Zhu Youzhen planned his grand cause in the Qianqing Palace, and Li Xiao had no choice but to go to the funeral.

Vassal King! Since the successful rebellion of Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, this group has been the object of special care by the Ming Emperor. Whatever the reason, you are not allowed to leave the domain without the will of the imperial court. On weekdays, even if you go out hunting, you have to report to the local chief.

However, they are all descendants of the Zhu family, and the Zhu family can be regarded as having their shares in the world. Every year, the treasury will allocate special silver to support these high-level royal families. As a descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang, except that he is not very free, everything is still good.

In Shandong, there is a vassal king who has been inherited for many years, King Lu!

Since the first Lu King Zhu Tan, this family has been with the Ming Dynasty in Yanzhou for more than 200 years. Just three days ago, Li Xiao got the news. Zhu Shouyong, the king of Lao Lu, hung up, leaving a courtyard of women and six sons to travel westward with a crane.

There is such an important person under his rule, and Li Xiao, as the governor, naturally wants to go to pay respects. Along the Jinan road to the south, is the fiefdom of King Lu Yanzhou.

When the governor travels, he naturally has to have a guard of honor and an escort. Man Ye took the cavalry he had just finished changing to escort Li Xiao. Two hundred cavalry in front opened the way, and five hundred cavalry in the back. In the middle, 1,300 cavalry guarded Li Xiao's Chinese army. In the Chinese army, there are even mortars carried by horse-drawn carts.

The reason why he is so arrogant is because Li Xiao wants to use this armed parade to let the local officials of Daozhou, Prefecture and County see that Lao Tzu, the governor, has soldiers. Lao Tzu's soldiers are not those miscellaneous soldiers in the guard, they are really capable of fighting. Of course, after leaving Jinan Baili, there were endless bandits along the way, which was also the reason why Li Xiao brought so many soldiers.

As the only type of troops in Li Xiao's army that still needs to wear armor. The cavalry under the man, the cuirass of the European cavalry of Yishui. Put aside the protection of this thing, as a cool honor guard, that's really good.

The bronze-plated helmet and cuirass, shining golden in the sun, look rich and rich. The front face of the war horse is also wrapped in this armor. From a distance, it looks like a team of robots marching on the land of Qilu in autumn. A large group of people marched on the official road, shaking people so much that they couldn't open their eyes. From a distance, it looks like a god's residence.

Seeing the people kneeling on the ground in surprise, Li Xiao knew that his goal had been achieved. Everywhere he went, the local governor did his best to welcome the team. Even if the treasury is emptied, it is absolutely necessary to do a good job in reception.

I don't know if I don't walk around Shandong, as long as I come out, there will be new discoveries. Li Xiao found that Shandong, which is more than 100 miles away from Jinan. It is simply two worlds with Shandong outside Jinan!

Walking into an unknown village, the villagers burrowed into their thatched huts like frightened rats.

Thatched huts have been the dwellings of the poor since the Spring and Autumn Period. Thousands of years have passed, and Li Xiao can still see this ancient building. The roof is covered with weeds, and the walls are made of adobe. The industrious Chinese people, everything they do comes from the land, including their dwelling.

Many households are mixing weeds with live yellow mud and smearing them on top of adobe houses. It is said that this will help keep you warm in winter!

The windows and their frames are made of wooden nails, covered with thatch, and the outside is plastered with yellow mud for all the methods of keeping out the cold.

Li Xiao walked into a house, and the unkempt guy knelt on the ground, his body shaking like chaff. In the corner of the thatched hut, a woman was huddled. The old hen wrapped her arms around a couple of equally unkempt children!

The children tried to squeeze their mother's body, which reminded Li Xiao of the piglets who grabbed milk and ate.

The woman's hair was messed up like a ghost, and her eyes widened in terror. I don't know if I didn't wash my face, or if I deliberately smeared the ashes on the bottom of the pot, and it was black as if I had African blood. The floor was covered with mats and straw. The woman's feet peeked out from under a bed of black wool that looked like tattered cotton wool. Barefoot, no shoes. Li Xiao estimates that there are no shoes in women.

It was a family of people who were extremely destitute both mentally and materially, and a bed was a luxury for them. The hot kang was a technological product for them, with a few sticks supporting a tripod from which a stone pot was hung.

The light was so poor that Li Xiao had to get closer to see what was inside. As soon as I got closer, there was a smell of grass rushing to the brain. There was a pot of green stuff in the stone pot, and it was still steaming. Li Xiao scooped it inside with a spoon, and the innermost child let out a howl to protect the food. wanted to run over, but was held down by the old lady.

"It's just autumn, so there's no food at this time." Li Xiao couldn't understand that he had just eaten wild vegetables in autumn? The Yellow River is flooded in Heze, but isn't it here? I haven't heard of a drought or a locust plague, so don't you have such a hard time?

"Back to ......! If you go back to the old man, you will have some leftover food when you go to rent. Now while there are still some wild vegetables, I will wait for a few days. If you can save food, you can save it, otherwise you will run out of food in winter, and there will be no wild vegetables. The family will have to drink the northwest wind! The man kneeling on the ground was very afraid of Li Xiao. The speech was stumbling, and Li Xiao couldn't understand the thick Shandong accent, and he needed a translator from the local officials around him to know.

"Is this the poorest family, or is it all the big guys?" Li Xiao put down the spoon in his hand and turned back to ask the chief security officer behind him.

"If you go back to your lordship, although this family is poor, it is not the poorest. The Zhuang family is like this, half a year's grain and half a year's food are improvised. ”

"Is there anyone poorer than this?" Li Xiao was so shocked that his mouth grew. This family is so virtuous, poorer than this family, what does it look like?

"Yes!"

From the answer of the chief of the security guard, Li Xiao knew the bitterness of the peasants. They toiled every day, but in the end, they could not even provide food and clothing. As long as the weather is warm, wild herbs are an essential food substitute. Li Xiao was even outside and saw wild vegetables being dried. It is estimated that in winter, these sun-dried wild vegetables will also become food in the mouths of the poor.

Poverty accompanies them like maggots on tarsal bones. And not only them, but also their descendants. I don't believe that the people who killed Li Xiao would send their children to study if they couldn't even eat enough. In their view, after the child can leave, he is labor, and he needs to help the adult to work in the field.

After walking several families in a row, Li Xiao finally had an intuitive concept of poverty in Shandong.

When I first arrived in Shandong, I was on the coast, and when there was a famine, people there could go to the sea to catch some fish and shrimp to satisfy their hunger. As long as there is no lack of arms or legs, life can always be passable.

But when he arrived in the inland of Shandong, Li Xiao knew what poverty was. It was really without clothes and food in the mouth. This is still a good year, if the year is bad, people who sell their children and daughters will spontaneously form a human market. Ignorant children will be picked and sold like commodities.

Leaving the villager's house, it is in the center of the village. There is a large courtyard with three entrances and three layers, and the courtyard is surrounded by a blue brick wall as high as one zhang, swearing that the owners of this family and the farmers belong to two worlds.

In front of the black lacquer gate, there stood an old man dressed well. Surrounded by a group of sons and grandsons, they prepare to meet the governor. On the side of the black lacquered gate, there are two stone statues that resemble more poodles than lions. This means that this family belongs to the official gentry, and this old guy or the son of the old guy is currently working as an official in the imperial court.

"Old decay Sun Damao greets the governor!" The old guy saw Li Xiao coming over and arched his hand at Li Xiao. This confirms Li Xiao's conjecture that people with meritorious names do not need to give courtesy to court officials.

But there are exceptions to this, if it is the time of Xuezheng Wu Chang. Li Xiao believes that this guy will definitely kneel down and bow down.

Except for a few who bent down to salute, the rest fell to their knees. Li Xiao counted them, and it seemed that this family was amazing. A big family in the countryside actually has five famous people. This is definitely a big family in the countryside that is a poetic heirloom.

"Sun Damao! What are you known for? Li Xiao looked at Sun Damao and asked.

"The old man is the twenty-first year of Wanli, and my youngest son Xuecong is the second year of the first emperor. Now I am working in the Beijing Hanlin Academy! Speaking of his youngest son, this Sun Damao is proud.

"It turned out to be an old gentleman, disrespectful! Disrespectful! Excuse me! Sure enough, it was an official's family, Li Xiao raised his hand with a smile, signaling everyone to be exempt.

Accompanied by the main family, Li Xiao walked into the large courtyard of the Sun family. This courtyard is called a big one, and the main hall and big house are about to catch up with the governor's yamen hall. On both sides of the main hall stood two maids and two servants, both of whom hung their heads and looked at the ground.

"The old gentleman is the biggest family here, right?" Seeing such a magnificent house, this guy must be a big landowner.

"Huh! The old decrepit ancestor once followed the dragon and followed Emperor Taizu to fight the Mongol Tartars. Later, the imperial court of accumulated military merits gave such a piece of land, and my family took root in Shandong for more than 200 years.

In the past 200 years, the accumulation of family ancestors over the generations can be regarded as some savings. Since the second year of Wanli, this Zhuangzi has been renamed Sunjiazhuang. Because eighty percent of the land in this village is my grandson's family. Over the years, some people have sold their fields and come to my house as tenants. Calculate, the land around this Sunjiazhuang, except for a few small pieces, is the property of my Sun family. After counting, there are still three to five hundred hectares. The old guy saw Li Xiao with a smile on his face, thinking that his son who was an official in the Hanlin Academy in the capital had a great reputation.

I can't help but show off my thoughts, and show off my family background very ostentatiously. Li Xiao saw a smile of pride and confidence on his face.

Li Xiao nodded, an old rich man in the countryside. They can have hundreds of hectares of land, and the gentry of their family do not have to pay taxes and serve forced labor. No wonder it is said that this Shandong is such a large place. So little tax every year!

The Sun family said that there are still a few small areas in Sunjiazhuang that do not belong to their family, and it is estimated that these families will not last long. The performance of the officials assigned by the imperial court is fixed, since the Sun family does not pay taxes. Then the tax can only fall on those small households, and this is the case. It is better to sell the land to the big households, and be a tenant willingly, and you can always save some taxes.

"Old lady Sun is a well-known and kind family here, I heard that the governor was passing by, and specially vacated the house at home for your lord to rest." The county magistrate, who had been following Li Xiao, hurriedly carried Old Man Sun to speak.

"Thank you so much, but the house was vacated for me...... Where does your family live? "Li Xiao came out with more than 2,000 people, and this courtyard is full enough to live. Li Xiao is very curious, where is Old Man Sun's family going to live?

"Huh! Governor Lao asked, Xiao Lao'er has a house five miles away, which is slightly smaller than here. The little old man's family lives there temporarily, and the governor has come from afar, and it is an honor for the old man to come to the old man's home. Old man Sun arched his hand at Li Xiao.

Since Li Xiao became the governor, he has been worshiped like a Buddha like this. Deeply victimized by the feudal society, Li Xiao is now able to stop worrying about these things.

"So that's the case, it seems that Mr. Sun has a good family." People are polite, and Li Xiao also has to praise two sentences.

"Where! Where! There are three such houses in my grandson's house. Ten miles away, my family has a manor. If it's not too far away, ask the governor to rest on the manor. The place there is several times the size of this house. Your attaché is all living in, it doesn't matter. Seeing Li Xiao's politeness, Sun Damao's temper came up again. began to brag about his family background in front of Li Xiao!

Sure enough, yes! It's really a big family, and the taxes that should have been given to the court have been intercepted by them by taking advantage of the loopholes in the system, so how can the hell they not be rich?

"Little Lao'er prepares a little wine banquet to catch the wind for adults, and please don't shirk your lords." Sun Damao finished his posture and began to stutter again.

Li Xiao is the governor of Shandong, if a big official at this level is stuck. In the future, not only will no one dare to bully themselves in Shandong, but they will also be able to use Li Xiao's power to make some big deals. Although the Sun family is a big family, it is nothing in the whole of Shandong. Old man Sun has a positive heart, and he wants to be the largest household in Shandong.

"So! It is better to be respectful than to obey fate. "After a day's journey, Li Xiao was also hungry. Now that Old Man Sun wants to invite guests to dinner, Li Xiao naturally will not refuse.

"Come, set up a feast." Old man Sun gave an order, and a group of servants immediately poured out of the back hall like a tide. Everyone has a tray in their hand, and inside is a dish after a dish. To Li Xiao's surprise, these dishes were still steaming. There are no years of insulated buckets, how the did this.

There are a total of eighteen dishes, which can be regarded as all the people who fly on the ground on land and water. Thinking about the green things in the pot of the Zhuang family he just saw, and then looking at this big dish, Li Xiao feels that these are two worlds.