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Chapter 3 Yuncheng Kuotian

Xia Qi established the country, abolished the abdication, and became the king hereditary.

China began the inheritance method of succession after the death of the father. In order to have a legitimate name, the rulers of the past dynasties also became related to God and gave themselves the majestic title-the True Dragon Emperor. The descendants of the Emperor are naturally dragons.

Sons, dragons and grandsons, it will be much easier for the father to succeed after his death.

In order to maintain the authority of the imperial court, some dynasties even enacted the law that "people sue officials and move three thousand miles away" to deter "unruly people".

After experiencing countless bloody lessons, the common people had to admit a ruthless reality. They were just a group of lambs raised by the imperial court, while officials were shepherds selected by the imperial court, so some official names were simply called shepherds. As long as the shepherds did not carry out large-scale raids,

The flock of sheep shakes the foundation of the imperial court. Occasionally shearing sheep or killing a sheep, the imperial court will usually turn a blind eye.

The people do not fight with the officials, which has gradually become the choice of the people most of the time.

Although Chao Gai was brave, he did not dare to fight with the court unless he was in desperate situation. The head of the family accepted this reality, and the servants naturally did not dare to cause trouble. In addition, the Chao family was well off, and they could buy other things if they lost their land.

As for the property, the slaves in the village did not have to worry about being dismissed, so the Chao family village was calm.

The land in Dongxi Village belongs to the Chao family, and the people in the village are all tenants. The change of land owners has little impact on them, so the village is peaceful.

There were some nearby villages whose land was scattered. Because the fields were being fought almost every day, no one was willing to hand over the hard-won land deeds. In the end, the villagers had to ask the county government to send police officers to suppress the farmers who protected the fields.

Although Chao Yong was determined to advance the great cause of Liangshan, Chao Gai had always been one of the best at home. It was not yet time for him to take charge of the family, so he could only wait for the opportunity.

On the contrary, the people in the village were grateful for Chao Gai's kindness over the years. While they were aggrieved that the Chao family had suffered such an unreasonable disaster, they were also worried about themselves. They could only pray that the court would not increase the rent after acquiring the land.

In a few days, the day set by the county came. Chao Yong followed Chao Gai to the county for business, citing his wealth of knowledge.

Dongxi Village is only a few miles away from the county seat, and the two of them did not ride horses. As they were walking out of the village and on the official road, they heard someone behind them shouting: "Chao Bao is waiting a moment."

Chao Yong turned around and saw a four-person sedan coming down the path on the other side of the official road. Sitting inside was Wang Ren, Baozheng of Xixi Village. This Wang Ren was fat, but the four peasants carrying the sedan were of strong build.

It's early spring, and everyone is sweating profusely at this time.

Because of the hot weather, the sedan curtains had been pinned high on the top of the sedan. Wang Ren, who was leaning in the sedan, was still shaking a gold-painted paper fan. Seeing the Chao family and his son stop, he quickly ordered the sedan bearers to hurry up and catch up.

Wang Ren, who is fat and smiles all over his face, looks a bit like the Maitreya Buddha who is always smiling. However, this Wang Ren is actually a smile hidden in a knife, the famous smiling tiger, who eats people without spitting out their bones.

The Wang family in Xixi Village has been landowners for generations, and their family fortune is no worse than that of Chao Gai. For generations, the two villages have fought for water sources, often resorting to martial arts. Fighting naturally involves casualties, so many villagers in the two villages have ancestral grudges.

People in the two villages have never been married for several generations.

Although few people from the Chao and Wang families personally participated in the battle, the water source was related to the harvest of the land. In the countryside where commerce was not yet developed, land was an important source of wealth for the landlords, so the Chao and Wang families were also quite at odds with each other.

.It’s just that we are both country gentry, so we can’t act cross-eyed like peasants when they meet.

It was not until Chao Gai grew up that Dongxi Village completely overwhelmed Xixi Village in terms of force and ended the fighting between the two villages. However, Dongxi Village did not gain much advantage, but suffered some small losses.

It turns out that this generation of Wang Ren, the head of the Wang family, is not a fuel-efficient lamp. Although he is not good at fists and feet, he has some calculations in his heart and is good at flattery. He paid a lot of money to the county magistrate and asked the county magistrate to designate their own water sources for the two villages. If Chao hadn't been hindered,

There were many desperadoes in Gaizhuang, so Dongxi Village had to suffer a big loss. While the county magistrate came forward, and for the sake of peace in the countryside, Chao Gai suffered a small loss and shared the water source.

Although the two families have some disputes, they are fellow villagers after all, and they are both prominent figures in the village. Naturally, they cannot be like ordinary villagers, staring at each other when they meet, with a look of hatred and bitterness.

Hearing Wang Ren's shout, the Chao family and his son had no choice but to stop and wait.

When they arrived, Wang Ren got off the sedan and cupped his hands and said, "Did the Xian father and son accept the invitation of the county magistrate?"

Chao Gai bowed his hands and said in return: "That's right. What advice does Wang Baozheng have?"

"Brother Chao, you are serious. We all left for the Kuotian matter, so we happened to be traveling together. By the way, let's communicate so that we can fight against the imperial court together." Wang Ren said with an excited face.

Chao Gai had already made up his mind and was wary of Wang Ren. He shook his head after hearing this and said: "Since ancient times, the people have not fought with the officials. How can we, the common people, fight against the imperial court? The Kuotian matter fell to me, so I had to accept my fate."

Already."

Wang Ren heard this and said angrily: "Brother Chao was so heroic in the past, how can he be so timid today? As long as Brother Chao gives an order, we will follow Brother Chao's lead. As long as dozens of village gentry are twisted into a rope, the public land will be destroyed."

We also need to reconsider the matter of Kuotian. In this way, Brother Chao will not only be able to ensure peace in the countryside, but also spread the word about Brother Chao's righteousness and bravery in the world."

Although Chao Gai was not known for his wisdom and stratagem, he was not just an ordinary man with courage. Hearing this, he smiled lightly and said: "Wang Baozheng is joking. How can Chao Gai, an ordinary man, take on such a big responsibility? On the contrary, Wang Baozheng is resourceful and has many friendships with the county magistrate."

By communicating, we can petition for the people. After the success, we will never forget the great kindness of Bao Zheng."

Seeing that Chao Gai was not fooled, Wang Ren couldn't help but have a flash of disappointment in his eyes, but he still forced a smile and said: "Chao Baozheng is joking, how can I convince all the squires if I don't have good literary skills and military skills? Brother Chao has no intention of standing out.

I will take a step forward to see if anyone can petition for the people. Then I would like to ask Brother Chao to support us."

Since the establishment of the Gongtian Office, it started in Ruzhou in the west of Beijing and gradually spread to the capital, east of Beijing, and Hebei. In a few years, tens of thousands of hectares of land were taken over. Countless people were displaced, including powerful officials.

Chao Gai knew that there was no hope of resistance, so he just smiled and said: "Bao Zheng has something to do, just go ahead, we will see you later."

Seeing that Chao Gai didn't take the bait, Wang Ren had no choice but to cup his hands, stick his buttocks out, get into the sedan, say goodbye and leave.

When Chao Gai saw Wang Ren's sedan chair go away, he shook his head and said, "This smiling tiger wants to harm people again."

Although Chao Yong was ambitious, he did not dare to be careless about the ancient times where there was no human rights at all. Although his family had a thousand acres of land, the family was not prosperous and there were no official relatives. There was no one to take care of him in the court, and he had thousands of talents.

Family wealth is the fat sheep in the eyes of corrupt officials.

Chao Yong has never been to Bianjing, which is depicted in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", and he doesn't want to end up in the small Yuncheng County. He nodded and said: "This smiling tiger is vicious, and some of those rural landowners might actually be fooled. Then Wang Ren

He is cunning and has some issues with my Chao family, so we should go early to avoid being tripped up by him."

Chao Gai nodded happily. He was originally very worried about his son who only knew how to be brave and fierce. But a few days ago, a meteor fell on his house and set fire to Chao Yong's house. Chao Yong also fell into a coma for a day before he woke up. After that, he woke up.

He seemed to be a different person, he was polite to others and no longer as reckless as before, so I asked him to follow me today.

The changes in the stars were the most taboo for the imperial court. Originally, Chao Gai was worried that the imperial court would strictly investigate the matter of meteors, so no one in the village was allowed to talk about it. However, he did not expect that no one in the county would bother him. After a few days, he

Feel relieved.

Chao Gai thought that after this happened, it was time to let his son go out and experience things for a long time. At his age, he had already traveled all over Jingdong. It was just that the world had become more chaotic in recent years. In the past, his son was reckless and strong, so he didn't let him.

Go out. Since that day, Yong'er has made him feel more at ease. In a few days, he will find an opportunity to let him go to the rivers and lakes to explore and gain experience. Otherwise, he will suffer a loss sooner or later in Dongxi Village all day long.

Not long after the two walked, they saw Yuncheng County. The city walls, which were ten feet high, were all built with adobe bricks. However, since there had been no war for a long time, people had become accustomed to comfort, so the city walls lacked a lot of repairs. Only the city gate section was still intact.

In these peaceful years, the city gate inspections were useless. The few soldiers guarding the gates had long forgotten their duties and were just plundering money from some poor people in the countryside.

"Chao Daguan is entering the city, but you still won't get out of the way."

When the gatekeepers at the head saw the Chao family and his son arriving, they dispersed the people entering the city and stepped forward to greet them.

Chao Gai was obviously used to this kind of behavior. He took out a few coins from his sleeve pocket as ten coins and threw them to the gatekeepers. He said: "Don't disturb them. The county government has something to do. I went to the city once and I haven't seen it for many days. These coins have been gone for a while."

I’ll treat you to a bar.”

Chao Yong looked at Chao Gai's extravagant spending style and knew why these gatekeepers came to greet him.

When we entered the city, it was quite lively.

There are many shops on both sides of the street, and the street is full of people, making it a lively scene.

The vendors did not simply shout, but sang and shouted in various dialects, which had a unique charm that made Chao Yong want to stop and listen to their singing.

But I had something to do today, but I couldn't delay, so I had to follow Chao Gai to the county government office.

Chao Yong has also visited some ancient cities in modern times. Whether they are preserved or newly built, the important place of Yamen is naturally indispensable among them.

But when he arrived in front of the county government office, Chao Yong discovered that the real ancient county government office was not as majestic and majestic as the ones built in later scenic spots. It was just a relatively large courtyard. The front courtyard was the lobby, where official affairs were usually handled, and the back courtyard was where the magistrate lived.

In local areas, due to the official appointment system of the Song Dynasty, locals were strictly prohibited from serving as local officials, and they could not be re-elected after three years of service. Therefore, county magistrates generally lived in the backyard of the county government office and did not buy property locally.

As soon as we entered the courtyard, we saw many Baozhengs in military uniforms standing in the lobby. Although the position of Baozheng was to be in charge of local security and to train brave men, it has obviously deteriorated by now and has been stolen by landlords. Many Baozhengs in the lobby

They all have big bellies and it is difficult to run, let alone train them to be brave. They usually extract money from the people, but when the bandits come, they all run to the county town, and no one can train to be brave enough to resist the bandits.

This time, in order to curry favor with the eunuch Yang Jian, who was in charge of the public land office, the county magistrate swept away all the villages in the county. Even Wang Ren, who was usually very filial to the county magistrate, was not spared.

The usually spacious lobby seemed a bit crowded at this time, and Chao Gai and his son had no choice but to squeeze in.

In ancient times, wealthy families did not have much to make a living, so they preferred to buy houses and fields. There were hundreds of hectares of fertile farmland everywhere, and many villages were owned by one family. Who would have thought that the imperial court would enclose the fields, and the savings of several generations would be wiped out in one fell swoop.

It is inevitable that everyone has a look of sadness on their faces.

When several acquaintances from the countryside saw Chao Gai's arrival, they all stepped forward to greet him. A squire who was entangled by Wang Ren also hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. The others also stayed away from Wang Ren, and only a few rich men and women whispered something to Wang Ren.

It seems that the bad reputation of this public farm is already known to everyone, and no one dares to touch it.


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