In the end, Yun Chao was forced by Magistrate Sun and agreed to a series of unequal treaties.
The first batch of grain, five hundred shi, must be sent to Qingyang County tomorrow. The one thousand taels of silver brought by County Magistrate Sun before was the cost of the first batch of grain.
The second batch will be delivered the day after tomorrow, but Magistrate Sun will give the money in advance.
Also, Yun Chao must take office in Woniu Town as soon as possible, and no new bandits will appear in Woniu Mountain.
Finally, Yun Chao must ensure the safety of Qingyang County. No matter where bandits appear, as long as they are within the scope of Qingyang County, Yun Chao is obliged to send troops to exterminate them.
Doesn’t it sound like Yun Chao suffered a big loss? He seems to be a real injustice?
Well, if you put it another way, it sounds much better:
Magistrate Sun wants to buy Yunchao's grain at twice the market price, and he also has to pay cash in advance;
Not only did Yun Chao secure his position as an inspector in Woniu Town, but he also gained the power to use troops within Qingyang County without asking for orders. In the future, he could lead troops wherever he wanted, which offended Yun Chao. As long as she doesn't leave the scope of Qingyang County, Yun Chao can deal with her without any negotiation!
Some people may ask, why did County Magistrate Sun not buy grain from other grain dealers, but insisted on buying Yunchao's grain at twice the market price?
The reason is very simple, that is, Magistrate Sun cannot buy it, even if he pays a high price.
Those grain merchants were not stupid. The government's granary was burned down and it no longer had the effect of stabilizing grain prices. They immediately started hoarding.
Zhang Sihai sent a message two days ago, saying that the price of food in Qingyang County has risen to three taels of silver and one stone, and it is still available in limited quantities. Do you want it?
Some people may ask again, since the background of grain merchants is so strong, why didn't they do this before?
The answer is simple, that is, Magistrate Sun was not held accountable by them in the past. If they went too far, Magistrate Sun could still report the situation to his superiors even if he was sidelined.
Things are different now. Not only was Magistrate Sun in dire straits and unable to protect himself, he also begged several grain merchants to take thousands of shi of grain from others at the parity price of one tael of silver per shi, in order to make them earn more.
Therefore, no matter how many grain merchants try, Sun County Magistrate will turn a blind eye and will not do anything until this level is passed.
As for whether the people in Qingyang County will starve or even starve to death due to the skyrocketing food prices, Magistrate Sun has nothing to do.
This is the reason why Yun Chao doesn't want to see him. For his own selfish interests, he disregards the life and death of the people. If he were not worried that changing the county magistrate would be more troublesome, Yun Chao himself would write an anonymous letter to Magistrate Sun.
…
The next day, early in the morning, Yun Chao and his boys finished their morning training. After eating, they set off with fifty boys, aiming for Sanshui Town.
As for Woniu Town, leave it alone for now. Sanshui Town hasn't had time to manage it yet, so Woniu Town can only lean back.
After leaving Wolong Village and heading northeast along Wolong Valley, Sanshui Town is more than ten miles away.
Yun Chao was riding on his horse, checking the land reclamation situation on the other side across Wolong Valley as he drove.
In the past, Yun Chao was just an ordinary villager and could only reclaim the area belonging to Wolong Village.
Now Yun Chao has not only become the village leader of Wolong Village, but also the patrol inspector of Sanshui Town. To put it bluntly, the entire Sanshui Town is his territory.
Therefore, after Yun Chao cleared the wasteland in Wolong Village, he asked his helpers to drive along Wolong Valley until it borders the fields in Sanshui Town.
Due to the inconvenience of irrigation, the intrusion of wild beasts, and the heavy taxes imposed by the government, the north bank of Wolong Valley is almost entirely wasteland.
In fact, not only the Wolonggou area, nor Sanshui Town, the situation in the entire Dawu Dynasty was similar.
A large number of farmers have no land, but there is plenty of land that can be reclaimed. Many farmers would rather go out to beg for food and become refugees than reclaim land.
In order to encourage land reclamation, the government has issued many preferential policies, such as tax reductions and exemptions within a certain period of time.
However, no matter how good the government's policies are, farmers are not very enthusiastic about opening up wasteland, or even have no interest at all.
The heavy tax burden is certainly a very important factor, but it is not the main reason.
The main reason why farmers are reluctant to open up wasteland is land annexation.
In the Wu Dynasty, where productivity was backward, it was very difficult to open up wasteland.
The harvest in the first few years was meager, but finally the fields were harvested, and the barren fields were turned into mature fields. It was time for the heavy taxes from the government to come.
A few years later, through hard work, the whole family finally turned the ordinary fields into fertile fields. It was supposed that they could finally live a more relaxed life. Unfortunately, those landlords and their old wealth came again.
Just like Masa Yori Zhicheng of Wolong Village, he doesn't even look at ordinary fields. As long as someone's family has fertile fields, he will try his best to get them under his name.
Why was Lai Zhicheng willing to trade the wasteland on the north bank of Wolong Valley for Yunchao’s fishing skills?
In addition to the value of the fishing technology itself, it was because Lai Zhicheng didn't pay attention to those wastelands at all.
No one wants those wastelands even if they are given away. Lai Zhicheng simply thinks that Yun Chao is a little brat and wants to fool him.
To put it ten thousand steps back, even if Yun Chao succeeded in opening up wasteland, Lai Zhicheng would not be at a loss.
In the first few years, he could collect taxes. After a few years, the fields would be fattened, and then he could find a way to get it into his own hands. Yun Chao would have made him a wedding dress in vain.
However, one moment later, Yun Chao now became the patrol inspector of Sanshui Town, and even the county magistrate lost his temper in front of him.
He can develop as much land as he wants within the scope of Sanshui Town, and he can develop it as he wants.
Regardless of whether he pays taxes or not, at the very least, he no longer has to worry about landlords and bullies looking after his fields.
Seeing Yun Chao looking towards the other side, smiles broke out on the faces of all the boys.
Looking at the plowed wasteland on the north bank of Wolong Valley, all the boys felt at ease.
With so many fields, Brother Chao can grow a lot of food. If you follow him, you no longer have to worry about going hungry!
For farmers who have been farming for generations, nothing is more reassuring than having food at home.
With food in hand, there is no panic in the heart. People who have never been hungry cannot understand the simple feelings of farmers towards food.
…
After the Shangyuan Festival, Cao Yufeng was transferred back to the county government as the captain, and Sanshui Town has been in a state of no inspections.
However, people in ancient times had a high degree of self-restraint, especially in the countryside. Without government management for a short period of time, there would be no trouble.
The Inspection Department has its own staff and servants, which can barely maintain daily operations. Even if there are no inspections, it will not stop in a short time.
Seeing Yun Chao coming down with his men, everyone in the inspection department ran out to greet him.
Just kidding, Yun Chao is now the official inspector of Sanshui Town. The fate of everyone in the inspection department is under his control. Who dares to neglect?
