Chapter 533: Chu Jiazhuang

The etiquette of the Chu family is really done, and there are three waves of children who come out to greet them, and they have always welcomed the tax supervisor Lu Li to the door of Chu Jiazhuang.

As soon as Lu Li arrived, gongs, drums and firecrackers rang out, and the tax supervisor Lu Li was already a little wary and worried, his face was already smiling, and Master Qiu, who was a little apprehensive from the beginning, also stretched his brows, looking at the respectful and polite appearance of the Chu family, there should be nothing to worry about.

Chu Yuanwai carried Lu Li towards the inside of the Zhuangzi, and said words of flattery, and Master Qiu also had a few people there to take care of.

The brocade guards followed behind, while also saying politely, but looking at the format of the entire Chujiazhuang, this is not the format of the grange at all, it is clearly a grange, digging a deep ditch around the grange, with a high wall surrounded by wooden plywood and rammed earth, walking into this village, but found that there are no people living against the courtyard wall, there is a lot of space there, and the part of the high wall has a place to climb.

In the middle of the Zhuangzi, there are several wells, and wherever the houses are against the side of the street and the wall, there are no large windows.

And the group of people who greeted the tax supervision team said that it was the owner of Chujiazhuang and a few elders, the owner of the village was in his fifties, and it was not uncommon for the village elders to be at this age, but the elders around him were different, in the attitude of the people in the Zhuangzi, these people were really noble characters who spoke effectively, but they were all in their forties, and each had a fierce atmosphere.

It doesn't look like the chief in the Zhuangzi, but like the leader in the cottage, and the men in the Zhuangzi all look a little brave, or have practiced the situation, if these men pick up weapons, the three hundred soldiers who are eating and drinking outside are afraid that they will not be able to resist.

This kind of scene, seeing a few brocade guards, but a little Lu Li on the road, these people are wondering in their hearts, could it be that this is a conspiracy, the prefect yamen when we go to check the records of the cotton gentry, it is quite an obstacle, and also sent people to nail the tip, could it be that they colluded with these people to gather bandits to kill our group.

There was a clever one inside, who dragged the guide in front of him, and asked in a deep and serious voice:

"Chu Jiazhuang is usually like this?"

The guide's face was full of wonder, and he said impatiently:

"There can still be a fake, we are a famous geography in Cangzhou Mansion, and there are a few Zhuangzi outside the city, I haven't been there."

"Are these Zhuangzi all of this pattern, do villagers practice martial arts a lot?"

"Oh, a few officials, why do you wonder? When we started planting cotton in the countryside of Cangzhou a few years ago, each Zhuangzi was like this, saying that there were veterans who fought in Xuanhua, and came back to teach everyone the method, you really don't have to say, when we planted cotton a few years ago, the following chaos is a day, every day are robbers ring horses, plundering populations, burning fields, only gathered in this pot to be safe, isn't there a saying, saying that it is not afraid of 10,000, just in case. ”

"Then why do so many Zhuang Ding practice martial arts? Who's going to farm? ”

"Hehe, a few officials, you are in the big place of Jingshi, you don't know about the affairs of our countryside, these children of the Chu family who don't come out of the five suits, who still go to farm and eat grain, are raised by the clan! Each family has land is handed over to the unified arrangement within the clan, get the money at the end of the year, and eat grain at the end of the month, the land is planted by those slave workers, whose Zhuangzi, whose clan men are all helping to supervise the farm work of the slave workers below, helping to guard the portal, our Cangzhou is a place to practice martial arts, and it is at this time that it comes in handy. ”

After listening to the introduction of this guide, several Jinyi guards were a little speechless, and they didn't know what to say, although they were martial artists, but they were on an errand in the Jinyi Wei Zhenfu Si Yamen in Beijing, and they all understood more or less about the major affairs of the family and country.

There is no essential difference between this Zhuangzi and those green forest cottages, there are private armies, fortresses and strongholds, and economic resources, which are no longer under the jurisdiction of the government.

Jinyiwei, as the internal security military attache directly under the jurisdiction of the Son of Heaven, as a member of it, are in the deepest part of their consciousness, feeling that the whole world is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and everyone is the emperor's subjects, although they are also corrupt, but the heart of loyalty to the emperor and loyalty to the Ming Dynasty is still very deep, seeing such a place that is like an independent kingdom, the heart must be extremely disgusted and hateful, especially when Jinyiwei is newly restored, everyone is going to make a career, this emotion is amplified many times.

At this time, the tax supervisor Lu Li was already a little fluttering, the scale and style of Chujiazhuang far exceeded his expectations, but such a magnificent Chu staff of Chujiazhuang still spoke to him respectfully, and was extremely polite and humble to him, and this feeling of being a superior made him particularly comfortable.

As soon as he walked into the main hall, it seemed that this Chu family had indeed known that Lu Li would come, and dozens of tables and feasts were placed in the courtyard of the hall, which looked extremely magnificent.

Tax supervisor Lu Li is a eunuch from the imperial dining room, and he can't help but be amazed when he looks at the dishes on the table, this is already the level of the five grades of the Beijing Division, and the level of the nearly four restaurants, and I don't know that a small cotton gentleman in Cangzhou Mansion can make such a big banquet.

Chu Yuanwai smiled all over his face, stretched out his hand and asked:

"In the countryside, there is nothing too much to show your hands, so I invited a few cooks to come over and work in Cangzhou Mansion, which made the adults smile."

Lu Li was still a little shocked there, but it was Master Qiu who nudged him behind his back, this was the reaction, and he hurriedly sat in the chief position with a smile, and Chu Yuanwai was silent, but the expressions of the few so-called Chu family elders who followed him were not good.

However, Lu Li and Master Qiu, who were already fluttering, didn't notice this detail at all, and then it was a very routine persuasion to drink and talk and laugh, a eunuch like Lu Li valued others to respect him, even sycophancy, and the attitude of the Chu family was especially to his appetite.

After a few drinks, Lu Li began to talk and laugh here with a sharp voice, and his emotions were high, and the people on the side were talking according to his meaning anyway, and no one was disappointed.

A few Jinyi guards outside had a seizure of professional habits, and the questioning and observation just now made them feel a little frightened, and they didn't dare to do the upper seat inside, but they just told the people of the Chu family that they were arranged to be in a position against the door, and the horses were nearby, which seemed very nondescript.

After three rounds of drinking, Lu Li was already the result of his trip, and he was characterized as a success, and he felt a little complacent.

Chu Yuan looked like a lot outside, although he also drank a lot, but his face did not change, he was still very sober, seeing that it was almost over, he waved his hand outside, and the Zhuang Ding who were standing aside and waiting immediately understood what it meant, and hurriedly dismissed the accompanying guests outside.

The people in the Zhuangzi were very obedient to the words of the owner, and as soon as they spoke, they all left happily, even the people who were drinking just now were helped to leave, and several brocade guards thought something was wrong, and they nervously put their hands on the weapons.

Seeing that there was no one left, the Chu member waved his hand, and the four Zhuang Ding carried a large plate, covered with a red cloth, which looked quite heavy, and the four Zhuang Ding shouted there and put the plate on the ground, and when they collided, there was a muffled sound.

Lu Li was startled by this sound, and hurriedly rubbed his face that was a little numb from drinking with his hands, and looked at Chu Yuanwai on the side in wonder, waiting for his explanation, Chu Yuanwai smiled, reached out and tore off the red cloth covering the plate, and suddenly, the whole room seemed to suddenly brighten up a little.

There was a gasp in the room, the gold and silver flashed on the wooden plate, it looked quite colorful and colorful, and after the surprise of gasping for the cold air, there was the sound of swallowing saliva, the so-called wealth touched people's hearts, and no one was a saint.

"Lord Tax Supervisor, this is one hundred taels of gold, six hundred taels of silver, it is a small gift from the village to the adult, please accept it with a smile."

The meaning of this thin gift is similar to a simple meal, Lu Li's saliva flowed out at that time, thinking that after coming to this Cangzhou Mansion for so long, the money sent to him by the merchants in the mansion city is only five hundred taels of silver now, but when he arrived at the cotton gentry village in the countryside, it suddenly increased several times. He just wanted to talk about his subordinates, but Chu Yuanwai said leisurely:

"Lord Lu, the arrears of the land in the village will be raised within three days, plus the increase, and it will be sent to the yamen when the time comes, and it will definitely not embarrass the adults!"

As soon as he heard that his original goal was about to be achieved, Lu Li was full of joy, and when he was about to say yes, Qiu Baolai on the side kicked him hard under the table, and he didn't care about the strange looks of the people in Chujiazhuang on the table, Master Qiu leaned on Eunuch Lu's ear and whispered:

"My lord, this field is charged according to the share of grain, so how much money is there, don't lose a big one because of a small one!"

Being kicked by this, Lu Li's mind was also a lot clearer, but he turned his eyes to look at the plate of gold and silver, he was really reluctant to give up this foreign wealth, Master Qiu smiled on the side, and his voice was not afraid of the people of Chujiazhuang on the side to hear it, but he still lay in his ear and said:

"My lord, if you supervise the tax according to the cotton field, this money will be more......"