Farmers' Struggle

Chapter 68

 In the next few days, Li Yu drew up a plan one by one in the study, and every time something went wrong, he would cross it out and start over again. The wastebaskets cleaned out in the study every day were full.

Wen Jinbai didn't go through anyone's hands, he cleaned up the study by himself, and he personally took the waste paper full of plans to a corner of the garden and burned them, and then buried them with soil.

Li Yu revised and revised day and night, and finally took out a feasible plan report. After showing it to Wen Jinbai, Wen Jinbai looked surprised, "This is a good idea, so why worry about banditry?" No peace."

He knew that his husband was different, and with this plan, the sky and the sun would be just around the corner.

Li Yu smiled, "If it is feasible, I will write to King Su immediately, and we will use our side as a pilot. If the effect is significant, it will not be too much resistance to promote it to other places."

"Well, do you need me? Write a letter to Ah Zhuo so that he can speak for us?" Wen Jin asked.

Li Yu shook his head and said confidently: "That's not necessary. If King Su doesn't adopt such a favorable plan, he will be a mediocre person. Then I will do my part in the future, and there is no need to work hard for him. This

is also true, Wen Jinbai thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

The letter was sent by Chen Si, half a month later, Chen Si came back with a reply letter, maybe it was broken, the payment was not good, and the recruitment was not good, Qi Huan had nothing to do with these bandit troubles, Li Yu The letter from Li Yu came just right, and the pilot idea mentioned in the letter is very good. Anyway, there is only one county, and even if there is any loss, it will not be too big. If Li Yu's plan is successful, then the Southwest The banditry will not be a problem, Qi Huan readily agreed to Li Yu's request, boasted a few words in a gentle manner, and then said, let Li Yu do his best, and he will become his backing and support this plan.

With this reply, Li Yu was relieved, and a notice was issued the next day, to the effect that: Juping County is now in a state of waste, and the county magistrate, sympathetic to the people, decided to re-measure and distribute the land in Juping County. Farmers in Juping County are distributed according to their head. The land allocated this time does not accept private sales and is tax-free for three years. Everyone can also reclaim land by themselves, and the reclaimed land is tax-free for five years.

Li Yu sent all the yamen servants, in groups of two or three, to various villages to publicize, making sure that all the people clearly understand the meaning of this.

This announcement shocked the entire Juping County. The county magistrate has been here for several days without any movement. Today, such a move came suddenly. It seems that Juping County is about to undergo earth-shaking changes.

Within two days, the bandit leaders from all the mountains in Juping County gathered in Luming Mountain to discuss this matter.

Zhou Ping and Zhou An also went there. Although they didn't have many people in Funiu Mountain, they still set up a mountain there.

Luming Mountain, Juyi Hall, almost everyone has arrived, Zhou Ping sits at the bottom, Zhou An stands behind him, the head of Luming Mountain who is on the main seat has not yet arrived, and there are several other big mountains The leader of the party has not come yet, Zhou Ping understands that they are discussing this matter alone, alas! It's okay to discuss the results earlier, it's sad if you can't get up or down like this.

Not long after, a group of four or five people came in one after another, and the first one was Luming Mountain Master He Zhang.

That's right, it was He Zhang who once drank tea with Li Yu and his wife at the tea stand in Juping County.

After everyone was here, he walked to the main seat and took a seat. More than a dozen people in the hall stood up and saluted him. He Zhang waved his hand and made a gesture of please sit down. Everyone came here because of the sudden notice issued by the magistrate of Juping County recently, and everyone can speak freely if they have any opinions."

Although I spoke freely, everyone looked at me and I looked at you, and no one was the first to speak.

He Zhang seemed to have expected such a situation, and said with a smile: "Everyone, don't be embarrassed, I also know that since the new county magistrate took office, everyone has more or less sent people down the mountain to inquire about the situation. Say everything one by one, the so-called know yourself and the enemy, you can win every battle, everyone should work together now."

Everyone agrees with what I said, but when it's my turn to speak, I don't know how to change it.

"Why don't I just talk about my opinion first." He Zhang saw that everyone was unwilling to speak first, so he said it first.

Everyone nodded to show that they were all ears. Zhou An pulled Zhou Ping's sleeve, as if he wanted to say something, but Zhou Ping stopped him.

"This time I went down the mountain to inquire personally, but I didn't find any useful information. The new county magistrate has never shown up, and he has never made any moves. Just when we relaxed our vigilance, he suddenly Such a move shows that this person is not easy to deal with."

Everyone echoed: "Yes, the people we sent out didn't find out anything, I only heard that he only brought his family members, and when he came The previous yamen servants were summoned back, which also shows that he took office alone, and there are not many people under him, so there should be nothing to fear."

"The current situation is not peaceful at all, although he is alone. Ren, but I don't know if he has any backup? You know, he is always an official, big or small, but I don't believe that he has no manpower. He continued: "We should still treat it with caution."

"This is absolutely right. The new county magistrate doesn't know what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd, and who knows if there are any traps in it. Do you think so?" someone said loudly.

Everyone nodded. They did have this worry. The yamen notice said so much, but they were not sure. After all, they were bandits, and they had forced away the previous county magistrate. Who knew this? Will the county magistrate settle accounts after the autumn?

"Then what do you mean?" Someone asked uncertainly. It seemed that He Zhang had an idea, and everyone wanted to hear his idea.

He Zhang cleared his throat, and said slowly: "I mean take a break for a while and see how the follow-up situation is. If this county magistrate really has a heart for the people and can make the people live and work in peace and contentment, then we will respect him three points." How about it."

"But what if he wants to attack us? As far as I know, since the southwestern part of the court was entrusted to King Su, he has been here for more than a year and has paid no less than ten dollars. This time, although it didn't work, what if the new county magistrate also sends troops to pay us off?" Someone spoke out what he was worried about, and everyone in the hall fell silent.

He Zhang sneered, tapped his fingers on the table, and made a dull voice, "Then let him try it? We have so many mountains and manpower, are we afraid of their little officers and soldiers? How can Su Wangqing pay?" How about it? The brothers outside are not as good, so we can just follow their way? If there are many officers and soldiers, we will hide, and if there are few officers and soldiers, we will fight. It is not certain who will win."

"Exactly . , Exactly, what are you afraid of? As long as he dares to come, we have nothing to dare." He slapped the table with a temper and said angrily.

At this time, Zhou An couldn't bear it any longer, and said loudly: "We have few people in Funiu Mountain, and I'm afraid we can't stand such a toss. In the current situation, it is difficult for the old and young on the mountain to feed. In my opinion, take this opportunity Why not just go down the mountain and ask for some land, now three years of tax exemption, without those exorbitant taxes, at least you can fill your stomach, right?" As

soon as these words came out, everyone looked in Zhou Ping's direction, Zhou Ping helped the amount, this younger brother, Didn't I tell him to be calm and not to be impatient? When will this careless and impatient person change?

He Zhang was silent for a while, and asked, "Brother Zhou, is this what you mean by Funiu Mountain?"

Zhou Ping laughed awkwardly, and it was hard to change his words at this time, so he nodded and said, "Boss He, do you mean?" Knowing the situation on our Funiu Mountain, we have been out of food for more than half a month, and we rely on the wild vegetables and fruits on the mountain to fill our stomachs. We have a lot of old and weak women and children in Funiu Mountain, so it is not an option to continue like this. So..."

Zhou Ping The meaning is already very clear, this is their only hope.

At that time, as soon as they heard that the notice was issued in the county government office at the foot of the mountain, they inquired about the content. In fact, they did not need to inquire about it. Every village below was passed down by word of mouth from the yamen servants, because Li Yu knew that many people were illiterate. That's why the yamen servants were told one by one, instead of pasting a piece of paper there.

Not only that, if there is anything they don't understand, they will explain it patiently, so that everyone must understand this decree thoroughly. They explain it clearly, so that all men, women, old and young can understand it clearly.

After Zhou Ping and the others knew about it, they were very moved. After all, they were ordinary people, and they dragged people up the mountain because they evaded those exorbitant taxes. They had never done anything harmful except robbing passing merchants. There is no need to pay taxes on the land. It's not too late for such a good thing. If the land is allotted, who will they talk to?

All the people on the top of Funiu Mountain knew about the situation of Funiu Mountain. Zhou Ping even asked them to borrow food, but every family had to support a group of people on the top of the mountain, and their lives were tight. Who had extra money and food to help them? Fortunately, there can be several merchants passing by here in a month, but after the news of the banditry spread here, no one is stupid. They would rather take more detours than come here and be a fat sheep .

Like the landlords and wealthy households in the city who came to beg for money and food at the beginning, everyone was afraid and squeezed out. Later, which family didn't raise a large group of guards? They would rather support more people than live forever. Endlessly being forced to help.

Therefore, when Zhou Ping said this, those who had been sad for several days were also moved.

"That's understandable." He Zhang nodded.

"No, we are bandits after all. If Mao rashly goes down the mountain like this, what if... what if this is a trick by the new county magistrate? We will be punished as soon as we get down the mountain." Someone said worriedly. It's just that he thinks so, and many people think so too, they can't believe the government anymore.

Zhou Ping's face turned pale, "It's better than us starving to death on the mountain." He stood up and clenched his hands into fists, "It's a crime. I'll suffer it, but I can't bear to see the old and weak, women and children starve to death." On the mountain, if we go down the mountain, we can find a way out."

"Brother!" Zhou An's eyes turned red when he heard what his elder brother said. as a result of. He heard that there is land distribution at the foot of the mountain, and there is no need to pay taxes. This kind of good thing is hard for them to find even with a lantern, so he told the big guys on Funiu Mountain, and everyone waited with great joy. Let the boss take them down the mountain to divide the fields.

Looking at it now, staying on the mountain and being starved to death, and going down the mountain to be punished and beheaded by the government, no matter how you look at it, it is a dead end. What should they do? He absolutely can't just watch his elder brother die.

"Master Zhou, have you already made up your mind?" the crowd asked.

Zhou Ping nodded, already determined to die.

Everyone in the hall was silent for a while, and there was a lot of sadness for the death of the rabbit and the fox.

But He Zhang laughed loudly, "Actually, tsk tsk is not a solution. We always need a pathfinder to find out the truth. It might be a good thing to go. I agree with Zhou Dazhang to go down the mountain to find the way first. Don't worry." , if this county magistrate really dares to send you to prison for punishment, we have so many brothers, even if it is a prison robbery, we will rescue Brother Zhou, and at worst we will besiege the county government again."

The family members of several of their powerful forces have discussed for some time before, and some of them went down the mountain first to find out how the situation is, but the candidate has not yet been decided. Now that Zhou Ping has this willingness, it would be great. The gangsters have always been in the same spirit, and it is impossible for the brothers to be in danger.

"Haha, yes, don't worry, brother Zhou, you still have our backing. If the decree issued by the county magistrate is really for the people, we will go down the mountain, but if it is just to coax us, at worst, everyone will attack it together. How about creating another rebellion?"

Hearing these words, the Zhou family brothers also felt relieved, so they have nothing to worry about, and it is not ashamed of their conscience to find a way out for everyone on the mountain.