MTL - Feng Xing-Chapter 42

The salt of the Huaihe River comes from the sea, and the sea water is inexhaustible, so the salt is inexhaustible.

However, firewood is needed for frying salt, so every year the stove households will store grass in autumn for the use of frying salt in the coming year. When the stored grass is used up, new grass will be added.

As early as last year when the Taizhou county government cleared the land, some people secretly speculated how the confiscated land would be handled. Those rich households whose lands were confiscated were conjectured and waited and watched, and finally someone was determined to ask someone to inquire, and wanted to go the right way to buy the dang land, but who knew that the dang land had been sold long ago.

The county government did not reveal who the people who bought the land were. It is reported that there were more than one person. When the land was confiscated, someone bought it with money.

The news caused an uproar. These big households, wealthy kitchens, and merchants were more like rivals than alliances. However, the alliance was temporarily formed in the matter of the Qingzhang of the county government.

Now someone has taken the land away without making a sound. Who is this person or these people who bought the land? It is inevitable that there will be many suspicions in the dark, which will lead to a series of sequelae, which will not be listed for the time being. All in all, all these vacant lands have changed hands, so where will the fodder for the coming year come from?

The method of making salt in the saltworks in Huainan still adopts the method of spreading ash and pouring marinade and frying, also known as the method of pouring ash.

Basically, it is to open up a stall, let the tide water soak the soil, and then spread the ash on the salty ground to absorb the salt flowers. After being exposed to the sun, scrape the ash full of salt, put it into a deep pit, and pour it with sea water. into brine, and then fry the brine to make salt.

This production method saves fuel and produces a high amount of salt, and is widely used in major saltworks.

But as I said before, this method is heavy on the brine and the material. This material not only refers to the fuel needed for frying salt, but also the plant ash used when spreading the ash. There is a saying in an ancient book: The salt in Huainan is used for frying, and the grass is used for frying... The grass is red and white, and it contains salty taste, and the white one is especially strong.

This white grass refers to a kind of white grass that is abundant in the local area. It has a very high salt content and can purify the brine. However, the brine in the beach of Imperata praecox has a strong brine power, so it is very effective to open up a beach near it and dry the ashes to make brine. This kind of swing is generally called old swing, which cannot be compared with new swing.

And most of the hidden places confiscated this time are old men, so it's no wonder that these big households are anxious.

But at this time, news suddenly spread in the county that a landlord was looking for a partner. There are two methods of this partnership, one is to exchange grass for salt, or to lease the land to others, and the rent is replaced by salt.

From then on, someone finally understood that the person who bought the land was probably a salt merchant, and only a salt merchant had the capital to buy so much land.

In fact, there are quite a few salt merchants who do this. The salt that comes out of the salt field has to go through layers of peeling by stove households, farm officials, and merchants, and the intermediate price is several layers higher. Go to a lot of silver taels. At that time, as long as the tax from the local county government and the salt tax from the salt tax department were paid in full, and the salt merchant brought the tax-paid salt to bring the salt, and passed the prison check and random inspection along the way, it was not considered smuggling.

However, there are very few salt merchants who are capable of doing this, because the land in Taizhou is limited, and these lands are tightly held by wealthy households, and no one else will be allowed to get involved. People picked up such a big mistake.

Compared with the reluctance of those big households, some stove households below are very happy. Since the imperial court changed the salt class several times, from class objects to turning color into silver, many of them have become the owners of some big households, rich stoves, and merchants. Slaves not only have to pay salt lessons, but also have to spend money to buy grass fodder. Now many big households and rich kitchens have stopped making salt, but instead hired poor kitchens to make salt or directly turned into grass merchants.

Although the owners of these lands seem to have the same idea, the lease of the land and replacing it with salt is enough to tempt many people. As long as these lands can be leased, even if you can't do it by yourself, you can ask other kitchen households to help.

Therefore, in front of capital, people's positions can be changed very quickly. If they were oppressed one moment, they will change their perspective the next moment, and no one will let it go.

…

A small village near a certain beach, it is said to be a village, but it is actually just dozens of simple thatched houses. There is no fixed place for the salt people to live, and they can live wherever they need manpower.

Obviously they intend to use this place as a temporary gathering place, the thatched house is still being built, and some even brought their wives and children here.

"We all know that the surname Li is making things difficult for everyone, but everyone has to be twisted together. I won't say more about good or bad. I won't say how hard everyone's life was in the past. I just say it's One of our chances, Mr. Wang said that he gave me the land, but in fact he also gave it to the big guy. Everyone is old-fashioned and knows how much grass can be produced from these lands, and how much salt can be produced from the grass. Except for the The extra quantity to be handed over to Mr. Wang, the rest is ours, not better than the ones we usually steal and pick out from between our teeth?

"Master Wang said that he charged the extra salt at a price that was two levels higher than the market price. Do the math yourself. Usually, we secretly sell the surplus salt to those private salt dealers. How much can we exchange for silver and grain? Now we can How much? This is our chance, whether we can live a good life in the future depends on this time, so everyone stick to it. Those people have nothing to be afraid of, as long as we twist together, are we still afraid of them?"

At the head of the village, a sturdy man with a dark face was standing on the iron plate and admonishing the people below.

These stove households have been exposed to the sun for many years, and all of them are so black that their teeth can't be seen, but they are all as strong as a cow.

"Brother Niu is right, we are not afraid of them, we are just fighting, let's fight with them! Besides, there is the magistrate there, and the magistrate is not one of them. If things get serious, the magistrate will definitely decide for us. So don't be afraid of them, they don't dare to make a scene, they just scare us!"

"Yes, everyone has already thought about it. It's delicious and spicy. They built tile-roofed houses so that their wives and children don't have to be blown by the wind and rain. They still eat chaff and swallow vegetables. They live in this kind of broken grass house. Every time it rains, it rains heavily outside. It's raining in the house."

"Let's not be afraid! Isn't it just playing with our lives? Let's play with them! Let's see if their lives are precious, or our lives are cheap!"

"Fuck them!"

Seeing that everyone's morale was boosted, the man named Brother Niu showed a satisfied smile.

…

The same scene is also being staged in many places at the same time.

Seeing that they were blocked, those big households and rich kitchen households planned to attack the tenants in desperation, but suddenly found that the kitchen households, who used to be a flock of lambs, suddenly turned into wolves.

I don't know who instructed them, but their attitudes are rare and tough, and they even turn their faces and strike at the slightest disagreement, or rise to court laws and county government judgments at every turn. So human nature is to bully the good and fear the evil. I used to think that this group of foolish people are stupid and stupid, and they are only worthy of being fished by human beings. Suddenly, the fish are enlightened, and many people are at a loss.

Of course, there are also conflicts that motivate people to fight, and each has casualties.

When the incident became serious and there was a case of casualties, the saltworks could not intervene at all and could only be tried by the local government. Fan Jinchuan personally came forward to deal with it. Naturally, the big family didn't take advantage of it. The people who did the work were all arrested and sent to prison. Who instigated it Didn't let go.

For a while, the whole Taizhou was in turmoil, and everyone knew that the sky had changed.

"Master Fang's move is so powerful!" Gou Qing said.

It's not that powerful, so it is equivalent to changing the situation of the entire Taizhou in one fell swoop.

In fact, Fang Fengsheng didn't have to do it so complicated, but she just went around and rented the land to those poor people, which was tantamount to tying all these people to her chariot. What kind of moth, you have to weigh whether you can afford public outrage.

After all, those who have the ability to rent the land cannot be ordinary poor stoves, at least among the poor stoves, they are one of the best and have a strong cohesive force. Fang Fengsheng's move is equivalent to finding a group of thugs for himself, so there is no such thing as Qianglong being unable to overwhelm the local snake.

Feng Sheng smiled: "You shouldn't be so praised by the inspector, I thought it was what you expected, after all, even if we cooperate, I have to clear up all the obstacles, don't I?"

This is the truth. With Gou Qing's character and scheming, it was actually a process of testing from the moment he agreed to cooperate with Feng Sheng. He was condescending, waiting for Feng Sheng to show his strength and skills.

Qingzhang's field is one, and Wei Wang's appearance is another. These alone are not enough, and there is also a sharp edge with the following big households, Fuzao. These things seem small, but in fact, it is precisely these minor details that hinder major events. How many people have died on these minor details, thinking that if they have money and others, they will be able to pass without hindrance. In fact, it is just a joke.

"No, I didn't expect it. Well, to be correct, I didn't expect Master Fang to do such a thing that surprised me." Gou Qing's eyes flickered, and he looked at Feng Sheng with admiration.

"Then, is this kind of unexpected good or bad?"

"Nature is wonderful."

"That's fine! Since the inspection is still satisfactory, I'm relieved. I hope our first cooperation will go smoothly."

"It must be going well."

"I'm sorry, the county government still has work to do." After toasting Gou Qing with tea instead of wine, Feng Sheng stood up.

"Business? Mr. Fan really makes the best use of everything. Mr. Fang is busy with big things outside all day long, and the county government still needs to trouble you with trivial matters." After being surprised, Gou Qing laughed a little sarcastically.

These words were suspected of being cliche, Feng Sheng would not be fooled by him, he just laughed dryly, showed a helpless look, and left in a hurry.

In fact, Feng Sheng didn't have official duties, but Fan Jinchuan had a cramp recently, and he was always grabbing her to teach her knowledge.

Feng Sheng couldn't refuse, because she came to Fan Jinchuan's side to be a master in the first place, in the name of being convenient to ask for advice.

What I say, the suffering can only be suffered by myself. Now Feng Sheng not only has to be taught by Fan Jinchuan for an hour every day, but also writes an stereotyped essay for him to read.

"My dear brother, you have finished reading the four books and five classics, but I think the article you wrote is really horrible. As the saying goes, if you read a book a thousand times, its meaning will come to you. Your foundation is too weak, and you still have to polish it to get a mastery of these books." , Memorize it backwards, it will come naturally when you write an article..."

Feng Sheng came back before Fan Jinchuan arrived, the sweat on his forehead was still wet. At this moment, listening to him talking on it, his mind was wandering, thinking about the cooperation with Gou Qing, to see if there were any omissions.

"Brother, Brother Fang!"

Feng Sheng came back to his senses: "Brother Zijin."

"If you don't pay attention, how will you end up in the next township examination? How can you live up to the ambition you made at the beginning." Fan Jinchuan said heartbroken.

"Brother Zijin, I am not careless."

"Then where did you talk about brother?"

Uh, this Feng Sheng really doesn't know.

"Look, where did you say you put your heart into? You are fined to write two stereotyped essays today. I will give you the title later. I will tell you what I have said before. Brother, you need to listen attentively."

After such an encounter, Feng Sheng finally concentrated his attention. Fan Jinchuan was really too stern and selfless. If he caught himself distracted again, he might be punished with three or four stereotyped essays.

Fan Jinchuan went to Qianya because of official business, leaving Feng Sheng alone to write articles.

When studying in the past, what Feng Sheng hated the most was stereotyped essays, which were rote and rote, with too many rules and regulations, and she was the most impatient.

"A human is not as good as a bird, Shiyun King Mu Wen? What is the relationship between this man and the bird and King Mu Wen? This nerd is too tricky to write a question. Let me write this kind of ruthlessness."

Zhiqiu rubbed Feng Sheng's ink on the side, seeing her muttering words, she was quite angry. Can't help but said: "Master, since you don't want to write it, then don't write it, anyway, we don't go to test for fame."

Feng Sheng hesitated and said: "We know, but he doesn't know, he took the trouble to teach me, if I muddle through, it's not that I don't know what to do."

After finishing speaking, Feng Sheng also realized that his anger was rather boring, so he calmed down and wrote the question seriously.

On the other end, Fan Jinchuan didn't actually leave, he led Xiaoqi away after listening to Feng Sheng yelling at him for his tricky questions outside.

"My lord, you know that Master Fang doesn't like stereotyped essays, but you always ask him questions like this. You don't mean to make him angry on purpose."

Fan Jinchuan showed a smile: "I didn't mean to make him angry, but I felt that his foundation in writing articles was too poor, so I asked him to write more and learn more. Don't you think he has been running outside too many times recently. If he is not calm, he will be distracted." Uneasy, he needs more peace of mind."

But Xiaoqi felt that his lord was suspected of avenging his personal revenge. He knew that Mr. Fang had gone to Gou for a lot of inspections recently, so the lord would come up with the phrase "It's not easy to learn while learning." Qi really didn't believe it.

Xiao Qi hesitated for a moment, and said, "My lord, don't you think your attitude towards Master Fang is too strange?"

"What's so strange?"

"Inspector Gou and Master Fang, that's their own private matter. If you block the way in the middle, it's a bit...too much..." At this point, Xiao Qi shrank his neck, but still said: "You always hate this , Just ignore it, don’t forget that the old lady is still waiting for you to get married and have a grandson.”

After finishing speaking, Xiao Qi lowered her head, not daring to look at Fan Jinchuan's face. Don't think that Fan Jinchuan is a scholar and a nice guy, so you think he won't lose his temper. Anyway, Xiaoqi has seen it, and it's quite scary.

He lowered his head and thought wildly for a while, then looked up when there was no movement, only to find that Fan Jinchuan had disappeared without a trace.

He looked around, wiped off his sweat, and murmured: "Old lady, I tried my best to speak out, and I can't control the rest."

After finishing speaking, he hurriedly left here, obviously looking for Fan Jinchuan.