Chapter 486: Encouraging Agriculture and Sericulture
Half a year after Yang Heshu took office, he finally came into conflict with the local grain merchants and gentry.
Unlike Mr. Bai, the grain shops in Luojiang County are basically run by local gentry or wealthy gentry from the provincial capital.
When Mr. Bai moved to Luojiang County, he saw that the grain shops in Luojiang County were no longer accessible, so he decided not to get involved. At most, he bought two shops in Luojiang County and handed them over to his managers to run some small businesses.
The grain shop he opened in Mianzhou was not very big, just a few small shops that could not even handle all the grain from his own shop.
However, Mr. Bai also did not like to sell grain to grain merchants in Luojiang County. He had special partners, and Wu the grain merchant was just one of them.
But the grain merchants and gentry in Luojiang County were different. Yang Heshu's move was simply snatching food from their mouths. It would be strange for them to be happy.
So when the small room next to the county government office was opened, all the gentry and grain merchants in Luojiang County quieted down.
But that was the county government office, and they couldn't use any of the methods they had used to deal with their competitors.
But they are not without solutions.
Who doesn’t have a backer?
Even though their backers may not be as powerful as Yang Heshu's, they can still impeach him in the court.
After all, Yang Heshu is just a county magistrate now, right?
After the grain merchants used various connections and finally succeeded in impeaching Yang Heshu in the court, Yang Heshu's family letters and the Ministry of Personnel's inquiry documents arrived at the same time.
As he read the letter, he said to Wan Tian speechlessly, "Don't you think they are stupid? They give two or three more coins for a bushel of grain, or sell it for four or five less. Not only do they benefit the people, they also make money. But they have to throw out hundreds or thousands of taels of silver just to impeach me in the court."
Yang Heshu sighed and said, "Don't they know that if I just submit a self-defense memorial, the matter will most likely be dropped? They've wasted all their money."
Wantian just stood there without saying anything.
Yang Heshu didn't want him to answer. He finished reading the letter and threw it aside. He walked for a while with his hands behind his back and asked, "How much grain do we have left from the harvest?"
“That’s quite a lot.”
Yang Heshu nodded, "Let them continue to sell, continue to limit the quantity, humph, we will not care about them, have someone prepare the horses, we will go to the countryside to take a look."
As soon as he went out, he ran into Zhang Zhubu who had just walked into the yamen from outside.
Yang Heshu immediately waved to him and asked, "Have you managed to place all the tax grain you collected?"
"Yes, we have placed it in the granary as instructed by you, sir. The rest is stored in the yamen's warehouse." Zhang Zhubu paused and asked, "Sir, when will the tax grain be transported?"
Yang Heshu said, "There's no rush for this matter. Let's talk about it when I get back from the countryside."
"Your Excellency is going to the countryside?"
"Yes, I was just about to tell you. I've noticed that few people in this county are into mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing. Unfortunately, I took office a little late this year, so I've already missed a year. I plan to let everyone try planting mulberry trees next year."
Zhang Zhubu: "...Sir, the villagers are unsophisticated and probably don't know how to grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms."
"What's so difficult about that?" Yang Heshu waved his hand and said, "Since they can grow grain and wheat, they should be able to grow mulberry trees too."
"But silkworms are so delicate, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep them alive."
"Don't worry, it'll take another year or two for the mulberry trees to grow," Yang Heshu said with great confidence in the people under his rule. "When the time comes, I'll invite some women who are good at raising silkworms from elsewhere to teach us, and we'll all learn from them seriously."
Zhang Zhubu didn't expect Yang Heshu to even think of this. It was obvious that he had planned it long ago. He couldn't help but say, "But sir, let's not talk about the mulberry trees. The silkworms are expensive. I'm afraid no villagers will be willing to pay for them."
Yang Heshu nodded. "I've already thought of this. So I'll select some families and give them some silkworm seeds. As long as they make money, I think many people will be willing to buy them next year."
Yang Heshu wanted to give them all away directly, but his father had just warned him, so he had to take a step back.
Zhang Zhubu: ...It is also a trouble that the county magistrate is too rich.
The worried Zhang Zhubu watched Yang Heshu walk away in big strides.
Yang Heshu got on his horse and left with a yamen runner and Wan Tian.
Wantian and the yamen runners were carrying bags on their backs, and it was obvious that they had no plans to return to the county town in the next few days. Zhang Zhubu looked at their disappearing backs with sadness.
There are no bandits in Luojiang County, and a murder case may not occur for three to five years. Most of the cases are thefts, neighborhood conflicts, or violent incidents between villages.
Most of these cases were handed over directly to the county lieutenant. There were only a few cases in ten days that required the county magistrate to appear in court for judgment, so Yang Heshu could leave at will.
The main thing is that Yang Heshu handles official documents very quickly, which is completely different from the previous County Magistrate Fu.
Now everyone in the village knew that Yang Heshu was their county magistrate. When they saw him riding into the village from afar, the children ran to inform the village chief.
Yang Heshu found an open space to sit down and chat with the village chief and the elderly people in the village.
This time, in addition to persuading everyone to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms, he also persuaded everyone to plant winter wheat.
"I think the winter wheat harvest this spring is doing quite well. Many people got through the most difficult period thanks to this wheat crop. I've asked around, and the yields are pretty good," Yang Heshu said. "Both the winter wheat yield and the rice we'll plant later are pretty good."
An old man said, "It's possible, but I'm afraid the soil will be too fertile if we plant it again this season."
Yang Heshu immediately said, "I think Qili Village has a good way of making compost. Why don't we all learn it?"
Yang Heshu was interested when Manbao first mentioned the fertility of the soil. He knew that their village had a method of making compost that was better and faster than the ones outside, so he wrote it down.
Several days passed before Yang Heshu finally arrived at Qili Village after wandering around outside.
Although Yang Heshu was willing to endure hardships, he would not make things difficult for himself. Therefore, as soon as he arrived in Qili Village, he went to visit the Bai family with a smile.
After taking a bath and having a meal at the Bai family's, Yang Heshu sat down in the Bai family's pavilion feeling refreshed, holding a bowl of tea and chatting comfortably with Mr. Bai.
"Where are Bai Shan and the others?"
Mr. Bai smiled and said, "They are in school. When they finish school, I will have the servants bring them to meet you, my Lord."
Yang Heshu nodded and asked with a smile, "Does Mr. Bai still want to plant winter wheat this year?"
Mr. Bai raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I have some plans."
He wanted to try the new wheat seeds. After all, he had missed both harvests this year. He wanted to see if the wheat he grew could be as good as that grown by his three children.
Yang Heshu was surprised and asked, "Does anyone in that village grow winter wheat?"
Mr. Bai thought for a moment and then said, "I've occasionally heard the servants mention it, and a few households have decided to plant it."
(End of this chapter)
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