Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

Charles said with a smile: "The market is uncertain, and there are many risks in going out to do business. My lord, this cannot be said absolutely."

"Just know what you have in mind. If it is less, I am afraid that these peasant brothers will not agree. If they come back to ask you to collect debts, can you bear it?"

Hearing this, Charles' face darkened immediately. "Okay, my lord! I'll give you a good price even if I'm at a loss this time. Do you think it's okay?" He gritted his teeth and said.

Haiwen nodded and said, "Thank you very much."

The next morning, Haiwen ordered people to slaughter the livestock, and then emptied the wine cellar of Master Wayne's house, preparing to set up a flowing banquet at noon to reward his soldiers.Around ten o'clock in the morning, people set up long tables and benches in the yard.It was a warm, sunny, cloudless day, as if the weather had been made to celebrate their victory.There are not enough stools, tables and chairs. Fortunately, the poor are not so particular, so many people just spread a piece of cloth and sit on the ground.

There was still some time before the meal, and everyone started talking and laughing, and the atmosphere in the farm compound was very lively.There were also some men chanting and dancing the harvest dance; some peasant women sang to the accompaniment, the children were playing, and the old man was stroking his beard and laughing.At this moment, Haiwen clapped his hands and said, "Everyone, I have something to say!"

After last night's battle, Hai Wen already had a lot of weight in people's minds.As soon as he spoke, the crowd fell silent.

"Today, you witnessed a miracle! The invincible slave owners were all defeated, and their treasury was smashed and became your property. This is all thanks to you!"

People shouted, and a strong square-faced man shouted: "My lord, this is your credit!" Then a woman as thick as him pointed at Haven and shouted: "King of wild horses!" Then people Say, "Credit and honor go to the King of the Mustangs!"

Haiwen said: "I share this honor with you! Without your strength, there would be no victory today. Think about it carefully, why can eleven farmers rule tens of thousands of poor people? You have thousands of compatriots, every Every oppressed person is your comrade-in-arms! As long as we unite, we will be able to explode like thunder and lightning!"

Everyone cheered, people stomped, clapped, and slapped tables.After the voice became quieter, Hai Wen continued:

"Now, I'm going to announce the next economic plan for Mustang Town. Everyone, listen carefully, this is closely related to your future life! The former serfs, come to my place to sign up after eating—Old Ramon! "

"Yes, my lord!" Old Ramon stepped forward and said.

"You lead the clerks in the council hall to count the names, addresses, and family conditions of farmers' friends."

"Yes, my lord!"

Haiwen continued to talk to the people: "Farmer friends! I will return the land you cultivated at the landlord's house before! I will allocate land resources according to the number of people in your family. The more people you share, the more land you will get— —Remember not to report the number secretly, in the future—I will send someone to verify the population, and if anyone cheats, they will be severely punished!”

At this time, someone shouted: "Then how much rent do we have to pay?" This question caused a lot of waves, and many people stood up and asked, "Yes! How much is the rent?" "Do you have to pay another seventy catties?" ? We can’t afford it!” “I signed the deed of sale, do I also have land?”

"Listen to me!" Haiwen stood on a long and sturdy table, "My friends, everyone has land! Whether you are a serf or a freeman, everyone has land! I will snatch land from these landowners. All the land I have received will be given to you. These lands cannot be bought or sold, but you can cultivate them freely. Now, I announce the method of rent collection!"

The people below listened with pricked ears, and many of them muttered worriedly.Haiwen heard a skinny man say, "We'll charge another sixty or seventy catties!" The person next to him said, "I don't think adults are so unscrupulous, so I guess they'll only charge fifty catties."

Another old woman said: "Fifty catties is fine! We used to pay as much as we planted. If we harvest fifty catties now, we can still have some surplus food."

Haiwen said: "Before, if you planted [-] catties of grain, you would be exploited for [-] catties. Now, you only need to pay [-]% of the tax, and the remaining [-] catties are all yours!"

A middle-aged man below screamed, "You said you would only charge twenty catties?"

"One hundred and twenty this year, it's because the town is short of money. It will decrease every year in the future, and I don't want to increase the burden on everyone." Hai Wen said.

"King of the wild horses!" someone led the shout, "Savior!" Then the crowd cheered.Most of these people were serfs, and whatever grain they collected in the past was given to the landlords.For them, let alone "two out of ten taxes", even "six or seven out of ten taxes" are acceptable, and it can even be said to be a great blessing.Now that I say this, the people below are all crazy with joy.Many people embraced each other and wept, shouting loudly: "King of the wild horses!" "Savior!" "Ambside!" and so on.

Old Ramon stood beside Hai Wen and said in a low voice: "My lord, ten taxes and two, this... I haven't heard of any nobles collecting taxes like this. I haven't heard of it in the books either. It's inevitable that you will... "His face was a bit worried.Haven smiled and said, "I know that, old Ramon."

Haiwen continued to say to the people: "And you should know that the grain that can be produced per mu is not worth a hundred catties. Now you are cultivating for yourself, you should use your strength! I can tell you that the yield per mu is It can break through [-] catties, and even grow up to [-] catties. The more you plant, the more you get, work hard and get rich, lazy and poor!"

People let out a burst of exclamation, and an old man with a hunchback shouted: "My lord! I have been planting the land for 48 years, and there are only three bumper harvests when the yield exceeds [-] catties per mu. If it is a disaster year, there may be no harvest! What do you say?" Can you grow three hundred catties of crops?" Other poor people also chimed in and asked Hai Wen how he could grow three hundred catties of grain.

Celebration banquet, next

Celebration banquet, next

Haiwen explained to them: "I know you are wondering about this matter, what I want to tell you is that agricultural production also has the knowledge of agricultural production. I will organize a 'Farmer Technology School' in the future to popularize technology to you so that you can learn How to "produce three hundred catties per mu". At the same time, I will also engage in public cattle and farm tools. I will let each of you have farm tools. In addition, I will organize people to dig canals and repair irrigation in the future. facilities, I will divert the streams from the Yemaling Mountain to solve the water problem. In addition, I will teach you the knowledge of controlling insect pests and rats, so as to ensure that you can survive the disaster years in the future; you will have enough food and clothing in the future, and you children will never go hungry again.”

After he said this, the farmers looked a little dazed. After all, for these illiterate poor people, the production knowledge was too complicated.Haiwen plans to train some more active farmers first, and then let them spread knowledge.

At this moment, he heard the smiling cat shout: "My lord, the kitchen said the meal is ready!"

"That's right! Everyone, let's talk about something after dinner."

So the celebration banquet officially began.

Farmers can't eat meat all year round, let alone drink this kind of fine wine. After the wine and meat are served, they are immediately excited.Hai Wen took a few cadres to toast one by one, thanking everyone for their bravery.When many serfs saw him, they shouted "King of wild horses", and some people wanted to dedicate to him the things they had looted before.Hai Wen refused all of them, and just drank with everyone.

On the way, a mother knelt at his feet and wept, saying, "If my son can live three more days, he won't die of starvation!" When she cried, many poor people felt the same way and started crying too.Then a bald man knelt down to him and said, "I will devote my life to you!" Then someone imitated him and knelt down to Haiwen, so Haiwen helped them up again and said, "You just need to Living a good life is the greatest allegiance to me."

Holding a wine glass, he went to greet each table, and at the same time asked who were the family members of the martyrs, and asked the accompanying little Ramon to remember them for him.Seven days later, he will hold a collective funeral to commemorate the martyrs and commend their meritorious deeds.At the same time, he also pays pensions to his family.These people fought and died for me, I must not treat their families badly, Hai Wen thought so.

He treated everyone equally, and even the captives shared a sip of the broth.There are some serfs who directly surrendered on Master Wayne’s side. These people didn’t have blood on their hands, so Haven didn’t punish them; other people who surrendered after the defeat need to participate in labor reform, and they can get some money after half a year. The land, live on it.

In the middle of the banquet, people danced again, and a bard who came out of nowhere played the harp; some young people organized a game of slinging and gambling.Haiwen was a little tired, so he returned to his seat and ate quietly.At this time, the smiling cat sat beside him and said to him:

"My lord, I won't kill you anymore."

"What?" Haiwen laughed, "Now you're talking about this? Could it be that you've been planning to kill me before this? Smiling Ranger!"

The smiling cat took a sip of the wine, then let out a huff, and Haiwen frowned at the smell of wine in his mouth.Then the fat cat said: "In the past, it was true. I don't believe that there are people like you in this world. You are a saint. I'm not kidding. Some of your behaviors are more unbelievable than monks in churches and temples. What religion do you have?" Do you believe in it? Or did you have any... special experience?"

Haven didn't know how to answer this question, so he chose to remain silent.

Smiley Cat didn't continue to ask. He drank the wine in one gulp and said, "Now I have to find a girl to play with. Let me tell you, some peasant daughters are very flirtatious! Haha!"

Haiwen told him, "Don't harm her girl! After finishing the work, you walked away in style. What should I do if I have a big belly? Will you marry in the future? If you want to play, you can spend money. Going to play in the kiln, even though it’s not right, it’s a business you love and I like.”

"Oh my lord! You think too much of me." He wiped his hands full of oil on the leather armor, and poured himself another glass of wine, "I'm just going to have fun, I won't really do it Something happened. What's more..." His face darkened, and he said in a low voice, "There may not be any girls who can look up to me."

This is true.Haiwen looked at the smiling cat and thought, this guy is fat, short, ugly and frustrated, if he doesn't mention his name, no one will think he is a great ranger.Haiwen suddenly thought: Yisruite said that there are four great rangers in the Central Plains, and I remember they are the smiling ranger, the silver fox ranger, the blame ranger and the faceless ranger - just by hearing these names, you can tell that they are not serious stuff , not to mention the names that can be put together with the smiling face cat are probably some weird people.

After eating, everyone rested for a while, and Haiwen disbanded the team. He asked everyone to return to the original landlord's manor to live.He himself still has a lot of things to do. First, he ordered people to gather the family members of the landlord and the captives. Logically speaking, these people were going to be slaves.But Hai Wen hated the slave system deeply, so he decided to give them labor reform.After participating in half a year's labor, these people can return to their free bodies.

These people are free laborers, and Haiwen intends to let them participate in the eastern land reclamation.There is a piece of wasteland in the east of Yema Ridge that has been uncultivated.This wasteland has always existed, but due to the slack management of the baron and the backward system, it has not been cultivated.Haven once asked Delaire about this matter, why no one came to reclaim the land to the east?Dreyer's reply to him was: that piece of land is owned by the baron, and no one has the right to open up wasteland. The baron wants to find serfs to cultivate it, but there is no one in his hands. He wants to sell the land, but no one buys it. So just leave it on.Another theory is that the land in that area is all salty, and it is difficult to grow crops; there is a big lake there, and for some reason there are no fish in the lake, so fishermen do not go there.

It seems to be a piece of saline-alkali land to be developed.Haiwen thought to himself that it is not impossible to grow crops in saline-alkali land, and other resources can also be developed.He intends to take the time to investigate on the spot.

In addition, he had to write a letter to Gerrit, asking them to continue to investigate the agricultural situation in the south.I heard that there are a group of rice fields in the south, but the yield of rice per mu is less than [-] catties, which should not be the case for rice!Haiwen remembers that before liberation, rice could produce about [-] catties per mu. This stuff has fed countless Chinese people. Why is the yield so poor here?Could it be the wrong breed?

Hai Wenke has seen the world's backward agricultural technology, which is basically at the level of "digging a hole, burying some soil, counting one, two, three, four, five".There is a serious shortage of fertilizers, pests cannot be controlled, and pesticides are not used.He has to renovate the primary industry here, regardless of whether he makes money or not, he can't let the children continue to be hungry, right?He has seen many children who are skinny or have big bellies because of malnutrition.He has seen the innocent and pitiful eyes of those children, and he knows that he has a mission, and he must change everything.

Then they carried Master Wayne's body back to Mustang, where it was dehydrated, medicated, and pitched, and then hung under the crooked neck tree.Haven would then put a tag on him with his crime written on it.He wanted to warn people of the sanctity of the law in this way, and at the same time tell the poor that evil will be rewarded with evil.

But one thing he regretted was that he killed Master Wayne in a flash of his head, but forgot to ask him where Fandry was.Haven's chief financial officer, Fatty Van Derry Garcia, has disappeared since delivering the letter to Wayne. Referring to Master Wayne's usual domineering and domineering, it is very likely that Van Derry has been murdered.

There is one more person on the pension list.Haiwen thought to himself, and it didn't take long before I lost two capable cadres - Fandry and Red Brick, they are both my heroes.

Chapter 48: Going Home

Chapter 48: Going Home

After returning to the town, he didn't have time to rest for a moment, and immediately organized a meeting for the members of the Yizheng Hall.He arranged tasks to go on and asked these people to wear red armbands uniformly, and then went to the various manors to count the number of serfs. "It's better to be slow than to be wrong!" Haiwen said to these people very seriously, "If you make a mistake, I will hold you accountable."

He felt more and more that there were not enough people under his command, not to mention that these clerks were only literate, and many people didn't understand things like bookkeeping.Fortunately, there is a pair of masters and apprentices, the old Ramon and the young Ramon. At the Haven meeting, the old Ramon was appointed as the person in charge, and he was asked to handle this matter well.It was already evening when this matter was finished, and he hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past few days even after fighting and marching. He was so tired that he was sore all over.

After returning home, he saw the butler Dreyer sitting at his desk lighting a lamp and writing a book.When Delaire saw him coming, he greeted him and said, "My lord, forgive me for being injured, so it's inconvenient to stand up and salute."

"What are you doing?"

"Statistics of income." The housekeeper said, "The fat man is gone, but someone has to do it. In addition, some very enthusiastic people came here a few days ago. These people regard you as a god and insist that they will work for you .I picked a few literate people and told them to go to the Yizheng Hall tomorrow morning. I guess you are short of people, so I decided in private."

This is really a timely help. "Thank you, Delaire." Haven said subconsciously.

"Master does not thank servants, my lord," he said.

"Well done, I will reward you." Hai Wen said, moved a chair and sat down.Dreyer's injury is still not healed, and he can't move his left hand, so when writing, he can only write with one hand, and then use a wooden box to press the paper, otherwise the writing will be skewed.After writing a few lines, he had to change hands to move the paper and the wooden box; he wore a pair of small glasses, his eyes were tightly squinted under the candlelight, and he looked very hard.

Hai Wen couldn't understand himself as a housekeeper anymore.At first he thought that Dreyer was a despicable villain who was lustful and greedy for money, but then he realized more and more that this person had a sharp vision and unique means.Moreover, his attitude towards work is very serious, not losing to Haiwen at all.

"Butler, is there anything you want?" Haiwen asked subconsciously.

"Why do you ask this?"

"I think it's your hard work here, so I..." The master didn't thank the servant, he thought to himself, "So I reward you."

The butler put down his pen, and he frowned. The wrinkles on his forehead were piled up together, like a continuous valley under the candlelight.In Hai Wen's eyes, he suddenly aged ten years.

"I don't know either," said the butler.

"Money? Women? Power? Honor?" Haiwen snapped his fingers and said, "I can't think of anything else."

"I didn't work hard for these, my lord." The old housekeeper sighed.Then he took a sip of water from a yellowed cup, only then did Hewen realize that although Delaire had made a lot of dirty money before, the things around him were very simple and unpretentious, even shabby.It seems that he has no pursuit of luxury material.

After drinking the water, the butler said, "My lord, I used to be a poor man who didn't have enough to eat. At that time, I thought that it would be great if I could have enough to eat every day. Later, I worked with the mayor and went to inspect Team, I can finally have enough to eat. At that time, I began to think that it would be great if I could eat meat. Later, as I became richer and richer, I had meat to eat and wine to drink, so I started to work, I I started to think about women. Later you will know that we have fucked [-] or [-] pussies...My lord, I am tired."

The moment Delaire said "tired", Haiwen felt very uncomfortable.

"I tortured myself to the point of death for eating, drinking, for women, and for some gold. In the end? In the end, there was nothing. I have also passed through the gate of hell, and I don't care about those things now." He Leaning on the chair, looking up at the ceiling, the exhausted look is like a traveler who has been wandering outside for ten years.

"I don't have a son, and I won't have any in the future. I've tried many times. I've ruined my body too much. The gods punished me and let me die. What hope do you have for me to live? "

Haven asked him, "Then why are you still working so hard?"

"If I don't try my best, won't there be only 'dead' left?" He laughed bitterly at himself, and made a funny "cluck" sound like a poultry in his throat, "I always say that the master doesn't thank the servants. , It is the servant who should thank the master. The servant can only live the most comfortable life when he treats himself like a servant. If you think about being equal to the master all day long, it will be hard work instead."

"It's all for us to perform our duties." Hai Wen said, "Although I have a superior-subordinate relationship with you, I respect you."

"I understand, my lord."

"So be it, Dreyer. You're injured, and you need to combine work and rest. I don't want to see you die of exhaustion early."

"It's fine if I die, it's fine if you don't die." After saying this, Dreyer sat up straight, and he said solemnly: "Haven Ambside, please remember my words. If you want to succeed For big things, you must save one life. Sometimes you have to learn to consider the overall situation, and anyone can sacrifice when necessary, except yourself. "

"You were right in what you said earlier." Heiwen said to him, "but in the end it was wrong. If necessary, I can give my life—I am willing to do so."

Delaire stared at Haven and said in a low voice, "Then please don't miss the timing, my lord."

"I'll be careful, thank you." After saying this, Hai Wen laughed and said, "You don't need to remind me, housekeeper."

"Then I will accept this thank you, my lord." He sat on the chair and bowed, "I will continue to work, please go ahead."

So Hai Wen left and went out, returning to his room.Seeing that Delaire was so desperate, he gave up the idea of ​​resting and forcibly took the file to read.He will retry the criminals in the prison in a few days, and this work must be prepared in advance.He was busy until late at night, felt his eyelids were twitching, and couldn't help but want to go to bed.Just then, he heard something knocking on his window.

It's Gelieta's pigeon!He suddenly fell asleep.Then he opened the window and let in the owl.

Zhe Lite is a comedian from another world, she can't even write or speak.So the moment Haiwen opened the letter, he thought it would be another magical letter, and the corners of his mouth curled up before he even looked at it.However, what I didn't expect was that the letter was written in delicate and neat small characters, and the first sentence at the beginning was:

"My lord, I miss you so much."

He felt sore and almost cried.

I miss you too, my bride.

Chapter 49: Flying Pigeon Family Book

Chapter 49: Flying Pigeon Family Book

It wasn't long before they parted, but Haiwen missed him a lot.Not only Isrit, but he also missed other people. He was used to having a girl to take care of him. Once they left, the whole mansion seemed empty and lonely.Violet was gone, and his room immediately became a mess, and the hyacinth was gone, and the joy and excitement in the air was gone.He also needed Gerrit's knowledge, and the power of the witch.

He continued to read the letter.

Estelle's handwriting is not pretty, but it is very neat, like a serious student.Most of the letters are exhortations and caring words, such as "eat on time", "keep warm when it's cold", and "drink less alcohol", just like a mother telling a child who is studying abroad.

Halfway through, he found that the letter paper was wet with water, and the phrase "Go to bed early, don't always get up early" became blurred.At first, he subconsciously thought: Why is she so careless?After reading a few lines, the image of Isrit writing a letter with tears in his eyes suddenly appeared in his mind.He immediately went back to look at the blurred area, and stroked it with his fingers, as gently as if he was stroking his lover's face.

So there was one more blurred place on the letter paper.

He rubbed his eyes and continued to look down.

"My lord, we are all well, please don't worry. I heard that there is something going on with you, but I believe you can make it all right. You are the greatest person I have ever met - don't get me wrong, I don't say that To push you have to do everything right.

If you feel troubled or tired, please come to me immediately.Don't bother about Mustang Town, come to me, come to me!We left here to live poor and simple lives.

Even if we are poor, we will not live poorly.Because I eat very little, I can save you money; although I am not strong, I am diligent. I farm the land during the day and work as a female worker at night, and I can almost manage a family.Maybe I'll make some spare money, and you can buy some trinkets you want with that money, or buy some wine and meat or something.

I am willing to serve you, you don't have to work, I support you. "

I support you.Seeing this, Haiwen's heart was severely pulled. He couldn't help but close the letter paper, calm down, and then continue to read:

"Sorry, I went too far, I still have to report something about the agricultural expedition to you.

Instructor Gerrit took us to visit the rice fields in the south, and the farmers here received us.We went to the paddy fields and asked the farmers, and found that the growth rate of rice in recent years has been very average, and the yield per mu is less than [-].It is said that it is because of insect plagues. It is said that many pests will breed in the rice fields in summer, and the mosquitoes and flies will continue, which not only affects the production but also greatly destroys the lives of people around.Every night they light insect-repellent incense in their house, and often block the doors and windows and burn some kind of medicinal herb inside to kill insects.Instructor Gerrit and I will go to the fields to investigate, and we will catch some bugs and show you.

The number of serfs on several farms in the south is not as large as that in the north, but heavy taxes still dampen the enthusiasm of farmers.And they lack farm tools and cattle, and many have never even heard the word 'fertilizer'.Several local farmers do have cattle, but they are never willing to lend them to people for use.There are no people responsible for collecting human and animal excrement, they don't have this awareness.

The taste of black rice bread here is mediocre, and the price of grain is also low, but the advantage lies in the high yield.Everyone's life is not rich, but not many people are hungry.

We will continue our investigation here for a few days, and then go to the badlands of Mustang Ridge to the east.It is said that the land in that area is barren, no crops can be grown, and there is no fish in the only big lake.There are very few people there, and most of them live by hunting mink and fox fur.We're going to have a look.

I have a little request at last, my lord.

I wish I could go home once in the middle of work, I want to see you.I want to wake up with you, wash up, make you breakfast, take care of your life.I miss the sound of your voice, I miss your arms, I miss you..." The following paragraph is blacked out with ink,

"...My lord, goodbye. Please take care.