activa-t Chapter 90 Scholars Come to Join Us
Chapter 90 Scholars Come to Join Us
However, Li Sheng was not one to be afraid of difficulties. The more difficult the situation, the deeper the oppression of the people.
Sometimes they just don't realize this exploitation and oppression.
Even powerful and influential figures, through their control of ideology, managed to get some ordinary people to cheer for them.
Yes, the situation is indeed that bizarre.
Not to mention Xiapi County, he had seen quite a few in Siyang Township.
What about the idea that "landlords and gentry stand with the common people" and that "the powerful and influential are the foundation of the countryside and the protectors of the people"?
fart!
Some say the landlord class was mild-mannered, benevolent, and a stabilizer of rural order. Others say, without landlords, who would organize production? Who would provide disaster relief? The imperial court couldn't collect taxes, so wasn't it relying on the landlords?
But Li Sheng knew that behind these rhetoric lay only one simple truth: landlords were the ruling class.
They are not some class conciliator who "stands with the common people," nor are they "representatives of local interests"; they are simply the naked ruling class.
They have land, grain, and people; they make rules, interpret rules, and utilize rules to ensure that the rules always benefit them.
Their interests are fundamentally opposed to those of the common people. The common people want the stability of their small plot of land, while they want to turn a thousand acres into ten thousand acres. The common people want light taxes and levies, while they want all the taxes to be shifted onto others. The common people want the government to uphold justice, while they want the government to stay out of their business.
However, in reality, the interests of the landlords were not unified.
The Liu family, the imperial family of the Eastern Han Dynasty, were also landlords, and the largest landlords in the world.
The saying "All land under heaven belongs to the emperor" is not just a saying. The emperor owns all the land in the world, although in reality he cannot take it all, but legally he does.
The emperor wanted peace and stability, sufficient taxes, and that the people would not rebel; the powerful wanted their land to grow bigger and bigger, their power to rise higher and higher, and eventually they would try to replace the imperial family.
These two groups could sometimes cooperate, such as when they jointly suppressed peasant uprisings; and sometimes they fought each other to the death, such as when the emperor wanted to conduct land surveys and the powerful clans resisted desperately.
But no matter how much they fight, they have one thing in common: they all live off the people.
The only difference is that one eats in an unsightly manner, while the other eats in a refined manner.
Li Sheng's gaze returned to the silk painting.
Those properties of powerful families marked in red were as glaring as blood.
Why do some people always think that the landlord class stood with the common people?
Li Sheng sneered inwardly.
Because the landlords stood right behind the government officials, collecting taxes, levying taxes, and maintaining order alongside them. What the common people saw were government clerks coming to collect taxes and government runners conscripting people for corvée labor. And the landlords? The landlord sat in the main hall, smiling as he spoke.
"Pay half of this year's rent first, and we'll settle the rest later. The government may be heartless, but we are kind and righteous."
As a result, the people were grateful and felt that the landlords and powerful families were good people, and that the taxes imposed by the imperial court were too heavy.
But what is the truth?
The truth is, the taxes that the imperial court should have collected from the powerful landowners were never collected because these landowners had tax exemption privileges, political connections, and ways to understate their land holdings. The court's expenditures didn't decrease just because the powerful didn't pay taxes; officials needed salaries, the army needed provisions, and the emperor needed to repair palaces. Where did this money come from? From the self-cultivating farmers and tenant farmers. The poll tax, the land tax, the poll tax, and the land tax—not a single penny could be missing.
The portion that the powerful and wealthy did not pay became the portion that the common people paid more of, with the powerful and wealthy shifting their tax burden onto the common people.
The thief cries "Stop thief!" while also trying to erect a memorial archway.
No wonder Xun said that this history has no dates, and the words "benevolence and morality" are written crookedly on every page... If you look closely between the lines, the whole book is filled with the two words "cannibalism"!
Li Sheng took a deep breath and suppressed these thoughts.
"Pass on my message: starting tomorrow, land will be distributed. Taiping soldiers will be given priority, allocated according to their military merit and rank. The remainder will be distributed to registered hidden households, tenants, and displaced persons cleared from the former powerful families. Each household will be allocated according to the number of people: 30 mu for households with five or fewer members, and 50 mu for households with more than five members. Contracts will be drawn up as proof, and the land cannot be bought or sold for the time being. Anyone who dares to disobey will be dealt with according to military law. Li Feng, keep a close eye on this!"
"promise!"
"promise!"
The land allocation officially began the following day.
A row of tables was set up in the open space in front of the county government office.
Zhou Chang, accompanied by clerks, allocated land to each household according to the household register. For each household, a contract was written on the spot, in duplicate, with the people affixing their fingerprints and the government keeping a copy.
The first person to receive the land deed was a middle-aged man. He held the piece of hemp paper covered with writing in both hands, his fingers trembling violently, and his lips quivering for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"This...this land, is it really mine?"
"It's truly yours. The general has ordered that you be exempt from taxes for the first year of cultivation. In the second year, you will only pay 40% rent per mu. The Taiping Army will not collect any miscellaneous fees or impose any levies. You can eat as much as you grow."
The man fell to his knees with a thud, his forehead hitting the bluestone slab with a loud thud.
"Lord Li...you're truly a just and upright official! I kowtow to you!"
Behind him, dozens of people who had received their land deeds also knelt down, a dark mass of people, their cries shaking the heavens.
Seeing this, Zhou Chang was deeply moved and helped the man up.
"Get up, the Taiping Army doesn't practice kneeling."
At this moment, Li Feng was standing nearby. He faced the crowd and raised his voice.
"Fellow villagers, our Taiping Army acts on behalf of Heaven, ensuring that every person in the land has land to cultivate and food to eat! General Li does not require you to kneel. From this day forward, the land deeds in your hands are your lifeline. If anyone dares to seize them, the Taiping Army will stand up for you!"
A deafening roar erupted from the crowd.
"Long live the Taiping Army!"
"Long live Leader Li!"
"Long live Li Tianwang!"
Shouts rose and fell, echoing for a long time over the county town.
In the crowd, a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar stood in a corner, quietly watching this scene.
As he listened to the deafening shouts and watched the Taiping soldiers being loved by the people, a complex and indescribable emotion welled up inside him.
He was well-educated, worldly-wise, and knew what the will of the people and the foundation of the nation were.
Li Sheng, the Taiping general, is a capable man!
He hesitated for a moment, then finally pushed through the crowd and walked toward the official who had called out the message.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Gu Yong, a native of Xuzhou, and I have some knowledge of strategy. If the Taiping Army does not mind, I am willing to follow General Li Sheng."
Li Feng looked at him for a moment, his gaze cautious.
Gu Yong did not flinch, but met his gaze directly.
"Please wait a moment, sir, while I go and consult the general."
Gu Yong nodded.
Li Feng handed the matter over to the people around him and turned to walk into the county government office.