"That's not what the small ones mean." Pan Yuanyu immediately bowed down and said, looking a little nervous, he knew that he had talked too much, but he really couldn't hold back just now.

He was born in a wealthy family in Qianjing, although his life has also had ups and downs, but no matter how difficult it is, he will not eat or bully in rags, and he has never seen thousands of refugees begging for food together, nor has he seen anyone who can be so "loved" by the poor people.

So inevitably, there were waves in my heart.

That Qiao Shenghu, as the master of the Pure Land Sect, naturally deserved to die for his crimes, but he also did things to accumulate virtue and do good, which made Pan Yuanyu a little contradictory.

Zhou An squinted at Pan Yuanyu for a while, and then slowly moved his gaze, looked in the direction of Qiao Jiabao again, and said, "Do you think that if Qiao Shenghu is not the master of the Pure Land Sect, he is a good person?" Is he really a good man? ”

In the distance, in front of Qiaojiabao, Qiao Shenghu had already entered the porridge shed, personally picked up the spoon, and served porridge for the victims.

"This ...... The little one can't say it......" Pan Yuanyu said, it's not that he can't say it, but he doesn't dare to say it.

"Do you think that the Qiao family occupies forty percent of the fields in Sankou County, how did these fields get into the hands of the Qiao family?" Zhou An asked lightly again.

"Little one doesn't know......" Pan Yuanyu didn't answer again, this time he really didn't know.

"If you don't know, the boy will tell you." Zhou An looked at the direction of Qiaojiabao and said: "Every disaster year, there is a shortage of food, and there is no surplus grain in the local granary, at this juncture, including the Qiao family, the local squire and landlords will stock up the grain at the same time, they have enough grain, but they do not sell it, and they join hands to raise the price of grain, causing the price of grain to soar. ”

"Because the local people can't afford to eat, what should they do? In order to survive, they can only sell their houses and land, and even sell their sons and daughters, they sell all their land and property to the squire and landlord in exchange for enough food to survive the disaster year, after that, the landlord and squire will re-lease the large fields that they have exchanged for a small amount of grain to the people who sold the land, and the peasants who originally had land, the land is gone, and they have become tenants of the squire and landlords, and most of the grain produced in the field every year must be handed over to the landlord's family. ”

In this way, day after day, year after year, as long as there is a disaster year, a large number of landed peasants will sell their land, and the landlords' fields will become more and more, and the landed people will become fewer and fewer...... In the entire Sankou County, more than ninety percent of the fields are in the hands of a few squires and landlords, you say, are they good people? ”

Pan Yuanyu was stunned.

Can you still play like this?!

That's how to play!

What Zhou An told him was just the most basic principle of land annexation, and the methods of the squire and landlords were of course more than that, but in general, this is the model, whether it is a food shortage or a salt shortage, it can make the assets of the squire and landlords skyrocket, and it will make the poor poorer and the rich richer.

Not to mention that in Dongqian, which has been established for more than 300 years, even in the previous life of Zhou An, there will be extremely serious land annexation problems in the middle and late stages of all dynasties and feudal dynasties, and a very small number of people in the whole country control the vast majority of the land, and in the agricultural era, the peasants have no land, and the peasants can no longer survive, so there will be peasant uprisings.

Pan Yuanyu didn't come to his senses for a long time, he was really surprised, these things, he was unheard of in Qianjing City, of course this situation could not happen in Qianjing City, that was at the feet of the Son of Heaven, if Qianjing City also had a food shortage, then this country, I'm afraid it would be hopeless.

In fact, the current Dongqian, land annexation situation, is not so extreme, not to mention the prosperous Zhongzhou, let's say that this Liangzhou is also a prosperous place.

Sankou County is also a remote and poor place in Liangzhou, so it is like this, and if you look at other places, such as the surrounding areas of Sheung Shui County, or the hinterland of Liangzhou, although there are also land annexations, the proportion will not be as exaggerated as Sankou County.

And the poorer the place, the more the common people need spiritual sustenance, they can't live happily, there is no way, they can only find spiritual comfort and security through the "gods", which is also the basis for the Pure Land Religion to preach the entire Dongqian.

"Not to mention the problem of the field, do you know what the Qiao family is doing good for?" Zhou An asked again.

"Not for ...... Missionary......" Pan Yuanyu replied uncertainly.

"Missionary work has been a matter of the past few years, and before Qiao Shenghu returned, the Qiao family was still doing good, and for what?" Zhou Andao.

"This ...... For the sake of good name? Pan Yuanyu's tone was still uncertain.

"They're scared!" Zhou An said directly, "Every disaster year, they want to harm the peasants and take away their land, but they are afraid of civil unrest, thousands of displaced people gather together, when they are at the end of their rope, they will become bandits, they will kill big households, rob food, just to be able to eat more, in order to survive......"

"Just look at these people outside Qiao's fort, if the Qiao family doesn't give porridge, how many of these people will make trouble now? Even if it's just a few people now, what about a long time? If the Qiao family doesn't have a good name, they don't do good soup charity, these poor people will starve to death first, and some people will take risks because of this, they all know that there is endless food in Qiaojiabao, as long as someone is a little bewitched, then these people who are still grateful to the Qiao family will face each other with swords against the Qiao family, and they will break Qiaojiabao......"

Zhou An saw things thoroughly and said them thoroughly.

Pan Yuanyu listened and was speechless for a long time.

******

The soup soup ceremony began in the afternoon and lasted until the evening, and there were 5,000 people who came to Qiao's house to drink gruel.

It wasn't until late at night that the last group dispersed, but they didn't go far, because the Qiao family would continue to hold a soup soup ceremony tomorrow, and the poor could continue to come and drink porridge as long as they bowed to the statue of Our Lady.

One thing worth mentioning is that the sect preached by Qiaojiabao is not the Pure Land Sect, but the Qinglian Sect, and the Holy Mother who bows is the Holy Mother of the Blue Lotus...... But in fact, it is still the Pure Land Religion, but it has just changed its name, because the current imperial court has cracked down on the Pure Land Religion extremely severely, and in many prefectures in the hinterland of the Eastern Dry Dynasty, although the Pure Land Religion can still preach in remote and poor places, it no longer dares to use the name of the Pure Land Religion.

In fact, they are all the same thing, the Pure Land Sect has never used the same name to preach the world, they not only have to guard against the blows of the imperial court, but also against the pursuit and killing of the Jianghu people.

In the middle of the night, the moon is bright and the stars are scarce.

In the depths of the dark forest, Zhou An stood beside the tree wrapped in a big man, nibbling on cold and hard dry food, and there were seven or eight people gathered around him, all of whom were eating silently, and after eating this meal, it was time to act.

The others had already been sent out by Zhou An, either to spy on Qiaojiabao, or to set up a whistle around them.

Squeak! Squeak! Call!

A figure approached quickly, walking through the snow, and when it approached, it accelerated and flew towards it.

"Childe, there is a situation." The one who came back was an old eunuch named Song Chun.

"Huh?" Zhou An looked at Song Chun.

"Over there, in the forest to the south, there is a group of Jianghu people, and it seems that they are also going to make a move against Qiaojiabao." Song Chun said quickly.

"Jianghu people?" Zhou An suddenly frowned, "How many people?" ”

"There are more than a hundred people." Song Chunlian said, "The subordinates got close and eavesdropped, they knew that Qiaojiabao was a branch of the Pure Land Sect, and they said that they wanted to eradicate the Demon Sect......"

"What's the way?"

"I can't tell it, they're all disguised, but it sounds like they belong to the same gang."

Zhou An's eyebrows furrowed even deeper, this is a bad thing!