C424 The Country Is about to Fall

"Well..." Faang Tiandao thought for a while and gave his answer.

"Aren't you scholarly disciples supposed to talk about seniority and respect? It's the same thing. Most of those people with high statuses have gone through bitter studies. "Or..." After the baptism of the flames of war, they had gained many... Wasn't that also reasonable? As for those who starved to death, they were idle and did not bother with the authors. They only want to rob houses and take advantage of them. If they don't punish them severely, how can they convince the public?"

"Mr. Fang, you may be wrong to say so! If one were to say that he took advantage of others by force, who could be worse off than those officials and rich people? We owe them, but the taxes of the farmers were not reduced at all, and they could not live. We were looking forward to a fruitful harvest. However, it was too naive for them to want a bumper harvest.

The peasants were hurt, but the government did not do anything. Instead, they colluded with the big families. They only wanted to get all the benefits. Anyway, once the term of office was over, they would be transferred. If they did not get enough silver, how could they be promoted or find a fat one? Officials forcing the people to rebel, these words would not be wrong.

As long as there was a meal and a way out, who would be willing to put their head on the belt to rebel? Could it be that these tens or millions of uprising armies are all lazy people who do not know what is good for them?"

" Alright, what you said might happen occasionally. However, there are always priorities in the world, and the border is currently in a tight situation. The Qing army is invading, and no one is allowed to enter the land of Qi. The grain and salary of our army are limited. It was not a lie to say that the country was not a country.

When this country was at the brink of destruction, all of you were still shouting and making trouble. By exploiting the land, not only did the front troops not have any grain to use, but they also wasted the precious troops on the frontlines. Did you do something that you hated so much? "Faang Tiandao frowned deeply, and his tone became stern.

Cao Qianwan remained unmoved. His smile didn't change, but it became more and more sarcastic.

" A country will not be a country, but a country will not be a country! Yes, Mr. Fang, you are right about one thing. No, it is more than one thing. There are priorities. You are right about that. However, there is one thing that you are mistaken about. To the ordinary people, filling their stomachs is the biggest thing in the world. It is better to give a bowl of rice to a person who is about to starve to death. As for saying that the three front lines have no rations to rely on, that's even more absurd."

Faang Tiandao widened his eyes when he heard that. Cao Qianwan was shocked and quickly gathered his strength to fight with his eyesight. However, he found that Faang Tiandao just stared at him like an ordinary person.

Cao Qianwan shrugged his shoulders self-deprecatingly and said, "Mr. Fang, don't stare. Listen to me first. After I was established a hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty territory slowly became a private paradise. Not to mention the nobles, even the relatives of the nobles, ordinary High Scholars, and so on did not pay taxes on food. What followed was the endless merger of land.

The princes and eunuchs of the royal family used their special privileges to submit, beg, and buy whatever they wanted. They took over a large piece of land. It was said that Grand Secretary Xu Shi's family occupied 240,000 acres of land. In Jiangnan, the big landlords often took up tens of thousands of hectares of land. About half of the land that was supposed to be paid tax was occupied by these people. The farmers who originally had land and taxes had become tenants and laborers, and the country had no income at all. How could the national treasury be enriched?

On the other hand, these officials and landlords were making money to protect their private property and collect rent. The slaves raised the population, while the citizens who rented their land suffered a great deal. "Speaking up to this point, Cao Qianwan paused for a moment. Then, he started to hum softly.

For Tian Zhui, who didn't manage to rent enough, all the officials, Tian Zhuomin, and the rich families have to pay rent to Tian Zhuomin. Every year, they have to pay a new debt through the old rent. " The song is sad, and it is filled with the sadness and suffering of the farmers who have lost their land.

"Every year, they will rent the land to pay new debts. This might be a good thing. After all, the heavens are looking after Jiangnan, the land of fish and rice will not starve to death. However, in the northwest, if the heavens do not show mercy... In the past few years, locust disasters, cold tides, and droughts had come one after another. They had forced the people into a dead end. And for the sake of a protracted border war, the Imperial Court... The taxes that were supposed to be deducted during the year of the calamity had been collected without a hitch. Even if it was a death sentence, the people rebelling with their lives on the line had become the norm. Mr. Fang, tell me, who should we blame?"

After Cao Qianwan finished his words, he looked at Faang Tiandao quietly, as if he had struck out a sword in the void, waiting for Faang Tiandao to resolve the situation.

"Sigh, after going to so many places, I know a thing or two about the situation you mentioned. But what do the officials in these places do? As the saying goes, an official protects the people. Why did the disaster victims not have food to eat and instead did not open the donor warehouse to help the disaster? Why did they not report to the Imperial Court to fight for tax relief?

Just say you and the County Magistrate of Shangluo, Zheng Xingquan. The two of you will receive the grace of the Emperor. How could you let down the lives of the people? How could you mess around like this? Not only did you not guarantee the safety of the people, but also the safety of the people. On the contrary, you are working together with the bandits. Are you being threatened by them?! I have an old relationship with your Cao and Zheng families. Considering that the two of you were muddle-headed for a moment, hurry up and come back with me. I'll guarantee that the two of you will be fine."

Faang Tiandao's tone was no longer as stern as before. The meaning behind his words was that he felt pity for Cao and Zheng's decision. It seemed like he wanted to bring the two of them out of the dark and return to the light.

Cao Qianwan thought to himself. Which Divine Immortal are you? You are still young, but your tone isn't young. Unfortunately, why haven't I heard of your name before? Of course, he didn't delay his words.

"Mr. Fang, it's a great taboo to see trees and trees not see the forest. You have to change your habit of only knowing one thing but not the other. Otherwise, you'll suffer a great loss sooner or later."

Faang Tiandao was so angry that he laughed instead. "I would like to hear more about it."

"From top to bottom, the empire has been accumulating for a long time. It might not be an exaggeration to say that it is rotten to the core. Brother Zheng and I, who have a little bit of ability, still want to do something? Yes! Is it useful? It's useless!

Why did he say that? It was because if the officials of a country did not think about how to do things for the country and stayed in camps all day long, the country would die sooner or later.

You just said that as an official, it will benefit the country. Didn't we also come with the same idea back then? But when you were appointed, you realized that from top to bottom, in all aspects... They were all asking for money. Only after making this tier 7 County Magistrate did you know that there were so many ways to ask for money in this world.

In the hot summer, they had to offer 'ice respect' to the governor, the sentinels, and the other old masters of the prefecture. In the cold winter, they had to pay 'ice respect' to the governor, the sentinels, and the other old masters. In the summer, the weather was hot. The governor's manor had to offer 'ice respect' to the governors, sentinels, and lords of the prefecture; in the winter, it was cold. Only then could they make things easier. Otherwise, you wouldn't know what was going on inside in the next hour.

When the old men in the government offices came to the county to inspect work, they had to eat well and drink well. If the 'special instrument' you prepared when you leave is too light, when they go back and arrange it, you will not have anywhere to complain about it. Even their followers couldn't be too slow. Everyone had to prepare a red packet, and that was called 'obeying'.

As for the New Year gift, it was even more essential. Sometimes, I really wonder why our China people use our intelligence in such places."

Seeing that Faang Tiandao was confused by what he heard, Cao Qianwan could not help but smile bitterly." Of course, a proud son of heaven like Mr. Fang does not need to do such a thing. It is also best not to understand these dirty things. Take me for example. In a few months, I borrowed a few thousand taels of silver from my family and hired advisors and attendants. My family has already said that they are not willing to invest money into my bottomless pit anymore, because if I am not willing to make money, it is destined to be a loss transaction. So... "

Cao Qianwan spread out his hands," Mr. Fang, if you still want me to be the County Magistrate of the Suizhou, do you plan to invest tens of thousands of taels of silver for me? "

"Well, I don't have any money." It was obvious that Faang Tiandao was a guy who did not know the concept of money. He also asked a question, and it sounded like he was stupid. It made people black lines appear in front of their eyes. "What exactly do these people want so much money for?"