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Now, in Suzhou, because of the rebellion of the Japanese and the people who died are not a few, although in order to seal the mouths of the people, the government also gave them a part of the aftermath compensation, but the revenge has not been avenged, grievances can not be served, a little compensation compared with their losses is also a drop in the bucket, the people are naturally a little resentful in their hearts.

However, in feudal society, the nature of the people has always been cowardly, compared to standing up to fight against fate, they expect a "blue sky lord" to come down from the sky to make their own decisions, "sue the emperor" and other things, often just stories in the drama, but in reality there are very few.

Although, according to rumors, Emperor Deqing now lives in the Canglang Pavilion, and also shows a posture of a Ming monarch who is willing to "be the master of the people", but because of the cowardly nature in his heart and the secret warning of the local government, at the very beginning, the people who were harmed by the Japanese invaders did not have the idea of "suing the emperor" at all - for the people, it was already an extremely terrifying thing for them to go to the emperor as a grass people, let alone sue the emperor? As for the various losses of the Japanese rebellion, they can only blame themselves for their bad luck.

However, although the people are cowardly, they are also blindly obedient and can never be provoked.

In this way, under the secret promotion of some forces with ulterior motives, not only the situation in Suzhou has undergone drastic changes, but the struggle between Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing has also changed from dark to light!

……

A year earlier, the Japanese raided Suzhou, although the city was not affected too much. But the fishermen on the outskirts of Suzhou and along the Yangtze River were seriously damaged.

Among them, the most severely damaged places. There are three villages on the banks of the Yangtze River, one of which is called Heshang Village. One is called Xilin Village, and the other is called Lijiaji.

On the day when Emperor Deqing left the Canglang Pavilion of Nanchan Temple, Heshang Village was in a state of excitement.

Early in the morning, the fishermen and people of Heshang Village rushed to the house of the village chief, Wu Shouzheng, blocked the door tightly, and shouted loudly to confront Wu Shouzheng.

Seeing the actions of the villagers, Wu Shouzheng was naturally flustered, especially when he had a ghost in his heart at this time, and he saw the villagers behaving like this. I thought my affairs were exposed, and I couldn't help but be shocked.

It turned out that in order to conceal the incident of the Japanese and cholera in Suzhou, the Suzhou government also spent a lot of effort, and even did not hesitate to use silver to seal up the people's speech -- in the rebellion, every damaged family could receive a large amount of silver taels of compensation -- among them, the affected families could get one tael of silver, the door of the dead could be compensated with ten taels of silver, the women who were ruined could be compensated with three taels of silver, and the loss of the people's property would also be compensated to a certain extent...... And so on and so forth. It's considered detailed.

However, in today's Ming Dynasty, corrupt officials have long become a stubborn disease that cannot be eliminated, and "goose plucking" has also become the instinct of all officials. Although Zhou Suhai, the prefect of Suzhou, repeatedly ordered that the compensation money must be distributed to the people in full, but when the decree came down, it still changed after all. Taking Heshang Village as an example, it stands to reason that he should receive a compensation of 766 taels of silver. But after the silver was sent to Wu Shouzheng, there were only four hundred and sixty-six taels left. After Wu Shouzheng got this silver, he first withheld 66 taels of silver, and only issued 400 taels of silver to the villagers, which was nearly half less than the initial figure given by the government.

In fact, if it weren't for Zhou Suhai's strict order that the officials below would have scruples, it would have been very good if the silver could finally be distributed to the people with two hundred taels of silver.

However, even so, in the era of the feudal dynasty, after the people suffered losses due to various natural and man-made disasters, they could still get compensation from the government for silver, even if the number was not much, but it was the first time in the world that it was a strange news, so at the very beginning, the people who were killed were all grateful to Dade, and Zhou Suhai could barely seal the mouth of Youyou, and although Wu Shouzheng was greedy for more than 60 taels of silver in private, he was also at ease and quite sure.

After all, the villagers of Heshang Village live a very closed life, most of them can only fish and sell fish, few are literate, and no one will deliberately inquire about the government's decrees, although they live in the suburbs of Suzhou, but few people enter the city, so Wu Shouzheng is not worried that the villagers will know about his private retention of silver.

In fact, in the eyes of the villagers, the compensation they received was more than enough.

However, in the past few days, I don't know who has spread the news, listed all the detailed standards for the government's compensation of silver, and also put the shortage of silver on Wu Shouzheng's head, saying that Wu Shouzheng embezzled the villagers with 366 taels of silver in one go!

After the villagers learned that the compensation they deserved was nearly half less, they were so angry that they were grateful to Dade that they were no longer grateful, and they only felt that they had suffered a loss - after all, people's hearts are always insufficient, and the more money the better.

Fortunately, Wu Shouzheng has served as the village chief for many years and his prestige still exists, and the villagers have only heard some scattered rumors and no conclusive evidence, so Wu Shouzheng still reluctantly suppressed this turmoil.

However, just today, the villagers suddenly blocked outside the house, shouting loudly, "Wu Shouzheng come out", "Where is the village chief, come out quickly", "The village chief has something to ask you", Wu Shouzheng thought that the incident had finally happened, but he hid in the house tremblingly, and had no courage to show up at all.

It's just that the more Wu Shouzheng didn't dare to show up, the more fierce the villagers became, and the more frightened Wu Shouzheng became-just as Wu Shouzheng began to think about escaping, but for some reason, the people blocking outside the house suddenly quieted down.

Just when Wu Shouzheng was puzzled, a gentle and polite voice came from outside the room.

"Village Chief Wu is here? Wang Bocai, a student, was here, and he also invited Village Chief Wu to show up and meet with the villagers...... Village Chief Wu is relieved that the students assure you that the villagers have no ill intentions and will not endanger your safety. The villagers just have a few questions that they would like to check with the village chief. ”

Although the voice was gentle and polite, Wu Shouzheng heard the voice. On the contrary, I am more worried.

It turned out that the owner of this voice was named Wang Bocai. Originally, he was also a resident of Heshang Village, but he was smart and very competitive, and he was admitted to the reputation of Xiucai, so his family moved to Suzhou City to live, but he returned to Heshang Village once a year to sweep the tomb.

I don't know why, now it's obviously not the time for Wang Bocai to sweep the tomb every year, but Wang Bocai actually appeared in Heshang Village!

This Wang Bocai is different from the ordinary villagers of Heshang Village, he has a reputation for showing talent, and he is not only literate and well-read. And familiar with the officialdom decrees, Wu Shouzheng privately embezzled the villagers with silver, although he could hide it from ordinary villagers, but he definitely couldn't hide it from Wang Bocai!

According to Wu Shouzheng's guess, the villagers suddenly blocked their doors today, perhaps because of Wang Bocai!

As a result, Wu Shouzheng became more and more afraid to show his face.

Outside the room, Wang Bocai waited quietly for a while, and saw that Wu Shouzheng still did not show up. But he spoke again, his voice still gentle and polite, but with a hint of threat.

"Village Chief Wu, Fang Gang's fellow villagers want to break into the door. Although he was stopped by the students, if Village Chief Wu did not show up again, the students did not dare to guarantee the next situation. ”

As Wang Bocai's words fell. Outside the originally peaceful house, the shouts of the villagers sounded again. Most of them wanted Wu Shouzheng to show up immediately.

Under the pressure of the situation, Wu Shouzheng had nowhere to hide or escape. After hesitating for a moment, he finally pushed open the door and showed up.

Coming to the outside of the house, Wu Shouzheng looked around, only to see a black oppressive head, men, women and children, it seems that the villagers of Heshang Village are now gathered here, and standing in front of the villagers, is a young scholar wearing a Confucian shirt, although the appearance is ordinary, but the temperament is quite gentle and elegant, which makes people think of the word "gentleman" at first sight.

This young scholar is none other than Wang Bocai, a talented man from Heshang Village!

Seeing that Wu Shouzheng finally appeared, Wang Bocai glanced at Wu Shouzheng with a smile, and there was a hint of contempt in his eyes, but it disappeared in a flash.

At the same time, after the villagers saw Wu Shouzheng appear, they were all emotional, and asked Wu Shouzheng what to do in a mess, but the voice was too chaotic, and Wu Shouzheng couldn't hear it clearly for a while, only heard shouts such as "silver", which seemed to confirm the initial guess in his heart, and his face couldn't help but change.

Seeing that the situation was too chaotic, Wang Bocai frowned slightly, then turned around and pressed his hands lightly, signaling the villagers to be quiet.

Although Wang Bocai is only a showman, he is a famous scholar after all, and he is the first in Heshang Village in the past 100 years, and is quite respected by the villagers.

Therefore, after seeing Wang Bocai's movements, the villagers quickly quieted down.

"Folks, what do you want to ask, Bocai probably knows, if you can trust Bocai, then Bocai will ask Village Chief Wu on behalf of you! Otherwise, we are gossiping, I'm afraid Village Chief Wu doesn't know how to answer. ”

After hearing Wang Bocai's words, the villagers gradually quieted down, and they all focused on Wang Bocai.

Seeing the performance of the villagers, Wang Bocai nodded with satisfaction, then turned around again and asked Wu Shouzheng: "Village Chief Wu, when I returned to the village, I heard from the villagers that the government compensated our village with four hundred taels of silver because of the matter of the widows, is there such a thing?" ”

Wu Shouzheng became more and more panicked in his heart, but he still nodded calmly and replied, "There is such a thing." ”

Wang Bocai asked again: "But according to what the students know and the extent of the damage to our village, the government should have at least 760 taels of silver to compensate our village, why is it that when it comes to Village Chief Wu, there are only 400 taels left?" Is there a loss of nearly half of the silver? ”

Seeing that the villagers' eyes were gradually wrong, Wu Shouzheng subconsciously hurriedly shirked and said, "This, this, I...... I didn't know that the government gave me so much silver taels at that time, and I gave a lot of money to the villagers. ”

Wang Bocai nodded with a smile and said: "Village Chief Wu's temperament, students also understand, and I believe that Village Chief Wu will never be greedy for the villagers' sympathetic silver in private, but I have been living in Suzhou City for all these years, and I am also familiar with the decrees of the Suzhou government, I can tell Village Chief Wu unmistakably that according to the subsidy details of the Suzhou government and the damage to our village, the villagers in our village can get at least seven hundred and sixty taels of subsidy silver!" But now, nearly half of the silver taels have been intercepted! ”

"This thing. I don't know, I'm just responsible for distributing the silver after receiving it......" Listening to Wang Bocai, he cleared up the relationship for himself. Wu Shouzheng breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but also hurriedly shirked his responsibilities further.

However. Although Wu Shouzheng thought very well, Wang Bocai did not let him go.

"There is a shortage of at least three hundred and sixty taels of silver...... This is not a small amount, as the head of our Heshang Village, the head of Wu Village is highly respected, he should find the government to ask for this silver back! This is also the purpose of the folks looking for you today. ”

Hearing Wang Bocai say this, Wu Shouzheng was shocked again.

Since ancient times, I have only heard that the government collects money from the people, but where is the reason why the people ask the government for silver?

So, Wu Shouzheng hurriedly said: "I can't help this matter!" As you know, every time the government's money is handled. At least three percent of the shortage, those shortages of silver have now fallen into the hands of officials of Suzhou, we are just ordinary people, since ancient times the people do not fight with the officials, where can these silver be returned? ”

Wang Bocai asked again: "So, does Village Chief Wu think that we are going to get this silver back?" The Suzhou government won't care about this matter? ”

Unconsciously, Wu Shouzheng was already led by Wang Bocai's nose, and when he heard this, he nodded hurriedly and said, "If you don't come back." Definitely not to come back, at least I can't help it. ”

Wang Bocai was silent for a moment, and then suddenly raised his voice and said, "Although Village Chief Wu has no choice, I have a plan. Although it is a bit risky, the certainty of success is also very high, and after the fact. Not only can we get back the shortage of silver, but maybe we can also exempt the villagers from taxes for the next few years! ”

Originally. After hearing Wu Shouzheng's conclusion, all the villagers were a little depressed. Hearing Wang Bocai's words again, he was naturally overjoyed and asked Wang Bocai for details.

"Wang Xiucai, what is the solution, you can hear it."

"Wang Xiucai is a scholar, the most knowledgeable, his method will definitely succeed!"

"Wang Xiucai, the people of our village depend on you."

Hearing the villagers' congregation, Wang Bocai's eyes flashed with a hint of pride.

Then, Wang Bocai turned around and announced loudly to the villagers: "Folks, you probably don't know that our emperor has now left the imperial city and has come to our Suzhou on a southern tour!" According to the information I have received, his old man is currently temporarily living in the Canglang Pavilion of Nanchan Temple! Therefore, we can go to Canglang Pavilion together to find the emperor to appeal for grievances and sue the emperor! ”

Hearing Wang Bocai's idea, everyone quieted down, and the atmosphere became quite calm.

Looking for the emperor and suing the emperor? This is not something that these honest fishermen dare to do.

After a long time, Wu Shouzheng was the first to react, and said in a trembling voice: "Wang Xiucai, do you talk in a dream?" Looking for the emperor to redress his grievances? W-How can this work!? ”

"Why not!?" Seeing that the villagers were all hesitant and even a little retreating, Wang Bocai's voice became louder and firmer: "Today's saint is the master, if he knows our grievances, he will definitely make decisions for us!" Don't you know the truth that 'Hades is easy to see and little ghosts are difficult to deal with'? For the emperor, giving us compensation is just a matter of his old man's words, and he can earn a good reputation for himself and get the praise of our Suzhou people, which can be described as a hundred benefits and no harm! In fact, as far as I know, during the period when the emperor and his old man lived in Canglang Pavilion, he had already done a lot of good things for the people! As long as you follow my idea, you can have at least ninety percent of the certainty of this matter! ”

Seeing that Wang Bocai was so determined, except for Wu Shouzheng, the villagers were a little shaken.

It's just that for the villagers, things like "seeing the emperor" and "suing the emperor" are too terrifying, so they can't make up their minds for a while.

Seeing that the villagers' expressions were still a little hesitant, Wang Bocai's brows furrowed, but he said again: "In addition, on my way here, I heard that the villagers of Li Jiaji and the western village also have the same idea, and now they have rushed to Canglang Pavilion to sue the emperor!" So many people are going to sue the royal court, what are we afraid of? Could it be that the government can still put all of us in prison for thousands of people? ”

Since ancient times, the words "the law does not blame the public" have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, coupled with Wang Bocai's full encouragement, as well as the temptation of silver, the villagers finally let go of their fears, agreed with Wang Bocai's thoughts, and said: "Wang Xiucai is reasonable, let's sue the emperor!" ”

"Yes, there are so many of us, what are we afraid of!"

"The emperor will definitely make decisions for us!"

At first, only one or two people agreed, but gradually, almost all the villagers agreed with Wang Bocai's idea and showed great excitement.

Only the village head, Wu Shouzheng, is still calm, but the general trend is difficult to disobey, but there is nothing to be done.

In fact, under the command of Wang Bocai, Wu Shouzheng was soon coerced by the villagers and went in the direction of Suzhou City!

……

At the same time, similar things are happening in all the places in Suzhou, including Lijiaji and Xilin Village, that have been plagued by the Japanese pirates!

The Canglang Pavilion of Nanchan Temple, from this day on, is destined to be eventful.

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PS: Well, a big chapter of 5,000 words, the first update today!

…… (To be continued.) )