"This is damn..." Helian Xun trembled with shock and anger.
He had brought the common people to defend the city, thinking it would make Liang Xiao hesitate.
Now, the common people had heard everything, and soon the entire Jincheng would know!
The Great Gan soldiers outside the city were all excited, especially the few Western Sichuan generals who had surrendered with Yue Yun and marched with the army, shouting louder than each other.
"After pacifying Western Sichuan, we will open the granaries and distribute grain to relieve the people!"
Free land distribution! Open granaries and distribute grain!
Since ancient times, what has been most tempting to farmers? It is land.
And filling one's belly and not starving to death is the most basic need.
Especially the people of Western Sichuan, who had been facing land annexation since the Da Heng Kingdom period, with most of them becoming tenant farmers and household slaves of these local gentry and powerful families.
Now, a hopeful path lay before them!
The common people on the city walls and the other ten thousand defenders were all excited and could not control themselves.
The Helian family could not stand it any longer and had to send people to drive these common people back.
These common people were usually driven to defend the city, but they had to pay for their own food and lodging, and the Helian family was unwilling to provide them, so they could only return home hungry.
Word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred.
The 500,000 people of Jincheng had almost all heard about the land distribution, and within a day, the entire city was in an uproar!
In the military camp, the soldiers praised: "Marshal has a way. If the Helian family doesn't surrender soon, in less than a month, their mansion will be stormed by the entire army and civilians!"
Liang Xiao just smiled.
To make the people feel a sense of belonging, family and country alone are not enough. First, they must believe in hope and believe that they can live a better life.
Huang Chao and Li Zicheng had even shouted "equalize wealth and poverty," but they ultimately failed.
However, with his and Xiao Qing's current reputation, the people naturally believed them wholeheartedly. If others had made such promises, the people might not have dared to believe.
At the beginning of the war, Liang Xiao had already formulated this plan, and Xiao Qing supported it without hesitation.
After all, the people of Western Sichuan were truly suffering. If they only overthrew the Helian family and recovered Western Sichuan without making any concessions, it would be difficult to improve their livelihood.
Therefore, Xiao Qing temporarily abandoned the plan to reclaim land in Western Sichuan. The government even gave up the small profits of reclaiming land and directly benefited the people.
Uncultivated land reclaimed in Western Sichuan within the next three years could be considered for land reclamation or continue to be given to the people of Western Sichuan to stabilize public sentiment.
As for the uncultivated land reclaimed after three years, it could no longer be given to the people of Western Sichuan for free. It had to be fair, and people in other regions should not feel that they were being treated unfairly.
The Great Gan army did not attack the city, but only propagated the slogan of land distribution outside the city every day, inciting the army and civilians of Jincheng to resist the Helian family.
Nan Jiyun and others were so bored that they sparred with each other in the military camp every day.
Facing the agitated army and civilians, the Helian family had become like a startled bird.
"We still have ten thousand personal guards. These personal guards have eaten and drunk well with us and will not betray us!" Helian Xun gritted his teeth.
The arable land in Jincheng exceeded five million mu, and there were also some properties, all belonging to the Helian family and a few local aristocratic families.
The land outside Jincheng was no longer under the control of the Helian family.
Even so, the Helian family was still unwilling to yield.
They were still hoping to hand over the land deeds of the land outside to their confidants and personal guards, and falsely claim the land!
In just two days, Jincheng was in an uproar, with every household discussing the Marquis of Anguo's land distribution slogan.
"I heard that the Marquis of Anguo never breaks his promise to the people of Great Gan, as long as we are the people of Great Gan!"
"There seem to be five million people in Western Sichuan, so everyone can get at least five mu?"
The Silent Wolf Guards spread propaganda and incited people everywhere in Western Sichuan. The people had a general understanding of the changes in the Great Gan.
Land reclamation, tax collection by household, and smallpox prevention—these three items alone were enough to make the people support Great Gan and have absolute trust in Liang Xiao.
Assuming an average of five people per household, the people of Western Sichuan would each receive twenty-five mu of land per household on average!
"Twenty-five mu!!"
The people of Jincheng were more excited than one another. People went out of their homes every day, and the streets and alleys were all discussing this matter.
What's more, some people quietly prayed at home, begging the King's Army of Great Gan to pacify Jincheng as soon as possible.
"The Marquis of Anguo has treated us with utmost benevolence. He did not rush to attack the city, and he must not want to harm the innocent and kill the defending civilians! We cannot do nothing!"
"Look at how the Helian family has treated us in the past? They are still forcing us to defend the city. The difference is clear!"
At some point, various rumors spread through the streets and alleys. The people agreed, and they hated Helian Xun even more for forcing them onto the city walls.
When Helian Xun learned that the morale of the defenders on the city wall was low, he had to replace them with eight thousand personal guards on the wall, while two thousand personal guards and five thousand local Jincheng soldiers patrolled the city.
Under the pretense of patrolling during the extraordinary times, the two thousand personal guards extorted money from door to door. The people's resentment boiled over, even more so than before!
The Great Gan army was eyeing the city from two li away, and even camped and rested five li outside the city.
Under normal circumstances, the camps of the two armies should be tens or even hundreds of li apart, but now the Jincheng defenders had no courage to leave the city, and the Great Gan soldiers were arrogant.
Facing the Great Gan army, which could attack at any moment, the morale of the Jincheng defenders was on the verge of collapse.
Yue Yun, after sparring with Nan Jiyun, came to the front of the formation and looked at Jincheng: "If there was another camp riot, and the army mutinied, that would be great..."
"There's something more intense than an army mutiny!" Liu Fan laughed.
Yue Yun smiled knowingly: "The will of the people!"
On this day, on the main street in the center of Jincheng, a woman and three children were surrounded by a group of soldiers. The captain in the lead had yellow teeth and a face full of scars, looking fierce and wicked.
Thousands of common people watched around, all showing fear.
This captain was known as "Scarred Liang" and had often bullied the common people.
The three children hid in their mother's arms, crying uncontrollably. The mother and children were emaciated, pale, and weak, clearly having starved for several days.
"My husband died of illness a month ago, and the medical expenses used up all the family savings. Life is really unbearable. Official sir, please beg you to let the Marquis of Anguo save us. I kowtow to you..."
The woman knelt down with her children and begged incessantly.
"Western Sichuan is the territory of the Helian family. You traitors should be killed to warn others!"
Scarred Liang was furious. He picked up an iron whip and whipped casually—
Crack!
The woman cried out in pain. On her already emaciated back, a bloody wound appeared, constantly bleeding.
The mother and children immediately begged for mercy: "I dare not again, please don't hit me anymore..."
Scarred Liang and the soldiers around him, whose nerves were already tense, saw the woman's plight and heard her screams, and their eyes lit up. They rushed to pick up their iron whips, and even the children could not escape.
The screams of the mother and children were continuous. The surrounding common people pleaded, but the dozen or so personal guards remained indifferent.
Crack, crack...
The iron whips swung, and flesh and blood flew.
In just a quarter of an hour, the mother and children were beaten to death in the street, their bodies mangled.
"This is the consequence of betrayal. You are servants of the Helian family, not the people of Great Gan!" Scarred Liang, his face splattered with blood, roared with satisfaction to establish his authority.
The thousand common people present, along with the group of local soldiers, had their pupils contract, and they trembled.
Fear spread to everyone's heart. After reaching the extreme, it turned into endless rage!
A soldier tore off the Helian family's insignia from his uniform and roared with all his might: "The Helian family is cruel and inhumane! Let's rebel together!!"
The enraged local soldiers and the crowd surged forward, tearing the dozen or so soldiers to pieces.
Centered in this place, the angry army and civilian ranks continued to expand, quickly spreading throughout the city.
A single spark can start a prairie fire!
Helian Jun, who was sleeping with his concubine in bed, was greatly alarmed: "Why are the people rebelling?!"