amaotonovel Chapter 272 When have I, Yang, ever cared about my reputation?
Chapter 272 When have I, Yang, ever cared about my reputation?
If I were to return to the capital now, I would most likely find myself in the middle of the old emperor assigning the task of annotating the classics to the officials in the court. What if one of these officials suddenly went mad and came and put a sack over my head?
It would be better to go in a few days. Once Lao Deng has finished arranging the work, those officials will have resigned themselves to their fate. Even if they are unhappy, they probably won't come to put sacks on people, right?
Speaking of putting a sack over someone's head... it seems that Liu Bowen was a representative figure of the gentry and scholars of eastern Zhejiang, so why don't we put one over him?
And then there's Kong Xixue, that pseudo-Confucian who disgraced Confucius, he should also be labeled as such.
Oh right, we need to bring the Chang brothers, Chang Mao and Chang Sheng, along. Those two are known for being tough and resilient.
It would be best to invite Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San as well, since those two don't have a good reputation either, and like the Chang brothers, they are known for being tough and resilient.
More importantly, Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San are Lao Deng's own sons. As long as they are involved, no matter how angry Lao Deng is, he will only beat them up and will not go so far as to take up a knife and kill people.
By the way, Xu Da's son's name was Xu Huizu, wasn't it?
What was Tang He's son's name?
With Xu Da, Tang He, and Chang Yuchun's three sons involved, this matter should be relatively stable.
Or should we bring along Li Shanchang's son as well?
After all, Kong Xixue and Liu Bowen were not pushovers, and putting a sack over their heads was quite risky.
It's a pity that Zhu Biao, that unlucky kid, probably won't have time to leave the palace; otherwise, taking him along would have been the safest option.
If Zhu Biao had been involved, even if he had broken Kong Xixue's leg, Zhu Chongba, that old idiot, would probably have praised Zhu Biao for his strength.
Seeing the changing expressions on Magistrate Yang's face, Chen Zhong couldn't help but ask, "Magistrate Yang? Magistrate Yang?"
Magistrate Yang then snapped out of his reverie and said with a smile, "I was just lost in thought, please forgive me, Mr. Chen."
Chen Zhong asked with a face full of curiosity, "Lord Yang hasn't said yet, why is it being postponed for a few days? Is it related to the memorial you just wrote?"
Which pot should not be opened and lifted?
Magistrate Yang glanced at Chen Zhong with great displeasure and said, "It has nothing to do with the memorial. It's just that this is my first time in the capital, and I'm thinking about what local specialties I should bring for His Majesty."
The term "local specialties" refers to things that are unique to a particular region.
Historical records often mention "a certain country sent an envoy to present tribute," which means that a vassal state sent an envoy to the Celestial Empire to present some local specialties.
For example, Burma might offer jade or similar items, while Champa and Annam would mostly offer rice or other miscellaneous things, and South Korea might offer ginseng, sable fur, or similar items.
Besides these physical items, another important "tribute" actually refers to beautiful women, especially from the Koreans, who needed to prepare some beautiful women for each tribute mission.
The problem is that the quality of these so-called "beauties" is somewhat lacking.
After Zhu Yuanzhang came to power, he once issued an edict rebuking the then-Korean king: "The offerings this time are all too ugly. I will accept them for now because of your filial piety. Next time, you should send the better-looking ones."
Of course, although Yang Da was nominally a county directly under the Central Secretariat, it was actually a county personally governed by Emperor Zhu. The so-called local products could only be some local specialties, and "beautiful women" were absolutely not allowed to be offered as tribute.
Because vassal states were offering beautiful women as tribute to the Emperor (that's how it's called in historical records), if Magistrate Yang were to offer beautiful women as tribute, not to mention how the common people would view it, he would be labeled as sycophantic and would be infamous for eternity.
Just as Magistrate Yang was pondering this, Chen Zhong chuckled and said, "Magistrate Yang, bring whatever you want. Even if it's just a handful of wheat grains, the higher-ups will be happy."
Magistrate Yang's eyes suddenly lit up, and he instructed the lame man standing guard beside him, "Have someone go to the homes of the people in each village and neighborhood and tell them that I am going to the capital. Tell them to each family to bring out a grain of wheat, which I will present to the Emperor on their behalf."
After Limpy Wu left to carry out his orders, Magistrate Yang smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Chen Zhong, saying, "Old Master Chen's words have enlightened me. Thank you, thank you."
As expected, it has to be a dead eunuch like Chen Zhong who sees things so clearly—if each family contributes a grain of wheat, they can at least get three years of tax exemption!
Chen Zhong glanced at Magistrate Yang with a complicated expression: "Magistrate Yang, are you really planning to offer wheat grains on behalf of the people? Aren't you afraid that people will say you're a sycophant?"
Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, "Of course, we can't just offer wheat grains. After all, Ningyang County has many other good things, such as braised chicken, smoked chicken, dried chicken, sausages, cured meat, fried noodles, and books printed by the printing workshop. These are all local products of Ningyang County, and I will bring some with me."
Hilarious! When have I, Yang, ever cared about my reputation?
When the hell has he ever had a reputation?
Besides, what's wrong with contributing these things as local specialties?
It's cheap and affordable, and most importantly, that old tyrant Zhu Chongba will definitely like it. He might even be so happy that he'll exempt Ningyang County from taxes for a few more years.
Chen Zhong was too lazy to persuade Magistrate Yang anymore, and instead changed the subject: "By the way, at the end of the year, various countries will also send envoys to the capital. Magistrate Yang may be able to see some of them then."
A vassal state?
envoy?
Upon hearing Chen Zhong mention the matter of the vassal states sending envoys to the capital, Magistrate Yang recalled the question that Zhu Biao had asked him before.
In matters of tribute, does the imperial court ultimately gain an advantage or suffer a loss, and how should it treat these envoys from vassal states?
Magistrate Yang remembered clearly that he had said, "A great nation should be magnanimous." Later, he even specially selected four scholars from the construction site in the south of the city and kept instilling the idea of "a great nation should be magnanimous" in them.
Should we bring these four scholars to the capital as well?
In case that old tyrant Zhu Chongba suddenly goes mad and wants me to entertain those vassal envoys, wouldn't these four scholars come in handy?
After all, that's how it's written in online novels. The protagonist always runs into a bunch of messy and troublesome things wherever he goes. Often, things that the protagonist shouldn't be involved in will inexplicably end up happening to him.
I, Yang, have traveled back to the Ming Dynasty, so I should at least be a protagonist, right?
Since you're the main character, you have to be prepared to deal with all sorts of unexpected situations at any time.
Having made up his mind, Magistrate Yang smiled and said to Chen Zhong, "Old Chen, when I go to the capital, may I bring a few people with me?"