In the middle of summer, the day dawns early.

In the sound of the chicken, the dawn gradually brightened, the bright light of the morning star gradually faded, and the eastern sky, gradually faintly appeared a faint red light.

By this time, there were quite a few people going into the city.

Hard-working coolies, carrying poles and ropes, vegetable farmers who pick vegetables into the city to sell, dung-diggers, merchants who enter the city to buy goods, women and children who are idle in the city to visit relatives in the past few days, some people are in good spirits, and some people are yawning and sleepy-eyed.

There are also many people, pushing small wheelbarrows, all of them have bloodshot eyes, and they all look sleepy.

"Fellow, are you here to deliver the grain?"

In the crowd, Zhu Cihong was dressed in blue cloth, with a half-new square scarf on his head, and a pair of cloth shoes on his feet.

After listening to Lu Dalei's statement last night, he immediately decided not to return to Qingjiang and wanted to stay in the county to check the actual situation.

Although these new troops would never dare to lie to him, it is best to hear it with their ears and see it with their own eyes.

Seeing the people who came over with the big team pushing grain, he asked slightly, and then stepped forward to inquire.

"That's right."

A middle-aged man rubbed his face with his hands and replied with a wry smile: "Uncle Hui Xiucai, we are here to pay the grain." ”

"It's been about ten days, why did you just come?"

"Alas, I can't hand it in!"

"That is, you think you can pay it if you want to? It depends on whether someone accepts it or not! ”

"I've figured it out, it's just to feed the dogs, this time, what do you want, let's not hold this breath!"

"That's it, let's just raise another turtle grandson."

The people who came pushing the grain carts, not only the group in front of them, but the city gates had not yet been opened, and there was an endless stream of peasants and people pushing the grain carts, and there were also many fields and many grains, that is, they drove mule carts or ox carts to come, and the dew was heavy in the early morning, and everyone was tightly tucked the tarpaulin covered by the grain carts, and as soon as there was an exposed place, they kept pressing it with their hands.

Listening to Zhu Cihong's words, many people were full of resentment, and after they said it angrily, they said chaotically: "Xiucai doesn't go out, he can know the world, why doesn't this Xiucai understand anything." ”

"When you're young, you read dead books, and you know what the world does."

"This can't be nonsense, you still have to respect your peers."

There are about Lao Chengren who persuaded two sentences, and everyone thought about it, and it seemed that it was not necessary to get angry at a young showman.

At that moment, they all showed a wry smile on their faces, and dispersed in a hurry.

Zhu Cihong relieved the siege, but he grabbed the person who spoke first, stared at the person and asked, "Why can't you hand it in?" The prince has an order, this year's taxes can be paid according to the true color, according to the four rises per mu, why not ask you to pay? ”

"The law of the king is the law of the king," the man saw that Zhu Cihong was so serious, first for a sign, and then said: "No matter how good it is on paper, the method below is two different things." You're really a descendant, and it seems that you rarely go out, right? ”

"Yes, Xiao Ke reads at home every time, and has little experience in world affairs."

"Well, sure enough." The man sighed deeply, shook his head and said, "We pay the grain to go to the City God Temple, if my brother is fine, you might as well go with us to have a look." ”

Zhu Cihong was about to agree, but he heard someone shouting: "The city gate has been opened." ”

All the people were in good spirits, and they all went to the city gate.

There were many people, mules and horses, cattle and sheep, and there was chaos for a while.

Then the city gate creaked, and the two teams of defenders pushed the city gate open, and then scattered around the city gate, and a small officer who looked like a tent chief had a straight face, waved to the people: "Slow down, don't crowd!" ”

This is about a shed of officers and soldiers, the shed chief and the small soldiers are not much different, are red mandarin duck battle jackets, but the shed chief wears a lancet around his waist, there are iron mesh knee pads on his legs, and there is also a pair of new boots on his feet, unlike other small armies, the feet are not cloth shoes with a thousand layers of bottoms, or cloth shoes with strips of hay mixed with hay.

These are all garrison battalion troops, which used to be the town pacesetters of various departments, but now they have been changed from the town army to the garrison army, and their dress and equipment are similar to the serious battalion soldiers in the past, and their spirit is also very good.

Zhu Cihong also nodded secretly, from the towns to the roads, ponds, and floods, up to the towns, down to the officers of the defense teams of the various news divisions, the situation in the army is completely different from the previous few months.

It seems that the work of the Military Training Department and the Military Judge Advocate General's Department has indeed been effective, and the work of the Military Administration and Quartermaster Divisions is also very satisfying.

The equipment, treatment, and regular training of each town have their own duties. In the past few days, Zhu Cihong has also personally seen many people from the Military Judge Advocate General's Department patrolling various places, as well as people from the Military Training Department, supervising training and investigating whether officers and soldiers have violated laws and disciplines.

It's just a pity that the steps are not big enough, the provincial battalion restructuring can not be carried out here, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, Zhejiang has begun to abolish the old and weak, rebuild the battalion system, divide the town to establish an association, and garrison one side.

Of course, without the control of various departments, it is difficult to say how much improvement has been made in equipment and training and military discipline.

can only hope for the means of the newly appointed governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Chen Zizhuang.

As for Fujian, for the time being, half of the province is the territory of the Zheng family, and how to divide the town into associations has to think carefully.

The two lakes have not been touched for the time being.

It is obviously unlikely that the restructuring and the establishment of the camp divisions will be completed before the invasion of the Qing army.

………… Entering from the north gate, I went straight all the way, and it didn't take long to reach the vicinity of the City God Temple.

At that time, the folk beliefs were also varied, but Taoism was more prevalent in the Ming Dynasty, after all, from Emperor Taizong to worship the Zhenwu Emperor in Wudang Mountain, and then from Zhang Sanfeng all the way down, the emperor during the Jiajing period was simply dressed in Taoist clothes all the year round, and there were many real people who were canonized.

Taoism became popular as a result, which was another spring after Li Tang.

Each village has a small land temple or land temple, and in the county seat, there is also a city god temple that is not small. If there are any big events in the city, they are all held here.

Not far from the city god temple, it is where the county warehouse is located, and the table is set up to collect grain at the place of this thoroughfare, and you can directly enter the warehouse after the inspection, which is also convenient and fast.

"Excuse me, has the fourth master arrived?" Someone rushed over with a grain cart, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and asked anxiously.

"Not yet." Someone replied with a wry smile: "I don't know which girl's belly it is on." ”

"Well, wait. What's the solution? ”

"We, the common people, will always be like this, bear with it!"

A group of farmers in Shicai joined more grain delivery teams in front of the Chenghuang Temple, and the people in front of the Chenghuang Temple shouted horses, and all kinds of big animals and sweaty farmers got together, not to mention the sound and smell.

And there was a lot of discussion, and the words were also very sad.

"Uncle, it seems that we don't have to be here all the time, right?" Liu Zhaohui, who pretended to be a scholar, was very uneasy, and he couldn't stand the smell in front of him, let alone the crown prince who grew up in the deep palace.

The trip was also very dangerous, and there were so many people, although there was a guard with the strongest and most alert dexterity on the periphery, but in case anything was wrong...... After all, there are too many people here, and it is very difficult to prevent it!

"Shut up!"

Zhu Cihong originally had a pleasant complexion and a very good mood, and he was running around on the road for a while, but the dullness in the barracks every day was also relieved a lot.

Training is very hard, and it is not only the ** that suffers, but also the people's minds.

Doing the same thing every day, the soldiers of the new army can rest, the generals can rest, no one dares to care about him, the highest status, but he can't rest.

Today, pretending to be a showman and mixing in the bazaar can actually be regarded as a kind of leisure and relaxation.

It's just that in this group of peasants who sighed and looked sad, listening to everyone's discussions, Zhu Cihong's heart gradually sank.

In northern Shaanxi and Henan, people cannibalize each other, eat Guanyin soil, and eat Yizi, to the point that no one will oppose it.

And in this area of Huaiyang, although it is not as mentioned above, the people's words are also very difficult.

If prices are high, repairing a plowshare, buying a few packs of medicine, and buying new clothes may be the net income of one or two acres of land.

During the Wanli period, the annual income of the people in Huaiyang was also about seven or eight taels, but the prices were cheap at that time. Now that prices have risen many times and incomes have fallen a little, you can imagine how sad it is.

Liu Zhaohui's words were out of place, and they just angered Zhu Cihong, who was very worried, and he deserved to be blinded and reprimanded.

Seeing him like this, Liu Zhaohui retreated.

He knows this young master's temper!

Zhu Cihong thinks that he is in the top position and needs to seek the well-being of the people, this thought has always been known to the people around him, and the people around him are loyal, which is not one of the reasons.

Some people can use their own personality charm to illuminate all directions.

"It's coming, it's coming."

The crowd suddenly moved, Zhu Cihong followed the eyes of everyone, but saw a tall thin old man in a green robe strolling over, this person had a clear face, a beautiful beard and a long beard, and his beard was already gray.

It's just that more than a dozen men dressed as yacha behind him, with their clothes open early in the morning, their chests and belly bulging, and their faces full of meat, make people look really awkward.

Coming down, there were dozens of idlers dressed in people's clothes, carrying large scales and other utensils for weighing grain, and followed them.

At this time, it has been said that the three poles, many people are waiting outside before the opening of the city, and waited in front of the city god temple for half a day, the sun rises, the sun is dizzy, at this time when I see the four masters of the history coming, many people are rushing forward.

"Damn, don't squeeze, want to fight?"

"Stand back, stand back!"

Seeing the crowd rushing up, the classic historian just frowned, and there were already dozens of men with oily faces around him who rushed forward and drove the mud-legged people who rushed over far away.

A man climbed up to a high place and said loudly: "How to weigh it today, how to put it in storage, who comes first and who comes last, our master will make a decision, what you squeeze, all of them will back down for me." ”

The crowd is surging up, and after the tide recedes, only Zhu Cihong is like a rock, inconspicuous in the crowd, but standing still.

(To be continued)