allonlinenovel Chapter 828 That's all money from the national treasury!
Chapter 828 That's all money from the national treasury!
"Is this the damn poor Dengzhou Prefecture that Yang the Madman was talking about?"
Li Shanchang led a large group of vice ministers and junior ministers around the small village in front of him for a whole round. Finally, he couldn't help but start cursing: "Does Yang the Madman think he's making a fool of me? Or does he think I'm just a blind and senile old man?"
Good guy.
A small irrigation ditch, about a foot deep and a foot wide, connects rows of small but neat courtyards with blue bricks and tiles. Rows of willow trees are planted in the open space between the ditch and the courtyard walls.
Xin Qiji wrote in "Qing Ping Le: Village Life": "The thatched eaves are low and small, the grass is green by the stream, the Wu dialect sounds sweet and pleasant in my drunken state, whose white-haired old couple are they?"
This village in front of me is quite something. Instead of thatched cottages, I went straight into brick and tile houses. I didn't hear the local Wu dialect, but I could clearly hear the bawdy jokes being told by several women outside a small courtyard.
The key point is that this is just a village, and a small village that is quite far from Laiyang County.
If you hadn't seen the village with your own eyes, and only heard Yang Dianfeng's description, you would have thought it was a desolate, impoverished backwater.
Yes, all the villages in Dengzhou Prefecture were desolate and impoverished places, because Dengzhou Prefecture was so remote that "there were never three sunny days in a row and not three feet of flat land." As a result, the people of Dengzhou Prefecture were all extremely poor. If the imperial court did not exempt the people of Dengzhou Prefecture from taxes, the history books would record the infamy of "excessive taxation and tyranny."
Li Shanchang launched into a passionate tirade, leaving Qian Cun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was standing not far from him, completely stunned.
Qian Cunxian now deeply suspects that the Zhu Emperor may have offended some unclean spirit, or that Yang Dianfeng may possess some kind of sorcery.
Otherwise, why would Emperor Zhu exempt the people of Dengzhou Prefecture from taxes for three years?
Oh, no, not three years.
In the third year of the Hongwu reign, the exemption was granted for three years, and then again for three years this spring. After that, it was granted for another three years, making a total of six years!
Qian Cun unconsciously reached out and covered his chest.
That's all money from the national treasury!
Especially after following Li Shanchang to the north end of the village and seeing a small courtyard with a sign that read "Preparation Warehouse," Qian Cun felt heartbroken!
That damn crazy Yang!
The village in front of us probably has only about a hundred households. It's such a small village, but there's a granary at the east end, a charity granary at the west end, and a reserve granary on each of the four sides!
Do you, Yang Dianfeng, have some misunderstanding about the term "Changpingcang"?
Or perhaps your understanding of the term "reserve warehouse" is inadequate?
First of all, Changpingcang is a county-level warehouse, not something that should exist at the village level.
Secondly, the reserve warehouse is a warehouse at the township level, not something that should be available at the village level!
Can you explain to me how you have the audacity to say that "the people of Dengzhou have no food reserves for three months"?
If every village in Dengzhou Prefecture had six granaries like this small village, and those granaries were indeed full of grain, then even if Dengzhou Prefecture didn't produce a single grain of grain for three years, the beggars in Dengzhou Prefecture shouldn't starve!
Qian Cun was so angry he wanted to curse, but Li Shanchang didn't want to read any further and instead strode towards a small courtyard with an open door.
Li Shanchang knocked twice on the door and then called out loudly, "Is the master home?"
An old man with a cane came out of the courtyard, and Li Shanchang took the lead in bowing and saying, "Greetings, brother."
The old man sized Li Shanchang up and down, then suddenly asked, "From the South? Are you an official?"
Li Shanchang was completely stunned.
It's not surprising that you can tell I have a southern accent, because the Huaiyou accent and the Dengzhou accent are very different and easy to distinguish.
The key point is that this old man with a cane could easily tell that I was an official.
Just as Li Shanchang was pondering this, the old man grinned again and said, "Alright, it's another official from the Censorate, isn't it? Come in and have some water."
The old man paid no attention to Li Shanchang and the group of vice ministers and junior ministers behind him, and instead went back to the courtyard first.
Once inside the house, Li Shanchang immediately took a look around.
Slightly to the west of the entrance, directly opposite the door, is a square table with a grand chair on each side. Behind the table, against the wall, is a long, rectangular tea table. Slightly to the east of the room is a smaller eight-immortal table with a small chair with a backrest on each of its four sides, and two long benches placed between the eight-immortal table and the grand chairs.
Judging from the layout of the house, the place where they were now should be the main room. There was a door on the east and west sides of the room, which should be small doors leading to the bedrooms on both sides.
Well, the house wasn't too big or too small; it didn't seem like the home of a wealthy family who could afford maids and servants.
So, the people of Dengzhou Prefecture, who were "so poor they were practically destitute," could actually afford to live in brick and tile houses?
Just as Li Shanchang was pondering this, the old man invited Li Shanchang and the others to sit down. The old man then personally washed several cups and boiled water on the stove.
Li Shanchang stared intently at the cups placed on the table.
It is said that the glass cups that were sold at exorbitant prices in the Dengzhou market were simply found in an old man's house.
Yes, the quality of these cups isn't very good; they're either irregularly shaped or not very clear.
But even the worst quality glass is still a glass, right?
Li Shanchang was pondering wildly in his mind, but the old man said from a distance by the stove, "This place is called Xiaowangzhuang. It has always been a poor, backwater village. I don't know what you censors are doing here."
So poor they're practically bankrupt...
Now, whenever Li Shanchang hears the phrase "poor to the point of being destitute," he feels uncomfortable and always has an urge to curse.
Damn it, if I had been as "poor as you guys" back then, would I have gone to join Emperor Zhu and risked my life to rebel with him?
wrong.
The old man's claim of being "so poor he'd fall off his backside" is pure nonsense. I almost actually fell off my backside back in the day!
While mentally ranting, Li Shanchang chuckled and said, "Brother, I'm not one of those officials from the Censorate. I'm from the Ministry of Works, here to check on the road repairs in Dengzhou Prefecture."
The old man said "Oh," and then said, "Then take your time and look around. Anyway, the road is right outside."
Li Shanchang was stunned for a moment.
This old man doesn't seem to care much about hospitality.