Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 8 0008 [Zhang Wu]

How could this be a secret work of the government?
Zhang Guangdao had already confirmed the situation after only looking at the father and son.

Unless the brain is broken, such a conspicuous secret operation will be sent out. Is it afraid that others will not be able to find the abnormality?

More like a wild monk who escaped from the temple!

The Buddhist precepts in the Song Dynasty were not so strict. It did not prohibit monks from eating meat, nor did it require monks to shave their heads.It can be seen from the paintings of the Tang and Song Dynasties that the monks at that time mainly had short hair, and Zhu Yuanzhang had to wait for the monks to arrange layers of precepts.

However, Zhu Ming was carrying a weapon, and it was a sword controlled by the court, which made Zhang Guangdao a little curious.

"Let's go?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said, "Let's go."

It is not an option to stay in the village all the time. After a brief exchange, the father and son agreed to go to Nabaishitou together.

Zhang Guangdao called two men from the village, took some chicken, duck, fish and linen, and brought them to the market town to sell, intending to exchange for some necessities such as salt.

Including Ju Ming and his son, a total of five people set off.

Zhang Guangdao glanced at the horse's buttocks, and deliberately reminded: "The brand will be wiped off, beware of lawsuits."

"This is a picked horse, and it will be handed over to the government when it encounters it." Zhu Ming explained.

Zhang Guangdao laughed and said: "The government is worried that they won't be able to catch the horse thief. You said you were going to sacrifice the horse, but the official came here and got the stolen goods."

Zhu Ming nodded when he heard the words: "It makes sense, then erase it."

The names of the two fellow villagers from the village were Lu Wang and Ding Dafang.

Zhang Guangdao said to Ding Dafang, "Go get some firewood."

Ding Dafang immediately went home and fetched firewood, took out a scythe to ignite, and burned the tongs as a soldering iron.

Zhang Guangdao folded his arms in front of his chest, staring at the flames without saying a word.

Zhu Guoxiang asked in a low voice: "Where did this person come from? Why did you help us erase the official seal?"

"Certificate of nomination." Zhu Ming said.

"Certificate of application?" Zhu Guoxiang didn't understand.

Zhu Ming explained: "Erasing the official seal of a military horse without permission is a first-class felony. Even if we are public servants of the government, we are also guilty of erasing the official seal. If we become sinners, we are just like thieves and bandits. No one needs to be afraid of others anymore. "

Zhu Guoxiang suddenly realized: "This Orion is a bandit in the mountains?"

Ju Ming looked back at the village and smiled coldly: "I'm afraid the whole village is a den of thieves, an outpost set up by a certain bandit village by the river. Of course, they are also real farmers. Farming in busy seasons and robbing in slack seasons Ancient remote areas were normal."

Not long after, the tongs were burning red. Zhang Guangdao bent down to pick them up, handed them to Zhu Ming and said, "Let's do it."

Zhu Ming took the tongs and walked to the side of the skinny horse.

The skinny horse backed away in fright, and Zhu Ming stroked his mane to comfort him: "It hurts, bear with it."

Ma'er probably still remembered the taste of the soldering iron, but this time he was disobedient at all, and kept pacing to avoid the red-hot tongs.

Zhang Guangdao wrapped his arms around the horse's neck and urged, "Do it!"

Standing on the left side of the horse's hip, Zhu Ming pressed the tongs on the official seal.

There was a sizzling sound, and the skinny horse kicked in pain, unable to break free from Zhang Guangdao's arms.

"Bah!"

Zhang Guangdao let out a low growl, and pushed the skinny horse to the ground. Lu Wang and Ding Dafang also rushed forward to press the horse.

Although the horse was skinny and hadn't eaten salt for several months, it probably didn't have much strength left, but Zhang Guangdao's tremendous strength was still staggering.

The place where the official seal was located was quickly scorched black.

This animal must not be brought into the city. Even without the official seal, it is impossible to tell the origin, and a discerning person will know that there is something wrong.

After tossing for a long time, the thin horse regained its freedom and ran a long way while panting.

Zhu Ming didn't bother to chase after him, so he went on the road by himself.After walking for a while, I turned my head to check, and found that the thin horse was following up again, and even got angry and deliberately ate rapeseed.

Zhang Guangdao said with a smile: "This beast is interesting and understands human nature. Why don't you sell it to me and take half of the money away. Don't think that the money is too small, you are too hungry, and you have to take care of it when you bring it home."

Zhu Guoxiang asked his son in a low voice: "How much RMB is equivalent to half a penny?"

"Not sure." Ju Ming didn't know much about prices in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Since you don't know the price, don't be in a hurry to buy or sell. Go to the market to find out. Zhu Ming politely declined the horse sale.

The price of horses in the Song Dynasty fluctuated greatly, anyway, it became more expensive as it went to the back.

One is due to the increasingly serious shortage of horses, and the other is due to rising prices and inflation.

It is about ten miles from here to Baishitou. Perhaps the villagers often come and go, and they have already made a small road by the river, so there is no need to go through thorns and thorns along the way.

Zhang Guangdao looked at the scenery left and right, glanced at Zhu Ming's back from time to time, walked for a while and suddenly asked, "Brother Zhu is carrying a gun?"

"It's just a stick." Zhu Ming said.

Zhang Guangdao continued to test: "It looks more like a knife."

Zhu Ming smiled and said, "It's a treasured sword, does Brother Zhang believe it?"

"I believe it." Zhang Guangdao laughed.

Zhu Guoxiang stopped moving forward, put down his backpack, and took out a lake brush: "Actually, we are businessmen. We were robbed by bandits halfway, and we managed to escape. Look at this brush, it is the leftover goods that were robbed."

Since it is a New Year gift for relatives and children, the packaging must be exquisite.

The lake pen is placed in a small brown box with golden words on the box, which looks very valuable at first glance.

Zhang Guangdao had never read a book and could not read, so he looked straight at the brush box.

Zhu Ming untied the sword and held it in his hand, pressed the hilt wrapped in sweater and said, "Brother Zhang, do you want to buy a pen? This is a high-quality Hu pen. A pen is worth at least a hundred guan."

Zhang Guangdao looked at Ju Ming's hand pressing the sword, then looked at the brush box, shook his head and said, "It's too expensive, there are also pens for sale in Baishitou, and a brush costs only ten yuan."

"It's fine if you don't buy it. There is no righteousness in buying or selling." Zhu Ming smiled.

When Zhang Guangdao heard the words, he praised: "Buying and selling cannot be done with benevolence and righteousness. This is a good saying. Brother Zhu is indeed a scholar!"

This phrase comes from "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", and it will take hundreds of years to come out, which suits the appetite of Zhang Guangdao, a bandit.

Zhu Ming and his son carry precious writing brushes with them, have short hair, and wear tattered and weird clothes. In the eyes of Zhang Orion, they look more and more mysterious.

After walking for a while, Zhang Guangdao couldn't help asking, "You two really want to find a place to stay?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I have this plan."

Zhang Guangdao tried to send out an invitation: "How about going to the mountains with me? There are many good men in the mountains."

Zhu Ming saw that the other party opened the skylight to speak bluntly, and also revealed a little information: "To tell you the truth, my brother Zhang, my father and son want to settle down, buy a few acres of thin land, marry a wife and have children to pass on the incense."

These words made Zhang Guangdao even more convinced that the father and son were monks returning to vulgarity, and the high-end writing brushes were probably stolen from the temple.

Zhang Guangdao scoffed at this, and said with a sneer: "What benefits can we gain from farming? My great-grandfather used to be a third-class household, and he had to run away to the mountains when he was on an errand in the government office."

Zhu Ming deliberately followed him and said, "Corrupt officials deserve to die."

"Damn it!" Zhang Guangdao gritted his teeth.

The main household people who paid taxes to the government of the Song Dynasty were strictly divided into five classes.

According to different levels of prosperity, the standards for dividing households in different places are also different.

Generally speaking, households with an area of ​​more than 400 mu are first-class households, also called upper households. Those with an area of ​​less than 400 mu belong to second-, third-, and fourth-class households, also called middle households.The remaining fifth category belongs to Xiahu. (Note: Some families don’t look at having a hundred acres of land, but there are one or twenty people in the family, and sharing it can only solve food and clothing.)
As for the errands in front of the Yamen, it means that the people work for the government.

At first, Lizheng was selected from the upper households, responsible for collecting taxes and so on.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, this was a lucrative job, and he could earn money, but gradually it became a nightmare, because he couldn't collect enough taxes, and Li Zheng had to pay for the shortfall by himself.

Many rich and wealthy households, because they were designated as Li Zheng, went bankrupt and sold their children and daughters.

Under Prime Minister Han Qi's suggestion, Lizheng's unlucky job was cancelled, and related matters were dealt with by Ueto and Nakato in turn.And there are strict regulations, how many people are needed for an errand, how many places are allocated to the first-class households, and how many places are allocated to the second-class households, so that everyone will not be bankrupted if they are shared equally.

But the actual operation quickly lost its shape!
The officials grouped several households into groups, so that the real big households could escape, and they specially pitted those who had no backing.

For example, Zhang Guangdao's great-grandfather used to be a third-class household with more than 300 mu of land.When the official came, he not only calculated the land property, but also pointed to the objects in the house and said, this broom is worth 50 guan, and that table is worth 100 guan.In the end, Zhang Guangdao's great-grandfather had a wealth of wealth, and he properly concealed the first-class household, so let him be in charge of this dispatch.

Therefore, a small landlord with more than 300 mu of land was arranged to be a wheeler yaqian.Unable to complete the task, he had to abandon his fixed property, took only some floating money, and fled to a foreign land overnight with his family.And the land he abandoned was also divided up by the real big families in the village.

In a feudal society, people cannibalize without spitting out their bones.

……

"Baishitou is ahead!" Zhang Guangdao said, pointing to the other side of the river ahead.

The terrain here is obviously much flatter, the arable land area has greatly increased, and the population has become denser.

Baishitou is a market town, and today happened to be a market day, and the noise of the market could be heard from far away.

There is a ferry near the market town, and a wooden boat is parked on the shore.

The five people stood at the ferry and waited for about half an hour before the boatman slowly docked with the guests.

This ferry is neither too big nor too small, and it can squeeze 30 people when it is fully loaded, but if it is so crowded, it is likely to capsize.

Passengers disembarked one after another, only a few sporadic ones, all carrying goods bought from the market.

Zhu Ming was a little embarrassed: "I don't have any money with me."

Zhang Guangdao smiled generously and said, "I will pay for the boat."

The skinny horse also boarded the boat, and the boatman yelled, "The animals will be charged!"

"You are indispensable." Zhang Guangdao said.

The boatman recognized Zhang Orion, and immediately laughed: "Save it, save it."

The ferry sailed slowly to the other side. Before disembarking, Zhang Guangdao said, "It will be charged to my account."

"You go well!"

The boatman didn't say much, but enthusiastically sent them away.

Baishitou is not big, it is just a street along the river, and there are shops on both sides of the street.

In front of the shop, there are some fixed stalls where you can set up stalls and sell things, but you need to pay a stall fee.

Many farmers who sell local products choose to trade outside the market, or sell their products along the street.

Not far before getting off the boat, before reaching the market, Zhu Ming saw a man selling river prawns.

Zhu Ming wanted to inquire about the prices, so he stepped forward and asked, "How do you sell these shrimps?"

The shrimp seller was an old farmer. Because of his accent, he couldn't quite understand it, but he could guess that Zhu Ming was asking the price, so he immediately grinned and said, "That's all that's left. Take the four pennies."

Zhu Guoxiang was very surprised, because there were about a catty of shrimp there.

"The price of goods in the Northern Song Dynasty is so cheap?" Zhu Guoxiang said in a low voice.

Zhu Ming said, "I'm afraid it's because the purchasing power of copper coins is high."

Zhu Guoxiang said to the old shrimp seller: "Let's take a look."

The old farmer thought they thought it was too expensive, so he quickly shouted: "Three Wen, take the three Wen, it really can't be less!"

The father and son pretended not to hear, and hurried away from the shrimp stall.

Three pennies per catty of prawns somewhat overturned Ju Ming’s understanding of prices in the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Guangdao took the top-quality deerskin, walked into a shop on the street, and patted the deerskin directly on the counter.

The shopkeeper checked carefully, pointed to something and said, "It's broken here."

Zhang Guangdao frowned and said, "I know it's broken, the hole made by the arrow. Give me a fair price. I, Zhang Wu, have no grudges against the old white man. Do you, the shopkeeper, still want to lower my price?"

The shopkeeper thought about it seriously: "65 Wen, no more. Others who come to sell the leather must not have this price, only Zhang Wuge has this face."

Zhang Guangdao didn't talk nonsense, took the money and left directly.

Zhu Ming, Zhu Guoxiang and his son followed Zhang Guangdao to buy salt.

The price of salt in mountainous areas is very expensive, and a catty of salt costs 20 Wen, but in a place with convenient transportation, 10 Wen per catty is the best.

What, you said to buy private salt?

Sorry, this store sells private salt.

Because legal salt stores are at least available in county-level markets, and salt stores outside the county seat are all selling illegal salt.

Zhang Guangdao's buckskin can only be exchanged for a few catties of private salt.

But Zhang Guangdao didn't seem to be short of money, so he bought a full twenty catties this time.

Zhu Ming passed by a booth selling brooms: "How much is one?"

The stall owner said, "Five Wen."

Five renminbi is a rip-off, the price given to foreigners, a broom can sell for three renminbi at most.

Zhu Ming went to ask the butcher again, and then the chicken seller. The father and son walked along the street to inquire about prices, and finally got a clearer understanding.

In the end, Zhu Ming asked Zhang Guangdao in a low voice: "Is there any rich family nearby? I want to sell that lake pen."

(Thanks to EBITDAD, Iron Blood Banner Captain, Cry Maniac, Gu Jianshan and all brothers for their rewards and votes.)
(By the way, ask for collections and tickets, any tickets are fine, try to be higher on the new book list.)
(End of this chapter)