Chapter 98: Build Roads First if You Want to Be Rich [VIP]
The back hall of the government office.
Yang Jizong stood there with his hands hanging down, listening to Li Menghong's scolding, but his face remained indifferent.
"Are you using me as a club?" He even reduced taxes. How could he have the nerve to confront those bigwigs head-on?
After Li Menghong finished his scolding, Yang Jizong slowly spoke, "Master Li, have you forgotten about Zheng Fu? I've heard he's been hanging out at Hongxiufang these days, and not supervising the quarry."
"How did you know this?" Li Menghong felt his throat was dry. He picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of tea, drinking it down without caring whether it was hot or cold.
"It's not difficult to learn this. All we need to do is bribe a few runners at the quarry. Your Excellency can start with Zheng Fu and have him reduce taxes for the tenant farmers in Xiahe Village, requiring only one laborer per household. If we tax them at three shi of grain, nine out of ten houses in the village would be empty."
Li Menghong raised his eyebrows slightly: "Don't you have a grudge against him? Will he agree to this?"
Yang Jizong's mouth curled up slightly, it seemed that Li Menghong knew a lot of information.
Neither of them spoke for a while. Li Menghong played with the teacup: Don't treat each other as a fool.
"If you help him return to Beijing by the end of the year, he will certainly agree. As long as we open the first avenue for tax reduction, it will be easy to do it later. You can be considered to have made a great contribution."
Li Menghong thought about it and felt that this method was feasible, but he believed that he was not a shameless person.
"What's the big deal? I know it's not easy for the tenant farmers, but it's not easy for me either. These days, in order to raise money, I don't know how much I drank and how many merchants I entertained. I even got sick." There was a hint of grievance in Li Menghong's words.
"The heaven and earth can bear witness to your devotion to the people!" Yang Jizong bowed to the heavens and moved sideways to avoid Li Menghong's spit.
Li Menghong couldn't continue to make trouble, so he coughed lightly and said, "Then I'll give it a try. But if we help him return to the capital, who will build the city wall? With so few people, I'm afraid the project won't be completed by the end of the year."
"Aren't there still a group of prisoners in the exile camp? They'll be enough."
Upon hearing this, Li Menghong's eyes lit up instantly, and he raised his hand and patted Yang Jizong's shoulder: "Okay, I'll take care of this matter. You guys go back first. Tomorrow I'll send people to inspect the damage in each village."
"Then I'll leave it to you, sir." Yang Jizong turned around and left, but before he had taken two steps, he heard someone chasing him.
"Is there anything else, sir?"
"Well, next time, you and your wife shouldn't bring so many people to the government office. If you have any questions, just write a letter, or we can discuss it privately." If he brought the matter to court, where would his dignity be? Where would his authority be?
"Yes, sir."
When the two men came out from the back hall one after the other, Chen Yao immediately went to greet them. Without her asking, she knew from Yang Jizong's expression that the matter was settled.
But the process still had to be followed again. Li Menghong roughly recounted the decision he had discussed with Yang Jizong to the tenant farmers kneeling below.
We can reduce or exempt your taxes. If the tenant farmers can pay the tax offset, they can pay it. If they cannot pay, they will still have to provide people for military service.
Especially for Xiahe Village, the tax of three stone of grain is too heavy. If it is really collected at this rate, I am afraid that families will be broken up and Xiahe Village will become a deserted village. So he will communicate with Lord Zheng at that time to see if the taxes for Xiahe Village can be reduced.
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!" Everyone kowtowed in gratitude.
Shitou and Luodunzi's children looked miserable: "Sir, what about us?"
"You kids are so talented. Why do you have to come to the city to be servants? Studying hard is the right thing to do."
"But..." Luo Dunzi pouted and was about to cry.
Li Menghong tightened his official uniform and said sternly, "When one day you pass the imperial examination and become officials, you won't have to pay taxes and you'll receive food and a salary. Isn't that better than being a clerk?"
The atmosphere was so tense that the old official stepped forward to appease his master: "Children, go back and study hard with your teacher. No matter how strong the wind and rain are, there are adults in front to shield you!"
Li Menghong stood straight, determined to set a good example for the children.
Nowadays, Li Menghong not only wants to do good things, but also wants to have a good reputation.
As soon as the villagers left the government office, Li Menghong asked the old official to get the list of investors.
"Go and erect a stone tablet at the city gate according to this list. As for the order, arrange them according to the amount of silver they paid. The tablet should be large, leaving more space at the bottom."
"Yes, sir." The old official understood his thoughts and put the roster into his sleeve. "Then who should we send to investigate this disaster?"
Li Menghong pursed his lips and glanced at the old official: "Do you have anyone to recommend?"
This is a tough job, and there are many complicated and miscellaneous tasks involved. If you don't do it well, you will not only be scolded by the people, but you will also lose your official job. But if you do it well, you can also be promoted.
"I think it would be better to let Liu Chuang take charge of this matter. He is upright and conscientious. Most importantly, he has good relations with tenant farmers like Madam Shen and understands their needs. What do you think, sir?"
"Then leave it to him. Send more people to the government office. We can't be careless about this disaster."
"Yes, I'll do it right away."
When Liu Xiang came on duty, he was quite surprised.
Because he had reported the matter of the deserted village in Wanhe Township to the adults before, but the adults were dismissive. Why did they take it so seriously this time?
"Liu Chuang, if you do this job well, the squad leader will repeatedly instruct the other yamen runners, 'Pick a few brothers to complete this task. Hope...'"
"I will definitely do my job well." Liu Chuang didn't care about the jealous and envious looks from his colleagues. He called a few brothers he was on good terms with, went to the stable to get horses, and went home to explain to them. Then he prepared to inspect each village one by one.
Horse hooves splashed on the muddy road. Liu Chuang and his brothers braved the wind and rain to carry out their work. Their first stop was the village nearest to Qingfeng Town, where they went door to door to inquire about the losses in their homes and crops.
After inspecting and registering the first village, the officers rushed to the next village.
It took one day, two days, three days, until the fifth day when we arrived at Xiahe Village.
At this time, the sky has cleared up.
The officers led their horses onto the stone bridge and could not help but be amazed at the muddy river water that was about to spread to the embankment, and the thatched houses in the distance that were flattened by the heavy rain.
They have witnessed disasters of varying degrees in recent days, but Xiahe Village is the worst hit.
Except for the half-built green brick and tile house of Chen Yao's family, the village head's house and the rabbit house which were still intact, the rest of the thatched houses were only left with a piece of land, and even the beams had been washed away by the rain.
As soon as Liu Chuang and his companions entered the village, they saw that the villagers were all clearing canals in the fields. Although more than half of the wheat in the fields was destroyed, the surviving ones were more vibrant, and clusters of wheat ears were sprouting in the desperate situation.
"Sister, brother-in-law, Constable Liu has come to our village, please come back soon." Huang Dongsheng was originally a fellow villager cleaning the filth in the well water in the drying yard.
When Liu Chuang greeted him, he was startled and immediately ran to the field to call his cousin home.
"Ayao, Zi'an, you two should go back quickly. Leave this to us."
Yang Jizong first climbed onto the ridge of the field, and then pulled Chen Yao out of the mud. Since the continuous heavy rains, everyone has been working barefoot in the mud every day.
"Mrs. Shen, we are here to register the disaster. Is it your village?" The officer stood in front of the destroyed Shen family school and took out a thick booklet to ask.
Zhang Chunya and Zhang Chunwang, brother and sister, were very considerate and brought him a table and chair so that he could sit down and write.
"Officer Liu, you have seen that everyone's houses are gone, and there are only a few grains left in the fields. If it weren't for the folks in Shanghe Village taking us in these days, I'm afraid everyone in our village would have been washed into the Yan River to feed the fish." Chen Yao wrung her wet sleeves, and her clothes were stained with mud and water and were sticky from the sun.
Liu Chuang and others listened to the sound of water hitting the mud, as if it was hitting them in the face.
Yang Jizong used his sleeves to wipe the mud off Chen Yao's legs, helped her put down her trouser legs, put on her straw sandals, and then stood up.
"Officer Liu, Lord Li has asked you to inspect each village. He will certainly help everyone rebuild their homes. Here is the layout of the houses we plan to build in Xiahe Village. Please pass it to Lord Li."
Liu Chuang took the blueprint from Yang Jizong and took a look. They all required the use of stones and wooden boards, which meant they would need the adults' approval to excavate the mountain and cut the stones. "I will pass the blueprint to the adults."
"I have one more message that I need you, Eunuch Liu, to convey to Lord Li." Chen Yao took a step forward, resting her hands on the table, looking imposing.
"Mrs. Shen, just speak frankly."
"If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. I'm sure you officials have all experienced this as you've been riding horses through various villages these days. As soon as it rains, it becomes very difficult to travel between villages. I hope Lord Li can repair the roads leading into the city from all the villages." Chen Yao bowed to the yamen runners.
Liu Chuang paused holding the pen, his face full of admiration: "Mrs. Shen's words are timely. I will definitely pass on this message."
"Excuse me, are you guys going to Wanhe Township next?"
"yes."
"My father is also in Wanhe Township. Please give him a message, telling him that everyone in our village is safe and let him stay in Wanhe Township to work with peace of mind." Chen Yao bowed to Liu Chuang to express her gratitude.
When several officers rode away on horseback, there was an extra package on Liu Chuang's horse.
Liu Chuang's colleagues couldn't help but be curious and walked alongside him, holding the reins: "Brother Liu, I know Yang Jizong was a big shot in the past, but this Shen Niang is more like a village chief than the village chief. Everyone in the village listens to her, and she even gave us steamed buns."
They don't receive such treatment in other villages.
"Do you think this steamed bun is easy to get?" People are reluctant to give when receiving favors from others. The task that Chen Yao wants him to do is harder than climbing to the sky. Building a road will cost a lot of money.
Would their Lord Li be willing to pay for road construction?
Liu Chuang had no idea that their Lord Li was no longer the Lord Li of the past.
When Liu Chuang and his companions returned to the government office after completing registration in Wanhe Township, they mentioned the situation of each village.
Without hesitation, Li Menghong agreed to allow each village to excavate mountains and chisel stones to rebuild their homes. If there was a village that did not know how to build houses, he would let Liu Chuang lead the bricklayers to help.
"If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Madam Shen is really a wonderful person. We must build this road." Li Menghong immediately clapped his hands and decided that the money raised should be used in the right way.
By the end of the year he will be able to add another political achievement.
After Liu Chuang and the others left, the old official immediately stepped forward and fanned them: "Sir, after the storm comes the rainbow. So when are we going to see Zheng Fu?"
"No hurry, let him have some fun for now. It's still a long way to go before the autumn harvest. I asked you to do something and have the city guards keep a closer eye on you."
"Don't worry, sir. As long as Xue Tu and the other two return to the city, we can capture them immediately. We will never give them the chance to inform Zheng Fu!" The old official whispered in Li Menghong's ear.
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