Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 62 They didn't know they were wrong, they just knew they were going to die.
In the county government office.

In a room surrounded by bodyguards, a eunuch in charge of record-keeping bowed and entered, saying:

"Your Majesty, we have recorded all the servants of the wealthy families in the city that those people in the hall mentioned. We would like to ask Your Majesty how to deal with them."

Zhu Youjian flipped through the documents in his hand without even looking up: "Read out the charges, confiscate their property and exterminate their clan."

Zhu Youjian knew all too well how a country could perish.

The wealth gap, unequal distribution, and the unrestrained annexation of the means of production are not actually the key factors.

The most crucial point is...

There is no longer any upward mobility for the lower classes in a country.

How can this be solved?
Once all those who are encroaching on upward mobility are killed, fresh blood will naturally flow.

Simple, crude, and sounds unreasonable.

But it's useful.

"This slave takes the order."

The young eunuch who came to inquire bowed and retreated, his face expressionless.

Soon.

A tall, imposing Imperial Guard arrived outside the county government office and loudly read aloud in front of everyone:

"His Majesty's decree: Within Tongguan County, gentry and wealthy families have colluded with county officials to commit crimes and disrupt the lives of the people. All of them shall have their homes confiscated and their entire families exterminated!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned.

Many of them knew that the county magistrate was the root of all their suffering.

But the county magistrate was too far removed from them, while the gentry and their lackeys were the most direct link in their scourge.

Take the droughts of recent years as an example.

The thing the gentry in the city did that they hated most was...

These people took advantage of the disaster to maliciously release people and use various means to damage the crops in the fields of ordinary people.

That's food that can save lives!

then.

When the people can no longer survive.

They then buy up the land from the people at an extremely low price, turning them into tenants and serfs who depend on them for survival!
Is there anything the common people can do about this?

No!

These people colluded with the government. Previously, the farmers in Tongguan County whose fields were forcibly destroyed had also tried to organize themselves to resist.

But as soon as he took any action, the government sent troops to arrest him and imprison him.

What is the charge of plotting a mass uprising?

Fuck your mothers!
Why don't they arrest those bastards who destroyed our farmland, instead of arresting us?
We just wanted to live a humble life, what did we do wrong?!
And you know, after acquiring the land at a low price.

What did those gentry do?
They would generously give away a few bowls of "starving porridge" when the people were on the verge of starvation.

This way.

The county annals would then record a note about them: On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, a certain family opened a soup kitchen in the suburbs, saving hundreds of people.

Great kindness!

They are too greedy. They want our land, our people, our children to be their slaves, and they even want to take away our insignificant reputation.
Don't they deserve to die?!

"Execution!"

After the Imperial Guards read out the Emperor's edict, hundreds of officials were dragged into the street.

The common people watched these officials, who were once so powerful but were now behaving so disgracefully, without saying a word or cheering.

He just stared at them in silence.

These bastards who are crying and begging for mercy don't really know they're wrong.

They only knew they were going to die.

Amidst cries of agony, hundreds of heads were swiftly chopped off by the Shenwei Battalion guards responsible for carrying out the executions.

As these people's heads rolled to the ground, the long-suppressed flame in the hearts of the people was quickly ignited.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Well done!!"

One person raised his arm and shouted, and the onlookers immediately shouted along with all their might.

Its sheer scale and momentum were enough to shake one's very soul.

at the same time.

The gentry and wealthy families in Tongguan City had also heard about the impending confiscation of their property and extermination of their clans. Escape was impossible; all the city gates of Tongguan were now guarded by elite troops.

Therefore, after the initial extreme shock...

These people then strangely fell into a state of madness.

Some of them began frantically stuffing their mouths with delicacies that ordinary people could never even see.

Even though his stomach was so full that he had already vomited up everything he had just eaten, he didn't stop.

Some started tearing apart the expensive fabrics and silks in their homes, lying on piles of silver and laughing foolishly without any awareness.

Some even began to commit bestial acts with their own children.

This final madness did not last long.

Because Xiao Hongzi had already arrived on horseback with a group of Shenwei Battalion guards.

All of a sudden.

A chorus of mournful wails echoed through Tongguan City, sounds that seemed otherworldly.

It resembles both an infernal hell and a blissful paradise.

After an hour or two.

In Tongguan City, thousands of members of the gentry and wealthy families were slaughtered, and their blood flowed from their homes into the streets.

Covered in blood, Xiao Hongzi returned to the county government office.

With each step he took, his blood left a sticky footprint on his back.

Approaching Zhu Youjian, Xiao Hongzi knelt on one knee and began to speak:

"Your Majesty, the gentry and wealthy families of Tongguan County have all been slaughtered by this servant and his men. Please instruct us on what to do next."

"Summon the heads of all the major criminals to the counties, explain the reasons, and order the counties to immediately gather the nearby refugees. I will inspect them one by one."

"At the same time, give each of the refugees gathered in Tongguan City today enough food for seven days, let them rest for one night and return to their hometowns immediately tomorrow. They must not stay anywhere else. I will make the rest of the arrangements."

"This slave takes the order."

soon.

Several squads of Imperial Guards, carrying the imperial banner, rode swiftly, leaving behind a trail of heads as they headed towards the surrounding counties.

A member of the Imperial Guard also came before the refugees and read out His Majesty's edict to them.

Most people were overjoyed to hear that they had been given a full seven-day ration.

A full seven-day ration, if eaten sparingly, can last for almost a month.

Moreover, the emperor said he wouldn't abandon them, so they might actually be able to survive the coming winter.

However, a small group of people had different ideas at this time.

no way.

When people are hungry, they often only think about filling their stomachs.

Once you're full, you start thinking more.

What if we only have seven days' worth of rations and then run out?
And winter is just around the corner...

As they pondered this, a sly glint flashed in their eyes.

If I could always follow the emperor like this, wouldn't I be able to eat my fill every day without having to do anything?
Moreover, after the emperor arrived, he only killed corrupt officials and wealthy families, and did not lay a hand on these displaced people.

Once I voice this idea, other refugees who didn't originally think this way will definitely follow suit.

If so many of us insist on following the emperor, what can the emperor do?
The emperor's actions today demonstrate his love for the people, and he certainly won't refuse them.

With this idea.

A small group of people tentatively knelt down and asked the imperial guard who had delivered the order:
"My lord, may we follow His Majesty indefinitely? Otherwise, winter is coming soon, and we fear we will starve to death when we return."

This small group of people.

Several of them were the same people who muttered to themselves when the county magistrate was executed by slow slicing today.

The Imperial Guard who delivered the order frowned and glanced at them.

To some extent, this already constitutes disobeying imperial orders.

However, since this matter involved displaced people, the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not make a decision on their own and returned to the county government office to seek instructions.

The matter eventually reached Zhu Youjian.

After listening.

Zhu Youjian calmly uttered two words: "Kill."

"Send their heads to the surrounding counties and explain the reason."

(End of this chapter)