Crimson Dawn

Liu Jisheng ran back home in a panic, closed the door carefully and rushed into the main room immediately. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted in a low voice: "The officers and soldiers are coming, hide the food quickly." While warning his family members , Liu Jisheng has dug out an old pocket and went straight to the face.

These words caused a violent panic in Liu Jisheng's house. Liu Jisheng's wife had already taken her [-] or [-]-year-old son and ran to the wheat wing.When Liu Jisheng came out carrying most of the bag of noodles, he saw that his wife and son had dragged the two sacks of wheat into the yard.

"Cunzhong, don't take it all away. You put that half bag of wheat back." Liu Jisheng ordered.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Liu Jisheng's wife said anxiously: "You are stupid! If you stay here for others to see, don't you have to be taken away?"

Liu Jisheng said angrily: "You are stupid. If the officers and soldiers can't get anything after they come, will they obediently let us go? Give them something they can take, at least they can keep more."

After speaking, Liu Jisheng asked his son to put half the bag of wheat back into the wing room.He handed the flour bag to his wife, and said to his daughter who came out timidly, "Cunxiu, sweep the floor so that no one can see the flour on the floor."

"Father, why?" Liu Cunxiu couldn't help asking.

Liu Jisheng whispered angrily: "Follow this flour, won't you find the place where we hide things?"

Watching his daughter go to pick up the broom, Liu Jisheng patted off the flour on the outside of the noodles, and then took his wife to the watermelon cellar dug behind the house to hide the wheat and flour.Tidy up the traces on the ground, and pile a pile of firewood and straw at the cellar entrance.Liu Jisheng took his wife back to the yard and carefully cleaned up the traces of flour on his body.He also told his wife and children, "Hide me in the house, and no one is allowed to come into the yard. Don't come out even if you are arrested."

After saying this, Liu Jisheng closed the door of the main house, checked the courtyard door carefully, and then went into the wing room and sat on the stool to catch his breath.Not long after, people outside shouted and the dogs in the village began to bark.The brigade of the official army has already entered the village.Liu Jisheng recited all kinds of known gods and Buddhas from the Taishang Laojun to Sakyamuni in his heart, praying for them to protect his family from this disaster.After reading it once, he felt uneasy, so he read it again.

Although he didn't believe in these things on weekdays, Liu Jisheng still prayed.After praying, Liu Jisheng suddenly thought of Chen Ke, a living god of the People's Party who has become more and more famous in Zhuangzhai in recent years.It's just that the gods who prayed just now are all dead, and at most they will offer some tribute, burn incense and kowtow.But Chen Ke is a living person, and Liu Jisheng is extremely cautious in dealing with living people.A few years ago, he and his fellow villagers went more than 100 miles away to buy the "one crop of wheat" of the People's Party, and he insisted on taking the straw back with him.And this kind of caution has also been rewarded. Seeing the wheat stalks and the wheat ears on the wheat stalks, the villagers really believe that they have indeed brought back good wheat.Even if something happened later, the folks didn't accuse these people who went out to do errands to deliberately deceive everyone.I just think that the outsiders have tricked the people in Zhuangzhai.

Since he had this kind of personality, Liu Jisheng just didn't dare to pray to Chen Ke.If the prayer was not sincere, it would be fine if Chen Ke didn't sense it.If Chen Ke knew about the sincerity of prayer, what kind of tribute would Liu Jisheng plan to use to satisfy Chen Ke?

Just thinking about this, I heard the sound of knocking on the door and shouting from all over the place. In a short while, someone outside smashed the door of Liu Jisheng's house hard.Liu Jisheng suppressed the fear in his heart and got up and left the wing room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a few people in gray military uniforms standing outside the door.Since they didn't expect the door to open so readily, these people were a little surprised.Dazed for a moment, the leader of several people pointed to Liu Jisheng and said, "You, follow us to the village."

"What are you going to do in the village?" Naturally, 1 of Liu Jisheng didn't want to go.

Outside the door, the leader in the gray military uniform stepped forward and grabbed Liu Jisheng by the neck, and shouted loudly: "Go if you are told. Or do you want to sue?"

Liu Jisheng didn't struggle, but said quickly with a smile on his face: "Guys, I'll go. But can I go with everyone?"

Seeing that Liu Jisheng didn't intend to resist, the men in military uniforms didn't push him too much, "Go early and go late, who knows if you will really go later? Don't look for a fight, go now."

As if to prove that this statement is correct, women's cries and curses have already sounded in a yard not far away.Liu Jisheng took a look and saw that there were officers and soldiers at the door of every house, and the officers and soldiers were dragging people outside.It seems that someone tried to resist, and the officers and soldiers immediately started beating.

Liu Jisheng has always believed that if he knows current affairs, he himself, a commoner, has no ability to fight against others.Seeing someone being beaten, Liu Jisheng didn't dare to talk anymore, he said with a smile: "Several, let me close the door."

There are about 500 households in Zhuangzhai, and more than [-] officers and soldiers came this time. Sooner or later, the male masters of each household were taken to the head of the village one by one. Those who resisted were beaten with bruised noses and swollen faces, and some were even tied up with ropes and dragged to the head of the village.

The big landlord in the village, Liu Cunyong, nicknamed "Sanwa Tank", stood in the crowd with his hands folded and said nothing, with a look of uneasiness on his face. More than 500 officers surrounded the 200 people, some armed with rifles, and more armed with sticks, looking aggressively at the group of people in the circle.Surrounded by people several times larger than his own, even those who resisted just now did not dare to make a sound.

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When the people didn't know what would happen next, they saw Zhu Binggui, the tax collector who usually collects taxes, wearing a military uniform and walking up to the earthen platform at the head of the village. Because he had never seen him wearing such clothes before, the people almost didn't recognize.Zhu Binggui shouted from the stage, "Everyone, now I would like to invite Commander Hu of our county trust tax police camp to speak to everyone. Everyone applaud and welcome." After shouting, Zhu Binggui took the lead in applauding.

The people did not have the habit of applauding, and they were forced to applaud. No one reacted.On the contrary, more than 500 officers and soldiers applauded together, and the atmosphere seemed warm and the momentum was amazing.

Amidst the applause, a short and fat man under the stage stepped onto the earthen platform.The style of his military uniform is similar to the soldier's gray military uniform, but the color is blue-gray, and there are golden bows on the shoulders and chest, which looks unusual.

"Folks, I am Hu Hansan, the battalion commander of our county's tax police camp. This is the first time I meet you, and in the future I will have to deal with the folks." Hu Hansan looked down at the people and said arrogantly: "I want to tell the folks something Good thing, in the past, taxes could be collected several times a year, but in the future it will only be collected once.”

The common people didn't expect this news at all. In recent years, tax collectors like Zhu Binggui have to go to the countryside several times a year in order to press for food.If the tax is only collected once a year, it is really a good thing.

"Isn't this a republic now? According to Zhang Dudu's order, everyone must first elect the village head in the village. Don't worry, the village head is chosen by the villagers themselves, and the government will never intervene. Wait until the village head After being elected, according to the order of Mr. Zhang Zhenfang, the governor of Henan Province, our village will implement a fixed tax. The tax of each village is a certain amount every year, no more, no less. No one can except our tax police Collect taxes from the folks. If anyone dares to collect taxes, the folks can tie them up and send them to us, and we will punish this person. Apart from collecting taxes, our tax police will never withhold what the folks want. But if we don’t collect enough tax, we won’t be so easy to talk about.”

The people in Zhuangzhai seemed to understand these words. Seeing that Zhu Binggui was also wearing a military uniform, everyone probably guessed that the tax police had already taken over the tax collection.As for people who pretend to be tax collectors, the folks don't care at all.There are so few people who collect taxes, who don't know who.As for the republic and the election of the village chief, it is something that the common people do not understand at all.

This so-called "Tax Police Battalion Commander" Hu Hansan didn't make things too difficult for the people in the village. He left a few tax police officers in the village to arrange the election of the village chief, and posted some notices at the village head.Hu Hansan withdrew from the encirclement and led his men away.The officers and soldiers did not rob or take anything. This kind of behavior made the common people feel unbelievable.

In the next few days, the "tax police" who stayed in the village began to tell the people in the village about "choosing the village chief". The common people of min zhu republic naturally don't understand and have no interest.Just hearing that as long as they are 18 years old, both men and women can apply for the election of village chief, which makes the people feel incredible.The village head is equivalent to the head of the village, and he is the leading figure in the village.The head of the village is always appointed by those big households in the village, and it has never been heard that the villagers choose it themselves.Moreover, according to these "tax officials", both men and women can sign up to run for the village head, and the people vote, and whoever gets the most votes will be elected.In the ears of the common people, this is a big joke.The elders in the village just shook their heads, while some of the younger and slick-tongued ones even joked, "Then let my woman choose this village chief."

The "tax police" who stayed in Zhuangzhai were all middle-aged people in their 30s. After hearing this, they replied with a half-hearted smile: "Okay, as long as you are willing, and your woman is willing, that's fine." Come out and choose."

After hearing these malicious words, those who spoke strange words did not dare to say anything more.

But the responsibility of electing the village head is very great. The tax to be paid by each village is the same every year. The village head and the "tax police" will hold a meeting to determine the tax to be paid by each household.If the tax is not enough, the village head has to make up the tax himself.After hearing this news, the people lost interest in electing the village chief.No one wants to pay taxes, let alone force others to pay taxes.The village head is doing this tax payment, so of course no one is willing to do it.

Liu Jisheng never liked to cause trouble, and he had no interest in being the village chief.It's just that the government made such a big commotion, and he felt an indescribable uneasiness in his heart.

A few days later, the tax police camp that had left returned to Zhuangzhai under the leadership of the battalion commander Hu Hansan.After returning, Hu Hansan brought the people of Zhuangzhai to the head of the village again and asked them to elect the village chief within three days.This is a new thing in Zhuangzhai. Although the people don't have the guts to run for the village chief, they have to participate in this excitement no matter what.

These days, everyone also talked about this matter when they were free. Since the elected village chief is in charge of taxation, everyone wants to find a kind and rich family to be elected as the village chief.Everyone felt that the big landlord in the village, Liu Cunyong, nicknamed "Sanwa Tank", was quite kind, and Liu Cunyong's family had a lot of land and money. According to the government, after becoming the village head, the village's taxes were not enough. The village chief had to make up the tax.With Liu Cunyong's net worth, he will definitely be able to make up for this tax.

But the villagers saw that Liu Cunyong was not among the people who signed up to be the village head.In fact, apart from a few rascals in the village, the only one who was willing to sign up to be the village head was the former head of the village, Liu Jishan.The people in these villages also feel wrong about this election.Liu Jishan, the head of the village, is a fan of officials and wants to be an official.People didn't like to see them in the first place, and a few rascals were looked down upon even more.If they become the village head, how will they live in the future?

That being the case, the villagers voted for Liu Jishan naturally.The hooligans cast their own votes. Apart from their votes, Liu Jishan was elected the new village chief with an unprecedentedly high proportion.

Not only in Zhuangzhai, but at the beginning of May, "elections" were held in all parts of Henan. Not only the election of village chiefs, but also preliminary elections for members of all levels of councils were held.After receiving these news, Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang breathed a sigh of relief.This is the first step in his master plan.Originally, Zhang Zhenfang did not expect such a plan to be successful.But in fact it just happened.Zhang Zhenfang has to admit that Zhou Zhentao, the former teacher of the People's Party, does have an unusual vision.

After confirming that he would not voluntarily resign from the post of governor of Henan, Zhang Zhenfang sent someone to chase Zhou Zhentao.Not long after Zhou Zhentao left, Zhang Zhenfang also sent someone to "escort" him, and finally caught up with Zhou Zhentao in Shan County.Zhang Zhenfang sincerely asked Zhou Zhentao for advice, and promised a reward of 5000 taels of silver.Zhou Zhentao finally agreed to Zhang Zhenfang's request.

Zhou Zhentao's idea to Zhang Zhenfang was to reorganize the original tax system and replace tax collectors with tax collectors.After these two are completed, the new tax system can be combined with the elected grassroots officials to implement strong taxation.

When criticizing the main points of the new tax collection method, Zhou Zhentao pointed out, "I don't understand the affairs in the officialdom, but the taxation issue is still how many people can be sent out to collect taxes. When collecting taxes, can we find responsible persons at the local level?" People involved in this matter. Although the people are much more than the tax police, the people are scattered in various villages. Every time the tax collection can overwhelm the people and surround the village, the people dare not make mistakes. Of course, the tax police also It’s impossible to solve the personal grievances. If they go to the village like bandits and take random things, it’s a private grievance, and the people of course won’t swallow it. If they collect taxes, they just collect taxes, and the people can only admit it when they face the government.”

When the tax bureau was established, tax collectors from various places in the past were included in it, and what was required was the truth about the land conditions in various places that the tax collectors had mastered.Plus the land deeds and fish scale books in charge of the counties.The general tax situation can still be mastered by the government.Moreover, this Tax Jingdu Li belongs to the armed forces directly under the Henan Governor, in addition to other armed forces. With these methods, and a tax police school was built in Kaifeng to train the backbone of tax police.In May of the lunar calendar in 1912, Zhang Zhenfang had a tax police force of about 3 people. Even though the equipment was not as elite as that of the Beiyang Army, Zhang Zhenfang finally felt that he was finally in control of the governor of Henan.