In July and August, most of the food planted in the spring has been harvested. In the fields, the golden waves of wheat symbolizing the harvest and the fragrance of grain filling the air no longer exist. However, this is not the end of a year's work.

In other words, it is nothing more than a staged process. In the fields, the people are still busy, plowing the soil and spreading the hope of harvest in autumn.

Similar scenes are playing out in many parts of this country and even the world, sooner or later, faster or slower, but the dependence on farmland has never changed.

After last year's war, just like people always need to take a break after high-intensity exercise, the entire Guangdong area has entered a stage of recuperation. Guangzhou Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture, and Shaozhou Prefecture are based on counties.

Different levels of tax reduction and exemption policies were launched. Under Chen Kai's order, officials in various counties in Guangzhou were also very busy. Whenever they had time, they went to the towns and villages under their jurisdiction to observe the public sentiment in order to make more changes.

Well start the production recovery work.

These areas are all within Chen Kai's scope of authority. But other places, such as Zhaoqing Prefecture, Gaozhou Prefecture, Lianzhou Prefecture, Leizhou Prefecture and Luoding Prefecture in western Guangdong, are the vast areas of the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group.

A situation of shared governance with the generals in western Guangdong.

Compared with the Zheng Group, which had actual military presence in Chaozhou and Qiongzhou before last year and occupied prefectures and counties, all the units of the Ming Army in western Guangdong on the ground in Guangdong had been bombarded into the mountains and driven into the sea by the Qing army, and their strength was very weak.

.And the power of the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group is even more ridiculously weak. Originally, high-ranking officials from Guangdong and Guangxi surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in large numbers, including Guo Zhiqi, Liancheng Bi, Zhang Xiaoqi and others, which basically caused the collapse of Guangdong and Guangxi in the fourth year of Yongli.

Later, he was an airborne officer sent to Guangdong by the Central Committee.

Such a historical reality, even if it is relying on the power of Li Dingguo and borrowing the east wind of Chen Kai, he can become the winner of this battle and then share the local benefits. But no matter how you put it, where is the background?

Problems will not disappear, and more will appear in other forms under changes, or even brew into bigger problems.

Cangbu Water, the north-south dividing line between the two forces, originates from Taanding, Heshui Town in the west of Gaoming County. The main stream passes through Heshui, Genglou, Xinwei, Mingcheng, Renhe, Xi'an, Sanzhou, Hecheng, and from Haikou

It flows into the Xijiang River under the tower, with a total length of 82.4 kilometers. This river was called Gaoming River in later generations, which was derived from Gaoming County, Zhaoqing Prefecture, where its main stream originates and mainly flows through.

The county seat of Gaoming County is now located in Mingcheng Town on the side of the upper reaches of Cangbu Water, not at the place where Cangbu Water merges into the Xijiang River, which is called Hecheng Street in later generations. However, in this midsummer heat,

During the busy farming season, along the Cangbu River, groups of people were staggering toward the streets of Hecheng. But for them, the real destination was not there.

The team at the foot of the mountain was led by an old man. His stooped body was carrying a baggage full of belongings, as if the old man's back was bent under the weight of the things. His hair was white, but not very shiny.

, dark and almost gray. Especially so, against the thin and shriveled body, there is still a clear black and white. The rough hands are like the sticks they are holding wrapped in the bark, and the scattered strips of cloth on the cuffs are like

They are like fallen leaves on dead branches. The same is true for the rugged terrain underfoot.

"Uncle, are we on the right track?"

"It can't be wrong."

The old man is a farmer in the west of Gaoming County. His ancestors have lived there for generations. He has been to Hecheng before. In his memory, he seems to have been doing corvee labor or something like that when he was young. It has been a long time and he can’t remember clearly.

, but there is nothing wrong with following the direction of the water flow along Cangbu Water.

"Uncle, how far is it from Xijiang?"

No different than an old man who has worked hard all his life, his young mind still cannot bear the hardship. Even this trip is a collective decision of the whole family, because if he does not flee the famine, he is afraid that people will starve to death.

"Soon, soon."

The old man said, but there was no pause in his steps. He took a few steps forward and looked back. He saw that the tribesmen were also following behind, supporting the old and the young. Even though they were exhausted, they did not dare to pause at all, lest they would

Lost the team. The impatience of the young man could be heard in his ears. The old man answered perfunctorily. Speaking of which, he couldn't locate where exactly this place was, let alone how far it was from here to the bank of the Xijiang River. This was all he could do at the moment.

Perfunctory.

The young man was dissatisfied with the old man's attitude, but his father's stern gaze behind him had stabbed his back. Thinking of the unavoidable butt damage after being naughty, the young man subconsciously stuck out his tongue.

He stopped asking questions and just continued to support the old man and continue walking towards the east.

The wet mud on the river bank has left a lot of footprints, large and small, overlapping and messy. The old man looked at these, and the worry in his heart became heavier. At least his memory should be correct. But after seeing these

Footprints, from the loss of control at the grassroots level in Guangdong in the late Ming Dynasty to the frequent wars that followed. To be able to survive to this day, the old man, as the helmsman of this family, still has some sense of smell, which makes him always feel that there will be things on the road ahead that he is unwilling to see.

Danger to arrive.

"Uncle, why did you stop?"

It has actually been a long time since the last rest, but there is still some time between all the rests in peacetime. The young man's father strode after him and asked questions. The old man turned around and faced the clansmen who were already tired from walking.

People waved their hands, and the latter couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then they moved to the side of the road, sat down on the ground, and gasped for air.

"If I remember correctly, we should be almost at the bank of the Xijiang River. Listen, is there the faint sound of the waves of the river in the distance?"

With Cangbu Water next to him, it was hard to hear the sound of waves in the distance. However, when the old man said this, the man listened carefully and vaguely felt that it was true. He didn't know if it was the old man's authority in his heart.

For the sake of trouble.

"Well, uncle, let's get on the road quickly and try to get there before dark. It's safer than spending the night in the wild!"

The hinterland of Guangdong is not a grassland where wolves hunt, nor is it like the Sichuan Basin that has become a tiger territory. The chance of encountering wolves, tigers and leopards here is low, but the world is dangerous and people's hearts are unpredictable. Who knows there are people in the mountains and forests.

There is no such thing as a strongman doing business without capital.

The man was concerned about safety and expressed doubts. In response, the old man shook his head and whispered to him: "If the ferry over there is controlled by officials from the county, we will not be able to cross it.

If something happens, I am afraid that we will be sent back or even be dragged into corvee service. That is what I am most worried about."

Gaoming County was the site of frequent battles between the Ming and Qing armies last year. No matter which side the army passed through, whether it was to avoid endangering the enemy or to enhance its own strength, it was not uncommon to cause damage to local people's livelihood. It was easy to survive.

During the war, it was said that Li Dingguo, the king of Xining, was assigned to raise troops. Most of the well-informed people were relieved, because it was said that Li Dingguo's army would not harm the people. Who knows the outcome, I thought I could live a long life with this.

On a good day, Li Dingguo actually handed over Gaoming County to civilian administration. However, those civilian officials did not reduce or reduce taxes for areas hit by military disasters as was the practice in previous dynasties. This undoubtedly made matters worse.

The situation was like that last year, and it was finally settled at the beginning of this year. The early preparations for spring plowing were insufficient, and there were not many seeds, so the harvest this summer was not good. If taxes were not collected, life could still be sustained, and in the woods

The wild vegetables, or even the boiled roots and bark, can always wait until the autumn harvest, and continue this life.

However, they still have to collect taxes, exploit by officials, and profiteers buy low and sell high. These have already made it difficult for them to breathe. Not to mention there are rumors that Governor Lian of Zhaoqing Prefecture has put down his words and wants to sell last year's products.

The autumn tax was collected together, because according to the system of the Ming Dynasty, the deadline for autumn tax collection was February this year!

If this continues, the only way out is to starve to death, and escaping from famine becomes the only way. In fact, in the past six months, many people in Gaoming County and even Xinxing County in the west have passed through, fleeing towards Guangzhou. Because of business travel

, news circulated, it is said that Chen Fujun, the man who saved Guangzhou City, the Qingtian Grand Master who has always been known for his benevolence and righteousness, worked hard on the ground of Guangzhou Mansion to impose tax exemptions and restore people's livelihood. Many people chose to go to Guangzhou after hearing this news.

Fugitive.

Earlier, most of the people escaping from famine were in Xinhui County, the main battlefield of last year's fierce fighting. I heard that almost all the people there died, and local officials allotted fields directly in order to stimulate the resumption of production. Such a good thing,

The vast majority of the people didn't believe it, but since there were fewer people there, there would be more fields to abandon, so the people naturally flocked to it.

However, their trip was not to Xinhui County, because someone spread the news in the town a few days ago, saying that Shunde County was recruiting sericulture farmers and machine shop workers to provide

The wages are not small. They all have fields passed down from their ancestors in the countryside. If they move to other places to farm, they have to stay there. If they don’t want to part with their own fields, they might as well go out to work as part-time workers for a period of time and wait until Gaoming County

After the policies there are relaxed, I can go back to farming.

Land is not only the most important means of production for farming people, but also the difference between having and not having it, or between farming and working, for these people, it is the difference between haves and have-nots!

No matter what era it is, as long as it is an era that recognizes private ownership, property owners will always have more resources and confidence than propertyless people. If they can become property owners, or can maintain their identity as property owners, most people will not

Put yourself in the position of a proletarian. Because no one likes the feeling of having their fate in other people's hands, even if there are few people in this world who have the ability to choose.

Don’t worry about scarcity but worry about inequality; don’t worry about poverty but worry about insecurity.

Using short-term propertylessness to avoid harsh policies, and then returning to the ranks of property owners after the policies are relaxed, escaping from famine has been like this since ancient times. The difference is nothing more than whether it is the naked law of the jungle, or whether it is to work to get rich in accordance with the current order. This is also

This is the reason why words like refugees, coercion, and war will arise.

Over the years, they have suffered enough from the war, and they have no intention of living in such precarious life again. But if they keep going and are caught by the officials in Hecheng and sent back to their hometown, I am afraid that not only the taxes will be paid

It's so simple. Not to mention the corvee that will follow. If they escape during such busy farming days, the time they waste will directly lead to no harvest in the autumn. Not to mention that the land will not be saved by then, I am afraid it will have to be sold.

Only women can bear the taxes. But the rest still face the possibility of starvation.

When the old man said this, the man also had a confused look on his face. The future was slim, and most of the other people fleeing the famine were walking along the Cangbu River. God knows if this route would have been exposed long ago. There were many things that they needed to take into consideration.

, after all, it is related to the fate of the tribe. However, before they could come up with a two-pronged solution, a donkey cart and a group of men dressed as shop assistants rushed over from the downstream direction of Cangbu Water.

I found the old man who led the team.

"My father-in-law, you went to Guangzhou to escape the famine?"

"The shopkeeper, his family has no food to eat, and there is really nothing he can do about it."

"Don't worry, I will follow us. We are from a silk weaving workshop in Longjiang Town, Shunde County. Our owners are all good merchants from Guangzhou City. I am not afraid to tell you that even Chen Fujun's family has invested money. Come to us

You work there, you have food, drink, and wages.”

The old man and the man didn't seem to believe it. However, the guy who led the team insisted that the Longjiang Town Silk Weaving Workshop they worked for was Chen Kai's recipe for benefiting the people.

, knowing that Gaoming County would not reduce taxes, so they prepared a way out for the people. In addition, they had bribed the officials in Hecheng, and had ships to carry them across the Xijiang River, and even the work contracts were

No need to sign.

In this regard, the old man and the man still seemed very hesitant. In the end, the man simply told them that if they did not come forward, even if they arrived in Hecheng, they would be sent back by the local officials. With such a threat, the old man and the man

On the contrary, the man did not dare to hesitate any more, so he had to temporarily agree to go to Longjiang County to work.

The old man who was inconvenient to move was helped onto the donkey cart, and the team moved slowly. As expected, they arrived at Hecheng before dark. There was a boat at the ferry that was already ready. In front of the county officials, they climbed on board cautiously.

They got off the boat and then allowed the ferry to transport them across the Xijiang River.

On the other side of the Xijiang River is the area of ​​Longjiang Town, and someone has already prepared to resettle them. The people of this family, together with some people who fled from Xinxing County a few days ago, settled in a village where the local people were basically dead.

The mulberry forests and fields will be their working place.

"Didn't I say that the machine shop is also recruiting people?"

The wages of the workers in the machine shop are more than those of farming. They had already asked these questions clearly when they were on the ship. The guy in charge of resettlement was still busy registering their identity information and did not bother to answer these questions.

People from Xinxing County, who had arrived a few days earlier, took over the conversation.

"It is said that we need to recruit, but not too many, and we may not need so many people for the time being."

What he said is almost the same as what he didn't say, and he couldn't tell the details at first glance. However, the man who spoke seemed very optimistic, and his words were relaxed. He patted the arm of the man who came with the old man,
Chapter completed!