Yun Xiang coughed lightly and said: "The courtiers also heard about this, it is said that now there are often lawless gentlemen who abuse the tenants, so that the tenants often flee, and after they escape, they have no land to plant, so they can only do some odd jobs to barely survive, if it is only one or two cases, it is naturally nothing, or the courtiers heard that this kind of thing often happens, and those gentlemen rely on their own not to pay taxes, or just pay a little, so they wantonly encircle the land, try their best to devour the fields in the hands of some people, and so on, This has affected the production of grain. ”

Yin Zhen didn't know anything about this matter, but when he said it from Yun Xiang's mouth, it undoubtedly made him more confirmed, and he put the tea cup aside and said: "These gentlemen and landlords are really hateful, and they should be severely punished." ”

Listening to their words, Yun Li said: "The emperor can widely disseminate the holy word, and order the magistrate to immediately go to the court if he discovers such a thing, so that it must be effectively contained." ”

"I also have this idea, but this is not enough, in fact, since the incident in Fuzhou, I have found that the accumulation of rice and grain is far from enough, like before only two shipments of grain to Fuzhou are overstretched, in case it is necessary to move troops at this time, without grain and grass, the army cannot fight at all."

"Those rich businessmen and gentry only think about how to accumulate money and wealth, and they don't care about the interests of the court, but if there is something in the court, they will not have a good life like now." Speaking of excitement, Yun Xiang couldn't help coughing, Yun Li hurriedly took the tea and handed it to him, and only after seeing that he had drunk it was smooth before he said: "Thirteenth brother, don't be excited, the emperor summoned us to think of a way to see how to stop this matter from continuing to deteriorate." ”

Yun Xiang nodded, and said a little weakly: "According to the minister's brother, it is useless to just let the magistrates participate in those people's abuse of the tenants, and the emperor should solve this matter from the root." ”

Yin Zhen has been worried about this matter for a long time, and Yun Xiang's words lifted his spirits and said, "You can tell me about it, and I will see if it is feasible." ”

Yun Li owed a debt and said: "The courtiers think that the root cause is the privilege of exempting those rich gentry from paying taxes, and if it can be abolished, many things can be solved. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yunli frowned, "This privilege has existed since the establishment of this dynasty, and if it is revoked, I am afraid that it will provoke a civil uprising." ”

"Civil unrest?" Yun Xiang shook his head and said: "Old Seventeen, maybe something will happen, but it will definitely not provoke the people to revolt, on the contrary, those ordinary people will be grateful for the emperor's kindness and reduce the heavy taxes on their bodies; The only ones who really make trouble are the rich gentry. ”

Having said that, Yunli still can't hide his worries, "I'm afraid that those rich families will incite some villagers who don't know what's going on." In case they get into a conflict with the government, things will get very troublesome. ”

Yun Xiang said affirmatively: "But if you don't take this step, the shortcomings in the grain field will never be eliminated." ”

This point Yunli knows the way, and Yinzhen also knows the way, to change the existing model, it takes great courage and perseverance, which is beyond the ability of ordinary people. Even if Yinzhen is an iron-fisted emperor, he needs to be cautious.

When Yinzhen and them were discussing this matter, Hongli also returned to his mansion and summoned Xiao Zhengzi to say: "How is Lord Ma Qi these days, are you okay?" ”

Although he didn't go to Ma Qi's mansion much during this time, he has been asking Xiao Zhengzi to pay attention to the situation on Ma Qi's side, Ma Qi woke up a few days ago, but his mind is not very clear, and his words are incomplete, so he can only barely spit out a few words, and then let the doctor see it, saying that the situation is worse than originally expected, and it is possible that Ma Qi will not be able to speak as neatly as before in the future.

Xiao Zheng Zi replied according to his words: "If you go back to the fourth elder brother, Lord Ma Qi is still the same as before, and there is no improvement. When the minions went today, they were very worried about Master Ma Qi's situation when they saw Mingyu Gege. ”

Hongli thought for a while and ordered Xiao Zhengzi to change his clothes, change out of the court clothes, and then go up to Maqi Mansion, this time no one stopped the footsteps of this elder brother, all the way to the back room, as soon as he stepped in, there was a strong smell of medicine coming to his face, burrowing into his nose.

Fu Heng and Mingyu were waiting for Ma Qi in the house, and when they saw Hongli coming in, they were about to salute, but they were stopped by Hongli and said, "No need to be polite, I'm here to see Lord Ma Qi." ”

Hearing Hongli's voice, Ma Qi, who was lying on the bed, tried to turn his head and stared at Hongli, making a "cooing" sound in his throat.

Seeing this, Hongli hurriedly walked to the side of the bed and said softly: "Lord Ma Qi, I came to see you, how are you, can you speak?" ”

"Four...... Four Ah ...... Elder brother! It took a lot of effort for Ma Qi to squeeze these three words out of his throat, and his eyes, which had been clear not long ago, became cloudy now. Seeing him like this, Hongli was sad, if it weren't for himself, how could Ma Qi be like this, he hurt Ma Qi.

"You...... You ......" Ma Qi didn't know what to say, grabbed Hongli's hand and tried to speak, but he couldn't spit out the words in the back, and his originally gray face turned red in a hurry.

Hongli understood what Ma Qi meant, grasped his thin hand and said, "Lord Ma Qi, don't worry, I have already seen that Huang Ama is fine." With that, he leaned into Ma Qi's ear and whispered: "Although I am forced to tell the truth to Huang Ama now, I promise that I will not let Hongshi, a villain, be proud, and I will let him atone for the sins he has committed!" ”

After listening to his words, Ma Qi's breath gradually smoothed down, and his face returned to normal, trying to spit out a word, "Okay!" ”

At this time, someone came up with medicine, and Mingyu was about to step forward, but Hongli had already said: "No need, I'll feed Master Ma Qi." ”

Hearing this, Fu Heng hurriedly said: "The fourth elder brother is a golden and precious body, how can he do such a thing, let the sister come." ”

"These little things are nothing compared to the iniquities I have made." Saying this, Hongli took the medicine bowl from the hands of his subordinates, carefully fed Ma Qi to drink, and then said: "Lord Ma Qi, you are so resting, I will come to see you another day." ”

Seeing that Hongli was leaving, Fu Heng said: "My sister and I sent the fourth elder brother out of the city." ”

Hongli nodded, and after leaving the back room, he suddenly said, "Don't you blame me for holding you hostage like that at that time, and it was harmful to Lord Ma Qi?" ”

Fu Heng shook his head and said: "The fourth elder brother is also forced to hold me and my sister-in-law hostage, as for the uncle's matter, it is even more strange that the fourth elder brother is to blame, if you want to blame those remnants of the Red Flower Society." I have been in the Qing Dynasty for nearly a hundred years, and the foundation has already been set, but they are still dreaming of restoring the Ming Dynasty, which is really ridiculous. ”

Hongli couldn't say too much about this matter, so he changed the topic and said, "When do you plan to go back?" When the time comes, I'll send you off. ”