Hanzhong County, Mianyang County.

Since the establishment of Hanzhong County, Mianyang has been the second largest county in Hanzhong County after the county administration of Nanzheng.

At that time, Cao Cao, on the advice of his ministers, moved a large number of people from several counties near Nanzheng to Guanzhong.

Under Cao Cao's move, the population of Nanzheng and several nearby counties dropped sharply, and the powerful families in these counties also suffered a heavy blow.

However, Mianyang County is closer to Yizhou, and Cao Cao's move to relocate Hanzhong's population was a bit hasty.

Therefore, the population in Mianyang County has not dropped significantly.

In the same way, Mianyang County surpassed Nanzheng County and became the strongest base of aristocratic families in Hanzhong County.

It was precisely for this reason that Liu Bei specifically placed the place where he would become king in Mianyang County.

His purpose was to intimidate the powerful local powerful families inside and outside Mianyang County.

Several years have passed since Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor.

Perhaps the grand proclaiming event that gathered tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of ministers had to a great extent frightened the powerful forces from aristocratic families with evil intentions inside and outside Mianyang County.

But as time goes by, that kind of deterrence slowly dissipates.

The powerful families inside and outside Mianyang County are slowly returning to their old ways.

For example, the Xiao family is the dominant family in Mianyang County.

This Xiao family is the family that dares to openly question Xiao Pu who threatens Mi Yang.

It's autumn, and it's time for the wheat ears to mature in the fields.

There is Miushui near Mianyang. This superior water conservancy condition has made agricultural production outside Mianyang County the best among the counties in Hanzhong County.

A large stretch of endless wheat fields lies outside Mianyang City. Under the sunlight, the wheat fields exude a golden light.

When gusts of breeze blow, the unique fragrance of wheat ears instantly fills the world outside Mianyang County.

Looking at the wheat fields full of wheat ears in front of him, and thinking about how much food he would get if he harvested all the wheat ears in the wheat field in front of him, a member of the Xiao family showed a look on his face that he could not hide.

of smile.

There are at least hundreds of acres of fertile land in front of him.

Although these hundreds of acres of fertile land are nominally listed on the household registrations of many common people, in fact they are all his family property, the Xiao family.

Moreover, the land belonging to the Xiao family is far more than this hundred acres. The hundred acres of fertile land in front of him is just the tip of the iceberg of the Xiao family's property.

With such a vast family fortune, how could he not feel happy as a member of the Xiao clan?

In the hundreds of acres of farmland in front of this Xiao clan member, there are at least a thousand farmers who are half-clothed, sallow and skinny, and are harvesting wheat ears in the wheat fields.

These thousands of farmers who are working hard are all the shadow households of the Xiao family, or it is more appropriate to say that they are the slaves of the Xiao family.

Although from the outside, these thousands of farmers all appear to be malnourished and exhausted.

But in the end, they had to work under the scorching sun and not stop working for a moment.

Because their lives do not belong to themselves.

As for what will happen if it stops accidentally?

A white-haired, skinny old farmer used his personal experience to verify this point.

The old farmer was so skinny that his arms were not even as thick as the handle of the sickle in his hand.

This is enough to show that his whole person is in a state of extreme hunger.

But despite this, he still had to endure the scorching sun and work for fertile land that did not belong to him, rapidly depleting his remaining life.

Due to old age and frailty, the old farmer fainted unexpectedly.

But when the old farmer collapsed directly in the wheat field because of exhaustion.

There were many common people around him who had the same experience as him, but they were afraid of avoiding him as if they were seeing snakes and scorpions.

They were afraid that the old farmer would implicate themselves.

As expected by these common people, the joy on the face of the Xiao clan member who had been supervising the work of thousands of slaves disappeared in an instant after seeing the old farmer fall.

But what appeared on his face was not concern or nervousness, but anger.

The Xiao clan member held the riding whip in his hand, and with several followers behind him, he carefully jumped into the wheat field.

When heading towards the old farmer's location, the Xiao clan member and the followers behind him were very careful in their movements.

They were worried that if they were not careful, they would crush the ears of wheat that had not yet been harvested.

But when the Xiao clan member came to the fallen old farmer, the cautious look in his eyes immediately disappeared when he looked at the old farmer who fell to the ground and did not know whether he was alive or dead.

Instead, there was a cold expression of extreme indifference.

Especially when you see the old farmer falling to the ground and crushing a lot of wheat ears.

This made the Xiao clan member's eyes even colder.

Without hesitation, he raised the riding crop in his hand and kept whipping the old farmer who fell in the wheat field.

The old farmer didn't wear much clothing, and his whole body was almost made of bones.

So when the riding whip was vigorously waved by the Xiao clan member and hit him, he who was originally in a coma was immediately awakened by the huge pain coming from his body.

But when he was awakened by tremendous pain, what awaited him was continuous torture.

The riding whip was in the hands of the Xiao clan members, and they whipped hard on the old farmer's body.

Since the old farmer's body was full of bones, the sound of the horsewhip hitting his body was like hitting a stone.

Although the voice sounds similar, the old farmer is not a dead thing that knows no pain, he is a person with flesh and blood who knows what pain is!

Under the continuous whipping by the Xiao clan members, the old farmer's body had already been covered in bloody traces with deep visible bones.

The old farmer's hoarse but extremely miserable cry of pain echoed through the golden wheat fields.

The old farmer's helpless cry for mercy would be heartbreaking for anyone who heard it, but this Xiao clan member had no intention of stopping his movements at all.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! In his mind, how could the old farmer's miserable life be compared to the wheat ears that were crushed by him?

When the old farmer's cry for mercy reached the ears of farmers nearby, the most shocking scene occurred.

There was no fear, panic, or even a hint of sympathy on the faces of the farmers.

From beginning to end, there was only numbness on their faces.

Everyone has emotions. If they behave this way, they are not born to be hard-hearted people.

It's just that in the past few years, such incidents have happened too many times.

After seeing too much, you will naturally become numb.

Countless wheat ears are still blowing in the breeze, and the fragrance of wheat ears is still floating in the air of the wheat fields.

However, in this venue that originally represented hope and beauty, a human tragedy was being staged, reflecting despair and numbness at every turn.

As the Xiao clan member continued to whip, the old farmer's originally shrill cries of pain gradually became fainter, and not long after, they completely disappeared in the field.

Seeing the old farmer being whipped to death by him, the Xiao clan member showed no fear at all on his face.

He had beaten dozens of people to death in the past, so why would he care about one more?

After Emperor Taizu of the Han Dynasty entered Guanzhong, he made a three-part agreement with the people of Guanzhong, one of which was that those who kill must die.

Since then, the death of the murderer has become an insurmountable red line in Han law.

However, as the authority of the Han Dynasty court declined more and more locally, this insurmountable red line has long become nonsense.

Perhaps it can be said that in the eyes of this Xiao clan member, does the old farmer under him, who was whipped to death by him, be considered a person with the same status as him?

Of course it's not worthy.

Looking at the corpse of the old farmer at his feet, the Xiao clan member kicked him hard a few times. After proving that he was dead, he spat on the corpse of the old farmer and said dissatisfiedly:

"It's really hard to beat.

unlucky!"

After saying this, the Xiao clan member handed the whip in his hand to the followers behind him, and then he ordered the other followers:

"Move it back to the house.

It just so happens that the mighty general I keep in my yard has not tasted human flesh for a long time."

After saying this, the Xiao clan member looked at the skinny old farmer's body with disgust.

His disgusted eyes seemed to say: Why don't you gain more meat? If you are so thin, you don't even know if you can feed his mighty general.

As soon as the Xiao clan member finished speaking, the followers with flattering faces immediately stepped forward to carry the old farmer's body.

They are not from the Xiao clan, they were born into middle peasant families in Mianyang County.

Logically speaking, the living conditions of middle peasant families in the Han Dynasty should be good, at least they would not be reduced to being slaves.

But once upon a time, this old farmer was born into a middle peasant family.

Unfortunately, a drought and official protection caused the old farmer to sell all his acres to the Xiao family at a low price.
To be continued...