"Why are so many people coming to the Marquis's residence to seek refuge lately?"
Upon hearing Qingxing's words, Jiang Shuwan looked surprised. "What? Are there many people flocking to the Marquis's residence lately?"
"That's right. It happens every ten days or so, and it's getting more and more frequent lately. We can see several every three to five days. Even some of the maids in our courtyard have poor relatives from the countryside coming to stay with us. They don't even dare to dream of staying in the young lady's courtyard. They're even willing to do the rough work of the old women in other courtyards. They say they don't need a monthly salary, just a meal."
Has the situation outside really gotten this bad?
Jiang Shuwan frowned even more deeply.
Ordinary people who have a speech impediment will not sell themselves into slavery.
Logically speaking, the war in the north was over and the summer grain harvest had just been completed, so the people should be living well. How did they end up selling their children?
This is only late summer; what will it be like in autumn and winter?
Jiang Shuwan frowned, vaguely recalling some things, so she pulled Xiao Tao aside and asked her a few questions.
Xiao Tao's family were originally servants who had been released from noble families with great difficulty. They farmed for many years, but when they couldn't make a living, they sold themselves back into slavery. As soon as Jiang Shuwan asked about taxes, she kept talking about it.
"Miss, you don't know, the harvests have been bad these past few years, and there are all sorts of exorbitant taxes and levies, making life difficult for ordinary people."
"Especially this year's war in the north cost a lot of money, and the imperial court needs money everywhere."
"Where does the money come from? It comes from the people, not to mention anything else. This year alone, they've levied taxes on us twice more."
"This makes our lives even worse. I also heard that the autumn grain tax will be increased this year. Many people are thinking that after paying the tax, there won't be enough to eat in winter. So they might as well sell their children. After all, they can still be worth ten or eight taels now, but in winter, no one will buy them even for three or five taels."
Hearing these words, Jiang Shuwan finally remembered her past life.
In my previous life, during the winter of that year, many riots broke out in various places. Although they were mostly small groups of refugees and rioters who looted food everywhere, they did not cause a major disaster, but still caused many deaths and injuries.
The root of all this turmoil was the increase in taxes on autumn grain.
In an instant, Jiang Shuwan's mind started calculating rapidly.
General Sun had told her before that the old emperor had emptied the national treasury to fund the rewards and pensions for the troops in the Northern War, and had also caused a great famine.
She didn't think too much about it at the time, but now that they've come together, isn't it just that the old emperor increased taxes to pay off the famine?
As for ordinary people, if they can't get enough to eat, they sell their children; if they can't sell their children, they resort to robbery.
In her previous life, her estate on the outskirts of the capital was robbed. At that time, starving people rushed in to steal the grain and even broke the estate manager's leg.
On one side were the village head protecting her property, and on the other side were starving people eating tree bark and grass roots. She was in a real dilemma.
If the authorities are notified, these starving people will surely be imprisoned, and death will be their only fate.
She was forced by circumstances to do this; if she were to report it to the authorities, she would be unworthy of being a human being.
But if she didn't report it to the authorities, she would be letting down the head of the estate who was protecting her property, and if the news got out, even more starving people would flock to the area.
With more people, things are more likely to go wrong.
In her previous life, Jiang Shuwan spent a lot of effort to resolve this matter.
In this life, although she sent silver to the old emperor.
Ultimately, the amount of money she earns may seem like a lot, but when considered at the national level, it's just a drop in the ocean.
No wonder when Pei Jing returned a couple of days ago, the old Marquis said that His Majesty was in a bad mood and told Pei Jing not to quarrel with Jin Jiaoniang every day.
His Majesty was just looking for an excuse to punish someone.
It turns out that the old emperor was not only poor and wanted to raise taxes, but also wanted to make money elsewhere.
No wonder that little affair between Pei Jing and Jin Jiaoniang in the previous life was brought up in court by the censor, causing the Liu family to lose face. Not only that, the old emperor also took back the 5,000 fiefdom that the late emperor had bestowed upon the Liu family.
Five thousand fiefs is also a sum of money.
Lost in thought, Jiang Shuwan boarded the carriage, her mind heavy with worries, while her brother drove.
They hadn't gone far when they encountered patrolling city guards escorting a number of beggars.
Some of the beggars were still alive, while others, with blood streaming from their mouths, were dragged along the ground without struggling, their limbs hanging limply at their sides, already dead.
"What bad luck! I'm already exhausted from patrolling all night, and then I run into a beggar stealing things."
"Going out during curfew is a capital offense, and you still dare to steal. Dying like this is too lenient for you!"
A soldier was cursing and kicking their corpses.
"Stop hitting them. Respect the dead. I heard they used to be law-abiding citizens with land, but they sold it this year because they couldn't pay their taxes. They're all pitiful people. Let it go..."
As the young general leading the group of soldiers spoke, he looked up and saw Jiang Shuwan's carriage. A group of soldiers surrounded it like wolves.
"How dare you drive a car during curfew! Don't you know that even high-ranking officials are punished with twenty strokes of the cane if caught during curfew?"
Having said that, he drew the knife from his waist.
"General, do not be anxious."
Qingxing cautiously poked her head out. The little girl had never experienced such a scene before. She tremblingly showed the sign in her sleeve, and the adopted soldiers instantly knelt down in unison.
"It was an important person doing business for you, and I apologize for disturbing you."
The young general quickly sheathed his sword and ordered his men to let the horse pass. However, the horse stopped again after walking a few steps.
A porcelain-white hand emerged from the carriage.
With a gentle wave of his hand, a bag of silver appeared on the ground.
"Give them a proper burial; they are all ordinary people of Dajing."
The young general paused for a moment before replying "Yes." As soon as the carriage left, the other soldiers chased after him, asking questions.
"Who is it that's out on business in the middle of the night?"
"Could the person with the imperial plaque be a trusted confidante of His Majesty? And it's a woman; could she be a lady-in-waiting?"
"He's kind-hearted, actually willing to give so much silver to bury these beggars."
"Don't ask too many questions. These are things we can't speculate on. If you want to live, just pretend you didn't see anything."
Inside the carriage, Qingxing's little hands trembled with excitement.
“Miss, the token His Majesty gave us is really useful; even the soldiers on curfew don’t dare to question us.”
"You told us to keep a low profile before, and I was wondering how I would explain it if they asked about our identities."
"I never expected them to kneel down as soon as they saw the jade tablet."
Milk Brother's hands, gripping the reins, trembled uncontrollably; clearly, this experience was thrilling for him as well.
Jiang Shuwan remained silent, her mind filled with the scene she had just witnessed.
Those who were alive were emaciated, dressed in tattered clothes that barely covered their bodies, and their eyes were cloudy and lifeless.
And those who died were even thinner than skin and bones, with gray hair, and looked to be elderly people in their fifties or sixties, as well as some young men.
Judging from the black dumplings that fell out of their mouths, they had managed to steal some coarse flour buns.
They lost their lives for such food.
A sharp pain shot through her palm, and she had made a new decision.
Taxes will be increased, but not taxes on ordinary people.
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