My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 443: Connection, preparation before the uprising

The third year of Yuanxing was also the eleventh year of Qianshi of the Yue Kingdom.

The five princes are vying for the crown prince. It is already known to the whole country. There are constant frictions in the court. The civil and military officials supported by their subordinates attack each other. War breaks out among the fiefdoms. However, they are still restrained. After all, the emperor is still suppressing them.

Even so, the five princes were still secretly expanding their troops, which meant accumulating food and grass and building weapons and armor. The costs required were huge, and they could not be satisfied with just that little food. In the end, they all fell on the people. .

Just like those Wu people on the border between Wu and Yue, excessive taxes fell on their shoulders. The wealthy families were okay and could barely survive, but the common people faced heavy and onerous taxes, which made many impoverished families even worse.

"I can't live this life any longer."

There are more than 30 families in a village 20 miles outside Yongnian County, Linzhou. They have made a living by hunting and farming for generations. After two months of heavy miscellaneous taxes, all the families could use for mortgages were paid.

There is only a thin layer of rice jars left in many people's homes, and people may starve to death in the coming winter.

"Gou Wazi died yesterday. He was forced to death by the government officials who came to collect taxes. In front of his son and his mother-in-law, he bumped his head against the door frame and left like that."

Outside the house with earthen walls and thatch, the male owner of the family was sitting in front of the earthen stove. The flickering firelight from the stove reflected on his rough old face. He said blankly to his old wife on the other side of the earthen stove: "Escape, take it with you." The child fled into the mountains."

The wife on the other side of the stove lowered her eyes. In the dim light, when the man wasn't paying attention, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and smiled as if nothing had happened.

"Where can I escape? Not everyone in the village escaped last month, but they were caught and the couple was beaten."

The man was silent for a while and put the last firewood into the stove. He dusted his hands and stood up. He said, "I'll go to the village for a walk. You and the children will eat first."

There is not much food left at home, so if he eats less, his mother-in-law and children will be able to eat more in the days to come. The winter months are coming soon, and they have to find a way to get through it.

"Then you come back early."

Following his wife's instructions, the meek Ruan Liangyong came to the entrance of the village. Every night when night falls, a fire is usually lit at the entrance of the village. After dinner, the villagers will come here to chat and brag, while the women sew and mend their clothes by the light of the fire.

Recently, few people have come out. He came over to try his luck to see if anyone was talking at the entrance of the village. Unexpectedly, when he came over, many people had gathered here. He stepped forward to say hello and then looked for Once he lifted his trouser legs, he squatted down.

The fire burned brightly.

A group of old and young men in the village were squatting or sitting by the bonfire, and speckled sparks rose into the night sky with the heat wave. Ruan Liangyong was squatting in the corner, listening to the villagers talking. He was originally here to relieve his boredom, but now he was becoming more horrified.

In the swaying flames, he discovered a tall man among the crowd. The man was only wearing a single shirt with exposed arms, but he could see the outline of the muscles in the clothes.

As a half-hearted hunter, Ruan Liangyong's first impression of him was that he was a stranger, and he must be very brave.

It is not that there are no tall people among the Yue people, but Tongchang appears in the homes of high-ranking officials. After all, it is good for ordinary people to have a stutter these days. Do you want to keep up with nutrition and grow taller?

In this mountain and wilderness, he has seen many people, but in his memory, no one can compare with the other person's strong physique. Just why he appeared in the village and warmed up with everyone, that is a question, but Ruan Liangyong has a smart person. place, that is, not in a hurry and not asking, but choosing to wait quietly.

Ruan Liangyong didn't hear what they were saying before, but what he heard now roughly spelled out an outline.

"What do those princes fighting for power have to do with us ordinary people? This time they are collecting taxes. Next time, will they have to go door to door to fight?"

"If we fight against the Wu people, I will send one of my sons over with tears. But if we fight against ourselves, if we win, we won't get a share. If we lose, we will die in a foreign country. Who cares about us?!"

The first person to speak was the highly respected village elder in the village. He was dark and thin, about six feet tall, but his body could be seen to be very strong. The person who answered his words was another person, a hunter in the village. He has a tall cow and a big horse. He can probably eat a few mouthfuls of wild boar offal every now and then. But now it is almost winter, the temperature is gradually dropping, and many wild animals are also eating. I started hibernating, and I felt quite anxious.

"Pull off his skin!" A man slapped his knees: "You might as well do the opposite!"

"Don't talk nonsense, Uncle Li, you make the decision!"

The people gathered at the entrance of the village all looked at the dark old man. The old man did not speak, but looked at the strong man beside him.

There are no rules for speaking in the village, but they still talk nonsense:

"If you do the opposite, people will die!"

"It's better to fight for your family at least once than to commit suicide by hitting your head like a dog."

"Oh, leaving such a pair of orphans and widowers, how will people live in the future? I heard that even after Gouwazi died, his mother-in-law and children would still have to pay taxes."

"It really doesn't give people a way to survive!"

"Uncle Li, you will analyze it for everyone and come up with an idea. What should we do next? We can't all starve to death together. Let's force ourselves to death." The old man still didn't speak. After a moment, he said: "Let this big man Brother, tell everyone.”

The burly man next to the old man, the big brother in his mouth, has a thick beard, big eyes, and a rough face. When he speaks, his voice has a thick Vietnamese accent.

"Before I say anything, I want to ask you, who owns this mountain? Who owns this land?"

"We all have been living here for generations. The mountains are naturally ours. The fields are filled with the sweat of our generations, so of course they are also ours!" someone shouted.

The man clapped his hands and glanced at the faces looking at each other in the firelight: "That's right, our ancestors are all here, our roots are here, they are all ours.

But you also know that these lands actually belong to the emperor. The entire Yue Kingdom belongs to the emperor, including each of you. Your lives belong to him. "

"Why?!" An impatient villager suddenly stood up, while a shrewd woman helped, her eyes widened: "Isn't this too bullying!"

The man smiled: "It's not bullying, it's a fact. But think about it, are the ancestors of the Yue Emperor all emperors? Wasn't it because he couldn't afford to eat that he was forced to fight with the government? I realize something is wrong. The government is usually very majestic and bullies people everywhere. Why is it now like paper and scared after a few people died?"

Everyone was silent: "..."

"...Haha, actually, I want to tell you that you have to fight for your own life, instead of relying on other people's mood to give you alms. To tell the truth, I am a rebel on the side of Ping An!"

The man's eyes were majestic and he stood up from the wood lying on the ground. "Now the leader of my family has gathered thousands of people and is ready to take charge of the family. If you want to live a good life and consider future generations, let them live it." If you don’t have to worry about food and clothing, you might as well join in the rebellion.”

The man's words were not serious, but like a hammer, they hit the hearts of the men in this village. They were all people with their faces turned to the earth and their backs to the sky. They had done anything rebellious, but for some reason, they couldn't bear to leave like this. Everyone lowered their heads and stared at the swaying bonfire in silence.

"I have brought you the words. Whether you are willing to follow or not depends entirely on you. However, if we succeed, we will definitely let you live a good life. If we do not succeed, if you have time later, please go to the direction of the capital and bow down for us. As soon as I bow, I will put it into practice!"

The man's figure slowly stopped in the firelight, raised his hand, and cupped his hands towards everyone present. Immediately, he walked around the bonfire, walked away from the crowd, and disappeared directly on the night path at the entrance of the village.

The night fell silent.

Ruan Liangyong didn't know how he got home. The food was still warm in the big pot. His wife was passing firewood to the stove. When her husband came back, she quickly opened the lid of the pot, took out the warm food and put it on the old table. , inviting him to come over for dinner.

But the man who came back sat directly under the eaves, and his seven-year-old son ignored him when he came to talk to him.

The wife came over, knelt down next to the man, held his hand, and asked gently: "What's wrong? What was discussed outside?"

"I……"

Ruan Liangyong hesitated for a moment, looked into his wife's eyes, and spoke in a low voice.

"There may be a rebellion. The men in our village may join the rebels. You should stay at home and take good care of the children."

……

The night went by, and there was still a bright moon in the autumn night. The grass and rocks on the ground seemed to be covered with a layer of silver frost. A tall figure walked through the 'silver frost' and came to a nearby hill.

There was someone waiting for him there.

"Meet the Earth Lord!"

Over there, wearing a black robe and a sword hanging from his waist, Zhang Bao rode a brown war horse and looked at the mountains under the moonlight, "Is everything done?"

"Yes."

Soon, more people came back, all from other nearby villages. Some people successfully persuaded the villagers, while others did not choose to follow because of the other party's vigilance.

But it can be seen that many people under the heavy tax burden are ready to take action.

"Let's go to the next place and finish it early. It's time for the general to cause trouble!"

(End of this chapter)