Chronicle of Emperor Jing

Xie Meng stayed outside the city for less than two days, and the news that he was doing field inspections and making preparations for Qingzhang Tianmu reached Sun Ke's ears.

Now is the spring plowing season, and Sun Ke has been busy these days going to various villages to inspect and persuade farmers to prevent farmers from missing the farming time.But after hearing the news, he still took a moment to find Xie Meng.

When he arrived, Xie Meng and Qi Yuanheng were at the head of the field, surrounded by many people, including farmers and scholars, three layers inside and three layers outside, they didn't know what they were doing.

When the sharp-eyed scholars saw the magistrate Sun coming, they all bowed and saluted.

"Master Sun, come here quickly!" Qi Yuanheng heard the movement outside, looked up, saw Sun Ke, and raised his voice to greet him.

"Master Sun, you came just in time, and you have something good." Xie Meng also said with a smile.

"What good thing is it?" Sun Ke approached, and the crowd parted for him to enter and exit.

When he entered the inner circle, he realized that the crowd was watching several farmers plowing the land.

The farmers were divided into three rows. In one row, a half-grown child was leading the oxen, and a farmer was walking behind with a plow. This is the usual way of plowing the land, and there is nothing unusual about it.There was no cow in front of the other row, and the farmer alone supported a wooden tool and stepped on the cultivated land with his feet again and again.In the last column, there is a farmer digging the ground with a hoe in his hand.

As far as the speed of plowing is concerned, the column pulled by oxen has plowed a long distance, while the farmer who stepped on it has only plowed a short distance, and the farmer who dug with a hoe has fallen behind, but Everyone neither looked ahead nor behind, but kept their eyes fixed on the farmer in the middle.

Sun Ke's attention was also attracted by the man in the middle. He looked carefully for a while, and finally saw the doorway. He clapped his hands and praised: "It is indeed a good thing. What is it called? Who thought of it? If it is reported to His Majesty, Must be rewarded."

"This is a pedal plow, also known as a foot plow. I didn't come up with it. It was thought up by farmers in remote mountainous areas where cattle are scarce." Qi Yuanheng briefly introduced the previous events.

A few days ago, Patriarch Zhang, who is the patriarch of this village, came to ask Qi Yuanheng that during spring plowing, the cattle in their village were not enough, and many families had to dig the ground with hoes, which was time-consuming and laborious. He asked him what he could do to solve the problem. this problem?

Qi Yuanheng gathered people to help him figure out a solution, everyone chatted and came up with a lot of ideas, such as raising more cattle, such as whether to use people to pull the plow, such as every family using cattle to plow a little land, and then digging with hoes. A little bit, but these methods are not very helpful to the current predicament, and they are relatively ignorant of world affairs.

Cattle are the most important animal power and the main force of arable land. If they can be raised, farmers will definitely be willing to raise them.But it takes a lot of money to buy a calf, and it also costs money to raise a calf, and once the calf dies of illness, there is a risk of losing everything, so many farmers can't afford it and dare not raise it.

As for why people don't use plows, it's because people are not as strong as oxen. It takes about seven or eight strong laborers to match the strength of a strong ox.An ordinary farmer's family has at most two or three strong laborers, who are slow to pull the plow, and dig the ground faster with their hoes.

The last suggestion is that people with cattle have finished plowing their own land, and they are willing to help other people plow their land because of affection. Asking them to help in advance is obviously because other people don't know how to be polite.

These roads are blocked, and the scholars have nothing to do. Some people are a little discouraged by the recent events.When they were studying, they thought they knew everything, but now they realize that they are still young.

When they were frustrated, a scholar from a remote area suddenly recalled the treading plow he had seen, which restored the confidence of the scholars.

The scholar didn't have the real thing at hand, and only had a general impression in his mind, but everyone present was smart. According to his description, he quickly drew the thing, and asked people to send the design to the county town for fabrication.

The handrails, plough bars, and pedals of the plow are all made of wood, and only the mouthpiece for digging is made of iron. It is simple and convenient to build, and the price is not expensive. As for whether it is practical or not, it will be decided now .

The farmers in the three rows plowed their land separately. Needless to say, those who used the oxen to pull the plow must have plowed quickly and well, and the other two farmers could not keep up.Farmers who use plows and those who dig the ground with hoes are also quickly distinguished. The speed of plows cannot be compared with that of oxen, but it is at least twice as fast as digging with hoes.

"The ox-pulled plow is the best for both deep plowing and shallow plowing. The stepping plow can only plow shallowly, but it saves a lot of effort compared to digging the ground with a hoe. Thank you, Mr. Sun, what do you think? There are promotions Is it necessary?" Qi Yuanheng asked after making a brief summary of the competition.

Xie Meng and Sun Ke naturally praised it at the same time.

Farmers with cattle, of course, must use cattle to plow the land, but farmers without cattle at home can use plows instead, which is twice as fast as digging with hoes, and will not be too late for farming.

"Master Xie, Layman Qi Da, let the two of you do the writing to His Majesty." Sun Ke didn't want them to feel that he was here to claim credit, so he proposed first.

"This official just happens to be meeting at the right time. There is no credit or hard work. Layman Qi should do it." Xie Meng definitely would not compete with Qi Yuanheng for credit, so she waved her hand quickly.

"Whether it's me who remembers stepping on the plow, draws the pattern, or supervises the construction, it's not me. I'm not suitable for this book. It's better to let the scholars who participated in it speak for themselves, and Master Sun will check it out for them. Present it to His Majesty." Qi Yuanheng also declined.

Although he didn't play a big role in this matter, if he got this book, he must have a part of the credit.But he didn't intend to hang out in the officialdom, and it didn't matter if he got this credit, so he decided to give this credit to Sun Ke.

As for letting these little scholars write the letter by themselves, it is hard to say when it will be in the hands of the emperor.Whether it is Sun Ke or Xie Meng, there is a way to present it on his behalf, and Xie Meng is even more suitable. He is the head of the People's Discussion Department and the emperor's lackey. It is probably easier to meet the emperor, but Qi Yuanheng is not willing to share the credit He didn't choose him.

Sun Ke also understood this point. After thinking about it, he didn't continue to refuse.

He really didn't have a quick way to present the memorial to the emperor, but the Marquis of Yongning could, and the Marquis of Yongning would present it to the imperial court on his behalf. The emperor would surely be delighted when he saw the news, and even the Marquis of Yongning who presented it on his behalf would also benefit from it. This credit can be said to be shared by those who have seen it.

"I don't know which scholar remembered this plow stepping?" Sun Ke thought about it, glanced at the crowd, and asked.

"Your Excellency in Huixian County, you are a student." A scholar in green clothes stood up, bowed his hands in salute, and replied.

"Okay, the future is awesome, you will write the pen and report this matter to His Majesty in detail, will you?"

"Students are willing to try their best." Of course, the scholar understood that this was a great opportunity for you to show your face, and his face was flushed with excitement.

"You have to remember one thing. Your Majesty doesn't like to be cumbersome. The narrative in the letter must be clear, concise and clear. When you finish writing, send it to the county government to show me."

"Thank you, Lord Xian Zun, for your enlightenment."

Writing a letter to the emperor has a format and rules, and there are many unknown pitfalls. Sun Ke is willing to take the time to mention some points, which is a rare and great thing for this scholar.

"Go."

The scholar agreed and withdrew. His friends, other scholars who participated in this matter, quickly embraced him and went down to write the memorial.

In this matter, the scholar who remembered stepping on the plow naturally made the first contribution, and the other scholars who participated also had a small contribution.This scholar in blue is also quite a friend. He wanted to write his own credits, and mentioned all the credits of his friends. Soon, he wrote a full two pages.

"Your Majesty Sun mentioned something just now. Your Majesty likes succinct narratives. Will he write too much?" someone reminded him.

"Yeah, let's delete a little bit." Someone echoed.

The few of them murmured and discussed for a long time, cut and deleted several times, and finally explained the matter clearly on a single page.

After the scholars went down, Qi Yuanheng invited Xie Meng and Sun Ke to his residence in the village for a rest.This residence was found by Patriarch Zhang with the help of patriarch Zhang. The inside is very simple, but the place is big enough. Many scholars who are shy in pockets just make do with it and live here. Some scholars from better families, some live in In the county town, some gave some money to the farmers and rented a few houses for them to live in.

It turned out that Qi Yuanheng and the others were in the village and asked the farmers to do this and that. Although they were suppressed by the county elders above and the patriarchs below, these farmers were still very unhappy and had to work from time to time. When there are more people in the village, the farmers will be happy.

There are too many people in the village, they need to eat, drink and have a place to live, and some people need help with running errands, such as sending people to the city to buy this and that, even the half-grown children in the village are useful, many The farmers were of course happy with the extra income. Qi Yuanheng and the others were not as repulsive as they used to be, and they no longer felt that the adults above had nothing to do and were torturing them.

Now in this yard, there are several peasant women helping to boil water, cook and clean the yard, and there are also a few half-grown children waiting at the door to obey orders.

Qi Yuanheng invited them to a seat and served tea before asking Sun Ke why he came.

"I heard that Mr. Xie came here to clear Zhang's fields?" Sun Ke asked directly without talking nonsense.

"That's what I said, but it's still under investigation, and I haven't started to do it yet." Xie Meng nodded.

"The lower official has a suggestion. I don't know if I should say it or not?"

"Master Sun, please tell me."

"Master Xie, let's start from these three villages and try our hand at these three places first, so as to report the specific situation of Qingzhang to His Majesty carefully."

"This officer has exactly the intention." Since Sun Ke made such a serious request, Xie Meng naturally did his part.

"Tomorrow, I'll let the people in the house come to assist Master Xie." There was a reason why Sun Ke was so easy-going.

The emperor wants to clear the land, and the magistrates who go against the emperor will definitely be charged a small account by the emperor, and those who actively cooperate with the emperor will be meritorious.Moreover, he has only moved to Kangping County for a short period of time, even if Xie Meng finds out something, it has nothing to do with him.

Since it has nothing to do with him, he must be willing to cooperate fully and actively make progress.

"Your Majesty Sun." The emperor has not issued a decree yet. There are many people that Xie Meng can't control. The county government is equipped with "Six Small Departments". It's up to them.

"I have a lot of scholars here who are proficient in counting, and they can come to help when the time comes." Qi Yuanheng also spoke.

He was not so kind to help Xie Meng, but for the purpose of training these scholars.

Qingzhang Tianmu is a fact. If someone of these scholars becomes a Jinshi or an official close to the people in the future, these things are all available. If you understand it early, you will not be easily fooled by the people below.

"Thank you Layman Qi Da." If someone wants to help, Xie Meng certainly welcomes it.

It is easy to calculate the size of Qingzhang acres, square acres, but irregular fields, or fields with corners and corners, need to use various methods to calculate.

A person who is proficient in counting can be said to be a must-have when clearing Zhang Tianmu.

On the second day, Sun Ke ordered the people who came to the households to clean up the farmland from Zhangzhuang.

A total of four people came to the house, one person was in charge of the revision of the fish scale book, one person was responsible for measuring the field, one person was responsible for calculating the size of the field, and the last person was responsible for verification and management.This group of people is the people who are responsible for measuring the acres of fields in the county government.On weekdays, when there is a change in the fish scale book, they are responsible for measuring it.

This time the clearing is not limited to farmland, other types of fields are also within the scope of the clearing, ranging from house plots, fields, to woodland ponds.

The distribution of land in Zhangzhuang is relatively simple. The houses are all concentrated in the village, the fields are outside the village, there is no woodland nearby, and rivers and ponds are royal land.

The yamen servant who took the measurement took a step gauge, which is a ruler specially used to measure the acres of fields, and started to measure the house in the village.The distance between the two pointed feet of the step gauge is one step, and a field is 240 steps long and [-] steps wide. When multiplied together, it is [-] steps, which is one mu.

The measurement of the house is relatively simple, because most of the houses are square, as long as the boundaries of each house are determined, a rope is pulled at both ends, and the concession gauge is turned along the rope with one foot and the other caster to measure the past , the number of length and width steps can be obtained from the energy, and the rest is calculation.

The measurement is relatively simple, but determining the dividing line is a lot of trouble, and the slightest difference will cause disputes among neighbors.

These yamen servants, regardless of the side that lost the battle, cried and said where the original demarcation point was, and only counted according to the current demarcation point, and they kindly comforted the losing party:

"It's okay, if they want more house land, I will give it to them. Anyway, taxes are collected according to the size of the house land. If your family is smaller, you can pay less money."

As soon as he said this, the face of the winning family changed.

By doing this, they are taking advantage of their neighbors, because the neighbors pay the money and they occupy the land, but if the land is directly charged to them, they will not be able to take advantage of it.

"My lord, we made a mistake. I remember it was here. You can measure it here." The man quickly came back to his senses and regretted it.

When he said that, the yamen servant was also very talkative, and moved the boundary point again.

Doing things in the countryside is so simple and rude, but many farmers choose to do this.If you reason with them, you can't explain clearly.

Some people couldn't understand the Taoism in it, but the savvy scholars all nodded secretly and learned a trick secretly.

For the next measurement, most of the people were very polite, and they were where they should be, and they didn't want to take advantage of this little advantage.

The yamen servants used the boundary stones to re-allocate the land for each family, but it is unclear when these lands will be occupied by others.

After the house land is measured, it is the fields outside. The fields are divided into upper, middle and lower classes. The taxes of each class are different. These classifications are all regulated. Of course, there are many tricks that can be used here.

There were so many onlookers this time, and the Shangguan from Beijing was present, of course the householders dared not use any tricks. They honestly measured the size of the fields and set the grades.There must be controversy, but the government is doing things, and they are doing things in accordance with the law this time. When it comes to the sky, they can stand upright and speak, so they are naturally not afraid of someone making trouble.

The location of the ditch proposed by Qi Yuanheng is also recorded in the newly revised Fish Scale Book.

Xie Meng's errands are doing very well, Wei Yan in Beijing, the things he told the big housekeeper, also have a clue after a few days.

The housekeeper searched for several three-entry houses, far and near, new and old, and reported them to him to decide. Wei Yan felt that each had its own advantages and disadvantages, and it was difficult to make a decision. Finally, he decided to let Zhao Shi choose by himself, and he would not bother with it. upset.

There were also responses from the official media, but Wei Yan was not satisfied with these responses.

Zhao Shi is about the same age as Wei Yan. At his age, it is really not easy to find a suitable wife. Unless Zhao Shi's official position is higher, fathers-in-law who want to have a good son-in-law will be happy to get married.

Wei Yan pondered and pondered, and found that this was not an easy task. The promotion of guards, except that the emperor can be promoted as he wants, in the guard camp, there are rules for promotion, either meritorious service or seniority.

In terms of qualifications, Zhao Shi has not been in the camp for a long time, and if he does not stay for three to five years, he will not be able to get promoted.If he made meritorious service, could it be said that he should be put down to practice for a period of time?

While he was meditating, a servant from outside brought in a box.

The big housekeeper took it over, asked who sent it, and checked the seal carefully, before holding it to his Lord Marquis.

"Lord Hou, Master Sun Kesun ordered someone to send a box, saying that it is a quick performance for His Majesty."

"Quick play?" Wei Yan took the box and found that the box was not sealed. He opened it and looked at it. There was a sealed memorial inside, but there was nothing else. He ordered, "Prepare the horse, I want to enter. to the palace."

"Yes."

The Marquis of Yongning was very close to the imperial palace. Within half an hour, Wei Yan entered Zhaoren Hall with the casket in his hands.

"Your Majesty, Lord Sun Kesun's urgency." Wei Yan saluted and placed the box on the emperor's desk.

Jing Li asked him to sit down, took out the memorial, opened the seal, looked at it a few times, and there was joy on his face.

"Okay, very good." He handed the memorial to Wei Yan, and asked him, "Aiqing has made great contributions to the country, what reward do you want?"

Wei Yan took a quick glance and saw Sun Ke's report about stepping on the plow, as well as the self-reports of the scholars, and looked at the emperor amusedly: "This is the credit of the scholars who offered the plow, and it is the credit of Mr. Sun. Where did the minister get the credit for the great layman of Qi?"

"Of course I will reward the contributions of these people, but if there is no Aiqing to recommend Qi Yuanheng, please give him a chance, and it will not lead to the following things. Aiqing is the first credit."

Wei Yan felt that the emperor's words were far-fetched, but after thinking about it, he decided not to argue with the emperor, but asked tentatively: "Since your majesty thinks that I have meritorious service, can I ask for a favor?"

"Speak, you can do whatever you want." Jing Li generously promised.

"I want to transfer Zhao Shiwai for a period of time, what do you think, Your Majesty?" For Zhao Shi's marriage, Wei Yan decided to transfer Zhao Shiwai to make meritorious service and then be transferred back to be promoted. However, although Zhao Shi was said to be his subordinate, in fact But it was the emperor's man, so Wei Yan discussed this matter with the emperor.

Jing Li looked at him with a smile, but thought carefully about Wei Yan's words in his heart.

Zhao Shi was disobedient, let Wei Yan drive him out of the mansion, and send him away from a distance, which is the biggest punishment for Zhao Shi.When Zhao Shi is gone, he will arrange some caring people around Wei Yan, and use water to win Wei Yan's heart. Even if Zhao Shi comes back by then, there will be no place for him by Wei Yan's side, so let Zhao Shi If you fail at both ends, hold the pillar and cry.

This was his original plan, but he hadn't made it to the next step, why did Wei Yan suddenly take a step?Is this a tacit understanding with him?

Jing Li was a little puzzled, but he didn't ask, lest Wei Yan know his real intentions, instead he said in a very indifferent tone:

"It's up to you. Since Zhao Shi entered the Guards camp, he is your subordinate. You don't need to ask me how you want to arrange your subordinates."

Since the emperor said so, Wei Yan only thought he agreed, and he began to think about where to put Zhao Shiwai so that he could make meritorious deeds quickly.

He thought about it for a few days, but still had no idea.

A few days later, Xie Meng returned to Beijing. At the court meeting, he made a memorial, talking about the people's sentiments, imploring the emperor to issue an order to clear up the land and acres in the world, to check the fish scale book, and to re-clarify the taxation, and many courtiers responded.

The emperor made a decree to promote Xie Meng to the position of Minister of the People's Proposals, and to take charge of the affairs of Zhang Zhang's fields. He also ordered the Ministry of Households to send people to assist, and all states and counties cooperated.

Wei Yan heard the news and finally thought of where to put Zhao Shiwai.

"Master Hou, do you want your subordinates to guard Master Xie?" Zhao Shi couldn't believe his ears when he heard Hou Yongning say this.

The Marquis of Yongning asked him to choose a few houses for him, and asked him to choose one as his mansion. This can be said to be the value that the Marquis of Yongning attached to him.It is rumored that the Marquis of Yongning invited the official media to help him as a matchmaker. Although he doesn't need it, this is also the importance that the Marquis of Yongning attaches to him. What is the Marquis of Yongning doing now?

Marquis Yongning cares so much about Xie Meng's safety, does the emperor know?

He came to protect the Marquis of Yongning under the emperor's order, and the Marquis of Yongning just threw him out like this. Does the Emperor have any objections?

"This can be said to be the most important thing in the past few years. Xie Meng's safety cannot be ignored. I don't worry about other people, so please Zhao Shi." Wei Yan thinks this is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

Qingzhang Tianmu, as long as it is done well, it must be a great achievement. Zhao Shi can also share the credit for protecting Xie Meng. Promotion is a matter of course, and no one can object, not even the emperor.

Moreover, Xie Meng might offend many people this time, his safety is indeed very important.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean by His Majesty?" Zhao Shi understood all these reasons, but it would be a little uncomfortable to transfer him out of Beijing without asking the emperor.

"Don't worry, I have already asked His Majesty for his will, and His Majesty also agrees." Wei Yan comforted Zhao Shi, "Besides, it is His Majesty's intention to let me help you start a family and start a business. Your loyalty these years, Your Majesty We all know."

Zhao Shi could only half-believe Marquis Yongning's words.

However, in such a matter, if Marquis Yongning lies, he will be exposed at any time, so he should not be able to tell lies.Moreover, the Marquis of Yongning even issued a signing order, ordering him to lead a team to protect Xie Meng, but no one came to inform him that he was not allowed to go, so Zhao Shi only assumed that the emperor really agreed.

Of course, Zhao Shi didn't know that the emperor in the palace was depressed when he received the news.

However, the emperor was depressed and depressed, and this was really something he personally agreed to. Even if he was the emperor, he couldn't go back on his word for a while, and Wei Yan was not allowed to do this.