Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 104 The Days Without Thugs Are Good Days
As the night faded and the winter sun rose, groups of militiamen walked the streets, banging gongs and shouting.

They shouted that the rebellion had been quelled, the market was peaceful, and people could go out to do business and buy supplies.

After a while, they said that the remnants of the rebels were taken to Caishikou for public display, and encouraged the people to go and watch the excitement.

Some people who were worried about the aftermath did not dare to go out, but the brave ones had already rushed to Caishikou to watch the excitement.

A temporary wooden platform was built in the city market, which had not yet opened. On the platform, rows of prestigious gentry knelt - their hair was shaved short, their faces were scrubbed clean, and their expensive clothes were torn and dirty.

The gentry had tears on their faces and sobbed for mercy. Even if some of them hung their heads due to exhaustion, the militia would grab their hair and pull them up, forcing them to keep their heads raised.

Upon hearing the news, the people surrounded the market and hundreds of militiamen formed a hollow square to keep the people who came to watch the fun at the periphery.

Most of the militiamen had blood all over their bodies and their faces were tired, as if they had been fighting all night and had not had time to replace their clothes.

Accompanied by the loud sound of suona, several brave militiamen walked onto the wooden platform. Several people worked together to stand the coffin on the platform upright, forming a 60-degree angle with the wooden platform.

The onlookers immediately became agitated. Who else could the person fastened inside the coffin be but Master Li's servant Li San?

There was not even just Li San, there were also several "new officials" and "militia leaders" in the county government.

Li San's face was cleaned and his hair was combed carefully.

He looked peaceful, as if he were in deep sleep, but his bloodstained clothes betrayed the fact that he was already dead.

As the suona band played a sad funeral melody, "Zhang San" rushed through the militia and rushed towards the wooden stage, stopping and looking back every three steps. His exaggerated body language made him look like a drama actor.

"Ahhh! Brother, you died such a tragic death!" Zhang San gently clung to the side of the coffin, pounding the air with his clenched fists, his cries of pain filled with acting, "It was that damned old dog Qian Shiying who schemed to kill you!"

Several other cadres from the county government rushed onto the stage and wept bitterly around the coffin.

Zhang San continued to cry and yell, "We agreed to be brothers for life, why did you abandon me?"

"It's all these damned bastards! My dead brothers were such upright people, yet they accepted their invitation to a feast and left without even their swords, which they always carried with them, and just went there so carelessly!

But these old dogs colluded with the bandits of the Tiger Camp to seize the city, setting up a Hongmen Banquet to plot against my brother! They tricked my brother into getting drunk, then called out the servants to stab my brother to death one by one!

"God damn it! A scholar who usually prides himself on being righteous and moral is actually so despicable and shameless!"

The players shed tears and rushed towards the gentry on the wooden platform viciously, punching and kicking them. It was only other players who maintained order who pulled them away.

"They dared not fight a fair battle against the light, but instead took advantage of my brother's trust and killed people at a banquet. This is truly outrageous to both humans and gods!"

When the people heard the tearful complaints of the militia leader, they could not help but feel angry towards these hypocritical literati and gentry.

Killing at a banquet is a "pain point" that every citizen can empathize with.

Everyone has three or two good friends. If a good friend disregards morality and sets a banquet to lure people in, and then sets an ambush to kill people, it is simply impossible to guard against. It completely tramples on the trust and good morals between people.

The ones who commit such despicable acts are those literati who talk about "benevolence, righteousness, and morality" all day long. It's really disgusting!
The militia also said that this gang of traitors plotted to kill Li San and others in order to cooperate with the Tiger Battalion to capture the city. If the bandits broke into the county town, how could ordinary people like them live in peace?

Mr. Li has not returned yet after leading the local militia to fight the bandits, while the evil gentry are plotting to harm people in the city. In comparison, the people feel that this group of "respectable masters" are worse than pigs and dogs.

"Evil thief! Dog thief! Beast!"

The people became agitated and began to curse these heartless traitors, throwing mud and gravel at the gentry on the stage.

Even the militiamen who were maintaining order felt a surge of anger, and they wanted to turn around and rush onto the wooden platform to beat the thieves to death.

Seeing that the publicity purpose was achieved, Zhang San immediately quit the game.

The body that lost its "soul" instantly fell to the ground with its head raised, creating a shocking scene of a militia leader fainting for his brothers, and adding a touch of anger to the onlookers.

"Kill them!"

"You bastards who are collaborating with thieves deserve to die!"

"Kill kill kill kill kill kill!"

Following a crisp and clear command, dozens of steel knives chopped down in unison, and the bloody heads fell into the wooden barrel. Only one head brushed past the edge of the barrel and fell to the ground, rolling off the stage.

At this time, several old women were quick-eyed and quick-handed. They used their short bodies to squeeze through the gaps in the militia's ranks, rushed to the head, and used a bowl to catch the blood dripping from the broken wound. There was also a piece of mixed grain steamed bread in the bowl.

"There's help, there's help!"

The old women who had dipped the steamed bread in human blood smiled happily, took out a dozen copper coins as "reward" and handed them to the militiamen, then turned around and left with the "good medicine".

The militiamen who received the copper coins felt as if they had touched scorching hot iron, and quickly returned the coins - if the strict instructors knew that they had taken money from the people, fifty military sticks would be the least of their punishment.

As for things like "human blood steamed buns" and "human blood steamed bread", there are indeed such folk remedies circulating on the market, but they don't care about it.

All the remaining rebels were beheaded in public, achieving the player's preconceived goal of public display, and they immediately moved on to the next step. They lifted the sealed coffin and walked down the wooden platform, while the accompanying militia carried the villains' heads on the tips of spears.

"God damn this evil squire! He colluded with bandits and harmed my brothers. This is unforgivable!"

The group formed a funeral procession, slowly circling the longest street in the county. Officials from the county government even played guest roles in the orchestra, playing the suona to "infuse the procession with soul."

Six players carried a coffin on their shoulders and walked and stopped, sometimes swaying it from side to side, sometimes using their thighs to support the coffin and clapping their hands against each other, as if they wanted to use these joyful and festive actions to dispel the sadness of their brothers who died in battle and happily send their brothers on their last journey.

After this round of funeral procession, the people who stayed at home also understood the cause and effect of the "military parade" last night, and expressed their disgust for the despicable gentry who colluded with the bandits.

At the same time, he also had more respect for the "Aftermath Group" headed by Li Mu.

Those gentry and grain households who were content with the status quo also heard about the big commotion of the "funeral in the county town" and could not help but sigh: Li Mu has some talented people under his command.

Rapid suppression of riots is bloody and violent, which will only make people fear and stay away.

Carrying several coffins around the county town, he was standing on the moral high ground to resonate with the common people and businessmen, and from the perspective of winning their hearts, he raised the local reputation of Li Mu and his followers.

For example, conquering the enemy without fighting, and "attacking the heart" have been the highest strategies that far surpass war since ancient times!
Even if the news that the militia "violated the rules" and killed gentry with connections and backing was reported to the provincial government or even to the ministers of the imperial court, they would not be able to find any evidence to prove their wrongdoing.

There will always be ministers who claim to be upright and honest people who speak for them.

This is what it means to stand on the moral high ground.

What was even more exaggerated was that after sending his brothers off, the "new official" announced on the same day:

All urban and rural money, grain and property of the gentry who colluded with the bandits were confiscated, and the confiscated land was distributed to the landless poor and tenant farmers on a per capita basis.

The annual harvest is calculated based on the fertility of the soil, and a symbolic fee of 5% of the total harvest is charged for the first season.
The local people of Shangcheng were given priority in land distribution, followed by the refugees from the entire Runing Prefecture.

Every landless adult over the age of sixteen can be allocated three mu of land, and minors can be allocated half.

Assuming a family of refugees has six people, including grandparents, parents, and two children, they can be allocated 15 mu of land.

A household is counted as having a maximum of five people, and minors are counted as half a person. The remaining households must be divided, and all confiscated land must be divided before the end of the period.

As soon as the news came out, the local tenant farmers were in an uproar and rushed to the "land distribution registration point" set up in the market with their families.

Even if it is a family that has always favored boys over girls, they would still send their underage daughters out to get a place. That's an acre and a half of land, so why not waste it!

The tenant farmers happily distributed the land, but the wealthy families in the countryside were dumbfounded.

All the tenant farmers have run away, who will plow the fields for them?

You have to know that the wages of long-term and short-term workers have all increased recently, and with only the people in their own family, even with the help of oxen, they cannot plow so much land.

So the middle-class and rich peasants deliberately dressed up as poor beggars and went to the county government office in groups to ask the "new officials" to increase the rent of the settlements or add some price to the distribution of land.

For example, the harvest would be increased by a few percent until the land price was "redeemed". In this way, the government would replenish the granary with silver, and the rich families would not have to suffer so much.

The new clerk in the county government office responded quickly, without any official rhetoric.

"We've already added a 'buyback fee' to the allocated land, yet there are still a large number of tenant farmers willing to rent the settlement. Why don't you reflect on your problems? Why are no one renting your land, while others are willing to rent government land?"

"This?" The wealthy people looked at each other, naturally knowing what was going on.

Their rents were all within the legal limit. Even though the beggars had previously divided up a batch of land, there were still many tenant farmers who needed to rent land.

They could accept a slight rent reduction as instructed by the "Post-War Committee", and some people were willing to rent, but this was the limit they could accept.

Now that a large amount of confiscated land has been released, their "bottom line" can no longer satisfy the tenant farmers.

Tenant farmers get land to farm for themselves, but if they farm for the landlord, they have to look at his mood and be harassed when paying rent. Even if the rent between the two parties is similar, the tenant farmers are still willing to farm for themselves.

What's more, the land rent paid by the government is lower than that of the landlord, so even a fool would know what to choose.

"If you think the tenants are unwilling to rent land, then lower the rent to attract them. If you think you can't farm the land yourself, then buy more oxen to save labor. If you think the mall's policies are bad, then come up with better suggestions that satisfy everyone. If you think the tenants are greedy, then set an example by abandoning the smell of money, instead of flattering them and scolding them for not renting your land!"

Faced with the new officials' series of verbal attacks, the wealthy families were speechless and had to leave in disappointment, hating Qian Shiying and others for their inability to accomplish anything and for causing more trouble than success.

Now the rioting gentry have no land, and their tenant farmers have also been greatly reduced. It’s a lose-lose situation!
Just as the wealthy families were leaving with complaints, an express courier with a bell tied to his neck and running for several miles entered the county town and walked into the county government office to hand over official documents.

"We've got news from above. Quickly get some brothers to notify the guide and tell him to hurry back to the county town."

"what news?"

"The higher-ups have approved the Henan Governor's recommendation and appointed the 'leader' as a guerrilla general. The provincial official conferring team will arrive in a few days."

(End of this chapter)