In the thirty-seventh year of Zongming's reign, in autumn, the world was in a state of death.
The leaves of the trees have turned yellow, and the leaves that have been burned by the summer finally can't hold on anymore. They sway and fall in the breeze, spreading a thick velvet blanket on the ground.
Chen Guang stood in front of a house, staring at the vast wheat fields in front of him.
The wheat fields are vast, stretching endlessly at first glance, like a golden ocean.
The plump ears of wheat bear the blood and sweat of a year of hard work. There should be a better harvest this year.
But there are obviously so many wheat fields, why are there still people starving to death?
Occasionally, this tall and strong man can't help but think about this problem.
There were footsteps coming quickly from a distance.
Not long after, Wu Sheng came to him and said excitedly: "Brother, more than a hundred people have come to join us recently. Our troops now number a thousand!"
Thousands of people!
This was something they had never expected before.
Probably because before the news of the four-nation alliance spread throughout Otsuki, they had already made a small deal and achieved certain results.
So when the news of the Four-Nation Alliance spread and rebels rose up in various places, many people who saw an opportunity, or were simply forced to live no longer, started their own plans.
Even if he didn't want to do anything at that time, people kept gathering and coming to help him.
In fact, those people just want a bite to eat.
However, now that it is the autumn harvest season, how can anyone come to help?
No matter how cruel those gentlemen are, it's impossible not to give them a full meal at this time, right?
Chen Guang's eyes flashed with confusion and he asked: "It's the time of autumn harvest, how come there are still people coming to seek refuge?"
"Hey, it's not the criminal banker! The officials paid the emperor, but where did the officials' money come from? They can't take it from the hands of the wealthy merchants and wealthy households? The wealthy merchants and wealthy households suddenly lost a lot of money. Money, doesn’t this debt fall on the common people? Although it is the autumn harvest, the various taxes this year are simply unheard of, almost depriving the entire family!" Wu Sheng kept talking.
The more disaster years come, the harder it is for the people.
Not to mention a war!
The taxes that can be barely maintained in peacetime will not only not be reduced at all, but will be increased layer by layer!
It's like a vicious cycle: because it's hard to live, you have to pay more food, and because you have to pay more food, it's even harder to live.
Whether it rises or falls, the people suffer.
The vast majority of the people don't understand many principles, and there is no need to go to them and see them hungry and emaciated, and they can't even move a finger. If you talk about the principle of "sharing worries for the country", they will already be killed. Divided out.
Being hungry once in a while is nothing to them.
It's not unbearable to be hungry for several meals in three days.
There is probably no group of people in the world who are more hard-working and hard-working than them.
But now that I want to smash the bowl, I really can't bear it anymore.
This group of the most patient people had to pick up farm tools and chop down bamboos to use as weapons in an attempt to protect their only jobs.
"Silver"
Chen Guang's expression kept changing.
Of course he also heard about the news about the crime.
In fact, according to the report of the spies sent out, a certain county magistrate posted a list some time ago, praising this move.
He also specifically listed several wealthy businessmen who donated large sums of money, lamenting the fact that ordinary people do not understand the principle of "serving the country and the people."
Of course I know that you are having a hard time, but you must also understand how to share your worries for the country!
Rich businessmen can donate so much food, so charging you a little more tax is like killing you, is this appropriate? ! Do you have a big moon in your heart? Is there an emperor?
The increase in taxes is for the betterment of Dayue and for you to live a stable life!
Since I can't explain this to you, don't blame us for being more ruthless.
I heard that on the day the list was posted, the county magistrate arrested a few models, pulled them in front of the list, and tortured them severely. Finally, they left with their heads held high and their heads held high.
But that night, more than a hundred people rushed to the county government office and used the simplest farm tools to end the life of the county magistrate who was looking forward to being rewarded.
Now that group of people are still in his team, how could Chen Guang not know?
As someone who has worked hard at the bottom, he knows very well that the so-called bullshit negotiation money is just another way of saying protection money.
"Brother Chen Guangda."
Wu Sheng grabbed his arm, his eyes burst into dazzling light, and he said in an extremely excited tone: "What are you waiting for? There are thousands of us!"
He pointed one hand at the large tracts of farmland in front of him and said excitedly: "Look, so much food is about to be ripe. Instead of giving it to those damn officials, why don't we take it ourselves? It's okay if we couldn't defeat it before. What now? Time waits for me!"
At this time, the timing of the uprising was also important.
Now, even if we do nothing every day, there are more than a thousand mouths waiting for food.
Those people came here just to get a couple of mouthfuls of food. If they can’t get enough to eat here, what are they still doing?
Before the autumn harvest is the best time, if you miss it, it will be difficult to achieve anything.
There was not much time for them to hesitate.
Of course, Chen Guang also understood these things. His brows were tightly knitted together, and he didn't know what he was thinking about. Only his eyes sometimes became fierce and sometimes turned into unwillingness.
"Have you ever thought that when there are more people, things will be different from before?" Chen Guang suddenly said.
"What does big brother mean?"
Wu Sheng tilted his head and didn't understand.
"I didn't have anyone to follow me before, but I could go wherever I wanted. There are more people, and I won't be able to wander around in the future. There will also be people with families, so it's even less possible to wander around. There must be a place. If we fail to accommodate people, everyone will die."
Chen Guang lowered his head and looked at the dirt on his toes.
It was obvious that he had no choice but to do this because he could not meet the construction deadline of Wanshou Immortal Palace. How did it end up in this situation now?
They didn't seem to have done anything at all, but they were already at a fork in the road.
Take a step forward and be willing to cut yourself off in exchange for glory and wealth.
Take a step back, take some people away, and just have something to eat.
The former is very risky, but the latter may not be safe!
This damn, cannibalistic world!
"Brother is actually worried about this!"
Wu Sheng laughed and said: "When we were late on schedule, we were not afraid of anything. With two knives and about ten people, we dared to stand on the official road and stop people. Why are we here now? Thousands of people, but it makes eldest brother afraid?"
"It's not about fear, it's about being responsible."
Chen Guang shook his head, "When people are not full, they will work hard for a mouthful of food. But when they are full, they have more to think about. Yangzhou, have you heard about Huang Tianjun? The leader, Huang Chao, is a martial arts master. ! It is said that he dug up a stone man by the Jishui River, and there were actually words engraved on the stone man!"
"That prophecy?"
Wu Sheng naturally knew the news and said nonchalantly: "Brother, if you believe this, I will make the fox howl tonight!"
Chen Guang glared at him, "You know that's not what I meant. Think about it, people have already started in such a wealthy place in Yangzhou. There is also Yuzhou, not to mention the leader of the White Lotus, who is probably there in terms of experience? You can't even compare to him. How can we idiots like us fight?"
This is a very real problem.
It just means that if you chop a piece of bamboo and write a few sentences, others will follow you.
There are still people who are constantly defecting here because there are no powerful characters on their side yet.
The advantages they had accumulated previously were enough to attract people to defect to them.
But once the flag of rebellion is raised, the issue that needs to be considered is no longer whether there is enough to eat. There is a huge gap.
Big enough to cause despair.
No matter compared to their reputation, strength, or the advantages they have gained, even though they have gathered thousands of people now, it is nothing at all.
"Who cares what they do? Yangzhou is too far away, and there are still the Allied Forces of the Four Nations over there. If Huang Tianjun wants to occupy Yangzhou, he will definitely have to fight. Although the leader of the White Lotus is very powerful, the land of Yuzhou is not too far from the imperial capital. How could the emperor let him make trouble? He must be dealt with!
We don't have access to villages or shops here, and no one will even look at us for a while. If we don’t take advantage of this opportunity to gain momentum, where will there be such a good opportunity! "Wu Sheng said with certainty.
Chen Guang was about to say something.
Suddenly there was a noise in the distance and a mute cry.
So he hurried over and saw a government servant raising a whip and beating a woman repeatedly.
The woman was thin and shriveled, with a child in her arms.
At this time, he was holding a handful of wheat ears in his hand, enduring the whipping of the whip, rubbing them with his rough and withered palms, kneading out the wheat, and passing it to the mouth of the child in his arms.
"Eat eat."
She cried bitterly, blood seeped out of her clothes, and her whole body was shaking, but she still tried her best to keep the child in her arms.
"If you dare to steal the master's things, I think you don't want to live anymore!"
The officer sneered, stepped forward and kicked the woman to the ground.
The little wheat that had just been kneaded was scattered all over the floor.
Actually not much.
The officer stepped forward and grabbed the child's head.
It was probably a little girl, but her complexion was yellow and dull, skinny and silly.
Even when my mother fell down on the roadside, she didn't even know to take a look. She just stared at the wheat on the ground and said stupidly: "The food has fallen."
"Lost?"
The officer sneered, "I think your heads are about to fall off! How dare you steal from the master? I don't know how to write the word "death"!"
She was frightened by the yamen servant's voice and cried, and whispered: "Hungry"
"Are you hungry?!"
The yamen servant knelt down, grabbed a handful of soil, and stuffed it into her mouth, "Come on, eat! Eat it for me! After eating, grandpa will go around you!"
"Let go of my daughter!"
The woman who was kicked to the ground got up and rushed towards him like a madman, biting his arm like an irrational beast.
"Crazy bitch!"
The yamen servant screamed in pain and became furious. He slapped his weak body and knocked it away. He then pulled out his knife and said, "You don't know whether to live or die. You stole the master's things and you still dare to resist?"
The woman cried: "My man planted it. My man planted it."
"Ha, you are so stupid to be a man? The land here belongs to the master! The master is kind-hearted, but he is not satisfied with giving you a mouthful of food. Do you really treat him like his own property?!"
He raised the knife, his face ferocious and angry, as if he had been greatly offended.
The long knife cuts downward!
However, just in mid-air, he suddenly stopped there.
A hand grabbed his arm, preventing him from entering.
A rather muscular man stood in front of him.
"you"
He wanted to say something.
Then he heard the man who stopped him say: "Princes, generals and prime ministers, would you rather have the guts?!"
The sword light turned upward into a red light!
Blood bloomed out and fell on the person's eyes, turning them red.
(End of chapter)
