On the third day of coming to Nanchu, Li De has basically figured out the current ecological situation of Nanchu.
He didn't go to a big city where there are many nobles, but from this town on the outskirts of the city, he has roughly tasted the scenery of Southern Chu. The soil here is very fertile, and a large number of hilly terraced fields and lush water systems have brought a prosperous life to the people. The habit of planting mulberry, silkworms, and hand-woven textiles has also entered thousands of households. In fact, the taxes in Southern Chu are not low, but most of the people can still live well, all thanks to the unique geographical environment of Southern Chu itself.
So Southern Chu is different from the royal family. In the same situation where there are many privileged classes, Nanchu doesn't bother to squeeze the people in exchange for money. They only need to collect taxes normally and add foreign trade to make a lot of money. Another difference is that the nobles of Southern Chu can keep their own army. Although this power will be temporarily withdrawn when fighting abroad, considering that these troops belong to themselves most of the time, the nobles of Southern Chu basically They will do their best to train the soldiers under their hands.
After observing it for a few days, Li De could feel the cultural differences between this place and the outside world. However, Nanchu has developed this system to a very high level over hundreds of years, and it is not something outsiders can comment on at will.
For example, the nobles in Southern Chu were also divided into different levels. The first-class nobles were closer to the blood of the lords, and the second-class nobles were slightly further away; Among them, the first-class nobles are rarely seen by the public, and they seldom have friction with the public, because the difference between their ranks is too far. It is difficult for the common people to imagine the life of the first-class nobles. The first-class nobles also live in a metropolis that ordinary people can't see and touch. The two sides have nothing to do with each other.
Under the first-class nobles, the second- and third-class nobles often marry. These nobles have experienced generation after generation of inheritance, and most of them are more cultivated. The fourth-class nobles have close contacts with the people, but because of their unstable foundation, they seldom do things that bully men and women. After all, in Southern Chu, it is extremely annoying to extend the butcher knife to the weak, and many departments have It is rumored that once the matter gets out, the fourth-class nobles who have just risen may be deprived of their noble powers immediately, which is very fatal in Southern Chu.
The first-class nobles can't see it, the second- and third-class nobles play their own games, and the fourth-class nobles have a pretty good attitude. In addition, the people can basically eat enough and wear warm clothes, which means that although there are many nobles in Nanchu, the social conflicts are not sharp, and everyone is still in a state of peace.
When Lide first came, he saw that ordinary fisherman girls could chat with noble ladies, and it was also for this reason.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the bloody clothes case has become the talk of the streets so quickly. Jiang Yuesheng was originally a general who protected Southern Chu, but after retiring from the army, he was gradually forgotten, and he was no different from ordinary people. At this time, he was persecuted by the nobles—even the first-class nobles, which must be a big deal in Southern Chu.
Lide thought about it for a while, and he felt that the most troublesome thing now was most likely the Lord of Nanchu, or the eldest son of Nanchu, Xiao Hei. It's impossible for them not to know about such a big incident, but they haven't taken any measures to deal with it, obviously because they are still thinking about how to handle this case.
He will go to see Xiao Hei in a few days, and then he can see how Xiao Hei treats this matter.
Early the next morning, Lide was woken up by the noisy people outside. He opened the window of the hotel, and saw the people spontaneously lined up in two rows, and the wide road in the middle was empty, only an old lady with gray hair and a timid little girl walking together.
"That's the old general's wife..."
"When the knife is touched to the chest, the expression does not change. She is indeed the general's wife..."
"What she's holding in her hand is probably that bloody gown...!"
Lied looked at all this from top to bottom, and what happened in front of him really had nothing to do with him.
The face of the hale and hearty old man is wrinkled, but his expression is still upright; she is holding a broken war robe in her right hand, on which there are many lines of writing written in blood, but because the war robe is not unfolded, it is not clear what is written there , can barely make out the huge word "injustice" at the top. In her left hand, she held a sharp boning knife upside down, and the tip of the knife was poking at her chest. She looked at the people on the side of the road indifferently, as if she was trying to persuade them not to get involved in such a thing, so as not to get burned.
Unlike her, the little girl beside her looked timid, as if she had never seen such a scene before. And she probably walked for too long, and it was difficult to maintain her balance, so she was limping. The feeling of being stared at by so many people made her want to hide behind the old man, but the old man never looked back at her from the beginning to the end.
The two walked through the bustling street, and the scorching sun almost roasted their thin bodies into dried meat. The sky in Nanchu is as clear as ever, and the sun is much stronger than other places.
The little girl's eyes gradually lost light, and the old man walking in front just scolded in a low voice:
"Go faster... Do you want to watch your grandpa die in prison?"
The little girl opened her mouth, and after a while, she only said one sentence:
"I can't walk..."
The old man pursed his dry lips and said:
"Since you were born in our family, you must be stronger than other children. I am sixty-nine years old, but I can still walk this way. Why can't you walk? The sun is shining, let it shine, After drying off a few layers of skin, you won't feel sunburned in the future. Lianqing, you are already a big child, grandparents will not be by your side one day, but you have to live on... "
With a bit of bitterness in her voice, she shook her head and continued to walk forward.
The little girl behind him didn't seem to understand, and she seemed dizzy from being exposed to the sun, so she didn't answer anything.
After the old and the young went away, a sentence came out from the crowd:
"I heard that some nobles have come to the door, and they want to forcefully buy the girl named Lianqing as a maid. This is humiliating the old general... Jiang Yuesheng is no different from dead now. They want him to see himself when he is alive. granddaughter to serve other men..."
"They don't think about it. Without the old general, how could there be Nanchu today?"
"They won't think about it... those nobles of the peace faction, headed by Xiang Ge Ling, should be killed..."
Amidst the discussions, Li De saw Wan Tang's figure. She huddled in the crowd, watching Jiang Yuesheng's wife and granddaughter slowly go away, her face was full of sadness.
Finally, Lide smiled and closed the window of the hotel amidst the shouts of selling lotus seeds and sweet-scented osmanthus soup.