Chapter 0009 Can you ensure they have enough to eat for a lifetime

Can smuggling salt sustain so many people

Yes, it is the kind that is very passionate, intense, and uplifting, without any sense of committing crimes or flirting with danger.

You all come from a background of suffering. If it were not for natural disasters and man-made calamities that took away your land, how could you come to my home to engage in such life-threatening activities? How could you not wish to continue cultivating the land?

Although he was quite displeased with the Southern Song Dynasty and with Zhao Gou, he had not reached the point of feeling compelled to rebel; he merely felt that he was unfortunate, with a "Yang Wei" official above his head

Rebellion must be based on a territory, and Su Yonglin's rebellion is even more significant as it is conducted in a different region, having fled from the Southern Song to rebel against the Jin dynasty, making the base of operations all the more crucial

With food, drink, wages, and holidays provided, what else is there to fight for

At first, he was very sad, trying to use the money he had on him to support them, so that they could have a full meal

For instance, the amount of military expenditure accumulated, the quantity of grain stored, the number of swords, armor, bows, crossbows, and other military equipment, all these matters will be communicated to everyone in detail

Thus, every member of the entire gang worked with fervent dedication, the salt workers toiled diligently in production, while those responsible for sales tirelessly navigated their boats back and forth, bravely advancing towards this goal

While selling salt in Taizhou, I personally witnessed poor people urinating on a stone because they could not afford salt. When I asked them why they did this, they said it was a method taught to them by the elders. They believed that when the sun evaporated the urine, salt would appear on the stone, and they would take that salt home to continue eating.

Even if the farmers have paid their taxes in full, officials can arbitrarily declare that their payments are inadequate, forcing them to grit their teeth and continue paying

Can I provide them with a hearty meal, or can I ensure they have enough to eat for a lifetime

Thus, to this day, Su Yonglin has stirred the emotions of everyone with his exuberant spirit, plain and comprehensible language, and rich body language

Moreover, once they have attained this goal, the production and sale of illicit salt suddenly become a passionate endeavor

He is unfamiliar with the place and lacks the assistance of locals, making it very difficult to rebel against the Jin dynasty

Moreover, his luck is quite good

For several years, he has consistently recounted the tragic stories of ordinary people that he learned while selling illicit salt.

However, he also thought that Zhao Gou was no longer young, and once he abdicated in favor of Emperor Xiaozong, he would probably be able to calm his mind.

No one finds it strange anymore that the Northern Song dynasty rebelled against the Jin dynasty

Next is the base for rebellion

But how can we reach out to help them

If one wishes to pay a little less, it is possible; there are businesses in the community that specialize in assisting farmers in their dealings with the government. Of course, the agency fees are not cheap, typically charging two to three thousand yuan at a time

Even more terrifying is the system of five classes of households

You harbor compassion, which is certainly commendable, but can you provide them with a meal for a day, and can you ensure they have enough to eat for a lifetime?

After searching high and low, he found that the Shandong region was still the most suitable as his base for rebellion

Before the southward migration, although landlords who killed tenants were sentenced to a lesser punishment, they were still exiled to neighboring provinces. When the Zhao family migrated south, in the first year of Shaoxing, they announced that landlords who killed tenants would only be sentenced to a lesser punishment and would only need to be exiled within the same province. This opened up too many possibilities, and since the Shaoxing era, tenants have found it increasingly difficult to protect their own lives

Even if I can provide them with a lifetime of food security, can I ensure a lifetime of food security for all the displaced people?

While on a mission to gather intelligence, Su Yin fortuitously met the local tycoon Zhao Kaishan from Yizhou.

He instructed them on what to do, while continuously propagating the idea that the Jin state would inevitably be defeated and that they would surely achieve victory—once we defeat the Jin state, we will have the capital and confidence to assist them

Because they all know that they are selling illicit salt to raise funds for the military expenses of their rebellion to the north, in order to achieve their goals and realize their ideals

The more they earn now, the greater the likelihood of success in the future, allowing everyone to realize their ideals more quickly

He will still hold study sessions regularly, continue to lecture during these sessions, and publicly disclose the specific progress of the significant event of rebellion, allowing them to understand what they have accomplished and where they stand on the path of rebellion

Su Yonglin finally understood how much of the so-called wealth of the Song Dynasty was watered by the blood and tears of the farmers

It is better not to speak of these tragic events; once they are spoken of, how can one not feel a sense of desolation

They developed a simple emotion of wanting to reach out and lend them a hand

Su Yonglin has spent many years either accompanying his family or venturing out alone to engage in the smuggling of salt. He has traveled through dozens of prefectures in the southeastern region of the Southern Song Dynasty and has witnessed countless tragedies of families torn apart and lives shattered under the brutal rule of the Southern Song Dynasty.

He thought of those high-class individuals who were lost in intoxication and dreams by the West Lake

Anyway, since my life is so good, the cuisine of the Song Dynasty is particularly excellent, and life is comfortable. Once Zhao Gou is finally gone, that unpleasant feeling will probably disappear as well

He is certain that it is probably not possible

At the beginning, not many people were willing to feel, like Su Yonglin, that they should fight so that more people would not have to suffer so terribly

In Songyang, I encountered an elderly beggar who had lost a leg and was begging for alms. I gave him some money and inquired why, at his age, he was begging and where his family was. He replied that he was originally a tenant farmer, working the land for a landlord. His daughter was quite beautiful, and he had taken a concubine for the landlord, believing that they would live a good life.

Indeed, the sufferings of the world are generally astonishingly uniform

This sentence left Su Yonglin stunned

However, his cheap father, Su Shengren, stopped him

Su Yonglin has a solution

At that time, the nine-year-old Su Yonglin cast his gaze towards the direction of Lin'an

The private salt trading group of the Su family provided him with this basic foundation, uniting people's hearts and ensuring relatively ample funds, thus meeting the preliminary conditions.

To speak frankly, when he was just "born" during the Southern Song Dynasty, Su Yonglin lived a life of luxury, enjoying fine clothes and sumptuous food, and his days were relatively comfortable

Su Yonglin enables them to see that their team is making significant strides towards their ideals, which instills a strong sense of motivation and drive within the entire team

I personally witnessed two tenants being hanged from a tree and beaten to death by the landlord in Chuzhou. When I inquired about the reason, I learned that they had been farming daily and were simply too exhausted, so they took a brief nap in the fields. Unfortunately, they were discovered and subsequently beaten to death

As a farmer in the prosperous Song dynasty, in addition to paying land taxes, one also had to cover the transportation costs for delivering the taxes to the payment location.

Thus, he dispatched Su Yin along with an intelligence team to the north, on one hand to probe the strength of the Jin dynasty's regime, and on the other hand to search for suitable locations to establish a base for rebellion

Su Yonglin was very pleased to feel the enthusiasm of the members

The current days are quite good

Thus, with a slight guidance from Su Yonglin, these unfortunate individuals were able to share their past experiences, which were filled with unknown scars and tears; yet, they sounded remarkably familiar.

Overturn you, bury you, and ensure that you never rise again, should that suffice

After they wept in each other's arms, they gradually began to look outward, reflecting on their past and observing the wretched farmers who still lived in their own past.

Two years ago, during a heavy snowfall, I was in Shouning discussing matters with someone. Outside the county town, I saw some people transporting the bodies of individuals who were in tattered clothing. I asked them who these people were, and they said they were all farmers from outside the city who had no land and no place to live, sleeping outside in the dead of winter, and they froze to death overnight

Such thoughts disappeared after he accompanied his father, Su Shengren, to sell smuggled salt and see the world when he was nine years old

In order to achieve this feasible goal, they are now striving to engage in the illicit salt trade, working hard to earn more wealth, which will then be entirely submitted to Su Yonglin for unified arrangement

A few days later, he saw a corpse being taken out. He followed and discovered that it was his own daughter, covered in wounds, and he had no idea what had happened to her. He sought justice but had his leg broken and was driven out of the village, left to beg for survival. He wanted to report to the authorities, but the government completely ignored him

This tax item is highly operable, with no rigid regulations, allowing officials to manipulate it at will. When funds are short, they arbitrarily increase the charges, typically following the principle of "officials collect one year's rent, while the people pay double the tax." Officials at all levels exploit the situation, and all the burdens are ultimately borne by the farmers

People who share a common tragic experience can easily develop empathy for one another

He infected everyone with his powerful emotional influence, and the atmosphere of the entire team gradually changed

What he saw upon going out was astonishing poverty and suffering

In such a small area, with productivity being what it is, how can it create an impression of affluence, if not through the doubled ferocity of exploitation?

However, Su Yonglin did not feel discouraged

Rebellion is a technical endeavor; to successfully rebel, one needs a fundamental foundation for rebellion—reliable personnel and relatively sufficient funds

The pancake is painted well, the more property one has, the more taxes one pays, but in practice, it becomes a way for the authorities to exploit people. If they say you are wealthy, then you are considered wealthy, even if you only have a few acres of poor farmland, while over there, the landlord with a thousand acres of fertile land is deemed a poor household

They simply believe that as long as they are not hungry, everything is fine

Then, Su Shengren's words awakened Su Yonglin

Thus, after twenty-seven years in Shaoxing, the Su Group had essentially unified its thoughts and objectives

So what should be done to ensure that they all have enough to eat

Su Yonglin looked at the refugees in front of him, who were so emaciated that they barely resembled human beings