allonlinenovel Chapter 1237 Not a single good kid was taught by that big scoundrel!
Chapter 1237 Not a single good kid was taught by that big scoundrel!
When Erhu brought Emperor Zhu and Empress Ma to Song Zhiyan, the magistrate of Hejian County, Magistrate Song was sleeping on a recliner in Xiaowangzhuang.
Looking at the familiar reclining chair, the familiar small tea table, and the teapot, Emperor Zhu felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Well, you've picked up the habit of checking in for yourself, and you've even picked up the habit of hiding in the countryside drinking tea and sleeping!
What's wrong with all the officials from Ningyang County? Are they all like this?
The more Emperor Zhu thought about it, the angrier he became. He immediately walked over to Song Zhiyan, kicked the recliner beneath her, and coldly snorted, "Wake up! It's getting dark!"
Song Zhiyan woke up in a daze, and when she saw that it was Emperor Zhu, she immediately jumped up from the recliner.
Emperor Zhu glared at Song Zhiyan with a dark expression, then pulled Empress Ma to sit on the recliner before turning to Song Zhiyan and saying, "You, the county magistrate, are not handling official business in the county office, but instead coming to sleep on the people's land?"
Song Zhiyan chuckled twice, then bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Zhu snorted again, and Song Zhiyan continued, "I had finished all my official duties before coming to the fields to take a look and encourage farmers. I just happened to doze off for a little while, just a little while."
What?
Are you here to persuade farmers to stop?
Emperor Zhu glanced at the people who were busy in the fields but still couldn't help but peek at what was happening here, and then looked at the reclining chair under Empress Ma.
Do all the officials from Ningyang County like to lie through their teeth?
Seeing that Emperor Zhu's face was growing darker and darker, Song Zhiyan hurriedly shouted into the field, "Wang Ergou! Come here right now!"
A man in his early thirties strode over and bowed to Song Zhiyan, saying, "Young Master!"
Song Zhiyan chuckled twice and said to Wang Ergou, "This is a high-ranking official from the capital. Tell him about the situation in our Xiaowangzhuang."
Wang Ergou glanced at Emperor Zhu and said, "I hope Your Excellency will know that our Xiaowangzhuang has about a hundred households, which are divided into two communities. The county magistrate has further divided these two communities into five brigades, totaling about six hundred people, including about five hundred... no, four hundred able-bodied men."
Emperor Zhu stared wide-eyed and asked, "How many able-bodied men? More than four hundred? And what about that brigade?"
Wang Ergou glanced at Song Zhiyan again, and seeing Song Zhiyan nod, Wang Ergou continued, "The county magistrate said that a certain official said that fifty years old is still the age to work, and officials in the court who are sixty or seventy years old still have to go to court every day, so he counts all those under fifty years old in the village as young and strong."
"A brigade is a team of twenty households, and the extra households are then assigned to several other teams."
"In addition to the fifteen mu of land per adult male, each brigade must also cultivate additional wasteland. Livestock and the harvester provided by the imperial court are distributed according to the brigade. Half of the grain from the extra wasteland must be handed over to the county, and the other half is divided equally among the people in the brigade."
"In addition, there is a livestock farm, a chicken farm, and eight ponds in the village. The five production brigades also need to take turns sending people to look after them. The chickens, meat, and fish will be distributed at the end of the year."
At this point, Wang Ergou chuckled twice and said, "Thanks to the county magistrate, every household has received more grain in the past two years, and at the end of the year, there are chickens, meat, and new clothes."
Emperor Zhu's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but slap Song Zhiyan on the back of the head, scolding, "Such a good idea, why didn't you tell us?"
Song Zhiyan immediately protested, "These are all things that the Master told the students. The students thought that you already knew, but who knew that the Master had kept it from us?"
Having quietly set a trap for Yang Shaofeng, Song Zhiyan's eyes darted around before she said, "Hey, when did you come to Hejian? I know a place that makes really good donkey meat sandwiches. Would you like to try it? The taste is absolutely authentic!"
Emperor Zhu was so distracted by Song Zhiyan's joke that he immediately forgot about Song Zhiyan's self-reporting and subsequent trip to the countryside to drink tea and sleep.
Or rather, he hadn't forgotten, but there was nothing he could do—it's a problem passed down from the top down, a root cause of the problem, so what could he do about it?
Emperor Zhu sighed helplessly, then looked at Song Zhiyan and asked, "Tell me, is this donkey meat sandwich the authentic one from Hejian or Ningyang?"
Song Zhiyan said with a face full of dissatisfaction, "Of course, the one from Hejian is more authentic. After all, the Hejian donkey meat sandwich can be traced back to the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Before Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended the throne, he went to Hejian. A scholar killed a donkey and cooked sorghum to entertain the emperor. After eating it, the emperor said it was delicious. Moreover, the emperor had never been to Ningyang."
Emperor Zhu gave a noncommittal "hmm".
The local specialties are used to extort money from emperors, which can be considered a skill passed down from generation to generation by the officials of Ningyang County. That little scoundrel Song Zhiyan said that Emperor Taizong of Tang ate Hejian donkey meat sandwiches, and that big scoundrel even said that Ningyang donkey meat sandwiches were what we ate when we came to Ningyang County to beg for food!
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhu couldn't help but feel a little sad again.
No, where exactly did Zhu Chongba beg for food?
Especially in your Ningyang County, how long did Zhu Chongba beg for food in Ningyang County? And how much delicious food did he get?
What I'm saying is, if your Ningyang County is so rich that you can feed beggars donkey meat sandwiches and beggar's chicken, then how could it be so poor that a county only has about two thousand people?
While inwardly cursing, Emperor Zhu said, "Alright, let's not care whether the donkey meat sandwich from Hejian is the authentic one or the one from Ningyang."
“Tell us a detailed account of that brigade, and all the things about extra farming, autumn grain distribution, and year-end meat distribution, and write them down for us later.”
"You bastard, you don't learn anything good from that bastard, you only learn these annoying skills—you're a little bastard taught by a big bastard, not a single one of you is good!"
Song Zhiyan quietly gestured to Wang Ergou, signaling him to get lost.