readx;?readx; Chapter 642: The Story of Time

Time is like flowing water, three years have passed in a blink of an eye, and it is now the midsummer season of the fifth year of God's blessing. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

This is the county seat of Shangyang, Hexi Prefecture, Longyou Province. It's the hottest time of the year, and the sky is so blue that it's hard to see clouds. The scorching sun is like a steamer, and the ground is like a frying pan, and before noon, the hot people are out of breath. The big trees, which used to be ignored, have all become sought-after, and the shade of the trees is full of shirtless people enjoying the cool.

said that it was cool, but in fact, they were all covered in stinky sweat......

Although the weather was extremely hot, the official road into the city was still full of traffic, and there was a long queue, and there was no emptiness at noon...... Shirtless porters, businessmen in short shirts, hiding in the shadows of the car body to avoid heat stroke from the sun. The porters fanned vigorously while holding their straw hats in their hands, closing their eyes and recuperating their physical strength, which had been lost by sweat.

The merchants, who did not have the purity of these coolies, cursed in a low voice, and from time to time looked up at the city gate, and felt when it would be their turn to enter the city. But after a while, I had to retract my head back into the shade and pour a lot of water, it was too hot.

But the rolling red dust has its own blessed land, and it is not so hot everywhere. Outside the west gate of Shangyang County, near the official road, and backed by the creek, there is a row of more than a dozen large willow trees, which shade the sun, and the breeze is cool, which can cover a shade.

A few wrinkled old melon farmers pushed dozens of large watermelons that were freshly picked in the morning in a wheelbarrow, leaned under the shade of the trees, and then went to a well not far away to fetch a few buckets of water. Put the watermelon into the cold well water, no need to shout and sell, the big and round green watermelon will attract passers-by around to enjoy the coolness.

"Is your watermelon sweet?" Someone asked what the big guy was saying.

"No sweet, no money." The old melon farmer's face was wrinkled, and he said proudly: "At first glance, you are a foreigner, and the fathers and elders in Shangyang City know that the watermelons in our Tianjia Village are big and round, crisp and sweet, eat one piece to cool off the heat, and eat two pieces of cold and sweet to quench your thirst......"

"What if you eat three slices?" Someone quipped.

"You still want to eat four more slices." The old farmer was obviously a good talker, which caused the people around him to laugh and say, "Then give us two." "I want to." "I want to ...... too"

After a while, there were a lot of people sitting around the melon stall, sitting in the shade of the trees to eat melons and chatting. There is a saying that 'there is no gentleman in midsummer', don't look at the weekdays in the agricultural industry and commerce so clearly, it is definitely full of food and support, nothing to do, let this spicy sun shine, it will all appear.

It doesn't matter what kind of official gentry, peddler and pawn, or scholar and scholar, white-faced son, clean and shirtless, holding a piece of watermelon and gnawing there. I don't care about any etiquette rules and style.

But it's not all like that, there is a group of strong men in the northeast corner of the woods, each born with a tiger's back and a calm bearing, and at first glance they are some practitioners. They were all strangers, and they didn't participate in the gossip of the gourd and the scoop, but sat there silently, observingly observing the situation around them. Even the alluring scent of watermelon didn't distract them.

"What are these people doing?" The unusual scene of a businessman running a single gang naturally aroused the strong interest of melon eaters, but it was a pity that those people were very difficult to mess with at first glance, otherwise they would have gone to talk in the morning.

"I guess it's going to be the rivers and lakes." Someone speculated: "At first glance, it looks like a big dart game." ”

". What year is it now? An inch of time is an inch of gold! There was a white and chubby, rich man who said: "Sensei said that the big dart game is a small dart number of more than a dozen executioners, and it will never be idle." ”

These words aroused the interest of the young man next to him, and he laughed loudly: "Is the current year good? As soon as these words came out, they were immediately despised by everyone on the side. The rich man shook his white chest and said: "The young man is short-sighted, if the year is not good now, then from the rule of Zhenguan, there will be no good year." ”

The people around also nodded and agreed: "That is, our people's mouths can be mean, if it weren't for the real feelings, they would never say good things about the court." ”

When the young man saw that he was angry, he hurriedly folded his hands and said with a smile: "Everyone, this is the first time for the little brother to go out, and the knowledge is indeed very short, and he is curious for a while, no wonder is not strange." He said to the old man who sold melons: "Uncle, buy a few big watermelons, and I invite everyone to eat watermelons to make amends." ”

Only then did everyone feel relieved and laughed: "Then thank you for this son." The old man smiled and nodded, took a few watermelons and cut them, and said in a loud voice: "Whoever eats it will take it, and the girl will know that he will bully the younger students, and he will not panic." The crowd laughed again.

A few watermelons narrowed the distance between the young man and the others, and the young man said to the businessman who was the first to speak beside him: "May I ask your brother, your surname, Taifu, it seems that your accent is from Zhongdu, right?" ”

The merchant smiled and said, "My surname is Zhou, and my single name is a strong character, and I am indeed a native of Tieshi Street, Beicheng, Kyoto." As he spoke, he gnawed the watermelon in his hand out of the green, then dropped the melon skin, and smacked his lips unsatisfactorily: "You are also a gentleman in the middle capital, right?" Dare to ask the name of Gao? ”

The young man nodded and smiled: "It is indeed a foreign country." As he spoke, he handed a piece of melon to the man, and introduced himself: "The younger brother's surname is Tian, his single name is a rain character, and he lives in Nancheng Tobacco Bag Alley. ”

"When the fellow sees the fellow, the tears are full of eyes, then we have to be close and close." The merchant suddenly became affectionate and said, "Why did you leave Beijing?" ”

"Oh, come out and do some small business, and by the way, a long insight. On this hot day, the road in front of me was blocked, and I couldn't walk. Alas, it's really ......," Tian Yu sighed.

The merchant looked him up and down for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "With all due respect, I don't think you're a trader. ”

"How so?" Tian Yu was slightly surprised in his heart, and asked quietly.

"Let's go alone, it's all based on a pair of eyes, if you can't even see your identity, dare to come out and beg for a living?" As he spoke, the footman smiled and said, "Look at your hands, they are clean and slender, and your nails are neatly trimmed; Look at your face again, white and red, refreshed, how can there be a little wind and dust? As he spoke, he pointed to the fan in Tian Yu's hand and said, "Don't look at you in a cotton shirt, the sandalwood fan you can take will cost twenty taels of silver, which one can afford to use it?" ”

"Yours is yours!" Glancing at the fan in his hand, Tian Yu shook his head a little depressedly, and then smiled again: "Then what do you say I do?" ”

"Childe will test me." The businessman Zhou Qiang smiled and said: "Looking at your demeanor and bearing, it seems that you are a child of a wealthy family, but that calm and relaxed attitude is not something that ordinary sons and brothers can have," said and suddenly changed his face and said: "Are you from the former cabinet chief...... No, the Tian family lives in Dongcheng, not in Nancheng. ”

Tian Yu shook his head and said noncommittally: "I won't tell you anything, my little brother has been pampered since he was a child, and he has been born better, and he has always been worried about food and clothing, and he is also a little unprofessional. This time, my father deliberately let me experience it. Scratching his head as he spoke, he asked with some curiosity: "I remember that I walked through Longyou with my father four years ago, and I feel that it has changed a lot." ”

"It's not just quite big, it's just upside down!" Zhou Qiang laughed and said: "It's not that I'm boasting, the changes that our Great Qin has undergone in the past three years are much greater than the past thirty years combined!" ”

"Is that powerful?" Tian Yu didn't believe it.

"Of course." A resting man on the side said: "We ordinary people can't say anything one, two, three, four, but we can really try it out, the current life is much better than when Zhao Wuye was there, the most obvious thing is that there is surplus food in the four seasons, and there is no need to escape the famine!" ”

"Yes," Zhou Qiang nodded: "My family was originally not full, and they had to rely on melons and vegetables to survive the spring famine every year, and they didn't dare to think about the remaining money." He said with a proud smile: "Now not only do I have to worry about food and clothing, but my eldest brother can go to the bookstore to study." ”

"In that case, Brother Zhou, why do you still want to run a single gang?" Tian Yu asked strangely: "I often hear people say that this work is very tiring and hard, and the danger is not small. ”

"Brother is talking about the old yellow calendar." Zhou Qiang shook his head and smiled: "Over the years, I have a Huaxia ticket number, and I have deposited the silver in it and taken it out when I get to the ground." When you come back, follow behind the big caravan, there is no danger at all. Suddenly, he said, "But this is the last trip, and I won't run again." ”

"What are you going to eat if you don't run?" The man next to him interjected.

"If you find a job in the middle capital, it's no worse than doing this." Zhou Qiang said with a gloomy expression: "Do you think it's still the first two years, and one trip is enough to spend a year." ”

These words caused the collective sighs of the people on the side, and they nodded one after another: "Yes, I can earn twenty taels for a trip the year before last, but it dropped to ten taels last year, and this year it is only five taels, which sounds like a lot, but it takes three months to go back and forth, how much can I spread in a month?" ”

Some people are also very envious: "You Kyoto people are blessed, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, there is King Wucheng and his old man's town, those cows, ghosts, snakes and gods dare not toss indiscriminately, it must be much easier to make money." ”

"That's nature." Zhou Qiang nodded and smiled: "I opened a leather goods shop with my brother-in-law, just a big palm, and I can get thirty or fifty taels a month, what do you say I have to work hard?" ”

At this time, Tian Yu, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said: "Why do I sound a little confused?" You will say good and bad, is this world good or bad? ”

"It depends on how it compares." The white-flowered landlord on the side shook his head and said, "If it is compared with the Zhaowu period, it is naturally excellent; Compared with the first two years of the New Deal, it is far inferior. ”

The people around him nodded sympathetically and said, "Yes, although it's not bad at the moment, if the momentum continues, I'm afraid that in another three or five years, we will have to return to the original state." ”

That Tian Yu's face became a little gloomy, and he asked in a low voice, "Why?" Didn't the "God Save the New Deal" say that once a decree is promulgated, it must not be easily amended. Even if it is necessary to revise it as a last resort, it must be more favorable to the people? ”

"Really? Is there one? "None of these people had read the New Deal from beginning to end, and they were ignorant of the special provisions in the appendix.

"Yes, indeed." Tian Yu nodded seriously and said, "I just watched it a few days ago." ”

"That's useless." Zhou Qiang shook his head and said: "Your Majesty and the prince love the people, and we ordinary people know this, otherwise we will not change the law." As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice, pointed to the city gate and said, "See?" It's only been three years since I began to openly defy the Holy Ming! Following his fingers, Tian Yu saw that there were a few poor people wearing uniforms at the gate of the city, who were flaunting their might to check the vehicles entering the city, and it seemed that they were still charging the owners of the car to enter the city.

According to the provisions of the new law, "no heavy taxation", businessmen only need to pay a one-time tax at the place of purchase, and they can be unimpeded throughout the country......

Tian Yuqiang suppressed his anger and said: "Are these people eating the gall of the ambitious leopard, aren't they afraid that Your Majesty and King Wucheng will know?" ”

"Alas! His Majesty and the prince are extremely wise, but the two of them are in the Forbidden City, so many people surround them, so many people coax them. Those people have already been connected in tandem, and they hide everything from the two saints, so that they still think that the world is peaceful and everything is going well! ”

"Isn't there a test method?" Tian Yu's complexion became more and more ugly,

The people around complained one after another: "Rules are dead, people are alive, and the officials have already thought of a way to complete the task and reap the benefits." ”

Tian Yu's face became extremely ugly, and he said in a deep voice: "For example? ”

"For example, there are too many." Someone said indignantly: "I am a foot businessman, so let's take the 'loan' in the 'Xing Shang Xing' that is closely related to me." We know that the prince's original intention is to lend us money for the small businessmen who will not be able to turn over. What a good thing that could have been. ”

"Actually?" Maybe it was because he was angry, Tian Yu's face suddenly became calm, and his voice was no longer angry: "Is there something wrong?" ”

"Of course it's not right, it's a big mistake!" Everyone seemed to have a very serious opinion on this article, and they all said: "If we voluntarily ask for official money, of course it is a good thing, but in fact, in order to complete the 'examination method', the government forced us to guarantee each other and then distribute a certain amount one by one, which is called 'scattered loans'." Moreover, in order to ensure that the principal and interest are fully recovered, the government distributes most of the targets of the middle and upper families rather than the weak and small merchants who are in short supply and arrears, because they are afraid that the lower households will not be able to repay! What else is there to encourage business and commerce? And the interest is charged in half, that is, the interest is two percent a year, and even the rich are overwhelmed by this amount. ”

"Yes, if it weren't for the money in the family, if you could pay it back then, you might have to be in debt for the rest of your life, and earning some money is not enough to pay off the interest."

"How can it be!" Tian Yu finally couldn't hold it back, slapped his thigh fiercely and said, "Have these people eaten the gall of the ambitious leopard?" It's obviously half a profit, but how can it be tripled all of a sudden? ”

"It's conventional." Zhou Qiang shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The son is of noble birth, so naturally he doesn't understand these crooked ways. The extra three points have their own place, and they are all indispensable. ”

"Where to go." Tian Yu clenched the folding fan in his hand tightly and said in a low tone.

"Except for one that is handed over to the state treasury for future reference, these three are usually not accounted for." Zhou Qiang, a businessman like him, is a well-informed person, and there is nothing he doesn't know, so he only heard him whisper: "One of them is dedicated to the scholars of the Beijing University and the Bing Jing of the Six Ministries and Jiuqing, so that those adults in the capital can only say good things and not say bad things." The other is to touch the ears and eyes of His Majesty and the prince, so that these people will also become deaf and dumb. The world will be completely peaceful, and they can also embezzle as much as they want. ”

Tian Yu was so shocked by this sentence that he couldn't speak for a long time, and he called him a few words that week, and then he came back to his senses and said quietly: "This is so much use, so many mouths, is this money enough?" ”

"Of course it's not enough." The white and fat landlord shook his cheeks, and said with envy: "Except that the land tax is too involved, they don't dare to interfere for the time being, but they can work hard in other places, but they can hold the money vigorously." Then he pointed to the gate and said, "Do you look at the gate?" If you want to get in, take the toll. ”

"How can it be!" The young man stood up, twisted his hands so hard that he twisted the hard sandalwood fan into a twist, and said indignantly: "I have the "God Bless New Law" here in black and white, but I just don't hand it over, see what they can do to me!" ”

"Don't, don't." Zhou Qiang hurriedly got up and said: "I can't help it, my son, let's go out, safety first, it has always been better to have more than one thing, and one less thing is better than nothing." ”

"Don't stop me, someone must rule them." Tian Yu shook off Zhou Qiang's hand and walked towards the city gate. A man beside him, who had been silent and almost oblivious, hurriedly got up and followed.

"The flesh is strong." Looking at his back, Zhou Qiang shook his head and smiled bitterly, then looked at the piece of watermelon that he still hadn't eaten in his hand, and scolded secretly: "Come on, who let us be fellow countrymen, and you still invite me to eat melons?" You can't watch him go into the fire pit. And he hurried to follow.

Seeing the boy walking towards the city gate, the group of men in clay statues in the distance also got up one after another, patted their butts and followed.

As soon as he walked to a place not far from the city gate, Tian Yu heard a noise there, and when he looked closely, it turned out that the tax collectors had an argument with a merchant.

He stepped closer and could hear the conversation clearly.

"You said that you would ask for five taels to enter the city, and I gave me a penny, why didn't you let me in?"

"Five taels is the price of last month." A ruffian-looking tax collector said lazily: "It's hot now, but the brothers are working under the scorching sun in order to get you into the city as soon as possible." Shangfeng said that he would charge another cooling fee of one tael, a total of six taels. ”

"Six taels?" The merchant was anxious and lost his voice: "Don't let people live?" ”

"Don't make any noise, won't you just have an extra tael of silver? What's there? "The tax collector doesn't care.

"Big problem!" The hot-tempered merchant shouted: "From here to us, we have to pass through ten county towns, originally calculated that this trip can earn ten taels of silver, if you add one tael to each place, I will run for your government in vain!" Many businessmen behind him also shouted in solidarity: "That's right, we only pay five taels!" ”

"What are you excited about?" The tax collector said indifferently: "I don't know how to collect us elsewhere, anyway, if you don't pay this tael of silver, then don't think about it!" ”

"I'm going to pass!" The merchant was so fierce that he said, "Guys, let's go straight over!" ”

"Who dare?" As soon as the tax collector beckoned, six or seven other tax collectors gathered around, and the idlers and ruffians who were lying under the trees to enjoy the shade also got up one after another, and blocked the gate from being impassable.

If this was placed in the Qi State or the Chu State, most of those merchants would have retreated. But this is in the Qin State, for these Western Qin men, there is no need to hesitate to meet the challenge, even if the challenger is a person from the imperial court.

The truth that the people do not fight with the officials obviously does not work here, and the people of the Qin State believe that the winner is the king, and everything has to wait until the battle is over. Not only the merchant, but a group of unacquainted merchant porters behind him also picked up the guy and stood opposite the tax collectors.

"Hey, it's pretty good." The city gate official sneered and said, "But you have sown in the wrong place, remember this lesson." As he spoke, he waved his hand and said with a hideous face: "Beat me hard until I defeat them." "As if this is not the first time for this situation, those ** ruffians with upper bodies, like a trick, took out some iron rods, machetes and the like from behind them, obviously they have been prepared for a long time, and they must be hard at the critical moment.

Not to be outdone, the merchants responded without fear, although their number was far smaller than that of the locals.

Just when the two sides were about to fight, a loud shout exploded in everyone's ears: "Don't hit anyone!" ”