"You've seen me in person, so tell me."
"Many officials and gentry in the Ming Dynasty took advantage of their power to bully others. They took advantage of natural disasters to seize people's fields, accepted donations from others, or invaded Shatan to encircle their fields. The rich were connected by roads and the poor had no place to stand, making it difficult to return. Chongzhen did not care about the life and death of the people. Although there were successive natural disasters in the Central Plains, The Liao Dynasty still imposed additional taxes, causing refugees to spread everywhere. I, the Song Dynasty, knew the suffering of the people and returned to China to implement benevolent policies to correct the evils of the previous dynasty. On the 15th of this month, I will use the auditorium of the Guangzhou National Model School to preach the new land tax policy. Please be sure to attend, sir. Only then can we educate the children of the clan and avoid breaking the new law."
Chen Zizhuang was discouraged by the need to "preach the New Deal" again.
One of the tricks that the Australians used to torment the gentry was to hold "lectures" and "meetings" every three days, and the head of the family was required to participate by name. If the head of the family was unwilling to attend, at least the eldest son and grandson of the family would have to come forward. This was definitely not possible. He sent his nephew and concubine to deal with it. Regardless of whether you are willing to listen or not, you must be present. Once I preach, it lasts half a day. The gentry of the gentry complained endlessly about the torment. If you fail to do so, you will be fined tens to hundreds of yuan. This is still a bit painful for the gentry whose income has dropped significantly.
People are knives and servants, and I am fish and meat. Even though he was reluctant, he could only bow his head.
"What new policy does the Song Dynasty have?"
"The detailed rules have not yet been announced, but they are generally related to land taxation, land consolidation and new laws."
"May I ask Mr. Lu, what are the differences between the laws of the Song Dynasty?" Chen Zizhuang asked.
Chen Zizhuang's question stumped Lu Yizhong for a while. There were so many differences between the two systems that it was impossible to finish his sentence in one or two sentences. He thought for a moment and said, "In short, everyone is equal."
Chen Zizhuang suppressed his emotions and replied: "Okay, I already know and will definitely attend the meeting. Mr. Lu, please come back!"
Lu Yizhong took out two notices, kept one, and asked Chen Zizhuang to sign the other before taking it away. Only then did Li Suiqiu and others show up.
Chen Zizhuang recounted the notice and what Lu Yizhong informed him. Li Suiqiu also talked about the tax bureau asking him to report his income some time ago, jokingly calling the Senate "ten thousand taxes". They all understood that this was a way for the Australians to suppress the gentry.
Although the Australians did not recognize the Ming Dynasty's achievements after entering the city. Therefore, regardless of whether it is a scholar, a scholar or a scholar, all the original privileges of being exempted from taxes and duties have been cancelled, and no one will contribute to the industry; that is, without this gray income, it is impossible to work, and it is impossible to work in this life. They can only rely on land to collect land rent to make a living; but the "New Land Deal" that Australians have recently started to implement has made them sleepless.
The Australians' new land policy has been gradually implemented in the "security areas" around Guangzhou. This was almost a blow to the gentry.
The clearing of land makes it impossible for them to hide their land; once the progressive land tax is imposed, families with large land holdings must either split up or sell their land; when ordinary people have land, it is more difficult for the gentry to rent out their land, so they can only reduce the rent, which is also less For poor people who were willing to sell themselves into slavery; the slave tax also prevented them from keeping a large number of slaves for dominance. As a result, the economic foundation of the gentry and landlords collapsed. If there were another set of laws where everyone was equal, wouldn't it mean that if the elders break the law, they would be guilty of the same crime as the younger ones? The younger members of the family no longer fear the authority of their elders.
Li Suiqiu often read the Australian newspaper. Almost every issue contained news about official corruption in the Ming Dynasty and the government forcing the people to rebel. Although the Australian's new policy seriously damaged his interests, he had to admit that today's Most of the world's wealth is in the hands of the gentry. Australians have gathered money well, which can fill the national treasury without causing ordinary people to rebel. Huang Zongxi, his good friend of Fushe, also criticized the "law" of the third generation and below as the emperor's "law of the family" and "illegal law", and advocated replacing the "law of the family" with "the law of the world".
Li Suiqiu inadvertently had a thought in his mind: If the current emperor also used this method... But he immediately realized that it was ridiculous. To act in this way is to destroy the foundation of the imperial court. If you don't do this, you'll be waiting for death; if you do this, you'll die quickly! A death no matter what! How ironic!
"It's really the bottom of the cauldron. The Kun thieves are trying to dig out the roots of the scholars!" Chen Bangyan shook his head and sighed, then stepped forward and said to Chen Zizhuang: "Mr. Qiu Tao, this is actually the way of 'turning barbarians into Xia'. The Kun thieves are very persecuted. Be careful, within three years, there will no longer be any saints in Lingnan, and a thousand-year-old foundation will be destroyed."
Chen Zizhuang's heart is also in turmoil. If he rebels, he will definitely lose! If you don’t fight back, you will be trapped in the city of sleepiness and sorrow! But he was an old Jianghu after all, and shook his head at Chen Bangyan, "Mr. Iwano's loyalty to the emperor can be seen from the sun and the moon. But now that the time, place, and people are not with me, the uprising is just a needless sacrifice."
Chen Bangyan said: "Whether we succeed or not depends on God! Whether we can win or not depends on our strength!"
Chen Zizhuang asked: "Now that things have come to an end, there is only one battle!"
Everyone is already very aware of the current situation, and the thieves have gradually tightened the noose against them. In another three to five years, the "gentry" who once controlled the world will become ordinary rich people at best. , breaking up a house is a matter of time!
"If you want to cause trouble, you must have a strategy." Kuang Lu, who has always been a good soldier, responded immediately.
"The uprising is a fatal situation. Do you have this determination?" Chen Zisheng sneered.
Chen Bangyan said: "Raising troops at this moment is a certain death situation. Now we can only lie dormant and wait for changes. The imperial court is trapped in Guangdong and Guangxi, and something will happen over time. We can only accumulate strength and wait for the opportunity to respond."
"I'm afraid that before the court meeting is resolved, we will be reduced to a weak figure!" Li Suiqiu said with a bitter smile, "What else can we do to respond?"
"Otherwise. After the Kun thieves burned down Wuyangyi, I immediately wrote to my parents in the county to set up Longshanbao rural soldiers to defend Sangzi. Like the Zhongyi camp, some of the Longshanbao rural soldiers were also recruited by the Kun thieves. Among them were some of my students. Loyal people. There are many Jin gentry in Lingnan who have been invaded by the Kun thieves. They are just afraid of the force of the Kun thieves. In fact, they are eager for the Ming Dynasty and can be called in for help. Even if we do not raise righteous soldiers now, we should contact them widely and wait for the loyalty. Our soldiers are familiar with Australian military art. Once the time comes, we will overthrow these overseas barbarians!" Chen Zizhuang said, "Since the thieves want to force us to sell our land through taxation, why not just borrow the donkeys from the slope and sell what should be sold, and get the silver tael As payment for rebelling against Kun."
"I'm waiting in the city of sleepiness, wondering when the heavenly soldiers from the imperial court will arrive..." Kuang Lu sighed. He had just returned from the capital not long ago, and he was very aware of the current chaotic situation in the court. "Without the urging of the elders in the court, this matter may not be accomplished for another three to five years."
"Of course the elders in the court have something to gain, but we can't just count on the court..." Chen Zizhuang said, "Someone will come to the capital soon. Today you all have the same mind and are the pillars of my southern Guangdong. I have the courage to introduce you... …”
In the city of Guangzhou, another "information exchange meeting" was held in the conference room of the Political Security Bureau.
Since the Huidaomen Alliance incident in Caohe, the Political Security Bureau has basically determined that large-scale riots are very likely to occur within the old Guangzhou Prefecture in the short term. Therefore, related work has also accelerated. Today's meeting involves a key issue "Jin Gentry".
After the Senate went north to Guangzhou, they fought wars, suppressed bandits, plague, and witchcraft. They also had to fight wits and courage with the gentry in the city. Everyone was busy with things, and those who didn't usually play around were naturally busy. It received little attention from the elders. However, there will be some famous figures in all dynasties who are famous for their integrity, and the three loyalists of Lingnan are the representatives of this kind of people. Although the Three Lingnan Loyalists have not broken up with the Senate so far, they will not run away unless the dust is swept away. Judging from various signs, these few are more or less secretly engaged in activities.
Although time and space have changed, a person's temperament and social education have not changed, which also means that their choices in the face of historical trends will not change. Although some elders believed that they could be influenced and appeased, Wu Mu believed that if they could be appeased or bribed, they would not have raised the banner of anti-Qing in the old time and space. What's more, the Qing Dynasty's attitude towards the Jin gentry was much softer than that of the Senate.
Lin Baiguang looked through the materials in his hand, "So, the 'second' among the three Lingnan loyalists met? And where is Zhang Jiayu?"
Mu Min said: "The Three Loyalty of Lingnan were awarded by later generations. It does not mean that these three people have intersections now. Chen Bangyan should have met Chen Zizhuang for the first time this time. Zhang Jiayu is just twenty-two years old this year, and is older than Chen Bangyan." , Li Suiqiu, and Kuang Lu are one round younger, and even twenty years younger than Chen Zizhuang. Moreover, Zhang Jiayu's grandfather and father are both commoners, and their family is in Dongguan. They are not in the same circle as Li, Chen, and Kuang, the wealthy families in Guangzhou. Originally, he should have won the examination this year, but now that we are here, his resume can only be fixed at the level of scholar. In other words, it is unlikely that he will enter the circle of this wealthy family. His future development will be affected It’s a big variable.”
Wu Mu said: "I heard that Du Yibin met Zhang Jiayu on the flower boat of the collective wedding. Later, Fatty Cui made an appointment with Brother Zhang for an interview at Wuxian Temple, and he instilled a lot of new ideas. Brother Zhang is young and has the ability to accept new things. He is relatively strong and has strong personal abilities. It is said that he has joined the Olympic Bid Society established by Du Yibin. Many intellectuals who want to join us have applied to join. After all, we still lack intellectuals, especially intellectuals like Zhang Jiayu who are willing to accept new ideas and new things. , instead of following Chen Zizhuang and others to cause trouble, it is better to be used by me, which also plays a role in dividing people."
"Didn't Li Suiqiu also go to the Five Immortals Temple? It seems that Fatty Cui was not charming enough and didn't win over Li." Liu Xiang said.
Lin Baiguang put down the materials in his hand and said: "He is already in his thirties. You can't look at it from the perspective of the 21st century. You don't know that in history, Chen Bangyan wrote to the 33-year-old Zhang Jiayu and called him ' Old gentleman?"
