Chapter 47 After I finished speaking, who agrees and who disagrees
The Chinese Ghost Festival, July 15th, is coming soon.
In the Qixian county government office, Chen Shuren prepared dozens of simple banquets for county officials and prominent gentry.
Everyone knows that Mr. Tongzhi is going to talk about military ration apportionment and tax reduction and exemption today.
Fortunately, the wealthy gentry have all united around Yuan Zhongyi, who has a strong backing, and have figured out how to argue with the government and engage in "non-violent non-cooperation".
In the evening, Yuan Zhongyi and dozens of gentry arrived at the county government office on time.
"Zhao parents, Jiang County Magistrate, you are all well. You two are really diligent and caring for the people. I heard that the new Shen Tongzhi is young, so I think you should worry about it a lot."
When he saw the county magistrates Zhao Yunfan and Jiangcheng, Yuan Zhongyi didn't notice them and directly got close to them.
His distant uncle was a former Taotai official, a fourth-rank official, and defeated Ma Shouying in Huangzhou. Although he has been transferred, his power is still there. As the spokesperson of the Yuan family in Jiangxi, he does not need to be cautious in front of the magistrates.
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng felt a little submissive for a moment, as if he was recalling the days when he was suppressed by Yuan Daotai.
Zhao Yunfan, on the other hand, was obviously more courageous. He straightened his back and said sternly: "Master Yuan, don't bully Shen Tongzhi, a young man. He is a real two-ranked Jinshi. He is also really capable of governing. Otherwise, he would not be used in an unusual way by the officials." .
Regarding today's matter, please restrain everyone to put the overall situation first, and I will try my best to help you deal with it, so as to save both of your lives."
After hearing this, Yuan Zhongyi felt a little unhappy.
However, Zhao Yunfan had a good official reputation and was cautious in his work. When Yuan Jixian was preparing the army in Hubei Province, Zhao Yunfan had a hard time helping to organize logistics, so Yuan Zhongyi did not care about him for the time being.
"It seems that Chen Shuren has some ability. He was impressed by Zhao Yunfan so quickly, but he couldn't trust him for a while. Originally, I only heard that Chen Shuren is very young and his family is rich. He should be an official who has spent money to get his job. Right." Yuan Zhongyi thought to himself.
The guests soon arrived, and Shen Shuren appeared just in time. All the officials and gentry quickly greeted him.
Chen Shuren said a few words and then announced the banquet.
Everyone was in a nervous mood, always hoping that Master Tongzhi would clarify the price first, so that they could eat and drink with peace of mind. But Shen Shuren insisted not to tell, so they had no choice but to eat without satisfaction.
However, Yuan Zhongyi and others soon noticed something unusual.
Tonight's banquet looked very plain, and the wine was very thin sake, almost mash.
The dishes are mainly vegetables. The local lotus root and taro are prepared in three or five different ways. The only meat dishes are only one chicken and one fish.
The number of chickens is relatively small, only one chicken per table. There are more fish, there can be several on one table, and they are cooked in different ways with various flavors.
In fact, in the year of the catastrophe, this was not bad, but it was quite different from the lifestyle of those high-ranking vampire gentry. Originally, when other officials had to apportion, how could they hire better ones?
"What kind of medicine is being sold in this gourd? Is it because we are pretending to be poor and crying about being poor to force us to donate more and collect less rent? Well, then let's pretend to be poor and pretend that we can't even eat these chickens and fish at home!"
All the gentry headed by Yuan Zhongyi thought so, so they pretended to grab the chicken ribs and chew them very fragrantly, and then carefully picked up the fish meat with chopsticks to taste it carefully.
In fact, they wanted to pretend to eat fish and gobble it up, but they were afraid that they would be stabbed to death by fish bones, so they had to settle for the next best thing.
"This chicken is very dry and dry, and has no chewy texture at all. It's like eating bean dregs. How can there be such a chicken in the world?"
After Yuan Zhongyi took a bite of the chicken ribs, his face fell down involuntarily. His family was well-dressed and well-fed, and he had never eaten such stupid and fiberless chicken. Unexpectedly, flaws naturally appeared.
Most of the other wealthy gentry were like this. They all looked disgusted after eating the food, and then they realized that they should pretend to be delicious and poor.
They were afraid of exposing their flaws, so after tasting it, they secretly looked up to observe Chen Shuren. However, they saw that Chen Shuren also shared the joys and sorrows with the people, and ate the same kind of chicken and fish, without any specialization. Moreover, when Chen Shuren ate this kind of chicken, , his expression was very calm, with only a hint of relief, and he didn't seem to be a bitch at all.
"This Mr. Shen Shu is really good at superficial skills. I heard that he is from the richest man's family in Suzhou, and he can even eat such rotten chicken without changing his expression." The impression of the wealthy gentry towards him also changed slightly.
However, although the chicken was unpalatable, everyone soon discovered another benefit of this strange chicken - the meat on the chicken ribs was really thick.
Everyone hurriedly pretended to be poor and praised:
"In ancient times, Yang Dezu said that chicken ribs are 'tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away.' This saying is outdated today. The breast meat on these chicken ribs is really thick. How much meat does this chicken have?"
"If it hadn't been for Mr. Tongzhi, we would never have seen this kind of meaty and delicious food!"
As they ate, everyone seemed to be trying to make up for the unpleasant expressions they showed when they first ate the Indian chicken, and their eating looks became more and more ugly.
After eating the chicken, they all started to focus on the fish, also pretending to gobble it up.
At first, everyone was afraid of being stuck by fish bones and was cautious when acting. However, after eating a few more mouthfuls, they soon discovered that this fish has thick flesh and only has large rib bones, unlike other crucian carps that have fine and small spines.
As a result, everyone's acting skills became even more exaggerated. In a short while, they had devoured all the tilapia on the table, not even the fish soup was left. The texture of the tilapia was indeed good, and it was not as heavy as the Indian chicken just now. taste.
Chen Shuren waited until everyone had finished eating quietly before he started to talk about business.
He first laughed and said insinuatingly: "Everyone, you are all decent people ranked among the counties in Huangzhou. I have long known that you are well-dressed and well-fed.
However, in the year of great calamity, even His Majesty saved money in the capital to allow the civil and military officials to tide over the difficulties, so I had no choice but to use these more productive chickens and fish to treat guests.
I also saw it just now. Everyone looked embarrassed when eating this new chicken, but I have a piece of news for you: this kind of chicken produces several percent more meat than native chickens, and its growth time is much shorter. It can also be harvested. Raising. Ordinary tenant farmers can raise only three or five chickens, and there is no need to worry about feed. It is enough to let the chickens look for worms on their own.
As for this kind of fish, everyone knows that its meat is delicious, thick and has few spines, and it only takes five months to grow from the time it produces roe.
These are all fine species entrusted by the official to the general military commander Zheng of Fujian Coast Guard and traded with overseas merchants. The origin can be traced back to the farthest place Zheng He visited during his voyages to the West. These fish can adapt to slightly salty water. water, but cannot completely survive in the sea for a long time.
After traveling thousands of miles to get it back, it had to be transported along with the fresh water from Zhubu. In the middle, we had to replenish and change the fresh water twice through Tianzhu and Manlajia. It took more than half a year to get it back. It was not easy to come by.
However, I have to raise military rations for Liu Xiyao and Lin Yang today, so I will give you a chance to see who can respond to the court's call better, and these fine seeds will be given priority to them in the future.
In addition, I also brought red potatoes and corn, which have been introduced in many places in Fujian. I see that few people grow them in Huguang, so I will help them to the end."
The "Bamboo Steps" mentioned by Chen Shuren was the "Juba" city in Somalia, East Africa in later generations. The transliteration recorded by Zheng He during his voyages to the West was still "Bamboo Steps".
Lord Tongzhi proposed such generous terms, and some wealthy gentry who were more flexible and could understand the benefits of introducing new species were immediately shaken.
If we can grow high-yielding crops in advance in the future, we can give up some rent in the past two years, or allocate more military rations to the government, in the end we will still make a profit.
As for the crops native to Hongyi, although they are available in Fujian, most of these local gentry are not able to organize fleets to purchase goods in Fujian. Shenshu people save them trouble, so why not take a step back and strive for a win-win situation?
Suddenly, many squires began to take the initiative to inquire about prices, wanting to test Shen Shuren's request: "I don't know, Lord Tongzhi, how you want us to cooperate."
Shen Shuren was not polite, and finally Tu Qiong saw him. He stretched out two fingers:
"I don't need much. Now Huangzhou is still in the war zone with the bandits, and the imperial court does not need Huangzhou to pay taxes. I only collect four measures of military rations per acre according to the original national taxes and pay. Yu fought with Liu Xiyao and others.
In addition, in the past month and a half, I have organized the new refugees to resume farming and replant the fields that were abandoned due to the squire's flight. The exact amount of this kind of land has been registered. I hope you can claim it. Land is not allowed to be collected from farmers within two years. These farmers will only bear the government's military rations!
In addition, war requires not only food, but also military supplies, gunpowder, and steel. Those who are willing to allocate these military supplies in addition to food, my officer will give them priority in giving them chickens, fish, and improved potato varieties."
After his conditions are met, the rest depends on who supports and who opposes.
Some wealthy gentry from Qizhou, Qishui and other counties whispered after hearing the conditions, and soon a group of them relented. Then some of the gentry from Huangmei County also relented, and they were about to be defeated one by one, spreading and disintegrating.
Yuan Zhongyi felt very anxious when he saw it, and quickly spoke up:
"Sir Tongzhi! I'm afraid this is against the rules. There's no reason why people can't come back to collect rent for two years just because the owner of the family left and the fields were temporarily put aside! Even according to the "Ming Dynasty Law" and the laws of the Ministry of Household Affairs for many years, this It doesn’t make sense!
It’s not that we are unwilling to donate these few buckets of grain, but if those unscrupulous people who occupy the land do not pay the rent for two years, they will be hard-pressed in the future and will find ways to cheat. This kind of thing has happened since ancient times, so we must guard against it. Na!
As for apportioning military resources, of course it’s our responsibility, don’t worry about that!”
Yuan Zhongyi didn't dare to reject it outright, so he finally stopped Shen Shuren's mouth with "willing to share". At least they cooperated with Lord Tongzhi's request.
But in fact, everyone knows that the "gentry apportionment" in the late Ming Dynasty was just like Chongzhen asking courtiers to donate money. In the end, just give a symbolic amount.
Yuan Zhongyi is really not short of this little food. He is afraid that the poor will be relieved and it will be even more difficult to annex the land during the famine in the future. Moreover, once the poor gain a foothold, they may become nail households and occupy the land. Tian Sheng had other ideas, which would not be conducive to his rule in the future.
And even if Shen Shuren wants to rank the promotion of new species according to the amount of allocated donations, he, Yuan Zhongyi, is not afraid.
Ordinary squires who had no waterway trade channels might have to rely on the Shenshu people to give them eggs, fish, seed and corn.
But the Yuan family in Jiujiang is quite powerful in waterway trade in Jiangxi. The wealthy merchants in Jiujiang Hukou trade goods throughout the Ganjiang River Basin, and the southernmost trade area is close to Fujian.
Since Chen Shuren said that he also asked the Zheng family in Fujian to get these things back, there is no need for Yuan Zhongyi to be blackmailed by Chen Shuren! He can completely let his own inland river merchant fleet use Ganjiang inland river trade to bring them back. Get some Fujian goods!
Maybe it can be sold to other wealthy gentry who are unwilling to cooperate with Chen Shuren, so that they can continue to follow the Yuan family's lead.
In the several state capitals on the border between Huguang and Jiangxi, who doesn't know that their Yuan family's fleet is well-armed and well-armed. They can also get whatever Shenshu people can get.
Chen Shuren didn't know his inner psychological activities, but after looking at his expression, he knew that this guy was confident.
He was also really angry, but his face was full of smiles:
"I invite everyone to discuss today. It can be discussed. Everyone can speak freely. However, Liu Xiyao is not as rampant now as in previous years. The imperial court also has no money to deploy Jiang waterproof divisions in Huangzhou and Wuchang. I am raising military food and military supplies for everyone's safety. , I hope you can take care of yourself."