Entering the village, Chu Chen found the villagers' expressions somewhat off, as if they were numb.
Coincidentally, a middle-aged man carrying a hoe passed by. Chu Chen quickly asked, "Esteemed sir, may I ask if this is Luobian Village?"
The middle-aged man stopped, his numb eyes glancing at Chu Chen and then at the dozen or so guards in leather armor and carrying swords standing behind him.
Although he didn't want to waste time answering, he knew in his heart that he couldn't resist these powerful and influential nobles.
A flicker of dissatisfaction crossed his eyes, and he nodded.
Chu Chen took out a handful of copper coins from his embrace and offered them with a smile, "We have some business here. Please trouble yourself to take us to the village chief."
"For me?"
The middle-aged man was stunned. He wiped his eyes and asked in disbelief.
Chu Chen nodded with a smile, "We are asking you to lead the way, which delays your farming. Naturally, we should offer some compensation."
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. He casually dropped his hoe and carefully extended his hands to accept the copper coins.
He then carefully put them into his embrace and patted it.
Only then did he smile and say, "Don't worry, I know this village very well. I'll take you to find the village chief now."
Saying that, he bent down, picked up his hoe, and led the way.
Chu Chen and his group followed behind.
Looking at the man's tattered, sweat-stained trousers still bearing mud, Princess Xin Yue tugged at Chu Chen's sleeve.
She whispered in confusion, "Didn't you invent the Yunyue Plow and the waterwheel, increasing grain output and indirectly increasing farmers' income? You also improved the textile machine to mass-produce cloth. Why is this person still dressed so shabbily?"
"I'll ask and find out."
Chu Chen's heart sank. He quickened his pace and began to converse with the middle-aged man.
"Old brother, observing your appearance, it seems your life is very difficult. But didn't the court promote the Yunyue Plow and waterwheel, which can plow fields with less effort and time?"
"And the improved textile machine produces a large amount of cheap linen. You should be able to afford it, so why are your clothes so worn out?"
The middle-aged man remained silent, his mouth slightly open then closed, hesitating but not daring to speak.
Seeing this, Chu Chen decisively used the "money attack" and took out another handful of copper coins, handing them to him. "Old brother, please speak freely. It's alright. Take this money to improve your life a little."
It wasn't that Chu Chen didn't want to give more, but he couldn't. For the impoverished lower class, suddenly possessing a lot of money would invite disaster rather than good fortune.
After receiving the copper coins, perhaps feeling that he shouldn't be ungrateful for these hundred or so copper coins.
The middle-aged man stopped, looked around, and seeing no one from the village, he sighed, "I don't know why you're asking these things, but since you're giving me money and want to know, I'll tell you."
Chu Chen nodded.
"Last year, when the Yunyue Plow and waterwheel were first promoted, the county magistrate tricked everyone into taking out loans to buy or exchange for these plows, and also to pool money to build waterwheels."
"Later, it is said that a high official came from the capital to inspect, and after investigating some officials, things turned around. Unfortunately, the good times didn't last."
The middle-aged man sighed repeatedly.
"Why didn't the good times last? Shouldn't it be better if those officials dared not act recklessly and distort the emperor's will?"
Princess Xin Yue, who had come to Chu Chen's side at some point, frowned.
The middle-aged man had never seen such a beautiful girl. He blushed and lowered his head, not daring to look at her, for fear of offending this distinguished noble.
He murmured, "When that official from the capital was active, it was indeed like that. But after he left, everything returned to its original state, and even became worse."
"What!"
Princess Xin Yue's eyes widened, she could hardly believe what she was hearing.
Her own inspection of a region only served as a deterrent for a while, and when she stopped paying attention, not only did things return to normal, but they became even worse?
"This Guyue Prefecture is not far from the capital. How dare these people? Aren't they afraid of being discovered and beheaded?"
Princess Xin Yue asked angrily.
The middle-aged man, with his head lowered, said with a strange expression, "Your Excellency, please don't joke. The current Prime Minister is like a neighbor to them. Officials protect each other, and officials collude with merchants. How can they be afraid?"
Could it be that the Emperor could hear and see?
However, there was one thing he dared not say, only thinking it in his heart.
"If one official is beheaded, there will be another official. It's just that the newly appointed one might not be too excessive at first, but after a while, it will be the same as before, or even more oppressive towards us lowly people."
"The promised free exchange for the Yunyue Plow turned into buying it for a dozen copper coins, and after a while, it went from a dozen to tens or even hundreds of copper coins."
"Those who couldn't afford it had to borrow money. If they didn't buy or borrow, they couldn't. It was said to be a task assigned by the court, and every household had to do it, otherwise it would be an act of deceiving the emperor and punishable by death."
"We were scared. We had no choice. Those who could afford it gritted their teeth and bought it; those who couldn't could only borrow. If it were just this, it would only mean some people starve to death, and we could still manage."
"But the waterwheel that came later required pooling money. Every household had to contribute. After finally scraping together the money to build it, the canal was not directed to our fields, but all to the fields of the wealthy landlords."
"If you want water in your own fields, it's simple. Just pay more money. But we've already spent all our money repairing one or two, and we have no money or food left. What else can we use to continue repairing?"
The middle-aged man seemed to want to vent these resentful words, but he usually didn't dare. Now that someone was giving him money and asking him to speak, once the floodgates opened, the resentment poured out.
Chu Chen and Princess Xin Yue listened in silence as the middle-aged man continued.
"Not repairing is also not allowed. The court assigns tasks. If you don't do it, you'll be beheaded. There was a lot of commotion, and many people died."
"With the troublemakers gone in the eyes of the landlords and officials, what else could we do? With swords at our throats, we had no choice but to obey obediently."
"No money? Alright, borrow it. Ten copper coins, a hundred copper coins, one or two taels. The lords were very generous and lent money freely."
"But in the end, when everything was done, the waterwheel still wasn't for us. We only had a Yunyue Plow in our hands. And even that was for working for the lords."
"Why is that?" Princess Xin Yue couldn't help but ask.
The middle-aged man laughed self-deprecatingly. "Why else? Do you really think the lords are kind? They won't return the money? When the time comes, they'll flip the ledger and demand repayment. But after a year, where will the money come from to repay?"
"If there's no money to repay, what then? The lords said it's easy. Those with daughters can sell them to them to offset the debt, and those without can use their own land as collateral."
"If that's still not enough, then you work like oxen and horses, repaying for generations. Only when the debt is paid off will you have peace."
"You two, tell me, where do we lowly people get the money to buy clothes? We can only survive."