Chapter 593 Hong's School will sooner or later become the No. 1 School in Huangyang County
Sun Shan and Hong Xiucai talked about some new policies in Nanjing that needed to be kept secret.
He asked, "Teacher, what do you think of our new Lord Tang from Huangyang County? How does he compare to Lord Wei?"
Speaking of the new County Magistrate Tang, Scholar Hong frowned and sighed.
He shook his head and said, "Hey, he is not a good official. He is far inferior to Lord Wei. I used to think that Lord Wei was ordinary, very mediocre, and had no achievements. Now, I realize that I was wrong. Lord Wei is a rare good official, and this Lord Tang..."
Hong Xiucai looked around and saw that only he and Sun Shan were there, so he said boldly, "This Lord Tang is just greedy. Compared to Lord Wei, he is really too greedy."
Mr. Hong told Sun Shan what Mr. Tang had done in the past year.
First, increase the business tax. Anyone passing through Huangyang County will be taxed. He also knew that he couldn't kill chickens for warmth, so he didn't collect much, but it was much more than Lord Wei, and it was maintained at a level that merchants could still be recognized by their heads.
Second, increase agricultural taxes. Under the current tax collection policy, use all kinds of methods to make farmers pay more taxes, just like commercial taxes, to reach the maximum acceptable level for farmers.
Third, they enforced household registration and collected head taxes, and all those who were not registered were registered, and no one was spared from collecting taxes. Individuals entering the city were also charged entry fees.
Fourth, the price of alternative service is higher. If you don’t want to serve, you have to pay more. If you don’t have money to serve, you have to work more. You have to work more than when Lord Wei was here.
The last point makes me angry when I think of Mr. Hong.
He said angrily: "This Lord Tang has taken the wasteland that Lord Wei reclaimed for himself. The land clearly belongs to the government, but it has all become his land."
Sun Shan was stunned. He didn't expect that Lord Tang had only been here for more than a year, but he acted so quickly and put the "family business" that Lord Wei had worked so hard to accumulate for the government into his own pocket. This speed was really too fast.
And if he does this, is there no power to resist?
A hapless county magistrate, who gave him the courage to do these things?
Although he is the most powerful one in Huangyang County, there are also restraining forces below him.
Hong Xiucai shook his head and said, "I don't know the details. I'm not an official. But in Huangyang County, as you know, there are not many powerful locals. If we talk about the most powerful one, it must be you."
Sun Shan thought about it and understood what Mr. Hong meant.
Almost all officials in Huangyang County were from other places. The county magistrate was from another place, the county magistrate was from another place, the inspection officer was from another place, and only one official of the old chapter was a local.
The third shift and sixth room were previously run by Lord Wei's people. Now that Lord Wei is gone, he has taken his people with him. The vacuum that has emerged is likely to be filled by the new County Magistrate Tang's people.
Because Huangyang County had a weak literary tradition, there were no large families. Because it was poor, there were no gentry, only small landowners.
The locals were not very smart, and the heads of the yamen had all been usurped, leaving the locals of Huangyang County to serve as thugs and lackeys.
Chief Clerk Zhang had also complained to Sun Shan that as a genuine Huangyang County native, he had a hard time in the yamen and was often excluded by outsiders.
Of course, Chief Clerk Zhang was only complaining. At that time, Lord Wei was in power, and Lord Wei often adopted a policy of ruling by doing nothing. He was very easy-going towards both officials and the people.
What Chief Clerk Zhang said was just talk, and he did not suffer any actual exclusion.
Sun Shan thought that any new county magistrate would easily take control of Huangyang County as long as he brought enough people with him.
The locals in Huangyang County are actually a group of scattered people. If they want to find someone to uphold justice, apart from going to the government office, they can't find a slightly prestigious and powerful gentry to uphold justice.
Huangyang County is very easy to be exploited because it is located in a remote area, is poor and has no capable people.
The people have lived peacefully in these years entirely because of Lord Wei, one of the few good officials, who brought peace to the country.
Apart from eating bran and wild vegetables, the overall diet is very harmonious.
Sun Shan was the first recorded juren in the history of Huangyang County, and Hong Xiucai said that he was the most capable local.
After Sun Shan asked Mr. Hong about the new county magistrate's personality and conduct, he thought about looking for his fellow villager Zhang Zhubo tomorrow.
After having two meals with Mr. Hong and his wife, I went to the school and taught a "travel notes" class with the students.
Mr. Hong asked Sun Shan to talk about how he went to study in Yuelu Academy, how he went to Jinling, and the strange people and things he encountered along the way.
The students screamed when they heard this, and Mr. Hong was all smiles.
For these children from the mountains, leaving Huangyang County and seeing the outside world is out of reach.
As he finally has a senior brother who has passed the imperial examination, Mr. Hong will definitely make full use of him.
He also told the students to listen carefully, saying that it was a rare gift for the scholar to give lectures to them and they should cherish it.
If people outside want to see the scholar, they have to wait a long time before they can see him.
They were lucky enough to choose to study at Hong's School, which gave them this opportunity because they were close to the school.
Sun Shan was very happy to give lectures to students at first, but as he listened to what Hong Xiucai said, he was no longer happy.
Sun Shan suspected that Mr. Hong was soliciting customers by using his name to make the Hong School a famous school so that it could recruit more students.
With more students, the school becomes more famous, and when the school becomes famous, more students flock to it.
With such a virtuous cycle, Hong's school will sooner or later become the best school in Huangyang County, and Hong Xiucai will sooner or later become the best teacher in Huangyang County.
If there are enough students, there will be more opportunities for them to become successful. There is hope that Mr. Hong will teach more scholars, more juren and more jinshi.
A single spark can start a prairie fire.
Mr. Hong is making full use of his resources and is ready to take advantage of Sun Shan completely.
When we returned to "Sun's House", it was already pitch dark.
I chatted with Hong Xiucai for a whole day and was exhausted.
Hong Dalang and Hong Chengcai said that Hong Xiucai was taciturn, had a stern face, and never smiled, and that was when he was talking to their Hong family.
Look, Mr. Hong is very enthusiastic about his Sun Shan. He keeps pecking at him and his saliva is more than tea.
Gui Ge'er held the Hong family's lantern and tried to open the door, and the door inside opened.
Sun Shan and Gui Ge'er were stunned for less than a second.
An extremely familiar voice came: "Shanzi, Shanzi, you are back. I missed you so much."
In the dim light, what comes into view is the tall and handsome De Ge'er.
De Geer enthusiastically pulled Sun Shan in, and they were reunited with joy like old friends: "Shanzi, Shanzi, let me take a look at you. Oh, poor Shanzi, you have become darker and thinner, it seems you have suffered a lot."
Sun Shan was also very happy and asked with a smile: "Brother De, why are you here?"
De Ge'er still works in the county school, but he no longer lives there. He bought a house not far from the county school and lives with his wife Huang.
As for who paid for the house, it was of course Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun. How could De Ge'er afford a house with his meager salary?