allonlinenovel Chapter 206 A Group of Little Lazybones!
Chapter 206 A Group of Little Lazybones!
As the old man said: Who would complain about being tired of making money?
For ordinary people, they toil in the fields every day, but after a year of hard work, they can't save much grain. Even if they do, they are reluctant to sell it for money.
This is a very, very distant dream.
However, the old man's words made this dream within reach—while the villages in other counties near Ningyang County were still unaware that Ningyang County had a clinic and was buying silkworm excrement, they should hurry to buy the silkworm excrement from them at a low price and then sell it to the clinic!
Almost instantly, the village chiefs and community leaders, who were often summoned to meetings by Magistrate Yang for various reasons, reached a tacit understanding.
After all, they were all like cattle and horses, working under the same master, so they had a certain level of understanding.
Magistrate Yang had no idea what the village chiefs and community leaders were thinking. Seeing that everyone bowed in agreement, Magistrate Yang simply waved his hand, indicating that the village chiefs and community leaders could go back to their work as slaves.
After the village chiefs and community leaders left, Magistrate Yang once again fell into deep thought, pondering the second thing Wang Qiong had mentioned before leaving.
According to Emperor Zhu Chongba's arrangements, in the first year of Hongwu's reign, the Ming Dynasty had already dispatched envoys to Annam and Goryeo to inform the two countries that he, Emperor Zhu Chongba, had become emperor and demanded that the two countries submit and send envoys to pay tribute.
Then, King Wang Jeon of Goryeo and King Trần Nhồi of Annam sent envoys to pay tribute. If nothing unexpected happened, they would arrive in the capital to pay tribute around June of the second year of the Hongwu reign.
The reason why Emperor Zhu Chongba sent Wang Qiong to Ningyang County again was because Zhu Biao had relayed Magistrate Yang's profound statement that "a great nation should have magnanimity." So, Emperor Zhu Chongba asked Magistrate Yang to inquire about what exactly constitutes "magnanimity" for a great nation, and instructed Magistrate Yang to think about it and submit a memorial before the end of May.
This matter is neither urgent nor important. Magistrate Yang hadn't figured out how to be "magnanimous" about it, but his words to Liu Thirty-Two and the others, "Anyone complains about being tired while making money?" gave Magistrate Yang a new idea.
Annam is rich in grain, while Goryeo is rich in ginseng—the former is a scarce resource in the Ming Dynasty, and the latter is a scarce medicinal herb. Now these two fat sheep have come to be slaughtered, and Magistrate Yang felt that it would be a real shame not to take advantage of them.
Didn't I just say that there's no such thing as complaining about being tired when it comes to making money?
However, how to make money while also demonstrating the "magnanimity" of a great power is quite a headache.
The main problem is that Zhu Chongba, that old man, doesn't know how to choose people.
Look at Zhang Qian, She He, Fu Jiezi, and An Guoshaoji.
Before reading the history books, Magistrate Yang sympathized with and admired Su Wu's spirit of herding sheep. After reading the history books, he found that the Xiongnu Chanyu at that time was truly tolerant.
Then look at the people Zhu Chongba, that old idiot, chose. Whether it was the envoys sent to Annam or Goryeo, they all came back alive. What kind of elegance is that?
Thinking of this, Magistrate Yang spat out a curse in exasperation.
A bunch of little bastards!
The Han Dynasty consumes one envoy for every 100 kilometers of its territory, while your Ming Dynasty consumes ten catties of grain for every 100 kilometers?
No, expecting these lowly officials in the Ming court to play the "great nation's magnanimity" game with Annam and Goryeo is pure fantasy. And forget about getting them to tear off the mask and make money. This is something I, the official, must handle personally!
After making up his mind, Magistrate Yang went straight to his study and began writing a memorial to Lao Deng, requesting that two scholars be selected from Ningyang County to serve as staff members at the Honglu Temple to entertain Annam and Goryeo.
After finishing the memorial and sending it to the Office of Transmission by fast horse, Magistrate Yang summoned Limpy Five and instructed him: "I would like to trouble Limpy Five to go to the road construction site and select a few scholars from among them who are good-looking, clearly learned, and have many relatives, and then bring them to the county office."
Limpy Wu immediately accepted the order and left, quickly returning with four scholars who met the requirements of Magistrate Yang.
Magistrate Yang glanced at the four men and asked, "Do you want to get rid of the hard labor on the construction site? Do you want to become an official? Do you want to be remembered in history? Do you want your families to live a better life?"
The four scholars were puzzled. After a long while, one of them bowed and replied, "Your Excellency, I think..."
Yang Shaofeng nodded, then looked at the other three: "What about you? Do you want to?"
The other three exchanged glances, steeled their resolve, and replied, "Your Excellency, we do!"
Magistrate Yang smiled and nodded, then stood up and paced a few steps, saying, "The land you are standing on is now called the Ming Dynasty, but it was also called the Song Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Han Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty, and the Shang Dynasty in the past."
"Since the Three Sovereigns ruled the world and the Five Emperors established order, this land has undergone thousands of years of changes and has fallen into the hands of barbarians several times, but it is still the fertile land of China."
"However, there are still nine prefectures in Annam and four prefectures in Liaodong that have not yet been returned to our Great Ming."
"The ancients said that one should cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. Gentlemen, the nine prefectures of Annam and the four prefectures of Liaodong are a disgrace to us scholars!"
The four scholars really wanted to grab Yang Shaofeng and ask him, "Who the hell is a scholar like you?"
How could such a scoundrel as you exist among us scholars?
Just as the four scholars were secretly grumbling to themselves, Magistrate Yang continued, "Do you know what the situation is now? Now Annam has sent envoys to pay tribute, and Goryeo has sent envoys to pay tribute—we, the descendants of the Yellow Emperor and the fertile land of China, now consider ourselves barbarians beyond the reach of civilization. Isn't this shameful enough?"
That's truly shameful.
Almost without realizing it, the four scholars' thinking was led astray by Magistrate Yang.
Magistrate Yang continued, "However, it's also a good opportunity to recover Annam and Goryeo's visit to the court. I have already submitted a memorial to His Majesty, requesting that he select four scholars from our Ningyang County to serve in the Court of State Ceremonial. I have just chosen the four of you."
The four scholars exchanged glances again, and the first scholar to speak bowed once more and asked, "May I ask Your Excellency, what should we do to bring Annam and Goryeo back to China?"
However, Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, "No rush, no rush. There's still about a month and a half before the Annamite and Goryeo envoys arrive in the capital. You have plenty of time to consider what to do. Of course, I will also tell you what to do slowly over this month and a half."
Yang Shaofeng wasn't foolish enough to believe these scholars just because they made a few statements.
However, Yang Shaofeng firmly believed that as long as they were constantly brainwashed, these four scholars might also become staunch Han envoys.
A month and a half should be enough!