HLnovel Chapter 613 Tang Qing's Bewilderment
Chapter 613 Tang Qing's Bewilderment
In that year, Yang Zheng, who came from a peasant background, rose up in rebellion out of dissatisfaction with the government's exploitation of him, launching a massive rebellion.
Initially, no one was optimistic about Yang Zheng, not even Tang Qing, who had heard about the matter.
Because throughout history, there have been very few, or rather, none, peasants who have successfully rebelled!
The few peasants who successfully rebelled in history books were actually backed by powerful and influential families!
As far as Tang Qing knew, Yang Zheng was a true peasant, with no powerful families or even small landlords supporting him.
Furthermore, Yang Zheng massacred a large number of landlords and powerful figures, which made many landlords and powerful figures extremely hostile to Yang Zheng, and there were almost no people willing to serve him.
Under such circumstances, Tang Qing naturally did not think highly of Yang Zheng.
Despite everyone's skepticism, Yang Zheng's actions became increasingly significant. He first defeated the Liangzhou army and occupied the entire Liangshan Prefecture, and then defeated the imperial army of 25, completely taking over the entire Liangzhou!
At this point, Yang Zheng had established his own base and had the foundation to compete for the world!
Tang Qing also saw the power of "popular support"!
The reason Yang Zheng was able to defeat the Liangzhou army and the imperial army without the support of any powerful families was not because of gold and silver treasures or weapons, but because of the people's hearts!
Whenever Yang Zheng occupied a territory, he would immediately open the local granary, take out grain from the granary, and distribute it to his soldiers so that they could have enough to eat.
In addition, Yang Zheng would distribute food to the local people free of charge to alleviate their hunger.
Such actions garnered strong support for the Yang family army among the people of Liangzhou. Even starving refugees were willing to join the Yang family army. In order to maintain their good life of having enough to eat, these refugees who joined the Yang family army fought extremely bravely, even to the point of being fearless of death.
This is the key to the Yang family army's formidable fighting power. Having absorbed a large number of refugees, the Yang family army, under the leadership of Yang Zheng, unleashed astonishing combat strength.
In the Yang family army, Tang Qing saw the power of the common people, as well as the weakness of powerful families and the imperial court!
So when Yang Zheng came to him, wanting to recruit Tang Qing to govern Yongliang County for him, Tang Qing agreed almost without thinking.
Having farmed at home for ten years, Tang Qing never gave up his idea of becoming an official and governing a region, and Yang Zheng's recruitment was exactly what he wanted.
After that, Tang Qing became the magistrate of Yongliang County, becoming the benefactor of the people of Yongliang County.
Under Tang Qing's governance, public security in Yongliang County gradually improved, and people's livelihoods gradually recovered. The people praised Tang Qing, saying he was a good official.
This is Tang Qing's background and experience. Because he also came from humble beginnings, he never looked down on people from the lower classes, and he never regarded Qin Le and other soldiers of the Yang family army as crude soldiers.
"I found some great stuff at the market today, so I brought it here to show you, sir."
Qin Le held up the two yellow-feathered chickens in his hand, smiling broadly, and said, "Sir, look what these are?"
"This is... a chicken?"
Tang Qing looked at the golden-feathered chicken in Qin Le's hand. Even with his rich experience and extensive knowledge, he had never seen such a strange chicken before.
Not only is it a size larger than a regular grey-feathered chicken, but its plumage is also a brilliant golden yellow, making it look like a golden chicken.
"That's right!"
Qin Le said with a smile, "This is a yellow-feathered chicken that I just bought."
"Yellow-feathered chicken? That's a fitting name."
Tang Qing nodded, then added, "This chicken must be expensive, right?"
Tang Qing was naturally aware of the meat shortage in Yongliang County, and he even knew the market price of a gray-feathered chicken for 500 coins.
The yellow-feathered chicken in front of me is larger and looks better than the gray-feathered chicken, so it must be much more expensive.
However, Qin Le shook his head.
"Sir, you've guessed wrong. This chicken is very cheap; it only costs 250 coins!"
"what?!"
Tang Qing's body stiffened, staring at Qin Le in disbelief. "What did you say? A chicken like this only costs 250 coins?"
Tang Qing was not the kind of scholar who was ignorant of the five grains. On the contrary, because he had been farming for more than ten years, he had a good understanding of people's livelihood.
Occasionally, when Tang Qing had some free time after finishing his official duties, he would dress casually and stroll around the streets and alleys to learn about the prices in Yongliang County and the living standards of the people under his jurisdiction.
It is precisely because of this that Tang Qing is very familiar with the current price level in Yongliang County. He knows that although the grain shortage problem in Yongliang County has been alleviated after the autumn harvest, the shortage of meat has not improved.
The reason is simple: in the previous year, the cold disaster and war had left most of the people of Liangzhou without enough to eat, so naturally no one raised livestock such as chickens and ducks.
Although the food shortage has been alleviated, raising livestock such as chickens and ducks takes time, so the price of chickens and ducks on the market remains high, and ordinary people simply cannot afford to eat meat.
Even Tang Qing, the county magistrate, rarely had meat on his table because he was honest and incorruptible; most of the time, his meals consisted only of staple grains and vegetables.
"Are you sure you only want 250 coins per animal?"
Tang Qing stared intently at the yellow-feathered chicken in Qin Le's hand and asked, word by word.
"Of course!"
Qin Le replied without hesitation, "I bought it from the stall owner myself, how could it be fake?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Qing glanced at Qin Le's constable's uniform and said, "Could it be because of your clothes?"
It is well known that street vendors, including some merchants, are extremely afraid of government officials, because they are often the weaker party when facing them.
Tang Qing thought that the chicken vendor might have chosen to sell at a low price because of Qin Le's clothes.
"no."
Qin Le shook his head and said, "When I came back, I asked other people who bought chickens, and they also paid 250 coins per chicken."
"This……"
Tang Qing was completely dumbfounded.
The market price for a skinny gray-feathered chicken is 500 coins, while the yellow-feathered chicken, which has more meat and looks much better, only sells for 250 coins. Tang Qing simply cannot understand the stall owner's idea.
Is the stall owner perhaps doing a good deed?
Otherwise, it's really hard to understand why he would sell it at such a low price.
"How can it be so cheap? Doesn't the stall owner need to make a profit?" Tang Qing muttered to himself, completely baffled. Merchants are all profit-driven, even small vendors are no exception.
Tang Qing was completely baffled as to why a businessman who was clearly pursuing profit would sell goods at such low, even loss-making, prices.