Warring States Eagle

"Go away, you untouchables." Just as Zheng Liang was listening to the shopkeeper talking about the tea ceremony in the Ming Dynasty, there were bursts of yelling from the pipe not far from the tea stand, accompanied by the sound of horseshoes and the screams of women and children. Voice.

Everyone, including the owner of the tea stall, raised their heads and looked up.On the pipeline, several fast horses galloped past, and several refugees walking on the road were almost hit by being unable to dodge.Even though he narrowly escaped the impact of the horse, he was whipped a few times by the horseman.

"Hmph, those bullies have come out to do evil again, why did they come here this time?" Someone from a table next to them scolded angrily.

"Shhh, keep your voice down, if they hear you, you'll be in trouble," someone stopped immediately.

"Humph", the person who cursed just now knew the severity, he just snorted softly and then stopped making any further noises.

"Who were those people just now?" Hearing the scolding from the crowd, Zheng Hao became curious and asked in a low voice to the shopkeeper of the tea stall.

"It's better for the guest officer to ask less questions. Anyway, the next time you see them, just turn around and leave," the shopkeeper of the tea stall said meaningfully.

Zheng Liang was about to continue asking questions, when a few refugees who had been frightened just now came over.Zhengliang was shocked by their miserable appearance all of a sudden, so much so that he forgot to keep asking.I saw a total of four people who came, a man and a woman, two middle-aged people, and at the same time each dragged a child, one was a boy and the other was a girl, both of whom seemed to be no more than seven or eight years old.It seems that these four people are a family of four.But their appearance is really unbearable to watch.The four of them were all dressed in blue, and the middle-aged women were better off. Even if they were poor, they picked up some clothes to wrap their bodies.The other three had much less clothes, especially the middle-aged man, whose upper body was naked, and several bloody welts were seen on his shoulders, which were obviously left by the rider just now.Look again, those two kids.God, look at how skinny they look.It is really a bit like the refugees in Africa who saw the famine in later generations.

Zhengliang was shocked.This is the middle and late Ming Dynasty, how could such refugees appear.Yes, not bad.In the late Ming Dynasty, there were large-scale refugees, and even led to continuous peasant uprisings, but now it is the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and such a scene has appeared in the majestic and powerful country. **How ​​embarrassing for Zheng Liangqing?

"Hey, this is the tenth batch of refugees who arrived this month. It's so pitiful. Go and get them some food." The shopkeeper ordered the little boy next to him.

Xiao Er was ordered to go down immediately to prepare food.

"There are many refugees like this recently?" Zheng Liang asked.

"Yes, I have inquired about it. These refugees are all from Guangxin Mansion. Due to the locust plague at home, the government not only did not reduce taxes, but even increased them. These people had to escape," the shopkeeper said with a sigh.

Guangxin Mansion?Zheng Liang was shocked when he heard this.Guangxin Mansion is in Jiangxi?Now this is Zhejiang.Guangxin Mansion is located at the junction of Zhejiang and Jiangxi. After entering Zhejiang from Guangxin Mansion, you need to pass through Chuzhou Mansion, Jinhua Mansion, Taizhou Mansion, and Shaoxing Mansion respectively.Finally arrived at Ningbo Mansion.It is hundreds of kilometers to say the least, and for such a long distance, these refugees have come all the way on foot, eating and sleeping in the open.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, once issued an edict: "The cultivator will test his strength and give it according to the mu. The poor will have capital, and the rich will not be able to merge. Those who merge will occupy the land as their own business. Instead, the poor will be ordered to farm. those who commit crimes."In addition, the princes and ministers were restricted to "his mountain farms, water, land and fields. They should also be given according to the original regulations, and they are not allowed to occupy too much for their own business."Zhu Yuanzhang also made the iron list of nine admonitions for princes.It is strictly forbidden for heroes and the families of princes and princes to take advantage of the power to seize the land of officials and civilians.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a poor background, had already realized that the annexation of land would cause farmers to become refugees, which would lead to serious social problems.He also had great sympathy for the farmers' plight. He often said: "Among the four peoples, farmers are the hardest and the hardest. Get up as soon as the rooster crows in spring, and drive the cattle to the fields to cultivate. After planting seedlings, weeding and fertilization are necessary. The sun is bad in the sun, and I have to work all day long. After the harvest, there is not much left after the grain is paid and taxed. In case of floods, droughts, insects and locusts, the whole family can only worry about it, and there is nothing to do."

In order to allow farmers to farm with peace of mind, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the "Road Guide System".The road guide is equivalent to a pass, which needs to be applied to the magistrate.Without road guides, you can't leave the land casually, which limits the movement of farmers within a hundred miles.

In the descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang, the land system gradually changed. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Huangzhuang, which was directly managed by eunuchs and collected taxes, appeared, which led to large-scale land seizures.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, there were four Huangzhuangs, with less than 36 hectares of official land; later, there were five Huangzhuangs, covering an area of ​​3000 hectares.By the time of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, the number of Huangzhuang had increased to [-], covering an area of ​​more than [-] hectares.

The royal family opened up Huangzhuang, and other royal relatives followed suit.According to the "Ming Hui Yao", in the 26th year of Hongwu, the total number of fields was more than 850 million hectares, and in the 15th year of Hongzhi, it was reduced to 420 million hectares.Half of this reduction is because it was annexed by the royal relatives, so it is not in the official book.

In this way, countless farmers have no land to grow, and thus become displaced.And because of the Ming Dynasty's guide system, these peasants who fled to other places were hunted down by the government, and they naturally became the so-called "refugees".With less land, the court's taxes increased instead.Peasants with land to grow had to bear heavier taxes and miscellaneous taxes, so farmers with land also began to abandon their fields and fled on a large scale, joining the ranks of "refugees".By the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to land annexation, exorbitant taxes and a series of natural disasters, the Ming Dynasty had become the largest "immigrant empire" in history.

But it is still the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and it has not yet reached the end. Why has such a refugee chaos already appeared?So Zhengliang was really puzzled.

"Don't the government along the road provide relief?" Zheng Liang asked.

"Guest officer, you don't know. These refugees have no guides. Once they take them in, the government along the way will be punished," the shopkeeper said with a wry smile.

Zheng Liang thought for a while after hearing the words, and it seemed that Wang Hai was indeed holding some guides he found through relationships.

"Besides, how do we provide relief to so many refugees? Once the granary is opened for relief, all the refugees in the vicinity will definitely flock in, and the local government will be scolded by the government." The shopkeeper continued, "Actually, the government along the way It’s lucky not to arrest these refugees.”

Hmph, if you don't want to arrest them, is that because you don't want to increase the burden on the cell?After hearing this, Zheng Liang cursed secretly.

"Then where are these refugees going now?" Zheng Liang continued to ask.

"Going forward, there is a mountain forest. They plan to enter the mountain forest, open up some fields, and fend for themselves." The shopkeeper said with a bow. "Several groups of people have entered this month. But there are fierce beasts and poisonous snakes inside, and there are many mosquitoes." , in the end, only five of them survived."

Into the mountains?No wonder many peasant uprisings in history started from these mountainous areas.In my memory, a similar uprising occurred in the first year of Chenghua, and that was the famous Battle of Jingxiang.

The refugee problem has been a serious social problem since the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The household registration policy formulated during the Hongwu period was extremely strict, with the purpose of binding the people to the land to ensure the country's taxation and corvee.Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, with the intensification of land annexation and the increasing burden of taxation and labor, more and more "escape households" and "refugees" have emerged, and the Jingxiang mountain area is the largest gathering area for refugees.The most famous "Jingxiang" massacre in history took place there.

Farmers are quite industrious, but they are timid and fearful, and have great endurance. If they are not at the end of the mountain and have no way out, they will definitely not take risks.Now that there is a refugee chaos, it can be said that it is a severe slap in the face for the current dynasty, which talks about itself as the celestial dynasty.

It seems that it is impossible to count on these high-ranking officials.But what can I do for them?Relief one per encounter?It is obviously unrealistic. There are more than tens of millions of refugees in the world, and even if you have a lot of money, you can't save them.

So how to do it?

The refugees don't ask for anything else, they just want a place where they can settle down.But where to find a place for them to live and work in peace?

Can't provide it here, why not provide it yourself?But your foundation is in Japan?

migrant?Zheng Liang was taken aback by his sudden thought. (To be continued..)

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