Today, the head of Yuqing Village is busy.
It was clearly a busy time for farming, and the villagers did not go to work in the fields, but instead were busy at the head of the village. Some villagers from the nearby village stepped up to take a look curiously, only to find that these villagers were busy digging holes and burying things in them.
The buried thing looked weird. Anyway, based on the villagers' knowledge, they didn't know anything, and they didn't say anything if they asked them. It only took a few days to find out.
Wait two more days to see-
Hey, at the head of the village, a flagpole was erected about five feet high. The base is a flagpole with two diamond-shaped holes on it. The flagpole is made of very thick fir. There are also two holes in the lower part of the flagpole, which are consistent with the holes on the flagpole and the stone. Connect with flagpole clip.
The most peculiar thing is that the flagpole is different from ordinary flagpoles, and there is an octagonal square bucket on it.
Many people don't know what this is, only those villagers who are knowledgeable know that this is something extraordinary from Yuqing Village.
On the day when the banner of fame and fame came up, it was very quiet here in Yuqing Village. There was no whipping or inviting friends to drink. Only people from the Xue family were present, and they were densely surrounded by the village.
There is an offering table under the flagpole, and there is an offering to be sacrificed on it. Xue Tingxiang and Patriarch Xue stood at the front, and there were several elderly people beside them. After the two offered incense, someone brought a bowl with red lacquer and a wolf pen.
"Ting Yuan, come here! It stands to reason that you need a prestigious elder in the clan to write for you, but our Xue family has a shallow foundation, you are the most promising person in our clan, and your handwriting is the best, so it's still you. Come. I hope that starting from you, our Xue family will become more and more prosperous, and there will be a few more famous scholars to benefit the younger generation in the village. "
Xue Tingxiang did not refuse, nodded slightly, and picked up the wolf pen dipped in red paint.
This rod is a bit thick and different from what he is used to, so it's a little awkward. However, his hand was still very stable, but he was a little cautious. After the extra red paint on the pen fell off, he suddenly raised his hand and wrote on the flagpole and the stone.
After a while, I saw two more lines of characters on the flagpole and the stone—
In the sixth year of Jiacheng's Bingwu District Examination, the first place in Xie Yuan and Xue Tingxiang. In the sixth year of Jiacheng, he was established in autumn.
These words dragon flying and phoenix dance, there is quite a spirit of soaring clouds breaking through the sky. However, most of the people present were illiterate, and even if they were literate, they were superficial, and naturally they could not see the meaning of the word. I only know that it looks good, and it looks really imposing.
"Hang the flag!"
With a shout, a horn sounded.
Because Xue Tingxiang has filial piety, he can't celebrate with wine. For today's big event, Patriarch Xue has discussed with the people of the family for a long time, so he must show some momentum. These cutscenes were negotiated by the clan.
As the horn sounded, the villagers in several nearby villages could vaguely hear it, and just as they were thinking about what happened, they saw something slowly rising not far away.
Because it was too far away, I couldn't see clearly. I only knew that it was in the direction of Yuqing Village, so someone came over curiously. Especially the villagers of Shangshui Village and Xiashui Village are close to Yuqing Village. Before they even got to the place, they saw a strange guy standing at the head of Yuqing Village.
On it hangs a big flag with a red border and a yellow land, and on the flag are a few big characters written in alchemy—
Jiacheng's sixth year Bingwu District Examination, the first place in Xie Yuan.
He, the villagers don't know what Jie Yuan is. Some people know the flagpole, and some know the characters. They know that this is Yuqing Village.
For a time, the news spread all over the nearby villages at the speed of a tornado.
The villagers of many villages have come to see the flagpole of fame and fame. Now, after the explanation of others, everyone knows what the flagpole of fame and fame is for. Scholars can't stand, they can only stand a flagpole when they have won the elevating person, won the jinshi, and have a high official in the family.
This is the glory of the Xue family, the talk of the eighth generation going out.
The Xue family did not have such treatment in the past, but now they go out and say that it is Xue Juren's 'Xue', and others give them a special look. Not only that, going out to visit relatives for a drink, that is the first-class treatment, sitting on the table.
Naturally, many people want to see what Xue Juren looks like, but others have said that the county was going to serve Xue Juren with a drink to celebrate, and the Xue family also planned to do the same, but it was a coincidence, Xue Juren grandfather passed away.
Scholars are very particular about etiquette and filial piety, so Xue Juren is now behind closed doors.
When everyone heard this, they felt a sense of awe and respect, so Xue Juren's reputation as a filial son and a filial grandson spread like this. Even the magistrate of Xu has heard of it in the county.
Now Yuqing Village's fame and fame flag has become a famous scene far and near.
From time to time, well-known villagers come to see, and people from nearby villages also feel honored because they are close to Yuqing Village. When any relatives or friends at home come, they always have to lead them to watch and watch. First, it is an eye-opener, and second, it is also in touch with the immortal spirit of the master.
Of course, these are just for the sake of appearance. For the country people, there is nothing more practical than farming without paying taxes.
One person can be exempted from the extortionate and miscellaneous taxes of 500 acres of land, and all the clansmen of the Xue family add up to only more than 200 acres of land.
Just after the trivial matters of making a good name for the flagpole here, Patriarch Xue was busy managing these matters. After a few days, a thick stack of land deeds was handed over to Zhao'er.
Zhao'er has been pregnant for nearly seven months now, and her belly is already very big. She was sitting on the kang making clothes for the baby in her belly, but she was suddenly frightened by the stack of land deeds stuffed into her arms.
"What is this for?"
She looked through the land deeds in her hand. The number of each of these land deeds was not large. Most of them looked like a few acres. The most one belonged to the family of the Xue Patriarch, with nearly 20 acres.
"Where did you get these, shouldn't you go out and grab them?"
Xue Tingxiang originally wanted to make her happy, but he didn't expect to be robbed, so he said angrily, "Your husband has been reduced to the point where he wants to go out and grab it. It's all from his cousin."
"What are you doing?" Zhao'er couldn't help but think of something bad, and said with wide eyes: "Could it be that you have done something that requires you to deal with it, so that you can be bought at such a high price?"
"Where did you go!"
He told Zhao'er one by one about some of the things about the 'contribution'.
The so-called contribution is that the landed estates, in order to avoid tax, hold the title deed to ask for the protection of the tax-exempt officials and nobles. Dachang’s extortionate and miscellaneous taxes are very heavy. Farmers work hard all year round, and most of the small grains they receive have to be taxed.
This is also why Mr. Xue is thinking about it, and he wants to cultivate a famous person for the Xue family, the most fundamental purpose. And among the offerings, there are also rash offerings and self-sacrifices, which means that the powerful people occupy the land of the common people. Because this is the contribution of the clansmen, which is different from the fundamental meaning, Xue Tingxiang did not explain too much.
"Then what do you mean, these lands belong to our family?" Zhao'er still couldn't help himself.
Xue Tingxiang nodded. From the government's point of view, it was true.
"That's not good. You can't bully the clan just because you were chosen. The land is given to us, and they can eat and drink. Although you have passed the exam now, you can't forget your roots."
Zhao'er is Zhao'er, which is not very different from ordinary women's families. If it were another woman, she would have been overjoyed, but she didn't think so.
She loves money and is greedy for money, but she takes it in the right way and doesn't do things that hurt heaven and reason. I shouldn't think that I can please her like this. It's not pleasing to please, but I have to suffer a lot of complaints.
Helpless, he could only explain the matter in more detail, and he explained to her the difference between the sacrifices and the sacrifices made by his own people.
"Then according to what you said, those dignitaries who use their power to bully others are not very bad. The people have no land, so how will they live?" But don't do this kind of thing, this kind of thing hurts Yin morality."
"It's alright, alright, sit down quickly, just talk when you talk, why did you get up?"
After comforting Zhao'er and sitting down, Xue Tingyan said, "Of course I wouldn't do such a thing."
"That's fine."
After that, Zhao'er continued to sew clothes, but Xue Tingxiang changed her previous attitude of not letting her touch the needle and thread. It seemed that she ignored this and stepped out of the house.
He walked along the hill all the way, and it was already a little cold in October. In the distance, in those wheat fields and sorghum fields, all the grain has been harvested, and it has become low and neat, which makes the line of sight more and more empty.
In the distance, he saw the big flag fluttering in the wind, and he involuntarily walked out along the path at the end of the village.
Probably in that dream, because Xue Tingxiang's experience was too complicated and he had encountered too much injustice, there was always a sense of resentment in his heart. So after he gained power, he did not have the heart to petition for the people.
At that time, any high-ranking member of the DPRK, who did not have a million lands under his name, he was no exception.
Everyone only knew that Xue Shoufu was clean and honest, but he was the biggest landlord in Shanxi. And those honest officials who are praised by the common people, which one is not a big landlord
Clear name, that's just for people to see!
At this time, there were two people fighting in Xue Tingxiang's mind, one thought the move was too much of a fuss, and the other seemed to understand.
He was very confused and remembered a lot of things.
There are those in the dream, and there are those in reality, one by one passing by quickly,
In a trance, Xue Tingxiang walked under the flagpole.
There was someone standing there, a man from a farmer, with a little boy.
The man seemed to have just finished his work, with a hoe on his shoulder, and was pointing at the flagpole, as if he was talking to the boy.
Xue Tingxiang got closer and heard clearly.
"...Look at it, this is Xue Juren's banner of fame."
"It's so tall and big, Dad, so majestic!"
"Prestigious, this is Master Juren! When spring starts next year, Dad will send you to school too. You must study hard and win glory for our family."
"Is that because I become a master in the future, and I can also set up such a majestic banner."
"That's only if you get hit."
The man was talking to the little boy without boundaries, and when he saw a young man approaching, he seemed a little embarrassed and smiled.
"Young man, are you from this village?"
Xue Tingxiang nodded.
The man slapped his mouth enviously: "That's really good, isn't your surname Xue?"
Xue Tingxiang nodded again.
"The surname Xue is even better. Oh, you don't know, we heard that the Xue family has a master, and the eighth generation don't have to pay taxes, but I'm really envious. My family also has a child, this one Brat, all day long to go to school, go to school.
"We are an ordinary village family. We eat according to the sky and pay taxes throughout the year, so we only need to eat and drink. Where can we afford to send them to school. But since I heard about Xue Juren, I plan to send him to read. Good scholar, Scholars have a future, unlike us, who will face the loess and turn their backs to the sky all their lives. No, take the little bunny to take a look at the free time, and look at the banner of Xue Juren, you can also get lucky, and in the future, you will honor our ancestors and honor our ancestors. ."
The man spoke incoherently, and the boy watched his father obediently when he saw his father talking to someone.
But more often he looked at the flag and the towering flagpole, as if there was something in it that attracted him.
"I think Ling Lang is smart and clever, and he will definitely be a promising person in the future."
"Everyone in our village said that, otherwise I would be willing to spend money to send him to study."
Xue Tingyan saw that the boy was staring at the flagpole, squatted down and beckoned to him: "Do you like to watch it? What are you looking at?" While asking, he also looked up.
"I was thinking that Xue Juren must be very powerful."
"He's just a lifter, not yet an official, not yet powerful."
"Don't think I'm ignorant when I'm young. My father said that Xue Juren is very good, and he's very good at reading. He will become a high-ranking official in the future."
"Do you want to read?"
"think."
"Why?"
"I want to honor the ancestors for the family, be a high-ranking official, and pay no taxes." The child was like babbling, talking about the cognition in his mind.
"Is that for tax-free tax, or to be a high-ranking official?"
"Being a high-ranking official and paying no taxes, being a good official. My father said that if the high-ranking officials and the masters were all good officials, our family would not have to pay such taxes. By the way, brother, you said that Xue Juren became a high-ranking official. After becoming an official, will he be a good official? Then don't we have to pay so much tax... "
"What are you talking about, don't talk nonsense!" The man hurried up, pulled his son over, and apologized to Xue Tingxiang: "The child is ignorant and talks nonsense, but don't take this word. Into Xue Juren's ears."
"Uncle, I won't tell you."
The man nodded at him and hurriedly dragged his son away.
In the distance, you can still hear the man talking to his son: "You little devil, what nonsense are you talking about, if Xue Juren can hear you..."
"Xue Juren is a good person and will definitely not bully us."
"How did you know?"
"Because that eldest brother is a good person, isn't he also surnamed Xue. Dad, I just saw that eldest brother was crying, his eyes were red..."
"You stinky brat is talking nonsense again, why didn't I see it..."
"His eyes are really red..."
There was no sun, but it was particularly dazzling. Standing on the spot, Xue Tingxiang half-covered his eyes and looked at the famous flag.
"Does the dog want to read?"
"think."
"Why?"
"I want to honor the ancestors for the family, to be the most promising person in the Xue family, and to be a good official in the future, our family will not have to pay taxes..."