In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 683 Observations (21)

"It's much better now."

Li Mingyuan replied, "The war in Liangzhou has been quelled. Yang Zheng, who now rules Liangzhou, is a man who cherishes the people's strength and does not exploit them like other rebel leaders. Therefore, the people of Liangzhou are now able to barely survive."

Barely surviving—that's how Li Mingyuan summarizes the current living conditions of the people of Liangzhou.

Before Yang Zheng raised his banner in rebellion, the people of Liangzhou were struggling to survive due to the cold disaster and various man-made calamities.

When Yang Zheng rebelled, the people of Liangzhou suffered greatly from the war, and were constantly at risk of being displaced.

A closer look reveals that the peak period for Liangzhou refugees fleeing to Qingzhou coincided with the time when Yang Zheng rebelled and engaged in a major battle with the state army and the imperial army.

The reason for this situation was not that Yang Zheng harmed the people, but that when war breaks out, it is inevitable that the people will be affected. In addition, the war destroyed agricultural production in Liangzhou, so the people of Liangzhou had to leave their homes and go to Qingzhou to find a glimmer of hope for survival.

Fortunately, the war ended relatively quickly. After the war, Yang Zheng did not bully the people of Liangzhou. Instead, he formulated a series of policies to allow the people to recuperate and rebuild their lives.

The decreasing number of migrants from Liangzhou to Qingzhou also indicates that the living conditions in Liangzhou are improving, although the improvement is relatively limited.

The cold weather that lasted for several years, coupled with nearly a year of war, made the already barren Liangzhou even more impoverished. The people had no surplus food in their homes, and the limited land produced very little.

Therefore, even though Yang Zheng had tried his best to reduce grain taxes and implemented a series of policies to allow the people of Liangzhou to recuperate, the people of Liangzhou were still not living a good life. They were in a state of not having enough to eat, but not starving either.

However, Li Mingyuan believed that the situation in Liangzhou would definitely get better and better, because the ruler of that land was Yang Zheng, who valued the people, rather than a ruler like the White Lotus Sect who wanted to exploit the people to the bone.

"I see."

Su Shihua nodded slightly, believing Li Mingyuan's words. He could also see from his own experience in Chenjia Village that fewer and fewer people speaking with a Liangzhou accent had come to the village recently.

"Old Li seems to greatly admire Yang Zheng?"

"indeed so."

Li Mingyuan did not deny it, but nodded and said, "Yang Zheng is different from all the rebel leaders I have ever met. In him, I see compassion for the weak and care for the people. If someone is destined to unify the nine provinces, I hope that person is Yang Zheng."

This was Li Mingyuan's truest thought. Among all the rebel forces in Kyushu, the one he favored the most, or rather, the one he most hoped would seize power, was the Yang family army.

Because only if the Yang family army seizes this land will it be the best outcome for the people.

If the world were to fall into the hands of an entity like the White Lotus Sect...

Li Mingyuan couldn't even imagine what the world would become.

"After hearing what Elder Li said, I also think it would be better if Yang Zheng could unify the nine provinces."

Su Shih-hua nodded in agreement. Although he was in Chenjia Village and his sources of information were relatively limited, he had heard a lot about the rebels.

Before the uprising, the rebels were all peasants from impoverished backgrounds. However, after the uprising, they forgot their former identity and showed no mercy to the peasants or the people who were once of the same social standing as them. Instead, they were even more ruthless than the previous rulers, tyrannizing and enslaving the people in the territory they occupied and taking whatever they wanted from them.

If these rebels were to seize power, it would be far from a good thing for the people of this land.

Of course, there were rebel forces that treated the people well, but...

These rebel groups generally don't grow very large.

Because in the low-productivity Kyushu, the best way for a rebellious force to grow rapidly is to plunder the people. Not everyone is as lucky as Yang Zheng, who can grow rapidly without relying on plundering the people.

"Yes! Only if Yang Zheng seizes this world will the common people have a chance to survive!"

Li Mingyuan sighed softly, his mood becoming heavy. The Xia Kingdom was destined to perish, and who would seize the throne after its fall was an open question.

Although Li Mingyuan had the highest hopes for Yang Zheng, to be honest, he himself didn't have much confidence in Yang Zheng.

Because Yang Zheng did not rely on plundering the people to grow his own power, he essentially tied his own hands, limiting his potential for rapid expansion.

The fact that Yang Family Army can only occupy Liangzhou at present and cannot send troops to quickly expand its territory is the best proof of this.

If Yang Zheng could be given several years to develop, no, even just one or two years, Li Mingyuan believed that the population of Liangzhou would definitely increase significantly, and then help Yang Zheng expand his territory.

Unfortunately... time is running out for Yang Zheng. Right now, rebel armies all over the country are conquering cities and seizing land in full swing. By plundering the people to strengthen themselves, their growth rate far exceeds that of the Yang family army, which is trapped in Liangzhou. Once these rebel armies have grown to a certain size, Yang Zheng's chances of seizing the world will probably be very slim.

"We're just small fry, it's no use worrying about these things."

Su Shihua shook his head, choosing not to discuss this heavy topic anymore. Instead, he chatted with Li Mingyuan about some things in Chenjia Village and asked Li Mingyuan about the local customs and culture of Liangzhou. The two people, who were close in age but had completely different identities, unexpectedly had something to talk about and chatted for a full half hour.

Even when lunch was over, the two of them were still somewhat reluctant to leave.

"Grandpa, it's time for you to take a nap."

At this moment, Su Qiaoxi reminded him that Su Shihua was getting old and his energy was declining significantly. Therefore, he needed to take a nap for more than half an hour after lunch every day, otherwise he would not have enough energy to treat patients in the afternoon.

"Hey! I almost forgot the time!"

Su Shihua patted his head and said to Li Mingyuan, "Old Li, I need to rest for a while, I wonder..."

"no need!"

Before Su Shihua could offer to stay, Li Mingyuan shook his head and said, "I plan to walk around the village, so I won't bother you any longer!"

After saying this, Li Mingyuan stood up from his chair, bid farewell to Su Shihua and his grandson, and led Zheng Qiuyan and Li Qiao out of Baicaotang.

After leaving Baicaotang, the three continued on their way and soon saw a large number of Chenjia Village villagers finishing their work.

The villagers, having finished their work, walked together in twos and threes, some with their arms around each other, others chatting and laughing, each with a relaxed smile on their face.

This scene seemed to have touched Li Mingyuan as well, making him feel much lighter.