Powered by the will of the Son of Heaven, and with the two core members of the organization that had been banned by the famous order, Qiangxue and Baoguo as the royal hands, the chariot called Xinfa ran at high speed, and the huge wheels roared by, and those in front of it, whether it was weeds or stones, all crashed directly into it with a crushing posture.

Tongzhou, as an important transportation hub between the capital and Jinmen, welcomes merchants all year round, and is also an extremely lively place. Liu Chang has three generations of ancestors and runs a large car shop in the city. Although the store is still small, it can still make a living.

Since the appearance of foreigners, his livelihood has become more and more difficult, and he has put in more and more efforts to survive. He and his wife didn't know how to read, and even relied on some symbols he knew for bookkeeping, and he didn't quite understand the so-called New Deal.

But one thing he knows is that after the implementation of the New Deal, his life has indeed changed for the better than in the past. Some people who usually don't come to live in a big car shop like him and sleep in a bunk like him are now willing to condescend and live here, and the chaseke that can sleep more than 20 people no longer has to worry about not being able to rent it.

You can make a fire in the shop, you can bring your own dry food and vegetables to start a fire here, or you can spend some money and eat the food provided by the store. Several Jianghu people who have lived here for many years and are counting on the juggling for a living have a little affection for Liu Chang, and when they meet each other, they always have to chat a few words.

On the contrary to Liu Changyou, since the implementation of the new law, their life has become more difficult than in the past, and even the store money that is settled once a day now has to apply for arrears.

"There's no way, there's no gentleman who doesn't raise artists, what kind of new law is there now, the troublemakers have no money in their pockets, they can't even eat, who still cares about things. Don't look at the stuff, where does the money come from. "Hao Da, who sells strong pills, is an eight-foot-tall man, with a very majestic appearance, and can play with a big iron knife. Even if everyone knew that his pills were fake, just to see his iron knife, they could gather a lot of people. In the past, he ate the most, and occasionally ate some meat, but today, he counted the ten eldest sons with an embarrassed face

"Shopkeeper Liu, I'm sorry, it's really not good to buy and sell today, this money is just enough for the store. This meal...... I'll give you a meal on credit, and I'll pay it back tomorrow, so you don't need the meat, just be vegetarian. /”

Liu Changyou took the money, but he was very easy to speak, "You're welcome, although my small shop is a little better now, but in the past, it was all supported by you." You have difficulties, I can't help but be open, I owe three or two days, and I can still withstand it. It's just that I can't afford to carry it anymore. You just want meat, you don't have it today, you have a neighbor today, the monk of Guangji Temple, Master Chengyuan, the luggage has been delivered, and people will come in a while. There are monks, it is not appropriate for you to eat meat, eat some vegetarian, vegetarian and pure. ”

"Cheng Yuan? Why does the monk live in a big car shop? Several people who sell artists think it is rare, "Doesn't he have a temple?" Why, sold the temple? ”

"Sell? Sell whom! Let people take it! Damn, what kind of new law is this, it's simply a law that doesn't let people live! "It was Cheng Yuan who spoke. However, this monk now does not have the grace of a monk on weekdays, with his chest open, carrying a stick on his shoulder, and picking a package on it, full of wine, which can be smelled from any distance.

"Master, why are you still drinking? You're a monk, can you drink? ”

"What a monk, in the past, when there was a temple, I was a monk. Now that there is no temple, I am still a monk. Cheng Yuan took out his money bag as he spoke, and counted the money for ten days. This is ten days' room money, and in addition, you are tired to make me a large meat noodle today, and put more shredded meat. ”

When Hao Da heard the big meat noodles, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva, "Master, you are out of the way, and even the meat has been eaten." No, your temple is so good, why is it gone? ”

"Why not? It's not that the court has tossed it. It's all a new law raised by this son of a bitch, saying that it is to run a new school and a foreign school. I don't care if you run a foreign school, but why use temple property. The temples and nunnery halls and ancestral halls in the world must be changed to foreign schools. Our yamen here is even more lacking in morality, so they don't let me live in the temple anymore, saying that they left the place to live to the master and drove me out, isn't this a bandit? ”

Liu Changyou was cautious, and hurriedly persuaded Cheng Yuan to dissipate his anger, and played a round field, "Maybe this is in the yamen, I didn't understand the above meaning for a while, and I did things badly." When you figure it out, you have to take the master back, after all, it's your temple, isn't it? You won't stay with me for long. ”

"If something goes wrong, it's a heart. The above didn't say that, but the people below would understand it like that. After all these years, you still can't see that if you cough at the top, you will have to treat tuberculosis below. If you want to talk about the emperor, it is naturally good, but you can't stand the traitors around you! Don't you know, the imperial court is going to abolish the imperial examination! ”

"Abolish the imperial examination? Can't you? If the imperial examination is abolished, the world will not be in chaos, and who should be allowed to take care of us. ”

Although none of the people who live in the big car shop have the opportunity to respond, when it comes to the scholars, they all have a kind of respect from the bottom of their hearts, and they believe that they should obey the commands of those people. As soon as they heard that the imperial court was going to abolish the imperial examination, everyone was surprised and confused. Without the imperial examination and the herdsmen's officials, how would everyone live?

At this time, two more people came from outside, rented the only two remaining bunks, and after paying the money, one person said: "Not only the liberal arts are abolished, but the martial arts are also abolished." The things that were originally tested were all invalidated, and the guns were tested instead. Isn't this a matter of human life, what martial arts can shoot? The yamen in Beijing was also laid off, and Guanglu Temple, Tongzheng Division, and Zhan Shifu were all dissolved. All of a sudden, tens of thousands of people lost their jobs. ”

Another said: "Tens of thousands of people, this is still not to say, they stopped the flag." But all the banner people in the world have no income, and I don't know how many people will starve to death. Compared with these banner people, more than 10,000 officials are not a problem. In the capital, a group of banner men who have no food are holding knives, and they want to find Kang Changsu to play for their lives! If this happens, it must be a white knife going in and a red knife coming out. ”

"Kang Zuyi, this person is the biggest traitor!" Cheng Yuan slapped the table again, "He killed Weng Xiangye, I heard that Weng Xiangye dismissed the official, and it was his black hand." This is placed in the commentary, it must be Pan Renmei and Zhang Shigui. It's a shame that at the beginning, everyone still called him a saint, and he deserved it! ”

The new guest, a footman, did not agree with Cheng Yuan's opinion. "Don't say that, Kang Shengren is still good, you see, he implemented a new law and wanted to abolish the gold in various places, isn't this a good thing. We used to do a little business, and just a penny of gold can make you break your bones. Our own goods are more expensive than foreign goods, and if we go to centigold, our life will be better. ”

As soon as the words fell, a middle-aged official walked in outside the store, this person is the pipe of this area, everyone recognizes it, Liu Changyou hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. The official said: "The county magistrate has an order, starting today, all of you will add a head donation." Every night before the pretense, I came to check on people, and the donations of two eldest sons on a resident and those who did not pay the money were all bombarded on the street. ”

"Donations? What kind of donation is this? Haven't there been wars lately? ”

"Yes, he didn't fight, didn't he take the money. The money is gone, but the yamen still has to eat, and the gang of soldiers in the barracks have to be paid, right? Where does this food come from, but from other sources. The donation of these two sons is the donation of centigold. By the way, there are people who do small business, listen, the goods brought are not collected, but they have to be taxed into the city, and the price is made according to the goods, and if they are not paid, all the things will be confiscated. ”

He looked at Liu Changyou again, "By the way, the county is now going to hold a regimental training and cut the Yong battalion." The original green camp is about to be abolished. Now you have to run the group training first, you don't have to pay for the group training, but you have to take care of the food. You prepare a meal for fifty people every day, two in the morning and two in the evening. The grain is out of the county, but you have to pay for chopping firewood. ”

Liu Changyou's face suddenly became bitter, "I said, boss, look at it, my small shop, there are only a few people in the bag, if I cook for fifty people, I won't do anything else, the people who live in the store should starve." Besides, the money for chopping wood for fifty people, what a lot of money this must be, let me pay it every day, I really can't afford it. ”

The official was very familiar with him, but he was not annoyed, and patted Liu Changyou on the shoulder, "Bear it, these days, it is not easy for everyone, who is much better than whom." If you don't cut some wood now, you have to burn high incense, if the green camp is not cut well, it will be a rebellion, and at that time, it will be good to keep your head. This is the new law, one idea a day, one insight a day, we as ordinary people, we can only listen. I have to go back to the yamen urgently, and maybe there will be a new edict issued, and I will have to listen to it again. ”

When the official went out, the two foot merchants were also in no spirits, "This...... This is no money, and it has been changed to tax, isn't this different? I have been shouting about this new deal for a long time, and it is not useful at all. ”

Liu Changyou said with a sad face: "It's useful, if you squeeze us all to death, he will be useful." Fifty people a day chopping wood, oh, how can I live? ”

A guest who had some knowledge of the imperial decree said: "The new law is also good, you see, this railway business office, the common people can also build the railway, isn't it a good thing?" ”

Liu Changyou shook his head and said, "What does that have to do with me?" I have the money to buy sleepers, and I still have the money to buy chopping firewood and cook for the fifty regiments. ”

"Don't say that, how can you call it a little useful, isn't it just to surround the yamen to explain the law."

Several guests came back one after another, talking about the bustle on the street, and the biggest bustle in Tong County today was a group of scholars who surrounded the county yamen. In the past, it did happen that the talents broke their boots, but since the Yang Bai case happened that year, this kind of thing has not been seen very often. But today, it is not only Xiucai who is besieging the Yamen, but also a few local people. They are gentry, and when they make trouble, they don't know how much more powerful they are than Xiucai, and even the county respecters have to deal with it cautiously, not daring to be careless.

"Those old men who lift people can neither go to Beijing to take the exam now, nor can they choose officials, and the talented people who have read the Five Classics and Four Books all their lives, and now tell them that these things are invalid. Isn't it asking them to die? These talented people, except for studying and taking the examination, can do nothing, and now they are not allowed to advance to the imperial examination, how can they make a living? If you don't make trouble with the yamen, who will you go to trouble? Besides, who runs the Western-style school? Foreign clergyman! The school they run and the people they teach can move towards our great gold country? Those people became officials, and we didn't have a way to live, so if I wanted to talk about it, we had to make trouble. ”

"It's time to make trouble, it's time to make trouble." Cheng Yuan nodded, "It seems that I also have to invite my colleagues in the county and let the yamen give us an explanation." If nothing else, you have to give us some inheritance, or what will we eat and drink? By the way, shopkeeper Liu, hurry up with that big meat noodles, I'm a little hungry. ”

When the noodles were served, Cheng Yuan devoured them, and the chewing sound was like a steel needle, piercing the hearts of the bitter old brothers who gnawed on the heterozygous noodles. Hao Da looked at the iron knife poked in the store, and wondered, should he also go to the group training to see if he could rely on this strength to change his food. But thinking about Tuan Yong's reputation, he was always a strong pill seller, and he couldn't be willing to fall and get mixed up in Qiu Bazhong, so he dispelled his thoughts again.

Liu Changyou suddenly slapped his thigh, "I remember, in the past few days, there have been a lot of Cantonese people in Tongzhou, and I heard that they all defected to Kang Zuyi, and I want him to be promoted and enter Beijing to be an official." There is also a group of people who talk about the new law and the reform of the law, and the wool is taken out of the sheep. I'll go out and ask someone to write me a confession, and all Cantonese people and reformers will have double their food and lodging! ”

Weeds named the common people, scholars, monks, and cents of gold were crushed into powder under the wheels. However, the appearance of these weeds still caused a little bump in the body, but the driver did not notice it at this time.

In the capital, in the Summer Palace, after the dinner, he was supported by Li Lianying as usual, and walked unhurriedly among the long corridors, which was not only to eliminate food, but also to relieve boredom. Li Lianying can also take this opportunity to report the news she heard from the outside. Although she has handed over power, there are still ministers who ask to see Lafayette through various relationships, tell their grievances and unwillingness, and ask him to uphold justice.

On the surface, the old woman seemed to really intend to enjoy the blessings and not ask about political affairs. For these visits, although they were all received, they were always very impatient, and said as they walked: "These people just refuse to let me worry." Now that I don't discipline the government, if I have anything to say, go and tell the emperor, if I have any grievances, go there to complain. They all told me that what was going on, as soon as I took care of it, I was not gossiped. ”

Of course, Li Lianying knew that what he said was insincere, he had his own way of coping with it, and said on the side, "Lafayette, don't blame those ministers for coming to you to cry, it is really after the law change, the market in Beijing is much more chaotic than in the past." You know this banner man, he can't carry it on his shoulders, he can't carry it in his hands, and he expects the banner to live. Long live the flag pay and stop it, how do these people live. There are still so many yamen, who will be abolished when they say that they will be abolished, and the imperial examination will be suspended...... After all, the people in the capital are uncertain, and the ministers are also worried about chaos. ”

"Hmph, those uncles can't afford to support themselves, and they can't blame the emperor. It's all a habitual problem, just starve a few to death! But then again, among these people, there are no ancestors who have done things with the ancestors of the former emperor and made meritorious contributions, and starved them to death. In this way, Lian Ying, you take 300,000 silver from my inner money, buy it into grain, send it down, and tell them, this is a little bit of my heart. Anyway, give them stuttering food. As for the rest, I'm an old lady, but I can't take care of it. Now that the emperor is practicing a new policy and learning from foreigners, how can I interfere? ”

She looked up at the sky, a few birds flew through the air, she sighed, "It's grown up, its wings are hard, and if the old bird tries to stop it from flying, it won't work." Dapeng spreads its wings and hates the sky low, so that it can fly vigorously, fly high, fly far, fly better, the happier I am, I wait to see how our Dajin country is prosperous, how it becomes a strong country! (To be continued.) )