The main room of Mrs. Wang's house is very simple, but it can be seen that her family is working hard to maintain dignity. The interior decorations, such as curtains, curtains, tents, screens, etc., are all available.
At this moment, Mrs. Wang closed the curtains and created a private space in the lobby to talk secretly with Fang Chongyong and his party.
"I wonder if your envoy is here to advise me?"
Mrs. Wang put her hands on her clothes and wiped them subconsciously, leaving traces of flour on her waist.
Hu biscuits account for a large part of Hexi's diet, and wheat rice is firmly resisted here. Anyone who has the conditions will grind wheat grains into flour to make "dried Hu cakes", which can be stored for a long time in the dry environment of Hexi.
Here, you can see people who can eat Hu Pancakes for a month after making them once! There is even a store in Liangzhou that sells this standardized "dried Hu biscuit". What Fang Chongyong eats here every day is similar. The biggest advantage of dried Hu biscuits is that they are versatile, and they have no unique taste.
"The war in Hexi is tense, and the rotation of troops has been postponed. The rotation will be done after the war is over."
Fang Chongyong said in a deep voice and handed the documents from the court to Mrs. Wang to read.
Surprisingly, the other party actually took the official document and read it at a glance. Then he returned it to Fang Chongyong, then nodded silently and said: "I already know about this matter, so you are interested."
Fang Chongyong didn't think she looked like the kind of petite woman who came from an official family. Instead, she had a stout figure and was obviously good at daily farm work. I couldn't help being surprised.
In ancient times, the efficiency of reading and learning was very low. If there was no special guidance, just relying on oneself to learn would be very ineffective and the learning would be very slow.
It is hard to imagine that Mrs. Wang, a woman born in a family with all the men in the family being soldiers, could actually read and write.
Seeming to sense his doubts, Lady Wang sneered and said: "There is a textile club in Ganzhou. Only women are allowed to join. The main purpose is to discuss weaving skills together. There are many carefree parents and boring officials and women. Teach us how to read and write. I learned Braille there and can barely read documents."
Textile company?
What is this stuff?
Fang Chongyong remembered that he had heard a similar word before, which seemed to be called...qushe!
Putting these distracting thoughts aside, Fang Chongyong continued to explain: "The war in Hexi is tense, and the rotation of soldiers is not the final decision of me, the governor. I hope you can understand."
The Second Lady Wang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "I understand very well and have become accustomed to it. The imperial court's failure to rotate garrison troops on time is no longer a matter of a day or two. What choice do we have besides enduring it? It's better for you to do so." It is very rare to love people as one’s own children at such a young age.”
This is a true statement.
When the governor came to explain, his attitude was very low. A few compliments to each other and a few polite words are enough. Blaming each other will not change anything.
In any case, the delay in the rotation of garrison soldiers is a foregone conclusion. Giving face to others means giving face to oneself. Fang Chongyong understands the helplessness of the people at the bottom very well.
"Uh, by the way, what are these people in the house and yard doing...?"
Suddenly thinking of this incident, Fang Chongyong asked doubtfully.
Mrs. Wang was stunned, as if she didn't understand that such a common sense question would be asked by Fang Chongyong, the governor.
However, she looked at Fang Chongyong's figure and childish face, then patted her forehead and replied angrily:
"Look at the memory of the slave family. You may have just arrived in Hexi and don't know about the association here.
My family and those families spent money and effort to build a canal to divert the black water to our farmland. In order to repair the canals, we formed a canal society. In addition to mandating the members to maintain the canals, we also help each other according to the rules of the canal society.
They have wheat but no stone mill. My family has a stone mill and no strong labor force, so other members of the commune will help my family harvest rice and wheat during the autumn harvest. They send wheat regularly, and I grind it for them before returning it. part of the remuneration. "
Madam Wang Er explained patiently, and Fang Chongyong discovered from these words that the family owned dozens of acres of paddy fields, and the strongest members of the family joined the army, but they did not go bankrupt because of it!
The answer is the word Qushe!
If you live in the suburbs of Chang'an, most of these families will have their strong labor force join the army, leaving no one to cultivate the fields, which will lead to a sharp drop in income, or even being unable to make ends meet. In order to overcome their difficulties, the family had to hire people to farm, and to spend money, they had to borrow loan sharks, or sell their land to survive, reducing the area they cultivated, and their living standards spiraled downward until they went bankrupt.
In short, life is unbearable.
There is a Qushe here in Hexi. If a strong labor force from a certain family joins the border army, other people in the Qu She will provide low-interest loans and paid labor to the members according to the rules and actual conditions. This prevents families who are in difficulty due to various accidents from borrowing loan sharks from outside.
Take Mrs. Wang's family as an example. Two of her men went to Chishui Army, and no one took care of their fields. Normally, Mrs. Wang can do it reluctantly, but when the farming is busy, she must ask for help.
And when she applied to the company, the economic price she paid was far lower than asking a large local company for help!
Although this is not a problem for a long time, considering that the men of Mrs. Wang's family are supposed to return home in turns this time, the help Qushe can provide to their family this year cannot be underestimated.
After receiving an unexpected answer, Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, seeming to understand part of the political ecology of Ganzhou, or the Hexi Corridor.
There is a canal society for building canals.
There are textile societies for weaving.
Fang Chongyong could definitely deduce that there must be a Buddhist shrine in the temple.
Believers organize themselves and participate in Buddhist temple activities. It is normal to have organizations similar to Buddhist societies.
But judging from the information just obtained, the differences between societies are also very big.
For example, the Qushe that Mrs. Wang Erniang joined with a group of people in the yard has a strong social attribute and organizes isolated farmer families, forming a strong and close connection.
The social attributes of the textile club are much lower. It is more like a "salon" where only women participate. They are just there to relieve boredom, learn and exchange experiences. It does not have high binding force on the members, and its influence is difficult to compare with that of the Qu Club. .
Fang Chongyong suddenly realized when he remembered that someone stopped his group while queuing in front of Mrs. Wang's house.
This place is all "membership only", so you have to queue up to wait for the stone mill to grind the wheat grains. The members of the canal society are all very familiar with each other, and if someone they don't know suddenly appears, these members of the canal society who are queuing up will of course ask what's going on!
"The imperial court wants to increase taxes, at least ten times. Although it is not a one-time thing, and there may be various tricks, but overall it is like this.
I know that the people in Ganzhou are in trouble, but the imperial decree cannot be violated. What does Mrs. Wang think? "
Fang Chongyong asked helplessly, and gave the page about taxation in the draft in the Ganzhou government office to Mrs. Wang for review.
"The saint doesn't want us to live."
After reading word for word, Mrs. Wang sighed and asked.
That's right, the court did not say that taxes would be increased ten thousand times!
It’s just that the other requirements, added up bit by bit, require food, cloth, and manpower. Calculating these based on the employment situation, wouldn't it mean that each household would have to increase taxes by ten dollars? This money may not be enough to survive!
The United Soldiers are not militiamen. They are employed and their wages are paid daily!
Although the government government only gave them some food rations, pickles, etc., and one piece of clothing every quarter. But recruiting 6,000 united troops is not a small amount.
This does not include the additional cost of hiring Sogdians inside the city.
"If you don't spend money, the government will forcefully recruit young men in Zhangye City and train them uniformly by regimental training envoys.
In this case, some people will no longer be able to work in the fields. "
Fang Chongyong sighed.
The Sogdians near the city were half-cultivators and half-herders, and many were engaged in business, scattered throughout the Tang Dynasty. The Sogdians "wealth is the most important thing". Although the father and son still made a contract, they "will not move without wealth." When dealing with people in the Sogdian settlement, just talk about money directly. They have no feelings to talk about with the Tang Dynasty.
This is also good news. After all, problems that can be solved with money are not big problems.
"The slave is from a woman's family, so the government will definitely not ask for money. The family still has dozens of acres of paddy fields, so it is better to take them away. Anyway, there is no money to ask for."
The Second Lady Wang said very forcefully.
Fang Chongyong's heart sank and he secretly cried out.
Mrs. Wang Er's home looks relatively well-off, and even has a stone mill.
Even her family found it impossible to pay taxes, and it was even less possible for other families.
Sure enough, Fang Chongyong opened the curtain and let other members of the Qu Club come in to discuss the tax increase. These people immediately started talking like a pot. They did not dare to beat or insult the governor, but many people knelt down and begged Fang Chongyong, hoping that the court would take less punishment.
If the tax increase is consistent, we can still discuss it, grit our teeth and say that we can get it together.
Raising taxes by 10 guan, which is equivalent to 10,000 yuan, is almost a desperate measure. The farmers are desperate. The sandbank terrain of the Hexi Corridor makes it impossible for people to run in the desert. It is estimated that the local people will have to revolt in Ganzhou by then!
Considering that these people have all joined the Qushe, the rebellion will not happen one by one. If civil unrest breaks out... the consequences will be disastrous!
Fang Chongyong finally understood why the local officials in Ganzhou would rather be blind than carry out Brother Ji's autumn prevention order!
What if the bulk of military expenditures were allocated to local large households, which themselves had many branches and were semi-military organizations? What if these people defected to Tibet?
The settlements near the city are also not easy to deal with. If the quota exceeded the amount previously negotiated with the Tang government, it will be difficult for them to talk to them.
Typical "no money no talk".
If all the pressure is put on the local farmers, who are all members of the Qushe, there will be quite a stir.
If something goes wrong and the court can't deal with it, then the only choice is to take it out on the local bureaucrats. Who would be willing to make fun of their own wealth and life?
Ten thousand dollars is "tax increase", which is the so-called "exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes"! In addition to this, the normal taxes that local villagers in Hexi must pay every year cannot be reduced and cannot be reduced!
The canal society has a canal owner, who is responsible for taking the lead in repairing the canals and taking the lead in formulating the rules of the canal society. Although the canal society is a "democratic system" within the canal society, and members who boycott the canal society's activities do not have to sign, the canal owners have a strong say in it.
Fang Chongyong decided to find a time to have a chat with the owner of the canal club where Mrs. Wang’s family was located.
After appeasing many members of Qushe and promising that the court would not raise taxes so hastily, he took Anaye and Aduan away from the second wife Wang's home.
It seems that there is no need to visit other houses, they are probably all similar.
…
The backyard of the government office is where the governor lives. There is a karez here with a grape trellis set up next to it, making the environment very quiet. But now that it's autumn, it doesn't look lush anymore.
As the sun set, Fang Chongyong, who had worked hard all day, leaned on the Taishi chair he had specially built. While enjoying Anaye's massage service, he watched Fang Laique walking around the courtyard like a pigeon. Go.
"Lang Jun, let's go back to Liangzhou! The people here in Ganzhou are so bad, they are digging holes for Lang Jun!"
Fang Laique said indignantly.
Fang Chongyong was shaking a cattail leaf fan in his hand. He didn't seem to hear Fang Laique complaining, and he looked thoughtful.
"Does he look like a little fool to you?"
Anaye leaned into Fang Chongyong's ear and whispered.
"Idiot? How can you be a fool!"
Fang Chongyong suddenly realized and blurted out his retort.
He waved to Fang Laique, gesturing for him to come over.
Soon, Fang Laique walked up to Fang Chongyong and asked, "What are your orders, Mr. Lang? Are we going to rent a carriage to go to Liangzhou?"
Fang Chongyong said nothing, but looked at Fang Laique carefully.
Slightly stout figure.
The rogue temperament of slacking off because of good food and lazy work.
A pair of small eyes that are dull and emotionless.
A casual and disrespectful stance.
If you take into account his usual habit of speaking out loud... Anaye was right when she said he was a little fool.
However, fools have their own uses, and fools can often do things that normal people cannot do.
Fang Chongyong adheres to the idea that a piece of paper or a piece of cloth has its own magical uses. He feels that this wave of routines, with Fang Laique as the core of the routine, has a lot to do!
"Lai Que, although we are called masters and servants, we are actually as close as brothers..."
Before Fang Chongyong finished speaking, he heard Fang Laique patting his chest excitedly and saying, "I know! Just tell Mr. Lang if you have any orders!"
Well, just being stupid isn't enough. No matter what, you still have to package it.
Fang Chongyong circled around Fang Laique, but he was still the same as before. No matter how Fang Chongyong turned, he also followed Fang Chongyong, always facing Fang Chongyong. It was just his funny look that made Anaye's stomach burst from laughter.
Fang Chongyong was an activist, so he immediately took Fang Laique to the Xilai Temple in the south of the city, not far from the government office. After revealing his identity, Fang Chongyong successfully met Facheng, the abbot of Xilai Temple.
There are many Buddhist temples inside and outside Zhangye, why go to Xilai Temple?
Because only Xilai Temple in Zhangye City is a Tantric Buddhist temple, and the other temples are Exoteric Buddhist temples, Xilai Temple is an important tool used by the Tang Dynasty government to restrict Xianzong Buddhist temples in Ganzhou.
A simple summary: a government-designated unit!
Facheng was from Luoyang and was good at painting Buddhist statues. When I came to Hexi, I actually created murals here. I am not a "brainless" monk, and I have a good relationship with the government.
After meeting Monk Facheng, Fang Chongyong handed over the draft of the official document to the monk for viewing, and then sighed and asked:
"Master, just tell me how much money Xilai Temple plans to pay. If it's less, it won't work. If it's less, for the great cause of the saint, it can only be added to the people of Ganzhou. There will be a civil uprising by then.
You don’t want to see Zhangye City in ruins, right? "
Fang Chongyong's attitude of "I'll take my own money" made Facheng stunned for a while. Then he smiled bitterly and said: "If you have anything to do, just give me your instructions directly. There is no need to go around the bush."
Seeing Facheng's cooperation, Fang Chongyong's next words were useless. He could only cough lightly to cover up his embarrassment, then pointed at Fang Laique and said:
"This child is the holy son in your temple and knows everything. I hope he can become a monk in Xilai Temple today.
When I leave Ganzhou, I will just let him return to secular life. "
What is the Holy Son?
Facheng was confused and couldn't follow Fang Chongyong's thinking.
"The so-called Holy Son is the person favored by Buddha!"
Fang Chongyong added.
understood!
Facheng was an old man in the martial arts world. He had seen many magicians in Luoyang, and he knew what Fang Chongyong wanted to do as soon as he heard them.
"If the governor is confident, it is not impossible to let him enter Xilai Temple, but this holy son..."
Facheng was a little hesitant. By the way, this ten-year-old governor, wouldn't he regard the locals in Ganzhou as fools?
"Tomorrow I will send him over to become a monk. Master Facheng remembers to make the ceremony more solemn."
Fang Chongyong emphasized very openly that he would not give Facheng a chance to refuse.
Fa Cheng, who was well-informed, had long known the identity and background of the newly appointed governor. Faced with Fang Zhongyong's aggressive PUA, he had no choice but to accept the "unreasonable" request.
At this moment, Fang Laique suddenly hugged Fang Chongyong's arm and cried loudly: "Mr. Lang! I will marry the prime minister's daughter in the future, but I can't become a monk!"
When Facheng heard this, he awkwardly echoed: "The envoy's followers are people with great ambitions."
"Without merit, how can you marry a prime minister's daughter? Now is the time for you to make merit for the country!"
Fang Chongyong patted Fang Laique on the shoulder with a smile but said.
(End of chapter)
