More than twenty miles back from Sanyuan County to Longqiao Fort, when we were approaching Lijiazhuang, a horse and a horse galloped towards us halfway, sending up smoke and dust all over the sky.
Huaiyi frowned, alertly took off the string of his bow, and threw the horizontal knife to Huaiyu.
"Horse thief?"
Huaiyu asked with some suspicion. Sanyuan is known as the cabbage heart of Guanzhong. Although it is currently under Bei Quanzhou and not directly under Yongzhou, there is no reason for horse thieves to appear in broad daylight.
Zhao Chengze's face showed panic, "Could it be that the Turkic wolf cubs are here? I heard that the Turks had previously defeated the official army in Lingzhou, captured Huizhou, and entered Longyou, Lianglan, Qinwei and other places..."
Huaiyi looked at the smoke and said, "There are only about ten horses. They cannot be Turks. They are still blocked from Xiaoguan and Longshan. They are also unlikely to be horse thieves. But we now have fifty thousand public coins.
It's better to be careful and stay closer together."
Seeing the smoke and dust getting closer and closer, and the sound of horse hooves getting louder and louder, Huaiyu was nervous and a little excited, and the hand holding the Hengdao was so hard that his knuckles turned white, while Yue Cheng turned pale, he
Mother-in-law Guo Abai even started to tremble in panic.
Horse hooves are like thunder.
The group of knights galloped past without stopping, and ran directly into Lijiazhuang.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"How can it be so easy? It's not that it's hard to leave your homeland, but it's also that you're not acclimated to it. Whether it's Hexi Longyou or Lingnan Qianzhong, it's a paradise. It's true that there will be a life of ten deaths, unless only a single person is willing to fight.
With a handful, who has a wife, children, and children willing to take the road of hell? Barbarians, miasma, poisonous insects and beasts, bitter cold, dampness and heat, any of them can kill people."
The Li brothers went alone, fought fiercely with the Turkic cavalry, and fought their way to Huining Pass for reinforcements. Although they successfully arrived, the brothers and many of the Li family's children were seriously injured, and the troops also suffered heavy casualties.
Most of the damage was done.
"I know this. As long as I don't show my face, Cheng Dalang also said that the families of the princes, nobles and relatives of Chang'an also behave in this way."
"The granddaughter of my brother-in-law in Yongkang County heard that her mother died when she was young, so she was raised by Zhang, the princess of Yongkang. She usually lives in the Yongkang mansion in Pingkangfang, Chang'an, and occasionally comes here.
"Miyuan Lijiazhuang, this Mercedes-Benz came back in a hurry, something must have happened." Huaiyi also knows a little about the Li family next door.
Lao Wu said that there are three abandoned old cave dwellings next to it. They used to be used as mule pens, but most of the cave faces collapsed, so they were abandoned. Now they only need to level the cave faces again and dig out the half cave dwellings.
Build a gable, rebuild the doors and windows, repaste the inside with yellow mud and wheat straw, and smooth the outside to create a courtyard.
"Aye, this is the capital of fifty thousand guan. I am now the money-grabbing officer of Sanyuan County. This capital must pay 4,000 yuan in interest to the county every month."
At that time, the warrior Ke actually reached an agreement with Zhao Cheng, and their family decided to abandon their country and join the Wu family as slaves.
Lao Wu took the household registration book and looked at it carefully, especially after confirming that the 300 acres of land were all registered, he put it away with a smile, "If you are middle to upper, just be middle to upper. Let's add 300 acres of land and change it to a middle to upper household.
It’s worth it.”
Huaiyu patted the dust on his body and looked at Lijiazhuang. Just now he vaguely saw that the knights were all young. Although they were wearing men's clothes and long gowns, he could still tell that they were all young women.
Uncle Liu from the village, Xu Erleng's father, Xu Zhongyi, and several other old Forbidden Army officers from the village served as witnesses.
When the warrior Ke saw Brother Huaiyu taking several large bags of copper coins from his horse, followed by a group of ragged people, he thought they had just returned from doing business without capital.
There was no place to live, so he slept in a cowshed for the time being.
Butuo with sheep tail oil and chopped green onion is actually noodle soup, served in a large earthenware bowl, and has a fragrant aroma.
"What happened?" Huaiyu thought of his previous encounter with Li Sanniang and his party.
When the strings of exquisite Kaiyuan Tongbao were placed in front of him, Lao Wu couldn't help but his eyes shone. Although he was an officer and a small landowner, the warrior Ke had never seen so much cash.
However, this was only for the guests and the men in the family. The women and children still only ate millet. The servants Hou San and Wucheng also ate millet.
Lao Wu grabbed a bunch of money and admired it, "Business is not that easy. You need someone to run it, but it's not easy to find such a trustworthy person."
Huaiyu looked at the Zhao Cheng family who were still happy after taking their fingerprints, and felt very uncomfortable. For them, it was a matter of finding an iron job after successfully escaping from the country without being burdened by court taxes. Survival was the most important thing, and freedom was not
Not valuable.
Lao Wu did not threaten Zhao Cheng. When Secretary Zhao suggested that Zhao Cheng flee his country, he was willing to do so. He couldn't live any longer. Who cares whether he is a good citizen or a lowly person.
Another point is that according to different household levels, when paying grain, the grain must be delivered to different places according to different household levels. The second-class households only need to pay the rent to the county, while the second-class households have to pay the rent to the county.
In the prefecture, the upper-fourth-class households have to transport grain to the capital. If they don't deliver it in person, they have to pay extra for the scraps.
The warrior Ke handed the household certificate to his wife Liu and put it away carefully. He looked at the five big bags of money and said, "This money is going to be harvested, and the interest rate is quite high. You have a way to release the money and ensure that the principal and interest are collected on time."
return?"
Huaiyu looked at Lijiazhuang thoughtfully, and was deeply impressed by Li Sanniang who was galloping past just now. He felt that she was really galloping and galloping.
"I heard that Duke Yongkang fought against the Turk Jieli Khan in Xiashi, Lingzhou. After fighting for a day and a night, he failed to defeat the Turks. Instead, because he had a small army and few generals, he was outnumbered and had to retreat all the way to Xiaoguan to defend. He urgently transferred to Jing.
Li Yi, the king of Yan County in the state, led troops to reinforce, but Li Yi was still late. Duke Yongkang fought bloody battles at Xiaoguan for many days, barely holding the northwest gate of Guanzhong..."
Huaiyu felt that now that the world has just been unified, all kinds of materials are in short supply and prices are very high, which shows that the supply is insufficient and the circulation of goods is not smooth. This on the contrary shows that it is a seller's market and the business opportunities are greater.
Sign the contract and witness the guarantee.
The Turkic army arrived and surrounded Huining Pass. Now the Li brothers were seriously injured and Huining Pass was in danger. However, Li Jing was struggling to defend Xiao Pass and was unable to send more troops to rescue.
"Aye, I want to use this as capital to start a business in Longqiao Fort. The north-south thoroughfare here is a thoroughfare, which is suitable for starting a business. I have already thought about what I want to do, including buying all kinds of local products and medicinal materials.
Wait, we will also provide food and accommodation to passing merchants. In addition, we will buy some department stores and sell them to villagers and passing customers. In addition, I know some medical skills and can prepare some pills for sale..."
The warrior Ke called Zhao Cheng's family aside and talked alone for a while. After about a cup of tea, he came over and said, "Go and ask Liu Cunzheng and your Uncle Xu to be witnesses."
"Those are the Li family?"
"This is the Zhao Cheng family I brought back from Bailuyuan. I want to wait for the shop to open and let them help me run it." Huaiyu introduced to Father Wu and explained the situation.
In addition to the Hou San family, the Wu family now also has servants from the Wucheng family.
"Aye, that place is very good, but it will take a lot of labor to repair. We hired someone to repair it. Not only can the Wucheng family be accommodated, but they can also be used directly for me to do business. Then one of them will be a shop and I will live in the other.
, Wucheng’s family will live in another hole, encircle a courtyard, and build a stable for the convenience of others.”
At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, households were divided into three levels. Later, it was changed to nine levels, with four levels for upper households, three levels for middle households, and two levels for lower households.
The people were divided into different levels based on their population, wealth, number of slaves and maidservants on the homestead, etc. This household level was the basis for collecting taxes and servitude.
Lao Wu stayed with Liu Cunzheng and Uncle Xu to have dinner with them, as a way of thanking them for witnessing and vouching for it, and the eldest sister also specially cooked it.
"But they don't owe anything now, let alone us."
Fortunately, Sanyuan is not far from Chang'an, so it's not too heavy a burden to transport it yourself.
Lao Wu leaned on his cane and said calmly: "Zhao Cheng and his wife have difficulty repaying their debts, and now they have no property. They are willing to sell themselves to pay off the debts. This is self-selling and is not forced by us. It is robbery. The court cannot interfere with what you and I want."
"Yeah?" Huaiyu was surprised.
Lao Wu looked at the hunchbacked Zhao Cheng, his wife and children, and frowned, "I'll talk to them."
"They can also choose to immigrate and settle in Kuanxiang, a border area. Doesn't the imperial court have a policy to re-allocate fields in Kuanxiang, a border area?"
"I think back when we spent 30,000 yuan from the Forbidden Army to settle here, this was still a fertile land in Weibei. Our hometown in Hedong still had similar water, soil and climate. The first few years were also very difficult."
Lao Wu looked at his son, "We are a family of officials, and I am also the son of a high-ranking official. How can I have a lowly career?"
In order to be legal, they fabricated a debt, and Zhao Cheng's family sold it themselves to pay off the debt.
Village Chief Liu is very sensitive to the news. It is said that there is a chaotic war in the northwest. Li Jing is stationed at Xiaoguan to wait for help. He also sent his nephew Li Xiu, brother Li Xiuzhi, with a team of troops to guard Huining Pass in Huizhou to guard this place.
An important crossing of the Yellow River leading to Lanzhou.
Huaiyi also took out the re-registered household registration book, "Erlang's household registration has also been registered, and our 300 acres of land have also been registered. Even our family's household level has also been raised, and now it is an upper-middle household.
This household’s money is going to rise.”
A contract was completed, but it was only a private contract. He would have to report to the Yamen again and change it to an official contract. By then, Zhao Cheng's family would be completely reduced to slaves, and the government would archive it, making it difficult to turn over.
Zhao Cheng even took the initiative to change his surname to that of the Wu family and was named Wu Cheng from now on. His eldest son Amao would later be named Wu Mao and his second son Wu Liang.
Huaiyu asked about the location, and ran to take a look. It was at the bottom of the north slope, just across the bridge. The location was low and adjacent to the river. It was dilapidated, but the location was quite good. The repair project was not small, and
There is only a three-hole kiln.
It was almost dusk when we returned to Longqiao Fort.
He explained his trip to Bailuyuan to collect land, his return to see Magistrate Zhang, and his acceptance of the money-catching sex slave.
Households with high-level pay have more money, and the miscellaneous Yao and sex labor they bear at the same time are distributed differently. For example, miscellaneous jobs in prefectures and counties, or the head of the village's main canal, etc., are generally only collected from the upper households.
Father Wu's behavior can be regarded as poaching the imperial court, but in fact, for Zhao Cheng's family, this is actually an act of benevolence, and none of those powerful nobles would do this.
Lao Wu patted his son on the shoulder and said, "Erlang, you think some things are too simple. If the whole family comes to our house, big or small, if they still carry their household registration, they will have to pay rent every year and serve in the army.
Besides, if it’s not your own family, who can you really trust?”
"Although I sold myself into slavery, I also promised them that if they perform well within three to five years, I will release them as slaves, and I can also give them wages every year in the future."
"What?"
Now that he has given up his citizenship and joined the Wu family as a slave, at least Lao Wu promised to provide food and accommodation, and even some money and silk gifts during the New Year, and he no longer had to bear the taxes and servitude of the court. He was very willing.
"Miss Li Sanniang?"
"Okay, after the farm work is finished, we will ask the villagers to help repair it. Then we will hire a few craftsmen to build doors, windows, beds, tables, chairs, boxes and other wooden objects, and repair the stove."
Zhao Cheng took his wife and children and knelt down to Huaiyu, expressing his willingness to become slaves.
Huaiyi took off the bow string again and put it away, "That's Mrs. Li Sanniang."
"Have you heard that something happened to the Li family?" Liu Cunzheng squatted in the courtyard with a big bowl and said mysteriously while eating.
Escape.
Li Youliang, the governor of Liangzhou and the king of Changle, had elite troops from Hexi, but he only defended the city of Liangzhou and refused to send troops to rescue Huining Pass.
"I heard that Brother Li Xiuxing is in danger this time. There are so many Li children in Huining Pass. Hey, I hope nothing happens." Uncle Liu sighed.
They didn't gloat about the misfortune, they were all worried about the Li family. They had been neighbors for many years, and they had a good relationship with the Li family village.
