Gentlemen, listen to the sword chant

Chapter 25 How Much Do You Know? This Is Called Tobacco

Taian August 22.

Taoyuan Town.

In the hot summer season, there are plump and crisp peaches hanging on the branches in the forest, but no one picks them, and most of them are rotten on the branches.

Today, the King of Wu and His Highness Shizi disguised themselves as wealthy businessmen and came to Taoyuan Town to have a look. A few months ago, they heard reports from lower-level officials that Taoyuan Town purchased a large amount of rice noodles and hired many villagers from surrounding towns to work here. In full swing, he summoned many workers and asked three questions.Originally, I didn't want to pay attention to this matter, but after thinking about it, I haven't heard the wind of the statement for several months, and in addition, the production of alcohol in Taoyuan Town has been declining day by day in the past few months.Hence, the King of Wu put aside his official duties and planned to conduct an on-site investigation to see if the current prince-in-law really became a wandering cloud and a wild crane.

In addition, there are many rumors in Guangling City, saying that the son-in-law and the Dongying people are getting closer and have reached an agreement.

"The peaches are ripe, but no one picks them. What a waste! "Wu Wang looked at the peach trees all over the mountains and plains, and his words were a little angry.

Murong Tong also looked a little unhappy.

Although Guangling is rich, people in the fourteen prefectures are envious of the economic prosperity along the coast, but they can't afford such extravagance.

"Maybe...the town is busy?" Murong Tong explained in a low voice, afraid that King Wu would get angry because of such a trivial matter.

"Hmph, busy? The peaches are ripe now, and many of them are rotten on the branches. If you don't pick them now, when will they be picked?" King Wu sneered. He had already decided to enter the town for a while and punish the people here. .

Could it be that the statement came back and everyone in the town was lazy?
Through the dense forest, the rugged path suddenly opened up.

The forest was like a steamer, the hot King Wu was sweating profusely, he finally walked through the peach forest, King Wu was about to take a rest, suddenly, he was stunned, Murong Tong who was following behind noticed his father stopped, hesitated, raised his head .

The eyes of the old and the young were astonished.

In front of him was a straight avenue, paved with bluestone slabs, smooth as jade, stretching for several miles, passing through layers of terraced fields, and the fields were also full of green crops from various states, neither grain nor rapeseed.

"This is Taoyuan Town? What's growing in the fields?" King Wu frowned, becoming more suspicious, and couldn't help but go up to look at it. Walking on the bluestone path, King Wu couldn't help but think, although Taoyuan Town brews wine for the government, it's oily and watery. Rich, but using so many bluestones to pave the road can be described as extravagant, and he already had thoughts of displeasure in his heart.

The plants in front of the eyes are covered with glandular hairs, and the stems are three to nine feet high.Petiole inconspicuous or winged, panicle terminal, calyx tube-shaped or tube-shaped bell-shaped, corolla funnel-shaped, neither flowering nor fruiting.

King Wu was even more suspicious. He couldn't figure out that the people in Taoyuan Town didn't grow food, so they actually grew this?
Also, what is this thing?
Just when King Wu wanted to ask a question, a few farmers came not far away and scolded, "Who is it? A thief?"

King Wu raised his head and saw several farmers patrolling the fields running over with hoes. King Wu originally wanted to reprimand him severely, but after thinking about it, he gave Murong Tong a wink. The latter nodded in understanding, He took the initiative to go forward and bowed: "Don't get me wrong, we are businessmen from Jinling. We want to go to Guangling. When we passed by here, we saw peach trees all over the mountains and plains. We wanted to pick some to quench our thirst, but we lost our way in the peach forest. , and here we are.”

A few farmers were thoughtful when they heard this, and one of the burly men smiled and said: "It's okay, you can pick the peaches as you like, and you don't charge any money, as long as you don't waste them."

King Wu was slandering in his heart when he heard the words, thinking that your peaches are going to rot on the tree, why are you still talking about waste?
Now his mind is full of questions.

Murong Tong showed a grateful expression: "Thank you."

"Let's go quickly after eating, we don't allow outsiders to enter here."

The big man waved his hand, a little impatiently.

Murong Tong glanced back at King Wu, clasped his fists again and said: "It's getting late now, my father and I have had a long journey, and there is still an hour's journey from Guangling, I wonder if you can stay in a hotel in Guizhen? Rest overnight with my father. Oh, don't worry, I won't live in vain."

As he spoke, he took out a silver ingot from his pocket.

The big man looked Murong Tong and King Wu up and down, saw that the quality of the clothes was of good quality, he didn't even look at the silver ingot, he was a little contemptuous: "Who do you look down on? The accommodation is fine, the silver is good, it's not bad."

Ouch I rub?

King Wu and Murong Tong were both taken aback, aren't they that bad?

You must know that although King Wu didn't take much silver, the silver ingots in his hand were at least ten taels, which was enough to cover a family's expenses for two months.Thinking of this, King Wu asked with a half-smile: "Brother, could it be that your economy is so prosperous? You don't even care about money."

The big man laughed loudly when he heard the words: "It's not that we are rich here, the main thing is that it is not bad. You want to stay, and there is a spare room at home. It doesn't take much trouble. Come with me."

King Wu was even more suspicious, so he didn't ask any more questions. He wanted to see what earth-shaking changes had taken place in Taoyuan Town, so that the farmers here looked down on money.

A group of people were walking on the path paved with bluestone slabs. King Wu thought it was a luxury, and he stepped on it deliberately, and found that the bluestone was a high-quality stone, which was much better than the floor of the palace.On the small road passing through Erli, all the crops that King Wu didn’t know were planted in the field of vision. There were still some farmers working in the fields. They cut off the leaves of the crops and put them in the baskets. When they saw King Wu and Murong Tong, no surprise, was busy on his own.

"Brother, we don't grow rapeseed or rice here, this is..." King Wu couldn't help his curiosity.

The big man laughed and said: "I don't know, it's a long story. Originally, we also grew rapeseed and rice here, but since the son-in-law came, we don't like this anymore. Oh, the son-in-law knows, it's from the capital. Yes, I have seen the world."

As he spoke, he blew up the statement for a while.

The king of Wu heard black lines all over his head, and hurriedly interrupted: "You should tell me what kind of crop it is first?"

The big man nodded, restrained his endless boasting, and said, "This is called big smoke, tobacco leaves."

tobacco leaf?

King Wu is also quite knowledgeable, and he immediately thought of the records in "Great Liang Chinese Herbal Medicine Compilation" that tobacco is warm in nature, sweet in taste, poisonous, has the effects of reducing swelling, detoxifying, and killing insects, and is mainly used for boils and swollen toxins. Tinea capitis, white tinea, bald sores, snake bites and other diseases can also treat diseases such as nuchal gangrene, back carbuncle, wind-phlegm, and crane's knee.

Could it be that Taoyuan Town does not make wine, but sells this medicinal material instead?

Seeing that it was difficult to explain, the big man took out a small paper bag and unfolded it. Inside was a pile of golden shredded tobacco. The big man took out another roll of oiled paper, rolled the shredded tobacco into the oiled paper, and stuffed the cigarette into a bamboo whip.

"fire."

"Oh." The big man next to him nodded, took out a torch and unfolded it, and blew on it, with a "chuss", the flame ignited and lit the cigarette.

The big man held the bamboo whip and puffed out the clouds comfortably, and said proudly: "No, this is what is planted in the field. When I use it, I roll it up, light it on the fire, and I can smoke it. A cigarette after dinner , Quick Piston Immortal."

The King of Wu was amazed, but he still didn't understand the magical power of such a thing, and asked again: "In order to grow this, no food is grown?"

The big man took a deep breath and spat it on King Wu's face, his face was full of contempt: "How much do you know..."

(End of this chapter)