"Bring more people and bring the entire Huang family here, young and old, make sure no one is left out. Also, have a few fast-moving people notify the village heads of nearby villages to come over. If any villagers are interested, they can come over too, just to talk about tax matters."
Taxation is a major issue concerning people's livelihood, and Emperor Kangxi was not worried that they would not come.
"Yes, sir."
The county yamen runners left, leaving the brothers Bian Shun and Bian Yong completely bewildered.
"Are you the governor?"
They didn't know what kind of official the governor was, but since he could command so many people, he must not be a minor official.
Thinking of this, they immediately became nervous. They were all genuine mountain people with some hunting skills, but they had never met an official before. They quickly tried to recall if they had said anything wrong in the past two days.
As a result, I couldn't remember anything; my mind was a complete mess.
Kangxi said, "Don't be shy. Come and learn about the situation. I already know about what happened in your village. Don't worry, the court will not let those corrupt officials who oppressed you go unpunished."
Upon hearing this, Bian Yong and Bian Shun understood that he was going to stand up for them and their village. Thinking of the hardships they had endured over the years, they were finally seeing hope.
The two immediately knelt down before Kangxi and kowtowed several times while he wasn't paying attention.
"Thank you, sir. You are our upright and just official."
Emperor Kangxi was startled by the brothers' sudden action: "Get up quickly."
After the two got up, Kangxi said, "Go out and talk to your village head! We'll discuss how to handle this this afternoon."
"Yes, sir."
On the other side, the Huang family.
Huang Chuanwen was playing with his grandson, feeling incredibly content, when suddenly a group of yamen runners entered.
Huang Chuanwen's grandson was so frightened that he cried loudly.
"Take them all."
As soon as he finished speaking, the group immediately began to move to arrest him.
Huang Chuanwen naturally wouldn't just sit and wait to be arrested, shouting, "Who are you people? What right do you have to come to our house? Get out of here!"
"Huang Chuanwen, don't you know why we're arresting you? Behave yourself, or you'll suffer more if you don't cooperate."
Then they gagged him, and he behaved himself.
Within moments, the entire Huang family had been captured.
The village is so small that any commotion in a house will inevitably attract a crowd. Sure enough, by the time the constables brought the Huang family out, the villagers had already surrounded the Huang family's house.
"Please make way for us, fellow villagers."
At this point, the villagers couldn't help but ask, "May I ask why these people are being arrested, sir?"
The constable explained, "Naturally, we have committed a serious crime. If the villagers want to know, they will all know this afternoon in Pingshan Village. We have official business to attend to, so please make way for us."
Upon hearing this, everyone made way for him, and the constable quickly expressed his gratitude.
As for the arrest of the Huang family members, the villagers felt gratified and showed no mercy, nor did anyone ask them any further questions.
Firstly, they were afraid of getting into trouble, and secondly, the Huang family wasn't usually very popular.
When the Huang family collected taxes, some people couldn't pay and were hoping for a few days' grace. However, the Huang family members simply went into their houses and robbed them. This kind of thing happened to more than one household. After it happened many times, people realized what kind of people the Huang family were.
Seeing them arrested now only brings me immense satisfaction.
In other villages, the arrival of the yamen runners caused a stir among the villagers, and the fact that it was related to taxation made them even more worried.
Taxation is a matter of people's livelihood, but the people don't think it's good news. They don't know the truth and just feel like the sky is about to fall.
"Grandpa, what kind of tax are you talking about, sir?"
The person who asked this question was An Yang, the village head of Ping'an Village, the closest village to Pingshan Village. He took over the position of village head from his great-grandfather, and he always had to come here to discuss matters.
An Hong, An Yang's great-uncle, sighed and said, "Why don't we go and see for ourselves? It can't get any worse."
The current situation has already made it difficult for the villagers to survive, and he can hardly imagine what they would do if taxes increased.
Are you really going to become a bandit?
“Grandpa, I’ve thought about it. If the government goes too far, I want to lead the villagers into the mountains and stop paying taxes. It’s been going on year after year, it’s killing us. If this continues, our village will be wiped out.”
It's difficult for anyone to live. The elderly die young, and even if children are born, they don't live long. As the village head, he felt frustrated by this situation and was willing to fight to the death.
An Hong said, "Go and take a look! If the situation is not good, your great-grandfather will support you in doing so."
There are quite a few people who share Anyang's thoughts; these people have really been driven to desperation.
In the afternoon, everyone gathered in Pingshan Village. It was said to be related to taxation. After the village head, almost every household sent people. After all, taxation is not a trivial matter, and they dared not be careless.
Each village has fewer than a hundred people. With so many villages, even if only a dozen or twenty people come from each village, that would still amount to four or five hundred people.
Pingshan Village has a threshing ground; it's a flat place, a good spot for public speaking.
"Master, everyone has arrived."
Kangxi said, "Yes, let's go."
Before Kangxi arrived, the threshing ground was chaotic, filled with conflicting voices and all sorts of opinions, and most people felt uneasy.
The village head of Pingshan Village did know some of the truth from Bian Yong and Bian Shun, but he didn't say anything at this time.
When Emperor Kangxi arrived, Liang Jiugong shouted, "Quiet!"
At this time, the people were quite afraid of the government. Liang Jiugong represented the government, so everyone listened to him. As soon as he finished speaking, the threshing ground fell silent.
The room quieted down, and Kangxi then spoke to the bailiffs standing nearby: "Bring the Huang family members up."
The constables brought the Huang family members up, all of them bound hand and foot, leaving everyone quite bewildered.
Just as everyone was wondering, Kangxi spoke up: "Fellow villagers, as you all know, the reason I've come here today is to discuss taxation. This matter is, in fact, the fault of our government. In recent years, due to the increased production of new fertilizers, the court has not collected taxes last year, this year, and next year. In addition, the court has always collected taxes based on yield per mu, not on the number of people."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and looked at Kangxi in disbelief.
What about all the hardship they've endured over the years?
Then Kangxi continued, "You all probably recognize the people who are tied up. This family is responsible for collecting taxes every year. They lied about the imperial decrees, causing the people to suffer. They deserve to die. Today, I hereby order Huang Chuanwen and Huang Chuanwu to be beheaded in front of the market in three days. The women of the Huang family who protected their crimes will be exiled to Ningguta and will not be allowed to return to the capital. Furthermore, the descendants of the Huang family will be barred from taking the imperial examinations for five generations."
Although this punishment did not involve the extermination of nine generations of relatives, it was still considered quite severe.
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