Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 37: Annexation (Part )
Being a weaver girl for the princess's mansion was very attractive to the women from ordinary military families in Jianyang.

The Weaver Girl in the Princess's Mansion has to embroider, and embroidery is a very important skill for women. If one can learn embroidery by entering the mansion, then those who come to offer betrothal gifts will throng Su Ze's house.

Who wouldn't want to marry a woman who has learned etiquette in a princess's mansion and has embroidery skills?

However, when Su Ze heard this, he looked at Lu Zhu with a sharp look and said, "Madam Lu Zhu, please don't worry about my sister's affairs! I appreciate the princess' kindness!"

Seeing Su Ze's sudden change of expression and the fierce aura he displayed, Luzhu thought of how Su Ze looked in the tower and trembled all over. She did not dare to act on her own anymore, so she left, leaving behind the silk and the strong woman.

The two strong women were both smart and quick at work. They quickly cleaned up the storeroom in the back compartment and carried the silk into the storeroom.

Su Ze arranged a side room for the two to live in, took out their indentures, and asked:
"Where are you two from, and why are you slaves in the princess's mansion?"

"To answer your question, my name is Yao, and I am from Ji County, Luoyang. Because my family could no longer make ends meet, we sold ourselves into slavery and mortgaged our land to the princess. My husband is still farming for the princess on the land."

"My last name is also Yao, and I am from the same farm as her. My husband is also at the princess' farm."

Su Ze sneered in his heart. Princess Chenliu sent two strong women over, but detained their families in her own manor. She also meant to place spies around her.

"Do the people of the capital also have to sell themselves into slavery? In the ninth year of Taihe, Emperor Xiaowen issued an order, 'All men over the age of 15 will be granted 40 mu of land for growing grain, and women 20 mu.' Since you have a husband, don't you have land at home?"

Yao said: "Where can I get 40 mu of land in the capital? When my uncle and aunt (parents-in-law) were alive, they had 10 mu of land. After they passed away, the land was taken back by the government."

"What about the mulberry fields? 'For those who first receive the land, each man will be given 20 mu of mulberry fields and must plant the required trees, such as mulberry, jujube, and elm, within three years. The mulberry fields can be used as hereditary land and must not be returned for life. They can be inherited by the next generation.' The land can be taken back, but what about the mulberry fields?"

Yao cried and said, "We used to have three mu of mulberry fields. The mulberry trees were planted by my uncle and aunt. After they died, all the mulberry trees in the fields were cut down. The government said that these were not mulberry fields but were granted and all the land was taken back."

Su Ze was speechless. Emperor Xiaowen promulgated and implemented the "Equal Field System" in the ninth year of Taihe (485 AD), and it had been less than forty years, but there was no land left to be granted around Luoyang. Not only did the government refuse to grant land, it also tried to take back the mulberry fields that the court had promised could be inherited.

As for the reason, Su Ze didn't need to ask. The powerful and wealthy families continued to occupy the land. In addition, since the previous emperor, the imperial court had often granted land to the royal family and rewarded important officials of the court. Land annexation became more and more serious, causing these people without land to have to sell themselves as slaves.

Su Ze felt a little upset. He pointed at Su Yuyao and said, "From now on, you will be called Big Yao, and you will be called Little Yao. When I am on leave, you will go to the farm to reunite with your husband. On weekdays, you will listen to the affairs of the mansion."

After finishing his housework, Su Ze could finally return to his room and turned on the system.

Su Ze opened the message backlog in the system——

[The riding slave Su Da feeds Ben Xiao with "fresh grass", and Ben Xiao feels very happy. ]

The riding slave Su Da is a purple follower. Su Ze sees that Benxiao's fur has become shiny because of him, and he is much fatter and stronger than before.

Opening the map, Su Ze moved the riding slave Su Da to Sitong City, and sure enough, a new option appeared.

[In the adventure area "Sitong City", "Qinnu Suda" can perform adventure commissions: 1. Setting up a stall, 2. Horse selection (special action that Qiinnu Suda can perform), 3. Following Gao Huan to select horses for resale, please choose?]

Sure enough, Gao Huan’s proposal for partnership could be assigned to Su Da in the form of a delegated task. By entrusting and issuing orders, Su Ze would be able to obtain Su Da’s records and understand his dynamics.

Su Ze turned over another record, which was the record of Su Tong who cast Buddha statues in Yongning Temple.

[The statue-casting monk Su Tong made the statue casting mold at Yongning Temple.]

[The exquisite skills of the statue-casting monk Su Tong attracted the attention of the statue-casting monks of Yongning Temple. He generously taught him some tips. Yongning Temple reputation +10]

[The superb skills of the statue-casting monk Su Tong made the old monk jealous. In order to complete the task of casting statues in Yongning Temple, he taught them the secret of pouring copper water regardless of past grudges. Yongning Temple reputation +10]

[The statue-casting monk Su Tong moved to a more luxurious monk's quarters.] [The statue-casting monk Su Tong took in two apprentices.]

Unexpectedly, Su Tong caused such a big commotion in Yongning Temple. Su Ze had a headache, but you just say whether he completed the task or not?
Anyway, Su Tong is safe in Yongning Temple at the moment. Su Ze finally clicked on Su Bai's record.

[Su Bai, the envoy of Bai Lu Cao, collected intelligence at Yongning Temple and eavesdropped on the conversation of Jiang An, the chief craftsman, and collected the intelligence "Intelligence of the Wooden Pagoda of Yongning Temple Part 2".]

Is there any follow-up to this information? Jiang An, the craftsman who was followed by Su Bai and discovered the secret passage of the wooden pagoda, is still staying in Yongning Temple?
Su Ze quickly clicked on the information.

Su Ze opened "Intelligence on the Wooden Pagoda of Yongning Temple Part 2", which was also a conversation between Jiang An and his apprentice.

Jiang An: "My disciple, I have sealed the secret passage of the wooden pagoda. You must not tell anyone about this."

"Disciple understands!"

"Master, the golden vase on top of the Yongning Temple wooden pagoda is of great importance. Yongning Temple sends people to check it every month. Why did it suddenly fall?"

Jiang An said cautiously: "The monk in charge of the inspection at Yongning Temple has disappeared."

"What!?"

"Bai Lu Cao is pursuing this clue. The one who climbed the tower to check is a wandering monk named Fa Zong."

"A wandering monk? Why did Yongxing Temple entrust the inspection of the wooden pagoda to a wandering monk?"

"It must be because the work of inspecting the pagoda is hard, and the monks of Yongxing Temple are unwilling to do it. This Fazong has been staying at Yongxing Temple for half a year. Nothing happened when he came to Yongning Temple several times before. But after this incident, this Fazong disappeared."

Jiang An finally said, "The case of the Golden Bottle overturning has been resolved. Let's not talk about it again. We will return to the prison in a few days."

Dharma Sect?

Su Ze wrote down the name, and it turned out that Bai Lu Cao was secretly investigating the Yongning Temple case.

Originally Su Ze was planning to let Su Bai return to Jianyangli, but now he has new plans.

When Su Bai's chess piece was moved to Yongning Temple, a new option indeed appeared.

[Dangerous area "Yongning Temple", adventure commissions available: 1. Gather intelligence, 2. Assassinate (please select the target), 3. Track down clues (monk Fazong), please choose? ]

[Note: Executing Commission 2 assassination in Yongning Temple may cause unknown risks! ! ! ]

[Attention, when executing Commission 3 to track down clues, Egret Cao's messenger Su Bai may leave Yongning Temple and enter a dangerous area! ! ! ]

Thinking of Su Bai's skills, Su Ze still chose to carry out Commission 3 - Tracking down clues (Monk Fazong).

There will be more updates at 12 o'clock at night!
You can wait until morning to watch it.

This plot is a transitional plot, so I will update it more often.

I won’t look at the results anymore, I’d better write more. When Feiniao’s first book was put on the shelves, it only had an average of 600 subscriptions, and in the end it reached an average of 5000. Don’t worry, I will stick to it.

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(End of this chapter)