The emperor, who wanted to find out the problem, naturally ignored the feelings of several guards. Hearing this strong man's words, the emperor smiled instead of getting angry and said: "Oh, from what you said, it's the emperor's fault that you became refugees? Well, tell us what the emperor has sent you. The disaster has passed?"
In response to the emperor's question, the strong man snorted a few times and then said: "Who else can there be? It's King Jing who vassalized Zhengzhou five years ago. The emperor loves his son, and as soon as King Jing vassalized Zhengzhou, he vassalized Zhengzhou." The surrounding eight thousand acres of good land were given to King Rui as a permanent field. Most of the fields belonging to us people were included."
"The emperor feels sorry for his son, and we have nothing to say about it. Who made the Qi Dynasty full of people with his surname Huang? He rewarded his son, and it is our turn for the people to speak? But in this case, we people in Zhengzhou will There are countless people who have been hit by rice transplants and their families have been destroyed."
"Isn't that right? According to the "Da Qi Law", the common people's fields are classified as royal residences, and they will no longer bear various taxes from the imperial court. In order to compensate the common people, the imperial court not only exempted these common people from Dingkou tax and corvee, but also It also stipulates that the taxes collected by the kings from food and towns shall not exceed the previous tax of one in ten taxes of the imperial court.”
"And it does not mean that it is classified as a clan town, and the fields are no longer owned by you. Your fields still belong to you, but the person who pays the money and grain has changed. According to this statement, the original taxes will remain unchanged. Moreover, since the corvee and the small amount of money are eliminated, the burden on the people who are designated as the royal residence should be lightened. How can you say that the emperor has sent you a disaster star?"
This time there was no need for the emperor to ask in person. Huang Qiong, who was standing next to the emperor, took the initiative to ask the emperor. But in this question, Huang Qiong was just telling lies with her eyes open. If those clans really followed the imperial customs, where did the refugees here come from? As long as you can survive, who will leave the good land uncultivated and run away to become a refugee?
It was better not to say Huang Qiong's words. When he said that, the strong man became even more angry: "Shit, I'll pay you one ten percent of the tax." In the first year of the feudal king's reign, King Jing received 30% of the money and grain. Then it was raised to 45%. In the third year, it went even further and was raised to 60%. The people worked hard for a year, and the beads of sweat fell into eight pieces on the ground. In the end, there was not even rations left except seed grains."
"The flood in Zhengzhou the year before last year, no one knew whether the imperial court was providing relief or not. Anyway, none of us ordinary people saw it. What we saw was that King Jing directly received 60% of the money and grain. Whoever wants to carry it but refuses to hand it over, he The prince's palace directly sent someone to claim it and sent it to the official shackles for a month."
"There was a flood the year before last, and most of the people in Zhengzhou had nothing to gain. Where can they go to pay for 60% of their food? If you can't afford it, you can just use your wife, daughter, and land to pay for it. Not to mention ordinary families, my family is a wealthy family. Even a well-off family cannot be built. At that time, many people had already come out to become refugees."
"My brother, who has been studying for half his life, just believes too much in the laws of the emperor. He was entrusted by the villagers who really couldn't afford the money and food required by King Jing, so he took "Da Qi Lv" and went to Prince Jing's Mansion to discuss it. On the contrary, He was arrested by them and sent to Zhengzhou Yamen Yonghao for three months on the pretext of offending the prince."
"I have pity on my brother who was born as a scholar. How could that scholar have the physique to withstand this? In addition, he was so ashamed and angry that he had never been so humiliated before. He was shackled to death outside the Zhengzhou government office in less than seven days. For To redeem my brother's body, we can only pawn the land. But Prince Jing's Mansion has announced that anyone who buys our land will be against Prince Jing's Mansion."
"In this case, who dares to buy our land? In the end, I had no choice but to redeem my eldest brother's body in front of the palace. My well-educated sister-in-law, on the night when my brother was shackled, also The steward of Prince Jing's Mansion sent someone to snatch her away, and there was no news about her, leaving behind a pair of poor children."
"My parents were sick and died less than a month after my brother's death. Our family was ruined, and Prince Jing's palace would not let us go. His chief steward threatened that anyone who dared to associate with our family would be punished. If you dare to rent the land to us, you are making an enemy of Prince Jing's Mansion."
"Prince Jing is the biological son of the emperor, and even the governor of Zhengzhou has to look at his eyes. Who dares not to listen to the words of Prince Jing's mansion? Without land, even being a tenant can be done to others. No. In order to survive, I had no choice but to drag my family with me to the capital and become refugees."
"In less than three years since he became a vassal, Prince Jing used these methods to turn all the eight thousand acres of land into the property of his Prince Jing's palace. He also used various methods to collude with the government to occupy people's fields. Especially the floods the year before last, Even though the imperial government has not found a grain of rice during the relief work, the government is still urging you to pay the money and grain. If you don't pay, you will be charged with treason."
"Although we ordinary people have little education, we also know that the rebellion will punish the nine tribes. In order to pay the money and food demanded by the government, we can only sell our wives and daughters, and sell the land to Prince Rui's Mansion. The Zhengzhou governor obviously wore the same clothes as Prince Rui's Mansion. Pants, ordinary people are not allowed to sell their land to others, only to Prince Jing’s Mansion. Only one acre of good irrigated land is paid to Sanguan, it’s really cheap.”
"King Jing used these methods. In only five years from the time he took control of Zhengzhou to this year, at least 60% of the best land in Zhengzhou has fallen into the hands of Prince Rui's Mansion. If the land is gone, you can either go to Prince Rui's Mansion to become a tenant. But Prince Rui's Mansion I have always received 60% of the land rent, but I still cannot afford it. If I want to survive, I can only come out and become a refugee."
"I originally thought that Jingzhao Mansion would be the best place under the Emperor's feet, with more dignitaries and wealthy families, so it would be easier to make a living. But I didn't expect that when we arrived at Jingzhao Mansion, the government would not allow us as refugees to enter the inner city. We These people all come from farmers’ families, so what else can they do besides their own strength?”
"I don't want to sell myself to be a slave of a wealthy family, even if I don't even allow day laborers, the head tax of 500 cash per month cannot be short of a penny. And the temporary residence money of the same 500 cash, too. You can't pay a penny less. If you pay a penny less, you will be shackled for a month, and then driven out of the city and not allowed to enter again. I'm afraid they themselves can't tell how many people are shackled to death in Jingzhao Mansion every month?"
Talking about his own experience, this strong man was extremely sad and angry, and his hands were tightly clenched into fists. The guards over there looked at the strong man and clenched their hands loudly. He quickly blocked the emperor and Huang Qiong behind him without leaving a trace, for fear that the two masters would become the target of venting their anger, especially the talkative Prince Hejian.
When asked here, Huang Qiong actually no longer wanted to ask any more. He thought that what the strong man said could explain everything, but the emperor obviously did not intend to stop there. Perhaps because he was a little ashamed of his son's misbehavior, or perhaps for other reasons, the emperor did not come forward in person, but gave Huang Qiong a wink and motioned for him to continue asking.
Although he knew that the more this matter was revealed, the emperor himself would probably be less able to come to power, and the more shady stories there might be. But the look from the emperor made Huang Qiong helpless and said again: "Why don't you appeal to King Jing for doing such a heinous act?"
"Even if the Zhengzhou magistrate and Prince Jing's palace wear the same pants, but above them there are Henan Road pacifiers and patrol censors, can't they all make decisions for you? Even if the officials on Henan Road can't control it, you still have a place in the capital. It’s time, why don’t you go to the General Affairs Department to file a complaint? The drum in the General Affairs Department is set up just for people to complain.”
In response to Huang Qiong's words, the strong man who had regained his composure sneered twice: "Complain, the yamen door opens to the south. If you have a reason, don't come in if you have no money. My family is ruined, how can I still have money to give gifts to those officials?" If you don't send money, even the petition will not be delivered to the Yamen. Complaint to the imperial court? We homeless people can't even enter the inner city, where can we find the Secretary of General Affairs?"
At this point, the strong man looked at Huang Qiong like an idiot and said: "Besides, who dares to take care of the emperor's family affairs? That King Jing is not only the emperor's son, but also the emperor's son." He is still the legitimate son of the Zhonggong Palace. When he entered the vassal state, not only officials from Zhengzhou, big and small, came to greet him. Even those officials from Henan Road also went privately."
Hearing this, Huang Qiong, who had already known these things from Jia Quan's mouth, didn't care. The emperor over there really couldn't stand listening. These words of this strong man were like slaps slapped directly on his face. It made the emperor even more embarrassed to accept this fact.
He did not expect that after joining the vassal, his son not only did not share the worries of the court, but instead acted so tyrannically in the vassal land. Perhaps because he was still unwilling to give up, the emperor was silent for a long time, then turned to the old men and asked in person: "Is he telling the truth?"
In response to the emperor's question, Li Zheng hesitated for a moment and finally said: "If I tell the official, what he said is indeed the truth. A large part of the refugees here come from Zhengzhou. As far as the little old man knows, , most people's experiences are similar to his. As for those from Ruzhou, you'd better ask him." After that, he pointed to another old man beside him.
"Returning to the officials, what King Jing did in Zhengzhou was pretty good compared to King Duan who came to us. The land of Ruzhou is not as rich as Zhengzhou, and the people's lives are not rich. . After Prince Duan became a feudal lord, he even imposed excessive taxes. In the first year of joining the feudal clan, he collected 60% of the taxes from Yongye Field."
"After a year of hard work, the common people not only have no rations left, but even seed grains have to be borrowed from Prince Duan's Mansion. And the money and grain released by Prince Duan's Mansion has always been big or small. And regardless of you, No matter how much you borrow, the interest is nothing compared to the profit of a donkey rolling. If you can't pay back, Prince Jing's Mansion will confiscate the land to pay the debt."
"In order to find an excuse to invade the land, Prince Duan's Mansion even drove the horses into the common people's wheat fields. If you want to drive them away, well, if you scare Prince Jing's horse, you can pay for it. They say how much is what they say. They are not ordinary people at all. Those who can afford it. Those who cannot afford to pay, just use land to pay the bill. There are various means, which can be said to be numerous."
"We had no choice but to come out and become refugees. If we had to stay in our hometown and have food to eat, who would be willing to leave our hometown and come out to become a refugee who is looked down upon by everyone everywhere? But I didn't expect that it would be the same in the capital. Some people He had no choice but to sell his sons and daughters, or even rely on his wife as a half-door to support the family."
The more the old man spoke, the darker the emperor's face became. Later, even Huang Qiong, who was standing next to him, could hear the emperor's teeth squeaking in his mouth. By the time the old man finished speaking, the emperor's face was as dark as the bottom of the pot. Huang Qiong next to him was so frightened that he didn't even dare to express his anger for fear of being used as a punching bag by the angry emperor.
