EBE Chapter 157: Collecting Grain in This Way
Chapter 157: Collecting Grain in This Way
Lieutenant General Li pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay! Since Master Zhao is willing to cooperate, I will trust you this time. But let me be frank, if you dare to play any tricks, my army will not let you off easily!"
Mr. Zhao quickly assured: "General Li, rest assured, my Zhao family will definitely keep our promise."
Afterwards, the Zhao family began to gather food and prepare to transport it to the government army camp. Lieutenant General Li also ordered the soldiers to stop attacking and arranged for people to help the Zhao family transport the food.
As the night deepened, the lights in the Zhao family compound gradually went out. Lieutenant General Li led the soldiers of the government army loaded with food and quietly left, leaving behind the mess on the ground and a silent night sky. Mr. Zhao stood in the empty courtyard, looking at the sky in the distance, with mixed feelings in his heart. He understood that in this chaotic world, they could no longer protect their Zhao family's property here. After all, even without these soldiers, there were still those robbers and bandits.
He looked at the young men in his family and quickly made a decision. He was going to take these people away from Northwest County to the safer Jiangnan!
No matter what the fate of the Zhao family who were about to move away would be. The same thing was happening in the surrounding villages and towns. All the families who had surplus food were visited by the government troops and asked to hand over the food.
But not every family is like the Zhao family, who know how to adapt. Many families take advantage of the fact that someone in their family is an official in the court or has several scholars in the family. They are tax-exempt and do not take these officers and soldiers seriously. After all, no matter how arrogant these officers and soldiers are, they will be inferior to these scholars.
There is a family not far from Zhaojiazhuang. Because they have a scholar, they are exempt from paying taxes. They are usually one of the best in the whole village. Their family is also considered middle class among the farmers. Because they have never had to pay taxes, they still have some surplus food.
During the past two years of drought, my family was able to live a comfortable life thanks to the surplus food.
"Boy! You must learn from your father and study hard! Look, your father passed the exam to become a scholar, which not only exempted the family from taxes, but also offset a lot of other labor! You must study hard, so that you can become an official by passing the exam!" The old man smiled and played with his grandson in the yard. Although most people in the village went out to make trouble, their family had enough food to last until next year, and as long as God rained, they could survive. This was much better than those mud-legged families.
At this time, someone knocked on the gate. The old man had invited several relatives who worked at home and looked after the hospital. He went to the gate to see who it was. After all, in this world, who knows who might rush in to steal food.
The relative was naturally very happy to have a full meal here, and he usually spoke to the villagers in a condescending manner.
The villager walked to the door with a carrying pole in his hand and asked loudly.
"Who is outside? Why are you knocking? Don't you know this is the scholar's house?" The man knocked on the door twice with a carrying pole and asked loudly.
"Since when does a mere scholar dare to call himself a master?" A mocking voice was heard from outside the door.
"Who are you? How dare you!"
"Hurry up and open the door, or the general will break it open!"
I just heard the voices outside becoming more and more arrogant.
"What? The army?!" The relative was frightened when he heard the words outside. He quickly turned around and ran back to the house. He opened the door and saw a group of soldiers in black clothes rushing in with knives, guns, sticks and clubs, surrounding their house.
"What are you doing?! Why are you breaking in so late?! Get out of here!" the relative asked in horror.
The leader pushed his knife forward and shouted loudly: "Who is the boss of this family?!"
“You…what do you want to do!?”
"I'm here to collect grain on orders." The man shouted with a ferocious look on his face. The relative was so scared that he couldn't even speak clearly. He quickly made way and pointed inside the house.
When the man saw the old man in the house, he sneered and said, "Is this the man?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Big brother, which government office are you from? Why are there so many soldiers here?!" Although the old man had a son who was a scholar and was very prestigious in the village, he was still a little scared when he saw these soldiers and spoke with suspicion.
"Stop talking nonsense and bring the food to us quickly! Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude!" At this time a soldier shouted loudly, holding a spear in his hand and staring at him intently.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?" At this time, a middle-aged man came out from the inner room! He was wearing a long gown that ordinary scholars wore! He had a headscarf on his head that only scholars remembered! He strode in front of the officers and soldiers! He didn't take them seriously at all.
"I am a scholar on the list. According to the laws of Dakun, I do not have to pay any taxes. Why are you coming to my house to collect food? Are you planning to rob the people's food? Aren't you afraid that I will report you to your governor? Let me tell you, the Taotai of Northwest Prefecture was our invigilator back then!..." At this time, Wei Xiucai raised his head high and scolded the officers and soldiers.
"Don't you understand the situation now? There are rebels here and we are here to suppress them! We brothers will put our heads on the line to keep you safe! What's wrong with you taking out some food?" You have to know that the leader of this group of people is a little captain who barely knows anything. Naturally, he won't talk much with these scholars. At this time, they have already taken out their weapons.
"It's like a scholar meeting a soldier. I can't explain myself! If you dare to steal our food today, I will definitely sue you!" The scholar was so angry that his hands began to tremble. Normally, people in the village would respectfully call him "Master Scholar" when they saw him. His relatives who took him in and protected him were also respectful to him because they were exempted from taxes. When had he ever been bullied by these people?
"I'm standing here today. Let's see who of you dares to go over and steal the food!" At this time, Wei Xiucai opened his hands and blocked the door.
When the old man saw this, he hurried over and tried to drag him away.
"Someone, there are rebels who have escaped into the Wei family! Let's go in and search for them!" Unexpectedly, the soldier drew out his knife and stabbed the scholar in the chest.
The scholar fell straight to the ground. At this time, he still didn't understand why these soldiers were so bold as to kill him, a scholar.
The same thing happened constantly in the surrounding areas. Some families handed over the food obediently. Some families resisted, but many people were killed. Of course, all these people were blamed on the rebels.
None of their actions escaped the eyes of Yuan Quan and others.
"Young Marshal! This is good news! They are not offending the ordinary villagers. After all, the ordinary villagers have run out of food and have already fled or died! The rest of these people either have scholars in their families or have various complicated relationships! As long as they are offended, the fall of the Dakun Dynasty is not far away!" Tang Hai was very happy when he heard the news. He has always believed that scholars are the main support for the rise and fall of a dynasty.