A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 12
Sanyuan County returned to Longqiao Fort for more than [-] miles. When approaching Lijiazhuang, a horse and horse galloped halfway, kicking up smoke and dust in the sky.

Huaiyi frowned, unwound the bow vigilantly, and threw the horizontal knife to Huaiyu.

"Horse thief?"

Huaiyu asked with some doubts, Sanyuan is known as the cabbage heart in Guanzhong. Although it is currently under the Northern Quanzhou instead of directly under the Yongzhou, there is no reason for horse thieves to appear in broad daylight.

Zhao Cheng was terrified, "Could it be that the Turkic wolf cubs are here? I heard that the Turkic people defeated the government army in the Lingzhou area before, and they have captured Huizhou and entered Lianglan, Qinwei, Longyou..."

Huaiyi looked at the smoke, "There are only about ten riders, they can't be Turks, they are still blocked from Xiaoguan and Longshan, and they are unlikely to be horse thieves, but we have fifty thousand gongs now, It's better to be careful, and you all move closer."

Seeing the smoke and dust getting closer and the sound of horseshoes getting louder and louder, Huaiyu was both nervous and a little excited, the knuckles of the hand holding the horizontal knife turned white from too much force, and Yue Cheng was already pale, he The mother-in-law Guo Abai even started to tremble in panic.

Horseshoes are like thunder.

The team of knights galloped past without stopping, and went directly to Lijiazhuang.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Huaiyu patted the dust off his body, looked at Lijiazhuang, just now he vaguely saw that the knights were all young, even though they were wearing men's clothes, the ones in the long gowns seemed to be young women.

"Those are the Li family?"

Huaiyi took off the bowstring and put it away again, "That's Mrs. Li San."

"Miss Li San?"

"The granddaughter of the elder brother of Yongkang County, I heard that because she lost her mother when she was young, she was brought up by Mrs. Zhang, the wife of Yongkang Duke. She usually lives in the Yongkang Duke's mansion in Pingkangfang, Chang'an, and occasionally comes to visit her. Sanyuan Lijiazhuang, this Mercedes-Benz is coming back in a hurry, something must have happened." Huaiyi also knows a little about the Li family next door.

Huaiyu looked at Lijiazhuang thoughtfully, and left a deep impression on Li Sanniang who galloped past just now, and felt that the way she rode the horse was really heroic and gallant.

When we returned to Longqiao Fort, it was almost dusk.

When Wu Shike saw Brother Huaiyu take out several large bags of copper coins from the horse, followed by a group of ragged people, he thought they had just returned from a business without money.

"What's wrong?"

When the strings of exquisite Kaiyuan Tongbao were placed in front of him, Lao Wu's eyes could not help but light up. Although he was an official officer or a small landlord, Samurai Ke had never seen so much cash.

"Aye, this is the capital of the fifty-guan company. I am now the secretary of the money catcher in our Sanyuan County. This capital has to pay [-] yuan in interest to the county every month."

He explained the fact that he went to Bailuyuan to collect land this time, and when he came back to meet Zhang County Magistrate, and he took over the sex slavery for money.

Huaiyi also took out the re-registered household registration certificate, "Erlang's household registration has also been registered, and our [-] mu of land has also been registered, and our household has also been upgraded. Now it is a middle-upper household. The money is going to go up."

Lao Wu took the household registration booklet and looked at it carefully, especially after confirming that the [-] mu of land was registered on the top, then put it away with a smile, "Let's go to middle and upper, let's add [-] mu of land to change to a middle and upper household. It's worth it too."

At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the households were divided into three classes, and later it was changed to nine classes, the upper class was fourth, the middle class was third, the lower class was two, and the upper class, the upper middle class, the lower class, and the upper middle class were the upper class. The population of the common people, the amount of money, the number of servants and servants in the house are divided into grades, and this household is the basis for tax collection.

Households and other high-level households pay a lot of money, and the miscellaneous Yao and sex labor that they undertake at the same time are also distributed differently. For example, miscellaneous jobs in prefectures and counties, or Zhengqutou in Lizheng Village, etc., are generally only collected from the upper household.

Another point is that according to different households, when paying grain, the grain should be handed over to different places according to different households. In the state, the fourth-class households have to transport grain to the capital. If they don't deliver it in person, they will have to pay for the leftovers.

Fortunately, Sanyuan is not far from Chang'an, so it's not too heavy a burden to send them down by themselves.

Samurai Ke handed over the household certificate to his wife Liu Shi and put it away. He looked at the five bags of money and said, "These money is going to be used by children, and the interest is quite high. You have a way to release the money, and you can guarantee that the principal and interest will be collected on time." return?"

"Aye, I want to use this as capital. I will start a business in our Longqiao Fort. The north-south thoroughfare here is an important traffic route, so it is suitable for business. I have already thought about what to do, buying various local products and medicinal materials Wait, we will also provide food and lodging to passing merchants, and we will buy some general merchandise to sell to the villagers and passing customers. In addition, I know some medical skills, so I can prepare some pills for sale..."

Lao Wu looked at his son, "We are a family of officials, and I am also the son of a high-ranking official. How can I manage a lowly career?"

"I know this. I don't want to show my face. Cheng Dalang also said that Chang'an princes and noble families also act like this."

Lao Wu grabbed a string of money and admired it, "Business is not so easy to do. You need someone to manage it, but such a trustworthy person is not easy to find."

Huaiyu feels that the world has just been unified, all kinds of materials are in short supply and the prices are very expensive, which means that the supply is insufficient and the circulation of goods is not smooth.

"This is the Zhao Cheng family that I brought back from Bailuyuan. I want them to help me manage the shop when it opens." Huaiyu introduced to Father Wu and explained the situation.

Lao Wu looked at the hunched Zhao Cheng, his wife and children, and frowned, "I'll talk to them."

Wu Shike called Zhao Cheng's family aside and had a private conversation. After about a cup of tea, he came over and said, "Go invite Liu Cunzheng and your Uncle Xu to be witnesses."

At that time, Wu Shike unexpectedly reached an agreement with Zhao Cheng, and their family decided to abandon their nationality and join the Wu family as slaves.

"Aye?" Huaiyu was surprised.

Old Wu leaned on his crutches and said calmly: "Zhao Cheng and his wife are unable to repay their debts, and now they have no property, so they are willing to sell themselves to pay off the debts. This is self-selling, not our persecution, plundering and selling, and the imperial court can't interfere with your wishes."

"But they don't owe anything now, let alone us."

Lao Wu patted his son on the shoulder, "Erlang, some things you think are too simple. If a family of all sizes come to our house, if they still carry their household registration, they will have to pay rent adjustments every year and serve in the military. Besides, if it's not your own family, who can really trust?"

Lao Wu didn't threaten Zhao Cheng. He was willing to suggest that Zhao Cheng flee from his country before the official Zhao Shuji.

Now that he has abandoned his nationality and joined the Wu family as a slave, at least Lao Wu promises to include food and housing, and even some money and silk rewards during the New Year's Eve, and he does not have to bear the court's taxes and servitude, he is very willing.

"Although they sold themselves as slaves, I also promised them that within three to five years, if they perform well, they will be released from the trilogy at that time, and they can be paid every year in the future."

run away.

"They can also choose to immigrate and settle in the borderlands. Doesn't the imperial court have a policy to re-grant land in the borderlands?"

"How can it be so easy? It's not that it's hard to leave the homeland, it's also that the environment is not acclimatized, no matter Longyou in Hexi, or central Guizhou in the south of the Lingnan, where is a paradise, ten deaths and one life is true, unless only a single person is willing to fight hard." One hand, whoever has a wife and children is willing to walk the road of hell, barbarians, miasma, poisonous insects and beasts, bitter cold, damp heat, any of them can kill people."

"I think we settled here with 3 yuan from the Imperial Army. This is still a fertile land in the north of Weibei. Our hometown in Hedong is still similar to this place in terms of water, soil and climate. The first few years were also very difficult."

Father Wu's actions can be regarded as poaching the walls of the imperial court, but in fact, to Zhao Cheng's family, this is actually an act of benevolence, and none of those powerful nobles would do this.

Zhao Cheng took his wife and children and knelt down to Huaiyu, expressing his willingness to be a slave.

In order to be legal, they fabricated a debt, and Zhao Cheng's family sold it to pay off the debt.

Uncle Liu, the village official, Xu Erleng's father, Xu Zhongyi, and several old Forbidden Army officers in the village were witnesses.

Sign the contract and guarantee the witness.

A contract was completed, but it was only a private contract. Later, he had to report to the Yamen and replace it with an official contract. At that time, Zhao Cheng's family would be completely reduced to slaves.

Huaiyu looked at Zhao Cheng's family who were still happy after pressing the fingerprints, and felt very uncomfortable. For them, after successfully escaping from the country, they found a solid job and were not burdened by the court's taxes. The most important thing to live on is freedom. not valuable.

Zhao Cheng even took the initiative to change his surname to the Wu family's surname. He will be called Wu Cheng from now on. His eldest son Amao will be called Wu Mao and his second son Wu Liang.

In addition to the trilogy of Hou San's family, the Wu family now has more servants of Wu Cheng's family.

No place to live, temporarily sleeping in the cowshed.

Lao Wu said that there are three abandoned old cave dwellings next to them. They used to fill the mule pen, but the kiln face collapsed in half, so it was abandoned. A gable wall, rebuilt doors and windows, re-pasted the inside with yellow mud and wheat straw, and leveled the outside, it is a courtyard.

Huaiyu asked about the location, and ran to have a look. It was just under the north slope, just across the bridge. There are only three hole kilns.

"Aye, that place is very good, but it takes a lot of labor to repair it. We have hired someone to repair it. Not only can Wu Cheng's family be housed, but I can also be used for business. One family will be a shop, and the other will be lived in by me. Wu Cheng's family lived in another hole, surrounded a courtyard, and built a stable for the convenience of classes."

"Okay, when the farm work is over, let's ask the villagers to help with repairs, and then we will invite a few craftsmen to repair doors, windows, beds, tables, chairs and boxes, and repair the stove, etc."

Old Wuliu Liucun was having dinner with Uncle Xu and the others, so he thanked them for their testimony and guarantee, and the eldest sister also specially cooked it.

Butuo with sheep tail oil and chopped green onion is actually noodle soup. It is served in a large ceramic bowl, and the aroma is overwhelming.

But only the guests and the men in the family have a share, the women and children still only eat millet, and the two servants, Hou San and Wu Cheng, also eat millet.

"Have you heard that something happened to the Li family?" Liu Cun was squatting in the yard with a big bowl in his hand, and said mysteriously while eating.

"What happened?" Huaiyu remembered meeting Li Sanniang and his party before.

"I heard that Duke Yongkang fought the Turkic Jieli Khan in Xiashi, Lingzhou. He fought for a day and a night, but he failed to defeat the Turks. On the contrary, because the soldiers were few and outnumbered, he had to retreat all the way to Xiaoguan to defend. Li Yi, King of Yan County of the State, led his troops to reinforce, but Li Yi did not arrive for a long time. Duke Yongkang fought bloody battles in Xiaoguan for many days, barely holding the northwestern gate of our Guanzhong..."

Village head Liu is quite sensitive about the news. It is said that there is a chaos in the northwest, and Li Jing is guarding Xiaoguan for help. An important crossing of the Yellow River leading to Lanzhou.

The Li family brothers went alone, fought fiercely with the Turkic rangers, and rushed to Huining Pass for reinforcements. Although they arrived successfully, the two brothers and many Li family children were seriously injured, and the army suffered heavy casualties. Lost more than half.

The Turkic army arrived and surrounded Huining Pass. Now the Li family brothers were seriously injured and Huining Pass was also in danger, but Li Jing was struggling to defend Xiaoguan now, so he was unable to send troops to rescue.

Li Youliang, Li Youliang, the governor of Liangzhou, held the elite of Hexi, but he only guarded Liangzhou City and refused to send troops to rescue Huining Pass.

"I heard that brother Li Xiuxing is in danger this time, and he would rather shut down so many Li's children, hey, I hope nothing will happen." Uncle Liu sighed.

They didn't gloat, they were all worried about the Li family. They have been neighbors for many years, and they have a good relationship with the Li family.

Huaiyu heard it in his heart, but he had an idea.

(End of this chapter)