Zheng Haizhu thought to himself: Chongming County Magistrate is this old fox!
Previously, as soon as she received the order from the court as a reward, she asked her nephew Shoukuan to come to Chongming to buy land. Huang Zunsu had communicated with the Suzhou Prefecture in advance, and the Suzhou Prefecture handed over the task. Chongming County showed special concern and recommended the land in the south of the island to Zheng Shoukuan, saying it was deserted and ownerless Shatian. The South Island is located at the junction of the river and the sea. convenient.
After arriving on the island today, Zheng Haizhu got the field deed from the county magistrate, and was extra careful to confirm that both the "bottom of the field" and "the surface of the field" were under his name.
It was a common phenomenon in the late Ming Dynasty that the ownership and use rights of civilian fields were sold separately. In the north, the ownership is called "Tian Bone" and the use right is called "Tian Skin". In the Susong area of Zhili in the south, they are called "Tian Di" and "Tian Surface" respectively.
When Zheng Haizhu bought the land in Chongming, Huang Zunsu told her in advance that she must indicate in the contract that "the bottom and surface of the field are signed to Zheng Haizhu", and also indicate the amount of autumn grain, which will be delivered by Zheng Haizhu. Because of Zheng Haizhu's status as an imperial edict, she could only be exempted from the "corvee" on her land, but she still had to pay the land tax. Specifying the specific taxes to be paid means that the property rights and tenant farming rights of these thousands of acres of land have been handed over to Zheng Haizhu.
Unexpectedly, it seems that now that I have not been deceived in terms of financial benefits when it comes to buying land in Chongming, I have clearly been used by the county magistrate as a tool to maintain stability.
Zheng Haizhu said with a hint of humility and helplessness: "Grandma Tang, the younger generation seems to have realized something. You and I have been fooled. I would like to ask, but grandma went to Suzhou Prefecture to work for the veterans because the lawsuit in Chongming failed. Did future generations hand over the petition?"
Grandma Tang nodded and said, "Yes, I went to Suzhou in the twelfth lunar month to hand over the complaint, but saw no movement. I went again after the spring started. Yesterday, I was still in front of the Suzhou Mansion, calling out the grievances of the children."
This old lady has been litigating for decades and has a much clearer mind and quicker reactions than ordinary people.
She quickly snorted and sneered: "Mrs. Zheng, I have spoken to you a few words, and I want to understand. It must be the county magistrate who refuses to let me go. I am afraid that if the censor asks, Suzhou is really After investigation, it turns out that neither he nor the thousands of households who invaded the land have anything to gain from it, so I might as well transfer the land to you."
Zheng Haizhu sighed: "Yes, mother-in-law, after you are Zhongliang, the house will definitely provide the ranking of Min Zhonggong. After all, you have status. They don't dare to threaten you like a farmer, so they will fight for it." The flames of the earth led me here. What's more, if Suzhou or even Yingtianfu asks, they will even think of their excuses. It's just me, Mrs. Anyuan, who is domineering and cheating on the merits of the Ming Dynasty. , half-buying, half-grabbing the land to occupy the sergeants’ land of origin.”
When she said this, she turned to Wu Bond and sighed: "No wonder these fields are so cheap. I thought it was because Chongming County respects me as the pillar of the country. Ahem! In fact, it is a trap for us!"
Grandma Tang heard her laugh at herself very frankly, and her affection for this woman increased even more.
After asking about the price on the field deed, Grandma Tang shook her head and said: "Of course the price is too low. Mrs. Zheng and Mr. Wu, this land is near the sea, so they can falsely declare it as a salt stove field. Because originally, in order to encourage the people on the island to cook salt, The court had rules. In Chongming, if the kitchen fields where salt was cooked collapsed underwater, the kitchen households could get twenty-eight acres of tidal flat land as compensation. As soon as this order came out, many powerful people in Chongming changed their ways to destroy their own sand fields. Falsely reporting it as kitchen farmland. If you have thousands of acres of sandy land by the sea, and those thousands of households collude with the county to allocate a few hundred acres and report it as kitchen farmland, and then use the excuse of flooding and collapse, they can get extra without any effort. Dozens of them are dumped into tidal flats. How can it be sold at such a low price for no reason?"
Zheng Haizhu understood. Isn't this just defrauding financial subsidies? Sure enough, it is similar in ancient and modern times, because human greed remains unchanged in ancient times.
Grandma Tang felt a little embarrassed when she saw Zheng Haizhu standing all the time, not only respecting his elders, but also looking like a student respectfully asking for advice from his teacher.
"Mrs. Zheng, the old lady's temper was a bit violent just now. Please be more patient. Those foxes in the county spoke with half of their words revealed and others hidden. They said that you had backing from south to north and led me astray. I also thought that you They are one of them, and they used your power to suppress this land invasion case. Alas, I am indeed old and easily confused."
Zheng Haizhu hurriedly gave another blessing, and when he spoke again, he no longer made any false words of comfort, but said bluntly: "Grandma, I understand the cause and effect of this matter, and I also sympathize with the descendants of the military households originally from Chongming. But I, this junior I can't accompany you to question the county magistrate, let alone go to Suzhou to file a lawsuit. This land is already in my name, so I can't hand it over. Otherwise, it will be tantamount to telling the whole county that I, Zheng Haizhu, am either out of my mind or not. Either it works well, or the orders on them are not working well. These Liao tenants of mine will definitely be bullied by thousands of households and county magistrates in the future. Grandma, they are also poor people, aren't they?"
Upon hearing this, Grandma Tang's face was serious, but not filled with anger. She even turned her head and looked at the Liao residents in the dusk, watching them enter each thatched hut like a flock of sheep returning home.
When she withdrew her gaze and fell on the face of the girl Hua Er, Hua Er said nervously: "Mother-in-law, why don't we ask the descendants of the sergeants to farm with us? They eat more, we eat less, they If they come from the Ming Dynasty, which is close to North Korea, their words should be similar to ours."
(I'm sorry, I'm too busy today, busy with my own and other people's livelihood. I only updated this much)
(End of chapter)
