Yong'an City,

At the city gate,

At three o'clock, the sky is not yet clear,

The heavy gates of the city slowly opened inward,

From a distance, there is still a crowded scene outside the door, as the largest city in Qi realm, it is also a natural prosperity under the feet of the Son of Heaven, and the merchants and the people who have entered the city have already lined up in a queue to enter the city, and from a distance, the ox carts and carriages full of vegetables and fruits have been discharged for miles, and the merchants full of all kinds of goods are countless, and there is no end in sight.

According to the rules of the past, you can enter the city after a simple check, but today's atmosphere is different from the past, the city gate has just opened, and it is two officials holding official uniforms and lists and texts walking out of the city gate quickly, one of them brushed the paste in his hand on the wall, and the other person did not leave after posting the list in his hand but stationed on both sides of the list.

"Please also before you enter the city. ”

"Take a good look at the government's announcements. ”

The neat-looking official stood in front of the door and said loudly, there are many types of laws formulated in the past dynasties, and the entries are redundant, and the imperial court has the fastest way to express the text of the new decree, so you can't expect those ordinary people to look through the laws of the Great Qi that are thicker than bricks and stones, right?

"What is this for?"

"Could it be that there is some Jiangyang thief in the city who kills people and oversells goods?"

"It's worth making such a big fuss?"

The rough man rubbed his eyes, looked at the crowded scene in front of him, and shouted, he still has a cart of vegetables waiting to be sold in the restaurant in the city, if he goes late, the business will be more than worth the loss, so there is a look of impatience between his words.

"The twelve gates of Yong'an City are like this, even outside the Chengtian Mansion is also posted with a list, it is useless if you are in a hurry, I hope you understand, it will not delay much time, not to mention that this is not a document of arrest, it is a real decree of the imperial court, and it is a good thing that you know the decree of the imperial court earlier, so as not to be confused in the future. ”

The official looked at the people who were gathered below, and his face was a little impatient, and he smiled bitterly and arched his hand.

"Fuck you don't take off your pants and fart, and we're illiterate!"

Some people in the crowd complained dissatisfied.

"Let the old man see!"

"If a woman is fifteen to thirty and does not marry, five is counted as ......"

"If you give birth to a child, you can't do anything more than three years old, and you can be exempted from labor for one year!"

As soon as the words fell, an old man in the crowd finally squeezed out of the crowd, trembling closer, looking at the big characters on the list and whispering.

"Uncle, what does this mean?"

Someone heard the sonar and shouted.

"If a woman in the family is between the ages of fifteen and thirty and does not marry, the poll tax is five times that of the person, and if she gives birth to a baby after marriage, the family can be exempted from field tax for three years, exempted from labor for one year, and more than one child is exempted, which can be superimposed. ”

"If you are not married, one daughter in the family is a thousand dollars a year. ”

The gray-haired old man looked back and counted lightly with his fingers,

In the end, he was stunned on the spot.

"A thousand dollars!"

"A thousand dollars!"

The old man thought of the two granddaughters in the family who were about to turn fifteen, and he didn't even care to look behind him, his mouth trembled, and each person had a thousand dollars a year, which was a life!

Although it is the home of ordinary people, the granddaughter of the family is indeed born like a flower, and his son and daughter-in-law are also planning to make the woman older, and they are slowly looking for a good family to marry, but now they are fifteen years old and unmarried.

"Uncle, do you really say that in the text?"

The rough man who had just shouted heard the sound suddenly trembled and grabbed the old man's cuffs and asked.

"White and black, clearly written, where can I fake?"

"Old, I hope it's fake!"

The old man turned around and muttered with a look of lost soul,

"There is also the official seal of Chengtianfu on it. ”

"Looks like it's settled!"

Another middle-aged scribe squeezed out of the crowd, his eyes swept over the list, and finally fell on the bright red official seal, and said with a wry smile.

"Proclamation to the outside world, so that the envoy knows...... Looking at the format, this is formulated by the imperial court, not Yong'an, but obviously I only heard the brother who is an official in the court mention it a few days ago, and today Bian has already made an official list, how can so many processes be so fast, strange, strange!"

The middle-aged scribe was amazed after reading the list text, this decree is miserable for the people, but it makes no difference to the children of rich families, in the final analysis, it is not a big deal for a few taels of silver, and the middle-aged scribe continued to look down carefully.

"Alas......"

The old man sighed, originally planning to go into the city to buy some cloth and buy two sets of clothes for his granddaughter at home, but now when he heard this bad news, his mind was instantly extinguished, and he sighed for a long beard.

When the matter of Bangwen was confirmed by the scribe who seemed to be from an extraordinary background, no one questioned it anymore, and the crowd exploded in an instant, and the bustling discussion was endless.

"God, this doesn't let people live!"

A middle-aged woman in the crowd collapsed to the ground after listening to the old man's words.

"I used to say that I gave birth to three money-losing goods, ate our family's, drank our family's, and in the end became relatives, just like splashing water outside, you can't get any benefits!"

"It's good now, it's really a money-losing goods, three money-losing goods, if you can't get married for a year when you grow up, you will have to lose more than three taels of silver, Lao Tzu can't earn so much money all year round, and now he has to hand it over to the government in vain. Beside the woman's voice, a man of five big and three rough sighed.

"Married, married, married earlier......"

The middle-aged woman slapped the ground and said,

"If you get married, no matter how many dolls you have, no matter how much taxes you are exempt, it is also your husband's family!"

The man smiled bitterly.

"What kind of sin have I done in my life......"

The middle-aged woman looked up to the sky and murmured,

Some people are worried, and naturally some people rejoice,

The meaning of this decree of the imperial court is also very simple, that is, to let the people marry women, and there were not a few people who married women at the age of fourteen or fifteen in the past, but in the end, there are still many families who want their daughters to marry later, help the family do some things, or slowly pick a good family to collect more dowry, or really wait for a reliable person, but now this decree is tantamount to a bolt from the blue for these people.

And those poor men in the countryside who can't get their mother-in-law and aunts have instantly become hot fragrant dumplings, in the final analysis, most people marry women and ask for face, marrying a poor family is also more decent than being a concubine for a large family, not to mention that most of them are mediocre women, and the threshold of a large family is not so easy to enter.

"Second brother, it's a good thing, it's a great thing!"

Outside the list, a young man in a short shirt heard this, squeezed through the crowd and shouted loudly, looking very excited and running to the young man behind him with firewood.

"Where's the good thing?"

"Silver fell from the sky?"

The young man put down the firewood he was going to carry to the city on his back and joked.

"No silver fell from the sky!"

The man paused,

"And what are you happy about?"

"With that kung fu, it's better to spare more strength to chop two more loads of firewood, save more money and ask for an aunt in the future!"

The young man pursed his lips,

"No silver fell from the sky!"

"But my mother-in-law has fallen from the sky!"

"Second brother, haven't you been eye-to-eye with the eldest daughter of Zhang's butcher's family for more than half a year?"

"Hmm. ”

"But my dad doesn't look down on me, what's the way. ”

The young man smiled bitterly.

"Count the age, that butcher's eldest daughter is seventeen, right?"

The man counted on his fingers,

"Well, it's seventeen, but her father has been looking for a rich family for his daughter, although his family is not a solid family, but a lot of oil and water is not a big deal to raise for a few more years, in the end, he still doesn't look down on us. ”

The young man wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and laughed at himself.

"Don't mind!"

"Brother, it's not you begging for a wife now!"

"It's that he's a butcher begging to marry a daughter!"

"This ......"

"Second brother, you listen to me first......"

The man stretched out his hand and interrupted,

"Now that the decree of the imperial court has come down, if the family is fifteen years old and does not marry, an additional 1,000 yuan of poll tax will be charged every day!"

"That butcher is not in a hurry?"

"Looking at ten miles and eight villages, the unmarried man, that is, the second brother, you are the most reliable, how can it be better than smashing it in your hands, or marrying those idlers, right?"

"Second brother, you just wait, I estimate that it will only be a few days, waiting for Butcher Zhang to come to the door. ”

As soon as the man's voice fell,

"Quickly retreat and escort the official documents!"

"Quickly retreat and escort the official documents!"

"Quickly retreat and escort the official documents!"

Inside the city gate, a pair of soldiers on tall horses galloped out with a rolled list, looking at the eagerness of the look was even more important than the decree issued by the imperial court to collect grain and grass taxes in the past, and the leopard in the tube could also see how much the imperial court attached importance to this matter.

"Second brother, just take a look, we are at the foot of the Son of Heaven in the land of Gyeonggi, the list of the government is down, I think it won't be long before the village can know, the official in charge of education can go to the village to explain it at night, and within two days, the elderly will have to visit the homes of those who do not want to marry women. ”

Looking at the soldiers raising puffs of smoke and dust, the man raised his voice.

"Second brother, what are you doing?"

When the man turned his head, he found that the young man had run more than a dozen feet away, and all the firewood he was carrying was still there.

"Go home and get the money to buy the dowry!"

"I'll prepare the things first, and I'll wait for Li Zheng to come to the door to find that Tu, phew...... When I look for my husband, I will go to him!"

The young man chopping wood did not reply, only the man was left crying and laughing.

......

When it was already in the end,

The people surrounding the city gate have long since changed how much stubble they have changed,

It's only that the red glow gradually rises on the horizon and there are many fewer people watching the list text, after all, the people who have entered the city have seen it, and the people in the city have naturally been informed by other officials of Chengtianfu, and now it is time to go out of the city, but it can be obvious that the crowd has a much stranger atmosphere than in the past.

"His grandmother's, I don't know how much cheaper the imperial court decree is!"

The older official in front of the list spat and scolded with a smile.

"Xiao Deng, how can you look at you. ”

"Did you have a spring dream last night?"

The older servant quipped as he glanced at his companion beside him.

"It's normal, after all, this bloody Fang is ...... age"

The older servant continued to quip,

"Although we can occasionally mix some oil and water, but really speaking of our official is not a good errand, even if we hold the iron rice bowl ancestral official can not get a few taels of silver all year round, many good people look down on it, but it is better in stability, now that the decree of the court has come down, the situation is different, and there may be several matchmakers who come to the door to propose. ”

"You kid just have fun. ”

The older official smiled and patted the latter's shoulder, looking like a person who had come over.

"Uncle Liu, I also have two young sisters at home. ”

"I'm afraid I'll have to pay taxes next year if I calculate my age......"

"As an elder brother, I really don't want my younger sister to be a woman at such a young age, after all, those who marry at the age of fourteen or fifteen are remote places after all, not to mention that according to our customs, it is not too late to marry at eighteen. ”

"It's ...... two thousand dollars"

The young servant smiled bitterly, he didn't feel anything when he posted the list before, and he pondered for a long time and looked at the appearance of the people who had women in the house sighing a little distracted.

“......”

The smile on the face of the old servant froze,

Laughing is not persuasion, nor is it extremely embarrassing.

......

unitary time,

Today, because of the example, the official has been on an errand for a long time, and when the two of them came out of the yamen, the sky was completely dark.

"Let's go, go faster, I'm tired of standing this time. ”

"Take advantage of this effort to listen to two tunes in the hook column, relax and go back. ”

"We can't afford to go to Qinglou, but I heard that the envoy on the edge of the Qujiang River in Lin'an City wrote dozens or hundreds of poems and songs after drinking, all of which are of the highest quality. ”

The elder servant urged.

"What are you doing with a sad face!"

"Don't think so much, you should take a wife and take a wife, you should marry a daughter. ”

Just as the envoy had said. ”

"There is wine today, drunk today, and tomorrow is sad. ”

The old servant said casually, looking through the vicissitudes of the world, but remembering the little lady's watery appearance and crispy singing voice in the hook bar, he subconsciously wiped the corners of his mouth.

"Well, if you want to do so much, I will accompany Uncle Liu on a trip. ”

The young official nodded, but he still looked worried, calculating that there was still half an hour before the so-called first watch, according to the decree of the imperial court, the dusk drum was sounded at three o'clock on the first watch, and the morning bell was struck at three o'clock on the fifth watch.

It is on the second and third watch days, and Nanmingfang is still prosperous,

One street diverges, and then two cities,

Day and night, the lights are endless.

The old officials walked through the streets with a light car, but for some reason the young officials looked at the cold streets and alleys, and their right eyelid couldn't beat more than once.

"In the rainy season, it is moisture-proof and rat-proof!"

There was a sound of beating around the street corner,

"It's weird, why is it closing on the first day?"

The older servant looked at the cold Nanmingfang and said in surprise.

"Uncle Liu, why do I feel that something is wrong, there are too few people in this place, or let's go back." ”

"Listen to ...... in a different place"

"Click......"

The voice has not yet fallen,

On the street corner, a pair of black-clad and black-armored soldiers appeared from the street corner.

The leading soldier rode on a tall horse,

When his eyes fell on the soap clothes worn by the two people, his face sank.

"It's curfew, don't you know?"

"Smack......

The whip is drawn on the head,

The elder servant reacted from his stunned gaze by the way,

Holding the grinning teeth that hurt in the shoulder,

"In the second, third, and fourth watches through the streets, flogging forty, after the night ban on the first watch, and shortly before the opening of the ban on the fifth watch, those who commit the night ban will be beaten thirty, this is the law of the imperial court, and you actually know the law and break the law as a servant?"

Looking closely, the person in charge seems to be the forbidden army in the city, and the curfew is not within their jurisdiction, but now it is really strange to patrol the streets, but the identity of the person who sounded is not easy to make a mistake, and he didn't even complain at all, as a small person, he naturally has the consciousness of a small person, and he can mix in the city for so long, and he knows who he can't afford to provoke.

"Two of them, sixty lashes each!"

The leading soldier said coldly.

"Hiss......"

"Ah, it hurts......"

"I'm a dear mother!"

The wails of the two people on the long street came one after another far away,

If you listen closely, it seems that there is no shortage of such sounds all over the city.

"Uncle Liu is okay, right?"

The young Ya frowned and helped the stumbling older Ya Servant to say.

"His grandmother has a leg, it hurts Lao Tzu to death!"

The older officer looked at the soldiers who were away and grinned.

"Alas, I often walk by the river, how can I not get my shoes wet. ”

"It looks like it's going to change. ”

"A wedding decree was issued this morning, and now the curfew is reopened......"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I understand the decree after some explanation, but why is the curfew?"

"You're still too young. ”

"When the curfew is not over, I go home and have no intention of sleeping. ”

"Long Night's ......"

The old servant wanted to speak and stopped,

"Alas, this is not the first time this has happened, but I don't know why it came so quickly, that is, I and other officials have not received the news, and this time there is no notice to make it clear that it means to kill chickens and make an example of monkeys, we are okay like people, but I don't know if the sons and brothers of the warblers and swallows dancing in the Qinglou flower boats in the city will be pumped and flowered. ”

"This trip to the court is serious!"

"Now look at the meaning of the imperial court, if this is the case, I'm afraid that the curfew will not be lifted for three or five years, maybe the government will have a decree to give birth to a baby and reward silver, lying down to earn money is not much more comfortable to stand, go to the mother's Goolan Washer, after the errand, I have to rush home......"

The elder officer's eyes were a little deep,

The older official patted the latter's shoulder and said very seriously, "Listen to my uncle's advice, marry an aunt as soon as possible, have a few more dolls, and persuade the parents in the family to say that the woman is married earlier." ”

"There are some things that have already been decided. ”

"My arms can't twist my thighs. ”

"Scolding and scolding, the baby has to be born. ”

"Let's go, go home!"

"Go home and make dolls!"

The older servant limped away at the end of the long street, and the young servant looked in the direction of the imperial city, then looked at Uncle Liu's back and nodded with a wry smile.

Looking down from the sky,

The whole city of Yong'an,

The drums of the sixth street are resting and the pedestrians are overwhelming, and there is a moon in the vast sky of Jiuqu.