How can this be a government work?

After just one glance at the father and son, Zhang Guangdao had already determined the situation.

Unless the brain is broken, will such a conspicuous work be dispatched, for fear that others will not be able to detect the abnormality?

It's more like a wild monk who escaped from the temple!

The Buddhist precepts of the Song Dynasty were not so strict, and monks were not forbidden to eat meat, nor did they stipulate that monks had to shave their heads. It can be seen from the paintings of the Tang and Song dynasties that the monks at that time mainly had short hair, and they had to wait for Zhu Yuanzhang to arrange layers of precepts for the monks.

However, Zhu Ming carried a weapon on his body, and it was also a sword controlled by the imperial court, which made Zhang Guangdao a little curious.

"Are you leaving?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Let's go." ”

It was not a solution to stay in the village all the time, and after a brief exchange, the father and son agreed to go to the white market together.

Zhang Guangdao called two men in the village, took some chickens, ducks, fish and linen, and brought them to the market town to sell, intending to come back in exchange for some necessities such as salt.

Counting Zhu Ming's father and son, a total of five people set off.

Zhang Guangdao glanced at the horse's buttocks and deliberately reminded: "The brand has to be erased, beware of the lawsuit." ”

"This is a horse that I picked up, and I handed it over when I met the government." Zhu Ming explained.

Zhang Guangdao said with a smile: "The government is worried that it can't catch the horse thief, you said that you were going to sacrifice the horse, but the official master came to get the stolen goods." ”

Zhu Ming nodded when he heard this: "It makes sense, then erase it." ”

The two village men who were on the same road were named Lu Wang and Ding Dafang.

Zhang Guangdao said to Ding Dafang: "Go get some firewood." ”

Ding Dafang immediately went home and brought firewood, took out a fire sickle to ignite, and burned the tongs as a soldering iron.

Zhang Guangdao clasped his arms in front of his chest, staring at the flames without saying a word.

Zhu Guoxiang asked in a low voice: "Where did this person come from?" Why do you erase the official seal for us? ”

"Vote." Zhu Ming said.

"Vote?" Zhu Guoxiang didn't understand.

Zhu Ming explained: "Erasing the official seal of a military horse without permission is a first-class felony. Even if we are public servants of the government, it is a sin to erase the official seal. When we become sinners, we are like thieves, and no one needs to be afraid of anyone anymore. ”

Zhu Guoxiang suddenly woke up: "This Orion is a bandit in the mountains? ”

Zhu Ming looked back at the village and smiled coldly: "I'm afraid that the whole village is a den of thieves, an outpost set up by a bandit village by the river." Of course, they are also real farmers. Farming when the farm is busy and robbing when the farm is slack is normal in remote areas in ancient times. ”

After a while, the tongs were already burning red, Zhang Guangdao bent down to pick them up, handed them to Zhu Ming and said, "Do it." ”

Zhu Ming took the tongs and walked to the thin horse.

The thin horse was so frightened that he retreated again and again, and Zhu Ming stroked his mane to soothe: "It hurts, you bear with it." ”

The horse probably remembered the taste of the soldering iron, but this time he was not obedient, and always paced to avoid the red-hot tongs.

Zhang Guangdao hugged the horse's neck with both arms and urged: "Do it!" ”

Zhu Ming stood on the left side of the horse's hip and pressed the tongs on the official seal.

The sound sounded, and the thin horse kicked his hooves in pain, and he couldn't break free of Zhang Guangdao's arms.

"Phew!"

Zhang Guangdao let out a low roar and actually pushed the thin horse to the ground, and Lu Wang and Ding Dafang also pounced on the horse and pressed the horse.

Although the horse is skinny and skinny, and has not ingested salt for several months, it should not have much strength left, but Zhang Guangdao's great strength is still staggering.

The place where the official seal was located was quickly burned black.

This beast must not be brought into the city, even if there is no official seal, it is not clear where it came from, and a discerning person can know that there is a problem at a glance.

After tossing for a long time, the skinny horse regained his freedom and ran away panting.

Zhu Ming didn't bother to chase it, so he took care of himself and went on the road. After walking for a while, he turned his head to check, and found that the thin horse had followed again, and he lost his temper and deliberately gnawed on rape flowers.

Zhang Guangdao said with a smile: "This beast is interesting and humane." It's better to sell it to me, and take away half of the money. Don't be afraid of the lack of money, you are too hungry and skinny, and you have to take it home and serve it well. ”

Zhu Guoxiang asked his son in a low voice: "How much is the half-run money equivalent to?" ”

"I don't know." Zhu Ming did not study the prices of goods in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Since he didn't know the price, he was not in a hurry to buy and sell, and went to the market to inquire first, Zhu Ming politely refused to sell horses.

The price of horses in the two Song Dynasty fluctuates greatly, and the further back you go, the more expensive it becomes.

One is due to the increasingly serious shortage of horses, and the other is due to rising prices and inflation.

It is about ten miles to Baishitou from this place, perhaps because the villagers often come and go, and they have already made a small road by the river, but there is no need to cut through thorns and thorns along the way.

Zhang Guangdao looked at the scenery left and right, glanced at Zhu Ming's back from time to time, walked for a while and suddenly asked, "Brother Zhu is carrying a gun and stick?" ”

"It's just a stick." Zhu Ming said.

Zhang Guangdao continued to probe: "It looks more like a knife." ”

Zhu Ming smiled: "It's a sword, do you believe it?" ”

"I'm sorry." Zhang Guangdao said with a smile.

Zhu Guoxiang stopped advancing, put down his backpack, and took out a lake pen: "Actually, we are businessmen, and we were robbed by bandits halfway, and we finally escaped." Look at this brush, it is the goods that have been robbed. ”

Since it is a New Year's gift for relatives and children, the packaging must be exquisite.

The lake pen is placed in a small brown box, and there are golden words on the body of the box, which is worth a lot of money at a glance.

Zhang Guangdao had never read a book, nor did he know how to read, so he looked at the brush box directly.

Zhu Ming took off the sword and held it in his hand, pressed the hilt of the sword wrapped in the sweater and said, "Brother Zhang, do you want to buy a pen?" This is a fine lake pen, and a pen is worth at least 100 yuan. ”

Zhang Guangdao looked at Zhu Ming's hand pressing the sword, then looked at the brush box, shook his head and said: "It's too expensive, there are pens sold in the white market, and a brush only costs ten yuan." ”

"If you don't buy it, forget it, buying and selling will not be benevolent." Zhu Ming smiled.

Zhang Guangdao praised when he heard this: "Buying and selling is not benevolent and righteous, this is a good saying." Brother Zhu is really a reader! ”

This phrase comes from "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", and it will take hundreds of years to come out, which is quite in line with the appetite of Zhang Guangdao, a thief.

Zhu Ming's father and son carried valuable brushes with them, had short hair, and wore tattered and strange clothes, which became more and more mysterious in the eyes of Zhang Orion, perhaps a stranger who was quite capable of walking the rivers and lakes.

After walking for a while, Zhang Guangdao couldn't help but ask: "Do you two really want to find a place to stay?" ”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "There is a plan. ”

Zhang Guangdao tried to send out an invitation: "How about going to the mountains with me?" There are many heroes in the mountains. ”

Zhu Ming saw that the other party opened the skylight and said bright words, and also revealed the information slightly: "Don't hide it from the Zhang family's brother, my father and son want to settle down, buy a few acres of thin land, marry a wife and have children to pass on incense." ”

These words made Zhang Guangdao even more convinced that the father and son were monks who were still vulgar, and most of the high-end brushes were stolen from the temple.

Zhang Guangdao scoffed at this and sneered: "What benefits can you get from farming? My grandfather used to be a third-class household, and when it was his turn to run an errand in front of the ya, he could only break his family and flee to the mountains. ”

Zhu Ming deliberately followed him and said: "Corrupt officials and corrupt officials deserve to die." ”

"Damn it!" Zhang Guangdao gritted his teeth.

The common people of the main households who paid taxes to the government of the Song Dynasty were strictly divided into five classes.

Depending on the level of prosperity, the criteria for dividing households vary from place to place.

Generally speaking, those who cover an area of more than 400 acres are first-class households, also called upper households. Those below 400 acres belong to the second, third, and fourth class households, also called middle households. The remaining fifth class belongs to the lower household. (Note: Some families don't look at having 100 acres of land, but there are 10 or 20 people in the family, and they can only solve the problem of food and clothing.) ）

As for the errand before the ya, it means that the people work as errands for the government.

At first, he was selected from among the upper households, responsible for collecting taxes and so on. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, this was a fat gap, and he could get oil and water, but it gradually became a nightmare, because he couldn't collect enough taxes, and he needed to pay for the shortfall.

Many wealthy families, because they were designated as Lizheng, went bankrupt and sold their sons and daughters.

At the suggestion of Prime Minister Han Qi, Lizheng's unfortunate errand was canceled, and the relevant affairs were handled by the upper and middle households in turn. Moreover, there are strict regulations on how many people are needed for an errand, how many places are arranged for first-class households, and how many places are arranged for second-class households.

But the actual operation quickly distorted!

The officials organized a number of ordinary people into a group, and the really big ones could escape, and they specialized in pitting those who had no backers.

For example, Zhang Orion's grandfather used to be a third-class household, and his family had more than 300 acres of land. When the official messenger came, he not only counted the farm property, but also pointed to the objects in the house and said that this broom was worth 50 yuan, and the table was worth 100 yuan. In the end, Zhang Lihu's grandfather has a lot of money, and he properly concealed the first-class household, so he will be responsible for this dispatch.

As a result, a small landlord with more than 300 acres of land was arranged to be the front of the wheel errand. Unable to complete the task, he had no choice but to abandon his fixed possessions, only take some floating wealth, and flee to a foreign land overnight with his family. And the land he gave up was also divided among the real big families in the township.

In feudal society, cannibalism does not spit out bones.

……

"There's the white market ahead!" Zhang Guangdao pointed to the other side of the river in front of him.

The terrain is noticeably much flatter, the area of arable land has increased considerably, and the population has become denser.

Baishitou is a market town, and today is just the day of the market, and the noise of the market can be heard from afar.

There is a ferry near the market town, and a wooden boat is parked on the shore.

The five people stood at the ferry and waited for about half an hour before the boatman slowly docked with the guests.

This ferry is neither big nor small, and it can squeeze twenty or thirty people when it is fully loaded, but it is likely to capsize if it is crowded so much.

Passengers disembarked one after another, with only a few odds, all carrying goods bought from the bazaar.

Zhu Ming was slightly embarrassed: "I don't have a penny on me." ”

Zhang Guangdao smiled generously: "I'll pay for the boat." ”

The thin horse actually followed the boat, and the boatman hurriedly shouted: "The cattle will collect money!" ”

"You are indispensable." Zhang Guangdao said.

The boatman recognized Zhang Orion and immediately laughed: "Save, save." ”

The ferry slowly sailed to the opposite shore, and before getting off the boat, Zhang Guangdao said, "Write it in my account." ”

"You're good to go!"

The boatman did not say much, but warmly sent them away.

The white market is not big, just a street along the river, and the street is full of shops on both sides.

In front of the store, there are some fixed stalls where you can set up stalls to sell things, but you need to pay a booth fee.

Many farmers who sell local goods choose to trade outside the bazaar, or carry their goods along the streets.

After getting off the boat and walking a short distance, before he arrived at the market, Zhu Ming saw a river shrimp seller.

Zhu Ming wanted to inquire about the price, so he stepped forward and asked, "How do you sell this shrimp?" ”

The shrimp seller was an old farmer, who didn't understand much because of his accent, but he could guess that Zhu Ming was asking the price, so he immediately grinned: "That's all there is left, you can take the four cents." ”

Zhu Guoxiang was very surprised, because there was about a pound of shrimp there.

"The prices in the Northern Song Dynasty are so cheap?" Zhu Guoxiang said in a low voice.

Zhu Ming said: "I'm afraid it's because of the high purchasing power of copper coins. ”

Zhu Guoxiang said to the old shrimp farmer: "Let's take a look." ”

The old farmer thought they were too expensive, and hurriedly shouted: "Sanwen money, take away the three money, it really can't be less!" ”

The father and son just didn't hear it, and hurried away from the shrimp stall.

A pound of shrimp for three dollars somewhat subverted Zhu Ming's perception of prices in the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Guangdao took the fine deerskin, walked into a shop on the street, and slapped the deerskin directly on the counter.

The shopkeeper looked closely, pointed to a certain place and said, "This place is broken." ”

Zhang Guangdao frowned and said, "I know it's broken, and the hole is pierced by the arrow." Hurry up and give a fair price, I have no grudges and no grudges with the old white staff, do you still want to suppress the price? ”

The shopkeeper thought about it seriously: "Sixty-five Wen, no more." When others come to sell skins, there must be no such price, only Fifth Brother Zhang has this face. ”

Zhang Guangdao didn't talk nonsense, took the money and left directly.

Zhu Ming, Zhu Guoxiang, father and son, followed Zhang Guangdao to buy salt.

The price of salt in the mountainous areas is very expensive, a pound of salt costs 20 yuan, and in a convenient place, a pound of salt is sold for 10 yuan.

What, you said to buy illicit salt?

Sorry, this shop sells private salt.

Because legal salt shops are at least available in county-level markets, salt shops outside the county are all selling private salt.

Zhang Guangdao's deer skin can only be exchanged for a few catties of private salt.

However, Zhang Guangdao doesn't seem to be short of money, and this time he bought twenty catties.

Zhu Ming passed by a stall selling brooms: "How much is a handful?" ”

The stall owner said, "Wuwen." ”

Wuwen belongs to the extortion, the price given to outsiders, a broom can be sold for three wen at most.

Zhu Ming went to ask the meat seller again, and then asked the chicken seller, and the father and son asked about the price along the street, and finally had a clearer understanding.

In the end, Zhu Ming asked Zhang Guangdao in a low voice: "Where are there big families nearby?" I want to sell that lake pen. ”

(Thanks to EBITDAD, Captain Iron Banner, Cry Maniac, Gu Jianshan, and all the brothers for their tips and votes.) ）

(By the way, ask for collections and tickets, any ticket will do, try to be a little higher on the new book list.) ）