Don't be a prince

The carriage did not drive to the county government office. Under Li Chengqian's instruction, it first went to the village where the refugees were resettled.

The car stopped at the entrance of the village, surrounded by guards, Li Chengqian walked into the village.

The mud houses and thatched houses all look dilapidated, but such buildings are much better than the wooden houses in the mountains.

A large group of government servants, some of them are going door-to-door to count the population and age, and the other part is distributing this year's disaster relief food.

Now it's autumn, and the fields are not productive, so it is necessary for the imperial court to feed the refugees who have come out of the mountains.In the coming year, when they put into production, they will be able to solve their own food problems by themselves.

With a wave of their hands, the two guards pasted a large white paper at the entrance of the village.

Seeing the official announcement, the refugees who had already been counted gathered together.Although illiterate, it didn't bother them to join in the fun.

After reading the contents of the official document, Shen Shishen smiled wryly and said, "Your Highness, are you sure you want to do this? The official suspects that it will stir up a civil uprising."

Li Chengqian waved his hands indifferently, and said after reaching the stool brought by the guards: "Go and read to them, trust Gu, everything will be fine."

Shen Shishen wiped his sweat and walked to the notice.

Seeing the county master, the refugees immediately began to nod and bow.Mobile terminal../

If they were a little worried about being arrested and sent to labor when they first lived here, most of them are now relieved.The attitude of the government seems to be to give them land.

After coughing twice, Shen Shishen said: "Folks, you must have listened to the persuasion of the crown prince before leaving the mountain and entering Lantian County. Here, I will tell you about the situation.

First of all, no matter where you were from before, as long as you have a household registration in Lantian County, you are from Lantian County.As for whether to search for the ancestral land in the future, you decide for yourself.However, if one wanted to leave Lantian County, one had to do so after the atonement was completed.

You must have heard that the prince appeases the refugees. Although he can distribute the land and get the household registration, he has to double the tax.I will now tell you what is written above.That's right, it is to double the taxation, ordinary people need two out of ten taxes, you need four out of ten taxes, and it will last for 20 years! "

Hardened his heart to announce this news, Shen Shishen was ready to be beaten, but when he looked at the reactions of the refugees, he found that they were not angry, but had such expressions as expected.

A young man cupped his hands and asked, "Master County, are you right? Are you sure it's only 20%, only [-] years?"

Shen Shishen was dumbfounded, he thought that the refugees would ask questions, but he didn't expect them to ask this, and he had two "only" faces on his face.

Could it be that even with such a harsh taxation, can they still accept it?

Nodding again, Shen Gentleman said: "That's right, it's 20%, that's [-] years. Although it's harsh, but if you encounter a disaster year, you can be exempted from taxes and offset by hard labor. The Prince's Prince's Church also said that if there is Those who are active in labor and have children can also reduce the number of years, the minimum can be reduced to five years."

Hearing this news, the refugees who were already a little commotion suddenly erupted!

The startled Shen Shigent was surprised to find that they were not angry, but cheering?

What the hell is going on with this mother?

Gentleman Shen knew very well that Dr. Wei was there to appease the refugees, but he provided farmland unconditionally, did not raise taxes, and even promised to fight for the refugees not to pay taxes.

But these idiots still chose the prince's side!

Asking the guards to pull Shen Shishen over, Li Chengqian said with a smile: "I have prepared several copies of the same notice from the Prince's teaching, and the county magistrate of Laoshen has stuck to all the refugee villages."

Looking at the refugees who were dancing and telling each other, Shen Shishen nodded stiffly.

Until now, he hadn't figured out what the problem was.After repeatedly verifying that he was still himself, he couldn't help but doubt the world.Don't these refugees really know how to compare?Could it be that the name of the prince is enough to make the refugees ignore the heavy tax and reject Doctor Wei?

This is impossible!

However, when he took the prince's prince's teachings and walked around the three villages where the refugees were resettled, he was speechless.

Refugees all have the same reaction: see, worry.Hearing that the heavy tax is true, I breathed a sigh of relief.Hearing that as long as he lives in peace, he can reduce the number of years of heavy taxation, he is ecstatic.

Two waves of refugees, same reaction.

What shocked him the most was that after he finished explaining in the third village, the third, fourth, and fifth batches of refugees entered Lantian County under the scolding of the prince himself.

After asking, I learned that they also rejected Wei Zheng's recruitment and chose the prince instead.

why?

The same question also appeared from Wei Zheng's mouth.

Early the next morning, they planned to enter the mountain, only to find that the refugees who had rejected them yesterday chose to leave the mountain today under the scolding of the crown prince.

Although the mouths of these soldiers were stinky, none of them did anything.Judging from the fact that the refugees were unscathed, the crown prince really did not use force.

Yu Tai had met Wei Zheng before, and after recognizing Wei Zheng in the civil service team, Yu Tai came over to salute with his fists clasped.

"Zheng Guogong, you have worked hard."

Pointing to these refugees, Wei Zheng asked: "I ask you, what conditions did the crown prince personally promise to give them? Why did they choose to go out of the mountain now?"

Yu Tai smiled and said: "What is Zheng Gong saying? How can His Highness the Crown Prince break his promise? The condition that the Crown Prince personally promised to the refugees is to go out of the mountains to divide the household registration on the land, but under the premise of twice as heavy atonement. Not at all Change, what kind of bet is it, how we soldiers convey it. As for those soldiers who have a bad mouth, Zheng Gong doesn’t care. Discipline!"

After speaking, Yu Tai clasped his fists, turned and left.

The two thousand princes are leading the charge. Except for one thousand who are still on hunting missions, the other one thousand are now divided into two teams. One team is responsible for escorting the refugees out of the mountain, and the other team is responsible for supporting the refugees outside the mountain and sending them to Lantian County.

1000 people are running between Qinling and Lantian counties, but it is a laborious job.

Although he said his farewell, Yu Tai still left the Sky-Changing Monkey behind, transformed into a guard of the imperial army, and mixed into Wei Zheng's team.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once said that it would be more efficient to let Wei Zheng go there first, and then the Crown Prince would take the lead to appease him.

I don't want to try it today, and it really works. As long as it is the refugee stronghold that Dr. Wei visited yesterday, as long as the crown prince makes contact with him today, he immediately agrees to leave the mountain.But yesterday, they borrowed the relationship of Liu Yang's village and managed to persuade the refugees from the second camp after trying hard.

Watching with his own eyes that the crown prince approached a refugee camp without bloodshed, then announced the conditions, and finally led the refugees to move out of the mountain.

After witnessing the whole process, Wei Zheng, like Shen Shishen, almost suspected that he was dreaming.

Why did these refugees choose the harsh conditions of the prince, but ignored his free conditions?

Could it be that the crown prince's name is louder than that of the royal censor?

fart!

An eight-year-old doll with the name Mao Mao!

Dangerously, he did not swear, Wei Zheng glanced at his listless subordinate behind him, and said angrily: "Let's go, let's go to Lantian County with the refugees, I admit defeat, but we must find out why!"

Following the refugees out of the mountain, Wei Zheng's iron-blue face softened a little when he saw the smiling faces of the resettled refugees.

After finding out that the prince was in the newly resettled refugee village, Wei Zheng was led into the village by two yamen servants after revealing his identity.

There are only two yamen servants standing at the entrance of the village to make up the number. At this point, it is impossible for the refugees to return to the mountains.Although the houses in Lantian County are dilapidated and the land is barren, all these are scenes that they dare not dream of.

In the center of the village, there were government servants distributing food, and Shen Shigente still maintained his own way. Any refugee would only be officially distributed rations and fields after spending the night peacefully.

When Wei Zheng saw the crown prince, he found that the crown prince was also receiving millet rice. The meal that he was already afraid of eating, the prince did not feel disgusted at all, and even happily talked about his future life plans with a few old people.

He was obviously wearing a light yellow robe that represented the identity of the prince, but people who saw the prince now would definitely not associate him with the words "pampered and respected".

The prince who just shared meals and chatted with ordinary people without guards.At this moment, it even made him feel a little dazzling.

Chapter 133 Sun Simiao

After another morning of running, Wei Zheng also felt very hungry, so he simply went to the yamen servant who distributed the food, and asked for a bowl of millet rice.What caught the hair-raising yamen servant off guard was that this high-ranking official, who seemed to have an extraordinary bearing at first sight, forcibly handed him a few copper coins after the meal, saying it was meal money.

A bowl of broomcorn rice and a spoonful of broth are just enough, so you don’t need so many copper coins!

Li Chengqian had seen Wei Zheng's arrival a long time ago. Although this one deliberately put on a shabby official uniform in order to mingle with the refugees, the goldfish bag hanging around his waist betrayed his identity.I don't know what's going on with this one. He didn't know how to leave all his things at home, so he went to Qinling.

Crouching next to the crown prince, Wei Zheng thought for a long time before he said, "Your Highness, I have now surrendered this bet."

After saying this, Wei Zheng began to eat.

A large bowl of broomcorn rice, poured with broth, looks pretty good, but only those who eat it know how disgusting it is.

If another official came over, he might not be able to eat this meal, but when it was Wei Zheng's turn, this guy ate with great relish.He even had the leisure to chat with the refugees around him.

The refugees who came out of the mountains were all anxious at first, but after they really settled down, their expressions of being satisfied with the status quo were themselves a kind of tranquility.

After all, man has evolved from the ranks of beasts. Since the formation of the primitive herd society, small groups are destined to move closer to large groups.

On the premise of disregarding weapons, only humans can live in groups and gain the ability to dominate the world.

It can be seen from the conversation that the refugees yearn for the future life. Now, no one talks about the harsh taxes at all, they just talk about how to renovate the houses. Grass takes a lot of effort.Although it's autumn now, the weather is not too cold. If you plant some cabbage, you may be able to harvest a little bit, saving the long winter without having any green vegetables to eat...

After the meal was over, the conversation ended. The refugees who left the deep mountains and breathed the air of the town were rejuvenated, and they have not been idle since arriving here.The masters of every family are repairing their own houses.They are new arrivals and are now busy leaving their mark on this land.

Everyone left, only Wei Zheng hadn't finished his meal.

Waiting quietly for Wei Zheng to finish his meal, Li Chengqian said: "Doctor Wei, are you too anxious to admit defeat now? This is the second day of the bet. The refugees in the Qinling Mountains don't come in waves. .”

Putting the bowls and chopsticks on the ground, Wei Zheng sighed: "I am not someone who can't afford to lose. From the attitude of the refugees in the past two days, we can see that they have firmly chosen the prince between the two of us. Some people suspect that His Highness will use the crown prince's personal leadership to force the refugees out of the mountains by threats, but now it seems that this is not the case."

Standing up, Wei Zheng flicked the soil on his clothes, and saluted respectfully: "His Royal Highness, can you tell me what is the reason? It is impossible for the refugees not to understand the gap between us. , It may not be able to offset the gap between exorbitant taxes and free fees. The ancients said that there must be a brave man under a heavy reward, but it is clear that the condition offered by the humble minister is free, why no one took the risk?"

Because it was a question, Wei Zheng's ceremony was very solemn, and he bent down as far as possible to reach [-] degrees.

Standing up and helping Wei Zheng up, Li Chengqian said with a smile: "For this reason, we can't talk about it in public. The lonely carriage is nearby, why don't we go inside and talk about it?"

Wei Zheng naturally went happily.

In the carriage, apart from a small coffee table, there were also teapots and cups tightly stuffed with corks.

After pouring two cups of tea, Li Chengqian said: "This issue is very cruel. Even if you are lonely, you don't want to talk about it lightly. Doctor Wei, if you say something wrong next, don't get angry."

Wei Zheng nodded, and it turned out that the tea that the crown prince handed over was ready to listen to the long story.

"If you want to talk about why the refugees choose to bear exorbitant taxes and abandon the free option, you must first talk about the people's views on the government. Doctor Wei, whether you admit it or not, the people have never regarded the government as a patron saint or anything. No matter what the government announces, they are always used to guessing the meaning of the government with the most vicious thoughts, and beware of being deceived anytime and anywhere. This is true for ordinary people, let alone refugees who have suffered from life in the mountains.

When I first came into contact with the refugees, Liu Yang, the head of the camp, said that they knew they were guilty.I am afraid he is not the only one who has this idea, otherwise, why do the refugees who have entered the mountain still not want to come out?It is because they know that they are guilty, and they are afraid that after leaving the mountain, they will live worse than living in the deep mountain.

Although Gu is sympathetic to the suffering of the refugees, and joined Wei Gong Niu Gong and Master Li to submit a memorial, but it is not Gu's original intention to treat the refugees with heavy taxes.No matter how you look at it, I believe that people are servile.Especially ordinary people, who are accustomed to the oppression of the government, gentry, and landlords, would never think that the imperial court would show kindness, provide them with houses and land for free, and give them naturalization for free.

Because of this, Doctor Wei, your conditions are the same as deception in the eyes of the refugees.If you ask them to come out of the mountain under such conditions, they will only think that you are coaxing them, and maybe they will imagine that after they come out of the mountain, they will be arrested and do hard labor.In comparison, the conditions of heavy taxes are easy for them to accept.Twice the tax, although heavy, is not enough to make them unable to live.For 20 years in a row, it made them feel the equivalence, the equivalence between sin and atonement.

And the rule of "reducing the number of years for good performance" is actually the last insurance.Gu has already ordered the magistrate of Lantian County, after all the refugees are out of the mountains and settled down, no matter what method is used, even if someone's children grow taller as an excuse, the punishment of everyone should be reduced to five years as soon as possible Below, until no.

In this way, believe it or not, the refugees can settle down quickly, and after they are familiar with the life of returning to the Tang Dynasty, they will be grateful to the court.Isn't that the so-called popular support? "

After finishing speaking, Li Chengqian picked up his teacup and took a sip.

On the opposite side of the coffee table, Wei Zheng was already dazed.

In any case, he never imagined that this was the reason why the crown prince emphasized the need to increase taxes.Fortunately, because of this, he didn't directly stand up to support the prince.

Yes, only officials from Dali Temple and Yushitai did not stand up to support the court that day.

After a long time, Wei Zheng came out of his guilt, bowed his hands respectfully to the prince, and said, "I didn't expect His Highness's arrangement, so that's the reason. My minister wrongly blamed the prince, and I hope His Highness will forgive you."

Li Chengqian smiled and shook his head. After all, this old stubborn is also for the refugees, and he doesn't mind because of it.

"Doctor Wei, Gu has already met the magistrate of Lantian County. Although this guy is a little suspicious, he treats the refugees very well. I will not interfere with the resettlement of the refugees. Hunting wild animals and defending the fields are on your shoulders, so you will take over the rest of the work. With so many officials at Yushitai, you can’t just leave empty-handed, right?”

Wei Zheng nodded in shame.

He could see that the crown prince really didn't care about his reputation at all.At this time, the crown prince was even directly asked to withdraw in person, leaving a lot of credit to Yushitai.

Li Chengqian was ready to return to Chang'an after the refugee matter was settled.

Although Baiqisi began to "capture" Sun Simiao, the world is still very big, even Baiqisi may only temporarily monitor the main cities.It is really difficult to find a designated person in Datang's territory.Mobile terminal../

After sending Wei Zheng off the car, Li Chengqian patted the floor of the car and asked the groom to go back to another village to have a look.Especially Liu Yang's stockade, no matter how we meet, we have a chance, so let's take a look before leaving.

Unlike the new village that just came out of the mountain, Liu Yang's village is no longer under the supervision of government servants. After distributing daily necessities and food, the government servants rushed to the new village.With limited manpower, they are tired of this imposing country position for the first time.

As soon as you enter the village, you can see villagers mowing grass on both sides of the road.

These villages are all abandoned because no one lives in them, and it takes more than a day or two to restore their popularity.

On the mountain behind the village, you can still vaguely see the villagers working, among them even the old man with a bright head.

Finally able to live a life outside the mountain, the whole village is filled with happiness.

For the whole morning, I am afraid that these guys have been working. This can be seen from the fact that they have just eaten.

Living in the mountains for a long time makes the villagers especially cherish food.

When the government was in charge of the food, they made millet rice for them, but after handing over the grain to them and letting them cook by themselves, they handed over the grain in unanimous agreement, and then ate the big pot of millet porridge together.

Although he started a new life, some habits in the village still haven't disappeared.

Like in Qinling, Li Chengqian brought half a carload of steamed buns as gifts.

Seeing the appearance of the crown prince, Liu Yang was overjoyed, and led the villagers to put down their rice bowls and knelt down to welcome His Highness the crown prince.From the mouths of the yamen servants, I learned that they were able to obtain fields, houses, and citizenship because of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

But when Liu Yang raised his head and recognized the prince's appearance, he was shocked and speechless, and pointed at Li Chengqian in a particularly impolite way: "You...you..."

Li Chengqian laughed loudly, and stretched out his hand to support Liu Yang: "Old man, the leader of the team at that time was not Niu Jinda or General Niu, but Gu. If he hadn't entered your village in person and knew the hardships of your life, how could Gu go to play father?" Your Majesty, please appease your refugees."

Liu Yang burst into tears. He never thought in his life that he could be treated like this by such a noble person as the prince.It is estimated that this matter is enough for him to spend the rest of his life in embarrassment.

He waved his hand and asked the guards to hand out the buns.This was originally the dry food that the crown prince personally led, but seeing that there were still some left after distribution, Li Chengqian simply brought them and gave them to these refugees.