Just as the cannons roared in Xishan Manor, shaking the earth and the earth, the earth also began to shake in Wen'an County, Bazhou, Hebei Province, eight hundred miles away.
Hebei's land reform has been a mess in the past year. The new land policy adopted by Liu Jin to increase tax revenue went wrong from the beginning. In the end, instead of clearing out the land from the powerful landowners' estates, a large number of already existing land was destroyed.
Land-owning farmers went bankrupt.
Under the slogan that everyone should do their best to cultivate the land and do their best, a large number of people were forced to join the army of tenant farmers and become manor tenants.
However, Liu Jin's manor land taxation policy and the clearing of part of the land from the landlords brought losses to the powerful landlords. Naturally, they refused to acknowledge this loss, and then they immediately increased the amount and spread it to the tenants.
Coupled with the reform of the horse administration, one horse for ten households has become one horse for five households. The burden on the people in this regard has once again doubled.
Even in order to make a living, the common people had to become tenants and cultivate the land for others. However, after one year, not only could the whole family not make ends meet, but they were also in debt.
The common people sold their children and daughters to borrow money at usury, and some of them fled one after another. If they couldn't afford it, even if they were reduced to refugees, it would be better than working hard without food or clothing. Some
Others simply fell into disgrace and became bandits.
Liu Jin sent his censor Ning Gao to Hebei to take charge, euphemistically calling him: Censor of Thieves. But Ning Gao did not dare to arrest the thieves, but he was very good at arresting the refugees. The officers and soldiers of the Jinyi Guard, Shenwu Zhongwei, Baoding Guard and other local guards
With the cooperation, the roads leading to various places were blocked. Anyone who dared to escape from the land would be beaten and imprisoned if they were captured, forcing them to go back to farming.
It’s really just forcing them to go back to farming. In order to claim credit, the officers, soldiers and guards even called ordinary people bandits, killing them to pretend to receive military honors, get promotions and make a fortune. Ordinary soldiers and guards did whatever they wanted, and captured the common people.
Their wives and daughters were raped and humiliated by them. If their families could not pay the money to redeem them, they sold their wives and daughters into prostitutes.
The whole of Hebei is filled with smoke and chaos. Under such circumstances, Hebei and other places have actually become a huge powder keg, ready to explode at any time.
It is not that no one raised objections and reported to the imperial court. But just like the way for ordinary people to go to Beijing was cut off, the memorials of some conscientious officials in these places were all stopped. Even when they arrived in the capital, they were immediately detained by Liu Jin at the ceremony.
Not to mention Zhu Houzhao, even Yang Tinghe and others in the cabinet could not see the supervisor.
Originally, memorials had to go through the cabinet, but it was Jiao Fang who was responsible for collecting local memorials. Under Liu Jin's instruction, Jiao Fang hid all the memorials from Hebei, Shandong and other places so that they could not be known to outsiders.
Yang Tinghe was originally a showman. When Li Dongyang died of illness in the middle of the year, he was busy fighting in the court and keeping his position in the cabinet. He had no time to ask about these things. After becoming the chief minister, he became even more fulfilled and thought about doing big things every day.
, unable to calm down to investigate and study and listen to opinions. They almost turned a deaf ear to these things happening in Hebei, a suburb of Gyeonggi Province, just around the corner.
In fact, even if he knew some rumors, he couldn't say much because it turned out that after Liu Jin's land and Ma Zheng's new policies were implemented, the imperial government's finances and taxation suddenly received one to two million taels of silver. The effect was almost immediate. In this case
, if you put forward any opinions on Liu Jin's new reform policy, it will definitely arouse the emperor's dissatisfaction.
As for the new cabinet scholar Liang Chu, he is old. Although he is wise and upright, he is conservative and stubborn. For example, the first thing he did after joining the cabinet was to ask the emperor to reopen the Sutra banquet and follow the rules of the emperor in the morning and evening.
This made the boss Zhu Houzhao unhappy. Zhu Houzhao didn't even come to the morning court, but he still had to attend the morning and evening court and hold a sutra feast. Isn't this a joke?
In this way, the officials' confessions are completely blocked, and the officials who submit the reports will be immediately retaliated against. After a lot of back and forth, no one will submit the report. Everyone is just a bystander, letting them do whatever they want.
The New Year is a hurdle, and it is even more difficult for the people of Hebei.
Years ago, the government forced Ma Yin to raise money, powerful landlords forced rent, and loan sharks forced debts. The common people were anxious and anxious every day. Others celebrated the New Year, but they passed the test. If they couldn't pay the money and repay the debt, the government would arrest them.
People were tortured and persecuted, and the people lived in dire straits.
Some people who escaped to become bandits and some refugees who were wandering outside, because they had elderly parents and relatives at home, always wanted to come back for a visit during the New Year, even if they could reunite for a while. But the officers and soldiers and the Jin Yiwei noticed this clearly and began to
A massive arrest campaign was launched.
From the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month of the previous year to the first day of the first lunar month, prisons in all the capitals of Hebei were overcrowded, and thousands of refugees were arrested and imprisoned.
Wen'an County is a small county under the jurisdiction of Bazhou, with a population of no more than 30,000. However, around the New Year, the county jail here was also filled with hundreds of arrested refugees.
At noon on the sixth day of the first lunar month, several men came to the county government office to beat drums and ask to see the county magistrate.
The thumping drums alerted the government officials in the county government hall. They were drinking and eating meat around a casserole. When they heard the drums, they cursed angrily, and they all frowned and came out to ask questions.
"What are you guys doing? Why do you come to the Yamen to beat drums during the Chinese New Year?" the head of the Yamen team asked loudly.
"Brothers of the Yamen, Liu Chong, this is my brother Liu Chen. These are all fellow villagers of Wen'an. We are here to beg the county magistrate. Please be kind to the county magistrate and let our relatives go. My uncle Liu Lao
Shu and Auntie have been imprisoned by you for five or six days, and the two old people in the family are crying to death." A man with a short stature and ragged clothes stepped forward and saluted with his fists in his hands.
The head of the Yamen team glared at the man who spoke and shouted: "Liu Liu, I know you. You come to the Yamen every now and then to make noise. What are you doing? Do you want to cause trouble?"
Liu Chong said in a deep voice: "How dare you, a villain, to cause trouble? The truth is that I have been arrested by you for several days, and now I don't know whether to live or die. At least give me an explanation. Even if you let us meet, it will be enough."
The head of the yamen team scolded: "You bastards, why were they arrested? Either they owe money and rent, or they have connections with thieves. How can they get out without paying money? If they are thieves, they will never get out in their lifetime."
"
"Brother Yamen, they are all honest people. They wandered outside for a while and came back to visit the elderly. As soon as they entered the village, they were arrested by the government. They are not bad people and they are not short of money." Liu Chong frowned.
road.
"Come on, don't tell me this, I don't care about this. I only know that today, the sixth day of the first lunar month, the county magistrate is still on annual leave. He won't go to the hall, and he won't see anyone. You guys, hurry up and collect money.
"Thirty taels to get a person out. This is still a cheap price." said the yamen team leader.
"Thirty-two people? Why? They didn't make any mistakes. They are all ordinary people. Do you have any laws?" Several young and strong men beside Liu Chong shouted in unison.
"Hey, is it a king's law? This is a king's law. If you make any more noise, you will be thrown into jail. Come on, get out of here." The head of the yamen team shook the killing stick in his hand and shouted loudly.
Liu Chong's face was ashen and he said in a deep voice: "Brother Yamen, the human heart is made of flesh. You are also raised by your father and mother. Comparing your feelings with each other, you also pity us people. We are so pitiful. Can't we give you a way to survive? We are being harmed.
People, can you sleep at night?"
"Ouch! What did you say, you bastard? Are you going to teach me a lesson? I think you are a horse thief. You are very bold. Let me tell you, the people inside are waiting to collect the corpses without paying any money. Six of them died yesterday
, three people have died today. Maybe your relatives are already dead. It is the rule to collect money to redeem people. If you keep nagging me, I will take you in." The head of the yamen team yelled and cursed loudly.
Liu Chong sighed, lowered his head, and said softly: "Are you not giving people a way to survive at all?"
"Damn it, take him. He must be a thief." The head of the government office shouted.
Liu Chong said in a deep voice: "Since the government won't give them a way to survive, then there's nothing to say. Brothers, sooner or later we will die in their hands. If we don't starve to death from exhaustion, we will have to go to prison and be killed by them. Instead of that, we will die from starvation and exhaustion.
In this case, it is better to rebel against his mother. Today, my brothers from the Liu family are taking the lead. Let’s kill the dog official, open a warehouse to stockpile grain, sleep with his woman, drink wine and share the money with each other, why should we accept their cruelty.”
"Yes, do it. Kill the dog officer. If you can't survive, it's better to give it a try." The young and strong people behind him shouted loudly.
"Oh, that's great, we are going to rebel." The head of the government office changed his face and shouted loudly.
Liu Chong stepped up the steps, and the yamen leader shouted and struck him with a stick. Liu Chong received a blow from him with a stick, then stretched out his hand to grab the yamen leader's collar, and with his right hand, he used a sharp butcher's knife.
Appear in the palm of your hand.
"How dare you..." The head of the government office was so frightened that his voice changed.
Poof! Liu Chong stabbed the head of the yamen team to death with just one stab.