"Third Master, someone is blocking the way!"
Outside the carriage, Li Jinglong whispered against the window.
Zhu Yunxi suddenly became curious, opened the curtain and looked out.
On the official road, which had been washed away by the flood and was soaked by the sun and was muddy and cracked, two old ladies in ragged clothes and disheveled hair were sitting on a small bench, standing in the middle of the road.
There are good roads for horse-drawn carriages.
Although they were in plain clothes, there were more than a hundred people guarding the front and rear, all of them were burly men. On the road from Kaifeng to here, Xiao Xiaoxiao, a thief hiding in the countryside, saw him from a distance and ran away.
Why did we get to this place, where two old ladies sat on small stools and lowered their heads and dared to block the road?
Surprised, I felt a little funny in my heart.
"What's going on?" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "Go and ask, don't scare others!"
Li Jinglong gave him a look, and a guard from the front came forward, "Hey, old lady, what are you doing sitting here? You're blocking our way!"
The two old ladies looked up feebly, their orange peel-like faces expressionless. Only when they looked at the motorcade, there was some sparkle in their eyes.
"Hey, let me ask you a question? Why are you blocking this?" The guard was anxious and was about to curse. When he remembered that His Highness was watching from behind, he immediately changed his words.
One of the skinny old ladies lowered her head again and stretched out her skinny hand.
The other one grinned and said two words, "Give me money?"
The soldier was stunned, "What money?"
"Passage money!"
"What kind of fare?"
“Money for this road!”
"How much does this road cost?"
"Passing money!"
The guards were stunned, their eyes were like bells, and the flesh on their faces were trembling. They, the guards of the Ming Dynasty's mighty prince, were actually stopped by two old ladies who asked them for passing money!
What’s even more surprising is that these two old ladies really dare to ask for it?
Are they tired of living together?
The guard looked at the team behind him and patiently refrained from swearing, "Why should I give you passing money?"
"If you don't give me, don't even think about leaving!" The two old ladies retracted their hands, folded their arms and lowered their heads, sitting on the small bench.
"Here"
The guards were so angry that they were trembling all over. After the flood, there was only such a good road, but they were blocked and there was no way around it.
"Believe it or not, I will let the carriage run you over to death!" the guard said viciously in a low voice.
An old lady rolled her eyes and said, "You can crush me to death. If you can't go ten miles, the official will catch up with you."
Another old lady said, "Young man, do you think it's worth it to take a life-threatening lawsuit just to pay for the road?" She said, pouting at the team, "For a team as big as yours, it looks like it's a big business, so why bother?"
Emotionally, these two old ladies regarded Zhu Yunxi and his party as passing businessmen.
But they didn't want to think about it. Floods were everywhere in the Central Plains, and disaster relief was going on everywhere. How could any merchants pass by?
Youdao can't explain why a scholar meets a soldier, but he can't tell a soldier when he meets someone who is not afraid of death!
The guard was so angry that he gritted his teeth and looked into the distance. There seemed to be a figure flickering. It must be a tip-off. If they were really violent, maybe they were really evil people and reported it to the official.
Even if you don't report it to the official, it will be even more difficult if hundreds of people rush out to block it!
"Hey, what's going on in front, can you do it?" The guard was thinking about it, and the officer behind him was pulling his neck and yelling.
After the convoy stopped, the guards began to be alert. Although the swords and guns were still hidden, the bows and arrows in the carriage were already set up, and the sword and axe-hands also held the handles.
"Damn it, you didn't read the almanac when you went out!" the guard cursed and said angrily, "How much does it cost?" After saying that, he started to take money from the money bag.
The old lady stretched out a slap and said, "Five Wen"
"If you don't have any copper coins, take it and get out!" The guard threw down a silver dollar and said, "Hurry and leave!"
Well, the two old ladies’ eyes were straightened.
He looked up at the guards and then at the silver coins. One of them picked them up, took two swishing steps, and he didn't even want the bench anymore, so he ran away.
The other one also ran away and chased, "Hey, why did you take them all?"
The guard trampled the benches to pieces, gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Damn you, you idiot. I'll save it to buy you a coffin. If His Highness hadn't been here, I'd..."
A small episode passed, and the convoy continued to move forward slowly.
"You want money?" Zhu Yunxi leaned against the car window and laughed, "How brave are you? You dare to block the road and ask for money!"
With this group of people, ordinary people couldn't even hide in time, but the two old ladies blocked them directly. It's strange!
"This kind of thing is actually common in the countryside!" Li Jinglong was walking outside the carriage and said with a smile, "Don't say it is a year of great disaster, even in peacetime, there are people guarding the official road and following the passing merchants to ask for money!"
"What if I don't give it?" Zhu Yunxi asked with a smile.
"If you don't give it, you really can't get through it." Li Jinglong laughed and said, "If you provoke a group of people and block the whole village, it's not a matter of just three melons and two dates! Otherwise, just dig a few holes on the road.
If the big car can't pass, it will be even more troublesome!"
This is also true. It is better to have more things to do than to have less things to do when you are out. It is better to spend some money than to have an accident.
The countryside at this time was not as gentle as in later generations. Now the people are strong and united.
Xie Jin stood next to Zhu Yunxi and said, "Tricky people!"
"You can't be considered unruly. You only rely on mountains and rivers to live on!" Li Jinglong smiled, "The third master has never traveled far, and you few have little experience among the people. There are different levels of common people, and not everyone is honest and kind.
Scholars say that those who are rich enough to know etiquette, but some places are poor and not so simple!"
"It's not bad to block roads and ask for money. In some places, they farm during the day, and at night, the father, brother and brother-in-law work together to rob them. The lone merchants are killed directly and thrown into the ravine, or they dig old graves secretly."
"Don't talk about outsiders, they also fight in their own village over trivial matters. And the people in the village bully their own people even more than outsiders!"
Zhu Yunxi smiled and listened silently, then smiled and said, "You know so much!"
"I just lived a few more years!" Li Jinglong said with a smile, "When I was training troops in Hebei, three archers went for a walk on someone's farm. I heard that they just stole two chickens, and the result was
None of the three came back, they were all beaten to death!"
"At that time, it was Mr. Fu who was in charge of training the troops. He wanted to wash out the village in a rage, but guess what?"
Zhu Yunxi was fascinated by what he heard, "What happened next?"
"Later, someone advised Mr. Fu not to kill people indiscriminately, otherwise no one would be able to explain clearly what the prince would blame. So, they thought of leading troops into Zhuangzi and arresting the leader."
"But when we got there, the county magistrate, patrolling and inspecting, and Zheng, along with a few old men in their seventies, sat directly at the entrance of the village and pointed at Marshal Fu. Tomorrow, if you dare to arrest anyone, just step over our corpses!"
"There is no king's law yet!" Xie Jin said angrily, "What happens next?"
"Forget it!" Li Jinglong said with a smile, "We heard that he was stealing chickens, but the people in the village and the local officials said that he was raping the women of the people."
"Hahaha!" Zhu Yunxi laughed out loud, "It is the season of peace, otherwise, the whole village will be in peace!"
"How can we talk about the prosperous Ming Dynasty?" Li Jinglong said with a smile.
Hearing this, Tie Xuan rolled his eyes angrily.
"What does this have to do with the prosperous age? The officers and soldiers dared to kill in private, which shows that the village does many other things on weekdays!" Tie Xuan snorted, "If I were to directly send troops to surround the village, I would definitely catch the culprit!
"
Xie Jin smiled and said, "You are biased. What if you really ruined the women of the people?"
While everyone was talking and laughing, suddenly the front of the motorcade stopped again.
"What's wrong?" Li Jinglong was furious.
The guard in front made a grimace, "Sir, damn, someone is blocking the way!"
This time it’s not an old lady, but an old man. Behind the old man there is a group of people, all holding hoes and shovels!
This chapter has been completed!