Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

April 11, the 12th year of Chongzhen, Yanzhou Prefecture, Juye County.

Just after the Si hour, the yamen runners of Juye County came out of their classrooms in groups of three or five, each holding a gong in their hands and walking onto the streets.

Duang~Duang~Duang~

"Everyone, please pay attention. An angel has come to Juye County to announce an important decree that concerns everyone.

Whether you have business or not, go to the county government office and listen to the announcement!"

Duang~Duang~Duang~

"Listen up, everyone in the city! An angel has come to Juye County with an important decree. The imperial court is going to distribute land to you! Hurry up and go to the county government to register!"

……

It had been a long time since so many people gathered at the Juye County Government Office. Some of these people came from the city, but more of them were tenants from villages and towns outside the city.

These tenants were ragged but extremely excited because they had heard from the county yamen runners that the imperial court was going to distribute land to them.

In this land of China, for ordinary people, apart from family, nothing is more important than land.

Due to their own various reasons, they had long lost their ancestral lands and became tenants of the wealthy families. Some were even worse off, not even able to be tenants.

Those who could not even become tenants were said to have followed Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other bandits and never returned.

In the past, if the yamen runners said that the court was going to distribute land to them, no one would believe it because such a thing had never happened in any dynasty.

But in these two days, not only was the county magistrate arrested, but their respective employers were all arrested by the factory guards, and even their employers' mansions were confiscated.

At this time, if the yamen runners used the emperor's edict to publicize it, the effect would be completely different.

After all, the imperial court's large-scale arrests and confiscations of property by wealthy families in the city were unprecedented in all dynasties.

But even so, most of the tenants only held on to a glimmer of hope. They did not believe that the court would be so kind as to take the land from the wealthy and distribute it to them.

They would never dare to think so even in their dreams. After all, that is land. Land is everything to them. Their survival, reproduction, and food, clothing and other expenses for their family all depend on the land.

Even in years of famine, an acre of good farmland was worth ten taels of silver.

Is the imperial court really so kind?

"Hey, senior, let's get started." said a middle-aged man in official uniform.

The walls on both sides of the county government office were already covered with notices, but unlike the white wanted posters and other miscellaneous notices posted previously, half of the notices posted on the walls this time were made of bright yellow rice paper.

Even illiterate people knew that only the emperor's edicts were written on bright yellow rice paper.

The so-called high-end guy was a young man in his twenties. He stretched out his hand and waved to the people around him, signaling them to be quiet.

"I am Gao Wen, a subordinate of the Yinke Division of the Eastern Investigation Office. I am following the imperial edict and the order of the Grand Marshal to read and explain the contents of the imperial edict to the people of Juye County."

There were three imperial edicts in total. Although they were all drafted according to the wishes of Zhang Shikang and Emperor Chongzhen, after being polished by the Imperial Household Department and cabinet officials, they became extremely difficult to read classical Chinese.

This undoubtedly hindered the dissemination of the content of the imperial edict, but no matter how Zhang Shikang persuaded him, Emperor Chongzhen did not agree to write the imperial edict in vernacular.

Brother Chongzhen thought it was too embarrassing.

Therefore, in addition to confiscating homes and arresting people, the Dongchang guards had a new task - preaching.

Teach the people of the world what the court is currently doing as efficiently as possible.

Zhang Shikang once told Fang Zhenghua, the director of the East Depot, that the sooner the imperial edict was made known to the people, the less resistance there would be to reform and the greater their chances of success.

Likewise, fewer people will die.

To this end, Fang Zhenghua only slept two hours a day, recruited and trained more soldiers, and quickly sent them to the provinces of Northern Zhili, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, and Shaanxi.

The first two edicts talked about the riots of refugees in the Jiangbei area and the rebellion of gentry in the Jiangnan area.

Since it was not related to the people in Shandong area, Gao Wen only mentioned it briefly. When it came to the third imperial edict, Gao Wen explained it in extra detail.

"Land reform is another important national policy of the imperial court since the tax system reform last year.

In last year's tax reform, the current Majesty and the Grand Marshal intended to impose additional taxes on wealthy households and gentry in order to ease the financial pressure on the court.

The imperial court repeatedly stressed that the additional taxes could only be borne by merchants and gentry and could not be passed on to ordinary people.

However, those merchants and gentry dared to use this as an excuse to drive up prices and resist the implementation of national policies, hoping to use the price increase to force you to join them in opposing the new tax system. I advise you not to be fooled by those wealthy people!"

As he spoke, Gao Wen pointed to the "Da Ming Monthly News" posted on the other side.

"Here is the list of those who dare to resist national policy. The Grand Marshal has said that no matter who they are or what their status is, they must be killed!"

After many discussions, taking into account various issues such as geographical distance and staffing, the first newspaper of the Ming Dynasty, initiated by Zhang Shikang and operated by the Dongchang Yamen, was finally decided to be in the form of a monthly report.

Although it was an official organization, Zhang Shikang still chose to print it in semi-vernacular form against all odds, and required that it should not be too difficult to understand or deliberately mysterious.

For the general public, highbrow music is not suitable for widespread publicity. Since newspapers are tools for guiding official public opinion, they should be popular and easy to spread.

After saying that, Gawain turned his head and continued:

“This land reform will be unprecedented since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Even if we count from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, it is unprecedented.

His Majesty and the Grand Marshal have said that even if it costs their lives and the fate of the country, you who till the land must have your land."

The more Gao Wen spoke, the more excited he became, and his voice became louder and louder.

"Your Majesty's imperial estate will be taken back and distributed among you.

All the lands of the princes in various places will be taken back and distributed to you.

All the land owned by gentry, landlords, and nobles will be nationalized and distributed to you.

This is what the current Majesty, the Grand Marshal, has fought for you at the cost of the country's destiny and his life.

Why did those gentry, bureaucrats, nobles and landlords in Jiangnan rebel?

Isn’t it because Your Majesty and the Grand Marshal want to take back their land and give it to you?

Fellow villagers, ask yourselves, in this time of crisis, who should you stand with? "

Gao Wen, like most of the people recruited by the Eastern Depot, was a son of ordinary people from poor backgrounds in the vicinity of Shuntian Prefecture.

When he talked about the land reform, his excitement and gratitude came from the bottom of his heart. Shuntian Prefecture was closer, and before he left the capital, he had learned from his father that his family had been allocated 26 acres of good farmland.

From being a tenant farmer of a landlord to owning one's own land, the change in status made most of the Fanzi ecstatic.

The best way to make people believe that you are sincere is to actually be sincere.

When Gawain asked a series of rhetorical questions with tears in his eyes, the lower-class people around him were instantly infected.

That's land!

The land that has nurtured them for generations!

If it weren't for personal experience, who would have thought that His Majesty would gamble his life with the Grand Marshal and fight against the world's wealthy gentry.

The purpose was to distribute the land to them.

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Long live the Grand Marshal!"

All the people who had lost their land kowtowed towards the capital, expressing their excitement and gratitude to the emperor and the commander-in-chief.

The roar of the mountains is like a tsunami.

……