stubborn thief

Chapter 310
Outside the magistrate's office in Haixi, there are short and thick stone cannons.

These stone cannons are apportioned by Haixi County to the two Fanmeng tribes under its jurisdiction. They look like stone benches in the garden. The surface is uneven. There is a three-inch-wide barrel inside. The double diameter is very short, but the inside is relatively smooth. .

The leaders of the two tribes led their entourages to stand in the open space in front of the yamen, each on one side, you glared at me, I glared at you, wishing to draw their bows and draw their swords to fight in front of the county magistrate.

These stone cannons are simple to make, only need basic stone tool making technology, and the cost is very cheap.

It is also very simple to use, put two catties of gunpowder, crushed stone and iron slag, paste the fire door with asphalt yellow wax, and place it randomly on the pile of rocks outside the pier fortress, and lead the lead wire to the fortress. The soldiers guarding the fortress saw the enemy coming. Just light it.

Essentially it is not a cannon, but a fuse-fired bomb.

Of course, sometimes due to the good quality of the stone, after it is ignited, it just sprays out the powder like a cannon. If the cannon body is not damaged, it can only be picked up and reloaded again, hoping that it will break again next time.

Liu Guoneng took over this county, and the composition is very simple, just three tribes.

His own tribe is a Han tribe, a Fanmin tribe in Haixi, and a Mongolian tribe in Hainan. The three tribes have a population of 660 and a half, making up the entire population of Haixi County.

The whole county is extremely impoverished, and the people make a living by raising livestock. On average, one household has three sheep, three households have one cow, and each household has one horse or donkey.

Don't look at the average in everything. If the averaged number seems to be okay, then the vast majority of people must be alive.

Liu Guoneng's clan and tribe followed here and reclaimed [-] mu of land, almost reaching the limit of Haixi County's current reclaimed fields.

There are still about [-] mu of arable land in the area, mainly concentrated in the Mongolian tribes in Hainan. Crooked Liangzi to try. .

After all, Crooked Liangzi is a member of that tribe.

With his hands behind his back, Liu Guoneng checked the thickness of each stone cannon with a caliper with his lame legs tucked away. Every time he checked and accepted a stone cannon, he swiped his brush and wrote four large characters on the side of the stone cannon: Hole facing the enemy.

"Haixi Township entered Weiyuan Stone Pao 120 people, 32 of which did not comply with the regulations, and a total of 88 people; Hainan Township entered Weiyuan Stone Pao 130 people, 42 of which did not comply with the regulations, and a total of 91 people... were sent to Nanshanbao."

As for the 74 extra stone cannons that were not in compliance with the regulations, Liu Guoneng knew that these things could actually be used, but he still ordered the yamen servant to carry a hammer and smash them all in front of the two leaders.

The Qinghai Marshal’s Mansion does not yet have a unified tax law. Some places collect Timba like the Mongolians, and some places, such as Haixi County, have not yet started to collect taxes, which are basically tributes.

The change of a person’s identity is the most likely to trigger thinking. In the past, Liu Guoneng was a country scholar, and his thinking about the decline of the court was that he collected too much tax; now that Liu Guoneng is an official of the Marshal’s Mansion, his thinking about the decline of the court is that he collected too little tax.

Too much taxation is the total amount including apportionment, while too little taxation is the imperial court's land tax. In fact, they are all the same thing. The lessons and thinking that Liu Guo can get from it are only about the good and evil of the country when it was founded.

In the past six months, Xining Mansion has been discussing the issue of taxation, mainly animal husbandry tax, seat tax, and customs duties.

The reason why there is no land tax is because the Marshal's Mansion has a strong bias towards taxation issues.

They are a group of rebels who have suffered a lot, land annexation is only one of them, and drought and excessive expropriation are the most serious problems, land annexation is not that important.

But if they can succeed, they have indeed benefited from land mergers, so they are naturally more willing to demand taxes from large households, and they also naturally know that land mergers should be suppressed.

Any soldier knows that as long as the peasants do not go bankrupt, the majority of the peasants will not rebel, so it is necessary to limit the per capita number of acres of land below which no tax is collected or less tax is collected.

Under this premise, the Qinghai Marshal's Mansion did not have a few acres of land, and it could not collect land taxes at all.

Instead, they are transitioning to the government. Once they start the eastward expedition, they will formalize the Jurwan market, and taxes and tariffs will be put on the agenda.

But ever since Liu Guoneng knew that his county had [-] mu of land to be reclaimed, he only focused on the land tax submission.

The land tax of one thirty taxes in the Ming Dynasty is good governance, but whenever the imperial court encounters something, the money and food will not be enough, and if it is not enough, it has to be apportioned.

And with the rigidity of the imperial court, the increase of officials, and successive years of wars, more and more apportionments have been made, and nearly half of the common people's harvest has been taken away, so what is the thirty tax one?It's better to learn from Cao Wei directly, the five lords and the five people, and only get scolded once.

Liu Guoneng wrote three times to the magistrate’s yamen, suggesting that the land tax should be set higher. The first time he proposed ten taxes and one tax. After inspection, he found that the Fanbu in Xining and the Huangnan border had to pay Timba twice, so he wrote the letter for the second time. , it is recommended that five taxes be one.

He was very happy when he heard that Xiao Lazun had escaped after the war started, and he directly wrote a letter suggesting that the Marshal's Mansion implement a land tax of three taxes and one or two taxes and one land tax.

Liu Guoneng thinks that Xiao Lazun is a stumbling block to the tax rate of the Marshal's Mansion, because in Huangnan Lazun, the tax rate of ten is one Timba.

Lazun only took in Timba, and had no responsibility other than restraining his troops from looting the area; while the Marshal's Mansion was responsible for a series of social responsibilities such as building bridges and roads, reclaiming fields, and recruiting soldiers.

But people who pay Timba and taxes don't care about these, people only know how much tax you have collected.

Therefore, if Lazun does not leave, Liu Guoneng will not be able to tell his true thoughts. His logic is this. If the place is clean and there are no messy apportionments, farmers can bear the regular tax of two taxes and one tax. They are in a war era, that is in this way.

Moreover, relying on the new atmosphere of the Marshal's Mansion, Qingzhang Tianmu and registered households are all real numbers. They can lay down a piece of land and remove the old ruler, and they can have unprecedented dominance over a piece of land.

The tax collected will only decrease and not increase in the next 200 years, not to mention that Liu Chengzong will have a son in the future, regardless of whether he is the king of Qinghai or the lord of the world. .

There is no harm in setting a high point at the beginning, but setting a low point is to plant a bomb for the future.

However, neither Liu Guoneng nor Liu Xiangyu has the right to decide on the discussion of taxation. They are nothing more than making preparations in advance for the final decision in the future.

None of them knew what was going on in the south of the Marshal's Mansion, only Liu Chengzong knew.

However, Liu Guoneng's idea of ​​being strict first and then lenient in terms of taxation has already been implemented in Haixi. Even if it is only two stone cannons, he must be very strict. .

"Liu's parents, don't smash it." The Mongolian headman stepped forward and said, "This is well-known, if you smash it, you won't know who did it."

The leader from the Mongolian tribe in Hainan is the old man of Wailiangzi, named Old Man Liang.

The old man Liang could speak Chinese, so he was in charge of all the contacts with the Marshal's Mansion, and he became the officially certified leader after doing it.

His surname comes from Liu Chengzong's letter of commendation, which was sent to Wai Liangzi's mother-in-law, praising Wai Liangzi as a hero and mainstay of the Marshal's mansion, saying that Wai Liangzi is Batuer, a warrior who was personally appointed by the Generalissimo.

So their family, including those two teenagers, now have the title of Batuer. What is the corresponding Chinese character for Batuer?The Mongolian old man thought about it, the mainstay, um...it should be Liang.

Therefore, when registering household registration in Haixi County, their family name was Liang.

Liu Guoneng heard the old man Liang's words, waved his hands and said, "This is the first time, I smashed it directly, and you don't want to go back and punish others. Next time, let people build it completely according to the regulations."

The two leaders nodded in agreement, and then the stone cannons were loaded by the yamen servants and transported to Nanshan Fort to prevent attacks from the Chaka Yanchi Mongolian tribes.

After finishing this matter, Liu Guoneng called the two leaders into the Yamen and asked, "How about the vaccination of your tribe?"

A pox doctor is a doctor who specializes in vaccinating people with pox, the main purpose of which is to prevent smallpox.

It was found that people who had suffered from smallpox would not get it again, so the smallpox technique was developed. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, doctors in Ningguofu created a relatively mature attenuated vaccination technique.

Even now, most of the doctors who travel around the world to vaccinate the common people are from Ningguo Mansion.

After 300 years, this is a very backward ancient medical skill, but in the Ming Dynasty, it was the most advanced science in the world.

Technology is yesterday's science, and science is tomorrow's technology.

The Marshal's Mansion didn't notice this at first, but Liu Chengzu only noticed it last year because there was a tribe in Huangnan that had all the smallpox gone.

Smallpox was not the reason why the tribe disappeared. Smallpox would probably kill four out of five people... Strictly speaking, smallpox is not so severe, but in this era, fever and diarrhea can kill people, and no one can tell who has the pox. Because of what died.

Moreover, there is an incubation period of up to 20 days. People have no means of prevention against this disease. Once it rises, it will burn everywhere like wildfire.

So Razun heard that someone had acne, so he sent troops directly to implement the highest level of isolation—yin and yang separation.

Although the matter did not fall on his own head, Liu Chengzu was also afraid. He found two vaccination doctors from Ningguo Mansion from Xining to vaccinate the whole army. When the combat effectiveness is high, this situation means death in war.

In this era, vaccinations are generally given to children born one or two years old. The mortality rate is less than 5.00%, which is considered a success. Physicians with better technology in cultivating vaccines can control the vaccination to one in four hundred deaths.

One of the two inoculation doctors was killed by Liu Chengzu. The man claimed that he had excellent vaccination and technology, and he could kill one of five hundred people. As a result, he vaccinated 120 soldiers in the Zhenhai Battalion, and thirteen died, which almost triggered a mutiny.

The other doctor had better skills, basically killing one in a hundred. He was awarded an official position by the Marshal's Mansion and built a pox farm under the Qilian Mountains in Haibei. At first, there were relatively few vaccines, and he only vaccinated the army. This year, he also vaccinated the common people.

However, the people in Haixi and Haibei counties lack enthusiasm for vaccination. People can accept the separation of yin and yang after pox, and they cannot accept the [-]% fatality rate.

After all, one is God accepting people, and the other is hitting the road of death by oneself. There is a big psychological difference.

The old man Liang shook his head and said, "It's less than half, and there will be war again, and the people don't want to go to the acne village."

"Let's wait until the battle is over. After the battle, we must plant all of them. Then the commander will come back." Liu Guoneng said, "I heard General Zhong said that the enemy troops in the Heka Grassland are moving abnormally. Maybe the commander has already arrived from the south. coming."

The old man Liang nodded heavily: "Parents Liu don't worry, I will take all the troops to the acne farm after the war... I have something to do when I come back. How long have the official robes of parents Liu been lined up?"

Liu Guoneng was taken aback by the question, then sighed, and said, "Wait for me to figure it out."

The Marshal's Mansion doesn't have a systematic uniform system, and the magistrate Liu Xiangyu and Yang Dingrui don't even have official robes, so it's fine if they don't need them.

But the county magistrate must have official uniforms, because couples have to borrow official robes and phoenix crowns and Xiapei as wedding dresses for the official marriage of the Ming matchmaker when they get married and register at the county government office.

It is much easier for a man to get married, and he will wear whatever the magistrate wears; for a woman, it is a little more troublesome, and the county government must prepare phoenix crowns, phoenix hairpins, gold hairpins, Xiapei, pendants, and fishing rings.

Because of this, the magistrate's official robes of the Marshal's Mansion are mainly used for the common people to wear when they get married, and the common people only wear it once when they get married. It may be the best clothes that many people have worn in their lives.

Liu Xiangyu was the acting parent official of Mizhi. He knew that this custom was very important and helpful to the people, so he specially asked the Weaving Bureau to use the best fabrics and the best craftsmanship to make the county magistrate with dark patterns. Official robes and phoenix coronets.

Liu Guoneng liked the official robe very much. The fabric and color used to be an official with a rank of four or higher...but he didn't wear it for a day.

He thought about it in his heart, and said to old man Liang: "October, the last one to get married was the sixth day of October. I forgot what the name of the soldiers in Nanshan Fort was. General Zhong told me that you will need to use the first month of October." Seven."

The old man Liang calculated with his rough fingers, his face turned bitter: "Then we have to wait another three months?"

Liu Guoneng nodded, then waved his hands angrily and said, "Wait, I've been waiting for half a year, and I haven't worn it once. They're getting married and I'm going to wear it out. Which general is it this time?" Is there a happy event under your command?"

The old man Liang was taken aback, lowered his head and paused before he said: "This time it's not under the general's command, but the juniors of our headquarters. This... Liu's parents, our juniors get married, can't we borrow official uniforms?"

"Huh? What do you mean you can't borrow it?"

Liu Guoneng's eyes widened when he heard the words: "Let me tell you, the rules are the rules. You have to wear official uniforms when you get married, and you must wear them!"

"Go back and tell the newcomers that the wedding is currently scheduled for the seventh day of October. There are many sergeants getting married in front. If there is a war and the date fails, I will bring him to the front. Anyway, I am ready, and the date will be three days earlier. There is a notice from the yamen."

The old man Liang was very happy when he heard that, and he laughed. The married young man in the tribe asked him to ask about this matter, and let him go for several days. It landed with ease.

Just at this moment, a dusty cavalry soldier came running outside the yamen, and entered the hall to report: "Liuzhi County, Nanshan urgent report, the commander-in-chief fought nine victories in Heka Nanshan, defeated the captive army, and now the vanguard has arrived at Heka Grassland !"

　good afternoon!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)