Chapter 176 Chapter 176 Popular Science History
The abolition of slavery kept low-level government officials busy for a time. However, those slave owners who responded to the policy experienced relatively few disputes or arguments with their former slaves. Many slaves even volunteered to continue working for their former owners, simply signing labor contracts.
As for those who are dissatisfied and unwilling to cooperate, there are many troubles to deal with. It is also a very tiring job for Bai Zhi and the county magistrate to mediate and judge.
Both sides would kneel down and cry at any time, asking the adults to make a decision for them. Bai Zhi and the county magistrate had a headache going to the government office every day.
Although there were some obstacles, it was finally completed in the seventh year of Lin Si's reign.
*
Lian Caoyuan was a slave in a merchant's house on Tongchuan Road.
She was a house-born child whose parents were slaves. Therefore, she started helping her master with work from the moment she was born until she was old enough to walk. Ever since she could remember, Lian Cao knew the difference between slaves and common people.
Slaves' names did not have surnames, like her mother's name was Peilan and her father's name was Jinbao.
Because her parents had worked for the master all their lives and were appreciated by him, the master was kind and betrothed Liancao to a servant with good character and other aspects.
The two continued to repeat the fate of slaves, giving birth to children and raising little slaves.
Although Lian Cao was in the backyard, he knew that the world outside was very different after the new emperor ascended the throne.
She often picked up food for her master's family and ran errands and shopping. Every time she went out, Lian Cao would hear about many new things, such as the construction of schools, the paving of cement roads, student loans, tax reductions, and so on.
Whenever Lian Cao heard this, he could only sigh silently in his heart.
No matter how good the policy was, it had nothing to do with these slaves. They were the private property of their masters and, strictly speaking, were not considered human beings.
She knew that no matter how benevolent the new emperor was, he could not control them, the slaves, and those new worlds did not belong to them.
However, her master was a very kind family, and she consoled herself that living like this for the rest of her life was not bad. If some slaves met a bad master, they would inevitably be beaten and tortured, and would not have enough food or warm clothes.
But after Lian Cao became pregnant, she sometimes couldn't help but ponder. Was it really okay to let her child continue to be a slave after birth? When he knew that the people outside were living so well, would he feel sad and unwilling?
When she thought of this question, Lian Cao didn't dare to think about it any further. Once she thought about it too deeply, she felt that living as a slave was meaningless.
Lian Cao had a strong reaction after she became pregnant and was unable to work. The owner was very considerate and let her rest in the house for two months.
Lian Cao's husband often brought back some new news, such as Da'an was going to hold the first public consultation meeting for the people and elect representatives to participate. The people could put forward their own opinions and promote the amendment of the law.
Lian Cao looked at his stomach and thought to himself, "It's so good to be a commoner. There are so many policies, and I can raise my own issues and have them solved by the court."
Unfortunately, she was not a commoner, but a slave. Those policies could not affect her.
Her husband was a slave, her parents were slaves, and her unborn child was also a slave.
Two months later, Lian Cao's pregnancy symptoms had improved, and she planned to rest for a few more days before going back to work.
Even when Lian Cao was so old that his legs and feet were not very flexible and he had forgotten many things, he still remembered that it was a rainy day.
Lian Cao didn't dare go out, so she sat on a stool at the door, listening to the rain while sewing clothes for the child.
Her master rewarded her with a lot of cotton cloth, but she was reluctant to use it all to buy new clothes for herself and her husband, and planned to use it all to make clothes for her children.
They lived in the servants' quarters of the master's house. A light rain fell, and the road was wet and slippery.
Lian Cao was concentrating on sewing clothes when she heard her husband's urgent voice coming from a distance: "It's terrible! It's terrible! Your Majesty... Your Majesty she——"
Perhaps he was too excited, he couldn't even speak complete sentences, he just kept running.
Lian Cao stood at the door, puzzled, "What's wrong? You're shouting before we even get home."
Lian Cao's husband, barely able to catch his breath, his hair a little messy from the rain, said hurriedly, "His Majesty has decreed the abolition of slavery!"
Lian Cao almost thought he had misheard and didn't know how to start for a moment.
"Seriously? When did you get the news?"
"It was published in this morning's Li County Daily, and the whole place is going crazy!"
Lian Cao almost lost his balance. "Pinch me! Am I really dreaming?"
Lian Cao's husband didn't dare to pinch her, so he slapped himself hard, his face turning red.
But there was no trace of pain in his eyes, only excitement and agitation. "It hurts! It hurts a lot, it really does!"
Lian Cao's tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. She reached out to wipe them away, but the more she wiped, the more tears came.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, how could she abolish slavery... We slaves aren't considered human beings, yet Your Majesty actually considers us..."
Lian Cao's husband also cried. He sniffed and said, "Her Majesty must regard all the people in Da'an as her subjects."
The two cried for a while, and when they calmed down a little, they heard crying sounds one after another from the servants' room.
Everyone was crying and felt like they were dreaming.
After crying, Lian Cao and his wife decided to ask their parents to come over and discuss the specific terms of abolishing slavery.
Lian Cao's parents and in-laws also cried non-stop. After crying, they all hoped that Lian Cao and her husband would make the decision.
Lian Cao said, "Ultimately, this matter still needs to be discussed with my husband and my wife. Let's first figure out how much money we have at home and see if we can pay the ransom in one sitting or use labor to pay it off."
Lian Cao's husband nodded and said, "If you want to continue working for the master, you can stay, but you will have to sign different documents."
Not only Liancao's family, but also the other people in the servants' room began to discuss what to do next after venting their emotions.
Should I stay and continue working, or go out and spend money to get a piece of land to farm?
Some people also said that their own discussions were not counted and it still depended on what the host planned.
Lian Cao sat in the house, gently stroking her belly.
"You are no longer a slave. You are a commoner, a legitimate citizen of Da'an."
＊
In the seventh year of Lin Si's reign, she had completed many decisive and unprecedented reforms.
As the number of graduates gradually increases, the lower-level officials have almost been replaced.
Therefore, Lin Si and Liang Nian shifted their focus to military affairs and the war of public opinion against Xiping.
In the past two years, "Wugengtian" has frequently promoted in Xiping how good and fair Da'an is, and it has achieved initial results. Many Xiping people have become dissatisfied with its regime.
The intelligence investigations previously deployed in Xiping have yielded results. Xiping has been conducting frequent military exercises, especially cavalry training, over the past two years. While Xiping's target may be Nanzhao, Da'an's target is Xiping.
Lin Si had to admit that Da'an's horses were indeed limited. In ancient times, cavalry was indeed enough to crush infantry, but she had □□.
Speaking of weapons, Lin Si deeply felt that this system was a bit unfair - those cannons and rifles had turned gray at some point and could not be exchanged at all.
The system also frequently prompts that "the host's progress is too fast. In order to maintain the development of plane technology, redemption is prohibited."
Lin Si continued to flip through the books in disbelief, and found that all the things related to modern technology were locked, so she could only exchange books and various vegetable and fruit seeds.
But she was not discouraged. The weapons made of □□ alone were enough to defeat Xiping.
In order to warn the people of this, the Li County Monthly News published articles every month describing how Xiping and Nanzhao split from Da'an.
Lin Xun is now a sophomore at the University Hall. The University Hall has been very noisy in the past two months.
Students have a keener sense of smell than ordinary people. When the first article appeared, some people speculated: Now that Da'an is peaceful internally and people's lives are thriving, should we start to solve external problems and recover Xiping and Nanzhao next?
The articles that followed in the second and third months further convinced them of this.
The university students were thrilled, some even calculating the timing, hoping that if war were to break out, it would happen during their junior year. "Once we graduate, there will undoubtedly be numerous job openings in Nanzhao and Xiping. Perhaps we too can ride on the wave of the times, just like those in Li County did!"
Someone also got a map of Nanzhao and Xiping, clearly marking which places had which resources. A group of people studied it when they had nothing to do, and then applied for which position they could make achievements.
The teachers who taught them were even amused by this trend and told them not to make random assumptions, as the Li County Monthly was just publishing popular science and history articles.
Naturally, college students don’t believe this.
"Teacher, you're obviously deceiving us. Why didn't you popularize science before, but at this critical moment?"
"That's right, now that slavery has been abolished, all the policies that needed to be reformed in Da'an have been completed. The next step is definitely to leave."
"Yes, teacher, please don't treat us like elementary school students."
Lin Xun was, of course, aware of Lin Si's plans, but she kept quiet, examining the map with her classmates. As an agronomy student, she was already familiar with the soil structure of Xiping and Nanzhao, whose climate was ideal for growing cotton and rubber.
Lin Xun even thought secretly: I want to grow the best cotton and rubber in Nanzhao and take rubber products to a higher level!
After class, Lin Xun's roommate was imagining the future:
"If unification really happens during our junior year, should I go to Xiping or Nanzhao?"
"Of course I'll go! Do you understand what 'the tide of the times' means? The last time was before His Majesty ascended the throne. Now this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, why not seize it?"
"You make a lot of sense. Are you all going?"
Lin Xun nodded firmly: "I want to go to Nanzhao and grow cotton, rubber, and many tropical fruits in Nanzhao."
"If you all go, I'll go too!"
"You're talking as if there's really going to be a war next year. It's not certain whether we can catch up with this trend."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com