amaotonovel Chapter 1201 What are we, the common people, most afraid of?
Chapter 1201 What are we, the common people, most afraid of?
Being repeatedly questioned as if he were a petty thief, Emperor Zhu's face darkened even further.
"What, do the Embroidered Uniform Guards need to explain things to you before they do anything?"
Upon hearing the words "Jinyiwei" (Imperial Guard), the soldier opposite immediately relaxed, sheathed his sword, and looked at Emperor Zhu, saying, "I knew it! How could Lan Qianshi's men possibly come to such a godforsaken place and specifically spy on the school?"
Emperor Zhu was a little confused.
What does that mean? So it's not normal for Lan Yu's men to eavesdrop, but it's normal for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to do it?
The soldier limped toward Emperor Zhu and Erhu, and said with a smile, "My name is Liu Zhong, and I was originally a lowly soldier under the Duke of Xin."
"Come on, I'll take you inside the community school."
As Emperor Zhu followed Liu Zhong into the community school, he asked, "Judging from your name, you shouldn't be a Han Chinese, right?"
Liu Zhong paused for a moment, then continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.
"I was originally a Mongol. I joined the army in the 23rd year of the Zhizheng era, and that's when I changed my name."
After offering a brief explanation, Liu Zhong chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "What's the difference between Mongols and Han Chinese?"
“When I was a Mongol, I had to kneel and pay my respects to Han Chinese nobles just like they did. The Golden Family did not give me any more land just because I was a Mongol.”
“There were even quite a few Mongols who sold their children and were sold as slaves.”
“Those Han landlords didn’t treat Han people as human beings, but they didn’t treat us Mongols as human beings either.”
"Damn it, my biggest regret is that my leg became lame a few years too early. If it had been a few years later, I might have been able to go with the Grand Commander and the others to burn down Karakorum."
Liu Zhong rambled on and on, then pointed to several rooms and said, "This is the school hall of the community school. There are a total of eighty-six children studying here, including forty-nine boys and thirty-seven girls."
Emperor Zhu grunted in agreement and asked, "How is it at the estate?"
Liu Zhong led Emperor Zhu and Erhu into a room, and after they sat down separately, he said, "The estate is alright."
"Without landlords, officials rarely went to the countryside, and the common people lived their own lives, so they were not worried about food and drink."
"Now that he has come to power and has exempted people from poll tax and corvée labor, the people in the village have also begun to have their own ideas."
"Some people are thinking of going to the city after autumn to see if they can find work."
"Some people are thinking about doing something themselves, whether it's weaving a basket or raising a chicken, they can make some extra money."
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement and then asked, "Has no one criticized the emperor, the crown prince, or that madman Yang?"
Liu Zhong scoffed, patted the long sword at his waist, and his expression turned ferocious: "Who dares!"
"Anyone who dares to curse me, I'll chop their dog heads off with one stroke!"
"Damn it, how heartless must one be to criticize an emperor who exempted people from poll tax and corvée labor and only killed corrupt officials?"
"And the Crown Prince..."
Liu Zhong suddenly clicked his tongue and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is too kind-hearted. I heard that when he kills corrupt officials, he only kills three generations of their families instead of nine. In this respect, he can't compare to the one who came to power."
"As for the Prince Consort... he's handled several cases of corrupt officials, and with this water pump and harvester in front of him, what good can those who criticize him be?"
Erhu glanced at Emperor Zhu almost imperceptibly.
It seems the person in charge just cursed someone?
Emperor Zhu's face darkened.
Liu Zhong continued rambling on, "However, besides those landlords who cursed the prince consort as a scoundrel, quite a few people in the army also cursed him."
At this point, Liu Zhong's eyes suddenly lit up, and he stared intently at Emperor Zhu, asking, "Brother, surely he also forced you in the Embroidered Uniform Guard to learn to read and write?"
Emperor Zhu nodded, and Liu Zhong slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I told you so!"
"I don't know what the prince consort was thinking. Why does he have to make us illiterate, uneducated people who wouldn't even recognize a single word if a carrying pole fell over, learn to read and write?"
“Those words in the book,” Liu Zhong clicked his tongue and said, “they recognize me, but I don’t recognize them.”
“I’ve been following those little teachers around every day, reciting and learning to read, and after all these years I’ve only just learned to write my own name. There are so many unfamiliar characters when I read a newspaper.”
"They've wasted all the paper and pens the higher-ups gave them."
Emperor Zhu smiled and shook his head, saying, "You've misjudged the person—you have to think about it, you can't read, you can't understand newspapers, so you can't just believe whatever the officials say?"
"You can't read. The imperial court says taxes and corvée labor have been exempted, but the officials say they haven't. What are you going to do then?"
"If you ask me, he handled this matter quite well."
Liu Zhong curled his lip and said, "Alright, your garrison commander isn't here, there's no need to flatter him, he won't hear you even if you do."
Emperor Zhu looked at Liu Zhong with a completely bewildered expression.
Who's flattering whom?
Were we filming him?
This is damn good! Isn't this a complete reversal of the Heavenly Gang?
Liu Zhong glanced at Emperor Zhu and then asked, "I haven't asked you yet, what are you Imperial Guards doing in Xiaoliuzhuang? Are you really just here to eavesdrop in the school and find out about the livelihoods of the people in Xiaoliuzhuang?"
Upon hearing the eavesdropping reiteration, Emperor Zhu's face darkened even further.
Why the hell is this never going to end?
Emperor Zhu gave a light snort and said, "Our trip this time is just to take a stroll around the capital."
At this point, Emperor Zhu suddenly had a thought.
What did Liu Zhong just say?
He said he was of Mongolian descent.
They also said that the Han landlords didn't treat Han people as human beings, nor did they treat Mongolians like him as human beings.
Then think about that letter that two scoundrels sent by express horse...
Emperor Zhu then looked at Liu Zhong and said, "Actually, besides taking a stroll around, I also have a letter from His Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince Consort, asking us to ask the common people a few questions. What a coincidence that we've run into you here, Brother Liu, so let's ask you first, shall we?"
Liu Zhong sighed and said, "Please ask away, brother."
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement and asked, "The first question is, what are we common people most afraid of?"
Liu Zhong glanced at Emperor Zhu, looking completely bewildered, and asked, "What? What are we common people most afraid of? I see you've farmed and served in the army, so you must know what we common people are most afraid of."
Emperor Zhu waved his hand with a smile and said, "What are we common people afraid of? We don't have the final say now, and the Imperial Son-in-Law doesn't believe us either."
Liu Zhong said "Oh" and then said, "What can we ordinary people be afraid of? We are afraid of natural disasters above, corrupt officials and landlords in the middle, and unfilial children below."
"A natural disaster, whether it's drought or flood, will ruin the entire year's harvest."
"Now that we have a good emperor, everything is easy. There are government offices that can open granaries to distribute grain, and the county has reserve granaries and charity granaries where we can borrow grain."
"Back in the Yuan Dynasty, the emperors were inhuman, and the corrupt officials and landlords were inhuman too. Whenever there was a natural disaster, they had to sell their children, wives, and land. Nobody cared whether you were Han or Mongol. You might even be sold into slavery."
"Beneath the natural disasters lie corrupt officials and landlords."
"I heard someone say the other day that corrupt officials, landlords, and some kind of old-fashioned merchants are all eyeing the money in our pockets, as well as our land and children. They're fiercer than tigers."
"As for whether the children are filial or not, there's no way to say that. Every family has its own way of living, and everyone is different. No one can say for sure."