Chapter 4340: The Beggar from the East China Sea

n Shi."Your aunt, your great-aunt, and your grandmother will all be coming to help later, so you don't need to come." Mrs. Sun said.Yang Ruqing thought for a moment, "Then okay, I'll go to the front h..."Now, even if there were delicacies from mountains and seas, bird's nests and ginseng placed before me, I wouldn't even bother to glance at them." Yang Ruqing said jokingly.

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Luo Fengtang also laughed. "Me too, this meal was delicious, really satisfying!"

Xu Mang said: "We work so hard to earn money, what's the point Isn't it just to eat"

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"Eat your meals well, eat good food, everything else is superficial!"

In the afternoon, two children left their bowls of rice and ran out to play. No one knew where they went to play, anyway, adults didn't interfere with this. During the New Year, it was rare for everyone to gather together, as long as they were happy.

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Xu Mang's wife stoked the two braziers in the main hall, making sure the flames were strong. She offered one to the two men, but they both refused. So, Xu Mang's wife and Yang Ruoqing each took charge of one brazier.

It's so warm and cozy, it feels really good.

As Xu Mang and Luo Fengtang were chatting, the topic suddenly shifted to the interesting anecdotes of Wang Hai County.

"By the way, there have been a lot of beggars popping up in Wanghai County recently. They all speak with out-of-town accents, some even have families with them. This reminds me of that year," Xu Mang said.

"Which year Was it the year that the wealthy Pang Dashi of Huguang County adopted orphans and homeless children" Luo Fengtang asked.

Xu Mang nodded.

Then Luo Fengtang looked at Yang Ruohua.

Yang Ruqing looked at Xu Mang and said, "Brother Xu, when did this situation start Were there many beggars in Wanghai County before"

Xu Mang said: “About from the beginning of December, I think. There used to be beggars in Wanghai County, but not many. Now there are more and more, with families and all kinds – old people, young children, the sick, and the disabled.”

“I asked people among them, guess where they’re from”

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"Where are you from" Yang Ruqing asked curiously.

“To the east, near Tianhai County!” Xu Mang said.

"Also from there" Yang Ruqing was surprised and immediately looked at Luofeng Tang, "The people we met with Brother Xu... wouldn't they be the same group, would they"

Luo Fengtang shook his head, "I'm not sure."

Yang Ruqing then withdrew her gaze and continued to ask Xu Mang, "Xu Big Brother, what were those people like Did they have children, a little girl"

Xu Mang shook his head: "What I asked was about an elderly couple, and they did not bring any children."

"Well, you've met the beggars coming from the east too" Xu Mang asked again.

Yang Ruqing nodded, "Yes, we encountered a mother and daughter. They said they were a family who came here. I asked why, and the mother said there was a famine in their place, and they couldn't get enough to eat."

"But the elderly couple I talked to didn't say they were starving!" Xu Mang said.

"What's that" asked Yang Ruqing.

Xu Mang glanced at Luofeng Tang, his face darkened.

"Brother Xu, just say what you want to say. Between brothers, there's no need to be so cautious!" Luo Fengtang said.

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Xu Mang then continued, "I asked them why they, at their age, would leave home and come here to beg Surely their children are taking care of them"

“They said that in Tianhai County, over the past two years, various exorbitant taxes and levies have been increasing day by day. The output from the fields, the harvest from the workshops, and the profits from the shops all had to be taxed. The tax rates were high, and there were many different types of taxes,"

“Even later on, when a man wanted to marry a wife, the government would extract a certain amount of dowry money, causing many young men in villages to be afraid to marry at the proper age.”

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Then the local government issued a new regulation: anyone of marriageable age who hadn't married and had children would be fined!

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The common people are complaining incessantly, but they dare not speak out. Many people have been driven to desperation and have no choice but to sell their daughters to make a living. Those who bring their families and leave their hometowns are all because they can't bear to live there anymore!

After hearing Xu Mang's words, Luo Fengtang's face darkened.

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“My national army has been stationed near Tianhai County for over two years, and I didn't even know that the people under its jurisdiction were suffering such exploitation As the general protecting the country, I am truly blind and deaf!” He said in a deep voice, each word revealing shock, anger, and self-reproach.

Yang Ruqing said, "It can't be said that way, it's not your responsibility."

Your troops are stationed in the mountains and forests tens of miles outside Tianhai County, bordering the Tongtian River. Your army trains within the forest, under a completely militarized management system, completely isolated from the world. Moreover, you govern your troops with strict discipline, and your subordinates have never troubled the civilians!

"As for those exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes, they are handled by the county magistrate of Tianhai County and other local officials. The responsibility for this lies with them. Your military duty is to protect the country, defend against enemy and rebel forces. If you, the Grand General who protects the country, also have to worry about these trivial matters of local administration, then what's the point of imperial examinations and selecting talented individuals" Yang Ruqing pleaded softly, comforting Luofengtang.

"Qinger, your sister is right. Fengtang, this isn't your fault. It's the Tianhai County officials who are at fault!" Xu Mang also chimed in immediately.

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Luofengtang said, "Brother Xu, Qing'er, there are some things you don't know. This matter is related to me."

"How do you say that" Xu Mang asked again.

Luo Fengtang said: "During the two years our national army has been stationed in Tianhai County, all supplies and provisions for the entire army have been provided. Half were directly allocated by the imperial court, and the other half were requisitioned from the garrison."

“Therefore, the common people of Tianhai County lived in a state of turmoil. Various oppressive taxes and levies suffocated them, forcing them to flee their homes to beg for a living. Our National Guard is not exempt from this plight!”

Upon hearing Luo Fengtang's words, both Xu Mang and Yang Ruqing were astonished.

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Xu Mang said: "Before any military action, provisions must be secured. The reason why our Great Qi state enjoys such a peaceful and prosperous era today, and the people can live and work in contentment without having to endure the baptism of war, is ultimately because you soldiers defend our homeland and resist external enemies."

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"If you hadn't risked your lives and fought hard, would you have this peaceful and prosperous life So, the people pay taxes to support the soldiers, which is only natural. There's a return for every investment, you can't expect the soldiers to bring their own rations from home to fight, can you"

"Brother Xu, what you said makes sense, but right now, there's something that worries me," Yang Ruqing took over the conversation and said.

"What are you worried about" Xu Mang asked.

Luo Fengtang also raised his head to look at Yang Ruohua, waiting for her next words.

Yang Ruqing continued, "It's clearly the local officials who are making trouble, using flimsy excuses to oppress and exploit the common people, leaving them miserable and distressed. In the end, they might even blame it all on the National Guard or Tang Yazi. That wouldn't be right!"

Xu Mang's face also darkened, and he said, "Sister-in-law Qing'er is right to be worried. That's true. At that time, they will plunder the people's wealth themselves, claiming to the outside world that it is to raise supplies for the National Guard. If the common people can't make ends meet, this foolish account will definitely be blamed on Feng Tang, and that won't do!"

Let me know if you'd like me to translate anything else!ed one wife, and they couldn't even tell which brother fathered the children born from that union.Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!Call her wild, call her cunning, cal...