Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 699 Miscellaneous Essays
"Gaoming! That's great, but I don't know what grade it is!"

"No matter how high you are, it's all an official status! There are so many people doing business in Luoyang City, how many of them can have an official status? From now on, when we talk about business with our family, our wife will sit down while they all have to kneel down. !”

"Yes, yes, you all have to kneel!"

Everyone was talking a lot, their faces were all rosy, and they looked like they were "honored". However, Gao Wu Niang, the real host, did not have any joy on her face. She said she was tired, dismissed everyone's congratulations, and replied Entering the house, he let out a long breath.

"Fifth Mother!" Gawain came in from outside: "Today is a big happy event. How about setting up a few banquets later and treating the neighbors to a meal to celebrate!"

"You go to the accounting office and get thirty guan to organize the banquet. I'll forget it!" Gao Wu Niang was leaning on the bed, her whole body like a puddle of mud.

"Wu Niang, you won't participate?" Gawain was stunned: "You are the real owner!"

"What kind of rightful master is not right?" Gao Wanniang sighed: "You are right next to me today, and you haven't seen it clearly? The general is taking one step after another, which makes me breathless. This order looks impressive, But in the blink of an eye, he might turn into a life-threatening Yama!"

"The general is a little too pushy, but I think he is a reasonable person and speaks kindly. It is not difficult to deal with him!" Gawain said with a smile.

"Awen, you still don't understand!" Gao Wuniang said with a bitter smile: "Yes, the general speaks kindly and is reasonable, but he is still a general after all. Do you remember what he did when he asked me if the place was not big enough? Did you tell Wang Fuyin?"

"It seems that they want to buy the entire farm and then lend it to us!" Gawain said with a smile.

"You're still laughing! I was sweating!" Gao Wuniang snorted coldly: "There are at least a hundred families in this village, and they are all family properties passed down from generations. He just said this casually After buying it, the Baishi family would be immediately bankrupt and homeless. I thought what would happen if things happened to us?"

"On top of us? How could it be possible? Doesn't the general want us to build a carriage for him?" Gawain said with a smile.

"How come you still don't understand?" Gao Wanniang sighed: "Don't you remember that I told the general that I was short of manpower, and the general immediately told his subordinates that whether they were prisoners or slaves, we should get [-] men as soon as possible. Come on. He is a general, and what comes out of his mouth are military orders. If his subordinates don’t want to lose their heads, they have to find people for him. "

"What's the matter? It's not us who lost our heads! Besides, you said it later, what we want are craftsmen, the kind who have nothing but strength. It's useless even if they come, so he won't forget it!"

"You really didn't pay attention!" Gao Wuniang sighed: "The general later asked whether he should hire more apprentices. Each apprentice only needs to learn a craft and can start working in a few months. Wouldn't this be unfair? Do you have enough manpower? I later rejected you!"

"Oh! I remembered!" Gawain said with a smile; "The general is a layman after all. How can he do this? He just learns a craft and becomes a master!"

"No, actually he is right, it is okay to do this!" Gao Wuniang shook her head: "And it may be better to do this, because each apprentice only needs to know one craft, and he can spend all his time on it. In that craft, he can learn faster and better, and he can do what he is best at! Those who make wheels specialize in making spokes, and those who make shafts concentrate on making shafts!"

"If it's possible, then why do you refuse, Fifth Mother?" Gawain was surprised: "You are not afraid of offending the general, he will kill you!"

"Don't you understand yet?" Gao Wuniang said: "If you do what the general said, the apprentice will always be an apprentice and will never become a master craftsman. After all, no matter how good you are at making car spokes, you can't be alone. Someone Buy wheels, but no one will buy car spokes, doing so will only offend all colleagues in Luoyang City!"

After hearing this, Gawain finally understood.Although there were industrial and commercial people in ancient feudal society in my country, they were very different from the industrial and commercial enterprises in modern society.What an ancient apprentice wanted to do after entering a shop was to gradually accumulate skills. After the past apprenticeship period and having enough skills to stand alone, he would go out on his own, build his own shop, and become a small owner. In modern society, due to the detailed division of labor, it is difficult for ordinary people to do so. Master all the skills of the entire process, and the business threshold is getting higher and higher. Most people will remain employees of companies for life instead of starting their own business.

In other words, although there were some industrial and commercial merchants with strong capital and large numbers of employees in the Tang Dynasty, the main players in the market were still individuals or small enterprises employing only a few or a dozen people. The guilds in Luoyang City positioned themselves as Independent craftsmen, not businessmen who exploit their employees.And if Gao Wuniang agrees to Wang Wenzuo's request, let the apprentices learn only one craft and then go out to work.This cuts off the way for apprentices to start their own business after learning a trade, and as a rule, apprentices must be paid a salary after they graduate. This also hurts the interests of masters who use free labor during their apprenticeships, and will naturally arouse the anger of their peers. In the future, A siege is not impossible.

"But Wu Niang, it's better to offend your colleagues than to offend the general!" Gao Wen said.

"You are wrong. A general is for a moment, but a colleague is for a lifetime!" Gao Wuniang sighed: "In the final analysis, we are still merchants. We want to settle in Luoyang City. The general is like a cloud. When he comes, he will not return. If we can walk, Luoyang is the land under our feet!"

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Luoyang Prefecture Yin Office.

The water in the copper pot on the charcoal stove was already boiling, making a gentle popping sound. The maid next to her used a silver knife to scrape some of the tea cakes and lightly crushed them with a roller.Di Renjie and his old boss sat opposite each other. He heard the sound of boiling water pushing up the lid of the pot, and his mood gradually calmed down.

"Huaiying!" Wang Fuyin wrapped the handle of the copper kettle with a wet towel, poured boiling water into the pottery urn filled with tea powder, and stirred the light green tea with a tea brush, asking: "Prince Pei is here too today. Yes, what do you think?"

"Prince Pei?" Di Renjie looked at the tea, and the appearance of Prince Pei appeared in front of his eyes: "Your Highness is still young, so you can't see anything yet!"

"Still young?" Wangfu Yin smiled noncommittally: "What about the general's attitude towards King Pei?"

"This -" Di Renjie hesitated for a moment: "Maybe it's a bit harsh! Maybe the emperor has said something in advance, but my subordinates can't know it!"

"Haha!" Wang Fuyin laughed: "Seventeen is not too young. If King Pei is smart enough, he should be very grateful to the general. This can be regarded as a kind of protection!"

"Protect? What does prince mean?" Di Renjie asked.

"Haha, if I'm not wrong! Not long after the general left Chang'an, someone in the court should have written a letter to King Pei for plotting evil and intending to rebel! At that time, as long as the emperor issued an edict, King Pei would have no choice but to be killed. ! To put it bluntly, as long as the emperor does not establish a prince, the safest place for King Pei is in his palace. The best thing for him to do is to stay at home, concentrate on studying, avoid guests, and see no outsiders. Only in this way can he save his life. !”

"Then, are you going to kill him that day?" Di Renjie asked.

"That's not the case! I don't know the specific reason!" Wang Fuyin shook his head: "Brothers in the emperor's family are ruthless, but the general is a good man. Why did he scold King Pei in front of everyone? , on the contrary, there are many less things to handle. Isn't the emperor of Chang'an most worried about the generals outside supporting the crown prince? Without the crown prince, King Pei will be the crown prince!" Di Renjie fell into deep thought, and the scene of Wang Wenzuo scolding Li Xian during the day came to mind again. , is it true that as Wang Fuyin said, the general did this on purpose?For a while, Di Renjie couldn't tell the truth from the lies.

"Come, Huaiying, drink tea!" Wang Fuyin's voice broke Di Renjie's contemplation. He put down the copper pot, picked up the teacup and took a deep breath: "Huaiying, it's not easy to drink such good tea. ! If a person dies, he will never be able to drink such good tea again, right?" At this point, he gave Di Renjie a meaningful look.

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Posthouse, Wang Wenzuo's residence.

"Master, how many days do you plan to stay in Luoyang?" Sancho asked: "I can also arrange for escorts!"

"How many days will you stay?" Wang Wenzuo put down the document in his hand: "Let's stay for another three or four days!"

"I understand, villain!" Sancho responded. Just as he was about to go out, he was stopped by Wang Wenzuo: "Do you think my journey will be too slow, and will Liaodong be unable to support it?"

"That side of Liaodong?" Sanqiu smiled indifferently: "According to the villain's point of view, it actually doesn't matter. How many people did you have when you took us in Baekje? We were surrounded by traitors and were isolated and helpless. But in the end The Baekje, Japanese, and Goguryeo people are all doomed. The thieves are so rampant now because everyone is not united and leaderless, and they all want to protect themselves. As long as we know that you are coming soon, we can destroy the thieves with our own strength. Got it!"

"You are optimistic!"

"It's true!" Sancho said with a smile: "Have you not noticed? In the past, the distress documents from Xiongjin and Japan came every ten and a half months, but since it was confirmed that you are going to send troops to Liaodong, the distress documents have disappeared. . To put it bluntly, what everyone is worried about is that you are assisting the emperor in Chang'an and will never come back. As long as we are sure that you will come, it doesn't matter a few months sooner or a few months later!"

"If it's really as you said, then I won't be anxious!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "After crossing the river, walk east for a few days and you will reach Hebei. Have I wasted my efforts in Chang'an in the past two years? It depends on now!"

"What do you mean?" Sancho asked confused.

"Sangqiu, let me ask you, if I go to the Japanese country or the Xiongjin Governor's Mansion, will I just wave my hand and someone will follow me with tribes and clans?"

"That's natural!" Sanqiu said: "Not to mention others, like Yuan Fei, Wang Peng and the Japanese who killed the white horse to make a pact. Without you, where would they be today? With your order, if they didn't bring their troops How can I order my subordinates when I serve the Qu clan?”

"Then when I pass through Hebei this time, I want to see how many people will follow me!"

"Hebei? I'm afraid there won't be many people there. After all, they haven't received much favor from you!"

"If this is the case, it will be troublesome!"

"Trouble?" Sancho frowned: "Isn't it enough to have us?"

Wang Wenzuo smiled and said nothing. It was too early to tell his future plans completely, even to Sancho.He stood up: "It's getting late, let's rest!"

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Liucheng, outside the city.

"Come back alive!" Wang Kuan firmly grabbed A Zhiluo's shoulders and whispered.

"Don't worry!" Ah Zhiluo's face was still pale, and he grinned: "My life is very tough, and the arrows of the Mohe people are not so easy to take away!"

Wang Kuan grinned and wanted to smile, but he couldn't laugh out loud. His old friend, who had not fully recovered from his injury, insisted on returning to the army. The reason was that the defenders needed experienced scouts, and he was one.What he said is actually correct, but the problem is that the Tang army now lacks everything: infantry, cavalry, horses, weapons, and food. Joining an army in such a state is not a good choice.

"Don't worry, the situation is not that bad!" Ah Zhiluo could see Wang Kuan's worry, and he patted his old friend on the shoulder: "Come on, let's say goodbye!"

"Yeah!" Wang Kuan nodded: "Be smart outside, and don't be too burdensome. Wear a layer of leather armor under the curtain!"

On both sides of the road back to the city were groups of beggars, wandering prostitutes, and women selling acorns they had caught.The business of selling food is better than all the rest put together.People crowded around barrels or stalls, haggling over snails, mussels and acorns.

As there are more and more refugees, and the food imported from the original reclamation areas has been cut off, the price of all food has become ten times what it was before the war, and continues to rise.

People who still have money go to the market by the river every morning and evening, hoping to bring home a fish, a can of mussels, or a few handfuls of acorns; those who don't have money either wander among the stalls, planning to steal. , or stand miserably and hopelessly under the city wall and watch.

Wang Kuan pushed away the crowd and cleared a path through the crowd.Wang Kuan tried his best not to pay attention to the mutterings and curses. A rotten and greasy fish flew out of the crowd, landed at his feet, and broke into pieces.

He stepped carefully over it.Behind them, the bloated children were already fighting over the pieces of the smelly fish.The sound of hammers filled the early morning air, and a large number of carpenters gathered at the city gate to add planks to the battlements. They did a good job.

But on the other hand, the pile of crumbling buildings growing under the city wall made him quite uneasy.They cling to the city wall, like shells attached to the hull of a ship, and contain various shacks, canteens, restaurants, and bars for cheap prostitutes.

These things must be emptied, leaving nothing behind.Wang Kuan thought to himself that with these, the rebels would save time on building ladders.

(End of this chapter)