427 years of the Great Yuan Calendar
"Imperial decree: Yu Jin, the Minister of Household Affairs, tampered with the imperial taxation, concealed the money and food from various places, and deceived the emperor. It is hereby scheduled to be executed at three o'clock at noon tomorrow to thank heaven and earth, and all family properties will be confiscated. I appreciate this!"
In the palace, the imperial edict with words like needles was passed into the ears of Yu Jin, the Minister of Household Affairs. He knelt down silently and said in an almost desperate tone: "I accept the edict and thank you..."
Yu Jitao, who was only ten years old, saw his father being taken away by the Forbidden Army. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed him: "Father, when will you come back?"
Yu Jin's eyes were trembling, and he slowly put his hand on Jitao's face: "My silly son, maybe my father will not come back..."
The young and ignorant Yu Jitao didn't seem to understand, but when he saw his father's face full of tears, he couldn't help but feel sad. The breeze blew across his face, blowing away Yu Jin's tears and falling on the patch of grass at his feet. On the barren land.
He did not dare to look at the tragic situation of his father being put in the prison car, and threw himself into his mother's arms. Although his mother appeared to be very strong, she was sobbing silently, and Yu Jitao could feel it. When the sound faded away, he stuck his head out and looked into the distance. All he saw was a blurry figure walking towards the distance and never coming back.
Yu Jin's death undoubtedly brought a heavy blow to the family. The orphans and widows instantly became the lowest commoners. Their brocade clothes had been torn off completely and they were put on dusty common clothes. Frequent on the streets of Beijing.
"Mom, where are we going?" Yu Jitao asked in confusion, tugging on his mother's sleeve.
The mother didn't answer. She was swaying like a zombie at this time. This noisy street seemed to have nothing to do with the mother and son.
A man wearing a first-grade official uniform, holding a folding fan in his hand, and smiling came over and said semi-sarcastically: "Mrs. Yu, you are well."
Yu's mother suddenly blushed with anger. She understood that the man in front of her was Zhao Daming, the current Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and it was he who killed Yu Jin.
"Madam, don't be too sad. Long Live Lord's birthday has come. What's wrong with the imperial court increasing some taxes? As the saying goes, 'take from the people and use it for the people', but Yu Jin tampered with the imperial edict and reduced taxes in various places. Isn't that right? Do you have the heart of a rebellious minister? Moreover, reports from various places indicate that this year is another good year that is rare in a hundred years. It is said that one acre in Jizhou can produce ten thousand kilograms of grain. This is due to the great power of our emperor, benevolence and righteousness spread to all directions." Zhao Daming He folded and unfolded his fan, patted his big belly and smiled.
Yu's mother gritted her teeth and replied dissatisfiedly: "Even if weeds can't grow ten thousand kilograms in one acre of land..."
Zhao Daming quickly interrupted her: "Oh, you can't say such things. They are indeed a couple. Yu Jin is a loyal minister. He dared to say such things when he went to court. But now, his head is in a different place, and But I succeeded him and became the new Minister of Household Affairs."
Yu's mother lowered her head and screamed silently: "Taoer, let's go."
Zhao Daming smiled and got out of the way, waving his fan triumphantly, while the orphan and widower lowered their heads and quietly walked past the laughter, their thighs moving as heavy as lead. Do you want to beg in Beijing? That's impossible. Where are the beggars in the "peace and prosperity"? If there is a violation of the emperor Longwei, his head will be unsuitable.
The younger Yu Jitao turned his head desperately. He didn't understand why the group of people laughed at him, but when he looked at Zhao Daming's fat face, he vowed secretly: "Only you, I will not let it go ..."
The breeze blew over the face of the orphan and widowed mother, as if telling the endless sorrow of the world. The withered grass made a rustling sound, which was the last weak resistance.
After that, the two wandered all the way and went to live with Uncle Yu Jitao in the countryside.
"I hope my brother will take in my mother and son..." Yu's mother knelt down respectfully like a lowly slave.
He was embarrassed. In the years of the disaster, he ate one less food, not to mention that he was not rich in itself. The two mouths that were extra were worried.
Fortunately, he is still unmarried and alone, so he reluctantly accepted them in the end.
In the past few years, Yu Jitao gradually became familiar with the environment in the village, and helped to work under the ability of the power. Sometimes he acts as a coward and took Yu Jitao to cut firewood on Yueyang Mountain. In his free time, he taught him how to write on the ground with a wooden stick.
He was a talented talent, but the successive list made him completely desperate and his career. He once asked his brother -in -law to be Yu Jitao's father. However, Yu Jin was an upright official and resolutely refused to do anything that violated the law, so the matter was settled.
The two walked between this green forest and wood, and the landscape was inserted through the leaves and reflected on the face of the two. "Ji Tao, look at how big this sun is, the people who are sunny are not eye -catching, and you can't breathe."
Yu Jitao nodded in understanding, looking at the frail uncle in front of him, he really didn't look like a man who could both farm and chop wood.
The change of everything started from that day ...
Because of Zhou Cheng, the warlords were separatist and the world was in chaos. The fields had been in a miserable state of famine for five consecutive years. The government, army and bandits went on a rampage and jointly plundered the people's property.
"Bang, bang, bang..." The deafening sound of horse hooves broke through the tranquility of the village. It was a group of armored bandits. They broke into the villagers' homes to force the remaining food in their homes, and they were killed countless. Yu Jitao and Yu's mother hid into the water tank, and only sat in the house with a sickle with a sickle.
The wooden door was kicked open. The group of thieves rushed into the house and saw that I held the sickle, as if they would cut them away at any time.
The double fists were difficult to fight for four hands, and the thieves were all over the battle and were experienced. They stabbed into the right leg of the uncle, and met him with a shouting, kneeling halfway to the ground.
"!" Yu Jitao jumped out of the water tank and stepped forward to hug the pierced thigh.
When the thieves saw Yu Jitao, they laughed heartily: "This girl looks very beautiful, just take the boss back as Madam!"
"You are a girl! I'm the man in the right man!" Yu Jitao held his body and yelled.
The faces of the thieves were gloomy instantly. When they were about to do it, they only heard someone roaring outside: "The officers and men are coming!"
"Is it time for them to collect cash?" a little boss said with a smile.
"The robbery they did was authorized by the emperor. They didn't use swords and guns, but they were more ruthless than us!" one of the bandits replied.
Immediately, the group of bandits retreated in an orderly manner, as if they had been trained in advance. Horse hooves stepped heavily on the human corpse, thick blood spattered on the ground, and the stench was unpleasant.
The officers and soldiers beat gongs and drums and walked slowly over in sedan chairs. This was the tax collector coming to "rob". The people who survived were all frightened when they heard the gongs, and they all hid in panic again.
After smelling a fragrance of meat, the receiver was shed, and he couldn't stop flowing, so he asked, "Where did the meat coming from this meat fragrance?"
"Report the chief, it is the house in front of it!" A officer and soldiers replied.
The tax collector opened the curtain and looked at the completely destroyed village. He just said softly: "These guys are moving too fast. They go to the thatched house first to collect taxes. If they can afford meat, There must be oil and water in your pocket. "
At this time, Yu Jitao's eyes were green with hunger, and he came to the thatched house in search of the smell of meat. "That's grandpa's home. How can he afford meat?" Yu Jitao thought, and he thought of his old man. Grandpa's grandson used to be his best playmate, but he has not been seen since a week ago.
The tax collector and the officers and soldiers barbarically broke into the courtyard of the thatched house, and only saw a thin old man who looked like a dead tree with slovenly yellow hair walking out and said in a hoarse voice: "Common people, please see the official..."
The tax collector took out the tattered household book, opened the yellowed paper, pointed to a name and read: "Zhang Dazhu, there are eight people in the family and 18 acres of fertile land. He has repeatedly evaded taxes since the early years of Taili. To this day, yes or no?”
"Sir, the landowners have taken away the few acres of my land. My old wife has starved to death. My two sons were killed by bandits. One of my wives also starved to death the year before last. Another wife remarried and fled. My eldest grandson also died yesterday. Starming to death, but now there are only two old and granddaughter left. They have long been grain and have no text.
The tax collector smiled contempt: "I was graceful to you, can the emperor spare me? Furthermore, Zhang Dazhu, do you say that there are only two people left in your family, what evidence? How can I know that they are Didn't you go to the wind head? You must pay taxes according to the eight people, coupled with many years of tax evasion, the interest is getting bigger and bigger. This year, your family has to pay 870,000 silver and 50,000 pounds of food! "(This book metering unit: One or two silver is equivalent to 1,000 yuan)
The old man collapsed, and he had a big paralysis on the ground. 50,000 pounds of food plus 870,000 silver was an astronomical number for this old man. He could not earn it for a hundred years.
The tax collector smiled and said: "You can't hide it from my nose. I can smell the smell of meat in your house from a long way away. If it is really as bitter as you said, how can you afford to eat meat?"
The old man still wanted to defend himself, but saw his granddaughter running out of the house: "Grandpa, the meat is ready!"
The tax collector waved his hand, the officers and soldiers rushed up, pushed the little girl, rushed into the house, and saw the iron pot that was cooking meat.
The old man hurriedly ran into the house to take cover, but it was too late. Facing the aggressive attitude of the tax collector, the old man fell to the ground whimpering and wailed: "Sir, the common people are eating meat, but this meat is not Meat of beasts. But...but..."
"What is it? Say it quickly!" an officer and soldier shouted.
"It's the meat of Xiaomin's eldest grandson who just starved to death yesterday!" The old man's psychological defense completely collapsed and he burst into tears.
The tax collector frowned and cursed: "You dare to eat your grandson, are you a beast?"
"My granddaughter was really hungry and couldn't stand it anymore. In desperation, I put my eldest grandson's body into the pot with tears in my eyes. This is called 'changing my son to eat'..." The old man burst into tears. If it weren't for the cruel world, he would have died. Who would endure great pain and eat his own grandson?
The tax collector had a wicked smile on his face and ordered the officers and soldiers to kidnap the girl away: "I'll use your granddaughter to pay off the debt. If you can't pay it all within one month, you will also be arrested to pay off the debt!"
The old man's heart was as sharp as a knife, and he kowtowed repeatedly, begging to let the horse go. However, all these efforts were in vain. The girl cried loudly, and the officers and soldiers showed no mercy at all and tied her up roughly with hemp ropes.
And all of this was seen by Yu Jitao.
What does peace and prosperity mean? What does it mean to live and work in peace and contentment? He didn't understand that in his heart, the world was full of exploitation and cruelty, and the people were always the ones being exploited.
This incident was like a nail, piercing deeply into his heart.
Later, Yu Jitao was sent into the hands of the old Confucian Confucianism by his uncle, and he began his schooling career.
Now, Yu Jitao is twenty years old. He has great ambitions but nowhere to show them. He wants to save the world from the fire and water, but in the end he can't even save himself.
He often compares himself to a thousand-mile horse, longing for Bole to come find him, but at the same time he does not want anyone to visit, because in his opinion, there is no one in the world who has a heart to save the world and save the people like him. Contradictions intertwined with him.
But it turned out that he was wrong. When he saw that man-Zhang Qingmeng for the first time, he felt like he was reunited with an old friend. He hated these so-called heroes, but he could have a good conversation with Zhang Qingmeng. Finally, when he discovered that Zhang Qingmeng had the same dream as him, he was sure that this was the person he would help him throughout his life.
"I am definitely not a dirty person who lives in seclusion for the sake of being an official. If Mr. Zheng thinks so, I will not be able to obey Jitao's orders."
Qing Meng stood in front of him, stared at him, and smiled: "Why do you say such nonsense, sir? Qing Meng never meant this. Mr. Meng will not give up. Please accept my respect!"
Yu Jitao stopped him in a hurry and looked at Qing Meng's firm eyes, deeply moved. Then he said the courtesy: "If Mr. Zheng does not give up, Jitao will definitely devote himself to death until he dies."
As the saying goes, once you know each other, you will always be friends. Twenty-year-old Yu Jitao and 25-year-old Zhang Qingmeng have become lifelong friends and yearn for a common goal: "Create a peaceful and prosperous age for the people of the world."
The snowflakes outside the window stopped, the wind gradually weakened, and the sun slowly rose from the sky, illuminating the snow-capped Yueyang Mountain.
