A Gu refers to a relatively flat mountain with steep tops on all sides. Zhaojia Gu in Caozhou Prefecture is such a place.
There are many places like this in Shandong.
Because of the special terrain, the flood did not cause them any damage.
There are some impacts, that is, the villagers can only stay in Guzi and cannot go anywhere.
Because of the special terrain, the people here have little contact with the outside world.
A closed environment is the easiest place to breed clan power, so clan power here is stronger than in other places.
The Zhao family is a wealthy family here, which can be seen from the place name.
No matter how the dynasties change outside, the social life structure of Zhaojiagu is almost unaffected.
Here, the person who speaks most effectively is always the patriarch of the Zhao family.
After the Fuxing Army came to power, the only change in Zhaojiagu was the arrival of a village chief.
This was the only time in the history of Zhaojiagu that a foreign village chief appeared.
But as the patriarch of the clan, Mrs. Zhao didn't care.
He had no idea what kind of waves a government-appointed village chief would cause in the village.
The main tasks of the village chief are to publicize superior policies, manage public security in the village, and collect taxes.
After the Renaissance Army came to power, it began to promote new tax policies. It implemented preferential agricultural tax policies, canceled tax breaks, and standardized the collection of commercial taxes.
The reduction in agricultural taxes will not necessarily bring much benefit to the people in Guzili.
Because most of the land cultivated by the people of Zhaojiagu belongs to the clan. In fact, the clan leader is the real landlord of this Guzi.
In the end, most of these discounts still fell into the hands of the clan leader. The food that the people received was almost the same as in previous years. The clan would not let them starve to death or have enough to eat.
The Renaissance Army has seen many such operations, and naturally has ways to deal with them.
The village chief first recruited some people with different surnames in the village to form a militia team, and he had his own team.
These people are not members of the Zhao family, and have been bullied in the village, so they will not be of the same mind as the Zhao family.
After the flood, Guzi did not move, but life became more difficult.
Later, the Renaissance Army issued an order to relocate.
Mr. Zhao is naturally unwilling, because after the relocation, everyone will be allocated land. Although he has a lot of land under his name, he will be allocated more in the future.
But when the time comes, who will he find to help him plow the land? Who will listen to him?
The tribesmen in the village have to listen to him, because he has the final say on who can plant what kind of fields.
It should be explained here that the Fuxing Army's land distribution policy for relocating people is as follows.
Landless people should be allocated at least one hundred acres of land to each household.
The landowner who originally owned the land will be compensated for the land according to the actual situation, and will not be less than the amount of land he originally owned.
This can be regarded as fully considering the interests of those landowners.
After all, the Renaissance Army has always advocated protecting people's private property.
In this case, people like Mr. Zhao who rely on land and clan to control the people in the clan would be extremely reluctant.
Because this will make them lose control of the object.
"We, the Zhao family, have lived here for generations, and all our ancestral graves are built here. If any of you move out, you will be doing a disservice to the ancestors of the Zhao family. Anyone who does that is not worthy of the protection of our ancestors."
In the Zhao family ancestral hall, Mrs. Zhao convened a meeting of clan members to ask everyone to resist the government's relocation policy.
In fact, the government asked the people here to move because of their consideration.
Once Daze is impounded, the water level will be much higher than it is now, and the farmland around Guzi will inevitably be flooded.
Only the top part of this Guzi is left, becoming an isolated island in the middle of the swamp.
We will definitely not be able to feed so many people by then.
The people in the clan are all honest and honest bankers, and have long been accustomed to being manipulated by the clan leader.
However, there are always some special cases, and Zhao Guangcai is a special case. He had a dispute with the clan leader and has been bullied by the clan.
All along, he cultivated the worst fields and paid the highest wages.
"I listen to the government. I'm going to divide the fields outside the customs. I can spread seeds on a hundred acres of land and it will be enough to fill my stomach. Why do I have to stay and starve?"
"The village chief said that from now on there will be a vast swamp outside Guzi, and the water will continue to rise, and the good fields next to Guzi will be submerged."
…
At this time, a discordant voice sounded from the crowd.
"Kick him out, who asked him to attend the clan meeting?" Zhao Mingsheng yelled.
Only then did he discover Zhao Guangcai in the crowd.
"My surname is also Zhao, so why can't I participate in the clan meeting? What has Zhao Mingsheng done for the clan? Why do you have the final say? Everyone is working hard to farm, and why are you eating ready-made food there?"
"Now that the government has given everyone a way to survive, everyone can own their own fields. Why do you stand up to stop it?"
"Oh, I understand, you are afraid that no one will help you farm in the future and you will not be able to eat!"
Zhao Ming was so angry that his beard stood up. This Zhao Guangcai was wearing small shoes because he repeatedly contradicted him at clan meetings.
Not driving him out of Guzi was already very merciful, but he didn't expect that he would act arrogantly just because he hugged the outsider village chief's lap.
What Zhao Guangcai just said was very reasonable, and some members of the Zhao family were also a little moved.
Owning your own fields is the dream of all Chinese farmers.
One hundred acres of land! It is said that if a family has more than five people, each additional person can add twenty acres of land.
With so many fields, doesn’t it mean that we have to catch up with a small landowner?
Many people were thinking in their minds that many of the people who had been brainwashed by Zhao Mingsheng just now had come to their senses.
"Go and drive him out." Zhao Mingsheng ordered the thugs around him.
"I see who dares to touch me. There are no rules in the clan that do not allow clan members to speak. Moreover, everything I said is true and there is no disrespect to the ancestors." Zhao Guangcai argued hard and did not flinch.
Facing those Zhao Mingsheng's thugs, Zhao Guang was not afraid of danger.
A loser reached out to pull his arm, but Zhao Guangcai pushed him away.
Zhao Mingsheng's thugs were also used to being domineering in the village, and the villagers had always been submissive.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Guangcai dared to resist, and he immediately became angry.
A bitch went up and kicked Zhao Guangcai in the stomach.
Zhang Guangcai was alone, unable to fight with his four fists, and was kicked to the ground.
A few thugs were about to take advantage of the situation and step forward to punch and kick Zhao Guangcai.
At this time, a loud shout came from the door of the ancestral hall.
"Stop, let's see who dares to hurt someone privately. Let's see if I dare to send him to the county police station?"
These people all knew that the newly established police station was like the former police station. The few scoundrels hesitated on the spot.
"Zhang Bin, our Zhao family ancestral hall is holding a clan meeting, why are you an outsider here? Please get out, you are not welcome here." Zhao Mingsheng said coldly, not giving any face to Village Chief Zhang.
"According to Chinese law, I have the right to manage the security of the village, and the clan is not allowed to lynching. Let me see who dares to beat someone today."
As he spoke, Zhang Bin looked at the surrounding militiamen armed with red-tasseled guns. Most of these militiamen were from outside the village. They used to be afraid of Zhao Mingsheng and were oppressed and exploited by him because they could not defeat him.
But now they have the support of the village chief, who is sent by the government, which means the government is backing them.
So these militiamen are now standing tall and straight.
Zhao Mingsheng was surprised, how could the village chief dare to confront him today.
Although this person never dealt with me in the past, he was still so direct.
Today is the time to break up.
But this time we were in the Zhao family's ancestral hall, where Zhao Mingsheng was a local emperor, and he was already used to the feeling of keeping his word here.
"Zhang Bin, if you dare to step into the gate of the ancestral hall today, you will insult my ancestors of the Zhao family. Everyone, please leave him alone and kill Zhao Guangcai, the traitor of the Zhao family."
With Zhao Mingsheng's words as a foreshadowing, these scoundrels were no longer afraid and would punch and kick Zhao Guangcai when they went up.
At this moment, Zhang Bin rushed in with the militiamen. A total of ten militiamen followed Zhang Bin.
They raised their spears and drove back several of the thugs.
He dared to step in. Zhao Mingsheng sneered in his heart. He just needed to find a reason to drive away the village chief!
"Descendants of the Zhao family, an outsider has insulted my Zhao family ancestral hall. Everyone, please follow me and take it down." Zhao Mingsheng greeted the villagers.
These people are usually honest and kind, but now they are all incited.
The world is not as big as my ancestors. The people of these tribes are usually brainwashed. How can they withstand Zhao Mingsheng's incitement?
The men in fine clothes in the crowd pressed toward Zhang Bin and the militiamen around him.
Zhang Bin did not dare to kill people here to establish his authority, and he had no reason to kill these people. They were all brainwashed by Zhao Mingsheng.
Just a bunch of stupid poor people.
Zhang Bin asked two militiamen to overtake Zhao Guangcai and retreat toward the door.
How could Zhao Mingsheng let them leave? Wouldn't that be a slap in his face?
Moreover, he finally managed to incite resistance among the people in his clan.
"Don't let them run away. The ancestors are at the top, but they are all watching you!" Zhao Mingsheng shouted to the people around him.
The villagers quickened their pace and gathered around. Some energetic young men found experts' wooden sticks and stepped forward to fight with the militiamen.
"You guys have thought clearly, what did Zhao Mingsheng give you? He doesn't do anything, but he takes up most of the food every year. He eats hot and spicy food, and you eat bran-throated vegetables. Why? You all have the surname Zhao. Why should he?
Just live a good life?”
Zhang Bin is still trying hard to explain this, hoping to awaken these ignorant Zhao clan members.
But Zhao Mingsheng kept making trouble on the side, making it impossible for these people to listen to Zhang Bin's words.
Seeing that Zhang Bin and others were about to be surrounded, the hands of several militiamen holding the red-tasseled guns were trembling.
None of them had ever killed anyone, and those across the street were all neighbors in the village, so no one dared to actually poke out the red-tasseled gun.
Besides, the person opposite also has a long stick in his hand.
Zhao Mingsheng signaled a few losers to join the fighting group. Someone needs to start this kind of fighting. Once the fight starts, everyone will be red-eyed.
If another person dies, it will be an unending situation. At that time, those tribesmen will have no choice but to listen to the words of Zhao Mingsheng, the backbone.
A bastard hit a militiaman on the head with a long stick.
With a bang, the militiaman was knocked to the ground and his head was bleeding.
When another militiaman saw it, he immediately became anxious because the fallen man was his cousin.
"Ah!" he shouted and stabbed the bastard with his red tassel spear.
One shot missed and penetrated the arm of the person next to him. The person also screamed and covered his arm.
Zhang Bin didn't expect that things would deteriorate so quickly. These Zhao clan members are really ignorant and they are willing to listen to evil people like Zhao Mingsheng.
Just when he was desperate, a gunshot was heard at the door.
Both sides stopped.
I saw a group of policemen in black uniforms arriving at the door of the ancestral hall.
Zhang Bin breathed a long sigh of relief. These policemen were invited by him. He knew that Zhao Mingsheng's meeting in the ancestral hall today was to incite the tribesmen to fight against the government's immigration policy.
Moreover, during this period of time in Zhaojiagu, Zhang Bin had obtained evidence of Zhao Mingsheng's crime through interviews.
So he asked someone to go to the town and ask the mayor to help him report the crime to the county police station.
With evidence, the police can arrest someone, no matter who they are.
Gunshots rang out, and uniformed officers came again. These villagers were frightened.
Zhao Mingsheng, who had been unruly just now, was a little timid now. He was a small landowner at best, and Zhaojiagu was just a small village, and he didn't have the guts to confront the government.
When the two policemen saw that the villagers had stopped, they suddenly rushed towards Zhao Mingsheng while no one was paying attention, grabbed his arms and walked out.
This is something the villagers have not yet reacted to.
"Why are you arresting people? Why are you arresting me? Stop them quickly and don't let them out." Zhao Mingsheng shouted while struggling.
But at this time, the backbone was arrested, and there were people from the government outside. They suddenly didn't know what to do.
Some people hesitated to rush forward, but when they saw the policemen with muskets, they were a little afraid.
"Five years ago, Zhao Mingsheng wanted to take Liu, a girl from the same village, as his concubine. The Liu family refused. He got angry and killed four members of the Liu family. He lied and claimed that it was thieves. The evidence is conclusive. Now he is arrested and brought to justice." That team
A middle-aged man who was the leader of the police took out a document and read it out.
As soon as these words came out, the villagers below were even more afraid to move.
No matter which dynasty you are in, violating the royal law is a serious matter, and it is not something that a landlord or gentry can escape.
Zhao Mingsheng was arrested, and the entire Zhao family ancestral hall suddenly lost its backbone.
Several of Zhao Mingsheng's henchmen were also arrested as accomplices.
The few villagers who had come up to take action now hunched over and hid behind.
Zhang Bin took control of the scene and took advantage of the situation to speak out the imperial court's announcement.
None of these villagers have their own land. They are nominally farming land belonging to the clan, but are actually tenants of Zhao Mingsheng.
Even if you are a tenant, you can't rent much land, only a dozen acres at most.
And if you want to rent enough land, you have to please Zhao Mingsheng.
Zhang Bin gave them one last chance, whether to stay here and continue to suffer poverty, or to go outside the customs and get hundreds of acres of their own land.
At this time, without Zhao Mingsheng's obstruction, these people made their own choices. They wanted their own land.
Although the Chinese people revere their ancestors, they value their descendants even more. Everyone has a dream, which is to make their descendants live a better life than themselves.
In the hearts of these honest farmers, nothing is more important than leaving a piece of ancestral land for their children and grandchildren.
For this kind of mass immigration, the government adopted a plan of direct land distribution.
Most sporadic immigrants were assigned to farms.
Now that the Chinese government is spread all over the country, the scope of recruiting immigrants is wider than before.
Many people whose families have less land and many children will send some of their children to work on farms, which can not only make money to supplement the family income, but also give these children a way out.
On May 26th, Dong Shuheng went to the bank of Heze and set up the Heze altar.
Altars were set up to offer sacrifices to the ancestors of various families who were drowned in the river, and the Heze Temple was set up by the river.
In the future, these immigrant people can go to this temple to worship their ancestors. The local government will also send people to offer incense and offerings.
This move completely made the people put aside their worries. Under the leadership of government officials, villages began to gather at Dengzhou Prefecture, preparing to board a ship to their new home outside the customs.
The victims who had previously migrated to Haeju took boats to go northward as early as possible.