"All of them quit?"

"We're all gone, and we're the only ones left."

"It's okay, the rest are true friends."

“……”

When the news of Zhao Han's cancellation of his child life came out, a total of 34 members of the Datong Society, and only a few were left in two days: Zhu Zhiyu, Fei Ruyi, Fei Ruhe, Fei Yuanjian, Liu Ziren and Xu Ying.

There is no other reason, just ashamed to be with the house slaves.

Of course, they all said it more tactfully, and they didn't fall out with Zhao Han in person, but just looked for all kinds of excuses to prove that they didn't have time.

Fei Ruyi, the dead, hadn't come to the academy for a long time, saying that he was going home to slowly study "Mengxi Writings" - when he read "Zhuzi's Language", he was shocked by the saying that the moon does not shine, and suddenly became interested in natural science.

Fei Ruhe has also been missing for half a month, and he is clamoring for his family to invite a riding and archery teacher.

Wrapped the stainless steel spear head in a cloth, Zhao Han used the spear as a crutch, and stepped on the snow to say goodbye to the mountain chief Fei Yuanlu.

This gun is made of mulberry wood, which grows slowly and is easy to grow crooked, and the peasants are reluctant to cut it, and a gun made of mulberry wood is worth a lot.

Forget about the ash rod, it's okay to use it for folk martial arts, and it's pure nonsense to fight on the battlefield - "Huizhou beef tendon wood is the top, and the sword spine wood is second." The red edges are strong, straight, and fragile. The ash is soft, and the sticks are also. ”

The truly top-of-the-line battlefield spears are all composites: made of tough wood, wrapped in leather, and wrapped with copper wire and rope.

"Squeak, squeak......"

Zhao Han was one foot deep and one foot shallow, staggering forward in the snow, and it was really difficult to borrow strength without holding a stick.

This year's snow fell exceptionally heavily, and the thatched roof of Pang Chunlai was crushed by the snow. Pang Fuzi could only live in a private school, and if he insisted on living alone, he would have to freeze to death at night.

In just a few days, many people have frozen to death in Leadshan County.

"Knock knock!"

Zhao Han dusted off the snowflakes on his body, leaned his spear against the wall, and raised his hand to knock on the door.

"Come in." Voices came from inside the house.

Zhao Han pushed the door and entered: "The kid greets the mountain chief." ”

Fei Yuanlu asked with a smile: "Why don't you claim to be born late?" ”

"Tong Sheng has been removed, and the kid doesn't deserve to call himself like this," Zhao Han said, "The kid is here to say goodbye to the mountain chief." ”

"Alas!"

Fei Yuanlu sighed and said, "I didn't drive you down the mountain, if you like to read, you can still listen to it in the academy." “

Zhao Han said: "The kid is the second shopkeeper of Dingsheng Building, and he used to slack off a lot, so he will have to be diligent in the future." ”

"Okay," Fei Yuanlu said, "Being a restaurant shopkeeper is also a good livelihood, but don't lose your poetry books." ”

"The boy obeys the teachings," Zhao Han said, "and take his leave." ”

Fei Yuanlu was excited, waved his hand and said, "Let's go." ”

Except for silver coins and manuscripts, Zhao Han didn't bring anything, and no one was alarmed, and went down the mountain alone with a spear.

The wind and snow blew on his face, and he stepped on the air and fell down from time to time, but Zhao Han was in a happy mood, like a caged bird flying out of trouble.

In four months, he will be fifteen years old, sixteen years old in ancient times.

The second shopkeeper of the Dingsheng Building is the back road left by Zhao Han for himself. You can work to make money, make friends with three religions and nine streams, and wait to wait and see the changes in the world.

In the dead of winter, Hekou Town is still prosperous, as long as the Xinjiang River and the Lead Mountain River are not frozen.

"Brother, you're here!" Fei Ze (Jian Guts) greeted warmly, this guy is now the bookkeeper of the restaurant.

Zhao Han leaned his spear against the counter and asked, "How is business these days?" ”

Fei Ze sighed and said: "Business is okay, but the stall tax has risen again." ”

Zhao Han said with a smile: "The imperial court is short of money, why can't the tax rise?" ”

"It's also gone up too much," Fei Ze said in a low voice, "A few days ago, a eunuch came to the county, who was specially urging taxes, and the county magistrate couldn't help it." ”

"Today's saint has the legacy of Wanli Ye." Zhao Han teased.

During the Zhengde period, there were types of stall tax, market tax, and commercial (product) tax on the market. Due to the establishment of imperial shops everywhere, the eunuchs arbitrarily apportioned taxes, and there were all kinds of taxes.

In the early years of Jiajing, the reform was vigorously implemented, and all taxes were integrated to collect the "door stall tax".

This type of gate tax is based on the county unit and stipulates the amount of tax payable by each county. According to the amount of tax receivable, the county and the town are apportioned, which is collected once every quarter, and then transported to the tax collection (department) bureau at the end of the year, and handed over to the central government by the tax collection department.

It was directly blown up during the Wanli period, and the emperor sent a mine supervisor to pay taxes, and he was crazy about exploiting it.

At that time, the most terrifying thing was the mining tax, and when the eunuch saw which family was particularly rich, he said that this person had a mine at home, and he would directly arrest people if he didn't hurry up to pay the tax, and there were countless bankrupts at that time.

Emperor Chongzhen is now in a hurry, and he also sent eunuchs everywhere to urge taxes.

The gate tax in Hekou Town rose at the beginning of the year, and at the end of the year, it was said that it would rise, and the eunuch went directly to the county government to urge it.

The eunuchs must be able to eat enough, the magistrates follow and gnaw bones, the officials can drink soup, and the bitter ones are the shops and vendors - the central court actually has limited revenue, and those commercial taxes are all privately swallowed layer by layer.

Fei Ze pointed to the street and said, "We're okay, it's just that the restaurant makes less money, and the vendors outside are really miserable." ”

Zhao Han walked to the door of the restaurant, looked left and right, and came back and said, "No wonder there are fewer vendors, how much has this tax been raised?" ”

"I don't know how it has risen, anyway, the small stalls and small shops can't continue," Fei Ze whispered, "These small vendors have been forced to join the Iron Foot Society." Several leaders of the Iron Foot Club have been made afraid to go out by the vendors. ”

"Haha, you have to do something to collect money." Zhao Han said with a smile.

The Iron Foot Society has been transformed from a coolie union to a gangster organization. Those small vendors on the street, who say that they are joining the Iron Foot Society, are actually paying protection money to the gangsters.

Usually the protection fee is collected, shouldn't I express it now?

Zhao Han asked, "What about the big shopkeeper?" ”

Fei Ze replied, "I have gone to the town for a meeting to discuss how to deal with the tax collectors." ”

In the evening, the big shopkeeper Fei Xi came back and immediately ordered: "Prepare sticks, shop guys, and go to the street together tomorrow!" ”

"Uncle Xi, what's the way?" Zhao Han asked.

Fei Xi pulled Zhao Han into the corner and whispered: "The old men above, they have been connected in various towns and towns, and tomorrow they will go to the street together to fight taxes and send all the tax collectors back to the county seat!" ”

It's kind of interesting.

The next morning, the whole town was in action, and each of the vendors and the men had a stick in their hands.

The Iron Foot will act as the main force to resist taxes, and when the tax collector disembarks, the dock will be blocked immediately.

The tax collectors noticed nothing unusual, and continued on until they came to a stop in front of the stalls.

The vendor carried a stick and did not speak.

The other vendors stopped doing business and all took out their sticks.

"You...... What are you going to do? ”

The tax collector finally felt bad, and turned around in fright to run away, but was blocked by the iron foot behind him.

"Hit!"

The crowd rushed up and beat them, and the tax collectors cried for their fathers and mothers, and gradually the screams became weaker.

Two were killed on the spot, and the rest were injured.

Zhao Han witnessed the whole process and didn't know how to define this action.

The gentry were in tandem, the merchants commanded, and the trade unions, vendors, and men all went into battle in person.

Violent resistance to the law?

The question is, is it legal to raise taxes?

Even if the gate stall tax is raised twice in a row, the total tax amount of the entire Leadshan County is less than four hundred taels of silver, and Emperor Chongzhen's tax increase is really not much.

But when it came to the eunuchs, the actual tax could be more than 10,000 taels, and the magistrates, scribes, and soap officials also followed to make money, and the county's door stall tax was close to 20,000 taels.

The gentry of the whole county connected in tandem and violently resisted taxes together, which scared the magistrate so much that he did not dare to go out.

But the eunuch was not afraid, and personally took the family and went straight to the ancestral house of the Henglin Fei family.

The eunuch held a leather whip in his hand, pointed at Fei Yuanzhen and said: "In the first county of Leadshan, Hekou Town is the richest, and the annual gate tax is raised to 2,100 taels. You are the patriarch of the Fei clan, give you half a month, if the collection is not even, I will come directly to the Fei family to ask for silver! ”

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"

Fei Yuanzhen coughed continuously, and said weakly: "The good sect knows that the old man is frail and sickly, and he is in Henglin, so he really can't control the estuary. Please ...... with respect."

"Bring it in!" The eunuch interrupted.

The eunuchs brought with them were gangsters recruited in this county. These gangsters flaunted their might and carried in a thin-skinned coffin.

Fei Yuanzhen was so frightened that his face was pale.

"After half a month, if the tax is not in order, you can lie in it by yourself!" The eunuch threw down a sentence and left.

Fei Yuan was so angry that he stomped his feet: "How can this be reasonable, how can this be reasonable!" ”

The gentry immediately discussed, but they could not think of it, so they could only go to the governor and the governor to complain.

Those who patrol the imperial history were originally promoted by Chongzhen, how could they manage the idle affairs of the tax eunuchs?

The governor of Jiangxi has been replaced by Xie Xuelong, and this person is capable. But now that the Donglin Party is in decline, he doesn't dare to offend the eunuchs anymore, and is busy rebuilding King Teng's Pavilion, and by the way, he takes the opportunity to get some silver back.

After a short battle, the eunuch won.

Each family pooled the money to pay the tax, and it was only two thousand and one hundred taels, and they could still take it. What's more, small vendors also divide their stalls, and for the gentry, each household can't have much.

But what about continuing to raise taxes next year?

The eunuchs can't be fed, and the magistrate and the soap officials are also eyeing them!

And that's just the door tax, their tea mills, paper mills...... What is not an increase in labor taxes?

Pass it on to the workers and peasants!

workers' wages, which fell overall; Tenant land rents, rising overall.

Even the monthly income of the house slaves has been reduced, and discontent is brewing at the bottom of society.

Approaching the Chinese New Year, the eunuchs privately set up four banknote customs in Lead Mountain.

One is located in Ehu Town, one is located in Shitang Town, one is located in Henglin Town, and one is located in Shanglu Town, blocking all the commercial waterways in Lead Mountain.

The eunuchs did not dare to collect taxes on paper (stationery), and set up a separate name to collect a "cabin tax", and all passing ships had to pay money.

At this moment, foreign merchants are also miserable, so they can only pay the money. At the same time, while raising the price of goods, the wages of shipwrights were squeezed.

Boatmen, boatmen, resentment grows.

Zhao Han looked at this coldly, only hoping that the eunuch would burn a few more fires.