Han Shizu

Chapter 998 Petty Citizen

Chapter 998 Petty Citizen

"From your accent, you're not from the north. Could it be that you're from Jinghu?" Looking at the vendor, Liu Chengyou said, although it was a question, but Liu Chengyou's tone was very certain.

On the rough face of the street vendor, there was a complimenting expression, and he said: "You must be a noble man with outstanding knowledge, and you can even hear the accent of a villain so accurately. The young one is indeed from the south, but he is not from Jinghu, but People from Puqi County."

"Puqi County!" Liu Chengyou was slightly surprised, and said with a light smile, "That still belongs to Ezhou!"

Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for Liu Chengyou to memorize all the states and counties in the whole country, but he has recently studied the Jiangnan area.As the key offensive target of the Southern Expedition, Ezhou naturally also entered his field of vision, and Puqi is a small county in the southwest of Ezhou, adjacent to Yuezhou. It is named after the densely planted cattail grass in the territory.

"The officials are really good, they even know about Puqi, a small place!" The stall owner almost gave Liu Chengyou a thumbs up.

Looking at this person, he is about 40 years old, with rough skin, calluses on his hands, ordinary clothes, and his exposed muscles look strong.

Liu Chengyou still asked curiously: "Since you are from Puqi, how did you come to Tokyo?"

Seeing Liu Chengyou interrogating about his family affairs, the old man did not dare not answer, and even did not dare to meet his gaze, so he could only tell the truth: "About seven years ago, the imperial court sent a large army to pacify Hunan, fought in Baling, and fought in the surrounding counties and counties. It's a small misfortune to recruit civilian husbands... oh, I'm lucky to be selected to serve the imperial army under the city of Baling..."

From his words, Liu Chengyou could imagine how tyrannical Wang Shiping was in Hunan back then. The people in Puqi who belonged to the Southern Tang Dynasty were also within the scope of recruitment. At that time, Han Tong seemed not afraid of causing diplomatic disputes.Of course, Tang general Liu Renshan expressed great indignation afterwards, but the Southern Tang court didn't dare to let a fart go.

When Liu Chengyou heard about it, his interest became more intense, and he said with a smile: "In this way, the imperial court won the battle of Baling, and you, my brother, have the credit for it!"

"The nobleman is joking! Breaking the city and killing the enemy is the merit of the soldiers. The younger ones are just helping to cut firewood and carry supplies. How can there be any credit!" The old man shook his hand.

"Hey, the soldiers are meritorious service, and you are hard work. You are also serving the court, and each has its own role!" Liu Chengyou also laughed.

As he was talking, Liu Chengyou had already taken the initiative to walk to his side, and he stood up wisely and gave him his low stool.Liu Chengyou was also polite, sat down directly, looked at the old man sitting cross-legged on the ground, and continued: "According to the court system, you should be rewarded after the war!"

Hearing this, the old man sighed, and said: "It is luck for ordinary people like us to survive such cruel battlefields and save our lives."

"Brother's limbs are intact, luck is indeed good!" Liu Chengyou nodded, admitting his statement.

"I also want to thank the gods and Buddhas for their blessings, and thank the villain for being sent to fill the trench!" The old man said: "Therefore, we don't dare to expect a reward from the court. Only the lucky ones can return home safely, and many Those who went with me, oh..."

Hearing his emotions, Liu Chengyou immediately asked: "From your tone, it seems that there is something else hidden? Could it be that the subsequent compensation from the court has not been implemented?"

When he asked this question, Liu Chengyou's tone suddenly became severe, which shocked the old man.Seeing this, he was a little dazed again, and he was busy answering, as if he had said something that shouldn't be said, his eyes flickered a few times, and he subconsciously lowered his head and said, "It's a little talker! I don't know anything!"

Obviously, this old man did have some discernment, knowing that this was probably a high-ranking official of the imperial court, or even those legendary imperial envoys who visited people's conditions.However, looking at this posture, it is different from the rumors, it is too domineering and ostentatious.

But no matter what, it is inappropriate to continue to talk too much, so as not to cause trouble.

Paying attention to his reaction, Liu Chengyou regained his gentle smile and said, "Brother, you don't have to be scruples, and I won't speak out. I'm an official responsible for listening to people's sentiments. I'll visit you in a low-level service. Now that you've started, let's continue." ..."

Hearing this, the old man's expression changed drastically, he looked around subconsciously, with a bitter expression on his face, and said, "The villain really doesn't want to cause trouble!"

Liu Chengyou still smiled: "But, you have already provoked me! Let me tell you this, what you said just now may have been unknown to the court before, but as long as the court wants to investigate, the result will definitely come to light and be very clear. I just want to start from You know some things from your mouth, so as not to make troubles..."

If the old man wants to reply, then you can check it yourself, why bother him, a little man.But paying attention to Liu Chengyou's eyes, hesitated for a moment, and still took the initiative to say: "Actually, it's not a big deal. After the war, most of the ex-military husbands were rewarded. It's just that people like us who belong to the Jiangnan country I got some rations to return home."

"The government's statement is to ask us to ask the Jiangnan court. It is understandable after all, after all, we were not the people of the Han Dynasty at that time!" The old man sighed: "Like a villain, luck is good, and it is enough to be able to go home safely. .However, some people died, some people were disabled, and the family lost a strong man, so it is obviously impossible to ask the Jiangnan court for compensation..."

"Damn it!" Hearing his words, Liu Chengyou scolded angrily: "In the whole world, is it possible that the king's land, the people of the south of the Yangtze River, are also the people of the Han Dynasty, the people of the Son of Heaven. What's more, since he worked for the king's teacher and shed blood and sacrificed for the Han Dynasty , since the compensation is in place!"

Seeing that Liu Chengyou was angry, he was also taken aback, but after speaking, he carefully echoed: "This official, what you said makes sense."

Obviously, some words were insincere, maybe Liu Chengyou still took it for granted in his heart.

Liu Chengyou's mood was not so easy to be affected. He quickly calmed down and smiled again. Seeing that he was a little embarrassed, he regained his relaxed tone and said, "Do you think this is far from far away? Logically, after the war, you should It’s time to go back to Puqi, how did you get to Tokyo?”

Hearing Liu Chengyou's question about this, the old man obviously relaxed a little, and replied: "When I was in the army, the villain met my son-in-law. He was a soldier of the Imperial Army who was enlisting at the time, and he was a commander. After the war, I took my daughter Married to him, when the army went to the north, after consideration, the whole family went back to Tokyo with him, and settled down from then on..."

Slightly nodding, Liu Chengyou looked at the old man's stall and said: "The chief who participated in the Battle of Yuezhou, up to now, not to mention being a battalion officer, a hundred generals is always more than enough! Why bother you, woman?" , in this scorching heat, set up a stall to sell cattail fans? Could something have happened?"

Hearing this, the old man was slightly startled, and immediately said in an emotional tone: "The official is really smart, my son-in-law was originally promoted to a hundred generals, but died in battle during the Northern Expedition, alas..."

"It turns out that they are the families of the martyrs of the Northern Expedition, worthy of admiration!" Liu Chengyou cupped his hands.

"Don't dare to do it! Don't dare to do it!" Seeing this, the old man hurriedly said.

"As for your family's pension, the Ministry of War should not have deducted it!" Liu Chengyou said again.

"No, it will be paid out in full soon!" The old man replied, "It is well known that the emperor treats soldiers well. Besides, my son-in-law is also an officer, so he will never be held back."

Listening to his words, Liu Chengyou pondered for a while, and said: "The son-in-law sacrificed, and the family lacked a pillar. In the past three years, they will encounter some difficulties in their livelihood."

The old man Shuo said: "Tokyo is a capital city after all. However, the villain's family is lucky. They have a foot of land and a roof of tiles, which can be regarded as a shelter. The pension left by the son-in-law is to support the children. The family My livelihood still needs expenses, and my son has grown up and needs to marry a wife. When I was in Puqi, I still had some weaving skills, so I made some cattail fans and sold them..."

Liu Chengyou listened to these trivial matters, but was very serious, and continued to ask: "Only sell these cattail fans?"

"Of course not!" The old man shook his head, with a shrewd look on his face again: "It's not summer, the weather is hot, and every family needs a fan to cool off the heat, so I specialize in cattail fans to catch the season. Usually, the younger ones also take Some baskets, baskets, bamboo utensils to sell..."

It can be said that this is a very common small craftsman in Tokyo.

Liu Chengyou also smiled: "It seems that my brother is a craft, he should be very good. How is the business now, how much can you earn in a day?"

The old man replied: "To tell you the truth, the scorching heat is approaching. Recently, at most one day, there can be hundreds of wen, and there were forty or fifty wen when it was less. Alas, it is a pity that summer will always pass, and I am not the only one who sells fans... "

"That's not a lot!" Liu Chengyou's mood improved again, and he asked, "What price do you buy grain now?"

"A bucket of rice costs thirteen or four cents!"

"Thirteen Wen, isn't the court's price set at twelve Wen?" Liu Chengyou asked.

"..."

After chatting with this old man for two full hours, Liu Chengyou just got up, smiled at him and said, "I have gained a lot from talking with my brother. I have always been rewarding and punishing, and I have delayed you for so long. There should be compensation, and you should also be rewarded for your meritorious advice.”

Before Liu Chengyou finished speaking, the old man hurriedly said: "This official, I only hope that I will not cause trouble, and I am satisfied. How dare I ask for a reward!"

Liu Chengyou smiled and said: "Don't worry, I promise you, as long as you do your business properly, no one will trouble you. Rewards should still be rewarded! How about this, if you can have hundreds of Wen in a day at most, I will give it to you." 110 essays."

Hearing that, Zhang Dejun who was waiting hurriedly took out his wallet to pay.

"I'll take my leave first! Where I'm bothering you, I still look forward to Haihan! I wish you a prosperous business, and we'll see you later!" He smiled at him again, before Liu Chengyou turned around and left leisurely.

Looking at the figure of Liu Chengyou's group, the old man was sweating profusely, quickly collected the money, and then closed the stall, ignoring the inquiries of those curious people around, and went home directly.

Since then, the old man has never sold anything in Dongshi, but moved to Nanshi.This is probably the shrewdness of small citizens, but it seems a little naive.

From the beginning to the end, Liu Chengyou never asked his name.In Liu Chengyou's eyes, his old man represents a kind of people.

(End of this chapter)

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