From the memory in my mind, I know that this Mr. Tang is simply a tiger that eats people without spitting out bones. Everyone secretly calls him Tang Laohu, which shows that this man has a bad reputation in the surrounding countryside.
"It seems that with this Tang Laohu, you will die or I will live. But now...it's better not to mess with him first. But if you don't take the imperial examination, it seems a little difficult to protect yourself just by being a scholar."
."
Thinking of this, Liu Jin couldn't help but frown.
Since Tang Laohu dares to kill Liu Jin, it shows that he is confident and does not care about Liu Jin's status as a scholar. Although his status as a scholar is not bad, he already has the ability to not kneel before officials, and he can directly submit his lawsuit to the court.
The power to appear before the magistrate.
However, scholars could not hold official posts and were not exempted from taxes and corvee. In fact, they still did not break away from the original class. However, the Ming Dynasty treated scholars favorably, and scholars could be regarded as having half a foot out of their status as mud-legged people.
"It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge in ten years. He should first develop his microcosm."
After much deliberation, Liu Jin couldn't think of any good countermeasures for a while, so he could only put this matter aside.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Liu Jin's mother, Wang, walked in carrying a large bowl.
"Here, eat this bowl of noodles."
Wang brought the face to Liu Jin's bedside and said with a smile on her face.
Liu Jin picked up the bowl. It was a big and thick bowl. There was only half a bowl of noodles in the bowl, and the rest was noodle soup.
From the memory in my mind, I know that Liu Jin's family has more than ten acres of farmland. Today, people have always been frivolous and low-end, and they have worked hard for a year, but they can still live a comfortable life. Otherwise, the Wang family would not have sent Liu Jin to study.
.
However, not every household can afford to eat white flour, especially if it is eaten every day. For ordinary families, if there is no land at home, eating white flour every day is a luxury.
"It's delicious, but my mother's cooking is better."
Liu Jin was indeed hungry. He ate a lot of noodles. When this man is hungry, everything he eats tastes good.
Wang made this bowl of noodles without putting anything in it, just clear soup noodles, but Liu Jin tasted it very fragrant and quickly ate all the noodles and soup.
"Looks like you're starving. I'll cook you another bowl."
Seeing that Liu Jin had eaten cleanly, Mrs. Wang was all smiles. Guessing that Liu Jin was not full, she turned around and prepared to cook another bowl.
"Mom, I'm full, there's no need to cook anymore."
Liu Jin smiled and said that there was not much food at home. Wang always put all the good things in Liu Jin's mouth. She usually couldn't bear to eat more of this white flour. She often went to the beach to pick up some.
Sea vegetables, shrimps and crabs to satisfy hunger.
Sea vegetables, shrimps and crabs were considered seafood in later generations and were much more expensive than white noodles. However, in the Ming Dynasty, these things were only eaten by poor families. Those who had the conditions only ate white noodles and rice.
At Wang's insistence, Liu Jin rested in bed for three days before being allowed to go out and walk around.
The village where Liu Jin is located is called Xiahetun. There is a small river flowing through the entrance of the village, hence the name. The people in the whole village are ancestors who migrated from other places, so the surnames are relatively mixed, unlike some other villages.
, the whole village has the same surname, or there is one dominant surname.
Liu Jin was wearing a long robe and a square scarf on his head, dressed like a scholar. He was wandering around the village very leisurely, admiring the ancient village.
The entire Xiaohetun Village is not too big, with just over 40 households and a few hundred people. The houses in the village are all low mud houses, the kind that are filled with yellow mud and have a thatch on top.
As for the built houses, although Liu Jin's house is dilapidated, it is still made of bricks and wood, and it is considered the best house in the village.
"Brother Jin, are you okay?"
"It's okay, I'm not very lively~"
"God bless you. Brother Jin, you survived the catastrophe and will be blessed in the future."
"I'd like to lend you some good advice."
"Brother Jin, study hard and pass the exam. Then you won't have to be afraid of that Tang Laohu when you become a civil servant in the future."
Along the way, the villagers Liu Jin met greeted Liu Jin warmly.
Although Liu Jin is a scholar, he does not have the airs of a scholar. He has a good relationship with everyone in the village. The people in the village are also kind-hearted people. They have always taken good care of the orphan and widowed Li Jin family, and helped plant the fields during busy farming days.
Otherwise, it would be difficult for Wang alone to cultivate more than ten acres of land.
Of course, this has something to do with Liu Jin's cheap father. In the past, when Liu Jin's father was here, if any family in the village was in trouble or something, Liu Jin's father would help, and everyone would keep it in mind.
Xiahetun is not a big place, and it took Liu Jin more than ten minutes to visit it. The young people in the village are busy in the fields. Now is the time to plant winter wheat, and even the older children have to pick up hoes.
, go to work in the fields.
There are only some old people left in the whole village who are too old to work in the fields, as well as some women with children, and little children running around.
"They are really poor. The so-called ZTE is nothing more than that."
After visiting the village, Liu Jin couldn't help but shake his head.
The whole Xiahetun is very poor, every family is poor, there are shabby thatched houses and mud houses, the clothes everyone wears are very shabby, they don’t even have a pair of shoes on their feet, straw sandals are luxury goods, Liu Jin even
I saw some kids walking around naked.
Everyone I saw was dark and thin, some were even skinny and skinny, as if they were seriously ill, but in fact it was just caused by not having enough to eat and not wearing warm clothes for a long time.
You must know that this is the tenth year of Hongzhi. Emperor Hongzhi is a very good emperor. He has always been thrifty and thrifty, and is very opposed to extravagance. The ministers in the court are also upright people with good reputations.
It should be said that under such a rule, the life of the common people should still be good, but this was the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and land annexation was becoming increasingly serious.
Taking the entire Xiahetun as a whole, only half of the more than 40 households have their own land. The remaining 20 or so households all have no land and can only make a living by farming for the landlords. They are also the most miserable in the village.
There are more than 20 families with farmland, and their farmland is not too much, only three or four acres at most. However, every household has seven or eight people, and some even have more than a dozen or more than 20 people.
The output of the fields is very limited. If you want to support such a big family with just a few acres of land, you can imagine how difficult it will be for everyone.
Liu Jin's family has more than ten acres of land. There are only two people, Wang and Liu Jin. This is considered a wealthy family in Xiahetun. They can only send Liu Jin to study with more than ten acres of land. Otherwise, he would not be able to study at all.
.
In the final analysis, it is still a matter of land.
With every dynasty change, the most important land will undergo huge changes, and as time goes by, the phenomenon of land annexation in the past dynasties will slowly become more and more serious.
It has been more than 100 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and land annexation has become quite serious. More and more people have lost the land they depended on for a living, and have become farm laborers for wealthy households. They work hard to farm the land all year round, and in the end they have no money to eat.
Not enough to eat.
As for those families with some land, life is actually not easy, because all kinds of taxes, etc. will eventually fall on these people.
As for those big landowners and gentry, they often have the privilege of tax exemption and own a large amount of fertile land, but they do not have to pay taxes or pay grain. However, if the court wants to maintain its operation, it is impossible without taxes.
So as time goes by, more and more privileged gentry are occupying more and more land, and taxes are slowly transferred to farmers who own small amounts of land. The pressure of taxes will only increase.
It is getting heavier and heavier, which will eventually intensify the annexation of land.
People seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Farmers with land will donate their land to the gentry who have tax-free privileges. In the end, the taxes collected by the court will become less and less. In the Ming Dynasty, until now,
The tax money collected annually is only over 3 million taels, and no one would believe it even if I told him.
Under such circumstances, ordinary people can barely survive when they have good years. However, once there is a natural disaster or man-made disaster, it will be difficult for ordinary people to survive, so gangsters will appear everywhere, and countless Chen Sheng and Wu Guang will appear.
The chaotic scene that emerged.
As Liu Jin walked, he kept thinking about the situation in Xiahetun.
Liu Jin has read a lot of historical novels, and there are many historical novels about the Ming Dynasty. The most fundamental reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty is the same as that of previous dynasties, which is the issue of land annexation. As for the Little Ice Age, internal and external troubles, and party disputes
, factory guards and the like are just external causes and are indispensable in all dynasties.
"Why do you think about these things? It's better to think about your own affairs first."
Soon, Liu Jin also shook his head. As a common man with a flat head, there is no need to just eat carrots and worry about it. It is true that he should find a way to live a good life for himself first.
After visiting the village, Liu Jin also walked towards the seaside. Xiahetun was close to the seaside. It was only a few miles away from the seaside. This sea was also known as the Bohai Sea in later generations.