After hearing the elderly couple's story, Liu Fu was filled with hatred and gritted his teeth.

"This is even more ruthless than Zhou Bapi!"

Xiao Ying'er was also furious and asked:

"They've oppressed the people to this extent, isn't anyone going to stand up and fight back?"

There was indeed resistance.

It's just not very useful.

According to the old man, people had been going hungry and cold for a long time. Some families were so poor that they couldn't even afford to replace the iron on their farm tools, and several households had to share a single kitchen knife.

The servants and bodyguards under the gentry were all fat and strong, and they were no match for them.

There were also those who were driven to desperation and took knives to fight the evil gentry who had wronged them, only to be beaten to death by the gentry's guards before they could even enter the gate.

If someone dies, they'll just find a place to bury them. If the family dares to cause trouble, they'll eliminate them completely, leaving no trace of their crimes. It's utterly lawless.

At this moment, the deaf old man in the couple, with tears streaming down his face, said:

“My wife and I originally had a daughter, but she married a man from a neighboring village. Didn’t that leave everyone with no way to survive? Several villages couldn’t survive, so they gathered four or five hundred people to kill the local gentry and attack the county government.”

"well……!"

From the old man's heavy sigh, Liu Fu knew that this uprising was bound to fail.

Upon inquiry, it was discovered that not only had the uprising failed, but it had also triggered a massive reprisal!

Those four or five hundred men failed to capture the county town, and were surrounded by thousands of government troops who shot them to death with a hail of arrows.

Then, based on each person's identity, all their relatives were identified. This uprising of four or five hundred people, along with their relatives, resulted in the killing of more than eight thousand people. More than four thousand people were sent to be slaves and excommunicated. From then on, even their descendants could only be slaves for eternity.

The old man's daughter and son-in-law were also implicated in the crime committed by their relatives and were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public more than ten years ago.

When the old story came up, the elderly couple wiped away their tears. Now, let alone fighting back, there are hardly any men left. All that's left are a bunch of elderly people barely clinging to life. They still have children and descendants in the family, and it's already a miracle that they've survived.

Hearing their story, Xiao Ying'er's eyes had been red for a while. She tugged at Liu Fu's sleeve, wanting him to help resolve the matter.

In fact, the matter here is quite easy to resolve.

Show the imperial seal, who dares disobey? Who dares to disobey?

But this only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

The local gentry and thugs colluded with the county magistrate, who in turn colluded with other gentry and the prefectural government, who in turn colluded with powerful families, powerful clans, and aristocratic families. These powerful families, powerful clans, and aristocratic families controlled most of the officialdom, and most of their sons served as officials in the imperial court, some even holding high-ranking positions.

How easy is it to purge such a huge and corrupt bureaucratic system?

Liu Fu actually admired Cao Cao quite a bit.

Despite being called a traitor by many, during the Wei and Jin dynasties, powerful clans and aristocratic families controlled the government, making it extremely difficult for children from humble backgrounds to rise above their station.

Sun Quan of Jiangdong, Yuan Shu of Huainan, and Yuan Shao of Hebei all tried their best to win the support of the gentry. Even Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, the two great rulers and ministers throughout history, only used a check and balance on the gentry and dared not take action against them at the root. The reason why Shu Han collapsed later was largely due to the inability of Zhuge Liang to control the Yizhou gentry group, the Jingzhou gentry, and other gentry groups after his death.

Cao Cao, however, was different; during his reign, he at least suppressed the gentry.

Of course, given the social context at the time, Cao Cao never had a good reputation, but in that respect, he was already a hero for daring to go against these aristocratic families under those circumstances.

When his son Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he immediately abolished Cao Cao's methods of suppressing the aristocratic families and instead created the Nine-Rank System to appease them. How quickly did he change?

Liu Fu suddenly felt the same way, as if he were fighting against the entire era and against the people of the world!

But this is something that must be done!

He was a person who traveled from the 21st century to Earth. From childhood, he grew up under the illumination of a red sun, and the fair, just, and oppressive worldview has always influenced him.

Liu Fu now wants to try something out in this world.

Thinking of this, he asked the old couple for a set of worn-out linen clothes.

"I want to go and meet these local tyrants and wealthy families."

Xiao Ying'er was taken aback, and looked at Liu Fu curiously, asking:

What are you going to do?

"It's simple. Quickly put on makeup and dress up, turn into a haggard old woman, and I'll take you to see what it's like."

Liu Fu quickly disguised himself as an honest and simple farmer, but even though he wore a coarse linen outfit full of patches and holes, his demeanor was still quite different from others.

Xiao Ying'er tried to dress up several times, but Liu Fu still thought she was too dazzling. After all, it's not easy for an exceptionally beautiful woman to dress up in a way that makes her look ugly.

Having no other choice, Liu Fu cut off a tuft of horsehair and stuck it on Xiao Ying'er's face as a beard.

This way, Xiao Ying'er becomes a woman with a beard. Unless the other party is a pervert, he certainly wouldn't have any thoughts about a woman with a beard, right?

After getting dressed, Liu Fu and Xiao Ying'er walked to the former residence of a local tyrant.

"Bang bang bang"

At the sound of knocking, a burly man opened the door.

Who are you looking for?

Liu Fu bowed and scraped, looking honest and simple, but to the man, he seemed cunning and sly.

"We're here to rent the land. Please take us to see the master, brother."

Upon hearing that someone had come to rent land, a man who looked like a clerk quickly led Liu Fu and his group to a courtyard inside.

Liu Fu looked around and released the treasure-hunting rats to investigate. There were more than a dozen burly thugs in the mansion, each carrying a long knife.

If ordinary people are driven to desperation and can't survive, they'll come after them and fight to the death, but they'll be dealt with before they even get through the door.

"So it's you who want to rent the land?"

A sinister, languid voice seemed to drift out of the house.

"Judging from your accents, you don't seem to be locals, do you?"

Liu Fu made up an excuse, saying that he had fled from another place and wanted to settle down here, rent a few acres of land to grow some crops and make a living.

"How many acres do you want to rent?"

Liu Fu stretched out his hand:

"Five mu."

"Do you know the rules? To rent five acres of land, you have to pay the rent for the next ten years in advance. One acre costs you five hundred copper coins, so five acres would cost two thousand five hundred copper coins, and ten years' rent would be twenty-five thousand copper coins, which is equivalent to twenty-five taels of silver."

"Go to the back, pay the money and sign the document."

Liu Fu pretended to be taken aback:

"So expensive? Then I won't rent it."

"Hmph, not renting it out? Too late."

The old man sneered:

"If you don't rent, you'll have to pay a penalty fee. I'll break both your legs or sell your wife into a brothel. You have to choose one."

Liu Fu spread his hands:

“My wife looks like this, even a dog would be disgusted by her, and even if I sold her to a brothel, they wouldn’t want her.”

The old man snorted:

"Never mind that, I'll ask you one more time, are you going to rent it or not? If not, we'll take action!"