In a dilapidated cave dwelling in the west of the village, lying on a thatched kang, was a tall but thin young man.
He was wearing washed and faded linen clothes, covered with patches.
Su He was lying on the bed in a daze. He had just traveled through time and was digesting the memories in his mind.
His current identity is a 20-year-old farmer from Shaanxi Province in the late Ming Dynasty.
The original owner, also named Su He, worked part-time for the family of Su Ju, a gentry in the village, during the off-season.
There has been severe drought in the area in the past two years, and this year there was a large-scale locust plague, resulting in no harvest from the fields.
The food stored at home was all eaten three days ago, and he only survived by eating tree bark.
The original owner was responsible for feeding pigs in Sujiazhuang. In order for his family to survive, he planned to steal some rice bran for pig feeding.
This time Su Ju people were killing pigs for a banquet, and the pig farm steward took people to slaughter the pigs.
He took the opportunity to steal some rice bran and ran home. Frightened and hungry, he fainted at the door.
Su He turned to look at his mother who was cooking at the stove.
Su's mother is less than forty years old, and the high-intensity labor required to support the family alone has made her look old.
When Su's mother saw Su He wake up, a smile appeared on her face.
"I don't know how long this little rice bran can last. Su He, you can't steal rice bran anymore. It's very dangerous. If you are discovered, you will be beaten to death."
Mrs. Su Li sighed while cooking.
"The county magistrate is here, and Mr. Su is greeting him. It's time to collect taxes this year, and the family doesn't have a penny. What should we do now?
Our land was dedicated to the Su Ju people, and we had to pay 60% of the rent.
Why do you still have to pay taxes!
Mr. Li from the next village wants 70% of the rent, but he doesn’t have to pay taxes, and there is still some food left in his village.”
Mrs. Su Li took out a bowl of yellow paste from the pot and handed it to Su He. When she walked towards Su He, she looked sad and talked with Su He about paying taxes.
In Su He's memory, it was very scary not to pay taxes. The government would beat him to death and put him in jail. No one could come out alive.
He slowly ate the rice bran paste with a spoon. It tasted very bitter and made it more difficult to swallow. The food cut through his throat like a knife.
But it was already good food, and most of the poor farmers in the village began to chew the bark.
Boom! Boom! Clang!
There was a sound of gongs and drums outside, which was a signal that the government officials were about to announce tax collection in the village.
"It's a disaster, it's a disaster! Sister-in-law, your family is in trouble."
An anxious voice sounded outside the door.
A scrawny middle-aged man walked in, wearing tattered linen clothes.
Su He recognized this man. He was his uncle Su Wuniu, the blacksmith in the village.
"Uncle, what happened?"
When Su He saw Su Wuniu panting and about to fall, he hurriedly stepped forward to help him.
Su Wuniu took a breath and said quickly: "The county government just announced that the grain tax will be collected tomorrow.
This time, taxes have been increased again. I heard that the emperor is going to increase taxes.
They can't see the severe drought. They are almost starving to death, so there is no food to pay taxes."
He looked at Su He and said: "Your Excellency also informed that there is a rebellion in northern Shaanxi, and the county magistrate wants to recruit corvees to transport grain to the guard. Our village has thirty places, and one of them is a nephew."
After hearing this, Mother Su's face turned pale and her hands were trembling.
"Son! You must find a way to escape quickly. You must not go.
Your father was drafted into labor force to transport grain to Liaodong and died outside.
None of the people in our village who served as corvees came back alive."
Mother Su looked sad and said with a cry.
She looked at Su He and tears kept flowing out.
"You don't have to worry about being a mother.
Our family was hit by a disaster last year, and our food production was reduced by more than half. In order to pay rent and taxes.
Our family only got over this hurdle by borrowing money from Su Juren, and now the capital of three taels has increased to ten taels.
If you serve as a corvee and no one can farm the land and still pay the interest, the Su Ju people will definitely beat me to death.
My body is too weak to run away, and you must run away while you are still young. We cannot let the Su family lose its heirs."
Su's mother explained the funeral arrangements. She knew that the family would not be able to survive this time, and only one of them would survive.
"Mom, don't worry, I have a way to deal with it, and we, mother and son, will live well."
Su He spoke firmly and confidently.
When he heard that the imperial court had increased taxes and that he was being taxed into corvee service, he knew that there was no way out now.
Before him, there were only two ways to escape and resist.
It is not advisable to run away and become a refugee. There is one sentence in the history books that summarizes the refugees in the late Ming Dynasty.
"When there is great hunger, people eat each other."
Su He could only choose to rebel, and he was very confident that the rebellion would succeed.
Every time at the end of the dynasty, when the peasants were forced into this desperate situation, they would cry out: "Princes and generals should rather have their own kind!"
Su He felt that the success rate of his rebellion was extremely high.
He is familiar with the art of slaying dragons, and has studied the history of the rise and fall of dynasties since childhood, as well as the reasons for the failure of peasant uprisings.
I have read books such as "History of Modern Industrial Development" and "Militia Military Training Manual".
Su He picked up a bowl of rice bran paste and handed it to Su Wuniu: "Uncle, you have worked hard. This bowl of rice bran paste is given to you to cushion your stomach."
Su Wuniu reached out to take it, immediately poured it into his mouth, and ate it hungrily.
Su He looked at Su Wuniu and said, "Uncle, your family has also run out of food."
"In this world, even if you have money, you can't buy food. What's more, I have no money and have been chewing tree bark for two days.
Now the trees have been stripped bare and are just waiting to be eaten."
When Su Wuniu spoke, his tone was trembling.
He had seen people in the village who were hungry and eager to eat dirt. They ate in the morning and died in the evening.
"Uncle, if we want to survive, we have to rebel. If we succeed, we will have enough to eat.
Your family is out of food, and your aunt and cousin are starving to death."
When Su Wuniu heard about the rebellion, his face turned pale with fright, and he said in a trembling tone: "If you rebel, you will be beheaded."
"If you can't pay your taxes, the government will arrest you, but your aunt and cousin will still be alive."
When Su Wuniu heard Su He's words, he gritted his teeth and got entangled.
Su He saw Su Wuniu's move and continued to persuade.
"Uncle, death by starvation is still death, beheading is still death.
We have reached a desperate situation, why don’t we give it a try!
I am now fully confident that if I work with you, I will definitely succeed.
My nephew, I can’t lie to others, but I can’t lie to you, uncle!”
Su He's confident demeanor convinced Su Wuniu.
"Nephew, you are right. If you die, you still don't know if you can live through tomorrow. If you do the opposite, you will become the opposite."
Su Wuniu also wanted to understand that if he lived in the present first, he would not be able to live any longer, so why would he think of rebellion and beheading?
Su He was very happy when he heard that Su Wuniu agreed.
If this rhetoric can impress Su Wuniu, it can also impress other people.
The oppression of feudal imperial power is nothing in the face of death.
He walked to Su Wuniu and said, "Uncle, go find the other 29 people on the corvee list.
Tell them I have a way to keep them from doing corvée service and dying.
Don't tell them about the rebellion.
If someone really doesn't come, there's no need to rush them.
When everyone is gathered, bring them to my yard together."
"This is a simple matter, just leave it to me!"
After Su Wuniu finished speaking, he turned around and walked out.
"Mom boiled all the rice bran in our family into a paste. There is no need to keep it. You have to eat enough before you do big things."
Su's mother saw that Su He was very independent, so she didn't stop him. She couldn't live any longer, so she went to the stove to make rice bran paste.
Su He also turned around and went out. In addition to the people who were conscripted into corvee, he also wanted to find some helpers.
If you want a rebellion to be successful, you must have an absolute core.
This core must be him in order to grasp the direction of the rebellion.
He can't convince the public by talking alone, he must have a direct team.
