The flames in the fire pit were burning, and the sparks exploding on the charcoal swayed with the wind, illuminating the faces of the people around them. The firelight stretched the shadows very long, as if they were iron chains firmly holding the place. .
"Everyone is here?"
An old man with gray hair looked at the familiar faces around him.
They were all familiar faces. Many of them had grown up by watching them. Some had worked together on business, and some had fought and scolded their father.
The fourth eldest son of the Li family, the eldest son of the Wang family, the second uncle of the Zhang family, and several of the most effective surnames in the village have all arrived.
"The second child came back from the farm. The landlord's book said that this year's taxes must not be less, and they must be paid as in previous years."
"But there was a disaster this year. Didn't the court say that money and food for the affected counties would be exempted?"
A middle-aged man frowned.
"The landowner's office said that there was no Wen Ning in the affected counties, so the county magistrate received a commendation from the court, saying that he was loyal to the country."
"Is this bitch going to trade our lives for a future?"
"The person named Tian is not a good person. He just wants to make a fortune by collecting taxes."
The crowd below was in a lively mood. The old man didn't speak, but just leaned toward the flames.
As people get older, they are particularly afraid of the cold.
I hope I can catch the fire, and I hope there are a few more people around me.
"The landowner's book said that this year's money and grain must be collected normally, and the rules cannot be broken."
The old man continued to mutter: "And those who drink the talisman water in each village will be punished again."
"Penalty? Why?"
"It's already hard to pay all the money and food, so what else do they want to do?"
"Drinking the talisman water means making friends with demons. According to the law, you will be punished with eighty sticks. You must either pay money or the county government will pull them out one by one regardless of gender or age and give them a stick."
The old man looked at the fire. The flames were tearing away the coldness in the air bit by bit, but it seemed as if there was a solid piece of ice frozen in his heart.
The sticks of the yamen servants can kill someone with ten sticks, but can hit someone with a thousand sticks without hurting them. It all depends on whether the money is enough.
silence.
"Then if the man at home gets a cane, can the county punish him less?"
A man asked.
"No, the landlord's office said that either we will all be beaten, or we will all pay for it."
The old man shook his head and said: "Besides, the county magistrate's term is up, and he wants to make a fortune before leaving."
"When his term is up, will he force us to death?"
A man said angrily: "Didn't we inform the Tian family? Didn't we also lure the two immortals to their farm?"
"They are not immortals, they are demons. If you talk nonsense, you will get us into trouble. Besides, we didn't report them. At most, we only mentioned it to the Tian family."
"The landowner's book said that the Tian family will record this benefit of ours, but the money is collected by the county official."
The old man looked at the men in front of him.
"Money has to be paid. As for how much, we still have to add it all together..."
The man who had been silent suddenly spoke.
"Together, I won't be able to make a cent out of it."
"Fourth?" The old man frowned: "What do you mean?"
"There is no money. We only have some seed food left at home, and we have to survive the winter."
Li Laosi rubbed his palms: "After paying the money and food, my family will starve to death. Where can I collect the fine money for them?"
"We won't pay it either. Is that grain of grain in the ground planted by the emperor? If you suffer a disaster, you won't be compensated, but you still have the gall to fine them."
"These dog officials are risking our lives in exchange for our future, right? Let them come and get it."
The old man looked at the excited people below and continued: "The landowner said that if you drink the talisman water, you can't control it for a month at most. If you continue to drink it after one month, you will catch the plague. Now people are hunting for monsters everywhere. Where is he?" There are also some talismans that can be sold to our village at low prices. If we don’t pay for food, we have to pay for a life, right? If we don’t pay for food, the landowner’s office may not be able to sell the talismans to us so easily.”
A group of people fell into silence.
The old man also sighed.
"Everyone lost their tempers, and the dog officer also scolded them. Let's discuss how to pass this test first. In fact, selling children and daughters sounds miserable, but even if you are sold to a wealthy family as a slave, it is better than suffering the hardships of living with your own parents. …”
Yes, what else can be done.
It's really a big deal. There are millions of soldiers in the court.
The man-eating monsters that had been living in Xuan Mountain to the north for so many years were exterminated immediately.
"It's better."
Li Laosi clapped his hands and took out something from his chest.
"Look what this is?"
"Yellow Talisman?" "Where did you get it from, Fourth?" "God, this can be saved."
Li Laosi looked at them, took out a white cloth from his pocket and slowly tied it on his head.
"I met other missionaries. They were leading people to the county town. They wanted to resist taxes and asked the county magistrate to waive this year's money and grain. They also wanted to open warehouses for relief."
"Resisting taxes, isn't that a rebellion?" "The county magistrate can't agree. Once he agrees, doesn't it mean that he has deceived the court?"
"Fourth, do you still have this talisman?"
Li Laosi looked at them: "I also asked the missionaries. They said that if the county magistrate doesn't obey, they will go to Cizhou Prefecture and tell Xing Yushitai. If Xing Yushitai doesn't listen, he will go to Jiankang and tell the emperor. As long as the head is tied If you pick up a white strip of cloth and follow them to resist the tax, you will get a yellow talisman."
"Isn't that really a rebellion?"
"Hey, let's go to the farm to report the news. Maybe the landlord's book will record us."
Li Laosi looked at them: "It's a rebellion, but if you don't rebel, do you still have a way to survive? Everyone around is rushing to the county seat. If we don't go, where will we get the yellow talisman? Can the landowner give it to him?" Return to Gianzhuang, I think Gianzhuang will be the first to die."
He patted his buttocks and stood up and said, "You can continue the discussion here. I will take people there tonight."
The old man watched him weakly open his mouth.
“This is not tax resistance, this is rebellion.”
"It's a rebellion. It should have been a fucking long time ago."
Li Laosi looked at the old man: "Fifth Grandpa, what is the difference between this way of living now and that of the Nine Clans?"
"Fourth brother, I'm done with you, when will you leave?"
A man bit his finger and looked at him.
"No, let's go our separate ways. I'm afraid you'll tie me up and bring me to court."
Li Laosi smiled: "You have to think clearly. The surrounding villages are resisting the tax. If our village dares not to resist, how will we live in front of the folks in this township in the future?"
After he finished speaking, he shook the dust off his clothes and walked out the door.
The door was pushed open, and a gust of cold night wind rushed in, blowing the fire and almost extinguishing it.
The old man sighed and said nothing.
He knew that he would not be able to pay the money and food this year.
Originally, we could all come up with a figure together, but now that one family is missing, we are destined to be unable to come up with a figure.
And I don’t know how many talented young people will follow the fourth child.
"Let's all go."
The old man looked at the faces of the people around him through the flames.
"If you want to go home, go home. If you want to resist taxes, resist taxes. If you want to sue the officials, sue the officials."
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