Tang Tong has been busy with the bow competition for two months, and many things have been delayed. After two days of rest, I'm ready to run errands tomorrow. Now the Liang Mansion has become the Tang Mansion, the gate is hung with the two big characters of the Tang Mansion, Mao Zongxie lives in a wing room on the left side of the middle courtyard, and Xiao Ningzi lives in the house that is upside down by the door of the mansion, guarding the gate at night. Lao Jing moved to the middle courtyard with Yao's mother, the two husbands and wives lived in the same house with Hu'er, Tang Tong lived in the backyard alone, and now there are six people in the house, and the mansion of Sanjin began to come to life.

Early in the morning, Tang Tong rode a horse, Xiao Ningzi drove the carriage in the house, Mao Zongxie sat in the car, went out of Langfang Street to Pingding Street, and went west to Xiding Gate, only to see eight gatekeepers standing on both sides of the city gate, just asking from time to time, and not caring too much about the passers-by.

Xiding Gate is the only city gate in the west of the outer city, because there is Jishui River in front of it, only a Guangji Bridge can be passed, Guangji Bridge bridge deck is narrow, the terrain is low, built along the river surface, a big flood in spring is submerged, the bridge hole is blocked by sediment, and so the water recedes, the bridge is still impassable, the Ministry of Industry still has to spend a month to dredge, as long as the big water is sent every year, Guangji Bridge can not pass for at least one and a half months, it is from the west gate into the inner city and then around to the outer city.

After the Guangji Bridge, there are two big mountains blocking the road, between the two mountains is a canyon more than ten meters deep, the road is dug along the east side of the canyon, because of the difficulty of digging, the road is very narrow and can only accommodate two carriages and two groups of pedestrians to pass, next to the canyon dare not go too fast, if there is congestion, I don't know how long to block, only the people who ride horses and walk are not subject to this restriction. Although this road is close to the outer city, people who enter Beijing by carriage would rather take more roads around the west gate than to be stuck on the road, unable to move forward, and delay a day when they retreat and return. In this way, the Xiding Gate is the capital to enter and exit the nine city gates, the flow of people is the least, especially in the spring flood season, there is not even a pedestrian.

Therefore, the number of guards at the Xiding Gate is only 1,500 people, and the commander is the captain of the city gate. The other city gates are 2,000 people, and the chief is the city gate captain and the martial arts are the fourth grade. Not only did they rule over the gates, but they also had jurisdiction within fifty miles of the city. It is said that there are 1,500 people, but in fact, there are 1,300 people who are very good. This is a common phenomenon in the army of the Great Zhou Dynasty, even the front-line troops of Xuanfu are like this, only the military department is full when they come to check, and when they are killed in battle, they are not full when they are recruited, and they are still confused by the old way.

Tang Tong three out of the West Dingmen less than ten miles to come to the Jishui River, it is now winter, the water of the Jishui River is very shallow, the Guangji Bridge is not much higher than the river level, to the Guangji Bridge is an obvious downhill road, all said that the construction of the Guangji Bridge did not expect to be flooded, but more than a hundred years have passed, many officials folded up to build another bridge, but there is no news, but the cost of repairing and dredging the Guangji Bridge every year is increasing year by year. But the imperial court still did not build the new bridge, preferring to keep the Guangji Bridge, which was often flooded.

After crossing the Guangji Bridge and entering the narrow mountain road, it was a little blocked at the beginning, and Tang Tong took this road when he came from Xuanfu, so it was not strange. Tang Tong and Mao Zongxie said that it was good to wait for him on the road in front, the horse could not ride on the horse to the side of the mountain, although it was slow or could go forward, after half an hour in the morning, Tang Tong walked eight miles out of the narrow road, and soon came to Wulinkou, there is a fork road leading to the highest peak of the capital, the mountain, there is a royal temple, and now the emperor Jiaqing Emperor believes in Taoism, so it became a Taoist temple. The road to Genshan is no different from the road when Tang Tong came, only two carriages and two groups of pedestrians can be allowed to pass, and the royal road into Genshan is closed, and only one-way progress is allowed.

Tang Tong's itinerary is not here, and then go two miles to a place called Zhoukou Village, where Tang Tong rests and waits for Mao Zongxie. After waiting for half an hour, Mao Zongxie followed in a carriage, Tang Tong got on his horse and turned to the left path, only to see that the terrain was vain and steep, and there was a canyon where a small river had always come, and the water was turbulent. After only walking two or three miles, they came to the small river, Tang Tong got off the horse Mao Zongxie, and the two of them walked to the high ground.

The two searched for more than half an hour, and Tang Tong pointed to a piece of high ground by the river and asked, "How about that piece of land?"

Mao Zongxie followed Tang Tong's point, looked at it carefully and nodded, "On the dam, the water flow is more rapid, at least three water mills can be opened, and the cost will be lower!".

Tang Tong was extremely excited, "Let's go to the field again!".

Mao Zongxie had no objection, nodded and the two went together, after some careful investigation, Tang Tongbi was satisfied, and turned around and asked, "Brother Mao!" That's it!".

Mao Zongxie smiled and nodded, "Then what are you waiting for, go find the local organizer procedures!".

Tang Tong and Mao Zongxie smiled and went to the landlord, saying that it was to go through the formalities, involving some details, and the landlord also raised the price all over the sky, so that it was delayed for two hours, and it was not done until Shen Shi, and only ate some dry food at noon, but it was worth it to achieve one of the two purposes of this trip. The two of them hurried back and went to the second thing as soon as possible.

Return to Zhoukou Village and go five miles again, come to the three-way intersection called Fengkou Town, the road on the right leads to the west gate of the inner city of the capital, this road is not straight, go along the twists and turns of the mountain, there are still seventy miles away from the west gate of the inner city. When Tang Tong came, the road to the outer city was only twenty-five miles, and the northernmost center of the inner city was the imperial city and the palace city, and the officials and wealthy merchants all lived in the east and west of the imperial city, as well as the ancestral residents, and the consumption here was relatively expensive. The clothing, food, housing and transportation in the outer city are relatively cheap, and ordinary people come to the capital to live in the outer city.

It's just that the road to the outer city is not smooth, especially for people who take horse-drawn carriages, they still choose to take the road of the inner city. Fengkou town is an old town of nearly a thousand years, the permanent population has five or six thousand people, people who enter Beijing from the west will choose to spend the night here, no matter where you go from that road, it will take most of the day's trip, it is better to rest overnight in the morning, do not hurry to the capital in the afternoon, such as going in the afternoon, when you arrive in the capital, the city gate is closed, and even the city can not enter.

Tang Tong and the three of them entered Fengkou Town and found an inn nearby. Seeing that it was still early, Tang Tong and Mao Zongxie went to the town to look around and find out if there was any vacant land to sell at the edge of the town. All the way to the west, I was not satisfied with a few places, and finally left Fengkou Town and walked three or four miles west along the avenue, and then went two miles to Fengkouwei. Fengkouwei is a lookout post in the west of the capital, responsible for the security of the west of the capital, and there are 5,000 soldiers living there, so there is no need to worry about bandits here.

I found a good stall with two rows of houses in front and a large vacant lot behind, which is a good place to open a coal stack. I negotiated the price with the owner, so I had to go back to the inn to rest and come back tomorrow.

The next day, Tang Tong and Mao Zongxie finished breakfast and set off from the inn early in the morning. The two of them walked along the road to the west. I didn't go far, just out of the center of the town, I saw some people watching, Mao Zongxie walked over, although Tang Tong didn't like to see the excitement, but he couldn't move forward, and he could only follow the past.

Peeling through the crowd, I saw a woman in tattered clothes and a stick of grass on her head, about fourteen or fifteen years old. I heard her say; "I fled from Henan, my mother is seriously ill, and that kind man gave my father ten taels of silver and bought me!"

"Ten taels of silver can buy three acres of land, and you have to raise people this year, who will do it!", some others are saying. Seeing the excitement, most of them were not willing to pay for the silver, but despite this, the girl was still bowing her head and screaming, hoping that someone would buy her.

At this time, a middle-aged man ran over and pulled the grass off her head, "Susu, you bought yourself, your mother will not forgive you when she comes back to life, go!" Come back with me.", he said as he dragged the woman away.

"I'm not leaving! I'm not leaving!", the young man resisted and cried, but was still dragged away by his father. Tang Tong felt sad for a while, and couldn't help but follow, Mao Zongxie could only follow.

Come to a small abandoned temple where a group of fleeing people live. Tang Tong followed them to the side of the temple wall, where a middle-aged woman was lying coughing, and there was a teenage boy next to her.

"We don't buy our daughter, you go!", the middle-aged man was driving Tang Tong away.

"Nope! The master bought me!", the girl immediately ran to kneel in front of Tang Tong and kept kowtowing while crying.

Before Tang Tong could speak, a voice came, "What did you say, Susu?", the old man roared angrily.

When the middle-aged woman heard that she knew what was going on, she was very anxious and wanted to sit up to dissuade her, but she was still coughing and couldn't get up.

Tang Tong turned around and whispered to Mao Zongxie; "How about letting the family look at the house first?", he said, and took out two taels of silver.

Mao Zongxie took the silver with understanding, handed it to the girl and said; "Go to the doctor!". The girl didn't hesitate, stood up and ran out, but his father was at a loss and looked at Mao Zongxie in a daze.

After turning around and looking at the middle-aged man, Mao Zongxie was patient, "Old brother, my family has a good heart, please go to see the house with your whole family, not to buy your daughter, don't worry!".

The middle-aged man looked dazed, and the people fleeing next to him were saying that they had met a good Samaritan. If it weren't for his daughter saying today that she insisted on selling herself, how could she have encountered such a good thing, her mother was also saved, and her life was settled.

Tang Tong instructed Mao Zongxie to wait for the doctor here, and after seeing the doctor, he would take the whole family to the coal stack that the two of them were optimistic about, and then signaled, and one of them left in a hurry.

Tang Tong bought the house according to the owner's price, handed over the house, and looked around. Behind the house is a mixed forest with a small stream down the slope. I have seen in Shanxi coal stack, coal water will pollute the black water source, so you must dig a big pit to precipitate, otherwise the gain will outweigh the loss if you pollute the creek.

The name of the plaque of the coal stack has also been thought of, and it is called Tongheng Coal Stack. It's early winter, it's about to snow, and you can't do anything with a winter of snow. The coal stack can only be opened in the spring next year, but the foundation is already there, and next year Laojing will be called to Shanxi to purchase, and it will be able to open in May and June. The grain stack should have been opened at this time, and the land bought in Zhoukou Village was a boiling water mill, grinding noodles and opening a grain stack. Now we are looking for a place to lay the foundation, and next year it will be a matter of course, and I believe that it will be effective in less than half a year, and it is a good prospect for the eyes.

At this time, Mao Zongxie led Susu's family to come, and when he saw Tang Tong, the whole family knelt down, and after helping him up, he asked and found out that the surname of this family was Feng. Tang Tong gave another twenty taels of silver for living expenses, and after the arrangement, Tang Tong and Mao Zongxie hurried back to the inn.