dognovel Chapter 60 Zhu Chongba's Imperial Edict
Chapter 60 Zhu Chongba's Imperial Edict
Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but curse himself for being stupid—Old Zhu and Young Zhu had given him such a large amount of gifts, if he didn't invite all the "important" people in Ningyang County and let them spread the word, wouldn't Old Zhu and Young Zhu have wasted their money?
"Quickly," Yang Shaofeng pulled Limpy Wu over, "invite all the heads of the eight communities and sixteen neighborhoods, as well as the respected elders of each neighborhood and community. If any people in the county town have nothing to do and are willing to come, let them come too."
After Limpy Wu hurriedly left, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said to Wang Qiong, "I was momentarily careless and have made you laugh at me, Your Excellency."
Wang Qiong laughed and said, "It's alright, it's alright. These things are all distributed to the people anyway. Whether they can take them away directly or how they are distributed is entirely up to Magistrate Yang. However, His Majesty's decree is to be read to the people. Actually, it's my fault for not making it clear just now."
Yang Shaofeng nodded: "Some of the heads of the eight communities and sixteen villages live near the county town, while others live far away. Why don't we have some more water and wait together?"
Once the heads of the eight communities and sixteen villages, along with all the elders, had arrived, Yang Shaofeng had an incense table prepared. Wang Qiong then stood before the incense table, took out the imperial edict from Emperor Zhu Chongba, unfolded it, and began to read it aloud.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Tell the people of Ningyang County that I know how hard you suffered under the rule of the Tartars. Now is the time for spring plowing, and I have ordered the court to provide you with hoes, rakes, plowshares and other farming tools, as well as seeds of wheat, beans, sorghum, cabbage and other kinds, and odds and ends such as needles and thread, plus livestock such as cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks. All of this has been given to your county magistrate to distribute to you."
"Now that you people have received the rewards from me and the court, you must cultivate the land diligently and not delay the farming season. I have heard that Ningyang may experience a drought. The court has already begun collecting grain in Jiangnan. If a drought does occur, the court will transport grain to provide relief. In addition, knowing that you have worked hard in clearing the wasteland, I will exempt you from taxes and corvée labor for three years. The land you have cleared will also be exempt from land tax. So be it."
???
Apart from Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, and Lame Wu, the remaining heads of the eight communities and sixteen villages, village chiefs, and elders all stared at Wang Qiong with bewildered expressions.
No, wasn't that official reading an imperial edict?
But which play's decree is written like that?
It was as straightforward as an imperial edict from the Tartar emperor, and even the phrase "every commoner" was copied from the Tartar emperor!
That's not right. This emperor didn't even think about taking money. He also distributed farm tools and seeds to everyone, provided drought relief, and exempted them from taxes and corvée labor for three years.
Magistrate Yang Shaofeng was not surprised.
As everyone knows, the Zhu family produced a number of eccentric emperors. Some were fond of fighting, some loved playing with crickets, some preferred older wet nurses, some liked to appoint themselves as generals, some loved cultivating immortality and refining elixirs, and some loved carpentry. Basically, they had all sorts of oddballs.
However, the emperors of the Zhu family did one thing quite well: their edicts, such as those encouraging agriculture and sericulture, which needed to be read to the people, were almost entirely in plain, straightforward language.
For example, when a coastal area was harassed by Japanese pirates, local officials dared not take action on their own. So they submitted a memorial to the imperial court. When Emperor Zhu Chongba learned of this, he personally drafted an imperial edict: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Tell the people to prepare their knives. When these guys come, kill them first. So be it."
Its main selling point is its straightforwardness; even illiterate rural farmers can fully understand it, leaving absolutely no room for manipulation by officials.
Moreover, exempting taxes and corvée labor was a family skill passed down through generations of emperors of the Zhu family. In particular, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor, issued an edict in the first year of Hongwu to exempt taxes and corvée labor throughout the country. Taxes were exempted until the eighteenth year of Hongwu, and corvée labor was exempted until the fifteenth year of Hongwu.
Even after the collection of taxes and the imposition of corvée labor, Emperor Zhu Chongba would still issue edicts to exempt these duties and open granaries to distribute grain during years of famine, with the main aim of allowing the people to recuperate.
This is why Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate, complained when he first traveled back in time that the common people in the early Ming Dynasty lived like human beings, while the officials were always at risk of losing their heads.
After Wang Qiong finished reading the imperial edict, Yang Shaofeng, who was standing in front of the heads of the eight communities and sixteen villages, the village chiefs and elders, took the lead in bowing and shouting: "We obey the imperial edict, long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor!"
Wang Qiong smiled and nodded, placing the imperial edict in Yang Shaofeng's hand, and then whispered, "Magistrate Yang, don't be impatient, there's more to the edict."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "Anything else?"
Wang Qiong smiled and nodded. After Yang Shaofeng handed the imperial edict to Lame Wu, he took out another imperial edict and read it aloud: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have heard that you are a good official who cherishes the people. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon you ten silver ingots of ten taels each, twenty bolts of silk, a set of the Four Books and Five Classics, a pair of palace lanterns, and a fine horse. I hope you will serve as an official well and treat the people under your rule kindly. If you have any merit, I will not hesitate to reward you. This is the imperial decree."
Yang Shaofeng was stunned for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your subject, Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate of Ningyang, receives the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude. Long live the Emperor!"
Unlike in movies and TV dramas, where eunuchs announce imperial edicts and officials and commoners kneel to receive them, in reality, most of the time it is civil officials who announce imperial edicts. Commoners "bow on the ground" rather than kneel, and officials do not need to bow; they only need to bow to receive the edict. Only the final three shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" are very similar to those in movies and TV dramas, and these three shouts are adapted from the "Mountain Shout Dance" that existed in the Qin and Han dynasties.
After the imperial decree was read aloud, Wang Qiong had all the gifts bestowed by Old Zhu and Young Zhu brought to the open space in front of the county government office. Then, he smiled and said to Magistrate Yang Shaofeng, "Now that the decree has been read aloud, the rest is up to Magistrate Yang to make the arrangements."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and nodded, then instructed Lame Wu, "Hurry up and distribute the gifts bestowed by His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince to the heads of each community and village according to the number of households, so that they can take them back with them."
After Limpy Wu led the commune leader and village chiefs to distribute the rewards, Yang Shaofeng smiled and looked at the things that Old Zhu and Little Zhu had given him.
Ten silver ingots, each weighing ten taels, add up to a hundred taels of silver. In the first year of the Hongwu reign and even in the early Ming Dynasty, the value of a hundred taels of silver was unimaginably high. It could be used to buy land, or even to buy a hundred people.
The value of twenty bolts of silk is not much lower than that of silver, especially since the silk that Old Zhu and Young Zhu used as a reward is something that cannot be bought on the market.
The remaining Four Books and Five Classics and palace lanterns have more symbolic than practical significance. The Four Books and Five Classics can be read, but palace lanterns can only be displayed and gather dust. No one would dare to light them at home normally.
As for the fine horse bestowed by Zhu Lao, tsk tsk, although the Ming Dynasty was not short of horses in the early days, and Xu Da even fought a cavalry battle with Kökö Temür (Wang Baobao, Zhao Min's brother in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber) on the battlefield, a fine horse like this one, with not a single stray hair on its body, well-proportioned limbs, and incredibly lively eyes, was not something that could be obtained casually.
Old Zhu really went all out this time!