Chapter 862: Civil Unrest (12600 Supplement)

Time slipped into summer without anyone noticing.

Dadongxiang.

"Didn't the Liang King issue a decree long ago to only collect fifty percent?"

An old farmer looked at the tax collector and pleaded, "Why has it increased again?"

"This is the Imperial Court's order. Do you intend to defy the King's law?"

The tax collector's face darkened, and he shouted, "The Prime Minister wants to launch a northern expedition, so you commoners should endure it! Enough idle talk, pay up quickly, or we will drag away your family's ox!"

A plow ox, in ancient times, was the lifeblood of a farming family.

"The world hasn't even been conquered yet..."

Aaron sighed.

On the carriage, another person suddenly climbed up and looked at Yan Er: "Did this official agree?"

Aaron flicked his fingers.

"Oh?"

Waking up from a nap, Aaron arrived at the government office.

He saw that many officials had already gathered in the public hall, all looking very young.

After all, the Prime Minister had repeatedly emphasized the need for integrity!

If a scandal like this broke out, they might lose their official positions; not to mention entering the Ministry of Revenue in the future, it would be lucky if they didn't end up drinking tea at the Integrity Department!

Saying this, he slipped over a stack of gold leaves.

The old farmer's eyes were instantly filled with bloodshot veins, yet he dared to be angry but dared not speak.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister... this matter seems to be the fault of the government first!" Taichong said this, feeling angry in his heart as well.

He could give his life for the Great Liang, but that did not prevent him from lining his own pockets with silver.

"Jin King? Three Teachings? Ghosts and gods? Or a joint effort?"

Yan Er said: "There is one more thing. The leader of this uprising cannot be one of our own, and he cannot even have the slightest connection to us. It is best if he is famous enough, well-known throughout the prefecture and county, and upright and incorruptible, so that he can plead for the people... After he has pleaded, he can go die!"

"There are a few such candidates, all inciting in secret, and we will see results in a few days."

If there were no other factors, he would likely be the one to serve as the first Governor of Xuzhou in the future.

"Taichong, speak!"

His position was high now, so he did not look at the surface of things; he only looked at who was the primary beneficiary after an event occurred, who was the secondary beneficiary, and then, extending the timeline, who was the tertiary beneficiary!

Basically, by following these three lines of investigation, one could always find the true culprit!

And now, there were not many people left who were qualified to be his opponent.

If it had been just drinking tea at the Integrity Department at the beginning, now it was enough to go to the execution ground.

At critical moments, one must still dare to kill to suppress things as quickly as possible and avoid them from spreading.

Among them, Taichong occupied the top spot.

And this bit of an uprising clearly didn't even count as a ripple.

As a result, one wrong step led to every step being wrong... Feng Erlang, out of a sense of obligation, helped the Yan family handle a few small matters, and then it grew larger and larger.

Initially, after getting drunk and losing control, he accidentally slept with someone else's wife, and having tasted the sweetness of it, Feng Erlang was dragged into the water.

After everyone had finished paying their respects, Aaron waved his hand casually.

"Sigh... for the sake of the Liang State, I have even compressed my lunch break by a stick of incense; I have sacrificed too much."

The scorching sun was like fire.

"Besides this, did no one discover and report Feng Erlang's corruption of the government?"

"Therefore, we still need our people to mix into it as the backbone, and provide weapons, armor, and grain support... we don't ask to capture large cities, just harassing in the countryside will suffice."

"... Tax official Feng Erlang, abusing his power for personal gain, increased the summer grain tax... and the local tax collectors pressed too hard and even beat someone to death!"

Once these words were spoken, Taichong and the other officials all knelt, sweat pouring from them like rain.

Without needing a trial, everyone knew that Feng Erlang must have been loyal to the Great Liang, and when he came to the war zone to be an official, he already had the resolve to risk his life.

Yan Er laughed: "With his name and official documents, those small officials we have truly won over can add layers of surcharges, until in the end, they collect ninety percent rent on a mu of land!"

Aaron rubbed his brow.

He finished eating the melon in a leisurely manner, stood up, and wiped his hands: "After I finish my afternoon nap, summon the prefecture officials to discuss matters!"

Aaron lay on a soft couch, with several beauties beside him, one fanning him, and one cutting a freshly iced melon.

Yan Er laughed heartily: "Of course, he has no other way to go!"

He could only walk down this dark path to the end and pray not to be discovered.

A carriage slowly drove over the field ridges, with Feng Erlang sitting inside, feeling somewhat worried: "With the summer grain being collected like this, aren't you afraid of trouble?"

This was firstly because he couldn't bear to part with the lovely young woman, and secondly, he was afraid that the matter would be exposed.

Aaron's expression did not change at all: "Not rebelling sooner, not rebelling later... but choosing to rebel just when this Prime Minister is preparing for a northern expedition?"

Daque Prefecture City, Prefecture Office.

However, this cannot be said to be falling into a trap; historically, when facing uprisings, government armies have never failed to suppress them.

The county soldiers are all Six Jia Divine Soldiers, inevitably not very intelligent, or rather, a bit foolish.

This person had seen history clearly, knowing that rebelling had nothing to do with anything else, only one thing—whether the power was great or not!

"However, just a bit of corruption, I'm afraid, won't be able to delay the Liang Army," that person sighed.

"Then the county soldiers were dispatched to suppress it... causing a massacre, and this matter immediately spread throughout Xuzhou, causing public resentment to boil over!"

June.

He ate a melon while watching a hawk descend.

Not long after, a clerk hurried in to report: "Prime Minister... something terrible has happened, the villagers of Dadongxiang have rebelled against taxes!"

By now, these people had actually dared to reach their mouths toward the collection of the summer grain!

Alas... Feng Erlang no longer had a way out.

"Dao Lord, please forgive me!"

Aaron suddenly looked at Taichong: "Still, you all kept in mind the friendship of being fellow Imperial Academy Students; you didn't help cover it up, but you deliberately did nothing, right?"

Now that it has even spread, it is clear that someone is presiding over it from the center!

Opposite him, Yan Er smiled and said: "Moreover... if you, my lord, help to cover it up, we all have benefits to offer."

"Of course not... this is only the first step, and Feng Erlang is also our discarded pawn."

Taichong bowed and said: "The villagers of Dadongxiang are led by Xuzhangchun, who carried a coffin to the county to demand an explanation... This Xuzhangchun was originally a Cultivated Talent of the former Song, extremely filial to his mother, and although his family was poor, he still righteously gave gold to friends; he is famous throughout Daque Prefecture, with a reputation for keeping his word like gold. He originally only went to the county office to submit a petition, but for some reason, he got into a dispute with the yamen runners and suddenly died. There are rumors that he was killed by the yamen runners... and the villagers rioted because of this!"

"Oh... then it seems the common people cannot go on living and are truly going to rebel!" That person nodded: "It's just that although the commoners are rebelling, they are easily suppressed; they can't make a big scene!"

"Oh? Speak..."

"Please rest assured, my lord, these commoners have lived like this for many years. It was like this under the Great Song back then, and it is the same under the Great Liang now; they can only endure."

It was somewhat piercing for Feng Erlang to look at, after all, he was also such an oppressed commoner before, but he still accepted it: "I will walk around and look some more, you don't need to worry about me."

The human heart is complex; it is truly hard to say.

'And this is my great enemy! It is easy to defeat the bandits in the mountains, but difficult to defeat the bandits in the heart!'

(End of this chapter)