Chapter 179: A Harsh Government is More Fierce than a Tiger
“I lost!”
The young warrior, who looked only in his thirties, was dejected. He traveled thousands of miles, searching along the way, and finally found the Second Young Master Feng, who had no fixed place to live and was traveling everywhere, and wanted to fight with the God of War Armor.
It is rumored that every warrior who fights against the Martial God Armor, although the outcome is doomed to failure, can gain a lot of insights as long as they are able to fight with it. Many warriors who have this opportunity have subsequently experienced breakthroughs of varying sizes.
He also came here to seek this opportunity, but what annoyed him was that although the opportunity was right within reach, he failed to pass the test and was defeated by one of Mr. Feng's followers, and did not obtain the qualification to fight with the God of War Armor.
Although this rule was established later, he had already become someone else's defeated opponent. Even if he had a thousand words in his heart, he could only keep them in his heart at the moment. There was 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 regret, an old voice sounded and stopped him.
"Yes, I am from Pingwu County, Nanshao Prefecture!"
The warrior turned his head and looked at the old man who called him with some confusion. Before the competition, hadn't they already introduced their names and origins to each other? Why was there any unnecessary question?
"Then please come over and have a chat. My young master has something to ask you!"
"What?"
The warrior was confused, but he still walked over. After all, he had heard that the Second Young Master Feng had collected many martial arts books. The rules he set were known to all the warriors who came over.
But the most infuriating thing was that he didn't even get the chance to fight Ming Longjia, nor did he have the chance to hand in all the martial arts he had learned throughout his life.
But precisely because of this, he was full of anticipation, looking forward to this young master asking him questions. If he could answer them and satisfied him, would he be rewarded?
"When you meet the young master, answer whatever he asks. If you don't know, then don't make up stories. If your answer satisfies the young master, you will get benefits!"
Seeing the warrior coming over so tactfully, Butler Zhao nodded with satisfaction, but still did not forget to give him some instructions.
"I wonder what your son wants to ask?"
"I want to ask about the farming in your hometown!"
Feng Qing'an walked out of the carriage, and the black and white wolves also rushed out from the carriage following his figure. No matter whether it was Heishan or Baiyao, even a slight glance without hostility made the warrior's body involuntarily tense up.
"farm work?"
The warrior was completely bewildered. Several thoughts flashed through his mind, but he never expected that the second young master, who was obviously extremely valuable, would ask about farming.
You can tell at first glance that this young man is a person who does not work. Why would he care about farming? He has no official position or job, so it has nothing to do with him!
"Yesterday I hosted a banquet for ghosts and gods in Jinling Prefecture, and a ghost and god complained to me, saying that the grain production in Nanshao Prefecture has been decreasing for the past few years. Compared with the usual bumper years, it is nearly 20% less. You are from Nanshao Prefecture, and I want to confirm with you whether this is true."
"A banquet for ghosts and gods?"
The warrior who was called over for questioning was startled when he heard what the young man in white said. He had seen roaming ghosts and gods, but he always kept his distance from them.
"You don't need to care about this. I just want to know if there is any problem with the grain production in Nanshao Prefecture!"
Feng Qing'an spoke in a serious tone. It was impossible for him to just listen to the one-sided words of ghosts and gods and then go to confront a water god who controlled the flow of thousands of miles of rivers. He would investigate the specific situation on the spot. If it really had a serious impact on the production of the people on both sides of the strait, then he could take the opportunity to slay the dragon.
"Sir, you came to me to ask this. To be honest, you have come to the wrong person. I don't really care about the farming in my hometown!"
This warrior was quite straightforward and said directly that he didn't understand, but he was not stupid either, so he added,
"But I think the reduction in grain production should be more than 20%. Those ghosts and gods who complained to you must have said too little. The actual situation is more serious than this!"
"How do you know?"
Feng Qingan asked.
"There have been a lot of new faces in my home in the past few years. They are all half-grown children, both boys and girls. They are all children that farmers in the surrounding area cannot afford to raise, so they were sold to my home!"
The warrior, who looked quite young, spoke like a young man from a wealthy family.
Feng Qingan frowned when he heard this. A reduction in grain production of less than 20% forced farmers to sell their children?
"Young Master!?"
Feng Qing'an just frowned slightly, and unspeakable terrifying pressure fell upon the seemingly young rich man, making his body tremble like a sieve and he almost fell to the ground.
"Back off, what does this have to do with him!"
Feng Qingan glared at the guys on both sides who were putting pressure on the rich young man.
Unless it is absolutely necessary, which parent would be so stupid as to sell their own children like commodities? Unless there is really no other way out, they would make such a choice out of desperation.
In a year of famine and food shortage, being willing to buy other people's children, feed them and keep them alive , in a sense, even be considered a good deed.
"Sir, these ghosts and gods may not be lying, and they dare not deceive you!"
Butler Zhao took a look at the man who was called in for questioning, who was obviously a rich young man who had never had any contact with women since childhood. He looked at Feng Qing'an and spoke.
"If grain production drops by 10% to 20%, it will be enough to force farmers to sell their children and land!"
"tax!"
Feng Qing'an frowned, then relaxed. After all, he had been a clay boy rolling around in the fields when he was a kid, so he knew what ordinary farmers were most worried about.
"That's right. If the government doesn't reduce taxes, the shortfall in grain production will all fall on the shoulders of the people. The food rations a farmer needs to survive will be reduced by half, or even more. It's only natural that they will be forced to sell their children!"
"Are the government's taxes so high?"
The silly boy from the landlord's family scratched the back of his head, looking a little confused. This was not something he cared about, and if he had not been questioned today, he would not have paid attention to this aspect.
"Land tax, head tax, and other miscellaneous taxes imposed by local governments at all levels. If it is a good year, the people can barely make ends meet. But if the grain production decreases and the taxes do not decrease, they will naturally have no choice but to sell their children!"
Butler Zhao, who came from an ordinary family, explained softly that it was precisely because of his ordinary family background that he knew how miserable the lives of ordinary people were.
The other warriors accepted by Feng Qing'an looked at each other with confusion written all over their faces. As martial artists, how could they understand the misery of the lower class people?
The saying "poor people are good at literature but rich people are good at martial arts" is not just a saying. A martial artist who has been able to practice martial arts since childhood has nothing to do with poverty. There are very few martial artists born in poverty. Unless they have extremely incredible opportunities, practicing martial arts is just playing with their lives. Before they can achieve anything, they will kill themselves by practicing.
"You are from Pingwu County, Nanshao Prefecture, right?"
Feng Qingan's expression had returned to calm, but a cold light was flickering in the depths of his eyes.
He finally understood why his elder brother was killing people along the way on his way to the exam. With swords in hand and great power, it was hard not to have murderous intentions towards these strange and powerful beings. He hadn't seen anything with his own eyes yet, but he already had the urge to kill people.
"Exactly!"
The landlord's fool noticed that the atmosphere seemed a little strange at this moment. He wanted to run away, but looking at the two black and white wolves beside the young man, he wisely did not move.
"Would you mind taking me to your house?"
Feng Qingan asked with a smile.
"this……"
The silly boy showed hesitation on his face. This involved the ghost god Shuijun, and he really didn't want to get involved. It was obvious that someone was going to be in trouble. Those guys who were dealt with couldn't take revenge on the young master in front of him, so why couldn't they take revenge on him?
"If you don't want to, forget it. Here, this is your reward for answering the question."
Seeing that the other party was unwilling, Feng Qing'an did not force him and threw out a booklet. The silly boy caught it and took a look. He saw "Yunlan Secret Strategy" on the cover. He opened it and flipped through it, and found that it was actually a martial arts book that could be used to cultivate to the Hunyuan realm.
The silly boy was overjoyed, but when he turned to the back, the smile on his face froze. He turned the cover again and noticed a very small word "上" on the side of Yunlan Secret Plan.
"What about the next volume?"
The silly boy couldn't help but ask, it's too unethical to only give half.
"You just gave a few ambiguous answers and you got half of the martial arts manual. Are you still not satisfied?"
Feng Qingan looked at this greedy guy with some surprise. He had only asked a few questions, but he generously gave him half of the martial arts manual.
"But, this..."
The silly 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 simply made him uncomfortable.
"Sir, I just remembered it wrong. My father has prepared some wine and is about to invite you to my humble home!"
With a bright future just around the corner, the silly boy immediately threw away his previous concerns and decided to seek wealth and honor through risk.
"Well, that's right, this kid is teachable!"
Seeing the young man in front of him changing his expression at the speed of light, Butler Zhao was quite pleased. He then turned to one side and gave an order,
"Go and get a horse for our guide, and let him lead the way!"
"yes!"
Feng Qing'an and his group, who had caught the unlucky guy leading the way, did not delay along the way because they had a clear goal. They did not pick and choose the terrain, they climbed over mountains and crossed rivers, and chose the least-broken route on the map.
Therefore, within three days, Feng Qing'an led a group of people into Pingwu County. However, when they had just walked out of the forest and saw people, Feng Qing'an frowned.
Spring ploughing has already begun for nearly two months, but the wheat seedlings growing in the fields on both sides are green and yellow. Even he, a layman who has hardly been to the fields, can see that the survival rate of these wheat seedlings is extremely worrying. Not to mention whether they can wait until the harvest season, it is even a question whether they can survive until next month.
"Zhou Da!"
Seeing the scene in the fields, Feng Qingan no longer had a good look on his face, and he immediately shouted,
"Hey, I'm here, sir."
A young warrior with a flattering face came up to Feng Qingan's horse. Because they wanted to take a shortcut, only the young master rode a horse, and the rest of them abandoned their horses and walked.
"I wonder what you want, sir?"
"Do you remember how many times it rained in Pingwu County since the spring ploughing started?"
"I can't remember that!"
The silly boy, who had become a qualified lackey, racked his brains to recall. To be honest, it was really difficult for him to recall all this. He was also asked to recall the names of the courtesans in the county brothels. He did remember them.
"About seven or eight?"
"How's the rain?"
Feng Qing'an also knew that it would be embarrassing to ask such questions to people who were not involved in farming, so he changed the way of asking, thinking that he should remember whether it was heavy rain or light rain.
"Those few rains were very light, and the soil they fell on was not even as wet as my pee!"
"Um!"
Feng Qing'an knew what was going on. With just this little rain, it was no wonder that the wheat seedlings in the field looked so wilted.
"Take me to your house!"
"yes!"
Zhou Yiyang immediately became excited. After bringing this nobleman to his own territory, he decided to do everything he could to please him. He didn't know whether this young man was interested in women. If there was a need, he could send all his father's young concubines to him.
With a local tyrant leading the way, the group was familiar with the route and traveled smoothly. However, something went wrong before they were halfway there. It was probably because the person leading the way, Mr. Zhou, was too famous in the local area and he was recognized as soon as he showed up.
A group of farmers, simple women, and even gray-haired old people who were dressed in ragged clothes were intercepted halfway, and next to them were a group of children of varying ages, both men and women.
"Mr. Zhou!"
The fierce warrior who could tear tigers and leopards apart alive was grabbed by the arm by an octogenarian, and his eyes were filled with helplessness.
"What are you doing? I brought a distinguished guest back from out of town today!"
Shadaer supported the old man in front of him and carefully looked at Feng Qingan's face behind him. Seeing that the young man had a blank expression, he felt a little uneasy.
"So you are Mr. Zhou's distinguished guest. I am here to apologize to you, but we really have no other choice. We just want to find a way for the children to survive!"
Seeing Feng Qing'an, the only one on horseback among the group, the old man's eyes were filled with hope and flattery. He not only bowed but even planned to kneel down.
"Don't kneel at your age. If you have anything to say, just stand up and tell me!"
Feng Qing'an dodged and got off Sen Miao, supported the old man, and glanced at the men, women, and children behind the old man, especially the group of children with confusion and curiosity in their eyes. It was clear what was going on.
"My Lord, I see that you are surrounded by men, and you are still in need of some maids to serve you. What do you think of them?"
The old man turned around, grabbed a little girl who was not even as tall as Feng Qingan's chest, and pushed her in front of Feng Qingan. Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Zhou Yiyang, who was frowning.
"I remember your farm sent a dozen children to my house a while ago. How long has it been since then? Have you spent all the money my father gave you?"
"How dare I spend it? The officials took away half of the money I earned from selling the dolls on the same day, saying it was a tax on dealers. The remaining money was barely enough to make ends meet. But the county magistrate has increased taxes a lot these days, and the money from selling the dolls is not 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 had to pay some normal taxes every year, and all kinds of miscellaneous levies would not be imposed on them.
As long as you enter the Zhou family, even if you become a slave or a maid, as long as you can have food to eat and survive, it 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 find a way to get him to exempt these taxes!"
Feng Qingan smiled gently.
