looking at him with bright eyes.
He panicked and blurted out: "Does the prince have a relationship with the former county magistrate Qin Shaobai?"
When Qin Shaobai heard his name, he almost said that's me.
But he immediately thought that he was now the Sixth Prince, and at best he was just a good friend of Qin Shaobai.
"Of course I know Mr. Qin, he is my good friend."
"Then Mr. Qin was originally General Zhao Baizhao, the King of Zhennan. The prince must also know that."
Qin Shaobai suddenly became very interested in Mr. Li in front of him.
"Master Li, you seem to be very concerned about my eldest brother."
"No, I'm not paying attention to the King of Zhennan. It's this expert from our county who said that the purpose of her coming to Nanyang is to find a man named Qin Shaobai."