New Shun 1730

A few years ago, there was also a disaster.

The people in Linxian County were really hungry and couldn't stand it anymore, so they took people to eat at the big houses. But the wealthy farmers and small landowners who have been able to eat and eat after many years no longer exist.

These farmers were actually "daring" and had the idea of ​​becoming a real big business.

The big family member was a member of the family, a person with connections in the scholarly and official circles. Seeing that these common people were about to eat into his own family, he simply did not stop and led people to arrest all the thirty or so common people who led him. .

In front of those people, they dug holes and buried them alive.

How could the people dare to eat when their leader was buried alive? Then the birds and beasts dispersed.

This incident can be regarded as a watershed in the social situation in the Huanghuai region.

If the court does not deal with it, then there will be lessons learned in the future.

However, the imperial court had just finished conquering Junggar and Japan a few years ago, and its military strength was at its peak, with no signs of collapse. The student also knew that burying people alive was actually a crime, so he colluded with the local magistrate and charged him with:

[Gathering together people to conspire, having evil intentions, making alliances with blood, and wanting to imitate Chen Wu's affairs]

As a result, this matter cannot be contained in paper, and it can definitely be concealed by the local authorities. The incident occurred when the emperor sent some people to the Huaihe River to inspect the future management of the Huaihe River and the abolition of the canal. When the officials who came from outside heard about this incident, they made an assessment that "there must be something fishy about this matter." Reported it.

In fact, it was not a big deal in the first place. The workers just buried about thirty civilians alive.

It can be big or small.

To put it mildly, the common people were preying on the wealthy households and robbing them of food. The officials buried them alive as a warning to others. As long as they were charged with a crime, it seemed that they could get away with it in Dashun.

If I say big, then it's really big.

This matter came to the court, and the Sixth Government Tianyou Hall discussed it. The emperor did not say anything too serious, and only said, "It should be read about the founding of the country."

This sentence can be regarded as finalizing the matter. The process of Dashun's rise is destined to have a different attitude towards this kind of thing, which involves whether the "Taizu" was a righteous man or a bandit.

As soon as the officials heard the emperor's words, they all understood what they meant. So we handled a not too big case.

Killed a wave.

This can be regarded as temporarily stopping the trend of the Huanghuai area completely becoming a local gentry that is not under the jurisdiction of the central government.

This can be regarded as one of the reasons why Liu Yu was sure that after the emperor spent money on the Huaihe River, he would support him in carrying out major cases in the Huaihe River.

The gentry understood at a glance that things had to be done in a leisurely manner.

Burying alive is not an option.

This is considered a red line drawn by the court.

Moreover, this incident had just passed, and these people were deeply impressed by the efficiency of the court and the ferocity of the killings.

Of course, the imperial court's intention may just be to declare the presence of the central government and the "Da Shun Law" in the Huanghuai District, and to warn some local areas not to go too far. Death by starvation is a matter of course, but if you, a single soldier, buried more than thirty people alive, the nature of this is completely different.

But what they saw was that when the court wanted to deal with them, as long as the centralization of power had not collapsed, dealing with them was no different than killing chickens.

The students, the county magistrate, and the governor who were involved all chopped it off as they were told. The imperial envoy who handled the case didn't even bring any troops, he just sat in the hall and gave an order.

Therefore, although I am quite dissatisfied with some of the court's practices and feel that the court favors the common people, it is difficult to express this dissatisfaction.

He also knew that he was considered a tyrant in the countryside, but he was still a little short of the level of pointing at the emperor's nose and telling him that he wanted to rule the world with the gentry rather than with the common people.

Now the county magistrate only said that debts should be paid in accordance with the law of Da Shun, with twice the interest, and the accounts should be released. They were dissatisfied but did not dare to show it too much.

Even though the people were suffering, they still felt they were wronged.

He didn't steal or rob, but he donated money to build thatched huts to make porridge and rice during the years of disaster, and he lent money to the people to survive the lean years during the lean years. The imperial court was kind enough to forgive everyone's debts with just one sentence?

Those who go to Nanyang are all young and strong.

They're not stupid over there, they don't want the old, weak, sick or disabled.

The young and strong are gone, leaving the old, weak, sick and disabled, what is the use? Do we expect these old, weak, sick and disabled people to repair houses, dig trenches, and cultivate fields?

Several gentry looked at the double debts that had been sorted out and stamped with their thumbprints, and they were filled with emotion. I thought to myself, this is really a gold belt for murder and arson, repairing bridges and repairing roads, but no corpses. You have to ask the court to see what kind of chaos the people would be in if we didn't lend money, and then the court will know how important we are.

Just think that the future is long and let’s look at the future.

The county magistrate also guessed what these gentry had in mind, but he was sure of the Qingmiao loan and was not afraid.

This Qingmiao Loan is a bottomless pit. When I really can’t hold on anymore in the future, I won’t be here anymore. It is said that it is the first thing to do when a new official takes office, and the same is true for new things. Duke Xingguo has shouted out big words. Whether it succeeds or not, this green crop loan must be extended for three years.

Three years later, the bastard became the magistrate of this county.

Although he and Liu Yu do not belong to each other, nor are they from Liu Yu's faction, nor do they have a superior-subordinate relationship, considering the Qingmiao loan that will start next spring, the Funing County magistrate still exerted his subjective initiative.

Jiedushi thought that after this "debt", the local gentry would stop lending money the next year, and the Funing County magistrate certainly thought of it too.

But there is another thing that Jiedushi did not expect, that is, if the Qingmiao Loan is really implemented, the squire may be caught off guard this year.

But the squire is not without countermeasures.

Most of the land is in their hands.

Don't want to lend me money? Go borrow a low-interest 15% annual loan?

Okay, then don’t rent this land from me this year.

If you have the ability, let that green crop loan transform the land for you.

Whoever borrows a green crop loan will have no land to plant it! I only saw who was begging for mercy on his knees and leaving in tears.

Besides, even if you want to save some face for the Duke, you can still mention the rent.

As much loan as you dare, I will rent as much as you dare. If you can't get it in interest, you can make up for it from rent. It depends on how long your money can last.

The county magistrate of Funing has been in the local area for a long time and is well aware of the affairs of the local countryside. He also knows that Lianghuai is different from other places. This green crop loan may be spread in Gyeonggi, Guanzhong and other places. After all, there are still many homesteaders there.

But here, people hold the land in their hands. Even if you want to fight for a while, you are afraid that you will lose all your family property, and in the end you will have to beg for mercy and admit defeat.

A strong dragon will not overwhelm a local snake.

To prevent this from happening, he must ensure that nothing happens during his tenure at least. I estimate that I can still work for two or three years during my tenure. I don't care about the future, but I have to think about these two or three years first.

After talking nonsense to these squires about great justice, the country, the future, root causes, and benevolence, the county magistrate said: "Now the imperial court has exempted the county from money and food for three years, in order to rebuild after the disaster and to restore the chickens and dogs. In the future, For the affairs of the county, we still need to rely on the power of the squires. "

"When the water subsides in a few days, families who are not going to Nanyang will have to return to their respective homes and try to plant food next spring without affecting next year's harvest."

"A lot of people left for Nanyang this time, and there must be a lot of vacant land. I don't care about these vacant land."

"But in my opinion, the tenancy before this year shall prevail. There will be no change of tenancy within the next three years, so that each family can get used to the land work in the past and resume production as soon as possible."

"After three years, since there is no more support, I will not care about how to adjust your rent. What do you think?"

The gentry knew that restoring production was an important indicator for officials in various places to evaluate their capabilities after a major disaster. After three years of exemption, those who have benefited the most are indeed those with land.

They are exempt from national taxes, and some local labor and other services are not their turn. Even if the burden does fall on them, they can pass it on to the people who rent their land.

I was initially panicked when I heard the county magistrate mention the rent issue. I don't think what the county magistrate meant, I just said that in the past three years, the original tenancy status should not be changed, and everything would continue as usual.

It’s not that in addition to debt relief, rent reduction is also required.

Just to maintain the normal rent level, the gentry agreed immediately.

"Of course, of course! Don't worry, sir, the imperial court is freeing money and food for the sake of the people. We must understand the imperial court's painstaking efforts. All tenancy matters remain as before, and we dare not touch them lightly."

"That's good! That's good." The county magistrate said "good" twice in a strong tone, and then said: "The court is aware of natural disasters and man-made disasters."

"If there are displacements or civil unrest due to natural disasters, no one is responsible."

"But if relief is allocated and relief is given, but something big happens, then it will be the responsibility of us local officials."

"As long as you know it in your heart. I don't need to teach you how to do it."

"If there are no major disasters in the past three years, and during the period of the imperial court's ban, I hope that everyone in this county will be happy with each other. If there are no major disasters, and there will be a ban, but something still happens, I will have to ask what happened. What's going on?"

The squires nodded hurriedly.

The county magistrate looked at the squire and then at the common people whose eyes were as if they were alive. He felt troubled. Trouble was still to come. I can only postpone it for one year. If something happens next year, I will inevitably have to order a permanent tenant.

I also thought about Liu Yu's many years of killing here and there in pursuit of fame, and thought in his mind, Duke Xingguo, Duke Xingguo, I think you must make a big mistake in these two rivers.

…………

In the distance, in front of the trafficker, a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old was kneeling there, kowtowing continuously.

Next to the young man is a woman holding a child. His hair was disheveled and his face was covered in plaster.

The chest was already shriveled up due to this disaster.

The woman just carefully held a bowl filled with rice porridge, drank some porridge with her mouth, chewed it carefully, and then put it into the child's mouth bit by bit.

The young man kept kowtowing, and the ground made a thumping sound.

"Sir! Sir! Please do me a favor and let us get on the ship and follow us to Nanyang. Please, have mercy on us!"

The human smuggler was also a disaster victim and was born in the navy. Seeing this scene, he felt uncomfortable, but he still said: "This is the rule. I am a soldier, so I follow the rules in everything."

"Even if there are no rules, this kind of child cannot be taken care of. Even if an adult is on a sea ship, he will spit out his guts. If he travels thousands of miles to the south, this child will definitely not survive if he survives the wind and waves."

The young man cried and begged: "Life and death are determined by destiny, wealth and honor are in heaven! If he is really dead, his fate is not good. You are also a poor man, and you know that raising children is not that troublesome for us poor people."

"The child won't interfere with her work at home."

"The child just needs to find some dry soil and put it in the pile. If he poops or pees, he will put it in the pile. Just come back and feed him in the evening."

"It doesn't affect work at all."

"Sir, my lord! Please do me a favor and let us go with the boat. Please!"

The trafficker sighed. He came here the same way when he was a child. He peed in the sand and was no different from an animal. Even worse than an animal, a cat knows how to dig a hole and bury its feces and urine. What does a child know?

It was only after joining the army that his class was raised, and then he was considered to have a family.

But he still shook his head.

"As long as they are breathing, they are counted as heads. The Duke said that he didn't want to see that a hundred people were pulled in, but only ten survived. There is a target for how many people died."

"If there is no target, wouldn't it be a mess? The rules are set, just like in war, to keep more people alive. You are too young, but you are also breathing. When the time comes, the head count and the death target must also be included... The target... The target is a military term, which means that 100 people can only die 20, and if more die, you will be fined."

"To be honest, how many children can survive to adulthood? I heard from my mother that she gave birth to eight in total, and only three survived in the end."

"We all know that nowadays, children under the age of eight, They can't be considered alive, they can only be considered to be breathing temporarily."

"The family is rich, but the hair on it doesn't count; the family is full of children, but the eight-year-old has no name. If you say you will die on a certain day, you will die on that day. This will be counted as a death quota, and my master will definitely not want it."

"It's difficult for me too."

"Even if you knock your head, I can't do anything. Man, it's useless for you to kowtow again. I also fought on the battlefield. Not to mention the blood from the knocks, I have seen many broken arms and legs. If you say it's not possible, it's not possible."

"Look, I'm disabled, and they find me some work for the Duke's sake, and they see that I shed blood for the country and have a medal to give me a way to live. I can't be shameless."

"These days, it's not easy for anyone to live."