The Qi troops besieging Datong conducted exercises under the city every day.

Sometimes there is only queue training, the neatly arranged infantry phalanx under the Datong city wall constantly changing fancy formations, the red military uniforms make the soldiers extremely conspicuous, the newly issued high leather boots rattle on the ground, and the long spears reflect the sun, adding a touch of coldness to the hot weather in early summer.

Dressed in dazzling silver cuirass, a long-pointed cuirassier with a red tassel on a brass helmet, riding on a tall Pars/Mughal half-breed horse and holding a spear with a pennant, marched in majestic steps, like a dressage on a racetrack.

From time to time, an officer gave an order, and the cavalry immediately launched a flood of attacks on the imaginary enemy, and the imaginary enemy was knocked to the ground and trampled to powder at the sound of horses' hooves.

There were also a few days when the Qi army conducted live-fire exercises, and the most brilliant team at this time was naturally the artillery with good sound and light effects.

Four-pound cavalry artillery, six-pound, eight-pound, and ten-pound field artillery, eighteen-pound siege cannon, and thirty-two-pound siege mortar artillery were generally densely lined up together, and solid bullets were frantically poured into the target area not far away.

In order to improve the ornamentality, the Qi army even secretly buried some gunpowder in the target area and detonated it during the shelling performance, creating a false impression that the Qi artillery was indestructible to the enemy who watched the excitement on the Datong city wall not far away.

That's right, when the Qi army was exercising, their current enemies were watching the excitement from a high place.

In fact, after more than ten days of siege, the Qi army had already won the trust of ordinary people in Datong through practical actions, and even some of the soldiers became no longer panicked.

After that, the exercise of the Qi army not far from the city wall became a kind of carnival, everyone sat in the city, eating snacks and drinking tea, just like watching a big drama to enjoy the gorgeous queue change and fireworks display of the Qi army.

Except for Shihou himself and their most diehard cronies, no one felt that the Qi army was a threat to Datong City—because the Qi army was so strong, so strong that everyone knew that if they had any ill will towards the city, no one could stop them in the slightest.

Since they still haven't shown any malice, they are naturally not malicious.

Simple, right?

In fact, the Qi army not only had no ill will towards the people of Datong, but even took the initiative to show some special kindness.

The greatest demonstration of this kindness was that the Qi army allowed the common people to go out of the city to take care of their few acres of thin fields outside the city.

For the Han people, allowing everyone to cultivate the land with peace of mind is the greatest good governance.

It's just that the officers of the Qi army clearly told them that regardless of whether the property rights of these lands belong to individuals or the herds, they will not have to pay a wide variety of taxes according to the rules of the herds this year - this year's taxes in Jin Province will be implemented in accordance with the laws of the Qi State.

This makes it very clear that the Qi army is not without malice, but the malice is all concentrated on Shihou.

Even the poorest of the common people can understand that the Qi people overturned the tax rules set by Shihou and enforced them for more than ten years, so they naturally did not recognize Shihou's control over Jin Province.

What they want is the entire Jin Province, and everything in this land, but they don't want the world.

……

Yang Laoqi has no interest in the wonderful performances outside the city.

Because he is a tenant, he will not eat for a day without ploughing.

So after discovering that the Qi army did not stop the peasants who went out of the city to cultivate, Yang Laoqi took the hoe and the flat burden and went straight to the fifteen acres of sloping fields he rented outside the city.

In order to avoid the military disaster, he has not been out of the city for more than ten days, and now the field must be overgrown with weeds, and the slope field is insufficient, so Yang Laoqi has to pick up some manure along the way.

Well, you have to pick some water to water in the field, in short, the farm work can never be done, and the croppers have no leisure to watch any big plays, which are all enjoyed by the city people.

Today is the twenty-third day of the seventh month, the twenty-second day of the siege, and the eighth day of Yang Laoqi's cultivation out of the city.

In the previous eight days, he went out of the city smoothly, and the soldiers of Qi State gave him a wooden card, telling him that no one would stop him when he went out of the city with this in the future, and Yang Laoqi was very obedient, so he has not been hindered in any way for the past eight days.

It's just that today seems to be a little different, as soon as Yang Laoqi just left the city, a young man with a smile on his face and a somewhat round face came to Yang Laoqi's side and asked in a low voice:

"Uncle, do you go out of the city to work?"

Foreign accent, don't think about it, a Qi countryman.

Although it was a little unsettling to be stopped by a Qi countryman, Yang Laoqi didn't dare not hear it, he replied honestly: "Well, go and have a look on the ground." ”

"Does my husband own land, or does he rent someone else's?"

Hearing this question, Yang Laoqi, who had an excellent temper, was a little angry, and he replied impatiently: "Rented." ”

After the imperial court moved south to the establishment of the Qi State, the situation in Jin Province was much better than that of Qi Province, but it did not mean that Jin Province had not suffered from military disasters, and the result of the common people's reliance on the protection of the world was that the yeoman peasant class had completely disappeared in Jin Province.

Now the Eight Great Candidates have occupied more than eighty percent of the cultivated land in Jin Province, and the remaining bit of land also belongs to a few small and powerful large landowners - in fact, they are also distant relatives of the Lords, otherwise it is impossible to own their own land in this damned era.

"Rent land to plant?" The little fat man didn't seem to notice Yang Laoqi's impatience, and still said with a smile: "How much did you rent?" How much can I get in a year? ”

"I can't collect much, I eat according to the sky."

This is also normal, because the people control the means of production such as land, population, livestock, etc., but only think about how to squeeze more wealth out of the common people, rather than find ways to increase productivity.

There are almost a dozen kinds of taxes related to water conservancy in Jin Province, but the water conservancy project has not been updated at all for more than ten years.

It is already very polite to say that it is to watch the sky and eat, but in fact, the people of Jin Province now, even if God appreciates their faces, may not be able to avoid disasters.

The little fat man smiled even more happily, he looked at the dung basket picked by Yang Laoqi, and whispered: "The rented field, the land must be insufficient, right?" Do you want to get a lot of manure every day? ”

"Yes!" This topic successfully aroused the interest of Yang Laoqi.

The importance of manure for crops is self-evident.

Only, where is the manure so much?

Moreover, the weathermen collect a big dung tax.

"The military camp of the Qi country over there." The little fat man pointed to the continuous tents of the Qi army and said: "Where are there almost 100,000 people, they don't farm the land as soldiers, how many do they have every day?" ”

"Boy, I contracted to clean the toilets for them, and all their manure is a boy, as long as you leave saltpeter for them."

The little fat man smiled:

"Boss, you must be able to hear, the kid is not a local, this job can earn a lot, but it needs a lot of manpower, the kid is lacking now is manpower, if the boss is willing, come every morning and evening to help the boy work, clean up the toilet of the Qi army, the boy ensures that the boss has endless manure!"