Chapter 935: Beating Someone to Death
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Li Tieniu led more than a hundred people to the village entrance, only to find that the gate of the village was open.
There were no signs of attack on the city wall, which meant that it was not broken into by outsiders.
You can breathe a sigh of relief.
But you can see that there is a fire in the village, and it looks like the houses are really burning.
Jiang Xiaoxiao made a gesture to discuss with Li Tieniu, and everyone dispersed to the periphery.
Don't act rashly yet.
The two of them first sneaked into the village to see what was going on.
Aren't they bandits?
When the two men sneaked into the village, they saw a team of five soldiers whipping people with whips. The villagers were all in the threshing ground, and no one dared to say anything.
"What are you looking at? I'm telling you that the head tax is two taels of silver per person. Add in other taxes, and the total is three taels of silver per person. Pay this money immediately. Otherwise, I will arrest you immediately.
There are 580 people in your village, which means 1,900 taels of silver. Hurry up and hand over the silver, or I will have to arrest you!"
A man dressed as a legal advisor was sitting on a chair, holding a folding fan in one hand, acting like a scholar, and looking at the villagers with a threatening look of contempt.
The elder of the clan bowed hurriedly, "Master Wang, in previous years, each person only received one tael and five cents of silver. How come it has doubled this year? How can the villagers come up with so much silver? And these 400 people in the village this year are all refugees who have just settled here.
Didn’t the government post a notice saying that newly settled refugees don’t have to pay taxes?
The villagers naturally have their own plans, as there are only 180 people in the village.
If these people had one tael and five cents of silver, they calculated that it would be 270 taels of silver. In addition to the silver used to buy salt, the total amount of silver reserved for paying taxes was exactly 270 taels.
Who would have known that this year not only was the head tax twice as high as in previous years, but the 400 refugees were also counted as part of the population paying the tax. As a result, the village's tax bill increased several times, and the village simply could not afford to pay so much money.
Master Wang looked at the elder coldly and said, "You old man, the government has issued a new rule that the tax this year is three taels of silver per person. Of course, these 400 refugees are not refugees just because you say they are refugees.
The master above said that although they are refugees, I heard that they have been working in your village for more than a month. Since you can afford to feed them, you can naturally pay the taxes, so don't blame the master for being nosy.
I heard that your village is now rich and can afford to build such a strong wall. How come you don’t have money to pay taxes? If you really don’t pay the money, don’t blame me for being rude. I will let you try the government’s prison to see whether your bones are harder or our torture instruments are harder. "
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Li Tieniu looked at each other and smiled bitterly. It seemed that their use of silver to build the city wall had also attracted the attention of some people, as even the runners of a small government office dared to raise the price.
It's just because they rely on being government officials that Jiang Xiaoxiao was really filled with indignation.
The lives of ordinary people are really too hard. There are bandits outside, various foreign invasions, and it is a border city. The lives of ordinary people are already hard.
The yamen runners in the government offices are still like this.
Each of them is simply squeezing the earth to the bottom, making life difficult for the common people below. It is said that the emperor above is inactive, and the officials below are even more corrupt. How can such a country manage its people and let them live a good life?
"Master Wang, it doesn't cost much to build this wall. We just use local materials, such as sand and stones dug from the nearby mountains, and mix them together to build the wall. It can provide temporary defense. Otherwise, bandits will come to the village to rob all day long, and barbarians will come to our place from time to time to steal our food. We really can't survive.
I just came up with this crooked idea, and it actually didn't cost me much money.
These refugees have been settled in the village and are now reclaiming wasteland. It is already good enough to let them eat half full. The village really can't afford extra money. Please be accommodating and say a few good words to the master, so that the wasteland can be planted with food this year and the harvest will be good next year.
Naturally they can pay the poll tax.”
Master Wang frowned, "Who do you think you are? You want me to speak well of you. I'm telling you that the money must not be less, otherwise I'll send you to jail."
A bailiff pulled out a virgin girl with a smile on his face, "Well, since you can't pay the head tax, such a pretty girl is in jail. This man is very happy."
The girl was so scared that she burst into tears.
The other yamen runners also laughed, "I just saw that they took away two cows in the village. This can also be worth a lot of money. By the way, let's search again. I saw that there are quite a few young wives in this village, and the older girls are quite beautiful.
If I take her back to my house, I will be short of two concubines."
The more you talk, the more outrageous it becomes.
The elder of the clan was so angry that he blew his beard and glared.
"You are government officials, how can you do this? Are you trying to make us ordinary people live? Aren't you trying to force us to death?"
"Get lost! What are you doing here, an old man? Get out of here right now! Otherwise, I'll kill you."
The other yamen runners laughed almost wildly.
At this time, one of the yamen runners actually went to arrest Li Tiehua. Although Li Tiehua was only thirteen years old, she had beautiful features and was considered a beauty in the village.
Li Tiehua used to be protected by her brother and rarely showed up in public, so naturally no one cared about her.
Unexpectedly, Li Tieniu and his friends were not in the village and such a thing happened.
The man held Li Tiehua tightly in his arms, smiling with his eyebrows crooked, and looked quite complacent.
"Come back with me and enjoy your life!"
Li Tiehua became anxious and stabbed the runner in the chest with a wooden hairpin. Because the runner was caught off guard and Li Tiehua was doing farm work, his hand was very strong.
The bailiff rolled his eyes and fell to the ground, dead.
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
Master Wang was furious. "How dare you, a country girl, commit a crime in public? Someone, come to me..."
But in an instant, more than a hundred people rushed out, each holding a variety of weapons in their hands.
Before Master Wang could finish his words, he was hacked to death by Li Tieniu.
More than a hundred people surrounded the four yamen runners, all glaring at them. Li Tieniu had just killed Master Wang because he knew that Master Wang often confused right and wrong.
If they don't kill Master Wang this time, their village will probably be reported to the county magistrate. If the county magistrate really brings government soldiers to wipe them out, they will be dead.
The remaining four yamen runners were already terrified. They never expected that the villagers in the village would be so ferocious and dare to beat someone to death.
At this moment, everyone stayed where they were and knelt down to beg for mercy in order to save their lives.
Jiang Xiaoxiao came out, what should we do now?
(End of this chapter)
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