Zhang Yanling pretended to be shocked and said: "What do you say? Is the pest infestation so serious? Will the court not be able to reduce or reduce taxes in the event of a disaster? Should the people be allowed to beg for food?"
Several old men smiled bitterly and said: "This little brother doesn't seem to be from the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, how could he say such naive words. The court will reduce taxes? How is that possible? Not only does the court not reduce taxes, but it also urges us to ask for it.
If you don't pay, you will be arrested and imprisoned. Oh, this is such an ungrateful world."
Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "What can we do? Farming depends on the harvest. There was no harvest last year, and there is no harvest this year. Where can we get the money to pay taxes? Isn't this forcing people to death?"
The old man fetching water said: "Then we have no choice but to sell the land. Once the land is sold out, the sons and daughters will be sold. This little brother, you can drink water today and meet some of us. Maybe in a few days.
Come, there will be nothing left in this village. The land has been sold, the people have left, and there is nothing left. Alas."
Zhang Yanling said thoughtfully: "Selling the land will indeed end your livelihood. I heard that there is a Zhou family in the capital who is collecting land here. Could it be that you just sold it to his family?"
The old man who fetched water said: "You say you don't understand, but you still know a lot. Lord Zhouhou, the Marquis of Qingyun in the capital, is indeed buying land here. But...these people are evil-minded. They lower our prices. We are so good.
He wanted to take away this fertile field for just two taels of silver. No one could bear to part with it. This hateful group of black-hearted dignitaries are very cruel. They colluded with our county government to force us to pay taxes. If we don’t pay taxes in a few days, all of us will be killed.
You have to be arrested and put in jail. Hey, these black-hearted people are simply not human beings."
An old man next to him hurriedly stopped him: "Sixth, don't say so much, don't cause trouble. The origin of these people is unknown. If the Zhou family comes to inquire, it will be troublesome."
The old man fetching water stopped talking and carefully looked at Zhang Yanling and others.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "We are not from the Zhou family, so don't make random guesses. I'm just asking casually. Do the Zhou family people need to be so polite to you?"
A few old men thought about it and felt that this was indeed the case.
Zhang Yanling said: "But since you want to sell the land, why don't you sell it to someone else with a higher bid? Why do you have to sell it to the Zhou family? Since the Zhou family bids so low, why sell it to them?"
The old man fetching water smiled bitterly and said: "The government does not allow private individuals to sell land, and those who are caught will be imprisoned. I heard that the emperor allowed it this time, so we can only sell it to him or not. Do you think we want to sell it to him?"
?I heard that the Zhou family is rich and powerful. Who dares to go against them? The Zhou family is lowering the price, and the government is helping to force it. We have two days to make a decision. Either we can't pay the taxes and go to jail, and our property and houses are confiscated.
, or we can only sell it to him at a low price."
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "That doesn't make sense. I came from the town and heard from people in the town that a marquis from the capital also came to buy land and offered a very high price. Since we don't have land, we don't care about this.
As soon as you mentioned it, I remembered it."
"Ah? Here comes another one? A Marquis from the capital too? Could it be the Zhou family?" several old men said in shock.
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "It doesn't seem so. It is said that the current emperor's brother-in-law, Mr. Zhang, is here to buy land. The price is also reasonable. Why don't you go and take a look. However, this Mr. Zhang and the Zhou family are here.
I'm afraid there may be some conflicts about buying land. If you want to inquire, do it secretly. Don't let the news leak out. If the Zhou family finds out, it will be troublesome. Whether it is true or false, since the land is to be sold, the price will naturally be higher, right?
Why don’t you go and have a look?”
Several old men looked at each other, doubtful. They were confused, scared and a little excited.
"Well, I just said that casually. You have to find out the specific situation yourself. But if it were me, I would definitely go and find out. I won't say more, we have to hurry up. Sorry, sorry." Zhang Yanling
He said with a smile and said goodbye with his hands in hand.
Several old men hurriedly bowed their hands and watched as Zhang Yanling and others left the entrance of the village and walked toward the distance along the dirt road in the fields.
"Lao Liu, are the words of these young men true? Here comes another marquis? If the price he gives is fair and he is here to buy land, why don't we sell it to him?" an old man said in a low voice.
"Cripple, why do I feel something strange about this matter? Here comes the Zhou family, and here comes a man named Zhang. Didn't the people in the county government say that only the Zhou family can buy land? The emperor has granted it, but others can't buy it, right?" Another person said.
road.
"Didn't you hear what the young man said? This Marquis Zhang is the emperor's brother-in-law. The Zhou family is the brother of the Queen Mother, and this is the Queen's family. They are all relatives of the Emperor. The Zhou family can buy it, but the Zhang family cannot buy it? The Emperor's
Where is my brother-in-law?" said the crippled old man.
"Then they're not going to fight?" a buck-toothed old man whispered.
"It's better to start a fight. That's their business. We have no way to go now. Naturally, we have to sell the land to the highest bidder. I think we have to go and take a look." Lao Liu said.
"But if the Zhou family finds out about this, we're afraid we won't be able to afford it." The buck-toothed old man frowned.
"Aren't we going secretly? Don't make any noise first, and then we'll see what happens. Don't tell anyone among us. Let's go to the town quietly tonight to see if it's true. If it's true, we'll go back later
Discuss the next step. This is related to our livelihood. If we sell a few more taels of silver, our family will have another way of living. What do you think?" Lao Liu whispered.
"Okay, let's do it like this. Don't talk about your wife, children, daughter-in-law, and sons when you go home. We will gather here after dinner. If something doesn't work, it will rot in your stomach and just pretend it never happened. If it can happen, it will be a great thing.
pieces.”
All the old men stretched their necks and nodded in agreement.
Zhang Yanling and his entourage did not return to the inn in Tingkou Town until the evening. He visited all the nearby villages and let them all know that Zhang Houye from the town had come to the capital to acquire the land at a high price. Zhang Yanling knew that in the
Under the current circumstances, land sales are inevitable. If the land can be sold at a high price, the people will definitely be tempted. So those who get the news tonight will definitely come to town to look for me.
The reason why the news was released secretly rather than with a big fanfare was naturally to avoid the eyes of others and carry out quietly. It is conceivable that there must be people in these villages who are more open to the Zhou family. The Zhou family should be living in the county at the moment and waiting for the deadline to buy land.
, we can't let them know about this, so as not to cause unnecessary complications.
After dinner, Zhang Yanling and Zhang Heling took a shower and changed into luxurious clothes. They sat in the lobby of the inn drinking tea and waiting. At the same time, the servants erected wooden poles in the yard, hung up lanterns, and set up tables and chairs.
Seats. Everything was ready. The two brothers drank tea and cooled down while chatting and waiting.