met free Chapter 99 Old Zhu... no, I mean father-in-law!
Chapter 99 Old Zhu... no, I mean father-in-law!
Zhu Shuang, the second son of Zhu Lao, sneered and said, "Nine out of ten county magistrates in the counties that suffered from drought and locust plagues this time are like this."
The third brother, Zhu Gang, added, "Even if these corrupt officials organize the people to worship the locust god, I would consider them to have the idea of controlling the locusts. However, most county magistrates just let the people worship the locust god while they themselves hide in the county office and enjoy their leisure."
Zhu Gang raised his head and looked at Yang Shaofeng, saying, "Brother Yang, don't you think these corrupt officials should be whipped?"
Yang Shaofeng thought to himself that it was indeed Zhu Gang, the third Zhu who whipped the cook. This guy was indeed a descendant of the Zhu family, and his idea of not treating officials as human beings was indeed inherited from the same lineage.
“Of course we should draw a prize,” Yang Shaofeng said with a smile. “The saying goes, ‘An official should bring benefits to the people in his jurisdiction.’ If an official doesn’t think about the well-being of the people, what use is he?”
Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San nodded frantically, but Yang Shaofeng changed the subject again, saying, "However, the county suffering from drought and locust plague is Ningyang County and several nearby prefectures. Unfortunately, almost all the county magistrates in Shandong were temporarily appointed, just like me. Moreover, the imperial court has not issued any decrees on how to prevent drought or control locusts. How are these county magistrates supposed to prevent drought and control locusts?"
Zhu Lao Er stared wide-eyed at Yang Shaofeng and said, "According to Brother Yang, it seems that the court is in the wrong?"
Zhu Lao Er also looked disappointed: "Could it be that Brother Yang is pleading for those corrupt officials?"
Jin'er whispered, "Your Highnesses, please don't panic. Let Young Master Yang finish speaking."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "I am not pleading for those corrupt officials, but rather I want to tell Your Highnesses that if you want to punish those corrupt officials, the court must first have corresponding decrees and laws to let them know what they are supposed to do and why they will be punished, instead of directly whipping them."
After thinking for a moment, Yang Shaofeng pointed in the direction of Liu Miao Village and said, "When I first took office, I summoned all the heads of the eight communities and sixteen villages in Ningyang County and told them to go back and warn the people to be diligent in farming and not to gamble or hold competitions."
"Later, a young man from Liumiao Village was caught gambling with someone, and was therefore whipped ten times."
"Because I had already said so beforehand, the able-bodied men who were selected naturally accepted it willingly and would not harbor any resentment."
"Your Highness might consider this: if I hadn't warned them beforehand and had instead whipped them directly, would they still be convinced?"
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San's momentum faltered. After pondering for a moment, Zhu Lao Er bowed to Yang Shaofeng and said, "Brother Yang is right. I was wrong."
Zhu Laosan chimed in, "No wonder my eldest brother told me and my second brother to learn more from Brother Yang."
Yang Shaofeng cupped his hands in response, saying, "I dare not accept such praise, Your Highness. Both Your Highnesses are too modest."
Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San are now at the rebellious age of twelve or thirteen, an age when they hope others can treat them like adults. If someone is willing to communicate with them like an adult, they can listen.
Yang Shaofeng led Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Princess Jin'er, and Princess Yu'er on a tour of the earthen mounds of Liu Miao Village, showing them how the villagers cultivated the land. Then, he led the group into the village itself.
As soon as he entered the village, Zhu Laosan covered his nose and frowned, saying, "What a stinky smell!"
Yang Shaofeng laughed and said, "Does Your Highness still remember when His Highness the Crown Prince once sent over a thousand chickens and a thousand ducks?"
After Zhu Laosan nodded, Yang Shaofeng continued, "With the chickens and ducks sent by His Highness the Crown Prince, and those sent by Prime Minister Xu and Chang Pingzhang one after another, the number of chickens and ducks in the chicken farm has increased. As the chicks and ducklings have begun to hatch, I had people deliver two chickens and two ducks, one male and one female, to each household."
"In Liumiao Village, there are 35 households, 70 chickens and 70 ducks. Every day, these chickens and ducks produce chicken and duck droppings, which the villagers collect to fertilize the land later."
At this point, a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Yang Shaofeng's face: "Actually, there is another manure field not too far from Liu Miao Village. The manure from the farms and livestock farms in the county town is transported there every day to compost. After the autumn sowing, the manure will also be taken by the villagers to fertilize the land."
Zhu Shuang, the second son of Zhu Lao, clicked his tongue twice and said, "If all the other county magistrates were like Brother Yang, the lives of the common people would be much better."
Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly and said, "The situation in Ningyang County is different from other places. Other places cannot easily learn from Ningyang County's methods."
Zhu Lao Er nodded slightly, then asked thoughtfully, "We can't learn how to build chicken farms and livestock farms, but we can certainly learn how to build roads, right? As Brother Yang said, building good roads will speed up the flow of goods and money throughout the country, and the people will benefit from it."
Yang Shaofeng shook his head again and smiled, "I had them repair the road because those who repaired the road were all convicts who had been exiled here, and there was no need to conscript the common people for corvée labor."
"If it weren't for those criminals, and His Majesty had exempted Ningyang County from taxes and corvée labor for three years, if I wanted to repair the road, I would have had to pay the able-bodied men of Ningyang County to do it, and I would have had to choose the autumn season so as not to delay the farming."
"As for the money in the Ningyang County government office, it came from raising chickens, ducks, pigs, cattle and horses, and part of it came from providing the army with rations, fried noodles and canned food."
Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Shuang, nodded again. "Brother Yang means that the county government of Ningyang County has money, but other county governments may not have money. Moreover, road repairs will inevitably be slower after autumn, and perhaps only a few miles of road can be repaired in a year."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and nodded, then led the group into the village.
After walking a little further, an old woman who was sitting at her doorstep sewing shoe soles saw Magistrate Yang approaching and stood up to greet him from afar: "Your Excellency is here? Have you eaten yet?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and replied, "I've already eaten. You've eaten too, old man? The soles of these shoes are really well-made. If you ask me, shoes should have soles like these with thousands of layers."
The old woman kept smiling and nodding in agreement. When she saw Princess Jin'er and Princess Yu'er, her face suddenly lit up with joy. She looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Master, who are these two?"
Jin'er blushed and glanced at Yang Shaofeng, then lowered her head. Even Yu'er, who was more outspoken than her sister, kept her head down.
Yang Shaofeng was completely bewildered by Jin'er and Yu'er's behavior.
Wait, what do you two mean by this?
You two are princesses, aren't you? Who are you trying to impress with those shy, bashful looks?
If someone who didn't know the truth were here, they might misunderstand and think that I, Yang, was having an affair with you two.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was secretly grumbling and about to reveal Jin'er and Yu'er's princess identities, Zhu Laosan (Zhu Gang) preemptively said, "These two are my sisters. They came to Ningyang County this time to meet my brother-in-law!"
Looking at each other?
Brother-in-law?
Yang Shaofeng looked at Zhu Laosan with a blank expression, then at Jin'er and Yu'er. He saw that both sisters had their faces red and their heads down. Yu'er, in particular, would occasionally steal a glance at him. Yang Shaofeng was completely bewildered.
He was just a lowly seventh-rank official, yet Old Zhu would actually send his two adopted daughters to Ningyang County for a marriage proposal.
Moreover, it seems that the two people came to look at the same time, and it looks like they are going to choose whichever one they like.
You expect a lowly seventh-rank official like me to choose a princess?
Wow, Old Zhu... no, Father-in-law is really willing to spend so much money?
With such care for his subordinates, it's no wonder that his father-in-law was able to become emperor!