Chapter 266: Harvest (Part 3)

"Those who till the land own the land, and everyone has enough food to eat!"
"Down with the local tyrants and evil gentry, and let the people be the masters of their own country!"
Huo Chong, who had just finished the course, couldn't help but smile when he heard the slogans coming from the venue.
If it were the 21st century, Huo Chong would only think that these slogans were too old-fashioned, and that they were simple and crude, and obviously could not explain more detailed and realistic issues.
Gao Pang, who was beside Huo Chong, was a little trembling when he heard this and couldn't help but say, "Sir, this... isn't it too murderous?"
Huo Chong shook his head, "Gao Pang, are you scared?"
Gao Pang shook his head quickly, but hesitated. After a while, he nodded, "It's really horrifying."
"Don't be afraid. The people are much more honest than you think. This slogan is not about defeating anyone, but rather about their decision not to endure a life of suffering any more."
Hearing the words "overthrow" and "eliminate" in the slogans, Gao Pang really couldn't agree with them. These slogans made Gao Pang feel murderous. If someone dared to take the lead at this time, I'm afraid these people would drag all the landlords out and kill them.
Seeing the fear that Gao Pang showed when facing the revolutionary sentiments of the people, Huo Chong felt as if he saw his former self. In the past, he would inevitably find faults in the revolution, thinking that the revolution was not delicate and subtle enough, not calm enough, and lacked the gentleness of steel claws under the velvet gloves brought by deep cognition.
Now Huo Chong no longer thinks so. He has seen so many people who have suffered for half their lives but have no idea why they are suffering so much. He has seen so many people who burst into tears out of grievance and pain after learning the reasons for their suffering. Huo Chong feels that revolution should be violent, and it should be a violent process that will quickly wipe out the old system like a storm and then build a new world.
If one wants to preserve things from the old era while carrying out a revolution, or even tries to coexist with the old era, even if the revolution may not necessarily become a counter-revolution, it can at least prove that such a revolution has been usurped and failed.
But Huo Chong felt that Gao Pang obviously did not have such awareness. He was just frightened by hearing some slogans and seeing the chaotic emotional turmoil.
If Gao Pang is not a revolutionary, others expect him to be an executor of revolutionary work. Huo Chong said: "If you stay here and continue the work, do you think you can do what I mentioned in the previous meeting?"
Gao Pang thought for a while before answering: "Sir, I think it can be done. But it will take a lot of time."
"It's not that easy to build something new. Especially since the people really have no education. Not to mention cultural education, they haven't even received labor education." Huo Chong pointed out what he thought were the key points.
Gao Pang was very puzzled. " Sir, farmers have been farming for so many years, don't they even know how to farm better?"
"There are so many people who study in the world, and there are many who have studied for decades. Why is it that only a few people can pass the imperial examination and become Jinshi?"
Speaking of reading, Gao Pang thought for a moment and immediately answered: "Those who know are not as good as those who like it, and those who like it are not as good as those who enjoy it."
"That's right. Farming is so hard that few people enjoy it. Farmers feel the hardship and certainly won't delve into it. The more they delve into it, the more painful it is. So, being unlearned is the norm. What's more, most people just imitate and can't even be considered to have learned anything."
Gao Pang nodded repeatedly. This description was indeed the normal state of the scholars he had seen. Every scholar knows that what is learned from books is shallow, and one must practice to truly understand the truth. Most people who can recite the Four Books and Five Classics without thinking about them do not understand what they are reciting. Perhaps the scholars who can truly recite them are a minority among the entire group of scholars.
"Gao Pang, you have followed me to so many places. You have seen and heard almost everything you should see. Why don't you find a place you think is okay, stay there, work with everyone, and help everyone work better. If you can't do this, you won't make real progress."
Gao Pang felt Huo Chong was right. He made up his mind and said, "Okay. I'll stay here."
It was impossible for Huo Chong to stay in one place for too long. After finishing teaching in one place, he would go to the next place.
Gao Pang stayed in a village near Qingzhou, where there was also a landlord named Gao. At this time, the Gao family had just taken off their mourning bands. The soldier in charge of the local liaison was Dong Yang. Dong Yang told Gao Pang that the Gao family did not want to leave the house at first and had to wait for the Qing army to arrive.
At that time, Huo Chong had already issued an order to take the landlord's family to a safe place. In the end, most of the Gao family were taken away. When they came back, they found that the Gao family was missing. After a careful search, they found traces of new excavation near the Gao family ancestral hall. When they dug up the soil, they found that the remains of the Gao family were piled up. All the Gao family members who stayed in the house were killed.
Hearing the anger in Dong Yang's tone, Gao Pang was puzzled, "Does Comrade Dong Yang have such a big grudge against this family?"
Dong Yang was shocked and quickly retorted: "No way! I have no grudge against them! I'm just angry that the Gao family actually said that our people secretly killed the Gao family members who stayed in the house. I've never seen such a heartless person! If you want to kill them, none of them can escape, and they will all die!"
From Dong Yang's extremely angry reaction, Gao Pang was certain that Dong Yang must have a great grudge against the Gao family.
It was meaningless to just expose this, so Gao Pang asked about the follow-up.
"Later, we captured some prisoners. We found the prisoners who had been here and held a public trial in the village. The prisoners all said that it was the government troops who came and robbed them and then killed them. Whether the Gao family believed it or not, the villagers believed it. The matter was finally settled."
"Isn't this great?" Gao Pang praised.
Dong Yang's expression became serious. He shook his head and said, "This is weird. The Qing prisoners said that the one who killed these people was a general of the Qing army. They only knew that they were killed, but they didn't see how they were killed. Even the Qing soldiers didn't know why the general chopped the people into pieces. How did the Gao family offend the Qing general? No one knows."
"Is it really chopped into pieces?" Gao Pang had never heard of such a thing.
"Really! All I saw in the pit were hands, feet, heads, and waist bones. I don't know where the other arms and legs went."
At this point, Dong Yang lowered his voice, "Some people say that these people were eaten. I think this is nonsense. How can people be eaten! ..."
If General Basai, who had already returned to the capital, heard Dong Yang's words, he would probably sneer or even laugh. He was able to escape with nearly 7,000 Qing troops by constantly killing and collecting the flesh of the victims' arms, legs and other parts along the way. In this matter, General Basai not only did not think he had done anything wrong, but even felt that he had done the right thing.
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