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.
To be continued...