Tuoba Amu took the order and left.
After the three juniors left, there were only four people left on the Zhang stage.
Zhou Xu said to Wu Tongjie: "Now, the evildoers headed by the Huang family and the Guo family have been imprisoned. Xu Huaicai sorted out a group of prisoners' properties and showed them to me."
"After reading it, I realized that it is no joke that a wealthy family can be crowned king."
Wu Tongjie didn't know what the prince meant. Nine out of ten of the wealth in Guangling was in the hands of these big families. The manor and land alone were already huge wealth. Now that their homes were confiscated, he, the county guard, didn't get a penny. The wealth was naturally accepted by Zhou Youzhou.
Of course, he did not dare to ask Zhou Youzhou for it.
"I now own the wealth of Guangling." Zhou Xu has no shame at all in seizing other people's wealth. Naturally, he feels that Guangling's wealth belongs to him: "The princess proposed to me this afternoon that it could benefit the people. I think it is feasible."
"Most of the Guangling manor was built on occupied land, so I plan to return some of the fields to the farmers who were occupied. Tomorrow, Commander Wu can go to Xu Huaicce, and he will cooperate with Commander Wu."
Wu Tongjie didn't know that the wine in his wine glass was sloshed out. He looked at Zhou Youzhou and the gentle Madam Xiao beside him in shock and shock.
Can't believe what I'm hearing.
From ancient times to the present, whether they are aristocratic families or powerful warlords, they have always occupied land and become kings. They have used various means to wrest their lifeblood from the hands of the people, forcing them to rely on them for survival.
The endless wars and the court's excessive taxation also became the straw that drove the lower class to death, forcing them to become refugees and were forced to take refuge. However, Wu Tongjie swore that he always treated the people of Guangling under his rule by gently levying taxes and encouraging the people. Vendors circulate, so situations like the above rarely occur.
But this is the first time that the land has been returned on its own initiative, especially for these warlords, who can actually spit out the benefits they have gained to the people at the bottom.
Even if Zhou Youzhou only said a few things.
Yes, of course he knew, that was just a few.
But a little leakage from their hands may be the life of hundreds of farmers.
"This is done in the name of the princess. The princess believes in doing charity, and it should be regarded as an act of kindness from the princess."
Zhou Xu doesn't want to turn this into a matter of course, at least the time is not right now, and to do this kind of thing occasionally, it needs an opportunity, or a suitable excuse.
"I thank you, Princess." Wu Tongjie knelt down and thanked her sincerely this time.
He has experienced hardships. When the Turks ravaged China, he understood the faces of the aristocratic families. Didn't you see that countless wealthy families clung to their land and wealth, imprisoned in the forts, the wine and meat of the rich families were stinky, and the bones on the roadside were as white as snow. I haven't seen anyone giving alms kindly.
Xiao Luolan also looked at Sect Master Zhou in surprise, using her name to do this?
Suddenly I remembered that there were some aristocratic families in the north who supported Clan Leader Zhou, and even the Xie family had secretly contacted him. This kind of land division would directly affect the interests of the aristocratic families, so it was not easy to go too far, so I used her name to do it.
Now there is a reason for the incident, so it is not considered an ally of Sect Master Zhou in the back? Xiao Luolan thought about it, and sure enough, nothing was easy and smooth.
Zhou Xu also talked about how he was going to send people to Guangyi Prefecture in the south of Lingnan to search for good seeds. After he finished talking, he smiled at Duke Xiao and asked, "I have long heard that Duke Xiao's disciples are all great talents. I don't know if there are people who are good at farming. Can I invite him to work with him at that time?" Luo Jinhu will go with you."
Xiao Gong said solemnly: "It is my duty to do such important things that benefit the people. I have a close friend named Pan Li, who is proficient in farming. He once served as a chief agricultural officer. He was dismissed from office in his early years. He was an upright and upright man. I will write a letter for you. He came to Qinghe County to discuss this matter."
"That's very good." Zhou Xu smiled.
After everything was settled, Duke Xiao and others also left.
Xiao Luolan learned that the Lingnan matter was about to be settled, and she felt a lot more at ease. When good seeds were found, she hoped to help some people.
Chapter 223
The second day.
When Xiao Luolan got up, she found that Clan Leader Zhou was gone again. Perhaps because of the war, this man started to be busy again. Xiao Luolan was used to it, but she was a little curious about how Clan Master Zhou left without disturbing her. , she felt that she didn't sleep much.
After washing up.
Xiao Luolan heard Xia He's reply, and Tuoba Amu came to say hello.
Xiao Luolan was convinced. When Amu was in Langge, whenever he was free, he, like Shenzhi and his brother Agu, would never miss greetings and be very diligent and filial.
In name, Xiao Luolan is Ah Gu's adoptive mother, and Amu is half of her adopted son, so she asked Xia He to prepare some ginseng tea for Amu. She always got up early, and Amu must have come earlier.
The summer is hot, and an ice basin has already been placed in the outer hall.
"Mu, please greet my mistress and wish her well." Tuoba Amu saluted the princess neatly dressed. Xiao Luolan said with a smile: "It's just dawn, Amu, you can finish your breakfast here before leaving, but good?"
Tuoba Amu was hesitant, because his age, his alien status, and the alien customs that made him ashamed and hated were all reasons why he needed to avoid suspicion.
During the Huiyi War last year, the reason why my brother and I were a little slack about paying greetings every day, and even had to take time to go, was largely because of a custom that their alien race was extremely despised by the Central Plains.
However, since they surrendered to their lord and escaped from the cruel living environment, their Tuoba tribe has corrected themselves. They have worked hard to move closer to the Central Plains, but with little effect.
There are still many people in the Central Plains who regard them as beasts who cannot understand human nature.
Tuoba Amu felt this way especially in the past few days. In Youzhou, the hostility of others was not very obvious. But when he arrived in the hinterland of Jiangnan, almost everyone would spontaneously reject him because of his appearance.
Tuoba Amu sometimes felt that he was a soul wandering on the noisy streets, and no one saw him.
"But is there any inconvenience?" Xiao Luolan asked with concern when seeing Amu's delay in answering.
"No." Tuoba Amu stood quietly on one side, looking at the gentle face of the mistress, and quickly lowered his head: "Thank you, mistress."
"You're welcome, I see you've lost a lot of weight." Xiao Luolan smiled and asked Xia He to prepare breakfast: "I'll have to eat more later."
For breakfast, Xiao Luolan was very full, mainly because Amu had a good appetite and it was very refreshing to eat, which made people very appetizing. She unconsciously used an extra small bowl.
After the meal, he asked about the return to Yicheng and how Aguma was doing.
Tuoba Amu answered one by one, and naturally they were all good.
While the two were talking, Zhou Liu came to his uncle for the first time. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Tuoba Amu and stopped in his tracks.
"Sixteen is here?" Xiao Luolan looked at Zhou Shiliu, who rarely got up early and arrived early, and felt really surprised.
"Auntie is well." He said hello to his aunt on Saturday. He came here mainly to see his uncle. Unexpectedly, he saw Tuoba Amu courting his aunt, and he became more and more disgusted with him.
"Aunt, where is uncle?" Zhou Shiliu asked impatiently.
"He and General Jin went to Pei Shanshui Village." Xiao Luolan said.
It seemed that his uncle was busy with business. On Saturday, he thought about waiting for his uncle to come back before telling him.
"Since uncle is busy, Qingxue and I went out to play together." Zhou Shiliu was determined to divert his cousin's attention away from Tuoba Amu.
The two of them went out to play almost every day. After reporting as usual, Xiao Luolan warned: "Bring a guard, and Dong Xue will also bring a guard."
"Don't worry, aunt." Zhou Shiliu joked: "As long as I'm here, if anyone touches my cousin's finger, I'll chop off his hand."
Tuoba Amu then looked up at Zhou Shiliu, with no emotion in his eyes.
"As long as you don't cause trouble." Xiao Luolan gave her emphatically advice as she felt that Zhou Shiliu was just a moving humanoid/fire/drug storehouse with an impulsive and aggressive personality and was prone to killing at every turn.
"I won't offend anyone unless they offend me. Auntie, I rarely cause trouble outside." Zhou Xiu felt aggrieved.
"Qingxue should still be sleeping. If you don't mind the trouble, just go and wait for her." Xiao Luolan said, "Qingxue is always lazy in the summer, so she will have to wait for a while on Saturday."
"It's okay, just wait, Auntie, then I'm leaving." Saturday came and went in a hurry, and left quickly.
Xiao Luolan looked at Amu and saw that he was taciturn. Remembering her daughter's trouble last night about his withdrawn nature, she said warmly: "You young people all like to have fun. Amu, do you want to go and have fun too?"
Tuoba Amu shook his head, with a sullen face, and plucked up the courage to say: "Brother, he is far away in Huiyi and cannot serve in front of the mistress. This is unfilial. As his younger brother, I should take charge of my brother's responsibilities." The mother fulfills her filial piety and stays with her mistress."
Tuoba Amu's face was a little red. The above paragraph was said sincerely and with great effort. It was obvious that he seldom said such words.
This child... Xiao Luolan couldn't help laughing. How could she not see that Amu was deliberately using Agu's banner to please her.
But Amu seemed to have a pure heart.
"In that case, let's go sit in the garden. There are a lot of flowers about to bloom there." Xiao Luolan planned to let Amu stay with him for half an hour. He would treat it as a filial piety for Agu. How could it be true? Detain him.
So the two of them cooled off in the garden pavilion.
As soon as Xiao Luolan sat down, she saw Amu starting to work as a flower farmer, spraying water on flowers and plants, pruning and weeding, and he was very skilled at it.
When Amu returned to the pavilion, Xiao Luolan handed him the herbal tea and asked, "Amu, do you also like flowers and plants?"
Tuoba Amu said: "I like it. There is a pond of sunflowers in my garden."
Sunflower? Xiao Luolan thought for a while, it seemed like a kind of flower on the grassland.
"Then give me some seeds when you get back. I don't have this kind of flower in the garden." Xiao Luolan said with a smile.
Tuoba Amu said: "You can have as many as you like."
While the two were talking, Xia He came to report that a student named Lu Jiashan asked to see him.
Xiao Luolan thought for a while and realized that this was the person brought here by Magistrate Shen, so he asked Xia He to take him to the front hall where guests were entertained.
Seeing that his mistress was busy, Tuoba Amu excused himself.
Wait until the front hall.
Xiao Luolan looked at Student Lu, whom he had only met once, and saw that he was dressed simply, and after saluting in a neither humble nor overbearing manner, he took the initiative and said: "Lu Jiashan, a common man, pays homage to the princess. I am a student of Mingxin layman. I want to see the princess this time." Go with my teachers and classmates to meet my senior brother."
"Because the journey is long and we have to cross Youzhou and cross the border, I would like to ask the princess for a customs clearance document."
Xiao Luolan was a little confused after hearing this, and secretly became more vigilant: "Who is your senior brother?"
Lu Jiashan smiled bitterly and said, "He is King Huiyi."
Xiao Luolan observed the Qinghe student and was a little unsure whether he was telling the truth or a lie. She didn't have much time in Huiyi, and she knew more about the third prince from Sect Master Zhou. Lu Jiashan's words seemed to be... The reliability is very high.
"Arilang sent a letter asking you to go?" Xiao Luolan asked.
"Senior brother, he used a pseudonym when he traveled in the Central Plains, Liang Ri, and he also used his first name when communicating with us on weekdays. My mentor and I both thought he was a border bastard who came to the Central Plains to study. His mentor taught him everything, regardless of his identity. , and it was also years ago that I learned that he was the new king of Huiyi, Arilang." Lu Jiashan took out a letter from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.
"Princess, please give me some advice."
Xia He took the letter in his hand and inspected it before handing it to the princess.
Xiao Luolan opened the letter and read it. In the letter, Arilang confessed his true identity to his mentor Mingxin layman. His words were mostly depressed and pessimistic. He wrote that many people died last winter and there was no one inhabited for a hundred miles. , there are bones under the green grass, and he wrote that he, the king of Huiyi, did not do well, and finally at the end of the letter.
Ahrilang asked his mentor, "How can I save myself when I am in the sea of suffering?"
Xiao Luolan planned to ask Amu over later to see if he recognized Arilang's handwriting.
"I already know about this matter, but I can't give you the customs clearance document for the time being. You have to wait until I find out all about your relationship with Arilang." Xiao Luolan suddenly thought of something: "Since you are a student of Mingxin layman, why would you go with With Magistrate Shen?"
Lu Jiashan had already responded and said: "The princess doesn't know something. It is very difficult for ordinary people to meet you. My mentor was a good friend of Magistrate Shen's late father, so he asked me to stay with Magistrate Shen and befriend Mr. Xiao." .”
"This time I heard that Governor Wu was imprisoned, so I volunteered to join Duke Xiao and Shen County Magistrate. I had no choice but to do this. I hope the princess won't be surprised." Lu Jiashan frankly told what happened.
"Then where is Master Mingxin?" Xiao Luolan couldn't find the flaw in his words and asked again.
"My master used to be the county magistrate in Chashu County, Chuzhou. He became an official a few years ago and is now the village elder of Dijia Village." Lu Jiashan did not dare to hide it, lowered his head and said: "Because my mentor loves his disciples, I have already written to inform my mentor. He should rush to Guangling."
