Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

On a whim, Li Chengming summoned two attendants, changed into a coarse cloth robe, and went to a village where the new policies were being implemented. He stopped a lean farmer and asked:

"Hey buddy, what's all those people doing gathered up there?"

The farmer didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked Li Chengming up and down. Seeing that the young man was tall and clean-cut, he didn't seem like an ordinary person. He asked, "Are you from out of town?"

Li Chengming nodded and said, "I'm just a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), passing by here. I heard that the Xingfu Army is implementing new policies, so I came to take a look."

The farmer perked up and said excitedly, "That's right! The Restoration Army are really great people. They came up with a new tax law that allows everyone to pay taxes together. Those officials pay the same taxes as us poor folks. That's wonderful!"

Li Chengming asked in confusion, "Who are you referring to as 'Master'?"

The peasant stood on tiptoe and pointed to a man kneeling on the platform in front, saying, "See those people? They're the three big landlords in our town, the big bosses who collect taxes for the county magistrate! They don't pay taxes on their own land; they rely entirely on exploiting us poor peasants and tenant farmers to pay taxes. Now, the Restoration Army wants the bosses to pay taxes too, but they refused and had their men beat up the work team members. So now the Restoration Army is going to hold a public trial for them and confiscate their property!"

Li Chengming asked, "What is the tax rate for the Restoration Army? Is it high or low?"

The farmer hurriedly said, "The lords said that the taxes of the Restoration Army are much higher than those of the imperial court. They said that the imperial court's tax rate is one-thirtieth, while the highest tax rate of the Restoration Army is one-third."

But I asked the work team to calculate it for me. My family has six mu of land, and for land under ten mu, the tax rate is 1/20 of the original amount. This tax is much lower than before.

Li Chengming feigned doubt and said, "Didn't you say that the imperial court's tax rate is only one-thirtieth, while the Restoration Army's tax rate is one-twentieth? Doesn't that mean the Restoration Army's tax rate is higher?"

The farmer said somewhat angrily, "Thirty percent tax is what the master said. My family has been farming for generations, and we've never paid such a low tax! When it was time to pay the tax, the master said that in addition to the regular tax, there would be additional river tax, transit tax, and war wages and poll tax... I can't remember all of them, but in the end, the tax we paid exceeded twenty percent!"

Li Chengming nodded and pressed further, "Twenty percent? That's not low. What about the Restoration Army's share?"

The farmer said, "The Restoration Army abolished those incomprehensible taxes; now we only need to pay land tax. That one-twentieth tax rate is just too low!"

Someone overheard Li Chengming discussing the tax rate for the Restoration Army with the farmers and chimed in, "That Restoration Army is something else! They abolished the poll tax outright! I've heard so many storytelling performances, but I've never heard of any dynasty that didn't require the poll tax!"

Another person said, "Isn't the rebel leader even more powerful? When he comes, we don't have to pay land tax, we don't have to pay poll tax, we don't have to pay anything!"

Someone replied, "How can you compare them to bandits? If you don't go with them, they'll kill you and steal your money. They don't need to pay taxes; they make their living by robbing!"

Soon, more and more people joined in, and the discussion began in a lively and animated manner.

Li Chengming listened to their discussion for a while. Most of them were praising the restoration of the army. After hearing it so many times, it all became the same. So Li Chengming quietly left.

Li Chengming and his entourage squeezed to the front of the makeshift wooden platform, intending to witness the public trial firsthand.

The idea of ​​holding a public trial for these landlords and gentry was first proposed by Liang Zicheng. At that time, he also consulted Li Chengming. Li Chengming only had two requirements: the public trial must be approved by him, and it should not be done too excessively.

It is necessary to hold a public trial, but care must be taken not to escalate it arbitrarily, since it involves murder and confiscation of property, and must be handled with utmost care.

After the new policy was implemented in other townships, Zhang Xiyan and Yang Xuedong presided over several public trials, which effectively deterred the hidden opposition forces, making the implementation of the new policy much smoother afterward.

The new policy was then implemented in more than a dozen townships, and no one dared to openly oppose it.

Until now, having encountered these three stubborn landlords, Zhang Xiyan collected materials and sent them to Li Chengming. Li Chengming looked at them for a long time and finally agreed to the public trial.

Li Chengming squeezed to the front row, and soon the public trial on the wooden platform officially began.

The public trial was presided over by Zhang Xiyan.

It has to be said that the authority of someone who has served as a county magistrate is different; Zhang Xiyan’s every move exuded official power.

Although the makeshift wooden platform was simple, the moment Zhang Xiyan struck the gavel, the nearly one thousand onlookers below fell silent.

Only three wealthy men were kneeling on the stage; their families, numbering over a hundred, were being held captive below the stage.

Zhang Xiyan first read out the crimes of the three men, such as resisting the new policies, attempting to murder members of the work team, and exploiting the people and extorting money from them.

Zhang Xiyan first sentenced three wealthy men to death.

The three wealthy men struggled to defend themselves, but their mouths were stuffed with rags, so they couldn't speak. They could only watch helplessly as they were sentenced to death, while the audience cheered.

Only after these three wealthy men were sentenced to death will the people dare to come forward and expose the crimes they committed!

Li Chengming's idea was that as long as the people spoke out for them, the death penalty could be suspended and sent back for retrial.

It was quite a strange thing that the public trial had been held seven or eight times, yet no one had stood up to speak out for the local gentry.

Next, the people took the stage to expose the crimes of these three families.

At first, Liang Zicheng used a trick of hiring "shills," but he never did so again in subsequent public trials. Every time a public trial began and the main figures were sentenced to death, the people below the stage would rush up to expose the crimes of the gentry family, from major crimes like murder and arson to petty theft.

During a previous public trial, a family was sentenced to death because of their numerous crimes. Except for their two young grandsons who were too young to commit any crimes, the rest of the family was almost wiped out!

This time was no exception. These three wealthy men and their families had committed many evils, arousing public outrage. One by one, people went on stage to point out the crimes committed by the three families.

Li Chengming watched with great interest from the audience, then asked the old man next to him, "Sir, do you think the crimes revealed by the people up there are all true?"

The old man, without turning his head, said, "How could it not be true? There are so many people watching down there. These three families were never good people to begin with. They rose to power from their grandfather's generation and committed evil deeds for three generations. If you ask me, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to wipe out all three families!"

Li Chengming smiled helplessly. Judging from the reactions of the people below, these three families were unpopular. Perhaps what this old man said was true.

But when human lives are at stake, it always feels too hasty to act without concrete evidence.

It all depends on how Zhang Xiyan decides.

Zhang Xiyan was indeed not a simple-minded person. Whenever he was about to sentence someone to death, he would require at least five witnesses, preferably with physical evidence as well. If there were any doubts, he would order someone to remove the gag from the suspect's mouth, giving him a chance to speak and explain. In the end, he would either let the suspect go or sentence him to death, depending on the circumstances.

Zhang Xiyan's approach indeed won everyone's approval.

In Li Chengming's view, Zhang Xiyan's approach was too hasty, but he had to admire his methods. It was already quite remarkable that he could maintain a clear head under such circumstances and not be swayed by other people's words.

Therefore, from beginning to end, Li Chengming did not stand up to interfere with the public trial of Dagong.

Li Chengming left reluctantly after watching dozens of people on the stage being beheaded, without even saying goodbye to Zhang Xiyan.