What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 156 Young Woman Yin Rou! Dragon Guard!

Wannian County and Changzhi County were genuine counties near the capital, and their magistrates were of the highest rank, the sixth grade.

Of course, this applies to both the capital county and the county attached to the capital.

County officials all found their jobs quite frustrating.

There are just too many big shots at the top.

For example, when Song Rui, the magistrate of Wannian County, saw Lin Moyin entering the Second Hall with Su Mo, he swallowed hard!

Good heavens! Two Imperial Guards dressed in imperial flying fish robes!
He was a fifth-rank official, a commander of a thousand households, holding a high position and wielding great power!
One is even more amazing.

He was a captain in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, yet he was granted a noble title.

It has been so many years since the title of Baron has been bestowed, so long that people have almost forgotten that the Empire still has the titles of Viscount and Baron!
It is clear that he has an extremely powerful background; he may be the illegitimate son of some duke or marquis, or the son or nephew of an important official in the court!

How could a county magistrate of the sixth rank possibly show off like that?

Of course, they wouldn't dare to easily fool Su Mo and Lin Moyin.

Song Rui quickly instructed the servants to serve Lin Moyin and Su Mo the finest tea.

He then summoned the Household Affairs Manager and spread out the Wannian map on the table.

"Lord Lin! Lord Su! This is a map of the area outside Wannian County!"

Song Rui pointed to the location of Gufeng Mountain: "This is Gufeng Mountain, which covers an area of ​​several miles and has about a thousand households, mostly inhabited by mountain people."

As he spoke, Song Rui looked up at Su Mo and said, "Lord Su's permanent landholdings can be selected from this circle."

"Lord Su, where do you think it would be best to allocate your seven acres of fiefdom?"

Su Mo and Lin Moyin exchanged a glance, their gazes falling on the topographical map of Lone Peak Mountain.

Upon seeing this, his face immediately darkened.

The areas circled by Song Rui are mostly mountainous and hilly areas.

Although there is farmland, it is all barren mountain land, relying on the weather for a living, and it is scattered here and there without any scale. The larger ones are two or three acres, and the smaller ones are even one or two fen on the left and right!
Su Mo acquired seven hectares of permanent farmland.

Even if we take over all of these scattered plots, it might not be enough!
The more fragmented the land, the more troublesome it is to cultivate. Forget about harvesting, you might not even be able to recoup the seeds!

Lin Moyin, her face dark, pointed to a vast expanse of farmland stretching out on the map.

It is located right next to the Gufeng Mountain and the river, and the terrain is very flat.

Why is this field not within the circled area?

Song Rui gave a wry smile and lowered his voice, saying, "Although there's no land deed there, it's actually... land belonging to the Princess's residence. How could I dare to divide it away..."

"Furthermore, the vast tracts of land surrounding Wannian County belong to either imperial relatives or high-ranking officials..."

"Or, the Imperial Estate..."

Lin Moyin's face darkened further: "So, Lord Su's permanent land grants can only be the fields at the foot of Lonely Peak?"

"These unclaimed fields cannot be selected?"

Sweating profusely, Song Rui quickly said, "Then... it's really not unclaimed."

"Please, sir, do not make things difficult for me."

Lin Moyin snorted and turned to look at Su Mo: "Let's go!"

"In that case, we have no choice but to report to the Emperor and request that he grant us land in another county!"

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Su Mo was puzzled, but naturally followed Lin Moyin away.

Song Rui was immediately shocked.

Regardless of whether Lin Moyin was trying to scare him or not, if this matter really escalated to the point of involving the Sage, it would certainly not end well!

Since the land was unclaimed, Su Mo could naturally choose it as permanent land.

The imperial relatives, nobles and ministers who occupied the land would definitely give it up!
The problem is that these imperial relatives might not be willing to make an enemy of a baron and a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard over such a small amount of land.

The hatred naturally fell on him, the magistrate of Jing County!

This is why being a county magistrate in the capital is so difficult.

Of course, Song Ruineng was able to hold the position of magistrate of Wannian County for a full two years, so he must have a lot of ability.

He quickly stepped forward and called out to Lin Moyin and Su Mo, smiling as he said, "Lord Lin, Lord Su, please wait a moment!"

Lin Moyin snorted coldly: "What else is there to say!"

"His Majesty bestowed upon you permanent land, and you're trying to fool Lord Su with these scattered, barren mountain fields?"

As she spoke, her pretty face suddenly darkened: "Do you think we Imperial Guards are easy to bully?"

Song Rui quickly smiled apologetically and said, "No, no!"

"Please take a look, you two!"

As he spoke, he quickly gave the house manager a wink.

Hu Fangjing stepped forward tactfully, sketched a few lines on the map with a charcoal pencil, and said with a fawning smile, "My lords, what do you think of the locations I've drawn?"

Su Mo looked at it, completely bewildered and confused, only feeling that the area marked out by the house was rather large.

I don't know the exact amount, but it's definitely much larger than seven acres.

He looked at Lin Moyin.

Lin Moyin sneered: "What's the explanation for that?"

The clerk of the household affairs office hurriedly said, "Sir, look!"

"These mountains, though barren, are not connected to each other."

"But if you designate all the surrounding mountains as permanent farmland, wouldn't this large area of ​​mountains, several acres in the middle, also fall into your hands?"

"Moreover, the closest distance between this place and that solitary peak and river is only a hundred feet."

"If we can find a way to open up waterways, the river water can be diverted downstream. With patient management, the mountainous area can become fertile land in time."

"in addition!"

Jing Cheng emphasized, pointing to a spot in the middle: "There is a hot spring here that flows year-round. The valley is like spring all year round, warm in winter and cool in summer, truly an ideal place to escape the summer heat and winter!"

After hearing what this guy said, Su Mo was actually a little tempted.

Hot springs!
In later generations, mountain hot springs and villa resorts were high-end things that only the truly wealthy could enjoy!

Let's make a good impression on them.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to bring the whole family to the mountain villa for a vacation in the future?

Others focus on whether the land is arable, how much grain it can produce, and how much rent it can collect.

Would Su Mo care about this?
If time travelers still have to toil in the soil for food, wouldn't that be a disgrace to time travelers?
The key is that the space is big enough!
This area looks to be at least 2,000 acres. If you turn it into a resort, you could make a fortune from ticket sales!
He was about to speak.

Lin Moyin made a slight stroke with her delicate hand, and then drew a nearby area that looked like a hilltop.

It's twice the size of the area planned by the household registration office!
The tone left no room for argument: "This mountain must also be included!"

Hu Fangjing and Song Rui exchanged a glance.

Finally, Song Rui gritted his teeth and said, "Okay!"

Su Mo was dumbfounded!

With just one stroke of Lin Moyin's pen, seven hectares of permanent land became thirty hectares of permanent land.

What is a good wife?
Lin Moyin is a perfect example of a virtuous wife!
Baronship is not hereditary, but the land will always belong to the owner as long as the Great Wu Dynasty exists!
Even a change of dynasty might not be able to reverse the situation.

After all, these are private fields. If the land of the landlords and gentry is touched, even the new dynasty may not be able to withstand the backlash from this largest and most powerful class!
……

After selecting the location of Yongye Field, it was necessary to measure its dimensions and register it in the fish-scale register.

The head of the household affairs office personally led clerks and others to measure the specific acreage for Su Mo.

As a result, Lin Moyin caused trouble again.

The method of measuring fields in the Great Wu Dynasty was by step!
The steps taken naturally vary in size.

But when the clerk measured the fields for Su Mo, he did take such big strides.

the reason is simple.

It wasn't that Su Mo gave enough money.

It was simply that each group of clerks responsible for measuring and registering was accompanied by a Jinyiwei guard with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The local officials in Wannian County were at a loss for words.

Is this how measurements are supervised?
However, he naturally wouldn't offer any opinions.

The land belongs to the imperial court, not him.

Baron Su Mo was very generous, giving away a full one hundred taels of silver. Even if half of it went to the county magistrate, the clerks below still had to bribe him.

But the income of twenty taels was roughly the same.

I was busy for two days.

The seven hectares of permanent farmland were finally measured and registered in the fish-scale register.

The land deed was quickly delivered to Su Mo.

Su Mo secretly did the math and was dumbfounded. The original seven hectares of permanent farmland had been transformed into more than fifty hectares, or over five thousand mu, after Lin Moyin's machinations!

In name only, the Su family owns seven acres of land forever.

The problem is that these seven acres of land encompass a large area of ​​hills and valleys.

Outsiders wanting to take over the space inside have nowhere to go; they need Su Mo's permission to enter or leave. What are they going to do?!

Although the mountains look barren, they are so vast that you can't see the end of them, and the environment is serene and the scenery is beautiful!

Su Mo suddenly felt as if she had completely merged into this world!
With Lin Moyin, the commander of a thousand households, in charge, and Su Mo also wearing the flying fish robe, the county magistrate of Wannian certainly wouldn't dare to fool Su Mo.

The river at Gufeng Mountain does indeed pass near Yongyetian, but it is currently the dry season and the river flow is not large, and there is a mountain separating it from the main stream.

Digging canals to divert water for irrigation would be extremely difficult.

However, building a large waterwheel to divert a small amount of water is entirely feasible.

The principle of the waterwheel is simple. Su Mo had seen it online before. He just needed to ask the artisan battalion to build two of them.

What Su Mo valued most was the hot spring in the valley.

The water output is quite large, and the water temperature of the springs is about 70 degrees Celsius, but there are as many as seven or eight springs.

If this were to happen in later generations, the value of these few springs alone would be immeasurable!

Su Mo, along with Lin Moyin, Liu Siyun, Jiang Lan, and others, left his territory with satisfaction.

Just as we reached the foot of the mountain, a large group of ragged mountain people suddenly emerged.

Men, women, and children—hundreds of people in total—knelt down in unison, led by an elderly man with white hair!
The absence of land deeds in the mountains does not mean that the land is unowned.

The villagers of Gufeng Mountain usually make a living by relying on about ten acres of mountain land, plus hunting and gathering mountain products.

The mountainous areas don't produce much, but the advantage is that they don't have to pay land taxes. The mountain people work hard, but they can always survive.

Now, several thousand acres of mountain land have been completely occupied by Su Mo. How are the mountain people supposed to survive? They can only muster their courage and block Su Mo's path.

Looking at the large group of mountain villagers, dressed in rags, emaciated and sallow, kowtowing and crying out for help to survive, I was deeply moved.

Su Mo frowned.

He sighed and said, "Get up and talk!"

The mountain people dared not get up, and kept kowtowing, hitting their heads directly on the gravel and rocks, until blood flowed out.

The elderly man with white hair at the head of the group pleaded bitterly, "Sir, these mountains are the land we have painstakingly cleared out to make a living."

"My lord, you have taken all our mountain land. We have no way to survive and can only beg you for mercy at the risk of our lives!"

The old man paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "I only ask that you continue to let us farm, and we... are willing to pay you land rent."

Su Mo frowned and pondered.

He knew the old man was telling the truth.

In such barren mountainous areas, even ten acres are not enough to support one person.

The permanent farmland he designated, excluding the uncultivable land, includes over a thousand acres of mountain farmland alone!

If all the mountain people were driven away, it would indeed kill many people.

Su Mo had never intended to forage for food in the fields, so he said indifferently, "Get up!"

"You can continue to cultivate the land, and the rent will be..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Siyun suddenly interjected, "Let's say the land rent is 30%!"

Upon hearing this, the mountain dweller, though looking troubled, still kowtowed in gratitude.

Generally speaking, the land rent in Dawu is 50%!
A 30% rent is definitely the new landlord's kindness!

If we keep arguing and anger them, they might not even let us cultivate the land anymore, which would be even worse!

As the mountain people gradually left.

Su Mo looked at Liu Siyun: "Why charge 30% rent?"

He had intended to say that the land rent was negotiable.

However, Liu Siyun is a steady and reliable person who knows when to advance and when to retreat.

Now that Lin Moyin is around, everyone acts like a servant, showing her great respect and rarely speaking.

She has her reasons for suddenly taking matters into her own hands.

Lin Moyin also frowned and looked at Liu Siyun.

Liu Siyun quickly explained, "The land belongs to my husband. The amount of rent is not important; what's important is that it must be collected!"

“If we don’t collect rent, the mountain people will eventually think that this land belongs to them. The mountain people are cunning, and it will cause a lot of trouble in the future!”

She paused, then continued, "My lord, you can see that those who came just now were all old people, women, and children; not a single able-bodied person was to be seen. This has aroused your kind heart, which shows how cunning the mountain people are!"

Su Mo suddenly realized: "It has to be you, Si Yun!"

"I almost got scammed by these scoundrels!"

Lin Moyin's gaze towards Liu Siyun softened considerably!

In matters of petty scheming, she's truly inferior to Liu Siyun.

Having a concubine to help Su Mo manage the household affairs certainly puts him at ease.

Liu Siyun covered her mouth and smiled: "They're just taking advantage of your youth and kind heart."

Su Mo thought for a moment: "The mountain people already have a hard life. If we take away 30% of the rent, I'm afraid many people will starve to death."

Modern people still care about their reputation, after all.

Su Mo wasn't short of money.

Being unjustly branded as someone who drove tenants to ruin and death will certainly be detrimental to one's future career in government.

Liu Siyun immediately smiled and said, "Young master is kind-hearted; you can distribute grain seeds to the mountain people."

"In the end, the mountain people not only don't lose money on rent, but they can also make a profit from the young master!"

With her two restaurants making a fortune every day, she didn't really care about the 30% rent.

Located in the north, Shenjing (the capital city) mostly yields only one harvest per year. Mountainous areas produce about one shi (a unit of dry measure) per mu (a unit of land area). Even if all 1,000 mu of land were rented, the yield would only be about 300 shi, or about 200 taels of silver.

It's worth it to spend this little bit of money to buy a reputation for benevolence and righteousness.

The area enclosed by Yongye Field is quite large, and the environment is very beautiful.

However, the mountain road is rugged and is two or three miles away from the official road that leads directly to the artisan camp. If you want to develop the hot spring resources in the valley, you have to plan it carefully. First of all, you have to open up the connection with the official road.

Su Mo was not in a hurry.

Let Liu Siyun take charge of this matter.

When everyone returned to the Su residence, the Wannian County Household Manager brought over twenty more households.

The imperial edict stated that twenty households would be granted actual fiefdoms, and many of them appeared to be quite strong and healthy. Wannian County dared not try to deceive Su Mo with those elderly, weak, and able-bodied households.

These twenty people will have to be supported by the Su family from now on.

Su Mo was in a real bind, so she simply handed the matter over to Liu Siyun to handle.

Before leaving, Lin Moyin suddenly said to Su Mo in a low voice, "My lord, have her come to see me at the residence tomorrow!"

Su Mo hadn't reacted yet.

Liu Siyun was overjoyed and immediately knelt down before Lin Moyin: "Thank you so much, my lord! I will definitely visit you tomorrow!"

Lin Moyin nodded and rode away!

Su Mo also breathed a sigh of relief.

Lord Qianhu finally relented.

He wasn't as afraid of his wife as Xue Shan, but it would be best if Lin Moyin took the initiative to accept Liu Siyun.

After all, how can one's career prosper if the inner quarters are in turmoil? Liu Siyun is indeed a rare and valuable general!

That night.

Su Mo naturally enjoyed himself like an emperor!

That gossipy woman's long tongue is so captivating that one forgets to return home and lingers there forever!
The next morning, before Su Mo could even put on his robes...

Suddenly, a doorman came to report, and there was a note on the ground: "Master, there is a man named Pan Jie outside who claims to be the probationary commander of the Longxiang Guard of the former military governor's office. He has come by imperial decree!"

"Commander Yin has come along too!"

As the gatekeeper spoke, a hint of fear appeared in his eyes: "That Commander Pan has brought several hundred Xuanjia soldiers with him!"

Su Mo was stunned upon hearing this!
Dragon Guard?
This is one of the Empress's twenty-six personal guards, responsible for guarding the palace.

In name, they were on equal footing with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Why would the trial commander of the Longxiang Guard suddenly lead troops to our door, claiming to have come by imperial decree?

What's the meaning behind the young woman Yin Rou coming along?
Su Mo took the invitation and looked at it. Sure enough, it was from Pan Jie, the trial commander of the Longxiang Guard. After a moment's thought, he said, "Please invite them to the main hall!"

He then turned to Liu Siyun and said, "Help me put on my robes. I'm going to meet that trial commander of the Longxiang Guard!"

(End of this chapter)