Chapter 329 Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao Is Here

Not hungry, but very poor.

This is basically the current situation in most poverty-stricken areas in the Song Dynasty.

But it's much better than before.

If it had been ten years ago, when there was a drought in the mountains, the elderly in the family would probably starve to death.

Nowadays, at least taxes are low, and there are tax exemptions and disaster relief grains in case of disasters. In addition, sweet potatoes and potatoes do not use as much agricultural water as rice. They can survive by occasionally watering them, but they can barely survive.

But that's basically it. To say that life is happy and perfect is definitely unrealistic. In case of illness, there is still a risk of family destruction and death.

Therefore, the development of the Song Dynasty still has a long way to go.

After the summer taxes were paid, in June, new slogans were painted on the walls of villages everywhere.

"Resolutely eradicate the evil forces and give them nowhere to hide."

"If you are oppressed by evil forces, don't be afraid and report it to the government bravely."

"Crack down on gangsters and eliminate evil, promote the right path, and safeguard fairness and justice in the Song Dynasty!"

Various rural slogans appeared in villages all over the Song Dynasty, and a large number of street gangsters, societies and gangs were all wiped out.

In Gyeonggi Road, more than 3,000 evil gangs were arrested in the first half of the year alone. A total of more than 50,000 to 60,000 people were arrested across the country, and more than 2,000 were sentenced to death.

In mid-June, in Jinghu South Road, Changsha County, Zhou Wu stood on a hillside, silently looking at the execution ground below.

He was an orphan eight years ago. A flood destroyed everything in his family, leaving only a few acres of farmland and some leftover vegetable plots. He was almost on the verge of life and death.

Under normal circumstances, a twelve or thirteen-year-old orphan like him, who has no father, no mother, and no relatives, would only have to starve to death.

But fortunately, Tanzhou had good officials at the time. The county magistrate of Changsha County was named Chen Xiliang, and it happened that Zhao Jun, the magistrate of the Constitutional Yuan, was inspecting the place and encountered this sudden disaster.

The magistrate personally directed and saved many people from floods and fires, and later intercepted taxes to provide disaster relief and compensated and rescued families who suffered disasters.

Zhou Wu was one of the people who received special care from the government. Not only did he receive a monthly subsidy of more than 100 yuan, but he also received some rice and grain supplies.

As a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child, Zhou Wu was definitely not capable of cultivating the fields by himself.

The government helped him lease the land and collected a little land rent every year. I also helped him get some sweet potatoes and potato seeds so that he could grow some vegetables.

Although life was not easy, there were some people in the village who helped me a little, so I was able to grow up without any worries. Now twenty years old, he replaced an old government official who had no children and often took care of him and entered the government office.

Recently, the imperial court has been tightening its crackdown on gangsters and evil. On weekdays, these gangsters in Changsha County who bully the market have suffered a lot. More than 200 people have been arrested, and the others have scattered. Today, more than 30 members of the society will be executed.

There are usually arrogant and domineering gang bosses, gangsters who have committed murders, and ordinary gang members who have committed many crimes, such as rape, robbery, violence, etc., and are punished for several crimes.

Nowadays, all of them have lost their previous aura. In front of the surrounding crowd, their faces are ashen, their legs are weak, and some are even scared to the point of peeing.

"It's noon, execution!"

Following the shout of the Changsha County Magistrate, the executioner immediately raised the big knife in his hand and chopped it down, and blood immediately sputtered out.

The imperial court was quite gentle in this crackdown on gangsters. It did not cut across the board and beheaded criminals as long as they were gangsters. Instead, they were judged based on their guilt, and the death penalty also had to be decided by the Benluti Criminal Division.

Therefore, although the policy of cracking down on gangsters and eradicating evil was determined at the beginning of the year, it still took more than half a year to determine which gangsters were, arrest them, and then bring them to the Criminal Division for review.

But basically, as long as the investigation by the Criminal Division is completed, it will cut the knot quickly and not give these evil elements a chance to live.

The underworld in Changsha County has become somewhat rampant in recent years. There are seven or eight gangs with more than 100 members. Three of them have more than 200 members. They commit crimes, commit crimes, abduct, rape and rob.

It's just that in the past, if the government wanted to arrest someone, they needed evidence, and evil gangs protected each other. And many cases don’t even have a reporter, because the victims are afraid of them and don’t dare to report the crime at all.

Therefore, Tanzhou, as the administrative seat of Jinghu South Road, once had very poor public security. Especially in the past few years of post-disaster reconstruction and rapid economic development, it has caused headaches for local officials.

But it's different now.

In a severe crackdown, there is no need for evidence. People are arrested first and interrogated separately. If they are not honest, they will use a big memory recovery technique. So many people can always open their mouths.

This is like pulling out a carrot to bring out the mud. When someone opens their mouth, more people will naturally open their mouth, and evil deeds will naturally be quickly exposed to the public.

The next thing will be much easier to handle. We will continue to arrest people, but unfortunately many of them fled after hearing the news.

However, these arrests are also on the government's daily blacklist. They are reported to the Criminal Division. The Yushitai, Criminal Division and the local Supervisory Yuan have reviewed and verified them. If there is no objection, they will be executed.

Blood spattered and the head fell to the ground, and the local people watching applauded. Soon the execution was over, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, and the mourning family members came over to collect the body.

The government was also preparing to clean up the scene and leave.

At this moment, a team leader from the Yamen suddenly stopped Zhou Wu and several other young officials and told them to hide nearby.

A few people in the group hid in the woods near the execution site. Someone wondered: "What's wrong, squad leader?"

"Look."

The squad leader pointed to the outside.

After the crowd dispersed, more than 20 or 30 young men came to help the family collect the bodies.

Then they carried the coffin and headed towards the city in a mighty manner.

"The people who ran away have come back to arrange the funeral for their group leader."

Zhou Wu was smart and thought of this immediately.

The squad leader smiled and said, "I guess that's the case. Xiao Zhou, Xiao Lin, San Lang, you guys are unfamiliar with them, follow them and take a look. Don't alert the enemy."

"Yes."

The few people who were called responded and then pretended to be passers-by and followed.

Soon they followed the group into the city. As expected by the squad leader, after the gangsters were carried into the city, many people quickly emerged from some corners and went to the gangsters' houses.

Changsha City has also been expanded now. Zhao Jun dredged the Lingqu Canal, which made Guangzhou and Hunan connected and connected. The shipping was smooth and the economy developed, leading to the gathering of all kinds of monsters and demons.

Some of these gangsters controlled the dock operations, some opened casinos and gambling houses, some engaged in brothel business, and some were even beggars and dung tyrants.

They used illegal means to seek violence and made arrangements, so that their power was rampant.

If it weren't for the severe crackdown by the court this time, let alone these people, even the umbrellas behind them would be uprooted. I'm afraid they don't know how long they will continue to occupy Changsha and become a cancer that harms the local area.

At this moment, Zhou Wu and others followed the coffin-carrying team and entered from the South City all the way to the East City. The East City was expanded and had no city walls. It was probably in the Yuhua District of Changsha in the future.

There was a huge manor house at the foot of a hill outside the East City. It was the residence of one of the gangsters, and a large number of gang members were rushing here.

Zhou Wu and others mixed in among them. Anyway, there were so many people that they didn't necessarily know each other, so they actually got in smoothly.

At this time, the mourning hall was set up inside and outside the house, and people from all walks of life gathered. There must be one or two hundred people.

The family of the gangster boss held a banquet in a grand manner.

The eldest son stood in front of the spirit and said to the hundreds of gang members in the courtyard outside the house that looked like a small square: "Everyone, as you all know, my father unfortunately passed away. I am very sad to hear this bad news."

"However, we formed a society to help each other and move forward hand in hand. As the saying goes, a dragon cannot survive without a head. Although my father is gone, the society cannot be disbanded."

"So we should take this opportunity today to discuss the new leader. What suggestions do you have?"

He looked around.

Someone said: "Tuanzi is the eldest son, so he should inherit the family business."

"Humph, our Red Stick Sanlang has worked hard for the society and shed blood. Now that the leader is dead, he should be the leader."

"You Red Stick Sanlang is powerful, so why can't we Red Sticks? I think we Red Sticks should do it."

"In my opinion, it is natural for Tuanzi to inherit the family business."

"Who said that?"

The scene was in chaos, and various factions fought for power.

The evil forces in the Song Dynasty were quite large.

Because the trend of forming associations was prevalent at that time, many underworlds also formed so-called associations.

The red sticks and white paper fans of the underworld thugs in later generations also existed at that time. According to historical records, there were many different names for them.

There are red poles, blue poles, yellow poles, palm knives, palm whips, palm sticks, group leaders, Jiatou, top cards, and headmen, etc.

As a result, a small underworld team was created, and various small forces emerged, fighting for power and profit, which was quite similar to what was played in Hong Kong movies in later generations.

Watching this incredible scene, Zhou Wu couldn't help but sigh to his companions: "What a talent."

Then they took advantage of the chaos and sent someone out to report the news.

About two quarters of an hour later, the Xiang army stationed outside the city rushed into the city, surrounded the manor, and captured all the underworld members who came to the party.

Since then, Changsha's public security has improved rapidly, and the streets are no longer like before, with fewer gang members causing trouble.

And situations like this are happening one by one in all parts of the Song Dynasty.

By the end of the sixth year of the Qingli period, the entire Song Dynasty had a population of less than 100 million, and more than 130,000 underworld forces were arrested, and nearly 10,000 were sentenced to death, with significant results.

Although this achievement cannot be compared with the severe crackdown in later generations, it can be regarded as a fruitful harvest.

And it is not this year. Zhao Jun believes that the work of eliminating gangs and evil will be a long-term work, and he is not satisfied with just this time.

In early October, in Tokyo Bianliang, it was early winter, and the weather was getting colder. Winter rain fell in the city, and the big raindrops hit the windowsill, making crackling sounds.

Under the rain, the whole Bianliang seemed to be full of moisture, fog gradually rose, and the mist was hazy.

In the Constitutional Court, the Ministry of Police, the Censorate and the Imperial City Department sent their respective documents in the morning, and Zhao Jun sat by the stove table and read them.

"More than 13,000 people were arrested in Liangzhe Road this year, and they have been verified and confirmed."

"The local government has confiscated the industries of these evil forces. Now the road station has reported it. What do you think should be done?"

"Of course, it should be handed over to the national treasury."

"I don't think it's appropriate. If you want to hand it over to the national treasury, you can't hand it over in full. It's better to keep some of it in the local area."

"Are you so confident in the people below? Aren't you afraid of being embezzled?"

"Who dares to do it when the court is watching."

Several prime ministers discussed.

This time, the anti-gangster campaign has achieved good results. So many people have been arrested, and naturally a large amount of property has been confiscated.

And it is not small, because those evil forces all rely on violence to monopolize, so they often engage in the most profitable business at the time, so naturally they have a lot of wealth.

Now after the government has confiscated it, according to various statistics, more than 2 million guan of property has been confiscated in Liangzhe Road alone. Adding up the whole Song Dynasty, it is estimated that there may be 10 or 20 million guan, which is a huge fortune.

Many prime ministers think that it should be handed over to the national treasury.

But when everyone said this, their eyes couldn't help but look at Zhao Jun.

He still has to make the decision on this matter.

Hearing the debate, Zhao Jun put down the official document and said with a smile: "Take from the people and use it for the people. Since these evil forces are all plundered from the people, let's keep them in the local area for local development."

"Hmm"

After a moment of silence, he said: "Those fixed properties such as land and houses will be auctioned by the local government, and the cash will be used for local finances. Give instructions to the local government. The places where many criminals are arrested or the officials who are more difficult to handle the case will be included in the performance appraisal, and this money will be regarded as a bonus."

Doing so may also cause many places to enrich themselves. For example, even if they did not participate in the case, they were included in the reward range. But this kind of thing is inevitable, and it cannot be directly cancelled to chill the hearts of so many police officers who are serious about handling the case, so the rewards should still be there.

Moreover, the money awarded to them will eventually flow into the market and promote local economic development. It is much better than being held in the hands of those evil forces, constantly extorting and oppressing local people, and accumulating wealth by bullying the countryside.

"Then let's do it."

When everyone saw him deal with it this way, they had no objection.

"Oh, right, it's time to pay the autumn tax. The Liangzhe Road sent another official document yesterday. The landlords and gentry there are still making trouble."

Yan Shu suddenly remembered something that everyone had almost forgotten.

Because the landlords and gentry did not resort to violence, they just protested in public.

And the time of the trouble was very fixed. It was only when the summer and autumn taxes were to be paid. It was very ordinary at other times, so everyone almost forgot about it.

Fan Zhongyan looked at Zhao Jun and said with a smile: "Hanlong, it seems that you have also made mistakes in your estimation. You let those people go at the beginning, hoping that they would make a big fuss so that you could have an excuse to kill them, but they didn't give you a pretext."

"I don't think it's a mistake in estimation, but it just happened to hit the muzzle of the crackdown on gangsters and evil forces."

Zhao Jun scratched his head and said: "If I were that group of landlords, I would probably be worried when I saw the court catching gangsters everywhere. If the matter got out of hand at this time, the court would kill them too. Wouldn't it be a waste?"

"That's right, these landlords are not like those gangsters. They are all from farming and reading, and they have many relatives who are officials. They are more likely to get the wind direction of the court than those gangsters."

Wang Zeng also agreed with this statement.

"What should we do about this?"

Lü Yijian said: "These people only protested and didn't make trouble. There is no good excuse to deal with them. We can't kill them for this matter."

"Uh"

Zhao Jun was also in a dilemma for a while.

Now it's deadlocked.

The landlords were unwilling to accept the court's plan.

The court let them go, but they did not make a big fuss and controlled the matter within a certain range, so that the court had no excuse to kill them.

The two sides were in a stalemate.

The only good news was that the court forced them to pay taxes, and the landlords were powerless. They dared not not pay the taxes they should pay, so as not to give the court an excuse.

But they continued to protest, and the main point was to pay taxes and protest.

In fact, it would be fine if the protest had no effect, but every protest caused chaos in the streets, which was not a good thing.

Zhao Jun thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Is there any news about the ships going out to sea?"

"Not yet."

Li Di said, "Jiangzhe Road has been paying attention to this matter. The naval bases of our Song Dynasty in Xingdao and Tsushima Island have not sent back any news about the ocean-going fleet."

"It's been almost two years. Normally, if it's just a round trip from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to South America, more than 20,000 kilometers, even if it only sails 200 kilometers a day, it should take at most half a year."

Zhao Jun pondered and said, "Even if they need to bring a lot of things, or have to wait for some seasons to harvest local crops, they shouldn't be gone for so long."

"Maybe they encountered something."

Song Shou said, "Maybe it was a storm, maybe it was ice, maybe they encountered enemies in the local area, who can say for sure?"

"Alas."

Zhao Jun shook his head.

The fleet actually set off at the beginning of last year. When dealing with the generals and nobles, they hoped to let them participate in it, so they actively prepared.

Unexpectedly, the nobles were not tactful and ended up with so many deaths.

Now, from the beginning of last year to now, it has been one year and eight months, almost two years. Although it took more than four years the first time, it should be faster after gaining experience. Is this fleet crawling like a turtle?

However, just when Zhao Jun was lamenting the slow speed of the fleet, a clerk suddenly came in and said, "Report, an urgent letter from Liangzhe Road."

"Oh? What happened?"

Everyone looked over immediately. Could it be that the landlords of Liangzhe Road made things worse?

The clerk said, "The ocean-going fleet is back."

"Oh, where are we?"

"We have already reached Tsushima Island and will return to Tongzhou soon."

"Good!"

Instantly.

Zhao Jun's originally tense heart suddenly relaxed.

He turned his head to look at the crowd and said with a smile: "Speak of the devil, the devil appears. It seems that the landlords in Liangzhe Road have something to do."

In addition to tricking them into going to sea or doing business, they can also empty their people.

The fleet brought back rubber. Rubber planting requires a growth cycle, but Zhao Jun instructed the fleet to bring back a batch of finished rubber before departure.

In this way, a batch of steam engines can be built first, and then the railway can be built.

Building railways and major infrastructure requires people.

When the people under the landlords are robbed by the government, I am afraid that they will not only resist the land tax, but will also look at the land that no one cultivates, and they will cry without tears.

At that time, whether to sell the land or not is no longer up to them, but up to the court!