"Work has come, work has come... Anyone with twins in the family must send one worker to work... Anyone who violates the order will be jailed by the county government for ten days!"
"See clearly... This is the emperor's will. Give money every day, one hundred coins a day..."
"Building railways and iron works for the imperial court is an honor earned over eight lifetimes. Anyone who doesn't have children is committing rebellion..."
The weather was getting hotter and hotter. Even in April, it was already time to make a cool sedan chair. Isiha hid in the sedan chair and watched the people in front carrying notice boards and beating gongs desperately as they walked through the countryside!
Thousands of years of farming civilization have created an inertia among the people, which is not only blind worship of imperial power, but also a deep fear.
The people have been under high-pressure rule for so long that they can't believe that the imperial court will distribute honey. In the eyes of these people, if they can avoid raising taxes every year and if the weather can be good and they can harvest a few more grains, it will be peace. It’s prosperous!
Who dares to think that the emperor would give wages to ordinary people? So Zai Chun’s confession order went very poorly!
According to Emperor Tongzhi's plan, the Beijing-Tianjin Railway and the steel plant required at least 100,000 civilians. At that time, productivity was extremely low, and they could only rely on manpower!
If one hundred thousand is not enough, then two hundred thousand, and if it is not enough, then three hundred thousand. What Zai Chun thinks is so simple!
However, once the decree was issued to the county, it could not be pushed back. The county magistrate and the county government officials who were familiar with the public sentiment on the front line were scratching their heads.
Farmers naturally like their own one-third of an acre of land. They will only be happy if they never leave the village. Are you asking them to leave their hometowns to build railways? I'm afraid only refugees can choose the right one.
However, the number of refugees is far from enough, and the physical quality of the refugees does not meet the requirements of the court. If they cannot recruit workers, this will make it difficult for the officials below!
The emperor doesn't care about the actual situation below you. Zai Chun has already spent real money to pay his wages. If there is no one to do the work anymore, it means that the people below you are incompetent!
Under strong pressure, these low-level officials still resorted to the same old tactics. The people are sheep. If the shepherds don't use the whip, these sheep will not be obedient!
It means coercion. County and county governments began to issue orders, forcing all localities to produce men in proportion. Anyone with more than two men in the family must produce one. Anyone who dares to disobey is considered a rebel and will be flogged!
If there is no one left by the yoke, then beat him to death with a stick!
If it doesn't work, we can only recruit strong men. The county government, with its wolf-like government servants, goes to various villages to select strong laborers, and seizes them to the construction sites to force them to work!
This is not what happens in one or two counties, this is what happens in all counties along the entire Beijing-Tianjin Railway!
Isiha was the leader of such a team that recruited young men. Under the guidance of a group of local gangsters, Isiha became a small contractor, doing the business of recruiting young men!
Gu'an County is the hometown of Isiha's father-in-law. Isiha has already figured out the details of the past. He wants to deal with the bullies who bullied his wife one by one.
"We still have to use evil to cure evil! These dogs are really easy to use..." The Pangezhuang in front of Yisiha was the one who bullied my father-in-law back then. The liar's family was the wise man among that group of people, and he was evil. The business was his idea.
The head had been taken away, but Yisiha didn't want to leave a chance for the family to survive. He took two county government servants and other local ruffians collected and rushed into Pangezhuang like wolves and tigers.
The courtyard in front of him was already shaking. A small sedan chair was parked under the shade of a big tree. Yi Siha was munching on a melon and watching a show. The guards and gangsters rushed into the courtyard and arrested all the men in the house.
The officer banged the gong and shouted, "Everyone has seen it clearly... If this family refuses to be released, all the men will be arrested and taken to the construction site!"
"If you dare to resist the emperor's will, this will be your fate!"
The women in the yard had cried so hard that they had died. Fourteen-year-old children had been raped, and all the women were in despair!
The villagers around were so frightened that their legs were weak. Although this family had a bad reputation and had done many bad things, the arrest of the male member of the family made them feel as sad as a rabbit dying and a fox hurting its own kind!
After a while, a gangster with a crooked mouth ran up to Isiha, flattered him and said with a smile, "Brother Erha! The matter is settled, this family is willing to use thirty acres of water to irrigate the land in exchange for their youngest son. A life!"
"Look, the land deeds have been brought to you!"
When Isiha found out the land deeds, he felt very emotional, "This is fate! How the bad money got into the house will be how it gets out in the future!"
"Okay, let the little boy go, but none of the other men are allowed to go... Wait a minute, I see there is a tall man with a strong body. He is tied up alone and sent to the road protection team!"
"Hey...brother, don't worry, I guarantee that it will be done properly. For this Zhuangzi, at least fifty people will be hired. We brothers will never make it difficult for eldest brother to handle his errands!"
Isiha stuffed the land deed into his arms, waved his hand, and his thugs smiled and went to do their errands. The whole village was soon in a state of excitement.
If a village pulls out fifty strong men, these fifty families are almost in despair. In their eyes, this means that the men in the family are being dragged away to build the Great Wall and Afang Palace!
What if you die outside?
The whole village burst into tears. The old mother cried so hard that she couldn't breathe. The young daughter-in-law fainted immediately when her eyes turned black. Some old men tried desperately to resist, but in the end, these police officers and gangsters came up and beat them up!
The beating will be light, but if you dare to resist, wooden shackles will be placed on your head and you will be forced to kneel at the entrance of the village!
Let me expose you to the scorching sun for ten days first!
Strings of men were tied up with ropes and dragged out of the village like animals, followed by wailing relatives, some of whom kowtowed for mercy until their heads were bleeding.
The parting scene was met with constant ridicule from the guards, "You're crying! You're still crying when you go to the construction site to make a fortune. The emperor will give you wages to start working and won't let you work in vain. It's better than farming!"
When the money was mentioned, these relatives cried even more wickedly, "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu:::: Now I’m giving you money again...it means that both the railway and the iron factory are near-death jobs...isn’t it impossible for either of them to survive?"
"Oh my God! People say what can foreign devils do by sacrificing human life and blood... As for industry... This is spending money to buy the lives of our children..."
"Sir, please take care of my child..."
Isiha was already numb. He had watched the scene in front of him countless times, and he no longer had the slightest pity. "Bah... these ignorant stinky mud-legs!"
"Hurry up and get people away...I don't even bother to explain. They won't know the benefits until they get the money after working for a month!"
"When did you still believe those nonsense!"
