Xu Qing returned to Taoyuan Inn in the afternoon. When Xu Qing came back, the inn and shops rented by Liuzhou Guoshang College in advance had almost been evacuated. Only Taoyuan Inn was still stubbornly waiting for Xu Qing to come back.
When Xu Qing walked to the door of Taoyuan Inn, he saw the little girl standing in front of the door, looking towards the main street. It wasn't until he saw a familiar figure appearing at the end of the road that a smile appeared on his face, looking towards Xu Qing
Ran over.
Xu Qing looked at Xiao Ruxue and said, "I'm back."
Xiao Ruxue asked curiously, "Didn't you say you wanted to send Sister Bing'er to the border? Why are you back so soon?"
Xu Qing sighed and said: "I was cut off halfway..."
Xiao Ruxue blinked: "By whom?"
Xiao Ruxue said: "Her father."
"Ah?" Xiao Ruxue said in surprise: "That General Long came to Chu State?"
Xu Qing nodded and said, "I didn't expect that either."
Xiao Ruxue asked again: "I packed our luggage yesterday, when will we go back?"
Xu Qing said: "Shall we set off tomorrow?"
Xiao Ruxue nodded vigorously and said, "Okay!"
The two of them walked towards Taoyuan Inn while chatting.
"I want to listen to a story tonight."
"speak."
"I want to eat grilled fish."
"bake."
"You said you would make candied haws for me when the hawthorns are ripe."
"Why do you still remember?"
"I remember it very clearly in my little notebook! Don't even think about defaulting on your debt!"
…
Long Bing'er walked in with Xiao Ruxue, and the new shopkeeper of Taoyuan Inn immediately greeted him: "The dean and the second lady are back?"
As soon as the shopkeeper of Taoyuan Inn finished speaking, he seemed to realize that the man next to Xu Qing was Xiao Ruxue. He immediately knelt down and said, "Princess Yongle, this subordinate deserves to die."
It's not that the subordinate made a mistake, it's that the subordinate deserves to die.
If you don't deny it, then it's affirmative. He just accidentally said what was in his heart.
Xiao Ruxue showed pride on her face and waved her hand casually: "Go down."
The Taoyuan Inn showcase said: "Thank you very much, Princess, Second Madam... Ahem... Princess, please go slowly, Master Dean, please go slowly..."
Xiao Ruxue and Xu Qing walked upstairs. She shook Xu Qing's arm and said, "How about you give him something when you go back?"
Xu Qing smiled and said, "With just two sentences, the name of Second Madam has reached your heart?"
Xiao Ruxue hummed: "I don't care, I'm happy."
Xu Qing nodded: "Okay, reward, whatever Xueer says will be whatever it is."
I have to say that sometimes even if you know that someone is a flatterer, you also know the purpose of his doing so, but you can't help but listen to what he says.
With just two sentences, the second lady made the little girl so happy that she insisted on rewarding her...
When he and Long Bing'er were leaving, they were debating whether to ride one horse or two horses, and they showed up just in time.
Now Xu Qing suddenly understood why ancient emperors liked to favor traitors and sycophants so much.
All of them are talented and well-spoken, and they only want to please the emperor.
No wonder the emperor liked them.
…
Frontier of Chu State, Xincheng
This city was renamed by the Xian Wang, and it was also the first city they won in this battle!
New city, new atmosphere.
Vientiane update!
Hope this is a good sign.
Everyone in the new city and surrounding villages is also happy.
Because today the wise king personally ordered that the taxes here be reduced for one year.
Xincheng has also suffered a major drought this year. The grain harvests in the surrounding villages have been 30 to 40% less than in previous years. Moreover, rents and taxes have to be paid, and the remaining grains have to be tightened to survive.
But at that time, Xincheng was a border town of the Zhou Dynasty, a place where the imperial court basically had no involvement. The officials in the government were only responsible for collecting taxes, so how could they care about the lives of their people?
If taxes are reduced or reduced due to drought, it will affect the county magistrate's political performance!
This is not the first time that I have concealed something and not reported it.
There have been rumors in the public for a long time that this is a trick of the imperial court. His Majesty took advantage of the emptiness of Chu State to find an excuse to insist on fighting. Chu State is the master of justice.
They didn't dare to listen at first. If the government discovered these things, they would lose their heads!
Looking back now, Chu State is not only a teacher of justice, but also a reborn parent.
After capturing a city, not only did the soldiers not indulge in burning, killing and looting, but some soldiers helped repair and build houses for some families that had been destroyed by thunder and fire, and helped the orphans' families to carry water and chop firewood. Where could they find such a good army?
…
Guard the mansion
The Xian Wang sat in his seat, listening to Xiao Ye's report sentence by sentence, and said: "Oh? We also do the work of fetching water and chopping firewood? Isn't this a bit too much?"
Yes, in this era, even if the army did not massacre the city, it was common for them to loot after capturing the city. Once the army captured the city, the soldiers seemed to have a legal license to rob.
Food, money, clothes...
Nowadays, it is very rare for the Chu army led by the wise king to do no harm to the people in the city. It is even more generous to be able to reduce the tax burden for one year. Now their army has to help do this. This makes
King Dexian was a little surprised.
Xiao Ye said: "This is what Brother Xu taught. The mass base is our revolution... ahem, it is an important condition for our victory in the war. Only those who win the hearts and minds of the people can win the world. Although we have captured the new city now, we are not interested in this place.
We are very familiar with it. If the enemy forces counterattack, we will be caught off guard, and we will not be able to use the power of thunder in the city."
"But if the people here return home, then this city will be equivalent to having tens of thousands of our spies who are familiar with the humanities and terrain. This is very cost-effective."
The wise king nodded thoughtfully and said: "What you said makes sense. This boy always makes me shine. Although this boy is extremely lazy, he has some insights that are far inferior to those of the two prime ministers.
."
Xiao Ye continued: "The child came here this time for other matters."
The wise king asked: "What else is there?"
Xiao Ye said: "The land here is mostly concentrated in the hands of a few landlords. Although the people don't have to pay taxes, they still need to pay rent."
The wise king nodded: "What do you think?"
Xiao Ye said: "Brother Xu told me that the ruling class must always represent the interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, so that the people will hold you high. This is the foundation for maintaining rule, and these control the
Landowners with huge amounts of land are the opposite of the vast majority of the people and should be the targets of our suppression. Moreover, these landowners were originally from the Zhou State. Their roots were in the Zhou State, not in the Chu State. There is no need to tie their hands and consider the interests of domestic families. Next
It’s okay to be ruthless.”
"Of course, these landowners cannot be beaten to death with a stick, otherwise it will be a big trouble for them to rally together and fight back. We should win over some and suppress some. Some small landowners and landowners who repair bridges and roads and do good deeds can win over and praise them, but
Those big landowners who are in charge of huge amounts of land must be resolutely suppressed, good or bad, and must not be allowed to let go. The concentration of large amounts of land in the hands of one family is definitely not a good thing."
