Chapter 2596 Enlightenment
Manbao nodded repeatedly and gave her a thumbs up.
The wontons were quickly served, a large bowl of plump wontons. Chang Yu said, "The dough they knead isn't as good as the one outside the imperial city, but the fillings are well-seasoned, and there's plenty of them, as big as a wonton."
Manbao nodded repeatedly. After taking a bite, she said, "We passed by Xiazhou before and found that wontons there are served on a plate. That's why they don't call them wontons, but dumplings. They are eaten with vinegar. I think they are not bad."
"Really?" Chang Yu said, "I'll try it later."
After they finished eating the wontons, there were not many people at the stall, so everyone just sat there and talked while watching people coming and going on the street.
Wei Yu sighed, "The country is peaceful and the people are safe."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "Only when the people are safe can the country be at peace."
But he couldn't help but think of the arguments among the adults in the small court meetings in the past few days, as well as the emperor's various worries in private.
This peace and prosperity for the country still seems very fragile, with too much time and too many hidden dangers.
Bai Shan couldn't help but twist his thumb on the joint of his index finger and lowered his eyes to think.
On the way back, Manbao kept turning her head to look at him. When they were almost home, she couldn't help but reach out and hold his hand.
Bai Shan looked down at her.
Manbao asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Bai Shan shook his head, "It's okay."
"You've been unusually silent since eating the wontons, and you seem to be in a bad mood."
Bai Shan held her hand tightly and walked forward a few steps before slowly stopping. He paused and said, "Manbao, it wasn't until today that I understood why Brother Yang, after leaving the Hanlin Academy, rejected the offers from the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel, and instead chose to be the magistrate of Luojiang County, a lower-level county."
Manbao looked at him quietly.
Bai Shan said, "Although the Great Jin is young, it still suffers from a number of problems. Your Majesty is wise, generous, and willing to accept advice, which is why we have peace and prosperity today. However, beneath this prosperity, there are still many problems."
"I consider myself well-read, including those unofficial histories and anecdotes you brought out. I have imagined in my mind more than once how prosperous the Great Jin will be in the future." Bai Shan looked up and saw a wide avenue in front of him. Not far away was the gate of Zhou's house, and further down was the tall and long wall that belonged to the Du family.
"But just as confident as I was before, I'm now so hesitant," he said. "In just these three months, the Jin Dynasty I've seen is very different from what I once thought it was. Even men as wise and powerful as Your Majesty, as intelligent and just as Lord Wei, and as resolute as Lord Tang, have been forced to retreat cautiously on many fronts."
He said, "I took it for granted before."
Manbao listened quietly.
Bai Shan squeezed her hand, then loosened it, but couldn't help but squeeze it again. He said, "I have no other choice. At least, I can't think of a perfect solution to these problems right now. Even someone as powerful as His Majesty has to be trembling with fear and calculating carefully, let alone us?"
What could be behind him?
The Bai family, a small, fourth- or fifth-rate family that could abandon him at any moment, then Man Bao, who was born into a commoner family and was still treading on thin ice; Bai Er, who depended on the royal family, and his eldest cousin who came from the same family as him...
Maybe a prince will be added to the mix.
But if even the emperor has to be careful in dealing with the situation, how much weight can adding a prince add?
So it’s still a question of method.
Like the emperor, Bai Shan does not want to solve these problems with violence, because if violence is used, the people will be the most seriously harmed.
Although it is said that when a country prospers, the people suffer, and when a country perishes, the people suffer, but the people who perish will definitely suffer even more.
Bai Shan said: "I can't find a solution if I stay in the capital. I want to be sent out."
Manbao was surprised, "Are we going to release it now?"
Bai Shan smiled and said, "I want to apply for a transfer to a county when I report on my work next year, and I'll start as a county official."
Was that a demotion?
Manbao tilted his head and looked at him.
Bai Shan sighed and said, "You figured it out, even if it means being demoted and sent away, I still want to start as a county official."
He said, "Now I understand why Brother Yang insisted on being sent to a local official. Since there is no solution in the capital, I can only look for it in the local area."
Manbao probably understood what he meant and said to him, "Go ahead, I support you."
Bai Shan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, then took her hand and said, "If we can't be together at that time..."
Manbao said: "I will miss you."
Bai Shan: ...seems like she wasn't comforted.
He squeezed Manbao's hand tightly and refused to let go.
Manbao looked around, and while Daji and Xibing were not paying attention, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the face, whispering, "I will really miss you."
Bai Shan felt as if he had eaten honey, and then a sour feeling emerged in his heart. He whispered, "I will miss you too."
Daji behind him: ...It sounds like they are going to separate tomorrow.
The two walked home hand in hand. Bai Shan thought for a long time and finally picked up a pen to write a letter to Yang Heshu. He felt that he should tell Yang Heshu about this matter and ask for his opinion.
When the letter was delivered to Xiazhou, officials from the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple in Qizhou also returned to the capital, bringing back a large number of account books and land books, all of which recorded the flow of land sold by the Qizhou governor in the past eight years.
The emperor only met with the governor of Qizhou once, and then he was unwilling to see him again. However, he met with the leader of the Zheng clan twice.
After the emperor and the court took both open and secret measures, the results of the handling came out quickly.
The governor of Qizhou was dismissed for dereliction of duty, and the large number of public land transactions sold during his tenure were cancelled. The emperor took back the land at the original price regardless of how many times the land had passed through the hands or how much the last buyer paid.
The cancellation of the transaction was determined after careful investigation and calculation by the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Revenue. They could be sure that no one was innocent.
This announcement will not only be posted on the city wall of Qizhou and on the bulletin board outside the governor's mansion, but will also be posted on the bulletin board of the Dali Temple in the capital, and a copy will be sent to each household.
Just when the parties involved were extremely angry and were planning to resist the law violently, the Zheng family returned the land without asking for a penny, and submitted a letter of apology and confession, stating that the land was bought by a manager of the family, who said the land was cheap at the time of purchase, but no one knew there was another hidden secret. The Zheng family had unintentionally set a bad example for the Dajin Dynasty, and they felt really guilty.
Anyway, the ten hectares of land were returned to the Qizhou Governor's Office.
Then the emperor showed favoritism and allocated this piece of land directly to the Ministry of Revenue, which was short of official land.
Ministers such as Wei Zhi turned a blind eye and pretended to be ignorant.
The other families saw this and hesitated for a moment. Then the Ministry of Justice and the local county yamen came with copper coins to redeem the land...
Some families handed over the land quietly, but others simply closed the door and said they were not at home.
This period is very sensitive. Spring plowing has ended, the crops in the fields have grown and the wheat has turned yellow. It will be harvested soon. Even the tenants below will not agree to redeem the land at this time.
Even though the court had made it clear that this year's land harvest still belonged to them and that the court would only redeem it first and officially take over in the autumn, the tenants were still instigated and made a fuss.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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