Seeing his different expression, Zhu Su was also stunned. Nothing happened when I first came in, but why did the landlord turn pale when I asked him about it?
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty." Wang Gui trembled like a frightened sparrow. "The rent in the village... has been handed over to the masters in the temple. The rest is the life-saving food of the villagers..."
"Who cares about your food? I just want to ask, what's wrong with you living in this village?"
"Looking at the harvest in your fields, it's not very good. Do you need some rent relief?"
Zhu Su laughed. This Wang Gui actually thought that he called them here to increase the rent. I was obviously afraid that the farmers would not be able to survive the autumn harvest because they were charging too much rent, so I wanted to give them some rent relief to win over people's hearts.
He stretched out his hand to help the old man up, but unexpectedly the old man was shaking even more violently. The old man has been surviving under the rule of Meng Yuan until now. After finally having one-third of an acre of his own land, it was taken away by Bifeng Temple. How can he trust the good intentions of the landowner and nobles? It’s not like the nobles of the former Yuan Dynasty have never seen it before. Which one of them is not a master who eats people without spitting out their bones?
This one is still a prince, so he is a tyrannosaurus! If he finds her, can something good happen? There must be some fraud! If he agrees, this young prince will definitely fall out!
Zhu Su continued to say a few pleasant words, but no matter what he said, Wang Zhuangtou simply knelt on the ground and kowtowed, his teeth chattering and he could not answer a word, as if he would be eaten alive in the next second.
Zhu Su, who figured out the joints, sighed, put away his tricks of trying to win people's hearts, and simply put his hands behind his back in a cold and proud posture: "I am such a noble person, how can I let go of three melons and two dates from just a few acres of land?" In my eyes, it’s really ridiculous to think that this king is going to increase taxes.”
"Get down!"
Finished this sentence. Wang Gui actually stopped shaking, and instead had a look of surviving the disaster on his face. After kowtowing a few more times, he retreated as if he was afraid that Zhu Su would return. It made Zhu Su dumbfounded. The people-friendly method that he thought would be indispensable in future generations actually ended up like this. He was really far out of touch with this era.
I remember it was recorded in the history books that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pretended to be the Marquis of Pingyang and had fun in disguise. He was caught by farmers and prosecuted for trampling on wheat fields. In the Han Dynasty, the people dared to tie up the powerful with a crew cut, but at this time, the people of the Ming Dynasty were trembling with fear just because they saw an underage prince.
Zhu Su wanted to come from the masses and go to the masses, but the general environment of this era would not allow it. At this time, the Han people, who had been ravaged by foreigners, were used to being oppressed and were already frightened...
That’s all, if you want to reduce or reduce the rent, just charge less when the rent is collected.
Zhu Su forced himself not to think about these deep things, and turned his attention to the veteran named Wu Ting. This veteran was fought out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He was well-informed and did not tremble with fear like that Wang Gui. But in Zhu Su's opinion, he always felt a little listless.
"Wu Baihu? We have just moved here recently. Is there any inconvenience that I can help you with?" Zhu Su asked Wu Ting. Men in the army probably don't like twists and turns, so it's best to go straight like this.
The man named Wu Ting bowed his hands again and said, "Thanks to His Majesty's great kindness, there is no inconvenience in sharing the land among us."
Most of the veterans Li Wenzhong helped move here were rundown military households with no land or property in their hometowns. The Northern Expedition was undefeated and there was no reward. With no way out, he responded to the call of the old general and came to Zhu Su to seek life. Even the disabled Lao Zhuang and others were given several acres of land by Zhu Su. They were truly grateful to Zhu Su for his kindness.
"There is no need to be cautious in the armed forces. I see a sad look in your eyes. If you have any difficulties, just say it's okay." Zhu Su said.
"This..." Wu Ting was startled. He lowered his head and hesitated for a while, then said: "Your Highness, I am sorry, the general... does have a merciless request."
With a look of shame on his face, this man who looked like an iron tower actually knelt down in front of Zhu Su like he was pushing a mountain of gold over a jade pillar.
"I sincerely ask you, Your Highness, to recruit a general to join King Wu's guard! Although the general is no longer confused, his blood is not cold! You only need to give the general a knife, and it is no problem to kill the general and seize the flag!"
"The last general single-handedly killed five Yuan Dogs in Northern Xinjiang, and it is clearly recorded in the military merit book! The last general does not know those tricks of Tanaka, and is only willing to carry the sword and continue to fight for the country!"
"Your Highness, I beg you to do it. I beg Your Highness, I beg you to do it!"
After saying that, he gave Zhu Su a hard kowtow.
"Hurry up, please get up!" Zhu Su hurriedly reached out to help him, but the man was determined to kneel down and his strength was a thousand pounds. How could Zhu Su help him up? He could only look at the commander Li Rong standing at the side. Li Rong understood and stepped forward, directly holding Wu Baihu up with one hand: "Wu Da, if you have anything to say, let's be honest. Why are you trying to scare His Highness like this?"
"It's been a few months since you came back, and you still haven't thought about revenge?"
How powerful is Li Rong who can capture a galloping horse alive? Wu Baihu could no longer kneel down. Ruohao's face turned red: "General... I, I, how can I live a peaceful life farming?"
"As soon as I close my eyes, I can see the way the second and third sons were staring at me when they were hacked to death by Yuan Gou..."
"I should be the one who died. It must be the second and third sons who came to ask for my life..."
As he spoke, a man as tall as an iron tower actually shed tears.
"Fuck you! Wu Er Wu San was hacked to death by Yuan Gou."
"If you want to claim your life, you are also looking for those Yuan Gou. What are you looking for as the eldest brother? Now you are the only one left in your Wu family to raise your son and those two nephews. How will the three pairs of orphans and widows surnamed Wu survive if you want to go to war? "
Li Rong kicked Wu Baihu directly in the leg. Wu Baihu stumbled to the ground. He seemed to have been stripped of all his energy, and he beat the ground in frustration.
"What's going on?" Zhu Su turned to ask Li Rong.
After Li Rong's explanation, Zhu Su understood the cause and effect. The experience of this Wuting Baihu was similar to that of Lao Zhu. During the Yuan Dynasty BC, his parents were forced to death by the Northern Yuan Dynasty. He worked hard to pull his two younger brothers to survive the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, when the three brothers were serving as the outpost of the army, they unexpectedly encountered the encirclement of the Beiyuan cavalry. Wu Ting's two younger brothers who depended on each other were tragically killed by swords...
"What a strong man!" Li Rong was a rough man who was not good at words, but Zhu Su described the outlines of a hero and two martyrs in these few words. Zhu Su had to stand in awe.
"Hey, their brother is over forty at first glance. I thought I would kill a few more yuan dogs during the Northern Expedition, earn some rewards, and then go to the guard station in the south to live peacefully for a few years."
"As a result, the Northern Expedition failed. Wu Er and Wu San were gone, but the court didn't reward him at all..." At this point, Li Rong shut his mouth fiercely and glanced at Zhu Su. This sentence already gave rise to the suspicion of resentment towards the imperial court.
Zhu Su naturally wouldn't care about Li Rong's momentary anger. In fact, he was quite critical of his handling of Lao Zhu. Although the Northern Expedition failed, it is also true that the soldiers fought bloody battles. The lack of reward or punishment really chilled the hearts of these passionate men.
In the Ming Dynasty records, there is only a mere cross about the outcome of this battle: the expedition to the north was in vain, so there was no reward.
There are only a few words in the annals of history, but they contain the blood and tears of many men!
(End of chapter)
