This small inland city can no longer see the traces left by the original war. If one looks at Xingquanfu City from a distant hilltop, the first thing he sees will not be the city wall, but the city wall rushing into the sky.
of black smoke!
That's the chimney of the steel workshop affiliated to the Ministry of Industry!
If you walk into Xingquan Fucheng, you will find that this small city is extremely crowded as soon as you enter the city. You can see many small vendors selling along the streets, shouting and selling various gadgets to passers-by.
Many of these small vendors are actually farmers from rural areas outside the city. Early in the morning, they carry home-grown vegetables, chickens, ducks, eggs, woven bamboo products, various handmade furniture, and even
The wood cut down from the mountains is sold in the city and earns a small amount of money.
Then buy salt, cloth, or simply various gadgets from the city and wait for them to take home.
These small traders have grown from few to many, almost witnessing the prosperity of Xingquan Mansion day by day!
Since the Tang Dynasty captured Xingquan Fucheng, it not only regarded it as an administrative center, but also as an industrial center. Therefore, a large number of military and political personnel and workshop workers gathered here.
When the Tang Dynasty first captured Xingquan Mansion, there were only about 10,000 residents in the city. However, now, the number of residents in the city has exceeded 25,000, and this does not include the Tang Dynasty King's Division stationed outside the city.
force.
Why are there so many more people?
Because there are thousands of workers in various workshops under the Ministry of Industry alone.
Secondly, the workshops under the Ministry of Industry will also place a lot of orders with private merchants and workshops. In order to make money, those merchants naturally need to hire workers, so the number of workers in the city will be even greater.
These extra workers and military and government personnel need to consume, and their consumption drives the expansion and prosperity of the consumer industry in Xingquan Prefecture.
This attracted more nearby people to flock to Xingquan Prefecture, some of whom came to work in the city, and some of whom went to do business.
The influx of many people has made the small Xingquan City become overcrowded!
On the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, the city gates of Xingquan City were just opened on this day. They arrived outside the city gates early, and the people who were preparing to enter the city lined up consciously.
Not only ordinary people are queuing up, but also businessmen transporting many goods are queuing up to enter the city.
Do you want to skip the queue and jump in line directly into the city? If you are a big shot in the military and political affairs, there is nothing to say, but if it is just an ordinary gentry businessman who wants to jump in line, what do you think of the patrolmen who maintain order at the city gate?
Believe it or not, you can be fined in minutes until you go bankrupt?
If you are not afraid of these patrols, then there is an entire team of the Tang Army stationed near the city gate tower.
So even though there are many people entering the city, the city gate is maintained very well. No one jumps in line, and no one dares to cause trouble!
But not long after, there was some commotion among the people queuing up at the city gate, and something seemed to have happened to the people queuing up behind them.
At this time, Zhao An, the team leader of the Chengdong Branch of the Xingquan Prefecture Patrol Bureau who was responsible for leading the team to maintain order at the city gate, frowned when he saw this scene and thought to himself, what is going on? Could it be that someone from outside the city is coming?
Someone is here to cause trouble?
Generally, people in Xingquan Prefecture, even the young masters from gentry families, know that rules are the most important in Xingquan Prefecture, especially when entering and exiting the city. If you do not abide by the order, even if you are a young master from a gentry family, you will
They will lose face, and in more serious cases, they will be thrown into jail. Although it is impossible to keep them in jail for too long and they will probably be fished out in a few hours, the money spent will also make the adults in the family feel heartbroken.
In the Tang Dynasty, although it was said that money was easy to get things done, the money was not a small amount!
For example, in the Xingquan Prefecture Patrol Bureau, because the funds allocated from the top are very small, even the daily salaries of subordinate patrol officers are not enough. In order to maintain the operation of the Patrol Bureau, the Patrol Bureau will also use some small tricks to make money.
Well, it’s not about private money-making, but public money-making!
For example, for some minor daily crimes, prisoners can pay fines in lieu of detention.
This fine instead of detention is just a small example. In fact, in order to make better money, several judicial departments in Xingquan Prefecture invented an innovative system called "guaranteed pending trial", which means that some people who are not harmful to society
Criminal suspects in major cases can pay a high deposit and be guaranteed by someone with a certain social status, and can be exempted from detention before trial. They can only go to the court for trial when the formal trial is held.
Of course, you can also escape midway, but the person who provided guarantee for you will also be implicated.
Moreover, this system is designed to make money to make up for the lack of funds for the operation of judicial institutions, so this system is actually specially designed for wealthy people. The deposits collected are extremely high, and they are owed to the families of criminal suspects.
Your background and financial ability can change flexibly. In other words, the richer you are, the more you can earn. Hundreds or even thousands of taels are possible, and there is no upper limit. If you have a net worth of several million taels, you can earn more.
A deposit of several hundred thousand taels of silver is also possible.
Of course, the Tang Dynasty also has a bottom line. But if you want to be released on bail pending trial, fifty taels of silver is the starting price. No matter how low it is, who do you think our Datang Dynasty is?
Who are you going to give away just a few taels of silver? Just give it to me and go to prison to work!
Yes, in order to cover expenses, the prisons in the Tang Dynasty were actually better called factories. The prisoners said they were in prison, but in fact they were working as hard labor without wages.
If you work like a few people for free for the Tang Dynasty, you can also bring benefits to the Tang Dynasty. There is no need to let you go just for a few taels of silver.
And this kind of little troublemakers, especially those ordinary gentry and businessmen's children, are the people the patrol police like to meet the most. Such people are very profitable!
But as time goes by, people in Xingquan Fucheng also know that if you commit a crime, you can avoid going to jail like before, but just handing over a film will definitely not work. You have to spend real money.
Redeem people!
Although they all have money, they can't stand to work like this for three or two days, so gradually, no one is making such trouble. This makes Zhao An and other patrol team members sigh: This is a way to make extra money.
It’s getting harder and harder!
Now that he saw the commotion outside, he immediately wondered if some unsighted people from other places had come to Xingquan Fucheng?
This is a great thing. It has been a long time since I caught a fat sheep. If I catch a big fat sheep, the branch will be able to have a good year. As the first person to catch people, I will naturally receive a bonus.
.
Immediately I was going to take a few people out to see who had the courage to cause trouble. It would be best if it was a young man from out of town whose family was very rich!
However, he had just taken two steps when he heard not only a cry from the crowd outside, but also the sound of horse hooves.
Immediately, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he shouted: "How courageous! Who dares to gallop at the gate of the city? If anyone is hurt, you will be put in jail!"
But I was extremely happy inside, now I was going to make a fortune!
Anyone who dares to ride a horse fast in a crowded place like the city gate must be an extremely domineering young man. The family of such a young man usually has a lot of money!
The relevant judicial institutions of the Tang Dynasty liked nothing more than dealing with such rich people!
This time, I'm afraid the fine will be hundreds of taels of silver, and the bail pending trial will cost more than a few hundred taels of silver. Damn, I'm getting rich, I'm getting rich!
At that moment, Zhao An happily rushed out with his men!
But before he could take the people even two steps forward, another voice came from the front: "Get out of the way quickly, anyone who blocks the military report will be killed without mercy!"
As soon as he heard this, Zhao An's footsteps stopped instantly. Military report?
Damn it, there are fat sheep here and there, this is a fucking disaster!
Last time, some young men who had drunk too much dared to intercept the envoy delivering the military report on the street. The envoy of the military report drew his sword and chopped it on the spot. With one blow, the whole head flew into the air.
After the messenger finished beheading the man, he didn't even look at him, let alone stop his horse, and continued to run in the blink of an eye.
Every envoy in the Tang Dynasty's royal division who conveys military information is a qualified cavalry. Drawing a sword and charging is the most basic thing!
After another round of excitement in front of him, Zhao An finally saw two knights galloping towards him on war horses. On the backs of these two knights, there was a small red flag, and a big report was written.
'Character.
This is a military messenger from the military. Anyone who dares to intercept this kind of military messenger will be killed without mercy. If the military situation is delayed because of this, their homes will be confiscated and their families will be exterminated!
These two military messengers obviously had important military information to convey. Before the war horses arrived, they were already shouting at the crowd to get away, otherwise they would be killed without mercy.
These two knights have already drawn their sabers. Judging from their posture, they are planning to forcefully rush through the city gate!
Damn it, you can’t mess with these gentlemen!
In an instant, Zhao An shouted at everyone: "Quick, get out of the way, get out of the way!"
In fact, without Zhao An's orders, the people who were originally queuing up at the city gate had already consciously ran to both sides. There was no other way. The speed of the military messenger's horse did not stop because there was someone in front of it. Even if the knight did not use the saber to chop,
Just by bumping into it, you will either die or be disabled!
In just a few breaths, the originally crowded city gate became extremely empty. Then the two knights continued to run forward without even looking at the crowd. Their horses' hooves stepped on the bluestone and made a crisp sound.
The sound of horse hooves.
As expected, the street ahead also experienced a flurry of activity!
When the two knights passed by, Zhao An looked at the bustling city gate, sighed and muttered: "You are so unlucky so early in the morning!"
Not to mention the chaos at the city gate and on the streets, but the two knights ran all the way until they reached the Privy Council Yamen next to the temporary palace and stopped!
After arriving at the door, they dismounted and one of them shouted: "Good news from Guangxi!"
Another person also shouted: "Please report quickly, good news from Guangxi!"