The cannon roared and continued throughout the night.

The artillery bombardment of the two armies across the river lasted weakly for a whole day, and it was not a fierce bombardment, but a slow artillery attack.

Peng Ziqin and hundreds of other talented people listened to the rumbling cannons, and spent a night in fear, cold, and hunger—Zhu Cihong was really immoral enough, he neither let the scholars outside Wusheng Gate enter the city, nor let them bring them food, so they starved until dawn the next day.

Of course, after dawn, there was still no one to bring them food. However, some of the officers of the new army came out of the Wusheng Gate and began to register the household registration, fame, and property of the hungry and cold scholars outside the city.

"What's your name?" An officer with a dark and northernal accent came to Peng Ziqin with a small book and a brush.

"My name is Peng Ziqin."

While taking notes, the officer asked, "Where?" ”

"People from Chengguan Town, Anlu County, De'an Prefecture."

"Is there any merit?"

"Make a name for yourself!" Peng Ziqin's tired tone was full of pride.

"I'm still a filial piety!" The officer smiled, "How much land does the family have?" If you can take out the title deed, don't say it if you don't have a title deed. ”

What's going on? Peng Ziqin was stunned for a moment, and asked this?

"Is there any?" The officer saw that Peng Ziqin did not answer, so he urged him.

"Yes, yes, yes," Peng Ziqin said, "My family has three or four thousand acres ......of land in De'an Mansion, and the title deeds have been brought to Wuchang, but they are not by my side." ”

"All right," the officer nodded, "who else is in the city?" Where to stay? ”

Peng Ziqin replied: "And my wife, my mother, two concubines, two pairs of children, all live in ......."

He's got a big family! They were all waiting for dinner, but he came to Wuchang empty-handed! It's so anxious to think about it!

After the officer finished recording them one by one, he showed the book to Peng Ziqin, and after confirming that it was correct, he took out a clay box and asked Peng Ziqin to make a handprint. Then he went all the way to a passage at the gate of the city that was surrounded by a horse rejecting pistol: "Show the soldiers guarding the gate the red marks on their hands and enter, and after entering, they will have food." ”

There is food to eat...... Sounds like a person who wants to eat!

Peng Ziqin's heart was sour, and tears came down. Isn't he just a beggar now? Anlu's three or four thousand acres of land had already been confiscated by Li Zicheng...... If he hadn't been cornered, he wouldn't have made trouble!

Now that the trouble is still being planted, how will you live in the future?

After entering the Wusheng Gate, Peng Ziqin found that the door was also stopped by someone with a horse rejecting gun, and a vacant lot was blocked under the city wall. There are a few large pots in the open space, and fragrant rice porridge is boiling!

The new officers and soldiers were guarding in all directions, and one of the officers opened his throat and shouted: "Drink porridge first, drink porridge first, fill your belly and tell you something!" ”

Peng Ziqin couldn't care about it so much, so he followed the others to line up to drink porridge in a daze. After a bowl of hot porridge that was still thick, he finally regained a little energy. Then he crouched down under the city wall and thought about his own thoughts.

I don't know how long it took, but when Peng Ziqin's stomach began to gurgle again, I heard someone shouting: "The governor of Qincha, Hubei Kenanyi, has arrived!" ”

It turned out that Qiu Yu, the new governor of Hubei, came over to be a good person.

Zhu Cihong's nature is still very kind, and he can't bear to starve hundreds or thousands of scholars and doctors outside Wusheng Gate to death!

So seeing that it was almost done, I sent a "good guy" to save them. However, the "good guy Qiu Yu" was full of sorrow at this time, and his mood was not good at all.

It turned out that Zhu Cihong was willing to open the net and give the Hu Guangshi doctors who were in exile in Wuchang a way to live. But this way of life is very narrow, and they can only struggle to survive, and they will also be deprived of their privileges and land ownership in Jiangbei.

Oh, and it can't be said to be deprivation, it doesn't sound like it makes sense. Zhu Cihong is very reasonable, his reason is to exchange "living road" for "privileges and Jiangbei land"!

If the exiled scholars and doctors wanted to live in Wuchang, they had to give up the land in Jiangbei. At the same time, the tax privileges enjoyed by Dr. Hu Guangshi will also be completely suspended.

From now on, Huguang will begin to implement the integrated payment of taxes and grain by the officials and gentry!

If the gentry trapped in Wuchang were unwilling to give up the land of Jiangbei...... Well, they also have the freedom to starve to death!

......

"What? The imperial court wants to exchange a few acres of thin fields in Wuchang Mansion for the title deed of Jiangbei? ”

"Do you still want the officials and gentry to pay taxes and grain?"

"Also, I don't recognize the fame of the people! Why? Our lifters are ...... in the exam."

"It's not going to work! We are readers, lifters, and talents! ”

"How can the imperial court do this?"

"Wow Wow Wow ......"

Although the scholars and doctors in the Wusheng Gate had empty bellies and had just been frightened, they couldn't help but let out an angry roar.

Because the "living road" given by Zhu Cihong is too pitiful. After giving up the land in Jiangbei and losing all privileges, they can obtain the qualification of "counting and dictating fields", and there are not many fields to get, that is, a few acres of land in one mouth. It is enough to eat after taking back their own seeds, but these scholars are not able to farm.

If these acres of land are rented, it will not be easy to get a few stones of white rice.

Moreover, after the expiration of the "five-year exemption" period, these acres of thin land will have to pay taxes like ordinary private land!

The commercial tax incentives enjoyed by scholars will be cancelled immediately! They can no longer benefit from sheltering merchants from tax evasion.

Just one person guards two acres of land, how can I live in the future!

After the roar was over, the group of Hu Guangshi doctors, who had actually become proletarians, felt that they had nothing to do but howl a few times, but to howl and cry.

The cry sounded and spread to Phoenix Mountain, Zhu Cihong had already set up a Chinese army on Phoenix Mountain at this time, and erected the "Taizu Gao Emperor Reincarnation Flag" - he ran all the way to Wuchang Mansion, not just to toss a group of Huguangshi doctors. Defeating Li Zicheng, leveling the Zuojia army, recovering He Tengjiao, and turning the entire Huguang into the granary of the Ming Dynasty were the main purposes of his trip, so the matter of fighting could not be pulled down.

And to defeat Li Zicheng, the first thing is, of course, to recapture Hanyang Fucheng and Hankou Town, two strongholds that are stuck in the Yangtze River and Hanshui.

And the easiest way to recapture Hanyang Fucheng and Hankou Town, of course, requires a powerful siege artillery!

Zhu Cihong climbed Phoenix Mountain today to see the effect of the shelling of the 24-pounder and 36-pounder cannons—he had placed an order with the Bugarao Cannon Factory in Ho O a few months earlier for more 24-pounder and 36-pounder cannons.

In addition, before leaving Nanjing, Prince Zhu also gave contracts for large-caliber mortar foreign artillery to Bujialao Artillery Factory, Lopes Artillery Factory, Nanjing Artillery Factory, Anping Artillery Factory (run by the Zheng family) and Shanghai Jiangnan Artillery Factory (Shen Tingyang's industry), so more large-caliber artillery will soon be shipped to Wuchang Mansion from the southeast!

Now is the time for the interlude in the shelling (the artillery needs to be cooled), and without the roar of the cannons, the people on Phoenix Mountain can hear the cry coming from the Wusheng Gate at the foot of the mountain.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, it seems that the filial piety talents in the Wusheng Gate are crying! Did the court treat them too thinly? "Yuan Jixian is the governor in charge of military affairs, so he went up to Phoenix Mountain with him. When he heard the cry, he leaned over to Zhu Cihong and muttered.

"Cry!" Zhu Cihong sighed, "This palace knows that they are bitter in their hearts, and if they cry, they will not condemn their crimes...... This is also because they have not put up a good world! Now that the world is divided into three, the main palace here is still preferential to readers. Anyway, they will be given a few acres of land, and later they will open a Huguang Enke and select a group of officials, and there is still a chance.

As for those preferential treatments, they are not good for themselves, the court, and the people of the world! Our country has fallen to the present, isn't it just that there are too many preferential treatment for scholars, clans, and lords? If you give it any longer, it will not be the death of the Ming Dynasty, but the fall of the Chinese sky. And...... Nowadays, there are tens of thousands of people in the southeast, and eating is a big problem! Therefore, it is even more important for the scholars to eat the flesh of the peasants and drink the blood of the peasants. ”