Outside the dilapidated firewood, Gan Ning and Li Jin watched the wind and grass around them vigilantly, although they knew that there were still at least thirty or more elite soldiers nearby who had hidden their tracks and were on guard, they still didn't dare to be careless. After all, this is still a strange place for them.

"Squeak", the firewood was pulled away in the miserable ** sound, Nanying, Mo Rang, and Ma Jun went out together, and an old man with white hair was then sent out.

"Thank you for the water!" Nan Ying owed the old man, and Ma Jun immediately stuffed a handful of money.

In the old man's thousand thanks, the three of them met Gan Ning and Li Jin and continued to walk forward.

"Mr. Mo!" Nan Ying walked a few steps, and finally couldn't help but express the doubts in his heart: "I have always heard that the people are in dire straits, and in some places there is even a tragic scene of starvation and cannibalism, but why ......?"

"Master, do you want to ask why we have walked through dozens of peasant households, but none of them have the imaginary scene of not being able to eat and clothe?" Mo Rang's eyes not only did not show a look of joy, but his voice became even heavier.

"Exactly! I see that these people seem to have surplus food in their families, and there is no threat of starvation! Nan Ying hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Not only that, when asked about the living conditions of these peasants, they either cowered a little or kept silent, there must be something strange in this!" Is it ......?"

He suddenly blurted out: "Could it be that our whereabouts have been exposed, and someone knows that we are here to investigate, so they threaten them to keep silent in advance?" ”

"Master, I'm afraid you're too careful!" Mo Rang smiled bitterly: "Hugh said that it is absolutely impossible for someone to leak our whereabouts in advance, that is, someone wants to come and seal it, how can they be so fast?" ”

Nanying lowered his head and thought for a while before he said, "That's true! So, why do the people behave so weirdly? Don't you believe us? ”

Mo Rang didn't answer, but asked, "If someone wants to seal the mouth, then who does the master think it will be?" ”

"Of course, it is the local corrupt officials and powerful landlords!" Nan Ying said without thinking: "If they are thieves, of course they must try to hide the truth!" ”

"Humph!" He sneered: "I believe that although the general has not yet arrived, this murderous name has spread to the Bohai Sea!" ”

"The master is right!" Mo Rang smiled and said: "With your great reputation of sweeping the Yellow Turban and moving the imperial capital, and holding a hundred battles elite soldiers in your hands, on the ground of the Bohai Sea, if any officials and heroes dare to openly call you out, you will really be impatient!" So, they will definitely do everything possible to welcome you! But ......"

He paused and said, "But they won't deliberately cover up the facts, because they didn't expect you to make a private visit, and second, they ......."

"They don't have to do that much!" Mo let the heavy way.

"What do you mean?" Nan Ying was puzzled: "What do you mean by this extra move?" Do they really think they can cover the sky with one hand? ”

"Didn't the host think it was strange? Along the way, many houses were deserted, and many fields were deserted! Mo Rang let out a long sigh: "And where there are people, this is the scene you just saw...... These people seem to be numb, but they have something to eat! ”

"Yours are right!" Nan Ying had a bad premonition in his heart: "I just think that those vacant houses are because of the relocation of people caused by natural and man-made disasters over the years, isn't that true?" ”

"Relocation? Moving without a cause is a felony! Mo Rang said helplessly: "If you can't live, who wants to leave your homeland?" The old man believes that the owners of these vacant houses are not dead, but they have been forced to leave their hometowns in desperation! ”

"That's it! Sir, please stop knocking on the side! Nanying's face sank: "If you have anything to say, please say it directly, I want to know the truth!" ”

"Land annexation!" Mo Rang directly said four words: "Lao Yu firmly believes that the people we see along the way are all tenants and servants, and no one is an independent subsistence farmer!" Their land has become the possession of the clans! Therefore, they have something to eat, because the clans need them to continue to acquire wealth for themselves, so they dare not say it, because they will starve to death if they lose this humiliating attachment. ”

"What did you say!" Nanying's palm hidden in his sleeve suddenly made a crisp sound of bones: "It's all tenant farmers? How could such a vast area of land be encroached upon? Don't these people even have the ability to survive? ”

"Also, what are you talking about clan?" He said fiercely: "Aren't they those dock masters?" ”

"Yes! The old man still wants to tell you something! Mo Rang said in a low voice: "Over the years, with the political turmoil and the deterioration of law and order, the clans in various places have set up dock walls and armored soldiers, and with the help of the influence of the local nobles, they are becoming stronger and stronger, and even completely manipulate the county and county officials. They are trying their best to complete the transformation from a strong man to a noble clan. ”

"Their granges are more viable and capable of development than the poor, and as long as there is turmoil and natural and man-made disasters, these clans will try their best to collude with the government to force the poor to leave their homes and become homeless, or sell their land to become tenant farmers, while they can bribe their own businesses, break the law, assassinate the dead, and surrender for their lives......"

"Enough!" Nanying let out an irrepressible roar, he turned around and shouted, "Gan Ning, go and invite that old man just now to come over, I was going to ask!" ”

Hu Zhao's words echoed in his ears again: "Does the general know the strength of the Tianxia Clan?" To sum up, half of the land in the world is out of ten, and all the Han and thousands of officials are out of their doors! Even the struggle between China and the DPRK and the foreign dynasties is just a struggle for power between the clans! ”

"The power of the Son of Heaven is about to be hollowed out by the scholars! Otherwise, how could the first emperor and the current son be the party twice? In the long run, the country will not be a country! ”

"Actually, master, you are going to take up the post this time, ......" Mo Rang smiled bitterly again: "I really should invite Master Liu Tao, with his many years of experience in the ups and downs of the Huanhai Sea and his talent for seeking the country, the help for you to enter the Bohai Sea will be immeasurable!" ”

"His heart is still not at peace," Nan Ying looked at the old man who staggered from the bumpy road in the distance, his face was a little bitter: "Because he hasn't finished his bumpy road yet!" ”

When Gan Ning showed the token of the military horse, the old man's face changed, and he could only tell the truth.

The land tax of the Han Dynasty is only 30 yuan and 1, and the tax is only 55 yuan per hectare a year, but the poll tax and miscellaneous taxes are ridiculously heavy, each household needs to pay 200 yuan per year, and adult men have to pay 300 yuan a year. In addition, all children aged 1~14 years old, regardless of men and women, have to pay 23 yuan a year, plus other calculations, contributions, palace repair money, and army maintenance money...... If the wind and rain are smooth, but in recent years, the plague has been raging, causing one of the ten losses to the people of the world, so the loss is still thanks to the best ending of Nanying and Zhang Ji to turn the tide, and then there is the turmoil of millions of yellow turbans that swept the world, which has dealt a fatal blow to the country's agriculture and economy, and as for the Liangzhou rebellion and the disasters that have occurred one after another in various parts of the world, it is even worse.

Under the continuous harsh living conditions, apart from the powerful clan landlords, there were hardly many self-supporting yeoman farmers who could engage in production unaffected, and of course it was impossible to fulfill the various taxes and servitudes that had increased due to the increasing financial constraints of the imperial court.

In the face of a mountain of heavy taxes, it was a felony not to be able to pay them, and it was even more a felony to want to flee in exile, and in desperation, the bankrupt peasants had only one way to choose: sell their land, or even sell themselves into slavery, in order to avoid the taxes of the court and the punishment of the local government. This old man signed a contract of sale more than a year ago, and became a tenant farmer of a nearby clan, although he lost his land and freedom, but fortunately, this suzerain is still a generous person, although he took away the fruits of the tenant farmers' production, but left the tenant farmers with all the guarantees to live, so that they can continue to reproduce and live, in addition, the suzerain also provides security guarantees to the tenant farmers, and will also give some items during the New Year's holidays. Over time, the tenant farmers and servants seemed to come to terms with this life, and their hearts became more and more numb, until they lost the consciousness of resistance altogether. In such a troubled time, it is enough to be able to survive!

If you want to survive independently, you can only sit and wait; Instead, they are willing to be slaves, and they can survive! This is the current situation of the poor people of Dahan today! So, did the existence of these so-called clans play a role in alleviating social contradictions and improving social production? Or has it brought even more disaster to this already devastated world?

Nanying fell into deep contemplation, not even noticing when the old man was leaving. Finally, he slowly raised his head and said his final words: "Cancer! It's a cancer! ”

"What?" Mo Rang didn't keep up with his train of thought for a while, and couldn't help but be stunned: "Master, what kind of cancer are you talking about?" ”

"If the scholar clan is a stubborn disease, then the clan is a cancer!" Nan Ying's cold voice did not carry a trace of emotion: "The combination of the scholar clan and the clan is the intersection of evil and poison, and it is destined to become the cause of death of a dynasty!" At the same time, they are the root of the evil that has caused hundreds of millions of people to never recover! ”

"Master, is there something ...... you said this" Mo Rang's face changed slightly, he also greatly despised the evil behavior of the clan to suck human blood, but he never thought that Nanying would hate it so deeply.

"Is it an exaggeration? No! Nan Ying pointed to the old man's back: "I can easily destroy the body of one or even countless people, but I can never do it: kill the soul of a person!" Look at these people, their hearts have long been numb, although they are alive, they are actually dead! Because, they don't have any hope anymore, they just live to live! ”

Mo Rang trembled slightly, unable to speak.

"Even an empire that spans the whole world is made up of everyone, just like a tower, the bottom stone of which is thousands of people!" Nan Ying suddenly felt a little in a trance: "If even the hearts of the people are dead, can such an empire still exist?" The building is about to fall, and it is in front of you! If a strong enemy invades at this time, you and I will become slaves of the country! ”

He turned his head and stared at Mo Rang's gradually constricting pupils: "Tell me, am I exaggerating now?" ”

"I see what you mean, but master!" Mo Rang looked at Nanying's deep and unfathomable eyes, and a chill poured out uncontrollably in his heart: "Hugh said that the pattern of the world has been formed, and there are countless powerful clans in various places, and it is this Bohai Sea, most of the people are already attached to their wings, how can we turn the tide?" ”

"If you can't do it in one county, you will come from one pavilion to another, and if you can't do it in one day, you will come every year!" Nanying took a deep breath: "My heart is not dead yet, so I am still alive, so I still have the guts to try it!" ”

He looked at Mo Rang's gradually pale face and nodded slightly: "You guessed right! I was hesitant before, but from this day forward I will be the enemy of all the nobles and clans, or rather, the whole world! ”

"In order that the people of the world may be truly free!" He said word by word: "I will not hesitate to fight!" ”

"Shang Tong! And love! Mo Rang read blankly: "A dream that even my Momen can never reach, today I heard such bold words from the mouth of your lord... Make it unforgettable! ”

"Sir, you have lost your temper!" Nan Ying suddenly smiled: "It's better to call me master, but it is possible to expose your identity if you call me master!" Hey? That's like a high wind! ”

The knights in the distance gradually galloped closer, Gao Feng jumped off his horse, hurriedly came to Nanying's side and said, "My lord, I'm afraid your private visit is going to end early!" ”

"Is something big wrong?" Nan Ying said lightly, he pointed to the horse team in the distance: "Go!" Even walk and talk! ”

"Yes!" Gao Feng nodded and said, "The lord is not in the county these days, and Mr. Jia is temporarily in charge of government affairs. A few days ago, various counties came to report that a large number of bandits had appeared in the territory, and they had already looted seven or eight dock walls......

"What?" Nanying and Murjean shouted together.

Mo Rang's voice was full of surprise, but Nan Ying's eyes were bright, he jumped on a horse vigorously, and laughed: "Good! Ben finally has a chance! ”