Chapter 1372

Except for Yuan Ji, the faces of everyone present changed.

It felt as if the meat in front of them was like what Yuan Shao said, not some delicacies, but the corpse dug out from the tomb.

However, Yuan Shao's next paragraph of words completely made everyone lose color.

"Gentlemen, although these delicacies are not the corpses in the tomb, what is the difference?"

Yuan Shao held the wine glass tightly and frowned: "Where does this luxury of our music and delicacies come from? You don't know."

"Grain will not grow out of thin air in the fields, fish in the river will not jump onto the dining table, and wild beasts on the mountain will not run into the cauldron by themselves for us to eat."

"This cup of wine, the silk on the body, which one is not the bone and blood of the people?"

"Of course, I, Yuan Shao, am not a saint. Saying so much is not to compare how noble I am."

"What I want to say is that Jizhou has just been pacified, the people have not yet lived and worked in peace, and the surplus grain in their homes is only enough to fill their stomachs."

"But now the court is collecting taxes. We are court officials, eating the monarch's salary and sharing the monarch's worries, so we should not defy the order."

"But if we want to collect taxes from the people, cut off the life of the people of Jizhou, make the people suffer, and make the people of Jizhou fall into despair again, I, Yuan Shao, cannot do it."

"So..."

Yuan Shao straightened his expression, and his eyes swept across Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Shen Pei, Cui Yan, and others one by one.

Tian Feng and others sitting below the hall had already guessed what Yuan Shao was going to say next.

Nothing more than the matter of the court collecting grain.

Since Yuan Shao had already said it himself, he couldn't do it if he asked him to collect grain from the people.

But the court's imperial edict could not be ignored.

Then the person who pays the grain is sitting below the hall now?

"So... I, Yuan Shao, today earnestly ask you... I, Yuan Shao, don't want much from each family, one hundred thousand shi of grain from each family."

"I think this grain is not much for you. Of course, I won't let you pay this grain for nothing."

"This grain is borrowed by me, Yuan Shao. After next year, when the people have surplus grain in their homes and continue to collect taxes, I, Yuan Shao, will be the first to return the grain borrowed from you. I keep my word!"

After finishing speaking, Yuan Shao cast his eyes on Tian Feng and others.

The hall was silent, Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Shen Pei, Cui Yan, and others all showed embarrassment and didn't say a word.

That's right, one hundred thousand shi of grain is not something they, these aristocratic families, can't take out.

But this is not just a matter of one hundred thousand shi of grain.

I'm afraid that if there is one, there will be two.

The war between Duan Yu and the court has just begun.

How long can one million shi of grain support?

One million today, what about tomorrow?

What if you want another one million?

Everyone didn't refuse, nor did they agree.

The atmosphere in the air dropped to freezing point at this moment.

However, all this didn't seem to exceed Yuan Shao's expectations.

Looking at the people who didn't speak below the hall, Yuan Shao didn't continue to beg.

A bit of ruthlessness gradually climbed onto his cheeks.

"Gentlemen... today I invited you to gather, I have already made preparations."

Yuan Shao said firmly: "I have been in Jizhou for more than a year, and I have discussed everything with you and followed your suggestions."

"Jizhou is not my Jizhou, this is your hometown, not my Jizhou."

"To say something ugly, if I, Yuan Shao, leave Jizhou in the future, even if the people rebel and kill to the gate of your fortress, what does it have to do with me, Yuan Shao."

"But today, I, Yuan Shao, just want to exercise the authority of the Inspector."

"You can take this as an order, or whatever."

"One hundred thousand shi of grain per family, no less, otherwise I, Yuan Shao, will visit you one by one to see if there is really no grain in your fortress treasury."

"I, Yuan Shao, can not be this Inspector, but before that... I must finish this matter."

After saying this, Yuan Shao held the wine glass flat and pushed it toward the crowd.

The wine in the cup splashed on the ground.

"This cup of wine, I, Yuan Shao, invite you!" Yuan Shao's eyes were firm.

And the expressions on the faces of Tian Feng and others below the hall were also very surprised.

It's not a short time since Yuan Shao entered Jizhou.

But everyone had never seen Yuan Shao like this today.

When he first came to Jizhou, Yuan Shao was always polite, and he was extremely generous to the local Jizhou aristocratic families, not to mention following their every word.

How did he suddenly seem to be a different person today.

Tian Feng and others thought that Yuan Shao invited them to a banquet today to solve the problem of the court collecting grain.

But they didn't expect Yuan Shao to use this soft and hard way.

Tian Feng and Ju Shou, who were sitting below the hall, looked at each other.

It seems that if they don't agree today, it obviously won't work.

"Tian Biejia..."

Yuan Shao's voice gradually sounded: "Tian Biejia's home is in Julu. The Taiping Dao rebellion made Julu empty, and the land was desolate, but after the Taiping Dao subsided, the Tian clan used a very low price, or even directly occupied a lot of land..."

Tian Feng's face changed.

That's right.

The Taiping Dao made trouble, and Julu was almost empty. The Tian clan did occupy a lot of land.

But the Tian clan was not the only one doing this.

And it wasn't Tian Feng who instructed it.

It was the Jizhou aristocratic families and powerful clans who were all doing this.

"Governor."

Tian Feng immediately flushed and stood up and cupped his hands: "My Tian clan is willing to pay this one hundred thousand shi of grain."

Yuan Shao's eyes fell on Ju Shou immediately after.

This time, without Yuan Shao speaking, Ju Shou had already stood up and sighed: "Governor, my Ju clan is also willing."

"Governor..."

"Governor..."

Following Tian Feng and Ju Shou standing up, the others also stood up one after another and claimed one hundred thousand shi of grain.

And Yuan Shao, who was holding the wine glass, gradually showed a smile after everyone claimed it one by one.

Of course, this is not a smile of victory.

Without others saying it, Yuan Shao himself understood.

Although this one million shi of grain is in hand.

But in the future...

It is conceivable that the attitude of these local Jizhou aristocratic families toward him will not be the same as before.

But... so what?

The joyful atmosphere in the first half of the banquet naturally had no possibility of continuing under Yuan Shao's tossing.

Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and others left one after another.

Outside Yuan Shao's Inspector's Office gate.

Yuan Ji, sitting in the carriage, slowly drove away along the long street.

The cold moonlight shone on Yuan Ji's slightly pale face through the carriage window, and the upward arc at the corner of his mouth was clearly visible.

According to "Annals of Emperor Xian," because Yuan Shao practiced benevolent government, he was loved by the people. When he died, there was no one among the people of the four provinces of Hebei who was not heartbroken, shedding tears in the streets and alleys, as if they had lost their loved ones.