Xinfan County is very close to Chengdu Prefecture, but it is only 20 miles. The county seat is eight miles in circumference, and it is built of stone. Li Zicheng entered Sichuan in Chongzhen for ten years and besieged Chengdu. Although Xinfan County was not lucky, it was still prosperous because it was not burned or slaughtered. The narrow county town could not accommodate the growing population and shops, and the density of shops outside the city gate was not inferior to that in the city. It's just that the officers and soldiers outside the city are gathered, and the residents who can escape have already run away.

Zhu Pingjin and his entourage were five miles away from Xinfancheng, and they were greeted by the commander of Ningchuan Weihe, the Fubiao garrison Gyatso, and the commander of the Chengdu guard surnamed Xu.

The Ningchuan Wei Yamen is located between Chongyangguan and Baiyun Nunnery in the north of the city, and Xinfan County and Peng County are the flood lands of the guard. Lao He is in his early fifties, he is a big fat man, known as He Pig's Head. His main business is the command of Ning Chuanwei's palm print, and his side business is the big shopkeeper of the He family firm in the north gate.

The He family firm is mainly engaged in general contracting of construction and grain trading, and by the way, it sells some flowers and plants, medicine, leather and coal deposits, etc., and has many business dealings with Wangdian. So when Zhu Pingjin arrived, He Zhutou talked with Zhu Pingjin familiarly, and poured bitter water, not at all as impassioned as the governor Yamen when he received the task.

"Lord Shizi, what kind of chaotic people are there in the city? It's a bunch of foolish farmers and people! If the lower officials really fight, they can be beaten down in an hour!

You can't really fight! Who killed to farm for the palace? Besides, our guard has not received a full salary for several years, and the soldiers are injured and disabled, and it is not that we, the leaders, have paid for it! ”

He has a round head and a big head, and a small helmet on it, which looks very funny. Zhu Pingjin couldn't help but want to take off his helmet and put on a six-in-one hat (Note 1).

"Lord He is old in the battle array, please ask Lord He for advice!"

"Oh, Lord Shizi, don't tease the lower officials! Xia Guan is a small businessman, where can he withstand such a toss? You see, last year's drought, our Ningchuan Wei harvested a few thousand stones, this year it is easy to look forward to a few spring rains, and now it is about to raise seedlings, and this person is tied up in the city and outside the city. If we continue to confront each other like this, we will miss the agricultural time, and we will not wait for the thieves to come and fight us next year, we will starve to death first! ”

Zhu Pingjin squinted and glared at He Zhutou:

"In the city? Lord He finally told the truth! In addition to the Zhuang households of our palace, there are also your people in Ning Chuanwei, right? ”

"Yes, yes! Xia Guan was in a hurry just now, and he didn't report it clearly to the prince, and asked the prince to forgive him. He pig's head shook on the horse. Seeing that the helmet was about to shake off, he hurriedly reached out and held it down.

"Didn't make it clear? You Ning Chuanwei has more than 20,000 dings and 50,000 acres of land, and you still lack these people? Lord He is not afraid of no one, nor is he afraid of missing the agricultural time, but he is afraid that the capital and the governor will hold you accountable for not governing the army strictly and arsonizing the army! ”

"Oh, Lord Shizi, how dare the lower officials deceive you? I, Ning Chuanwei, have more than 20,000 dings, and that's just the number on the soldier's register. The year before last, the lower officials asked the small ones to nod according to their heads, and there were less than 18,000 Chengding. You see, as soon as the thieves came last year, Du Si drew troops from our Chengdu Five Guards to General Fang, and the family drew 1,005. These people haven't come back yet! I don't know if I'll be able to come back! The capital division and the governor's yamen each drew 500, saying that it was to rebuild the Fubiao. That adds up to two thousand five......"

"Plus my father repaired the palace for a thousand, the Qinglou casino guarded the door for five hundred, and your business number was one thousand and five. That's five thousand five! ”

"Lord Shizi, you know everything, why are you still molesting the lower officials?"

"That's it! Since we don't distinguish between each other, I also ask Lord He to share what he thinks and thinks in his heart. Zhu Pingjin said with a smile, without a trace of blame.

"Xia Guan's idea is:" He Zhutou lowered his voice behind Zhu Pingjin, "Trick them out of the city first!" ”

"How to deceive?"

"First ask the prince to come to the city and forgive them for their innocence, and then declare that everyone who goes out of the city will be exempted from this year's tax. When they get out of the city, Lao Tzu ...... No, Xia Guan picked a few more leaders to kill, didn't they let us knead at that time? ”

Zhu Pingjin turned his head and glared at He Zhutou fiercely. He Zhu's head was lowered, and he hurriedly avoided Zhu Pingjian's murderous eyes.

"This son is the prince of a country! How can you do such a righteous and untrustworthy thing? In this way, how will the people of the world view my Shu Palace? ”

Zhu Pingjin didn't let him go at all because He Zhutou avoided him, first stared at him and scolded him, and then changed his voice: "However, Lord He is old and serious after all, and this tax reduction and exemption is indeed feasible!" ”

"Oh?" He Zhutou's eyes lit up.

"The tax paid by military households is as heavy as that of civilian households. This time the son of the world came to uphold the will of his mother and announce the rent reduction to the households of Wangzhuang! ”

"Do you really want to reduce rent?" He pig's head was wide and his eyes were wide.

"The words of Chrysostom of this world, of course it are true! The number of tenants is reduced to 50%, and the contribution is reduced to 10%! ”

Before Zhu Pingjin finished speaking, He Zhutou's body shook and he almost fell off the horse, but fortunately, Zhu Pingjin quickly grabbed the fat.

"As soon as the rent of the palace is reduced, the officials will have no way to live!" He Zhutou's face was full of frustration.

"Strange! My palace has reduced the rent, what is the matter with Gan'er and other guards? ”

"As soon as the palace is reduced, we must also be reduced. If we don't minus, aren't all those people running away? He pig's head is weak.

"Your soldiers ran away, and you don't know how to catch them?"

"Ran into Wangzhuang, how dare I catch it!" He Zhutou is like a dead father.

"It's only two or three percent less, why is it like a mourning exam?"

He Zhutou couldn't help but burst into tears: "Ouch, my son!" You were raised from a small golden nest and a silver nest, and you don't know how hard it is for us to be a Qiu Ba!

Our six guards in Chengdu Mansion have never been warred in the past few years! Weapons and armor must be matched, food, grass and clothes must be distributed, those who are killed and wounded must be compensated, military salaries must be supplemented, and heads must be rewarded. This war is money! How can a little bit of silver be enough from above? After layer by layer, the goose has been plucked, and there are three achievements left in my hands!

As soon as the New Year's Festival is celebrated, Shangguan has to send gifts to congratulate them, from the prince to the second Taiwan, the military garrison, the Qing army, to the general army and the capital division, which small one dare not send, and which yamen does not dare to be missing. Food prices have risen so much now, and they will definitely have to rise again this year. These two pieces of silver can't buy four buckets of rice, and the wives and babies of those sergeants are so hungry that they scream, so it's good not to rebel. If the lower officials don't make some money by doing some business, where can they live! Subordinate officials are sometimes forced to ...... I want to go to the street to rob it, but I don't dare to think about it. Losing one's own head is a trivial matter, and raiding one's family and exterminating one's family is a major one......"

He Zhutou complained of bitterness and led Zhu Pingjin and his party to his Chinese army. The Chinese army was set up in the compound of a large family outside the city. It is said that the family was killed several times by the rebels, and the rest ran away.

There were four small soldiers standing guard at the door, wearing undistinguishable battle jackets. Holes of various sizes were open everywhere in the jacket, and black cotton wool came out of the holes. Although it was almost March, their lips were still cold and their lips were shivering.

Zhu Pingjin put aside the chattering and bitter He Zhutou and walked up to a soldier who was standing straight. The soldier was in his early twenties, tall, with an angular face and a pair of eagle eyes.

"Are you cold?" Zhu Pingjin asked.

"This is the prince of the world, hurry up and answer!" He Zhutou hurriedly urged behind.

"Report to the world, cold!"

"They're all shaking, why aren't you shaking?"

"Because villains are on the battlefield. Those who tremble on the battlefield are cowards! ”

"Well answered!" Zhu Pingjin patted the soldier's shoulder, "Do you want to follow this son?" ”

He Pig's head hid behind Zhu Pingjian, and blinked vigorously to the soldier's eyes.

"I don't want to!" The soldier's answer was neat.

"Why? There are many people who want to do something with this world, at least they are well fed and warmly dressed! ”

"There was no fight with the son." The soldier thought for a moment and replied.

"You like war so much? Don't know that fighting a war kills people? I don't know what the people hate most is to fight every day? ”

The soldier seemed to have been stopped by Zhu Pingjin. He paused for a while before replying: "The villain that the prince said doesn't understand. The villain only knows that the villain is born as an official soldier, and if he is an official soldier, he must fight, and he must fight to make meritorious contributions! ”

"Want to make a career on the battlefield? Very good! But fighting and dying is not for you to make a contribution, I hope you can think about it! Once you have figured it out and thought it through, you will tell this son! ”

After entering the lobby of the Chinese army and sitting down, Zhu Pingjin first asked He Zhutou about the situation of the soldiers standing guard. He Zhutou said, the soldier's name is He Chengjun, and he is one of his nephews who came out of Wufu, and his father and two uncles died in the rebellion. He Chengjun was raised by his widowed mother, and he was the most filial. Seeing that his mother and son were living a difficult life and that they were in their own family, He Zhutou accepted him as a housekeeper.

"Since ancient times, loyal ministers have come out of the door of filial piety. Good! Zhu Pingjin patted the case and said: "This soldier has been accepted by the world!" ”

He Zhutou looked puzzled, how can you say that you will accept it, my family, isn't this a robbery?

Zhu Pingjin saw that He Zhutou wanted to speak and stopped, and said with a smile: "Didn't Lord He call him poor in front of this son?" Now that the thieves and the people are in turmoil, the mother concubine ordered the son of the world to build a team to protect the village in Wangzhuangguang. Each village guard can receive a subsidy of 20 catties of millet per month, and there is a reward of 2 taels of silver at the end of the year. It is better for Lord He to send the soldiers to Wangzhuang, which is better than being a guardian for the Qinglou Casino, and it is better than moving bricks from his father. ”

He Zhutou made an abacus in his heart: two stones and four grains a year, plus two taels of silver, one person will have a harvest of seven taels of silver a year. He asked, "How many people does the prince want?" This food and lodging reward ......"

"Choose a thousand first. Weekday food and lodging are provided by our Wang Zhuang, and the casualties and rewards are the same as those of our Zhuang households. ”

"Deal!" He Pig's Head roared. Suddenly, he realized that he was talking to the prince, and hurriedly smiled on his fat face and said: "Xiaguan wants to say that the order of the prince is that Xiaguan can do everything!" ”

"This son only needs small soldiers, not officials! The group of officials and uncles in your guard, I can't wait for this son! "Zhu Pingjin rarely has a deal with He Zhutou, and he is straightforward.

He Zhutou smiled, the battle was not fought, and a business was made first. The seven thousand taels of silver were all deducted, and the food of a thousand people was saved, and at least 15,000 taels were eaten in and out. Not enough people to farm? Then go and catch it on the road, how many homeless people you want! Then sell it to the royal palace, and then catch .......

He Zhutou was trying to arrange the prince to recruit a little more to protect the Zhuang team, and Xu Tongzhi, a Chengdu defender who had not spoken, spoke:

"Benwei has always had a lot of people and a lot of people. The son of the world wants people and soldiers, and the guards want as many as they want! A person only needs one or two or seven coins of silver a year, plus two stones of grain! ”

"Commander He wants to send people, and Xu Tongzhi also wants to send people. There are only 1,000 people here in this world, so it's difficult to do......" Zhu Pingjin muttered.

"Your mother's Xu Peel! Dare to rob Lao Tzu's business! ”

He Zhutou stood up with a bang, threw his helmet to the ground, pulled up his sleeves with both hands, and was about to rush over to fight.

Na Xu did not show weakness, stood up and shouted: "Lao Tzu's guards also want to eat!" What's wrong with the business of robbing you of your pig's head? Whoever bids low should get it! This is a clear price, Tong Su is not bullied! ”

A fire between the two guards seemed inevitable. Master Li may not have many opportunities to deal with reckless soldiers, so he was stunned when he sat down. Only Cheng Xiangfeng stood up and snorted coldly: "Two adults, be careful of losing your honor in front of the prince!" ”

He Zhutou slapped his head, and forgot that he was in front of the son! The two of them retreated to their seats, and Zhu Pingjin smiled: "The two adults don't have to hurt their harmony for this!" Since Ning Chuanwei and Chengdu guards are willing to help the palace protect Wangzhuang, then the prince of the world is in charge of his own affairs: recruit 800 people per guard! Food subsidies and silver rewards remain unchanged! As compensation for Lord He, my father owes you the wages for repairing the garden, and this son can pay three thousand taels in advance. It's just that this man can ......"

He Zhutou and Xu Papi suddenly smiled, got up together and said: "Please rest assured, the soldiers of this guard please choose at will!" ”

The side is over. Zhu Pingjin smiled: "Now it's time for us to get down to business!"

Please send a hundred archers each to the two lords and shoot the notice of the rent reduction of the king village into the city! And three hundred men and horses were sent out loud, and they all read out loud notices to the city.

This prince wants everyone in the city to know that Wangzhuang has reduced rent! General Gyatso, please divide the cavalry into four gates, and if you dare to break out of the city, you will be killed!

Ladies and gentlemen, before dark, the leather boots of this prince will set foot on the city of Xinfan County! ”

Note 1: Commonly known as melon skin hat.