Qin Official

On February 2nd, the Yang Qi rises and the earth completely thaws, which means the beginning of spring plowing for the country in the Great Wall. The open space outside the east gate on the outskirts of Jimo City in Jiaodong County has already been surrounded by a sea of ​​people, and a lively "Spring Ox Whipping" ceremony is taking place here.

The protagonist of this ceremony is a spring cow made of loess and as big as a real cow. It took Jiaodong potters half a month to make this, and it is very delicately shaped: the old cow is strong, with its back hunched high and the muscles on its shoulder blades bulging. It is bending its head to pull the plow, and its tail is swaying lightly, as if it is pulling a plow. Drive away mosquitoes and flies and make them come alive.

As for Hei Fu, he stood awkwardly behind the cow's butt, holding a colorful staff made of five-color silk in his hand. According to tradition, the county chief officer should play the role of "Jumang" in charge of the growth of vegetation and whip the clay sculpture of a spring cow in front of him.

This is an ancient custom in the Central Plains. It is said that it started on the first day of the Zhou Dynasty. The unearthed cows represent the morning and evening of farming, which means welcoming spring, the beginning of farming, and abundant grains.

However, Nanjun and Guanzhong celebrate the beginning of spring, while Qidi falls on February 2nd. Perhaps this is because the weather here is closer to the sea and the weather warms up more slowly?

No matter what, Heifu respected the local customs and did not forcefully change the time. He also changed out of his official uniform, wearing a green robe and a green hat, standing beside a green flag, put on this ridiculous-looking green dress, and performed in front of thousands of people.

This is what Chen Ping advised him. The county governor must show that he is working hard with the people in order to make them less hostile. If he is like the previous county governor and ignores this matter, how can the Jiaodong people regard him as a parent official?

So, after the drum music started playing, Hei Fu circled around the spring cow, picked up his whip, and struck it down and down the spring cow's back.

After the three whippings were completed, the following officers, Chen Ping, Tian Shifu, Niu Chang and others, stepped forward in sequence and repeated Heifu's actions. There were two old farmers beside them, shouting farm songs in Jiaodong dialect...

Compared with the attention paid by the officials, the people who were watching, especially the farmers who came from the suburbs after hearing the news, did not buy it and most of them looked indifferent.

Ten years ago, people in Jiaodong would be happy every time they plowed in the spring, because after a winter of idleness, it was time for them to go to the fields to stretch their muscles. The state of Qi has light taxes, and people are too lazy to work hard, so they just do some rough farming. In the autumn, they harvest, pay tithes, and give one-tenth of the output to honor the officials. The rest can be left at their disposal, and they can live a happy life.

But after Qin took control of Jiaodong, the Jiaodong people found that they had to spend a lot of time in the fields and cultivated intensively in order to produce more food. In this way, after Qin officials took away 1.5 shi, the family would not go hungry. …

Farming has become a heavy burden, who can be happy? The farm songs of the past also seem to be stuck in the throat and cannot be sung!

There was even a retainer from the Jimo Tian family who mingled in the crowd and whispered to the people next to him: "This county governor is also ridiculous. No matter how he whips the spring cattle or says he values ​​farming, the government takes away one stone and a half rent per mu." , can we save half a fight?"

"Yes, the harvest we have worked hard for for more than half a year has not gone into the pockets of Qin officials!" Everyone was convinced.

Over the past five years, resentment over heavy taxes and excessive collection has accumulated in the hearts of the farmers. Although their lives are not so miserable that they cannot survive without rebellion, they are still breathless. The dissatisfaction gradually spread, so much so that when Heifu and the others finished whipping the spring cows and asked people to distribute the mud from the spring cows to the farmers, no one reached out!

You know, farmers in Jiaodong believe that "the meat of local cattle is good for silkworms and can also ward off plagues." If you grab a piece, you can use it as an amulet, which means a good harvest this year...

Hei Fu did not get angry, but went to the top of the city, bowed to the thousands of people watching, and said:

"I am a commoner, and I worked hard in Nan County. Later, I was promoted to a minister with merit and rank in the court. Your Majesty ordered me to be the governor of Jiaodong County. I hope that I can benefit the people and make the head of Guizhou rich."

Because of his outstanding performance in Qin Yan and Qin Zi, Laisheng, a Confucian scholar designated by Hei Fu as his temporary translator, paraphrased Hei Fu's words, which immediately caused an uproar.

A bold farmer, encouraged by others, loudly said: "The county magistrate is joking. The government collects more than half of the tax, how can the head of Guizhou be rich?"

This statement triggered a burst of echoes, and the Tianjiao retainer mixed in the crowd whispered:

"I heard that this county governor earns 2,000 shi of rice every year! How many farmers will have to work all night to support him?"

"That's right, the bounty given to the two scholars yesterday is worth hundreds of kilo meters. It is also the blood and sweat of several families!"

"In my opinion, the head of Guizhou is poor, while the officials of Qin are rich, right?"

Hei Fu heard the farmers' shouting, but he stopped the soldier Cao from getting angry and wanting to send troops into the crowd to suppress it. That would only be counterproductive. Instead, he smiled and said:

"Er Sanzi is right. In Jiaodong, the yield per mu is 3 dan, but the rent is one and a half dan. It is indeed 30% of the rent. The reason for this is that the government does not know that the yield per acre in Jiaodong is so high. Low!"

A few old farmers who were silent could not help but say: "Three stones is still low?"

Qin called stone and Qi called cauldron. In fact, the capacity was the same. Even the mu system was 240 steps per mu. Therefore, the decree to unify weights and measures encountered much less resistance here than the same text. It is only necessary to replace the old quantities such as "dou, district, cauldron, and bell" that have been difficult to eliminate among the people with Qin nouns, and then cancel the distinction between small and big fights.

In the eyes of Jiaodong farmers, the yields of the land they farm are quite good. After all, people at the time said: Haidai is only Qingzhou, Juetian is only upper and lower, and Juefu is only middle and upper...

In the whole world, although I dare not say it is the best, it is still the best!

"That was before, but it's very different now."

At Heifu's signal, Chen Ping, who was ordered to be responsible for spring plowing, stood up with a smile and told the farmers at the city gate an astonishing fact:

"The good fields in Guanzhong can produce six stones and four buckets per acre, and the ordinary fields can also produce four or five stones!"

"If six stones are collected and one and a half stones are collected, does it still count as rent?"

The farmers looked at each other in confusion. After a while, someone with more intelligence calculated the result. Compared with the two-tenths of the actual rent that Jiaodong people had to pay during Tian Qi's reign, it seemed that it was not much different!

Chen Ping took the opportunity to peddle: "As long as Jiaodong can follow the example of Guanzhong and build water canals, and the second and third sons will obey the orders of the field officials and use the new manure method to farm, although they will not be able to produce six stones per mu immediately, they can still produce three and a half stones. Even 4 dan! The land rent is still one and a half dan, and the remaining grain belongs to each household! The government will never charge more than half a dou!"

"Due to the lack of manure, this method can only be used by a hundred farmers around Jimo. If anyone is willing to try it, he can report it to the field official! The government will send someone to teach it, and he can come to the city every month to pick up manure for free!"

Heifu would like to promote advanced agricultural technology immediately. Unfortunately, Jimo's public toilets have just been built and there is a serious shortage of manure. Jiaodong is not like Nanjun. Most of the land is in the hands of rich and powerful households. The government does not have a large amount of public land, so it can only encourage Guizhou to implement land contract. the first people to live in the household.

But as soon as this statement came out, no one responded. It was related to the harvest of his own fields, so the capital of Guizhou hesitated.

"It's fake." Someone whispered.

"In the past five years, Qin officials have only been responsible for collecting rent. Regardless of drought or flood, they have to pay one stone and five dou. When have they ever taken care of our harvest?"

"However, what if this method is useless and instead of increasing production, it actually decreases production?"

This situation was also what Heifu and Chen Ping expected. The government's governance in the past five years had been a failure. The hostility and suspicion of the farmers could not be eliminated with a few words.

So Chen Ping said a few words to Heifu, it's time to invite today's real protagonist.

Hei Fu nodded and asked the county soldiers to beat the drums. The drums stopped the farmers from talking and making noise. Then Hei Fu said to everyone:

"Just now, the county governor wore a green robe, a green hat, and a green flag, playing the role of a mang whipping an ox. But everyone knows that it is fake. But today, I have invited a person in this world who can make crops better. Increase production, genuine 'Jumang'!"

This statement made the farmers stunned. In the myth of Qi Di, Jumang is the god of wood, responsible for the germination and growth of trees and crops. He is also the god of spring. Whether crops are harvested or reduced, Jumang has the final say!

Everyone raised their heads, wondering what tricks this black-faced county guard was playing!

But after Hei Fu showed his hands, Chen Ping supported an old man and appeared in front of everyone. Behind him were several middle-aged farmers in brown clothes with formal expressions.

"I heard that Jumang has a bird body and a human face. He is a god. This old man is the so-called Jumang? Is the governor deceiving us, the head of Guizhou?"

The Tian family's disciples hidden in the crowd began to boo, which aroused a lot of agreement. But immediately, they were shocked by the old man's identity and were speechless!

Hei Fu personally helped the old man to the city wall and introduced loudly: "This elder is the farmer leader specially invited by me from Xue County, Ye Lao Xu Sheng!"

"You think the government's words are not trustworthy, but what about the farmers' words?"