Chapter 181 Harsh government is fiercer than a tiger
Author: Ruixuefengnian
Chapter 181 Harsh government is fiercer than a tiger
"I lost!"
The young warrior, who seemed to be only in his thirties, was dejected. He traveled thousands of miles and searched along the road, and finally found the wandering Master Feng who had no fixed residence and wanted to fight against the Martial God Armor.
It is rumored that every warrior who fights against the Martial God Armor, although the result is destined to lose, can gain a lot of insights as long as he can fight with it. Many warriors who have this opportunity have subsequently experienced breakthroughs of varying sizes.
He also came to seek this opportunity, but what annoyed him was that although the opportunity was close at hand, he failed to pass the test and was defeated by one of Mr. Feng's followers, and was not qualified to fight against the Martial God Armor.
.
Although this rule was established later, he has become someone else's defeated general. Even though he has thousands of words in his heart, he can only keep it in his heart at the moment. There is nothing to say.
"Wait a minute, are you from Nanshao Prefecture?"
Just as the defeated warrior was about to leave with a heart full of regrets, an old voice rang out and stopped him.
"Yes, I am from Pingwu County, Nanshao Prefecture!"
The martial artist turned his head and looked at the old man who called him with some confusion. Before the competition, they had already told each other their names and origins, so why bother asking?
"Then please come over and talk. My young master has something to ask you!"
"What words?"
The martial artist looked confused, but he still walked over. After all, he had heard about it a long time ago. The second master Feng had collected many martial arts classics in his hands. Who knew the rules he set up?
But the most annoying thing is that he didn't even get a chance to fight against Ming Longjia, or even have a chance to hand in the martial arts he had learned all his life.
But precisely because of this, he was full of hope that the young master would ask him questions. If he answered to his satisfaction, would there be any reward?
"When you meet the master, answer whatever you ask. If you don't know, you just don't know. Don't make things up. If you answer to satisfy the master, you will benefit from it!"
Seeing the martial artist coming over so wisely, Butler Zhao nodded with satisfaction, but he still did not forget his instructions.
"I wonder what your young master wants to ask?"
"I want to ask about farming in your hometown!"
Feng Qing'an walked out of the carriage, and the black and white wolves followed him out of the carriage. Whether it was Heishan or Bai Yao, even a gentle glance without hostility made the martial artist's body tense involuntarily.
tight.
"Farming?"
Wufu looked confused. He had several thoughts running through his mind, but he never expected that the second young master in front of him, who could tell at a glance that he was extremely valuable, would ask about farming matters.
You can tell at a glance that this young master is a man who does not care about farm work. He has no official position and no position. There is no way you can get along with him!
"Yesterday I hosted a banquet for ghosts and gods in Jinling Prefecture. Some ghosts and gods complained to me, saying that Nanshao Prefecture's grain production has been decreasing in the past few years. Compared with the usual good harvest years, it is nearly 20% less. You are from Nanshao Prefecture.
I want to ask you to confirm whether this is the case?"
"A banquet for ghosts and gods?"
Hearing the words spoken by the white-clothed young man in front of him, the martial artist who was called over for questioning was immediately startled. He had seen ghosts and gods roaming around, but he always stayed away from them.
"You don't need to care about this. I just want to know if there is something wrong with Nanshao Mansion's grain production!"
Feng Qing'an's tone was serious. He couldn't just listen to the words of ghosts and gods and then run to confront a water king who was in charge of a thousand-mile river. What was the specific situation? He would conduct an on-the-spot investigation. If it really had a serious impact on the production of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,
, then he can take advantage of the situation and slay the dragon.
"Young master, you are asking me this question. To be honest, you are asking the wrong person. I don't care much about the farming affairs in my hometown!"
This warrior is quite upright and directly says he doesn’t understand, but he is not stupid either. I would like to add,
"But I think the reduction in grain production should be more than 20%. Those ghosts and gods complaining to you must be saying there is less. The actual situation is more serious than this!"
"How can I see it?"
Feng Qingan asked.
"My family has had a lot of new faces in the past few years. They are all half-grown children, both male and female. They are all children who cannot be fed by the farmers in the villages ten miles away from my home and are sold to my home!"
The young-looking warrior spoke like a rich man.
Feng Qingan's brows furrowed when he heard these words. Grain production was reduced by less than 20%, so farmers were forced to sell their sons and daughters?
"Master!?"
Just a slight frown on Feng Qing'an's brow, and unspeakable terrifying pressure fell on the seemingly young rich man, making his body tremble like chaff and he almost fell to the ground.
"Step back, what does this have to do with him!"
Feng Qing'an glared at the guys on the left and right who were putting pressure on the rich young man.
Unless it is absolutely necessary, which parent would be so stupid as to sell their children as goods? Unless they really can't find a way out and have no choice but to make such a choice.
In a time of famine when food is scarce, being willing to buy other people's children, feed them, and keep them alive is, in a sense, even a good deed.
"Master, these ghosts and gods may not be lying, and they don't dare to deceive you, Master!"
Butler Zhao took a look at the young man who was called for questioning. He was obviously a wealthy young man who had not been involved in the entertainment industry since he was a child. He looked at Feng Qing'an and said.
"As long as grain production is reduced by 10% to 20%, it will be enough to force farmers to sell their sons, daughters, and land!"
"tax!"
Feng Qing'an frowned, then relaxed. After all, he was a clay child who rolled in the fields when he was a child, and he also knew what ordinary farmers were most worried about.
"Exactly, if the government does not reduce taxes, all the less food produced will fall on the common people, and the rations used by a farmer's family to survive will be reduced by half, or even more, and it is natural for them to be forced to sell their sons and daughters.
thing!"
"Are government taxes so high?"
The silly eldest son of the landlord scratched the back of his head and looked slightly confused. This was not something he cared about in the first place. If he hadn't been asked today, he wouldn't have noticed this aspect.
"Land tax, oral tax, and the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes imposed privately by the governments at all levels and localities. If it is a good harvest year, the people can barely survive. But once the food production decreases and the taxes are not reduced, naturally they can only sell their sons and daughters!"
Butler Zhao, who came from an ordinary background, explained softly that just because he came from an ordinary background, he knew how miserable the lives of ordinary people were.
The other martial artists who were accepted by Feng Qingan looked at each other with confusion on their faces. How could they, who were martial arts practitioners, know the misery of the lower class people.
It’s not just talk about being poor in literature and rich in martial arts. A martial artist who can practice martial arts since childhood has nothing to do with being poor. There are very few martial artists who are born into poverty. Unless there is an extremely unnatural chance, practicing martial arts is risking one’s life and there is no achievement.
, just train yourself to death first.
"You are from Pingwu County, Nanshao Prefecture, right?"
Feng Qing'an's expression has returned to calmness, but there is a cold light flickering deep in his eyes.
He finally understood why his elder brother was killing people all the way on his way to the exam. With the sword in hand and the power added to him, it was difficult not to be murderous by these strange forces and chaos. He hadn't seen it with his own eyes yet, but he had already killed them.
People are impulsive.
"Exactly!"
The silly eldest son of the landlord noticed that something was wrong in the atmosphere. He wanted to run away, but looking at the two black and white wolves beside the young master, he very wisely did not move.
"Would you mind taking me to your house to have a look?"
Feng Qingan asked with a smile.
"this……"
There was a look of hesitation on the silly boy's face. This all involved Ghost and Water Lord, and he really didn't want to get involved. It was obvious that someone was going to suffer. Those guys who were dealt with couldn't take revenge on the young master in front of him, and they couldn't take revenge on him.
?
"Forget it if you don't want to. Here, this is your reward for answering."
Feng Qing'an saw that the other party was unwilling and did not force anyone to do anything, so he threw out a pamphlet. The silly boy caught it and looked at it. He saw "Yunlan's Secret Strategy" written on the cover. He opened it again and flipped through it.
, and discovered that this was actually a martial arts scripture that could be used to cultivate to the Hunyuan realm.
The silly boy was immediately overjoyed, but when he turned to the back, the smile on his face suddenly solidified. When he flipped through the cover again, he noticed that there was a very small word "up" on the side of Yunlan Mice.
"Where's the next volume?"
The silly boy couldn't help but ask, isn't it too immoral to give half of it?
"You just answered a few ambiguous questions and got half of the martial arts scripture. Aren't you satisfied?"
Feng Qing'an looked at this greedy and insatiable guy with some surprise. After asking a few words, he generously rewarded half of the martial arts scripture and went out.
"But, this..."
The stupid boy's facial features were distorted and he couldn't say anything. After all, he was indeed very generous, but it was of no use to him. This half of the martial arts secrets just made him uncomfortable.
"Sir, I just remembered wrongly. My father has already prepared some wine and is about to invite you to my humble home!"
A bright future is in front of you, and the worries you had just now are forgotten by the foolish old man in the blink of an eye. Wealth and honor are sought in danger.
"Well, that's right. Children can be taught!"
Looking at the young young man in front of him who could change his face at the speed of light, Butler Zhao was quite pleased, and then faced to the side and ordered,
"Go get a horse for our guide and let him lead the way!"
"yes!"
Feng Qing'an and his party, who had caught the unlucky guy and led the way, had a clear goal, so they did not delay on the way. They did not choose the terrain, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and took the longest route on the map.
Therefore, within three days, Feng Qing'an led a group of people into Pingwu County. However, just after walking out of the mountains and forests, Feng Qing'an frowned when he saw the crowds.
Spring plowing has been started for nearly two months, but the wheat seedlings growing in the fields on both sides are green and yellow in color. Even a layman like him who has rarely worked in the fields can see that the survival rate of these wheat seedlings is extremely worrying.
Not to mention whether we can wait until the harvest season, whether we can survive until next month is a question.
"Zhou Da!"
Seeing this scene in the field, Feng Qing'an no longer had a good face, and suddenly opened his mouth and shouted,
"Hey, I'm here, sir."
A young warrior with a flattering look on his face approached Feng Qingan's horse. Because they wanted to take a shortcut, only the young master in their group rode on horseback, and the rest abandoned their horses and walked.
"I wonder what your orders are, Master?"
"Do you still remember how many times it has rained in Pingwu County since spring plowing began?"
"I don't remember that!"
The silly old man who has become a qualified dog leg racked his brains to recall. To be honest, it was really difficult for him to recall these things. He was also asked to recall who were the oirans in the county brothels and what were their names?
He did remember,
"About seven or eight games?"
"How's the rain going?"
Feng Qing'an also knew that asking this kind of question to someone who was not involved in farming would be a bit embarrassing, so he changed the question to another way. Heavy rain and light rain should always be remembered.
"Those few rains were very light, and it fell into the soil before I even wet it!"
"Um!"
Feng Qing'an knew for sure. With this little rain, no wonder the wheat seedlings in the field looked like they were crying.
"Take me to your house to see you!"
"yes!"
Zhou Yiyang suddenly became energetic. After leading this noble man to his own territory, he decided to do his best to please him. He didn't know if this young man was a womanizer or not. If needed, he could take his father into his arms.
Several young concubines were sent there.
There was a local snake leading the way, and the group was familiar with the road, so the walk went smoothly. However, something happened before they were halfway. Probably because the leader Zhou Dagong was too famous in the local area. As soon as he showed up, let him
People recognized him.
A group of ragged farmers, simple women, and even gray-haired old men stopped midway, and beside them were a group of children of various ages, both men and women.
"Master Zhou!"
The Gangsha warrior who could tear tigers and leopards alive was grabbed by the arm by an octogenarian, and his eyes were full of helplessness.
"What are you doing? I brought distinguished guests back from other places today!"
The foolish elder helped the old man in front of him and carefully looked at Feng Qing'an's face behind him. Seeing the expressionless expression on the young master's face, he felt a little uneasy in his heart.
"It turns out you are Mr. Zhou's distinguished guest. I am here to apologize to you, but we really have no choice. We just want to find a way out for our children!"
Seeing Feng Qing'an, the only one riding a horse in the group, the old man's eyes were full of hope and flattery, so he just bowed and even planned to kneel down.
"Don't kneel down at your age. If you have anything to do, just stand and tell me!"
Feng Qing'an dodged, got off Sen Miao, supported the old man, and took a look at the men, women and children behind the old man, especially the group of children with ignorance and curiosity in their eyes. It was clear what the situation was.
"My lord, I see that you are surrounded by men, and you still lack some girls to serve you. What do you think of them?"
The old man turned around, grabbed a female doll that was not even as high as Feng Qingan's chest, and pushed it in front of Feng Qingan. Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Zhou Yang, who frowned.
"I remember that you Zhuangzi sent a dozen children into my house a few days ago. How long has it been since then? Have you spent all the money my father gave you?"
"How dare you spend it? The money exchanged for those dolls was half taken away by the officials that day, saying it was a dealer's tax, and the remaining money was just to make a living. But the county magistrate has added a lot these days.
With less tax, the money from selling dolls won’t be enough!”
The old man looked miserable. The Zhou family was a martial arts family, and the county magistrate did not dare to offend them. They only needed to pay some normal taxes every year, and some random and exorbitant taxes could not be levied on them.
As long as you enter the Zhou family, even if you are a slave or a maid, you can eat and survive, which is better than starving with your parents.
"Old man, please don't worry. Tell me first what taxes your county magistrate has added. Maybe I can solve the problem and let him exempt from these taxes!"