I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 534 Emperors are all bastards!

The men in Guanjia Village looked at old man Guan Yueguan, who was sitting at the top, with respect.

Old Man Guan is not only very prestigious in Guanjia Village, but also in Neiqiu County. The reason why he is so prestigious is not only because he is old, but also because he went to Beijing to plead for the people fifteen years ago and was personally received by the Emperor and the King of Jing.

He was also awarded the "Speaking for the People" medal and he returned home with honor.

Mr. Guan looked even older at this time, but he was still strong and in good spirits.

He looked at the men of Guanjia Village in the ancestral hall and said, "Does anyone know how old I, your great grandfather, am this year?"

The men in Guanjia Village looked at each other, wondering why Grandpa Guan asked this. Was he getting senile and confused?

"Great grandfather, you celebrated your 80th birthday in the 20th year of Zhengde. Now it is the 25th year of Zhengde, and you are already 85 years old." Guan Gui said hurriedly.

"Yes! I have lived for eighty-five years, longer than any of you, and have seen more things than you, so your words can still be listened to," said Mr. Guan kindly.

"Grandpa, you are too modest. You have eaten more salt than we have eaten rice," a villager said respectfully.

"Yes!"

"."

"I was born in the twelfth year of Zhengtong. At that time, there was the Zhengtong Emperor. Later, he was captured by the Oirat people. Then came the Jingtai Emperor. Later, the Zhengtong Emperor came back and seized the throne from the Jingtai Emperor. After that, there came the Chenghua Emperor and the Hongzhi Emperor, and finally the current Zhengde Emperor. I, an old man, have experienced five emperors in my life," said old man Guan slowly.

The men of Guanjia Village listened attentively, as they were now facing a possible new emperor transition.
"I have experienced many changes of emperors. In fact, what Guan Gui said just now is correct," Old Man Guan continued.

Guan Gui, who was standing by, became even more energetic after hearing this.
"Changing the emperor is the business of the nobles. We are just ordinary people. We should just live our own lives and not interfere in the affairs of the nobles. The nobles won't let us interfere, and we can't interfere," said Old Man Guan.

Guan Gui immediately revealed a smug expression and looked at the villagers around him with pride.

"When I was young, I read a few books. I didn't pass the imperial examinations, but I liked to stay with scholars and listen to them praise this emperor for his wisdom and bravery, that emperor for loving his people like his own children. They praised the emperors to the sky, but I was puzzled - why did wise emperors appear one after another, while we ordinary people live more and more difficult lives?" The ancestral hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. No one expected that Grandpa Guan would actually talk about this. They had no answer to this question.
"You are all still young and may not feel it, but I have lived for 85 years and I can clearly feel this. Life is getting harder and harder for us ordinary people."

"I didn't have the answer before, and I couldn't figure out why, but over the past ten years or so, I have gradually figured it out. The five emperors I experienced were actually all the same, a bunch of bastards!" Grandpa Guan said as he angrily knocked the ground with his cane.

The surrounding villagers were all shocked. No one expected that Grandpa Guan could say such a shocking thing.
"Great Grandpa," Guan Gui felt his throat was a little dry and reminded Grandpa Guan in a low voice.

"Don't bother me! I've been holding this in for a long time, now I want to say it!" Old Master Guan is like a little child now.

"Every day he boasts of being wise and brave and loving the people like his own children, but it's just lip service. The taxes that should be collected are not reduced at all, and the corvée labor that should be performed cannot be reduced at all. Moreover, the taxes and corvée labor are getting heavier and heavier, and there are more and more corrupt officials. The lives of the people are getting more and more difficult." Old Man Guan angrily smashed the ground with his walking stick.

The surrounding villagers were all silent, like quiet statues.

"The same is true for the current Emperor Zhengde. Nine years after he ascended the throne, he made the country a mess. There were refugees everywhere, bandits were everywhere, and the people were suffering. That was also the most difficult time for us in Guanjia Village. Many members of the Guan family died in that period." Old Man Guan's voice became low.

The expressions of many villagers around became sad. The ninth year of Zhengde was not far away from now. Many people still remembered what happened back then, and they all knew that what Grandpa Guan said was true.
"I thought things would get worse day by day, because the first seventy years of my life were like this. The lives of ordinary people got worse and worse. But I didn't expect that things would take a turn. King Jing appeared." Grandpa Guan took a deep breath and said.

"When Prince Jing began to serve as regent, many people thought it was a ridiculous act by Emperor Zhengde. But now it seems that this was actually the most correct and wise decision made by Emperor Zhengde!" Old Man Guan's voice became excited.

"The price of salt has dropped several times. At the beginning, we could only buy coarse salt. After two years, we could buy refined salt with the same price. Refined salt does not have the bitter taste of coarse salt. The children in our village grew up eating refined salt. A few days ago, I told Guan Bei from Guan Dali's family that there was bitterness in the salt. Guan Bei didn't believe it and said that salt is salty, how could it be bitter. He didn't know that I have been eating bitter salt for more than 70 years," said Grandpa Guan with great emotion.

Grandpa Guan's words resonated greatly with the villagers, as all of this was something they had personally experienced.
"We don't know how the King of Jing did it, but we suddenly had more opportunities to work. When we were free, the young people in the village could go out and do odd jobs. The corvée became less and we were even paid for doing it. The railway was also built, making it more convenient to go out. Later, our Northern Zhili became some kind of territorial zone. The yamen runners who were rampant in the countryside became polite and no longer dared to bully the people. The grain we grew was sold to the Royal Group, and no one bullied us with big or small measures anymore. The fields were re-measured, and the capitation tax was no longer paid per person. We paid much less tax than before. We no longer had to transport the grain to the capital or border towns to pay taxes. We could just pay in silver yuan coupons."

"Those relatives who had fled to the mountains have come out of the mountains, and those who had taken refuge with the wealthy families and become hidden households have quietly returned. They responded to the call and followed the Royal Group to immigrate to the frontier. They were really given land and seeds, and their lives will get better after a few years of hard work."

"The changes I've seen in the past decade or so are not as many as the first seventy years of my life combined!"

(End of this chapter)