The village chief's words made all the people in the village burst into applause.
Wang Er was a little dumbfounded. He hurriedly said: "Village Chief, His Highness said that you cannot buy or sell by force."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Have you seen us buying and selling by force? Our village is all voluntary!" the village chief glared at him and said loudly.
"Yes, we all volunteer!" The villagers in the village immediately shouted in agreement.
Wang Er was a little helpless. You have said so, village chief. Who in the village dares to sell to a grain merchant? To everyone, the people in the village are just like family members. How can someone who offends most of the people in the village still stay in the village?
Even if Li Zheng comes here, the village chief's words may not be effective. You have said so, so don't you all have to volunteer?
The village chief didn't take it seriously. Maybe there were some people in the village who were greedy for petty gains, but they probably wouldn't have other ideas about such a big thing. Even if they did, they would have to hold it in.
What else can they do for His Highness like this? That's all they can do! Besides, if you paid taxes before, let’s not talk about it. After all, every household has to survive.
But now not only do they not need to pay taxes, but they are also subsidized at a price that is almost equivalent to the market price. This is equivalent to giving them double the money. Under such circumstances, if you still give up your righteousness for some petty gains, how can you be worthy of His Highness who treated them like this? !
What's more, paying to Tang Chuliang is also helping themselves. What kind of trading company is Tang Chuliang? Wang Er told them before that this is the country's reserve granary, which is used to relieve victims in disaster years and help people all over the world. use! And there are also some excellent varieties stored in it!
Would they be where they are today without His Highness’s good breeding? Can they guarantee that they will not encounter disaster years in the future? How many years has it been since the Guanzhong locust plague in the Zhenguan year?
Isn’t everyone aware of what kind of tragic situation it was back then?
Moreover, the old village chief who has experienced the last years of the dynasty cherishes His Highness today even more, so it seems a bit overbearing, but he made this decision.
Even if they poke the backbone, let them poke the backbone of the village chief. As Wang Er said, His Highness forbids them from buying and selling by force, but that's what my village chief did. So what?
"In addition, everyone has one more thing." The village chief tapped the crutch in his hand and said loudly.
After everyone looked over, the village chief continued: "I heard that your Highness is presiding over the construction of a brand new road on the west bank of the Wei River. Workers are being recruited at the construction site all the time, but in addition to the workers officially recruited by the construction site , the rest of us have no survivors in the winter.”
"I heard that the construction site needs some gravel and so on. We can't help much, so we will transport all the gravel there and put it on the roadside so as not to affect the progress of the project."
"Everyone can do what they can, and I don't ask everyone to go every day. Anyway, there aren't many things to do in winter. Everyone can go when they have free time. Even if we take a stone, the workers working on the construction site will have to take one less. This road is being built." The speed will be one minute faster.”
"His Highness gave us today, then we have to let His Highness see our strength. We can do well. Although it is only within our ability, if we people in the world can unite, it will be a powerful force!"
"In addition, His Highness once said in a Datang Weekly that if we want to get rich, we must first build roads. Only when the roads are built will we have better opportunities, and building roads will also help ourselves. His Highness said that Datang will gradually build roads in the future. Expand and build official roads in the world."
"I'm going to unite several nearby villages. Our abilities are limited and we can't say anything about building official roads in the world, but let's repair and expand the roads between our villages first!" the village chief said loudly.
Everyone didn't have any opinions. They didn't know many things, and at most they only had a handful of strength.
Now that there is a place where they can contribute to His Highness, they naturally don't mind contributing to His Highness.
Wang Er didn't stop the village chief because he felt in his heart that it was right. They had nothing to do in winter anyway, so what's wrong with using their free time to transport some gravel? Although the number is not much, when everyone adds it up, the number is quite a lot!
It would be a good thing for them if the road is repaired one day earlier, because the road is built for the people of the world.
Loess Plateau, Zhangjiacun.
When the Tang Dynasty's agricultural tax subsidy policy was passed to Zhangjiacun, the people here were equally confused. They had never heard of such a dynasty since ancient times. The so-called tax was actually sold to the state? Not only do you not have to pay for nothing, but you can also get money?
"Wu Li, are you serious about this?" Almost all the people had the same reaction, and the head of Zhangjia Village also had the same reaction.
Wu Li, the security officer responsible for the notification, smiled and said: "Of course it is true. This is His Highness's final decision. Your Majesty's imperial edict has been announced in the Tang Dynasty Weekly."
"When the Tang Dynasty prospers, a saint must emerge!" The head of Zhangjiacun knelt down on the spot after reading a few books.
The people of Zhangjia Village are similar. Although they are located on the Loess Plateau, their land is not as good as that of Guanzhong. Their food production has always been low. Moreover, because of His Highness’s previous policy of conserving water and soil, most of the cultivated land in their village has been planted with trees. , not farmland anymore.
Of course, because many villagers have moved away from surrounding villages, the current farmland in Zhangjia Village is sufficient.
"Village Chief Zhang, now His Highness not only has this policy, but also has two other policies, that is, if Zhangjia Village is willing to relocate the whole village to Yaojiawa, which is forty miles away, it is located in a plain and there are rivers nearby. After that, if there are irrigation conditions, all the people in Zhangjia Village can reallocate one hundred acres of land and then rebuild the village for farming."
"And everything here will be gradually planted into forests to preserve the water and soil. In response to His Highness's call, it will be restored into green waters and green mountains for the benefit of our descendants. I wonder what the village chief wants?" Wu Li asked seriously.
"Your Highness treats ordinary people like us like family members, and considers us in every aspect. If we continue to be ignorant of good and evil, we will be the sinners of the Tang Dynasty. How can we be worthy of His Highness? Let alone moving a village for tens of miles, even if it is moved to a thousand miles We are also willing to go to other places such as Hetao and Jiuyuan." Village Chief Zhang said with a serious face.
"However, I don't know what the other policy is. Can you let me and others know about it?"
Wu Li immediately smiled and said: "Of course, another policy is that now we are here, in what His Highness calls the Loess Plateau, where a large number of people and villages have migrated, and it has gradually begun to recover into a forest."
"But this place cannot be left unattended, especially to prevent fires, etc., so forest rangers are needed, and Zhangjia Village is in a good location. If there are villagers who are willing to become forest rangers, His Highness said, the court will directly hire them as officials. Reference The crops produced in the surrounding 100 acres of farmland will be paid directly to each household, and monthly payments will be given."
"The forest rangers need to patrol the mountains and forests and plant trees. Each household can only reserve five acres of land for growing vegetables for summer and other personal use."
"But the life of a forest ranger is difficult and even dangerous. After all, a large number of villages have been evacuated, and there will always be wild animals coming and going here. Since there are not many people patrolling the forest, the rangers must be in groups of two or three at most. If they encounter a beast, , life-threatening."
"And after all the surrounding villages are relocated, there will be only one village, Zhangjiacun, left on the mountain. It will be a very lonely life." Wu Li said all the good things.
"Public Security Officer Wu, needless to say, I, the Zhangjiacun, are willing to stay here and protect this forest for His Highness for generations to come!" Village Chief Zhang said decisively.
