Jiangzhou Prefecture, Jianglin County.
Inside the county government's signing room, Magistrate Li Qi and Assistant Magistrate Wu Xinzhong stared at the imperial edict issued from above, speechless for a long time...
Wu Xinzong broke the long silence by speaking first, saying, "Your Excellency, this edict clearly states that anyone who dares to embezzle supplies will have their entire family wiped out. Isn't that... a bit too harsh?"
"No, no!"
Li Qi shook his head and stroked his beard, saying, "His Highness Prince Yan and His Majesty have created two unprecedented events."
"Firstly, in the more than four thousand years of our great land, no emperor or official has ever dared to directly distribute money and goods to the people of the whole country. It has always been about taking from the poor to give to the rich, taking money and goods from the people. Every time a dynasty changed, millions of people died to maintain this 'taking from the poor to give to the rich' policy. Human life has never been valued. The lives of the common people have always been as worthless as grass. For Your Highness Prince Yan and His Majesty to dare to do this is unprecedented in history and a blessing for all people!"
"Secondly, in the more than four thousand years of our great land, there has never been a law that kills an official for embezzling a little of the people's property. From the extermination of three generations for the seeds of corruption in the past to the extermination of three generations for embezzling materials today, it is evident that His Highness Prince Yan and His Majesty have a sincere love for the people and a deep hatred for corruption!"
After saying this, he instructed Wu Xinzhong to quickly take out the imperial edict and post it.
"Hey!"
Wu Xinzong nodded, took the imperial edict, walked out of the main hall, and posted it on the notice wall outside the county government office.
In less than a quarter of an hour.
The area in front of the notice board was already packed with people, shoulder to shoulder.
The onlookers, both literate and illiterate, pointed and discussed amongst themselves.
"Is the imperial court going to distribute gifts again?"
"That's right! The seeds we received a while ago, the potatoes and sweet potatoes we planted are growing really well! Looks like we won't go hungry this year!"
"Hey buddy, can you tell me what I'm going to get this time?"
"Oh, it says it's for rice, meat, oil, and something about bicycles..."
What kind of vehicle is a bicycle?
"I don't know, I've never heard of it."
...
Mu Dazhuang had just finished work on the main road. He was wearing a cloth shirt and hemp trousers, and was sweating profusely. He came to collect his wages from the yamen runner.
"Old Mu! You've worked hard paving the road today. Here's your wages, one hundred coins in total, take it!"
The bailiff handed Mu Dazhuang a string of copper coins and said, "The asphalt paving work is finished today. Don't come back tomorrow. If there's any more work, just check the announcement."
Mu Dazhuang happily accepted the copper coins, stuffed them into his money pouch, and bowed and scraped to the constable, saying, "Master Li, thank you for your patronage!"
To his surprise, these words almost angered the constable Li San. Li San glared at him and said, "Old Mu, you can't just talk nonsense like that. What have I, Old Li, done to take care of you? It's all because our Lord Li upholds justice and cares for the people. If we're talking about taking care of someone, it's Lord Li who takes care of the whole county!"
"Yes, yes, I misspoke!"
Mu Dazhuang hurriedly said.
Li San suddenly laughed, "You old Mu, you've made quite a bit of money in these two months, haven't you?"
Mu Dazhuang hurriedly said, "No, nothing like that..."
Li San winked and leaned closer to him, whispering, "Tonight at Cuifeng Restaurant... for a couple of rounds... wanna come?"
Upon hearing that he was being asked to gamble, Mu Dazhuang immediately shook his head vigorously, saying, "I'm not going! I need to save my money to get married!"
Seeing that he refused, Li San laughed at him, "You're too honest and naive. Women these days don't like someone like you. If you keep earning money like this, how long will it take you to make it?"
Mu Dazhuang was not persuaded. Instead, he cupped his hands in greeting to Li San, then walked down the steps in front of the county government office and looked at the bulletin board next to him.
He knew some characters, but not others, so he asked someone nearby who was more literate, and finally understood what the edict meant.
"Two hundred catties of rice, twenty catties of meat, and twenty catties of oil for each person? That's so much!?"
What other bicycles are there?
He could hardly believe it was true, so he turned around and asked Li San, "Master Li, when will these things be distributed?"
Li San let out a soft snort, "How would I know about this? Go ask Master Li..."
Mu Dazhuang said "Oh" and slowly left the large square...
Two days later, the supplies were transported from the prefectural capital to the large open space in front of the county government office.
With the newly paved asphalt roads, all provincial and prefectural government offices were equipped with the magical "large trucks" developed by His Highness Prince Yan. With nimble, clear-headed, and sharp-witted clerks driving the trucks, the supplies were transported to the counties at an extremely fast speed.
Since there are no direct roads or asphalt roads connecting the various villages, the villagers have to come to the county to collect these supplies themselves.
Mu Dazhuang got up very early that day, and when he arrived in the county, it was not yet noon.
But to his surprise, even though he arrived so early, the open space was still almost full of people.
The weather was hot, and everyone was drenched in sweat, but the thought of receiving so many supplies only fueled their enthusiasm.
"Mom, I'm hungry..."
A young child, with his hair in his hair, cried out that he was hungry in a woman's arms.
The woman patted his head and comforted him, "Son, just bear with it a little longer. When we get home, Mom will cook you some meat..."
"Mother, is there really meat to eat?"
"Hey, do you see that? It's cured meat, and it smells so good!"
"..."
At noon, Magistrate Li Qi, holding a white megaphone, stood on the platform in front of the county government office and announced:
"Fellow villagers, please line up in an orderly manner, do not cause a disturbance or push, we will distribute supplies to you immediately! County Magistrate Wu, come here!"
Upon hearing the call, Wu Xinzong hurried over and stood respectfully before the county magistrate.
"Sir, what are your orders?"
Li Qi continued speaking through the megaphone: "Let Magistrate Wu demonstrate to everyone how to ride this bicycle."
"Yes, sir!"
Wu Xinzong seemed to have a natural talent for it. When the bicycle was delivered to the county, he mastered the essence of riding a bicycle in less than fifteen minutes without needing anyone from above to teach him.
In front of everyone, Wu Xinzong rode his bicycle around twice, then took the megaphone from Magistrate Li and explained the precautions for riding a bicycle to everyone.
First of all, you have to wear pants to ride; you can't wear a skirt. Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.
However, everyone is used to wearing trousers when doing farm work, so this is not considered a requirement.
Secondly, you need to maintain your balance; keep both legs on the pedals to avoid falling.
However, riding a bicycle is a skill that requires a lot of acrobatics. Even though Magistrate Wu taught them very carefully, less than one in ten people could learn to ride on the spot.
However, even if it's less than one-tenth, the fact that Jianglin County suddenly has thousands or even tens of thousands more people who can ride bicycles is still earth-shattering and spectacular!
An elder from the clan wrote in the county annals:
"The two-wheeled cart made by the imperial court is over three feet long and can seat two people. It can move on its own without being pushed or pulled."
"When traveling, use the curved handle next to the axle to turn the vehicle as before. Turn the handle whenever you stop, and you can travel two hundred li a day."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
