allonlinenovel Chapter 316 The executioner's blade was worn dull from the killing.
Chapter 316 The executioner's blade was worn dull from the killing.
After registering all the villagers of Xiaohuzhuang in their household registers and land registers, Xu Jingyu, along with his old servant and Zhou Jingxin, headed towards the next village, muttering angrily, "Troublemakers! They're all troublemakers!"
Zhou Jingxin laughed and said, "Yes, they are all troublemakers. The magistrate always said that when he was in Ningyang County."
Xu Jingyu was slightly taken aback, but felt happy inside.
The Imperial Son-in-Law called the people of Ningyang County unruly, and I, this official, call the people of Penglai County unruly. So, I have already learned three-tenths of the Imperial Son-in-Law's skills.
Well, three-tenths of my skills aren't enough. I still need to learn more from the Prince Consort and strive to receive the Little Dragon Clan bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor as soon as possible.
The more he thought about it, the happier he became. Xu Jingyu couldn't help but ask, "Scholar Zhou, once we've finished registering the people's household registrations and land ownership records, can we then tell them about opening salt fields and salt stoves?"
Zhou Jingxin gave a forced smile and said, "If the county magistrate wants the people to open salt fields to produce salt or to open salt stoves to boil salt, he should at least wait until the people feel that the county magistrate will not cheat them."
Xu Jingyu was slightly taken aback and said, "I have no intention of harming them."
Zhou Jingxin rolled his eyes and said, "It's not about whether the magistrate intends to harm them, but whether the people believe that the magistrate would harm them."
“Take the magistrate for example. When he was in Ningyang County, he first distributed land to the people, and then went to the fields every day to watch the people cultivate the land. Before the drought started, he led the people of Ningyang County to dig lakes to fight the drought and led them to catch and kill locusts. That’s how the workshops in Ningyang County came to be.”
"In the beginning, when the master set up that lighter workshop, he just found a few skillful women to work there."
"And all of this is based on the premise that the people can farm with peace of mind and not delay spring planting and autumn harvest."
In order to turn Xu Jingyu into the kind of beast of burden that the master had described, Zhou Jingxin wanted nothing more than to break down and tell Xu Jingyu everything that Yang Shaofeng had done in Ningyang County.
“If the county magistrate were to order the people to open salt fields and salt stoves now, it would inevitably delay their farming, and the people would naturally not be willing to do so.”
"In my opinion, we should wait until the farmers have finished their farm work before we think of a solution."
Xu Jingyu first hummed in agreement, then frowned. "I remember you once said that the common people have few days of free time throughout the year, and can only rest during the few days of the New Year. If that's the case, then wouldn't it mean that the salt fields and salt stoves can only be opened at the end of the year?"
Upon hearing Xu Jingyu's words, Zhou Jingxin wished he could crack open Xu Jingyu's skull to see if there was anything else in his mind besides the Four Books and Five Classics.
How come these officials are less competent than a student from a county school like me?
While silently complaining to himself, Zhou Jingxin said, "After the autumn harvest, the most important thing for the people is to plow and harrow the land, plant winter wheat, and then clear the land and repair farm tools."
"The students have been looking at the land in Penglai recently. Most of it, like Ningyang County, was enclosed by Hu Yuan to be used as a horse farm. There is also a lot of land left behind by the local gentry."
“These lands were originally cultivated land, not uncultivated land. After autumn, weeding and plowing are all that’s needed to clear the land. Then, we can plant a crop of beans next year and let the soil fertility recover slowly.”
"In other words, after the wasteland is cleared in the fall, the county magistrate can start with the villages closest to the sea. Whether by conscripting laborers or by paying wages through the county government, he can get the people to clear more salt fields."
"At that time, the county magistrate will have to consider how to make money from these salt fields and salt stoves."
"As long as people can make money, more people will spontaneously open salt fields and salt stoves."
"..."
Xu Jingyu listened and nodded repeatedly. After Zhou Jingxin finished speaking, he couldn't help but sigh and said, "Scholar Zhou is so lucky. I wish I could go back to Ningyang County to study and learn more from the Prince Consort."
……
Xu Jingyu was tricked by Zhou Jingxin into galloping wildly along the road for cattle and horses, while another ox and horse, Wang Qiong, had just arrived in Dengzhou Prefecture.
"Twenty thousand."
Wang Qiong held up two fingers and said to Yang Shaofeng, "This time, nearly 20,000 people will be exiled to Dengzhou. Brother Yang, you can't complain about not having enough manpower anymore, can you?"
Yang Shaofeng looked at Wang Qiong with a completely bewildered expression and asked, "How much? Twenty thousand?"
Wang Qiong nodded, then said to Yang Shaofeng with a look of amazement, "This time, in more than sixty counties in Shandong, and more than ten counties along the coast of eastern Zhejiang, all the magistrates, assistant officials, clerks, and yamen runners involved, plus more than a thousand gentry from eastern Zhejiang, nearly two thousand people were beheaded and their heads displayed in public. The hastily erected execution ground was awash with blood, and it is said that the executioners' knives were worn dull from the bloodshed."
"Excluding those whose entire families were executed, as well as those over seventy years old and under seven years old, the remaining three clans and families totaled about ten thousand people who were to be exiled to Dengzhou. Some of them were granted a pardon for thirty years, while others were granted a pardon for fifty years."
"In this plowshare case, His Majesty not only allowed all the high-ranking officials in the court and the students of the Imperial Academy to watch the execution, but also specially permitted the common people to cheer during the execution. The scene was quite something."
Whenever Wang Qiong recalls the sight of countless heads rolling in the execution grounds of the capital, she is filled with awe.
Ruthless, absolutely ruthless! They started killing at noon and each killing lasted a full hour. Eventually, even the people of the capital stopped watching and cheering.
Besides the officials who were killed, the more than 20,000 people who were exiled to Dengzhou were also extremely unlucky.
Others may not know, but Wang Qiong, who had personally witnessed the road from Ningyang County to Yanzhou Prefecture, surely knew how arduous the forced labor was.
Forget about fifty years of hard labor; even among those sentenced to thirty years of hard labor, how many could actually survive thirty years?
But then she thought again and suppressed her amazement and sympathy.
These people resell plowshares to harm the people. The plowshares they resell to Hu Yuan are turned into weapons, armor, and arrowheads that kill the people and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Their three clans and their families can also benefit from the resale of arrowheads. They sympathize with them, but who will sympathize with the soldiers and people who may suffer because of them?
After shaking his head slightly to banish these chaotic thoughts from his mind, Wang Qiong continued, "These 20,000 people will be delivered one or two months from now. Brother Yang, you should be prepared."
Yang Shaofeng nodded and smiled, "Brother Wang, you came to Dengzhou, surely not just for the matter of these 20,000 men?"