The situation in Shanxi is much better than that in Shaanxi. Although some places are also disaster areas, they are all small-scale and small-scale, and the government can cope with them.
Although Zhu Youxiao had traveled all the way from the capital, he had never seen hundreds of miles of wasteland, thousands of miles of uninhabited land, and no situation where refugees were everywhere.
He walked around for most of the trip, but he didn't encounter the situation in the TV series, where officials oppressed and insulted the people in the street.
On the surface, Taiyuan City is also prosperous, and it is really as those civil servants said, living and working in peace and contentment.
In the square outside the government office, the government built a simple straw shed platform here. There were more than a dozen middle-aged men dressed as literati sitting on it, working intensively with an abacus in one hand and a pen in the other.
There were two other officials in official uniforms sitting behind them, drinking wine and eating side dishes, chatting and laughing, and laughing loudly from time to time.
Around the square, government officials and soldiers holding knives and sticks formed a circle. The common people did not dare to look directly at them. When they walked past them, they lowered their heads and walked quickly.
"The rest of you, I have prepared the rice and wheat grains that you have to hand over. It will be your turn to pay the taxes soon. If you dare to miss the mark, I will have to peel off your skin and keep your eyes open."
In front of the crowded crowd, a man holding a gong struck three times in a row. After the noisy crowd quieted down, he shouted loudly.
Although Zhu Youxiao was standing far away, he still heard clearly. He didn't stop for much and immediately walked forward. Ma Xianglin and Xu Xianchun went up first to clear the way for the emperor.
"Damn it, why are you so crowded? I have so much food at home that I can't finish it or something, so I'm so anxious to deliver it to them."
A middle-aged farmer was about to curse, but before he could speak, he saw two fierce men looking at him. However, he was so frightened that he quickly turned his head to the other side.
When Zhu Youxiao finally squeezed into the first row, he happened to see a scene that shocked him.
I saw a basket full of wheat on the ground. An official raised his leg toward the basket, and the wheat piled on it instantly fell to the ground.
A farmer standing next to him clutched the corner of his clothes tightly, his hands trembling slightly. He gritted his teeth in hatred as he looked at the wheat scattered on the ground, and even tears could be seen.
The official who put his feet back had a satisfied expression on his face, and even nodded his head gently twice in front of everyone.
The yamen servant holding a broom very skillfully came forward to collect all the wheat that fell on the ground, and then put all the wheat into the official basket of the Taiyuan government.
The kicked basket was carried aside by several other government officials for weighing. After a while, a scholar in charge of the weighing said:
"Five pounds and four ounces of less wheat will be supplemented!"
Hearing this, the farmer almost fainted. He immediately stepped forward and said:
"Masters, as you saw just now, I just had a basket full of wheat, which was piled into a hill. The common people also weighed it at home. They burned it all, and it was more than what I had to pay for the grain.
In addition to tax, how many kilograms more will be charged!"
Unexpectedly, the official didn't listen to his explanation at all. He flicked his sleeves and said:
"If it's less, it's less. Could it be that I'm going to talk nonsense in front of so many people?"
"Boy, I advise you not to cause trouble here and deliberately seek trouble, otherwise I will not be able to recognize you with my killing stick!"
The farmer didn't dare to make any mistakes after hearing this threat. He could only nod and bow to apologize, and promised that the grain tax would be repaid tomorrow, and then left with a bitter look on his face.
Then another strong man came forward, stood in front of the official and told him his personal information and family situation.
The official picked up a fish scale book on the table and started flipping through it. After looking at it for a while, he pointed at the fish scale book and said:
"Qin Ying, right? There are five people in your family and fifty acres of land, including twenty acres of leased official land and ten acres of fertile land. Adding up all taxes and Liaoxiang, the grain payable is one hundred and ten shi.
Have you brought enough 110 shi of food?"
The strong man looked at the official with firm eyes and said:
"No, my father is very ill this year, and my siblings are too young to work in the fields. My mother and I are the only ones working in the fields, so we only have 41 and a half acres of farmland. I came here today specifically to talk to the elder,
Can my family’s taxes be reduced or reduced?”
With a snap, the official placed the fish scale book heavily on the table next to him. It was obvious that the strong man's words made him extremely unhappy.
"Whether your land is fully planted or not is your business and has nothing to do with me. I am only responsible for collecting tax grains. If you do not bring enough tax grains today, I will not punish you. I will pay as much as I can.
, I’ll hand in the rest after the autumn harvest!”
"Then what about the eight and a half acres of fields that my family has not planted? My father has already gone to the city to find you during spring plowing. Those fields will not be rented. You said at that time that they would not be included in this year's field tax. Why now?
Forget it again?"
"These matters have nothing to do with me. I don't want to ask you whether you rent or not. You have to go to the official responsible for this matter. I handle matters in accordance with the laws of the court and the fish scale book. You have to pay as much as you need.
, missing a pound or a tael is a big sin.”
Upon hearing this, the strong man clenched his fists tightly, his face full of anger, and then said:
"The leased official land has been returned long ago, why should it be counted as my family's rent?"
The official had a bad premonition and quickly summoned several civil servants to surround the strong man in front of him.
"If you dare to create chaos and cause trouble, I will punish you according to law today!"
Then he ordered two government servants to go behind the strong man to inspect his tax supplies, but who knew he came empty-handed.
"How dare you come here to entertain me? Are you deliberately here to cause trouble? Come on, arrest me!"
The two government officials rushed forward quickly, but in just one breath, the strong man put them both down on the ground.
How could this yamen servant, who was just waiting to die, eat well and be lazy, be able to do as well as a young man who had been working and exercising all year round? Not to mention that these two yamen servants were already a certain age and were already middle-aged.
Seeing this, the official took a few steps back, pulled up the two soldiers next to him and blocked him in front of him, shouting:
"You are so bold that you dare to beat up the government servants. What do you want to do? Could it be that you are rebelling?"
The strong man also started to feel remorseful, why he couldn't hold back and took action. Before going out, his parents repeatedly told him not to be impulsive. Now things could get serious.
And Zhu Youxiao watched the whole scene with his eyes, and he didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Similar to the two things, it is completely normal in today's Ming Dynasty, and in Zhu Youxiao's view, the official just now was already very conscientious, and at least he acted in accordance with the rules and regulations. Others would not be so easy to talk to.