Chapter 19: Striking Down the Local Tyrants and Dividing Up the Land
"Hey! Fellow villagers! We are the People's Liberation Army, your own sons and brothers! Now the big landlord Ma's family of over a dozen people have been caught by the PLA and will be executed soon, come quickly to watch!" Ma Liu, who normally beats the drum in town, was now beating his broken gong, accompanied by two soldiers, shouting as he walked through the streets.
The Chinese love for excitement is a constant across all eras, especially in rural towns with limited entertainment options.
"Old Man Ma and his whole family have been arrested! Who dares to be so bold!"
"Yes, Old Man Ma is indeed on good terms with the county magistrate of the town!"
"Look at those soldiers, they're really weird, wearing clothes with all sorts of colors and patterns..."
"Alas, these ungrateful descendants, how could they cut off the braids left by their ancestors..."
After the initial panic, a few brave people slowly walked out of their homes. When they saw that the strange soldiers standing guard did not drive them away, the crowd on the street gradually grew. Especially after hearing that Ma Lao Tai Ye, the richest man in town, had been arrested, the murmurs among the crowds gathered at the street corners and alleys suddenly increased several times!
"Look quickly! The people of the Ma family have all been taken to the vegetable market at the town entrance!" It was unclear who shouted, but instantly everyone rushed towards the largest street in the town.
"Director! Almost everyone has arrived!"
Looking at the dense crowd below, Zhao Guang nodded and stood on the stage in his uniform, shouting: "Fathers, brothers, sisters and elders of Sansha Town, we are the People's Liberation Army of China, a military force dedicated to upholding justice for the people. Today, we have liberated Sansha Town, captured the landlord Ma Lao Ye and his family. If anyone has been oppressed by the Ma family in the past, please come forward boldly to accuse them. Today, our People's Liberation Army will take action on their behalf!"
After hearing his words, the crowd began to stir. The murmurs of discussion also started to grow louder and louder. However, after five or six minutes had passed, still no one dared to come forward, a testament to Ma's great prestige in the town!
"Don't worry, everyone. We have already defeated the Qing army, so from now on, no one will oppress us again. Everyone can speak freely." After a pause, Zhao Guang swept his gaze over the crowd and shouted loudly: "Don't you want to seek justice for the injustices you and your loved ones have suffered?"
"Sir, sir... Little Lao is willing to go on stage and correct!" At this moment, a bony and withered old arm was raised from the crowd.
"It's Old Man Wang!......"
"Yes, it was last spring that his daughter Cuihua was driven to death by Ma Lao Tai Ye's youngest son, Ma Youcai!"
"It's no wonder that old Wang has come out, at his age, without even a single person to care for him in his old age, now standing up to avenge his daughter, he must have also given up on life..."
"Alright, hurry up and get the two of them to help this old man up!" Zhao Guang's heart was filled with great joy as he hastily instructed. As long as someone gets on stage and brings out the hatred that everyone has been harboring in their hearts, then his goal will be achieved.
"An old man, a poor life from birth to death, no name, only the surname Wang in my family, I am the fourth child, so everyone calls me Wang Laosi! I hope you can take care of my poor daughter, wu wu..." The old man said, and with a thud, he knelt down in front of Zhao Guang and began to cry.
"Please get up, elder. Our People's Army doesn't practice kneeling and bowing. If you have any grievances in your heart, just speak out, we will stand up for you!" Huo Guang hurriedly stretched out his hand to help the old man up and said.
"Your Honor, my daughter Wang Cuihua was only 16 years old. Last year, she was taken away by Ma Youcai, the young son of the Ma family in our town, who intended to rape her. My daughter refused and was beaten to death by that beast. I am now an old man with no one to rely on for my twilight years... Your Honor, please do justice for me! Waaahhh..."
The old man's words stirred up even more hatred, and almost as soon as he finished speaking, a young man in his twenties, who walked with a limp, stepped onto the stage!
"The adults, the small people call Zhou Er Gou, Ma's second son Ma De Cai, two months ago came to my house to collect rent, just because I was late for two days, he let his family beat me and broke my left leg, and even drove my old mother to death, sir..."
"The adults and children are reporting that Ma Chengcai, the eldest son of the Ma family and the town mayor, is arbitrarily collecting various taxes. If we can't pay, they force us to sell our sons and daughters..."
"Adult..."
Years of pent-up hatred, once triggered, immediately turned into a surging wave of revenge. The ordinary people who were usually oppressed shouted in anger, scaring the Ma family father and son on stage, their faces pale as they fell to the ground, a stench of urine emanating from beneath them.
He furrowed his brow, and Huo Hu was also startled by the angry roars of over a thousand people. He said with some emotion: "Now I finally understand why Young Master repeatedly emphasized the importance of handling the peasant problem properly. The power that erupts from the masses is truly formidable!"
"Yes, now what we need to do is to reasonably guide this power of anger and let them help us overthrow the Qing government and add bricks and tiles to our great ideal of establishing a new China!" Qian Gang said solemnly beside him.
"Hmm, we must be cautious. All officers and soldiers must strictly observe our 'Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention'. Any violation will be dealt with severely!"
"Ah, right! I almost forgot one thing! Before we leave, the young master has assigned a task to the cultural work team and ordered that propaganda activities be launched immediately after occupying the place!" Qian Gang suddenly said.
"Let's leave this matter to the political commissar then, after all he is the chief official in charge of politics. These propaganda affairs are his responsibility." Huo Hu said with a flick of his sleeve.
"I hereby declare that Ma the Third and his three sons are guilty of rape, robbery and murder, resulting in five deaths and sixteen injuries. After multiple testimonies and conclusive evidence, according to the laws of the Chinese People's Military Base, I sentence the four men to death! The execution will be carried out immediately!"
As Zhao Guang was sentenced, four soldiers carrying out the execution raised their rifles!
"Bang... " Four crisp gunshots, with a large amount of fresh blood splashing everywhere, the death of four people suddenly made the crowd quiet and then burst into frenzied cheers.
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment and listen to me! Our People's Army will set up an office at the Ma family's mansion, where all landless households can go to register. We will allocate the Ma family's land according to population, dividing it equally among everyone. Additionally, we will buy and sell the Ma family's shops at market price; of course, families that don't have enough money can rent them first and pay later when they earn money! Furthermore, we will reduce all miscellaneous taxes in the town, exempting agricultural taxes for three years, and after three years, collecting one tenth of the tax. Of course, all these policies have a precondition: everyone must cut off the queue from behind their head! We won't force anyone, but if you come late, there won't be any land allocated to you!"
Everything that happened in Sansha Town was also staged simultaneously in the other nine villages. Huo Shan's self-made people's livelihood policy hit the nail on the head, and the various policies he had prepared more than 50 years in advance brought a new wind under the thick iron curtain of the Qing Dynasty! Similarly, the People's Army, which occupied the entire Xiapu County except for the county seat the next day, vigorously launched the campaign to overthrow the local tyrants and distribute land. Politics, economy, culture, education, everything began to develop forward according to Huo Shan's already prepared script. History entered an unknown future at this moment.
