Ma Ningyuan, the prefect of Hangzhou, was very excited after learning that his teacher Hu Zongxian was awarded the title of General Jianwei by the court, because this meant that his teacher Hu Zongxian's hard work over the years had finally received the reward he deserved!
"Go to the Governor's Mansion tomorrow and congratulate the teacher in person."
Ma Ningyuan put down the official duties that were half done in his hands and muttered silently to himself.
At this moment, an anxious report from a subordinate came from outside the door: "Master Magistrate, something is wrong! Something big has happened!"
"What big thing happened again? Could it be that there was another incident on the other side of the dam..."
After hearing the report from his subordinate, Ma Ningyuan couldn't help but let out a thump in his heart, and then let the subordinate who reported the news in.
"Tell me, what happened?"
Ma Ningyuan turned his gaze to his subordinates and asked in a deep voice.
"I'm reporting to the prefect, it's the time for spring planting right now, and some people in Chun'an County planted the rice seedlings without permission, despite the government's ban! And they also clashed with the people we sent."
When asked by his immediate superior, he did not dare to hide anything and tremblingly told everything.
"What? These unruly people are so lawless. They dare to ignore the imperial court's order to change rice into mulberry!"
"Go and transfer the guards and government officials from the government office to me! Oh, no, go to the guard station and ask them to send soldiers over. I want to teach these unruly people a lesson."
Ma Ningyuan called out to his subordinates who were about to leave and gave instructions.
In fact, as the prefect of Ma Ningyuan, he has no power to mobilize soldiers at the guard station, but his teacher is Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhejiang and the governor of Zhejiang! All these problems are no longer problems.
"Where are these unruly people? I want to see who gave them such courage!"
"Master Magistrate, these unruly people are...in Wangjia Village."
After learning the specific location, Ma Ningyuan immediately mobilized all the guards in the government office, mounted the brown-red horses that had been prepared, and rushed towards the direction of Wangjiacun.
…
Chun'an County, Wangjia Village.
As the name suggests, most of the villagers living here are named Wang. At this time, the people of Wangjia Village were holding hoes and kitchen knives and confronting the government officials.
"What are you doing! How dare you disobey the imperial court's orders? Don't you want to live anymore?"
On the government side, the leading officer looked at the villagers in front of him, who were several times more than his own, and threatened them with a stern expression.
"Hmph, it's spring planting time now, why don't we let us grow food? Can the mulberry seedlings be eaten?"
A leading villager said this.
"Yes, if the government doesn't let us grow food, it means it won't give us a way to survive!"
"Folks, don't be afraid, we outnumber them, let them get out!"
"Yes, get out!"
"Get out!"
Seeing that the villagers were getting more and more excited, the official's tone softened: "Dear fellow villagers, changing rice to mulberry is an order from the imperial court and a national policy!"
Planting mulberry seedlings has great benefits. Among other things, the silk produced by you will be purchased by the government at a high price! Isn’t this much better than digging for food in the soil? "
"This is because the government is thinking about you people! You don't appreciate it?"
"Hmph, you are deceiving the public with your lies! We don't care whether the mulberry seedlings are mulberry seedlings or not. Even if we say a thousand words and ten thousand, the mulberry seedlings still cannot be eaten. This is all a trick of the government."
"You evil officials, get out of Wangjia Village!"
"Yes, get out of Wangjiacun!"
Seeing that this group of common people were struggling to get in, the subordinates on the side couldn't help but retreat: "Sir, why don't we withdraw, otherwise..."
"Hmph, trash! If we leave like this, how will we explain it to the adults? Hold on! As long as we don't take action first, these people will definitely not dare to take action."
"Besides, reinforcements are already on the way, just wait a little longer."
In this way, both sides maintained a strange balance, with no one daring to take the lead.
It wasn't until the sound of horse hooves came from afar that the balance was broken.
"Ah, the prefect is here!"
The group of people who had previously confronted the villagers couldn't help but said with joy when they saw Ma Ningyuan leading a large force.
"What should we do now! The government has sent more people over."
After hearing the news, the villagers nearby couldn't help but start to panic.
A moment later, Ma Ningyuan arrived with a large group of guards. Seeing this situation, he couldn't help but frown.
"What's going on here?"
"I'm reporting to the prefect, this group of unscrupulous people planted the rice seedlings without permission, despite the government's prohibition! They also wantonly obstructed the government's handling of the case. It's really deplorable."
Seeing Ma Ningyuan asking questions, the chiefs of those who had previously confronted the villagers at the scene stood up and reported to Ma Ningyuan.
"is that so?"
After listening to the report from his subordinates, Ma Ningyuan turned his attention to the group of villagers and asked in a deep voice.
"Sir, we are also forced to have no choice. Our village has just been hit by a disaster not long ago, and it has not yet recovered. Every household does not have enough food to eat. How can we implement the transformation of rice into mulberry!"
After hearing Ma Ningyuan's questions, Li Zheng from Wangjiacun stood up and told him his difficulties.
"As an upright person, it's fine that you don't take the lead in implementing the court's policies. Instead, you collude with these unruly people and openly challenge the authority of the government!"
"Hmph, I have reason to suspect that there must be some people with ulterior motives behind this, asking, have you accepted money from Japanese pirates?"
Li Zheng from Wangjiacun panicked when he saw that Ma Ningyuan had accused him of being a Japanese invader without saying a word, and he quickly defended himself: "Sir... Your Majesty, I didn't!"
"Hmph, you still dare to quibble, come here, take him down for me!"
Ma Ningyuan waved his hand violently, and the guards behind him rushed forward to control the situation in Wangjiacun.
"You...you guys!"
Seeing that Li Zheng, who was well respected by the villagers, was caught by the government, the remaining people in Wangjia Village were also furious and looked at Ma Ningyuan angrily! He also involuntarily tightened his grip on the hoe and kitchen knife.
"What, do you want to rebel?"
Seeing this, Ma Ningyuan glanced at the villagers present one by one and asked.
"This this……"
Ma Ningyuan's question shocked all the villagers at the scene! What happened before was at best a minor conflict that could be resolved with a little effort.
And once it has even the slightest connection with the word rebellion, even if you have connections to heaven, it will not help.
At this moment, another sound of horse hoofbeats was heard in the distance. This time it was the soldiers that Ma Ningyuan had previously ordered his men to mobilize from the nearby guard post.
"I tell you that changing rice to mulberry is a national policy! You must change it even if you want to change it, or you must change it if you don't."
"Besides, changing rice to mulberry will benefit the country but not you! I don't understand why such a good thing cannot be implemented!"
"You bunch of unruly people don't understand the difficulties faced by the court, but you actually dare to gather together and openly oppose the government! Don't you like to be clever and plant seedlings in advance? I will destroy all the seedlings you planted. , let’s see what you do!”
Seeing that the soldiers from the guardhouse had arrived, Ma Ningyuan looked at the villagers at the scene and spoke word by word.
"Sir, I don't want it. These are the grain seeds that we have worked so hard to save! This year's harvest depends entirely on these seeds!"
"Sir, if you destroy all these seedlings, you will not give us people a way to survive!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Since the government won't give us a way to survive, let's fight with them! At worst, we will die."
"Yes, fight them!"
(End of chapter)
