It was a cold winter, and soon after the New Year, the capital that had been deserted for a long time became lively again, and the prosperous scene gradually emerged, as if overnight, the people of the capital forgot the war at the time of the New Year, and the subsequent attack on the imperial city. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

On the streets and alleys, there is an endless stream of pedestrians, with bright smiles on their faces, extremely relaxed, from the small roadside tea sheds and stalls to the large restaurants and tea shops, all kinds of discussions are continuous, and they talk freely.

The morning sun is rising, the temperature is slowly rising, the sun is warm, the mood is also released a lot, at this time, a tea shed facing the east has long been open, there are a lot of ordinary people sitting under the shed, two earthen stoves in front of the door are placed on top of two large iron kettles, due to the heating of the carbon fire, gurgling white smoke, boiling water is boiling, the sound is oscillating, and the lively atmosphere in the tea shed is more and more relaxed.

"Hey, guys, have you heard?" As soon as one person said this, someone immediately answered: "What did you hear?" In the past two days, all kinds of news and rumors have been flying all over the sky, who knows which one you are referring to? ”

As soon as the words fell, everyone looked at the table in the center of the tea shed, and the first person to speak was a person next to the table, between his eyebrows, exuding the atmosphere of good things, the kind of person who likes to gossip and inquire about things.

Hearing someone interrupt his words and point out the language problems, the good people didn't feel embarrassed, they still had a smile on their faces, took a sip of tea, warmed their stomachs, and then continued: "It's those Qing soldiers who surrendered, have you heard of it?" Just a few days ago, I heard from an acquaintance that the Qing soldiers who had been captured and surrendered had all been taken to the construction site by the peasant army to repair the walls and pave the roads. ”

As soon as there was a pause, someone immediately interjected: "Hey, not only that, but the houses of the people affected by the war are also being repaired, and it is because of these measures that I responded to the call of the peasant army to cut off my braids." ”

Although there are some ordinary people in the tea shed, there is no shortage of smart people, and some people immediately raised doubts: "No, whether it is to build roads and city walls, or to help the people build houses, not to mention the wages, just talk about the wood and earth and stones, where to get these things?" You're not going to make it up, are you? ”

This point of view has been agreed by many people, the tea shed on the side of the road is mixed, what kind of people have, hearing that some people don't want to believe, someone answered: "As soon as you hear it, you know that you haven't been out of the house much, you haven't wandered around the city, those timber and earth and stones, all of them are pulled by the peasant army from outside the city, I also witnessed it with my own eyes two days ago~!" ”

"Moreover, I heard from the villagers who entered the city that the royal woods and mountains before the Qing Dynasty were full of surrendered Qing troops, where they mined stones, cut down wood and moved stones, and provided the wood and earth and stones needed in the city."

Speaking of which, everyone has begun to believe, after all, no matter what, the matter of transporting timber and earth and stones, building roads and building houses, can not be done in a few days, and if you want to confirm what you say, you only need to look at it, there is no need to lie and say such big things.

As soon as you say a word, the atmosphere in the tea shed rises and becomes more and more lively.

Different levels lead to different focuses, and the content of the discussion is even more different.

At the same time, in the box of a certain restaurant in the capital, several merchants gathered here, sitting there, the delicacies on the table could not attract their attention at all, and everyone looked ugly, as if there were a thousand difficult things in their chests, which bound their minds.

The atmosphere was a little heavy, quietly, no one moved chopsticks, ate food and drank, and finally, it was the people sitting down who spoke: "Bosses, we are all business people, I have something to say here, I want to ask, do you have the same experience as me, you must register the business in the yamen of the peasant army, and report the type and scope of business?" ”

As soon as these words came out, it was like a pebble thrown into the calm surface of the stream, which not only caused ripples on the surface of the water, but also stirred up the undercurrent below, gushing out of the water, and immediately received a response from the other merchants, who echoed: "How could it not be? No, just the day before yesterday, an official of the peasant army went to my shop and said that if I don't register and make a register, it will be an illegal business and will not be protected by their officials, and even if something happens, their police station will not be closed. ”

"Yes, yes, our situation is similar, since ancient times, the people have not fought with the officials, and the merchants have not been able to fight with the officials, how can I refuse?" A merchant agreed.

Although the others did not say anything, they nodded their heads frequently in agreement, and at this time, a worried voice sounded next to the businessman seat.

"That being said, this is the truth, but why does the peasant army have to register with us? Guys, isn't there anything wrong with it? I've heard that the peasant army has confiscated a lot of silver taels from the homes of those princes and relatives, could they also be fighting our ideas and looting money? ”

The last sentence simply speaks to everyone's hearts, the reason why they participated in today's box meeting, most of them have their own little Jiujiu, see what other people think, how to join the peasant army in the capital?

Because of this, I can't make up my mind, I don't know what Yang Lin's strength is, most of the people in the box still have braids, and they would rather pay two or three times more taxes and silver, but also buy a room to retreat, if the people come back, they won't be too flustered.

For a while, I asked everyone, no one dared to give a definite answer, and my heart became more and more worried and uneasy, restless, and I didn't know how to deal with it.

"I don't know who the leader of the peasant army is? This trick is really amazing, although we were not forced to cut off the braids, but a policy was formulated, if you want to keep the braids of the Qing court, you must pay three or four times the original taxes, this trick is really ruthless, even if it is a million family wealth, it can't last long. When you do business, you can't make ends meet. ”

The person on the right nodded, and added: "Not only that, although my shopkeeper has braids, but those guys in my shop have all cut off their braids, if they are punished and their wages are deducted as before, the yamen of the peasant army will come to the door and make decisions for those guys, and they will seal up the shop and confiscate the family property at every turn until they can repay the wages and medical expenses of those guys." ”

"Who's to say no? Boss Yue, my situation there is even more head-scratching than yours, since those maids and subordinates at home heard such news, they have followed suit, the maids can't wait to make themselves bald, my subordinates have all cut off their braids, now, except for me and my family, none of the men in the house have braids, and such a thing cannot be stopped, once it is done, it will be known by the yamen of the peasant army, and the consequences will be very serious, so that we people can't say what they are suffering, we can only watch! ”

One person sighed, and after finishing speaking, he shook his head helplessly, and then said no more, and took a sip of wine and food depressedly.

Immediately afterwards, a businessman with a fat belly followed and said: "Hey, since the peasant army entered the capital, the way of the world has changed, and those subordinates and maids in the family can't fight easily, otherwise, if they sue the government, no one will be able to bear it~!" ”

"And I don't know what those officials do? Oil and salt don't enter, water doesn't get wet, no one collects money, that is, yesterday, Lao Liu killed a maid at home, no, the matter was stabbed to the peasant army's police station that afternoon, after finding out, Lao Liu was directly sentenced to death, no matter how much Lao Liu's family spent, it was useless, and he was executed this morning. ”

"Hey, Lao Liu's incident, I also heard about it, and now it's all over the city, and more and more people are cutting off their braids, so damn it, it makes me nervous, before I come out. I told my son and wife again and again that it is okay to beat someone, and at most I will pay one medical expenses and two taels of silver for lost work, and if I get someone's life, no one can save it! ”

After one person agreed, an elegant man picked up the wine jug on the side, poured himself a drink, and said softly: "However, then again, this world has become very good, although we can no longer arbitrarily call and kill those maids and subordinates, but on the other hand, our lives are also guaranteed." ”

"Let's think about the past, when the Qing court ruled, although we had money, we could send our subordinates and maids at will, but our lives were not guaranteed, and our family property could be robbed by those powerful people at any time, and there was no reason to talk about it!"

What the elegant businessman said immediately resonated, and someone echoed and said: "Boss Zhou is right, from this point of view, I still agree with this peasant army, although there is less freedom and some constraints, but there is a safety guarantee for life and family property, once there is a problem, there will be a place to reason and report the case, just by virtue of this, in two days, if the situation is stable enough, I will persuade my old man to take my son and grandson to cut off the braids!" ”

At this moment, the atmosphere is not as heavy as at the beginning, but there is a sense of relaxation and happiness, and there is a faint consensus, and everyone has made a decision in their hearts.

After a short silence, the people in the audience looked at everyone one by one, and then said: "Okay, bosses, please come today, just exchange ideas, discuss, look at the current situation, I think everyone has their own ideas in their hearts, then, let's not just sit, eat and talk." ”