lady, please calm down

Starting from the fourth day of July, Cui Zaidao and Tang Tingzhi gradually expanded their exploration to seven townships and twenty-four bao, with Xianggongzhong Village as the center.

At present, the administrative division of Jiangnan still continues the old Zhou Dynasty site, and "townships, bao, and ji" are set up below the county.

However, this kind of grassroots organization does not require officials to be appointed by the court, but relies purely on "villager self-government". To put it bluntly, the gentry exercises governance power on behalf of the court.

This governance right covers litigation, education, labor, and taxation.
Not to mention the two issues of setting up private courts and monopolizing the right to education, the mere fact of controlling the distribution of taxes and labor service was enough to make the people in the area submit to him.
The common people paid taxes and grain according to the three classes of households: upper, middle and lower. However, the classification of households was quite loose and was almost entirely decided by the local gentry.

In practice, it was not uncommon for a well-off family with upper-class property to be classified as a lower-class family by the gentry in order to avoid taxation; and it was also not uncommon for a lower-class family to be classified as an upper-class family and then be forced to pay the heavy taxes, which led to the family being broken up.

In addition, there is a lot of room for maneuver in conscripting laborers based on the number of people in the family.

During the winter when there was no farming work, building roads and digging canals, or constructing private houses for officials and gentry were considered excellent chores.

If you are unlucky, you will be selected to serve as a "traveling soldier" in spring and autumn, accompanying the government to escort prisoners to exile. The round trip can be as long as 2,000 miles, and it can take more than half a year.
Not only would it delay the farming season, but the family would also have to provide for their own food along the way. There had been a tragic incident where a man returned from military service and his mother, wife, and children had starved to death.

The people were terrified of this kind of hard labor that could legally destroy their families and make them die.

Naturally, the gentry who held the power to distribute corvee labor became the emperors over the people.

Due to the accumulated power over the years, the majority of villagers do not know the laws of the court and only know so-and-so.

The above situations had a certain impact on Cui Zaidao's work, but hard work pays off. After more than ten days of visits and investigations, Cui Zaidao had a general understanding of the farmland data in Changhua County.

According to the Changhua land register that he had consulted in advance, there were a total of 950,000 mu of registered irrigated and dry land in the county. However, after a thorough investigation, Cui Zaidao dared to guarantee that the local land area was at least around 300,000 mu.

The Cao family and other gentry, who apparently only had 7,000 acres of registered land, actually had a much bigger appetite than Cui Zaidao had imagined. Two hundred thousand acres of hidden land!

This is just the area of ​​one county. One can imagine how much land there is in the entire Jiangnan area that does not require tax payment.

Taxation is the foundation of a country. If the big families refuse to pay, this heavy burden will be passed on to ordinary people. The poor will become poorer, and the large number of farmers who are bankrupt or on the verge of bankruptcy will become a major destabilizing factor.

As a result, the country needed to spend more wealth to appease the refugees, which gradually became a vicious cycle and eventually led to the bankruptcy of the court. It was unable to appease the refugees and had no money to support the army. The court no longer had any majesty, and the people gradually fell into disorder.

July 15th is the Ghost Festival, commonly known as the Ghost Festival.

Cui Zaidao and Tang Tingzhi spent the entire afternoon finishing the more than 10,000-word "Changhua County Investigation Report".

This is the result of more than ten days of hard work by the two. After entering middle school, all Lanxiang students will learn the model essay "Luliuwei Investigation Report" completed by His Majesty in the seventh year of Fuchang.

Like the model essay, this Changhua survey only lists objective conditions such as local geography, hydrology, land, population, minerals, and transportation, as well as the degree of control of the local area by the gentry and the negative or positive role of the government.

Based on the above situation, carefully give your own guesses and suggestions on what difficulties future farmland reforms will encounter.

The whole article does not preach any profound principles, but only has the four core ideas of "pragmatism and truth-seeking".

According to the plan, the two of them will temporarily return to Lin'an tomorrow to submit the investigation report to Chen Yinglang, the head of the land reform team. After the latter reviews it, he may hand it over to His Majesty for review.

To this end, Cui Zaidao was particularly careful and copied the entire report neatly.

It is the middle of the You hour, near evening.

Having stayed at Uncle Du Yu's house for several days, Cui Zaidao thought he would leave tomorrow, so he took out a silver coin and gave it to Old Man Du, saying, "I have been bothering you for many days. Please use this little silver to buy some wine and some meat. I will be leaving tomorrow, so I will have a few drinks with you tonight."

A few days ago, Cui Zaidao had tried to lend money to Du Yu for the night, but the latter refused to accept it. This time, Uncle Du refused as he did before, until he heard that the other party was leaving the next day, and then he exclaimed, "You two young gentlemen are leaving?"

"Yes, but maybe in a few days, we will come back and live with uncle again."

The accommodation conditions of poor families are naturally not very good. Tang Tingzhi said happily when he thought that he could stay in Chai Su's mansion for two days when he returned to Lin'an.

"Okay, that's a good feeling."

Old Man Du smiled with a simple face, took the silver and went outside to buy wine and meat.

That night, four people who were not from the same family sat around the table in the yard under the bright moon.

Perhaps because the two of them were leaving tomorrow, Du Yue'er, at her father's call, walked out of the house and sat between Cui Zaidao and her father, pouring wine for the three of them.

This Du Yue'er has some color, and the hazy moonlight makes her even more graceful and charming.

After a few days of contact, Cui Zaidao could feel that the old man Du and his daughter were interested in him. As long as Cui Zaidao opened his mouth, there was a high probability that the old man Du would be willing to marry his daughter to him.

After all, the identity of a scholar is still very popular in the eyes of such poor families.

However, Cui Zaidao had great ambitions and knew that his shortcoming was his family background. If he wanted to rise to prominence in the future and achieve his goals, he had to be extremely careful in choosing a wife.

It would be best if the wife's family could provide him with support in his future, so he would not marry a village woman just for her beauty.

Therefore, for many days he had been pretending not to understand the various hints from Old Man Du and his daughter.

In order to prevent Old Man Du from mentioning this matter again before leaving, Cui Zaidao deliberately said: "Uncle, don't worry. Now Jiangnan has become the land of Chu. According to Chu's policy, you will definitely be able to get a piece of your own land in the future. If the weather is good, you will be able to live a good life in a few years."

“Oh that’s a good feeling.”

Old Man Du, however, reacted indifferently to Cui Zaidao's words. The latter thought that Old Man Du still could not understand the significance of Tian Gai to him, so he smiled and stopped talking.

"Mr. Cui, Mr. Tang, I am an old man with a poor tongue and I cannot say nice things. It is my honor that you two have stayed in my house for more than ten days. I will have another drink with you~"

"Uncle, you're welcome."

"Come, Yue'er, have a drink with the two gentlemen."

The moon is bright in the sky and the ancient village is quiet.

Cui Zaidao, who had completely let down his guard, couldn't help but drink a few more cups.
It was not until the middle of the night that the cozy little courtyard gradually became quiet.

But he saw Cui Zaidao and Tang Tingzhi lying on the table, drunk and snoring intermittently.

"Mr. Cui, Mr. Tang"

Old Man Du gently pushed the two of them, and seeing that they had no reaction, he lowered his voice and said, "You stay here, I'll go call the Third Young Master."

After saying that, the honest old man Du stood up and walked out of the yard. About a hundred breaths later, a young man in gorgeous clothes and seven or eight strong men dressed as servants walked into the yard one after another.

The young master took a torch from the servant and shone it in front of the two men's faces. Seeing that they both looked young and immature, and looked like they were no more than 20 years old, he couldn't help but sneer, "Huaibei students, disciples of the emperor, is this all?"

Du Yue'er, who had been sitting at the table, also stood up at this time, walked to the young master, lowered her head and said aggrievedly: "Third Master, after tonight, my reputation will be ruined. Third Master, you need to arrange a way out for me."

The third young master laughed, raised his hand to hold up Du Yue'er's chin, and gently scraped Du Yue'er's lips with his thumb to remove the remaining wine stains on her lips. Then, he put his thumb back into his mouth and sucked it in a slightly obscene manner, "Don't worry, I love you so much, how could I not want you."

After saying that, he casually took off the jade pendant from his waist and threw it over. Du Yue'er quickly raised her hand to catch it. She saw that the jade pendant was soft and smooth, as white as mutton fat, and it was obvious that it was not an ordinary item. She couldn't help but smile with joy.

Old Man Du stood on tiptoe and looked up, staring at the jade pendant for a few seconds. Suddenly he stepped forward and snatched the jade pendant from his daughter's hand, saying, "Dad will put it away for you first. Dad will put it away for you!"

"No! If you take it, you will lose it to others at the gambling table in a few days! Give it back to me now!"

"Hey! It's the opposite of Tian Gang! If I hadn't used anesthetics to knock out these two nerds, how could the Third Young Master's event be so smooth! The Third Young Master gave me this jade pendant as a reward!"

Seeing that she couldn't win against her father, Du Yue'er could only say to the Third Young Master in a coquettish voice: "Third Master."

The biological father and daughter were fighting for a jade pendant like wild dogs. The Third Young Master was watching with great interest. When he heard Du Yue'er's coquettish behavior, he just said, "Okay, okay, are you afraid of not having enough money to do things for my family?"

After pinching Du Yue'er's butt, the Third Young Master ordered the servants, "Carry the two men to the two rooms separately and strip Cui's clothes." When the servants were moving the two men, the Third Young Master pointed to the shabby house where Cui Zaidao lived and said to Du Yue'er with a laugh, "Go, Yue'er, it's up to you from now on."

Du Yue'er hesitated for a while, her eyes turned red, and she said, "Third Master, they are the students of the current emperor. Yue'er is afraid."

The Third Young Master couldn't help but frown, as if he was angry, but then he immediately suppressed his emotions, smiled, took out a small gold ingot from his sleeve and handed it forward.

Du Yue'er's eyes lit up involuntarily, and she quickly took it, put it in her mouth and bit it, then looked at the clear teeth marks on the ingot, smiled and knelt down to the Third Young Master.

Then, he walked into the shabby house where Cui Zaidao had lived for more than ten days.

"Don't let the rapist escape!"

"Mr. Cao, County Magistrate, please help me. Ten days ago, my father and I took in two scholars out of kindness, but we didn't expect that Cui had such a beastly heart that he took my daughter by force after drinking."

"Kill these two outsiders!"

"Zhe Er, don't mess around!"

"woooooo"

Cui Zaidao, whose brain was in a daze, felt a splitting headache at first. The noisy sounds around him made him feel even more uncomfortable. It seemed that someone was making a noise outside, and it seemed that someone was crying beside him.

After almost exhausting all his strength, he managed to open his eyes, only to see shadows of people and chaotic footsteps outside the window.

At this moment, Cui Zaidao's reaction was extremely slow. Before he could figure out what was going on, the door was slammed open and a group of people rushed in.

"Ah~"

The screaming sounded so close that Cui Zaidao immediately turned his head to look inside the bed. He saw Du Yue'er, the young lady of the Du family, with her hair in a messy bun and naked, huddled in the corner of the bed, hugging the quilt, shivering and with tears in her eyes.

"."

Cui Zaidao's confused brain suddenly froze.

The man in fancy clothes who rushed into the room first, along with several strong men, rushed forward, pulled Cui Zaidao off the bed, and started beating and kicking him without saying a word.

At the same time, Tang Tingzhi, who was sleeping in another room, was also dragged over. Having just recovered from a hangover and being forced to wake up, Tang Tingzhi was also confused. However, he saw his good friend Cui Zaidao being beaten up, and he could not help but panic, "Stop! We are students from Huaibei School, disciples of His Majesty! Who are you!"

He shouted like this because the situation was urgent. If he didn't come up with a name that could intimidate everyone, Tang Tingzhi was worried that Cui Zaidao would be beaten to death on the spot.

Sure enough, after a loud shout, everyone was stunned and stopped immediately.

In the eerie silence, Old Man Du squeezed into the house from the crowd, looked at his daughter, and rushed over with a wail, "My poor daughter, your mother left early, and your father raised you with great difficulty, but you were taken by this Huaibei villain. It's all your fault that your father was soft-hearted and took them in. Your father is so sorry for you."

"Wuwuwu daddy, my daughter has brought shame to our family. I'd rather die."

The father and daughter hugged each other and cried bitterly. Then Tang Tingzhi realized that the disheveled Du Yue'er was lying on her friend's bed. He looked at Cui Zaidao in surprise.

Everyone in Huaibei knows that the current emperor hates the crime of raping women the most. Back then, when the Huaibei Army was first established, at least dozens of old soldiers were executed on the spot for this crime alone, and only then was this trend curbed.

How could Cui Zaidao be so confused!

You have a bright future ahead of you. Will you lack a willing woman in the future? Why force yourself?
Now, even if His Majesty values ​​you, you are finished.

Even Tang Tingzhi might be implicated and his career would be affected.
Under Tang Tingzhi's puzzled and angry gaze, Cui Zaidao was speechless for a moment and said subconsciously: "This matter must be a misunderstanding."

"Woooooo~"

As soon as Cui Zaidao finished speaking, Du Yue'er on the bed started howling again, pointing at the bed sheet and saying, "You, you, you."

Everyone looked in the direction of her finger and saw pink spots on the bed sheet that were particularly eye-catching.

This is irrefutable evidence.

The old man Du shouted and knelt down in front of two people at the door. One of them was over fifty years old, with white face and beard, and looked quite elegant.

The other middle-aged man was wearing a green county magistrate's official robe and had a frown on his face.

I only heard Old Man Du say, "Father and mother, please help me and my daughter and have this rapist thrown into jail!"

Before the magistrate could speak, the pale-faced old man beside him said, "Absolutely not! These two scholars are the emperor's disciples. If this scandal gets out, how can your majesty save your dignity!"

These words immediately touched the hearts of Cui Zaidao and Tang Tingzhi. Being the emperor's disciple is the identity that the students in Huaibei are most proud of. It is also a spur, driving them to always pay attention to their words and deeds and not to bring discredit to His Majesty.

His Majesty is not only the person they will serve in the future, but also their teacher and brother. They can imagine how angry their classmates will be with them and how disappointed His Majesty will be if this matter gets out.

At this moment, the emotional breakdown caused by "disappointing His Majesty" even exceeded the worry of ruining his future.

Tang Tingzhi, with his arms held, couldn't help but shed tears.

Hearing that the old man was trying to plead for the two, Old Man Du kowtowed twice and cried, "Lord Cao, everyone says that your majesty loves the people like his own children, so can your majesty's students do whatever they want? If the county magistrate does not make a decision for me, I will take my daughter to Lin'an to beat the drum and file a complaint with the emperor!"

"This"

Cao Gong seemed to be intimidated by Old Man Du's resolute attitude. After hesitating for a few breaths, he suddenly said to Cui Zaidao, who looked as if he had lost all hope, "I have a way to save you two and not bring shame to your majesty. Are you willing to listen?"

"Please, Lord Cao, please speak."

Even though Cui Zaidao was a top student, he was still a young man under 20 years old. Ever since he woke up from his hangover, various characters appeared one after another like a violent storm, leaving him no room for calm thinking.

Plus, my head was a mess after drinking, like a ball of paste, and I couldn't make sense of anything.

At this moment, hearing Cao Gong say that there was a way to save the situation, it was like grabbing a life-saving straw.

"Since the mistake tonight has been made, Mr. Cui might as well marry Miss Du. This will not only give Miss Du a home, but also preserve Mr. Cui's reputation and not bring trouble to Your Majesty. I am willing to contribute thirty taels of silver as Miss Du's dowry to make this a good thing happen."

If this matter can be settled like this, it will indeed be a happy occasion for everyone.

Tang Tingzhi had already started winking at Cui Zaidao frantically, trying to get him to agree quickly.

Cui Zaidao, who had recovered a little, felt that what happened tonight was quite strange. While he was hesitating, Cao Zhuo, the third son of Cao Gong, said angrily, "If my father had not been thinking about Your Majesty, how could he have given you such advice? What's the matter? Do you still want to deny it?"

Over there, Cao Gong glanced over and Old Man Du, who was waiting for Cui Zaidao to speak, started crying again, "I will go to Lin'an with my son to file a complaint with the Emperor, and let His Majesty make the decision for my father and me."

"Why are you so anxious, old man? Mr. Cui didn't say he wouldn't marry your daughter."

Magistrate Nalu also spoke at the right time, and then Cao Gong asked Du Yue'er kindly, "Miss Du, are you willing to marry Master Cui?"

"Wow, now that things have come to this, what can I do? I am willing to marry Master Cui."

Although Cui Zaidao had no interest in Du Yue'er at first, now that things had come to this, he had to marry her even if he wanted to be responsible to her.

Just now, I didn't express my opinion because of the sudden doubts in my mind.

But now, everyone has forced him to a point where he has to make a statement on the spot, "I am willing to marry Mrs. Du."

After these few words were uttered, everyone present, except him and Tang Tingzhi, breathed a sigh of relief.

Cao Gong smiled gently and said, "Okay! In that case, let's sign the marriage certificate. I accompanied Magistrate Lu on his night rice inspection and unexpectedly ran into this marriage. It's fate. Magistrate Lu and I signed the marriage certificate together and became witnesses. It's also a good story, hahaha." (End of this chapter)