Chapter 368 Troubled times arise! (Additional update for Immortal Qitian)
The Ming Dynasty was bitter and cold, Longyuan was the worst, Longyuan was poor, Qingzhou was the worst, and Qingzhou was the most barren place, naturally Shunde Prefecture.
Yang Yu has been to Mulin and Qingzhou, and also passed through Delin and other prefectures. Except for Deyang Prefecture, which was severely affected, this big city in front of him is the shabbiest prefecture he has ever seen.
The listless doorman, the sparse carriages, horses and pedestrians, and the gate tower with some traces of history all reveal its shabby appearance.
"Shunde Mansion."
The old man was a little excited, talking nonchalantly about what happened when he came to Shunde on business more than ten years ago.
What he said was fragmentary and not very nutritious, but Yang Yu seemed never tired of listening to it.
This is just an ordinary old man from a small border town, a little timid, a little cunning, a little philistine, but also kind-hearted, just like most ordinary people in the world.
But without this old man, he might have starved to death in the wilderness.
The two of them stayed in Changliu Mountain for another ten days.
Among them were buried the bones of Sansha Sanren, and it took less than half a day to dig out red crystal stones. After that, they rescued many miners in the mine who were hiding from Yu Chixing's pursuit.
Afterwards, the two of them didn't waste any time and took the red-eyed white crane to Shunde Mansion, intending to buy some medicinal materials, cloth and satin along the way.
"My old lady has been talking about the rouge gouache from the shisha shop for many years. I need to buy more this time. The stuff in the city is so good!"
The old man's face was rosy and he was in good spirits.
"Then you go first, and then we will meet at this restaurant, have a meal, and then go home!"
Yang Yu kicked the big black dog and signaled it to follow the old man.
Under the nourishment of strong Qi and blood, this dog became more and more spiritual, and was able to restrain its muscles and bones to a certain extent, making it no longer so irritating.
Although still very large, it is still within the category of large dogs.
"go Go."
The old man rubbed his hands. He had rarely been rich in his life. The last time he came to Fucheng, he was very tight. It was rare that he was rich, and his waist was a little stiffer.
One hundred taels of silver was already a huge sum of money to him.
The two men said goodbye, and one went to buy some goods, while Yang Yu went to the restaurant, ordered a table of food and wine, and gave some money to the shop assistant to buy medicinal materials and other trivial things.
While waiting, his mind moved, and the evil-suppressing seal descended on the body of the living dead.
Xu Wenji has always been very decisive in handling matters. After more than ten days, even the Shunde Mansion no longer had a wanted order for him. However, some things are not as convenient as the living dead.
After many days of cultivation, most of the living dead's injuries were healed. Most importantly, after replenishing his energy and blood, he finally looked a little more like a human being, rather than a ghost.
Kakakka~
Turning the stiff body of the living dead, he entered the city and went straight to the six doors.
The man stationed at the Six Gates of Shunde Mansion was named Yan Sanxiang, an old man with a goatee. He was resting at home, but when he heard that the 'chief arrester Fang Qidao' was coming, he was immediately frightened.
He rushed out in a hurry and invited him into the house with a humble face.
"Take half of all the elixirs in the house, deduct them according to my share, and fill them in truthfully. By the way, where can I compile the file information in recent days?"
This voice was cold and hoarse.
"Yes Yes."
Yan Sanxiang shivered and hurriedly excused himself. Yang Yu didn't know how efficient he was in the past, but now, he was doing things very quickly.
It didn't take more than half an hour, but he was already running around sweating profusely to get all the things Yang Yu wanted.
"only these?"
Looking at the bottles and jars in front of him, Yang Yu frowned inwardly. Without him, they were too few, and they didn't seem to be the quantity that a palace should have.
"Your Majesty, please be clear!"
Yan Sanxiang confessed repeatedly, but his face was full of bitterness:
"My lord, you have been here for nearly two years, but you may not know that a lot has happened in these two years..."
Next, he cried out in pain.
Without him, he lacks salary, elixirs, and even standard swords.
"... A few years ago, when the imperial court reduced the number of post stations and abolished the city defense garrison in the pass, we suffered a blow. Hundreds of thousands of arrestees were abolished across the country, and our salaries and elixirs were also reduced by 20%. You know this
of."
"Um."
Yang Yu's face was expressionless. He had indeed heard a little bit about this.
It is ridiculous to say that the Ming Dynasty, which had nine states and twenty-seven states and hundreds of millions of people, would be short of money, but it is true.
Not only is it lacking, it is extremely lacking!
Did the Ming Dynasty really have no money?
No! It’s just not in the treasury.
Kings, aristocratic families, powerful gentry, and martial arts sects are all richer than the last. They have tens of millions of acres of land and billions of dollars in wealth, but they still can't get a cent of it.
The taxes that should be borne are all passed on to the poor people, and even some are exploited from them!
How could Xu Wenji rectify the officialdom and help a government suffer from drought? In addition to the help of the big boss, more importantly, he won the four major families!
But there are nine states and twenty-seven states in the world...
"If this is the case, we can still maintain it, but the past few years have not been easy in the pass. There are disasters here, thieves there, and wars are going on every year, which may cost a lot.
A few months ago, another knife struck our heads."
Yan Sanxiang slapped his thigh hard, feeling extremely angry:
"Grandma's is cut off by 20%, 20%!"
As he said that, he glanced at the expressionless 'Fang Qidao', and he also cursed in his heart. Yun and Bai Erzhou were better off with this sword, and they had indeed eaten it 10% of the time.
Without him, the hunter would never know where to go.
"continue."
Yang Yu casually flipped through the information files in recent months, and soon noticed a seemingly inconspicuous item among them.
[Last autumn, the Lingnan Dao bandit bandit "Wang Wenzhao" started a rebellion, kidnapped 1.8 million refugees, and captured 23 county towns and one prefectural city in a few months!
The imperial court was furious and sent troops to attack]
"Someone rebelled again..."
Yang Yu was not surprised. In the past few years, Jilong Mountain in Qingzhou had caused trouble, and other Taoist prefectures were similar. It seemed that only the location of Kyoto and Linlong Taoism had not been heard of.
I just couldn't help but wonder whether Mr. Xu's return to Beijing had something to do with this matter. At least, the reason why the six doors were slashed was because of this matter.
"I had no choice but to disperse some of the brothers, and cut back on food and clothing to barely support myself. If Mr. Xu hadn't helped me, I would have been even more miserable..."
Yan Sanxiang sighed repeatedly, feeling depressed:
"Especially some time ago, the Duan Shen Catcher summoned experts to hunt down that Lin Taoist, and sent people to take away more than half of the elixirs in stock in each city.
Really, there is really nothing we can do..."
"That's all, that's all."
Yang Yu took pictures of the banknotes and pretended to buy a few bottles of elixirs. He pushed the rest back to him, picked up the files and left.
"grown ups!"
Yan Sanxiang called him, he hesitated to speak, but still gritted his teeth:
"Sir, Mr. Xu can save you for a while, but he can't save you forever! If things go on like this for a long time, even my subordinates will not be able to stop their brothers from taking advantage of others..."
"Um?"
Yang Yu looked back with cold eyes.
This time, Yan Sanxiang gritted his teeth and did not lower his head:
"Brothers, you must live too!"
"Pass my order to Bu Lingxu, who is temporarily acting as the chief arrester, and ask him to take all the wealth and elixirs from my mansion and disperse them, so as to subsidize the strongholds in various prefectures and counties without any mistakes."
Leaving behind a general arrest warrant, Yang Yu turned around and left.
Of course he knew that if he lost his salary, there would be hidden dangers in the six gates of the pill, but there were tens of thousands of arrests recorded in the six gates of Qingzhou.
How could he fill such a big hole?
Yan Sanxiang was stunned for a long time while holding the arrest warrant, and then bowed towards his back:
"My lord is kind and righteous!"
…
…
Daocheng.
As winter passes and spring comes, everything revives, the old trees in the city sprout new buds, and the distant mountains become green.
On the swaying bamboo chariot, Zhang Lingfeng held his fat face while the maid fed him fresh fruits. Behind him, there were several stern-looking guards.
"Seventeen days ago, Duan Qilong and Lin Daoren fought for the second time. Duan Qilong was defeated again. The Eagle Arrow team lost three people, and Lin Daoren retreated to the deep mountains and old forests...
Eleven days ago, the two fought for the third time. Duan Qilong coughed up blood and retreated. Qi Liuyi was seriously injured and retreated. Lin Daoren retreated again, reaching Mulin Mansion...
Four days ago, ‘Yu Fangzhou’, the commander of the Longyuan Wei Shanzi Battalion, and ‘Nanshan Ba’, the commander of the Huozi Battalion, came to the aid of Duan Qilong. The three of them fought together, but Duan Qilong was injured again, and Lin Daoren retreated again…”
"The Changliu Mountain mine has collapsed a long time ago. Yu Chixing is missing and may have absconded..."
"Miss..."
…
"okay."
Zhang Lingfeng stretched and got out of the chariot. In front of him was a small mountain. In the Taoist city where every inch of land was precious, there was only one mountain.
That is Wanxiang Mountain.
Among them lived Wang Muzhi, a native of Wanxiang Mountain.
"You'll be waiting outside."
After repelling the guards who wanted to follow him, Zhang Lingfeng moved his thick hands and feet and stepped into the Wanxiang Mountain.
Wanxiang Mountain is not high, and there are not many houses in it. At the foot of the mountain, next to a clear spring, there is a row of bamboo houses, where Wang Muzhi, a native of Wangxiang Mountain, and his disciples live.
At this time of the year, there was already greenery in the mountains. By the side of the clear spring, a middle-aged man was sitting upright on the Qiao Stone, as if he was meditating, but also seemed to be taking in the popularity of the city.
"Brother Wang is so elegant."
Zhang Lingfeng smiled slightly and handed over the file.
Wang Muzhi was not a man of outstanding appearance. On the contrary, he was unattractive in appearance and had spots on his face. He was not like the first great master of Long Yuan Tao who was good at both civil and military skills.
On the contrary, he looks like a woodcutter in the mountains.
Wang Muzhi looked into the distance, speechless, and did not pick up the file.
Zhang Lingfeng was not upset and read the information from the file to him:
"The six gates are all sixty-one. I left the city more than a month ago and haven't returned yet..."
"Wang Fulin, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, left the city more than a month ago and has not returned yet..."
"The Second Battalion of Longyuan Guards' Shan' and 'Huo' left the city and has not returned yet..."
call!
Wang Muzhi exhaled, and tears seemed to fall from the corners of his eyes:
"Teacher, he is really leaving."
"Why are you crying, Brother Wang?"
Zhang Lingfeng was slightly puzzled.
"Sand got in."
Wang Muzhi wiped the tears from his eyes.
"..."
Zhang Lingfeng was silent for a moment and tentatively believed it.
"Wang already knows the prince's intention. However, I promised the teacher that I would not leave this mountain while he is here. Therefore, I can only give you this thing..."
Wang Muzhi popped out a dusty iron pill:
"As for what you are going to do..."
"I'm such a bitch, I just want that old man to take a look..."
Taking the iron pill, a sick smile flashed across Zhang Lingfeng's face:
"How can I, a bitch like me, afford to wear his python robe?"