Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 64 The sun rises in the west

Suddenly seeing Song Qingshu holding this thing, Zhang Xianzhong was also unfamiliar, but after holding it in his hand a few times, he suddenly shook his head with a smile.

"What else do I take for granted? This is the barrel of the firecracker, which was handed over by those blacksmiths."

People really have two sides. Just now they hated this government, but in a blink of an eye, Zhang Xianzhong gritted his teeth at the refugees who were forcibly taxed, making Song Qingshu even more confused: "What blacksmith?"

"It's the village that resisted the tax a few days ago. It's a village of artisans, and all the unruly people in the village are blacksmiths!" Throwing the gun barrel to his side, Zhang Xianzhong hummed again: "This time almost wiped out the entire family's wealth in the village." All the children were taken out, and I even handed over the half-fired firecrackers from an unknown guard. It was difficult for me. These iron materials are hot goods, and serious merchants dare not eat them. I have to trouble me to think about it. There is a way to sell it to the locks on the mountain.”

The gangsters are bandits. In order to complete the tax collection task, Zhang Xianzhong, an official, has to sell the iron that can be used to make weapons to the bandits. This weird thing is only a specialty of this end of the world.As Song Qingshu's eyes froze, the barrel of the firecracker fell in a circle, and it just so happened that it finally fell between the two wheels handed over by someone who was in a hurry.

An iron pipe and two wheels instantly formed a wretched image. Zhang Xianzhong grinned and laughed twice with his yellow beard. In Song Qingshu's mind, a flash of lightning flashed across in an instant. Something popped into his mind.

"Brother, don't worry about these iron materials, let me handle them all!"

……

The so-called artisan households are families that have been craftsmen for generations. When Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he followed the system of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. The army was a military household, and craftsmen were artisan households. They were governed separately from ordinary civilian households. Zhu Yuanzhang once patted his chest proudly He boasted: "I raise millions of soldiers, and I don't take a cent from the people."

In fact, these heavy burdens are on the soldiers and craftsmen.

In the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, these special household registrations that were isolated from society were passable. Military households had farms, while artisan households received Lumi from the government, and worked for the government for generations, either forging military equipment, or making agricultural tools, and repairing the official city walls. Rivers, roads, etc., almost all government expenses are provided by them, and craftsmen also need to go to the capital to serve the court in shifts.

However, starting from Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty began to step into corruption rapidly. During this period, it also experienced the defeat of Tumubao. , On the one hand, the raw materials produced by the craftsmen in Lumi are rapidly embezzled, embezzled, and embezzled elsewhere. As a result, craftsmen fled in batches, armaments were abandoned, and the government and city walls and forts fell into disrepair. In desperation, from the Jiajing period, the imperial court officially abolished the shift system, and craftsmen could pay money to replace the service of the government. It can be regarded as subtracting a mountain that weighed on the craftsmen.

But this is the case, the oppression on artisan households is still much heavier than that of ordinary households. Usually, those regular taxes are basically the same as those of ordinary households, and they have to pay extra money for craftsmen. Irregularities, forced labor is still imposed, just like this Huolu Village that has just been taxed, on the one hand the government is pressing for tax arrears, on the other hand, the border town has assigned them a task to build a number of guns within a time limit, It was transported to Yulin Town, but now, it's like gouging out flesh and mending sores. The iron materials distributed by the border town are all paid to the government as tax arrears. On the one hand, there is no surplus food in the village, and the whole village has fallen into famine. On the other hand, they still have to face the prosecution of Yulin Town and the compensation of iron materials. That kind of doomsday atmosphere enveloped the whole village.

The woman sat in the dark house with her child in her arms, not saying a word, silent as if she was dead, the village could not even hear the barking of chickens and dogs, these beasts had been robbed by even more beastly yamen servants Erjing, the child's face turned yellow from hunger, but he didn't dare to say a word.

On the other side, the ancestral hall in the village was dark and crowded with people. Almost all the men in the village were crowded here, but it was also dead silent. The third uncle who had lost his crotch cloth sat on the top and was twitching. Hanyan didn't say a word. On the other side, the strong man who took the lead in resisting the tax had more than a dozen marks of whiplash on his face. The blood vessels on his strong face were like earthworms, and the swelling was frightening.

After being silent for a long time, the strong man couldn't bear it anymore, and angrily slapped his palm on the lumpy elm ancestral hall table, causing the statue of the patriarch on it to buzz and fly ash.

"Third Uncle, you adopted me, Lao Liu. Thanks to you for teaching me a craft, I can make a living. I shouldn't have said anything in this ancestral hall, but!"

Turning his head and pointing to the door, the strong man roared angrily: "Third Uncle, open your eyes and take a look! There is no food in every household, and the old people and children are starving! His government has no way for people to live!" Don’t you know what the nearby Dingjia Village looks like? More than 200 old and young men in one village starved to death, and more than 150 of them starved to death. This year, there is a severe drought. Even if there is still a little harvest, I am afraid that the official dog will come to grab food in autumn. You always want to see it Are you all starving too?"

"Rather than starve to death here, it's better to go out and become a thief, and fight with those landlords and officials! You'll be a hungry ghost!"

"Third Uncle, the brother my old Liu knows, the Heavenly King Jiayin's team is now pulling the team to Xi'an City, and will fight Guan Gouzi to the death in a few days. She prevents the letter from coming. As long as everyone goes to him, everything else will be done." Not to mention, everyone is full! No matter what, it’s better than suffering here!”

Listening to the yelling of the five big and three rough old Liu, the old and young men of Huolu Village, all of them have obvious brilliance in their eyes, and their hearts are moved. There used to be seven or eight farms in the vicinity, and the severe drought in the last years of the apocalypse and the early years of Chongzhen has reached the present. , those who starved to death, those who fled famine, they were the only two villages left, and they had seen the tragedy of the whole village starving to death together.

Since the government won't give you a way out, why don't you do it vigorously and rob his mother!Anyway, I have experienced everything I have never eaten, used or played, even if I die, I am willing to die!
But listening to Liu Dahan's roar, the third uncle was always smoking the dry tobacco in distress. Under the eager eyes of a group of fellow villagers, it took him a long time to spit out the last puff of smoke, but he turned around in embarrassment and raised his hand high. Pointing at the plaque on the head of the portrait of the patriarch on the ancestral hall with a cigarette pipe, he shouted.

"What do you read these four words? Loyalty is unparalleled!"

He also knocked on the elm table, and the third uncle yelled miserably: "The ancestors settled here with the sapphire attacking Beiyuan, and they always ruled the family with loyalty. If you are allowed to turn against you now, the reputation of Huolu Village will be ruined." Yu once, in the future, he will wear a thief's name when he dies, so why would he have the face to meet the ancestors under the Nine Springs?"

Huaxia worships ancestors, and pays attention to serving death as life. What the third uncle said really said that many elderly people couldn't stop nodding. The six No. 70 people were shaken for a little while, and the rest He was also a young man who had no right to speak. Seeing everyone shaking their heads in distress, Liu Zhuanghan became anxious again and shouted loudly.

"Then you can't watch everyone starve to death?"

Just as he was talking, a seven or eight-year-old kid who was on guard outside ran in hastily, yelling in fear.

"The big thing is not good, and the gang of officials are here again!"

From the third uncle to Liu Zhuanghan, almost everyone jumped up in fear.

Village entrance.

Black gauze hat, coarse cloth and black official uniform, whether it is a policeman or someone else, but this time there are a little less people here, only Zhang Xianzhong, Bai Wenxuan is still a Jinyiwei Feiyu suit, and Song Qingshu is not wearing a guest policeman's uniform, Instead, he pretended to be a scholar's green shirt and gown, and in addition to the three people, there were three carts and several coachmen behind him.

It’s really a guilty conscience. As soon as I mentioned the big event of rebellion, the officials came to the door immediately. A large group of villagers and artisans from Huolu Village really came out with a very guilty conscience. The third uncle walked in the front tremblingly with this crutch, Liu Dahan On the other hand, angry, he followed behind. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the village, the third uncle had already made a long bow and said tremblingly.

"My lord, we have paid all the taxes owed in our village, and it's not the autumn harvest yet, so there's really nothing left to take out!"

"Every household in the village is starving, why are you here? Believe it or not, I crushed all your eggs with one fist!" With a murderous look, Liu Dahan also yelled ferociously from behind. With a flash of light, a strong murderous intent emerged.

If a few officials are killed now, even if the third uncle is unwilling, the whole village will have to follow suit, right?Thinking about it, his eyes fell on the two skinny monkey officials who had pissed him off last time.

Unaware that he had already become a certificate of merit, while persuading Zhang Xianzhong, Song Qingshu walked forward alone, watching him getting closer and closer, a hammer used for blacksmithing was unknowingly taken by Liu Dahan I copied it in my hand.

Seeing the trembling faces of the villagers, he thought that the Sanguang policy had frightened the villagers. After a long distance, Song Qingshu hurriedly yelled: "Fellow townsman, don't be afraid, the imperial army doesn't want to grab food! That's not right, We are not here to collect food this time..."

The words were so awkward, Zhang Xianzhong impatiently rushed up from behind, also shouting loudly: "What are you talking to them about? I'll give you three carts of food, do you want it?"

The third uncle couldn't believe his ears, the government has always been grabbing food, when did the government deliver food?Is the sun coming out in the west?
"Officer, you, this, this, our village has no merit or virtue, how dare you accept it? Hammer, why are you holding a sledgehammer behind you? Why don't you let it go! How decent is it?"

Only then did Song Qingshu turn around in astonishment, but no, the iron tower-like man had a big iron hammer weighing twenty or thirty catties less than one meter away from the back of his head. Under his stunned gaze, Liu Zhuangman tragically retracted Iron Hammer, stutteringly explained.

"This, this is a unique welcome ceremony in our village, don't, don't take offense, hehe, hahahaha..."

It's not a neuropathy, is it?Hearing the awkward smirk of the strong man, Song Qingshu subconsciously shrank back...

(End of this chapter)