amaotonovel Chapter 129 Discussing the extermination of an entire family in front of this official?
Chapter 129 Discussing the extermination of an entire family in front of this official?
Limpy Wu, like a real ox or horse, first hurriedly went to the backyard of the county government office, and then hurriedly left the backyard, ordering his oxen and horses to notify the heads of each village and neighborhood to attend a meeting at the county government office.
The next day, after all the village heads and wardens arrived at the county government office, Magistrate Yang got straight to the point and said, "I have called you here because I have a few things to instruct you on."
"First, each village and neighborhood shall select the best carpenters and bricklayers for this official, and have them come to the county office early tomorrow morning to be employed."
"I must complete the repairs of the Confucian Temple within one month."
"Secondly, after you go back, tell everyone in your communities and neighborhoods that all families with children aged seven to sixteen should come to the Confucian Temple to study after one month. All expenses, including the cost of books, writing materials, food, and clothing, will be covered by the county government. Each family will not have to spend a single penny."
“From now on, these children will be assessed once a month. Those who rank in the top ten will receive a reward. There will be a major exam every six months, and those who rank in the top ten will receive a substantial reward.”
"Third, every year when the autumn harvest arrives, I will give these children a two-month holiday so that they can go home and help with some farm work."
"Let me tell you frankly, the county government is short of manpower, and the imperial court is short of officials. The imperial examination will be held sooner or later. If these children study now, they will have a better chance of passing the examination when it is held. Even if they are really useless, they can stay in the county government as clerks. It is better than you sweating and toiling away every day."
Seeing the joy on the faces of the village heads and wardens, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng added, "Also, each of you should pick some quick-witted people. Once winter is truly here, all of you village heads, wardens, and those quick-witted ones should come to the county office to learn to read and write. Whoever can learn five hundred characters before the New Year will be rewarded with five hundred coins!"
As it turns out, smiles never disappear, they just shift.
Upon hearing that Magistrate Yang had asked them to come to the county government office to study, the village heads and neighborhood chiefs, who had initially been relieved that their children would have the opportunity to study, immediately fell silent.
No one present was afraid to put in the physical labor.
But to ask them to study... While the village heads and elders present were secretly grateful to Magistrate Yang, they couldn't help but feel conflicted—none of their ancestors for three generations had been literate, so could they be suited to studying and learning?
Seeing the anxious expressions on the faces of the village heads and wardens, Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t need you to learn the Four Books and Five Classics or memorize the sayings of Confucius and the poems of Confucius. If you can recognize about five hundred characters and write two or three hundred characters, you will have passed the test.”
After a slight pause, Magistrate Yang added, "Whoever learns to write his own name first will be rewarded with fifty coins, the second will be rewarded with twenty coins, the third with ten coins, and the rest with no reward. However, as long as they learn to write their own names, they will be rewarded with two eggs. The last ten will receive no reward."
"The rule is similar: the second person to learn 500 characters gets 500 coins, the third gets 100 coins, and the last ten get no reward, the rest get 50 coins."
The faces of the village heads and elders present immediately turned even more bitter—they had spent their entire lives wielding hoes, and now, in the twilight of their lives, they were being forced to start studying? The reward was tempting, but the master's requirements were not simple: they had to know five hundred characters and be able to write their own names, and with their clumsy hands…
The village heads and elders looked at each other, and finally Liu Thirty-Two mustered up his courage and asked, "Sir, even if we are literate, it seems that we are not of much use, are we?"
Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "Useless? Very useful! Do you know that someone is spreading rumors about me, saying that I am protecting the prefect of Yanzhou, forcing the commoner Chen Er of Yanzhou to have nowhere to turn for help, and in the end, he had no choice but to hang himself in front of the Ministry of Justice in the capital?"
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Liu Sanshier, who had been bowing and scraping and practically begging for a tail, suddenly changed his demeanor, clenched his fists and asked, "Who? Which bastard dares to spread rumors about the Master? The Chen family of Yanzhou?"
Wang Wuqi, the head of the village committee next door, sneered and said, "Damn it, are they thinking we're all invincible in Ningyang County? You bastards, kill them all, and I'll take all the blame!"
Yang Er, the head of Heshan Village, squinted and said expressionlessly, "Two people from Heshan can do whatever they want. The men of Heshan aren't all dead yet. Anyone who dares to spread rumors about the big boss should ask the people of Heshan if they agree!"
"..."
Seeing the village chiefs of the eight communities and sixteen neighborhoods becoming increasingly outrageous, even discussing how many people each community and neighborhood would send to Yanzhou Prefecture to completely exterminate the Chen family, Magistrate Yang's face darkened. He couldn't help but curse, "All of you, shut the hell up! In broad daylight, under the clear sky, you're discussing wiping out entire families in front of me? A bunch of scoundrels, do you have any respect for the law, or for me, your magistrate?"
Liu Sanshier and the other village leaders and elders froze in their tracks, many of them shrinking back, looking pitiful as if they weren't the ones who had just been shouting to wipe out entire families.
What is the law? Liu Thirty-Two and his ilk don't care.
But it's very important not to anger the master.
Yang Shaofeng was so angry at Liu Sanshier and his gang that he laughed.
You've all learned face-changing, right?
Magistrate Yang Shaofeng sneered, "They're not from the Chen family, and this has nothing to do with them. It was the scholars and gentry of Jiangnan who did it. What, you think you can kill them all to avenge me?"
Liu Thirty-Two snorted softly and said, "Knowing who did it is enough. Kill them one by one!"
Yang Shaofeng glared at Liu Sanshier and cursed, "If you spout any more nonsense, I'll kill you, you bastard!"
"There are at least 80,000 to 100,000 scholars and gentry in Jiangnan. How many of them can you kill? If you kill Zhang San, do you think you can scare Li Si? You're brainless!"
"Do you know why they are spreading rumors about me? It's because I've allocated land to you, and they're afraid the Emperor will make them allocate land to the people under his rule as well."
"Do you know why I made you learn to read? It's because I've already figured out how to deal with those bastards, and what I lack now is people who can read to help me deal with them."
"Listen up, all of you. You'd better study hard and learn to read properly. Once you can recognize about five hundred characters, I'll slowly torture the scholars and gentry of Jiangnan to death, including those officials who got involved. They won't have an easy time either."
"Furthermore, from now on, no one is allowed to spout nonsense like 'exterminating an entire family.' This is the Ming Dynasty, and murder is punishable by death. If you want to avenge me, are you going to abandon your wives, children, and elderly parents?"
"Alright, get out of here and get on with what I've been told."
"Damn it, a bunch of troublemakers, not one of them can give me any peace of mind!"