Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 371: His crime deserves death, but his situation deserves sympathy
Outside the gate of the county government, the crowds of onlookers were more than double the number before. Originally, there were not so many idle people, but since the news that Xu Cheng was chopped by General Mingwei at the gate an hour ago spread like wildfire, people from all directions swarmed in and blocked the place.
If it weren't for the loud-voiced officers repeatedly shouting that no noise was allowed, coupled with Zhu Tingfang's fierceness, the place would have been as noisy as a vegetable market. However, compared to the sound of firecrackers coming from all over the city, the street in front of the county government office was already quite quiet. This was because most people were trying hard to hear clearly what was going on in the court.
At the gate of the county government office and the court, the four students of Wen Dao Yi Academy did not disappoint the people. Although there was a distance from the court to the gate of the county government office, one student would come out to repeat after listening to a section, and then go back to replace another student to pass on the next section. The four students intertwined with each other and could repeat what happened in the court almost word for word.
But just as one of the students passed on Zhang Shou's questioning of Xian Yunhe and others, before the next person came to replace him, three people suddenly squeezed out of the crowd. Two of them tried their best to block Cao Wu's master and apprentices and the officers who were maintaining order, while the other took the opportunity to rush to the big drum at the gate of the county government, took out a drumstick from his arms, and hit the drum hard.
The thumping sound immediately aroused an uproar among the onlookers. In the past few days, because Zhu Tingfang had announced that he would accept all kinds of lawsuits, but the premise was not to report false cases, all those who had grievances would report them all at once. How could someone jump out and bang the drum to file a complaint at a time like today? And was they so well prepared?
You know, the drumsticks used to beat the drums at the gate of the county government office are usually put away, and the drums used to file complaints are also guarded by special people. How can you beat the drums whenever you want? Otherwise, how can the county magistrate sleep in the middle of the night?
When his arm was twisted by the officer, the middle-aged man who got the chance to beat the drum thanks to his companions shouted loudly: "We three are the spinners whose houses were burned down by those unscrupulous merchants. We escaped death but dared not return to Cangzhou. We hid outside for a long time and just came back the day before yesterday! Today we heard that the county government wanted to try some so-called rioters, so we had to stand up..."
"There are no rioters in Cangzhou! There are only innocent people in Cangzhou who are driven into a desperate situation by corrupt officials and profiteers and are risking their lives!"
It was not known whether it was because they had witnessed the corrupt official’s beheading before, or because they were inspired by the simple words that there were no rioters in Cangzhou, but someone in the crowd immediately echoed loudly, “That’s right, there are no rioters in Cangzhou!”
As the second and third persons followed suit, such voices were heard from all directions.
At first, the sounds were uneven, but gradually they became uniform. Finally, the sound gathered into a torrent, and as it spread from the front street to other places, other people on each street also followed suit and shouted. There was a faint sound of a tsunami and an earth-shaking movement, and even the people in the court could hear it clearly.
Du Heng, who had just been finding fault with Xian Yunhe and the others for their crimes, suddenly looked a little ugly when he heard the shouts that seemed to come from the same throat. He thought that there was no need for him to wade into this muddy water, and he wanted to avoid the limelight temporarily, but he always felt a little unwilling in his heart. When he saw Ge Yong also frowning slightly, he couldn't help but complain.
"Someone must be fanning the flames behind the scenes to force the court to make concessions!"
This time, his words elicited a sneer from Zhu Tingfang: "General Du has not read enough. The emperor is a boat, and the common people are water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. Wei Zheng also used this to persuade Emperor Taizong of Tang. What's more, are the people outside clamoring to exonerate the eight people in front of them? What they want to express is that there are no rioters in Cangzhou, that's all!"
Ge Yong then said leisurely, "I went to Wendao School last night and met Mr. Xu, the famous Cangzhou man. He is a few years younger than me, but he has taught many more students than I have. When he sent me away, he also pleaded with me, hoping that I could report to the court and let everyone in the world know that there are no rioters in Cangzhou."
Zhang Shou only knew that Teacher Ge went out last night. As for where he went, he had no intention of asking, let alone monitoring him. When he heard Ge Yong mention it, he couldn't help but feel fortunate that Zhu Tingfang and he had visited him one after another, talked heart to heart, and finally succeeded in impressing him.
However, the old teacher was indeed open-minded. Not only did he not take Zhu Ying's previous threat to him seriously, but he also said something in front of Ge Yong that coincided with his own words.
Hearing Ge Yong say this, Du Heng immediately shut up.
Knowing that it was useless to say more and that it would only cause others to dislike him, what else could he say? However, he secretly decided to write down all of Zhang Shou's judgments and make a decision after returning to Beijing.
Zhang Shou nodded to his teacher and future brother-in-law, and then said in a deep voice: "According to the Great Ming Law, the outer camp gates and secondary camp gates of the temporary palace are treated as the gates of the imperial city. Anyone who enters without permission will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane. The inner camp gates are treated as the palace gates. Anyone who enters without permission will be punished with 60 strokes of the cane and one year of imprisonment. If you enter the gates of the temporary palace without permission, you will be punished with 60 strokes of the cane and one year of imprisonment, just like the inner camp gates."
"According to the Great Ming law, anyone who steals a seal or a seal from a government official will be caned 60 times. Anyone who steals military weapons will be counted as a theft. Anyone who pretends to be a minister or a close official or family member will be caned 40 times and exiled 3,000 miles. You stole the seal of the Grand Prince's envoy, pretended to be a close official, and then stole weapons from the Sharp Cavalry Battalion. You are guilty of multiple crimes and will be caned 100 times and exiled 3,000 miles."
"For multiple crimes, the punishment is 100 strokes of the cane and exile thousands of miles away."
At this point, Zhang Shou stood up by pushing the handrail and said in a deep voice: "There are no rioters in Cangzhou. The so-called riots are nothing but the collusion between corrupt officials, treacherous merchants and bad gentry. However, the cause was traced back to a mere spinning machine with several times the efficiency. This is my fault. I only thought about making the servants work less and get more output, but I forgot that the treacherous people pursued profits!"
"From ancient times to the present, people only knew how to twist hemp and weave cloth, reel silk and weave silk, and the world preferred silk. Later, spinning and weaving gradually came into being, and the world preferred cotton. Looms and spinning machines have always been changing. I once watched my mother weaving and dyeing, so I wanted to modify these textile tools, thinking that maybe one day, cotton cloth will be as abundant as clouds, and spinners and weavers will no longer be naked."
"But it is the nature of villains to pursue profit. Even if General Mingwei is now powerful and the atmosphere in Cangzhou has become serious, can it be guaranteed for three to five years, but can it be guaranteed for ten to eight years? Even if it can be guaranteed for ten to eight years, can it be guaranteed for thirty to fifty years? Therefore, I discussed with General Zhu that Cangzhou produces cotton and textiles very well, and the pricing is all controlled by one party, which is unfair."
"Therefore, I hope to try out three types of cooperatives in Cangzhou: cotton, spinning and weaving. Cotton farmers will invest in their fields, and workshops and weavers will invest in their machines. We will uniformly distribute seeds, provide guidance on planting, improve machines, instruct on the key points of weaving, purchase and sell products in a unified manner, and set wages for hired workers. After the cotton harvest season each year, we will estimate the prices of cotton, yarn and cotton cloth for the next year..."
Zhang Chen and Zhu Er had quietly come to the side of the courtroom. Seeing Zhang Shou talking about a system they had never heard of, they looked at each other in surprise. Especially Zhang Chen, when he heard Zhang Shou casually push Jiang Da Shao to the position of the head of the spinning workshop cooperative, he couldn't help but take a deep breath and said, "Jiang Siyuan's dozen canes were really worth it!"
Zhu Er touched his chin and whispered, "It's easy to say, but will others agree?"
"If they don't want to, let them continue to work on their own." Zhang Chen sneered and said nonchalantly, "No government decree can be all-encompassing, nor can it be accomplished overnight. People are always needed to make continuous improvements. By the way, the spinning workshop was taken over by the man named Jiang, and he also managed the Qi family's property. No one can compete with him. But there is no one who can take on the role of head of the weaving workshop and cotton farmers."
There was an indescribable light in his eyes, and he said softly: "The young master gave me the new loom. I used this to cheat so many people in Xingtai, including those greedy guys in Cangzhou. I think it's more interesting to fight with these guys outside than to compete with them in the capital."
Zhu Er immediately understood Zhang Chen's hidden meaning and couldn't help but widen his eyes: "You mean... you want to take the lead and become the head of the weaving workshop cooperative? You are serious, you are the eldest son of the Duke of Qin!"
"So what?" Zhang Chen glanced at Zhu Er in annoyance. "My father is in such good health, he has at least 20 to 30 years to live. What should I do in the next 20 to 30 years? Eat and wait for death all day, or just get a job as an official? Since you are not happy to deal with those guys in the capital who are proud of their posts, why can't I be the head of this society?"
Zhu Er's head was swollen by Zhang Chen's words, and he even forgot what Zhang Shou said and the noise of the people outside. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "It's okay to play occasionally, but which noble family has a direct descendant... especially the eldest son who is doing business personally?"
"Then I won't use the name Zhang Chen anymore. Why not just use Wang Shen?"
Zhang Chen retorted impatiently. Seeing Zhu Er finally speechless, he said excitedly, "During my time in Xingtai, I found that this is much more interesting than fighting cocks and walking dogs in the capital. Since I am not the eldest son of Duke Qin, I cannot just use my status to oppress others. I have to use my brain more. This kind of life of fighting wits and courage is very interesting."
Zhu Er wanted to fulfill his duty as a classmate: "You are still the head monk of Banshan Hall..."
"We've already been divided into classes, what's the point of having a dormitory leader? Besides, I can still ask the young master for advice in private. It's not as fun to just study books behind closed doors as it is to put them into practice! Besides, when I'm old, I'll have plenty of time to lie in bed and read!"
Zhu Er simply didn't know what to say - what does it mean that when you are in your seventies or eighties, you can only lie in bed and read? Are you cursing yourself or something?
However, the next moment, after hearing what Zhang Chen said, he no longer had time to complain.
Because Zhang Chen's question was simple and direct: "I noticed that you were very close to that old salty fish, and it seems that you have been to his vegetable garden? Are you planning to find another way? Are you interested in farming, sir?"
"Since you want to be a good farmer, why not stay here and have a good relationship with the cotton farmers instead of just talking about it, and see what methods can be used to make the cotton fields produce more cotton? You know, the efficiency of spinning machines and looms has all increased, but there is not enough cotton! Once the cotton production is more, we can achieve what the young master said, that cotton is like clouds, and all weavers have clothes."
Zhu Er's heart was pounding. However, the next moment he thought of his shortcomings and became discouraged. He really had never farmed before! In the past two days, he had also tried to ask old farmers about the key points of farming during his research, but the result was not optimistic, because farming is not about talking, but about doing!
"It's not a problem if you haven't done it before. Why don't you give it a try first? Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and I have never really done anything big before, but we did a good job in Xingtai this time, didn't we? Zhu Er, you see that Lu Sanlang is so proud of himself, don't you have any intention of catching up with him? Your eldest brother is both civil and military. Let alone you, even if we are all tied together, we will never be able to catch up with him in our lifetime!"
Seeing Zhu Er finally being moved, Zhang Chen couldn't help but smile to himself, thinking that if he dragged Zhu Er along to take on all the responsibilities, it would be difficult for him to be beaten back by Zhang Shou. And according to the attitude shown by his father before, as long as he had Zhang Shou's support, he would most likely let him do whatever he wanted, and he might even donate money to support him generously.
In this sense, his father is much more open-minded than Zhu Er and Lu Sanlang's fathers...
Zhang Shou didn't know that Zhang Chen and Zhu Er had decided on their own the other two leaders of the so-called cooperative.
He actually had many mature and immature ideas, but after much thought, he decided to stick to his original idea and support small groups of a certain scale in Cangzhou. Because when looms and spinning machines were bound to be introduced to the south, if Cangzhou wanted to compete with those big businessmen with strong capital, it had to find a way to form a group.
Of course, before these things he claimed could be realized, he must first make people accept his judgment.
However, just as he was reviewing the words he had prepared in his mind, Ge Yong beside him suddenly spoke up: "Laozi said, 'People do not fear death, so how can we scare them with death? If people are always afraid of death, and they do something strange, I can arrest and kill them. Who dares? There are always executioners who kill. To kill on behalf of the executioner is like chopping on behalf of the master carpenter. It is rare that one does not hurt his hands."
Zhang Shou was slightly startled when he heard this passage, one of Laozi's most famous sayings. Seeing Ge Yong explain it again calmly, he nodded gratefully to his teacher and continued, "Spinners are floating people who live from day to day. If they have a job, they will live, and if they don't, they will die. They were bullied before and were about to die, so they did act too radically and made a big mistake."
He paused, and said with finality: "Perhaps my previous verdict may seem to some people to be evasive, but the words to exonerate them were said by the eldest prince himself when Xu Cheng attacked the palace. And most importantly, his crime deserves death, and his situation is pitiful! So to warn the world, I have already reported to the emperor that the place of exile should not be Liaodong, the outer borders, the southwest, or Yunnan and Guizhou."
"I recently obtained the rubber tree seeds that Emperor Taizu mentioned in his manuscripts. However, this tree can only grow in hot and humid places. Therefore, I will send Xian Yunhe and eight other people to Qiongzhou Prefecture to plant trees!"
