Chapter 473 Big Stick and Sweet Dates (Four Thousand)

"Collect food?"

As soon as the grain collection issue was announced by Ju Su, it immediately caused an uproar, and officials at all levels, from the county government to the county government, had different expressions.

There isn't much grain in the treasury, just enough for daily expenses, or maybe even a surplus?

However, facing the requirements of the Jizhou provincial government, it was not enough no matter what, and if the requirements were passed down to the counties and towns, it would only cause more trouble.

An official in the county government lowered his voice and asked the chief secretary, "Chief Secretary, if I remember correctly, Envoy Yuan promised General Lu food and grass. How come there are so many food and grass for these thousands of people in our county government?"

"Alas." The aged chief historian sighed and shook his head. "You don't understand. Just to increase the food and grass for General Lu? How will the soldiers in other units view this? Not to mention that we have the county magistrate above us, and above the county magistrate is the county governor and his subordinates. How much do you think the amount will be after all these changes?"

"This..." The young official was stunned by the words of the chief secretary. He was at a loss. He lowered his head and looked at the ground anxiously, and asked, "Then what should we do?"

"What should we do?" The chief secretary's eyes darkened and he said quietly, "Now is the good time for autumn harvest. Now we can only increase the land rent."

"Increase the land rent?!" The young official raised his head, his face full of surprise, "Is there no other way?"

The chief clerk spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground and smiled disdainfully, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "What's his method? Is it your clan that provides the food, or is it my clan that provides the food? Don't worry about it, just do your job!"

"Yes." The young official lowered his head and clasped his fists in agreement.

Similar things happened in various county offices. Some officials were so aggrieved that they had to obey orders reluctantly, while some officials wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune.

After being passed down layer by layer, the heavy burden will undoubtedly ultimately fall on the shoulders of the people.

In the fields, the dark-complexioned farmer looked at the tall millet and forced a smile on his tired face.

Even though he was exhausted and sweating, he never complained.

This year's harvest is good and it is a bumper year.

The farmer counted on his fingers as he calculated this year's harvest. According to past calculations, after paying all the rent and taxes, he could still repay some of the loans, so there would always be a surplus.

Thinking of this, the farmer picked up his sickle and began to harvest the fruits of his hard work for a year.

After an unknown amount of time, the farmer walked towards the house carrying the bundles of corn on his back. Along the way, the corners of his mouth were always raised high, and he was thinking in his heart whether he should buy a new piece of clothing for his family or a table and chairs.

But the good mood collapsed with the arrival of the county officials.

As soon as the farmer put down the corn, the fat and bloated county official pushed open the door of his house. The county official was not vague and started spitting at the farmer.

The farmer, who dared to lower his head in front of the county official, felt as if struck by lightning. For a moment, he felt dizzy. The rent of the land actually... actually increased again? ! !
After a year of hard work and paying land rent and taxes, there is actually no difference compared to last year!

The farmer's eyes widened, his pupils were bloodshot, he felt like his chest was burning, his heart was beating fast, anger rushed to his brain, he wanted to punch the county official!
But the farmer did not raise his head until the county official left with the corn. When the footsteps faded away, he looked in the direction of the county official and cursed inwardly, "You bastard!"

As for the overpaid land rent.
He looked bitter and kept comforting himself that it was an accident.

A fixed area of ​​concentrated residence around Yecheng.

Many officials shouted with all their might, urging the people living here to gather quickly.

In just a short while, the people living here came out one after another.

At the urging of the officials, they formed lines like a military unit, including men, women and even children.

Although these men were not tall and looked lifeless at first glance, they had rough skin, healthy limbs, and were not from Jizhou. They were excellent laborers.

Officials privately disdain these people and call them whatever they want.

However, once it came to the surface, all officials had a common name for these people - "Shijia".

This "scholar family" is not that "aristocratic family". To put it nicely, it is called "scholar family", to put it bluntly, it is called "military farming slaves".

Once you become a member of a scholar family, you will be helpless!
Once you become a scholar, you cannot leave!

Farm in peacetime and serve as a soldier in wartime!
Not counting other things, the land rent alone was as high as a terrifying 50%!

Therefore, many scholars chose to flee in the dark at night.

Of course, escaping is undoubtedly extremely difficult. Under the system of collective responsibility, if one person escapes, the whole family will be implicated, and even the neighbors will be held accountable.

An official walked to the front of the stage and faced a group of scholars. He claimed to be a subordinate official entrusted with an important task by Shen Pei and came with an important matter.

However, before he could say anything more, the military commander interrupted him forcefully, "Someone, please take this man down!"

The official resisted vigorously, shouting, "I am here on the orders of the Deputy Chief Judge! You can't chase me away!"

"Hmph. I don't know any Biejia Shen. I only know Envoy Yuan! Apart from Envoy Yuan and Biejia Ju, I have the final say here!" The Tuntian Commander had a look of annoyance on his face and waved at the soldiers.

The soldiers immediately understood and pressed forward towards the officer.

"No, you. You can't. Ah!" The officer wanted to resist, but two fists were no match for four hands. In the end, he was completely defeated by the two soldiers and was carried out of the place.

Everyone was silent, and their hearts instantly sank. Everyone could see that the person who came this time had ill intentions.

After carrying his subordinates out, the Protector of Tuntian nodded with satisfaction. He looked at the scholars and shouted, "I have received an order from Ju Biejia to increase the grain collection by 10% this time. There must be no mistakes!"

The scholars' heads were buzzing. An extra 10%?!

This is undoubtedly terrible news. Even the daily food and drink is not much, and now they have to charge an extra 10%? !

absurd! absurd!
The men in the Shi family were so angry that their chests heaved violently, and they stared at the Tuntian Duwei with resentment. If looks could kill, the Tuntian Duwei would have died thousands of times already.

The Tuntian Commander was not afraid of this at all. He knew very well that anyone with a weak spot would definitely not be a madman like the Yellow Turbans. Even if he offered his face to the scholars to slap him, they would not dare to really slap him.

The weak point of these people is precisely their families.

As expected by the military commander, even if the men were resentful, even if they were unwilling or dissatisfied, they had no choice but to hold their noses because their families were controlled by others. No matter what resentment or dissatisfaction they had, they had to swallow it.

When the military farm commander saw this, he was immediately delighted. He understood that raising the land rent to 60% was a foregone conclusion.

So he waved his hand and said, "Collect the grain!"

Although the scholars endured it, they completely hated this "Ju Biejia" in their hearts. They heard that the "Shijia" was manipulated by Ju Su.

When most of the rent had been collected, all the scholars would go back in order.

When the soldiers saw a messenger coming in a panic, the face of the arrogant Tuntian Commander immediately became extremely ugly. This aroused the interest of the soldiers. What was the matter that made the Tuntian Commander so afraid?
Soon they got the answer.

A tall and tough-looking man appeared before the men.

The man had a very cold expression on his face. Even the captain of the military farm did not dare to act arrogantly in front of the man at this time, and he didn't even dare to raise his head.

Seeing the Tuntian Commander suffer a setback, the scholars were in a much better mood. They had dreamed of seeing such a scene.
Who is this person?
The next moment, the military commander hesitantly revealed the man's identity, "Examine the deputy driver."

Review of the other driver?
The scholars were very unfamiliar with this name, but some had heard of it.

The news about "Shen Biejia" gradually spread among the scholars' families.

"Shen Biejia" was named Shen Pei, with the courtesy name Zhengnan. He was Yuan Shao's trusted and beloved general and was highly valued.

The scholars could not understand so much, they only knew that this person's status might be not much different from Ju Su!

So what was Shen Biejia's purpose in coming here?
Shen Pei told the scholars with his actions. He looked at the military commander without a trace of warmth in his eyes. He said coldly, "What did you say just now?!"

"Nothing." The Tuntian Commander kept smiling.

Shen Pei did not pursue the question of the Tuntian Commander's words, but he challenged him on another point, "These people are all meritorious officials of the envoy, how can they be treated like this?!"

The military commander of the Tuntian Army quickly bowed his head to admit his mistake, but Shen Pei continued to press him and even asked him to return the extra rent.

The scholars widened their eyes. At this moment they all wondered if there was something wrong with their ears. This Shen Biejia actually wanted to return the extra grain!

They swallowed their saliva and began to look forward to the military commander returning the 10% of grain to them.

Unfortunately, the military commander cried, "This is an order from Ju Beijia, and there is nothing I can do about it!"

Shen Pei then fell silent. After a long silence, he said helplessly, "It turned out to be an order from Ju Biejia."

It seemed that Shen Pei was powerless against Ju Shou, and the hope that the scholars had just raised was shattered in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, Shen Pei comforted them a little. Shen Pei said sternly: "The grain collection was ordered by Ju Biejia. I can let it go, but I will remember your attitude just now. If it happens again, I will never tolerate it!"

"Yes, yes, yes" the military farm commander nodded repeatedly.

Shen Pei waved his hand and said coldly: "Back off."

The commander of the military farm felt as if he had been pardoned and quickly withdrew.

The scholars breathed a sigh of relief. In their opinion, Shen Pei had helped them vent their anger.

But things beyond their imagination are still to come.

"I heard Xu Qi had the biggest harvest this year? Where is Xu Qi?"

When facing the scholar Shen Pei, his tone was extremely calm.

As the voice fell, Xu Qi was brought out by the soldiers.

Judging from his appearance, he is just an ordinary man with a dark complexion and chapped lips.

"No, no, my Lord." Xu Qi was terrified. With a "pop", his legs went limp and he knelt down to Shen Pei.

Shen Pei said calmly to the soldiers: "Help this man up."

Xu Qi, who was pulled up from the ground by the soldiers, was pale and his legs were trembling. Although Shen Pei was much gentler than the Tuntian Duwei, he was also afraid that Shen Pei would kill him if they disagreed with him.

Shen Pei raised his lips slightly to reveal a gentle smile, "Don't be afraid, I heard that you contributed the most and gained the most?"

"My dear, I don't know." Facing the gentle Shen Pei, Xu Qi still felt scared for no reason, and his mouth trembled uncontrollably.

"Good." Shen Pei nodded and said something to the official beside him.

The official opened the book and answered Shen Pei word by word.

Shen Pei nodded repeatedly and said the word "good" several times.

"Yes, according to the book, Xu Qi contributed the most and gained the most." Shen Pei nodded with satisfaction. Although he was talking about Xu Qi, his eyes were looking around at the people below the stage. "Envoy Yuan once said that those who have made contributions should be rewarded. Xu Qi has made contributions."

He waved his sleeves, and three or five officials came with pottery jars, tables and chairs, and new brown clothes.

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief, and their breathing suddenly became rapid.

Although they cultivated land for Yuan Shao, they were not stupid.

The behavior of the examiner in front of us.
Are you going to give these things to Xu Qi? !
You have to know that their lives can be completely described as poor. The food they get is barely enough to fill their stomachs, and their daily rules are no different from those in the army!
It is just a trivial matter among the common people, but it is strictly prohibited here.

If anyone violates the rules, he will be flogged at the very least and beheaded at the worst!

Pottery pots, tables and chairs, new brown clothes.
It’s simply unthinkable!
Now Shen Pei actually gave these rewards to Xu Qi? !
At this moment, countless people cast envious glances at Xu Qi, wishing that they would be the ones to get the reward!
Xu Qi was stunned. He never expected that the purpose of Shen Pei's visit was to reward him!

"take it."

As Shen Pei's voice fell, Xu Qi came back to his senses and took the pottery jar and new clothes with trembling hands.

Shen Pei waved his hand again and winked.

The soldiers immediately understood and took Xu Qi away.

Looking at the scholars in the audience, Shen Pei said in a loud voice: "In the future, you will all be rewarded like Xu Qi! I firmly believe that those who have made contributions will be rewarded! If you have any difficulties in the future, leave them to me!"

If they were not bound by military orders, most of the soldiers would cheer at this moment.

Even though they were bound by military orders, Shen Pei could feel that the listless expressions of these scholars had been swept away. He even saw many people whispering, and by looking at their lips, he could tell that they were praising him.

This situation made Shen Pei's smile even brighter. The purpose of this trip was half achieved, and it was time to leave.

The next moment, when Shen Pei wanted to say something, everyone saw a messenger running to Shen Pei in a hurry. The messenger said something in a low voice. Shen Pei's calm expression was instantly broken and he looked anxious.

The scholars were confused. What happened? Was Shen Beijia leaving?
Shen Pei seemed to have no intention of caring about the affairs of the scholar's family. He looked apologetic and said, "I have something to do at home. I will leave first. The follow-up will be handed over to my subordinates."

But before leaving, Shen Pei said, "I'm sorry for the hasty trip. I'll treat you all to a bowl of soup."

After saying this, before anyone could react, Shen Pei took big strides and left without stopping.

Afterwards, the scholars really received a bowl of hot water. Holding the hot water, they were filled with emotion, thinking that Shen Biejia was a good man!
Yecheng prefecture.

Shen Pei, who had rushed back from the gathering place of the scholars, walked up to Ju Shou. He looked at Ju Shou with some confusion and said, "Gong Yu, why do you want me to act like this? Why do you want to discredit yourself?"

Shen Pei knew Ju Su's intention. To put it bluntly, this method was to give the Shi family a big stick and then give them a sweet date. This would make them more obedient.

But why did he come?

Ju Su said slowly: "Zhengnan, I don't believe in Lü Fengxian. You are the only one among us who has the qualities of a general."

(End of this chapter)