Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

Li You rode into the camp and summoned the key personnel from each battalion for a meeting.

"I ask you all, did you all make a fortune last night?"

Upon hearing King Qi's question, the people below burst into laughter.

"The reason people follow me is to gain benefits and live a good life."

"What we made yesterday was just a small fortune; from now on, I, the King, will lead everyone to great wealth!"

"good!"

"May King Qi be victorious!"

Li You pressed his hands together lightly, signaling everyone to be quiet.

Do you know why I have rebelled?

"Could this... be for the sake of becoming emperor?"

Li You was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

Good heavens, who is so honest as to speak my mind?

"No, it's not just about becoming emperor."

"The final dragon throne was simply a natural consequence."

"The main reason I led everyone in rebellion is because a divine being appeared to me in a dream!"

"A god-like figure?"

"What kind of superhuman?"

"He was a golden-armored war god, with a majestic appearance, three heads, eight arms, and twelve legs. The god told me that this world is utterly corrupt. The poor toil day and night, yet suffer forever. Meanwhile, those sons of officials and noble families who sit and discuss matters of state live in luxury, dressed in fine clothes and eating sumptuous meals. This unjust situation must be completely changed!"

"At first, I didn't believe it. But the truth is appalling! Yesterday, when the brothers were ransacking the houses, you all saw the extravagance of the officials' homes. Do you all know how much land these people own?"

Li You waved the land deed in his hand: "More than 90,000 mu, a full 90,000 mu!"

How big exactly is 90,000 mu?

The people below didn't really have a concept of it; they just knew there was a lot of it.

"You are the ones who toil on these fields, enduring the bitter cold and scorching heat, yet they firmly control the ownership of these lands!"

"Through these methods, those powerful families are also indirectly controlling you!"

"In other words, you, your ancestors, your wife and children, are all slaves of powerful families and the government!"

"Everyone, ask yourselves honestly, who hasn't been exploited by landlords? Which family hasn't endured humiliation and barely survived? I've even heard that in some villages, when a girl gets married, the landlord is the first to enter the bridal chamber, and the groom is only the second!"

"Shouldn't we rebel in such a depraved world?"

Li You's rhetorical question successfully provoked the soldiers' anger.

Just a few days ago, they were indeed farmers toiling in the fields, enduring the exploitation of the landlords.

The tragic scene described by Li You was not fabricated, but an undeniable fact.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say!"

A strong-looking young soldier suddenly erupted.

"Okay, go ahead!"

"Your Majesty, that bearded fellow standing behind you often sleeps with the newlywed wives of ordinary people in our village!"

Li You suddenly turned his head and saw Liang Mengbiao, whose face was full of astonishment.

"You bastard!"

"Get down here and receive twenty lashes!"

Damn it, the atmosphere was going really well, but then...

If that young man were to propose killing Liang Mengbiao now, Li You would have no choice but to reluctantly give up on him.

Fortunately, the sound of Liang Mengbiao's screams as he was beaten was quite pleasing to everyone, easing their anger somewhat.

Of course, it's more likely that among the women Liang Mengbiao slept with, the wife of the man from earlier was not included.

otherwise……

……

"By order of the Golden-Armored War God, I, the King, shall distribute all the land equally among you all!"

Li You distributed the land deeds one by one.

"From today onwards, these land deeds are no longer valid."

"Remember the location and size of the land in the land deeds. Those who are illiterate should ask the clerk!"

"In short, all the land in Qizhou Prefecture must be equally distributed to every soldier!"

"After you've divided the land, all these land deeds must be burned immediately!"

After Li You finished speaking, everything immediately fell into chaos.

More than 90,000 mu of farmland were distributed among 5,000 people, with each person receiving more than ten mu.

For those who toil in the soil, this is indeed a considerable fortune.

The problem is that it's basically impossible to divide the land fairly and justly with just a few words.

However, Li You didn't care about any of that.

In fact, the more chaotically the land was divided, the better; the more chaotic the division, the more advantageous it would be for Li You.

"I'm giving you one day! Assemble and depart precisely at dusk!"

"I will also attack the Langya Wang family and seize their land! This is the divine decree issued to me by the Golden-Armored War God!"

Then, Li You waved his hand, and the axemen on his left and right, who had been prepared beforehand, started to chop off the heads of the ten officials.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers immediately realized that King Qi was not lying to them; it was absolutely true.

If the land deed is burned or the owner of the land deed is killed, then the land truly becomes ownerless.

If not now, when?

As for that golden-armored war god... Li You used the same reason in his letter to his father-in-law.

At that time, apart from a small minority who did not believe in ghosts and gods, most people were very superstitious.

The entire barracks erupted in excitement.

There was noise and arguments in each camp, and some even started to fight.

Faced with such substantial profits, taking action would be considered a light touch.

Li You ignored them and went to the camps of the old, weak, sick and disabled who had been left behind.

Although these people are powerless to fight, they are still ordinary people, poor people who need land.

Having already performed the same lines once, Li You spoke them even more fluently the second time.

"...The brothers in those camps are going to fight with me, so they'll get a bigger share. You may not be able to fight, but at least you've followed me. Here's what we'll do: I'll transfer 300 men from the regular army to lead you. You all work together and go and divide up all the land belonging to those landlords!"

"According to the imperial decree on equal land distribution, 80 mu were allocated land per person, and 20 mu were permanent land. Assuming each household has four people, anyone who owns more than 400 mu of land is a landlord! Their excess land must be distributed!"

The Equal-Field System mentioned by Li You was indeed a policy promulgated during the Zhenguan era.

The problem is that powerful clans and wealthy families across the land are unwilling to relinquish their land, especially in the Guanzhong region where land is relatively scarce and the population is dense, making progress extremely difficult.

In this situation, the higher-ups could only make concessions and compromises to the powerful families, allowing partial land annexation.

The problem is that the poor peasants at the bottom of society are weak and have been used to being driven and enslaved. They have no way to resist the exploitation and plunder by powerful families.

As evening fell, the four gates of Qizhou City were opened.

The people of Qizhou, who had been coerced into joining the rebellion, were no longer demoralized and became extremely excited.

They took the weapons that the King of Qi had given them and ran towards the village in a flurry.

Li You kept his word and assigned 300 able-bodied men as leaders for their land redistribution, and gave the order that he hoped they could turn the entire rural area of ​​Qizhou Prefecture into a complete mess.

The remaining four thousand or so able-bodied men gathered together and left the city through the east gate.

Unlike the elderly and weak, these people were armed, and all the livestock they could find were gathered together and followed behind, pulling the grain and supplies. Li You and his officers rode at the very front.

In other words, this is a quasi-military force.

Their target was Langya City, more than 400 miles away.