Zhou Ji looked at the father who was kneeling on the ground, and Daqing who stood stubbornly and didn't kneel, and was furious in his heart, this is a kind of contempt for the official gentry, seeing the official not kneeling, this is a big rebellion, but after thinking about it, when is this? This is the former enemy, and this is the critical time when you need to buy people's hearts, and everything must be patient.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile lightly, and praised him: "Strong man." Then he leaned over and helped his frightened father up, "Get up, don't be like this, it's cold, and there's no need to kneel around, especially now that we're all in the army." ”

He picked up his frightened father, and then said to him with a smile: "Have you ever given my reward to your son?"

This is forgotten, the father was busy scolding the son of the thief, but he forgot the great grace of the county lord, so he hurriedly ran to his stubborn son and slapped Zhou Ji's son: "You have forgotten your ancestors, the county lord said, as long as you return to the court and abandon the darkness to the light, the county lord will give our family twenty acres of good land, and according to the rules of the gentry, never pay taxes." ”

Daqing was shocked by this sound, and involuntarily lowered his stubborn and high head, looked at his father suspiciously, and then looked at the smiling county honor.

When did the officials, who are more ruthless than poles, be so sympathetic to the people? The price offered is even more generous than that of King Chuang? After all, the land given by King Chuang still needs a hundred catties of output a year as land rent, is it true that the court has begun to stop collecting land rent and servitude?

"Why don't you kneel down and thank the lord for his grace?" Seeing that his son was still full of distrust, the father eagerly pulled his son's brand-new clothes, for fear that one would not be good, and the county lord would cut off his son's head.

Looking at Daqing, who was full of suspicion, Zhou Ji laughed and said: "Don't be suspicious of this strong man, in fact, when dealing with the desperate people, our trilateral governor has long had a benevolent heart, and he has long reported this disaster in northern Shaanxi to the emperor." When he said this, Zhou Ji stood up respectfully and bowed to the east, his face full of respectful worship.

"The Governor knows very well that the people of northern Shaanxi are difficult, and he also knows that everyone is helpless to go up the mountain to marry herbs, so on behalf of everyone, he explained the reason to the emperor in detail, and also got the emperor's infinite grace, and took a policy of appeasement to our land of Shaanxi, instead of encirclement and suppression."

As soon as these words came out, even the signing Ding Junhan behind Zhou Ji looked inexplicable, and then he whispered, and slowly the voice became louder, and finally began to ask each other and quarrel.

The so-called thieves on the other side are all Suide men, and there are many relatives and friends of these signatories, if it is really according to the words of Zhou Ji County, the emperor has been reported by the governor, and the suffering of the small people below has reached the ears of his old man, and the emperor has really set the rules to take care and pardon those poles, what a great good news it is.

In the early days of the uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the peasants and their leaders who rose up showed naïve characteristics in terms of ideological understanding, combat capability, and military organization.

First of all, ideologically, the rebellious peasants, although they took up arms, did not realize that they had begun the grand cause of overthrowing the Zhu Ming dynasty. Due to their narrow-mindedness, it is not yet possible to have a comprehensive understanding of the darkness and decay of the Ming Dynasty. They still considered themselves to be the subjects of the imperial court, and their hatred was often focused only on the officials and gentry who directly oppressed and bullied them, and their struggle was only forced by hunger and cold, to use force to thwart the government's urging, and to take the money to survive from the granaries of the rich and the rich. Because of this, the rebellious peasants were often bound by feudal orthodoxy at this stage. Once the imperial court and local high-ranking officials announced the "forgiveness of sins and the encouragement of peace" and the release of alms, many of the masses in the ranks of the uprising, and even many of the leading figures, often surrendered themselves and accepted the recruitment.

Since they have not yet realized that the Ming Dynasty is upholding the tyrannical rule that caused them to suffer, it is not surprising that this phenomenon has occurred. Therefore, we should truthfully regard the acceptance of the peasants in the early days of the uprising as a manifestation of their low consciousness, and we should not be too harsh on them, and add charges such as surrender and betrayal to them as soon as they see "appeasement."

Are you sure? Is this true? If so, then why exterminate the thieves? The thieves are also poles, and they are also composed of desperate homeless people? Then why not forgive them as the emperor wants?

Zhou Ji's ears were listening to the quarrels of these Ding Junhans, and several times the scholar and pro-soldier wanted to jump and bounce, Zhou Ji stopped it with a smile. Others don't know, they know the decision-making of the upper echelons, especially this time, they took the initiative to ask for help, and they got the trust of the governor in every way, and even wrote a long letter to themselves, telling themselves in detail about the thoughts of the governor and the emperor, asking for the poles that are willing to be appeased along the way, try to appease them, and keep a labor for the court. I'm really afraid of raising tigers, or the thieves will be among the appeasements.

After Yang He arrived in office, he saw that the famine in various parts of Shaanxi was very serious, and the hungry people who had no food and clothing joined the uprising in droves, so that the military pursuit and suppression he had deployed had little effect, and the officials and soldiers were exhausted, but the peasants of the uprising continued to increase. He felt that military means alone could not solve the social problems he faced. On the other hand, at the end of the second year, Chongzhen sent a large number of elites to King Qin, which made him feel that his troops were insufficient and he was unable to cope. In this overstretched situation, Yang He put forward the policy of giving priority to appeasement and supplementing pursuit and suppression. In the first month of the fourth year of Chongzhen, he pointed out in Shuzhong that the rise of "thieves" was "always due to the extreme famine, and the people were not able to make a living." The method of suppression requires the mobilization of a large army, and "the reward for grain is not at a great expense," but the result is still "invincible punishment" and "repeated suppression without certainty." In order to achieve real results in adopting the method of appeasement, it is also necessary for the government to allocate funds to help the peasants tide over the difficulties. He said, "Cover is dissolved, scattered and reunited, and Juphthic is scattered." It will be really almsgiving, so that it can make a living, and then it will be truly dissolved. After the dissolution, it is still necessary to be placed, and the cattle must be given to the cattle breed to return to the agriculture and resume the industry, and then it is called the real placement. If so, the thief has the joy of life, and has no heart to die, so he will be cared for. The situation is established, and the situation is also over. The so-called ministers want to do the real thing of suppression, and there must be the actual cost of suppression. He also pointed out that if it is only "empty words" to appease the peasants and does not solve the problems of the peasants' livelihood, then it is "to appease the foolish thief in vain, that is, to fool oneself with the thief, and this is not an all-end plan." In the end, Yang He believes that it costs a lot of money to suppress and appease, but the effect is different; "The situation is too much to suppress, the gold and silver are gone, and there are too many beheadings, and the upper part is peaceful. Spend on care, money goes and the people are there, one person lives to get one life, steals the people's peace, and is a great benefit.

Yang He regarded the peasant uprising as a serious social problem, and he advised the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty from a longer-term perspective, advocating that the money be spent on appeasement and relief to help the peasants resume their businesses. This will not only eliminate the trouble, but also allow the government to continue to collect taxes after the peasants are settled, so it is said that "Li Mo Dayan". If he blindly pursues the campaign and spends the money on military spending, not only will he not be able to restore social production, and the money spent cannot be recovered in the form of taxes, but his own experience has also proved that if the problems of the peasants' livelihood are not solved, more and more people will inevitably take part in the uprising, and the situation will not be easy to conclude, and the future troubles will become more serious. This is the main reason why Yang He suggested that Fu should be the mainstay.

Yang He's proposition was supported by a considerable number of courtiers and local officials, and Emperor Chongzhen also approved it for a time. In a court confrontation in the first month of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Youzhen clearly instructed Liu Jiayu, who participated in Shaanxi politics, and said: "Kou is also my child, and it is appropriate to take care of him." Liu Jiayu hurriedly agreed: "I am using it today." In the same month, Zhu Youzhen, under the repeated appeals of his internal and external ministers, reluctantly took out 100,000 taels of money and sent the imperial historian Wu Fucheng to Shaanxi to release relief5 to "appease the thieves". To this end, an edict was issued, saying:

"Shaanxi has repeatedly reported famine, and the small people are unemployed, and they are even forced to obey the thieves and suffer from their own blades. Whoever is not a child, who is upside down, and who is sick and sick, can be more merciful. Today, 100,000 gold was issued, and the imperial history was ordered to go forward, and the disaster was given to the first place. If you are willing to be corrected, you will be a good citizen, and you will receive mercy as a whole.

However, in fact, Yang He also mentioned his difficulties to Zhou Ji in this letter.

It is easy to appease, but it is difficult to deal with the aftermath, since the people have embarked on the road of unmasking, that is, they have been cornered, and they should be given a way to live, but, looking at the rule of the governor, where is there anything to give them a way to live? Don't think about the relief, even Yang He's proposal to reduce the arrears and reduce taxes this year was rejected by the emperor by those Qingliu who returned to power, and the reason was ridiculous - since we have graced them in the past, then they should repay the grace of the saint Hong, and eat the soil and cut the meat to show their sincerity, so they should pay the grain to repay the country, according to the resolution of the Qinglius, not only do they still have to pay the new arrears, but also show their gratitude to the emperor's grace, and double.

Yang He took this bullshit and talked about nothing, and he smiled bitterly except for a wry smile.

There is no relief, no reduction, and there is an additional levy, so why are people still being cosmeted? I really don't know what these Qingliu heads are doing.

Daming handed over to these people, it is better to oppress the gentry and wealthy households, and never disturb the stability of Wei Zhongxian, who is a small people.

Xiaomin doesn't know the twists and turns of this, but I only heard that it is the emperor's grace, the governor's transmission, and the execution of Zhou Ji's master, so what else do you say? That's enough.

At that time, Ding Junhan knelt on the ground and cried: "God, you have finally opened your eyes, let us look forward to a good official like Lord Governor, Lord Zhou Ji, let our suffering be conveyed to the ears of the Lord Long Live Woo, woo woo"

Daqing also looked at Zhou Ji in a daze, and for a long time, he asked in a whisper: "Master, really?" ”

Zhou Ji nodded firmly: "Really." ”

Dad pulled down Daqing again with tears in his eyes: "Don't you thank Master Hongen and thank the emperor for his compassion?" ”

Daqing thought about it for a long time, and under the repeated urging of his father, he slowly bent his legs and knelt down for Zhou Ji.