Looking at Chongzhen's betrayal, Hong Ajiu, he didn't know what he said wrong: "It's not all like this. If you want to go back to your family, you will be able to save the imperial grain."

When Chongzhen heard this, his face was a little better, but he was still a little confused: "It should be that he would be exempted from his own food tax and labor service after being admitted to the exam? How can relatives also benefit?"

Hong Ajiu said enviously: "Although that's the case, as long as someone from relatives takes the exam, everyone will devote their land to his name and give him some money and food, so everyone can pay less."

Chongzhen nodded: "Although there is flexibility, it's all."

Zhu Cixuan knew that things were not that simple and asked immediately: "Wouldn't it be useless to pass the exam? How much can a person get?"

Hong Ajiu scratched his head: "I don't know this, but there is a scholar in our neighboring village who has applied to him for hundreds of acres of land. I heard that Wu Juren from Wu Village can get thousands of acres. We don't have that blessing and don't understand."

Chongzhen asked in surprise: "The court stipulated that scholars were exempted from 50 acres of grain tax? Where did hundreds of acres come from?"

Hong Ajiu waved his hand: "Everyone is like this, and the government doesn't care. They are all masters and will be officials in the future. Officials will protect each other. However, if someone is admitted to the entrance exam for fame and fortune, it will be unlucky."

Chongzhen asked strangely: "Why do you say that?"

Hong Ajiu calculated by doing things: "If you get fame and fortune, his family and his relatives don't have to pay taxes, but the official still needs to collect enough of that amount, so it will be divided into other people. Isn't someone singing a song? "Scholars take the exam, neighbors run away. Juren, neighbors are empty. Jinshi gets the whole county hides."

Zhu Cixuan looked at Chongzhen's changing face speechlessly. The impact on Chongzhen was too great. Zhu Cixuan asked Hong Ajiu: "Then you are a family in your village? How many families are there in your village? How many families can have enough food?"

Hong Ajiu thought for a moment: "There are more than 100 households in our village, and there should be seven or eight households who eat full. They have a little land themselves, grow some vegetables and grain to sell them to the capital. People like us who rent land are looking for some work to eat half full during the slack farming period. There are only a few households who are not full. After all, they are under the feet of the emperor, and as long as they are willing to work hard, they can still eat."

Chongzhen was satisfied with this. Zhu Cixuan did not agree with Hong Ajiu's words. Just as he was about to speak, Hong Ajiu's child ran over and said, "Dad, mother said he could eat."

After hearing this, Hong Ajiu laughed: "You wait, I'll bring you food."

There are very few meals served in rural areas. One bowl of rice and vegetables is the correct way to open it. So Hong Ajiu brought the rice with a bowl of millet and wild vegetable porridge and a sorghum steamed bun.

After Chongzhen took it, he looked at the black and red buns, but didn't know how to put them in his mouth. Zhu Cixuan was still a child. He lay on the table with several other children and ate it. Although it was unpalatable, it was not as good as not to swallow it. He took a sip of millet porridge, which was also light.

This was really simple. Looking at Chongzhen drinking millet porridge with a tangled look on his face, even when King Xin was not favored by Wei Zhongxian, he would not rely on mixed grains to satisfy his hunger.

After dinner, Zhu Ciyang said goodbye with Chongzhen. Chongzhen walked silently on the road. After walking for a long time, he asked Zhu Ciyang: "Is life in an ordinary family in the Ming Dynasty so difficult?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head: "Father, I'm afraid the situation is not that optimistic. After all, the capital is under the emperor's feet. Even if everyone's grain harvest is not good, they can still support their families as long as they find some work in the city. However, it is necessary to investigate how the lives of the people in other areas will be found before they know."

Chongzhen nodded silently and asked strangely: "Yan'er, why do you do and see different problems from others? Who taught you these?"

Zhu Cilang proudly raised his neck; "When I was reading, I said that reading thousands of books is worse than traveling thousands of miles. Wang Yangming also said that studying things leads to knowledge, and the same is true. In addition, my child is proficient in mathology and naturally thought of using more mathology methods to look at problems, so it is a bit different from the way everyone sees things."

Chongzhen accepted this explanation, looked at the layout in the village and asked, "Emperor, do we continue to watch it?"

Zhu Cixuan said huh: "We are looking at several poor households to see why their families are poor and why they keep poor. If it continues, they will become refugees. With these data, we can know how to avoid more and more refugees."

Chongzhen sounded very reasonable. Why didn't he think of these problems before? He hurriedly took Zhu Cixuan to ask one by one. The first family borrowed usury because their mother was sick, and the profits were increasing. Zhu Cixuan calculated with him that if it continued, it would probably take less than three years to pay back the minimum interest and could only run away.

The second family has no one. I know from my neighbor that this person is a lazy man. He is usually lazy and does some tricks, eating, drinking, and gambling. He deserves to be poor. However, this kind of person is also the most dangerous, and is most likely to be tempted by money and take risks. It is the most unstable factor in society.

The third household is because the man is sick, the fourth household is because he dies, the man lacks labor force. The fifth household is because there are too many children, and the six children are under too much pressure...

After statistics, Chongzhen has completely gained his knowledge. The Ming Dynasty he saw today is different from the Ming Dynasty he usually heard. It turns out that the book says that he understands the sufferings of the people is like this.

On the way back, Zhu Cilang asked Luo Yangxing to conduct a nationwide investigation according to his request. Isn’t the Jinyiwei just inquiring about the news? It’s enough to be the only one who can do his best.

Chongzhen watched Zhu Cixuan calculate back and forth in the carriage and asked strangely: "What are the gains of the emperor today?"

Zhu Ciyang looked up and said, "I have gained a lot. Have my father ever thought about the issue of military escape?"

Chongzhen did not think about these things. For example, Zhu Ciyang simply calculated: "There were two million military households in the Ming Dynasty, and one person in each family fled, and if one person fled, it would actually flee to two million people. If these people participated in the refugee unrest, they would have many more combat power than ordinary people. And there were many craftsmen among these people. Wouldn't such bandits get the method of manufacturing weapons in the Ming Dynasty?"

Chongzhen was stunned for a moment, pondered for a long time and asked, "What should I do?"

Zhu Cilang thought for a while and said, "It is useless to regret that people have already run away. We can gather skilled craftsmen in the world to develop new firearms, such as Western red cannons, Peruvian guns, etc. Only when the official army has more powerful firearms, can they not be ridden by the peasant army."

Chongzhen was still hesitating, and Zhu Cilang continued: "And Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, Geng Zhongming and the other two defected, not only took away a large number of red-clothed cannons, but also countless craftsmen who made cannons. In recent years, Jiannu firearms have had a tendency to surpass the Ming Dynasty, and have reached the point where Jianlu cannot be defeated without innovation."

Chongzhen nodded: "I will order the Ministry of Works to recruit skilled craftsmen to supervise this matter."
Chapter completed!