Chapter 935: Beating Someone to Death
When Jiang Xiaoxiao and Li Tieniu, with more than a hundred people, reached the entrance of the village, they realized that the door of the village was open.
There are no traces of attack on the city wall, which means that it was not attacked by outsiders.
You can breathe a little easier.
But you can see the fire in the village, and it looks like the house is really burning down.
Jiang Xiaoxiao made a gesture to discuss with Li Tieniu, and everyone dispersed outside.
Don't act rashly yet.
The two of them sneaked into the village quietly to see what was going on.
Aren't they bandits?
When the two men entered the village, they saw a team of five officers and soldiers whipping people with whips. The villagers were all on the threshing floor, and no one dared to speak out in anger.
"What are you looking at? Let me tell you about the head tax of two taels of silver per person. Including other taxes, the total is three taels of silver per person. Now hand over this money immediately. Otherwise, I will arrest you immediately. Walk.
There are a total of 580 people in your village. After all, that’s one thousand nine hundred taels of silver. Hand over the money quickly, otherwise I will have no choice but to arrest them! "
A man dressed as a master was sitting on a chair, holding a folding fan in one hand, wearing a scholar's suave style, and looking at the villagers' threats with contempt.
The clan elder hurriedly saluted, "Master Wang, in previous years, everyone only had one or two or five pieces of silver on their head. How come it has doubled this year? How can the people in the village come up with so much money, and the 400 yuan in the village this year?" Personally, they are all refugees who have just settled here this year.
Didn’t the government put up a notice saying that newly settled refugees would not have to pay taxes? "
Naturally, the people in the village have their own plans. There are only 180 people in the village.
If these people have one or two and a half taels of silver, they have calculated that it is 270 taels of silver. In addition to the silver for buying salt, there is a total of money set aside for taxes.
Who would have known that this year not only was the head tax twice as high as in previous years, but the 400 homeless people were also included in the population that paid the tax. In this case, the village's tax money would have doubled several times, and the village would not be able to afford such money at all. Rich.
Master Wang glanced at the clan elder coldly and said, "You old guy, the new rule in the government is that this year the tax will be three taels of silver per person. Of course, these 400 refugees are not just refugees as you call them.
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 take care of their food, you can naturally pay taxes and money, so don't blame me for being meddlesome.
I heard that your village is now rich and can afford to build such a strong city wall. How come you don’t have money to pay taxes? If you really come out without paying the money, then don't blame me for being rude. The government prison will let you try it out to see if your bones are stronger or our government's torture tools are stronger. "
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Li Tieniu looked at each other and smiled bitterly. It seemed that their use of money to build the city wall also attracted some people's attention. They saw that even the servants of the small government dared to sit on the ground and raise the price.
Isn't it just because they are the government, Jiang Xiaoxiao is really full of indignation.
The life of the common people is really too hard. There are bandits and various foreign invasions, and it is still a border city. The life of the common people is really hard.
The yamen servants in the government yamen still have this kind of virtue.
One by one, the people below are suffering. I heard that the emperor above is inactive, and the ministers and officials below are even more corrupt. How can such a country manage the people well and let the people live a good life?
"Master Wang, the cost of building this wall is only a few dollars. We used local materials. We excavated sand and stones from the nearby mountains and built them together. It can be temporarily defended, otherwise bandits will come to the village all day long. Come and rob us, the barbarians also come to us from time to time to rob us of food, and we really have no choice.
I just thought of such a crooked trick, but it actually didn’t cost much money.
These refugees were settled in the village, and land was being reclaimed. It was good enough to barely give them half-full meals, but the village really couldn't afford any extra money. Just be accommodating and say something nice to the master, so that this year's wasteland can be planted with food and next year's harvest will be good.
Naturally, they can also pay the poll tax. "
Master Wang raised his eyebrows and said, "Who do you think you are? You asked me to go and say something nice to you. I tell you that you must not be short of money in the past, otherwise, one by one, you will be dragged to jail."
A yamen servant pulled out a young girl with a bright smile and said, "Well, if you can't pay the poll tax, such a beautiful girl will be in jail. This man will be happy."
The girl was so frightened that she cried loudly.
Several other government officials also laughed, "I just saw it. They took away two cows in the village. This can also be used for a lot of money. By the way, if we search and search again, I saw that there are many cows in this village. My little wife, the eldest girl is quite beautiful.
If she were brought back to the man's house, he would still be missing two concubines. "
The more you say it, the more outrageous it becomes.
The clan elder was so angry that he blew his beard and stared.
"You are government servants, how can you do this? And make it impossible for us ordinary people to survive? Are you not trying to force us to death?"
"Get out of here, what are you doing here, an old man? Get out of here! Otherwise, I'll kill you."
The other government officials laughed almost maniacally.
At this time, one of the yamen runners actually tried to pull Li Tiehua. Although Li Tiehua was only thirteen years old, she was really beautiful and was considered a beauty in the village.
In the past, Li Tiehua had her brother to protect her and she didn't show up in public, so naturally no one cared about her.
Unexpectedly, when Li Tieniu and his men were not in the village, such a thing happened.
The man held Li Tiehua tightly in his arms, smiling with crooked eyebrows and eyes, quite complacent.
"Go back with me to enjoy life!"
Li Tiehua was anxious, and a wooden hairpin stabbed the yamen runner's chest. Because he was caught off guard suddenly, and Li Tiehua was doing farm work, his hands were strong.
The yamen runner rolled his eyes and fell to the ground and died.
For a moment, everyone was shocked.
Master Wang was furious, "You are a country girl, you dare to commit a crime in public, come to me..."
Who knew that more than a hundred people rushed out in an instant, each holding various weapons in their hands.
Master Wang was killed by Li Tieniu with a knife before he finished speaking.
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 Master Wang was not killed this time, I am afraid that their village would be completely on the record with the county magistrate. If the county magistrate really brought soldiers from the government to wipe them out, they would be dead.
The remaining four yamen runners were already scared. They had never thought that the villagers in the village would dare to beat people to death like evil spirits.
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 he do now?