Start Being a Vassal King Today - Chapter 883

[Chapter 883 Investigation]

“Xu Lie, the changes in Yancheng are getting bigger and bigger.”

Reining in his horse and sitting down, Zhao Xu tilted his head and said to Xu Lie.

This bodyguard, from south to north, from north to south, is as low-key as an invisible man, but he is always protecting him.

If Chang Wei hadn’t sent him to his side back then, he would have been a general just like Qin Shan and Guan Tong.

But he will not treat Xu Lie badly, the general will definitely compensate him.

“This is all His Highness’s grace. The changes in Yanzhou can be described as earth-shaking. When I first came here, most of the people on the street looked sad, but they are not as happy as they are now.” Xu Lie felt a sense of pride in his heart.

After all, he personally witnessed the changes in Yanzhou by the side of King Yan.

Zhao Xu nodded with joy in his heart.

Just like planting crops, after sowing and cultivating hard, now we finally see seedlings growing in the field.

The process is satisfying.

But for him, this is just the beginning.

The seedlings will continue to thrive and eventually grow into golden fruit.

“It’s been a long time since I visited. You should prepare. I will visit you in the next few days to find out the truth.” Zhao Xu said.

This is his annual routine.

The time is uncertain, the location is uncertain, Weifu privately visits some people’s homes to understand the real people’s sentiments.

Otherwise, just staying in the palace and listening to the officials’ reports, wouldn’t he be like Zhao Heng, a canary in a cage.

Only by going deep into the people can we know whether the officials have really implemented the policies of the imperial court and the sufferings of the people.

After explaining this matter, the two returned to the palace.

On the second day, Zhao Xu was dressed in casual clothes, and Xu Lie and the guards were also dressed in casual clothes.

After leaving the palace, they disappeared into the crowd of people on the street like merchants.

Going down the street to the southwest corner, they stopped at the former Ankang Square location.

The people who lived here before were the poorest people in Yancheng.

Today, due to the development needs of Yancheng, the walls of the folk square have been demolished, and the houses and alleys in the square can be seen directly from the street.

Entering the alley, Zhao Xu looked at the houses, and seven of the ten houses had their doors closed.

Seeing a private house with the courtyard door open, he was about to go out, when suddenly a little black dog rushed out and yelled “Wow, woof” at him.

Xu Lie and other guards were taken aback and almost drew their swords.

But an old woman rushed out, kicked the black dog, and drove the black dog into the yard.

Turning around, she had an apologetic expression on her face, and was about to apologize, but was a little stunned.

“My God, Yan…His Royal Highness Yan Wang.” The old woman covered her mouth in surprise.

Now it was Zhao Xu’s turn to be surprised, he said: “Do you recognize this king?” The

old woman pinched the hem of her skirt uncomfortably, “The old residents in Yancheng have never seen His Highness.”

After all, she just Laugh, more embarrassed.

Zhao Xu also smiled, the old woman looked very talkative.

It’s just that because of his identity, he is a little cautious.

So he said: “Grandma, can you let me sit in and have a chat.” The

old woman was startled for a long time when she heard this, and when she came back to her senses, she hurriedly retreated into the yard and said, “Of course Yes, Your Highness, please come in, don’t be disgusted.”

Zhao Xu nodded and followed Xu Lie into the courtyard.

The rest of the guards stood guard at the door.

This is a very simple courtyard with three walls and a three-room main house in the middle.

The main room is in the middle, and the bedrooms are on both sides.

There is also a firewood room under the east wall, and water is being roasted on the briquette stove in the firewood room.

Lead Zhao Xu to sit down on the bamboo chair in the main hall.

Next to the bamboo chairs is a willow table.

The old woman hurriedly went to the firewood room to bring the kettle over, took a white porcelain teacup on the table, squeezed out tea leaves from the pot next to it, sprinkled it on, poured water, and brought it to Zhao Xu.

After that, the waiter stood aside and said, “Your Highness, drink tea.”

“Thank you.” Zhao Xu took the teacup and said to the old woman, “Grandma, don’t be nervous. The king is just checking people’s conditions. Sit down.” He pointed to the opposite side of the table chair.

“Your Highness is honorable, the old woman dare not overstep, how can she sit with His Highness.” The old woman was startled.

Zhao Xu said with a smile, “From the imperial court, to the government, and down to the common people, the king has long banned kneeling, and the officials and the common people are treated equally, and they can sit at the same table, grandma, don’t be polite.” When

Zhao Xu said this, the old woman hesitated , Seeing that King Yan motioned her to sit down again, his expression was friendly.

She became more courageous and sat down.

At this time, Zhao Xu got to the point, he said, “Grandma, how is your family doing?

”

King Yan just said that he was here to investigate the people’s situation, and his attitude was easy-going, so she couldn’t help but relax a lot.

After a pause, she continued, “When Your Highness first arrived in Yanzhou, my house was barren except for this courtyard and this room. Except for a wooden board for a bed, there were six broken pottery bowls. Patch linen clothes, and eat rice bran and barley rice.”

Then, she patted the table lightly, “But it’s been different in the past few years. My house has a big poplar wood bed and a quilt on it. I bought a briquette stove, bought a wardrobe, a box, a table, a chair, and bought a set of white porcelain tea sets in order to be more decent, which was unimaginable before.”

“Not to mention the food, we can eat the white noodles, steamed buns and white rice that only the nobles could eat before, we can also cook some vegetables at noon and night, and if we are hungry, we can also buy some chicken, fish, meat and eggs. Taste, giggle…” Speaking of this, the woman couldn’t help laughing.

Zhao Xu and Xu Lie looked at each other and couldn’t help laughing.

Most of the time, the poor people in ancient times could only eat rice and wheat that had not been hulled.

Because it is very cumbersome to process grain into refined grain.

The most important thing is that there is little food, even rice bran and wheat bran are precious, it is better to eat with the skin on.

But it is different now. In terms of processing, due to the promotion of steam engines, there are steam engine mills, which specialize in processing rice and noodles.

Food is also due to ten taxes and one reason, and every family is rich.

Take out what you can’t finish and sell it.

“Not bad, not bad.” Zhao Xu laughed.

At this moment, the guard at the door suddenly shouted.

The old woman looked over and hurriedly said, “Your Highness, my old man’s surname is Zhou. This is my dog, Zhou Xiaoer. He is carrying cloth in the weaving workshop. He may have suffered a lot. He can get a thousand yuan a month.”

“Oh?” Xu nodded, showing a satisfied expression.

One thousand yuan is equivalent to two taels of silver in the past.

This income is not low.

There is a field at home, and I can earn a share in the workshop in my spare time.

The people living in Yancheng do have unique conditions.

It’s just that the people living in the countryside may not have this kind of treatment.

Thinking of this, he frowned, got up to say goodbye to the old woman, and prepared to go for a walk in the nearby village with Xu Lie.

(end of this chapter)