webnovelfull Chapter 433 How many people are left alive?
Chapter 433 How many people are left alive?
Tang Guangzheng was so anxious that he coughed several times and spoke incoherently. He grabbed Shen Zhiqiu's arm with one hand and held it tightly.
"You...you can even meet the Shangshu Lord?"
Shen Zhiqiu acted very calm at this moment. He said, "Uncle Lizheng, don't get excited. Did my mother tell you the truth before? I also said that when the recruitment comes, our village will be given priority. Do you understand what I mean?"
Tang Guangzheng looked at Shen Zhiqiu's smiling eyes and swallowed nervously: "What...what do you mean?"
"Think about it, in the future, many villagers in our village will have to work for the army year after year in addition to farming. What about corvée labor and military service in the future? After all, our production cannot be interrupted..."
When Shen Zhiqiu followed Master Sun to collect the money, he asked about this matter secretly on the way. Although Master Sun did not say it explicitly, he hinted to him that the order to be issued later would state these things.
Now it's almost certain.
The mule cart had just stopped at the foot of the slope. When Tang Guangzheng heard these words, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat, his nose felt sour, and something warm flowed through his heart.
This group of people settled in their Tangjia Village for only a few months, and surprisingly, they managed to develop their village to this point.
You know, Tangjia Village is one of the largest villages in the surrounding area, and it has his son who is an official, and the clan leader Jiushu who is a scholar.
There are also several talented students who teach in the clan.
This lineup is already amazing in the rural area.
But in previous years, everyone had to do corvée labor, except those who had a scholar or above in their family.
What's more, his son is an official in Shuntian Prefecture, so he naturally knows something about the current situation.
Tang Yanli also mentioned to Tang Guangzheng that the family should not sell out the grain, but store it. After the victory of the new king in the south, the northern border and the original eastern border should be stockpiled.
Both the King of Yan and the King of Xinlin heavily guarded the road and prohibited anyone from passing through.
Moreover, it was revealed that Prince Yan was not in good health, and that they had to be prepared for the court to conscript soldiers and collect grain in case Prince Yan died and fought with Prince Lin.
When Tang Guangzheng heard this, his heart was pounding, but there was nothing he could do as he could not get involved in national affairs.
But now? Everything is solved!
Let’s not talk about what will happen after the King of Yan dies, as that is still uncertain, but the annual corvée labor is imminent.
The corvée labor in the Daqing Dynasty was performed once a year, and villages in each county were required to perform labor service separately.
There are two stages: after spring ploughing and after autumn harvest.
This year, Tangjia Village just happened to be in the autumn harvest period, but no orders were issued from above.
Do you think Tang Guangzheng wouldn’t be excited?
"Nephew, you said the court would send people to build a workshop for you. How about this year's corvée in our county is to build a workshop for you? Calculating the date, it's about this time."
When Shen Zhiqiu heard this, he understood.
In ancient times, when common people met officials collecting corvée labor, it was like seeing a ghost-catching ox-headed and horse-faced monster, because performing corvée labor was a matter of life and death!
Moreover, in Shen Zhiqiu's memory, there are memories of his father or elder brother doing corvee labor.
Although I don't know the situation in the north, but when it was under the jurisdiction of King Wu,
Most of the corvée labor was to build various projects, such as palace walls, digging rivers, repairing tombs, building bridges and roads, etc., which required a large number of laborers.
Not only are they not paid, but they also have to provide their own food and tools. The work is intense and often leads to physical and mental damage.
Especially when building palace walls, temples, etc., the people were required to carry huge stones and other objects, and they had to always be on guard against the whip of the supervisors behind them.
There were also people who were repairing the river. Countless people lost their lives in those areas with fast-flowing water. Even if the water was flowing slowly, people would get blister blisters if they soaked in cold water for a long time, not to mention other things.
Another group of people are those who transport supplies to the border, and they usually have to travel thousands of kilometers under harsh working conditions, often accompanied by high-intensity labor and life-threatening risks.
Remember watching TV and seeing the Qin Dynasty building the Great Wall? It's not much better than that.
An ancient person once said: "The Qin Dynasty built a Great Wall of thousands of miles, but how many people survived the tiger's mouth?"
And isn’t the story of Meng Jiangnu a portrayal of ancient corvee labor?
Shen Zhiqiu sighed, "Uncle Lizheng, what is the corvée labor here like? Didn't you say before that refugees can work in lieu of relief? Then do you pay for this corvée labor?"
Tang Guangzheng nodded, but still looked very regretful: "I give it to you, ten cents a day, and two cents are deducted for food. But corvée labor is hard, and the money earned from serving corvée labor for a month is not enough to make up for the damage to my body.
Here at the feet of the emperor, the exploitation is relatively light. It is said that in places farther away, in addition to deducting two cents for food, the corvée labor is often deducted at various levels, and in the end there is little left.
In the eyes of those in power, our lives as peasants are worthless and worthless!"
The two of them walked into the gate while talking, and Tang Guangzheng continued to explain science to Shen Zhiqiu:
"Of course, there are also people who can pay money to replace corvée labor. This is especially common in Kyoto. Many people don't want to do corvée labor, so they would rather go to Fangshan to mine.
Although mining is more dangerous, you can earn more money, and if something really happens, your family can get some compensation.
But the imperial court could not allow all the people to pay money instead of labor service. After all, if no one worked, the project could not be completed and the higher-ups would be blamed.
Therefore, you pay two or three taels of silver in lieu of corvée labor, but in order to get that spot, you have to ask for help from others and give gifts. "Alas!"
At this time, several old men who heard the noise outside also came out, including Mr. Meng who came to wait for news.
"Xiao Sanzi, you're back. You must be hungry. Let's go eat first and then talk in the cafeteria while we eat."
After Grandpa Shen finished speaking to Shen Zhiqiu, he did not forget to call the head of the village: "Come on, head of the village, come too. Today my granddaughters-in-law fried tofu balls for us to eat. You must be satisfied."
As for Mr. Meng, there's no need to greet him. He's already had lunch here at noon today, not to mention when Shen Zhiqiu comes back in the evening.
Shen Zhiqiu took a few quick steps and supported Mr. Shen, squeezing him hard twice.
Mr. Shen knew that the matter was settled, and the corners of his mouth could not help but rise.
When Old Man Shen and the others saw the expressions on Shen Zhiqiu and the old man's faces, they were also delighted and could hardly control their expressions and wanted to laugh.
After entering the Jiu Zu cafeteria, the women first asked the old men to sit down. During the time, they saw the old men flirting with each other, and the speed of serving rice became much faster.
Shen Zhiqiu came up to Li Jingshu and said, "Wife, are you frying meatballs today? What else?"
Li Jingshu disliked that he was too close to her, and there were so many people present: "There is also a big pot of food, and a lot of fried meatballs are put in it. Your daughter said she wanted to eat braised meatballs. The village didn't kill a pig today, and there is no pork, so we fried vegetarian meatballs.
"Quit standing here and tell our father and the others that Uncle Meng has been waiting for you at our house for a whole day."
At the same time, Shen Youyou, along with the girls from the Nine Clans and their younger brothers and sisters who had just returned home from school, washed their hands, lifted the door curtain and walked in.