Chapter 120 A Good Thing and a Bad Thing

d, please wash your hands.""Wumei came over with a basin of warm water and looked at Yanglin with concern."Yang Lin nodded slowly, gently cleaning the blood from his hands.The blood was washed away, t...Just as he had just returned, Zhao Fugui also came back

"Jǐngge, I'm leaving first!"

Without saying much to Du Jing, Yang Lin hurriedly led Xiao Jiu away.

As soon as I stepped out of the yard, I saw Zhao Fu貴 running towards me, panting heavily.

"What happened to Uncle San"

Yang Lin hurried to meet him.

He knew that, barring special circumstances, Zhao Fugui wouldn't be returning.

Let's sit down and talk first.

Zhao Fuguai panted heavily, pointing at the stone under the big tree next to him.

A few people arrived under the big tree, only then did Zhao Fu貴 regain his breath and hurriedly said: "Yang Lin, something terrible has happened!"

"A good thing, a bad thing, which one do you want to hear first"

Yang Lin was taken aback, then let out a sigh of relief.

Since the other party still has the leisure to play coy, it shows that the matter is not a big deal.

"First the bitterness, then the sweetness. Let me tell you the bad things first," Yang Lin said.

"Good!"

Zhao Fuguai swallowed nervously, took a deep breath, then lowered his voice in a mysterious tone: “This morning, the government received a letter from the county saying that there's been a rebellion in the south!”

Rebellion

Yang Lin couldn't help but be taken aback.

Any time someone revolts, it's a major event!

"What's going on"

Yang Lin hurriedly followed up.

Zhao Fugui waved his hand and said, "Don't worry first. I heard that the place where the rebellion is taking place is in Suizhou, which is still seven or eight counties away from us, over a thousand miles. Besides, we don't even know what the situation is now. The superiors only ordered us to conscript civilians and grain!"

Hearing this, Yang Lin frowned again.

Now that corvee labor and taxes are already so heavy, do we need to conscript soldiers and grain as well

Koushan Village is still doing well; people are no longer worried about food and clothing. But the common people in other places aren't so lucky!

Originally, there wasn't enough food to go around. If someone were to take another portion...

It will kill you from starvation!

As for military service, that's even more of a headache.

Originally, corvée labor was divided into "military service" and "manual labor".

Corvée labor wasn't too bad; the wealthy could pay their way out, while those without means had to work for a month or two.

But conscription, in the Dàqián Dynasty, has always been mandatory!

Whoever it falls on, you cannot refuse.

Of course, the nobility are exempt from military service.

But Yang Lin knew clearly that his noble status was fake...

"What are the requirements for requisitioning grain and conscripts" Yang Lin asked hastily.

Zhao Fuguai sighed, "Ten thousand stones of grain! Five hundred laborers! Although there are now over ten thousand stones of grain in the city, Zhao Xiancheng still intends to levy grain from the people."

"Jianghe County has eight townships and sixty-nine villages, with each village required to contribute over a hundred shi of grain!"

Hearing this, Yang Lin's face had already turned pale.

One stone of grain is 120 kilograms! One hundred stones are over 10,000 kilograms!

If all ten thousand shi of grain were levied from the people, it would be equivalent to taking away two or three months' worth of their food supply!

Thus, starvation will become inevitable!

"As for the conscripts, it's alright. Every town sends sixty men, and each village only needs to send seven or eight people, sigh!"

Zhao Fugui finished speaking and let out a deep sigh as well.

Although it was only seven or eight people, everyone knew that these conscripted civilians were often sent to the front lines. Either they transported supplies as slaves, or they were sent to the battlefield to charge against the enemy, acting as human shields! Very few conscripted civilians survived to return home...

Seven or eight people is not a lot, but each one was raised by their parents. Knowing they were going to die, no one felt good about it.

"For how long will you be requisitioning conscripts and grain"

Yang Lin frowned and asked.

"Ten days!"

Zhao Fugui's face was heavy.

"Ten days... Let me think about it."er Zheng Dongqiao to Kaishan Village. Zhao Deyi could only return empty-handed. It seems that the county magistrate must have known long ago that Yang Lin was an official!Zhang Ping unknowingly though...