Five or six young men from Mao's village went to the conscription office to sign up, and the only ones who passed the physical examination and interview to be recruited were Boss Mao and Mao Zhuzi. Although Boss Mao and Mr. Mao Zhuzi were not considered to be regular soldiers, they were only reservists, but their treatment as reservists with no salary still made Boss Mao feel very satisfied.
Reserve soldiers enlisted in the barracks of Wangdu, each issued to a set of winter clothes plus a pair of thick cloth shoes, supply three meals a day, the morning is thin rice and noodle lumps, midday and evening is a dry rice and a dish and a soup. Mao boss of the reserve soldier's food and clothing treatment is very satisfied, just live in poor conditions, the barracks in the number of soldiers, dormitory is not enough to allocate, often more than 20 people hit the ground crowded in a barracks.
After passing the physical examination at the conscription office and being recruited, Boss Mao did not go home that day, and followed Mao Zhuzi into the barracks to report for duty, and after receiving the new clothes and shoes, he entrusted his own old clothes and shoes to the patriarch who sent them to the royal capital to bring them back to his home, so as to make his own wife go out and have a winter coat to protect her from the cold.
On the second day of their stay in the barracks, the reserve soldiers were led by the supervisory officers to work in various places in the royal capital, and for every day of work, the reserve soldiers could receive five pounds of corn, which was recorded in the work order, and a note of fifty pounds of grain coupons was issued for ten days, which the reserve soldiers could give to their family members, who would then take it to the designated grain stores in the royal capital to exchange for grain.
After entering the royal capital, Zheng Yuming had sent people to the royal city and the villages around the royal city to investigate the situation in the people's homes. He found that both the people in the royal capital and the surrounding villages were having a very difficult time living at home. This year, the harvest of the fields near the royal capital was average, not a good year, and the people were supposed to pay their taxes as in previous years, and the remaining food could still ensure their food. But Yi Ji after the rebellion on the throne, and then levied twice the field tax, two raids, the people's homes in the remaining food to take a large part. The result of Zheng Yuming's investigation is that 90% of the people near the royal capital are short of food, and after the Spring Festival, 90% of the people will be plunged into famine.
The original feudal history of the ruler, do not want the people to starve to death, then, often are sent to the ministers to open the grain, the emperor selected ministers have a conscience, that half of the food will be issued to the hands of the people, if the ministers are a greedy black heart, then most of the grain relief is often the ministers of the joint tycoon embezzlement, or to the second food moldy food exchange relief food, especially greedy, simply take out a little bit of meaning out. In the end, by decree to issue food aid is actually a fat errand, as long as they want to, can get benefits from the food aid. Of course, there are also those who are dedicated to the people, such as Pao Qingtian in the classic novel "The Three Heroes and the Five Righteousnesses", who released grain in Chenzhou.
However, Zheng Yuming didn't want to be a Baoqingtian, he didn't send back the grain that Ripple Ji had raided to the common people again without compensation, but took another way of handing over the grain to the people. That is, in the royal capital city and the surrounding fields and villages nearby, recruiting a large number of laborers, the capital city renovation and construction of water conservancy, so that the people to labor in exchange for food, the daily labor pay and reserve soldiers the same, but also tube food and drink can be five pounds of corn, the same is to use the food coupons instead of food, issued once every ten days.
Zheng Yuming insisted on giving food coupons to the people who work, instead of directly distributing food, also has the intention within. Although Zheng Yuming and Chu Zhaohui were considered to be in control of Wu, there were too few people on hand, and some of the literate slaves and commoners drawn from Nambu and the valleys could only serve as minor officials because of their status. Nowadays, the administration mainly relies on the literate aristocracy.
Zheng Yuming in order to prevent the issuance of food links to the phenomenon of corruption, the use of food coupons to prevent this phenomenon, because the designated exchange of food coupons of grain stores by Zheng Yuming complete control, as long as the person who took the coupons to exchange the food coupons have a wrong, the grain store will be written down to report to the Huang Zhong, the Huang Zhong will immediately let the Intelligence Department to carry out investigations. In this way, the officials who want to drill the loopholes of food-for-work will immediately show the line, which can maximize the elimination of corruption.
Zheng Yuming use of food for work for construction, not only can solve the problem of people's hunger, but also can be concentrated to a large number of laborers to carry out infrastructure, and participate in the labor of laborers labor, the subjective motivation is very strong, even if not many supervisors on the construction site, but also very few slack phenomenon.
Zheng Yuming roughly calculated, a family of five, as long as one person can work in lieu of pay, the remaining four people rely on the daily five pounds of corn, plus some wild vegetables and vegetables and grains, or can fill the treasure full stomach. By next May after the barley harvest, farmers can pick up the green and yellow at home. And at that time, potatoes and sweet potatoes, corn and other high-yield crops will be fully promoted throughout the country, after the construction of water conservancy after the farmland, as long as it is not encountered in a hundred years of great drought and flooding, Wu farmers under the intensive cultivation, will be in the fall to usher in a bumper harvest, it can be predicted that the farmers of the Kingdom of Wu will be a rich harvest year.
At this time, the people, while paying taxes, also had to undertake the labor assigned by the ruler, the labor was obligatory and unpaid without any remuneration. Zheng Yuming's work for food program, many ministers in the royal court felt that Zheng Yuming was too kind and righteous, the people should bear the obligation to pay, truly a kind son. Zheng Yuming use to pay for the grain in addition to Yi Ji scraped, is copied from the family, this program does not touch the interests of the nobles. When the royal court deliberations were discussed, the voice of opposition was weak and not resolute.
Boss Mao, who was doing the work at the Prince's residence, was so grateful to the benevolent Gong Zi Ming in his heart that he wouldn't even realize that Zheng Yuming was taking the grain that was supposed to belong to them and was driving them to put in the effort to get it back.
The people in the Prince's Mansion were exterminated by Ripple Ji, and while the people died out, the mansion was not damaged, and the building of the houses remained as opulent as the heir to the kingdom should be. In addition to more than three hundred houses, the Prince's Mansion also had two gardens and a large area for practicing martial arts.
Zheng Yuming has decided to open spring next year, in the king's capital and Dacheng each set up a large college, the king's capital of the college in the northern part of Wu, it will be called the North College, in Dacheng's college is located in the southern part of Wu, it will take the name of the South College.
The northern academy president by tai fu, tai fu since the western marquis succeeded to the throne, has repeatedly said to stay away from the royal court, Zheng Yuming heart happy to see this stubborn old man does not in the royal court fingers and feet, but tai fu celebrity reputation is very loud, go to do the academy president can increase the fame of the academy.
Having Taifu as the president of the North College was not a complete handover of the college; the general administration of the North College was Fan Jin, who was responsible for administration while also serving as a tutor.
As for the South College in Dacheng, Zheng Yuming hired Wang Jie, a famous scholar of Xu, as the dean, and Wang Jie, who was already happy to promote his own ideas, was immediately pleased to accept the paperwork for hiring him as the dean of the South College as soon as it arrived.
Prince residence since it is to be converted into an academy, the mansion will have to be rearranged, in order to allow the students of the academy to have a place to move around, in addition to the martial arts training ground to retain, a small garden flowers and trees were transplanted, ornamental lotus ponds filled in with soil, this place will later on be a playground for the students to exercise.
Boss Mao and several hundred reserve soldiers were the ones doing the work of transplanting flowers and trees at the Prince's residence. After digging out the flowers and trees in the small garden, Boss Mao loaded them onto carts and pushed the carts to replant them on both sides of a wide open street in the royal capital.
In order to five pounds of corn every day, Mao Boss worked very vigorously, while drying, but also yelled at Mao Zhuzi, not allowed Mao Zhuzi lazy rest, causing Mao Zhuzi teeth very itchy, but looking at the distant supervisory officer, Mao Zhuzi had to swallow into the stomach of the mouth of the unpleasant words.
Unlike Boss Mao, Mao Zhuzi was disappointed to learn that he was only a reserve soldier, not a regular soldier, but the additional provision that he could be converted to a regular soldier one after another after half a year made Mao Zhuzi hopeful again. Mao Zhuzi was not as hardworking as Mao Boss when he was working in the village, but now he was working harder than usual because of the regulation that advanced members can be transferred to full military service first, only when the supervisor was away, Mao Zhuzi would try to be lazy, but with his own brain-dead fellow villager, Mao Zhuzi didn't have a chance to be lazy behind the back of the supervisor.
"Boss Mao, you have all the brute strength you can handle, my thin arms and legs can't compare to you!" Mao Zhuzi lowered his voice to complain.
"Thin arms and legs?" Boss Mao wiped the beads of sweat on his head and swept down Mao Zhuzi's whole body, he didn't see how skinny Mao Zhuzi was, if he was really skinny, the recruiting office wouldn't have enrolled Mao Zhuzi into the army. "You didn't say that when you signed up."
"That's not more than you, more than others!" Mao Zhu Zi grinding teeth, he is not brave to the recruiting officer self-recommendation, not to be sifted out with the other young people in the village, that can only go back to the village to build water conservancy.
"Wait I'll pull the cart, you push it at the back." Boss Mao saw that Mao Zhuzi looked pitiful, so he wanted to take care of him. The cart loaded with flowers and trees was on two wooden wheels, it was very heavy when loaded with things, it needed one person to pull it in front and one person to push it in the back, the person pulling it was strained, the person pushing it was more energy efficient.
"Oh, this is good!" Mao Zhu Zi was happy, half of the way to deliver the flowers and trees didn't need the pushers to exert themselves, it saved a lot of energy compared to digging in the dirt at the Crown Prince's Residence, and you could still see the hustle and bustle all the way through the process of delivering the flowers and trees.
After the peace agreement between Wu and Zhao, the tension in the royal capital of Kang has been relieved. The topic of discussion among the people gathered on the streets was no longer whether to fight or not, but the several king lists posted on the wall of the royal palace, which were always surrounded by large crowds of people since the lists were posted.
"It seems that a new king's list has been posted again." Mao Zhu Zi Wang list is most interested in, the original news of recruiting new soldiers is to use the Wang list to inform the people, Mao Zhu Zi heard the people who have read the Wang list talk to know the news of conscription.
"Anything posted on the king's list is good." Boss Mao, who was pulling the cart with his back bowed, smiled nervously.
When the other young men in the village failed at the conscription office, Boss Mao also pitied and sympathized with the old townsmen very much, for he knew that the situation in the homes of all the people in a village was similar, and that even in the homes of the richest patriarchs there was not enough food to last them until next summer's harvest, and that failure to serve in the army meant that there was no channel of obtaining food.
Three days after Boss Mao became a soldier, the palace wall of the king's palace posted the king's list of relief for work, the king's list, in addition to explaining what is meant by relief for work, but also posted the king's capital is ready to start the construction of the place, the king's capital is ready to build water conservancy outside of the city's address, want to relief for work of the people, you can choose to go to the closest project to enrollment.
A river near Maojia Village is a water conservancy project construction place, according to the scale of that water conservancy project, several villages near Maojia Village laborers can go to sell their labor in exchange for food, Boss Mao can imagine how happy his own village people will be when they hear the news, winter is the idle time of the farm, anyone's family can send out all the laborers, even the strongest women can sign up to participate.
"I don't know what it is this time, Mao Da, I'll go check it out." Mao Zhuzi swept his eyes around and realized that there were no other reserve soldiers around.
Supervisors do not supervise on the road, and usually deliver a trip of flowers and trees for an approximate period of time, so as long as the reserve soldier who delivers it comes and goes at about the same time, the supervisors will not interrogate the reserve soldier.
"Okay, but you'll have to be fast and poke around to catch up quickly." The next section of the road was relatively flat, and Boss Mao was fine with the trailer alone.
As soon as Boss Mao's words fell, Mao Zhu Zi ran towards the Wang List, ran to the place where the people gathered, and got into the pile of people and disappeared.
Mao boss a person pulling the car, all the way a little worried, afraid of Mao Zhu Zi halfway desertion was caught, so fearful of fast walking to the destination of Mao Zhu Zi's people have not caught up, pulling the car did not did not pull out sweat, but because of the fear of being supervisory officer to see, worried about a head full of sweat.
"Hoo hoo! Mao Da what are you doing pulling a cart by yourself and running so fast?" Mao Zhu Zi finally caught up, gasping for air and complaining about his fellow villager.
"What did Wang Bang say?" Seeing that Mao Zhuzi had rushed back, Mao Da was relieved.
"Two things were released this time."
"Which two?"
"One thing is our great king's wedding on the eighth day of the first month of next year, and the other is that a national examination will be held on the second day of February next year." Mao Zhuzi can not read, this is he drilled into the pile of people before listening to sing the list of people to explain to understand. Because literate people are really less, often appear official government a list out, onlookers of the people did not have a can read the content. In order to let the information accurately released out, Zheng Yuming each time the release of the king list, will specialize in the king list is equipped with an interpreter, specifically for the people to explain the interpretation of the contents of the king list, the voice dragged long, as if singing, the people called the interpreter of the list of singers.
"The king is to be married in a hundred days."
"Yes, the king's list says that the late king's dying wish was to see the great king consummate his marriage." West marquis help son set Tian's daughter, originally prepared for this year's harvest festival after the wedding, don't want to ripples Ji rebellion disrupted the wedding date. After the king's capital was pacified, Tian's family followed the West Marquis north into the king's capital, because of the war between Wu and the Tang army, the West Marquis is not well, the wedding day has not been able to set.
When the Western Marquis died, Chu Chao Hui bluffed Zhao Xuan in exchange for a peace agreement between the two countries, Chu Chao Hui proposed at the court meeting to hold an early wedding for Wu Wang Sheng, that is, within a hundred days of the death of the Western Marquis to complete the marriage.
In the ancient times, the filial son treated the deceased as if he were alive. The offerings made on the 100th day clearly indicated that after the 100th day, the family would no longer send food to the deceased every day, but the deceased would make his own "food". This is because they believe that even though a person leaves the earth and goes to another world (the netherworld), he still needs to eat in the netherworld, just like on earth, and after the 100th day, the deceased should be able to get used to the netherworld without having to have his family bring him food anymore. Therefore, it is said to be a good time to get married within a hundred days. Outside of the 100th day, it is the end of the mourning period, which is unlucky, and no marriage is permitted.
Wu Wangsheng was already twenty-two years old this year, so if he didn't get married within a hundred days, he would have to wait three years before starting a family. The males of Great Qin basically discuss their marriage around the age of eighteen, and start a family around the age of twenty, so if Wu Wangsheng waited for another three years to get married at the age of twenty-five, then it would be too late. Therefore, once Chu Chao Hui's proposal came out, all the ministers of the king's court seconded it, and for the first time since Ripple Ji's rebellion, the king's court of Wu passed a proposal unanimously and without any objections. And the people of the king's capital were also happy that their monarch had finished his marriage, because a monarch getting married meant that there would be an heir born to the royal family, and the royal family's inheritance would be in order, so that the country could be stabilized.
"What's the exam?" Boss Mao pulled the car to its destination and unloaded the flowers and trees while asking Mao Zhuzi about the content of the other king's list.
Mao Zhuzi scratched his head, he didn't quite understand the meaning of the fresh word examination. "The person who sings the list says it means that the prime minister and the hundred officials of the royal court give the questions, and those who can read and write go to answer them."
"What are the benefits of the exam?" Boss Mao lost interest when he heard that only literate people could take it.
"There are great benefits to the exams, those who do well will be appointed as magistrates." Mao Zhuzi inquired very carefully.
"Magistrate?" Another term Boss Mao didn't understand.
"It's just like the Seal Lord, well, it should be about the same." Mao Zhu Zi couldn't understand, but it didn't stop him from imagining it.
"Anyone who is literate can participate?" Boss Mao's mouth opened in surprise, he didn't expect the rewards for the exam to be this heavy.
"Of course, the king's list also specifically states that even if you are an untouchable, as long as you can do well in the exam, you will be appointed just the same." Mao Zhuzi was envious, he really wished he could recognize some words and could try his luck on February 2nd.
"Hey, we'd better not think about it." Boss Mao shook his head, only the matriarch of the Mao Family Village knew a few hundred words, barely able to add his name to the genealogy, the rest of the village people were all illiterate, the February 2nd exam had nothing to do with them, it was only something only the nobles could participate in.
Boss Mao and Mao Zhuzi both feel that the two announcements on the king's list, only the wedding of King Wu has some relationship with them, the other one selects magistrates through an examination, which is not related to them, the ordinary people, at all.
How many years later, people look back with a start, the fate of the whole nation of Wu began to change precisely from that one king list.