"Hey, did you hear that! We don't have enough food in the city!" One citizen was discussing with another in a low voice.
"Not enough food? No! Where did you hear this news? His Royal Highness should not be short of food, otherwise he wouldn't have given us fertile land. It's still such a low tax!" Another commoner was very excited. Said in surprise. You must know that Liu Mangjun's tax in Shouchun was very small, only the third floor, so he didn't receive much food and grass in the first place. To be able to make such a tax, Liu Mang's army should not be short of food and grass. Otherwise, how would he raise an army!
"You don't need to inquire, you can see for yourself, how much rations did you get yesterday?!" The commoner who spoke said disdainfully.
"Two fights!" The commoner replied in confusion.
"You also know that it's two fights. In the beginning, we had four fights for one person and one fight for children, but now, it has changed from four fights to three fights, and now it has directly become two fights, and the children have become half fights. Who can eat like this! This doesn't explain anything!"
It is true that from the very beginning when the people entered Shouchun, the ration given by Liu Mang’s army was indeed four dou. If everyone was full, they could even keep some, but now there are only two dou. What is two dou enough? It’s not that there are so many dishes in modern times, so there is less food. This is a troubled time where everyone is mainly eating. The dishes are not affordable for wealthy families, so the consumption of food is huge.
"Two fights are not bad, at least if you don't starve to death, you'll get through it!" An old man was very kind and said good things for Liu Mangjun. He was an old man who survived the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Naturally, I knew what it was like when everyone couldn't eat. It's completely cannibalism. There are corpses everywhere. Although there are only two buckets in Shouchun City, they won't starve to death, right
"It's over? Old man, you don't know, let me tell you, I heard that in a few days, there will be no more fights. In order to block Liu Bei's army outside the city, it is said that food and grass will only be given to those who participate in the defense of the city. Eat! If our rations are cut off, ordinary people will have to go to battle if they want to eat food!" The simple-looking farmer continued.
"Only those who go up the city wall can eat it?!" The old man frowned. If this is the case, the young man can say, if it is an old man like him, children, and those women and children, should they also go up the city wall? Don't talk about fighting, just climb up the city wall. Seeing the frown of the old man, the man continued to speak ill of Liu Mangjun, why should he give the broken grain to the common people and so on.
"If you have something to eat, you still pick and choose. Do you want to wait until Liu Beijun breaks the city and slaughter it?!" Another commoner couldn't stand it and refuted.
"Who told you that the Xuande Guild outside would slaughter the city? Let me tell you. It's all fake, it's all a joke. Who is Xuande Gong? He is the left general of our Great Han Dynasty, the emperor's uncle, He is so benevolent and righteous, if you don’t believe me, ask the fellow villagers in Xuzhou, how many people were willing to follow General Zuo when he left Xuzhou!” This man began to boast about Liu Bei outside the city again.
"Yes, yes, I am from Xuzhou. Lord Xuande is a living Bodhisattva. It is he who saved Xuzhou from being slaughtered by the Cao bandits!" Pang Tong's spies were not the only ones who said such words among the crowd. , and there are real Xuzhou people, Xuzhou people are also grateful to Liu Bei now.
Hearing what everyone Yun Yiyun said, many people began to waver.
The man hit the rails while it was hot, "General Zuo also set up a banquet outside the city, if you don't believe me, go and see, he said that he will not blame the people in the city, he was just ordered by the emperor to attack the disobedient ministers, it has nothing to do with us ordinary people! "
"Punish Buchen? Shouchun belongs to His Highness the Holy King, where did Buchen come from!"
"You don't understand. His Royal Highness has been deceived by others. For example, Xu Shu, the military adviser, and Yang Hong, the chief envoy. You all know that Yuan Shu's adviser back then, but he was a traitor under Yuan Shu's subordinates!" Yang Yang Hong's reputation among the people is really not good, because in order for Yuan Shu to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, he can have enough food and grass for the army, so he plundered a lot of people. The people hated Yang Hong to death, but who knew that Yang Hong was just And a man who takes orders!
"You mean?!" Some people think too much. Where is this place now? It is Yangzhou. This is Shouchun. Well, Shouchun used to be one and a half of the country's capital, and there was no place in the last ten. Such a tragic ending was all because Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor. Now Yang Hong, who encouraged Yuan Shu to proclaim himself emperor, is also there. At that time, it will be over if it becomes Shouchun again. These people still remember the misery of Yangzhou.
"What about taxes? What about fertile land?!" What the people really care about is their petty profits, because these are the foundation of their lives.
"Mr. Xuande said in the city that as long as Shouchun is taken down, it is only for the purpose of punishing the traitors, for the side of the Qing emperor. As long as these treacherous ministers are killed, he will abide by what His Highness said and give it to our people!" This man continue to say. What he said was Pang Tong's trick, 30% of the tax? Don't joke, okay! No matter how virtuous Liu Bei was, he would not dare to receive the third tier. If it was the third tier, what would he use to support the army, pay salaries, and recruit soldiers? You must know that Guandu is coming to an end. If you want to dominate the Central Plains, you must have a strong military force, so now you can only expand the army. The reason why he said this is to appease these people first. One explained that they won Shouchun and the taxes would naturally change to the original state again. After the disaster, the common people rioted and all put their names on Liu Mang. This is the tax set by the holy king Liu Mang. , You guys go to the Holy King! In this way, not only Liu Bei can get the original tax, but also Liu Mang's reputation will be really ruined. Only by winning the trust of the people can he get the support of the people.
Now that this man said this, there was a lot of discussion in the city, and many people had an extra heart. They are ordinary people. Naturally, there will be no such thing as diehard loyalty. What they think about is their own little family, and now they can’t think of everyone like Shouchun. What everyone thinks in their hearts is that if what Liu Beijun outside the city said is true, as long as the city is not slaughtered, everything will be fine. !
For these people, it really doesn't matter who is the prefect! Not only in the city, but also the temporary garrison that was reorganized on the city began to become agitated, because Liu Beijun under the city said, as long as they don't resist. Throw down your arms and they will let bygones be bygones.
"Haha, the military master is really a man of gods. If this continues, this Shouchun will be broken!" Seeing that everyone was discussing the simplicity of this man who was just a dealer, he immediately turned into a cunning expression. He changed into a new outfit and went to several other urban areas to continue spreading rumors.
"Captain, do you want to take him down?!" The man left, but he didn't know that he was already being targeted.
"No, at least not now!" The captain is Yang Hong's intelligence officer who stayed in Shouchun. They already knew that Pang Tong's spies had infiltrated Shouchun. But I can't find it, because there are millions of people in Shouchun. How to identify so many people one by one, we can only find a needle in a haystack, but now Pang Tong's strategy has exposed them all, but now is not the time to catch them all, because the main bosses have not been found yet! The only way to deal with them is to wait until they all come out.
Seeing that everything was about to riot, the cavalrymen of Baima Congyi began to ride their horses and shouted loudly in the city, "Listen, all the people, the corrupt official Xie Wen will be executed at the East Caishikou of Shouchun City! Everyone can go and watch, and the military adviser will uphold justice for you!"
"Execution of corrupt officials? What's so interesting about this! Don't go, don't go, why did you go to such an unlucky place like Caishikou!" Some people didn't want to go, but then they wanted to go again, because Another shouted, "Grain release officer? What kind of official is this!"
"Stupid, I don't even know this, the food delivery officer is the official who gives us food!" Someone beside him was belittling his companions to improve himself.
"The officials who gave me food were corrupt? Is it because of the food?!"
"Everyone, go and see. The military adviser said that he will uphold justice for us and may distribute food and grass to me!" Not only Pang Tong's intelligence personnel can build momentum, but also the spies of Liu Mang's army are also building momentum to distribute food! This shouted that the people who were not willing to go were also willing to go. Those who were willing to watch the excitement followed even more.
In a small courtyard in Shouchun City, a woman was frowning, "Is there only two buckets of grain?" A little bit, but now that she is pregnant, how can these four buckets be enough? If it doesn't work, she can only pawn a few jewelry that Brother Wen gave her, so that she can get some food back.
There was a lot of noise outside, but this woman didn't pay attention at all. She is a woman, so she shouldn't go out in the first place, not to mention worrying about food now! But the woman didn't want to go out, but there was a reason why she had to go, because two other women rushed in.
"Sister-in-law Xie's family, go quickly, go to Caishikou in the east of the city!" A woman shouted out of breath.
"Go to Caishikou in the east of the city?!" The woman named Xie's sister-in-law was taken aback for a moment. What is there to do at Caishikou? Isn't it just beheading! What's so interesting, it's not only unlucky but also there are many people, but she is pregnant and all she needs is to raise the baby at home. Why do you go to Caishikou? Xie's sister-in-law handed a bowl of water to the woman who reported the letter.
After drinking a sip of water, the sister-in-law of the Liu family finally felt relieved, "Come on, sister-in-law Xie, let me tell you, hurry to Caishikou, your Xie Wen, Xie Wen!"
"What's wrong with Xie Wen?!" Hearing someone mention her husband, Xie Wu was a little flustered.
"I'm about to be beheaded, you go, go!"
"What!" When Xie Wu heard the news, she was stunned on the spot, "Impossible, impossible, how is it possible!" Could it be that Liu Beijun called in, otherwise how could it be possible? You must know that although Xie Wen in his family has broken a Arm, but he is an old man of Lu Bujun, he lost his arm for Lu Bujun, how could he be cut off
"Is your Xie Wen a grain release officer?!" The sister-in-law of the Liu family continued to say, and Mrs. Xie Wu nodded, "That's right! There are those soldiers on horseback who are shouting that they will be executed at Caishikou. Grain officer Xie Wen. Said to be the master for our people!"
"Take me there. Take me there quickly!" Xie Wu. I panicked on the spot, because everything the sister-in-law of the Liu family said was Xie Wen from their family!
Liu's sister-in-law was afraid that there would be something wrong with Xie Wu's pregnancy on the way, so she asked her man and her younger brother to take Xie Wu's to the top of the city. The four of them hadn't reached the east of the city yet. , I saw that the east of the city was almost blocked by a sea of people. With the help of two men, Xie Wu and Liu's sister-in-law were able to squeeze to the front of the vegetable market entrance.
"Rang Rang. Rang Rang!" Just when everyone was looking forward to it, the cavalry led the way, followed by a prison cart, and the armless man in the prison cart was the food delivery officer Xie Wen!
"Xie Wen, Xie Wen!" Xie Wu wanted to shout, but she couldn't answer it anyway, because there were too many people in the field, how could she be a weak woman who was pregnant! Her voice was quickly drowned in the noise.
After a while, the prison van arrived at Caishikou in the east of the city. Xie Wen was escorted out of the prison van and knelt down on the Caishikou. Sitting on the execution platform behind was Xu Shu from Shouchun City, and standing beside Xu Shu was a personal guard. Zhao Yun has returned to the wall of Shouchun City, and Zhao Yun needs to guard Shouchun City. Don't be raided by Liu Bei's army.
"Everyone be quiet, be quiet!" A man with the appearance of a scribe walked up to the front desk and pressed his hands on everyone, trying to make these people stop talking and calm down to listen to Xu Shu on the stage, but what's the use of a scribe. Just when the scribes didn't know what to do.
Xu Shu stood up by himself, and when he walked to the entrance of the vegetable market, Xie Wen knelt down in front of him. Xu Shu took a sudden breath and opened his mouth, like a tiger roaring, "Silence!" Many people have directly changed the words. Xu Shu is also a warrior. His roar is still a bit powerful, making the people in the front row feel uncomfortable in their ears and stop talking. The people behind are also quiet because the people in front have stopped talking.
Seeing that everyone was quiet, Xu Shu let out a sigh of relief. His injury was not as serious as the wound with his throat just now. Xu Shu calmed down for a while and said, "Fathers, folks, fellow citizens, my lord, Xu Shu, Xu Yuanzhi, Being under the command of His Highness the Holy King of the Great Han Dynasty, His Highness Cheng Meng gave Xu Shu the position of military adviser because His Highness thought highly of it. Xu Shu has been working hard for fear of any mistakes. His Highness the Holy King is also based on the common people. Let everyone present here only teach the three levels of taxation, you can get several acres of fertile land, you can live and work in peace and contentment, and seek benefits for my man and the people of the world," Xu Shu counted Liu Mang's kindness in detail as soon as he opened his mouth, people have a grateful heart , But, more of it is a forgotten heart, no matter how good you are to a person, once time goes by, he will naturally forget it, and Xu Shu just wants to find out this grateful heart again!
"Yes, yes, His Royal Highness the Holy King is a good person. Thirty percent of the taxes and several acres of fertile land were given to us for free. There will even be another reward of fertile land after giving birth to a child. He is really a living Bodhisattva and a saint! "Ancient China is a history of war, and it is also a history of agricultural civilization. The small peasant economy has always occupied the dominant position. For the common people, the land is the capital for living and living. If you have acres of good land, you will no longer have nothing to eat. And worry, and 30% of the tax will make them no longer hungry. This is a real benefit, and they will not fail to see it
Xu Shu is very satisfied with the gratitude and morality of the people below, which have given you so many benefits. If you don't think about kindness, you are really a beast. "But some people don't think so. He wants to have a long life and spring, and he even wants to confiscate the fertile land of everyone present, and the tax will be increased to 50% of the same as their Yuzhou. Do you think such a person is hateful?!" Xu Shu Continue to launch the offensive of his speech.
"Yes, yes!" The people below responded in unison. Why did they come to Shouchun? Isn't it just for good land! How can they live if their fertile land is confiscated. There is still 50% of the tax. To be honest, it is really not much in this troubled world, but you have to see what it is compared with. It is like letting you eat rice all the time and suddenly let you eat grass roots and bark one day. Can you bear it? The huge contrast will definitely make you angry.
What Xu Shu wanted was to stir up the anger of these common people and put it all on Liu Beijun outside. Didn't Liu Bei want to beautify himself! Xu Shu went to worsen his image, trying to describe him as a heinous devil who came to rob everyone's land and prevent them from eating.
"You lied!" Seeing Xu Shu's words arouse the hatred of the people. The hidden spies of Liu Beijun in the crowd couldn't do it anymore. If Shouchun City becomes a heart. If the hatred towards Liu Bei reaches a certain level, it will really be over. Not to mention whether Shouchun City can be captured, even if it is captured, Liu Beisu will be helpless in dealing with the people. He stood up and pointed at Xu Shu angrily. He said, "General Zuo Xuande is here to crusade against the traitors. How could it be possible to confiscate everyone's fertile land and ask everyone to raise taxes?! It's all your one-sided words and bloody mouth!"
Everyone's eyes were attracted by this person. Xu Shu also saw this person, with no expression on his face, but he was sneering in his heart. What he wants is you clowns, "I don't know who you are!"
"I'm not your Excellency, I'm just a commoner from Yuzhou. In our Yuzhou, the commoners are all worshiping Lord Xuande, thanking Lord Xuande for his kindness, not only us, but also the people of Xuzhou, Xuande The Duke was expelled from Xuzhou because of the thief Cao. But the people in Xuzhou still went to Yuzhou with Duke Xuande! How could such a saint take away our fertile land and raise our taxes! Duke Xuande returned It was said in the city that as long as we surrender, he will not blame the past, you humiliated Lord Xuande so much, don’t you want us to help you defend the city, and you want us to die for you!” The man who stood up said confidently.
What the man said made the people below boil again, especially the people in Xuzhou among them. They are really grateful to Liu Bei. The people don't care whether you have changed the master or the prefect Mu and the like, what they want is a stable life. If Liu Bei outside the city has the same conditions, then it is better to surrender Liu Bei! For a while, Liu Bei's praise was like rain, which made the man very proud.
"Who is this?!" The man stood up, and the Liu Mang army intelligence personnel who had been closely monitoring everything in the city were also watching him. No one really knew about this man, and no one among the crowd they were monitoring He, this person should be a leader-level figure among Pang Tong's spies.
"Hehe, brother, let me call you that! You said you are from Yuzhou!" Xu Shu looked at this person indifferently.
"Yes, I'm from Yuzhou!" the man repeated.
"Okay! Come here, take him down!" Xu Shu pointed at the man and shouted, and the two guards were ordered to take him down.
Seeing the arrival of the personal guard, this person was not in a hurry, "What? Don't tell the truth, do you want to kill me? Or talk about your pain? If so, then come! Kill me One, you can't stop the crowd!" The man's eyes were full of provocation, he was betting that Xu Shu would not dare to kill him, if Xu Shu cut him off, then it would be confirmed that Xu Shu had framed Liu Bei.
"Kill you? Hehe, I'm afraid I'll get my hands dirty. I, Xu Shu, have always disdain to kill!" Xu Shu showed disdain for this man, which made this man very ashamed and angry.
"You said you were from Yuzhou, you said Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, are rare saints? Then let me ask, since Liu Bei is so good, why did you come to my Yangzhou and come under the rule of my holy king?" Xu Shu directly asked a few rhetorical questions, didn't you say that Liu Bei is fine! Well, since Liu Bei is so good, why did you come to Shouchun and Yangzhou? Doesn't this indirectly mean that Yuzhou is not as good as Yangzhou!
"I, I!" The man was speechless for a while
"Why do you have nothing to say?!" Xu Shu asked very indifferently, and the people below were vying to talk, yes, yes, this person came to Yangzhou from Yuzhou, which means that he is not doing well in Yuzhou , otherwise why come to Yangzhou! The people began to lean towards Xu Shu again.
"Hmph! I came to Yangzhou just to study, and I want to admire the demeanor of the sage king! See if our Lord Xuande is also a sage." Those who study abroad naturally don't live here with you, but they can't go out because of the war.
"Okay, what a study tour!" Xu Shu didn't expect this guy to be so eloquent, but would Xu Shu let him go? The answer is no, "Well, since you are a student, you naturally know some geometry, so let me ask you a question, how much is your tax in Yuzhou?"
"The tax in Yuzhou, this, this!" This man really has nothing to say, the tax in Yuzhou is six levels, this is a fact.
"You don't want to say it, let me tell you! The tax in Yuzhou is six levels, which is double that of our Yangzhou. Liu Bei and Liu Xuande are despicable villains. The reason why he attacked our Yangzhou is because he doesn't want us to keep the three levels of taxation." , I don’t want the people to have their own fertile land, because our taxation has caused the people of Yuzhou to come to our Yangzhou and come to the command of the Holy King. Liu Bei can’t see these people living well, and he can’t see his own people Lost, so he became jealous and sent troops. He used the guise of the Qing emperor's side, and he used the banner of crusade against rebellious officials. In fact, he wanted to annex my land in Yangzhou. Going back to the 60% tax, everyone said, is such a person a hypocrite, a treacherous villain!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The eyes of the people are all red now. It turns out that Liu Bei and Liu Xuande want to rob them of their land, and want them to return to the taxation of the sixth floor. This is not possible, the land is the people How can this be taught to you!
Pang Tong wanted to alienate the people of Shouchun, but Xu Shu wanted to tie these people with Shouchun with benefits.
"For the sake of the people? For the sake of the people, why do you only have two buckets of food for the people, so that the people can't eat enough? Your army has no food and grass. In order to protect Shouchun, you can only let the people starve to death. Today is two Dou, tomorrow may be a dou, and even the day after tomorrow you will grab food from the people! All the folks and elders present, even if they really give you good land, even if they are really a three-tier tax, you can persist until the autumn harvest time Well? And there is no food in Shouchun! You will all starve to death in a few days! It is better to live than to die. Open the city gate to welcome Xuandegong’s troops, and they will let you survive instead of starving to death In Shouchun!" The man continued.
Now the people below are silent. It is an objective fact that there is no food in Shouchun City, and they have really changed from four buckets to three buckets to two buckets. If that is really the case, the fertile land is good! The third level of taxation is also very good, but it will be next year, if there is no food in a few days, you will starve to death! No matter how good the fertile land is, no matter how good the taxation is, it is nothing but a mirror image! In the final analysis, life is the most important thing, and it is better to live than to die. This is a true portrayal of the ancient people. If there is no way out and no food to eat, how could they rise up and rebel! Look at the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, look at the rebellion, let alone an official, I am afraid that the common people will drown you. (To be continued..)