Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

Hanyang City, East Market.

Inside a bun shop.

Xia Mingyuan looked at Lu Xiucai who was eating voraciously and waved to the waiter to bring two more drawers.

"Eat slowly, no one will compete with you."

"Tell me, how did you, a scholar with a good education, end up in this situation and almost get arrested and forced into the army?"

Lu Xiucai wiped his nose with his dirty sleeve, then said tearfully, "My benefactor, you don't know how hard life is for the people of Hanyang City."

"I copy letters for people every month, but I can only earn one or two taels of silver. Every time the government suppresses bandits, they ask for donations of five taels."

"My mother is already seriously ill, and the monthly medicine bills are already leaving our family struggling to make ends meet. At the beginning of the year, the government seized five taels of silver from the bandits, and now, less than six months later, they're asking for another five taels."

"Even if I sell everything I have, I can't come up with five taels of silver."

"Two bandit suppressions in half a year? The bandit problem in Hanyang is so serious?" Xia Mingyuan looked a little surprised. "If this is the way it is, how can the people survive?"

"Who wouldn't be!" Lü Xiucai said with tears in his eyes, "I don't think my benefactor is from Hanyang, is he?"

"You may not know this, but the bandits in Hanyang seem to be endless."

"A few years ago, there was the Evil Wolf Gang and the Two Tigers Mountain. The government sent troops to eliminate them year after year. Whenever the government sent troops, all the people in Hanyang had to pay."

"Just before the New Year, the government won a great victory, finally wiping out these two gangs of bandits. But within three months of peace, the Poison Dragon Gang, the Cold Blade Village, and even the Night Rain Tower have sprung up like mushrooms after rain."

"These three families are more violent than ever, burning, killing, looting, and oppressing the people. They even dare to steal the government's disaster relief grain. The county magistrate can no longer tolerate this, so he waved his hand and asked everyone to donate money to suppress the bandits."

Xia Mingyuan couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

He glanced at Lu Xiucai and said calmly, "Go on, and talk while you eat."

Lu Xiucai thanked him profusely, but just swallowed his saliva and did not touch the buns on the table.

"Ordinary people need to donate two taels of silver per household, but if you have any business, you need to donate five taels per household."

"My father died early, and I have no strength left. I can only do accounting and copying letters to earn money to support the family."

"But I didn't expect them to say that I was doing business and had to pay five taels."

"If these five taels of silver were only paid once a year, I could still find a way to scrape together the money. But now it's twice a year. Not only me, the letter copyist, but every business owner on this street is complaining bitterly!"

Xia Mingyuan frowned and nodded slightly. Ten taels of silver per year is equivalent to a family's annual expenses for food, clothing, housing and transportation.

If you run a small business in the city and rent a store, the annual cost will not exceed this amount.

Once the government collects this money, I'm afraid even those wealthy families will have no surplus food.

Lü Xiucai seemed to have opened his mouth. Before Xia Mingyuan could ask any more questions, he sighed and said, "If you don't pay the money by the stipulated time, they won't beat you or scold you, but will draft you into the military camp as a death squad."

"When we go to war with bandits, they don't even give us proper weapons. We have to fight those bloodthirsty bandits with our bare hands. Every year, not a single man who is sent into exile comes back alive."

Zhao Hongying frowned. "So, doesn't that mean that all the people in the city have no way to survive? They might as well just go up the mountain and become bandits."

"Or maybe there are always people who want to escape from Hanyang?"

Lu Xiucai said, "This young lady is right. According to my observation, not only have the people in the city lost their livelihood, but life in the countryside is even more miserable."

"In the past two years, everyone has realized that being captured and forced into exile is worse than becoming a bandit. In just six months, the largest Poison Dragon Gang has already grown to 5,000 to 6,000 followers."

"As for the escape you mentioned..." Lü Xiucai gave a wry laugh. "These people have families to support, and with household registration restrictions, where can they run? Even if they had the courage to run, they would either become refugees and be captured and forced into exile, or be killed by bandits."

"I did some calculations a few days ago. In just six months, the population of Hanyang alone has dropped by 20%. The countryside is likely to be even worse off!"

Xia Mingyuan had a gloomy face and didn't speak for a long time.

It seems that the water in Hanyang is much deeper than he imagined!

The people's lives are in turmoil because of the bandits, and they have no time to farm or buy property. How can he develop?

Suddenly, Xia Mingyuan looked at Lu Xiucai curiously, "Yangcheng's population has decreased by 20%. How do you know all this?"

Lu Xiucai smiled awkwardly, "When my father was alive, he taught students some mathematics.

On weekdays, I set up a stall on the street, and in my free time, I would observe the flow of people in several places. On average, the number of people in each place has decreased by 20% compared to the past..."

Xia Mingyuan's eyes lit up and he was secretly delighted.

This Mr. Lu is really a talented person.

Previously, he was worried that this guy was just a nerd who could only read the Four Books and Five Classics, but now it seems that the five taels of silver are really worth spending.

In the future, letting this person manage logistics and military supplies for me will definitely be very handy.

However, Lu Xiucai's character still needs to be observed and tested.

Just as Xia Mingyuan was thinking, Lu Xiucai suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Xia Mingyuan.

"Benefactor, the saints often say that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring."

"Today, you gave me five taels of silver and saved my life. In Hanyang City, if you need anything, just send me there. I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

"It's just outside Hanyang City," Lu Xiucai hesitated for a moment, "My mother is paralyzed at home, and I can't go far. I still hope that you will..."

Xia Mingyuan smiled, waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you leave here in a short time."

"Go home today and come find me at the Princess's residence tomorrow. I will find you a job."

"Benefactor!"

Lu Xiucai was so grateful that he almost fell to his knees.

"My benefactor, I have been wandering for half my life, and I only regret that I have never met a wise master. If you will not abandon me, I am willing to..."

Xia Mingyuan quickly reached out to stop him, "Alright, alright, don't say that. Just work hard for me, and I won't let you down."

As he spoke, Xia Mingyuan thought for a moment and took out another ten taels of silver from his pocket, "Take this money home and find a better doctor for your mother."

"When I have time, I will visit your mother at home."

Lü Xiucai froze in his tracks, staring blankly at Xia Mingyuan. "Aren't you afraid, benefactor, that I might run away with the money?"

That's a full ten taels of silver.

From beginning to end, Xia Mingyuan never even asked his name.

Xia Mingyuan said calmly, "It's only ten taels of silver. If you really take this little money and run away, it means I have misjudged you. You will never accomplish anything great."

After saying this, Xia Mingyuan paid for the meal and left with Zhao Hongying.

Lu Xiucai finally came to his senses and hurriedly chased after him.

Looking at Xia Mingyuan's back disappearing before his eyes, he suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.

Getting up from the ground, he went back to the bun shop, asked the owner for a few lotus leaves, wrapped the two untouched trays of buns on the table, carefully put them in his arms, and ran home.