"My fellow villagers, I will not waste any more time on unnecessary nonsense. I will start distributing the rewards now."
Zhu Ping'an bowed to everyone and went straight into the part that everyone was most looking forward to, distributing rewards.
The magistrate is really going to give out rewards. Haha, the people in the audience are so excited that their mouths are almost grinning from ear to ear. How can they not be excited? Anyone who goes up to the city wall to defend the city can get at least ten taels of silver, which is a huge sum of money.
"Wang Cuandian, Liu Dianli, Qian Dianli, and Zhang Dianli, start distributing the reward money." Zhu Ping'an said to the newly appointed Mr. Wang Cuandian, Mr. Liu Fuzi, the Dianli of the Household Department, Mr. Qian, the Dianli of the Warehouse, and Mr. Zhang, the Dianli of the Treasury.
"Yes, sir." Wang Xiucai and others bowed and accepted the order.
"My fellow villagers, I will start distributing bounties now. Anyone whose name I read out will come up to verify their identity. Once the identity verification is correct, you can collect the corresponding bounty. Don't worry, don't be anxious, the silver has been calculated in advance, there is enough for everyone, read a name, and one person will come up. Those whose names are not read out, just wait down below, don't worry, no one will be left behind."
Master Liu stood on the stage and spoke to the people below, and the yamen runners responsible for maintaining order repeated his words loudly.
The people in the audience heard it clearly, and they all agreed and cooperated.
"Okay, let's start now. Liu Erniu from Qiaobao Village was brave in defending the city. He insisted on fighting despite being injured in the back. He is rewarded with a total of twenty-six taels of silver." Master Liu took out a thick roll of merit book from his arms and read it aloud.
The yamen runners repeated Master Liu's words loudly so that the people could hear them clearly.
"Here I come, here I come, I'm Liu Erniu."
When Liu Erniu heard his name was the first one in the crowd, he couldn't help but raise his arms excitedly. Looking at the envious and admiring eyes of the crowd, Liu Erniu enjoyed it so much that his chin almost reached the sky. He squeezed out of the crowd like a victorious general, and even walked with a little dizziness.
"What a man!"
"Erniu, Erniu, you are the best!"
"My cow is awesome!"
"Have you got married, my good man? I have a little girl, she is eighteen years old, she is a perfect match for you."
Wherever Liu Erniu passed, people would automatically make way for him, with passionate eyes and endless praise for him. There was even an old man who took a liking to Liu Erniu and wanted to marry his little daughter to him.
Listening to the compliments from everyone, Liu Erniu felt like he was about to float. To be honest, Liu Erniu was in a conflicted mood at the moment. He wanted to get on stage as soon as possible to receive the reward, but he also wanted to walk slowly and enjoy the people's hot eyes and compliments for a while longer. This was the most prominent moment in his life, nothing else.
"Damn you Liu Erniu, why are you dawdling? Hurry up and claim your reward. We are still waiting."
While Liu Erniu was enjoying himself, some people who had also participated in the anti-Japanese war could not help but laugh and scold him, urging him to collect his reward money quickly.
After being exposed, Liu Erniu could no longer dawdle and enjoy himself. He scratched his head in disappointment, then quickly walked onto the stage with a silly smile.
"Eh? Wrong?! Shouldn't the reward be 20 taels of silver?! The county magistrate issued a reward order before the battle. Anyone who is brave enough to defend the city will be rewarded 10 taels of silver, and those who are injured will be rewarded an additional 10 taels of silver. Liu Erniu can get 10 taels of silver for his bravery in defending the city, and another 10 taels of silver for his injury. In this way, shouldn't Liu Erniu be rewarded 20 taels of silver?! Why did the county magistrate give Liu Erniu 26 taels of silver?!"
"That's right, the county lord made a mistake, right?!"
At this time, someone noticed that there was something wrong with the amount of reward given to Liu Erniu, and couldn't help but speak out to remind him.
"Ahem, fellow villagers, the reward is correct. Because the emperor doubled the reward for killing the Japanese in Jingnan, the county magistrate decided to divide the extra reward equally among everyone according to their number, and everyone can get an extra six taels of silver."
After hearing everyone questioning the amount of the reward, Master Liu coughed, stroked his beard and explained to everyone.
What?!
The county magistrate not only fulfilled his promise and distributed the reward silver according to the original reward order, but also took the initiative to distribute all the extra reward silver to everyone? ! Is the county magistrate stupid? ! Why did he take the initiative to distribute more silver to everyone!
Everyone can receive an extra six taels of silver in reward than expected, which is nearly twenty thousand taels of silver.
Wouldn't it be nice if he used this money to buy pork ribs? !
Oh my god, we have lived for so many years, but this is the first time we have seen a county magistrate who is so uninterested in money? !
In the past, every county magistrate in Jingnan was desperate to put money into his own pocket! He levied heavy taxes and set up various rules, such as the four-liang flat, the linjianti, the zhesehuohao... ... There were so many ways to get money that it would take days and nights to describe them all. County magistrates in other places were all the same! It was unheard of for our county magistrate to take the initiative to share money with everyone. This was the first time in history.
The common people in the audience were all stunned and in disbelief. They all excitedly shouted "Zhu Ping'an, the great judge" and said that their ancestors were so lucky to have met such a good county magistrate. But unfortunately, it was heard that the county magistrate had been promoted to the deputy director of the Judicial and Criminal Inspection Department and was now the interim county magistrate. As soon as the new county magistrate took office, the county magistrate would take office as the deputy director of the Judicial and Criminal Inspection Department.
While everyone was sighing, Mr. Wang on the stage had already verified Liu Erniu's identity and confirmed that it was correct. Mr. Qian at the side then counted out two ten-liang gold ingots and six liang of loose silver from the box and handed them to Liu Erniu.
Liu Erniu still felt it was unreal after receiving the reward. He suspected that he was dreaming. He pinched his arm hard. The pain made his mouth almost stretch to his ears. Haha, it hurts. It's good that I'm not dreaming.
"Liu Erniu, count it. Once you're sure the amount of the reward is correct, sign your name or put your fingerprint here, and you can leave."
Mr. Zhang couldn't help but smile when he saw this. He gently tapped the reward distribution book on the table and reminded Liu Erniu.
After all, there were more than 2,000 people waiting to receive their reward. This was not a small amount and could not be delayed.
“Enough, enough.”
Liu Erniu counted them, grinned foolishly, walked forward, pressed a handprint, and went down with a grin.
"Zhang Tiesuo..."
Master Liu looked at the merit book and continued reading.
The bounty was distributed in an orderly manner, and people were very excited. It took more than half a day to distribute the money. Those who died in the defense of the city were also collected by their families. The huge amount of bounty allowed the people who lost their loved ones to receive real pensions, and the elderly and children were guaranteed. These bounties also comforted the souls of the victims in heaven.