Chaos of Ming 1628

Sun Qing was dozing off in the courtyard.

Su Jiuda and Meng Zhaoxiang were so busy that they passed by their homes three times without going in.

Having a passion for water conservancy projects, Sun Qing now provides the concepts and blueprints for Su to revise, and Su is responsible for the large-scale construction, supervision, and design. This even includes procurement.

I wish I could split myself into three and use them all.

As for Meng Zhaoxiang, he had absolutely no time to impeach anyone. The moment he opened his eyes, he was faced with a mountain of cases to deal with.

The number of cases that Jiahe County, a small county, handles every day is comparable to that of Kyoto.

The reason is simple: the people of Jiahe County are starving. As long as they perform labor, they will receive money and food, and there will always be various reasons for them to commit crimes.

In other places, the most feared thing is committing a crime and having to perform corvée labor. Nine out of ten who go there come back, and the one who remains is skin and bones, covered in scars.

In Jiahe County, however, even the forced labor was something everyone was eager to do.

At that time, ordinary people valued the reputation of their hometown and clan the most. Once they were imprisoned and left with a criminal record, they would be stigmatized and their wives, children and grandchildren would be implicated, and their marriage and livelihood would be hopeless. Therefore, people would rather endure hunger and cold than get involved in lawsuits and imprisonment.

But now, Sun Qing is giving far too much.

So many that they truly had a chance to survive.

"Phew, so tired!" Su took a break from her busy schedule, poured herself a drink, and sat on a stone bench, her legs trembling.

Meng Zhaoxiang was also dizzy and nauseous, and gulped down two mouthfuls of water: "I'm so tired!"

Sun Qing also turned over, looking completely exhausted: "I'm really tired."

In the backyard, on his own land, with two of his own men in front of him, Sun Qing was finally able to relax.

This period of anxiety and worry has finally given me a moment to relax a little.

This scene, however, held a deeper meaning for Meng Zhaoxiang and Su Jiuda. They exchanged a glance and nodded, both agreeing: Young Master Sun was overexerting his brain; he was truly exhausted. From now on, they would do whatever they could themselves and never bother Young Master Sun.

He quickly reported one thing: "Young master, there are over 70,000 registered men and women in the entire county of Jiahe, but only about 11,000 are able-bodied men who should be serving in the military."

"In previous years, wealthy families used their power to exempt others from forced labor, leaving the poor to bear the burden of hard labor. Now, with the large-scale construction projects in Botou and Hexi, all the sons of wealthy families are being forced to do the work, and the number of laborers has increased dramatically."

"At this rate, everything you've envisioned, young master, should be completed by the beginning of October."

Sun Qing then opened her eyes, her gaze full of approval: "Not bad."

"How much grain, cotton, and cloth are we stockpiling now?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhaoxiang became excited: "We now have stockpiled over 100,000 shi of grain, tens of thousands of bolts of cotton cloth, and over 30,000 jin of cotton."

Mentioning this, Meng Zhaoxiang said with a smug look, "Going back a hundred years, no county magistrate could have hoarded so much."

Sun Qing's face showed dissatisfaction.

According to historical records, the Little Glacier began to snow in September. The imperial court had no time to attend to it.

If the 70,000 people of Jiaohe are to survive the harsh winter safely, they need to store at least 207,000 shi of grain, 115,000 bolts of cotton cloth, and 78,000 jin of cotton.

The county's annual land tax is a mere 20,000 taels, and even if all of it were used to buy rice, it wouldn't be enough to feed all the people for a year.

In previous years, local gentry and wealthy families hoarded grain and cotton and hid their land. Ordinary people could only use most of their autumn harvest to pay taxes, and in the cold winter, they had no grain or cotton and could only freeze and starve to death!

He has used every possible means to hoard supplies, but it seems that it is far from enough.

"Young Master, you've done what no other magistrate could, so why are you still looking so worried?" Meng Zhaoxiang asked, puzzled. "We should be happy!"

Sun Qing remained silent.

He paced back and forth in the courtyard, finally making up his mind.

They came to a wooden sign that read: "Eunuchs and dogs are not allowed to enter."

Finished, it was handed over to Su Jiuda.

Su Jiuda and Meng Zhaoxiang looked at the wooden sign and burst into laughter: "Wonderful, wonderful!"

"Great, that's very well written!"

"If those eunuchs see this, they'll be furious."

Where there is dependence, there is also hatred. Currently, the wealthy families who depended on the eunuch faction have been completely exploited. But there is another group of people who seem to be indifferent to worldly affairs, kind and honest.

Yet, just like everyone else, they have bulging wallets.

Sun Qing was not a saint; he saved the people in order to win their hearts.

Dealing with evildoers, regardless of the means employed, is a last resort and a great sacrifice.

As for virtuous people, a slight misstep can render them no different from those eunuchs. Public support will be completely lost, and all previous efforts will be in vain.

Sun Qing then took another rope and placed it on the wooden board: "Then hang it at the back gate."

The two looked up at the same time, and Su suddenly shook his hand, causing the wooden plaque to fall to the ground.

Sun Qing didn't look at it, but simply smiled and said, "Thank you."

Su Jiuda and Meng Zhaoxiang looked at each other, neither daring to make a move!

"Mr. Meng, what do you think will happen if we actually hang it up?" Su Jiuda's voice trembled.

Meng Zhaoxiang did indeed hate the eunuch faction to the bone, but he wasn't that arrogant: "At most, we'd get a beating, and the worst that could happen is exile."

"But the young master is in trouble."

"This slogan will immediately lead to his arrest by the imperial guards, who will send him to prison for severe torture and death, and his family members will be exiled as well."

Su swallowed hard, his eyes darting around in panic: "Now that you, young master, have become the acting magistrate, you've even become an ally of Tian Ergeng..."

"Shut up!" Meng Zhaoxiang shouted angrily, disregarding everything else. "Young master's actions are merely a temporary expedient."

"I don't care about anything else, I'll just do whatever you say, young master."

"If the eunuch faction comes to interrogate you, I will die before you and go down to plead for justice for you."

After saying this, Meng Zhaoxiang bent down, solemnly picked up the wooden sign, and walked out in one go.

"Old Meng!" Su hurriedly chased after him, "Me too, listen to me, don't get agitated..."

at the same time.

in the hall.

Zhu Youjian sat upright on the dragon throne, but there was not a trace of a smile on his face.

The officials stood solemnly in their respective classes, with clear distinctions between the civil and military ranks.

The so-called court discussions were nothing more than the eunuch faction talking. It was slightly better than the Tianqi era, at least there was an emperor in the court, and apart from the eunuch faction, one could vaguely hear other voices.

Just as Zhu Youjian was about to leave the court, Cui Chengxiu, standing among the Nine Ministers, stepped forward, holding his tablet, and bowed to begin his report.

Zhu Youjian frowned, but still nodded: "Granted."

"Your Majesty, I report that Wei Changchen of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs assisted the late Emperor with utmost dedication, stabilizing both the internal and external affairs, and his meritorious service was unparalleled." Cui Chengxiu began by showering him with praise.

Zhu Youjian felt a churning in his stomach upon hearing this, but he forced himself to endure it.

Cui Chengxiu showed no reaction whatsoever and continued to speak eloquently: "Today, people from all over the world are grateful for his virtue and have spontaneously built a shrine to honor his loyalty and hard work."

"Now, however, some villains are maliciously slandering Wei Gong, and have even razed the ancestral hall to the ground, and built a cheap inn on it to welcome merchants and travelers."

Choi Seong-soo was furious when the matter was brought up. He was determined to show everyone the power of his eunuch faction that day.

However, they did not notice that Zhu Youjian, upon hearing this, sat up slightly and also showed some interest.

Cui Chengxiu said in a strong voice, "I implore Your Majesty to punish these petty villains who have shown great disrespect to your trusted ministers, and to rebuild the shrine in their honor."

As soon as he finished speaking, most of the eunuch officials in the court stepped forward to echo his sentiments, pleading for the emperor's grace in unison, their voices overwhelming.

Zhu Youjian sat upright on the dragon throne, dressed in a light white mourning robe, his expression calm and undisturbed. His gaze swept lightly over Cui Chengxiu and the group of officials who echoed him, without the slightest anger.

He spoke slowly: "I am well aware of the hardships that Minister Wei has endured in serving the late Emperor. The construction of the shrine will be a burden on the people and a waste of resources, so there is no need to rush into discussing it. Let's put it aside for now."

"Shrines already under construction in various places will continue as before, while those not yet under construction will be halted."

Upon hearing this, Cui Chengxiu's expression stiffened slightly, and the eunuch faction dared not argue any further.

Zhu Youjian suddenly smiled and asked, "Tell me, what was the name of the person who razed the shrine to the ground?"