Ming politicians

From Quwo to Xiaxian, it is nearly [-] miles away. You can arrive in one day, but from morning to night, you are on the road. There is no delay, including no time for meals. After all, you are here to practice , There is no need to hurry, after Su Tiancheng discussed with Qu Qingze, he still decided to take his time, don't worry, and arrived in Xia County in two days.

Early in the morning, after everyone had breakfast, they set off directly.

Su Tiancheng's ability to adapt is very good, and his self-control ability is extraordinary, which surprised Qu Qingze a little. It is said that a scholar who goes out for the first time is very curious about everything. There will be delays on the way, and he is also very casual. Staying in one place for a few days is also uncertain, especially for many self-proclaimed romantic scholars, whenever they go to a place, they always like to linger in brothels, or go to academies to make friends with some students.

Su Tiancheng didn't have such a hobby at all, and his purpose was very clear. He tried his best to visit as many places as possible to see the local conditions and customs of various places. Before going to bed last night, Su Tiancheng asked a lot about the local customs and customs of Quwo. Some questions were answered by Qu Qingze. Not coming up, and along the way, Su Tiancheng focused on the situation in the fields.

Qu Qingze felt more and more interesting.

During the busy farming season, there should not be many people on the official road, and most of the farmers should be in the fields, busy with production.

But Su Tiancheng found a problem. There were groups of people on the official road, with scantily clad clothes, disheveled faces, and numb expressions. He didn't need to explain. He also knew that these people were refugees.Before leaving, Qu Qingze had called to take care of him. He would meet some refugees on the road, so don't be soft-hearted.

What do refugees mean, that is, farmers who have lost their land and have nothing. Their lives are not settled, because they cannot afford taxes, or they have no food, they cannot survive, and they have to leave their homes.

Farmers' homeland complex is the most important, and they will not leave their homeland unless they have to.

During the busy farming season, you can see refugees in twos and threes on the road. I don't know what it will be like in the second half of the year, or a month later.

Shanxi suffered disasters in the past two years, and refugees appeared. This is not a big deal, and it is impossible to ask the government to always love the people like children, but what Su Tiancheng doesn't understand is that the governments in various places are strictly guarded, and the refugees are not allowed to enter the city. , Even to prevent the rogues, it is impossible to do this step, let alone come forward to pay the compensation.

What is the consequence of doing this, that is to force these refugees to the opposite side of the government, to force them into the ranks of the peasant uprising army, so that the uprising army has a steady stream of soldiers.

Su Tiancheng thought of a lot.

When I was a child, I read Li Zicheng. He was the leader of the peasant uprising and a great hero. But when I grew up and read a lot of historical materials, I realized that this was not the case. People despised things, and after gradually growing, they lost their original beliefs. They were also pursuing pleasure, which was even worse. The leaders of the rebel army were suspicious of each other and competed for power and profit, which led to failure.

Such an army that lacks persistence and faith is destined not to last long.

This is the limitation of history, and it is also the best embodiment of human nature, good and evil.

Seeing these refugees, Su Tiancheng was a little angry. This is the government forcing the people to rebel. The refugees have no way to survive. If they don't raise their flags to rebel, what else can they do? Because of wars and famines, farmers are forced to stay away from their hometowns. What they want is to save their lives, but they are not accepted by the government. What are they going to eat?

Seeing that Su Tiancheng's expression was not very good, Qu Qingze slowed down.

"Brother, there are quite a few such cases. Some gentry and wealthy households saw the pity of the refugees, donated some food, and set up porridge sheds everywhere, but this is not a long-term solution. These refugees seem to have received relief along the way, so order Well, if there is no one to help them, there will be trouble already."

"The government still has to take care of things like this. After all, they are all citizens of Daming. If the government everywhere doesn't help them, wouldn't they be forced to a dead end?"

"It's not that the government doesn't want to take care of it, it's because they don't have money. You don't know about some situations."

When Qu Qingze said this, he shook his head.

The farmers have no way out, so what else can they do if they don't rebel. To put it bluntly, the government is the biggest accomplice to the growth of the peasant uprising army.

Su Tiancheng was a little strange. Couldn't those officials know such a simple truth? How could there be so many rebels if they really improved the lives of farmers? No matter whether he is Li Zicheng or Gao Yingxiang, it won't last long. In any case, the common people are still in awe of the imperial power.

The main force of the peasant uprising army during the Chongzhen period was actually the rebellious imperial army.

The reason is the same, the sergeant can't get the salary, can't support the family, so they are also waiting to starve to death.

The ridiculous thing is that officials at all levels are corrupt and don't care about the life and death of ordinary people at all. Relatives of the emperor and honored ministers merged a lot of land and amassed a lot of money. The affairs of the court have a monthly relationship with them. After the demise of the imperial court, they fled to the Qing Dynasty and lived a comfortable life, which cannot but be said to be a kind of sadness.

As soon as he arrived at Youshi, Qu Qingze decided to rest. The place to stay was in a town, only two miles away from the official road.

He is familiar with this road, and if he goes on, there will be no good place to stay.

The shopkeeper of the inn rarely receives so many guests, and these people seem to be either rich or expensive, he is extraordinarily attentive and greets them carefully.

After lodging, the first thing is to eat, of course. The inn is already preparing. In such a town, it is difficult to have a decent restaurant, so the meal is in the inn.

Su Tiancheng thought about it and went to the town to have a look, but Qu Qingze disagreed because of safety issues.

If you think about it, if you don’t know the place where you live, you rush to the town to see it, or go to the farmer’s house. People think you are doing something, and you are not a member of the government. Do you still want to do research and research?

After washing up a bit, Su Tiancheng still walked out of the inn, wandering around in the open space in front.

Qu Qingze hadn't come down yet, but Wang Dazhi was by his side.

There was a smell of meat from inside the inn, probably because the kitchen was busy.

In just a few minutes, something that surprised Su Tiancheng appeared.

A group of children came over, probably smelling the smell of meat coming from the inn.

Su Tiancheng didn't know how to describe the situation of these children. The clothes they wore were tattered and obviously didn't fit. They looked like they were grown-ups' clothes. There were dirt on their faces and their hair was messy. The weather wasn't that cold anymore, but It was still a bit chilly. Most of these children were barefoot and didn't wear shoes.

When the children saw Su Tiancheng, they all seemed a little afraid.

"Go, go, don't hang around here."

The innkeeper came over, probably seeing these children, and was afraid that they would affect the mood of the guests.

"Boss, these children are all children from the town."

"Guest officer, some of them are from nearby villages. They have been hit by disasters these years, and they don't have enough to eat. These children are even more pitiful. They often come here, but we are also a small business, so there is nothing we can do."

Wang Dazhi behind him lowered his head. He probably thought of his own situation and the situation in the village. If it wasn't for this opportunity, he would be the same as these children.

"Shopkeeper, give them some rice and fine meat, they will be able to eat well, and I will pay for the money."

After saying this, Su Tiancheng shook his head, turned around and went back to the inn. What Qu Qingze said was correct, and he had no way to help him. There were too many such situations, and he couldn't handle them at all.

Qu Qingze was waiting on the first floor of the inn.

As soon as Su Tiancheng came in, he spoke.

"I've already said that you can't save me. I've seen many such situations."

"It can't be regarded as being saved. If you can do something with a little effort, you can do something."

"Brother, if all the rich people think like you, it would be great. There will definitely be a lot fewer such situations."

"Brother, don't say that, I'm not rich."

"Hehe, in Pingyang Fucheng, who doesn't know the Su family? I don't know if you have money, but there are so many nursing homes in the mansion, and the servants are pretty good. I said you are soft-hearted, but luckily you don't." Go to the village to see, if you go, I'm really worried, will you be able to come out?"

Su Tiancheng smiled and didn't say anything. He really didn't intend to go to see it. He followed Wang Dazhi to the village to see it, and there were more than 120 people added to the mansion. To wear clothes is to show love. I am afraid that selling the mansion will not be of much use.

"Brother, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and Shandong have suffered from famines for several years. At the beginning of the year, a large-scale famine broke out in the Yansui area. The emperor allocated money for relief. If you go to Yansui, see The situation there, I really don’t know what to do, the route we are taking, the situation is not much better, and we will encounter such situations along the way, I advise you to be hard-hearted.”

"I really don't know about these situations, but I still know a little bit about the situation of the tenants of the Su family. They couldn't survive at the beginning. This is the case even near Fucheng, let alone below."

"It's good that you know it. I'm still looking forward to it. You will be able to take the provincial and high school examinations, participate in the general examination and palace examination, and be named on the gold list. After becoming a court official, you will be able to help the people of one side."

Su Tiancheng blinked, looked at Qu Qingze, and didn't speak. Could it be that Jin Yiwei also cared about the lives of the people so much, which made him a little confused.