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Chapter 251 Autumn Fu Sixteen
The secret activities of Chen Minggang and Huang Hankun finally reached full text reading. Not only covert activities were achieved. Finally there was violence. A grain farmer couldn't bear the harassment and extortion many times, and finally beat him out of the house.
Of course, violence is a common occurrence during the annual grain collection. Sometimes the grain collectors beat people, and sometimes they are beaten. Not a big deal. Chen Minggang heard that his subordinates had been beaten, and he was secretly happy - violently resisting the conquest, what a good crime. In the past, the county didn't dare to offend you, but now Australians don't do this.
At that moment, he asked someone to write off all the grain that this family had paid, and count them as a grain debtor who had not paid even though they were consuming rice.
In the past ten days, the richer the people in the county, the more disturbed they were. Rumor has it that Chen Minggang has colluded with the thieves and is planning to attack several large households to scare the monkeys. There are also legends that Chen Minggang is completely "falsely passing on the imperial edict". For a time, all kinds of true and false news are flying all over the sky, making it impossible to distinguish.
Because they don't know what the outcome of the negotiations will be, the big families are making nervous preparations: some are hiding their belongings, some are sending away their wives and children, and some are reinforcing the walls. In order to win over people's hearts, many large households exempted and reduced the rents of their tenants and increased wages for their long-term servants.
Some families no longer even live in their own homes, but live in the villages of relatives and friends that are more fortified. The tense atmosphere gradually reached.
Based on the feedback from various parties, Wu De knew that Huang Huangkun had collected the joint posters and was preparing to formally submit them in front of the management office building of Dongmen City in three days. The local aborigines could not enter Bairen City, so it would be unfair to them. In Dongmen City, the management office building with a majestic sign and "police" standing guard at the door is the "yamen" - this place does have some characteristics of a yamen, such as various dispute mediation, leased land repayment, etc. If there is, they will arrest people.
As for Chen Minggang and his group, they are also ready to deal with it. According to Chen Minggang's instructions, three people from the county have been found as scapegoats. It was agreed that if an Australian wanted to kill someone, he would be given a pension of three hundred taels a piece. If he was arrested in a labor camp, he would be given five taels of silver if he stayed there for a month. The family members gave thirty taels of housing allowance.
In case the Australians were not deceived by this, the big bosses refused to let him go and insisted that he hand over the backbone of his men. Chen Minggang also thought about it and handed over Zhou Qi - using Zhou Qi as his great disciple. , enough to satisfy everyone. He was tired of this apprentice. Not only was he doing something behind his back, but also because of the rumors about Zhou Qi and Qiu Hong that were widely circulated in the county.
Rumors can also kill people. Originally, it was completely untrue, and Chen Minggang also knew that there was no adultery between the two, but the story spread too widely and became vivid. The quarrel has been going on for a long time, but it seems to be real, which makes him lose face.
But Zhou Qi seemed to work very hard, going to the countryside every day for several days. It's just that every time I come back, my face looks heavy. He didn't even dare to meet Chen Minggang - probably because things were not going well.
"What a waste." Chen Minggang cursed secretly. This incompetent apprentice probably took a lot of benefits from others, and if he doesn't come out now, it will be difficult for him to open his mouth again. Thinking of this, he felt more and more that his decision to throw Zhou Qi out as a scapegoat was correct.
The day for posting has finally arrived. Huang Huangkun and Li Xiaopeng originally planned to mobilize students from the county school and Molixuan Academy to submit a petition, but Wang Ci persuaded them not to make a big deal out of it.
"Hun Kun, just go with Mr. Liu and the others. If there are too many people there and they talk too much, they may say inappropriate things. By then, the Australians will be so angry that they won't be able to do this. "
"I want to show them the character of Lingao scholars."
"Hunkun" Wang Ci stopped his eloquent talk, "Don't be arrogant. The Australians have weapons in their hands and are outsiders. It's rare that they have some desire to change, so they can only pursue it slowly. You are leading the students in such a hurry. Go make trouble, if you offend them - there is no resurrection after death."
Huang Xunkun calmly thought that what Wang Ci said was right, and then he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sir, you have taught me the right lesson."
"It's rare that Mr. Liu is willing to come forward to seek justice in this matter. All you need to do is accompany Mr. Liu with Xiao Peng and a few others. Australians respect Mr. Liu very much. With his intervention, things can always turn around."
Huang Xunkun was obedient. In his opinion: Australians are greedy, and if Liu Dalin comes forward, the other party must be responding to the accident and making some symbolic concessions. The essence of convergence will not change.
Judging from his many years of experience in fighting bandits with his father, whether they are bandits or pirates, their roots are food. The large crowd that had gathered was in chaos without food. The Kun thieves are no exception. Since they have taken control of Lingao, they will not let go of this opportunity to collect a large amount of food.
But that’s fine too. Huang Xunkun thought that this could make the big investors who were originally lucky to take a firm stand. It will be much easier to do anything in the future.
Early the next morning, Huang Henkun, Li Xiaopeng, a few friends and domestic servants went to Liu Dalin's house in the west of the city. This place is already filled with relatives and friends of the Liu family who have fled from the countryside to seek help. Hearing that Liu Dalin was going to discuss autumn grain matters with the Australians in person, everyone got up early and gathered under the eaves to see him off.
Liu Dalin, neatly dressed and with bright robes and belts, was pushed out of the house by his servants. Seeing his righteous look, everyone praised him: He is indeed a man of high moral character.
Huang Hankun and others saw Li and pushed the wheelchair outside. The three relatives and servants of the Liu family in the corridor stopped to watch him off one by one, and some people kept bowing and saluting.
Liu Dalin was sitting in a wheelchair. Seeing the scene in front of him, he felt an impassioned feeling in his chest, and secretly blamed himself for imagining things. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't think of the right words for a while, so I had to return the favor.
Outside the door, a bamboo and rattan sedan has been prepared, and everyone helped him get on the sedan. Huang Xunkun and others neither rode in sedans nor rode horses, but just walked with them.
The county government office is closed. As usual, the county government does not release announcements during the busy farming season. The matter of requisitioning grain and land was too difficult. Fortunately, neither Liu Dalin nor Huang Henkun came to the county government. The big gentry were Australians, and they couldn't afford to offend anyone. They were happy to pretend to be deaf and dumb. .
"What if something really happens?" Wu Mingjin was slightly worried about this matter. If there is a "food disturbance" during the food requisition, his future will be doomed.
The so-called grain disturbance refers to the large-scale refusal of grain households in the county to pay grain taxes. Of course, this is a major violation of the king's law, but the county magistrate also has a heavy responsibility, and it is certain that he will be dismissed from office.
Wang Zhaomin was very confident. He smiled confidently and said: "Dong Weng, you are afraid of causing trouble. Aren't Australians afraid?"
Wu Mingjin nodded slightly and admired this master very much.
"Just wait and see what happens." Wang Zhaomin added in a pretentious tone. Of course, for him and the county magistrate, doing nothing is the best option.
Liu Dalin's sedan arrived at the management office building of Dongmen City and someone was sent to deliver the name card. Dugu proposed and Xiong Buyou were waiting inside. They received Wu De's instructions to prepare to receive "petitioners" - and they must be "proper and courteous."
"A landlord needs to be polite and courteous," Dugu said dissatisfied when he proposed.
"Who told him that he was the only Jinshi and yet he was planning to take advantage of him." Xiong Buyou stood up, straightened his clothes, and went out together with Dugu's proposal.
This is Liu Dalin's first time visiting an Australian. It's an Australian government office. Looking around very curiously. I saw that this was a two-story building made of red bricks, very square and regular. The windows are large and narrow, inlaid with shiny glass
"Too luxurious." Liu Dalin shook his head. I saw that the top of the gate was semicircular and very tall. There is also a policeman in black clothes and a cane hat standing next to the door. These are the so-called "policemen". I heard that they are all local aborigines.
I saw two people coming out of the door, one tall, one short, one fat and one thin, complementing each other. Both of them wore blue cloth double-breasted jackets with four pockets, no hats, and their hair was styled like a monk's. Wear canvas shoes with ropes on them. There is no silk or satin on the whole body, and no toys accessories.
Liu Dalin was surprised to see that the Australian leader was so plainly dressed. According to the news he heard, Australians are well-educated in making money and are good at manufacturing all kinds of ingenious goods. They should have accumulated a lot of wealth. Looking at what they do on a daily basis: building roads and bridges, running schools, building large ships, etc. Xiang Du spent a lot of money on his career, but he didn't expect that he would work so hard for personal enjoyment, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of respect in his heart.
Xiong Buyou came up to him, exchanged a few words, and immediately welcomed him and the group into the reception room on the second floor.
As soon as he entered the reception room, Liu Dalin almost laughed. It seems that although Australians are very capable, they are actually very vulgar. A large room with whitewashed walls and fine wood on the floor. The autumn sunshine shines through the glass windows, making it extremely bright. The furnishings inside were haphazard.
The walls were like a stall selling paintings, with various calligraphy and paintings hanging densely on them. Whether it’s a nave, a banner, an interstitial, or even a few fans. Landscapes, flowers and birds, fine brushwork, freehand brushwork, splash ink, and green are all hung randomly everywhere. There are actually a few Suzhou films among them.
In the corner, there are a few large vases randomly placed, with nondescript feather dusters stuck in them. These large vases are as tall as half a person. They are not used in industry. People don't want them to decorate the house. It would be a pity to destroy them. So we might as well just get them. Here comes the remaining heat.
Apparently Australians have terrible tastes. To say they are nouveau riche is an exaggeration. Liu Dalin secretly shook his head, the wealthy locals in this county had better taste than them. ,.
