GBP Chapter 417: Big Landlord? The Suffering of Surname!
Chapter 417: Big Landlord? The Suffering of Surname!
The poor children who stayed behind in Heishui Village heard that His Majesty had summoned them and hurried over.
And Ye Chen was also familiar with that person.
It’s Han Cheng!
Han Cheng came in front of Ye Chen and saluted respectfully.
Ye Chen nodded slightly, his eyes sweeping over Han Cheng, his imperial aura intimidating without even being angry.
He then frowned slightly.
This Han Cheng is very different from when we first met.
At this time, Han Cheng was obviously thinner, and his cheeks, which were not plump to begin with, became even more sunken, with his cheekbones slightly protruding, like stones polished by time.
His clothes were a bit worn and hung loosely on his body, making him look even thinner.
The hair that was quite neat a dozen days ago was now a little messy, with a few strands hanging casually in front of the forehead.
It can be imagined that Han Cheng must have suffered a lot in the past half month.
However, Han Cheng's eyes were very bright, and there seemed to be stars hidden in those bright eyes, shining with determination and persistence.
As soon as Han Cheng saw Ye Chen, he immediately bowed and knelt on the ground, saying respectfully, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
Ye Chen showed a gentle attitude, raised his hand slightly and said: "Stand up."
Then, he looked at Han Cheng and asked with concern: "Han Cheng, have you been having a bad time these days?"
Hearing this, Han Cheng stood up, looking a little reserved, and responded: "Your Majesty, everything is fine."
“But just, I saw some more things.”
Han Cheng's eyes revealed complex emotions, as if he had a lot to say but didn't know where to start.
Hesitant to speak.
Ye Chen noticed his strangeness, frowned slightly, and asked: "Han Cheng, what did you see?"
Hearing this, Han Cheng took a deep breath and said with courage: "Your Majesty, I have seen the suffering of the people in the past few days!"
A bitter look appeared on Han Cheng's face.
He knelt down slowly, his voice low and solemn.
"Your Majesty, wherever I see, all I see are dilapidated houses, hungry children, and exhausted old people.
They work hard every day to make a living, but still can't fill their stomachs.
The crops in the fields yielded little, but the taxes were heavy as a mountain.
Diseases are rampant, but there is no money to treat them.
The lives of the people are miserable.”
Han Cheng's words were full of sympathy and compassion for the people. Tears flashed in his eyes, and he truly saw the suffering of the people.
Upon hearing this, Ye Chen’s expression became even more serious.
"Your Majesty, although I was born into a poor family and my family fell into poverty, I used to think that I had suffered enough, but I never expected that the suffering of the common people was ten or even dozens of times greater than mine."
He lowered his head slightly, a look of pain on his face.
“Your Majesty, nowadays, after paying taxes every year, the common people can’t even afford to eat.
They usually eat wild vegetables, and if they can't finish them, they chew tree bark.
Your Majesty, Dayu's tax revenue was not actually high, but it was collected per capita.
However, many people do not have enough land to grow enough grain to pay taxes. Where did all the land go?
They are all in the hands of the wealthy families.
The wealthy and powerful occupied large tracts of fertile land and had to pay very little tax, while the common people had no place to live.
After working hard for a whole year, he still couldn't support his wife and family.
Your Majesty, the suffering of the people today is truly a tragic situation in the world."
Han Cheng spoke sincerely, his eyes full of sympathy for the people and worry about the current situation of the country.
After hearing Han Cheng's words, Ye Chen also felt heavy-hearted.
He nodded slightly, having already expected this.
After all, he knew exactly what the tenants in the capital ate, and he had seen the crude food and difficult life.
Not to mention that he had already established a civilian intelligence organization, and he was aware that the lives of the people outside the city were even more difficult than those of the tenants inside the city.
But he also understood that to change the lives of these people, he had to take it step by step.
Don't be impatient or anxious.
At this time, the most important thing in Ye Chen’s mind was to force back the armies of the two states that had entered the capital area.
Everything else has to be put aside.
He first calmed Han Cheng down with a gentle tone, and then prepared to mobilize the intelligence organization to understand the situation in a hurry.
However, at this moment, Shen Qiu suddenly stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, the subordinates reported that the steward of Ning'an Marquis requested to see you."
Hearing this, Ye Chen raised his eyebrows.
Han Cheng, standing by, immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Ning'an is the largest landlord here! He owns 70% of the farmland surrounding Heishui Village!"
"Tsk."
Ye Chen pursed his lips and frowned slightly.
"Is there something wrong with him?"
"He didn't say anything, but just clamored to see the general of this army."
"Tsk, if you don't want to tell me, just let him go away."
At this moment, Ye Chen's mind was completely focused on dealing with the army, and he didn't want to care about anything else.
Moreover, in his eyes, Ning An Hou was nothing at all.
Not to mention that this guy actually owns such a large piece of land outside the capital. Could he have obtained it through normal means?
Impossible to think about!
Ye Chen naturally couldn't stand such people and was too lazy to meet them.
"promise!"