Chapter 706: Adding Firewood to Trap People
The newly appointed Jiedushi, the provincial governor and the county magistrate of Tang used both soft and hard tactics to get the refugees to come back, and asked each family to give up a lot of land to accommodate the refugees.
But compared with Luojiang County, the fields they spit out are like squeezing out all the goat's milk. You have to pause for a long time and then squeeze hard to get a drop out.
This time, the lawsuit between the Ji and Ying families was an accident. It was so unexpected that when County Magistrate Tang squeezed out a large bowl of goat's milk, not only County Magistrate Tang, but also the Jiedushi and the Inspector were stunned.
The two of them have been as quiet as chickens these past few days, silently bearing the pressure from all sides for him.
Each family obtained land, but what’s the use of having land alone?
Without people, no matter how much land you have, you cannot turn it into food or silver.
County Magistrate Tang, who occasionally went to the countryside to encourage people to engage in farming, had seen how the tenant farmers and servants of the big families farmed. Because there were few people and a lot of land, except for the particularly good fields that were carefully cultivated, the rest of the land was just dug a hole and thrown in the seeds, and most of it was even left abandoned.
The masters were not in a hurry. They would buy or hire people to farm, but only in small numbers.
County Magistrate Tang knew what they were waiting for.
When winter came and the weather turned cold, there was less work and fewer kind people willing to donate money and food. Thousands or even tens of thousands of refugees inside and outside Yizhou City were left homeless and without rice to eat. What should they do?
At this time, all you need is a bowl of rice and a quiet whisper, and all these people can become hidden households.
Hidden households cannot be called human beings at all, because they have no registration books and are worse than refugees. They are complete black households.
Therefore, they can pay wages and collect rent according to their mood, without having to pay the Ding tax for them.
Do you think it's so easy to be a servant?
Slaves were taxed by their masters.
There is a limit on the rent that can be collected from tenants. Although the government will not investigate unless the people sue you, if word gets out that your family collects 60% to 70% of the rent and only gives 30% to 40% to the tenants, you will definitely be known as a mean person.
As a member of a wealthy family, who doesn’t cherish his reputation?
It’s different for hidden households, they are not human beings!
County Magistrate Tang, who was also born into a prominent family, might not have known about these things before, but he had been the county magistrate for more than two years. Not to mention the cases he had tried, just the refugees he had to deal with every year and the mixed news of truth and falsehood he had heard, plus his father's reminder, it was hard for him not to know.
He has no control over other places, but as Yang Heshu said, he should do his job. Since he is the official of Huayang County, he has to manage his own business well.
If these thousands or even tens of thousands of people became hidden households, thinking about the loss of interests that the court and the people would suffer, County Magistrate Tang wanted to hit himself on the head with the official seal.
This time, County Magistrate Tang suddenly acquired so much "wasteland" and generously spent so much money to organize free medical consultations. It seemed that he was about to win the hearts of the people, and everyone became restless.
Their lands may be left idle for two to three years, or even four to five years. But if they really can't find anyone to return to the area, and they leave it idle for seven to eight years, then it will truly become a wasteland.
So each family started to take action, either by paying money to buy people or by luring them into becoming hidden households. Anyway, they just had to get the people first.
Although County Magistrate Tang had chosen to turn a blind eye, it didn't mean he would allow them to run rampant. He thought for a moment and said, "In the next few days, we'll have more people patrolling the area. If any refugees disappear without a trace, we'll investigate them thoroughly and warn them not to overreach."
"yes."
The lawyer paused and continued, "By the way, sir, I also heard a rumor today that some refugees who had obtained their registration books but had not been allocated land were planning to go to Luojiang County in groups after the free medical consultation. They said that Magistrate Yang of Luojiang County would allocate land to them."
County Magistrate Tang was stunned and asked, "Yang Heshu is trying to rob me?"
Although the master didn't say anything, he knew that his lord and the man from Luojiang County were not only classmates, but also grew up together and had a close friendship. They even chose a nearby county to take up their post.
Therefore, he should not get involved in this kind of contradiction.
County Magistrate Tang was shocked for a moment, then shook his head and said, "That's not right. Even if he wanted to rob someone, he wouldn't dare to do it so blatantly, right? Did you ask where this rumor came from?"
"That's not the case," the lawyer said. "The news was only heard occasionally by the people below. As you know, these refugees are accustomed to hiding from people."
County Magistrate Tang stroked his chin in thought. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "Yang Heshu is very shrewd. The situation in Yizhou City is so chaotic right now, he won't get involved. Could it be that someone is trying to alienate us?"
"Then, sir, do you want me to send someone to dispel the rumors?"
County Magistrate Tang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, let them spread the word. It wouldn't be bad if they really went to Luojiang County. It's better than being a hidden householder for those families. Oh, and by the way, send people to spread this news everywhere, and focus on praising County Magistrate Yang's kindness. It would be a shame not to praise such a good county magistrate."
Not to mention the legal advisor, even the attendants beside him shed tears of sympathy for County Magistrate Yang who was far away in Luojiang County.
The more Magistrate Tang thought about it, the better he thought this was. He pushed his cup aside and said, "I'm full. Bring me some writing materials. I'll write a letter to Yang Heshu to let him know."
It was said to be a communication, but in fact it was just a follow-up scolding. No matter whether he did it or not, he wanted to make it look like Yang Heshu did it.
After the incident, he couldn't blame himself because he was also plotted against.
Manbao, who had no idea that he had become the source of the scam against County Magistrate Yang, sent an inquiry email to Teacher Mo, then exited the system, rolled around in his quilt, and fell asleep happily.
The next day, Manbao arrived at the wilderness a little later than usual, and happened to arrive with Doctor Ji and others.
At this time, there were not many people queuing up to see a doctor in the wild. There were only about ten or twenty people in front of a medical tent. At a glance, most of them had seen the doctor before and seemed to be here for a follow-up visit.
As a result, the doctors all felt particularly refreshed, and had the leisure to greet each other with a bow, and then happily went to their own medical tents to see patients.
Doctor Ji walked with Manbao. He glanced at the patients queuing in front of her medical tent, which was larger than theirs. He smiled and nodded slightly, praising her, "Not bad. Several senior doctors have taken time to review your prescriptions over the past two days. They're very good."
Manbao narrowed his eyes and smiled, and asked, "Did you show them the pulse diagnosis I wrote?"
Doctor Ji nodded slightly. "This time, other pharmacies only have one or two doctors, but we at Jishiditang have three. Furthermore, you're specifically treating young female patients, so they're bound to have concerns. Showing them your pulse diagnosis will just dispel their worries."
Manbao's pulse records have already filled up a whole book, so she sent her pulse records to Doctor Ji yesterday and asked him to check and fill in the gaps when he has time.
Now that he received praise from him and other doctors, Manbao was particularly happy, happier than eating honey.
The next update will be around 9pm
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
