[Lizhou Prefecture - Toys of the Shishihao Family]
Liu Jiadong is fifteen years old this year and is a fourth-generation mixed-race descendant of Han immigrants.
His great-grandfather immigrated relatively late, so the land he was assigned was relatively remote and not particularly fertile.
Oak Bay has developed from a town to a county, and then from a county to a state. It is now the capital of Quzhou, and it also has Fushan County under its jurisdiction. The territory can only extend to the south, and the east and north are the "Great Jin Kingdom". Those who
This guy is not easy to mess with.
Of course, Yuezhou Prefecture is not afraid of being invaded, because it is the base of the northern salt industry and shipbuilding industry, providing huge tax revenue to the Ming Dynasty every year, and it is also the first stop from the Ming Dynasty to Yinzhou.
If the "Great Jin Kingdom" dares to capture this place, the Ming Dynasty will try to take it back even at all costs, and may even destroy the "Great Jin Kingdom" at all costs.
If nothing else, banning the export of salt from Yuezhou Prefecture would make the food in the "Great Jin Country" tasteless.
Liu Jiadong originally lived in Longwan Village, nearly a hundred miles away from the capital city of Yuezhou. He did not want to dig in the soil like his fathers did, so he went to the capital city at the age of thirteen, determined to do something big.
Like many hawkers, Liu Jiadong wears coolie clothes, which have gone through many revisions and are no different from jeans from another time and space.
Another fleet sailed into the port, and Liu Jiadong immediately guarded the dock.
Seeing someone disembarking from the boat, Liu Jiadong held a wooden box in his arms and shouted at the top of his voice: "Cigar, cigar, good cigar. Cut tobacco, cut tobacco, top quality cut tobacco..."
"Sikar" is the Mayan pronunciation of tobacco, and the colonists misheard it and turned it into "Cikar". Xu Zhimo, a scholar in the Republic of China, was asked about the Chinese name of "Cikar" when he was talking to Rabindranath Tagore. Xu Zhimo thought for a while
Said: "The burning ashes of a Cigar are as white as snow, and the rolled tobacco of a Cigar is as white as an eggplant. Let's call it a cigar."
The translation of "cigar" can be called honest and elegant. It is both homophonic to English and has Chinese meaning.
It is a very coincidence that in this time and space, it is also translated as cigar, and it was translated by Hai Rui himself...
Fang Wenxiu lived so much on the boat that he almost got moldy, and immediately got off the boat after docking. Hearing the shouting, he couldn't help but ask: "How do you sell cigars?"
Liu Jiadong picked up two cigars and replied with a smile: "So that noble people know, one of these is worth three cents, and one of this is worth two cents."
"So cheap?" Fang Wenxiu was shocked.
Due to inflation, today's three to five cents can no longer buy a pound of rice, and prices have increased four times compared to when Wang Yuan went to sea.
Fang Wenxiu usually smokes shredded tobacco and puts it in a pipe and lights it. It is a leftover material that cannot be wrapped in cigars. Tobacco is very cheap, but cigars are very expensive. Yunnan cigars and Nanyang cigars cost ten cents each in Beijing.
One cigar is equivalent to smoking half a kilogram of rice.
"Here are five cigars and half a pound of shredded tobacco." Fang Wenxiu was rarely generous in his approach.
He had been a teacher at the Imperial Academy for many years, and was too poor to take a concubine in Beijing. His wife died of illness last year, and they never renewed their marriage. Both of his sons have grown up. When he returned to Yinzhou to take up his post, he didn't even bring any entourage with him. He just looked forward to it.
Get some indigenous women to be concubines and maids.
"My lord, please take it."
Liu Jiadong held out the cigar and quickly weighed the tobacco with a small scale.
Fang Wenxiu lit the match, took a deep drag on the cigar, and immediately felt refreshed, making her head feel dizzy. She immediately exhaled the smoke and praised, "What a great cigar!"
Liu Jiadong smiled and said: "Authentic Shengzhou products."
Fang Wenxiu was a little happy. Although it was frustrating to serve as an official in the Chen family's territory, at least tobacco was produced there, and cigars were cheaper than in Yuezhou Prefecture.
Liu Jiadong inquired: "Where did the noble man come from in the Ming Dynasty?"
Fang Wenxiu said casually: "Beijing."
Liu Jiadong suddenly became excited: "I heard that Beijing has a population of one million. Is it true?"
"Really." Fang Wenxiu said.
"What a big city that is," Liu Jiadong couldn't believe it. "The largest city here is Yuezhou City. There are less than 100,000 people in and outside the city. When I make enough money, I will take a boat to Daming. I must go
Let’s take a look at Beijing.”
Fang Wenxiu puffed out the smoke with a smile: "Young people are self-sufficient, so they will definitely be able to collect the shipping fare."
Liu Jiadong asked: "Your Excellency, you came to Yinzhou to do business? Why didn't you bring your entourage?"
Fang Wenxiu said: "I am an official of the imperial court, and I am going to Xiangsong County to be the county magistrate."
"It turns out to be Mr. Guan," Liu Jiadong suddenly knelt down and said, "I have just come to Yinzhou for the first time, and I don't have anyone around me. I would like to follow you and wait for my orders."
Fang Wenxiu thought for a while and said with a smile: "Then just follow me and go back and tell your elders."
Liu Jiadong said: "My parents are not in Fucheng, so I can just ask a fellow villager to bring the letter back."
After a hundred years of hard work, the officials sent by the Ming Dynasty have reached a certain tacit understanding with the people of Yinzhou.
Corruption is okay, but don't go too far, and don't oppress the people. Let's take a step back, and whoever dares to cross the red line will be expelled to the sea to feed the fish.
Therefore, local officials in Yinzhou were far more honest than officials in Ming Dynasty.
There are countless positions that can really be corrupted, such as the mine tax inspector of the gold and silver mines, the shipping department in charge of trade, and the governor of Yinzhou who is in charge of everything - these officials all have to pay tribute and share the stolen goods with the cabinet and the six departments.
Otherwise, don't expect to get a lucrative job.
Although the local officials in Yinzhou are honest, they also bring negative effects. Don't expect to achieve anything when they are in charge. If they carry out any projects to benefit the people, they will definitely be stopped by the local wealthy families. Here, it is the big businessmen and the big landowners who have said
After all, local development is driven by the interests of merchants and landlords.
Moreover, there has been no large-scale official immigration for many years, and new immigrants have no hope of receiving land.
Land annexation has already occurred, and landless farmers and new immigrants either work in the city or go to more remote places to open up land.
…
Liu Jiadong got a new job, so he immediately put away his cigarette stall and took his master to the city to find an inn.
The Ming Dynasty's treasure transport fleet had to stay in Lizhou Port for half a month, firstly to carry out supply trade, and secondly to repair damaged ships.
During this period, two officials, Zhang Mei and Fang Wenxiu, had to live in the city and wait slowly.
Liu Jiadong was a good talker and introduced the situation all the way. He pointed to the distance and said: "I heard that a hundred years ago, from the dock to the mountains to the east, there were dense oak forests. When Tan Haigong came here, he pointed to the woods and said: This is
A shipyard should be built in this place, which will bring blessings to future generations."
Fang Wenxiu nodded and said: "Although Mr. Tan Hai is an internal official, he is still a great hero."
Zhu Hai was posthumously made a Duke only in the past two years, which indicated that Emperor Yanjia was about to vigorously rectify Yinzhou.
And Zhang Mei, who was demoted to Yinzhou, was the pioneer chosen by the emperor!
Liu Jiadong continued: "Now all the oak trees on the seaside have been cut down. For shipbuilding, you have to go to the mountains to the east to cut down trees. In the past few years, new rules were set. If you cut down one oak tree, you must plant five more. You cannot do it without a government license."
Cut down trees.”
"This is a good strategy." Fang Wenxiu praised.
Liu Jiadong said with a smile: "Haha, the shareholders of the shipyard are afraid that all the oak trees will be chopped down, and they will not be able to live in the future. In this Yuezhou Prefecture, it is the fourteen families who have the final say. What rules they want to set,
The magistrate must do as he is told."
"Fourteen families?" Fang Wenxiu asked confused.
Liu Jiadong explained: "They were the first to immigrate here. They have been passed down for five or six generations. They opened salt fields, logging fields and shipyards. In fact, the shipyards were opened with money from the court, and later they gradually became private
Industry, the descendants of Tan Hai Gong still have shares in it. I heard that a hundred years ago, land in Yuezhou Prefecture was not allowed to be bought and sold. Children could divide the land after they became adults, and they did not pay taxes for reclaiming wasteland for ten years. It is not possible now.
Now, the 14 wealthy families have more and more land, and they don't pay much tax, but the taxes on the common people are getting heavier and heavier."
Fang Wenxiu smiled and said: "I didn't expect that at such a young age, you already know these things.
"Who doesn't know about this in Yuezhou Prefecture?" Liu Jiadong said, "Everyone is hoping that the emperor will send Mr. Qingtian to rectify the fourteen wealthy families."
While the master and servant were chatting, Zhang Mei had already arrived at the government office.
"Mr. Kunshan!" Cao Xu, the magistrate of Lizhou, greeted him respectfully.
Zhang Mei smiled and said: "There is no need to be formal. Your Excellency is the magistrate. I am just the magistrate of the state. I should be polite."
Cao Xu said: "Mr. Kunshan is a great talent and is highly valued by His Majesty. He will definitely return to the Central Committee in a few years."
The county magistrates of Yinzhou were of Juren origin, but the governors, magistrates, prefects, municipal shipping departments and gold and silver mine officials were 100% of Jinshi origins.
Because of his outstanding political achievements, Cao Xu had come into the emperor's eyes, and he was impeached by the officials, so the emperor took the opportunity to throw him to Yuezhou Mansion. Unfortunately, the powerful businessmen in Yuezhou Mansion were too powerful, and Cao Xu was unable to reverse the situation.
Zhang Mei said: "Your Majesty has ordered all prefectures and counties in Yinzhou to immediately organize county examinations. Next year, the imperial court will send officials to recommend academic officials, and scholars from all over the country will conduct rural examinations next autumn."
"Really?" Cao Xu was surprised and happy.
Zhang Mei said: "It's absolutely true."
Cao Xu sighed: "Your Majesty is truly the Holy Emperor."
Zhang Mei added: "Haosheng collected the criminal evidence of the fourteen families of Yuezhou. The governor will be changed next year, and from now on, the governor of Yinzhou will also serve as the censor of Youdu."
"I understand, thank you for letting me know." Cao Xu was in a good mood.
In the past, the governors of Yinzhou were all served by the deputy censor of the capital, but now he was directly promoted to the censor of the right capital.
It is very likely that as a governor in Yinzhou, with outstanding political achievements, he can directly join the cabinet and serve as prime minister in the future, or at least be transferred to the six ministers.
In this way, the imperial court's control over Yinzhou will be more effective.
As long as Emperor Yanjia gains power long enough and adheres to the correct strategy bit by bit, Yinzhou's autonomy will decrease year by year.