Before the people from the Tuiguo Mansion arrived in Quzhou, a new issue of the Yanjing Weekly News came out. This newspaper published a piece of news on the third page of the third page, with the title: More than 300 slaves escaped from the Tuiguo Mansion on the way back home. This report
Breaking news. The reporter encountered the carriages and horses of the Tui Guo Mansion at the border of Wu and Qi, and only about 30 servants were running back and forth. After searching for them, they found out that the remaining 300 people had escaped. The Chiu Guo Mansion was helpless. Good.
I still have some manpower in my hometown of Quzhou, and I want to hire new people to help me there. The reporter asked what to do with the ones who ran away, and the manager said: How else to deal with them? Just pull them down.
This matter spread throughout the capital within half a day, and everyone was in an uproar. Someone said loudly in the teahouse: "From this we can see that other countries have nothing to do with runaway slaves." Another said: "That's all, what other country? It's the repair of the country's government! Even
There is nothing the Jiuguo Mansion can do to capture the escaped slaves." Another said: "Together what you two said is that the slaves of the Jiuguo Mansion have escaped completely in Qi and Wu, and neither Qi Wu nor the Jiuguo Mansion can do anything to deal with them but can only pull them down.
.”
A few days later, Ping'an Prefecture Business News also published a news. Someone saw a dozen slaves from the Tuiguo Mansion in Jingzhou. They claimed to be from the capital of Yan State. They escaped from the Qi bandits and lost their belongings. Jingzhou
The county magistrate ordered people to provide them with food and accommodation, and asked them what their plans were. They said that they wanted to go back to the capital to find work. The county magistrate nodded and said: "There are many new factories opened in the capital, and they are most in need of people. It is easy to find work.
." Then he gave them travel expenses to Beijing. These people are probably in some factory on the outskirts of Beijing now.
Merchants gathered in Ping'an Prefecture, and Ping'an Prefecture Business News had sales outlets in various countries. Before long, the whole country knew that there was a newly opened factory in the capital, and there was a shortage of labor to collect escaped slaves. The trend of escaped slaves in Yan State was more intense than before. Many people did not
They fled because they did not dare to go overseas. Since they could find work in Yan State, what were they afraid of? Other countries also knew that Yan State was short of labor and were willing to accept people with no origins. Gradually, escaped slaves from various countries began to run to Yan State.
The country of Yan is in dire straits, and there are countless things waiting for people to do. Some people can be identified as runaway slaves just by their appearance, but the factory owners don’t care. There are people in the factory who are responsible for rearranging household registrations for workers, and the clerks in the household department also work tirelessly.
, running errands in the factory every day.
The escorts from the Fuwei Escort Agency rushed back to the capital before the Chinese New Year. When they entered the city gate, it was snowing, and they all carried silver grains on their heads and shoulders. When they ran to the door of the Escort Agency, they were stunned. Fuwei Escort Agency
It had only been open for half a year, but the entrance was actually packed with people. Some were wearing coats and some were wearing big cloaks. Seeing them coming, someone pointed and shouted: "Here he is, right?"
The escort hired by the escort agency was young and was sitting at the door. When he heard the shouting, he turned around and immediately stood up and shouted: "Here he comes! It's the head escort bear!" The people at the door immediately crowded around him.
The escort leader Xiong frowned and jumped off the horse. The gatekeeper shouted loudly: "Give way, give way! Let us escorts go inside first!" The few people who were close reluctantly stepped back, while those in the outer circle were still there.
The guards gathered in the court and dismounted one after another, looking around in surprise.
Menzi shouted several times but no one answered him, so he simply grabbed the shoulders of the two people in front of him and pulled them to the side. The two people said "ouch" a few times and involuntarily dispersed. Menzi hummed: "At least I am from the escort agency.
"Then he pushed a few people away, and finally managed to get in front of Xiong Biaotou.
Head Guard Xiong asked: "What's going on?"
Menzi hurriedly said: "The bodyguard doesn't know something. There was an article in the newspaper a few days ago, and many people wanted to know the truth. They came to our bodyguard office to ask when the bodyguards would come back. At first, the bodyguard said he didn't know because the distance was far away. But he didn't know. The day before yesterday, a brother accidentally let it slip that if the escort sent a message from Fei Ge in Quzhou, he would come back quickly, maybe he would arrive in the next two days. Since yesterday, many people have been guarding here. "
Xiong Biaotou's brows tightened even more: "What are you waiting for us to do?"
A man who looked like a steward hurriedly said: "May I ask the head guard, did those servants of the government really escape? How many did they escape?"
Head escort Xiong said: "When we arrived at the Qi-Wu border, there were only about thirty people left, and more than three hundred escaped."
Everyone was in an uproar. Another steward yelled: "How did they escape? Didn't you care? What do you do with all these people?"
Head escort Xiong said: "We only care about the master and luggage of the government, and don't care about the slaves. Hundreds of slaves all have hands and feet, so what do we have to do with it? Bandits of all sizes have also come along the way. Nearly two dozen slaves came here. The ten waves were not dealt with by us. Could it be that they were able to retreat on their own? Which of our brothers was uninjured?"
Menzi immediately said: "Brothers, thank you for your hard work!"
There was another uproar all around. Someone said from behind: "Since there are bandits on the road, it's no wonder they can run away. The master doesn't dare to move, and the bodyguard has to go to war. The slaves have legs, so they can just run. Where can I go?" I can catch up." Others nodded.
The escort leader Xiong glanced at the front: "We are going to enter the escort agency. Please move out of the way." Everyone wanted to ask more questions, but they saw that the faces of these escort masters were all downcast and filled with murderous intent. I didn't dare to ask. The gatekeeper shouted and separated the crowd to clear the way. The bodyguards led the horse fish through the gate.
Everyone at the door did not disperse for a while, and they all discussed how to prevent the slaves from escaping. Someone said, "We must put shackles on their feet and see how they can escape."
The other one shook his head and said: "It's not cheap on the road. Unless you hire a bodyguard to escort your slave."
Another one said: "How much does it cost? Is it a good deal? I didn't hear what the escort chief said just now. There are nearly twenty groups of bandits. In my opinion, it's better to sell them all and go back and buy others."
Another one said: "The slaves in Beijing are worthless and can't be sold for much money."
The one in front said: "It's better than running away." He said this for half an hour before leaving, and in the end he didn't say anything.
These days, bandits are becoming more and more rampant in the capital, and the Five Cities Military and Horse Division is still unable to do anything. As a last resort, many families have hired bodyguards. There are more than ten bodyguard agencies in the capital, and only half are willing to take this business. The remaining ones say they have already Knowing that some snitches had obtained muskets, the bodyguards could not beat them with swords. The families who were willing to take them had all agreed with the master's family that they would only protect their property and have nothing to do with the escaped slaves; the master's family had nothing to do.
It was the New Year's Eve. On this day, Uncle Weining's family sent two people out to buy items for the New Year. When they didn't return for two days, the family suspected that they had escaped. Uncle Weining's order was made coldly for half a day, and he ordered to summon the people. All the servants came to the front yard.
Not long after, everyone arrived. Gaoming slowly walked out of the hall holding the maid's hand and sat on the big nanmu chair. He glanced at the old lady on the right. The old lady's chest was high and she clapped her hands twice. I heard a burst of sobbing on the right, and a dozen strong women pushed the two wives and children to kneel down in front of the steps. Everyone could not help but hold their breath and concentrate, their hearts beating like drums.
Gao Ming said: "Our house is the fastest to spread the news. You probably also know that two slaves with evil hearts and souls ran away. I won't say much, I just let you see, the man ran away, and the wife
What will happen to the children?" Nai turned his face and shouted, "Beat! Beat them one by one! Starting from the young ones, beat one to death and beat the next one."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of gasping from below, and the women and children of the two families had just cried for the first time. Suddenly, someone somewhere lazily said: "I have never seen such a stupid master." In the courtyard.
The majestic momentum he had just now was instantly swept away by him.
Gaoming was furious: "Who is making such a noise!"
I saw a man in black walking leisurely with a spear in his hand. A woman shouted: "Who are you!"
The man said: "I'm sorry, I'm an escort from the Fuwei Escort Bureau. I was hired by your uncle to guard against thieves. My job is to guard the front hall of Weiningbo's house. I didn't mean to listen to what I said. What's your voice?
It's too big, I can't even hear it."
Gaoming glanced at him and said magnanimously: "Since that's the case, just stay by and watch. No need to say anything more."
The escort looked at the people kneeling on the ground, shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, brothers are like brothers and sisters, and wives are like clothes. Now that they have run away, their wives can remarry and their children can have new children. What does these have to do with them?"
Those who were ordered to be beaten to death were not their wives and children, but your own slaves. There is no human market in Beijing now, and there is no place to buy slaves. Every one of them will die. That’s all. Anyway, if you have money in Uncle Wei Ning’s Mansion, go to
Just buy more from other countries." He then walked back to the wall holding the spear.
There was silence in front of the hall, and the imperial edict was silent for a while. The bodyguard continued: "I heard that the Jinxiang uncle's house had lost its slaves a few months ago, and their family immediately gave their daughter-in-law to someone else to be a wife, and the children all took the stepfather's surname.
The daughter-in-law is now pregnant, and in about ten years there will be a good girl in the family."
Gao Ming's eyebrows twitched - she had never thought about this. It seemed interesting to cuckold the two of them and let their children call other people's father. And now the servants in the house have escaped badly, and there are not many left.
Okay. Then I thought about it for a long time.
The escort laughed again and said: "Slaves are not humans, they are just toys for cats and dogs. One of your male cats ran away and killed the female cat and the kittens that were bred with him. Your family has
Of course, money doesn't matter, but it's a bit of a loss, isn't it? Even if you see them upset, what if you sell it to a cat dealer? You can always charge a few bucks to erase the dominoes. If Baba is beaten to death, he still has to dig a hole and bury it."
Gaoming's eyes were already active. After a long while, she said: "Let's hold them for now, I'll think about it again." Then she stood up and walked back and forth. The women and children kneeling on the ground thought they were going to die or not, but unexpectedly, everything turned around and they all collapsed in shock.
Unable to move on the ground.
The next day, the two daughters-in-law and their children were given to two elderly men. The lives of the two families were saved, and the others could not be cared about. However, there were more escaped slaves in Weiningbo Mansion later.
They all left one by one. The government tried many methods to prevent them, but they still couldn't find out how they left.
The other prefectures were similar. They tried their best to prevent people from escaping, and some simply ordered some shackles from the blacksmith shop. If any of the slaves had the idea of escape and was betrayed by others, they would lock the shackles. Who knows who is wearing the shackles?
He often disappeared inexplicably, and even his shackles disappeared, as if he could fly.
On New Year's Eve, the bodyguards did not take a holiday, but were still on guard in various mansions. The same was true for Uncle Weining's mansion. By the second watch, there was already singing and singing on the theater floor, and there was a daughter-in-law carrying a big baby.
The food box came to the front hall. The escort, still dressed in black, was sitting in the hall chatting with the two men guarding the candles. A stool was set up in front of the three people, with two stacks of melon seeds on the stool and lying on the ground.
There was a big teapot, but no tea cup. The wife said, "Steward Wang said you have worked hard and asked me to bring you some snacks."
The two men smiled and said: "Thank you very much! We are really a little hungry."
The daughter-in-law opened the food box, which contained four snacks. She took out each one and placed it on the stool. Then she packed up the empty food box, gathered her clothes and knelt down towards the bodyguard. The bodyguard was stunned and asked, "What are you doing, sister-in-law?"
The daughter-in-law said, "I haven't had time to come here to thank you. My son and I will never forget your life-saving grace." She kowtowed.
Seeing that the escort was still confused, a man said: "The man's two wives ran away last time, and one of them was her. You saved her with a few words."
"Oh -" the bodyguard nodded, "I actually saved your life. In this case, I will accept your head three times, and the matter is settled." The daughter-in-law kowtowed three times on her head with tears in her eyes.
Another man sighed: "I ran away, my wife and children almost died, and my heart is so cruel. I never noticed it."
The escort said: "It's not surprising. The temptation of freedom is too great."
The one at the front said: "We have enough food and clothing in our house, and we still have monthly money. What are they doing out here? Isn't that what they do in the factory? I heard it's much more tiring than in the house."
The bodyguard picked up a piece of fried noodle fruit and put it in his mouth to eat, then said: "What are you doing running out? If you run out, you will be a good citizen! You also work in the factory, and the salary you get is dozens or even hundreds of times your monthly salary."
! And there is food and dormitories in the factory. Once your contract is over, you can change jobs to work elsewhere; there are many more people who get promoted than in the government. How many people in your family are promoted to managers every year and get monthly pay?
In most factories, salaries are increased every year..."
Both men's eyes widened: "So much money?!"
The bodyguard picked up the teapot and took a few mouthfuls of it, and then said: "As a slave, not only can you endure the beatings and scoldings of your master, but you can also wait for death even if your master wants to kill you. In a factory, if your master scolds you, you should immediately quit your job and go to the next door.
Go ahead; your boss will kill you to pay for it. If you are a slave and accidentally give birth to a handsomer son, if you don't keep it, let the master take a look and use it to relieve the anger; the master will give your daughter to an older man than you.
, so what if your daughter cries to death? The owner of the factory has nothing to do with your children's affairs. Even if you don't want to work, you can still farm! Nowadays, there is so much land that no one is farming, and Prime Minister Lin sent people away from home.
The country is recruiting tenant farmers." He took another sip of tea and took out a stack of paper from his arms, "and this."
The two men hurriedly stretched their heads over. The escort unfolded the paper, flipped through a few pages, pointed to the picture on top and said: "This is the steward who escaped first in Prince Yan's Mansion. Well, this picture is of him in Nanyang Malay
The photo was taken in front of Guo's house. How many days ago? Look at this house, how grand it is! We even bought a few local natives as slaves and became our masters."
A man clicked his tongue and said, "How impressive! Isn't he afraid of being caught?"
The bodyguard smiled and said: "Is it just a show of being an overseas officer? Once you get overseas, you will be theirs, and King Yan himself can't do anything about it."
The two men looked at each other, then turned to look at the wife. The wife's eyes also flashed.