The north wind blows and the white grass breaks on the ground, and the sky is full of snow in August.
Although Cen Shen's poem is a bit exaggerated, the northern part of the Central Plains really has some winter chill after entering mid-to-late October. This year's winter has come earlier than before. October has just passed halfway, and the wind is already freezing and the clouds are heavy in Damingfu. It seems that the first snow will fall soon.
However, compared to the harsh climate, what is more chilling is the government's excessive taxation. Today, the Daming Mansion in Beijing during the Great Song Dynasty is filled with mourning. Countless people are crying and helpless in their homes, just because in the past two days, the government has imposed several heavy taxes on them, and stipulated that if at the end of this month If you haven't been able to pay taxes in full before, then let's wait until the whole family enters the prison cell and is assigned.
And all of this came from an order from Liang Zhongshu, who stayed in Daming Mansion. He needed to collect more than 100,000 guan of money within this month, transport it to Tokyo, and deliver it to his father-in-law, the current prime minister, Grand Master Cai Jing. At home, because only in this way can we make up for the mistake of failing to send gifts to my father-in-law in the past two years.
In this regard, Liang Zhongshu's cronies still have some opinions, but most people don't dare to touch this bad luck and really come to him to persuade him. Only the most trusted two people, Yi Wen and Wu, dared to give some advice. Wu's was naturally Suo Chao, and Wen's was Shi Yan, the think tank around him.
Today, these two people came to see Liang Zhongshu again, hoping that he could take back his life and not burden the people again. But no matter what they said, Liang Zhongshu remained unmoved, and even said with a straight face: "Suo Chao, Shi Yan, you two don't need to persuade me anymore, I have made up my mind and will not change it at will. And I also believe that in this famous mansion, I can still collect the one hundred thousand yuan I need."
Shi Yan and Suo Chao looked at each other, and then said sincerely: "Of course what my husband said is the truth. As long as it is collected by force, with the foundation of Daming Mansion, we can naturally squeeze out another hundred thousand yuan or even more money. Next I also know why my husband did this. You have your own difficulties. If you don't express yourself again this year, I'm afraid it will be difficult to speak in front of the grand master. But... this will really drive many people into desperation. If they are forced to have no choice but to become refugees, what should they do if the population within the jurisdiction drops sharply next year? Your Majesty, you can't just focus on the present and ignore the long term, right? "
"Yes, sir, this matter needs to be considered in the long run. I have heard that many brothers in the military camp have complaints because their families have been exploited. Although they can be suppressed for a while, once something goes wrong, only I'm afraid..." Suo Chao didn't have as good an eloquence as Shi Yan, so he could only follow his advice.
"Humph, they are just some untouchables, what use can they be? Do you think I am really unprepared?" Liang Zhongshu said with a confident face: "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. I also know that such a tough tax increase may not be able to benefit from these things. Ordinary people have a lot of money to spend on them, so this is done just to force them away. As long as they are forced to leave our Daming Mansion regardless of the court's laws, then all their fields and properties can be transferred to the government.
"In addition, the three big families in the city, Xu Liu Jia, have already settled with me. As long as I can force the people who occupy the fields to leave, they will pay a high price to buy all the fields and properties. In this way, Not only can it solve money problems
It can also provide the government with more income, so why wouldn’t I do it? "
The two of them were really dumbfounded now. They didn't expect that as a close confidant, they had no idea that their husband-in-law had such an arrangement. But then, Shi Yan said anxiously: "What about the future? Once the people flee, the fields will be barren..."
"This is not a problem anymore. Now that our army of the Song Dynasty has captured the Sixteenth Prefecture of Youyun, it will not take long for the imperial court to transport soldiers, horses and people from the south to those cities. By then, as long as I do a little bit of manipulation, I can naturally make it happen. Those people stayed in my Daming Mansion to make up for the previous losses. I guess the location of my Daming Mansion must be much better than the bitter cold land at the border, right
"So you two don't have to worry anymore. I have arranged everything. I will send the treasure of 100,000 guan to Tokyo by the end of the month, and give it to me, Lord Taishan, before the end of the year."
This time, the two of them really had nothing to say. They could only sigh and leave silently. After all, one of them is just a military commander, and none of them even has an official position, so how can they have the courage to go against Liang Zhongshu. What's more, it wasn't the two of them who were really in trouble, they were just fulfilling their duties as subordinates.
As even the last two people who advised him did not dare to speak out, the government naturally became more and more unscrupulous. Every day, continuous cries could be heard in the city, and countless people fell into desperate situations.
Wu You who was guarding the north city gate was one of them. Although he also had a rank in the army, it was nothing in the Daming Mansion. Therefore, when the government sent people to his home to forcefully seize property, otherwise he would When it came to imprisoning his old father, he was powerless and could only find ways to do it. But to this day, half of the fifteen heavy taxes imposed by the government have not yet been paid, which has made him worried and depressed for several days.
"Brother Angkor, I still have half a coin here, take it first." At noon, a brother in the army suddenly found him and handed a bunch of copper coins into his hand. But Wu You was obviously stunned: "Brother Wang, your family is not like mine, how can you still have money to help me?"
"My parents and two younger brothers have decided to escape from the city tomorrow, and I will leave with them..." Brother Wang immediately lowered his voice and said, "I can't survive here, I have to go elsewhere."
"You..." Wu You wanted to say something, but was at a loss for words. In the end, he could only sigh: "Nowadays, traitors are in power in the world, and there are corrupt officials everywhere. It's different everywhere."
"There is always a place to go. I have heard that the taxes in the cities in the north that were just taken from the Liao people are very light, less than 30% of what we have here. If there is really no place to go, I will go there."
"Youyun Sixteen Provinces?" Wu You's eyes were full of envy: "We all carry one head on two shoulders, and we are all soldiers. How come we are not so lucky to make great achievements, but we have to suffer this here? Waiting to get angry."
"Yes, it would be great if we could go north to fight with the Liao people and the Jin people like those soldiers. Even if we die, we will still be remembered as heroes..."
Just when these two little people were lamenting their bad fate, a man and a half suddenly ran up from a distance. They saw Wu You talking under the city wall from a distance, and said loudly: "Brother, it's not good. Out at home
It’s happened. The people from the government who came to collect taxes just injured my grandpa... "
"What?" When Wu You saw the person and listened to his words, his whole body suddenly started to tremble with anger: "Is he from the government office?"
"Exactly, there was the second brother. The second brother was also taken away by them, saying that he injured someone... But it was obvious that the second brother went to pull someone because he saw grandpa being injured by them, and he was knocked down by them. Even tied up..." When the young man said this, he was so anxious that he almost shed tears: "Brother, please think of something quickly."
"It's so bullying!" Wu You roared at that time, his teeth chattering, and he immediately wanted to pick up a knife and kill those who were relying on human power to let them know how powerful he was.
"Brother Angkor, please don't mess around..." Brother Wang on the side also became nervous when he saw this, and quickly stepped forward to catch him: "We are all small people, how can we fight against the government office? Otherwise, we must Why don't we go ask the general again? He has always thought highly of you, and maybe he can give you a fair word."
"Hmph, General Suo has always been steady, how could he stand up for someone like me? As a son of a human being, I can only let my father and brothers be humiliated and injured. It's really..." Wu You said, and then moved forward. Rush away. Suddenly, an exclamation came from the top of the city: "What is that? Why are there so many soldiers and horses?"
At this time, Wu You was completely occupied by anger, and he couldn't even take care of his own responsibilities, and immediately strode forward. But the shouts from behind became louder and louder: "There are cavalry coming, and there is a flag on it. What does it say?"
"In order to eliminate thieves for the country and clear the emperor's side, the officers and soldiers of the Song Dynasty should strengthen themselves!" Finally a literate person suddenly shouted loudly. But when these words reached the ears of Wu You, who was about to start running, his movements suddenly stopped, and even more light flashed in his eyes.
At the same time, a voice came from outside the city: "I am Han Tao, the vanguard of the rebel army. I am here under the orders of General Sun. The soldiers guarding the city quickly open the city gate and follow us to kill the traitor and clear the king's side!"
As soon as this powerful and domineering voice came, the people and soldiers above and below the city were stunned on the spot, and the more than a hundred soldiers who were responsible for defending the city did not know how to react at all. Why did some rebel army appear? What did they mean by "Qingjun side"? But one thing is clear to everyone. General Sun is the most amazing hero in the Song Dynasty today, so naturally all the soldiers and horses under his command are also heroes.
Just open the city gate and let them in... Just when everyone was still struggling, and some people were thinking about whether they should report to the left-behind mansion, a voice rang from the root of the city wall below: "Open the city gate and welcome the rebel army into the city! Those corrupt officials should pay the price!" But Wu You suddenly turned around and issued an order.
This Wu You has always been quite popular among the people guarding the city gate here. As soon as he heard his words, the soldiers below naturally stepped forward to open the city gate and lower the suspension bridge that had just been retracted.
As the city gate suddenly opened, the vanguard army headed by Han Tao marched straight in and quickly took the jurisdiction of the city gate into their own hands. In this way, this extremely important city in the northern part of the Song Dynasty was captured without blood due to Liang Zhongshu's violent conquests and perverse actions.