Section 29 Yifeng people

After the full meal, the stone took the regimental headquarters guards and walked away, without the threat of swarthy muzzles, without the murderous gang of "military bandits", the officials and masters in Yifeng County also came back to their senses one by one, came back to life, looked at the messy table in front of them, looked at the piles of bones, and then remembered the suffocating situation just now, several people could no longer support it, and collapsed to the ground in vain. It was only then that they realized in vain that they didn't know when they had peed their pants, and they couldn't help but feel ashamed and angry.

"County magistrate, you have to be our master! If Yifeng County is taken over by these bandits, more than 200,000 people will probably have no way to live! Several people cried, thinking of the naked threat of those officers, they lost their minds for a while, and couldn't help but put all their hopes on Xiong Cheng, the county magistrate who was still calm.

Xiong Cheng's face was also extremely ugly, but after all, he had gone through a lot of wind and waves, and he was not as masterless as the six gods like others, he sighed, and then arched his hand at everyone and said: "Your mood at the moment, the old man empathizes, the old man was born in Yifeng and grew up in Yifeng, and he is familiar with every grass and tree." How can you watch Yifeng's father and old folks fall into fire and water, you go back for the time being, the old man will later invite the heads of all famous families in Yifeng to discuss ways to deal with it, in a word, not to let Yifeng fall into the hands of these 'bandits'. ”

Listening to the words of the county magistrate, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, although they had lingering fears about the strong force of the army, but since the county magistrate said so, he still had a glimmer of hope. Of course, some of them also believe that the supply of 40,000 stone rice grain a year is not something that cannot be promised, and the tax per mu is calculated as three or four thousand stone a year, and the other taxes together should be close to this number, since the end of the Qing Dynasty, although 31 tax items have been abolished, but other taxes are almost as many as 145 or 5 articles, in terms of quantity, it should be just enough for the officer's requirements......

Thinking of this, I can't help but be surprised, the amount proposed by those officers is almost equal to the sum of all the taxes in the county, is this a coincidence or is it calculated? If it was the latter, it would be terrible, and the officers were obviously not just a bunch of simple-minded warriors with developed limbs as imagined.

However, they can only think about this kind of thing, except for part of the county's taxes, most of them go into the pockets of these officials, which will be used for military purposes, which will undoubtedly cut off their financial routes, and cutting off people's financial routes is like killing their parents, obviously this thing cannot be good.

"I'm sorry for you."

"Yes, yes, it's all up to the county magistrate."

……

Everyone talked nonsense, and then said goodbye one after another, some of them were too frightened, and at this moment they wanted to leave this place quickly, so that they could go back and suppress the shock. After all, for ordinary people, being pointed at a gun is such a terrible thing, it is really not a short time to recover, especially in the face of hundreds of guns at one time, thinking about that terrible scene, it is like being in a nightmare.

That night, still in the middle of the sour man, Xiong Cheng invited a group of landlords and squires and stewards of Yifeng County to discuss important matters. Only this time, they don't have to set up a banquet in the open air like the stone and their gang of "dirt buns", but they are in the most elegantly decorated private room of this winery. The room is divided into two entrances, and the outside one is placed around the room with a circle of tables and chairs, but it is not the kind of big round table for eating, but a coffee table for drinking tea, this room is arranged as a place for casual tea, but it is also quite chic. Now Xiong Cheng sat on the main seat, and although there was a hint of worry in his expression, he was still calm.

In all directions, there were eight or nine people sitting, old or young, fat or thin, with different appearances, but the doubts and worries between their expressions were roughly the same, they talked quietly one by one, and their eyes fell on the county magistrate Xiong who was sitting there from time to time.

Picking up the teacup in his hand and taking a sip, Xiong Cheng coughed lightly, only to see that everyone immediately closed their mouths and stopped chatting, and immediately turned all their eyes on the county magistrate. Xiong Cheng seemed to enjoy the feeling of the stars holding the moon, his expression was full of contentment, and even a trace of worry before disappeared, and he arched his hand at everyone with a spring breeze on his face and said: "Everyone is almost there, so let's talk about business." After a pause, he looked around at everyone and said: "You must have heard about the events of the day, and the reason why the old man invited you here is because I am all Yifeng locals, and it can be said that they are all in the same breath, and this matter is related to the lives and future of everyone here, and the time is urgent, so I have to negotiate a charter overnight." ”

"Uncle Xiong, I heard that Naqiu's eight mouths will cost 40,000 stone rice grain a year, if you don't agree, you will personally lead troops into the city to control the whole county?" A fat man leaning in a chair took over and asked. This fat man is about thirty years old, white and fat, he reclines there, giving people a lazy feeling, as if he is unwilling to move when the sky falls, this person is the owner of this drunken man's house, Li Zuo'an, the head of the Li family.

Xiong Cheng didn't have any contempt for this fat man, and when he heard him interject, not only was he not annoyed, but nodded in response: "What Li Xian's nephew said is right, it is indeed 40,000 stone rice grain." After speaking, he sighed and said: "You are all my old friends, and you are also the people with a face in our Yifeng City, and the old man doesn't want to hide from you, the power of Yifeng County, all the taxes in a year are added up, but it is not impossible to meet this requirement, but after all are classified as military, there is no surplus of county officials at all levels, and if the year is not good, I am afraid you will have to subsidize some from your own granary." ”

A sharp voice immediately shouted on the side: "How can there be such a reason, we have worked hard for a year to the end, and we can't get a little oil and water, but we have to paste it upside down?" Is there a royal law in this world? ”

Xiong Cheng didn't need to look at it to know that this was Gong Suchang's voice, and he couldn't help sneering in his heart, this little green skin couldn't afford to lose the most, and when he heard it, he had to take out the silver from his own pocket, and he couldn't help it first. Thinking of this, he said: "Brother Gong's family has a big business, not only the various wharves in Yifeng, but also the porters and porters of the car dealers everywhere are your subordinates, it is the business of Qinghong Building, and it is also popular throughout Yifeng. ”

Gong Suchang glared at Xiong Cheng sinisterly, and said sharply: "County Magistrate Xiong, my surname Gong pays a lot of taxes every year, so many brothers earn some hard-earned money, why do you need to take out the money again?" Isn't it true that Gong someone is a soft persimmon that can be kneaded by others? ”

Xiong Cheng said calmly: "Brother Gong, what are you doing?" This money is not for the old man to collect, those Qiu Ba put a gun to my head, what can I do? ”

Li Zuoan on the side also persuaded: "Brother Gong, isn't County Magistrate Xiong also discussing this matter with everyone?" Why are you making a fuss! Those Qiu Ba Ke are in Chenjiazhuang, we can hear a fart here, it's better to find a way to get out as soon as possible, otherwise if you really wait for those Qiu Ba to enter the city, I'm afraid the entire county will let them turn the bottom up. ”

Zhang Chengchuan, who had been silent, suddenly opened his eyes and asked in an old voice, "County Magistrate Xiong summoned us here, what are your plans?" ”

This Zhang Chengchuan is over sixty years old this year, most of his hair is gray, but he is neatly combed, he is wearing a gray cloth robe, a cane, and he looks just a little more energetic than the average old man, but everyone present is very respectful to him, whether it is the underworld or the white way, he has to give him three points of face, as soon as he heard him speak, he closed his mouth one by one, and no one interjected. Zhang Chengchuan is known as "Zhang Bancheng", more than half of Yifeng's fields and shops are his industry, and his capital is abundant, and he has a team of elite families, all of whom are loaded with guns and ammunition, and his skills are extraordinary, not to mention these people in front of him, even the bandit leaders in the mountains, and they dare not fight any idea of his industry, for fear of bringing some disaster to themselves.

Although Xiong Cheng is the county magistrate, he doesn't dare to have the slightest arrogance against this old man, and immediately said: "Brother Zhang, I can't make up my mind, that Qiu Ba said clearly, 40,000 stone rice grain, a grain is a lot, either we hand it over, or he leads the troops into the city to take over Yifeng, and when the time comes, he will do it himself, do I still have the slightest choice?" ”

Zhang Chengchuan glanced at him, and the corners of his mouth showed a hint of mockery, what did he call everyone to discuss if he didn't have a choice? Others don't know what County Magistrate Xiong thinks, how can he not know? However, Xiongcheng is still on the road, and there are people in each family who serve in the county, and everyone gets a lot of benefits from this every year, including him, and now he is swept away in vain, he is really unwilling, why doesn't he think so? But Zhang Chengchuan is different from Xiongcheng, he has a lot of fields, a lot of property, the benefits here are broken, his loss is not big, if he can use 40,000 stone rice grain to maintain the current stability, he is still happy, but he can't open this mouth, this piece of oil and water is more, everyone has tasted enough sweetness here, where is he willing to let go? If he says it, I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble in the future.

Listening to Xiong Cheng's words, he just nodded lightly and said: "County Magistrate Xiong has always been an old man, and he must have his own way to resolve it, the old man is now dizzy, and every day is not as good as a day, but as long as County Magistrate Xiong comes out with a charter, the old man will definitely advance and retreat with you." ”

[Hehe, I'm going to eat and pack up!] 】