The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

Changlu Saltworks.

Tang Hao was wearing tattered linen clothes and walking slowly towards a house.

After knocking on the door slowly, a dark-faced man opened the door.

This man was dark and thin, so thin that he looked like a layer of skin covering his bones. He was no different from those seriously ill and dying people.

The man looked at Tang Hao, who was as tall as a mountain, and subconsciously wanted to close the door.

After all, such a tall and majestic man is really rare in their village!

"Brother, don't be afraid. I came here to escape. I just want to beg for a drink of water and a stutter!"

"The salt farm is not peaceful recently. I heard that this noble man likes...many girls from other families have been kidnapped."

The land at home is still waiting for you to plant it, so hurry up and go home and plant it!

To put it bluntly, this is "class solidification."

"This is the only food in the house, you go ahead and eat it!"

If you want to cook salt, you must have the status of a kitchen household, but this status is a desperate one.

"Okay! Come in then, I'll find you some food!"

There is only one reason. People have fled and the land is deserted. Where will the court collect taxes?

What did you say?

The world is so big, do you want to see it?

Do you believe my legs were broken?

The lightest one for smuggling is an eighty stick. Even if you are lucky enough to survive the beating, you will definitely be crippled.

In essence, it is the continuation of the "scholars, farmers, industrialists and merchants" class.

"Then...in addition to the tax on the salt farm, you also have to bear the responsibilities of the state and county!"

The reason why it is so troublesome is that the court deliberately restricted it.

Comrade Zhu Chongba wanted to use these means to imprison the people of the Great Tomorrow in the villages and towns, so that they can cultivate the fields in peace and contentment, and let them work hard in a down-to-earth manner. Don’t think too much about the rest, it has nothing to do with them!

Tang Hao smiled upon seeing this, and then picked up the bowl politely.

While Tang Hao was thinking, Liu Dashan walked in with a small bowl.

Having said this, Liu Dashan lowered his head in silence, not daring to look at Tang Hao's eyes.

If you were an ordinary kitchen household, would you dare to try selling private salt?

In other words, whether you are a kitchen household or not, if you dare to sell the salt you cooked, they will kill your head!

In order to ensure the income of the salt industry, the Ming Dynasty fixed the kitchen households in the salt field. In terms of controlling the number of kitchen households and other aspects, it adopted various harsh and abnormal methods, such as "all servants are permanently filled, and no arbitrary registration is allowed". That is to say, when there is a shortage of cooks, nearby farmers or prisoners are directly recruited to fill the gap.

Because during the corvee period, you were enslaved, beaten and scolded by others, driven and even extorted. If you resisted at all, you would be beaten and scolded. You had no money for medical treatment, so you would lose half your life in one corvee!

"Brother Liu, this is my request, so you don't have to think too much."

Tang Hao smiled warmly when he heard this, and said sincerely: "There is nothing to hesitate, you can make a living wherever you go!"

Tang Hao was startled when he heard this, and his fists clenched together unconsciously.

Under the salt and iron monopoly system, the salt produced by kitchen households can only be sold to the government, and the price is naturally extremely high. The government can easily earn a huge price difference by selling the salt, so this This also gave rise to the emergence of private salt dealers.

This also means that whatever the grandfather is, the son will be the same, and will be the same for generations to come. If nothing unexpected happens, they will have no chance to change in this life.

"The day to pay the salt tax is coming soon. If we can't come up with so much salt, our family will..."

"You go to Mr. Chai's place to register, and I'll go shopping with you, okay, Nannan?"

"Okay, I am Liu Dashan, and I will be your cousin from now on!"

"After a lifetime of boiling salt, my body has long since become useless and I won't live much longer."

But even at this point, he still told Tang Hao exactly what he said without hiding it.

However, from another perspective, Comrade Zhu Chongba did not do many things authentically, or it may be said that his "small farmer thinking" and "family world" thinking deeply influenced him, and the pattern was too small. .

After saying that, Liu Dashan sat on the bed and glared at Nannan.

In addition, this household registration system strictly prohibits the change of household status. Various household registrations have hereditary occupations and cannot be changed. The children of farmers have been farming for generations, the descendants of craftsmen have been working for generations, and the descendants of military households have been serving in the army for generations.

This is why Tang Hao took the initiative to become a kitchen householder, and the man's heart was moved.

Under the quilt, a head poked out, blinking big eyes, staring at Tang Hao unblinkingly.

Fortunately, he finally swallowed it, but it was too loud.

"Are you really going to be a kitchen household?"

But when the government asks for salt tax, you must hand over a sufficient amount of salt, otherwise the officials will not care whether you are dead or alive, and they will arrest you if you don’t have salt. Then you must find a way to fill the hole, otherwise At that time, the entire family would be beheaded.

"Brother, I'm at a loss as well!"

Maybe people who don’t understand will say that in addition to paying the so-called salt tax for the salt cooked by Zaohu, you can sell the excess to make money, but you will be beheaded!

Civilian households worked in agriculture and paid agricultural taxes to the state and performed corvee service; military households were obliged to perform military service and serve as soldiers in various military posts; craftsman households had to perform labor for the palace, government and government-run handicraft industries.

Tang Hao was not in a hurry and waited quietly for the man's answer.

There is a quilt on the side of the bed, which is full of patches, and some clumps of black cotton can be seen in some tattered areas.

There is a saying that since Tang Hao came to the Ming Dynasty, he saved the little emperor's life on the first day, so his living standard has skyrocketed. He also went to the palace to meet the emperor when he had nothing to do, and shared the palace meals with the little emperor.

Liu Dashan glanced at Tang Hao suspiciously, but didn't think much about it.

This is a bowl of rice bran porridge. The rice is basically invisible, but the rice bran is still enough, but it makes your throat a little scratchy after drinking it.

The little girl hurriedly retracted her head into the quilt like a frightened rabbit.

The kitchen households of the Changlu Saltworks either lost their descendants or had no one left, or risked their lives to escape and become refugees.

In other words, if Tang Hao was willing, if he punched him, the broken wooden board and the man behind the door might all die.

Because once a Zao household was included in the Zao registry, their descendants would all become slaves for making salt and lose their personal freedom. Their descendants would live in this inhumane life of purgatory without any hope.

Liu Dashan coughed heavily and said nothing more.

The use of seawater to boil salt has a long history, which can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. This traditional skill of boiling salt was gradually eliminated until the emergence of the sun-dried salt method.

Liu Dashan smiled sadly and then looked at Tang Hao.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Gao Zhu Yuanzhang chose to inherit the Yuan Dynasty's "various household registration" household registration system, and directly forcibly divided the household registrations of ordinary people into civilian households, military households, craftsman households, etc.

Moreover, applying for a "road guide" is also a troublesome matter. You must first apply to the local Lijia in your hometown, and then submit it to the prefecture and county for review. After approval, the "road guide" will be issued.

The living standards suddenly changed drastically. Zhongshan Hou was really uncomfortable with it and almost vomited out the only food in his house.

And this house is just a straw shed.

Tang Ritian?

Why does this name sound weird?

You can call him great, he is indeed great. He can write the slightly outrageous "Edict" for the sake of the common people. He can resolutely carry out anti-corruption and punish corrupt officials to death. From this point of view, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed a great emperor.

Hearing this, the man almost didn't even think about it and just slammed the door shut.

The identity of all subjects was stipulated by imperial decree, and this identity was continued from generation to generation without any change.

Tang Hao smiled and spoke.

This means that the Salt Transportation Department is responsible for collecting salt taxes, but the prefectures and counties require households to provide handymen!

It is actually very common for this kind of thing to happen to the salt farm households.

Another example is the household registration system.

To be honest, this was the first time that Liu Dashan, who was behind the door, had seen someone fleeing the famine and fleeing to this purgatory, and also actively asked to be a kitchen householder.

As for the service he mentioned, it was another outrageous thing.

In fact, this door is not even a door, it is just a broken wooden board.

Zaohu Zaohu is the person who cooks salt in the salt farm.

The "Road Guide" must indicate your name, age, address, reason for the incident, start and end locations, and return deadline.

The little girl jumped up and nodded, then stretched out her little hand and placed it on Tang Hao's big hand.

Finally, the man pushed open the door and looked at Tang Hao warily.

To be honest, Emperor Taizu Gao Zhu Yuanzhang is really not easy to evaluate.

Good words can't persuade you to die!

He has done his best.

"Brother Ritian, I'm sorry for you. I shouldn't have let you go into this pit of fire, but there's really nothing I can do about it!"

As a result, their lives are very difficult and miserable, and they are even far inferior to those wealthy businessmen with millions of dollars.

Seeing this, Tang Hao didn't quite understand, and said, "Brother Liu, this is..."

Therefore, Zaohu is a group of poor people who have been in purgatory since birth and are destined to live a worse life than a dog from a wealthy family.

"My baby starved to death because his mother had no milk. Where can I find food for you?"

To put it bluntly, Comrade Zhu Chongba was trying to use such a deformed system to maintain the entire Ming Empire for thousands of generations!

Moreover, there is also a kind of "stove household" among these craftsmen, such as the man hiding behind the door panel. Their life is no different from purgatory.

Not to mention having enough food and clothing, even feeding the family has become a problem. Even the children and grandchildren will be like me, with no possibility of turning over in this life.

So what this man said just now is...

"Nanny, take Brother Ritian out for a walk. Get acquainted with the folks first, but don't go too far. If you see those bad guys, go home. Do you hear me?"

Liu Dashan watched Tang Hao finish the rice bran porridge in one breath, swallowed subconsciously, and then said: "Brother, what is your name? I will go to Master Cha to register right away, what do you think? "

Nannan, a little girl.

This bed was also made of soil and a few wooden boards, with a thick layer of hay spread on top.

When the little girl heard this, she poked her head out of the quilt and nodded happily.

Because during the corvee period, he was far away from his hometown, his wife and children, and his wife and children were insulted and even killed by others without knowing it. After returning home, they basically ended up with their families broken up!

You went to do corvee work, there are no young people at home, the work of cooking salt is delayed, and you cannot pay the corresponding amount of salt, which is the so-called salt tax. Those officials and minions will not care whether you have anyone at home. It is better if no one is at home. The older ones go first. Play it yourself, and when you have enough, sell it to a brothel. The smaller ones are more valuable, and sell them to a higher-grade brothel to train them from an early age...

When Tang Hao walked into the hut and took a look, his brows suddenly knitted together.

One large and one small, they just walked out of the house.

Without milk, the child starved to death.

"Okay, my name is Tang Ritian and I am your cousin. What do you think?"

The so-called "road guide" is a travel voucher. Its essence is a measure taken by the imperial court to restrict population movement and tie the population to the land.

"There's nothing to eat! There's nothing to eat! Get out of here!"

It’s hard to imagine how these kitchen households survive in this humid area on the Bohai Sea.

According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, although the salt field kitchen households were under the jurisdiction of the Salt Transportation Department, their names were in the prefecture and county.

Liu Dashan sighed, and then coughed violently.

Because of poverty, because of hardship, because there is nothing to eat, because there is not enough food to fill the stomach, the mother has no milk and can only watch her child starve to death!

At this moment, he just felt that he deserved to be harmed by others.

There were a lot of things piled up in the thatched shed. The only thing that was relatively clean was a bed, or something that could be called a "bed".

There is no way not to be moved, and there is no reason not to be moved, because the man is already disabled, his body has been destroyed by boiling salt all the time, and now he can no longer boil salt.

Take the road guide system for example. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, people need a road guide whenever they go hundreds of miles away from their place of origin. Otherwise, the soldiers will be punished as deserters and the people will be punished as smuggling.

The Changlu Salt Farm is close to the Bohai Sea and naturally produces salt mainly, so it is filled with a large number of kitchen households.

I don't know how long it took before his voice sounded again from behind the wooden board.

"what's your name?"

Because scholars are not subject to Luyin household registration restrictions. They can go out and study abroad, and the government will not hold them accountable. But if you try to switch to agriculture, industry, and commerce, it will break your dog legs!

Craftsmen originally had a low and humble status. They had to perform labor for the palace, government and government-run handicraft industries, but received almost no compensation.

As soon as these words came out, there was no sound behind the broken wooden board. The man seemed to be deep in thought.

"I don't have anything to eat at home!"

"Not only you, but also your descendants and descendants, from generation to generation, are all this kitchen household!"

"My name is Nannan."

However, whether it is a private salt dealer or a serious salt merchant, only those with connections and background dare to do this.

Liu Dashan is not a bad person. If it weren't for his broken body and the fact that he could no longer support the family, he would not have agreed to Tang Hao's request and harmed others for no reason. This "idiot" would have been driven away long ago.

"In this way, you give me a bite to eat, and I will help your family cook salt later. Even if I am your distant cousin, do you think that's okay?"

To put it more bluntly, Zao households not only have to boil salt every day to meet the court's demand for salt from the salt fields, but they also have to bear the fucking corvee duties imposed by the showdown between the prefectures and counties, and they will be arrested from time to time to work as coolies. This is also The real reason why Kado's life is worse than death!

The pain of corvee work is ten times that of taxation!

Because during the corvee period, there was no reward or wages, and you had to bring your own dry food to ensure that you would not starve to death.

"Then what's wrong with your body?"

"I'm warning you, once the master comes to register, you will be a householder for the rest of your life."

On the same day, many people fleeing famine came from various villages and towns in Changlu Salt Field.

And without exception, they all successfully joined in and became "idiots" in the eyes of the government officials!

These days, why are there still people rushing to become kitchen households?