Although Er Gouzi said on the surface that he was strong now, he said that he was not afraid to embolden himself. In fact, after returning from Qingzhou City, he hid in Shekou Mountain every day and hardly went out. It is easy to hide from open guns, but difficult to guard against hidden arrows. There is a group of geese on Shekou Mountain to guard against. There is also Chang Ling'er who no one can see, and so many snakes in the snake cave. At the foot of Shekou Mountain, there is also a group of men led by Qiuyue. These are also Ergouzi's subordinates, but they are older and are now responsible for some logistics and other tasks. With this layer of protection, Ergouzi felt much more at ease. On this day, Er Gouzi was tinkering with a puppet on the top of the mountain, when a stream of light flew from a distance. The cyan light flew to the front of Shekou Mountain, and a figure appeared. It was Xia Qingshan of the Xia family. Seeing Xia Qingshan coming in person, Ergouzi was excited. With his sword on his back and Xiao Hei in his arms, he mounted the goose and flew into the sky, fully prepared.
When Xia Qingshan saw Ergouzi, who was fully armed, he was obviously stunned for a moment. It was a bit unexpected, and he frowned. "Counter Zhang, what are you doing?" "I went to the Sanyang County Government Office to look for you, but I couldn't find you." "How can you live up to His Majesty's trust in you and the expectations of the people of Sanyang County if you neglect your duties like this?" Er Gouzi thought that Xia Qingshan did not kill him when they met, but condemned him outright. "Haha! I suddenly realized something recently and went back to the mountain to practice in seclusion for a few days." "It's not like I was a little excited when I saw Master Xia coming in person, so I just flew up to greet you." Since the other party has not taken action for the time being, Ergouzi can only adapt to circumstances. "Master Xia has come a long way. This mountain is simple and simple. Please come to the living room for a cup of crude tea." Ergouzi led Xia Qingshan down to the foot of the mountain and received him in the big blue brick house. Qiuyue brewed a pot of jujube tea and poured it for the two of them. "It seems that your Sanyang County is really a good place for outstanding people." Xia Qingshan held the tea bowl and looked at Qiu Yue and said. "I remember that she poured me tea when I came here last time. At that time, she was just an ordinary peasant woman with no cultivation." "In a short period of time, he has become a foundation-building monk." When Er Gouzi was granted the title of Nongdu Lieutenant by the emperor, Xia Qingshan did come and gave him pills. "Xia Dada has won the prize. We are all ordinary farmers with mud legs." "Thanks to His Highness King Qi for teaching me some skills, and Emperor Longxing Sheng's great kindness, he gave me some training materials. It is all thanks to the kindness of Emperor Longxing Sheng that we, simple farmers, have achieved what we have today. "
Ergouzi still hasn't figured out Xia Qingshan's origin this time. Anyway, it would not be wrong to blame this kind of thing on the emperor and Brother Ji. "I remember that Mr. Zhang once boasted about Haikou and vowed to recover the lost Liusha County and Xiaoyi County. Several years have passed, but there is still no movement. Is Master Zhang trying to deceive you? " "The crime of deceiving the emperor is a capital crime for the nine clans!" Er Gouzi is an honest man and doesn't understand what medicine Xia Qingshan sells in his gourd. We just talked about outstanding people, and now we talk about recovering the lost land, and scare him with the crime of deceiving the king. "I, Zhang Ergou, have received the grace of Emperor Longxing Sheng. I have long been indifferent to life and death. Only the words "loyalty" and "righteousness" always remain in my heart. I am always thinking about how to repay the imperial court and repay the emperor's kindness, even if it means breaking my body to pieces. " Ergouzi was now possessed by the book of sages, and his words were so righteous that even he believed them to be true. "Since you are so loyal, those two counties have been occupied for several years, why haven't you recovered them yet?" Xia Qingshan directly pointed out the contradictions in Ergouzi's words. "well……" Ergouzi let out a long sigh, bowed in the direction of the Great Zhou Capital, blinked his eyes, and tears were already flowing from the corners of his eyes. "Every time I think of monsters invading our territory and hurting our people, my heart is as sharp as a knife and I can't sleep at night." "It is a shame for a soldier to hold a large army and enjoy the emperor's favor, but cannot defend the land and bring peace to the people." "I, Zhang Ergou, am by no means that old turtle who is greedy for life and afraid of death. It's just that the time has not come yet." "Nowadays, the monster is very powerful. The general has hundreds of thousands of troops, and there are as many powerful generals under his command. However, the monster also defeated him and left him with no helmets and armor, and he lost the city and the territory." "There are only three or two big cats and kittens in Sanyang County. We must accumulate some strength to regain the lost ground in one fell swoop." Er Gouzi said that when his time had not come, he also gave Xia Mingyuan a severe beating. After hearing these words, Xia Qingshan's mouth twitched, his facial muscles twisted slightly, and his eyes stared at Er Gouzi. At the same time, a pressure from the late stage of Jin Dan came over. Er Gouzi felt the pressure of this spiritual consciousness, like a warm spring breeze blowing gently, very comfortable. However, he didn't want to reveal the abnormality in his consciousness, so he used his magic power to hold back a profuse sweat, looking very uncomfortable. "My lord, Commander-in-Chief, you have your own reasons for temporarily avoiding the edge. You can't make such arrogant opinions!" “I’m here just to give you a chance. As long as you agree to a condition, Qingzhou can send troops to help you regain Liusha County and Xiaoyi County. " Xia Qingshan was obviously angered by Er Gouzi's words just now, and now he showed his cards directly.
"I wonder what the conditions are?" Ergouzi asked curiously. "As long as you raise the rent of the tenants to 60%, you can earn more." "Just this one?" "Yes, only this one." Xia Qingshan had thought it over before coming. The entire Sanyang County only collected 20% of the rent, causing all the tenants in other counties to flee. Even the landlords couldn't continue to work, guarding a large piece of barren fertile land and eating up all the land. The whole Qingzhou, including Qingzhou City, was affected. So much so that the Qingzhou Army couldn't even recruit laborers to do hard labor during the war with the monsters. In the past, these laborers were consumables, and they could just be thrown to the side of the road when they died. Now the Qingzhou Army recruits some famous laborers, and they have to give them good food and drink, and they can't let them get too tired, for fear that they can't stand it and die, and there is no place to replace them. These laborers are as difficult to serve as animals. As a result, the cost of fighting between the Qingzhou army and the monsters has increased significantly. If Sanyang County continues to do this, the foundation of the entire Qingzhou will collapse. "The land rent in Sanyang County must be increased to more than 60%." Xia Qingshan's words, accompanied by a late Jindan spiritual pressure, intend to put some psychological pressure on Er Gouzi. As long as Sanyang County raises the land rent to 60%, other counties will recruit tenants with 30% or 40% of the land rent. Those tenants will definitely flee Sanyang County and return to other counties. "No, I am the herder of the people on behalf of the emperor, and I have always loved the people like my own children. The current Longxing Saint Emperor once praised me for my herder skills." Although Er Gouzi is greedy and likes to hoard wealth, he also knows that everything should be done in moderation. If 60% of the land rent is collected, many people will starve to death. He has seen since he was a child that many tenants starve to death every winter or when there is a shortage of food. I grew up feeding pigs and chopping wood, so I know what it feels like to be hungry. Once a person is extremely hungry, all he can think about is food, and he wants to eat everything he sees. For a bite of food, he can do anything, even murder and arson. Since Er Gouzi governed Sanyang County, no one has starved to death for many years. "I'll give you a month to think about it, and you can do it yourself."
Xia Qingshan left after saying this.