A group of Zhu soldiers surrounded Li Yan and the Red Lady in the middle, and the first person was Ma Xiaotian.

When the red lady saw Ma Xiaotian, she immediately panicked. The girl's mind is really very weird, the red lady is originally a person who is not afraid of heaven and earth, even against Zhu Yuanzhang, she has the courage to mess around, argue, and even say that she wants to rebel against Zhu Jun for Zhang Yingxian. A woman like this, even if you take a knife and cut her flesh one by one, a full 3,000 cuts, she may not be able to admit defeat, and if she doesn't do it, she will die of scolding.

But she felt a panic in front of a man who had confessed to her, and her high head hung down as soon as she brushed the ground, covering her face with her hands, and looking at her instep, completely in a state of shrinkage.

Li Yan next to him was a little confused, didn't this red lady claim to be a leader of the Zhu army? There are still hundreds of troupe brothers under his hands, how could she see Zhu Jun's people coming, but she shrunk? Could it be that she is not the leader of Zhu Jun at all, and now she is afraid of being exposed, so that's it?

Li Yan was anxious for a while, and hurriedly said: "Don't shrink like this, come out and say something, and introduce me to Brother Zhu." ”

The red lady looked at her nose and nose, and if she didn't speak, she didn't speak, and she didn't even raise her head.

Li Yan smiled bitterly, what's the matter? He saw that the red lady couldn't count on it, so he raised his head and made a circle to the surrounding Zhu soldiers, and finally faced Ma Xiaotian, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "The late birth is Li Yan of Qixian County, and the Apocalypse Ding Mao is a person, and he has something to ask to see the eighth brother of Baishui Zhu." ”

Hearing him call himself Li Yan, Ma Xiaotian was slightly surprised. Hurry up and take a closer look, at the foot of Agate Mountain, Ma Xiaotian and Li Yan actually had a relationship, this look, vaguely like Li Zicheng's military advisor, I couldn't help but be surprised: "You are ...... Li Zicheng's military advisor, you made up the children's rhyme without food? ”

Li Yan said: "It is the late birth. ”

Ma Xiaotian was vigilant in his heart, raised the Pu knife in his hand, and asked, "What are you doing here?" Spread that silly children's rhyme of yours? That's not what you look for to die! ”

Li Yan smiled bitterly: "Late birth...... I heard a lot of things about Eighth Brother Zhu from this girl's mouth, and I was really curious about Eighth Brother Zhu's governing methods. I wanted to come to ask Brother Zhu for advice. ”

Of course, Ma Xiaotian didn't believe that he was here to ask for advice. But when he heard him talk about the woman around him, he also felt curious, so he looked at the woman seriously. I saw that the woman was wearing her hair loosely, obviously not married yet. He was wearing dirty clothes. It's covered in mud and dust. I can't even tell the colors. Keep your head down and don't speak. He couldn't see his face clearly, but he had a vague feeling of familiarity, and he couldn't help but say, "Raise your head." Who are you? ”

Where is the red lady willing to lift, she doesn't know that there are many twists and turns behind her, and the Ma Xiaotian in front of her is still the one who confessed to her and wanted to propose to her. The red lady made up her mind: I won't look up when I die.

Her move made Li Yan even more involved, and Li Yan came to see Zhu Yuanzhang well, but because of a woman next to him who refused to look up even when she died, his identity also looked very weird.

Ma Xiaotian's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Girl, if you don't raise your head and report to your family, I will treat you as a spy." ”

When the red lady heard him drink like this, she was also anxious, what can she do? After thinking for a while, she reached into her arms, took out a handbook and covered her face, covering half of her face, revealing only a glittering eye, and then raised her head. She didn't dare to speak, for fear that Ma Xiaotian would hear her voice, so she changed her voice and said to Ma Xiaotian with a "ventriloquist technique" that she often played when she went to the rivers and lakes: "You don't care who I am, I just brought this son to see Brother Zhu, since the person has been brought, I am leaving." ”

Ma Xiaotian snorted and said, "The appearance is suspicious, how can it be so easy to leave?" Go left and right, and take people down for me. ”

Several soldiers of the Zhu Army surrounded him and stretched out to drag the red lady. But how could the red lady be so easy to hold, she flipped up two whip legs, snapped, and several Zhu soldiers fell to the ground at the same time.

Ma Xiaotian sighed lightly: "I know kung fu!" Dare to come to our Zhu Jun's territory to spread wild......"

The red lady said in a sullen voice: "Don't talk nonsense, call your subordinates to come." ”

The soldiers of the Zhu army shouted: "Let's go up together, and unload this stinky girl with a knife." ”

Ma Xiaotian felt bored in his heart, he always felt a mysterious and mysterious feeling, and he couldn't tell what was going on, but he always felt that the woman in front of him was not the kind of villain who had to be hacked to death with a heinous knife, and it seemed a little inappropriate to let his subordinates cut her down with a knife. So he waved his hand, suppressed the public opinion, and then threw the Pu knife in his hand, and walked out of the field with empty hands: "I'll meet you." ”

The red lady thought to herself: Ma Xiaotian is my defeated general, what is there to fight in this fight? Knock him down in two moves, and then take the opportunity to flash people, there are a few big trees next to him, just climb to the trees, and swing out with strength.

She was sure in her heart, so she also put on a posture to meet Ma Xiaotian's fists and feet.

Both of them are people who have been in the army, and they don't talk much, they start fighting in front of them, their fists and feet are whirring, Ma Xiaotian instantly attacked several punches, and the red lady dodged lightly and returned the salute with her legs and feet. The two of them tumbled and rolled, and they passed dozens of moves at once, and the red lady was amazed in her heart, she and Ma Xiaotian used to make moves, but they couldn't pass two moves and three moves, and they could repel Ma Xiaotian, or beat him to admit defeat and surrender, why did he fight dozens of moves today, and he didn't know whether he won or lost?

She didn't know that Ma Xiaotian used to respect her as a celestial, and she naturally had a heart to give in when she was fighting with her fists and feet, and it was common sense to take the initiative to admit defeat in just a few moves. Now that Ma Xiaotian treats her as a female spy, how can she be easily defeated if she is ruthless?

There are many such innocent little girls in the world, men are good to her, but she thinks that the man is weak and incompetent, and she doesn't know how much hard work the man has poured into it, and when the girls understand this, the man has already been scared away by her, and another woman lives and flies, and then the girl knows how to sigh and understand her naivety.

The two snapped a few more moves, and their fists and feet collided. The red lady felt that Ma Xiaotian's hands and feet were extremely powerful, and every collision made her arms and calves faintly painful, and she secretly screamed in her heart that it was not good, and she wanted to use the flexibility and agility of her body to gain an advantage, but it was not easy, because Ma Xiaotian was not the kind of reckless man like Wang Er, and his flexibility in action was also among the top few in the Zhu army. The Red Lady wants to use tricks to bring him down. But it just highlights Ma Xiaotian's advantages.

The two of them quickly passed a few moves, but Ma Xiaotian felt something from the red lady's body, at this time, the red lady happened to use a trick that Ma Xiaotian was very familiar with, this trick was a trick that the two of them had passed several times before. Ma Xiaotian is very familiar with this trick. I already know what the red lady will do next. He spotted the flaw, took a sharp step forward, and cut into the front of the red lady. One hand grabbed the throat of the red lady, and when he stumbled under his feet, he instantly pressed the red lady to the ground.

With the momentum of pressing her down, another free hand quickly pulled at her face, tearing off the masked handkerchief.

"Red ...... Red girl, it's you! Ma Xiaotian quickly let go of the hand holding her throat, jumped back, gave the red lady room to get up, and a flash of joy flashed in her eyes: "Red girl, you are finally back." ”

The red lady was actually defeated by Ma Xiaotian, and she didn't know what it was like in her heart, she was lying on the ground and didn't get up, she just thought in her heart: It turns out that he can beat me, but he has been letting me before...... Why didn't I find out? Thinking of this, she suddenly felt that Ma Xiaotian's attitude towards her was different from before. He looked at his eyes, no longer the look of deep obsession and courtesy, and there was not necessarily much excitement in his tone, only a joy like seeing an old friend, but it was by no means the expression of a person who loved others.

The red lady was startled, and a carp jumped up from the ground, raised her head, and looked at Ma Xiaotian with strange eyes.

Ma Xiaotian's face did not see a trace of the usual panic when facing her before, but instead there was a kind of calmness and calmness, as if he had grown up a lot. The red lady used to think that Ma Xiaotian was like a child, incompetent, and always doing stupid things, but now she feels that she is even more immature in front of him.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Ma Xiaotian said in a low voice: "Red girl, what happened before...... It's because I'm too immature, I've already reflected on it, you should treat it as if it hadn't happened before, or it had been revealed, go back to Zhu Jun with peace of mind, don't wander around outside, this army is in chaos, and it's not safe for you to run around as a girl. ”

The red lady was dumbfounded, she really couldn't understand what was going on.

Seeing her strange expression, Ma Xiaotian didn't explain, he was now only a little mute in his heart, and his feelings for the red lady had already cooled, so he turned his attention to Li Yan, and thought about it: "Li Yan Gongzi, it seems that the red girl brought you to us, since this is the case, I will take you to see Brother Zhu." He knew that the Red Lady brought Li Yan, there must be something, although the Red Lady was a little naïve, but she was kind-hearted, and would never do anything to be sorry for Zhu Jun, she attracted this person, there must be a reason to attract him, and when Zhu Buggy saw this person, there would naturally be a decision.

Li Yan has eyes and ears, listening to the conversation between Ma Xiaotian and the Red Lady just now, he can also guess eight or nine, at this time he is already convinced that the Red Lady is indeed the leader of the Zhu Army, not to lie to him, so many questions are solved, and he immediately regained his Confucian demeanor, followed behind Ma Xiaotian, and walked towards Guangyuan City.

All the way, I saw a jubilant in the city of Guangyuan, more prosperous than the city governed by the imperial court, and the streets were full of ordinary people, who were carrying large baskets and small baskets of corn cobs on their backs to exchange shopping on the street. This is a must-have scene during the grain harvest season every year. The difference is that in other cities, this scene only happens in October and autumn, but in Zhu Jun's territory, this lively scene happens twice a year.

There are businessmen from Shaanxi on the street, who are shouting loudly "potato for corn" and "delicious taro for corn", it turns out that the sensitive Shaanxi businessmen have long been prepared, in time for the corn harvest, a batch of potatoes from Shaanxi are transported, want to exchange them for corn here, and then bring them back to Shaanxi to resell at a high price.

At this time, Shaanxi is a large producer of potatoes, but there are too many potatoes in Shaanxi, and the people can't eat them at all. Once the problem of food and clothing is solved, people will start to play tricks and enjoy themselves, and the people will want to change their tastes, and it doesn't hurt to eat potatoes all year round? Of course, the merchants seized this opportunity and bought a lot of potatoes at a low price. Transported to Guangyuan, exchanged for corn here and then poured back, so that once and again, you can earn several times the benefits.

In addition to the exchange of taro for corn, there were also merchants who exchanged cloth, porcelain, brocade, salt, and iron for corn, and the streets were full of people. Chattering. It's not prosperous. Li Yan didn't know how long it had been since he had seen such a prosperous and lively scene, and he couldn't help but be very surprised: "Zhu Jun's territory is really different from other territories...... Alas......"

You must know that the places occupied by the 36th Battalion are without exception lifeless. There were no pedestrians on the streets. On the way, I saw only dry bones. Although Li Zicheng has reorganized military discipline and no longer harms good people, he has begun to win the hearts of the people. But Li Zicheng can't conjure up food for the people to eat out of thin air, and the people still have to starve and freeze, can the city prosper in this case?

In addition, although order can barely be maintained in the cities under the rule of the imperial court, a sense of depression can still be seen in the cities, the people are listless, the officials are panicked, and the merchants are closed......

Compared with Zhu Jun's territory, a judgment is made!

Li Yan couldn't help but say to himself: "Is this also the power of productivity?" ”

Ma Xiaotian thought he was talking to himself, but he didn't hear it clearly, so he said next to him: "What did Li Junshi say?" ”

Li Yan shook his head and said, "I didn't say anything...... That's right......" Li Yan's face suddenly turned pale, and he asked Ma Xiaotian, "Have you started collecting taxes?" ”

Ma Xiaotian nodded and said: "The list is open, and the summer levy will start soon, our Zhu Jun is the same as the imperial court, two levies a year, which are selected in summer and autumn, which is just when the two seasons of grain are ripe." ”

Li Yan's heart moved, and he asked again: "I heard the red lady say that your Zhu Jun's tax is three percent, so ...... Will you be like the imperial court, and set up all kinds of names, and collect a few more percent? ”

Ma Xiaotian smiled: "Why are we doing these dirty things? Even if we only collect 30% of the tax in a regular manner, we can't use up so much, hahaha. ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "I understand this truth!" I mean...... Does your army have any corrupt and perverted the law, and reported to Brother Zhu that he collected 30% of the tax, but collected 40% or 50% from the people, and took one or two percent of it into his own pocket, which is the most common trick used by court officials. ”

Ma Xiaotian's eyes flashed, and he smiled: "This kind of thing, of course there will be, a few days ago, there was a small official who relied on his official authority to encroach on the corn that had just been harvested by a common person's family, and tried in vain to get involved with the farmer's daughter...... Zhu Baba said, even if this kind of thing is another five hundred years, it is impossible to completely eradicate it, and of course it is impossible for our Zhu Jun to do it completely. ”

Li Yan's heart tightened, and he asked in a deep voice: "Then what does Bugling Zhu mean, this kind of thing can't be managed, can't it be managed?" ”

At this time, they happened to walk in front of the Ya Square in Guangyuan County, Ma Xiaotian stretched out his hand and pointed to the Pichang Temple at the entrance of the Ya Gate and said, "See for yourself......

Li Yan turned his head and saw a bloody corpse hanging in front of the yamen, the skin of this corpse was peeled off all over its body, and the skin of the person who peeled it off was stuffed with grass, standing next to his corpse...... It was obviously very fierce, which scared Li Yan.

Ma Xiaotian said with a smile: "This is the little official who is trying to be powerful and powerful." ”

"Silk!" Li Yan gasped: "This is handed down by the Taizu of this dynasty, the punishment of peeling and stuffing grass." ”

Ma Xiaotian nodded.

Li Yan shook his head and said: "Forcing each other with violence, officials may not be obedient, the Taizu of this dynasty peeled the skin and stuffed the grass, killing people like hemp, but the officials should be greedy or greedy, and they should still take it, the Ming Dynasty has been towering for more than 200 years, and the bad guys are endless, and it is not that they can be stopped by peeling the skin and stuffing the grass." ”

Ma Xiaotian said with a smile: "Yes, so Brother Zhu also issued two notices, you can read and write, read for yourself, and stick them in front of the yamen." ”

Li Yan turned around to look, and there were indeed two notices posted in front of the yamen, and he looked at them carefully, and the title of one of the notices was called "High Salary and Honest Maintenance," to the effect that the salaries of Zhu Junzhong's officials would be raised and the officials would live a prosperous life. Another notice said that from now on, all the income of officials would be recorded, and if an official suddenly had a large amount of money of unknown origin, he would be waiting to be tried.

Ma Xiaotian said: "Baba Zhu said that improving the income of officials can reduce the occurrence of some corruption from the side. Of course, it is impossible to completely eradicate corrupt officials, we also have to supervise the wealth of all officials, and if someone suddenly inexplicably adds a sum of money, it must be corruption......"

When Li Yan heard this, he was immediately dumbfounded: "Is this okay?" Isn't Zhu Ba afraid that the leaders of his subordinates will turn against him? ”

Ma Xiaotian laughed: "Anti-water? You haven't met Bugling Zhu before, so you don't know what kind of person he is, right? Let's Zhu Jun, who doesn't respect him as a celestial? How dare you oppose his waters? Let alone...... Zhu Bugs promoted us from a grass farmer to the current status, and everyone's life will definitely get better and better in the future, why did he ruin his good future in order to embezzle a few small money? ”

Li Yan carefully savored Ma Xiaotian's words, and couldn't help but feel a little loose in his heart, and secretly thought: I see, in the final analysis, it was Zhu Ba who gave them a lot of wealth, and these riches were so much that they were not interested in playing small tricks to squeeze them from the people, saying that a thousand ways and ten thousand were still a matter of productivity! (To be continued.) )