In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 556 Storming into the Capital, Taking the Dog Emperor's Head!

The more people who lose their land, the more people will naturally want to cultivate the land for the landlords.

Just like the workplace in the new China, if there are many applicants for a position, the company can naturally hold out for higher prices and lower wages by relying on the competition among job seekers, so as to recruit better and more obedient employees at lower wages.

Just as enterprises in the new China were like this, so too were landlords in the Xia Kingdom.

The more tenants who want to work for a landlord, the more young and strong tenants the landlord can hire with minimal expenditure.

In the past, farming for landlords in Liangzhou was a job that could barely support a family. However, with the cold disaster, most people who farmed for landlords could barely avoid starvation.

Even so, very few people were actually able to farm the land for the landlords. The vast majority of people without land could only become refugees, wandering around hungry, hoping to find a place where they could make a living.

"You're right!"

Yang Zheng nodded: "The reason we can't get enough to eat is because of the landlords who are like dogs, the court who is like dogs, and the emperor who is like dogs!"

As soon as Yang Zheng finished speaking, the eyes of everyone present showed a look of horror. These words were truly outrageous. He not only cursed the landlord, but also the imperial court, and even... the emperor!

"What? Are you scared?"

Yang Zheng stared at the crowd in front of him and asked.

In response, everyone remained silent. In feudal society, the concept of imperial power was deeply ingrained in people's minds. Many people secretly cursed the court and the emperor, but very few dared to criticize the emperor and angrily denounce the court in public.

Because this is a capital offense.

"Ah."

Yang Zheng sneered and said, "The imperial court enslaves us, the landlords exploit us, and now you are all starving to death, yet you don't even have the courage to curse the imperial court?"

To be honest, Yang Zheng was somewhat disappointed with the group of people in front of him. In his opinion, people should have backbone, but these people seemed to be used to being obedient subjects. Even though they were about to starve to death, they still dared not utter the slightest complaint against the emperor or the court.

"The emperor in the palace is just a mortal, and the county magistrate in the government is just like us, with the same nose and two eyes. Now that they're not letting us live, why shouldn't we dare to rebel against them!"

In the end, Yang Zheng almost roared out his true thoughts: he would rather die than live a thousand years. Since the corrupt court, the corrupt government, and the corrupt landlord families wouldn't give him a way out, he, Yang Zheng, was just as brave as anyone else to bring down the emperor!

"This……"

Looking at Yang Zheng, who was roaring loudly, everyone looked at each other in disbelief. They never expected that this man in front of them would actually be thinking of rebelling!

This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family...

Under other circumstances, they would never have dared to respond to Yang Zheng.

However, Yang Zheng's resounding speech made them hesitate.

Yes, emperors, officials, and landlords are just like us, human beings. Why can they be high above and enslave us, while we work hard in the fields and can't even get a full meal?

Upon thinking of this, anger surged within everyone.

At this moment, Yang Zheng added fuel to the fire in their hearts: "Everyone says that rebellion is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, but think about it carefully, do you still have nine generations of your family?"

"..."

Silence. A profound silence fell over the room.

They have all become refugees, how could they possibly still have nine generations of relatives?

Their relatives either starved to death at home or in the wilderness. More than half of these thousands of people were all alone.

"You're right!"

A lone man roared, his eyes burning with fury, "My parents starved to death on the way to escape famine, and even my little sister, who was not even five years old, starved to death! Now I am all alone. Rather than starve to death, I would rather rebel against the damned government."

"That's right! If the imperial court won't let us live, we won't let them have an easy time either."

"This court has been invaded by dogs, I'll fight them to the death today!"

“My parents are dead, and my younger brother and sister are gone too. Now I have nothing to fear. Today I will join you in rebelling against that damned dynasty.”

"We'll starve to death anyway if we don't rebel, so let's rebel today!"

"..."

At this moment, the fear of the court and imperial power completely dissipated in people's hearts, and instead, hatred towards the court occupied their entire being.

The thought of their family members who had died tragically brought a bloodshot look to their eyes. They wished they could storm into the capital right now and take the heads of those corrupt officials and the emperor.

"very good!"

Seeing that everyone had finally responded to him, Yang Zheng laughed loudly: "From now on, you will all follow me, rebel against the damned court, storm the capital, and take the emperor's head!"

"Charge into the capital and take the dog emperor's head!"

"Charge into the capital and take the dog emperor's head!"

"Charge into the capital and take the dog emperor's head!"

"Charge into the capital and take the dog emperor's head!"

"..."

The crowd shouted in unison, and the rolling sound seemed to shake the entire county.

Then, Yang Zheng opened the granary and started a fire to cook right there.

As night fell, wisps of smoke rose from the granary. The refugees, cooking rice in simple pots, watched the rice bubbling in the pots and smelled the aroma of the grain. They were so moved that tears almost fell from their mouths.

"It wasn't easy. I fled all the way from the north to get here, and finally I can eat a bowl of rice!"

"Me too."

"General Yang is such a good man! He even gave us rice to eat."

"From now on, I'll work for Commander Yang! No one else is willing to give me rice except him."

“I will follow General Yang. I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid that when I die I will not even have a full meal.”

"..."

Soon, everyone began to wolf down their rice. Yang Zheng walked to a corner and looked at the woman who was squatting there holding her child.

The woman held the child tightly in her arms, her eyes fixed on the child wolfing down the food, her gaze filled with longing.

Becoming a refugee is not an easy thing for even a middle-aged man, let alone a woman with an infant.

It's only because this woman was a local that she and her child likely died on their journey and became food for other refugees.

"Why don't you go to eat?"

Yang Zheng asked.

Upon hearing Yang Zheng's question, the woman looked away, instinctively shrinking back, and replied, "I dare not fight them for it!"

Many people always feel sympathy for refugees, thinking they are pitiful people.

They were indeed pitiful people, but they were also ruthless!