The old farmer's dull face showed no expression, and he just asked: "No one told us anything. We just came to ask the officials whether we need to send more corvees and pay more taxes?"
Someone nearby echoed: "We all feel something is wrong, otherwise why would we suddenly measure the acres? We have been farming this land for many years, and it belongs to the Xu family. If the measurement does not match the account book, do we want to take it back?"
"We have cultivated these lands well, so why do we need to measure the land?"
…
Xu Jingzong looked gloomy and felt something was wrong. He ignored these farmers and tenants, turned back and stared at the officials of Henan Prefecture and Luozhou Governor's Prefecture, and asked loudly: "What did you say? Do you want to resist the imperial policy?"
You are all court officials. Instead of supporting the court policies, you spread rumors and resist national policies. Do you want to rebel?!"
The officials of Henan Prefecture and Luozhou Governor's Prefecture remained silent, stood respectfully with their hands tied, and allowed themselves to be scolded.
Xu Jingzong's face was as dark as water and he shouted: "Someone, go and call the Xu family!"
The county magistrate of Yanshi said: "The head of the Xu family is seriously ill, and all his sons and nephews have gone to Luoyang to beg the imperial doctor for diagnosis and treatment. There is currently no one in charge in the mansion."
The head of the Xu family in Luoyang is Yu Zhining, Duke of Yan State, but Yu Zhining lives in Chang'an all year round, so the person in charge of the ancestral house in Luoyang is his younger brother Yu Baoning. Yu Baoning once served as the Sima of Luzhou, and has been in Luoyang since he became an official.
Residence, reputation is very high.
Xu Jingzong looked around and saw more and more farmers, tenants, and long-term workers slowly gathering in the light rain. In a blink of an eye, hundreds of people had gathered. These people looked dull, taciturn, and neither made noise nor caused trouble.
, just gathered together silently.
In the distance, the academy students responsible for measuring the acres were blocked by more and more people and could not continue.
There is a silent power accumulating and brewing in the wind and rain, which makes Xu Jingzong's spine feel cold...
Xu Jingzong's hands trembling slightly under his sleeves, he glared at the farmers and tenants who gathered around him, and asked sternly: "Who instructs you to obstruct the government's administration? Do you know that doing so is resisting the government's decree, violating the laws of the empire, and causing serious harm to the government?"
Those who conspire to rebel will not only lose their lives, but they may even unite the whole family and wipe out three tribes?"
The leader of the old farmer ignored his question and kept asking: "You are here to measure the acres. Do you want to increase the corvee and tax?"
"This is absolutely not the case!" Xu Jingzong categorically denied: "There is too much hidden land in the world, which is not even included in the accounting books. We can't even draw an accurate map. How can we allow this situation to continue for a long time? I,
This time I came here to be entrusted by His Majesty. I only measured the land, and nothing else was asked, and it has nothing to do with taxation!"
Some people combined land acres with taxes and corvee, made up lies, and then hid behind the scenes to organize these ignorant farmers and tenants to resist the imperial decree. The purpose was naturally to undermine the implementation of land measurement, so that they could use it for decades.
The occupied land can be saved and hidden in one's own name.
But what if you see through it?
This is not a clever strategy at all. The great thing is that they force farmers and tenants to stand up and resist. "The law does not punish everyone". How can I arrest all these farmers and tenants?
If he was really arrested, he would be playing into the hands of those people.
A policy formulated by the Central Committee encountered resistance from farmers during its implementation, and it also relied on coercive means to implement it. This was an extremely serious blow to the Central Committee and His Majesty.
What's more important is that if an "accidental" incident occurs during the arrest process and a farmer, tenant or soldier is injured, then this incident will quickly form an earth-shaking storm, sweeping Xu Jingzong into it.
Suffered a devastating disaster, even completely torn into pieces.
Looking at the suppressed anger of the farmers and tenants in front of him, Xu Jingzong felt anxious and subconsciously sighed.
But now it's a stalemate and he can't retreat.
Being entrusted with an important task by His Majesty as the Minister of Rites is a sign of trust. As long as this thing is done well, it can be used as an important political achievement for future promotion, instead of relying on the qualifications of "Zhenguan Honored Minister" and relying on his elders to suffer countless criticisms and impeachments.
So Xu Jingzong knew that he should retreat at this moment and calmly plan to solve the crisis, but Xu Jingzong was not willing to let it go.
What's more, retreating at this moment means that the central authority's prestige is completely broken, and His Majesty's prestige is crushed into the mud. He absolutely cannot afford the consequences.
The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and more and more farmers, tenants, and long-term workers are gathering here. The surveying work has stopped, and the atmosphere is becoming more solemn, and danger can break out at any time.
Xu Jingzong glared angrily and yelled: "How outrageous! Do you want to rebel? Why don't you retreat quickly? Don't obstruct the implementation of the central government's decree!"
The old farmer, who was still at the head, said calmly and without expression: "We don't care about the central government's decrees. When we didn't have enough to eat and sold our sons and daughters to survive, where was the central government, where was your majesty, and where were you? It's not easy now.
There is land for planting, but you come out to measure the land, intending to take the land back to the state... We don't understand those big principles, we only know that if the land is taken back, we will have no land to plant, and we will starve to death."
The rain was pouring down, and the water flowed down the wrinkled faces of the old farmers. Their eyes were dull and sad, and their short and stocky bodies were as straight as a gun in the rain.
"That's right, we don't care what the government decrees are, we just want to live!"
"We don't steal or rob, we farm the land with our own strength, we have to pay taxes, rents, and corvees. Isn't this okay? Why can't we be given a way to survive?"
"These are prosperous times! Are we supposed to have no land to farm and have to wait to starve to death in the prosperous times?"
The crowd began to get angry, with expressions of indignation and murmurs, gradually condensing into a momentum of overwhelming resentment.
"Back off! Back off!"
Ashina Zhongce rode forward and shouted sternly: "The angels are all surrounding here, what do you want to do? Retreat quickly, otherwise you will be punished as treason!"
The soldiers of Henan Prefecture had been standing far away and could not command at all. Ashina Zhong could only drive his own soldiers forward to drive away the farmers and tenants who were getting closer and closer, so as to prevent the atmosphere from erupting and clashing with Xu.
Jing Zong.
"Everyone stand back!"
The soldiers did not dare to ride, fearing that the horses would be frightened and trample the crowd, so they could only dismount, draw their swords from their sheaths, and move forward together to push the crowd back.
Xu Jingzong was sweating profusely. His face was mixed with rain and sweat. He wiped his face and said repeatedly: "Put down the sword, put down the sword. We are all subjects of the empire. How can my brothers fight each other with swords?"
He was almost scared to death. If someone accidentally hit the knife edge, a huge conflict might break out, and the imperial army would kill the peasants with knives... Xu Jingzong simply couldn't imagine the consequences.
Ashina Chung and his soldiers were also frightened and quickly sheathed their swords, but they still could not retreat. They could only line up in a row in front of the crowd, scolding them repeatedly in an attempt to repel them, and prevent the crowd from suddenly erupting and causing chaos.
A bigger accident.
The rain became heavier and heavier, mud and water flowed across the ground, and the scene became increasingly chaotic.
Jia Dunyi, who had been watching, looked at the chaotic scene solemnly, and whispered to Duan Baoyuan beside him: "Why is this happening? The central government's decree cannot be blocked. If you have evil intentions in your heart, you can change the account books or even destroy them. In this way, you can encourage farmers and tenants to come.
Fighting against angels and against the center is really a lose-lose approach, and the gain outweighs the loss."
He is an upright official, not corrupt or derelict in his duties, but he is also aware of all the malpractices in today's world. For example, the land accounting books in various places are in a mess. The aristocratic families are occupying more and more land, but the amount in the accounting books is not increasing but decreasing.
In this way, we can support a larger population without having to pay more taxes.
Although I don’t know the real purpose of the center’s “measurement of acres”, as long as the hidden acres are measured and registered, the hidden population will have no way to hide, because the fields always need people to cultivate them, and the vast hectares of land are connected by roads.
But no one is cultivating it, so who can believe it?
It would be fine if we really abandon the wasteland, but when the autumn harvest comes, the fields are full of crops and the warehouses are full of grain. How to explain it?
The most frightening thing is that the central government reclaims the fields that are not included in the account books. This causes the aristocratic families to no longer be able to support so many hidden people with their original land, so they have to release these people, and then the court grants them fields, so that
Completely out of the control of the family...
This is worse than the forced takeover of the salt pond, and it directly cuts off the foundation on which the family relies on for its survival.
But even so, drastic measures should not be taken against the central government. For example, even if a conflict breaks out and Xu Jingzong suffers a disaster and his political career is completely ended, it will still be a huge disaster for the Yu family in Luoyang and the officials of Henan Prefecture.
disaster.
It is understandable that you want to prevent the central government from measuring the land, but you should still seek confrontation with a more gentle approach, rather than the current struggle that is close to "life and death".
Duan Baoyuan didn't care. He looked around and whispered: "What does this have to do with me? It doesn't even have anything to do with the Yu family in Luoyang. No one encouraged these farmers. They were afraid that their hidden fields would be measured by the central government.
They were recycled, leaving them with no land to farm, so they gathered together to cause trouble. Although they were somewhat ignoring the law, they were doing it to survive, which is understandable."
Jia Dunyi shook his head: "Just looking at Fang Jun's tough tactics in Hedong Yanchi, we can see the central government's attitude towards the aristocratic families. Xu Jingzong cannot regress. If he regresses, it will be the end of his career, and it is you who will regress in the end.
Because you are too arrogant and have crossed the line."
Duan Baoyuan said calmly: "The center crossed the line first."
There has always been a line between the center and the aristocratic families. Although there is no contract between the two parties, they abide by it and make no breakthroughs. Both parties are in peace.
Before Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, this line was "imperial power." As long as the family recognized and supported the rule of the Li and Tang royal family, the central government could give the family "governing power" in various places, and the emperor and the family shared the world.
After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, this line was broken. The Central Committee could not bear the family members to separate themselves into one party, administering prefectures and counties, and frequently participated in the change of imperial power.
Start to exert pressure.
Now that Li Chengqian has ascended the throne, he has implemented Emperor Taizong's national policy even more thoroughly. He wants to take back the "governing power" of the aristocratic families in various places. The decrees will be implemented in the prefectures and counties, power will be returned to the center, and the foundation of the aristocratic families will be broken, making
The aristocratic families are famous but no longer have the ability to rule states and counties.
How can the family members endure this?
We don’t dare to confront directly, but we can confuse people’s hearts and coerce public opinion, scare farmers with “no land to plant”, instigate farmers to stand up against the central government, and obstruct the implementation of land measurement.
Doesn’t your Majesty the Emperor value “benevolence”?
Then see if you dare to use knives or guns on ordinary farmers...