Emperor Zhenguan

Chapter 758 Visiting Luoyang
Jingle, jingle, huh-la-la!

On the official road leading to Luozhou, slaves in tattered clothes are diligently pushing tricycles and dumping soil.Official craftsmen with swords and iron helmets directed the slaves to pour the cement on the ground.

Occasionally, a slave died of exhaustion.Or, some people couldn't bear it, rose up to rebel, and swung their shovels at the artisans who were guarding them.

"call out!"

A sharp arrow came through the air and hit the center of the forehead.

The life dissipated, and the corpse fell stiffly.

The other slaves just glanced at it, then withdrew their numb eyes and continued to work.

Not far away, the knight rode his horse and stopped in front of the attacked craftsman.

"Old Zhao, it's the second time this month."

"Okay, okay, I owe you two meals." The craftsman named Lao Zhao waved impatiently.

The knight grinned, got off his horse, walked up to the corpse, and called for people to come over.

"Drag them into the pit and burn them together."

"Yes."

Soon, several soldiers dragged the body away.

Old Zhao pouted and said, "This is not going to work. More than [-] people died this month, and I have to ask for someone from above again."

The knight said: "You only care about the road in Fuchang, what are you afraid of? I heard that more than a thousand of the old white-headed people who met with you in Shou'an died this month."

Old Zhao said with emotion: "A few years ago when I was building roads in Guanzhong, I thought it was okay to kill a few Turkic dogs. In recent years, the slaves have been mixed, and their hearts have softened. They always want to take care of one or two."

"You should give up your mind." The knight warned: "The last time a craftsman showed kindness to take care of the slaves, which resulted in a rebellion of more than [-] slaves. The imperial court was the last to suppress it. Don't make the same mistakes."

"Oh, I know." Old Zhao rubbed the corners of his eyes and said helplessly, "But when is this the end? I heard that the big cities in the Central Plains have started to build roads, and thousands of people may die every day."

"It's not our Tang people." The knight said indifferently: "Besides, don't you save your energy when you go back to Guanzhong now?"

"That's the case, but I'm afraid there are not enough slaves." Old Zhao said: "I'm afraid you don't know that after the Guanzhong cement road and the track carriage road are repaired, the statistics from the superiors show that more than [-] slaves died. It has not been extinguished for seven days and seven nights."

"Oh." The knight sat down and looked at Lao Zhao, "And then?"

"Isn't it cruel?" Old Zhao asked back.

The knight said disdainfully: "I'm afraid you haven't been to the northern border. There, when our Tang brothers are bullied by the prairie people, it will be even worse."

Old Zhao pursed his lips and said with a wry smile, "I made you laugh."

The knight took off his iron helmet, revealing a resolute face. This man was a veteran. Because of his injuries, he retired from the regular army and was transferred to supervise the slaves who were building roads.

"Everyone is kind, there is nothing wrong with that, but you have to know that these grassland slaves don't think about your kindness. In those years, I followed Duke Wei to attack the Turks in the north, and the people in the states and counties I saw along the way were all mutilated. Suffering from the Turks, they look forward to our rescue day and night. If it weren't for His Majesty's sage, how could they escape the sea of ​​suffering.

These Turkic dogs should die, otherwise, the northern border will never be peaceful. "

"But here, there are also Xueyantuo people, Uighur people, and Khitan people." Old Zhao said.

"Oh, what do you know? These people used to be Turkic people, and they belonged to different tribes. How about this, I have a drink when I have time, and I will explain it to you."

"You just miss my wine." Old Zhao snorted.

While the two were talking, they saw a large crowd of people walking not far away.

"What's going on?" The knight frowned, and ordered someone to go and ask.

Not long after, the soldier came back and said, "Those people are going to Luozhou to settle down."

"Anjia?" the knight asked, "Fuchang's?"

"Yes."

Old Zhao was puzzled and said, "Why do you want to settle down in Luozhou? Their household registration is not there, or are they planning to be tenant farmers?"

The knight thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, we can't control this."

That group of people, old and young, men and women, all carried their burdens and walked forward with their arms.When they saw the slaves building the road, they ran far away.

Watching this group of people leave, Lao Zhao didn't say anything, everyone has their own choice, leaving home must be difficult.

In the crowd, several children dared to come out after leaving the slaves for a long distance.

"Aye, what are those people doing?" a little girl asked.

"Don't talk too much, go to your mother's place."

"Oh." The little girl pursed her lips and slipped into the crowd.

Several young men breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that they were far away from the Turkic slaves.

"Are those the slaves who built the road?"

"should be."

"The imperial court has the ability to build roads, why doesn't it help us?"

"Si'er, don't talk nonsense." The leading man said: "Those are slaves, they die as soon as they die, the imperial court won't care about it."

"What's the use of building roads?" The young man named Si'er curled his lips and said, "It can't let us have enough food and clothing."

"Don't talk about it, when we settle down in Luozhou, we will have a field."

"Can it be successful?"

Several men showed worried expressions.

A group of people crossed Guzhou, entered Luozhou, and rested in Tingyi outside Shou'an City.Here, they found that many other people from their hometown were also there.

"Si Er, take your mother and sisters-in-law to rest, take care of Xiaoye Xiaokui, and my eldest brother and I will go find something to eat." The third child said to the fourth brother.

"I see."

The third child and the eldest child got up to look for food, and the fourth child and the lame second child supported the old mother, sister-in-law and nieces to find an open space to rest.

The people next to them saw them and asked with a smile, "Are you also from Guzhou?"

"Yes." The lame second child showed a simple and honest smile, looking a little reserved.

Opposite him, sat a group of plainly dressed people.Most of them are men, only two women.Although these people looked ordinary, the lame second child still didn't dare to talk to these people too much.

Because, until they sat down, they realized that no one else dared to gather around this group of people. Most people looked at them with curiosity, or surprise.

The lame second child had never seen much of the world, but he felt that this group of people did not seem to have left their hometowns to come to Luozhou.

Because he found that the group of people seemed to be sitting loosely, but in fact they all surrounded the one man and two women in the center.

The man was very young, with some stubble around the corners of his mouth, and he was wearing a cloud-patterned black suit. Although the two women were dressed plainly, they did not behave like country maids.

It was a bearded man who spoke to him just now.

The lame second child withdrew his gaze and took care of his wife and sisters-in-law to rest.

At this time, the girl named Xiaokui was attracted by the delicious pastry over there, and her saliva flowed out as she looked at it.

"Sister, that little girl is about to cry." Wei Dante lightly touched Wei Puti's sleeve.

Although the second daughter is dressed in casual clothes, she can't hide her beauty and temperament. Surrounding Li Zhiyun, people are quite enviable.

When Li Zhiyun and Wei Puti heard the words, they turned their heads and saw the little girl. The other party seemed to be taken aback, fearful of being found out for doing bad things, and quickly hid in their mother's arms.

Li Zhiyun said: "Zhang Xingcheng."

"exist."

The bearded man was named Zhang Xingcheng, who was born in the Zhang family in Zhongshan. After the troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he successively served as an official under the Sui Dynasty and Wang Shichong.

"Take some cakes and give them to the child."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)