I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 515: Is the whole world rebelling?

The petty official cursed angrily, completely unaware of the anger in the eyes of the local people who were watching around him.

He continued to scold, "You know, every time you make excuses for not having money, it's me who fills the gap for you! I use my own money to fill the gap for you!"

"If you have any conscience, you should repay me!"

The clerk said this, and glanced at the woman who was hiding behind the door and looking out, and did not hide his greed: "You know, I still don't have a son... I asked someone to calculate, and your daughter and I are a perfect match. What do you think?"

"Sir, my daughter is only ten years old, she is still young..." the farmer immediately pleaded.

However, before he could finish his words, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and then his face felt hot, and his whole body seemed to be falling apart.

But the clerk kicked him over impatiently.

"I really give you face! Today, I will take your daughter away if you are willing. If you are not willing, I will take her away again!"

After saying that, the clerk rushed into the house with his companions and grabbed the girl inside.

Ignoring his resistance, the clerk was about to carry him away when he suddenly felt his legs being hugged.

As soon as he lowered his head, he felt the struggle on his shoulders. He immediately became angry and gently put the girl he was carrying on the ground - this girl was his, and he couldn't let her get hurt. Then, he drew the sword from his waist...

Just as he was about to chop down, he suddenly felt someone grabbing his hand.

When he turned around, he was faced with a fist as big as a sandbag.

His companion sensed something was wrong and was about to draw his knife, but the man had already snatched the knife away and slashed his companion's throat before he could do anything.

The clerk had just recovered from seeing stars when he saw this scene. He was so frightened that he pissed his pants. He lay on the ground and could only retreat using his hands and feet.

But the man did not hesitate and killed him with a single blow.

In almost an instant, two minor officials of the imperial court died here, and the onlookers panicked instantly.

Worried, scared, even excited...

"Send him to the authorities?" The people gradually reached a consensus.

"No! He killed people to save my father and daughter...Give me the knife and let me confess my crime."

But the man did not move at all. After a while, when everyone was quiet, he said, "At first, we refugees were not on the list. We were willing to return to the official list because we heard that the court had good policies... I never thought that the so-called good policies were just lies."

"It's not even the summer harvest time this year, but the government has already urged us to pay the taxes owed last year... I heard that after the summer harvest, they'll also ask us to pay the taxes owed from the year before last, and the year before that..."

"Where is this good governance!"

"If you want to continue and watch your children being snatched away one by one, just hand me over to the authorities. I will never resist!"

——"So what do you think we should do?"

"It's the other way around!"

……

"Wang Jun, something is wrong!"

Wei Yan, who had already arrived at Langya State, approached Wang Can and said, "I don't know where this rumor came from, but it says that the court has issued an order requiring those who have just been enrolled to pay the taxes they owed in previous years."

"You heard about it too?"

"Does Wang Jun already know?"

Wang Can replied: "Not only do I know this, I have also discovered that some petty officials have already done this."

Wei Yan was puzzled: "Did the court really issue an order?"

"Of course not. If the order had been issued, how could I not know about it!" Wang Can said. He immediately thought about it and said, "If it is said that some petty officials wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to seek personal gain, it does make sense, but I always feel that something is wrong."

"That's very wrong. When I was at home, there were some gossips in the village, but there is always a sequence for the spread of news. It's very strange that it's spread in many places at the same time like this!"

"Not good!" Wang Can shouted, "Someone wants to incite a civil uprising!"

"I will immediately write a secret letter to report to His Majesty. Wen Chang, you must call someone immediately and make sure the secret letter is delivered to Luoyang as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!" Wei Yan took the order and left. Not long after Wang Can sent the letter, he said to Wei Yan: "Come, follow me to see the Lord of the Mansion and clarify this rumor immediately... I hope it's not too late!"

……

Luoyang.

Wang Can's secret letter was not the first report Liu Bian received. In fact, he had already paid attention to this matter when he received the memorial from Tian Feng, the governor of Runan, and had begun to try to dispel the rumors through various means such as official reports.

How could he make the same mistake as the previous emperor did during the Yellow Turban Rebellion?

But just like in later generations, when the number of reposts of rumors often reached tens of thousands, the total number of reposts of the rumor debunking might not even reach tens of thousands.

Liu Bian just hoped that he would be in time.

But the facts have proved that after his rectification, the grassroots governance of Dahan is still not performing very well.

The evils of petty officials in the old days were essentially difficult to change.

One month before the summer harvest, the spark of rebellion first appeared in Bohai County of Jizhou.

The people who were newly included in the list attacked the county and township with anger at being oppressed by officials and resentment caused by rumors.

At first, they killed the local officials and clerks who oppressed them, and then they set their sights on the government treasury.

But their outrage quickly turned sour.

Simply killing officials and robbing the treasury was no longer enough to satisfy them.

Ordinary people were either forced to join in or became targets of looting.

As the government and the people were immersed in the joy of the success of the land survey, everyone became complacent and careless. A small spark gradually turned into a prairie fire.

Hejian country.

Prime Minister Chen Gong was leading his troops to fight against the rioters pouring in from Bohai County.

He looked at those people and felt heartbroken.

Before the war, he still wanted to make a final effort and sent people to the rioters to shout: "The so-called court wants to collect taxes from previous years, which is all a rumor."

"It's not too late for you to surrender now!"

"You're all lying! What kind of rumors are they? They're only rumors because you're scared!"

"Yes, otherwise how dare my petty officials collect more taxes!"

"The officials have long regarded us as criminals. If that's the case, then let's make the name of criminals real!"

Seeing that the rioters were furious and would not listen to any persuasion, and believed that the rumors were the truth, Chen Gong closed his eyes in pain.

For the safety of the people under his rule, he had to issue some orders.

Facing the county and state soldiers who were at least trained, the rioters, who did not have much advantage in numbers, had no chance of winning and were quickly defeated by Chen Gong's army.

Just as Chen Gong was leading his men to clean up the battlefield and gather the casualties and prisoners after the battle, he suddenly heard his subordinates report: "Sir, it's bad. There's a civil riot in Gonggao County!"

Upon hearing the news that his backyard was on fire, Chen Gong looked helplessly in the direction of Bohai County.

He didn't know how bad the civil unrest there was, but for now, he could only deal with the affairs in Hejian first before he would have enough energy.

At this moment, he only hoped that the rioters in Gonggao County would listen to his advice!

Chen Gong had a bad feeling in his heart.

As a man well-versed in classics and history, he understood that there were two rebellions before and after Emperor Guangwu measured the land.

The first time was small, the second time was big.

He thought that the rebellion from the end of last year to the beginning of this year was all, and that it had affected a large area.

But now it seems... I'm afraid the bigger one is yet to come.

(End of this chapter)