Chapter 48 Corvee?Eat porridge and steamed buns every day?
Mao Xiang and Xiaohu came to the government office.
But I found that many people had gathered in the government office, and there was also a long queue.
"What's going on here?"
Mao Xiang was a little confused.
He could understand standing in line to enter the heaven and earth, but he also had to line up to come to the government office. What was he doing?Could it be that these common people are here to sue the officials? Xiaohu smiled and explained: "Sir, this is the new decree issued by Prince Consort Ouyang after you left. As long as you register your age, expertise and other information at the government office or county office, you can get work arrangements from the government!"
"The government introduces jobs to the people?! It's simply unheard of!" Mao Xiang looked surprised, "Isn't this an act of the consort Ouyang Lun to deceive the people?"
Xiaohu shook his head, "Sir, have you forgotten the fried chicken training class and grilled fish training class?"
Fried chicken, grilled fish. This is simply Mao Xiang's lingering nightmare. If he could, he would never want to touch fried chicken or grilled fish again in his life.
"That was in Kaiping County, but now the entire Yong'an Prefecture can be trained?" Mao Xiang didn't believe it.
"There are indeed many people who need training, so Ouyang Prince Consort opened a special skills school, and it has expanded from training on fried chicken and grilled fish to more than ten kinds of training on barbecue, farming, cooking, sewing, etc. Many people have After mastering a skill, everyone finds a suitable job."
"Some of them have their own skills, such as carpenters, bricklayers, blacksmiths, etc. Young people are assigned jobs, and when they are older, they are assigned to work as teachers in skills schools. Everyone can find a job that suits them in Yong'an Mansion."
Xiaohu explained it carefully.
"Isn't Ouyang Lun a corrupt official? He actually started doing things for the people?"
At the beginning, Mao Xiang followed Zhu Yuanzhang throughout the whole process and witnessed Ouyang Lun's corruption. Until now, Mao Xiang still insists that the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang did not kill Ouyang Lun was entirely because of the intercession of the Queen and Princess Anqing, and at the same time the 200 million shi of grain It did help the Ming Dynasty, so Zhu Yuanzhang temporarily softened his heart and spared Ouyang Lun's life! But in Mao Xiang's mind, Ouyang Lun was definitely a corrupt official!Big corrupt official! Mao Xiang's voice was a little louder, and was heard by an old man in front of him. He turned around and said in a deep voice: "You said that Magistrate Ouyang is a corrupt official. The old man has no objection, but you question Magistrate Ouyang for not doing things for the people." , this old man can’t bear it!”
With the old man taking the lead, a few more people spoke.
"Prefect Ouyang is a corrupt official, but he has nothing to say to us people!"
"It allows us people to make money, so what's wrong with him being greedy?"
"With the amount of money we ordinary people have, even Magistrate Ouyang probably doesn't like it!"
"Yes, Magistrate Ouyang is greedy for big money."
Hearing this, Mao Xiang was silent for a while, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, even though Ouyang Lun is a corrupt official, he can still be so loved by the people. What a strange person!
But now the people admit that Ouyang Lun is a corrupt official, so no matter what, the evidence of Ouyang Lun's corruption as a corrupt official has been confirmed.
"I'm curious. There are so many of you queuing up. When will we be able to arrange work for you?" Mao Xiang asked.
In his opinion, it was difficult for a Yongan Mansion to support so many people, and Mao Xiang must be bragging.
"Boss, as far as I know, if you register today, you will basically receive your arrangements tomorrow!" Xiaohu took the initiative to explain.
This explanation was also recognized by others, who nodded. "This is impossible!" Mao Xiang shook his head. If work could be arranged so easily, no one would starve to death these days.
"The prefect said that our Yong'an Prefecture is very backward. If we want to develop, we have to work for relief! This way we will have endless work to do!" the old man explained.
"Work-for-relief?" Mao Xiang didn't quite understand.
"It means building city walls, building houses, building roads, etc."
"Isn't this just a corvee? Such a heavy corvee, not only does it not pay, but you also have to pay for it yourself. This magistrate Ouyang is so cruel! Isn't he afraid of the people rioting! Are there too many examples of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang?!" Mao Xiang was frightened. Cold sweats and excessive corvee work have always been a major feature of a country's subjugation.
"There are wages! Not only are there wages, but we also have rice porridge and steamed buns to eat every day, and we also order pickles. Not to mention how delicious they taste." After the old man finished speaking, he rolled his eyes at Mao Xiang, and said with doubts and scrutiny in his eyes: "You, a young man, are always suspicious of the magistrate. You are afraid that you are here to cause trouble!"
"Maybe it's an enemy spy. In our Yong'an Mansion, if you report an enemy spy, you will be rewarded with 1000 taels of silver!"
brush-
As soon as the old man said this, the people around him all turned their attention to Mao Xiang with rather unkind eyes.
Mao Xiang swallowed. Although he was skilled in martial arts, he would not be beaten by so many people. "Dear uncles and eldest brothers, my eldest brother just came back from outside and is a little uncomfortable with the changes we have made. Please forgive me!" Xiaohu quickly came to the rescue and said: "I am the owner of the fried chicken shop on Yongxiang Street. I can guarantee that my eldest brother will It’s not meticulous work!”
"This is not a trick of the enemy! The misunderstandings are all misunderstandings!" A good man will not suffer the immediate loss and will not argue with these unruly people! With Xiaohu's guarantee and Mao Xiang's reluctance, the people around him withdrew their gaze, but they still secretly observed Mao Xiang and Xiaohu.
Obviously, no matter how shamelessly they stayed, they didn't know what was going to happen, so they could only leave in despair.
walk down the street.
"To think that I, the commander of the Royal Guards, can't even enter the district government office." Mao Xiang was depressed. "Only you and I know about Xiaohu. Don't talk nonsense everywhere."
"Please rest assured, boss, I will never say anything nonsense." Xiaohu nodded and said, "But boss, how can we investigate if we can't go to the government office now?"
Mao Xiang touched his chin, "The most important thing now is not to meet Ouyang Lun, but to find out what "work-for-relief" means. It's incredible that the people can eat rice porridge and steamed buns every day! "
"Maybe if we figure this out, we can figure out the changes in Yong'an Mansion!"
Xiaohu nodded, "Boss is right, but who should we ask?"
The corners of Mao Xiang's mouth raised slightly, "Fortunately, I made a plan in advance. The Magistrate of Funing County has an old relationship with me. Just ask him and you will know!"
Then Mao Xiang took Xiaohu to the Funing County Government Office.
The Funing County Government Office and the Yong'an Government Office were only one street apart, so the two of them quickly arrived at the gate of the County Government Office. There were also many people at the gate of the County Government Office. This time the two of them were smarter and went directly around to the back door of the County Government Office and handed in their documents. Greetings.
Soon, a middle-aged man who looked like a master welcomed them in.
"Sir Mao, when my master saw that it was your invitation, he immediately put down his official duties. He is waiting for you in the study!" The master smiled and said: "This way, you two."
The Funing County magistrate's surname was Zhou. He was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Hongwu. When he was rushing to take the exam in Nanjing, his property was stolen. Mao Xiang helped to retrieve the property, so that he could pass the exam smoothly. (End of this chapter)