Chapter 197 Primary Liberation (IV)

Before the autumn harvest, Master Gao had stopped going out. After the autumn harvest, Master Gao was even more like a woman who kept to herself and never left the house.

The capture of Qingzhou City meant that this generation was no longer the territory of the imperial court. Then news came that the entire Qingzhou Prefecture had been captured. Combined with the news that the Han army had annihilated 100,000 Qing troops, Mr. Gao realized that the situation in the entire Qingzhou Prefecture had changed completely.

In the past, Huo Chong was a thief, and the government that Gao Laoye's family relied on and supported was the officials. Now the government has become a thief, and Huo Chong has become an official.

Before the situation turns around again, Mr. Gao must be careful.

Gao was already worried, and now he was even more worried. Because he did not do nothing after being forced to release the people. Contacting the gentry to oppose Huo Chong was a big deal. He was also busy with small matters. At one point, Gao ordered people to start slandering the Dong family.

In the countryside, this kind of slander means a complete break-up, a fight, and even a death!

Now, no matter which side he was on, Master Gao felt that he couldn't afford to offend. Apart from hiding, he could only flee to Jinan City, which was still in the hands of the government. But once he fled, what would he do with his family business? Would he leave it to Huo Chong?

Mr. Gao was worried. The gentry who had previously ignored Mr. Gao's plan to form a militia began to contact Mr. Gao. They now regretted not forming an armed force.

After hearing this suggestion, Mr. Gao was so angry that he asked the gentleman who came to his house secretly in the middle of the night: "Why do you want to get some people now?"

"Save ourselves."

"Protect from whom? Huo Chong?"

The gentleman answered sincerely: "No, it is to make our own people feel that we have someone to protect us."

After listening to this, Master Gao didn't know what to say. After a long while, he managed to utter, "What if Huo Chong knew about this?"

"Huo Chong must know that we can't beat him. I didn't let Huo Chong know this."

"Who are you going to let know?"

"I want to let our people and the tenants know that we can rely on these men and horses to protect ourselves."

This was the most reliable thing Mr. Gao had ever heard, although it was totally unreliable. The other gentry's ideas were even more bizarre, to the point of being frightened to the point of fainting.

But those people's fear was not without reason. It was heard that wherever Huo Chong went, he would attack the families of officials, confiscate the land of the officials' hometowns, and send the families of those people to Jinan City.

I had never encountered this myself before, but when we talked about it, everyone was outraged. Actually, we didn't really take it seriously, but we didn't expect that the rumor was actually true.

Family after family, household after household, no family of Jinshi was spared, and the big landlords whose families had officials in office were also ruined.

Some people could not bear such atrocities and rose up to resist. As a result, they were killed in pieces, and the members of the clan who were not killed were taken away and sent to Jinan City. As Huo Chong's atrocities became more and more, the gentry did not know what to do.

Lying in bed, Mr. Gao felt that maybe he should really flee to Jinan City. If he left now, he should be able to take his belongings with him. If he left too late, he might be confiscated.

Just as he was feeling discouraged, the housekeeper rushed in, "Master, Master! It's bad! Huo Chong has sent people to the countryside again!"

Master Gao slowly sat up and asked, "Huo Chong's men are calling?"

"No call! Not yet!"

"What's the hurry?" Mr. Gao felt that he was very calm now. At least his family didn't have any current officials. It was said that Huo Chong was particularly disciplined. If it was true...

The housekeeper was still very excited. He shouted, "Master! Huo Chong sent people to the countryside and said that he was the master of Qingzhou. After driving away the government troops, he had no time to collect taxes. So he would not pay taxes this year. But he told the peasants that since he would not collect taxes, they would not have to pay this rent if they paid rent. The peasants believed him!"

"What?" Master Gao stood up suddenly. Although he thought he was completely calm, he could no longer remain calm at this moment.

After capturing the butler and questioning him carefully, Master Gao finally determined what had happened.

It turned out that Huo Chong had just conquered Qingzhou Prefecture. Although he did not go to the countryside to plunder, he was unwilling to let the gentry have an easy life. He sent people to the countryside to explain the taxation under Huo Chong's rule.

This may seem like no violence, but in fact it is more brutal than violence.

Landlords paid taxes and rents on behalf of the people, and they all asked the people to pay the portion of the rent that the landlords were supposed to pay. It was said to be 40% of the rent, but in fact it was more than 50%. If it was said to be 50%, then the actual payment was 60%.

This method has been implemented for a long time and has become a rule. However, this time Huo Chong went to the countryside to tell the tenants that Huo Chong had driven away the government and would not collect taxes this year, so this part of the money and grain could not be given to the landlords.

Mr. Gao had already inquired about Huo Chong in detail, and judging from Huo Chong's history of success, he knew that this man was very smart. However, he did not expect that Huo Chong was smarter than Mr. Gao thought.

It was definitely impossible to collect taxes this year. So Huo Chong did not collect them. However, Huo Chong did not collect taxes, but wanted to sell well. He deliberately went to the countryside to explain to the tenants how much less money and grain they could pay.

This part of the money and grain was not for the government, but for the landlords. Huo Chong was using the landlords' losses to gain a good reputation for himself.

Although he wanted to scold, Master Gao knew it was useless. He asked the housekeeper, "Who in the village is following Huo Chong's men around?"

"The Dong family!" The housekeeper gave the answer immediately.

Master Gao pursed his lips tightly, wishing he could reach out and kill everyone in the Dong family!

The government can collect taxes so fiercely because it relies on the head of the village and people who are familiar with the local area. As long as these people can be managed well, there will be ample room for manipulation. This is also one of the ways for the gentry to deal with the government.

However, Huo Chong originally did not have such means. Unexpectedly, Huo Chong used his men as local insiders! The Dong family had suffered losses from the Gao family, so they would definitely not be polite to the Gao family.

If the Dong family knew that this would hit the Gao family... No, the Dong family must have known that this would hit the Gao family, so they would do it especially thoroughly!

Huo Chong! Damn it! Master Gao felt hatred and fear in his heart!

He has offended many people over the years , but they are all poor people, so Master Gao doesn't care. However, he didn't expect Huo Chong to collude with the poor directly. This is really going to kill Master Gao!

Unable to bear it any longer, Master Gao walked out the door and went straight to the place where Huo Chong's men were explaining the new rules.

As soon as he got there, he saw a group of people gathered together, and there was actually singing in the crowd. Mr. Gao stopped and listened quietly, and heard the people inside singing:

February is a beautiful month.

Every household is busy farming.

Hoping for a good harvest,

Donate more grains as military rations.

February is a beautiful month.

Every household is busy farming.

He who sows melons reaps melons, and he who sows beans reaps beans.

Whoever sows hatred will suffer the consequences!

Step up production, step up production,

Work hard, work hard!

We can get through this most difficult period.

The victory of the counterattack is at hand!