It must be mentioned that compared to the real refugees, the situation of these Jiangnan local tyrants who migrated north is much better. Their family property is basically preserved, food and clothing are guaranteed, they are protected by official servants and are not harmed by bandits. Even if they have to pay for safety, People like them are prime targets for robbery.
For them, the future has become blurry since they embarked on the journey north, their future is unpredictable, and their safety is unpredictable. Under such circumstances, he was lucky to be able to reach Pizhou safely.
Of course, this journey of thousands of miles is not smooth, and there are many twists and turns, accompanied by illness, death, escape...
There are a total of 156 households in this batch of relocations. Basically, the entire family was relocated, with the elderly and the young supported, and even many children and servants accompanying them. The team stretched back and forth to nearly two miles, with a large number of carriages and horses occupying almost the entire road. Such a team was not easy to manage, but the guards had weapons, whips, and sticks.
In fact, after traveling such a long way, they were still able to buy a car and borrow animal power, which shows that these people are indeed wealthy. At the rear of the group, one of the carriages painted brown slowly followed the group, making a screeching sound between the wheels and axles, making it appear that the movement was difficult. The groom's face and hands were red from the cold, and he held the reins tightly. Hot steam spurted out every time he breathed. The gaps in the carriage were tightly packed, but it was difficult to make them airtight.
The space in the carriage seemed very cramped, but it was filled with four people, two large and two small, and a family, huddled among the bedding. Their mental state was extremely poor, and their bodies were even more tortured. They were used to the comfortable environment and climate in the south of the Yangtze River, and in the northwest. The dry and bitter cold is not something they can easily get used to, let alone the wind and dew.
"Mom, I'm cold!" The pleasant-looking little girl looked at her mother with a pair of innocent eyes and said aggrievedly.
The red face was both cold and stuffy. The woman had the tenderness of a woman from a water town. Without saying much, she untied her clothes, pulled her daughter's breasts into her arms, pressed them against her abdomen, and then held her beloved daughter in her arms. At this time, only relatives can hug each other for warmth.
On the other side, there was a middle-aged man and a teenager, a father and son. The middle-aged man seems to have some self-cultivation, but when he looks at his wife and daughter, his face is unbearable, and his eyes reveal helplessness and melancholy.
Many problems and troubles cannot be solved by money. He realized this before and after he was ordered to move north. The boy next to him was leaning against the wall of the car, his body shaking with the bumps of the car. His eyes were dull and distracted, and only when he regained consciousness occasionally did he reveal a trace of resentment and ferocity.
"Dad, how long until we arrive?" Finally, the young man spoke, his voice seemed a bit dull.
The middle-aged man was silent for a moment and said comfortingly: "If what the officer said is true, it will be over soon!"
The boy said nothing and closed his eyes again. The father and son's surname is Yuan, their father Yuan Zhen and their son Yuan Ke. Along the way, Yuan Ke kept asking questions to his father as he moved further and further away from his hometown and endured hardships to make money.
Why should we sell our property and say goodbye to our relatives and friends?
Why did the court do this?
Why not relocate those poor people and farmers?
Why can some people not be evicted?
Is it a sin to have money and land?
Will those who embezzled their property get retribution?
Why must we go to the northwest?
...
By the time he reached Guanzhong, the boy rarely asked those questions anymore. It was not that his father gave him clear and correct answers, but that the boy had gradually matured and knew that reality could not be changed and knew how to adapt to the environment.
However, when his consciousness was in a trance, he still couldn't help but recall the bustling manor in Jiangnan, the comfortable residence, the friends in the neighborhood, the groups of slaves, farmers, and the beautiful maid who took care of his daily life that he loved very much... ...
However, these can only be presented in memories and fantasies in dreams. Once I regain my consciousness, I am still surrounded by severe cold and desolation during this arduous journey. And every time he thinks about this, young Yuan Ke's heart can't help but be occupied by hatred, but he doesn't know how to vent it.
Along the way, he thought about escaping and sneaking back to his hometown, but was severely warned by his father Yuan Zhen. At first, the young man did not understand the difficulty and consequences of escaping, just like his long list of questions, which his father could not explain clearly. However, after seeing the fate of those "practitioners", he became decisive and honest.
That's right, not only the young Yuan Ke thought about escaping, but someone also took action. The result was that he was quickly discovered, hunted down, and locked up. For southerners, the farther away from the south of the Yangtze River, the less familiar the north, and how easy it is to escape. Even if you don't go through towns, even if you just go through the countryside, you can't easily cover your tracks. Or, to avoid the mountains and forests, but almost become a savage, the result would be worse than being moved to the northwest.
And those who were captured were not simply educated and scolded. Because the trip was delayed and the incident was wasted, the county captain in custody was furious and ordered whippings. They all came from the same place. The result was no mercy, and the whippings were also He spared no effort, beat until he was wailing, beaten until his flesh and blood were bloody, and he would not give up...
In the end, several people who fled died one after another due to lack of medical treatment and fatigue as they continued on their way. From that time on, many people realized that even though they were relocated from the imperial court, the accompanying official officers were called "guards" who led the way and escorted them. In fact, in the eyes of these officers, they were just property-rich prisoners. , if it ruins their errands and affects the mission, they will never show mercy. Moreover, because of their hatred of the rich, they will also make things difficult for them. Along the way, extortion and extortion often happen.
This group of people basically came from Jurong County. Yuan Zhen and his son were born and raised in Jiangnan, but strictly speaking, the Yuan family could not be considered southerners. His ancestral home is Caizhou. As early as the late Tang Dynasty, Yuan Zhen's grandfather moved his family south to avoid war. His father once joined the army and went to the military academy. However, he was seriously injured in the war with Wu Yue, so he retired and returned to his home. However, he also accumulated a lot of property.
By the time it was passed to Yuan Zhen, the Yuan family had integrated into Jurong and established a firm foothold in the local area. They owned more than 40 hectares of land, which was incomparable to those wealthy people. However, they were also somewhat famous. How could they not be targeted? ?
Affected by the environment, Yuan Zhen was also a man of culture. He read poetry and books, practiced scriptures, and had some knowledge. He saw the collapse of the Jinling court, and did not seek a scientific examination or become an official. He just managed his own land and property. , do this "field house man" quietly.
Moreover, although the family owns two to three thousand acres of farmland, they are different from those powerful men who run rampant in the countryside. They rarely show off, have a strict family tradition, and often perform good deeds, which makes them quite famous in Jurong.
However, Yuan Zhen, who claims to be an honest man, can hardly be called "innocent" under the great government of the imperial court. In the face of power, the so-called wealth and reputation have become false, and they are no longer worth an official document or an order from the government.
When Han Xizai took office and started the matter of relocating the wealthy people, many people panicked and ran around, contacted, wanted to escape, and even resisted. The reaction was the same as everyone else's. At first they didn't believe it, then they waited and watched. Then as the situation became increasingly tense, they started to panic, and then they began to seek to avoid eviction. After all, it was impossible for the court to relocate all the powerful landowners in Jiangnan.
Yuan Zhen also made a lot of efforts, using social networks and relying on connections, but the results were very poor. Many of the people he placed his hope on were unable to protect themselves. Sure enough, the Yuan family also received an order to move, with a deadline of one month to prepare.
When people are pushed into a hurry, they will always resist. Although Yuan Zhen is a scholar, he has also thought about it. However, as news from all aspects came, I gave in decisively. In order to resist the relocation order, some wealthy families with a strong attitude simply turned a blind eye and even gathered their clansmen, villagers, and tenants to hold on to the manor and resist. This was probably the stupidest way to do it. More than a dozen wealthy families who did this were dismissed. Confiscating family property and sending people into exile became a typical example.
Later, the local tycoons in the south of the Yangtze River discovered that the imperial court decided to relocate based on the amount of land, so some people had the idea to divide their land among clan members and tenants to dilute their own land.
Sure enough, it worked, and Yuan Zhen followed suit. Not long after, the government's order came, asking the people to go to the Yamen to register according to the existing land conditions, and use this as a basis for collecting the two taxes in the future. In this way, the government's intention is clear at a glance, which is to divide their land. While angry, they are also relieved. In the eyes of many people, if they can save less land and avoid being relocated, it is worth it. If you are still here, there is hope for the future, and the days are still long.
However, the actual situation is that the imperial court's policy of relocating wealthy people, under the leadership of Han Xizai, is still continuing, and Yuan Zhen later received a very tough relocation order from Jurong County. At that time, he slowly realized that the court might not simply be concerned about land issues.
After paying a heavy price, all his efforts were in vain. When he learned that relocation was inevitable, Yuan Zhen had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, hoping to move to Hunan. The result is also obvious. Everyone wants to go to Hunan. In the end, the competition is about who has the upper hand and who has the connections.
As for those who belonged to the Yuan family, who had lost the opportunity and whose connections were not strong enough, in the end they had no choice but to embark on the road to move north together with more than a hundred families of powerful landowners from Jurong and Lishui.
