Two soldiers carried the limp Zuo Menggeng to the execution ground by the river.
This execution ground has killed people for five or six consecutive days. The land has been soaked in thick blood. The soil is full of dark red and fishy smell, which makes people sick. Moreover, flies are everywhere, and hundreds of millions of black are everywhere. As long as they are willing, they can send people to the sky and fall to death.
Zuo Menggeng is a young marshal and has a pampered life. When he saw this scene, his legs were numb and smelly liquid flowed out along his lower body.
"Bah, what's the matter? Just wanting to lead troops with this virtue is simply a bucket of money."
Zuo Menggeng didn't care about the soldiers' contempt at all. He shouted heart-wrenchingly at the top of his voice.
"Duke Ji, I am also Duke E of the court. You didn't kill me casually, you must have the will of the court. As long as I can leave a bad life, I am willing to be a cow and a horse for you!"
At the critical moment of life and death, Zuo Menggeng burst into tears, crying so sadly. Seeing that he was so cowardly, all the soldiers and civilians present showed contemptuous eyes.
Even the soldiers from Huguang lowered their heads in shame. It was so embarrassing to serve such a cordyceps!
Gu Zhenhua smiled coldly and said to the people around him: "Have you heard that you have heard that Zuo Menggeng said that my master cannot kill him, so everyone thinks he should kill him!"
The thousands of people present suddenly became quiet, and I wonder what Gu Zhenhua was thinking. At this moment, an old beggar girl squeezed out of the crowd and knelt in front of the execution ground tremblingly.
"The old man's daughter-in-law was stolen by them, and his son and grandson were all dead. Now he is just a lonely man, crying and breaking his legs. He picks up things that dogs don't eat every day and wants nothing. He just depends on the culprit to punish him. Let's tell the dead children that there is still justice in this world!"
The old beggar's sorrow suddenly made the crowd excited. Who felt unwilling to be wronged since Zuo Liangyu came. How many girls from good families were kidnapped, and how many people died of cold and hunger?
The common people knelt down one by one and spoke in grief and anger.
"Mr. Last year, the Yangtze River was flooded. Zuo Liangyu not only did not rescue disasters, but also lured refugees, robbed property, and plundered women. The corpses were everywhere. There were complaints. Instead, this guy slandered refugees as thieves and killed hundreds of pits. In less than a year, those big pits that buried people were still there, and the father was debtor and son paid for it. Not only Zuo Menggeng, but Zuo Liangyu should have pulled out and whipped the corpse!"
"Yes, that's right, whip the corpse of Zuo Liangyu and kill his cub. Avenge the unjustly dead people!"
The people present waved their arms one by one, and their voices shook the earth.
"Kill him. Kill him, kill him!"
The roar went straight up to the sky, the sky and the earth changed, and the sun and the moon were gone.
The shouts of millions of people gathered together and reached Zuo Menggeng's ears, like countless curses. The eyes suddenly turned into boundless darkness, and the evil ghosts stretched out their bloody hands and grabbed Zuo Menggeng.
"Ah, no, no, Duke Ji, please spare me, please!" Zuo Menggeng kowtowed desperately, his forehead was blue and purple.
Gu Zhenhua waited until all the people calmed down before shouting loudly: "Zuo Menggeng, you said that I should listen to the court's meaning, but who should the court listen to? It's the voice of all people in the world. You father and son are full of evil, and it's hard to write about it. If you don't kill you, the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty will be gone. If you are tolerant of you, the Ming Dynasty will only lose all the hearts of the people!"
Gu Zhenhua's voice was like a bell, and it was heard from afar. When the people present heard it, their faces turned red and they couldn't help but slapped them.
Gu Zhenhua waved his hand and said without hesitation: "Execution!"
Zuo Menggeng, Li Guoying, Zhang Yingxiang, dozens of people lined up. Except for Lu Guangzu, the cunning guy, most of the others from Zuo Menggeng's group were caught here.
The executioner spread his chest and belly, revealing a slap-wide chest hair. He held the ghost-headed knife and poured a bowl of strong wine, and then squirted it out.
The wine splashed on the ghost-headed sword. They raised their swords and fell. The heads rolled and blood splashed three feet away. The scarlet red and dazzling. In an instant, all the soldiers and civilians rushed to tell each other.
The biggest disaster finally died. Huguang hoped to be reborn, and all the people thanked Gu Zhenhua. They were even more respectful of An**. This also paved the way for the next step of recruiting new recruits.
And there are even more surprises waiting for the people. Zhang Jinyan issued an official document to announce the reduction of land rent for one year. This is news that has not been available for many years. The court's expenses are so tight, it would be good if it doesn't take too much, so how can it be reduced or exempted!
But Gu Zhenhua just did this, and An ** did it. In an instant, the people regarded An ** as their own, and Gu Zhenhua's prestige reached an unparalleled peak.
In fact, at this time, reducing land taxes is difficult to choose. Security also requires a lot of food and supports the battle on the front line.
For this reason, Zhang Jinyan and Gu Zhenhuai carefully calculated the accounts for several days. Huguang is still in a mess. Continuing to collect grain at this time will only increase the burden on the people. After all, there is no real benefit. Just killing a few people will sooner or later, and An** cannot truly penetrate the hearts of the people.
One year of exemption can be used to take this opportunity to reorganize the administration and strengthen local control. Only when taxes are collected can exploitation be reduced.
Of course, reducing land taxes does not mean that there is no other way. From now on, An** will start to collect one-tenth of commercial tax, and then use the collected money to purchase grain and food.
It also specifically stipulates that for grain, the people's food does not need to be taxed, and once it is sold for sale, one-tenth of tax will be paid.
According to Zhang Jinyan's estimate, commercial tax can receive at least 1.5 million taels, which is enough to eliminate the losses of reducing land rent.
Gu Zhenhua also specifically explained that there is no problem in collecting commercial tax, but the administration of officials must be rectified, especially those clerks to prevent them from extorting merchants. The tax revenue is raised and the burden on merchants is reduced. Only in this way can Huguang's commerce become more and more prosperous.
In order to support Zhang Jinyan, Gu Zhenhua specifically instructed Sun Cheng and Ma Jinzhong to use the army to support Zhang Jinyan's actions when necessary.
Everything was explained clearly, and Gu Zhenhua left Huguang, and all the troops retreated one after another. Everyone was very enthusiastic.
Especially Wu Kaijie, he was filled with joy and talked all the way, and was extremely proud.
"Mr., Huguang has been obtained, and its depth has doubled, and its power has been extended to Jiangnan. We have taken root. No one can shake the power of An**. As long as we manage more than 20 million people well and train hundreds of thousands of soldiers, let alone restore the old capital, we will sweep the desert like Chengzu, let those beards bow their heads and kneel down willingly!"
Gu Zhenhua is not as optimistic as him and can't help but beat everyone up.
"Expelling the Tartars is the goal that I have always believed in. But everyone should calm down. The Tartars are not that easy to deal with, and we are not really invincible in the world."
While talking, someone suddenly ran over.
"Dude, Fei Ge delivers a letter!"
Gu Zhenhua hurriedly took it over, and after taking a look, Gu Zhenhua's brows frowned.
"The Tartars are here!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yingjie, Xie Bin, Wu Kaijie and others all stared at each other.
Gu Zhenhua said: "Wu Kaijie, follow your husband to return to Kaifeng immediately. The others will manage the troops and prepare for a big battle!"
...
"Battery Commander, look!"
Kang Lesheng followed the soldier's fingers and saw black smoke rolling in the distance and a ray of fire.
"Go and go and have a look!"
Kang Lesheng rushed over and the people behind him followed closely. When he was still a few hundred meters away from the entrance of the village, a strong smell of blood came.
He looked up suddenly and everyone was stunned by the scene in front of him!
There were hundreds of corpses piled up in the threshing ground at the entrance of the village, one pressing on the other, like a hill, and blood was still flowing along the pile of corpses.
The elderly, children, young and strong, no one could escape the murderous hand. They were stabbed more than one, their eyes wide open, and their anger was still rising.
Behind them, dozens of thatched houses were all burning, and fires soaring into the sky. In the farmland not far away, there were also continuous fires. The wheat fields that were almost ripe were all burned!
The soldiers were jealous at first sight and hurried to cut the wheat. After working for a full hour, a barrier was separated to save the remaining wheat.
"Son of a bitch!"
Kang Lesheng couldn't help but swear. This was the third time they had encountered in the past two days. Every time the Tartars killed all the people, snatched away all their property, especially their food, and finally burned all the wheat!
The military farms built by An** have worked hard to destroy them. Although they are still in northern Henan and have not damaged the core, the impact on military morale is also quite serious.
"Battery Commander, this is Uncle Wang. Every time we pass by on patrol, he will prepare tea for us."
As the soldiers spoke, they carried the old man's body down, and the hot tears fell on the old man's cheek.
"Battery Commander, we want to avenge them!" The soldiers clenched their fists so loudly.
Kang Lesheng also had a gloomy face. He checked the village carefully several times, and then said, "Brothers, the team attacked by the Tartars had at least three or five hundred war horses. According to my observation, they were at least one person and three horses, and they had very strong mobility. It would be very difficult for us to catch up with them. Maybe they would set up an ambush to lead us to the bait."
"Then, won't you take revenge?"
"Of course not!" Kang Lesheng said bluntly: "We must use our brains to lure the enemy into the deeper, and kill them in one fell swoop!"
Just as they were discussing how to deal with the Tartars, a group of Tartars, loaded with harvest, also retreated to the military camp, with a team of more than 100 people and more than 300 war horses loaded with harvest.
Chapter completed!