Chapter 82: Seeing the field, delaying the order (2)
When the county magistrate heard that the two adults had come to inspect the county school, he quickly wiped his face with a wet cloth, put on his official uniform, and then went to the nave to welcome them and invited the four of them to their seats.
"Sir, I've been disturbed by foreign affairs recently and can't concentrate on teaching. It's been really hard. I happen to have Supervisor Chen here today. If you have anything to say, you can tell him. Don't be shy." The prefect pointed to Chen Tongpao for him and said gently.
smiling.
After listening to the edict, he stroked his beard and looked at Chen Tongpao with extremely embarrassed eyes: "Master Supervisor, since the Holy Emperor issued the edict, the yamen has been urgently ordering officials to prepare for expansion and expand the number of students.
Admit more students to school; but once they discussed it, the squire who managed the school field did not do anything.
Agree, saying that this will cause the cost to rise sharply, and the land rent alone will not be enough to maintain operation. In the end, the county boss personally came forward, but it did not help, and could only delay it. I was even ready to compromise with them. Today you are here
If I come down with Prime Minister Yan's order, I will definitely be able to make a clear decision and bring closure to this matter."
Chen Tongpao rolled up his sleeves, coughed twice, and seemed to be preparing to answer, but was suddenly interrupted by two clerks: "Don't worry about the instructions, Prime Minister Yan has already given the order.
I have to wait until death to carry out the New Deal. Mr. Chen, don’t be merciful when dealing with these stubborn villagers. Just give them some color and show them off, and then everyone will be at ease!"
Chen Tongpao glanced at everyone's faces and smiled and said: "Look, the two clerks are fully supporting you. What else do you have to face? Futai, please call all the squires here. I want to
Let’s hear their explanation.”
The Jinan magistrate's face suddenly turned gloomy. He lowered his head in a hurry and just answered "yes", but his mind began to wander with random thoughts.
There are two squires who are appointed to manage the school fields. One is named Hu Zhizhang, who is a high-ranking official in the imperial court. He is already sixty-seven years old this year. His family is very prosperous and has countless fields. However, he has always respected the scholars and restrained the villagers. He can be said to be the local
the township
Xian. The county school was overhauled the year before last. In order to build a good reputation for himself, he donated all the more than forty acres of farmland under his name, managed the tenant farmers, collected rented rice, and at the same time reaped some benefits from it as a reward for himself.
reward.
In comparison, the other one is much inferior. He is just a failed scholar with a surname of Yan and a given name of Laifu. He does not have much practical knowledge. He relies on the ancestral property left by his father to become a rich man in the countryside. Because
Seeing that Hu Zhizhang had gained fame and fortune by donating land, he was very jealous, so he sold forty acres of land to the county school, and was appointed by the local government to manage the rent of this land.
The two came to the hall one after another. The two clerks stared with angry eyes and watched them sit down on the armchairs without even blinking. Yan Laifu noticed their expressions and unconsciously turned the page twice.
A roll of eyes.
"The villain is a village boy who doesn't know the principles of the country," Hu Zhizhang said cowardly, leaning on a wooden cane. "I only know the soil and water of the country, but I have no idea how God's grace is. If the new policy is really beneficial to students all over the world, I will accept it; if not, I will accept it."
, I apologize for not being able to comply.”
"I'm talking about Hu Laocai," the clerk glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, "Do you mean that Prime Minister Yan is deliberately trying to harm the students in the world? Don't do this! The new policy is the policy decreed by the emperor, you have to act recklessly
To oppose is to openly resist the imperial edict!"
"My lords, I am an unofficial person and I dare not resist the decree. I am just afraid that some villain will cover up Shengcong and use the power in my hands to yell at me and make a good national policy a mess!" Hu Zhizhang didn't even raise his eyelids.
Panting heavily, he shouted angrily.
"Okay, everyone has their own opinions and opinions. This is a good thing. Why attack each other?" Chen Tongpao looked at both sides and said, "Besides, a few arguments will not lead to any results. Everything must be based on evidence. Put it in the accounting room
Take out all the books and figure it out first."
The priest immediately went to the cubicle to take out the account books, and placed them one by one on the round nanmu table in the middle for everyone to see.
Chen Tongpao raised one of them and said: "The rice collected every month is equivalent to sixty-eight taels of silver, and the school's monthly expenses are only nineteen taels, leaving forty-nine taels left, making a huge profit."
More. If we go by the reasons you two mentioned before, the cost problem is actually not big. If we build four or five more schools and add a few dormitories, the cost will be completely affordable without any pressure. It may even be possible to build it.
It's as big as Fu Xue, it's no big deal."
After hearing this, Hu Zhizhang's face turned a little pale, and he looked at Yan Laifu in confusion.
"How about it? Do you have any excuses?" the clerk asked, pointing at their noses.
Fortunately, Hu Zhizhang's mind was faster. He immediately thought of an excuse and replied: "I was afraid of getting into trouble with the government, so I found an excuse. I was afraid that after you expanded the county school, you planned to join the community.
Let’s start with the voluntary education. If we recruit so many children from farm families to enroll in school, we won’t be cultivating the fields anymore. Sooner or later, the fields will be deserted!”
"Did we ever have this intention? It's all...all your conspiracies and speculations!" The clerk said with a red face, "We assure you that the new policy will be implemented to the letter and will not offend your interests!"
"What do we mean by our interests?" Hu Zhizhang's cane hit the ground twice. "As a local gentleman, I should stand up and think about the people of Qufu! There is a distinction between science and agriculture. If you want, all the peasants will be wiped out.
Enrolling in school is not reversing the order! By then, all the fields in the world will be laid waste, and the country will be increasingly depleted. Can you take this responsibility? Do you dare to take it?"
Seeing him pressing closer and closer, Yan Laifu became more energetic: "No matter how you say it, as local squires, we should shoulder the responsibility of protecting the people. If we want to kill, we will kill, and if we want, we will chop. At worst, we will just live and work hard."
One that will last forever!"
A clerk was so anxious that he slapped the desk and swept down all the account books on the table: "We are here with an order, do you want to resist the order and disobey it? Such a serious crime is enough to have your entire family searched.
cut!"
"Copying, so what if the house is searched?!" Hu Zhizhang was so angry that his hands kept shaking, and he looked at the book office with an angry look.
"Everyone, please calm down, calm down..." The magistrate who had been silent for a long time spoke up. He was not interested in the scolding battle between these people. He secretly glanced at Chen Tongpao - he understood that only this person can decide the current situation.
situation.
"Everyone is irrational," Tongpao Chen said with a flat smile as if nothing had happened. "He is speaking in a spirited manner. Why don't I go back to the dormitory to discuss it first, and then talk to you two tomorrow.