Some of the peasants wore clothes full of patches and holes, and were sallow and thin. They were probably the homesteaders who were most exploited by the government servants. Some of them wore slightly more respectable short brown clothes, and they were probably tenant farmers who devoted themselves to the gentry. But no matter who they were,
They are all poor peasants oppressed by tax-evading gentry.
Li Zhi stood on the execution platform and pressed his hands on the peasants who shouted loudly to kill them.
The farmers cooperated very well with the Duke of Jin. When they saw Li Zhi's actions, they all became quiet and looked at the execution platform quietly.
The people watching the execution were so united that Li Zhi no longer needed to explain the meaning of the execution to the people. Li Zhi turned around and looked at the dozens of gentry kneeling on the execution platform.
At the front of the execution platform is the chief culprit of this counter-tide, Denglai Governor Shi Hanzhang.
Shi Hanzhang, the governor of Denglai on the stage, looked pale. He was greatly shocked when he saw Li Zhi's leadership to the people. Thinking about when he went on patrol before, the people looked at their flags and honor guards, and their eyes were numb.
Cowering. But when these people looked at Li Zhi, their eyes were shining, as if they saw hope and reliance.
It seems that as long as you follow Li Zhi, you can get fairness and justice.
Li Zhi did not humanely destroy the gentry, nor did he seize the gentry's property. Li Zhi only did the most fair thing - prohibiting the gentry from evading taxes. But this incident faced one of the most critical ills of the Ming Dynasty.
He immediately won the hearts and minds of the people. Li Zhi cut off the cancer of tax evasion with a knife, and the lives of Shandong farmers suddenly became a lot better.
With fairness and justice, there is hope in the lives of farmers. The faces of the farmers watching the execution had a confidence that they had never had before, which was confidence in a better future.
Shi Hanzhang looked at the faces of the farmers in the audience and felt more and more that going against Li Zhi was the worst decision in his life.
The Duke of Jin provided disaster relief for a year, so that the people of Shandong did not starve to death. The Duke of Jin equalized the land tax, so that the people could have enough food and clothing. Now in the hearts of the people, as long as the Duke of Jin is in Shandong, the future will be different.
Shi Hanzhang felt that if Li Zhi threw himself into the crowd of farmers in the audience now, he would definitely be beaten to death by these people.
Shi Hanzhang crawled on the ground for a few steps, trying to crawl to Li Zhi's feet to beg for mercy, but was kicked back by the soldiers guarding him. The soldiers went up and violently pushed Shi Hanzhang back, pressed him to the ground, and asked him to kneel down.
Li Zhi walked up to Shi Hanzhang curiously, wanting to hear what Shi Hanzhang wanted to say.
When Shi Hanzhang saw Li Zhi coming over, he kowtowed to Li Zhi three times and said loudly: "Duke Jin! Duke Jin, you are the lord of Shandong. After experiencing this incident, I deeply realized this.
Although I once initiated the shameless act of overthrowing the Duke of Jin, now I am deeply aware of the support of the people of Shandong for the Duke of Jin. I know better than anyone else the authority and power of the Duke of Jin!"
"If the Duke of Jin kills me, and the new governor doesn't know what is going on, he might have to confront the Duke of Jin again. If the Duke of Jin leaves me with a despicable life, I will naturally cooperate with the Duke of Jin in everything and be the most obedient person.
The governor!"
"The Duke of Jin thinks twice. It will be of great benefit to leave a small life behind!"
Hearing Shi Hanzhang's humble begging for mercy, Li Zhi sneered and said, "Shi Hanzhang, what you said makes sense."
After a pause, Li Zhi continued: "But on the other hand, if I don't kill you, people in the world will not know how ruthless I, Li Zhi, am, and will think that I am weak and can be bullied. If you are honest, others will be ready to take action.
"
"So you must die today!"
When Shi Hanzhang heard Li Zhi's words, he rushed to Li Zhi, hugged Li Zhi's calf, and said loudly: "Dong Jin, I will play to the emperor. I will play to the emperor to praise your benevolent government in Shandong and bridge the suspicion between you and the emperor."
!”
Li Zhi looked at Shi Hanzhang and said nothing.
The execution soldiers came up and grabbed Governor Denglai, dragged him back to where he was, and pointed the muzzle of their rifle at his head.
Shi Hanzhang was completely devastated for a moment, with two lines of thick tears streaming down his face.
With a "pop", a bloody flower bloomed on the back of Shi Hanzhang's head. His eyes were so wide open that he fell forward and fell on the execution platform with a thud.
The people who were watching came to see the execution after listening to the newspapers. They all knew that Shi Hanzhang was the culprit this time. Seeing the culprit being shot, the people were very excited and shouted: "Okay!"
"Good! Good kill!"
"Kill these dog officials who oppress farmers!"
Li Zhi turned his head and looked at another Shandong scholar leader, retired Guizhou governor Chen Wanxin.
The color on Chen Wanxin's face had gone, and his old body was crumbling in the autumn wind. But his eyes were still a bit stubborn. He stared at Li Zhi with his eyes wide open, as if he was looking at an enemy.
The executing soldier walked behind Chen Wanxin and raised his rifle.
Chen Wanxin suddenly opened his mouth and cursed at Li Zhi:
"Li Thief, don't think that if you kill us, you can sit back and relax in Shandong! I tell you Li Zhi, the emperor grew up reading Confucian classics and was taught by the sages of Donglin! Don't think that the emperor is now
The reason why I won’t treat you is because the emperor appreciates you, but it’s not the time to treat you yet. If you slaughter the scholars like this, the emperor will never tolerate you.”
Hearing Chen Wanxin's words, Li Zhi sneered.
The execution soldier pointed the rifle at Chen Wanxin's back and pressed the trigger. There was only a crisp sound, and Chen Wanxin's heart was shattered by the rifle bullet. He vomited blood and fell softly to the ground with a thud.
Li Zhi looked at the other death row prisoners and was about to let the soldiers execute him. A death row prisoner whose "cutting mark" said "Juren Zhouxuemu" suddenly jumped up, stood and cursed at Li Zhi:
"Li Thief! Don't think that you can be unscrupulous just because you control Shandong Province. If you massacre the scholars like this, the princes in the court will not let you go. The gentry in Nanzhili will not let you go, and the gentry in Zhejiang will not let you go."
Let you go! The gentry in Jiangxi will not let you go! You are the public enemy of the gentry in the world!"
"This world belongs to the gentry. The more prestigious you are, the more gentry will jump out to oppose you! Sooner or later, you will be knocked to the ground by the gentry in the world. All those who follow you will wake up and step on you.
foot!"
When these gentry were about to die, they still did not believe that Li Zhi could make enemies of the gentry in the world.
Seeing how arrogant Zhou Xuemu was, the common people shouted for death. Some people picked up stones and rotten vegetables on the ground and threw them in Zhou Xuemu's direction. All kinds of foreign objects fell like rain on Zhou Xuemu's head.
The soldier kicked Zhou Xuemu to the ground, pointed his rifle at his heart, and fired with a bang.
Zhou Xuemu screamed, his body twitched for a long time, and then he fell into a pool of blood and stopped moving.
Li Zhi waved his hand expressionlessly, and the soldiers raised their rifles and executed all the other thirty-seven people on the spot. The sound of "pop-pop" gunshots rang out, and all the "Shandong celebrities" who participated in the overthrow of Li Nitide fell to the ground.
On the execution platform, blood flowed into a stream.
