lady, please calm down

Throughout September and November, there was no peace in Caishikou, Lin'an. Nearly a thousand people, including the masterminds of the two cases, the male members of their families, and senior military officers captured in the victory on Fujian Road, were skinned or beheaded. The execution lasted for more than a month.

If it wasn't late autumn and approaching winter, the Caishikou would have been swarming with flies and the stench would have been unbearable.

The investigation of the two cases continued until mid-October, when it entered its final stage. By then, more than 18,000 people had been imprisoned.
Under official instructions, newspapers briefly disclosed two major cases. The families in prison learned that they were involved in a major case of conspiracy to treason and regicide. They no longer had any hope and wanted to commit suicide by fasting for dozens of days in early October.

Upon hearing this, Chen Bokang personally went to the Lin'an government office and the Ministry of Justice prison, where the largest number of criminals and their families were detained, and brought the good news that "Your Majesty is benevolent and has changed the sentence of hanging to exile", in order to prevent large-scale suicide and self-mutilation from continuing.

He knew very well that going to the South China Sea was almost as difficult as establishing a new country, and every person was precious.

Zhou Wei, the former Minister of the Dali Temple, has now become a prisoner. The reason why he was able to save his life was that Cai Yuan dug deep but could not find any evidence of his involvement in the Funing Palace case or evidence of treason. He was one of the few high-ranking officials among the six ministries and nine officials in Jiangnan who was not taken to Caishikou.

But today, the two major cases are no longer simple. Even if Zhou Wei had no intention of treason and regicide, the Huaibei faction would not allow him to control such an important department as the Dali Temple.

In the end, he was charged with the crime of "not reporting the truth".

He originally thought that he could not escape death, but now he learned from Chen Bokang that the punishment for treason was exile. However, the surprise did not last long, as he learned that his entire family would be exiled to Luzon Island, and he could not help but lose interest.

There are many sea merchants in the southeast. Although they have never been to Luzon Island, they have heard that it is not only a place of malaria, but also there are many savage savages on the island who like to eat human flesh. This exile punishment is just to change their death from the hands of Your Majesty to the mouths of the savages.

Seeing that he was in low spirits, Chen Bokang pulled out a booklet from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Wei. It listed in detail the personnel composition of those going south to sea, "how many men, how many women", as well as their age structure.

Below, there are the various occupations he found out from the criminals' families through investigation, such as how many carpenters and stonemasons there are in the "construction team", the doctors and weavers in the logistics team, the sergeants and militiamen in the defense team, and so on.

Zhou Wei passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi at the age of 20. He has served as a Hanlin, a provincial magistrate, a censor, and now one of the Nine Ministers. Although he has a rich resume, he has never had any real grassroots work experience.

Seeing how detailed Chen Bokang's booklet was, he could not help but imagine a scene of thousands of people working together to start a business in the mountains. At the same time, he praised, "Prime Minister Chen is thoughtful! I think he spent a lot of time on it!"

Indeed, with more than 10,000 people, it would take a lot of effort to identify each other's production skills one by one and then group them by function.

Chen Bokang chuckled, sat down next to Zhou Wei, leaned against the cell wall tiredly and said, "I learned these methods from Your Majesty and Prime Minister Cai."

"Oh?"

"You came into contact with His Majesty late. I have been paying attention to His Majesty for seven or eight years. For many years, a booklet called "Investigation Report on Luliu Village" has been circulating in Huaibei Academy. That was the first farm that His Majesty rented from Prime Minister Cai's family when he was in Tongshan."

Chen Bokang explained the reasons in detail. In Zhou Wei's increasingly puzzled eyes, he suddenly sighed, "Weiming, do you know why the Jin Kingdom and the Zhou Kingdom, which once dominated the north, were defeated by Your Majesty one after another?"

"With a strong army as the support, trade and wealth are concentrated in Huaibei."

Zhou Wei blurted out, Chen Bokang nodded, and said: "There are two more points, one is pragmatism, and the other is strong grassroots organization and mobilization capabilities."

As he spoke, Chen Bokang raised the booklet in his hand and said, "A detailed investigation is the beginning of being pragmatic, and the ability of grassroots organizations to mobilize requires that 90% of the farmers in the country have land to cultivate. At first glance, the dispute between the emperor and his ministers this time is a fight for the right to grassroots governance, but in fact, you are blocking His Majesty's new land reform policy!"

At this point, Chen Bokang said with a hint of disappointment: "I originally wanted to resolve the situation, but I didn't expect Xie Kuo and others to be so bold and want to harm Your Majesty. In the end, it led to the current situation where blood is flowing like a river."

Speaking of this, Zhou Wei also remained silent.

Although he was not involved in this case, he was used as a gun by Xie Kuo several times when the situation between the two sides was at its worst. Now that His Majesty is willing to spare his life, it can indeed be said that the emperor's grace is enormous.

The two sat side by side in silence for a few breaths. Chen Bokang suddenly forced a smile and said to Zhou Wei, "We may never be able to return to Jiangnan in this lifetime, but for the sake of our children and grandchildren, I will need Weiming's help when we get to Luzon."

These words touched Zhou Wei's heart. He had suffered such a huge setback in his life that it was indeed impossible for him to regain his former glory. But he still had descendants.

Even for the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must fight once in Luzon.

But then, he realized that Chen Bokang meant 'you and I are going this way', and he looked at Chen Bokang in surprise and asked, "Prime Minister Chen was also exiled to the South China Sea?"

"Hahaha~" Chen Bokang laughed out loud first, then said: "Don't call me Prime Minister Chen from now on. Your Majesty has appointed me as the Governor-General of the South China Sea, with overall authority over the civil and judicial affairs of the South China Sea Islands."

Zhou Wei's expression darkened, "Has Prime Minister Chen been implicated by us?"

"Hey~ Wei Mingmo said so"

Chen Bokang waved his hand, looked at the bowl-sized prison window, and said with a smile: "Two major cases swept the officialdom of Jiangnan. Even if I stay, I will be a commander without troops. It will be difficult for Cai Xiang and other Huaibei officials to tolerate me, and it will also block the future of the Chen brothers. If I don't know what's good for me and leave on my own initiative, my ending may not be much better than Xie Kuo. In this case, it is better to take this job and open up overseas territories for Your Majesty and Da Chu. If I can achieve great things by chance, Your Majesty will always remember my kindness and protect my descendants."

Zhou Wei heard some hidden content and couldn't help but glance at the jailer in the distance and whispered, "Young Master Chen, do you want to stay in Jiangnan?"

"hehe."

Chen Bokang lifted his collar and said in a relaxed tone, "Dalang has just been appointed by His Majesty as the Imperial College's chief priest, and Erlang as the secretary of the Central Secretariat. Since they both hold official positions, how can they follow me across the ocean?"

He said it easily, but Zhou Wei understood. This was the proton left by Chen Bokang!
But it is also true that Chen Bokang, as the Governor-General of the South China Sea, has enormous powers and responsibilities, and the journey to transmit information back and forth is extremely long. If the emperor does not keep the descendants of the Chen family around him, he would not be a qualified king.

But after this separation, it is hard to say whether Chen Bokang, who is over 50 years old, will have the chance to reunite with his family again.

"Your Majesty, considering my old age, has granted my young son special permission to stay by your side."

Seeing Zhou Wei silent, Chen Bokang said this with a smile, seeming very satisfied.

Afterwards, Chen Bokang patted Zhou Wei on the shoulder and said seriously, "I know that Weiming may not agree with your majesty's plan to change the field."

Before Chen Bokang could finish, Zhou Wei said, "The way all dynasties dealt with chaos was to redistribute land, win the hearts of the people and encourage production, but your majesty's land reform..."

Zhou Wei paused, as if he didn't know whether to continue, but Chen Bokang said, "Weiming, please go on."

"The guilty official spoke frankly. Now that your majesty has carried out land reform, all the land in the world has been taken over by the Luliuwei Farmland Reclamation Company, the Zhongyuan Farmland Reclamation Company and other business companies. These business companies were born out of the Sihai Business Company established by the nobles in Huaibei, and they are closely connected with the Empress and Concubine Cai! Now that your majesty has the prestige to unify the world, no nobles or relatives dare to make plans! But what about after your majesty dies? Who can guarantee that the 25% grain tax set by your majesty will not increase? After all, the gentry still care about the reputation of the countryside. If the nobles and relatives take advantage of it, the farmers in the world will be even poorer than they are today!"

After he finished speaking, Chen Bokang fell silent. Of course he could see this, but wanting to snatch the two large farmlands from the Queen and the Imperial Concubine was nothing but a foolish dream and a dead end.

In the end, he could only console himself by saying, "Maybe, His Majesty will have a solution."

This statement was far-fetched, but Zhou Wei couldn't refute it and just remained silent.

Chen Bokang suddenly smiled and said, "Your Majesty once promised me that I would have the final say on how to govern the islands in the South China Sea, as long as I occupied them. Your Majesty is giving us a chance. Since Weiming does not agree with Jiangnan's new policies, we will try our way in the South China Sea. After 57 years, we can compare it with the Central Plains and Jiangnan to see which one is better!"

This sentence immediately aroused Zhou Wei's passion and desire to win. He immediately reached out and shook Chen Bokang's hand, "Okay! I will leave my old bones in Luzon. I will definitely build a career with Prime Minister Chen in that malaria-ridden land, and let Your Majesty see that officials like us in the south of the Yangtze River are not all idlers!"

"Hahaha, great! But, Weiming should call me Governor Chen from now on!"

"Hahaha, I'm honored to meet the Governor of the South China Sea, Mr. Chen!"

"No need to be polite, no need to be polite, hahahaha"

After the two cases were investigated and many people were killed, Hu Tou, Sandra Ng and others' work became much easier.

On October 20, Hu Tou's third group arrived at Majiawan, Yuhang County, by horse-drawn carriage in the drizzling autumn rain. This was their first trip to the countryside after helping to copy official documents in the Secretariat for more than a month.

The boy was lively. After being stuck in a public housing unit for more than a month, it was a happy thing for him to be able to go out at this moment.

But along the way, Sandra Ng, Zhang Wanyu and other team members looked worried and distressed.

Hutou understood everyone's feelings. In July and August, they came to Yuhang several times to publicize the new policy, but Majiawan was the toughest nut to crack. The landlord Ma Yuanwai in this village was very difficult to deal with, and even the villagers were very hostile to them. Not only did they often speak rudely, but their carriage was also thrown with mud by naughty children.

Therefore, everyone was afraid of this trip. Hu Tou kept encouraging everyone in the carriage, but it seemed that the effect was not great.

Unexpectedly, when the carriage arrived at the entrance of Majiawan Village at 9:00 p.m. that day, we saw the village head, Mr. Ma, and several elders already waiting there.

This kind of courtesy was the first time in the world. Hu Tou got off the car in the rain, and Mr. Ma and Mr. Ma hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile on their faces: "Welcome to all the ladies to come and give us guidance. Mr. Ma and I have been waiting here for a long time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Ma gave a look and immediately a young girl of about eighteen or nineteen in fancy clothes came forward to help Hu Tou hold an umbrella.

The girl exposed herself to the cold autumn rain. Hu Tou was very uncomfortable with it. He quickly pushed the umbrella back, took another umbrella from Xiao Man and used it himself.

Seeing the girl's frightened face, Hu Tou said hurriedly: "No need to trouble you, sister. I can beat her myself."

After Hu Tou talked with the other party for a few words, Mrs. Sun relaxed. Hu Tou and others were led to Mr. Ma's house in the village. When they entered the house, they saw that it was far from meal time, but Mr. Ma's house had already been filled with delicious food and various sweets and cakes that girls liked.

There were also several women waiting in the hall with smiles on their faces.

Seeing this, Hu Tou said, "This is not a suitable place to discuss matters. Please ask Mr. Ma to take us to the village ancestral hall."

"My lady, you have been busy all the time. It's not too late to have a simple meal first."

"I just had a meal before coming here, so I'm not hungry."

Seeing that Hu Tou was determined, Mr. Ma had no choice but to lead people to the ancestral hall.

Although not all students in the girls' school come from wealthy families, Huaibei has been prosperous for many years, so who hasn't seen delicious food from all over the world?
No one was jealous of Mr. Ma's banquet, but they were just wondering why this man had changed so much.

On the way to the ancestral hall, Zhang Wanyu, a member of the third team, couldn't help but whisper to Sandra Ng, "Old Wu, what's this Ma up to? The last few times we visited him, he either refused to see us or ridiculed us. What's wrong with him this time? He even prepared a banquet in advance?"

Wu Junru glanced at the village head and Mr. Ma who were cautiously following behind Tiger Head, and whispered back, "Tsk, he must have been frightened by the sight of the bodies rolling in Lin'an City! The Shangshu Xie Kuo was skinned alive at the vegetable market entrance. If a small official like him dares to disobey his orders again, hmph~ I'll let His Majesty deal with him!"

At this moment, the phrase "the fox borrows the power of the tiger to bully others" was embodied.

Although you, 'Old Wu', grew up under His Majesty's watch, it would be a bit pretentious to ask His Majesty to deal with him.

However, Mr. Ma's rudeness at first but respectful later not only made everyone feel relieved, but also made them more confident.

Hu Tou naturally also noticed this change, and immediately decided not to carry out the new policy propaganda as planned today, but to discuss the redemption issue directly with Ma Yuanwai to finalize the matter.

Just like the previous times, due to their arrival, a large number of villagers gathered outside the ancestral hall to watch the fun.

What was different from the previous times was that this time they might have received a stern reprimand and no one made a fuss or spoke rudely anymore.

Even Tiger Head couldn't help but sigh, "Killing people is indeed useful!"

In the front hall of the ancestral hall, Hu Tou took advantage of his own momentum and said straight to the point: "Mr. Ma, what do you think about the redemption you mentioned last time?"

Ma Yuanwai had naturally seen the bloody storm in Lin'an City caused by the two major cases. He knew that he could not defeat them, so he dared not resist and only smiled and said, "Madam Zhao, I am willing to cooperate with the new policy of the court!"

Halfway through his words, Mr. Ma's face changed, and he said bitterly: "But can the redemption price be increased? Although others think that I have thousands of acres of good land, I have dozens of people at home. Once the land is sold, the family will have no income."

As he spoke, Mr. Ma began to wipe away his tears.

But Hu Tou had been dealing with them for several months and had seen through their true colors. He said firmly, "Majiawan is near Lin'an. It is a court rule to redeem it at the market price of six strings of cash per mu. How can we break the rule for one person like Mr. Ma?"

Six strings of cash per mu was indeed the market price, but that was the market price in June.

At that time, the Chu army had crossed the river and headed south. A large number of officials and gentry in the vicinity of Lin'an were eager to flee south or return home, and they sold their good farmland, which once pushed the price of land from ten to twenty strings of cash to around six strings of cash.

The market price is true, but once the situation stabilizes in the future, it will definitely go up, and Mr. Ma will naturally not be happy about it.

Before he could complain, Hu Tou said, "If Mr. Ma actively cooperates and sells the 2,200 acres of paddy fields under his name to the court, I can apply for you to keep the 90 acres of paddy fields southwest of Majiawan, and apply for a plaque for you to be a good family. How do you think?"

Although he is young, he has mastered his brother-in-law's tactics of giving a slap in the face and then a sweet treat.

But when Mr. Ma heard this, he was shocked. His family had 1,300 acres of registered land, and more than 1,000 acres were not on the county government's land register!
Not only did this girl know about it, she even knew about the 90 acres of paddy fields in the southwest of the village!

This is coming prepared!
Although he was shocked, Mr. Ma, who had originally decided to give up the 1,300 acres of registered land if things didn't work out, heard that all the land he had kept in the bottom of the box had been dug out. He immediately said with a look of injustice: "Madam Zhao, you must have made a mistake. I only have 1,300 acres of land. I don't have even one more acre. Where can I get it?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Tou slowly closed the booklet and couldn't help but squint at Ma Yuanwai. His squinting action was very similar to Cai Huan's.

But she said: "If that's the case, when I measure the extra thousand acres of good farmland, it will be ownerless land, right? That's good, and it will save the court six thousand strings of cash."

"!"

Ma Yuanwai was furious at this, but he did not dare to confront these female students from Huaibei when the killing in Lin'an was still going on. He wiped his tears again and said, "My family has lived here for generations and has never done a bad thing. We have been doing good deeds for generations. It took several generations of farming and studying to accumulate a little wealth. Isn't it bullying the good people by forcing us like this?"

Hearing this, Hu Tou smiled slightly and said calmly, "What a man who has never done a bad thing! Although the Great Chu does not pursue the crimes of the previous dynasty, do you really think that no one knows about the evil deeds done by Mr. Ma? In the fourth year of Shaoxing, Mr. Ma took advantage of the spring drought to lend money at high interest rates. At the end of the year, he demanded the debt. The villager Ma Xiangzi had no money to pay you back, so you not only occupied his land, but also the two dilapidated houses in Ma Xiangzi's home and took them for yourself. That winter, Ma Xiangzi and his mother froze to death outside Majiawan Village."

"."

Mr. Ma looked at Hutou carefully and stammered, "It is only natural to pay back a debt."

Hu Tou ignored him and continued to nag, "In the eleventh year of Shaoxing, your tenant Shen Wu stole a handful of rice from your family because he was hungry. You then hung him outside the yard and beat him to death. Do you call this doing good deeds for generations?"

What was wrong in beating the man to death since he stole his own things? Mr. Ma did not think he was wrong.

However, after listening to two things in succession, it is obvious that this little girl has deliberately found out her family's background and still doesn't know that she is the daughter of the noble family in Huaibei. I should be patient and keep calm for the time being, and refrain from arguing, so as not to annoy her again.

Anyway, she herself said, "The Great Chu will not pursue the crimes of the previous dynasty."

Hu Tou originally thought that when she mentioned these two things, the people watching outside would be filled with hatred, but when she turned around, she saw that the people in ragged clothes in the autumn rain were either whispering to each other and grinning, or watching the excitement with numbness, as if what she said had nothing to do with them.

Hu Tou felt powerless, but he continued to list the many evil deeds of Mr. Ma that he had spent a lot of effort to collect. "In the fifteenth year of Shaoxing, that is, three years ago, the Sun family in the neighboring village owed you sixteen strings of money with compound interest, so you ordered your servants to kidnap their sixteen-year-old daughter as a concubine."

This time, before Mr. Ma could open his mouth to explain, the lady who had taken the initiative to tear off the gorgeous clothes for Hu Tou waved her hands and said, "Madam Zhao, don't you dare talk nonsense! When the master took me away, I cried twice because of fear, but now I have good food and good clothes to wear with the master. I don't want to go back to my parents' home to suffer. Madam Zhao can't blame the master for this matter. I volunteered!"

"."

The tiger's mouth is slightly open.

Only then did she realize that this woman was Sun who was abducted as a concubine.

Hu Tou looked at Sun, who looked good and was no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, and then looked at Mr. Ma, who had age spots on his face and chicken skin and white hair.

The latter looked very pleased with himself, stroking his beard and smiling.

But Hutou just felt nauseous. The people here were different from the people in Huaibei, and the women here were even more different from all the women around Hutou.

Even though he had made sufficient preparations before coming, this Sun made Hu Tou feel very frustrated. (End of this chapter)