Chapter 1068 1063 [More than 10,000 armed immigrant fake monks]
"Although this is a small land, it has been completely cultivated..."
"When the fields end, the land ends, and when the land ends, there are mountains. Even though the soil is shallow, the water is cold, and the hills block the sun, but due to human labor and nourished by rain and dew, there is still little harvest..."
These two passages talk about Fujian agriculture in the Northern Song Dynasty.
After the paddy fields have been cultivated, the dry land will be cultivated, and after the dry land has been cultivated, the mountainous land will be cultivated. Even the hard and barren land will be cultivated into farmland, and at least there will be some harvest.
In comparison, Guangdong is not so highly developed, and there are still many mountainous areas that are uncultivated.
So much so that in Guangdong counties and counties close to Fujian, Fujian farmers migrate here every year. They enter the mountainous areas of Guangdong, and the mountains and forests are connected by blue roads, and the entire township speaks Fujian dialect.
More landless farmers in Fujian have taken refuge in temples and become monks.
Those temples controlled industry, agriculture and commerce, some large temples along the coast, and even monopolized the supply of goods shipped to sea.
When the Ming Dynasty was founded, this phenomenon was severely rectified: a few temples could be preserved, and the rest were banned. The remaining temples also had strict quotas for monks. Temple fields were confiscated and distributed to farmers, shops, and workshops for auction.
.Even if the Shifang Jungle is preserved, it must pay taxes to the government honestly.
Huang Cun is a farmer from Chishui Township, Dehua County, Quanzhou Prefecture. When the Ming Dynasty banned the temples, his family was allocated a full 27 acres of mountain land.
Coupled with the promotion of corn and sweet potatoes, it was possible to have enough to eat for several years.
But it only took a few years to have enough food. As the number of people in the family increases, how can there be enough land in the more than 20 acres of mountainous land to satisfy the hunger?
The second brother was recruited by the government and forced to immigrate to Guangxi.
At first, I asked someone to write letters to my family, but gradually I heard nothing from him. I don’t know whether he died of illness in Guangxi or because he was trying to save money on letters. Anyway, he has not contacted his family for almost ten years.
The third brother was deceived by the government into engaging in militia training, but unexpectedly he went to sea to fight with the army.
I also asked someone to bring some letters to my family. The third brother claimed that he had arrived in a place called Jambi. The fertile fields there were twice harvested a year. The third brother was allocated dozens of acres of land and asked several younger brothers to go there as well.
Going overseas was too risky, and the second brother lost contact in Guangxi again. The parents refused to let their son go again.
Now, Huang Cun has become a monk.
This is a transitional profession. You are said to be a monk, but in fact you are a temple servant. You can return to secular life and marry a wife at any time.
Life was pretty good, and the third brother, who was far away in Jambi, would sometimes ask someone to send money home.
"You guys, go and sweep the mountain gate. The master will come tomorrow to offer incense!"
A middle-aged monk shouted at the top of his voice, and Huang Cun and two servants quickly picked up the broom.
This temple existed before, but was once banned by the government.
Later, eminent monks traveled here, staying in deserted temples and chanting Buddha's name. They also begged for fast meals in villages and towns and gave free salvation to poor people.
Over time, this eminent monk became famous.
Some gentry donated money to help repair the temple, and some believers donated land to build temple grounds. Later, even the supervisor of the Chishui Iron Works came to worship Buddha and pray for no accidents in the mines and iron works.
Incense is becoming more and more prosperous, and temple property is also increasing.
There was a year when food was scarce, and Huang Cun's father sold five acres of the family's mountain land to the temple. However, the land still belonged to the Huang family and they enjoyed permanent farming rights. This was the preferred way for farmers to sell their land.
Huang Cun was cleaning the mountain gate slowly, but his thoughts wandered to Jambi thousands of miles away.
He was illiterate, so the third brother asked an old scholar in the village to help him read the letters he sent home.
In the latest letter, the third brother also sent back a silver dollar. He said that he was serving as a soldier in Jambi. Because of his meritorious service, he was rewarded with five acres of land, all of which were high-quality paddy fields that were harvested twice a year. He also recruited indigenous people.
Become a tenant and let the brothers take their whole family there to enjoy the happiness.
Huang Cun was still very young. He didn't want to be a servant in the temple. He dreamed of going to sea to join his third brother.
When he goes there, he can divide the land, and he can get rewards for serving as a soldier. He can earn his own family property, marry an indigenous woman and have children.
But their parents disagreed. They saved the money sent home by their third brother and looked for opportunities to redeem the field roots sold to the temple.
If the third brother continues to send money back, his parents plan to buy other people's land.
"Someone is coming, a lot of people are coming!"
Fan Zhunfu from the same village shouted.
The monk Zhike thought he was coming, and he hurriedly ran to the mountainside to greet him.
Soon, Zhike Monk rushed back: "Oh no, the county master is here with his officials, and those officials are so vicious that they seem to be looking for trouble!"
The abbot arranged his clothes and went to deal with it, and at the same time sent his confidants down the back mountain to bring reinforcements.
Huang Cun, Fan Zhunfu and others quickly retreated to the edge to hide.
But when the county magistrate arrived outside the temple gate, he shouted: "Seal down the illegal temple and arrest all the monks and servants!"
The abbot clasped his hands and stepped forward, chanting the Buddha's name: "I didn't know that a distinguished guest is here, but please forgive me..."
"Catch him!"
The county magistrate shouted loudly.
Huang Cun was also arrested in a daze, his hands were tied and he was forced to lie on the ground.
Groups of monks and servants were arrested and detained collectively, and the temple's warehouses were also sealed.
When the surrounding villagers heard that their children and grandchildren had been arrested, they came to block the road going down the mountain. The number of people gathered increased and there were already hundreds of people.
The county magistrate said to the villagers: "This temple was built illegally, and the monks did not even have an ultimatum. This county is ordered by the emperor to rectify it. If you dare to stop it, you are disobeying the emperor's order!"
Many villagers were frightened and gradually moved out of the way to go down the mountain.
At this time, an official came with hundreds of young men and asked: "Xue County Magistrate came to Chishui Township to arrest people, why didn't he send someone to the Chishui Iron Works to inform him in advance?"
The person who came was the supervisor of the official Chishui Iron Works. In terms of official rank, he was half a rank higher than the Dehua County Magistrate.
Moreover, the two sides belong to different systems, and the iron yard is managed by personnel sent by the Ministry of Industry.
This illegal temple has always been covered by the Chishui Iron Works. It is said that the monks chanting sutras can ensure the safety of the iron work.
The county magistrate sneered: "Duchang Supervisor, do you know that Quanzhou Prefecture sent troops to ban the temples on the outskirts of the county this time. It was me, the county magistrate, who came to arrest the temple in front of me. I can give you face, but next time
The ones coming next are the troops from Quanzhou Prefecture!"
When the supervisor heard this, his expression changed dramatically.
"It's a misunderstanding. Let's talk about it over wine some other time." The supervisor clasped his fists in salute, led hundreds of miners, and the blacksmith turned around and left.
Damn it, the garrison in Quanzhou Prefecture has been mobilized. How dare he, a small ironworks supervisor, lead his people to defend the temple?
The county magistrate did not tell the villagers about the relocation. He only said that he would take the monks and servants back to investigate.
After Huang Cun was taken to the county seat, he was detained for several days and ordered to go south early in the morning.
After crossing the mountains and ridges, we arrived at the border of Yongchun County, where there were also many bald fake monks. The two groups took a boat together to go to Quanzhou Fucheng.
Good guy, there are more fake monks in Quanzhou Fucheng.
They were urged to board the sea ship. Countless fake monks cried for their fathers and mothers, begging the government to let them go, and they would never seek refuge in the temple again in the future.
The cabin was full of people, and Fan Zhunfu, a fellow villager, was terrified.
Huang Cun was a little excited: "We are going to sea, and we will definitely be able to divide the fields!"
Fan Zhunfu said worriedly: "I'm just afraid of dying outside."
"It's better to die than to be a slave in a temple," Huang Cun said. "My third brother owns dozens of acres of paddy fields in Jambi. He employs many barbarians as tenants and sends money home every year.
Well. My parents don’t know how to work around, so they just save the money and look for opportunities to buy land. According to me, it’s long past time for the whole family to go overseas and join the third brother.”
A fake monk next to them said: "A brother in our village went to Taiwan and made a fortune by hoarding money. He wrote a letter and recruited more than 20 people from the village to go there to buy land in Taiwan and form a society to reclaim wasteland."
"Why don't you go?" Huang Cun asked.
The fake monk said: "My brother went there and died of illness within a year. I heard that diseases are easy to get in wild places. It is better to live than to die. It is better to be a monk."
The conversation started, and more and more people in the cabin spoke up, chatting about the conditions of those who went to sea in their respective villages.
This group of fake monks were transported to the outer port of Guangzhou and landed.
Then he waited there as batches of fake monks were transported. In the end, there were more than 14,000 fake monks and temple servants.
The government also assigned doctors, all fresh graduates of Lingnan Medical College.
Lingnan Medical College is very well-known in the south. They have done a lot of research on tropical diseases, and their understanding of parasites and bacteria leads the country.
However, there is a rule that prevents many people from applying for the exam.
That is, graduates of Lingnan Medical College must obey the government's allocation.
Some were transferred to Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou, some were transferred to Annan and Taiwan, some went directly to become naval medics, and the more unlucky ones were assigned to Malacca, Jambi and other places.
Therefore, anyone from a wealthy family will not go to Lingnan Medical College to study.
Huang was in the outer port of Guangzhou and drank herbal tea for the first time.
The doctor ordered it to be cooked, saying it could prevent diseases.
Merchant ships recruited by the government carried fake monks in batches from Guangzhou to Champa.
Huang Cun was among the second batch to land. He was taken to the military camp as soon as he got off the ship. He was then assigned a spear, leather armor and waist knife, and was immediately given basic military training while the weather was not hot.
After training for three full months, King Zhu Kang of Yu finally led his army back.
Zhu Kang did not hold a formal founding ceremony, but only announced a series of decrees. He had to wait for the imperial court to grant him the title of king before he could truly offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
"The fields are divided, the fields are divided!"
Huang Cun's battalion, led by dozens of elites, headed to a certain area on the outskirts of the city.
This place was heavily attacked by the Chenla army. Many nobles and wealthy people were killed, but some of them escaped back.
Without seriously measuring the acres, the officer pointed at the paddy field, walked with the roster and said: "Lin Shanyong, this field is yours...Zhou Zhong, that field is yours...Huang Cun, that field is yours..."
It’s yours…”
There were wealthy people who had escaped and tried to reason with them, but they were driven far away.
There were also nobles gathering rich households and poor people coming over, armed with knives and sticks, trying to keep their property.
The officer gathered the armed immigrants from this battalion and shouted and asked: "They are coming to rob your fields. What should we do?"
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to answer. They were still fake monks a few months ago.
The officer angrily said: "They are all trash. They are coming to seize the fields. Are the swords and guns in your hands just decorations? Follow the previous drills and form a formation with me to kill the enemy!"
Can this still be done?
Huang Cun was dumbfounded. It was clear that he was robbing someone else's land, but suddenly someone else was robbing his own field.
No matter what, as the bugles and whistles sounded, Huang Cun immediately formed a formation with his companions.
"The first team to the fourth team, outflank to the left. The fifth team to the eighth team, outflank to the right. The ninth team, the tenth team, follow me forward..."
"Pay attention to cooperating with your teammates, keep an eye on the flag and listen to the military whistle!"
"Who is the captain of the seventh team? The herald went over to ask, how did the straight bitch lead the team?"
Huang Cun followed the army in a confused way, then shouted "kill" along with others, raised his gun and rushed forward after the rattan player.
He thought it was just a bluff, but he didn't expect it to be serious.
The natives were frightened and fled, but Huang Cun was chased all the way. He saw with his own eyes the captain shot down one of them with a crossbow.
This captain is also a fake monk in an illegal temple. I heard that he is also a monk who has practiced spear and stick.
"kill!"
Huang Cun's blood surged and he drew his gun and stabbed a native who was begging for mercy.
I don’t know how much time passed. Huang Cun was lying on the ground panting. The officer came over and scolded him harshly: "Fighting with a group of unruly people, you are as tired as dogs? What do you look like when you stagger around? All of you stand up!"
Huang Cun got up quickly. He was now extremely afraid of the officers, fearing that he would be executed under military law if he disobeyed.
On that day, land and houses were allocated and marked with stones or wooden sticks.
Huang Cun looked at his dilapidated house and went for walks in his paddy fields from time to time, giggling happily all the way.
There were many others who acted similarly to him, and they were all in a state of inexplicable excitement, completely forgetting the fear of carrying and burning corpses before.
In the evening, they returned to the military camp to rest. Early the next morning, the trumpets were blown to assemble, so that they could line up to pick up the tenants and their wives.
Those tenants are all low castes and untouchables who occupy the city.
For them, it doesn't matter who they farm. They do whatever they are told, with no sense of resistance at all.
As for the wives, some are from Champa and some are from Zhenla.
Many of those Chenla women were snatched from the second largest city in Chenla, and many of them were rich girls with extremely fair skin.
His Royal Highness Prince Yu came here, but Huang Cun was too far away to know what Prince Yu said.
After the King of Yu left, another officer came over and conveyed the instructions of His Highness the King of Yu: "From now on, you will all be the soldiers of the Southern Yu Kingdom. Your Highness will allocate land, houses, wives and tenants to you. You will have to train and fight for His Highness."
!If you achieve military exploits, there will be rewards. From now on, everyone can become a landlord..."
Huang Cun left the military camp as if he was in a dream, and his companions were all his comrades who had sailed to a village.
They all got their wives and tenants, and some of those tenants also brought their wives and children. Unfortunately, they couldn't understand Chinese, so they just followed them.
Back in the village, Huang Cunlian arranged a place for his tenants to live.
Then, he held his wife's hand and went home.
Although this woman's skin is not white, it is not too dark either. She is quite pretty for a village girl. She seems to be a few years older than Huang Cun.
Huang Cun was talking to himself. The woman didn't know what he meant and just looked at him blankly.
A few days later, Huang Cun and others were called to the military camp outside the city to receive grain, seeds and cattle.
Those cattle were compensated by the Zhenla Kingdom. A village could have several of them, and they were considered the collective property of the village.
There were also many scholars sitting in the military camp, and armed immigrants lined up to write letters.
Huang Cun waited for a long time, and finally it was his turn. He said happily: "Father, mother, eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, fourth brother... I got a wife in Champa. They are all paddy fields that are harvested twice a year. The government will give them back to me."
I hired tenants to help with the farming... What the third brother said was not a lie. There are a lot of good fields overseas, and you can get them when you come here..."
The scholar who wrote the letter reminded: "You can persuade your family members to come too, and as long as they come, they will give you fields."
"That's right, that's right," Huang Cun said, "Father, Mom, you and your brother, sister-in-law, brothers and sisters can come too. You can go to Third Brother's place in Jambi, or you can come to my place. It's better than planting those mountains in your hometown..."
When the scholar helped write the letter, he automatically blocked the content of Jambi and other content, and then added a sentence: Champa is better than Jambi, and it is much closer to his hometown. When the family business grows, it will be easier to return to his hometown to worship his ancestors.