"Yes, yes, there are customs deeds and customs clearance papers! Wait a minute, Master Jun, I'll show you the little one! The greed in Audrey Sabah's heart was quickly dispersed by the murderous aura that rushed towards him, and he hurriedly grabbed the camel and saluted with his fists in the same way as a Tang man.

The Tang dialect he said vaguely had a bit of Chang'an accent, and the etiquette he practiced was also the standard Tang Yi. Immediately, he won the favor of the officer who led the team. The latter waved his hand lightly, and asked the soldier to press down the crossbow and no longer aim at the man. Immediately, he handed over the short crossbow in his hand to a brother dressed as a group leader, urged the horse to take a few steps forward, and asked with a pleasant face, "Show me the customs clearance documents first, and when you enter the city, the tariff deed will be handed over to the city gate captain and the city bureau for joint checking." If the goods can be paired with the tariff and are not secretly entrained, then there is no need to pay a penny. If the goods are not in line with the tariff agreement, it is best to take the initiative to make up the tax yourself, otherwise, you will be fined three for hiding. ”

"I didn't hide it, I didn't hide it, Master Jun, I understand the rules of Datang, I guarantee that I don't hide it!" Audrey Sabah smiled and agreed. Immediately, he turned his head and whispered to a vendor who was about the same age as himself beside him, "Xibo, hurry up and take the customs clearance documents to the military master for inspection!" ”

"Hey, hey! It's coming, it's coming, military master, please look! The old merchant, named Sibo, also agreed, and ordered the camel to lie down. Then he hurriedly climbed down the hump and took out a wooden box with a lock from the back of another camel next to him that was specially used to carry goods.

The leader of the caravan, Audre Sabah, and two other young traders also climbed down from their camels to help open the wooden crates. Xibo, a trader, took out a roll of documents and a small pouch filled with bulging sheepskin from the wooden box, and held them in front of the Tang officer's war horse with both hands.

The Datang officer is a famous team, and his skills are extremely neat. He quickly jumped off his mount, took the paperwork with one hand, and unfolded it in public, carefully examining the seal and monogram on it. But he turned a blind eye to the small sheepskin pouch that Sibo handed over.

"Sir, it's cold, the military masters are all hard!" Audrey Sabah sighed secretly in his heart, and quickly took out another lambskin bag from the bag next to the hump, and handed it over. "This little meaning, if you don't get drunk when you buy wine, you can't get full when you buy food, so you should invite the military masters to drink hot tea, so that you can warm up your body."

Similar words, he spoke in the languages of different countries for half his life. He has also done similar small actions for half his life. Supposedly, the team was not a big official, and two small bags full of Persian silver cakes were enough to satisfy their appetite. Otherwise, if he makes too much money and leads to the severance of trade routes, there will definitely be big people who will settle accounts with him.

Unexpectedly, the Datang officer was still not satisfied, first meticulously checked every detail on the customs clearance documents, and then shook his head with a smile, "Okay, the documents are verified, you can continue to go!" Follow this road for another ten miles, and you will see Shattered Leaf City. Again, as long as your tariff deed matches the number of the goods, there is no need to worry about anything. If you don't have the right number, it's best to take the initiative to make up for it yourself, and don't have any crooked thoughts. ”

With that, he handed the paperwork back to Su Bo and turned and walked towards his mount.

"Don't worry. The small one is guaranteed to have no entrainment, no entrainment! The leader of the caravan, Audre Saba, smiled and nodded repeatedly. Then, gritting his teeth, he took off a ring inlaid with gems from his finger, together with two lambskin pockets, and held it above his head with both hands, "Master Jun, wait a minute. The first time I came to Broken Leaves, I don't understand the rules here, thanks to your kind advice......"

"I told you, as long as your tariff agreement matches the number of the goods, there is no need to worry about anything!" The officer paused and emphasized impatiently. "As for these things, put them away yourself! We are strict with broken leaves, Lao Tzu took your benefits today, don't talk about the board when you turn around, you have to be pushed to the end, it's not cost-effective! ”

"This ......" Audre Shabah seemed to understand and was stunned and at a loss.

As if he had expected that Audrey Sabah couldn't understand his words, the face of the Broken Leaf Army suddenly swelled with a little smugness. Raised his hand and patted the former's shoulder, and explained with a smile: "We are broken leaves, which is different from other places. There are few rules, but they never use the rules as decorations. As long as you follow the rules, you don't have to give me any benefits, and the same goes for others. ”

As he spoke, he shook his head again, and while turning over his horse, he added in a slightly lower voice, "There is a warehouse outside the city, if you want to stay in Broken Leaf for a few more days, you can rent one and release the goods, the rent is much cheaper than in the city." Don't worry about thieves, on the territory of our Broken Leaf Town, if you are robbed, as long as you take out the tax payment deed, my town guard will pay compensation according to the above list! Gone, then went on patrol. Brothers, work hard, and go back tonight to eat roast sheep. ”

The last sentence was shouted to the soldiers around him. All the soldiers cheered in unison, gathered around their own teams, and rode their horses into the distance, and in a short time they disappeared without a trace.

"Uncle Saba, let's go, Tang Jun is gone!" Sibo, the old vendor, cried out like a moan against Audre Sabah's ear.

"Well, let's go!" Audre Sabah put away the lambskin pouch and the gemstone ring, and replied with a groan, as if he had just had a big dream and had not yet fully woken up.

The rest of the vendors also looked around blankly, and everyone's face was full of confusion.

The "tea money" in the lambskin pocket is, in their eyes, another kind of "tariff". All the way from Persia, the caravan must be sent at every checkpoint. Some people are too little, and some people don't do anything after receiving money, but they insist on not accepting it, but they encounter it for the first time.

"Laos, Laos, Laos......" Not far away, there was a loud shout, clearly reminding everyone that they were not dreaming.

The vendors looked up enviously as four pack horses led a huge plough cart as they quickly ran through the fields, leaving behind them two ridges that smelled of earth.

Audre Sabah sighed suddenly, climbed on his camel, and beckoned the group to continue along the road. I could no longer raise any interest in going to the farmer's trap, nor did I dare to fight the idea of the cart and plow again.

According to his original idea, Ken did not own the expensive plough himself. And he first got acquainted with the peasants, and then instigated them to escape with the master's cart and plow, and sold it to the caravan halfway, so that he could get the cart and plow "without a trace". After that, whether it is to kill the greedy farmer or to dismantle the plow and smuggle it back to his hometown, the traders are naturally familiar with the road!

However, the Tang Army's refusal to accept "tea money" not only surprised Audre Saba, but also made him feel a sense of foreboding. He believed that if he really did what he had planned, he would definitely die without a place to be buried, and even the entire caravan would be hunted down by the Broken Leaf Tang Army, and no one would be lucky enough to return to his hometown alive!

"Uncle Saba, after walking the ancient silk road for so many years, this time, we have opened our eyes!" Xibo, an old trader, no longer mentioned the matter of "buying" a car and a plow, suddenly straightened up on his camel and sighed loudly.

"Yes, from Persia to the Tang Dynasty, where do you go, didn't the soldier take the initiative to ask for money? Only in this Broken Leaf Town, we took the initiative to send money, but no one refused to accept it, as if we were all countrymen who had not seen much of the world! ”。 Not far behind Sibo, Ben Ali, the leader of the young traders who had encouraged Audre Sabah to help him get a plow, also sighed and shook his head.

"The new Shattered Leaf City Lord must be very ferocious, and anyone who dares to disobey his orders will all die a miserable death!" Another young vendor leader frowned and accosted him. In addition to confusion, there was also a hint of fear in his voice.

This speculation is in line with the experience of many of them. In the homeland of Persia, some Crescent city lords once relied on harsh killings to maintain their authority. However, such a city lord will definitely not be sincerely supported by the soldiers under his command, especially the low-level officers and soldiers, who dare not have any complaints on their mouths, but their demeanor and actions are like walking corpses. And the Tang Jun they had just met always had a proud smile on his face.

"It shouldn't! If the lord of the city was brutal, the officer just now, even if he did not take a bribe, would have whipped Uncle Sabah with a horsewhip to prove his innocence. Someone frowned and retorted in a low voice. However, I don't have much confidence in my heart.

"What if the lord of the city is harsh on his subordinates, but at the same time asks them to be kind to the merchants?" Some people make bold assumptions, but they can't produce any evidence to prove their judgment.

"How is it possible, then he can still sit still?"

"He hasn't been the city lord for a few days, has he?"

"But he defeated Suoge, no matter how bad Suoge's strength is, he is also the Khan of 300,000 Tuqi Shiren!"

"Because he has his back to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Emperor supports him."

"The last Shattered Leaf City Lord has it too! Wasn't he driven to Khotan by Suo Ge? ”

……

Everyone, you say a word, I say a word, and soon digress from the topic. Audrey Sabah was noisy, frowned, and scolded loudly, "Okay, don't talk about this, be careful and cause trouble!" Whether the city lord is cruel or merciful, it's none of our business. We are not locals, and if we have money, we are the first. ”

"That's right!" The old trader Xibo immediately chimed in, "Let's just do business, don't care about other people's affairs!" ”

"Got it, Uncle Sabah!"

"Uncle Sabah, don't worry."

"When we enter the city, we must not say a word more!"

……

The other traders in the caravan responded in a hurry. However, the confusion in my heart has always lingered.

The leader of the caravan, Audre Sabah, didn't have the heart to continue to reiterate the discipline of the caravan, turned his gaze to the few most senior traders in the team, and frowned to discuss with everyone, "That team was saying just now that you can rent a warehouse outside the city to store goods, did you hear that?" ”

"I heard you!" It was the old trader Xibo who took the lead in responding, and his bark-like old face suddenly swelled with pride, "I also heard that the team once said that the officials of the Municipal Exchange Department and the captain of the city gate were checking the tariff deed at the city gate, did you hear?" ”

"I heard it, I always thought it was strange just now, and I didn't dare to say it!"

"You all heard it, I thought I heard it wrong?"

"What does this mean, is it telling us how to evade taxes? He confiscated our benefits! ”

……

Several old traders were talking about it, and everyone felt that Broken Leaf City's move to set up a warehouse outside the city was simply deliberately done to facilitate tax evasion.

As traders who have been walking the Silk Road all year round, how can everyone pay taxes honestly? It is normal to bring more and underreport. When passing through some small countries, they refused to pay even a penny of taxes, and directly bribed local officials to solve the problem.

Although Datang's checkpoints are strictly managed, they are far from being able to drill no loopholes. On the camels behind the people, at least half of the goods were not taxed at all. If the officials in charge of the centika along the way were a little more serious, they would find that the tariff contract and the total amount of goods in the hands of everyone could not match the number at all!

"I see!" An old trader named Follett suddenly raised his hand and slapped his turban vigorously, "As long as you walk around Broken Leaf, the city office of Broken Leaf Town will not be able to find our heads at all." And the Broken Leaf City Lord knew that we would not pay the customs duties honestly, but he also hoped that we could do business in Broken Leaf City, so he simply came up with such a way to get the best of both worlds. ”

"Nonsense, wouldn't it be better if he didn't send officials from the city bureau to check on us at the door?! Or order your subordinates to turn a blind eye even if they find out, it's better than this! Another old merchant named Enleke immediately retorted, and was very dismissive of Follett's inference.

"Maybe you don't want your subordinates to show favoritism!" Someone whispered to Follett to help, "The Tang people do things differently than us." The Tang people are very particular about superficial skills, even if they are evil. ”

"I don't think so, the city lord of Broken Leaf wants to charge an extra share of the warehouse rent, but he forgot that the tax card is at the city gate."

"It's not right, how much does it cost him to move the tax card three or five miles outward, or near the warehouse, and add another tax card?"

……

Everyone, you say a word, I say a word, and there is a lot of discussion. However, with his previous experience and experience, he couldn't guess why Shattered Leaf City's policy was so oversight, and it even seemed to be a contradiction.

In the end, it was only the caravan leader Audre Shaba who could make the final decision, "Okay, you can't guess, don't bother." I mean, keep the goods in the warehouse and let them earn this rent, no matter how high the rent is! ”

"Just do what you want!" The old merchant Xibo took the lead in responding, and then, on a whim, "Maybe the warehouse was opened by the city lord's wife!" When he entered the door to pay taxes, the money went into the public account, and everyone could go around the city, and he would not receive a penny. And everyone kept the goods in the warehouse, but the rent was directly given to the city lord's family. ”

This is a speculation that is most in line with everyone's vision and experience, and the vendors all smiled and nodded when they heard it. Immediately, he began to guess how many ladies the new city lord of Shattered Leaf City had, and what clan each lady belonged to. One by one, their eyes are shining, and they are full of joy.

The leader of the caravan, Audre Sabah, knew what kind of goods these companions were around, and he didn't bother to intervene, sighed, and rode on his camel to look around. The more I looked, the more I felt uneasy.

Shattered Leaf City had already appeared in his field of vision. Not much has changed from the way I remembered a few years ago, but it doesn't seem to be the same. However, he couldn't say what the difference was. Maybe there are more pedestrians passing by? Maybe there's a little more smile on people's faces? Perhaps..., anyway, a lot of places are full of mystery.

"The plow, close to the side of the Broken Leaf River. My God, at least twenty crosses. Behind him, someone suddenly gasped and sighed loudly.

The leader of the caravan, Audre Shaba, frowned and quickly turned his head to the banks of the Broken Leaf River. Sure enough, I saw more than two dozen carts and plows, side by side, pulled forward quickly by hundreds of pack horses. After the plow, more than 50 ridges quickly stretched forward, from the eyes of everyone, all the way to the end of the sight.

"Oh, oh, oh, awesome......" Around the ridges, many local people dressed as farmers danced excitedly. It's as if the land being reclaimed has a share in each of them.

On the plow cart, soldiers shook the farmers with their hands free. One by one, like heroes who have just returned triumphantly, their faces are full of excitement and pride.

"Uncle Sabah, the city guard of Broken Leaf will not really send soldiers to plough the land for the farmer!" The old merchant Sibo saw that his eyes were hot, and he gently pulled the reins of the camel of the caravan leader Audre Sabah with his hand, and asked in a low voice.

"How is that possible?" The leader of the caravan, Audre Shaba, didn't think about it, and immediately shook his head vigorously. Immediately, he added in a low voice unconvinced, "Even if it is, it will definitely charge a high commission!" Otherwise, wouldn't he be a fool? ”

"Hmm!" The surrounding vendors nodded their heads, and then their eyes swept to the faces of the people watching the excitement around them, but they did not find any distressed or frustrated expressions. What catches the eye, there is only the joy of the fake!

In their hearts, everyone immediately denied the judgment of the caravan leader Audre Sabah. Immediately, he looked lively with a smile. Just as he was looking at it happily, he suddenly heard an even more enthusiastic commotion on the riverside. Many of the people who had watched the plough carts ploughing the fields rushed towards the river, one by one, lest they fall behind their companions.

"So what?" The leader of the caravan, Audre Saba, raised his head and tried to look towards the river. With the advantage of the camel's high back, he soon had a clear view of all the scenery along the river.

A group of soldiers, pulling ropes, slowly set up a huge two-story paddle wheel into the river. An officer's stood beside a strange-looking house, waving a corner flag in his hand and directing the soldiers to move in unison. In the cheers and cheers of the onlookers, the paddle wheel descended lower and lower, lower and lower, and finally, it was firmly on the surface of the river. The official, on the other hand, raised the horned flag in his hand and waved it vigorously in mid-air.

Several soldiers run to the odd-looking house and work together to remove a mechanism. "Bang!" Suddenly there was a loud bang on the riverside, and the ground trembled slightly. The paddle wheel was propelled by the river and began to spin slowly, with a series of piercing metal crashing sounds. The officer, on the other hand, held the corner flag in the hands of his entourage. Then he plunged headlong into the strange-looking house and disappeared.