pdf-ebookys Chapter 711 These are all officials! Officials! Not livestock!
Chapter 711 These are all officials! Officials! Not livestock!
"Daming Lake and Taizi Canal are located not far to the west of Liumiao Village."
Li Zhenming continued to tell Chen Xingzu and the other scholars about the situation in the various communities outside Ningyang County.
"West of Liu Temple is Sun Village Market, and further west is Xihe River."
"South of Liu Temple is Shawo, and north of it is Daboji. South of Suncunji is Gengzhuang, and north of it is Zhangchen."
"North of Zhangchen are Wangbian and Heshan, and further northwest of Xihe is Gangshang."
“These villages are similar to Liu Temple. If you pick any one of them, you’ll find that it has produced a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), a member of the Crown Prince’s personal guards, and countless clerks and assistant officials.”
"..."
Chen Xingzu and the other successful candidates were so shocked that they began to question the meaning of life.
Some of the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who came from Jiangnan, especially Jianyang, Ji'an, and Yuyao, were even more shocked than ever.
To put it bluntly, although places like Jianyang, Ji'an, and Yuyao have produced many Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), most of these Jinshi came from families with profound learning and had studied diligently since childhood. How could a large number of Jinshi come from ordinary families?
More importantly, although these three places produced many Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and countless officials and assistant officials, what about the Crown Prince's personal guards?
Everyone knows what the phrase "Eastern Palace Guards" means.
However, apart from Ningyang County, there was no news at all about recruiting guards for the Eastern Palace.
The difference is significant.
Thinking of this, Chen Xingzu and the others felt a little sad again.
I thought that passing the imperial examination would be enough to bring glory to my family.
But after arriving in Ningyang County, I realized that being a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) was nothing. In that county, if not every village had Jinshi, you could find at least a few.
This is outrageous!
Li Zhenming ignored what Chen Xingzu and the others were thinking and continued his introduction: "According to what the master said, the area a little south of Gengzhuang will be divided into Dongshu Town, and the area to the west will be divided into Xishu Town."
"Once all the divisions are completed, Ningyang County will form a pattern of one township and ten towns."
"In these ten towns, most of the industries are mainly based on mining and workshop production."
"..."
After explaining the plans for Ningyang County, Li Zhenming said with a smile, "According to my guess, after you gentlemen have visited the workshops, you will probably be sent by the magistrate to various towns and villages to work as clerks until His Highness the Crown Prince recalls us to the capital."
Chen Xingzu and the others were too lazy to think about it anymore.
If I've been assigned to be a clerk, then I'll be a clerk.
Anyway, we all have official positions, and even if we are just clerks, we still receive official salaries.
It seems that being a clerk is easier.
Chen Xingzu was pondering this in his mind, but pointed to the road beneath his feet and asked, "Brother Li, isn't the road from Yanzhou Prefecture to Ningyang County at least two or three zhang wide? The road we're on is also at least two or three zhang wide, but there aren't many carriages or horses on it. What's wrong with this road?"
Upon hearing Chen Xingzu's question, Li Zhenming was immediately delighted.
Look, look, the cattle and horses have fallen into the trap themselves.
Hey, sir, you can't say you don't have enough manpower this time, can you?
Li Zhenming smiled and said, "The magistrate said that the number of carriages and horses will eventually increase. If we build the road first, it will not delay the people's travel in the future."
After a slight pause, Li Zhenming asked with a smile, "Brother Chen, have you noticed that the road from Yanzhou Prefecture to Ningyang County is lined with trees on both sides?"
Chen Xingzu nodded.
This isn't quite normal either.
Who would plant such a large grove of trees on both sides of the road outside the county town, extending all the way to the junction with the road to the prefectural city?
Li Zhenming said, "According to the master, the road leading from the south of the city to Yanzhou Prefecture is a main road, and the final width is expected to be ten zhang. Only two zhang have been built so far, and the remaining eight zhang of open space have been used to plant trees."
"The road we are standing on is the main road connecting several villages and communities in the west of the city to the county town. So the final width is expected to be five zhang, but only two zhang have been built so far. The open space is used to plant trees."
"In other words, there is plenty of open space on both sides of each road, which can be widened at any time."
"The reason why the magistrate reserved so much land in advance was so that when he wanted to widen the road in the future, he would not have to encroach on the people's farmland."
Chen Xingzu nodded again, but couldn't help asking, "Brother Li seems quite familiar with the various plans for Ningyang County?"
Li Zhenming's lips twitched, and he said with a forced smile, "Familiar? Of course we're very familiar, and you two will be very familiar with each other in the future, Brother Chen."
Chen Xingzu was somewhat bewildered by what Li Zhenming said.
Li Zhenming's eyes revealed a mixture of reminiscence, sighs, emotions, and pain.
Those were my, Li's, years of toil and hardship...
Li Zhenming sighed softly and slowly explained, "When we were studying at the county school, we had to set aside a few days each month to work as clerks in the county government office."
"Moreover, the household registration office we went to this month may be the workshop we have to go to next month."
“When the magistrate planned these roads, and even the towns, we were involved.”
"In the future... Brother Chen and others will most likely be involved as well."
At this point, Li Zhenming suddenly felt that his past experiences didn't seem so painful.
No matter what, the old Ningyang County can never compare to the current Ningyang County. Although the government affairs in the past were also quite complicated, there are obviously more troublesome government affairs now.
The experiences of Chen Xingzu and his group were clearly far more painful than what I, Li, went through.
……
After chatting and laughing for most of the day, Li Zhenming finally brought Chen Xingzu and the other scholars to Liumiao Village.
Li Zhenming found Liu Sanshier, the head of Liumiao Village, and said bluntly, "Uncle Liu, these are all my classmates. The master asked them to come and stay in the village, to eat, live, and farm with the people of Liumiao Village."
"Moreover, the master specifically instructed that they should eat the same food as the villagers and not be given any special treatment. They should eat whatever you eat."
"Can you leave twenty people from Liu Miao Village?"
Liu Sanshier's eyes lit up. He pulled Li Zhenming aside and asked in a low voice, "Does the master mean that all those big animals should rest? Twenty is a bit too few."
Li Zhenming's face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"These are all officials! Officials! Not livestock!"
Li Zhenming said with a dark face, "The master sent them to the village so that they could help the uncles and elders in the village with their work, just like we did back then."
"To put it bluntly, the magistrate wants them to know how hard farming is, and hopes that they won't harm the people when they become officials in the future."
"It wasn't intentional to make things difficult for them."
Liu Thirty-Two smacked his lips with considerable regret.
It seems that the large livestock in the village still can't rest.
Tsk.