Mu Yunfeng said, "As soldiers, we have long since become indifferent to our own deaths. It's just a pity for these warriors who fought against the Gan Kingdom with us."

Qiu Li felt very guilty when he saw the many ordinary people who followed him and others to hold on to the mountain. In recent years, there had not been any major natural disasters in Gan State. Originally, these people could live a stable life as long as they planted crops. However, the rulers of Gan State took the opportunity to levy heavy taxes on the pretext of resisting the invasion of Wei State, making life difficult for the people. In the end, these people had to rise up and follow them to resist the rule of Gan State.

At this time, a warrior came to Qiu Li and handed him a bowl of corn rice, saying, "General, it's time to eat."

This warrior was the one who had clashed with the officials of Gan State over taxation issues at the border of Gan State. After killing the officials of Gan State, the villagers of their village took all the food and hid in the mountains. It happened that Qiu Li and Mu Yunfeng's teams were also forced into the mountains by the army of Gan State, so the two groups met.

Qiu Li took the food and asked the warrior in front of him, "Zhao Yong, do you hate meeting us? If the villagers of your village had not met us, then you could have lived in peace in the mountains without the Gan Kingdom sending a large army to wipe you out."

Zhao Yong said with a mixture of tears and laughter, "General, do you really think that under the tyranny of the Gan Kingdom, ordinary people like us can still live a peaceful life?"

Qiu Li said with shame: "It is because of my inability to stop His Majesty's stupidity that I failed. It is because of my incompetence that I have let down all the fellow villagers."

Zhao Yong said hurriedly, "General, please don't say that. If it weren't for your strong arguments in the court, who knows how many people in the country would have been driven to despair by the increased taxes. We all heard that the treacherous ministers in the court originally proposed a 30% tax increase, but it was your strong arguments in the court that resulted in only a one-percent increase in taxes.

Although the lower-level officials of the Qian Kingdom would certainly try to collect more, as long as the taxes were not excessive, the people could at least survive and would not be forced to rebel immediately. After all, if the court wanted to increase taxes by three levels, local officials would at least increase taxes by five levels or even more, and then the people would be unable to survive.

You should know that our village had no thought of rebelling against the imperial court at that time. When only three layers of taxes were added, we all handed over our money and grain. We just didn't expect those officials to be so greedy. They not only added three layers of taxes, but also asked us to pay an additional 20% tax. This completely deprived us of our livelihood and forced us to take up arms to resist.

Although the villagers in our village have been driven to this mountaintop, and although we don't know when we will be surrounded and attacked by the Gan country's army, I know that at least we have enough food to eat during this period, and when we die, at least we will die with a full stomach, rather than starving to death after handing over our food."

At this point, Zhao Yong looked at the starry sky and continued, "We may not really die. Perhaps heavenly soldiers and generals will come down to help us. General, don't you agree?"

Qiu Li stared at the starry sky in silence for a long time before he slowly spoke: "Maybe a miracle will happen."

However, neither Zhao Yong nor Qiu Li noticed the smile on Mu Yunfeng's face. He thought to himself: Heavenly soldiers and generals? It wasn't impossible. He knew about the hot air balloon, a magical flying device invented by his own emperor. If a hot air balloon unit in Luo City took off at this moment, it would reach him in a few hours. Combined with the bombing, it would definitely shatter the Gan Kingdom troops surrounding the mountain.

After Qiu Li finished his meal, Zhao Yong took his bowl and returned to where the villagers were gathered. Qiu Li continued his conversation with Mu Yunfeng.

Qiu Li asked Mu Yunfeng, "Brother Mu, if this happened in Wei, how would Wei respond?" Qiu Li had spent time as a captive there. Wei had undergone numerous changes after the new emperor ascended the throne, and even after returning to Gan, Qiu Li had been gathering information on Wei's movements and changes. Therefore, Qiu Li knew that such a situation would never occur in Wei.

Mu Yunfeng smiled and replied, "In fact, when the country is in trouble, raising taxes is the last and most helpless option. Although Wei will not do this, I don't think it is wrong. It's just that in the process of implementing this policy, there must be a strict supervision mechanism to ensure that the increase in taxes will not become the last straw that breaks the camel's back for the people.

As for officials arbitrarily increasing taxes, it is absolutely suicidal in Wei. All officials in Wei are now under the supervision of the people and the government. If any official is found guilty of corruption, bribery, or arbitrarily increasing taxes, the Wei court will immediately punish the official. It is impossible for a situation like the one in Gan State, where the people are left with no alternative, to occur."

After hearing what Mu Yunfeng said, Qiu Li sighed and said, "I really envy the people of Wei State. It would be great if the people of Gan State could also live such a good life."

Mu Yunfeng smiled and said, "I believe that the people of Gan State will soon be able to live a good life like the people of Wei State."

Qiu Li asked in confusion, "How is this possible? The court of Gan State is full of selfish and powerful officials. How could they be willing to put aside their own interests to work for the welfare of the people?"

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