Chapter 2603 Help Me
Without the village head, even those who were determined among the remaining people were not brave enough. When the censor Ren came forward with a stern face and the imperial guards beside him drew their swords, most of the villagers in front were powerless and did not even have a stick when they were organized to come over.
Therefore, when those people were pinned down, the man carrying the hoe behind them hesitated and did not dare to take action.
Their momentum was suppressed, and the courage that had been invigorating them yesterday was gone.
After arresting seven people and throwing them aside with their mouths gagged, Bai Shan continued to preach to everyone with a gentle expression.
This village is not a natural village, but one that was relocated later. Most of the people are refugees and poor people who lost their land. Therefore, the families are not big and there is no leader like the head of the village, so it is easier for them to persuade them.
After Bai Shan finished explaining the court's policies to them until he was exhausted, he asked someone to call the heads of each household to come forward. There were more than a hundred people in total, including more than twenty elderly people.
Bai Shan glanced at them and saw that many of them were wearing clothes covered with patches. Only three of them were wearing fine cotton, and not many were wearing fine linen.
So he nodded slightly to Censor Ren and stepped forward, saying, "I see that you are all quite old and should have some experience, not to mention these twenty-odd old men."
He said, "The court's policies are all based on official documents. Although this place is far from Qizhou City, if you are attentive, you will understand the court's intentions. I believe you all know what kind of person the sage is. Once he makes a promise, he will definitely keep it. Moreover, Lord Wei is in the court."
Hearing that Wei Zhi was there, the more than one hundred people standing below felt relieved.
Bai Shan gave them time to digest his words, and after a long pause, he continued, "These fields originally belonged to the court and to you. You haven't grown up yet, but you will eventually. Who doesn't have a child these days?"
Bai Shan said, "Even if you were born this year, you would have to wait sixteen years at most to get a share of the land. But these lands have always been in the hands of those people, so you will never have the chance to get a share."
The household registration system of the Jin Dynasty was very strict. Except for the large-scale distribution of land in the first few years after the founding of the country, land was only distributed to adults. A man had only one chance to get land in his lifetime, and after that he would no longer have the opportunity to get land.
Among them, the land allocated to the family cannot be bought or sold and still belongs to the court. After the person dies or leaves his hometown and cannot cultivate the land, the government will take it back. Only the permanent land can be inherited and cannot be bought or sold.
But it doesn’t mean that it cannot be bought or sold. It can still be sold under special circumstances.
At the beginning, the yamen would review special cases, but later, as more and more people sold land, more officials and paper and ink were consumed, the yamen no longer paid much attention to this matter.
As long as you sell it and someone buys it, the government will transfer the ownership.
Bai Shan said, "Everyone, the two village heads own a lot of land. They are like the village heads of your bosses. So they naturally don't want the court to redeem the land. But can your boss really treat you better than a saint?"
The householders couldn't help but stare at each other. An old man, holding the hand of a young man beside him, came forward. His clothes were patched and his face was sad. He asked, "Sir, if the court buys back the land, can we really still rent it?"
Bai Shan nodded decisively: "Yes!"
He paused and said, "When the new governor arrives, I will be your middleman and intercede for you. How about renting your land for next year?"
Bai Shan had said so many things before, but none of them moved people so much. When he said this, everyone's eyes lit up. The old man stared at Bai Shan and asked, "What is this gentleman's name?"
Bai Shan bowed and said, "I am Bai Shan."
He thought for a moment, then turned to Daji and asked, "Is there a business card in the bundle?"
Daji was stunned and immediately took out a business card.
Bai Shan handed the name card to the old man in public and said, "If everything is settled and you don't get what I promised, you can come to me with this name card."
The old man clenched the business card in his hand, held the young man's hand and knelt on the ground, and the others also knelt down.
Bai Shan quickly helped the man up.
Censor Ren behind him looked at him and shook his head slightly, but did not say anything against it.
Bai Shan said, "From now on, you should just focus on tending to the crops in the fields. The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and the wheat will be ready for harvest soon. Don't miss the farming season any longer."
The tenant farmers agreed and promised Bai Shan that they would never cause trouble again.
After the matter was settled, Bai Shan and Ren Yushi returned to Qizhou City covered in sweat.
The two hadn't washed during this period, and they had stepped on muddy water and sweated a lot, leaving a foul smell on their bodies. When they returned to Qizhou, Tang He saw them and smiled and said, "Hurry up and take a shower. I've asked someone to prepare hot water for you."
Censor Ren didn't move. Instead, he looked around and asked, "Where's Censor Liang?"
Tang He said, "He went to pick up the new governor, and he said he would arrive today."
Censor Ren nodded. "What about the two village heads?"
"In the prison," Tang He said with a smile, "You stopped someone in the village, and I arrested the two of them. There weren't many people causing trouble, so I arrested all I could. We'll try them together later."
Censor Ren nodded and turned to leave.
Bai Shan turned around and went to take a bath, and Tang He followed him leisurely.
While Bai Shan was taking a bath, he sat cross-legged outside the screen and poured himself a cup of tea. Glancing at the clothes, he fanned them with a look of disgust and called Daji, "Take all these clothes away quickly. They are really affecting your mood."
After Daji went downstairs with the clothes, Tang He asked, "How are you handling it over there?"
Bai Shan explained in detail, and after getting dressed and coming out, he said, "I promised them that I would rent the land for them next year."
Tang He spat out a mouthful of tea and glared at him, "What are you thinking? How can you make such a promise?"
Bai Shan said, "There are too many of them. If we don't have this promise, I'm afraid they'll follow us into the city and continue causing trouble as soon as we leave."
"Besides," he paused, "I think they're just looking for a place to stay. Why should we make them feel uneasy? We should just give them promises that will put them at ease."
Lord Tang nodded at him for a long moment, speechless. "Even if there's a promise to be made, it should be made by the new governor. This place will be under his control in the future, so he can show favors. If he shows favors, it will be easier to manage the people under him. You made the promise without him, and even gave them a name card. How can they still listen to the governor of Qizhou in the future?"
Bai Shan said, "So I'm talking about interceding for them and guaranteeing they'll rent the land for next year. But what if the new governor rents it to them for three to five years straight? Who do you think they'll be grateful to?"
Of course it must be the new governor.
But……
Lord Tang glanced at him and asked, "How do you know the new governor is willing?"
Bai Shan attentively poured him a cup of tea and said, "So thank you for your help, brother."
Tang He felt a little regretful for following him. Why were his eyes so sharp that he could see through the micro-expression of Censor Ren, which showed that he was cunning and wanted to trick them?
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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