36. Chapter 36
"none"
Qi You and his party arrived in Shunyi near dusk. When they were about a mile away from Zhuangzi and were about to turn off the official road, the carriage stopped.
The driver, Degao, rushed to the door and said nervously, "Sir, the road is blocked."
"I know. We're all acquaintances. Don't worry." Qi You turned his head from the carriage window, smiled, and stood up and walked to the door. De Gao quickly stepped aside and protected him as he jumped out of the carriage.
Lin Yicheng howled, picked up the hem of his patched robe, and ran towards Qi You. He ran so fast and so fast that he lost one of his shoes.
Master Xia, who was one step behind, ran after him, holding up the hem of his long gown. He didn't have time to care about Lin Yicheng's shoes. Like a young swallow flying into the forest, he stepped on his shoes and ran towards Qi You.
Qi You smiled as he looked at Lin Yicheng, who had an unshaven beard, dry and chapped lips, a wrinkled and stained patched robe, and elbows that were rubbed shiny.
Looking at Master Xia, who was usually much more steady, he now had two dark circles under his eyes, bags under his eyes almost reaching his chin, his left eye was red and bloodshot, and there was a big bump at the corner of his mouth.
Alas, Qi You sighed and glanced at them with disdain. He only had these two useless helpers.
Lin Yicheng bowed his hands to the ground and howled, "Seventh Master, you're finally back!"
Master Xia followed suit and bowed, his voice trembling with excitement as he said, "Seventh Master, you're finally back! I've been waiting so long for you!"
De Gao was clever enough to pick up Lin Yicheng's shoes and bring them back. He grabbed them, hopped on one foot, and put them on. As he was hopping, he lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Ouch!" Lin Yicheng cried out, supporting himself on the ground with his hands, sticking out his butt and crawling up in a hurry. His hands were covered with mud, and he just wiped it on his body.
Alas! Qi You's eyes were sore and he sighed again.
He had sent them the message long ago, fearing that they would worry, but they were still so impatient.
Lin Yicheng sniffed, turned around suddenly, and the wind he brought rushed directly towards Qi You. Suddenly, a sour and refreshing feeling made him hold his breath subconsciously.
"Seventh Master, look, they're all here, waiting for you." Lin Yicheng pointed at the ragged group of bondservants in front of him and yelled at the top of his voice, "Seventh Master is back. I told you I wasn't lying. Seventh Master is as good as a spit. He's a man of his words. He's back! I'm coming back! I'll save you to the end!"
Qi You looked at Lin Daniu, Zhang Bai and the others, who were running towards him with tears in their eyes. They knelt on the ground a few steps away.
As if sending him off, crying silently.
Qi You's eyes were sore. He took out a bamboo whistle and blew it hard. The whistle sounded crisp.
The bondservants kneeling on the ground looked up at him. Qi You took a deep breath, and his eyes swept over the familiar and unfamiliar faces one by one. He smiled and said loudly: "Hurry up and get up, I'm back."
Someone cheered first, and then a series of roars and roars echoed through the sky, echoing the previous whistle and startling the birds in the nearby woods into fluttering and taking flight.
Lin Yicheng was shocked, "Ah!" He was so anxious that he tried to stop it with his hands, but was held back by Qi You.
"Let them vent." Qi You smiled and looked at Lin Yicheng, saying sincerely, "Why don't you yell with them? I see you're almost exhausted. You've been working really hard lately."
Lin Yicheng chuckled twice, thinking about how he'd been running around trying to keep these bondservants from revolting. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth drooped, and he sobbed like a loser.
Master Xia was better than Lin Yicheng. He wiped away his tears, smiled and wanted to say something.
I heard the people around me shouting until their voices were hoarse, and roaring like crying blood. The words were choked in my throat and I couldn't sob.
Qi You smiled, tears filling his eyelashes.
The people of this land, no matter what the situation, are always resilient and courageous. Even if their backs are temporarily bent, their backbones are never truly broken.
Qi You turned his head and glanced at Zhang Cheng who was standing there in a daze; then there was the treasurer of the Imperial Household Department's stolen goods and fines treasury who came to raid Dachun's house and count the property; and Ni Man who looked horrified.
After a while, Qi You raised his hand and blew the bamboo whistle vigorously. After the rapid whistle, the voices of the bondservants quickly stopped, and they looked towards him with excitement on their faces.
Qi You pressed his hand down, asking them to calm down. Pointing at Dachun, who was huddled aside and trying to sneak away, he said coldly, "Catch him first, tie him up and throw him aside. We have more important things to do. Don't bother with him. It's not worth it."
Lin Daniu's eyes were filled with hatred, and he reacted quickly, rushing towards Dachun first. True to his name, he was as ferocious and mad as a calf, throwing Dachun to the ground and ripping off his gorgeous belt.
Dachun twisted and struggled like a maggot. Lin Daniu raised his fist and hit him in the face, making him howl like a ghost. His nose felt hot and blood flowed out.
The guards who came with him saw that the situation was not right and tried to escape, but were pounced on and bitten and beaten by the surging bondservants.
After a while, Dachun and his men were tied up and piled up in a ball with bruised faces and noses.
Dachun knelt there, spitting out blood foam from his mouth. Seeing Niman standing behind Qiyou, wearing a seventh-rank patch, he cried unwillingly, "Seventh Master, what crime have I committed? Even if you want me to die, you must let me die clearly. I am the emperor's servant, and in front of the emperor's envoy, you beat me and kill me at will. Seventh Master, you don't take the emperor seriously!"
Qi You smiled faintly and said, "The Royal Manor is mine."
Dachun was like a deflated ball, his face was ashen, and he collapsed there.
The imperial farm was given to Qi You, and all the bondservants and servants on the farm were also under Qi You's name.
Qi You once taught him a sentence: "We are of the same root, why are you so eager to harm each other?" He didn't understand it, and later asked a scholar about it, and felt deeply disdainful.
Now that Qi You has become his master, dealing with him is just a matter of a word.
Qi You didn’t know what Dachun was thinking, and he didn’t have time to care about what he was thinking.
Lynching is not advisable, but he must pay for the blood debt of so many bondservants.
The road to acting in accordance with the law is still long. The prerequisite is that the laws are reasonable and the rule of law is sound and complete.
Qi You said to Ni Man, "The rest of the work is now up to you. Rest for a night and start tomorrow. Magistrate Lin, please send a clerk who handles finances to help. De Gao, you can also go and help."
Ni Man had never seen such a grand scene before, and it took him a while to come back to his senses. After hearing Qi You's arrangement, he was obviously stunned and quickly agreed.
Qi You just nodded and smiled without saying anything more.
Confiscating property and engaging in wars have always been good opportunities to make a fortune. Confiscating property, in particular, is a lucrative and lucrative job that everyone is vying for.
Generally speaking, no matter how selfless Qi You is, he should leave some benefits for Ni Man. As the saying goes, "Little devils are difficult to deal with, so leaving some money for the way will make things easier in the future."
Qi You was unwilling to do so, as he did not like the customary practice of accepting benefits.
No one dared to speak openly about accepting bribes. But since everyone seemed to be doing it, and it became an unspoken rule, it became legal and legitimate, and people felt comfortable accepting it.
Now Qi You can't control others, so he must eradicate this bad habit.
Therefore, Qi You sent three parties to supervise. Degao was his own man, so he would not dare to let him go even if he had a hundred guts.
As for the clerk, a cold light flashed in Qi You's eyes.
Officials and clerks are often used together, but there is a big difference between them. Officials usually study and take exams to become officials, and can be promoted or transferred.
Li, on the other hand, was like a runner, doing errands like clerical work in the government office. Their salary was very low, and they were usually well-known local people who had read and had some knowledge of writing.
Most of these jobs were passed down from father to son, and from family to family. Although they were just clerks, over time they formed a huge force.
If officials engage in corruption during their term of office, it is a one-time deal. However, they can continue to engage in corruption for a long time, gradually eating away at the foundation of the country.
Qi You was not yet able to deal with them. To completely eliminate this group of parasites, he had to completely reform the civil service. He couldn't do that yet, but he wanted to take the opportunity to take a closer look at the clerks.
The guards who came with Qi You, together with Ni Man and others, took Dachun and others away.
The bondservants in the imperial farm could not hide their excitement, while the bondservants in other farms looked at Qi You with trepidation and expectation.
Qi You smiled at them and said loudly, "Starting tomorrow, I will work with County Magistrate Lin and Mr. Xia to help the manor owners sign the land lease contract with you."
The bondservants were all stunned. Qi You explained, "To put it simply, the land will be rented to you for cultivation, and you will pay rent like tenants. The more grain is harvested, the more you will receive. As long as you are diligent and have hands and feet, you will not starve to death."
After the bondservants understood what was said, they were so happy that they cried and shouted at the same time.
Qi You quickly raised his hand to stop him, laughing loudly, "I haven't finished yet. You also have the opportunity to make a name for yourself. For example, if you fight for your country, study for an exam, or have the ability to grow high-yield crops and present them as a reward, you can then be exempted from the nationality."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings fell into deathly silence.
Then, loud shouts and roars arose, even louder than before.
Qi You smiled and shook his head, took a deep breath, and felt a little happy for himself.
All the hard work these days has not been in vain, although I am a little tired and have achieved some small results.
But things were finally looking up, and their joy was enough to keep him going for a long time.
Seeing that it was getting late, Qi You said to Lin Yicheng and Master Xia who were staying there, "Come on, don't be silly here, come back with me, there are still many things to do."
As night fell, Qi You sat in the front of the carriage, listening to the laughter behind him and admiring the sunset in front of him.
After the night, the sun will rise again.
After returning to Zhuangzi, Qi You still lived in the original courtyard and went to wash up first.
Unable to bear the sight of Magistrate Lin and Advisor Xia, he asked them to wash their faces, tidy up, and sit down to have tea and discuss the details.
Qi You took out a pre-arranged charter and gave it to Magistrate Lin and Advisor Xia. He said, "In two days, when the owners and managers of the manors arrive in Shunyi, I will host a banquet and invite them to join me. Take a look at it first and familiarize yourself with the key points, such as the rent percentage, the lease term, who will provide the farm tools, oxen, and seeds, and how the rent will be adjusted. Any issues involving data must be fully explained."
The two of them looked at the three big words "Process Chart" written on the paper, read them one by one, and immediately understood what Qi You wanted them to do. They didn't need to rely on themselves to figure it out.
Lin Yicheng was extremely excited, waving his arms and saying, "If you plan the steps before doing anything in the future and identify the key points, and then check after completing each task to see if there are any omissions, you won't make any mistakes."
Master Xia agreed, and Qi You smiled and said, "This time I helped to make a template. You will have to do it yourself in the future. You can use it as a reference, but you can't copy it mechanically. You have to make changes based on the actual situation. And you have to make predictions for possible accidents."
He frowned slightly and said, "For example, regarding the recent changes in the farms, you shouldn't just focus on the Manchus' farms. You should also pay attention to the reactions of other Han landlords. Because Manchus don't collect taxes, the rent paid by bondservants is lower than that of Han people. The problem is not so much disparity, but also the lack of distribution. Watch out for other landlords who might be encouraging their tenants to cause unrest."
Lin Yicheng was puzzled and said, "The landlords charge high rents, and they benefit from it. If they cause trouble, wouldn't they be shooting themselves in the foot?"
Master Xia fell into deep thought. Qi You glanced at him and pointed out clearly: "First, they also want to enjoy the right not to pay taxes. Second, they use the tenants to cause trouble. If they succeed, they will benefit. If they fail, they will not be the ones to die."
Qi You is not able to help them now, but as long as he is around, he will do his best to improve their situation.
The problems caused by land annexation were serious, especially because the food from the annexation was completely controlled by the rich and powerful. Whenever there was a famine or disaster, it was a good opportunity for the rich to make a fortune.
Even if the imperial court's disaster relief efforts were inadequate, as long as there was a disaster, there would definitely be relief from above, such as tax exemptions and the opening of granaries to release grain.
Kangxi had reduced taxes for the people several times, but the people did not have much land, so the amount of tax they were exempted from was very small.
As for opening the granaries and releasing grain, it goes without saying how much grain the victims received after being deducted and exploited at every level.
Ultimately, we have to go back to the most basic problem: grain production is too low, and people rely on the weather for their livelihood and cannot withstand any risks.
There is only one way to truly increase production across the board and solve the problem of famine, and that is to popularize education and develop productivity through science.
Qi You smiled bitterly. It seemed like everything was trapped in a cycle with no way out.
If you can't even get enough to eat, why bother studying? Even if you do study, you're only thinking about the imperial examinations, and spend all day studying how to write eight-legged essays.
They study to become officials, to be human beings, and to be the people they once hated the most but actually envied the most.
Seeing the nervous expressions of Lin Yicheng and Xia Shiye, Qi You smiled and comforted them, "This is just a reminder to make you think more. This kind of problem won't arise in Shunyi. After all, this place is mainly composed of the Eight Banners' manors. What you need to remember is that it's the saying that scarcity is more worrying than disparity. Winter is coming soon. The bondservants in the imperial manors have newly built houses and have clothes to wear, so they won't starve or freeze in the winter. The situation in other manors may be different. If they start to make trouble, what do you think we should do?"
Lin Yicheng had just breathed a sigh of relief, but upon hearing Qi You's words, his brows furrowed again. He said gloomily, "These people are never satisfied. Master Qi, you have secured such a good future for them. They are no longer enslaved and exploited like before. If they work hard, they will have food to eat. What else can they not be satisfied with? They really don't know how to be grateful."
Master Xia also sighed deeply and said, "People never know how to be content. They are really ungrateful and can never be fed."
Qi You's expression faded a bit, and he said in a deep voice, "There are good people everywhere, and there are bad people everywhere. You can't just look at the benevolence, but you have to look at it from another perspective. Even if they plant the winter wheat right now, they won't have a harvest until around the Dragon Boat Festival next year. During this period, they will still face the dilemma of lack of food and clothing."
Seeing that Qi You's face looked obviously bad, Lin Yicheng and Master Xia were so nervous that they dared not even breathe.
Qi You really disliked this way of doing things emotionally when he seemed to have been wronged. Ordinary people could do that, but Lin Yicheng couldn't.
Because he is an official, an official should see the problems behind them and think of ways to solve them.
"We should think about how to improve things, not just complain. I have an idea, but I can't always come up with the solution. County Magistrate Lin, as the father and mother of the county, don't just care about the people of the banner, just treat Shunyi County as your people. How can you help them solve the problems they face? Go back and think about it carefully at night when everyone is asleep."
Seeing the two people with worried faces, Qi You said patiently: "I'll give you some direction. You must try every possible way and mobilize all your strength. Find what you need. Don't just think about it in your head. List it out bit by bit. Maybe you will find a solution. When we discuss it tomorrow night, you can tell us more and we will analyze it together."
Lin Yicheng and Master Xia looked more relaxed and fell into deep thought.
Qi You interrupted them, "Don't think about it now, there are still things to do. County Magistrate Lin, your county government office has been approved by the Ministry of Works, and the money from the Ministry of Revenue will be taken down soon, so you can start construction. Not only the county government office, but also the road, which will also be funded by the Ministry of Works. The Infantry Governor's Office will organize beggars in the city and refugees from Chunshang to come to build the road. What you need to do is to follow the previous memorial and sort out how many miles of road to build, how wide it should be, whether it requires digging mountains, whether it requires building bridges, what kind of bridges to build, how to build the roadbed, and how much silver per mile it will cost."
When Lin Yicheng heard that the government office could be renovated, he was so happy that he could at least leave a mark in the county annals.
He was now wiser and said immediately, "Don't worry, Master Qi. I will clearly list all the money I have spent, just like your previous memorial. I don't know how to build roads or bridges, so I will seek out a skilled craftsman and ask for his advice."
Qi You nodded. "You learn quickly, which is great. I'll recommend someone to you. Building roads and bridges requires surveying and mapping in the early stages. The two Western gentlemen who came with me can help. Of course, you can also find a master. Let's work together to integrate the knowledge of the Qing Dynasty and the West and put it into practice."
Lin Yicheng and Master Xia looked at each other and said happily at the same time: "What a good relationship!" After all, Lin Yicheng was the boss, so Master Xia quickly shut up and let him speak first.
Lin Yicheng stood up and bowed. "Many of Shunyi's roads have changed. I've been thinking about how to survey and redraw the geomancy map. Master Qi has been very helpful to me."
Qi You waved his hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry about thanking me first. You have to consider the food, shelter, and public security of these beggars and refugees. You all know how the Infantry Governor's Office works. I'm afraid they will arrest any beggars they see and send them here. They have been begging on the streets for a long time and their brains are very flexible. If they become small leaders, they will not bother to eat your coarse flour buns."
Lin Yicheng pondered for a moment, his face darkening as he said, "Now that they're here, how can we just leave them alone?"
Seeing this, Qi You sighed silently and said patiently: "You can't force it. Sigh, you have to think more about it. You have to guard against them fighting and causing trouble. Don't lose the big picture because of small things. If they don't want to, just let them go. There are only a few small leaders. As long as you don't beat or scold them, and let them have a place to live and earn a stable meal, most of them will still work with peace of mind."
Lin Yicheng looked embarrassed and chuckled, "I was just overthinking it. Master Qi is right."
Qi You took a sip of tea, exhaled, and said, "Lin County Magistrate, you can now begin your earlier duty of helping the people of Shunyi County to study and educate them. We have overstated the amount of money we reported for the government office renovation by 30%, and the Ministry of Works has not reduced the amount to the last penny, so the Ministry of Revenue will disburse the full amount. You can use this extra money to build schools and hire teachers."
Lin Yicheng was delighted, but the smile on his face gradually froze.
Building a government office only cost a little over two hundred taels of silver. Even if we only gave 30% of that, it would only be 50 or 60 taels, which was really not enough. He said with a sad face, "Seventh Master, even with 30% of the silver, we can't build a school or hire teachers."
Qi You took out the purse Su Mala gave him, which contained a number of gold ingots, which were worth about one hundred taels in total.
He took it in his hand and cushioned it, saying, "There's still some here. The school needs to be well planned and repaired slowly. The school is for the enlightenment of children in the future, where they can learn various skills and knowledge. It is a long-term project, and this little silver is not enough. However, the teacher can start now."
Lin Yicheng was stunned for a moment and asked, "If there is no school, where do they study?"
Not only was there no school, but they also had to work in the fields during the day, and at night they couldn't even afford to light the lamp oil at home, so how could they study?
The revolutionary martyrs also faced numerous difficulties and found countless successful experiences.
Qi You smiled and said, "Night school, nighttime literacy training."
The author has something to say:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2022-10-06 19:30:24 and 2022-10-07 19:28:18~
Thanks to the little angels who threw the rocket launchers: A Mao 1;
Thanks to the little angel who cast the mine: 13725527 1;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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