Han official!

Chapter 139 Township Party
"One, five, ten, thirty."

During the feast (13:30-14:15), Guo Jie cut off the hand of the housekeeper of the textile yard with a knife, wiped the blood off his face, and counted the number of women.

Guo Jie stepped on the head of the housekeeper and asked, "Where are the wife and children of the thief Su Qiu from Gaoshi? In which room are they imprisoned? Tell me the truth, or I will chop off your head."

Jia Cheng's hand was broken at the wrist, and his face was distorted with pain. He pointed to a small hall not far away with his other hand and said, "It's right in that small hall!"

Guo Jie's white leather shoes were stained with blood and turned red. He kicked the housekeeper and walked towards the small hall where he had cleared a vegetable patch in front of the door.

"Bang--"

Guo Jie smashed the door lock of the small hall with a knife, and sunlight poured into the room. He saw a woman kneeling on a pile of straw with a baby in her arms, feeding the baby with her back to the door.

"Get out!"

A half-grown boy was holding a sharpened wooden stick, with a fierce look on his face, staring at Guo Jie at the door like a wolf cub.

Su Jia was not afraid at all. He stared at Guo Jie fiercely, ready to pounce on him and fight for his life at any time.

He protected his mother and younger brother with his life.

"Jia!"

At this moment, a familiar voice came from the door. Su Jian looked relieved, but he still scolded, "Don't be rude. He is the hero Guo Jie, the one you admire most. Without Guo Gongcao's righteous help, my father would not have been able to find you."

"Bianhu's Guo Jie!"

"Husband!"

Two exclamations came from the hall. Su Jia threw away the wooden stick and rushed over in surprise, carefully looking at the hero Guo Jie who was rumored to have killed a tiger with his bare hands.

Mrs. Ying held the cradle Su Wu and threw herself into Su Jian's arms. Her strong nature could not hold on any longer at this moment and she began to sob softly.

Guo Jie did not disturb the reunion of Su Jian's family. He turned around and returned to the yard. Wei Guang and Mang Tong brought some brave women and tied up all the villagers' hands and feet.

For more than half a year, these women had been whipped and humiliated by the villagers. Led by a few brave women, they picked up the whips that had been used to beat them and whipped the villagers severely.

The residents screamed in pain.

"Ah, stop hitting me! I know I'm wrong!"

"Ah, it was Chief Zhao's idea to keep you in Wushili to weave cloth. Ahhhh!"

"Bitch, in another hour or two, all the powerful people gathered nearby will bring their men here. No one can escape, and they will beat you to death!"

Su Jian returned to the yard with his wife and children. When he heard a villager talking about the powerful people coming with their men, his face changed. He looked up hurriedly and saw thick smoke billowing out of the inner wall of Yanmen.

The powerful people in the Wushili area could all see Zhao Tuo burning the firewood.

"Mr. Guo!"

Su Jian drew his two-foot sword, his face fierce and fierce: "There is only one way to go now. Charge into the Yama Gate and capture the three brothers Zhao Tuo, Zhao Tingzhang, and Zhao Shiyuan. We can't lose any one of them. Only by capturing these three brothers can we break the deadlock."

After these words were spoken, Guo Jie couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

Guo Jie, Wei Guang, Mang Tong, and Su Jian, together, there were only four people.

Only a few people had to attack Yanmen, which was guarded by hundreds of villagers. The villagers had the advantage of high ground and bows and arrows.

Anyone who sees it is asking for death.

Su Jian looked like a clerk in a black cap, but he had the courage to say that four people would charge into the Hell Gate.

Amazing courage.

Guo Jie suddenly remembered something. Su Jian was not an ordinary person either. He was awarded the title of Marquis of Pingling step by step based on his military achievements.

"good!"

Guo Jie said in a deep voice, "I saw the pile of burning firewood near Yama Gate and knew that the powerful men were coming. Yi Zong was also on his way. It all depends on who reaches Wushili first. However, you and I cannot rely on luck. This is a matter of life and death. We must fight for it ourselves and give it our all!"

He walked out of the house holding the ring-handled sword, and suddenly remembered something. He pulled out a short sword from the inside of his white leather shoes and threw it to Su Jia.

Guo Jie said with a smile, "The safety of these women and the care of the villagers are all in your hands. Can you guard the residential compound?"

The several sons raised by Su Jian are not simple. The second son Su Wu remained unwavering in his determination for 19 years. In the face of various threats and inducements, he refused to become a traitor. Needless to say,

The eldest son, Su Jia, was convicted of disrespect for breaking the shaft of the emperor's chariot, and he committed suicide by drawing his sword.

"only!"

Su Jia looked excited. He caught Guo Jie's dagger, and his palm trembled. This was the dagger of the hero Guo Jie.

He said solemnly, "If I let one person escape, I will immediately draw my sword and commit suicide to atone for my sin!"

When Su Jian heard the words "die to atone for one's sins", although he felt heartbroken, a hint of relief flashed across his face.

Guo Jie burst out laughing and was about to say that there was no need to die to apologize for one's sins, but when he saw Su Jia's determined face, he didn't say anything, patted him on the shoulder, and went to Yama's Gate.

The Limen and Yanmen of Wushili were closed at the same time. Zhao Tuo led hundreds of villagers to gather near Yanmen and offered a huge reward. Whoever could cut off a limb of Guo Jie would not have to kill him, but a hand or a foot could be exchanged for a gold cake of the same weight.

The people in Wushili are addicted to gambling. Hundreds of villagers' eyes lit up. It was obvious that Lu Bo was a lucrative bet. If they won the bet, they could become rich with more than 100,000 coins.

The villagers took the spears distributed by Zhao Tuo and looked at Guo Jie outside Yanmen. They had no fear at all, only envy.

Treat Guo Jie as a walking rich man.

"Guo Jie!"

Zhao Tingzhang stood on the outer wall, holding a bean-shaped lantern in his hand, and said contemptuously: "The Wan family of Liushi, as well as Jia Ziguang and other powerful people, are really fools. They actually led their men to fight you. They deserve to die at your hands. Look at what's piled up around them!"

The rammed earth floors of the outer and inner walls are lined with pottery jars. These pottery jars, used to hold fermented black beans, vinegar and other sauces, emit a scent of ointment.

There are as many as twenty or thirty pottery pots, and only a tiny spark is needed to start a big fire.

Many villagers were standing on the top of the outer and inner walls, with many pottery bowls placed at their feet. Some of them were holding a pottery bowl in their hands, waiting for the order from Chief Zhao to throw the pottery bowl at Guo Jie and his men.

Guo Jie's reaction was beyond Zhao Tingzhang's expectations. He could only keep a cold face and remain silent without any panic.

Zhao Tingzhang had been planning for a long time, but he didn't see any panic on Guo Jie's face. He was furious: "Wait until the light in my hand lights the anointing oil, and then we'll see how long you can be so arrogant. Ah!"

"call out!"

An arrow flew out and hit Zhao Tingzhang in the throat. He shouted to burn Guo Jie to death, but before he could throw away the bean-shaped lamp in his hand, he was shot to death by Wei Guang's eight-stone bow.

More than a hundred steps apart.

Zhao Tuo, who was on the inner wall, was startled and almost fell down from the thick earth wall made of cattail and ramie stalks. He hurriedly hid behind several soldiers.

Several soldiers holding large, rough shields made of elm wood stood in front to prevent Zhao Tuo from being killed by Wei Guang's amazing archery skills.

Su Jian and Mang Tong quickly rushed up to the outer wall. Wearing red armor, they could block the spears and swords of the villagers, so they could charge forward without worry.

I saw two sets of red ribbon armor splashing sparks.

Su Jian and Mang Tong dispersed the villagers.

Some residents fell from the tall outer wall, their bodies in severe pain, and they lay on the ground wailing.

The remaining villagers threw away their spears and swords, knelt on the ground, trembling, and no longer had the will to resist. Su Jian found hemp ropes and tied up the villagers who had already surrendered.

Mang Tong put away the iron hammer, wiped the blood stains on his fine linen robe with his palm, and moved the pottery bowls piled against the outer wall.

One by one, the pottery bowls were thrown at the gate of Yama, and the ointment was spilled all over the ground. Many residents were heartbroken because these were ointments that ordinary people could not afford.

Guo Jie found a bean-shaped lantern and prepared to burn the gate of Yama: "The women conscripted for minor labor service are all from the surrounding villages. Even rabbits don't eat grass near their burrows. You are actually harming your fellow villagers. You have no loyalty or trust. You are protecting the disloyal and unrighteous Zhao Tuo. I think Wushili should be renamed Buyili."

Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.

Five families form a group, and the group has a length, which is called the group length.

Five groups form a lu, and each lu has a xu, called a lu xu.

The four villages form a clan, and each clan has a teacher, called the clan teacher.

The five clans form one party, and the party has a leader, who is called the Party Leader.

Five parties form a state, and each state has a leader, called the governor.

Five states form a township, and each township has a senior official, called the township senior official.

Later generations used "xiangdang" to represent "xiangli" or "hometown".

Guo Jie knew that people in modern Shaanxi like to call their fellow villagers "xiangdang", which is not a local dialect but an ancient and elegant language from the Qin and Han dynasties.

The sentence "harming the fellow villagers" had a psychological effect.

Even if a knight-errant is an unforgivable murderer, he will not harm his fellow villagers. On the contrary, he will protect them.

Many villagers' wives and relatives were from nearby villages, and they had long been dissatisfied with Zhao Tuo's abuse of their fellow villagers. They heard that the hero Guo Jie from Chang'an despised the Five Scholars.

These villagers suddenly felt ashamed and embarrassed, and were full of complaints. They did not want to follow Zhao Tuo to continue harming their fellow villagers.

It would be so embarrassing if it got out.

The lower the social status, the more they care about face.

Poverty cares.

What's more, the person who despised the Five Scholars was Guo Jie from Chen County, who was known for his emphasis on trust and integrity.

It also made many residents feel ashamed and caused quite a stir.

Zhao Tuo glanced at the villagers who were causing a commotion and sneered, saying, "Loyalty and righteousness are useless. The most important thing is to have real money in your hands and buy millet to fill your stomach. If I hadn't led the villagers to weave coarse cloth, how could the villagers in Wushili have a full stomach? It's ridiculous. You can't even eat enough, and you're talking about loyalty and righteousness!"

Since Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, implemented a policy of light taxes and levies, the land tax was reduced from one-tenth in the pre-Qin period to one-thirtieth.

However, the lives of farmers were still difficult because there were very few self-employed farmers and most of them rented land from nobles and powerful people.

Guo Jie once saw the Zhengli Linbu bamboo slips unearthed from Han Tomb No. 10 in Fenghuang Mountain, Jiangling. According to the records of the peasant households on the bamboo slips, the most owned only to mu of land, and the least only mu.

Twenty or thirty acres of land may sound like a lot, but it is actually very little. In the Han Dynasty, when there were no chemical fertilizers, the yield per acre was at most two or three hundred kilograms.

Unlike the more than a thousand pounds in later generations.

In the Han Dynasty, only one crop was grown per year, and the annual output of one acre of land was two to three hundred kilograms.

In later generations, people had two crops a year, and the annual output of one acre of land was more than 2,000 kilograms.

The difference is nearly ten times.

The grain produced from twenty or thirty acres of land is only equivalent to two or three acres of land in later generations.

When the Western Han Dynasty was founded, land was distributed to farmers, and there were a large number of self-cultivating farmers. As time went on, bureaucrats, powerful people, merchants and other landlords owned large amounts of land through various privileges or financial resources.

Local tyrants rented their land to common people and collected 15% of the rent.

The imperial court collected ten kilograms of tax for every three hundred kilograms of grain.

The powerful people charge 150 kilograms of rent for every 300 kilograms of grain.

It can be seen that the local tyrants are cruel. They occupy the local areas, obtain large amounts of land, and exploit the common people in the counties.

This is also the reason why the Western Han Dynasty implemented the mausoleum town system, forcibly moving local powerful families to the emperor's mausoleum town, redistributing the land, and leaving common people some room to breathe.

Zhao Tuo kept saying that he helped the villagers make money so that they could have enough food to eat.

And I think I'm right.

Guo Jie couldn't stand the ugly face of this black-hearted rich man and shouted, "You greedy dog, all you want is to make sure the villagers have enough food. If it weren't for you tyrants who used all kinds of coercion to seize the land from the villagers, how could they not have enough food?"

He said with a cold face: "Local tyrants, let alone collecting the imperial tax of 30% on land rent, even if they restore the Qin Dynasty's 10% tax, the common people will still be able to have enough to eat and won't have to risk the death penalty by following you to counterfeit money!"

No matter how low the grain tax collected by the imperial court was, only one-thirtieth, it could not withstand the exploitation by local tyrants.

Farmers often had to give half or even two-thirds of their grain to the powerful.

These powerful people are even more brutal than the tyrannical Qin!

Guo Jie successfully diverted class contradictions with just one sentence.

The residents of Wushili seemed to have awakened to the truth, and they looked at Zhao Tuo with a strange look in their eyes.

"Yes, it's not that I have a miserable life, but I have been harmed by the powerful."

"My ancestors were given over a hundred acres of land. If we only paid the 30% tax to the court, it would be enough to feed our family."

"Whenever there was a disaster, Zhao Tuo would lend us grain at very high interest rates. The interest would eventually compound, and we had no choice but to sell our land to him."

"This year, they even used the excuse of weaving to directly snatch away the little land Ersanzi had!"

Zhao Tuo was frightened when he saw the hateful eyes of the villagers, and he didn't understand how Guo Jie's words had bewitched the villagers.

It's simply nonsense!

Just a few words stirred people's hearts.

This was a scene Zhao Tuo had never seen before.

"shut up!"

The village official stood up and shouted angrily, "Don't listen to his nonsense. Don't forget my father's promise. If you can get Guo Jie's body parts, you can exchange them for an equal amount of gold. In addition, each of you will get an additional 100 acres of good farmland. If you kill Guo Jie, all these things will be yours. Ah!"

He was enraged and came out from behind his elm shield, shouting loudly, trying to calm the people's hearts.

"call out!"

Just at the moment when the clerk appeared.

Wei Guang's archery skills were fast, accurate and fierce. He hit the clerk's throat directly and turned him into a corpse on the spot.

"son!"

Zhao Tuo watched his eldest son die in front of him, tears streaming down his face: "No! Go and rescue Weng's son quickly!"

(End of this chapter)