Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 70 Bachelor
Outside Chongming County, a ragged beggar was lying under the city wall basking in the sun. He had a straw in his mouth and was wandering around with his eyes closed. The four fingers of his right hand were tapping rhythmically on his thigh.

"Brother Nine Fingers, you have been a general, so you should have eaten white rice. What does it taste like?" A young beggar leaned next to him and asked, gnawing on his long nails.

"He's a bastard general, so you're the only one who believes his lies." A sneer came from the side, and the beggar with the straw in his mouth was still closing his eyes to meditate.

The little beggar blushed: "Brother Jiuzhi really was a general, but his little finger was lost in the war."

"Hahahaha, you really believe it. His little finger, I guess, was probably chopped off for stealing something, or maybe for stealing someone else's wife."

"I am cheating on my mother." The nine-fingered beggar suddenly spit out straw, jumped up and punched the beggar who was speaking.

Although he was missing one finger, the fist made of four fingers was still strong and heavy, and he knocked the talkative beggar to the ground with one punch.

The beggars nearby came to try to dissuade you, and an older one said, "Jiuzhi, what are you doing? Are you going to kill someone?"

Nine Fingers still kicked the man relentlessly, shouting loudly: "So what if someone is killed? It's all a dead life, and no one will care if he dies."

Everyone hurriedly hugged him, and the old beggar said again: "What's wrong with you? I've never seen you so angry."

Jiuzhi suddenly broke away from the crowd, kicked down the beggar who had just gotten up from the ground, and beat him shamelessly while riding on him. The beggars quickly went over to start a fight again.

While there was a commotion, a beggar suddenly ran over from the northwest and shouted excitedly: "Everyone, go to the Chenghuang Temple quickly. Someone is leaving the rice dumplings. If you go late, there will be no more."

There was still a grain of white rice hanging on the beggar's lips. Apparently he had eaten it too hastily and it had dropped to the corner of his mouth.After hearing this, all the beggars dispersed and hurried to the Chenghuang Temple. The beaten beggar was no longer cared for.

Jiuzhi quickly got up from the man and cursed: "You are lucky, I will let you go today."

As he spoke, he greeted the little beggar who always followed him: "Xiao Zhou, let's go quickly."

After he finished speaking, he realized that Xiao Zhou had already run away with the beggars, and he couldn't help but cursed secretly: "Young man, you have never seen the world. When I heard the rice dumplings, I lost my mind."

Even though he said this, Jiuzhi's stomach growled with hunger, and he chased after him.He had long arms and legs and quickly ran ahead of the group of beggars.

A long queue has already formed in front of the gate of Chongming City God's Temple. Feng Yidao and others are leading a group of sailors to maintain order. Anyone who pushes and tries to jump in line will be beaten with a stick.

This City God's Temple was built in the Wanli period. It was originally located in Pingyangsha. Later, it was moved to the northwest of Changsha City with the county seat. At the same time, Chongming Academy, Shouan Temple, Ciji Temple, Dongyue Temple, Tianfei Palace, and Baoqing Temple were also moved there. Many temples, stone temples, etc. have become places of interest in Chongming District, Shanghai in later generations.

The Chenghuang Temple in Changsha was built with funds raised by the Taoist Zhu Dianyi. The temple has a central hall, buildings, and corridors.In the 31st year of Wanli, the then county magistrate Zhang Shichen donated money to expand the old structure and expand the gate, Yimen, Tutu Hall, Songhe Hall and other buildings. Now it is one of the most popular Taoist temples in Chongming County.

The sailors who died in the battle of the Bowang were laid to rest in the Chenghuang Temple. After the first seven days, they would ask the abbot of the temple to perform a ritual ceremony, and then they were laid to rest.Shen Tingyang planned to give alms here for three days in a row, which could be regarded as accumulating some kindness for the victims on the two ships.

Lin Hai took this opportunity to recruit sailors, but he left it to Shi Bi and Zheng Tingqiu while he drank tea and chatted with Shen Tingyang in the temple.Seeing a long queue forming outside the Chenghuang Temple, Lin Hai said to Shen Tingyang: "I didn't expect that in this prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River, there are so many people who don't have enough to eat."

Shen Tingyang smiled and said: "The country has been at peace for more than 200 years. The population has grown day by day, and there are more and more bachelors and idlers. Especially in the capital, Jiangnan and along the canal, there are many idlers taking advantage of it."

Lin Hai looked at the long queue outside the temple, and it was true that not all of them were ragged people. Many people wore high handkerchiefs and fine nets on their heads, short clothes and long skirts, and some even carried wooden sticks and sticks with them. Quenching tubes, slingshots, weighing hammers, meteor sleeve sticks, etc., and even a few hawks with bulging chests and protruding bellies came to eat with swagger.

He pointed at the few people holding eagles and dogs, and said, "Brother Shen is talking about these people. What do these idle bachelors do for a living?"

Shen Tingyang said with disdain on his face: "Bullying and dominating the market, committing adultery and stealing, cheating and abducting, there is no evil thing that can't be done."

Lin Hai thought of a Mingchuan novel he had read and said with a smile, "Like setting fire to store?"

Shen Tingyang said: "It's more than just a fire store. There is a trade in Jiangnan today called Da Bank, and the idle men in it are also called Qingshou, who specialize in seeking revenge and collecting debts for people. It usually takes a year and a half for the deceased to die after being beaten by Qingshou. The family members can’t report them to the government, and these people often help the government officials, so most people would hide when they see them.”

Lin Haixin said, isn't this the ancient underworld?It should be noted that the underworld can only emerge when urban civilization develops to a certain stage. The gangsters in the Ming Dynasty originated from Songjiang and flourished in Suzhou. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, they existed in almost all major cities across the country. This is by no means an accidental phenomenon, but a result of the highly developed commodity economy. reflect.

In the Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and Suzhou and Hangzhou were both super cities with a population of more than one million. Large cities with a population of over 10, such as Linqing, Kaifeng, Yangzhou, and Guangzhou, were spread across the north and south. At the same time, there was only one city in Western Europe with a population of more than [-]: Paris. , it is absolutely impossible for there to be so many idle urban idlers.

In fact, the earliest large-scale urban idlers in China were also in the Song Dynasty. This phenomenon was impossible to occur in cities that strictly implemented the city system before the late Tang Dynasty. This may be a microcosm of the Song Dynasty's so-called modern dawn hour. Bar.

Lin Hai frowned and said: "So, these are a bunch of unscrupulous people who do all kinds of evil."

Shen Tingyang shook his head and said: "That's not entirely true. Some honest and responsible people don't dare to do evil."

Lin Haidao: "Then what do these people do for a living?"

Shen Tingyang said: "Help, beg, cry on behalf of others, and even go to the Yamen to pick up people's plates. As long as there is no famine, we will not starve to death in the Jiangnan government."

Lin Hai's brows relaxed a little. This kind of people can barely be used. As for those green-skinned rogues, forget it.It's not that he has any moral obsession. There are many evil people on the Bowang. In fact, the more fierce people he needs, the better.

The real problem is that these idlers are all sluggards, not only difficult to manage, but also unable to endure hardship at all.In contrast, he would rather recruit people who are honest and responsible, even if they are not bloody.

After all, when they arrive near the North Yellow Sea, the two ships will have to separate. Most of the existing personnel will stay on the Bowang, and only a few people can be transferred to the new ship.This is why he doesn't recruit experienced sailors, because he is afraid that he will not be able to cope with the situation.

　After asking, it is a bit difficult to advance to the third round of the current pursuit, but there is still a chance.If you can't get in, it will be released on September 9st, which is this Friday. This is really faster than I expected, and the climax of the first volume has not yet unfolded.In order to save some time, I decided to adjust today’s Chapter 1 to 2:10 pm, and the two chapters of the day after tomorrow will be released together after 0:[-]. Please keep reading, thank you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)