I have a cornucopia

Chapter 333 Dongshan Mandarin
Hangzhou.

Wulin Gate.

Although the battle line was only a hundred miles away, the city was still prosperous.

Fighting does not interfere with business.

Her Majesty the Queen and King Yang had already set rules for all parties, prohibiting any obstruction of commerce and travel, and no harm to civilians. Accidental injuries during fighting were allowed, but looting and killing civilians, or even bullying women during non-combat periods was absolutely unacceptable.

As for those gentry whose families were exterminated...

They are not civilians.

They are scholars.

Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.

The last three are civilians.

The scholars, that is, those who have made achievements, are all receiving salaries from the emperor and are not considered common people.

Even if you are a poor scholar, you are still eating the emperor's salary.

Scholars are exempt from tax!
A scholar was exempted from paying two shi of grain and two ding of labor service at the lowest level. Later, corvée labor was also converted into silver. Two shi of grain alone was almost equivalent to not having to pay any taxes within the farming capacity of a normal family. After all, in the Ming Dynasty, the tax rate for civilian fields was only 20 or even 30 dou per mu. Even if Suzhou heavily taxed official fields, one mu normally only had two or three dou per mu, not to mention that corvée labor was not converted into silver. This was only the lowest level. If it was a student on government stipend, he would have received government food, and there were additional expenses such as tuition fees. There were school fields in the local area, which were also used to subsidize scholars. Scholars also did not have to pay taxes when they passed the banknote customs.

The court did not pay them salaries, but they exempted them from taxes, and these subsidies were equivalent to salaries!
Then they are just eating the emperor's food.

Taxi.

Not a civilian.

Of course, those who are not civilians are not protected.

reasonable.

Very reasonable.

But agriculture, industry and commerce are protected.

Especially with regard to the circulation of grain, no party is allowed to set up checkpoints to collect taxes, and the free flow of grain must be ensured.

In short, even though the battlefield was hundreds of miles away, commercial cities were still prosperous, even more prosperous than before. After all, the war consumed a lot of materials, which promoted the booming military industry. Cities like Hangzhou were the gathering place for materials from all sides, including those brought here from the sea and even from the areas controlled by the Jingnan Army.

Fighting is fighting, but business still needs to be done.

In fact, there are a lot of people making money from both ends now, for example, Guangdong's military industry is now making money from both ends, and Zheng's merchant ships are also constantly coming to Hangzhou...

It is also a basic operation to go to Hainingwei to unload half of the goods before arriving in Hangzhou.

Since Jiangxi militia recovered eastern Zhejiang, Jiangxi merchants have also quickly poured into eastern Zhejiang. Originally, merchants from eastern Zhejiang controlled trade with Jiangxi, but now Jiangxi merchants control trade in eastern Zhejiang. This is also an important reason why Zhejiang gentry are less and less willing to fight. They finally realized that they are becoming ATMs for all parties. No matter whether they win or lose in the end, they are losers. If they win, they will just send the wealth accumulated over hundreds of years into other people's pockets. They really want to negotiate now.

Even if it means sacrificing some gentry.

It’s better than now!

In order to appease the unruly people, they had to reduce rent and interest, causing a sharp drop in income. In order to maintain the war, they had to support a large number of militias and pay huge military expenses every month. In order to purchase military supplies, they had to take out the wealth accumulated by their ancestors for hundreds of years...

"We are the ones who defended the country, but now we have to pay for it ourselves?

If we are defeated, do they still think that Yang Feng will not attack Lingnan? The trade with the barbarians alone is tens of millions every year, doesn't Yang Feng want it? It's just that he has not solved the problem of Jiangnan, so he has no time to take care of other places. If we are gone, do the Guangdong gentry still want to pay tens of thousands of taels of tariff every year? "

Shen Cheng, commander of the Zhejiang militia camp, looked angrily at a group of merchants who had just left the city.

These are from Guangdong.

They returned with boxes of gold and silver dug out from the cellars by the Hangzhou gentry, and it would not be long before they returned with shiploads of munitions.

Then he exchanged them for boxes of gold and silver.

The wealth accumulated by the Hangzhou gentry over hundreds of years was emptied out by these unscrupulous businessmen who took advantage of the war.

"Everyone knows that if we don't work together, we will be defeated one by one, but no one will work together. After all, no one cares about anything else in front of money. Even if they know they will be strangled to death, as long as they are not dead, they will still make money. They only think about making money, and always think that they can do whatever they want with money, but the knife can do whatever they want. No matter how much money you make, in the end it will be robbed by others with a knife, and even your life will be lost. We have been robbed over and over again for hundreds of years. The barbarians came to rob us, and the northerners came to rob us. Jiangnan is good, there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below, but this massacre cannot be left out!"

His good friend Lu Xuanzhong sighed.

They are all newly formed militias, not the old Zhejiang militias.

Hangzhou was the source of soldiers for the Zhejiang New Army in the past, but the Zhejiang New Army was cut off in the north of the Yangtze River by Yang Feng, and most of them chose to accept reality. After all, Yang Feng had guaranteed the interests of their families. Therefore, after the war, the Zhejiang Elders Association gentry could only reorganize the militia, and then second-tier scholars like Shen Cheng and Lu Xuanzhong also joined the militia. Shen Cheng was a local from Renhe, and Lu Xuanzhong was from Chongde.

The old Zhejiang militia, as the combat force, was mainly responsible for the front-line defense, while the newly formed militia was mainly stationed in various places.

After all, we still have to watch over the troublemakers.

Their battalion is now the garrison of Wulin Gate.

Although Hangzhou did not ban commercial travel and the city gates were open, there was a battlefield a hundred miles away, so each gate was heavily guarded.

At this moment, a horse came galloping outside, and the officer on the horse whipped the people blocking the way while running.

Then he rushed in.

The militia below immediately stopped him.

Shen Cheng and the other man went down from the city wall.

"Close the city gates quickly! Haining has fallen!"

the officer shouted at them.

The two were stunned for a moment.

"How did you fall?"

Lu Xuanzhong said in astonishment.

"I don't know. I went to Haining to do some work, and encountered the enemy army entering the city in large numbers. I didn't have time to take care of anything else. I sent someone to Xiashi to report the news, and I came to Hangzhou to report the news!"

The officer, who was obviously from a noble family, said anxiously.

As he spoke he urged his horse forward.

Shen Cheng quickly asked the soldiers to move aside.

"Close the city gate!"

Lu Xuanzhong said without hesitation.

It was only a hundred miles, and the Jingnan Army would need less than a day to travel the distance even if they walked. Considering that even if the officer changed horses on the way, it would still take him two hours to run, the enemy might be very close.

Shen Cheng didn't say much, and the two of them immediately ordered the soldiers to enter the city.

however……

"Why are you panicking? If Haining really fell, wouldn't I know about it?" At this time, a very majestic voice suddenly sounded behind them.

They both turned their heads quickly.

"Mr. Su'an!"

The two of them quickly saluted Chen Zhilin, an elder of the Elders' Association, who was also ranked high in the Zhejiang Elders' Association.

The latter calmly walked out of the sedan chair surrounded by a group of servants and came up to them.

"Mr. Su'an, even so, closing the city gates is a precaution."

Shen Cheng said.

"There are many unruly people in the city. If we close the city gates, it will be like telling them that bandits are coming. Now the incident happened suddenly, and there is only one brigade of soldiers in the city. If the unruly people take the opportunity to make trouble, I am afraid we can't suppress them. Don't panic. Quickly transfer troops from the forts along the river into the city. If Haining falls, the garrisons of the forts will be useless. We must quickly transfer them back to the city for defense."

Chen Zhilin said in a low voice as if he understood it very well.

Shen Cheng and the other man looked at each other in bewilderment. Although Elder Chen's reasons were not very convincing, he was an elder and they were in the militia, and militias had to listen to the elders. Besides, he was the runner-up, so his IQ must be higher than theirs...

Just listen.

Shen Cheng then signaled to the soldiers not to close the door.

"Don't worry, Lord Su'an. Even if the enemy troops capture Haining, your mansion will be able to evacuate in time."

Lu Xuanzhong was also comforting Elder Chen!

"If Haining is lost, even if we are destroyed together, what does it matter? If we lose this battle, even I will not live alone. Rather than surrendering to that evildoer, why not die with a clean conscience and leave behind my noble spirit to inspire future generations?"

Elder Chen said proudly.

Shen Cheng and the other man couldn't help but admire Elder Chen for being so strong-willed!

"Commander, there are refugees coming!"

Shouts rang out from the city wall.

Shen Cheng and Chen Zhilin hurried into the city gate. They were inside the city gate and watched the large number of refugees pouring in. Some were riding horses, some were sitting in sedan chairs, and some were riding donkeys and mules. Because it was summer, they all wore hats and veils. There were even many carriages filled with boxes. The one in the front was wearing a green robe and riding a horse with a short gun in his hand. He kept urging the refugees to hurry up. But everyone knew this person. He was a local scholar of the Haining Local Scholars Association. It should be said that they were all quite familiar with him.

"Master Su'an, I am incompetent. The unruly people in the city are causing chaos and leading the enemy troops into the city. Haining City has been broken!"

He looked at Elder Chen and immediately cried out in sorrow.

Then he dismounted, walked over quickly crying, and rushed towards Chen Zhilin as if he had seen a relative.

"Haining City has been destroyed. You must fight to the death and die for the country. Only then will you live up to the trust of the whole province. How can you escape so easily?"

Chen Zhilin said angrily.

Mr. Cha lay on the ground crying.

Shen Cheng and the other two hurried forward to help him up.

At the same time, the refugees who followed Mr. Cha walked by one after another. The soldiers looked at Shen Cheng with questioning eyes. Shen Cheng shook his head and signaled them not to care. Although the Elders' Council stipulated that refugees could not enter the city without permission, this was Haining who escaped. Not to mention that Chen Zhilin was here, even if he was not here, they should not have stopped him.

Refugees refer to those from outside. Can Haining be considered an outsider to Hangzhou?
Soon these refugees entered the main city gate. As they were all vying to enter the city, they even completely blocked the two city gates. Mr. Cha just lay on the ground crying, while Elder Chen had a gloomy face and did not speak.

The scene was a little awkward.

Obviously, for the resolute elder Chen, it was a betrayal of the province's trust that Cha Juren and others could not fight the enemy to the death but fled to Hangzhou. However, this was understandable. After all, fighting the enemy to the death was not an easy thing to do. Shen Cheng and the others had to continue to comfort them.

At this time, a gust of wind blew past, lifting the veil covering the face of a woman riding a donkey...

Shen Cheng just raised his head and looked at her ugly face in shock.

So ugly.

He was still grinning, showing him his rotten teeth.

"Stop!"

he yelled instinctively.

At the same time he tried to pull out his pistol.

The examiner on the ground suddenly stood up, and then a pistol was pointed at his chest.

Shen Cheng was somewhat reckless. He raised his hand to block without any hesitation. Zha Juren was supposed to hit him in the chest, but his action made Zha Juren panic and his finger instinctively pulled the trigger. The sound of gunfire suddenly rang out at Wulin Gate. The bullet was so close that it was impossible to miss. Although he blocked it, it hit Shen Cheng's neck in an instant. He immediately covered his neck in pain, and blood spurted out from the broken blood vessels.

Lu Xuanzhong was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, howled, drew his sword, and stabbed at Cha Juren. The latter dodged quickly and the sword pierced his shoulder.

At this moment, all the refugees pulled out the pistols hidden on their bodies.

Chaotic gunfire continued to ring out.

The defenseless militia fell one after another in the close-range gunfire. These second-line militiamen only had dove muskets at most, and the officers only had a few flintlock muskets. Now facing these new firearms, they had no time to react. After all, in the time they had spent blowing and lighting the fuse, the enemy's bullets would have hit them.

"You bastard, why did you betray your hometown?"

Lu Xuanzhong hugged Shen Cheng and stabbed Cha Juren again in anger.

The latter covered his arms and dodged in fear.

But there was a sound of metal friction behind Lu Xuanzhong, and he instinctively turned around. Elder Chen, who had already opened the dragon head, was holding a delicate short gun with both hands and aiming at him. Before Lu Xuanzhong could shoot, he bumped into him headfirst, and Elder Chen was knocked down, and the bullet shot into the sky. In fact, Lu Xuanzhong, whose martial arts value was not low, stabbed the chest of the servant of the Chen family next to him with a sword. He originally wanted to continue stabbing Elder Chen, but the latter was dragged away by two servants. He held Shen Cheng, who was still covering his neck, with one hand, and waved his sword in the chaos to quickly stab the nearest enemy off his horse...

This is not the sword that scholars used to carry to show off, but a new type of cavalry sword.

The thick ones are like armor-piercing cones.

Those enemies disguised as refugees all concealed short guns on their bodies, but not many cold weapons.

However, the box on a carriage at the back had been opened, and it was full of various cold weapons. Lu Xuanzhong held Shen Cheng and dragged him forward, while constantly stabbing the enemies who blocked his way off their horses. However, he did not rush into the city, as the city was already full of enemies.

It's easier to break out from the outside.

Soon he rushed out of the city gate, but at the end of his field of vision, there were already countless cavalrymen running towards him...

"I have surrendered, why are you resisting?"

The voice of Elder Chen was heard behind him.

Lu Xuanzhong turned around in grief and anger, looking at the militia who laid down their weapons after being scolded by Chen Zhilin.

Indeed, as an elder, he has surrendered. Why are you militiamen resisting?
Lü Xuanzhong looked at the eyes of Shen Cheng, who had actually died, and finally carried him and ran to the left side of the city gate. Because of the moat, this was the safest place. The soldiers of the Jingnan Army disguised as refugees behind him actually didn't care about him. They were pouring into Hangzhou City quickly. Moreover, those who entered the city first had already climbed up the city wall. The militiamen who were originally at a loss also put down their weapons one after another under Chen Zhilin's scolding. Cha Juren, who was covering his arm, was obviously excited and called out to the cavalry in the distance. At the same time, the beacon fire on the Genshan Gate also rushed straight into the sky. The alarm bells in various places in Hangzhou City kept ringing. The city finally faced the real war.

"Hurry up, open Hangzhou, let's open Hangzhou!"

Cha Juren's excited shouts echoed against the backdrop of the chaotic city.

(End of this chapter)