Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 8 Those who have constant property have constant heart

Accompanied by the clatter of horses' hooves, Liu Miao Village in the distance grew closer and closer, and wisps of smoke could even be seen rising from the chimneys of several courtyards.

Yang Shaofeng swayed from side to side, took a bite of the hard flatbread in his hand, then picked up his water bag and gulped down two mouthfuls. He wondered when this broken road in front of him would be properly repaired. If he had to run on it a few more times, his backside would probably give out first.

Unlike Yang Shaofeng, Limpy Five, who was riding alongside Yang Shaofeng, did not sway left and right on horseback. Instead, he pointed to the smoke rising from the chimneys in the distance and said, "Your Excellency, we are almost at Liu Miao Village."

Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "Take it slow. Let's find a place to rest first, and then we'll go after they've finished eating."

Limpy Wu was very curious: "Your Excellency, we didn't notify them. Now that we've suddenly come to their door, we should be able to see what they're eating. Wouldn't that be a good opportunity for Your Excellency to understand the people's conditions?"

Yang Shaofeng gently pulled on the reins, slowing the horse down.

"To understand the people's sentiments?"

Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "If the common people were all rich, it wouldn't be a problem for me to go and see for myself. But after a war, what can ordinary people possibly have left?"

"If a county magistrate like me suddenly comes to visit, the people will definitely spend a lot of effort to entertain me. If I eat and drink, the people will spend money and curse me in their hearts. If I don't eat or drink, the people will probably be afraid that I will secretly resent them. Why should I bother to make myself disliked?"

"Let's wait until they've all had lunch before we go over. Then we can see how they work in the fields, and I can learn from them."

Limpy Wu gave a thumbs up: "If all county magistrates in the world loved the people as much as this magistrate, the lives of ordinary people would be much better."

Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly and smiled, "Me? How can I call this loving the people like my own children? I just wanted to do my part, so it's not like I came here for nothing."

Yang Shaofeng's statement that his journey wasn't in vain meant that he could do something for the people within his own capabilities and without affecting his own interests, so that his time travel wouldn't have been in vain. However, in Limpy Wu's ears, it sounded like Yang Shaofeng felt that doing something for the people would make his long journey to the Ming Dynasty worthwhile.

Limpy Wu laughed and said thoughtfully, "No wonder the county magistrate traveled thousands of miles to seek refuge with the Ming Dynasty, and no wonder Chang Pingzhang wanted to make the county magistrate of Ningyang County as soon as he met him."

Upon hearing what Limpy Five said, Yang Shaofeng's smile immediately froze.

Who the hell has traveled thousands of miles to seek refuge with the Ming Dynasty?

And then there's Chang Yuchun, that dark-skinned man. If it weren't for that bastard spouting nonsense about horse bones and corpses, do you think I would have wanted to be this lousy county magistrate?

I bother!

After turning his head and cursing under his breath, Yang Shaofeng simply reined in the reins and pointed to a stone under a poplar tree, saying, "Let's rest here for half an hour."

Limping Wu dismounted and came to Yang Shaofeng's side. He helped Yang Shaofeng down from the horse and brushed the dust off the stones for him. After Yang Shaofeng sat down, he spoke up and said, "Your Excellency, when we arrive at Liu Miao Village, should we make them... um, make them recognize their own land?"

Yang Shaofeng picked up the water bag, took a sip, and asked in return, "If we don't let them recognize the land, what will they eat and drink? In order to survive, won't they know that they are secretly clearing and cultivating the land?"

"Instead of letting them recklessly clear land and cause trouble like two families fighting over a piece of land, it's better to get them to reclaim the land first, so that they all have land to cultivate. Then everyone can live in peace, and I, the county magistrate, can save myself some trouble."

Glancing at the barren land in the distance, where the weeds were half a person tall, Yang Shaofeng continued, "Mencius once said that those who have stable property have stable minds, which means that people can only settle down when they have stable land and houses. Sima Qian, the Grand Historian of the Han Dynasty, also mentioned in the 'Biographies of Guan Zhong and Yan Ying' that when the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame."

"As the saying goes, food is the most important thing for the people. Only when people are well-fed and clothed can they think about other things and have the ability to support their children's education. Only through education can they learn etiquette and know honor and shame. If they can't even get enough to eat, they will only think about how to survive. Who cares about etiquette and honor?"

Limpy Wu thought for a moment, then gave a thumbs up again: "The county magistrate is right. If I hadn't been starving and unable to survive, I wouldn't have joined the army. It was only after I was able to get enough to eat in the army that I begged the clerk there to teach me how to write my own name."

Yang Shaofeng smiled, rested on the rock for a while, then got up and said, "Let's go. The smoke from the cooking fires has stopped for a while. By the time we get there, they'll be ready to get to work in the fields."

Then, before he even reached the fields, Liu Sanshier, the head of Liumiao Village, met Yang Shaofeng again.

Yang Shaofeng dismounted and came to Liu Sanshier's side, laughing, "What, don't you recognize me?"

Liu Sanshier rubbed his eyes, then suddenly knelt down with a thud, bowing to Yang Shaofeng and saying, "I never expected that Your Excellency, the County Magistrate, would actually condescend to come to Liu Miao Village!"

Yang Shaofeng smiled, reached out and helped Liu Sanshier up, saying, "Don't kneel down so easily. The Mongol Tartars have been driven away by the Ming army. No one will make you kneel down so easily anymore. Stand up and speak."

After Liu Sanshier stood up, Yang Shaofeng continued, "I have two things to discuss with you this time. The first is that I have never worked in the fields before and know nothing about farming, so I need to learn from the people of Liu Miao Village."

"The second thing..."

Yang Shaofeng drawled out his words, saying meaningfully, "I have heard that the Tartars forcibly seized a lot of land from the people. Now that the Tartars have been driven away, and as the magistrate of Ningyang County, I should uphold justice and let the people reclaim the land that was forcibly seized."

Liu Thirty-Two was slightly taken aback: "This...this..."

Yang Shaofeng frowned slightly and asked, "What? The people of Liu Miao Village are unwilling to reclaim their two mu of vegetable plots that were forcibly seized, nor are they willing to reclaim their fifteen mu of land that were forcibly seized? Is your Liu Miao Village really that wealthy?"

Seventeen mu of land!

The thought of soon owning seventeen acres of land made Liu Sanshi's heart pound wildly.

After careful consideration, Liu Thirty-Two gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the people of Liu Temple Village are certainly willing to reclaim their land, but... but the land in Liu Temple Village originally belonged to a scholar, and everyone is renting his land. What if that scholar returns..."

Yang Shaofeng immediately laughed.

"What scholar, sir?"

"Who can prove that this land belongs to that scholar?"

"Can you prove it, or can the people of Liu Miao Village prove it?"

"I am the magistrate of Ningyang County of the Great Ming Dynasty. I recognize the land deed given by the Great Ming Dynasty, not the land deed given by the Tartars."

As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Liu Sanshier's dark, wrinkled face broke into a wide smile.

Liu Thirty-Two bowed slightly and gestured towards the village: "Sir, please come into the village and have a drink of water. I will call all the heads of the households here."

Yang Shaofeng laughed and said, "No need. Just take me directly to the land. I want to see the people of Liu Miao Village reclaim their land with my own eyes. However, there is one thing I need to tell you first."

Liu Thirty-Two bowed and scraped, replying, "Please give your orders, sir."

Yang Shaofeng turned his head and looked at the many low and dilapidated houses in Liumiao Village, then at the large tract of wasteland in the distance, and said: "Let those in the village who are farther from the fields take back the land closer to the village, and let those in the village who are closer to the fields take back the land farther away. No fighting or disputes are allowed, and no trouble should be caused because of this."

Liu Thirty-Two replied without hesitation, "Don't worry, sir. I guarantee with my life that they will understand everything clearly and there will be no trouble!"