He didn't continue to say what he said here, because it was inconvenient to say it to his subordinates, so he could only control it in his heart. He knew that at the beginning of the uprising, the core of his army would be the young men he had trained. The number of troops in this core is not large, only more than 200 people.

The next ones who are closer to him are the tenants of the Ma family, most of these people have no harvest this year, and the half-rent is enough to force them to rebel, but the half-rent is also considered to be merciful, so that they will not completely lose their minds and hate everything. When the time comes, Zhu Yuanzhang can unite them and become a backbone of the army.

The most important reason is that half of Zhu Yuanzhang's military rations are stored in the cellar of the Ma family's mansion, and the situation at the beginning of the uprising is not something he can control if he wants to. He left a trace of incense for the Ma family's tenants, and when the uprising began, these tenants might show mercy to the Ma family's subordinates and protect the Ma family from the impact of the rioters, so that he could preserve his military rations and control them smoothly.

There is also a deep reason in his heart, he doesn't want anything to happen to the women of the Ma family! Although Miss Zhang is stupid, she only cares about things like washing clothes, but because of her stupidity, there is no reason to kill her. As for Autumn Leaves, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't want her to die in the chaos.

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The news of the half-rent collection reached the ears of the tenants of the Ma family through Li Chujiu's mouth, and sure enough, the news was like a bomb, bursting in the side courtyard. People who don't have their own land and just help the Ma family work and make ends meet, it's okay because they don't need to pay rent.

But when the farmers who were "sent" in the Ma family heard the news, they felt as if the end had come, and the fields were unintentional, and the rent only needed to be paid half, but they still couldn't pay it. Emotions such as sadness, sadness, and sadness are quietly permeating the Ma family's village.

The time is ripe, and Zhu Yuanzhang will not let go of this opportunity to incite everyone. He pretended to inspect the Ma family's fields and began to wander around the villages, and when the villagers saw it, they would generally cry and ask him to help intercede in front of the second young grandmother, whether they could waive this year's rent.

Zhu Yuanzhang always put on a sad look, and sighed lightly: "It's useless for me to persuade you about this matter, it's not the idea of the second young grandmother, it's the order of the eldest young master of the Ma family, alas...... I have some money here, you can use it first, buy some food, rent the problem, and then I will slowly help you find a way. ”

Everyone knows that the eldest young master Ma Zhixiong is the pillar of the Ma family, he said one, no one can say two, even the old lady Ma and the second young master are impossible to change his decision. He said that he wanted to collect half the rent, so he must collect the rent. Although Zhu Bugs is righteous and willing to take money to buy them food, Zhu Bugs is just a steward, how much money can he have? Can he feed the villagers of ten miles and eight towns?

The villagers all knew that the gruel sent by Feng Lei Village was secretly made by Zhu Bugs, which was deliberately revealed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and the villagers thought that Zhu Bugs had secretly used the grain of the Ma family to do this, and no one thought that Zhu Yuanzhang had enough money in his hand to give porridge every day.

Therefore, they admired Zhu Bugs' righteousness very much, but they didn't have much affection for the Ma family, who still had to collect half rent in this kind of drought year, and their helpless emotions began to slowly turn into anger.

At the end of October, another event followed!

A notice was posted in front of the county yamen to begin collecting this year's autumn tax.

This news is like pouring another scoop of oil on a firewood pyre......

The autumn tax has to be paid every year, in fact, many people already know that such a day will come, but there are many naïve people who are still waiting for the court to be kind and exempt from taxes.

This is not without precedent, in ancient times, whenever there was a year of great disaster, there would always be some officials who cared about the people to write to the emperor, asking the emperor to reduce taxes for the people.

In fact, the people did not guess wrong, as early as July of the first year of Chongzhen, that is, more than three months ago, the Shaanxi Inspector Li Yingzhi said: "The whole Shaanxi land is more accurate, and the people are fresh and operated." It is troublesome from the frontier, conscription and salary, and ten rooms and nine empty rooms. It has also encountered fierce famine for many years, disaster after disaster, and it has been extremely fierce and abnormal until this year. The minister from Fenghan Xing'an toured Yanqing and Pingliang to arrive in Xi'an, but saw that there was no rain in May, so that in autumn, the three dogs were drought, the seedlings were all dry, the grass in the red fields was smoking, and the people were displaced. Hundreds of people gathered to ask for help. Near and Yan'an's Yi, Luo, etc., Xi'an's Hancheng and other belongings, there are reports of knots back to Luo, Zhang Qi Mingjin, moving hundreds. Sweeping during the day, weak blood and strong food. Gai was hungry and bored, and took risks. Rather than starving to death, it is better to rob and survive. ”

"Fu (prostrate) recitation (Qin) disaster is serious, the relationship is light, the household department reconsidered, the seven years of the apocalypse arrears and this year's additional land acres of Liao salary are exempted, and the return will be reduced by half of the old man, and the rest of the military salary Zonglu will be relieved. Otherwise, it is said that it is useless to take this rod of starvation. He also prayed that the emperor's ministry would investigate the cases of the Great Famine in Shaanxi in the 11th year of Wanli and the 13th year of Shaanxi, and send money to send officials to help the people. It is said that the endowment of the public family is especially (Judant) the future that can be expected. If it is said that the internal funds are (already) scarce, the salaries are not continued, the two ends of the relief are not given, and the general government is not applied, in case of chaos and chaos, the world is shaken, and it is not necessary to say that the ministers are silent today. ”

Lee's hopes were good, and it was a smart move for him to ask for tax exemption and relief in his recital. But...... The country is about to die, there will be demons, Liaodong Jiannu is in turmoil, the imperial court is not enough military salary, this good proposal was rejected by the imperial court. Because the imperial court is now sending all the money to Liaodong, and it attaches great importance to every penny, how can it take into account the small wishes of Li Yingqi and the people?

Therefore, in the autumn of the first year of Chongzhen, the notice of the collection of autumn taxes was posted as scheduled...... It was it that lit the fuse of the peasant uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the landslide and the ground cracked, the country was ruined, and it began!

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November, Baishui, county yamen lobby.

Gu Huaxiu, the county lord, sat in the hall with a sad face. Below the hall were more than 30 catchers and servants, who pressed fifteen peasants to the ground and spanked them with boards. The sound of the big wooden board falling on the buttocks was crisp and loud, with a sense of rhythm, but Gu Huaxiu's heart was heavy.

This year's autumn endowment is not easy to receive!

The officials have traveled all over the country, but the tax money recovered is less than 10% of the rated amount, and many "Diao people" refuse to pay the taxes, putting on a posture that if you kill me, I will not be able to pay it. But it is not possible to collect taxes, and one of the most important aspects of the performance evaluation of the county order is to collect taxes.

Gu Huaxiu's official position was not easy to come by, and he didn't want to be evaluated as inferior in his first official position. I had to use the traditional way of forcing taxes, arresting people to the hall and spanking them!

But these "Diao Min" are too Diao, their buttocks have already opened their flowers, their skin has opened their flesh, and blood has flowed from the door of the lobby to the middle of the hall.

Gu Huaxiu was very angry: "Hit, give me a harder beat!" I don't believe they really don't have any money to pay, they must have hidden money in the cellar. ”

Under Gu Huaxiu's order, the officials picked up the wooden planks and slapped them on the farmers under the hall one after another, blood splashed and wailed, but ...... If you don't have money, you don't have money, and if you can't hand it over, you can't pay it, and governance can't be cured with a beating, and tax collection shouldn't be like this.

The fifteen peasants were quickly beaten and fainted, and Gu Huaxiu waved his hand angrily: "Throw these fifteen guys to the square in front of the ya, you ...... Go get fifteen more people who won't pay their taxes, and then beat me!" ”

As he said, the officials threw fifteen seriously wounded peasants out of the hall of the yamen and placed them in the square in front of the yamen, and then planned to arrest them.

At this time, around the square in front of the ya, there were silently standing poor people, and these people looked at the fifteen peasants whose flesh and blood were blurred and the flesh was carried out, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness like a rabbit and a dead fox in their hearts. They are the ones who are being beaten now, and I am the one who will be beaten in two days, right?

At this time, Gu Huaxiu, the county lord, walked out of the yamen, stood in front of the square, and sneered at the people around him who were quietly watching: "Have you seen the fate of these fifteen guys?" This is the end of not paying taxes, you people listen to me, hurry up and pay the taxes, I won't beat you, if you dare to delay me, you also wait for your ass to bloom. ”

As soon as his words fell, he suddenly saw the crowd suddenly split to both sides, and a young man in a cotton coat walked out, looking at his dress, he did not look like a young master from a rich family, but like a young steward, and he was followed by a group of housekeepers in green clothes and hats.

As soon as this person came out, the quiet and sad crowd just now suddenly fluctuated slightly, and many people shouted, "Is it Brother Zhu?" ”

"Brother Zhu! How did you get here? ”

The person who came was Zhu Yuanzhang, he ignored the curious eyes of the surrounding officials and Gu Huaxiu, walked quickly and calmly to the fifteen farmers who were beaten to a blur of flesh and blood, lowered his body, looked at the injury of one of them, and then turned around and ordered the young man behind him: "Quickly take the wound medicine out, and after applying the medicine, carry them home, so that they can be raised." ”

The onlookers suddenly stirred: "Zhu Bugs is here to save people......

When Gu Huaxiu saw it, he was immediately unhappy, he put these fifteen villagers who had beaten their flesh and blood here, he wanted to kill chickens and show monkeys, and now he ran out to save the scene, what does it mean?

"Hey, your name is Zhu Ba, right?" Gu Huaxiu snorted: "This official beat the person who was placed here, and you dare to intervene, you are not small!" ”