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Chapter 154 A Notice
Lixian County, Hebei Province.
A yamen runner walked out of the county government office, carrying glue and a piece of red paper covered with dense writing.
The bailiff went to the notice board in front of the county government office, smeared some glue on a piece of red paper, and with a slap of his hand, pasted the red paper onto the notice board. After doing this, he went back to the county government office on his own.
Before long, a group of people from Lixian County gathered around the notice board, pointing and commenting on it.
"Stone Li, what do you think is written on this?"
"How would I know? I can't read."
"I think it's probably another tax increase."
"I think that's probably true. We've only had a few days of peace, sigh..."
"I think we should stop guessing and find someone to read it aloud for us."
A group of people stood around the notice board for a long time, but not a single one of them could read.
Just then, a sharp-eyed man in the crowd suddenly spotted a young man dressed as a scholar passing by on the street and said:
"Isn't that Scholar Wang?"
"That's right. Isn't Scholar Wang literate? Quickly call him over to take a look."
The scholar, known as Wang Xiucai, held half a roast duck and a pound of Fenjiu liquor. Since Zhu Yuanzhang unified the country, the imperial court had finally started issuing subsidies to scholars again, and his life had become much better.
Just then, he was about to go home alone for a couple of drinks when he suddenly heard someone calling him from in front of the yamen. He turned around and saw several of his neighbors, so he went over to them.
"Wang Xiucai, come quickly and take a look. The county government has just posted a notice. Read it to us."
The onlookers quickly made way for Wang Xiucai so he could walk to the notice board.
When Wang Xiucai arrived at the notice board, he looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him expectantly. He felt a little smug and then turned to look at the red paper on the notice board.
"ah?"
Upon reading the first sentence, Wang Xiucai exclaimed in surprise.
"Scholar Wang, what does it say on it? Tell us quickly."
"Is the imperial court going to raise taxes again?"
Upon hearing Wang Xiucai's surprised and doubtful voice, the group of people left with concern.
What they fear most is tax increases, as this directly affects their ability to make a living.
"Forehead?"
Wang Xiucai exclaimed in surprise again.
"Scholar Wang, hurry up and tell me!"
"I was so worried!"
After leisurely reading through all the contents of the red paper, Wang Xiucai let out a long sigh and then slowly said:
"Don't worry, everyone, it's not that the imperial court is going to raise taxes."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that it wasn't a tax increase. At the same time, they were also a little curious, because the county government wouldn't post a notice about something so important.
"What does it say?"
"It has little to do with us."
Scholar Wang kept everyone in suspense, building up their curiosity before slowly revealing his story:
"It says here that if you encounter any wandering knights causing trouble, you can file a complaint with the county government, and the imperial court will help you handle it."
"A wandering knight? Really?"
In the eyes of ordinary people, those wandering knights-errant are called wandering knights-errant. There is no shortage of such people anywhere, and they are usually avoided when they encounter them.
Many wandering knights-errant spend their days idly causing trouble, which can be a real headache.
Upon hearing their doubts about the credibility of his words, Wang Xiucai said somewhat displeased:
"It's written clearly in black and white."
"It also says that, whether it's before or after, anyone who has been bullied by the wandering knights should file a report with the county government. If you want to know if it's true or not, just try it and you'll know."
"Tch, it's not just about raising taxes; we wouldn't dare say anything about the wandering knights."
Upon hearing that it wasn't a tax increase, the crowd immediately lost interest and dispersed.
As one person left, he stared at the notice and muttered to himself:
"I heard that the Li family, who live in the east of the city, were wiped out by a wandering knight from out of town. Only one boy escaped. Should I go and talk to him?"
Such scenes are now happening all over the Central Plains.
Not long after the establishment of the Six Doors, Li Boyang used the power of the Ming Dynasty's administrative organs to post this notice.