amaotonovel Chapter 98 Corrupt officials should be whipped to death!
Chapter 98 Corrupt officials should be whipped to death!
"When I took office, there were only 501 households in the entire Ningyang County, and the total number of people was only 2,106."
"It has been almost half a year now, and Ningyang County still only has 501 households and 2,106 people. The difference is that there are now Brother Limpy Fifth and his gang, and later a group of criminals."
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "However, by this time next year, the population of Ningyang County should have increased somewhat."
By the time the autumn sowing and land clearing are finished, it will be almost winter, which is the only time of year that people can rest.
In the agrarian era, before television, movies, games, and the internet, the only form of entertainment for ordinary people was probably making babies. In addition, Magistrate Yang distributed land to the people as soon as he took office, which gave them the confidence to have children.
It is foreseeable that by the second year of the Hongwu reign, Ningyang County will inevitably experience a baby boom, with at least several dozen newborns. If the people work even harder, there may be one or two hundred newborns.
Zhu Lao Er pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "If the population of Ningyang County increases, will you build more roads and dig more lakes, Brother Yang?"
Seeing Yang Shaofeng nod with a smile, Zhu Lao Er continued to ask, "But Father Emperor clearly exempted them from corvée labor—I can understand Brother Yang having the people dig artificial lakes to store water and prevent drought, but what about building roads? Building roads neither prevents drought nor floods."
Yang Shaofeng laughed and said, "Road construction does not prevent drought or flood, but it can speed up the flow of goods and make it easier to transport goods from other places to Ningyang County, and easier to transport goods from Ningyang County to other places. In this way, merchants can make more money."
Zhu Lao Er frowned slightly: "Merchants? Most merchants are disloyal and greedy, forgetting all principles. If Brother Yang lets them make more money, how can the common people have a good life?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and countered, "May I ask Your Highness, when the common people need needles and thread, can they do without merchants? When the common people need to buy cloth and grain, can they do without merchants?"
Zhu Lao Er shook his head slightly, and Yang Shaofeng continued, "As the saying goes, one kind of rice feeds a hundred kinds of people. While there are certainly some merchants who are greedy and forget morality, it doesn't mean that all merchants are greedy and forget morality. Moreover, the world's wealth and trade cannot do without merchants."
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Zhu Lao Er nodded thoughtfully: "Brother Yang means that we should both utilize merchants and find ways to restrict them, so as not to give them the opportunity to do evil."
Yang Shaofeng nodded slightly. After everyone had rested enough, he stood up again and said with a smile, "This humble official will now take His Highnesses the two princes and His Highness the Princess to see Daming Lake and the Prince's Canal."
……
"This lake is about 25 acres in size. It took about two months to dig, and it was barely completed just before the drought."
Yang Shaofeng pointed to Daming Lake and said, "It is thanks to this lake that Ningyang County did not suffer a complete crop failure during the drought."
Walking around the lake to the canal, Yang Shaofeng pointed to the Taizi Canal and said, "This canal was also dug before the drought. At that time, the water volume of the Dawen River was already very low. Later, before the lake was filled with water, the Dawen River almost dried up."
A hint of lingering fear flashed across Yang Shaofeng's face: "If it weren't for the shovels, hoes and other tools that His Highness the Crown Prince bestowed upon us, we're afraid that even if the Da Wen River dried up, this canal would never have been finished. It is precisely because of this that the people of Ningyang County insisted on naming this canal the Crown Prince Canal, to show that they would never forget His Highness the Crown Prince's kindness."
Leading everyone to a stone tablet beside the Prince Canal, Yang Shaofeng pointed to the inscription and said, "This is the Inscription on the Prince Canal."
Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, and others gathered in front of the monument and examined it carefully.
"In May of the first year of Hongwu, Ningyang County suffered a severe drought. Magistrate Yang Shaofeng... was fortunate to receive shovels, hoes, and oxen and horses from the Crown Prince Zhu Huibiao, which enabled him to complete the work. This inscription is carved in stone to commemorate this event, to show that we will never forget His Majesty's great kindness and His Highness's benevolence."
This made Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San extremely envious.
As long as it is not damaged by human hands, this stone tablet will stand on the land of Ningyang County for thousands of years. Even after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, every person who comes to this stone tablet in the future may hear how the Hongwu Emperor and Crown Prince Zhu Biao of the Ming Dynasty were benevolent to the people.
Moreover, it's not just the stone tablets; the county annals of Ningyang County also record the inscriptions on the stone tablets. Every time the county annals are revised, the story of the Taizi Canal is brought up again. Isn't this a way to make a name for oneself in history?
Seeing the envious looks on Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San's faces, Yang Shaofeng just smiled and then led everyone towards Liu Miao Village.
"Liu Miao Village has 35 households with 90 people, of whom 50 are young and strong."
After listening to Yang Shaofeng finish recounting the population data of Liu Miao Village, Zhu Lao Er couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yang, throughout history, during times of war, it is always the males who suffer greater casualties. Why is it that Liu Miao Village has a larger number of able-bodied men?"
Yang Shaofeng smiled, but his smile was somewhat bitter: "Because back then, people aged sixteen and above and under fifty were considered young adults, and only those over fifty were considered elderly."
This algorithm is actually wrong. According to the Book of Rites, "A man is considered to be in his prime at the age of thirty, when he can marry, have children, and establish a family."
Even if this standard is relaxed, men under the age of 20 and over the age of 40 are not normally counted as young adults.
But what was the situation in Ningyang County at that time?
We have no manpower, and all the land is barren.
Left with no other choice, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng could only count all men aged sixteen and above and under fifty as able-bodied men and then assign them various tasks.
It's the same old saying: treat women like men, and men like animals. Use animals to the point of exhaustion as long as they don't die.
Watching the villagers of Liumiao Village busy in the fields, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but sigh softly, "Fortunately, we've all made it through. We've survived the spring planting, the drought, and the locust plague. Things will gradually get better in the future."
Hearing Yang Shaofeng's sigh, Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San fell silent once again, unsure how to judge the actions of Magistrate Yang.
To say he disregarded the people's strength?
But under those circumstances, how could we possibly spare the people's strength?
Should we let the fields remain barren, or let the drought and locust plague continue, and wait for the imperial court to provide relief grain?
Just thinking about the drought and locust plague, Zhu Lao Er suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "I do think of a few people. These corrupt officials, from the drought to the locust plague, have only submitted memorials to the court requesting the allocation of relief grain and allowed the people to worship the locust god. Not a single one of them is willing to fight the drought and control the locusts like Brother Yang."
Zhu Laosan also gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone says that the county magistrate is a parent official, a people-friendly official, but corrupt officials like them should be whipped to death!"
Magistrate Yang was slightly taken aback, and unconsciously asked, "Who?"