"That's true. After listening to what you said, brother, I also think that young people should have some experience before they can be promoted."

"Haha! You also need this kind of experience. I think Jiangnan's time for radicalization has passed. Everyone who should be killed and those who shouldn't be killed have been killed.

The Donglin Party now believes that it is withered, and they cannot stir up trouble.

Now is the time to build, and you are still young. If you can't handle the construction, let Shi Dewei do it. Next year, you go back to the capital and follow that old fox Zhang Huangyan.

Although this old fox is not as cunning and upright as Mr. Sun, he is also a rare master in the world. If you study with him for a few years, your brother will still be the first assistant in the future."

"Brother, I heard some rumors. It is said that..." Li Hao hesitated to speak.

"say what?"

"Say you want to be emperor!"

"Haha! Do you want me to proclaim the emperor or not?" Li Xiao looked at Li Hao with a smile.

"Of course I am willing. You have become the emperor, and I, the prince, cannot run away."

"Haha!" Li Xiao didn't answer, he just looked into the distance and laughed twice.

The sun was half hidden in the clouds, and a huge shadow enveloped Li Xiao and his party.

Walking along the official road towards Suzhou, Li Xiao saw one village after another. It was similar to Houjia Village in Kunshan. The landlords had all been killed. Now the fields all belong to the government!

Every year, the government goes to the countryside to purchase grain. Then the people pay a head tax based on their household registration.

The taxes were not very heavy, and the people gradually had some spare money. The wealthier farmers began to buy bricks to build houses. However, in general, the wealth of the villages in Jiangnan was much worse than that in Liaodong.

In the huge city of Suzhou, not even a factory can be seen. Li Hao calls the place a factory, but Li Xiao is more willing to call such a place a workshop.

Academies were banned, and private schools were also banned.

Instead, there is a primary school and a middle school.

Children in every household have the opportunity to go to school. The government not only distributes free textbooks, paper and pens, but also provides a free lunch at noon.

Teachers from the north teach children how to read and write.

In the classroom of the school, there is a portrait of Li Xiao. Under the portrait of Li Xiao, there are eight characters: study hard and make progress every day.

The desks and chairs are all iron desks and chairs shipped from the north. To prevent children from moving, they are riveted to the ground.

Seeing the children doing homework on the iron table, Li Xiao wanted to laugh.

Back then, Lu Xun carved the word "morning" on his desk, and as a result, countless desks across the country were engraved with the word "morning".

Nowadays, the desks are all made of iron. I would like to see how you little bastards carve words on the desks.

Sitting on iron chairs is uncomfortable, so children's chairs are cushioned.

I randomly tested the children's homework and found that it was pretty good. Goose and Goose could memorize it, and the multiplication tables were also memorized well.

The only bad thing is that when entering Suzhou, the road seems a bit bumpy.

But this is easy to understand. After all, people these days who want to go to Jinling will take trains instead of horse-drawn carriages. Most goods are transported by railway.

The railway along the Yangtze River has been built all the way to Wuhan. Jinling will be the hub in the future. After all, the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge is about to be closed.

Suzhou gardens are now private residences. Of course, if Li Xiao wants to see them, the owner is absolutely welcome. The salt merchant's family is indeed rich, and the girls who wash clothes at home are as beautiful as the people in the paintings.

Anyone with an above-average IQ will understand what those salt dealers are up to.

The salt and iron monopoly was liberalized, and the lifeblood of the salt merchants was cut off. Now all the salt merchants are looking for other ways out. If they can catch up with the commander-in-chief, he is now the most powerful person in the Ming Empire.

Then why the hell do you have no business to do?

You must not use a bought girl to serve the commander-in-chief. After all, the girl you bought may change her position after becoming the commander-in-chief's concubine in the future.

Therefore, these washers are all the eldest ladies of the family. Several of them are also direct eldest ladies. As long as Li Xiao comes over with a look, it is not a big deal for Shifeng to sleep on the banquet that night.

When the word "seduce" is associated with the family's future and destiny, these young ladies with flirtatious eyes and green onion-like arms washing clothes seem a bit tragic.

Li Xiao ignored these young ladies, which disappointed the salt merchants who followed Li Xiao.

To be honest, the taste of Suzhou salt merchants in these days is really unflattering. When I gave Li Xiao a gift, a piece of agate the size of a human head was placed on the red sandalwood shelf.

Li Xiao felt that these two things were put in reverse.

You don't even know how much money you get, and you still have the nerve to say you're a businessman?

In the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, Li Xiao didn't see any of the picturesque scenery with white walls, ink tiles, and black-roofed boats. There was a smell of nouveau riche everywhere.

Where gold can be used, copper will never be used, and where silk can be used, cotton will never be used. There is no trace of the exquisite Suzhou garden landscapes of later generations here.

The salt merchants looked at Li Xiao with awe in their eyes. Even an older man stood behind Li Xiao with trepidation, as if he was walking on thin ice.

The way they looked at Li Hao was full of fear.

All the gentry and wealthy people in the Jiangnan countryside have been wiped out by Li Hao. Confiscation of homes and extermination of clans has been the most frequently used word in the past few years. Sometimes, you can hear it several times a day.

The salt merchants were very frightened, fearing that it would be their turn next.

After all, in terms of wealth, those country people are nothing compared to them.

All of them have become fat as pigs, and they are very afraid of the day when they will be slaughtered.

"The government will not deprive you of your property without reason. The Ming Empire protects private property. I, Li Xiao, am here to assure you of this.

As for the salt merchants in Lianghuai, they have become increasingly embarrassed because the state has opened up the salt and iron monopoly. There is nothing I can do about it. The state has controlled the salt and iron monopoly for thousands of years.

Now, it has become a tool for the government and you to collude to break the bones and suck out the marrow of the people. That's why the Ming Dynasty gave up the salt and iron monopoly.

Of course, people will still eat salt. But the profits will be much smaller than before.

If you want to enter other industries, the government welcomes it and will give you some corresponding support, but... you have to pay taxes according to the law."

After Li Xiao finished speaking, there was a chorus of agreement. However, it is difficult to say how many people here are sincere.

After all, salt merchants used to make huge profits. But now, one pound of salt only earns a few copper coins. How can one get used to eating big fish and meat?

Li Xiao knew that these people were used to making money while lying down. It would be more uncomfortable to make them sweat like rain than to kill them.

But there is no way, the history of mankind is a history of evolution, and those who cannot keep up with the pace of evolution are destined to be eliminated.

However, although Li Xiao's words did not bring them any benefit, they gave them peace of mind. After all, their life safety was guaranteed for the time being.

The premise is! These guys don't seek their own death.

"I have heard what the commander said. The court is not an unreasonable court. As long as you abide by the law and pay court taxes on time, the court will protect your safety and property." After Li Xiao finished speaking, Li Hao followed suit.

.

The salt merchants still believed Li Xiao's words. After all, this was the supreme leader of the Ming Dynasty.

But Li Hao's words are less credible. After all, the squires and landowners in the countryside don't seem to have violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

But those people sent by Li Hao frequently ransacked homes and exterminated clans.

The term "the whole family is dead" has been heard quite frequently in recent years. After all, many of the squires and wealthy locals are relatives of the salt merchants.
Chapter completed!