After a heated discussion, the old man, who was sitting at the head of the county order, seemed to have made a decision.

replied in his own categorical words: "The county order, in order to support the imperial court, the matter of raising taxes, the old man absolutely supports it." After all, we are alive under the protection of the imperial court......"

"But the wealth of your families does not come out of nowhere. It is all accumulated by everyone's ancestors for generations, and now they will all be donated by virtue of a holy decree of the imperial court, even if the old man agrees, the old and old ancestors will not agree...... Therefore, for the holy decree of the imperial court to raise taxes, the old man raised his hands in favor, but the old man would not give a tael of silver......"

Each of these people who do it here is the head of the family, and they are all human beings......

As soon as the old man's words were finished, they were greeted with a large number of them......

Seeing this, there was no county order in the name, but there was not much power in the county order, and his brows immediately wrinkled.

Facing everyone, he asked with a dissatisfied face: "Since this is the case, aren't you embarrassed by the official...... If you don't pay, relying on the increased taxes of those ordinary people, even less than 30% of the imperial court's task for my county is less than ......"

As soon as the words of the county order were finished, a voice sounded in the hall of the county government: "This is not simple, on the basis of increasing the grain tax that the people will pay this year, we will increase it by 50% on the basis of the imperial court......

"In this way, the gap between the prefectural magistrates will be filled......"

On the basis of increasing by 50%, it is more than double......

This solution can indeed collect all the increased taxes of the imperial court. However, the common people below are miserable.

As the closest to the common people among all the officials sent by the imperial court, he knew it very well. The people of Jiangnan are compared to the people of the north. Although it is quite rich. But. This wealth is also limited to good times, and the family lives without worrying about it, and there is no need to go hungry......

If they are allowed to bear twice as much grain tax as in previous years, it is certain that many people whose families are not very rich will face the end of starvation and family ruin after paying the grain tax......

And after this situation appeared in the territory, the happiest people were the landlords and gentry in front of them.

In order not to go hungry. Ordinary people can only borrow food from them......

As the interest rolls in, it won't be long before these people discover that with their annual income, it is impossible to repay these loans.

Under such circumstances, they could only take out the land in their hands to survive and give it to these landlords and gentry......

Slowly, more and more ordinary people will have to give their land to the landlords and gentry in order to survive. became tenants attached to the landlords and gentry......

Of course, among these ordinary people who have lost their land. Not everyone wants to be a tenant......

Those who do not want to be tenants, in order to survive, will gradually become robbers who kill people and sell goods......

In a word, further increasing the people's tax revenue, although it can solve the problem. However, it brought two bigger and more serious problems to the imperial court...... Land annexation and banditry are rampant, and it is possible that it will turn into a displaced person......

As a person in the officialdom, the county commander knows very well that once this situation appears, Jiangnan will slowly become the original northern provinces. Little by little, the already unstable foundation of the Ming Dynasty was leveraged......

However, there are many problems. However, these issues are irrelevant to them.

Not only that, but the huge benefits brought to them by the land annexation are like a tempting bait, making their eyes constantly shoot out a pair of hot gazes.

Therefore, as soon as the sound of the tax increase sounded, a large number of voices of approval reached the ears of the county order......

As a county order that does not have many rights, at this moment, even if he wants to do something for the future of the imperial court, he opposes the continued tax increase.

However, in the midst of the blockbuster approval, he was alone, and there was no other way than to agree.

Otherwise, if you don't say whether you can continue to sit in the position of county magistrate, you may not even be able to save your life.

The county decree was not mistaken, and the documents for raising taxes were taken home by these landlords and gentry, and after they were sued by every common person in the district. Many people's faces directly showed an expression full of despair.

However, the landlords and gentry, who only thought of their own interests, did not care about this.

If the people are willing to pay, it is okay, and if they are not willing to pay, they will directly take the family thugs and forcibly collect grain at home.

and if there is no food, they shall be paid for with something of value......

In less than a month, the provinces south of the Yangtze River were made into a miasma by these landlords and gentry.

If you are careful, you will definitely find that the number of beggars begging in various counties and towns is suddenly more than ten times more than before.

The phenomenon of selling children and daughters, which could only be seen in the year of disaster, has appeared in this year of good weather......

Of course, these are all things that Emperor Chongzhen did not know, and the courtiers did not dare to sue Chongzhen.

Because, at this moment, Chongzhen has an unprecedented reliance on the army

Infatuated......

The increase in taxes from the imperial court had just arrived at the household department and before Wure, under the order of Chongzhen, it began to recruit and expand the army......

In Chongzhen's eyes, as long as there is a strong army in hand, any threat can be resolved.

And this is also one of the reasons why the Haw Par Army continues to grow and develop.

However, he overlooked another problem...... Wei Zheng's investment in the Haw Par Army is indeed very large, and at any time, the investment in the army has only increased rather than decreased.

However, in addition to the army, Wei Zheng has another investment that is second only to the army and is still very large, that is, ordinary people......

Through these inputs, he won the hearts and minds of the people in the territory and made all the people support him.

And Chongzhen in front of him not only ignored this aspect, but also did not invest a tael of silver in the people. In order to form a new army, it further strengthened the collection of widows from the common people, forcing them to the end of ruined families......

It is certain that it will not be long before Chongzhen will completely lose the hearts of the people......

After losing the hearts and minds of the people, no matter how many troops he has, he can't stop the resistance from all directions.

Just when Emperor Chongzhen, with his dedication to the new army, urgently needed to expand the new army.

Wei Zheng, who was far away in Beijing, was looking at the information that Luo Yangxing had just sent with a sneer......

When he saw that Chongzhen's requisition of the common people had reached the point of recklessness, Wei Zheng said directly: "Emperor Chongzhen must have been driven crazy by us......"

"If he continues like this, even if there is no Haw Par Army, he will die in his own hands...... He is forcing the people of Jiangnan to rebel against it......" (To be continued......