Others are fleeing famine, but I am a salted fish

Come to think of it, Lin Xiaoyue really didn't intentionally conceal the news of the successful sugar production.

Both sugar and salt are strategic military materials, but people here value salt more and have not yet realized the importance of sugar.

I believe that once they realize this, sugar will become a strategic commodity exclusively owned by the government, just like salt.

Lin Xiaoyue didn't expect to eat alone, but she wanted to be the first to taste the soup. Otherwise, what would she want if she spent a lot of effort to make the white sugar and just gave it to the government for nothing?

But since Uncle Qihua spoke first, this matter will be easier to handle. It's just a matter of getting him in. At worst, we can get the emperor in later.

It's just like an entertainment city. She can get a little profit from it, which is enough for her and her people to win even if they do nothing in their lives.

The Seventh Prince pointed at Lin Xiaoyue's nose and kept saying "you, you, you" for a long time without uttering a complete sentence.

Lin Xiaoyue was too lazy to argue with him about trivial matters. She pulled his arm and talked to him about the profit sharing of the joint venture sugar factory while walking towards the main account.

At the same time, he did not forget to remind the Seventh Uncle that although they had incorporated Sangguo Town into the territory of the Dayuan Dynasty.

But in fact, as a marginalized gateway, the risks are still very high.

If the sugar factory is built here, it may be taken back by Tiansheng's troops at any time. Then, wouldn't the money-making method they have worked so hard to establish be reaped by Tiansheng?

The Seventh Uncle was furious, slapped his thigh, and shouted, "How can that be possible?"

No?

What can I do? ?

Of course, it is to expand the territory!!!

Therefore, before entering the main tent, the two had already set their sights on the large border city of Tiansheng - Loge City, the superior main city of Sangguo Town. It would be a natural thing for them to include it in the territory that would be merged into the Dayuan Dynasty in the future.

As they spoke, the two entered the main tent and had a long secret conversation with the prince and the garrison commander.

-----------------

The days passed slowly and it was mid-December. The weather was cold and the first snow fell a few days ago. The weather turned completely cold and the north wind blew, making my face hurt.

In the border city of Tiansheng, a cold wind was howling in Loge City. The people in the streets and alleys walked through the streets with sorrowful looks on their faces, tightening their clothes.

There were also quite a few shop owners looking out from their store doors, sighing from time to time at the few passers-by.

It's winter and everyone is staying at home to enjoy the winter, but the city is so cold and deserted that apart from the soldiers patrolling the city, there is hardly anyone to be seen for most of the day. If this continues, I'm afraid everyone will have nothing to do.

When it comes to this, people feel so painful.

More than a month ago, we heard that Tiansheng and Jin Kingdom joined forces to attack Dayuan. As the people of the two countries, the natural thing they thought of was that their country had a powerful ally, and this time taking Dayuan would be a piece of cake.

But who would have thought that the two countries dispatched a million-strong coalition army. They were full of vigor and vitality when they left, but were like dogs that had lost their homes when they returned, with only half a hundred of them. It was really sad.

The saddest thing is that many of their descendants who joined the army did not return, and many returned with serious or minor injuries, but how did the army treat them?

An old man in a shop took a deep puff of his cigarette and let out a long breath, unable to help feeling discouraged.

He felt distressed. Although he had four children, the newly appointed empress changed the system and only one adult male was allowed to stay in each family, and the rest were forced to join the army. The four children were filial and could not bear to see their elderly father die on the battlefield, so they packed their bags at night and went to the military camp to report.

And he waited at home with an anxious heart for his children to come back. He waited and waited for a long time, and finally the military camp delivered a letter to him.

Of the four children, two died on the battlefield, with no one to collect their bodies; one had his hands and feet blown off by some new weapon from Dayuan, and after returning home he didn’t even go home, and died in the camp not long after; the last one was still alive, but had a lame leg...

The old man wiped his face, his eyes were red. He had been sad and angry, and had yelled before, but he had experienced similar things countless times.

But they are just ordinary people with no power or influence. Faced with injustice, life and death, they can only allow those who hold power to enslave and exploit them.

Just when their family was in despair, another round of conscription orders came down. This time, not only men aged 15 to 50 had to join the army, but all men aged 14 to 55 had to be forced to join the army, unless there were no other males in the family.

With such a harsh conscription order, those families that had already lost their main men would not be able to hold on for long, and the remaining elderly and children would die in this harsh winter without the help of their relatives.

The old man was unfortunate because he was also on the second round of conscription list.

But he was lucky, because a few days ago, his two sons who should have died on the battlefield sneaked back and wanted to take him, his old wife, and his lame third son to Dayuan.

The two sons described in great detail the living conditions in Dayuan and the preferential treatment given to prisoners of war. Because they had behaved well and found someone they knew well to act as guarantors, they were able to ask for leave from their superiors and apply to move their families to Dayuan.

I thought the higher-ups would take a long time to consider it, but unexpectedly it was approved the next day. Not only did they get approved, but several of them were approved in a row.

Before he came out, the leader told him to cherish this opportunity. If their brothers left, not only would the person who guaranteed them be punished, but even he, the small leader who helped their brothers submit the application, would not be able to escape.

Thinking of the sighs and lamentations his two sons said when they came back, he wiped away his tears and asked his two sons to take the lame San'er and his old wife away. He could not leave and did not have to leave.

His two sons were anxious for him, so he could only regretfully tell them that his name was on the list of another round of conscription.

He also wanted to leave. People move to live, trees move to die. If he left, there would still be hope. If he didn't leave, he would just wait for death. How could he not want to leave?

But if he left, he wouldn't be able to hand over the people on time when he reported for duty two days later, and the whole village would be implicated by him.

So he didn't dare to leave, and couldn't leave.

The old man tugged at his clothes, replaced the tobacco in the pipe in his hand, lit it, and started smoking again.

Thinking that his son and wife had been gone for several days and should be settled safely, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. But then he thought of his own bleak tomorrow, and the light in his eyes went out again.

All in all, compared to other families, his is considered better off, at least he still has roots.

There are indeed many people who are in a similar situation as the old man.

Since last year, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued. Tiansheng has replaced three emperors in a row, but each one is worse than the last. The people are suffering. Heavy taxes and harsh policies, as well as heavy conscription and corvée labor, have made life increasingly difficult for the people. They are hungry and cold, and have to sell their children...

In such a dynasty, death is better for the people than life.