Gao Ya and Li Bohao became anxious when they heard this, Gao Ya said: "Father, what's going on? Don't be afraid of Xu Boyi's threat, don't look at their heads, you can do whatever you want as an emperor Is it? He definitely has no reason to send troops to conquer us for this matter."
Li Bohao also said: "Father, Ye Dianshi can treat our cottage with kindness, we can't be ungrateful, wouldn't that make people poke our spines, we can't promise him!"
Master Gao reprimanded with a sullen face: "What do you know, father has his own ideas in his heart."
Zhaizhu Li said angrily: "I am the one who is in charge of the village now, not you, so stop talking!"
At this time, Luo Daheng led a tall old man to the head of the Gaoli Village. The old man was wearing a black robe and had a hunchback, but he still looked very tall. He was half bald on the top of his head, his eyes were sunken, and he looked a little gloomy.
The two village owners, Gao and Li, were stunned, and looked curiously at the sudden old man. The old man narrowed his eyes slightly, with a very calm expression on his face. The two sides looked at each other for a moment, without saying a word, the tycoon suddenly realized, slapped his forehead, and said to the black-robed old man, "Master Dong, these two are the masters of Gaoli Liangzhai."
The old man who was squinting his eyes and smiling slyly changed his expression, laughed again, and said: "The two are the village masters of the Gaoli Liangzhai? Please take a step to talk."
Zhaizhu Li frowned and said displeasedly: "Who are you?"
Dong Dong squinted at him and asked, "Which of your surnames is Li?"
Village Master Li puffed up his chest and said, "My surname is Li!"
Mr. Dong moved closer, took a closer look at Village Master Li, laughed and said, "Aha, so you are the son of Little Shitou? You have grown so big!"
Village Master Li was taken aback. His father's nickname had not been called by anyone for many years, and even he almost forgot, but now he was called out all at once. Village Master Li cried out, "Who are you?"
Winter waved his hand and said: "The old man is from ancient Shilazi, do you know this place? Follow me!"
Daheng Luo grabbed Dong Dong, smiled wryly and said, "Old man, this way!"
"Oh!" Mister Dong followed his advice and immediately changed his direction.
Village Master Gao's face changed slightly, not only Village Master Li had heard it, but he had also heard that the ancient stone lazi was actually a boundary, like a boundary marker, beyond the ancient stone laziness was the settlement of seedlings.
Although Shengmiao is nominally a citizen of Ming Dynasty, they form their own system, and the government never appoints officials to manage it, let alone collect taxes. This is not just the case of the Ming Dynasty, but the unified dynasties since the Han and Tang Dynasties have always been like this. No matter how the world changes and the dynasties change, they will never be affected.
The great warriors of the Han and Tang Dynasties and the invincible iron cavalry of the Yuan Dynasty would naturally stop when they came to them and conquer them by force? The cost is too high, the gain outweighs the gain, and the terrain is special, and the population is dominated by the Hu people. After a long time, it will still be out of control, and the huge efforts in the past will be turned into waste. Therefore, the regular dynasty adopted the detention policy.
It is often said that the chieftains, whose territories and people have already possessed a certain degree of civilization, but still can only adopt the policy of confinement. These Miao tribes living far away in the mountains are more difficult and frustrating than those chieftains. Do not want to provoke.
The distance between the Gaoli village and the Shengmiao tribe is only a day or two away, so they are considered close neighbors, but the two sides seem to have no contact with each other. Why did the elder appear on this occasion. But such a person obviously cannot be neglected, and the two of them couldn't help but followed.
※※※
Xu Boyi walked briskly into the small hall where the two imperial envoys were resting, and successfully persuaded the two village owners, Gao and Li, Xu Boyi was very happy.
If Ye Xiaotian didn't return to Hu County, he wouldn't be so careful, but since Ye Xiaotian returned to Hu County, he knew that Ye Xiaotian had a close relationship with Gao and Li villages, and the attitude of Gao Li's old village owner decided the matter of changing his surname. Will he be careless about his success or failure
Therefore, in his memorial, in addition to proposing to reduce or exempt certain taxes for the people who agreed to change their names and surnames, he also mentioned the special status and influence of the Gao and Li villages among the people of all ethnic groups in Hu County, and suggested that the emperor give them a reward. The family village was named Shangliao Dao Shangju, and the Li family village was named Xialiao Dao Chief Litigation.
This is Xu Boyi's trump card. Who can resist this move? The chief minister, the official of the sixth rank, can be hereditary. This kind of native official appointed by the court has the autonomy to manage the property and people on the land under his jurisdiction and the power of life and death, just like a local emperor.
The inheritance of this kind of hereditary native official is more relaxed than the inheritance of the titles of the imperial courts. The father dies and the son succeeds, the son dies and the grandson succeeds. If there is no son, the daughter can also inherit. Unless a great plague wipes out the whole family, there will be endless generations of replacements. Even if the Central Plains dynasty changes and the world is changed, the new dynasty will recognize their existence and continue to appoint them as officials.
That's how those thousand-year-old chieftain families came from. From the Han Dynasty to the present, how many times have the Central Plains dynasties changed? But their family has been passed down to this day. In short, once they are recognized by the imperial court as hereditary and irreplaceable native officials, they will be the same as Yan Shenggong Kong's family. No matter who is the emperor, no matter which family is in the world, his family can enjoy wealth forever.
In life, what is the picture? Even if you don't plan for yourself and benefit future generations, is this temptation not tempting? Their current status as village masters cannot be hereditary, and they can still guarantee that this position will be passed on to their sons in the future, but they may not know which generation, other families will rise up and take their place.
It's just that Hu County has been reformed, and it would be a setback to set up a hereditary chief lawsuit. However, the aspirations of the people are very meaningful to the emperor who has just taken power, especially since he completely rejected his mentor Zhang Juzheng as soon as he took office. In particular, a kind of affirmation is needed, and the level of the chief lawsuit is low, and the impact is not great, so Wanli considered it again and again, and agreed.
However, Emperor Wanli still hoped that such a generous condition would not be necessary unless necessary, so Xu Boyi did not propose it until now. Of course, he only showed Lin Shilang this way. If he wanted to make this matter go smoothly without any twists and turns, he could contact the two village masters Gao and Li in private and reveal the truth to them. When the time comes, the three of them They teamed up to make a scene, the two objected a little, and Xu Boyi threw out this great benefit, and the two agreed to Xie En, which was a matter of course.
But Xu Boyi was not satisfied with this, he not only wanted to use this matter to invite the holy favor to ascend to the sky, but also wanted to take the opportunity to kill Ye Xiaotian, so he deliberately concealed the news, so that Ye Xiaotian could relax his vigilance, and also let the imperial envoy see with his own eyes that someone deliberately hinder. Now that everything is developing according to his plan, Xu Boyi is naturally proud.
Xu Boyi bowed to the two imperial envoys, and said respectfully: "You two imperial envoys, I have persuaded the village masters of the two villages Gao and Li to agree to lead the people in the village to change their customs."
Lin Shilang put down his teacup and asked lightly, "Did you promise them the conditions?"
Uncle Li Guo asked strangely: "What conditions?"
It wasn't until this time that Uncle Li Guo faintly realized that this imperial envoy seemed to be ignorant of some things, and he couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.
But civil servants have always been like this, they are like a group of dogs protecting food, military generals come to bite, royal relatives come to take a bite, eunuchs come to take a bite, even the emperor comes to take a bite A few mouthfuls, facing this huge group that is already too big to lose, even if Zhu Hongwu is resurrected, he can't even think about cutting it off with a butcher's knife, Uncle Li Guo is naturally helpless.
Xu Boyi said: "Yes! Originally, the two village owners had readily agreed, but unexpected twists and turns happened, and the lower officials had no choice but to use this backup strategy."
Lin Shilang gave him a deep look, and said calmly: "No matter what, as long as this matter can be resolved smoothly, let's go out."
"Wait a minute!" Uncle Li Guo called Lin Shilang, and said to Xu Boyi: "Have you ever asked who is behind the scenes to make them go back on their word?"
Xu Boyi said: "The lower officials asked, but the two of them were embarrassed and hesitated to speak. The lower officials think that the important thing is to change the vulgar ceremony at the moment, and it is not appropriate to make extravagant events. After today, I am afraid that they will not tell the imperial envoy frankly. ?"
Uncle Li Guo's color is a little pale, yes, he can betray once, and he can betray twice. At this time, they have just made a decision, so it is naturally difficult to do it so thoroughly. They don't tell the truth? By then...
Li Xuancheng nodded happily, and said to Lin Shilang: "Master Lin, please!"
…
In the study of Huang Jiaoyu, the county school, the two village masters, Gao and Li, sat there with extremely ugly expressions. I kept struggling and weighing in my heart, and it was difficult to make a choice after all.
Although Elder Dong knew Li Zhaizhu's father, even if he had a fatal friendship with Zhaizhu Li's father, it was not enough to make Zhaizhu Li give up this powerful temptation that would benefit future generations, not to mention that Elder Dong and Li's father were just ordinary people. at the turn of.
However, Village Master Li had to consider Elder Dong's threat, and Village Master Gao also had to consider it. Elder Dong didn't discuss any conditions with them at all, and just said a word arrogantly: "If you agree to Xu Boyi's request, we will go out of the mountain when we grow seedlings. We have set our sights on this place in Gaoli Village!"
Just this one sentence left the two village owners dumbfounded. If you lose your own stronghold, then there is no talk of eternity, and the so-called chief executive officer will become a tree without roots and water without a source, and everything will come to naught.
It is not easy to relocate and build a cottage. At the beginning, there were only a few families who settled on the banks of the Laodao River. After hundreds of years of reproduction, they have come to where they are today. If the entire cottage has been moved, where can they settle down? Are the people in the village willing to follow them to leave their homes
Furthermore, if you really want to leave, unless you move to a remote mountain and old forest with few people, and become a savage king, who is willing to allow so many of them to settle in their territory? It will not be swallowed by others.
One is the temptation to inherit wealth and glory for generations, and the other is the threat of losing everything. The two village owners are in great pain. It is impossible for the imperial court to fight against the brave and difficult seedlings for them to compete for habitat among their tribes.
If the imperial court is really willing to send troops, it is likely to eat the raw seedling after driving it back to the deep mountains. The imperial court is not a good man, but the most ferocious tiger. This is not the first time that the Ming court has done this kind of thing. The two struggled for a long time, and finally couldn't make a choice. Relying on his father's old relationship with Elder Dong, Village Master Li said awkwardly: "Uncle Dong, what is your relationship with Ye Dianshi? Can you...don't interfere with the affairs of our cottage?"
Dong Dong smiled, squinted his eyes and said: "Are you still not giving up? Tell me, what kind of benefits did that Xu promise you?"
Lord Gaozhai paused word by word: "Let's set up a lawsuit, and the hereditary will not replace you!"
"I see. Is this Xu Boyi's magic weapon? Hehe, it is indeed a temptation that cannot be refused!"
There was a burst of loud laughter from behind the screen, following the laughter, Ye Xiaotian walked out with a smile.