Dressed as a young lady, she became rich by relying on Pinxixi

Chapter 155 Taking refuge

In the Southwest Palace, Pingxiang has been very busy recently.

He received a message from his guards who were still disguised as bandits on the hilltop, saying that a large number of poor peasants had suddenly come to Hua'an Hilltop, where he had started his rebellion, to seek refuge.

As the old saying goes: In prosperous times, go down the mountain; in troubled times, go up the mountain.

The Ming Dynasty had only been established for a few years, but it was already forcing the people to become bandits?

This is definitely not a good sign.

He could stop the refugees from going up Hua'an Mountain, but the southwest was surrounded by mountains and there were so many peaks that he couldn't block every way up the mountain.

"Pass the order down. Collect grain from every household. Remember, no weapons should be used. If the people cannot pay the grain, they will be forced to do forced labor instead."

After a major disaster, the people had no surplus grain to pay taxes, so even if taxes were to be levied, not much could be collected.

The ones who really have food and fodder are the wealthy families who own fertile land.

The officials of the royal palace gathered and reported on the donations made by the gentry and wealthy families in various places.

"Your Highness, Earl Anle has sent 10,000 dan of relief grain, and has also sent a letter saying that another 1 million dan of grain will be stored in the charity granary by the end of autumn... She hopes that when you distribute this grain, you will not forget the common people."

This is a rare generous act by Xu Siyu.

One million koku, and I haven't asked him for the money yet.

Ping Xiang smiled slightly, "Anle Bo is warning me not to just focus on raising troops and fighting wars while ignoring the suffering of the people."

Seeing Pingxiang's expression relax a little, the camp commander stepped forward and struck while the iron was hot: "Your Highness, our people stationed in Lezhou said that Anlebo's paddy fields are well maintained and the rice is thriving. The mountains are also full of potatoes, sweet potatoes and peanuts..."

"Why, do you think one million dan of grain is not enough?"

Ping Xiangchao stood out from the team and wanted to continue to attack Xu Siyu's subordinate commander.

"In that case, Zhong Renyi, I will give you a mission. Find another one million dan of grain. The timeframe is... ten days. If you fail, your team will be on their own to find food!"

"Prince...Prince?" Commander Zhong, who failed to steal the chicken and was given an important task, really didn't know where to get one million dan of grain.

Yes, Xu Siyu definitely has more than one million shi of grain.

But Pingxiang knew that he couldn't just point at one person and pull him out, especially since this person was the most capable and had the best temper.

When doing things, one should leave some room for maneuver, and when being a person, one should not kill all those who are capable and helping him.

"Upload this to Yanpingjing and ensure that every city and every noble fiefdom is aware of Earl Anle's righteous act."

"Yes."

Pingxiang looked at these people and couldn't come up with any better ideas, so he asked them to leave.

……

Xu Siyu knew that the number of mountain bandits had increased dramatically recently. The leader of Qinglong Village had sent her a letter asking her to send 50% more food into the mountains this year.

The Xu family caravan had no grain to sell this year, but letters asking for grain came one after another. Relatives, friends, people they had dealt with, and people they had only met... no matter how close the relationship was, they all came to Lezhou to ask for food.

The people in Lezhou City also had similar troubles. Many relatives who had never been in contact with them tried their best to bring letters asking for food or directly find Lezhou for refuge.

Xu Nianyue brought a letter from home to discuss with Xu Siyu. His mother He Xiangmei and the He family were already on their way to Lezhou.

Xu Siyu read the letter Cheng Qi had sent by the caravan and asked, "Come to pay respect to Nianxue? Atone for your sins at her grave? Nianyue, do you believe it?"

Xu Nianyue didn't believe it just like Xu Siyu, but He Xiangmei was her mother after all.

She whispered to Xu Siyu about He Xiangmei's recent situation: "After Dad drove Mom back to the He family, and my eldest brother drove the He family out of the flower garden, the He family didn't even have a place to live. Mom's life is not easy."

To be honest, Xu Siyu couldn't understand Xu Huaishan's actions.

He didn't give her a divorce letter, but instead sent her back to her parents' home and left her alone. Does he want to punish her or not?

Perhaps because he was afraid of affecting Xu Chengzi's career, he expressed his attitude by saying "I don't care".

But is that the end of it?

Xu Siyu had once thought his eldest brother was honest and straightforward, a good man. But after experiencing so much, he realized that this honesty was either foolishness, fear of trouble, or a desire to profit from inaction.

Anyway, in Xu Siyu's heart, her second brother's bad behavior but steadiness after going through things, and her third brother's constant pursuit of profit, are more comfortable for her than her eldest brother's vague kindness.

In fact, He Xiangmei is not without her merits. Although she was reluctant, she still donated her milk in her early years to raise Xu Siyu. Xu Siyu should be grateful to her.

Also, when she was still a child in the Xu family, she was nimble and worked diligently. Since when did everyone's impression of her become that she disregarded family affection and cared only about gains and losses?

Are those concerns really just He Xiangmei’s problem?

Seeing that Xu Nianyue was openly informing him but secretly asking him for help, Xu Siyu finally relented: "Nianxue is buried in Beishan Cemetery. If she wants to atone for her sins, she can live in Lingjingzhai at the foot of the mountain."

Lingjingzhai is a place specially built for people who visit graves to rest. The cemetery manager also lives there. There is a Buddhist temple there, which is a good place to atone for sins.

Xu Siyu is expressing that she has no objection to Xu Nianyue taking over.

But the rest of the arrangements are decided by Xu Nianyue herself.

It wasn't just He Xiangmei who came, but also the entire He family. Xu Chengqi was tired of dealing with so many people, and Xu Siyu also wanted to see how she would deal with it.

……

On the outskirts of Yicheng, a mule cart was jogging along the post road. Nine members of the He family, big and small, were sitting on the cart, which was covered with only a shed.

The He family had no money to take the Xu family's merchant ship, so they could only cheat their eldest nephew Xu Chengqi into buying a mule cart for transporting flowers and plants. They took their few belongings and drove the cart to Lezhou.

"Sister, when you see Nianyue tomorrow, you must tell her how hard your life is. You must ask Nianyue to keep you and us in Lezhou." He Xiangmei's eldest brother, Xu Nianyue's uncle, kept reminding his elder sister all the way.

Their family's livelihood and their future depend on her elder sister's performance.

But He Xiangmei's heart was so desolate that she could not react much.

"I'm here to see Xueya. If Yueya doesn't want to see me, then just disappear."

"How can I not see her? Big sister, you are Nianyue's biological mother. You almost starved to death in the snowstorm. You must make her feel sorry for you. You also have to tell her that your good daughter-in-law drove you out of the greenhouse in the heavy snow and almost let you freeze to death..."

He Xiangmei's elder sister-in-law kept chattering about all the bad things the Xu family father and son did to He Xiangmei, their original wife and mother. They seemed to have forgotten that Xu Nianyue also had the surname Xu. She said that the Xu family was bad, but she also wanted the Xu family to treat her unconditionally well.

He Xiangmei looked at the crows flying in the sky and let the people around her waste their words.

Walking on the brink of life and death, He Xiangmei has clearly seen the absurdity of her life.

Her natal family members sucked her blood, and her husband couldn't bear it anymore and kicked her out of the house. The most comfortable and peaceful days in her life were the miserable days when her mother-in-law, Xu Wang, was alive.