The policy of exempting children from military service has indeed greatly curbed the phenomenon of abandoned babies, and it has also made people actively give up using this cruel method of birth control.
On this day, just after dawn, there was a cry of babies beside the canal in Qingjiangpu, Huai'an.
As the baby cried, Ye Agui, who had been nervous outside the shack for a long time, breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, not long after, Ye Agui came in and saw his wife Wang Xiaocao and the wrapped baby.
When Wang Xiaocao saw Ye Agui coming in, he asked first, "It's a bad one. Do you want to throw it away?"
"Keep it up!"
"Now that I have a job at the paper mill, I don't have to worry about raising more children."
"Besides, the court does not allow abandoned babies, saying that it goes against the new etiquette and the principle of preserving benevolence. I don't know why the new etiquette is required! But I know that if I work in a government-run paper mill, if I go against the court, Come on, maybe they will kick out the paper mill and say that I don’t listen to the emperor.”
Ye Agui said.
Wang Xiaocao smiled happily after hearing this: "Then give her a name."
Ye Agui nodded and thought about it seriously.
Ye Xiaocao saw that her husband was seriously thinking about the name, so she glanced at her daughter, and became even more happy for a moment, saying, "My father didn't abandon me back then, and I actually don't want to abandon her now."
When Li Rusong passed by Qingjiangpu, he also heard the cry of a baby coming from the shack where Ye Agui lived on the bank. He deliberately followed the sound and asked, "Is there anyone there?"
Ye Agui came back to his senses and saw Li Rusong dressed in silk clothes, with a fair complexion and a strong body. He was frightened and got up quickly, and asked cautiously: "I wonder what's wrong?"
Li Rusong said: "I heard a baby crying, so I came to ask, but there is someone who needs help."
"Thank you so much, kindhearted man, I really don't need it."
"My wife has given birth to a baby, and we are about to name it."
Ye Agui replied.
Li Rusong said hurriedly: "Congratulations on that."
Then, Li Rusong asked again: "Is it a boy or a girl?"
"daughter."
Ye Agui replied.
Li Rusong nodded and asked, "Since we have to give it a name, we must be raising it?"
"nature!"
"Why do good people ask these questions?"
Ye Agui asked after answering.
Li Rusong didn't want to say clearly that he had the task of collecting information and asking questions about politics, so he just smiled and said: "I'm just asking."
Coincidentally, Master Qian from Zhifang also came with someone at this time and asked Ye Agui: "You gave birth so soon?"
Ye Agui agreed: "Yes, I am worried about you, but it went well."
"It's like this. I'm not here in vain. In response to the emperor's intention to promote new rituals, the eldest master of Fuyuan has requested a decree to grant a one-time subsidy to the children born of official craftsmen and employees in government-run workshops. I’ll give you twenty taels of silver. You are the first born in our paper mill. Register the name of your newborn child, as well as yours and your wife’s, stamp their fingerprints, and you can take away the money.”
After Master Qian said this, he took out the booklet and gave it to Ye Agui.
Ye Agui was quite happy after hearing this and said hurriedly: "I haven't thought of a name yet."
"Why don't we just call the young master Xinli? Isn't it unconventional to be more ordinary than spring plums and autumn chrysanthemums?"
Li Rusong suddenly interrupted.
"This is good, Dong Weng will definitely like it!"
Master Qian said with a smile.
"That's okay!"
Ye Agui glanced at Li Rusong, who was familiar with him, and then said, "I'll think of a better nickname to support myself."
Here, Master Qian chatted with Li Rusong for a few words after nodding.
Li Rusong then continued northward.
But when he was wandering incognito in Dongchangfu City, Shandong Province, he saw so-called "parents" selling their children.
Li Rusong asked Zu Tan, his servant who was doing business for his Li family in Dongchang and now accompanied him out for a stroll: "Hasn't it been forbidden to abandon babies? How can there be so many children being sold? According to the new decree, children If you exceed the limit, you can reduce or reduce the amount of Ding Yin, don’t the people know that?”
"Hui Ye, the common people really don't know. At least in various prefectures in Shandong, officials are still collecting dingyin as before."
Zu Tan replied.
After hearing this, Li Rusong's face darkened and asked Zu Tan, "Why is this?"
When Zutan saw his master asking, he said, "You should understand that the government has always dared not refuse to implement the decree of exemption from service and taxation if it is for the powerful officials and gentry."
"But if some common people who meet the conditions are exempted from service and tax exemption, the government will not take it seriously. At least it will delay it until it is discovered; at worst, it will turn the imperial favor of exemption from service and tax exemption into exemption from service and tax exemption for wealthy people, such as You can still not use the original yellow book, but still compile a white book of taxes and servitude, and then count those who should be exempted from service and tax as wealthy gentry."
"After all, how can people easily know that there will be a favor from above?"
"It seems that whether the emperor's favor can benefit the common people depends on the local officials, especially the ministers."
"How about this Shandong massage officer?"
Li Rusong asked after speaking.
"Duke Wu, the censor of the capital, is a talkative person. He only knows how to use soldiers. When he is giving lectures, he lets the soldiers be ordered by the scholars to listen to the lectures, and even has them build academies for the local gentry. It is obvious that he attaches great importance to civil affairs and only copes with the new policies issued by the imperial court. one time."
"And Inspector Li Fengxian is even more mediocre. I haven't seen him go anywhere to set up a procuratorate, and I don't know where he has gone. It is said that someone saw him at the home of Gu Quanlang Gu in Wuxi. It seemed that he was not doing well as an official, so he ran away The official went to Jiangnan."
Zu Tan replied.
After hearing this, Li Rusong also wrote these insights into his secret memorial.
In fact, Li Zongcai, the censor of Shandong Province, has now returned from Jiangnan. On this day, he met Wu Shanyan, the governor of Shandong, outside a new academy and said:
"I have received definite news from Jiangnan. Someone in Beijing has contacted Chaohua and the others. The establishment of this so-called new ceremony will be in great trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
Wu Shanyan, who was watching his soldiers from the standard camp carrying some scholars up the mountain, quickly turned around and asked Li Zongcai.
Li Zongcai said: "Of course, a large number of soldiers and cavalrymen plundered the border areas. The smoke was raised and the capital was shaken!"
Wu Shanyan smiled and said: "I really hope that the imperial court can stop building new rites because of this, and focus on virtues and the ancients, instead of blindly promoting modern learning."
"Gentlemen all over the world hope that the etiquette system will not be changed. Only the traitorous party in the DPRK uses the reform of etiquette to gain power, which makes the world now emphasize meritorious service rather than virtue."
"Even a great scholar like Mr. Jingyang cannot stand in a temple."
Li Zongcai replied.
Wu Shanyan nodded after hearing this.
Li Rusong happened to wander here at this time, and when he saw the newly built academy, he saw a strong man carrying books up the mountain, so he stopped him and asked, "Why are you wearing military boots?"
The strong man replied: "Because I am a soldier of Biao Camp."
"Then why are you working hard here?"
Li Rusong asked.
"How dare you disobey the order of Fuyuan!"
The strong man replied.
Snapped!
At this time, a boy servant came over and whipped the strong man in the camp: "Hurry up, why are you chatting with passers-by! Don't delay my husband's listening!"
The strong man in the camp had to hurry up and quicken his pace.
Li Rusong's face fell when he saw this, and then he saw soldiers from the camp carrying these soldiers up. He became even more angry, and gave Zhu Yijun a secret report that night.
(End of chapter)
