Great Tang Idyll Volume 01 Chapter 60

Chapter 60: The Magistrate Is Accomplished 

Magistrate Cheng examined the curved plough while he listened to Song Jing’gong talk. He was quite happy at first, then he felt his face heat up, and then in the end, he gasped with surprise.

It took a long time after Song Jing’gong finished speaking before Magistrate Cheng recovered from the pleasant surprise and shock. His gaze finally shifted from the curved plough over to Song Jing’gong's face.

"Zi’jin, were those words yours? Or...?"

"My lord, it was the farmers from the Zhang Farm and Wang Farm who said that. My lord, you are a good official and the farmers will remember that in their hearts," Song Jing’gong said confidently.

Magistrate Cheng understood what he meant. That person was willing to give him the majority of the credit. If the curved plough was like how Song Jing’gong described, and if he took into consideration of the appearance of the good omen last time, it seems that he can be promoted after the examination. 

As if he knew what he was thinking, Song Jing’gong went on to say, "My lord, the spring tillage is busy, and time needs to be fought against. How about you let me accompany you tomorrow morning to attest the validity of this curved plough. The earlier the production of the plough begins, the more that can be used by the farmers.."

"No, not tomorrow. Waiting until tomorrow will be another day of delay. Let's leave now. Come, my servants, prepare a carriage. Come with me to search for the nearest farm."

Magistrate Cheng was now thinking about the future of his career as a government official. How could he delay and waste a whole night doing nothing. He called for the servants in his household and then turned to Song Jing’gong to say, “Zi’jin, the Zhang Farm that has cooperated with me this time has also contributed a lot. I’m unsure if there is anything that needs my help, but I will do my part as the magistrate to help the people."

"My lord, if you talk about difficulties, there actually is one thing. It is said that the Emperor is going to take back everyone’s acres. San’shui County is close to the Capital so it is inevitable that food and thousands of fertile acres will be taken back from Zhang Farm, which has over one hundred farmers."

Song Jing’gong was ordered by the Young Master to explain the situation in clear detail. Magistrate Cheng made a troubled face when he heard of that and sighed, "If that is the case, the credit of the curved plough is..."

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"It means that my lord will get the most credit. Without you, this curved plough will not exist." Song Jing’gong confirmed again.

Magistrate Cheng was touched. If that farm decided to take all of the credit, even if something wrong was discovered during the land acquisition inspection, it will not be reported. The invention of the curved plough was a good deed that benefited the country and the people. It is very possible that the Emperor won’t take away the original land, and may even award them with more land. Yet they passed this great achievement over to him.

After he was done thinking, the carriage was ready already so Magistrate Cheng had to speak while he and Song Jing’gong climbed up the carriage, "Zi’jin, I’m incapable of lying. Do you know who my superior is is? Prime Minister Yao Chong. Even if I managed to deceive the State Governor, I wouldn’t be able to deceive the iron-faced* Yao Chong."

"My lord does not have to lie. The farmers have said that all you need to do is stall for time. For example, during the spring tillage, it is expected that the inspections of the lands cannot happen all at once and will have to occur in a consecutive order. Tu’qiao Village is located far away. With insufficient numbers of people aiding the inspection, that village will certainly be investigated last, what do you think of that, my lord?", Song Jing’gong hinted at him.

Magistrate Cheng nodded. He too also felt that if this was the only thing that he needed to do, then it was indeed easy. But, even if this was stalled until winter, would the farm be able to come up with a solution by then?

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 "Zi’jin, does that farm have other plans?" Magistrate Cheng wanted to know what other tricks the two masters had up their sleeves.

Not only did he now admire the two masters from that farm, he also really wanted to meet them, or even become their disciple. These plans never brought him trouble and the two masters let him take credit for it while they kept a low profile. 

They have helped him out a lot already and they must be old, so taking him in as a student shouldn’t be a problem. How many teachers out there are willing to care for their own students to this extent?

"I don’t know the answer to my lord’s question. Perhaps when summer or autumn comes, you will come up with the answer yourself." Song Jing’gong said as he shook his head. He wasn’t aware that Magistrate Cheng had thought of the two young children in that family as old men and even thought of seeking apprenticeship. 

 "Oh, that's fine then. I will definitely properly handle the affairs on the farm." Seeing that Song Jing’gong also didn’t know much, Magistrate Cheng didn't question further. He was preoccupied with thinking about whether this curved plough was as useful as described.

After riding in the carriage for two hours, they finally found a farm but the farmers have rested a long time ago already. The magistrate ordered a servant to call a farmer over. He said to that farmer, “I have a new type of plough here, how about you give it a try? "

The farmer was in a deep sleep when he was called awake. At first, he was a little unwilling but as soon as he heard that the magistrate himself had come, he quickly got dressed and came over here. When he heard that the magistrate had asked him to try out the new plough, he did not dare to question too much and agreed.

"If my lord wants me to try it, I will do so. My lord, should I wake up my child and tell him to pull the plough?"

"No, there is a horse ready for you here, so mount it on the horse." When Magistrate Cheng was coming here, he had already taken this into consideration, and brought an extra horse that followed them from behind. Now was the right time to use it.

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The old man hurriedly mounted the plough onto the horse, set it in the field, and instructed the horse to move. The horse walked forward slowly. The old man, who was used to the straight plow, was a little unaccustomed to the pace of the first few steps. He paused and then took two more steps. The pace became more and more quick. He happily hollered while ploughing the ground, "It’s quick, so quick. It’s so good to use. I’m this old already and I have never seen such an effective plough. My lord, you are such a good master for the people. You even considered coming out here to try a new plough in the middle of the night. I don’t know who made the plough but if I had a plough like this, then I will not be worried at all during this spring tillage."

"Of course it was the Magistrate who came up with the idea and found a farmer to help create it. The magistrate has spent the last few days thinking about how to make the spring ploughing faster. He was so anxious that his hair had even turned white." Song Jing’gong was standing on a pathway between the fields and when he heard the old man hollering, he also yelled too, as if he was afraid that the others would not know about it. The voice was so loud that it woke up some other farmers too.

Magistrate Cheng was not familiar with farm work so he was unable to tell how well the curved plough worked but after hearing the old man shout like that, he was happy. As for the words that Song Jing’gong yelled out, he didn't refute them, and he spoke with a smile on his face, "If it's easy to use, this plough will be gifted to you.  Zi’jin, when you go back, get another curved plough from that farm. I have made the decision to find a craftsmen to replicate them, or teach them how to craft them. Since there are still a few days left, plough the land well in the meantime. This year, it will be difficult for our county to not have a bountiful harvest."

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"What my lord has said is wonderful. With my lord working so laboriously, even the Heavens will stand by my lord’s side. My lord, there is no need for me to retrieve the ploughs from that farm. Mister Zhou has 2000 of them. If we go to him now, more might have been crafted already. When I went there, Mister Zhou had said that if people were to buy the plough from him, he would not charge them too much; the price will just be 10% higher than the straight plough”, Song Jing’gong smiled while telling him about the number of ploughs in stock. 

Magistrate Cheng blinked his eyes twice and nodded again. "Of course he won't hand over the plough just like that; he has to reap benefits before he’s willing to let the matter drop. If that's the case, tomorrow I will have someone post an announcement all over the county to tell everyone to buy it from Zhou Xi’hu."

Magistrate Cheng couldn't understand why such a powerful master would like gold and silver items, but their money making ability was really extraordinary.

The discussion here was done. Before the Magistrate and others could depart, some other farmers that were awakened by the commotion got up and went out to see what happened.

When the farmers arrived outside, they borrowed the light from the stars and moon to watch a person plough the field. Everyone wondered with confusion, who was so energetic that they decided to work in the middle of the night instead of resting? When they came closer, they realized that it was the old bald man from their farm. Seeing that it was him, immediately someone shouted: "Old Baldy, what are you doing? Could it be that you’re sleepwalking?"

"It turns out to be you, Donkeyboy, you’ve also come out. Go and greet the Magistrate. The Magistrate has given me a new set of plough called the curved plough.  When it’s used to plough land, one of them is just as effective as using several.” The old man’s voice travelled over to him.

When they heard this, everyone discovered that the Magistrate was standing there in the dark among a group of people. His political position was high so they all shook with fright as they went forward to greet him.

Magistrate Cheng naturally treated them in a friendly manner. Song Jing’gong, who was standing by his side, repeated again how the Magistrate has done so much for the people. As a consequence, the Magistrate received another round of compliments.  

Since the new plough was so well praised, it was a given that the farmers would go observe it. Everyone ran over to observe the speed that Old Baldy was ploughing at and sounds of admiration resonated again. The farmers all wanted to try the new plough. Each person got the chance to use the plough for a few steps but before they could get their fix, the plough was snatched away by another person. 

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Magistrate Cheng was not in a hurry to leave. The farmers were also the people under his rule so seeing that his people were happy, he was also happy. As a result, everyone in the farm got up, and words spread from one to another. Everyone now knew that the Magistrate has come here in person and has also brought a very useful new plough. While they were envying Old Baldy, they were also considering if they should replace their old plough with a new one. 

Right there and then, Magistrate Cheng told everyone where to go to buy the new plough and the approximate price. After giving them words of encouragement, he left in his carriage. The crowd of farmers followed behind the carriage to send him off. They walked for about 3 kilometers before they could no longer keep up with the slow-moving horse carriage. They stopped to watch the carriage go off in the distance. .

"This  feels really good." Magistrate Cheng lamented to himself as he leaned against the interior of the carriage recalling the words that the people had said just now and how they walked such a far distance to send him off.

Song Jing'gong heard him speak but he didn’t make a sound. At this time, it’s best to let the Magistrate enjoy the feeling of being welcomed by his people.

It took two hours to get there and one hour to return. The sky began to slowly light up and some sellers and buyers that were early birds made their appearances on the streets.  

Just when Magistrate Cheng Ling’xiang got off the carriage while carrying his emotions of euphoria, someone from the administrative office came over to report to him, “My lord, you have returned. A junior officer from the Tu’qiao village just arrived saying that there is an important thing to report to my lord. The village Elder also came with him and they are both waiting in the hall at this moment."

Translator's note

Iron-faced 铁面: This phrase is used to describe a person that is selfless, and fair and just. 

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