The Ordinary Man's Guide to Fast Travel

After Chao Yao received the message from Liu Fufeng, he immediately arranged for an embroiderer to make clothes and shoes for the four yamen runners.

They brought a lot of people from Yao County. When Liu Fufeng passed the imperial examination, the Liu family had already mobilized the entire clan to train talents for him, including many of the Liu family's peers.

Men are responsible for external affairs. For example, Liu Fufeng arranged for the person in charge of the registration points in each town, and these people needed to be handed over to his own people at the beginning.

Women are in charge of the household, such as embroiderers, housemaids, maids with various skills, etc., who are responsible for the affairs in the backyard.

Receiving guests, hosting banquets, weddings and funerals, etc., everything is handled by women.

When Liu Fufeng was talking with Chao Yao at night, Chao Yao also asked about her doubts.

"Isn't it too hasty for you to make such drastic reforms right after you took office?"

Liu Fufeng held Chao Yao in his arms and slowly explained to her.

"The reason why there has been no second scholar in Yao County for a long time is, firstly, the long-term suppression by the Ge County Magistrate's family, which prevented talented people from continuing to take the exam. Another reason is that the long-term hereditary position made it impossible for ordinary people to see the possibility of changing their destiny through studying, so they simply gave up studying and learning to read."

Chao Yao understood immediately, "So there are many yamen runners who can't read a single word. Is this the reason?"

"Yes, so they are easily taken advantage of. If something happens later, they will directly step forward on their own. Such people, regardless of their family background or their own abilities, are not worth mentioning. Even if I deal with them, the cost will not be too high."

"Aren't you afraid that they will resort to some hooliganism after being driven away?"

"What are you afraid of? The poor are afraid of the arrogant, the arrogant are afraid of the stupid, and the stupid are afraid of the desperate. In short, the poor are afraid of the unreasonable, the unreasonable are afraid of the stupid, and the stupid are afraid of the desperate. It is precisely because of fear that they will not do anything wrong. And I am the desperate person. If they block my official map, it is not much different from killing me."

"Why?"

"I am responsible for the fate of my family. If I fail, my family will fall. Becoming the magistrate of Yao County is my first step. I can quickly establish my authority with swift and decisive measures. Besides, with my strength, I don't need to fight them desperately. I only need to use a little trick and they will have no chance of turning the tables."

"Is this power?"

"It's power, and it's strength."

Chao Yao couldn't calm down for a long time after hearing what Liu Fufeng said.

She once lived in a relatively equal world, where as long as one worked hard, there was always a chance for success.

But in ancient times when families stuck together, personal ability was only one of the reasons for success.

Although Liu Fufeng didn't understand why Chao Yao was silent at the moment, he could also feel that his wife was in a low mood.

"Our family is very cohesive, so Yaoyao doesn't need to worry. The family stands with us through thick and thin. We are never alone."

"Ah."

Chao Yao's cat-like voice sounded, and Liu Fufeng just thought that Chao Yao's emotions had stabilized.

In the following month, Liu Fufeng finally selected eighty yamen runners through various channels.

According to Liu Fufeng's original request, not many people knew about Thousand Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames.

However, in order to seize this opportunity, many people memorized all of them in a very short time.

Chao Yao thought of the various modern vocational trainings. She asked Liu Fufeng to find a literate servant to open a short-term training course outside, teaching literacy and simple martial arts.

Such short-term training courses have low fees and high practicality, and quickly attracted a lot of people.

Chao Yao put the proceeds from the training class into the county government's public funds, so that the county government could also have some income.

If this were not done, the wages of the yamen runners would not be paid that month.

The county government of Yao County is really too poor!

The makeshift team was set up, and the county government led by Liu Fufeng could finally start to work.

The first step is to visit the villages.

Food is the most important thing for people. If the grain output is not enough and the people cannot get enough to eat, any management will be meaningless.

He went to the countryside with Chao Yao every day to visit the local people and terrain, and finally decided to implement the terraced field plan proposed by Chao Yao.

There are not many wealthy families or landlords in Yao County. Most farmers just cultivate land on their own and then support their families.

Liu Fufeng believes that managing such small farmers would be easier than managing landowners.

Because every inch of land they cultivate belongs to them, they will be more motivated to act.

But when he actually carried it out, he realized that he had taken it for granted.

The villagers refused to open up new land.

The mountains and hills are cluttered with stones and tree roots, and even if Liu Fufeng reduces taxes and levies it will not be of much use.

When asked the reason, the villagers sneered.

"If I were to go dig in the mountains, how long would it take me to dig out something that belongs to me? It would take at least a year and a half."

"Who will farm the land for the next year or so?"

"Opening up new land is too tiring, I don't want to go!"

"This new county magistrate is really bored. Although our family doesn't have enough food now, we can still survive if we only have one meal a day and go hungry."

……

There are many more such statements. It’s not that people don’t want to live a better life, it’s just that living a better life is too tiring.

I'm exhausted after finishing farm work every day and now everyone has to open up new land.

No one wants to go further.

Liu Fufeng sat in the lobby, listening to Liu Rong's report and thinking hard.

"Mr. Magistrate, why are they still unwilling to move forward when you are pulling them forward like this?"

Liu Fufeng glanced at Liu Rong, thought for a while and said, "We can't trust everything the villagers say. Some of them are really lazy and unwilling to take a step forward. But most of them don't trust us?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Previous county magistrates have gone back on their word. The villagers reclaimed the wasteland, but the land was sold at will by the landlord. I checked the files and found that the problem was that the villagers had never registered with the county government, so the county magistrate naturally regarded it as unowned land."

"So there is a misunderstanding between the villagers and the county government?"

"Yes, but the misunderstanding was caused by the yamen runners and the person in charge of registration. If they received bribes, they would register the villagers. If they did not receive bribes, they would simply not let them in. If the villagers wanted to register, they had to first pay the yamen runners who were guarding the gate, and then pay the registration person."

"I can't even make a tael of silver in a year. Registering a piece of land will cost me several years' worth of money. That's why no one comes to register!"

Liu Rong suddenly realized that the hereditary system ultimately created an environment for personal favors, and if the personal favors did not meet the standards, they had to be settled with money.

Where do ordinary farmers get their money?