Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1431 Split
In a courtyard shrouded in twilight in Yecheng, the broken copper bells on the eaves uttered hoarse whimpers in the cold wind.

The head of the Cui family staggered into the courtyard, no longer possessing the demeanor of a noble family. Not only were the corners of his robe covered in mud, but even his hair crown was a little askew.

Seeing Cui's appearance, the whole hall suddenly fell silent.

Dozens of gazes looked over his body and looked at the empty space behind him with reluctance, but finally turned into disappointment.

The white mist rising from the bowl of hot tea specially prepared on the table shattered into thin air in the draft.

"Haven't you seen it again?" The man from the Zhaojun Li family dug his fingertips into the rosewood table, looking at the gold-inlaid invitation card that was returned intact to his old friend - it was a gift box framed with a rubbing of the "Li Qi Bei" handed down from the ancestors of the Qinghe Cui family.

The head of the Cui family did not answer. He dropped the silk book on the table with his trembling hands, and then he slid down dejectedly as if all his strength had been drained away.

The flickering afterglow of the setting sun coming in from outside was reflected on the four small gold-mud seal characters "Fu Han An Min" on the visiting card.

A white-haired old man's hand clenched on his cane with veins bulging. "This is the seventh time! The seventh time!"

He threw the teacup to the ground violently, and everyone trembled as the broken porcelain splashed.

The older the old man is, the worse his temper becomes.

"Feng the thief has gone too far!"

In hundreds of years, when has the Hebei noble family ever suffered such humiliation?
Even for a man as wise and capable as Emperor Wu, when he wanted to build Hebei as his base, didn't he still need their cooperation?

You know, after Cao Cao captured Ye City, he summoned the leaders of many aristocratic families in Hebei one after another.

Their ancestors or fathers had also discussed here calmly whether to support the Cao family or give up supporting the Yuan family.

Not to mention, if Cao Pi did not have their full support, could he have become emperor so easily?

A hundred-year-old emperor and a thousand-year-old family. Without the great families of Hebei to provide money, food and manpower, even Emperor Guangwu would have dreamed of restoring the Han Dynasty.

Feng Zei, who the hell is Feng Zei, how dare he insult them like this? !

Oh, so he is a disciple of the mountain sect... and he has been enlightened by an immortal...

Well, well, even if you are the descendant of an immortal, you can't insult others like this, right?

"Is he crazy? What on earth does he want to do?!"

Seeing that everyone was still unwilling to face reality, an old man named Feng suddenly laughed out loud, his laughter was as shrill as the cry of a night owl:
"What is he going to do? Don't you really know? If you really don't know, then I can tell you about Ji Han's new policy."

"We, the Feng family of Shangdang, have been forced to hand over all our hidden tenants over the years, and all the good farmland has been used as government farmland and distributed to those peasants."

"And the remaining little bit of work in the fields has to give up 10% of the harvest every year. Isn't this driving people to death?"

"Not only that, most of the tribesmen were even relocated to Guanzhong to build towns, and some were even relocated to Henan (i.e. Hetao)."

"The most cruel thing is the imperial examination... If poor people can study and become officials, who would be willing to work for the aristocratic families?"

Wouldn’t it be better to sell it directly to the court?

He took out a bloodstained scroll and threw it on the table. "This is the last letter I managed to send before the eldest branch of the Feng family was moved away."

During the Shangdang Incident, Feng secretly communicated with Sima Yi. When the Han army counterattacked Shangdang, many of Feng's direct descendants followed him and retreated to Hebei.

Now Sima Yi was forced to withdraw from Hebei without even notifying them.

The remnants of the Feng family became like wandering ghosts.

When the silk book was unfolded, it brought up tiny pieces of blood. Someone saw the words "Officials and gentry pay taxes together" and suddenly clenched the jade pendant at his waist.

It’s tolerable, it’s unbearable!

Even if it is unbearable, you have to endure it.

King Gui Feng is not like the Yuan and Cao families. He has people with money, food, soldiers and guns, so he does not need their support.

Instead, they need the forgiveness of King Feng Gui.

"Why not..." Bohai Gao suddenly spoke, his voice terribly hoarse, "divide the clan members into three branches. One branch will stay in the ancestral home, one branch will move to Jiangdong, and the other branch will be sent with half of the land deeds to join the Han army."

When he said the word "land deed", a whimpering sound came from his throat.

The feeling of cutting flesh with one's own hands is extremely painful.

"I'm afraid it's not enough! Isn't King Feng the same as Cao Pi? This thief's appetite is even bigger than Cao Cao's."

At that time, Cao Cao "recruited new people to start farming, but the people were unhappy and many fled."

At first I wanted to use coercive measures, but I almost failed.

Finally, I listened to the advice and changed it to voluntary.

In order to show their sincerity, everyone contributed some land and people, and only then was the project done.

To put it bluntly, Cao Cao cultivated land just to get some money and food.

From now on, as long as everyone is more restrained and doesn't eat too obviously, we can live our lives as usual.

Even after 10 or 20 years, when Cao Pi came to power, he directly recovered the principal and interest of the military farming project.

But what about Ji Han’s new policy?

If the land tax is distributed according to the land, and officials and gentry all pay taxes, then what is the point of hiding the population? What is the point of having many fields at home?
You all have to pay the same tax anyway.

Not to mention the imperial examination.

Several generations of people compiling, annotating and collecting books cannot compare to the number of books printed by a college in a month.

In the past, if a poor person wanted to borrow a book, he wouldn’t even be seen by the concierge if he didn’t show enough sincerity.

Now...you can read it at Xinhan Bookstore.

free!

If you want to take it out for study, you have to pay a deposit of 100 coins and a borrowing fee of 3 coins per day.

If you are a student of a school or college, you don’t even need to pay a mortgage fee, you just need to register your identity.

This is, what is this doing?
Could it be that the knowledge of the saints is being wasted so wantonly?

Feng the thief, you are not worthy of being a human being!
"Bang!" Bohai Gao suddenly drew his sword and cut off a corner of the table, roaring with red eyes: "If this is really the case, instead of sitting and waiting to die, it is better to fight back..."

"Shut up!" Before he could finish his words, someone suddenly interrupted him by shouting, causing all the yellow leaves in the garden to fall to the ground.

Cui stared at the peeling gold-painted Qilin pattern on the screen wall - that was the painting that Cao Pi had specially sent when he was made crown prince.

"Do you think this is still the Jian'an era? Outside Yecheng there are 100,000 elite soldiers, and now at the pass of Taihang Mountain there is a banner with the Chinese character 'Han' on it!"

Just as they were about to quarrel, a muffled thunder sounded in the street outside the courtyard, and the sound of iron hooves caused dust from the eaves and tiles to fall.

Everyone shut up immediately.

Only when the sound of iron hooves faded away did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

After a long while, someone spoke again:
"Sima Yi has hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers, relying on the Taihang Mountains as a shield, but he still can't stop the Feng thief. What do you want to use to rebel?"

Thinking back to the time when the sound of the Han army's iron hooves alone frightened everyone into silence, everyone fell silent, and then almost in despair.

He is extremely talented, has extraordinary wisdom, is far-sighted, ruthless, manages the country and the people, stabilizes the country, makes plans, and wins battles thousands of miles away...

Cao!
Is this kind of ghost thing supposed to exist in the world?
But this ghost thing is my enemy.

Instead of being a good disciple of an immortal, he insisted on entering the world to disturb the human world. This is simply inappropriate...

It's simply despairing.

Seeing this, the furious old man knelt down dejectedly, clutching his clothes and laughing hoarsely:

"All of those gathered here are the most prominent figures in Hebei. How magnificent and dignified they were in the past. But I didn't expect that they would not even dare to think of resisting the thief Feng... I'm afraid they are really going to die!"

When everyone heard this, they just started to feel sad, and then they heard someone sneer sinisterly:

"Dead? That's hard to say. It seems that the most prestigious people in Hebei haven't arrived yet?"

What do you mean?
After a moment of silence, someone gnashed out a name:
"Lu!"

It is rumored that when the Han army arrived in Zhuo County, the Lu family, one of the largest families in Hebei, was not only the first to defect, but also raised the banner of welcoming the royal army.

It's not just talk, but actual action. They hold up banners on the roadside with the words "Welcome the Royal Army" written on them.

The posture is so ugly and disgusting!
nausea!

What is even more disgusting is that there are rumors that the Lu family had already reached a secret agreement with Mr. Feng.

There are also rumors that the Han army was able to easily capture Youzhou this time because of the internal and external cooperation of the Lu family.

Otherwise, may I ask, which caravans used the Baoqiu Water Trade Route that the Hedong Winged Tigers used the most in the past?
Isn’t it the Lu family which is closest to the border?
These days, almost all the leaders of Hebei's noble families have arrived in Yecheng, except for the Lu family.

As a result, more and more rumors about the Lu family appeared, and at the same time, what the Lu family had done in the past few days was also dug up.

Only then did everyone realize that Lu had already surrendered to the Han Dynasty - and had done so secretly and long ago without their knowledge.

I want to kill that mother!

Your Lu family has made an indelible contribution to the current situation in Hebei!

Relying on the little friendship he had with the shoe peddlers and mat weavers in his early years, he immediately surrendered as soon as he saw that the situation was not right. You are his mother!

I am your mother!
Just as everyone was cursing, another burst of hurried footsteps was heard. It was the servant boy of Feng family of Shangdang.

"Master, Master, it's bad, that evil stone dog has arrived in Yecheng!"

Upon hearing this, the head of the Feng family in Shangdang stood up suddenly, his face changed drastically:

"what?!"

Some people still didn't react: "What stone evil dog?"

"Shi Bao, that lowly slave who sells iron!"

A name that made everyone in the room shudder.

"Why would the Iron Slave Trader come to Yecheng at this time?"

"Feng Zei, what is he going to do?"

"Hedong?"

Speaking of Hedong, the afterglow of the setting sun shines through the window sills and reflects the frightened faces of the people on the wall, just like hundreds of ghosts wandering in the world.

No one here is stupid.

On the contrary, a stupid person cannot be the leader of a noble family.

The disaster in Hedong was apparently caused by the riots of the settlers and the peasants, and it had nothing to do with Mr. Feng.

At most, Feng was fishing by the river when the mob was rioting, and no troops were sent to quell the riot in time.

But at that time the battle in Guanzhong had not yet ended, and Mr. Feng focused all his attention on the other side and had no way to divide his troops. Who dared to say that this was wrong?

There is no evidence, the approach is reasonable, and no one can find fault with it on the surface.

But for these cunning people, they don't need evidence, they only need their own free conviction.

Cao Aman may like to massacre people in the city, but he did it openly and openly, and basically all those he slaughtered were ordinary people.

So the aristocratic families don’t care at all.

On the contrary, things like the Hedong disaster were simply playing with people's hearts. No matter whether they were from noble families or common people, high or low, they were all confined in Hedong and treated like poultry and livestock, and were induced to fight each other, similar to cockfighting and duck fighting.

This is what the aristocratic families fear from the bottom of their hearts.

They can treat the common people like animals and take it for granted.

But once someone treats them as poultry or livestock, they will be indignant, angry, and resentful...

Can that be the same?

Can it be the same!

The disaster in Hedong back then seemed to be fishing, but in fact, it was Mr. Feng who was looking down on Hedong and treating the common people like ants:

If you help him catch a river carp, then he will send troops to save a county. Is this something a human can say?

What do you think of the Hedong clans?
River carp?

In the eyes of people like them, most people in the world are ants, and aristocratic families are probably just bigger ants.

Mr. Feng's performance in Hedong is very consistent with the doing style of those legendary immortal gates and mountain sects.

Zuo Ci also often teased Cao Cao in public.

They only consider their own likes and dislikes and mood in everything, and in their eyes, there is no distinction between high and low among people.

The barbarians can be killed and eaten, and they can also live a comfortable life and even be grateful to us.

The aristocratic families can be killed or destroyed, or they can be allowed to make huge amounts of money with their eyes closed, and even their entire families can rise to high positions.

So when Shi Bao arrived, some of the smart people present immediately thought of the disaster in Hedong.

Feng thief... Feng thief, could it be?
How dare he!
"Puff!" Mr. Cui of Qinghe suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, dyeing the white beard on his chest red.

Before he passed out, he grabbed someone's collar tightly and said, "Quick...quickly send someone to the Lu family..."

Cui Gong's words immediately reminded everyone.

Yes, although the Lu family surrendered to the Han Dynasty, the Hebei noble families are all related by blood. Who doesn’t have some connections with the Lu family?
There is no way to meet the Grand Marshal here, and there is no point in staying here. It is better to see if we can find a way from the Lu family.

No one knew who took the lead, but more than ten people no longer cared about their manners and suddenly rushed to the door.
-
At the end of September in the tenth year of Yanxi, the autumn wind blew and the coolness gradually turned into chill.

Feng Da Sima put on a cloak and stood at the Qiliang Ferry. He looked at the shore, which was already showing signs of ice, and frowned:

"Winter comes so early in Hebei?"

In other words, this year's winter came earlier than in previous years.

Given the current situation in Hebei, the weather turning cold early is not good news.

Sima Feng could calmly tell his people not to worry about food and to try their best to accommodate the refugees.

But this world is still material after all, and food will not grow out of granaries by itself.

Part of it needs to be transported from east of Taihang Mountains.

Part of it needs to be collected from the Hebei families.

It takes time to transport it, and even more time to collect it.

Sima Feng looked up into the distance and saw the organized refugees working hard.

There was no way not to be busy and excited, because the news had spread and as long as there was work to do, there would be no worries about food.

At least this winter, I won’t be too hungry - half-hungry is not considered hungry.

After these days of hard work, half of the excavated Zhang River has been repaired.

But this is just the beginning.

Later, we will have to clear the silt, unclog the blocked canals, and restore the damaged water conservancy projects.

Although the sand content of the Zhangshui River is not as high as that of the Yellow River in later generations, if it is not cleaned up in time and the silt is allowed to settle, the original fertile fields may become barren fields, may become salinized, and in serious cases may even become desertified.

There was a cloud of dust rising in the north; it was the messenger who had brought more news.

"Report to the Grand Marshal, they are less than five miles away from here."

"Ah."

Sima Feng nodded and looked further to the north.

The whole person seemed to be slightly relaxed.

Although the weather was showing signs of getting colder and food was becoming scarce, he was not panicking at all.

Half an hour later, smoke and dust rose again in the north.

This time, the smoke and dust raised was much bigger than that of the cavalry, and there were many people coming.

Knowing that Feng Dasima was at the ferry, the men whipped their horses and ran the last section of the journey as fast as possible.

"Taiyuan Guo (Wang) pays homage to the Grand Marshal!"

"Hedong Pei (Wei) pays homage to the Grand Marshal!"

"Henan Yang..."

……

Feng Da Sima smiled slightly and said slowly:
"Why do you need such great courtesy, gentlemen? Please stand up."

After everyone thanked him, he stood up.

Some people even dusted off their cotton coats.