When they were in their fiefdom, they had to pay 50% tax, and after deducting the seeds from the remaining 50%, they could barely make ends meet. If something happened, it was normal to go hungry. They never thought that they could pay only 20%.
Several village heads looked at each other, unable to hide their surprise.
"This... this is something I've never heard of before. Perhaps we've come to the right place. With such low taxes, we'll definitely be able to survive. Maybe we won't have to starve in the future."
"Well, let's just wait and see. It would be great if we could start working sooner rather than later. I feel anxious sitting around doing nothing."
"I'm not sure if we can go into the woods. Let's get some food and store it. Otherwise, how are we going to survive this cold winter?"
I don’t know how much time passed before I could faintly smell the fragrance of food.
The soldiers were afraid that if some villagers were infected, the plague would inevitably spread if they gathered together. Therefore, the news was passed on to each house one by one, and food was delivered to each house one by one.
Several village heads lived in one room. When they saw the food delivery person coming, they hurriedly took out their own bowls and chopsticks and took the initiative to keep their distance.
"Sir, where should we wash up after dinner?"
"Oh, there's a bamboo tube at the door of every house. You just open it when you need water, and close it when you don't. You can go to the river to wash clothes."
"I see. Thank you, sir."
The cook who was serving the food kindly said, "I heard that the plague in the fiefdom is very serious. How did you get out? You are the only ones here. Where did everyone else go?"
Village Chief Wang's eyes dimmed and his voice unconsciously lowered.
"The fiefdom was severely ravaged by floods, and then the plague began. Many people tried to escape at first, but were shot by the government. We were relatively late in getting out."
"I heard from the refugees that the northern wilderness is vast and sparsely populated. We might have a chance to survive here. If we go somewhere else, I'm afraid we'll be shot by arrows before we even get close."
The cook sighed inwardly upon hearing this and said comfortingly, "Then you've finally come to the right place. Here, as long as you're willing to work, you'll never lack a bite to eat."
"Once you're sure everything is OK, you can plant some potatoes and store them for the winter. That way, your whole family won't starve to death."
Village Chief Wang handed over the bowl. Looking at the full bowl of porridge and side dishes, he quickly reached out to take it and thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you for the reminder, sir. Just having a meal is enough."
After the doctor checks each one of them, he will record the problems if they are correct. If there are any problems, he will wait a few days.
Those who had no problems were taken to open up wasteland the next day. After all, it was impossible to keep these people fed for ten days or so. Once it was confirmed that there were no major problems, they had to start working.
When the villagers knew that the reclaimed land would be distributed to them for farming, they worked even harder. Food and drink were brought to them by the officials, so they didn't have to worry about food and drink.
The speed of clearing land has become faster. It is no problem to clear three or four acres a day. If the areas are overgrown with weeds, we just need to clear the weeds. If there are trees, we have to go slower.
The tree roots are deep and difficult to deal with, so it will take some time.
*
On the other side, Jiang Sheng led his men to the foot of the mountain. Thinking of the salt lake in the mountain, he looked at Bei Yueli and asked softly, "Miss Bei, haven't you found the people who will protect you yet?"
When Bei Yueli heard this, her heart skipped a beat and her nose felt a little sore and uncomfortable: "Master, are you trying to get rid of me?"
"...No, it's just that I need to go into the mountains. There are wild animals in the mountains and it's very dangerous. It's not appropriate to continue to take you with me. What will I do if I can't protect the girl?"
"I understand. Sir, you can go directly into the mountain. I will wait at the foot of the mountain and will definitely not disturb you."
After saying that, he turned his back.
The shadow guards in the dark were also helpless. What was the Crown Princess trying to do? She had been following someone for so long. Was she going to follow him into the mountains? That would be so dangerous.
Ningshuang was a little hesitant about whether she should show up and take the princess back. It would be unsafe to continue staying in Dagan. She heard that there was a plague in Dagan.
Thinking of this, the few of them exchanged glances with each other and soon disappeared.
Jiang Sheng frowned slightly. It was impossible to continue taking it into the mountains. No one could know the secret of the salt lake. Besides, if she followed, how would he store the salt stone in the space?
After all, they are people from other countries, so we should be more careful. But it is not okay to just leave them at the foot of the mountain. Should we leave someone behind to protect them?
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Bei Yueli looked at him nervously.
At this time, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and everyone looked over at once, their eyes full of vigilance. After Bei Yueli saw clearly, her face suddenly changed.
Why is the shadow guard here? Didn’t she tell him not to show up unless she gave a hint? But she didn’t give any hint at all.
Ning Shuang dismounted, knelt on the ground, and said respectfully, "Miss, I'm glad to have found you. You should go back with me as soon as possible. It's not safe here."
“……!!”
Jiang Sheng's brows relaxed upon hearing this, and he said softly, "You must be Miss Bei's guards, right? Now that you've found the person, it would be better for Miss Bei to go back earlier."
Ning Shuang agreed: "Yes, Miss, I heard that there is a plague raging recently. What should we do if we encounter it?"
"Plague? What plague?"
"Miss, you don't know yet. I heard that it first spread from the feudal fiefdoms and first broke out in the capital, killing many people. It was also highly contagious, and people would vomit blood and die."
Bei Yueli frowned. She really didn't know about this.
Jiang Sheng frowned slightly. Why didn't anyone tell him about the plague in the fiefdom? It first broke out in the capital. Could it be that God was punishing the tyrant emperor?
"Miss, I think you should go back soon. The plague is far more terrible than we thought. It is said that in just half a month, tens of thousands of people died of the disease."
“……!!”
Bei Yueli looked at Jiang Sheng with a bit of reluctance in her eyes. These days were the most relaxing and happiest days in her life. If she went back, she was afraid that they would never see each other again in this life.
Thinking of this, she didn't care about anything else and threw herself into Jiang Sheng's arms. She said something in his ear, let go of his hand and walked towards Ningshuang.
She tried to put on a smile and said, "Sir, if you have the chance to go to Beixia Country in the future, please come find me. I will take you to eat the delicious food of Beixia Country."
"Bye now!"
Before Jiang Sheng could recover from what he had just said, he found a stack of banknotes in his arms. He looked at her from a daze as she got on the horse and left.
Yang Er came over and whispered, "Sir, this is a letter from a spy. We just received it yesterday. I can't show it to Miss Bei."
"Well, let me see."
After reading the letter, Jiang Sheng pursed his lips into a line.
"The people who spread the news that there is a way out in the Northern Wilderness must be from the imperial court. They are secretly luring people here, and there must be people infected with the plague among them."
"What did Big Brother say? How do they plan to deal with it?"
Yang Er whispered, "In reply to your question, the eldest master said not to worry, everything is as planned, and it won't be difficult to contain it if we take precautions."
"Prevention is the priority, treatment is secondary!"
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