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

Chapter 738 Igniting the Fury

"Your name is Qi Cheng, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Chen."

What do you think of the current imperial court?

"The current imperial court..."

Qi Cheng frowned and pondered for a moment before replying, "The current court is incompetent, and the officials are corrupt and incapable..."

Chen Dao's words seemed to have stirred up Qi Cheng's dissatisfaction with the imperial court, causing him to involuntarily begin to list the court's numerous crimes.

Qi Cheng's words stirred up the emotions of everyone present!

"The imperial court is a bunch of scoundrels! If it weren't for the imperial court constantly raising taxes, we wouldn't have been starving before!"

"Exactly! This corrupt court, this emperor in Japan, they're not giving us any way to survive!"

“Those corrupt officials of the imperial court all live in mansions and eat delicacies, while we can’t even get enough to eat. They are truly beasts.”

"..."

The villagers and workers present were filled with righteous indignation.

They didn't understand many grand principles, but under Chen Dao's deliberate guidance, they realized that their previous suffering was caused by the imperial court. If the imperial court hadn't repeatedly increased taxes, how could they have gone hungry?

If it weren't for the corrupt officials appointed by the imperial court, how could they have suffered so much exploitation?

If the imperial court had not indulged the landlords and powerful families, how could their land have been forcibly annexed?

Under Chen Dao's deliberate guidance, the people's dissatisfaction with the court had been building up for a long time. Now that it had erupted, their awe of the court vanished instantly, and they began to curse the court and the emperor.

Seeing this, Chen Dao nodded in satisfaction.

Since taking control of Chenjia Village, he has been intentionally eliminating people's awe of the imperial court. It seems that the effect is quite good. At least the villagers and workers of Chenjia Village are no longer as afraid of the imperial court and the emperor as before.

"You're right!"

Chen Dao slowly spoke: "The court is corrupt and the officials are incompetent. They are supported by us, living in luxury and spending money like water, yet they still keep raising taxes, leaving us no way to survive!"

Since they won't give us a way to survive, why should we continue to support them?

“Mr. Chen is right. The emperor and officials eat the grain we grow, but they don’t even leave us a way to survive. So what if we rebel against them?”

"That's outrageous!"

"A dog has entered the imperial court."

"..."

A chorus of agreement rang out from the crowd; Chen Dao's words undoubtedly resonated with everyone.

Before Chenjia Village appeared, most of them were farmers who supported the country.

However, what do they receive in return for supporting this country?

It was the government's increased taxes, the oppression of corrupt officials and landlords, the lack of food, and the suffering from hunger and cold...

Their hearts had long been filled with countless grievances against the imperial court, and now, under Chen Dao's guidance, they all erupted.

"They've rebelled against the imperial court!"

"I wish I could kill those corrupt officials in the imperial court."

"I've heard that the emperor has thousands of concubines in his harem, but I can't even find a wife. What a damn emperor!"

"..."

At this moment, the crowd at the entrance of Chenjia Village was filled with indignation.

Li Mingyuan stood in the corner, watching the villagers whose faces were flushed and who were shouting that they had rebelled against the imperial court, and sighed softly in his heart.

Long ago, he had vaguely sensed the dissatisfaction of the people with the imperial court, but at that time such voices were relatively small and therefore went unnoticed.

Seeing this scene before him, Li Mingyuan suddenly realized that the people's dissatisfaction with the court had long since reached its limit. The reason it hadn't erupted was simply because no one had ignited their anger.

These hardworking and dutiful people are not mindless slaves; when their anger accumulates to a certain point, it will also erupt.

When the anger of millions of people comes together, that is when a dynasty collapses.

The events that occurred in Liangzhou were the best proof of this. When Yang Zheng ignited the anger of millions of people, the power that erupted was enough to make the imperial court fearful and to overthrow its rule in Liangzhou.

"Now, I declare!"

Looking at those faces filled with anger, Chen Dao slowly announced, "From now on, Chenjia Village will no longer belong to the imperial court! Chenjia Village is our own Chenjia Village, and neither the imperial court nor the government can interfere in the affairs of our Chenjia Village!"

The moment these words were spoken, the room fell silent, and then the crowd erupted in a huge cheer.

"Great! Without the imperial court, we no longer have to live those miserable lives we used to live."

"Hahaha! Mr. Chen is awesome!"

"That's exactly how it should be done! We only trust Mr. Chen, not the imperial court."

"Mr. Chen is amazing!"

"..."

Everyone was overjoyed and celebrated with great excitement.

Soon, the news announced by Chen Dao spread throughout Chenjia Village, and everyone who heard it cheered with joy.

"That's great! With Mr. Chen's words, we no longer need to worry about the imperial court and those officials."

"That's how it should be! Chenjia Village should be governed by Mr. Chen. The imperial court will only leave us to starve and freeze."

"Will we no longer have to worry about the imperial court raising taxes?"

"Absolutely! With Mr. Chen around, we don't need to worry about tax increases at all."

"..."

When the news of Chenjia Village's "independence" spread, the entire village was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Only a few scholars, such as Li Zheng, showed a hint of worry in their eyes. They were happy to see Chenjia Village become "independent," because all the scholars in Chenjia Village were disillusioned and dejected scholars who had lost all hope in the imperial court.

What worries them is that... Chenjia Village's independence is tantamount to rebellion. Although the imperial court is declining, it is still a force to be reckoned with. If the court learns of Chenjia Village's rebellion, it will likely be extremely detrimental to Chenjia Village...

"I hope Brother Dao knows what's going on."

After discussing with a group of teachers for a full hour without coming up with a good solution, Li Zheng said this.

The independence of Chenjia Village is a foregone conclusion. In fact, although Chen Dao had never announced the independence of Chenjia Village before, he had already taken steps toward independence.

The most obvious thing is that... Chenjia Village has never paid grain tax, nor has it ever been under the jurisdiction of the government.

Although Chenjia Village is nominally under the jurisdiction of Taiping County, it has long been an independent entity and is not under the jurisdiction of the Taiping County government.

People with discerning eyes like Li Zheng had long seen that Chen Dao harbored rebellious intentions, but since Chen Dao had never openly expressed his intention to rebel, everyone tacitly kept quiet about it.

Chen Dao's sudden declaration of Chenjia Village's "independence" confirms the earlier speculations of Li Zheng and others.