PS: Thank you to Book Friends Space for your tip which I really like.
Chen Guang looked at the account books in his hand and said: "Some land in the town is far away from the river and the canal has not yet passed through. Potatoes and sweet potatoes should be planted on such land as much as possible, and corn and wheat cannot be planted all at once."
"Don't worry, Mayor, our town not only has a good harvest of corn and wheat, but also has a good harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Except for giving it to other families, most families will have a better life this year than in previous years." The police officer said excitedly.
Before he came to the town as an errand, he was a white servant in the yamen. He usually followed the yamen servants to the countryside to collect grain taxes. He had seen countless ordinary people selling their sons and daughters in order to pay taxes.
Every time I see this kind of thing, I always feel unhappy.
But he was just a white servant who spoke softly. He knew that the people could not afford the taxes and the tax collectors were forcing them to destroy their families. He could only watch helplessly and there was nothing he could do.
This year's grain harvest has been bumper, various taxes have been reduced, and people's lives have become obviously better.
This time he went to collect grain taxes, and encountered almost no worrying things. He collected the grain taxes easily. In days like this, not to mention the common people, even he felt more and more hopeful.
Chen Guang flipped through the account books page by page in his hand.
When he turned to one of the pages, he frowned slightly and asked, "What's going on with this Bujie Temple (a fictional temple name, which has nothing to do with reality)? Didn't you say that all the grain taxes were paid?"
As he spoke, he looked at the policeman standing in front of him.
"If you don't stay in the temple, you still have to pay food tax?" The messenger was stunned for a moment.
Chen Guang put down the account book in his hand and asked, "Why doesn't the temple have to pay grain tax?"
"There has always been no need to pay taxes on the food produced in the temple. In the past, many people dedicated their land to the temple and worked as tenant farmers in the temple in order to pay less food tax," the policeman explained.
Chen Guang put his hand on the account book and said: "You are talking about the past. In the future, temples and scholars will have to pay taxes. Otherwise, what will be done with the temple's land? You take people to Bujie Temple, forget it. You go out and call people up, and I will personally go find those monks to collect the grain tax."
"Do you want to notify the county? Borrow some people from the garrison mansion?" the messenger asked.
Chen Guang was stunned for a moment, then asked: "What are you doing with the county? Let's go by ourselves. Is it possible that people can still be eaten in the temple without discipline?"
"Bujie Temple has some warrior monks. I'm worried that some of them will hurt you, the mayor." The policeman explained.
Chen Guang frowned and said, "You mean the monks in Bujie Temple will use force to refuse to pay taxes and grain?"
Warrior monks sound good, but in fact they are not ordinary monks, but monks who drink wine and eat meat. Such monks are very strong, and people who only eat vegetarian food will not have much strength.
There are even some temples that specialize in recruiting people from the green forest who are wanted by the government.
Such people are courageous and ruthless. Keeping such people in the temple can not only do some shady things, but also serve as a deterrent to the tenants who farm the temple fields.
"Bujie Temple has never paid taxes and grains, and they didn't send anyone to deliver grains this time. It's obvious that they don't want to pay, so we came to the door rashly. We were worried that they would do something bad," the policeman said. .
Chen Guang rubbed his chin with his fingers, nodded slightly, and said: "A gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall. What you said makes sense. We can't go there directly. We need to make some preparations."
"Young man, go to the county seat now and ask the garrison mansion to send troops." The messenger thought that Chen Guang agreed to go to the garrison mansion to ask for reinforcements, so he planned to go to the county seat.
"etc."
Chen Guang called to the police officer who was about to leave.
The messenger turned around and asked, "Mayor, do you have any other instructions?"
"There is no need to use the soldiers and horses of the garrison for such a small matter. In this way, you can find a team of farmers and soldiers. The number of people does not need to be too many. A small team is enough. Go and come back quickly." Chen Guang said.
The messenger left the signing room.
There is a peasant association in every village, and some young people are selected to form peasant soldiers.
Peasants and soldiers are not considered the official troops of the Tiger Flag, nor are they paid. Soldiers and armor are provided by the Tiger Flag. A few days are selected for military training every month. When it is not a busy farming day, the training time will be increased. Training At this time, the town will uniformly manage meals.
The training of peasant soldiers is the same as the training of mine soldiers by Tiger Zi Banner on Dongshan Mountain in Lingqiu, except that the participants in the training changed from miners to ordinary people.
Since farmers and soldiers participate in training and provided with free meals, they can save food rations for their families. As long as there is training, farmers and soldiers are very active.
Chen Guang picked up the big teapot, poured himself a cup of boiled water and put it on the table. He took out his pipe, pinched some tobacco and stuffed it in. After lighting it with a fire stick, he started smoking.
Huziqi sells two types of smoking tools: pipes and pipe pots. Most people prefer to use pipe pots. The rods are long and they are used to wearing them on the waist. They can take them out at any time when they want to smoke.
The officials and generals of the Tiger Character Banner are more accustomed to using pipe pots.
First, it does not take up space and can be stuffed on the body easily. Second, Liu Heng likes to use pipes when smoking, which also makes Tiger Flag insiders prefer pipes.
After a pack of cigarettes, the policeman who had left earlier came in from outside.
"Mayor, the peasants and soldiers are all here. When should we set off?"
Chen Guang knocked the ashes from his pipe, then brought it to his mouth and blew on it, then put it on his body. Then he picked up the teapot on the table and drank some water. After putting it down, he said: "Let's go!"
With that said, he stood up and walked out.
The policemen followed closely behind him and left the signing room one after another.
The office space in the town is an ordinary courtyard, with wing rooms on both sides and several main rooms at the back. A wooden board is posted in front of the courtyard door with the name of the town office.
Chen Guang walked out of the town office gate.
A team of more than thirty to forty peasants and soldiers had gathered outside the door. In addition to the peasants and soldiers, there were also several grain tax collectors and a four-wheeled cart.
"Report to the mayor, the team has been assembled."
The captain of the peasant and soldier team came to Chen Guang and raised his right arm across his chest in salute.
Although the peasant soldiers are not regular troops, their team structure is based on the template of the regular army. The only thing lacking is that the training time of the peasant soldiers is not as long as that of the regular army, and the food is also a little worse. They can only eat enough, and there is no guarantee that they will have meat and eggs for every meal. A lot of them are things that have been eliminated by the regular army.
Chen Guang nodded and said loudly: "Order the team to advance towards Bujie Temple."
The peasant and soldier team leader turned around, faced his team, and shouted: "The target is Bujie Temple, let's go."
Peasants and soldiers who had received professional military training lined up in neat lines and began to move forward.
In the team, most of the peasant soldiers walked at the front holding long guns, in the middle was a team of peasant soldiers holding matchlock guns, and at the end was a peasant soldier carrying a squatting tiger cannon on his shoulder.
The grain tax officer followed the four-wheeled cart.
Chen Guang got on the horse that the policeman had brought over, and led several policemen to the front of the team.
