Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1567 Rumors in the Palace
"Your Highness, our Daqian is vast, stretching from Yongliang in the north to the South China Sea in the south, so counting the population is a very large project. Moreover, people eat grains, have seven emotions and six desires, and are born, grow old, get sick, and die. So every day, even every moment, people die and newborns are born in Daqian, so the total population is not static, but is always changing."

"Based on this reality, the Ministry of Household Affairs does not have a specific and accurate figure for the total population of Daqian. It only has an approximate figure, which is 8.3 million households and a total population of 37.6 million people!"

"After our unremitting efforts over the years, at least 95% of the 37.6 million people have at least reached the standard of having enough food to eat. They can be sure to have two black steamed buns a day, not starve to death, and have a certain degree of labor capacity!"

At this point, Gu Sansi seemed to feel a little dry in the mouth, and immediately picked up the water cup and took a sip. At this time, Jingren seemed to realize something and asked:

"Mr. Gu, does this mean that half of the people still have no food to eat?"

Gu Sansi nodded slightly and said:
"The number of people who don't have enough food should actually be less than half of the total population, but after rounding it off, it's about half. Some of them are in remote mountain villages, where natural conditions are limited, there is little arable land, and the yield is low. Add to that some natural and man-made disasters, and they are in great difficulty!"

“The second is some idle people. They are unwilling to farm and work. Some of them even steal and cause trouble. So they cannot guarantee the minimum standard of living. They may have enough food to eat one meal but not the next…”

"The third type is the sick and disabled. The war has just ended and many people have been injured in the war. Some of them have lost their ability to work. Among them, our Fengwu Army soldiers are better off. Your Majesty has asked the government offices in various places to distribute food, fruits and vegetables to them every month to ensure their safety!"

"But the disabled soldiers of the Zhennan Army, Jiangnan Army, Luoan Imperial Army, etc., do not enjoy this guarantee, and their lives are very difficult!"

"In addition to the three situations I mentioned, there are many other situations in practice that lead to the people not having enough food to eat. Your Highness, when you grow up, you can learn about this and practice it at the grassroots level!"

After saying this, Gu Sansi continued to preach:
"According to incomplete statistics from the Ministry of Revenue, 30% of the total population of Daqian has reached the standard of having enough food. These people can eat at least three black steamed buns a day, a bowl of green vegetables such as radish and cabbage, and some pickled vegetables!"

"Most of these people are rich farmers in the countryside, or some craftsmen, and workers in the city. Most of them are concentrated in Youyan, Liaoyang, Qilu, Jiyu, Jiangnan and other relatively wealthy areas in Daqian!"

After hearing Gu Sansi's introduction, Jingren asked again:
"Mr. Gu, how many people in Daqian eat well?"

Gu Sansi preached without hesitation:
"About half of the population. These people are mainly rural landlords, officials, wealthy businessmen in the city, etc. In fact, these people should be less than half of the population, but rounded off to about half of the total population..."

"This is the current situation of the people's food supply in Daqian. In short, the situation is still quite difficult, and many people are still struggling to make ends meet!"

Listening to Gu Sansi's story, Jingren also began to think with his little head. Although he didn't know what Jingren was thinking, Gu Sansi did not disturb Jingren, but gave Jingren enough time to think.

After thinking for a whole cup of tea, Jingren finally came up with an idea, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he surprised Gu Sansi.

"Mr. Gu has always said that the people of Daqian have a much better life than the people of Dazhou, but now the people of Daqian are still living in such a difficult situation. So, what is the difference between the living conditions of the people of Daqian and those of the people of Dazhou?"

Looking at Jingren who looked puzzled, Gu Sansi was surprised that he could ask such a profound question, but he still gave an answer.

"Good and bad are relative terms! They are determined by comparison!"

"Your Highness! His Majesty once said that agriculture in Daqian depends on God for food. God is the one who gives us food. If the weather is good and there are no diseases or disasters, then our people can have a bumper year. On the contrary, if locust plagues, floods, droughts, etc. occur, the situation will be very bad!"

Jingren was still very puzzled when he heard this and asked:
"Since we all rely on God, how is our Daqian better than Dazhou?"

Gu Sansi smiled and explained:
“Your Highness, what His Majesty meant is that as long as God blesses us, we in Daqian can have a good year. However, in Dazhou, even if God blesses us and there are no floods, droughts, or locust plagues, there are still many people who still cannot get enough food…”

"In the Great Zhou, the people are divided into two types. One type is the self-cultivating farmers who own their own land, and the other type is the tenants who work for the landlords. Take wheat in the north as an example. In a good harvest, one acre of land can produce about 130 to 150 kilograms of grain. At least 30% of this 130 to 150 kilograms of grain must be paid as tax!"

"Please note that this tax must be paid to the imperial court, and the prefectures and counties below also have their own miscellaneous fees. Converted into silver, it will account for 10% to 30% of the yield of one mu of land. This means that even if the harvest is good, a farmer can only get about half of the yield at most after working hard for a year!"

"And this is still an ideal situation. Under such circumstances, a farmer can have enough food and clothing, but he can't save much money. His ability to resist risks is very weak. If he gets sick or his family members get sick, he can only wait to die or sell his land to the landlord for money!"

"At the same time, many self-employed farmers could not afford the court's taxes and various levies, so they had to sell their land to landlords. In this way, they did not have to pay the court's taxes and levies, but only had to pay rent to the landlords, and the landlords' rent was at least 50%!"

“So the situation of the farmers in Da Zhou is very miserable. They work hard all year round, but most of the fruits of their labor do not belong to them. If they are lucky and they and their families are healthy, they can still make a living. But if they encounter some troubles, it will be a disaster for their impoverished families…”

"In Daqian, His Majesty distributed land to ordinary people through various means such as redemption, and then strictly controlled the tax to the court to about 10%, and issued a clear regulation that the miscellaneous fees of the prefectures and counties below must not exceed the tax paid to the court!"

"Secondly, Your Majesty has increased grain production by building water conservancy projects, promoting farm tools and fertilizers, and having the government buy cattle and rent them to farmers. Let's take wheat in the north as an example. Now, as long as there is enough sunshine and rain, each acre can basically produce more than 150 kilograms of grain stably. Some high-yield land can even reach 170 kilograms or even 190 kilograms!"

"In addition, in order to increase farmers' ability to resist risks, Your Majesty has also established some bill exchange houses. These bill exchange houses absorb savings from the people and then lend them to farmers at normal interest rates. In this way, farmers don't have to borrow high-interest loans!"

"In short, although our Daqian agriculture and farmers are still restricted by the weather and need to rely on God for their livelihood, compared to the Great Zhou, the situation is much better. As long as the weather is good and you work hard enough to farm well, you can get most of the fruits of your labor!"

"In this way, it is not difficult to get food, and it is very normal to have a full meal!"

“It is precisely such a generous government that makes the people support our Daqian so much. This is also an important magic weapon for our Daqian to quickly unify the world…”················
·············
The next day, in a small courtyard of the palace

Murong Xinyun slowly opened her eyes, and as she gradually regained consciousness, she heard some whispering in the room.

Murong Xinyun was very familiar with the owners of these voices. They were the palace maids and maids around Murong Xinyun. Because the voices were very soft, Murong Xinyun could not hear them clearly. She just vaguely heard words like "communication", "poisoned wine", and "queen".

Although she couldn't hear it clearly and Murong Qingwu didn't know who these palace maids and nannies were talking about, but hearing these words in a place like the harem still attracted Murong Xinyun's high attention.

Just as Murong Xinyun was listening attentively, Xia Zhu, the palace maid beside her, suddenly discovered that her master had woken up. In panic, she quickly glanced at the others, and the discussion stopped immediately.

Seeing that Xia Zhu and the others noticed that she was awake, Murong Xinyun didn't say much. After all, she was not the kind of woman who liked to gossip. She immediately got up and began to wash and dress. She was going to accompany her sister Murong Qingwu to meet the Queen Mother today.

While dressing up, Murong Xinyun looked at Xia Zhu who was combing her hair, but she couldn't help thinking about the things she had just overheard. After hesitating for a while, Murong Xinyun made a decision in her heart, and immediately asked Xia Zhu:

"Who were you talking about?"

Faced with this question from her own queen, Xia Zhu immediately became a little flustered, but she still tried to argue:
"Your Majesty, we were just talking about what to eat today..."

Seeing that Xia Zhu actually wanted to deceive her, the usually good-tempered Murong Xinyun also changed her expression. She snorted and said:
"You don't have to comb my hair anymore! Let Aunt Liu come over here! Xia Zhu, go clean the whole room today!"

Xia Zhu was stunned at first, then thought about how much work it would take to clean the house, and then he said aggrievedly:

"My lady, I was wrong! Please don't let me clean the house!"

"You know you're wrong, why don't you speak up?"

Facing the questioning of his master, Xia Zhu hesitated for a few seconds and then spoke carefully:

"Your Majesty, I heard it from someone else. I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else, or the Queen will beat me to death!"

"Say it!"

Xia Zhu organized his words before saying:
"Your Majesty, do you know Huangpin?"

Hearing Xia Zhu say this, a petite and cute figure suddenly emerged in Murong Xinyun's mind. Although she and Huang Bin did not have much interaction, Murong Xinyun remembered that Huang Bin entered the palace with her through the selection. Originally, Huang Bin had never had a servant, but it seemed that she was suddenly favored recently.

Thinking of this, Murong Xinyun nodded slightly and asked:

"Is Huangpin in trouble?"

Xia Zhu nodded with some fear and said:
"Princess Huang was killed by the Queen yesterday with poisoned wine!"

Hearing Xia Zhu say this, Murong Xinyun was immediately shocked and asked back:

"Huangpin is dead? Is it true?"

"Your Majesty, what happened is absolutely true! Yesterday, the Internal Court arrested all the maids and nannies around Huangpin and interrogated them. In addition, Huangpin's yard was cleaned up at night, and all of Huangpin's things were burned. It is said that Huangpin refused to drink it and Qiqige forced her to drink it..."

"Qiqige is such a cruel woman. How could she do such a thing?"

After Murong Qingwu digested this matter in shock, she couldn't help but ask:

"Do you know why the Queen wanted to kill Huangpin?"

Xia Zhu preached without hesitation:
"It is said that Huangpin cursed His Majesty behind his back, and it seems that before Huangpin entered the palace, she had a lover in her hometown Jiyu. The two of them had an affair and even exchanged tokens of love. Before Huangpin entered the palace, the two of them had agreed to be husband and wife in the next life!"

Before Xia Zhu finished speaking, Murong Qingwu's expression froze. At this time, Xia Zhu did not notice the expression of his master and continued to speak to himself:
"That's what I said, but I don't think that's the case. Everyone knows that the methods of the Inner Court are not much worse than those of the Central Coordination Office. As for those people around Huangpin, it's not up to them to decide what to say or not."

"In my opinion, during this period, His Majesty favored Huangpin more and went to Huangpin's place to rest more often, neglecting the Empress. So the Empress became dissatisfied and resentful, and then she found a reason to kill Huangpin to vent her anger!"

"Princess Huang is so pitiful. She hasn't had a maid for almost a year since she entered the palace. She finally managed to get a maid and was favored. Her life was about to get better, but now something like this has happened. Her life is really bad!"

While Xia Zhu was feeling regretful, he also noticed the expression of his master, and immediately asked with some doubt:
"My queen, what's wrong with you..."