Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 153: Turmoil

Wangjiazhuang, Wang Cheng’s courtyard.

Granny Liu was tending to the rows of melon vines at home.

That's cucumber, which is still a rare thing in the market today. People were afraid that it wouldn't grow well if they grew it outside, so they planted it alone in their own yard.

They were planted in July and now it is September and the cucumbers have formed. The cucumbers are green and juicy, half the size of a palm, and are at their tenderest.

Ban'er was young and didn't have much to eat, so when he saw the cucumber, he wanted to reach out to grab it.

Seeing this, Granny Liu picked up a wooden stick, hit Ban'er with it, and gave him a lecture.

Ban'er only felt the pain in his hand, so how could he listen? Soon he started to cry with tears in his eyes.

Granny Liu was a little angry, so she threatened the child:

"If you keep crying, if you keep crying, the imperial officials will come to arrest you!"

As he was speaking, the King of Hell called his name and he came as soon as he was called!
In broad daylight, someone suddenly banged on the door.

Before Granny Liu could open the door, it was kicked open with a bang!
Several ferocious-looking officers walked in.

Ban'er stopped crying all of a sudden, and hid behind Granny Liu with his neck shrunk in fear.

"You are the boss, call him out!"

The officer shouted.

Liu was sewing in the house. When she heard the noise outside, she hurried out.

"Mom, what's going on?"

Granny Liu pretended to smile and whispered to her daughter:

"It's definitely not a good thing. Take the chance and hide all the change in the house in the urinal."

Liu nodded cautiously.

Granny Liu then stepped forward and replied.

"My dear officials, my son-in-law is in the field now. Go and call him back!"

Several officers waved their hands and said:
"No need, we are in a hurry, it doesn't matter whether we call him or not!"

Seeing this, Granny Liu could only say:

"Gentlemen, please come in and I'll pour you some water."

Then he invited several people into the house.

Granny Liu looked around for the kettle, but deliberately couldn't find it. She signaled to Mrs. Liu with her eyes and said, "Go to the house and get the teapot."

He deliberately put emphasis on the word "pot". Liu got the hint and hurried into the house to get the teapot. At the same time, she took the opportunity to take out the silver in the house and hid it in the urinal.

The farmhouse is not like a large courtyard. Here, the inner and outer rooms are separated by only a curtain, so Liu was very nervous.

On the other side, the officials said to Granny Liu:
"Okay, don't waste your energy. We are here not for anything else, but to follow the emperor's order!" As he said this, the official told Liu Laolao about the "advance tribute in a good year".

After hearing this, Granny Liu pretended to be stupid and delayed the conversation, asking, "In a good year, we have to pay tribute in advance, but this year is not a good year, is it?"

The officials asked, "What do you know? The good harvest here refers to the next year. If you pay this advance tribute, will it be a good harvest next year?"

Granny Liu was surprised and said, "Paying the advance tribute means a good harvest. How can it be so sure?"

The official said, "You old fellow, what do you know? This is given to the emperor. Who is the emperor? He is the Son of Heaven! This is given to God. Do you think it can be approved?"

Granny Liu smiled awkwardly and asked, "Since it's voluntary, can I not pay?"

The officer smiled coldly, "You don't have to hand it over! But if you don't hand it over, it means you are dissatisfied with the emperor and the new policy, and you are resisting the court! Come on, lock him up!"

Hearing this, Granny Liu stood up in shock and said hurriedly:
"No, no, no, please don't, officials. I was just joking with you. How dare I not pay taxes? Please, for the sake of my old bones that are about to die, forgive me this time!" Liu Laolao dealt with the officials in this way. Soon, the officials lost their patience and forced Liu Laolao to pay taxes, demanding six taels of silver.

Granny Liu said that her family had no money and asked for more money after the autumn harvest.

How could the officials agree to that?
So he forced his way into the house and after searching, he really didn't find any money, only a few hundred copper coins and some old jewelry.

Wang Cheng's family was barely considered a wealthy family in the local area, and it was said that they had relatives and friends in the capital. The officials did not want to go too far, so they thought of just using these to pay off the debt. However, Liu was young and could not keep the matter under control, and her eyes were fixed on the urinal on the ground.

The leading officer was an old hand. Upon seeing this, he kicked the urinal and the money immediately fell out.

You old thing, how dare you play tricks on me!

When Wang Cheng got the news and returned home, the door was broken, the melon vines were pulled, the money was stolen, Granny Liu was slapped and half of her face was swollen, Granny Liu's jewelry was also stolen, and Ban'er was so scared that he dared not say a word...

After the promulgation of the "Pre-tribute in a Good Year", the effect was immediate and a large amount of money was collected little by little. These were all taxes paid voluntarily by the people.

Emperor Longqing was very moved when he saw this. The people trusted him so much, he would not let them down!

So he ordered Wang Ziteng to set off.

At the same time as the imperial court set out, Kah Khan of the grassland and Fang Yong of Huaizhou were also gearing up and making preparations.

The grassland sent a large number of spies, disguised as merchants, to carefully investigate the strength of the defense line in Datong.

At the same time, Kah Khan secretly assembled troops and ordered the conscription of warriors from various tribes.

Compared with feudal dynasties like Daxi, the political system of the grassland is still slightly backward.

There was no unified dynasty.

Although Kah Khan was nominally the leader of the grassland, he only had general leadership power over the tribes on the grassland, but had no right to interfere in their specific internal affairs.

This is somewhat similar to the difference between the various princes and the Zhou emperor in the feudal era before the Spring and Autumn Period.

Now, all these families responded to the order of Kah Khan, selecting the bravest warriors and the strongest horses in the tribe, sending them to the battlefield, and forming the iron cavalry of the grassland.

On the other side, Fang Yong from Huaizhou was also prepared.

He sent people to select soldiers to form a special disaster relief force.

The difference between these disaster relief forces and combat forces is that the disaster relief forces have stronger combat capabilities and are better equipped.

The reason for this is that disaster relief is not just a simple rescue work. In today's Shandong, disaster victims are no longer ordinary disaster victims. In addition to being disaster victims, they may also work part-time as thieves, robbers, wizards and other ancient professions.

Therefore, if you want to provide disaster relief, it is not as simple as just taking food away.

Zhai Xun was appointed by Fang Yong to be responsible for disaster relief work in Shandong.

Under Zhai Xun's deployment, disaster relief was mainly divided into three parts.

The first part is the direct disaster relief force.

These troops will enter Shandong in batches to carry out disaster relief, carrying sophisticated combat equipment and a small amount of relief supplies.

Of course, disaster relief is not the goal, and the relief supplies they carry are not enough to save all the victims.

The real purpose of this force was to survey the terrain in Shandong, plant secret lines, evacuate the victims, publicize their deeds, and then lead the victims in Shandong to Suzhou and Huizhou.

The real disaster relief operation will be carried out in Suzhou and Huizhou, which is Fang Yong’s territory.

When these disaster victims arrive here, Zhai Xun will arrange work for them.

They could build canals, reclaim fields, cut wood, join the army, become craftsmen or horsemen. Some women could also marry directly and settle down in the local area.

Zhai Xun has made sufficient preparations for these people. If Fang Yong wants to advance into Shandong in the future, these native people of Shandong will become Fang Yong's greatest help.

Just like Hefei and Chaozhou in the past, it would be enough to take over Shandong without any effort!
(End of this chapter)