The Kingdom of the Moon is an agricultural society, which is the same as other large countries with large populations.
Even counting the part of dusty history lost to time, human civilization has been established for tens of thousands of years, but it can still be roughly summarized into several types: farming, fishing, hunting, and nomadic herding.
These words intuitively summarize the means by which a certain people make a living. If we want to summarize the rules, any country that develops sufficiently will eventually be dominated by farming.
Fishing, hunting and nomadic peoples tend to be more aggressive and more capable due to their characteristics. In history, they often invaded agricultural civilizations during their prosperity. However, even they, after invading the farming civilization and seizing the country, are often classified and assimilated in the end and start to develop agriculture.
The simplest reason is that nomadism, fishing and hunting alone are completely unable to support a huge population. Only hard work in sowing can ensure a stable food ration. This is why in countries like the Moon Country, there is often "food for the people". Proverbs such as "For Heaven" spread.
Eating is never a small thing.
Most large empires with a population of more than 10 million experienced famine due to natural and man-made disasters. When the population was only a few tens of thousands, the reduction in crop production could be compensated by simply increasing fishing and hunting. But when thousands of acres of fields are barren and there are millions of mouths to feed, all the edible food in the mountains and forests will be consumed in just a few days.
Farming is a big skill. The temperature must be right and the soil must be right. If the watering frequency is too low, the crops will die, while if the watering frequency is too high, the roots will be soaked. Weeds must be removed at all times, and pests must be prevented. If the fertility is not enough, the final result of a year's hard work may only be enough to fill the stomach--this is still a better situation.
The bitter cold soil in most of the North is only suitable for growing potatoes. Although these tuber crops can fill the stomach, eating them alone is not nutritious and often makes people bloated. As we mentioned before, fine white rice belongs to the nobility. The climate and soil environment here in Zhangzhou are average, so it is very rare to grow chestnut rice. The soil, climate, and moisture are all quite suitable, but even so, there are no less than four abandoned villages with empty buildings along the way. Moreover, it is the busy farming season in midsummer. The reason is obviously only man-made disasters. .
The emperor is far away, so local officials have certain authority to make their own decisions.
This is a very ironic scene in the eyes of our wise man who has abundant knowledge.
Even though the vassal land in the far north is bitter and barren, it still has a certain standard of living. Because the royal family who was made a vassal king needed to be responsible for their own territory. If the harvest in the territory was not good, they would have no income.
As a major state under the direct influence of Xinjing, border areas such as Taizhou attract a lot of attention, and they also have a peaceful, prosperous and wealthy scene.
Therefore, to a certain extent, the useless province of Zhangzhou where the group of people are now located, where grandma does not care for uncle, is the best entry point to observe the degree of corruption in the bureaucracy of the Moon Country.
State pastors are senior civil servants of the royal family. Unlike the lords, the prosperity of their territory is not directly linked to their personal income. Even if the operation is good, most of the income will go into the national treasury. Whether there will be rewards depends on Xinjing's wishes.
However, as long as you are in a high position, there will always be people who fawn over you. Businessmen who want to smuggle contraband, and villains who secretly develop various illegal activities. Collusion between officials and businessmen has always been common in history. Therefore, in the end, it becomes a test of the official's personal will and firmness of position - when you try your best and there is no high reward, but you do some actions that seem to be just "little evil", such as just turning a blind eye to certain situations. Few people can truly maintain their integrity when vast amounts of wealth are available to them with just one eye open.
This kind of thing will eventually be directly reflected on people's livelihood.
The villains who bullied the market went unpunished, but the civilians who ran to complain were beaten with sticks by the officials and went home shouting "ouch, ouch, ouch". Eventually the land was occupied and people had to leave and go elsewhere to make a living. When serious business is forced to be unable to continue, they can only turn into bandits.
Over time, the population has been lost. Except for those who are responsible for various basic services and do odd jobs for the nobles, there are basically no normal farmers here.
"The entire Zhangzhou is just a huge noble house, filled with nobles and their servants."
Such an evaluation was made by the sage not long after arriving here. This place is filled with all kinds of commoners who are born to serve the nobles, as well as the nobles who enjoy their services. On the surface, it seems to be a prosperous and prosperous place, and there are many top-notch prostitutes and restaurants nearby that can consume thousands of taels in one night.
This kind of society and economy is deformed, and it relies heavily on material support from other provinces of the Moon Country. Once other territories fail to provide supplies in time due to harvest failure, Zhangzhou will instantly fall into chaos.
The sky is high and the emperor is far away, and Xinjing has nothing to do with it. Even if an inspector is sent and corrupt officials are severely punished, the next one will still appear.
Therefore, the village that a group of people came to in search of water was actually not a small but empty village. It was not the first one, and it would certainly not be the last one.
When we reached the village, the road started to get easier. The sky was still very bright, the field of view was relatively broad, and the ground was very flat, so the group speeded up.
The roadside is full of traces of abandonment. The once fertile fields were overgrown with weeds because no one took care of them. These vigorous weeds even tilted the stone framework carved into the roadbed. In the humid climate, the roof tiles and thatched earth walls are covered with moss. If you look closely, there are poisonous insects such as centipedes lurking in them, which are full of life and scurrying around under the summer heat.
The direction of the well is often located at the traffic center of the village. The higher the status of the people, the closer they live to it. This is all for convenience. He continued walking forward through the still vaguely identifiable path. The scene of abandoned fields and villages on the roadside made Yajiro frown and Lao Qiao became more and more silent. But when he was about to approach the well, Mira suddenly held his hand. He picked up the knife handle and stopped.
"The smell of burning firewood." Lulu recognized this before the Luoan girl. Obviously, as a water source, this place is not completely deserted.
It would be okay if they were civilians. Even if the identities of the Nanbarians and Yi people were somewhat unique, with the two nobles Yajiro and Lao Qiao around, they would not dare to say anything because of their identities.
But combined with the trees that had been cut down by humans in the previous mudslides, it was possible that the bandits had deliberately set up obstacles.
"Young Master and Lao Qiao, on the left, Galeva Lulu on the right." To be on the safe side, the sage asked the team members to divide into three groups before officially approaching, leaving only him and Mira in the middle, while the other four It's outflanking from the left and right.
They took a detour and approached the well. If there was a conflict, the sage and the Luoan girl walking in the center would be attacked immediately, and the two teams on the left and right could take the opportunity to support from behind or from the side.
The opponent's number should not exceed theirs, because when I looked down from halfway up the slope, I didn't see anyone. Moreover, after walking through most of the village, most of the houses have been abandoned. If there were dozens of bandits, they would have left some traces of their lives.
"Click, click." The sound of Mitya's horse's hooves came from a very far away place. The movement of the unicorn weighing hundreds of kilograms could not be hidden, but this was exactly the sage's intention.
"Wow!" After a burst of chaotic sounds, the fire roaster who noticed the movement came out from nearby, but the moment she saw them, Mira frowned and loosened her hand holding the knife handle slightly.
"Head! There's a fish on there--" The middle-aged man who ran out yelled over his shoulder and looked like a poor bandit that you would imagine. In the middle of summer, he was only wearing underwear and a Jinbei top. His whole body was in tatters and his face was sallow and thin. His height was only less than 1.5 meters, which was the average level of Kazuto civilians. Frozen as if frozen.
The nearly two-meter-tall sage stood there, which was even higher than the roof. He was so frightened that he was speechless for a moment, but when he saw his companions behind him coming out, he braced himself for the sake of face: "I don't care whether you are a devil or... He's a barbarian, he wants to pass by here and leave some money to buy him!"
The sage shook his eyebrows. Hu people are another name given to foreigners by the common people of the Moon Country. Considering that most of the Rigal race have thick beards, this may be the reason why they chose this intuitive nickname.
"Yes, yes, keep the money!" With the strength of the crowd, the other five or six bandits who also emerged also made a fuss. Many of them were holding wooden knives and sticks in their hands, looking ferocious and threatening, but combined with their sallow complexion, thin skin, and malnourished appearance, Mira just sighed and let go of the hand holding the knife.
"We're just here to order some water, please get out of the way if you can." Henry said in a calm tone, but he didn't hesitate in his words. People who turn into bandits often have their own miserable reasons, but even if you sympathize with them and then allow them to demand and threaten them into submission, it will only encourage their viciousness. At present, these people are just some weak combatants who were mostly farmers not long ago, but if they are tolerated and compromised, it will give them the possibility to grow and grow, and eventually turn into a bandit group that harms one party.
The saddest thing is this reality. Even though he is called a sage and has almost endless knowledge, he is aware of the situation of these people but has no better way to help them.
All the methods Henry could give were only treating the symptoms and not the root cause. Even if you give them rations, because the fields are still unable to be effectively cultivated, they will still have to return to this life after eating; even if you give them money to make a living in big cities, how many farmers who have only known farming their whole life can learn a new skill from scratch? Eating skills.
What forces Luo Cao to commit suicide is the current general situation in Zhangzhou. As long as this does not change, any help will be just half-hearted kindness or a show of charity.
So he refused to give in, looking ruthless and determined.
"...The well belongs to us too. If you want water, you have to pay. You don't look like you are in need of money by looking at your clothes!" One of the calmer bandits said loudly, while the others immediately Start speaking in agreement.
"Teacher, go ahead by yourself, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back." At this point, there is only one ending. The Luoan girl sighed, then whistled and brought Mediya a little further back.
"The woman ran away." The bandits obviously misunderstood.
"If you are too soft, come on with the hard one. Let's go together. Don't be afraid. Even if he is tall, he is only a mortal!"
"Yeah, we have a lot of people here!" Holding together for warmth gave them false confidence. The next second, Henry, who was standing on the same spot, took action without mercy.
The distance was crossed in three steps.
The layman who was still shouting could not react at all.
"Bang!" The punch hit the face, and the force was restrained, but it was still enough to cause a concussion.
"Cough——" The yellowed front teeth were broken from the root, but before he felt the pain, he rolled his eyes and fainted.
"Oh my god -" One person fell to the ground, their morale plummeting. The other one, who was still somewhat ferocious, waved the wooden sword with great movements, causing his companions around him to scream "Wow!" and start to dodge. Henry easily caught him after he lost his center of gravity while waiting for his chaotic swing. Mu Dao then pushed it with his foot and fell to the ground.
"Boom——" The bandit who was only half the size of Sage was beaten severely by him. From the perspective of the Luoan girl's bystander, it was as if an adult was bullying a child because of his physical strength, which made her want to make a "bad" comment. scene. And this is indeed the case. Fighting hungry people who have turned into bandits like this is not really a glorious battle. Among the other four people who came out from the left and right when they heard the noise, the eyebrows on Yajiro's face became tighter and tighter.
"Pa--" He turned his hand and slapped another person down. The bandit's team was reduced by more than half in an instant. The man holding the wooden knife had trembling hands, and he unconsciously took several steps back.
Seeing that the time was almost up, the sage glanced at Lao Qiao and Lulu behind them. Then he raised the wooden knife made of hardwood in front of the bandits and shook it hard.
"Bang - click!" He did not use his arm strength but directly squeezed it with his grip. The bandits who were familiar with how strong the wooden swords in their hands immediately lost color on their faces.
Then Lulu behind her used a sling to throw a stone and hit the ground with a crisp "Boom!" sound, and Galeva, who was also very tall, also walked out next to her.
"Bold bandit!" Yajiro and Lao Qiao pulled out their swords with a "Clang-" sound and shouted loudly. They jumped out from the left side. The scene was very dramatic, and all of a sudden the last confidence of these people was frightened. Gone.
"Mom!" The one who yelled the loudest before was also the fastest. On the contrary, it was the middle-aged man who was the first to come out and trembled. He ran for a while and then hesitantly pulled his companions back to lift the man who was knocked unconscious by Henry. Walk.
The remaining bonfire was still burning in the nearby house, and the people who fled in embarrassment disappeared at the end of the road on the other side after a while.
"..." The young master and Lao Qiao put away their swords silently, while Mira brought the water set over with Mitya.
"Go back early."
Some complicated emotions made everyone become silent.
Next to the well, the only noise left was the various noises of work.
