On the side, Zhu Fu noticed Zhu Di's embarrassment. As the long history of King Yan, he wanted to solve problems for his own prince!
Therefore, he stood up directly and bowed his hands to Zhu Di, "Your Highness, now that the misunderstanding has been eliminated, the Wanping County Yamen must be in chaos because of the Guo Zhixian incident.
Otherwise, let Magistrate Guo go back first to appease the officials in Wanping County Government? "
Zhu Di nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes!"
With that said, he said to Guo An: "Well, go back quickly, so as not to worry your family and the officials in the county government!"
Guo An shouted loudly: "I won't go back!"
"Uh-huh?……"
Zhu Di was suddenly startled and looked at Guo An in surprise.
"Why don't you go back?"
Guo An immediately felt as if he had been greatly wronged, and cried directly: "Your Highness, your Highness sent people to bring this official to the Palace of Yan without any explanation. If he goes back again without any explanation, wouldn't he become a changed man?" Are you confused or not?"
I was so strong just now, but now I am so rogue...
The corners of Zhu Di's eyes twitched slightly, and he said helplessly, "What do you want from me?"
Guo An instantly looked at Zhu Di expectantly, "I beg your Highness to give an order. No one in the hall, no matter what time, must not spread the news that the official was gagged with sweat just now!"
Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief and said directly: "That's it!"
Li Wang, Zhu Liang and others nodded.
Guo An continued: "In addition, the lower official cannot suffer this injustice in vain!"
"Um?"
Zhu Di looked at Guo An in surprise, "Do you want me to apologize to you, or compensate you?"
Guo An smiled sheepishly, "Your Highness, I'm not so pretentious!"
Zhu Di was a little confused, "Then what do you want from me?"
Hum hum, it’s easy to ask God but hard to send God away!
Guo An hummed in his heart, and bowed to Zhu Di respectfully, "Reporting to Your Highness, I originally planned to spend a few days with the grain chiefs and li chiefs under my command to find Your Highness, please help me. Tens of thousands of people in Wanping County have solved the problem of reclaiming wasteland.
Unexpectedly, before the official could bring the grain chiefs and village chiefs under his control to see His Highness, His Highness sent someone to arrest him.
How dare you miss such a great opportunity? "
Hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes widened and he looked angry.
"Damn it, you are such a rogue official, are you relying on me?"
Guo Andao: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I have no choice but to do this. The tens of thousands of people in Wanping County are really suffering!"
On the side, Ning Daguang and Lu Zanxian waited for the old man to kneel down quickly with miserable expressions on their faces, and kowtowed to Zhu Di.
"Your Highness, please take pity on the tens of thousands of people in Wanping County. In order to cultivate two thousand hectares of fields before the food is exhausted, they get up before dawn every day and go to the wilderness to cultivate fields. It is too dark to see , just went back!"
"Your Highness, we are really suffering. In the past few days, several of the iron bars, catalpas, and shovels in our home have been damaged!"
"Your Highness, in order to open up wasteland, we really invested all our belongings in it..."
On the side, Zhu Di, Zhu Fu, Dao Yan and others had strange expressions on their faces.
These words feel inexplicably familiar!
After a while, Zhu Di looked angry and said, "Damn it, you are complaining like this to the merchants on the street, right?"
Guo An: "..."
"Your Highness is wise, you are indeed so!" Li Wang and Zhu Liang quickly bowed their hands and saluted.
Hearing this, Ning Daguang and Lu Zuanxian's expressions changed slightly, and then they hurriedly lowered their heads, their voices became even more miserable, and tears flowed from their eyes.
"Your Highness is aware that we have not deceived Your Highness in any way. We are really short of farm tools to open up wasteland, and we are also short of food. Moreover, these words of ours have not deceived those merchants..."
Zhu Di took a deep breath and said angrily: "Hmph, you and the more than 10,000 households in Wanping County need tens of thousands of iron tools such as iron bars and shovels.
How can there be so many kilograms of pig iron in this palace? Moreover, to make so many iron tools, at least hundreds of blacksmiths are needed. Where can I recruit so many blacksmiths? "
Guo An was overjoyed and said quickly: "Your Highness, you can buy pig iron from those merchants, or you can recruit our craftsmen from Wanping County to go to the Shangzhuang Village Iron Mine not far away to mine iron ore for a month!
In this way, we, the people of Wanping County, will replace the corvees and gangsters this year.
In addition, no matter how much iron ore the craftsmen of Wanping County mined from the Shangzhuang Village iron mine, they only borrowed 50,000 kilograms of pig iron from His Highness to forge farm tools such as iron bars and shovels!
As for the summer tax, it was decided by the imperial court.
In the end, if we really have no choice, we can only let the people of Wanping County sell one or two acres of the cultivated land!
Alas, no matter what happens, in the end all the suffering will still have to be borne by the people who work the most hard all day long..."
Zhu Di's eyes gradually widened, and finally he became furious, "Guo An, your mother, came to fool me again. There are only a few blacksmiths in Erwanping County.
Even if all the blacksmiths are sent to work in the iron mine in Shangzhuang Village for a month, how many kilograms of pig iron can be forged?
You, a thief official, have a wishful thinking. With just a few blacksmiths, you want to replace the entire Wanping County people's corvee and gang members this year?
Do you want to defraud another 50,000 kilograms of pig iron? "
"Fifty thousand kilograms of pig iron. Did you know that if all of them were made into military swords and guns, they could equip at least ten thousand troops?"
"Also, do you know how iron-deficient the Ming Dynasty is now? If I lend you 50,000 kilograms of pig iron to make farm tools, and my father finds out, how much scolding will I receive?
If all the generals in the imperial court find out, how much trouble will this king be in? "
"If fifty thousand kilograms of pig iron is not enough, you also want to defraud the people of Wanping County from their summer taxes. You, a thief magistrate with a dark heart, are not afraid of being arrested by the Jin Yiwei and sent to prison. ?”
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I am just a small magistrate of Wanping County. How dare you deceive Your Highness?"
Guo An looked indifferent and said in an indifferent tone, "It's just that the reclamation of wasteland is a decree issued by His Highness. The corvee service, gangs, and summer taxes are all things that the people of Wanping County must serve and pay!
The people of Wanping County worked so hard to reclaim wasteland, but they had no useful farm tools in their hands.
As the magistrate of Wanping County, Xianguan cannot just watch the people he governs end up being exhausted and starved to death!
This matter is just the best solution that the official can come up with. If His Highness can watch the people in his kingdom die of exhaustion and starvation, there is nothing he can do! "
"Please, Your Highness, save me..."
Ning Daguang, Lu Zuanxian and others also knelt down quickly with pleading expressions on their faces.
Zhu Di's eyes widened and he laughed angrily, "Damn it, you, a thief official, can really make things difficult for me!"
"Your Highness, whether it is pig iron, corvees and gangs, or even summer taxes, the people of Wanping County can borrow it!"
Guo An raised his head and said loudly: "As long as the people of Wanping County have land, they can repay it with food in just two years! And in Beiping Mansion, food is the most valuable thing!"
"Your Highness, the people of Wanping County are your Majesty's subjects, the people of the Ming Dynasty, but as the King of Yan, you are the only subject of Beiping Prefecture!"
"My king's people..."
Zhu Di's expression changed for a moment, and finally his face turned cruel!
"I will lend it to you even if I sell it! But you have to write an IOU!"
"Thank you, Your Highness..."
"Fuck..."
…
