The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

The man banging the gong shouted, "Fellow villagers, the government officials have arrived! Gather in front of the ancestral hall immediately!"

What happened this time?

Li Chengye rubbed his eyes, locked the door, and just as he stepped out, he ran into his neighbors across the street, the Shi family, who also came out of their door.

Uncle Shi was conscripted by the imperial court last year to deliver military supplies to Yulin, but he was captured by bandits on the way and never returned. Now, only his widow and her child remain in his family. Shi is the same age as his younger brother, Li Chengen.

The two families exchanged a glance and nodded silently.

Qingshi Village is mainly inhabited by the Li clan, and the ancestral hall is the most important gathering place in the village.

By this time, a large crowd had gathered in front of the ancestral hall, all of them pale, thin, and emaciated.

Looking at these withered faces, Li Chengye was momentarily reminded of images of disaster victims he had seen in his memory. This scene was even more vivid than the starving ghosts depicted in plays.

Seven or eight constables and tax collectors in black uniforms stood in front of the ancestral hall. Among them were two men, one tall and thin with a long face, and the other short and stout. The stout tax collector had a smile on his face and was talking in hushed tones with Zhao Shouren, the village's largest landlord. Standing beside him was Li Jiaxuan, the clan head of the Li family, the village's chieftain. He had white hair, but his back was ramrod straight, and his expression was solemn.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Master Zhao whispered a few words in the fat constable's ear.

The horse-faced head constable banged the gong with a "dong" and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fellow villagers, this year's tax collection has begun! In order to strengthen the border defenses, the imperial court has granted special permission to levy an additional Liaodong tax of two fen of silver per mu, which must be submitted together with this year's summer tax!"

These words caused an uproar in the crowd, as if doused with boiling water. Someone shouted hoarsely, "Two cents? Wasn't it only one cent and two fen last year? How come it's more than doubled!" Another lamented, "Forget two cents, we can't even afford one cent now!"

The horse-faced constable sternly shouted, "What's all the noise about! These are all rules set by the higher-ups, and we must understand the court's difficulties. There's a war going on in the east, and Wang Er of Chengcheng is causing trouble. Without our soldiers risking their lives on the front lines, how could we have peaceful days in the rear?"

The portly tax collector continued, "You have ten days! The full amount must be paid within ten days! Chief Li was kind and forgave you a lot last time; don't expect that this time!"

He paused, his gaze turning icy, and pointed to the gate of the ancestral hall behind him: "The law is as firm as a mountain! Ten days from now, if anyone dares to delay payment, or even attempts to evade taxes or corvée labor..." He suddenly raised his voice, "that would be defying the imperial court and showing contempt for the law! Shackles and prison food are the least of your worries! Exile to the army, or even beheading as a warning—you can choose! Do you all understand?! Not a single one of you will escape!"

"Furthermore, this year's grain chief will be Lord Zhao. Everyone's tax grain will be handed over to Lord Zhao and then escorted to the county government."

In the crowd, Chengen lowered his voice and said to Li Chengye, "Brother, if the clan chief is the grain chief, some things can be made more lenient. But if Zhao Laogou is the grain chief, he'll force us to our death."

At this moment, Zhao Shouren, known as Old Dog Zhao, stood up and said, "Fellow villagers, today I am fortunate to have the approval of the county officials to serve as the grain chief for this summer harvest. Previously, it was Chief Li who held this position, and he has devoted too much effort to it. This year, I will help him share the burden."

Upon hearing this, the clan chief Li Jiaxuan stood to the side, his lips taut and his eyes blazing with fury, yet he remained silent, clearly helpless.

Master Zhao continued, "Everyone heard what I said earlier. The difficulties of the court are also the difficulties of us common people. The soldiers in Liaodong are guarding the border for the country in the freezing cold, and we in the rear should also do our best to serve them." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the numb faces, as if he were examining his own property.

"I, Zhao, have lived in Baishui since childhood, and we have been fellow villagers for generations. I am well aware of the current situation. There is a shortage of food, and this year we have also encountered a severe drought. Everyone is having a hard time." Hearing this, the expressions of the crowd below softened slightly.

Master Zhao then changed the subject, his tone becoming even more earnest: "Though I am not talented, I cannot stand by and watch my fellow villagers be taken away in shackles and imprisoned."

He leaned slightly forward, appearing genuinely concerned for his fellow villagers: "No money or grain to pay taxes? No problem, you can come to me for help. I, Zhao Shouren, hereby swear that I will never take advantage of anyone in distress. If you urgently need money to pay taxes, feel free to borrow from me; the interest rate will be naturally favorable."

"If you don't want to borrow money, you can use your land, deeds, or houses as collateral. I will buy them at market price and never let my fellow villagers suffer losses. With the money, you can pay your taxes and get through this winter. It's better than being arrested by the government and having your land confiscated, leaving you with nothing."

His last words were spoken with great earnestness, as if he were pointing out the only way out for everyone.

At this moment, the horse-faced constable spoke up again: "Listen up, everyone—we're about to read out the tax amounts for each household, so listen carefully!"

"The Zhang family, with 3.2 mu of land, should pay 6.4 fen of silver in taxes, 2.5 dou and 1 sheng of summer grain, plus an additional 1.5 dou!"

Upon being called out, Zhang Wu'er's legs went weak, and he stumbled to the constable, wailing, "Your Honor, please have eyes! In this year's harvest, how can we possibly pay so much grain tax? Besides, where am I supposed to find more than two cents of silver...?"

The horse-faced constable waved his hand impatiently: "That's your problem! I'm just in charge of giving the order. Don't waste time, next!"

"The Sun family, numbering five or six, owns seven and a half mu of land, and should pay one tael and two fen of silver in taxes!"

Every time the constable read out the name of a household, it almost always evoked a chorus of cries of anguish.

Moreover, the number of acres he read out was more than the actual amount cultivated by each household—he was using an old yellow register from many years ago.

At first, everyone cried and wailed, but they gradually realized that crying was useless, so they could only bite their lips and silently endure it.

"Yang Chongwang's family owns five mu of land and should pay one tael of silver in taxes!" Yang Chongwang, whose name was called, responded and walked out.

Although he looked pale, he stood tall and straight, with an undeniable aura of a martial artist between his brows.

He asked in a deep voice, "I am a retired soldier from the Yulin Garrison. Do military households also have to pay so much?"

The horse-faced constable glanced at him sideways: "Yang Chongwang, it's true you're a retired soldier, but the imperial court only exempts you from corvée labor, never from taxes—that's a matter of course!"

Yang Chongwang opened his mouth upon hearing this, but ultimately remained silent.

When Li Chengye's name was called, the constable announced loudly, "Li Chengye's family owns four and a half mu of land, and the tax payable is nine fen of silver!"

In reality, his family now only has two mu of land left. The other two and a half mu were sold to Zhao Shouren from the village before the Lunar New Year.

Just as the horse-faced constable was about to call on the next person, suddenly a sound rang out.

"You've accepted the wrong amount of money!"

The horse-faced constable, his face full of displeasure, retorted, "What did you say?"

Li Chengye bluntly stated, "The imperial court increased the Liaodong tax by 9 li, so how come it's become 2 fen in your case? Are you falsely conveying an imperial edict?"

The horse-faced constable, who had initially been nonchalant, immediately became serious upon hearing the words "falsely conveying an imperial edict": "What nonsense are you spouting! These two points were decided by the officials in the court; how could I be falsely conveying an imperial edict?"

Seizing the opportunity, Li Chengye pressed further: "So, the silver you received wasn't what the Emperor wanted, but only what the officials in the county wanted, is that right?"

Upon hearing this, the short, stout constable who was chatting with Master Zhao turned around, glaring fiercely at Li Chengye: "What do you, a country bumpkin, know? The imperial court's tax levied on Liaodong is no more than a penny, but isn't there a cost involved in transporting the silver from Shaanxi to Liaodong? Are you expecting us gentlemen to work for free? Aren't the food and lodging expenses along the way all in silver?"

"So you can add so much more than the court wants?" Li Chengye persisted.

"You country bumpkin, what do you know about national affairs!" the short, stout constable scolded, then turned to Li Jiaxuan beside him and said, "Clan Chief Li, isn't this one of your clansmen? Keep him in check, lest he spout something that will cause trouble."

The clan chief, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Chengye, this money was decided by the officials in the prefecture, and we can't change it. Let's find a way to raise the money."

Upon hearing the clan chief's words, the crowd, which had been somewhat agitated by Li Chengye's questioning, immediately fell silent again.

Li Chengye knew that the silver collected by the imperial court was actually less than one cent, but it became two or three cents in the hands of tax collectors like them.

But what good would it do to know? Since the clan head didn't support him, the villagers who had initially had some ideas had now fallen silent.

The next morning, Li Chengye was awakened by a wail, the sound coming from the Shi family next door.

He pushed open the door and saw four or five people gathered in front of the Shi family's house. Zhu Yao, who had known him since childhood, saw him come out and whispered, "Shi's mother... hanged herself last night."

Li Chengye's heart sank upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything more.

He has witnessed too much death in the village in the past two months.

When he heard last night that taxes and grain levies were to be collected, he knew that some people would not be able to endure it.

In his memory, Stone Mother was a gentle old woman. When he had just recovered from his illness, the village was not in such a bad state, and she had even brought him a bowl of apricots.

The clan chief came over to take a look and could only comfort him, saying, "The dead cannot be brought back to life, so cherish the present moment."

He then called a few people to help with the funeral arrangements for Stone Mother.

The funeral arrangements were actually quite simple; they simply involved digging a pit in the wasteland north of the village and burying the person.

Grateful for Stone Mother's previous help, Li Chengye was also among those who helped.

After the pit was dug and the soil was filled in, everyone watched as Shi Tou knelt before his mother's grave, his voice hoarse from crying. No one dared to stop him; they simply watched silently. At that moment, Old Du, who had somehow wandered to the side, muttered, "Buried too deep, buried too deep."

Everyone knew he was crazy, so they pretended not to see him.

Seeing that Shi Tou was crying so hard that he was hurting himself, Li Chengye stepped forward to help him up and advised, "You need to live well so your mother can have peace of mind. Crying like this will only harm your health, and your mother won't be happy to see you like this."

After hearing these words of advice, Shi Tou gradually calmed down.

Just then, Master Zhao approached with two or three servants and immediately began to berate him: "Shitou, you are unfilial! Your own mother has passed away, and you haven't even prepared a coffin for her, just using a straw mat as a makeshift solution. Is this what a filial son should do?"

Upon hearing this, Stone, who had just calmed down, burst into tears again.

Li Chengye, already indignant, couldn't help but retort, "It was my own mother who died. What mother would want to see her son ruin her family because of her funeral?"

The people around him were also looking at Zhao Shouren with angry expressions.

Seeing this, Zhao Shouren simply snorted coldly and said no more.

After handling the funeral arrangements for Stone Mother, in the afternoon, Li Chengye wanted to take Chengen along the river to search again and see if there were any undiscovered weeds to pick.

He walked to the village entrance and found two men guarding the entrance with knives.

The man in the lead was Liu Laizi, a dissolute scoundrel in the village and also a henchman for Master Zhao.

He drew his sword from its sheath and stood in front of the two brothers.

Li Chengye stepped forward and asked, "What's going on? It's none of your business where my brother and I want to go!"

Liu Laizi sneered, "You think you can just run away before you've paid your taxes? Master Zhao ordered that families who owe taxes can leave, but not the whole family. Someone has to stay behind to watch over them, in case anyone tries to evade taxes!"

Li Chengye clenched his fists, but Chengen pulled him back, saying, "Brother, you go out first. I'll go home and stay there." Looking at the long knives in Liu Laizi's and Chengen's hands, Li Chengye nodded heavily, "Okay, Chengen, you go back first. I'll go out for a walk by myself."

Afterwards, Li Chengye left the village alone. The wind was a bit calmer in the afternoon than before, but he didn't have the same good luck as last time.

I searched along the riverbank for a long time, but I couldn't find any grass or anything else edible. The surrounding area was completely barren.

He walked into the village with his head down. When he got close to the village entrance, he saw Liu Laizi and his companion still standing there, and he felt a surge of anger.

As soon as I entered the village, a strong aroma of meat suddenly wafted into my nose.

In this day and age, there are still people in the village stewing meat?