Chapter 261: Can't Write a Single Word
Liang Shixian instantly grasped Gao Family Village's intention.
Work-relief!
Simply distributing grain was not ideal, and selling books to give away grain wasn't a perfect solution either.
There's a "dark" side to human nature, so anything involving outright "giving" would ultimately fall short of expectations.
But work-relief was an excellent approach.
In a flash, Liang Shixian analyzed a myriad of benefits that work-relief offered.
Of course, this method had one major drawback: it required immense financial power. This again filled Liang Shixian with awe. The Gao Family Village was truly as rich as a nation, even capable of conceiving such a method of distributing funds.
He wondered if Shen Wansan, the great merchant of the early Ming, could even compare to the Gao Family Village!
San Shier smiled faintly. "A year ago, when Your Honor first saw the cement road, didn't you consider building one? You were only persuaded against it by the Third Steward."
San Shier continued, "The conditions weren't ripe then, but now they are. Your Honor can seize this opportunity to perform the virtuous deed of building bridges and roads, while simultaneously providing livelihoods for the common people. It's killing two birds with one stone, why wouldn't you?"
Liang Shixian declared, "Indeed, just as you say, sir. I will immediately make preparations for this matter and ensure it is handled flawlessly."
He no longer had the patience to continue debating with San Shier. He turned, grabbed his Shaoxing aide, and bolted. "What are you staring at? Produce the detailed road construction plan at once!"
The Shaoxing aide's spirits lifted. "Rest assured, Your Honor, I shall take care of this matter."
The two mounted their horses and galloped away.
Only then did Gao Yiye stroll out from behind, standing beside San Shier and watching Liang Shixian's receding back.
Gao Yiye mused, "That man seems like a good official."
San Shier sighed. "Yes, if the Chengcheng County Magistrate had been him instead of Zhang Yaocai from the start, perhaps Wang Er would never have rebelled, and how many lives would have been spared in our Chengcheng County?"
Li Daoxuan shook his head, sighing softly: *It's not as simple as you think. Even if Wang Er hadn't rebelled, others would have. Or ruffians like Padi Tu... Even if Chengcheng didn't rebel, Qingjian, Mizhi, Fugu, Luochuan, Yichuan... all would have risen up.*
*This peasant uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty was ultimately unavoidable.*
*The Ming Dynasty's fortune had run its course!*
*Even a god wouldn't save it; they'd simply overturn it and start anew.*
The massive road construction project began.
In that era, building a road over thirty li long was no easy feat.
The workers hadn't attended modern vocational schools; they had no modern machinery, no cement mixers, no large trucks for sand.
Splitting mountains and cracking rocks relied entirely on hoes and chisels; carrying mud and moving earth depended solely on shoulders; traversing mountains and ridges was done entirely on foot.
Under such conditions, constructing a thirty-li road was an uphill battle.
Fortunately, there was already an old loess official road. They weren't completely breaking new ground, but merely paving a flat road beside the existing one and covering it with cement.
Outside the county office, a "recruitment notice" was posted.
A large crowd of refugees gathered around the notice. "What's written on this?"
A scholar hired by Liang Shixian stood beside the notice, loudly reading its contents to the common people. But after he finished, the refugees remained utterly bewildered.
Indeed, Liang Shixian's notice was too literary and archaic; even when read aloud, the common folk couldn't understand it. The scholar had no choice but to translate it into vernacular, shouting, "The Magistrate says we need to recruit workers to build roads! This is not forced labor! Not forced labor! Not forced labor! I'll say it three times because it's important! We are hiring temporary workers, providing food, and an additional three catties of grain per day!"
When this was shouted, the common people instinctively wanted to cheer.
But...
The cheer caught in their throats, unable to escape.
The government recruiting workers? And paying wages?
Hadn't they been deceived enough by officials? The Ming court had absolutely no credibility.
Who the hell would believe that?! Even if the current Magistrate had a reputation for "integrity," everyone was still hesitant. In an instant, the crowd began to disperse with a rumble.
Liang Shixian was hiding in a nearby house, secretly observing the people's reactions. Seeing this, he grew anxious, grabbing his aide and shouting, "Why don't they trust me? I've been distributing porridge for a year. Every time bandits came, I led the militia in fierce defense, never mistreating the common people!"
The Shaoxing aide replied with a bitter expression, "Your Honor, although you are a good official, you can't account for other officials... *cough*... Look at Li Ying last time... and Zhang Yaocai before him..."
Liang Shixian was speechless. "... ..."
What should he do then?
He needed to think carefully.
The highly learned Liang Shixian immediately activated an emergency response mode in his mind. The prestige of the government, his own reputation, the will of the common people, and methods to win their trust all revolved in his mind like a carousel of ideas. Then, with a 'ding,' his thoughts settled on a signboard.
On that signboard were four large characters: Chengcheng Bookstore.
He had it!
Liang Shixian burst from his hiding spot, loudly proclaiming, "Everyone, don't be afraid! The ones recruiting for road construction are not the imperial court, which is why it's not forced labor! This time, the recruitment is by San Shier of the Gao Family Village Bookstore. He wants to build a good road to facilitate his carriage fleet's transportation of books... All the grain will be distributed by the bookstore, and the government will merely serve a supervisory role. If the bookstore defaults on anyone's wages, you can file a complaint with the county office, and I will personally handle it!"
At his words, the common people, who were about to disperse, swarmed back in an instant.
"Oh, it's the bookstore then!"
"Why didn't you say so sooner? I'd trust the bookstore for grain distribution!"
"As long as it's not the government, I'd dare to try any recruitment. Only the government's I wouldn't touch."
"The bookstore has always been giving out grain anyway. It's just that buying one book only gets you two taels, which isn't quite enough. I thought the bookstore didn't have much grain, so they didn't dare give more. Turns out they were saving up for a big project!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"San Shier of the bookstore is a truly benevolent person."
"The imperial court is completely different. They'll tell you everything sounds great before you start working, then turn around and not give you a single copper coin after the work is done."
"But Magistrate Liang is considered an honest official, isn't he?"
"What good is an honest official? An honest official merely 'acknowledges the debt but doesn't pay it!'"
"What does 'acknowledges the debt but doesn't pay it' mean?"
"It means, 'I admit I owe you money, but I don't have the funds to pay you back.' They'll always blame it on 'those above'—'if the superiors don't send money down, what can a lowly seventh-rank official do?' They just shrug it off, and what can you do?"
"So that's how it is."
"Better to stick with the bookstore then. San Shier is a good person."
The common people cheered excitedly: "We'll take this work! We'll do it!"
Hearing the people's chatter, Liang Shixian's face flushed with embarrassment. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: *How did the government's reputation become like this? When did it start? Alas! The people's trust... has it really fallen this low?*
*This is a truly ominous sign!*
*A state cannot stand without the trust of its people!*
*With the people's trust in such a state, my mighty Ming Dynasty... is in peril.*
Liang Shixian suddenly picked up his brush: *I must write a memorial to the Emperor, telling him how dangerous the situation is. But how should I write it? What should I write?*
He held the brush, stiff for a long time, unable to write a single word.
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