In the fields and the countryside, a team of iron cavalry walked slowly.
Li Xiu sat on the back of a horse, surrounded by the riders, looking around the fields and countryside.
The purpose is no longer the hustle and bustle of the cities, but the intoxicating tranquility.
Green mountains and clear waters, smoke from cooking stoves curled, everything seemed as beautiful as a painting.
However, in this painting, there are people who are not covered in clothes and those who are thatched huts that are difficult to shelter from the wind and rain.
A thin man with a naked upper body, working in the fields in the north wind of the Shuoshuo River, and the fields are the kind of land that you can tell at a glance that you will not get much reward!
Even if they go down the field, what they can leave for their own use is only an insignificant part of it, and it is even difficult to even barely fill their stomachs.
Children naked and muddy, ignited fires in the fields, burned fires to cool off, played and played, and looked innocent. They seemed to have no idea that their future would be bound in this barren soil, struggling to survive and living a life of hard life!
This scene caught my eye, and Li Xiu's indifferent expression also changed slightly. He never denied that he was a selfish and indifferent person.
However, in his position, he will take his position.
With all the power in charge, how could he not feel about these struggles at the bottom?
It seems that everything he has done, such as great victory, rectification, and reform, at least for the time being, and even for a long time in the future, will not change much in the lives of these lower-level people.
Even the war, the backlash of reform, and the resistance of bureaucrats will only make the lives of these lower-class people even more distressed.
Therefore, his existence, at least for the present, has not changed much for the lower class people of this nation.
But in fact, in the northern border, in addition to the army being his greatest foundation for Duke Qin, these people at the bottom were mostly his most solid supporters.
The reason is also very simple.
It was just because his existence largely avoided the endless border troubles and wiped out and suppressed most of the thieves that swept through several places.
Let these people not suffer inevitable disasters when they are struggling to survive.
After all, border troubles are caused by family destruction and people being destroyed, and thieves are also caused by family destruction and people being destroyed.
Even if the family is broken and the people are still alive, it is difficult to avoid being carried.
Thoughts were flying, and snowflakes suddenly fell in the sky. Li Xiu raised his hand and touched it lightly. The snowflakes fell on his fingertips, and soon, they melted into a slight snow water.
"It's snowing!"
A personal guard couldn't help but speak.
"Yes, it's snowing."
Li Xiu also responded, looking at the sudden snowfall in the sky and murmured to himself:
"The first year of Jingwu is about to pass!"
Jingwu!
What a beautiful vision!
Suddenly feeling melancholy in my heart. Looking around at this unknown small village again, Li Xiu couldn't help but sigh.
The road is long and arduous.
His road is still very long!
The direction that was once certain and firm now seems to be uncertain.
"General, the wind and snow are too heavy, so I'd better find a family to take a rest!"
A general stepped forward and bowed to Li Xiu.
Li Xiu glanced at the dilapidated thatched hut in the village. When he was about to refuse, he seemed to remember something and nodded. Then he pointed to the thatched hut at the entrance of the village: "Just go to that house."
"Abide by the order!"
After giving the order, the general immediately led several soldiers to ride their horses towards the family.
Li Xiu looked around and rode his horse.
A small thatched hut was crowded with six people.
An old lady with white hair and hunchback, a middle-aged man with a naked upper body and a thin skinny bone, and a grass skirt, tightly holding three and a half-old boys.
At this moment, everyone was full of fear and despair. Although the general was still explaining, the family had already fallen to the ground and begged for mercy.
"General!"
The dear general was obviously embarrassed and came to receive his order, but he couldn't even do this.
Looking at this scene, Li Xiu couldn't help feeling a little dazed at this moment.
Back then, he suddenly fell into this era of cannibalism. He was so trembling and shocked, cautious, and struggled so hard to survive.
However, he was lucky enough to get through it.
Otherwise, there would be no Qin Duke who is now intimidating the world. Some are just a dead bone in the wilderness.
And they...
It is undoubtedly unfortunate, or in this era, all the people in the world are unfortunate.
"Sir Jun, please spare me!"
"Mr. Jun, please spare me!"
"Mr. Jun, you have a lot of them, so let us go!"
"Shut up, the wind and snow are getting along. We are just here to avoid the wind and snow. There is no other meaning!"
The relative could no longer help but scolded him directly. At this time, the family finally became quiet.
The room was not big. On one side was a soil kang made of straw, there were not even decent bed sheets. On the other side, there was also a stove. Some pots and pans like waste were placed in a mess, and there were also a pile of firewood in the corner.
This family of six was crowded in the corner of the stove, and they didn't dare to show off.
Li Xiu was not surprised by this scene. This is the truest look of this era. The ancient courtyards in ancient TV dramas in memory basically do not exist, at least, in such wilderness villages.
Looking around, Li Xiu sat casually on the earthen kang, and then waved to the middle-aged man who was obviously the head of the family.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man hurriedly bent over and walked over, then fell to the ground.
Li Xiu waved his hand, and the guards on the side immediately brought a small stool from the corner of the house and placed it in front of the middle-aged man.
"sit."
Li Xiuxiu's handwriting is as good as gold.
The middle-aged man kowtowed suddenly and then sat on the small stool tremblingly.
"How many acres of land are there in your home?"
Li Xiu spoke slowly.
After the words came, the man quickly fell to the ground: "When I say to the adults, I have four acres of land in my small home."
Li Xiu frowned and asked again:
"The tenant or his own?"
"The little one is the tenant from the Wu Caizhu's family in the town!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! Li Xiu asked again: "How much does it cost to rent?"
The man's face turned bitter and did not dare to hide it: "Eight out of ten!"
After this statement, Li Xiu's expression suddenly turned into a cold face!
Of course he is not a fool who doesn't eat meat!
The yield of one acre of land is about three stones, but this is still a good harvest. Most of the time, it is difficult to have three stones, let alone the land that is barren!
If you can get two stones, it will be awesome!
One stone is equivalent to about seventy or eighty kilograms in modern times.
In other words, acre of land is only a mere 300 kilograms of rice.
Ten tens of rent are sold for eight!
It means that the man in front of him worked hard for a year, and in the end, he only got a few dozen kilograms of rice in one acre of land!
Even if it is five acres of land, it is only about one hundred kilograms! It is even less than one stone!
The food standard in the army is three liters of rice per person a day! One month, it is ninety liters, that is, nine dou, which is 0.9 stones!
An ordinary soldier in the army, with a mere month's food ration!
It is the one-year survival ration for the six-member family in front of you!
Obviously, this is by no means an exception!
But the current situation of countless people in the world in the Ming Dynasty!
But sadly, the land tax rate in the Ming Dynasty was not high.
Only thirty taxes!
However, the Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 200 years and has continued to this day. In fact, 90% of the people cannot enjoy this meager tax rate due to land annexation.
Because tenants do not have land, they do not have to pay a land tax!
However, there is no need to pay taxes, but there is still service. After the implementation of the One-Whip Law, service was spread into land. Although tenants without land do not actually need to serve, landlords usually pass on service to tenants.
What this means is undoubtedly very clear.
Living is already extremely difficult!
You also need to undertake various services!
However, in the entire Ming Dynasty, the real self-cultivated farmers, after hundreds of years of land annexation and collusion between officials and businessmen, may not be one out of ten!
That is to say, nine percent of the people in the Ming Dynasty lived similar to the life this man lived. The only difference may be whether the landlords were kind or not.
Is it a nine-pointer to 10, a eight-pointer to 7-pointer to 6-pointer to 6-pointer to 8-pointer to 7-pointer to 6-pointer to 8-pointer to 7-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8-pointer to 8
In this way, the reason why those so-called thief troops gathered hundreds of thousands of people to cause destruction in several places is undoubtedly obvious.
In this way, it is also obvious why good policies are difficult to implement.
The Ming Dynasty ruled not these countless people in the Ming Dynasty, but the landlord class of the Ming Dynasty! The foundation of the Ming Dynasty was already the landlord class of the Ming Dynasty.
If the ruler does not seek benefits for his own base landlord class, but for the so-called Ming people...
Can it be done?
Obviously it is impossible.
Will anyone betray the class?
There will definitely be, but, after all, only a few.
Can the minority surrender?
Can individuals make the class surrender?
Obviously impossible.
Following this association, Li Xiu suddenly discovered that thousands of years of history and dozens of dynasties seemed to have never completely solved this problem.
The so-called dynasty changes, and the world will be divided for a long time, and it will be divided for a long time. It is nothing more than the expansion of the landlord class and slowly growing to its peak, so that countless lower-level ants in the world can no longer survive. Then, in the end of the dynasty, the world will be in chaos!
But in the world, in order to conquer the world, the ambitious people have to cooperate with the landlord class until they have won the world and survived a disaster, the landlord class will begin to grow, spread and expand, and start a cycle of reincarnation!
Why is it said that the world will be divided for a long time and will be separated for a long time? This is the general trend and manpower cannot be violated at all?
This is the most fundamental reason!
It has never been a historical law, it is just a cycle of the interest class driven by human nature!
Individuals, a few people cannot resist a landlord class that completely covers the entire world!
At this point, Li Xiu couldn't help but think deeply about how to solve this problem that has plagued this nation for thousands of years.
No, after only a moment of deep thought, Li Xiu pressed his thoughts into his heart.
This problem that has plagued this nation for thousands of years has been solved in the history he perceived.
In the next few hundred years, there will be a red sun in the east, and with unprecedented courage, it will destroy everything and rebuild it! It will completely solve this problem that has plagued this nation for thousands of years!
"Oh……"
At this point, Li Xiu suddenly smiled.
All the problems seem to have returned to the origin again.
Does he have the courage to sweep the world?
Is he capable of doing all this?
Li Xiu had no doubts. Even if there wasn't now, it would be sooner or later.
But, if he has courage and capital, can he do it?
What name does he use?
Duke Qin?
Who should he implement it?
Those civil officials representing the landlord class in the Ming Dynasty?
Can……
In such a big thing that changes the world, he can still maintain the mess while fighting wits and courage with the people in the mess, and endure the drag of most people on the mess, or even stabbing the knife, and then complete this big thing that changes the world?
Idiots are dreaming, delusional!
Or, Li Xiu, he, wants to let this hidden danger go and continue.
Like the founders of all dynasties, waiting for the expected chronic death?
No, he is not a chronic death, he, or the Ming Dynasty, is already on the verge of death.
Even if he completes military reform and fiscal and tax reform, if he does not solve this problem, at most, it will be just a glory before the end of the world.
In other words, it means using one's own strength to violate the general trend, suppress the world, and slaughter the lives of countless people under the blade to exchange for decades of national destiny that the Ming Dynasty continued.
In the end, people will be destroyed and the country will be destroyed, leaving behind the so-called fame forever!
"Let's go!"
Li Xiu slowly stood up and waved his hand powerlessly, his expression as deep as ever.
The guards on the side were also a little at a loss. In their impression, their generals seemed to have always been planning and everything seemed to be under his control.
It seems that I have never been so depressed and lonely!
"For you all!"
A relative took out a pack of broken silver and threw it to the middle-aged man who was kneeling and at a loss, and then hurriedly followed.
Li Xiu walked out of this dilapidated thatched hut, outside the house,
The north wind whistled, and the snowflakes were rolling up all over the sky and flew wildly.
Li Xiu stopped slowly and stopped in place. His armor was instantly stained with wind and snow, and a blood-colored cloak was surging freely, just like the mess in Li Xiu's heart at this moment.
A general walked forward carefully and put a fox fur on Li Xiu. Then, he consciously retreated to the side, standing silently between the wind and snow, like sculptures.
"Your family has lived like this, right!"
Li Xiu turned around and looked at the dozens of personal guards standing behind him, as if telling a fact, and slowly spoke.
"Report to the general, the last general was once a tenant of the landlord's family. However, the landlord was not so inhumane at that time. He rented ten and paid six in ten, and lived a hard life, but he could barely hold on."
"Now, just the salary of the last general is enough to keep the whole family full and well-dressed..."
"Report to the general, the Mo General's family is all tenants of the landlord's family. The landlord is even more vicious than this one. He rents nine out of ten and takes the big brother to perform labor service. The big brother died in the labor service. The landlord is simply not giving anyone a way to live..."
"Report to the general..."
One by one, the personal guards responded one after another, and there were only a few dozen of the personal guards he had trained carefully. The family was a self-cultivated farmer or a wealthy family. The rest, without exception, were all tenants born. The only exception was that the landlords exploited more and less!
After listening to the last personal guard's remarks, Li Xiu was silent for a long time before asking in an uncertain tone:
"Do you think this problem can be solved by me?"
"Definitely!"
"The general will definitely solve it!"
Almost in unison, the fanatical look without any doubt also clearly showed the true thoughts of all the guards present.
Looking around the fanatical eyes, Li Xiu suddenly became speechless. After a while, a smile slowly appeared on the corner of his mouth. This smile became increasingly strong, and his eyes were also clear and firm as ever.
"Go back to Beijing!"
Chapter completed!