As a large family in Dongxi Village, the Chao family naturally has an excellent geographical location. Not far from the village is the stream that separates the east and west villages.
There is no rushing momentum of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and no noisy sound of their water. There is just an unknown stream, flowing quietly. It is these nameless streams that merge into the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.
Chao Yong walked to the stream and was not afraid of the clay on his clothes. He lay down and closed his eyes to rest.
"Hello, young master."
A farmer wearing a rag vest walked past, carefully bent down and said greetings.
"kindness."
Chao Yong opened his eyes and took a look, responded casually, and said to himself: This leisure and freedom requires being entrusted to a good family.
For example, the Chao Gai family, whose ancestors were engaged in business, bought some land and houses in Dongxi Village after saving some wealth. Like most landlord families, every time there is a natural disaster, the villagers sell their land and live in order to survive.
, the Chao family had a little more land. By Chao Gai's generation, all the land in Dongxi Village had the surname Chao, and the family's money and food were piling up like mountains.
Chao Yong was also secretly glad to be born into Chao Gai's family. If he was unfortunate enough to be born into a poor family, he would have to be like the tenants walking behind him under the sun, digging in and out of the mud every day to dig out some food to make ends meet.
What kind of nation rises and falls? When you see a landlord family like yourself, you have to be careful to serve them to avoid disaster.
"Ta-ta-ta"
Chao Yong was resting his head on his arms with his eyes closed, when he heard the dull and rapid sound of horse hooves coming from the ground, and he immediately looked towards the entrance of the village with excitement.
When the Northern Song Dynasty was founded, the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun was captured by the Liao Kingdom. Later, the Western Xia was divided, and the Northern Song Dynasty had no horse ranches. The Tang Dynasty cavalry, which once dominated the world, could no longer continue. The Northern Song Dynasty horse army was very few, compared with
When ethnic minorities fight against the enemy, they tend to use strong bows and crossbows to weaken the impact of the cavalry. Therefore, foreign wars have always resulted in more losses than wins.
There are even fewer good horses that can be ridden in the country, and there are not many decent mounts for local government officials, not to mention the rough horses in the rivers and lakes.
"Is someone finally going to break up this dreary day?"
Within a few breaths, a tall horse appeared at the entrance of the village carrying a puff of dust. This horse was also a rare steed, not a common rogue horse in the Song Dynasty. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a short black man in public clothes.
This picture seems somewhat funny.
Chao Yong recognized the person who came as Song Jiang, the commander of Yuncheng County. Song Jiang was just like the description in Water Margin, with a dark face and a short body, but he had a decent appearance.
This guy was originally from Songjia Village, and his family also had a small amount of land, and they had lived on acres of land for generations. Only at this generation did Song Taigong spend money to donate money to Song Jiang as a small official with a knife and pen, hoping that he could make a difference.
I didn’t expect that this guy would fall in love with boxing and sticks after working in the officialdom. Whenever he met a hero in the world, he would treat him with big fish and meat so that he could learn some boxing. Unfortunately, his talent was average and he was late in learning martial arts. In the end, his achievements were limited and he spent a lot of money on his family.
This can be regarded as an example of the incompetence of civil servants. This made Song Taigong file a complaint, accusing him of disobedience and expelling him from the house.
Thanks to the secret support of his brother Song Qing, Song Jiang settled down in the county, but his behavior as a prodigal did not change. He would visit friends when he had some spare money, and he was completely a prodigal. Fortunately, there was some money in the yamen, and although he did not save any money, he was still a prodigal.
There is no need to worry about the next meal, money is really tight, and with the Yamen as its signature, no one dares not to give him credit.
The gold and silver were spent like water, but it was not all without gain. He finally gained some fame in the world, but his fame was only in Jingdong (the name of the administrative region in the Song Dynasty, probably today's Shandong).
The fame in Water Margin that spread throughout the world was probably spread when Dai Zong was sent to recruit talents after going up the mountain.
Song Jiang had also seen Chao Yong under the tree, approaching with a puff of dust, and then he stopped his horse and asked: "Xiannephew, is your father at home?"
"Taiyang, this guy is really a sinister person. He makes me eat dirt as soon as he comes."
Although Chao Yong got up quickly, he still took a mouthful of dust.
"Here, what's wrong with Third Uncle Song? He's so turbulent."
Chao Yong suppressed his anger and said hello. At the same time, he thought to himself: It would be best to burn down your doghouse with a big fire and see what you, a prodigal son, can do with your wealth.
Song Jiang didn't know Chao Yong's slander, so he waved his hand and said: "It's a serious matter. I'll go tell your father. You'll have to go back to the Yamen in a while."
After saying that, he hit the horse and ran to Chao's house at the head of the village.
The dust raised by the horses covered Chao Yong's head and face, giving Chao Yong a natural camouflage.
"Taiyang, if you have a chance in the future, I will definitely let you eat dust a few times."
Chao Yong wiped his face vigorously and hurriedly chased him home.
When they arrived at the hall, they saw their father Chao Gai standing up and said to Song Jiang who was sitting next to him: "Brother, are you serious about this?"
Song Jiang said helplessly: "I heard with my own ears what people from the capital and the county magistrate said about this matter. I think the county will send someone to inform them in the next day or two. I'd better make preparations in advance."
Chao Gai was highly skilled in martial arts and had made a lot of money. No one in the world would deny him three points. Unexpectedly, the imperial court wanted to seize his ancestral property. He couldn't help but get angry and said angrily: "It's all these corrupt officials who are causing trouble. Your Majesty just let the public land be used."
The land in Dongxi Village belongs to our Chao family, so how dare they come and take it?"
Song Jiang smiled bitterly and said: "Brother, don't be excited. There is no room for change in this matter. How can the public land office really go to seize the wasteland? All the land that has been seized is good farmland. The magistrate of Lushan County neglected the special envoy, and the whole county
It is classified as public land. Lushan also has the land owned by several officials from the DPRK and the Central Government, but they still tolerate it. What can I do if my brother is a commoner? Fortunately, my brother’s family has also saved a lot of furniture, so I can buy some more properties to live on. "
When Chao Yong heard this, he also knew that his own land was included in the public land.
This public land office was an organization in charge of public land at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. It was also later known as the Kuotian Office in the west of the city. It was originally used by the imperial court to increase taxes and seize land, deserted fields, abandoned embankments, abandoned weirs, retreated beaches, silts, lakes and other places.
, forcing the people to farm, and expropriating money from public land. But later, corrupt officials took over, and the beautiful private fields were regarded as a waste of nature, so many people went bankrupt.
Chao Yong didn't know that there was this Gongtiansuo in the Northern Song Dynasty before, but he heard about the bad reputation of the Gongtiansuo soon after traveling through time.
Nowadays, the people in the north suffer from farmland, but the people in the south suffer from flowers and stones.
In order to make ends meet, people from all over the country turned into bandits one after another, which seriously affected the development of business and caused a decline in the tax revenue of the Song Dynasty, which was originally mainly commercial taxation.
Even so, the "rewards" from the Liao Kingdom and Xixia were indispensable every year. In addition, the emperor was extravagant and lustful, and the treasury actually experienced a deficit. In order to make up for the treasury deficit, Cai Jing even changed the Salt Law and the Tea Law. However,
It was said that the geese had their feathers plucked, which made the people all over the world miserable. Later, they minted them for ten coins, one for ten. It can be said that they were robbed openly, causing prices to skyrocket and public resentment boiling over.
Chao Gai had suffered such a loss before. He slapped a table and said angrily: "The officials are forcing the people to rebel. These dog officials are bullying people too much."
When Song Jiang heard this, his face changed greatly and he said in a panic: "There is a time in life, but there is no time in life. Don't force it. Brother, please don't talk nonsense. I am here today. If it were someone else, just what brother said just now,
Then I can accuse you of treason, which is the crime of confiscating the house. I am afraid that my brother will be reckless in front of the county officials, so I came here to inform him so that he can be prepared."
Chao Gai is not a very reckless person. This rebellion is the crime of destroying the nine tribes. Hearing this, he woke up and said: "Brother is just talking in anger. I would like to thank you for coming to inform me about this matter. Our brothers have not seen each other for many days, so we will meet today."
How about getting drunk together in my village?"
Song Jiang came here just to sell a favor, and he was afraid that Chao Gai would say something treacherous to him again, and he would not be able to get rid of it if word spread. He immediately handed over his hands and said: "I still have something to do in the Yamen, and I came here just to inform my brother about it."
.Now that my brother knows about it, I will go back first to prevent the county magistrate from finding me."
After Chao Gai heard what he said, he couldn't force Song Jiang to stay, so he sent Song Jiang out the door.
Song Jiang cupped his hands and said, "Brother, please come back. I'll come back to bother you another day."
Chao Gai also cupped his hands and said: "Brother, please go slowly. I will invite you to drink with me another day."
Song Jiang cupped his hands again, then got on his horse and galloped away.
Previously, Chao Yong was left behind by Song Jiang and did not hear the full story.
Only then did he have time to ask: "Dad, what other villages' fields are included in Xicheng?"
Chao Gai said: "In Yuncheng County alone, there are dozens of villages with fields. It is said that they are surrounded by Liangshan River, with a radius of nearly 800 miles. Tomorrow the county will issue an official document, and each village will be protected."
We must collect all the land deeds in the village and hand them over on time. The land in Dongxi Village belongs to our family, so there is no need to oppress the people. It is just a hardship for our family."