Chapter 553: Counting Eagle
Yan Bopi said he was tough, but in fact he couldn't even withstand twenty strokes of the board. He struggled violently and then became dying. Finally, he died. The area from his back to his buttocks was completely rotten, revealing the broken bones.
It should have been a very horrifying scene, but the people below the stage burst into loud celebrations.
With the death of Yan Bopi, a mountain that was pressing down on the people of Wudu County collapsed.
Gouwazi felt that his body had become a lot lighter and he could stand up straighter.
"Cheng Dalang, where are you staying tonight? The guesthouse you usually go to has been taken over by the county government."
Cheng Dalang was at a loss: "What do you mean by taking it back to the county government?"
Gou Wazi was jumping up and down, obviously in a very good mood: "The entire Shuozhou, whether it is mountains, rivers, fields or houses, all belong to Duke Yun."
Cui Sanlun, who was smiling, froze on his face when he heard this, and his expression was about to break.
What does Gu Nanxi want to do? !
Cheng Dalang was shocked: "What can the people of Shuozhou do?"
Gou Wa Zi shook his head and said, "Why can't we do this? We didn't have any share of these fields in the first place. They are all in the hands of the powerful gentry. They are against Duke Yun. If Duke Yun doesn't punish them, who will he punish?"
Gouwazi brought Chen Dalang and others to the guesthouse taken over by the county government.
If you sleep in a dormitory, it costs one penny per person per night.
A bed for five people costs two cents per person per night, and a pot of hot water is also provided.
A double room costs thirty cents a night, and comes with two pots of hot water and two bowls of porridge.
The price is much cheaper than the previous guesthouse.
Chen Dalang asked for a few five-person beds. Just as he was about to ask Cui Sanlun and the Song family what kind of rooms they wanted to book, he saw Niu Jinyi hurriedly bringing people over.
"Master Cui, I am late. Please forgive me."
Cui Sanlun looked at Niu Jin for a long time but couldn't recognize who he was.
Niu Jinyi introduced himself: "My father is the military supervisor of Yunzhou. I used to be the principal of Baichuan Academy in Yunzhou. Now I am temporarily serving as the governor of Shuozhou."
Cui Sanlun's face showed understanding, Niu Jinyi was only twenty years old, but he was already being held in such an important position, which showed that he was a promising young man!
Niu Jinyi warmly invited Cui Sanlun to rest at the county government office.
Cui Sanlun thought about asking Niu Jin more about the current situation in Shuozhou, so he agreed.
The Song family felt uncomfortable living in the county government office, so they decided to live in the guesthouse with Cheng Dalang, and when Cui Sanlun was ready to go north, they would set off together.
The county government office was decorated very luxuriously, and the beds were all made of pear wood, which made Cui Sanlun frown.
Niu Jin gave the most spacious master bedroom to Cui Sanlun, and asked the servants to bring in the washed bedding.
"Sir Cui, these pieces of furniture were left by the previous county magistrate. Someone originally suggested that they be destroyed, but I think that would be too wasteful! Eliminating bad habits is not about these formalities."
Cui Sanlun sat at the table in silence, signaling Niu Jinyi with his eyes to continue speaking.
Cui Sanlun was originally the leader of the Qingliu, with a great reputation and was an idol in the eyes of countless students.
He is also the adoptive father of Duke Yun. If he comes to Shuozhou and commits treason, then here, he is equivalent to the emperor!
Niu Jinyi: "After the general came to Shuozhou, he found that eight or nine out of ten of Shuozhou's wealth was in the hands of the local powerful gentry. Their relationships were as tangled as a spider web."
In the past, Niu Jinyi did look down on Lady He Yunyan in his heart.
I feel that Lord He is mediocre and as the governor of Shuozhou, he is being controlled by these aristocratic families.
After Niu Jinyi actually came into contact with Shuozhou affairs, he clearly felt how complicated these forces were.
It is quite remarkable that Lord He has been able to sit comfortably in the position of Governor for so many years and even sent troops to aid Yunzhou at such a critical moment.
Niu Jinyi poured Cui Sanlun a cup of tea and said, "The general took drastic measures to eliminate the ten great families in Shuozhou. He faces three major problems."
“First, what should be done with the large tracts of farmland and population that have not been reported?”
"Second, the local people are living in hardship. Should we provide them with food relief?"
"Third, grassroots officials often collude with local gentry. How can we clean up the bureaucracy?"
When Niu Jin saw Cui Sanlun listening attentively, the conversation became more and more intense, and his words were full of admiration for Gu Nanxi.
"The number of captives and hidden people from the ten great families alone is as high as 30,000. According to past practice, these captives could be sent to mine, but the number of people is simply too large."
Once the number of prisoners exceeds a certain critical value, a mutiny may occur at any time, affecting the stability of the entire Shuozhou.
A lot of hard labor needs to be done by prisoners, but not too many, as too many prisoners would only be a burden.
Niu Jinyi secretly hoped that Duke Yun could properly handle the prisoners and gain a good reputation.
After all, every founding monarch needs to be whitewashed in the end.
Cui Sanlun also understood Shuozhou's predicament and asked, "What is Nanxi's plan?"
This is a long story.
Niu Jinyi patiently explained: "We first classified the captives. The people from the ten major families will definitely not be released. They will have to do hard labor until they die. Those who have a distant relationship with them and are just guards, and have no hands stained with human lives, can redeem themselves through labor."
"Ransom?"
"Yes! Give them a one-year probation period. If they behave themselves and do not cause any trouble, we will give them a chance to work as military settlers. They will spend most of their time reclaiming wasteland and participate in other labor construction during the slack season. After they have accumulated enough money, they can redeem themselves."
Cui Sanlun nodded. With this hope, they could keep these 30,000 captives safe for at least a year.
Niu Jinyi: "If these prisoners make great contributions, the probation period can also be shortened."
"What great contribution?"
"For example, if you provide some important information, or have special skills, you can go to the workshop or farmland to work after being selected by the Miscellaneous School Mohist School and the Farmer School."
As for providing important information, it is actually equivalent to internal reporting, which will divide them and prevent them from working together and doing things secretly.
Cui Sanlun continued to listen to Niu Jinyi's explanation.
He and Gu Nanxi had not seen each other for many years. Even though they exchanged letters frequently, it was impossible for them to cover every topic, so he had no idea how much Gu Nanxi had grown.
Niu Jinyi knew exactly what role he played, so he tried to be as objective as possible in telling Cui Sanlun about the measures taken by Gu Nanxi in Shuozhou.
"There is a lot of controversy about the transfer of farmland to the county government. Some students believe that this will affect the interests of many families and will be detrimental to our migration south."
The further south you go, the richer it gets.
Some ordinary families may own several acres of land, and as for the rich and powerful, the lands under their names are even more numerous.
The policies adopted by Duke Yun in Shuozhou are very likely to become national policies in the future.
Therefore, many people are very opposed to this.
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