Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"Fellow villagers, you can now register your family information with Deputy Mayor Chen. How many people are in your family, how many men and women, and how many adults and children?"

After the information was registered, the town government began distributing land to everyone!

Wu Dingyuan, the mayor of Fengqiao Town in Suzhou Prefecture, addressed everyone.

This has made the public even more excited about it.

"Deputy Mayor Chen, you're a local. This task is entrusted to you. You must ensure that everything is detailed and truthful, and there can be absolutely no falsification. Otherwise, if the higher-ups investigate, we won't be able to bear the responsibility," Wu Dingyuan said with a serious expression.

"Don't worry, Mayor, I, Chen Wang, will definitely handle this task well. If there are any problems, I will be held responsible!" Chen Xiucai patted his chest and assured him.

He's almost fifty years old, and he finally got this official position through such a difficult process. How could he not cherish it?

Although he never passed the imperial examination to become a scholar, Chen Xiucai was still quite clever.

He knew that the period of dynastic change was also the time with the most opportunities.

If he can seize the opportunity, he might also have a chance to rise to prominence.

If you're lucky, you could become a county magistrate or even a prefect in the future.

As for higher-ranking officials like governors and cabinet ministers, those were too far off. He was no longer young and didn't have many opportunities left.

"Fellow villagers, the Heavenly King cherishes you all and truly treats you as his own people. Unlike the Tartar emperor, who only knows how to make us pay grain and perform corvée labor. With the Heavenly Kingdom and the Heavenly King's leadership, you will surely be able to live a good life."

Next, everyone come to me to register your information. After that, the government will distribute land to everyone!

Scholar Chen addressed the crowd.

Chen Xiucai was, after all, a local of Fengqiao Town, and having always been a schoolteacher, he had a certain network of connections.

His words naturally garnered more support.

"Fellow villagers, the Heavenly Kingdom declares that because these landlords and wealthy landowners have been helping the Tartars oppress the people and plunder their wealth in the past, all their property has been confiscated and belongs to the Heavenly Kingdom. All the usurious loans you owe these landlords are also null and void, and you no longer need to repay them!"

Wu Dingyuan then announced another piece of exciting news.

"What? You don't have to pay back the loan shark debt?"

"Is this...is this really okay? Paying back debts is a matter of course!"

The people were completely taken aback when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom government actually issued an order to abolish this practice.

"Hmph! What do you mean by 'natural and just'? These usurious loans are a vicious cycle of compounding interest! They're just a way for these landlords and rich people to exploit everyone. Your Majesty is wise; abolishing this law is the best course of action!"

"Yes! Loan sharks are a terrible menace! Back then, because my mother was seriously ill, I borrowed two taels of silver from Master Song. As a result, in just one year, I owed Master Song ten taels of silver. Not only did Master Song seize all the land in our family, but even now, I still owe him a mountain of debt!" a burly man said angrily.

The other people nodded in agreement.

Everyone deeply resented these landlords who lent money at exorbitant interest rates.

I don’t know how many people were killed because of this.

"Li Ergou, you owe Wu Youde twenty taels of silver, right? Here's the IOU. Burn the IOU. From now on, you will never owe Wu Youde any more silver!" Wu Dingyuan said, holding up an IOU.

A thin, middle-aged man held an IOU, tears streaming down his face.

"Thank you, Mayor! You are a just and upright official!" Li Ergou knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Wu Dingyuan quickly helped Li Ergou up.

"Brother Li, we don't kneel in our Heavenly Kingdom. We only kneel to the Heavenly Father, our parents, and our teachers. We don't kneel to anyone else. I'm not some high-ranking official; I'm just carrying out the task assigned by His Majesty the Heavenly King!" Wu Dingyuan said.

This scene deeply shocked many people.

Subsequently, Wu Dingyuan had all the IOUs for usurious loans distributed to the people.

They had everyone read out these IOUs, and then burned them all in one fire.

As the saying goes, being debt-free is a blessing.

Without these debts, it's as if the people's previously hunched backs have straightened up.

Next, trials were held in Fengqiao Town for these landlords and wealthy landowners.

Of these landlords and wealthy landowners who were able to amass such a large fortune, how many of them were truly clean?

Many people even had blood on their hands.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom government will certainly not let these people go.

Those who deserve execution will be executed, and those who deserve imprisonment will be imprisoned.

At the same time, it called on more people to report and expose these landlords and wealthy landowners, and to expose all the crimes they had committed.

Once verified, all will be dealt with seriously.

This further garnered public support.

Previously, the people had no way to appeal to the authorities; even when they were bullied by these landlords and wealthy people, they could only endure it. There was nowhere to seek justice.

But now that Heaven is on their side, they certainly won't let such an opportunity slip by.

Large numbers of people complained to the officials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom government, denouncing the evil deeds of these landlords and wealthy people.

This made the landlords and wealthy men turn pale.

Many of them knew that this time they were likely doomed.

This is also the retribution for their years of tyranny and abuse of power.

"You traitors and rebels, the imperial court will not let you get away with this!"

Knowing he was doomed, a landlord actually stood up and began to curse the officials and people of the Heavenly Kingdom.

This has further fueled public anger.

If before, the people dared not speak out against these landlords and wealthy landowners, now, with the Kingdom of Heaven backing them up, they are no longer afraid.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The angry crowd rushed forward and began punching and kicking the landlord.

They wouldn't have dared to do it before.

But now, they have no scruples.

"Bastards! You peasants, how dare you hit me! You're all dead!"

"My son will not let you get away with this!"

"The imperial court won't let you off the hook either. When the imperial army arrives, they will arrest you all, confiscate your property, and exterminate your entire clan!"

At first, the landlord was defiant and even dared to threaten other people.

But as each punch landed on him, he could no longer maintain his tough stance.

Instead, there were screams of agony and pleas for mercy.

But the angry public, at this moment, doesn't care about any of that.

Soon, the landlord was beaten to death.

This terrified the other landlords and wealthy landowners, turning them pale and rendering them utterly incapable of further resistance.

"The Heavenly Kingdom is uprooting the Tartars!" Chen Xiucai saw this scene and understood it perfectly.

Like previous dynasties, the Tartars did not actually establish direct and effective rule over the vast rural areas.

The rule over rural areas still relied on gentry and landlords.

But now, the Heavenly Kingdom has directly eliminated these landlords!

Furthermore, by directly distributing land to these impoverished people, they gained their support.

Furthermore, the establishment of positions such as township head and village head in rural areas effectively solidified control over rural regions.

Having won the hearts of the people and established a rule at the grassroots level, the foundation of the Manchus was undoubtedly completely severed.

Chen Xiucai could almost imagine that, after gaining the support of the masses, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would gradually win the hearts and minds of the people throughout the land.

It is said that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world!

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had won the hearts of the people. Therefore, it was only natural that it would replace the rule of the Manchus.

Fortunately, Chen Xiucai himself joined the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and became one of its officials.

He increasingly believed that responding actively when the Kingdom of Heaven called on everyone to cut off their queues was an absolutely correct decision.

Having accomplished nothing in his life, he finally turned his luck around when he was over fifty.

Chen Xiucai was even less likely to let such an opportunity slip by.

This will make Chen Xiucai even more dedicated to serving the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the future.

There were many, many more impoverished scholars like Chen Xiucai, with no chance of rising in society. They were all capable of serving the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.