GBP Chapter 231 Are you sure this is fucking good news?
Chapter 231 Are you sure this is fucking good news?
From February of the first year of the Hongwu reign to August of the second year, Yang Shaofeng has served as the county magistrate for almost a year and a half.
After deducting the number of lame yamen runners, about a hundred households of migrants, five thousand scholars exiled to Ningyang County, and relatives of Liu Hongchang and others, the population of Ningyang County increased by only about two hundred in a year and a half.
Given this premise, Ningyang County's biggest problem right now is that it doesn't have enough manpower, so much so that Yang Shaofeng doesn't dare to accept orders for harvester production.
Not daring to accept orders is the same as not making money, and not making money is the same as losing money—this is two million harvesters, and even if each one is worth five taels of silver, this is still an order worth ten million taels of silver!
Yang Shaofeng now truly understands what it means to be "heartbroken to the point of not being able to breathe."
Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering how to make up for the loss, the yamen runners left behind at the county office rushed over and bowed to Magistrate Yang, saying, "Your Excellency, Attendant Wang has arrived again."
Yang Shaofeng sat up, looking completely bewildered, and asked the yamen runner, "Wang Sheren? Again?"
The character "又" is very clever.
Yang Shaofeng even maliciously thought that it would be better to set up a few offices like the Qianqing Palace Office in Ningyang County, the Eastern Palace Office in Ningyang County, and the Secretariat Office in Ningyang County, and then have Zhu Chongba and his son Zhu send representatives to be stationed there permanently, so as to save Wang Qiong, the Eastern Palace Attendant, from having to run around all the time.
After silently feeling sorry for Wang Qiong and Wang Sheren for three seconds, Yang Shaofeng finally got up from the recliner and ordered the yamen runner, "Let's go back to the county yamen."
In the main hall of the county government's backyard, Wang Qiong was looking around at the layout of the room while slowly sipping a cup of tea.
Upon hearing footsteps outside the main room, Wang Qiong immediately put down his teacup, stood up to greet Yang Shaofeng, and cupped his hands in a smile, saying, "Brother Yang."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Brother Wang."
After the two sat down separately, before Yang Shaofeng could ask, Wang Qiong said with a smile, "Brother Yang, why don't you guess what good news I've brought you this time?"
Upon hearing the words "good news," Yang Shaofeng's eyes lit up.
Old Deng has already decided on my wedding date and is going to marry his two princesses to me.
No, marrying off a princess isn't something Old Deng can just decide to do on his own. That dead eunuch Chen Zhong and the officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs have already made it clear that the wedding date is set for the end of the year, and it's unlikely to be brought forward.
Or perhaps Xu Da has completely subdued Shanxi and Shaanxi, and Ningyang County will soon be able to possess a large number of non-Han cattle and horses?
If they were foreign cattle and horses... Yang Shaofeng felt that Ningyang County might not be unable to afford to support them, even if it cost 100,000 or 200,000.
I believe that Limpy Wu will be able to solve the problem of fodder for these mixed-race cattle and horses.
But on second thought, Yang Shaofeng felt it was unlikely. After all, Wang Baobao was no pushover, and there were quite a few gentry in Qin and Jin who were loyal to Hu Yuan. Xu Da might not be able to completely restore Qin and Jin before the second year of Hongwu.
Or is it that the old official had a change of heart and felt that I had worked hard for him for a year and a half, so he wanted to reward me with some gold, silver, jewels, or land?
If that's the answer, then it's really not interesting.
After all, he was a dignified county magistrate, and he didn't usually have many places to spend money. Ningyang County, a small and dilapidated county, had even fewer places to spend money, so no matter how much gold and silver Lao Deng gave him, it wouldn't make a difference.
As for land... that's even less useful to Magistrate Yang.
Although after consulting with Liu Sanshier and others, Magistrate Yang could distinguish between wheat, barnyard grass, and wild oats, his hands and feet were still not very coordinated when hoeing the ground, and he would get tired and have back pain after hoeing for a short while.
Therefore, Yang Shaofeng has completely given up his dream of farming.
Apart from that, Yang Shaofeng really couldn't think of any other good news.
Surely that old man has a change of heart and knows that I love foot massages, so he wants to open a bathhouse-style brothel in Ningyang County, right?
The problem is, even if Zhu Chongba dares to open the door, I might not dare to go.
After thinking for a long time without coming up with any clues, Yang Shaofeng simply shook his head with a smile and said, "I can't guess. Surely His Majesty isn't sending some craftsmen to Ningyang County right now to help set up an iron smelting workshop?"
Wang Qiong smiled and shook his head, saying, "Brother Yang, why don't you be a little bolder?"
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback. "Are you going to be even bolder? Does His Majesty intend to send over a few more craftsmen who understand coal?"
Wang Qiong shook his head again with a smile, "Still not bold enough - the first piece of good news is that His Majesty and the Crown Prince have ordered the Ministry of Works and the Craftsmen's Camp to transfer two households of all types of craftsmen, except carpenters, to Ningyang County to register their household registration, according to their different divisions of labor."
"The second piece of good news is what Brother Yang mentioned earlier: we can choose several locations for assembling harvesters—Ningyang County has been selected as one of the assembly locations, and the Ministry of Works will arrange manpower to build a workshop for assembly in Ningyang County."
"As for the manpower to assemble the harvesters, it would be best if Ningyang County had enough people to work in the workshops. If Ningyang County really doesn't have enough manpower, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue can transfer people from other places or send some prisoners from Xu Xiang's army. This is up to Brother Yang to decide."
"The third piece of good news is that His Highness the Crown Prince has found several teachers for Brother Yang in Jiangnan to teach at the school in Ningyang County. He also plans to send people to the school in Ningyang County to select a few students to go to the capital, either to become minor officials or to study further."
As Wang Qiong finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng was completely stunned.
What does it mean that, apart from carpenters, two households of all other types of craftsmen were transferred to Ningyang County to register their household registration?
If this explanation is not easy to understand, we can put it another way that is easier to understand: Zhu Chongba and Xiao Zhu plan to send craftsmen of all industrial categories to Ningyang County, or we can say that they plan to make Ningyang County a backup center for all industrial categories.
Compared to this news, the second so-called good news is actually nothing, because Ningyang County really can't spare any more manpower to assemble harvesters.
To put it bluntly, even with Yang Shaofeng's current reputation and prestige in Ningyang County, he doesn't have enough confidence to persuade the people to give up their jobs and work elsewhere. Moreover, getting the people to give up their jobs and work elsewhere doesn't just involve Ningyang County, but all aspects of the entire Ming Dynasty. It's not something Yang Shaofeng can decide, nor can it be resolved in a short time.
As for the third piece of good news... Yang Shaofeng really wanted to grab Wang Qiong and ask: Are you sure this is good news?
Well, I've finally managed to set up the Ningyang County School and trained a few students. In just two more years, they'll be my trusted servants, but this little Zhu wants to take them all down with him.
But upon further reflection, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected.