Font
Large
Medium
Small
Night
Prev Index    Favorite Next

Chapter 22 Promotion? (Part 2)

The captain Chai Ping rode a big red horse on the ridge of the fields near Guangzhou, but his mind was full of thoughts. Recently, the rebel army still had no peace, and all kinds of crimes were always repeated. From time to time, there were evil things about killing and robbing people. However, the remnants of the official army still appeared in various dark corners, creating endless rumors and rumors, which gave the rebel army the subsequent benefits and comforting the people's livelihood, causing many right and wrong and obstacles.

He was once a peasant family in the countryside of Ruzhou, Henan Province. He was born into a poor farmer family who relied on the soil for generations to dig for food. He also had a fairly acceptable family. His father, Chai Tie Niu, is a famous crop handle in all villages. Everyone has the strength to pick up a thumbs up and praise him, "It's a real iron ox." Therefore, someone once lamented that it would be a pity to not join a good background with this strength, but stay in the countryside and buried in the soil. However, he had a simple and honest temperament that was indifferent to the world, and he just smiled and said nothing.

His mother was also a very diligent and hard-working woman. She could go to the fields and go to the stove, and she could also be as good as a man in many things. Therefore, relying on her parents' diligence and hard work, she not only planted more than a dozen acres of hillside land, but also had land for the wealthy families in the village. In the same field, she could always dig out more things in the soil than other families. And so her narrow and cramped family bought her little by little and raised saplings, opening up more vegetable beds at the edge of the corners.

However, his efforts, one family, have never changed or kept up with the drastic changes and spreading momentum of the entire current situation.

.

Since the court implemented the two tax laws that measure the income and output, the lives of ordinary people have become increasingly difficult, because under the government's performance evaluation, household registration and tax can only increase but not decrease. However, household registration losses and reductions caused by famine and turmoil cannot appear on the official side, so as not to damage the kindness of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty who betrayed the people.

However, the more fugitives, the corresponding taxes cannot be reduced at all. Instead, they have to increase day by day as the political achievements and evaluation of the officials. Therefore, more and more vacancy is distributed to these household registrations that have not yet escaped. Of course, after the amount of additional taxes by the government is distributed, the relationship between the powerful clans and clerks is not damaged at all, but they have to share the benefits and make profits in it.

Then, under the urging and exploitation of the upper and lower parts, this formed a vicious vicious cycle. The heavier the taxes, the more they fled, and the more they fled, the heavier the taxes on the remaining households. Therefore, as the example of the most diligent and hardworking family in the village, the Chai Tieniu family inevitably encountered difficulties and difficulties.

In order to provide the wine and food needed by the clerks in the countryside, they had almost done all the basic things they had saved up. Then, in order not to hurt the so-called "abortion of years" of additional levies, they had to hand over their elder sister to the human teeth with tears in their eyes. Then they met the emperor's birth and the government "called" the people to offer their wishes, and his younger sister had to be sent to the city as a maid who was sold out of the death contract.

Relying on selling my sister and younger sister's turnover, I finally passed such a cold and lonely New Year. When the next year was in trouble, God turned his face again. He was barely unlucky, and there was no harvest in the fire. However, the taxes and labor levies collected by the government were not missing at all. In addition, the other party had many miscellaneous branches and filial piety, and waves of clerks and miscellaneous hands who went to the countryside to harvest crops like grates that had been stroking the fields, leading pigs and sheep, cutting off trees, and demolishing the beams of the house. Even the chickens and ducks were not spared.

The honest and powerful Chai Tie Niu had a body and strength, but he could only knock down his teeth and swallow his blood and endure it silently. Even if the people who fled were invited again and again, they were even rejected by him, who was timid and afraid of trouble and could not leave his hometown. He would always say, "I will endure it again", "I will endure it," "The days will always get better", and in turn persuade him.

Fortunately, at this time, the former model of farmer among the Chai Tie Niu, and the Cui Taigong family farmer whom he mentioned from time to time took the initiative to give his family a chance, and he needed to use his strength to load and unload and transport grain to the prefecture city for "preparing for bandits"; and Chai Tie Niu was able to bring back a miscellaneous cake saved from his teeth every day, and let the hard days continue to survive. Chai Tie Niu, who was tired every day, was also used as an example, saying, "Good people will always be rewarded." "Only by working honestly, you will have the opportunity to be valued by others..."

However, the good times did not last long. Once, because too much shipment was shipped in the village, a grain truck suddenly broke the shaft when it was going uphill, and the golden wheat grains and chestnut rice broke into the bag and scattered all over the ground. Then, as the pleading and crying of the Chai Tie Niu, who was so anxious that he jumped, the scattered grain was stolen by the hungry refugees nearby. Even the soil on the ground was scrapped away three points and could not be found again. So, a charge of "traitors who were in the village and destroying official goods" fell on the head of Chai Tie Niu. Before he even entered the village, he was caught and sent to the official.

For Chai Ping and his son, it seemed that the sky collapsed suddenly; because the villagers ran back to report the news in advance, their mother could only hide in the grass in the wild, with red eyes and tears flowing. They watched the grass, trees, bricks and tiles built by the broken family, and were smashed and searched in the hands of the men brought by the Cui family. They were not even spared the seedlings in the ridge, and then they were lit and burned and disappeared into the steaming fireworks and the dissipated black and gray.

Then, they had to embark on the road to escape from famine and were not able to go far, but were sniffed out by the dog released by Cui Zhuang. During his life, he lost his mother again. In order to attract the evil dog that he caught up with, she deliberately cut her hand and ran to the river. Then, with the last bit of courage and determination in her life, she hugged the evil dog that was pounced on and bitten and fell into the rolling Daqing River together.

"Brother Cun, go quickly..."

Chai Ping still remembered that moment of sad and sad final farewell. Then as he stopped pursuing at night, nature began to show his terrifying and cruel side to him, a young man in the farm.

The sky was so dark at night, the wind was so strong, the dew in the grass was so cool, and the countryside and forests that were once extremely familiar, seemed to turn into a bizarre ghost creature at night, roaring among countless shadows and the sound of the wind, intimidating him, the lonely young man; his hands were worn out, and his body was scraped with blood, but the egg tart dared not stop under his feet, because he was afraid that he would be dragged away and swallowed by some unknown force when he stopped;

But the real danger came from dawn. Because he was thirsty and tired, he found that he had been buried by many wild dogs. These creatures who were not afraid of humans at all were followed by a short distance behind him, and patiently followed him to walk and stop, as if he was waiting for the next moment, which was exhausted and withered, and he fell to the ground and the feast began.

At this last moment of perseverance, Chai Ping finally met someone. It was a monk You Fang who was covered with iron-headed sticks and patched them. Not only did he wave his stick to drive away these wild dogs who were still unwilling to give up, he also fed him a few sips of water from the gourd, and then broke half a piece of bran cake from his arms to him.

With the support of a few sips of water and half a piece of bran cake, he finally ran into the old fellow who invited his family to escape famine before fainting. It is said that he actually went to join the rebels and eaters. This was why he had the opportunity to join General Wang, who was claiming to be evenly matched at the time. Therefore, he also left an unforgettable impression of this monk who happened to meet.

But at the beginning, he was too young and did not accept it at all, and just gave him some copper coins and dry food. This once again strengthened his determination and will to join the rebel army and finally followed him for nothing. Only then was he able to be admitted as a "reporter boy", that is, he used his inconspicuous identity to sneak into the city controlled by the government army to find out the news and spread rumors.

Because after the rise of the capitalists in various places responded to the rebel uprisings one after another, the cities where the official army stationed intensified the investigation and expulsion of the young and strong refugees, and even wanted to slaughter them from time to time. However, for women and children, they could even let them go.

Relying on his cleverness and response methods he had honed in the countryside since he was a child, he completed his inquiries, exploration and message tasks in the government army's territory many times, and finally gained attention and recognition from the upper class of the rebel army. He began to lead a team of young people alone to make achievements for the rebel army's career to fight the world.

After following the rebels for a long time, he finally ushered in the days when various rebels worked together to attack Ruzhou Prefecture City. After several twists and turns, he defeated the government troops from outside the city after several bloody battles, and after helping the echoing righteous people, he couldn't wait to rush into the prison in the city, and was so anxious that he wanted to take his father who had suffered all his hardships out to rest and enjoy his happiness for a while; but what greeted him was the empty and dirty fence full of the ground.

In the end, he only found a broken shoe full of black blood in the empty pile of hay. Because he later learned that within a few days before the rebels began to attack Ruzhou, the local ruthless officials, who had a reputation as a harsh official, carried out a jail clearance on the grounds of "preparing for bandits" and "police taking the chaos in the city", that is, all the officials in custody were dragged to the streets inside the door, regardless of the seriousness of the crime. Chai Ping's honest father was regarded as a role model for killing a chicken to warn the monkey because he had no money to manage prison soldiers in the prison. He was tortured to death in prison. In the end, he only ended up with the sentence "fearing guilt and self-harm and evading education" in the case.

For these prisoners who die from time to time, staying in the city is also filthy and desecrated the eyes and ears and noses of most noble people and good families; therefore, the mass graves outside the city that have been used to throw away unknown corpses and starving people over the years is the best place for these sinners like humble ants.

He finally knelt there and looked at the corpse of a pillow that had been torn to pieces by a wild dog and could not recognize it. After crying like a wild dog that had lost his family for a whole night, he came back from dawn and was surprised to find that his head had turned gray. He really hated this good man's world where he could not survive, and thus abandoned the simple hope of "Chai Cun, Cun Ge'er" that his parents once gave to "Life without illness or disaster", and renamed it to Chai Ping, and adopted it as the meaning of following the generals at that time to equalize the world;

As a result, the title of "Gray-headed General" was created in the official army's list of 24,000 yuan. With a group of little brothers, he searched and killed the existences of suspected government troops along with the beggars, especially those large households and squires who had a deep collusion between the Jade Government and the squire, almost avoiding the rumored "Gray-headed Ghost".

Now in his opinion, as long as he follows Huang Wang and kills all the corrupt officials and powerful families who collude with them, perhaps his miserable background and poor families can have a way out. But this time, he has won Guangzhou and has time and buffer to settle down and rest, some of the things that happened later began to make him feel confused and doubtful.

Because he saw those rebel generals who had lived and died together and waded through the sea of ​​blood, many of them began to become unfamiliar and unrecognizable to him;

Because after entering the city, they could not wait to retreat from their blood-stained battle robes and armor, and wore gorgeous silk and satin. They moved from the crowded barracks to the nearby luxury house to occupy the beautiful house, and they set up a large number of slaves to serve them. They set up many strict guards for their residences, and even the closest old subordinates had to be informed after several reports. They began to drive the soldiers with helmets and armors, holding flags and banners to open roads and clear roads in front, as an indispensable podium and ceremonial guard for daily entry and exit,

He even learns from decent people and so-called superior people who have been rejected and despised by him, including officials, wealthy and wealthy families, and his daily manners.

It was like he looked at the corrupt officials who came to his head with his own hands, or the powerful households who sucked bones and sucked marrow and ate people without blood, and they were rekindled or possessed by these good brothers and good men in the past.
Chapter completed!
Prev Index    Favorite Next