Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

The smiling cat looked at him very strangely, and said, "The Duke's private army training is nothing more than that—maybe not as good as yours."

"Then let's practice like this. You control the training scale and increase or decrease accordingly." After Haiwen said this, he turned around and said to the recruits under training: "Come on now, start with push-ups!"

Then he did push-ups with the soldiers.Haiwen can barely make six now, which is much better than doing three at the beginning; now that someone is watching, he bites the bullet and makes nine, but when he wants to make the tenth, his hands soften and he lies on his stomach on the ground.He heard someone laughing at him, so he got up and said to people: "I can only do three at the beginning, and after a few days of practice, I can do nine. If I keep practicing, maybe I can do a hundred. Even more. You are the same." As soon as he finished speaking, a recruit was lying on the ground in the same position as him.Haiwen glanced over and saw that the movements were almost non-standard, and some of their arms were trembling, complaining incessantly—this is not as strong as mine!Still have the face to laugh at me?

Even Fassnut still looks a little bit.The blue-eyed boy is not only talented, but also very strict with himself.He was well-proportioned, with strength in his bar-shaped muscles.He can do hundreds of push-ups in one go.

It was already seven o'clock in the morning after the strength training, and the smiling cat called a stop, and then arranged for people to have breakfast.A moment later a fellow brought out bread, soup, and pickles from an adjoining tavern for everyone to eat.Smiley Cat and Hai Wen said, "Who am I going to ask for reimbursement after this meal?"

"Sorry, I was too busy yesterday, so I didn't bother to open the documents." Haiwen said and called the person on duty in the government hall to bring the banknotes. I got a reimbursement note. "Come back and take this to the Chief Financial Officer. From then on, we will be responsible for the breakfast of the soldiers. Oh, it's not enough to just give them this." Haiwen said to those squatting on the ground eating: "Everyone, from tomorrow At first, there are eggs for breakfast on Mondays, meat on Tuesdays, and so on, eggs and meat on weekends. But you must remember that drinking is not allowed at work, and you don’t want to be like the old drunk captain.” He This is an understatement, but the recruits nodded in fright.

After breakfast, he went to work in the Yizheng Hall, and he was not late today.He asked every employee to punch and sign at the door to ensure full attendance.Master and apprentice Ramon came first, and Red Brick came last, but no one was late.

Today he discussed with you the plans for repairing and building new wells. In addition, the planning of the sewer system is also on the agenda.Red Brick said that he was too impatient, such a big project could not be completed in ten years, not to mention what's the point of building a sewer?

But Haiwen said: "Be prepared, since everyone is idle now, why don't we discuss it?"

So everyone started chatting about this matter, and Haiwen asked people to express their opinions and not to worry about words.First, someone raised the issue of money; then someone raised the construction materials and construction period; and then talked about how to hire craftsmen.Haven asked Old Ramon to write down all of these and keep them for the record of the meeting.Later, Red Drill proposed a simple solution. He used to be an apprentice mason, so he said: "If you want to build this sewer, you can use cobblestones. There are many cobblestones in the Yinma River to the east of Yema Town, and you can use local materials. Save money and last longer.”

Then old Ramon said: "Assuming this is the case, we can dig an open channel and an underground channel, and then lead all the sewage to the Drinking Horse River, so that Mustang Town will be clean."

Then a gentleman wearing glasses said: "But this is a waste of money and people, will people be happy? What's the use of saying that it belongs to the sewer? Isn't it just a little bit cleaner? Is it really necessary to spend a lot of gold for this? "

Little Ramon also interjected, "I think so, but the adults said this is a 'long-term plan', so let's discuss it first."

Then people chattered, Haiwen would occasionally maintain the order of the meeting, and then he would not interrupt, he was an observer with peace of mind.

Haiwen is very pleased to see people can brainstorm and express their opinions.That's how he originally envisioned the team, where everyone has a place and a voice.He didn't think that as a time traveler, he would be much smarter than the natives. In other words, he never regarded others as fools.Liu Bang was able to win against Xiang Yu not because he was better than Xiang Yu personally—whether in literature or martial arts, Haiwen felt that Liu Bang, who was born as a peasant, could not compare with Xiang Yu, who was born as a nobleman and was well educated.But Liu Bang won, and the reason why he won was largely due to his ability to employ people.

If he followed his own way, he might have to use a lot of manpower to dig sewers, make ceramic or cement pipes, make it look like a drainage system in modern society, and maybe build a sewage treatment station... In this way, the project will Too big and obviously impractical.But after listening to the ideas of these aborigines, he gradually came up with a new plan.

Later, Haiwen summed up a plan and saved it for future use.Today was a bit of a harvest. He returned home after get off work in the evening and ate dinner alone.The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the dining table, and the light was getting darker and darker. He glanced at the setting sun and became worried in his heart: Fan Deli should have been back a long time ago, why hasn't anyone been seen yet?

He suddenly thought of the Delaire who returned from the blood a few days ago, and suddenly shuddered.

"Come on!" He yelled, patting the table.

Chapter 40: Welcome

Chapter 40: Welcome

That night, Haven ordered people to go outside with oil lamps to search for traces of Fan Deli.He mobilized everyone in the house, and later called the man on duty in the police force.The search team, about twenty people, searched eastward along the town for several miles, but found no clues.

This is also what Haiwen expected. This is not a modern society. There are no neat roads and rows of street lights. When it is dark, you can only feel the darkness.Not to mention whether people can be found, it is good that the search team does not get lost.So it didn't take long for Haiwen to close the team. After returning home, he thought to himself: I was careless, I should send a few more people to go together.Fandry may have been detained by the farmer Wayne, or it may be that he encountered some danger on the road...

Damn, how can the same mistake be made twice?He turned back and forth on the bed annoyed, first he hurt the housekeeper, and now he got the chief financial officer involved, why am I so hasty in doing things?

This fat man has parents, he is single and unmarried, and he is the only blood in the family. If something happens, how can I explain to his family?

He tossed and turned in bed and didn't fall asleep until late at night.

The next morning he went on to do morning exercises with the Smiley Cat team, and then went to work as usual.During this period of time, he thought to himself: Tonight is the day to entertain the farmer. If Master Wayne comes, I can personally ask him about Fandry.

Yes, it is tonight.

In the morning, he ordered people to arrange the venue.He cleaned up the restaurant in the Yizheng Hall, and asked the cooks to prepare the dishes for the evening since noon; then he laid a red carpet at the entrance of the Yizheng Hall, and replaced the vases with the freshest flowers; then he hired someone to clean , he personally commanded to clean up the rubbish on the street; then he drove away wild dogs and cats, and gave some bread to the homeless, so that they could stay in the courtyard of the ruined temple outside the town; finally, he asked the police to wear clean clothes. Standing on both sides as a guard of honor, Jon and Fassnut each lead a team. When the time comes, they will shout slogans and roll their names loudly to show their welcome.When all was done he also changed into his proper attire, a close-fitting shirt with shoulder pads, a gray wool coat, a flat hat with white feathers, and spur boots;

Then he invited Great Charles.Big Charles had known before that he would meet with guests today, so he was dressed very decently: he wore a brown leather felt hat, a tight pin-button vest, a fine linen blouse, and a hip-length trench coat on the outside.This is more formal attire.

The two met, shook hands, and said some customary polite words.Big Charles said: "Lord mayor, these days are quite beautiful. Now everyone in the town is saying that you, the mayor, have ruthless methods, and the servants are afraid of you."

Hai Wen said: "Don't believe the nonsense of the people below."

Big Charles smiled and said: "My lord, don't be humble, I think this is very good. The more the servants below are afraid of you, the better we can control them in the future! And I don't like that bastard in the guard, what are you doing?" Well done. You can be said to be... how do you say that? Oh, yes!" He patted Haiwen on the shoulder, grinning and said, "Remove harm for the people! Isn't it right, my lord, for the people Eliminate harm!"

"Yes, to eliminate harm for the people." Haiwen responded, then raised his left hand up, and took off the hand on his right shoulder.

Big Charles laughed a few more times, and then looked at the political hall. He looked at the situation and said, "It's a good job to eliminate harm for the people, but I don't think it's right today. I want to criticize you." Take a moment." Pointing his thumb at the red carpet and the spotless political hall, he said, "Is this necessary? You've made this bunch of hillbillies into the sky, my lord! If you treat them as masters, they will dare to treat you as slaves!"

Haiwen didn't take it seriously, and said: "It's ready, you can't let me dismantle it again?"

He snorted, "I think it's better to dismantle it."

Haiwen changed the subject and said, "My lord, you just need to sit in on the meeting later, don't worry about anything else, I'll take care of everything."

Big Charles said "Oh" with great interest, and asked, "Then what did you invite me to do?"

"Haha, I just want you to show your face and calm down those... hillbillies for me."

Big Charles sneered and said, "Okay, then I'll see what you can do. But I want to tell you in advance, if you mess up this matter, don't blame me for not reminding you." He lowered his voice at this point The voice, lying in Haven's ear, said fiercely, "Do you hear clearly? Haven Ambleside."

"Well, well, Master Charles, please come inside." Haiwen said and invited him in.

"Okay." He stared at Haiwen and nodded, then flicked the hem of the windbreaker, and swaggered into the political hall.

Haiwen saw that the time was almost up, so he organized the training of the guard of honor. He called the people and said, "You will follow the roll call and shout 'Welcome to the dinner party'. Jon, after the landlords come, you will Ask for his name first, you have to say: 'Excuse me, what is your name?' Then say the name aloud, and then the others come and say, 'Your Excellency is welcome to the dinner party.' Remember, the voice should be uniform and full Hong Liang."

Of course the smiling cat would not be involved in this kind of thing, he just looked at it with his arms folded; but Jon was dumbfounded, and asked: "My lord... brothers have never done this kind of thing. This, this... we What is this picture?"

"Of course it's to invite everyone in. I have to negotiate business with them. After the business is negotiated, Mustang Town can prosper, don't you think?"

Jon frowned and said, "Well, it's all up to you."

"Okay, practice again!" Haiwen said loudly, "Call after me, 'Your Excellency is welcome to the dinner', louder!" Then the guard of honor shouted after him, and the momentum attracted people from Mustang Town to watch.Haiwen has long been accustomed to people's curious eyes and spittle, so he continued to train the team.At this time, he saw Fassnut coming over and said to him: "I don't do such low-key things, my lord."

Haiwen thought for a while and said, "Then you will be responsible for guarding my gate. After the banquet begins, no one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."

"Yes, my lord." The blue-eyed boy saluted and then retreated to the door.

Hai Wen continued: "Members of the guard of honor will be rewarded with two silver coins tonight, everyone work harder!"

Hearing that there was a bonus, these people became more motivated, and roared out bursts.Gradually, there were more and more people watching, and Jon asked Hai Wen: "My lord, do you want to drive these people away?" Hai Wen thought for a while and said: "Don't disperse the crowd, just let them watch. After a while The more people you have at a meeting, the better."

At this time, a child ran out and threw rotten leaves at them, and then an old man shouted: "You waste all our money in this kind of place!" Someone shouted: "Corrupt officials! Mayor!" Hai Wen yelled at the crowd, warning them that they would be punished for disturbing the law and order.The prestige of his killing before was still there, and no one dared to speak for a while.

At this time, the smiling cat said to him: "You are not meeting the landlord, you are meeting the baron... No, meeting the Duke is enough. Is it worth it?"

"It's worth it." Hai Wen said, "Because the next sale is related to our future plans. This is the starting point and it is very important. Smiley cat, you will come to the meeting later."

The expression on the smiley cat's face froze, and he asked, "What am I here for?"

"You just come." Haven said.

The smiling cat pondered for a while, but said nothing more. "Okay, I'll listen to you." He said in a deep voice.

The sky was getting dark, and the sound of a carriage could be heard not far away.

It seems that the guests have already arrived.

Chapter 41: Dinner, Meeting

Chapter 41: Dinner, Meeting

Haiwen asked the guard of honor to stand up according to the previous training, while he himself stood at the gate to welcome the guests.Then a carriage drove up, a fully enclosed carriage, painted a glossy mauve-brown, with a statue of gold on the roof—gold-plated, perhaps.The car stopped at the door, and the driver in the black top hat got out of the car first, and then went to open the door to ask the owner inside to come out.Then a middle-aged man in his forties came out.

Jon went up to greet him as he had agreed before, and asked his name.A man's voice came from the car: "Who are you?"

"Jon Olissanda." He smiled. "I am here to receive you, my lord. What is your name?"

The man hesitated for a moment before saying in an indifferent tone: "Lawrence Rocco."

Jon hurriedly shouted: "Master Rocco is here!" Then the guard of honor also shouted in unison: "Welcome Lord Rocco to the dinner party!"

At this moment, the horse neighed in shock, and the groom quickly grabbed the rein and yelled loudly; the landlord was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, and said, "Hey! The mayor is really enthusiastic." Laughed a few times and walked inside.Haiwen came down from the gate, came over and pulled up the landlord's sleeves, and said enthusiastically, "Master Rocco took time out of his busy schedule to attend the banquet, I am very grateful."

The man also became polite, "Hey, I should have come to visit you when you took office. But recently it's the day of harvesting grain, and it's very busy! That's why it's been procrastinating. Oh, a small gift is not a respect. As soon as he stretched out his hand, his entourage handed over a heavy metal box.There was a rattling sound in there, which must be gold and silver coins.

Haiwen was stunned for a moment, and said, "My lord, you are welcome. I am very happy that you can come. How can you still accept gifts?"

"No, no, you must accept this gift..." The two of them became polite after speaking. Haiwen was always tired of such things, so he accepted the gift after saying a few words, and little Ramon took it I didn't hold the box firmly and almost dropped the box. It seems that there are quite a lot of things inside.

Then Haven invited the lord into the dining room, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw Charles the Great sitting on the seat with his feet on the table.He took Haiwen's seat, so Haiwen could only sit down for a while.However, Hewen didn't get angry with him because of this, he greeted Charles, arranged for the farmer to sit down, and then went outside to continue receiving guests.

As if they had negotiated, the carriages came one after another; the assets of the eleven farmers were large and small, and the specifications of the carriages they sat in were also different, and it was often possible to know their financial resources at a glance.There are convertible carts made of iron frames and wooden boards, as well as four-horse carts with gold rims and silver decorations.But no matter what the other party's worth, Jon led the people to sing the number one by one, and Haven also warmly received them one by one.Until it was getting late, he saw that it was almost done, and went back to the house.

Everyone came except that "Master Wayne".

Mander K. Wayne was the wealthiest of many farmers. In Mustang Town, it belonged to the Charles family, and outside of Mustang Town, it belonged to Master Wayne.This man is rich and powerful, he has hundreds of households of serfs under his command, and he also raises many thugs who guard the courtyard, so he never takes the mayor of the town seriously.But in the past, everyone did their own business, and the well water did not violate the river water, so they lived in peace.

But this time is different, it will be a big loss for Haiwen not to invite him.

Hai Wen estimated that this guy would not come, so he asked the guard of honor to close the team, and then went to the restaurant by himself.As soon as he arrived at the door, he heard the clanging of knives and forks inside, and everyone talking loudly, and it was already lively.He opened the door and went in, and saw the farmers pushing and changing glasses, drinking happily together. Charles glanced at him and said, "Sit down and eat, my lord." Then he continued to drink.

No one took him seriously, especially Charles.So Haiwen closed the door, then found a place to sit down, and poured himself a glass of wine; the smiling cat stood behind him, licking his lips and asking, "Can I have some?"

Haiwen nodded: "Let's eat."

"Okay." After saying that, the smiling cat took a big bone stick and began to bite.

Haiwen didn't speak, and let everyone eat and drink.It's easy to talk about things when you're drunk, he thought, but he didn't take a sip of the wine.He needs to stay awake, on the other hand, he is too nervous to eat or drink.So Charles became the leader at the banquet. He drank and chatted with everyone to get closer.After all, this guy is a businessman, and he is very familiar with the routines on the wine table.Haiwen ignored them and let them eat and drink as much as they wanted.

As the sun went down, the table was already in a mess, wine bottles were piled up all over the floor, the air was full of sweat, greasy smell of food and smell of wine, even a fat man vomited in the corner after drinking.Hai Wen felt that it was almost time, and if he didn't talk about anything, I'm afraid these guys would get drunk and die here.

So he hit the iron basin with a spoon.Hearing the voice, the people were silent for a while, and all looked over.

Before Haiwen could speak, Charles shouted: "Oh, yes, the mayor has spoken! Everyone applaud!" After he finished speaking, he took the lead in applauding.Then the others also laughed and applauded.

Haiwen glanced at these people, and said, "Everyone, the meal is almost finished, I should talk about the business." At this time, a fat man raised his glass and wanted to say something, and Charles was alone. His eyes stared back at him.

So Haiwen continued: "As I said in the letter before, I intend to form an agricultural production alliance in Wild Horse Town. Now I will give you a rough idea of ​​my idea." He paused, looked around everyone again to make sure people are looking at him,

"First of all, we are now facing a serious problem, that is, low productivity and poor harvests. I have done a survey and found that the maximum grain output per mu is less than [-] catties. This is a terrible thing."

An old man with a big belly yelled: "Because those muddy legs are too lazy to die!" His words aroused the unanimous agreement of everyone, and many people began to scold the serfs.Haiwen yelled "Quiet" several times before controlling the scene.Haiwen continued: "Everyone, the poor enthusiasm of farmers is determined by the system. If the system is advanced, then the enthusiasm of producers will increase. And this is not just a problem of production slack, people need production materials. After we established the Agricultural Alliance , I will teach them farming techniques, give them farm tools and cattle, build canals uniformly, and distribute medicines to prevent and control locust plagues. In this way, the yield per mu will be greatly increased."

A round-faced man with a red nose said loudly: "I don't care about this, I only care about how much you want us to spend!" His words were agreed by most people, and the landlords asked this question.A drunk man slapped the table and shouted: "You must be asking for money! You officials are all the same. You tricked us to ask for money. Let me tell you, no!"

Haiwen said: "I don't need you to pay, I just need you to give me the land."

There was a moment of silence, and then someone laughed softly.

Under the dinner

Under the dinner

"My lord, did I hear you right?" At this time, a man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks and a little felt hat said, "Do you want us to give you the land? Even if the production increases, what does it have to do with us?" ?”

Haiwen said: "Of course not. I will buy your land at half price in one year, and then I will manage your land and the tenant farmers and serfs on it; when the next year harvests, I will collect one-half of the total land output." The ingredients are for you. In addition, the baron's tax is also paid by me."

"Half price? [-]%? How about a fucking year?" The sharp-tongued thin man jumped up, stepped on the table with his foot, and shouted, "Are you fucking poor and crazy, or are we drunk and stupid?" Then someone threw a wine bottle and smashed the table, and Haiwen gave Big Charles a wink, Big Charles glanced at him disdainfully, then clapped his hands and shouted: "Be quiet, everyone, this matter is not finished yet. Give me a Save face!" After listening to him, the people became a little quieter.

Hai Wen continued: "If you do the calculations carefully, you will know that you are not losing money. First of all, I will buy the land at half price, which is a lot of money; since I will manage the farm for you next, So you save a lot of management expenses, which is another sum of money; then I will at least double the land production, so the [-]% I said is actually [-]% in previous years, and it may even be more; finally , I will help you pay taxes. After calculating these four accounts, you may have earned a little more than before."

After he said this, people stopped making noise. Some people were whispering. After a while, a man said, "Then how can we trust you?"

Then a black-skinned southerner with a big gold earring next to him asked: "Yes, what guarantee do you have that you can do everything you said? What if you sell our land? Who do we turn to?" Say go?"

"I could sign a contract and have the baron act as notary."

The sharp-tongued thin man said, "The baron is with you! He's a notary, and it doesn't work. You've got to... call a count! Yes, call a count to Mustangtown !” After speaking, he laughed, but this time no one laughed, so he sat down awkwardly after a few dry laughs.

Haiwen continued: "This is already my bottom line, I can't offer you more favorable terms. If you agree to me, then we will make a fortune together, and our life will be easier in the future. But if you don't agree..."

Charles asked at this time: "What do you want?"

Haiwen slapped the file on the table and said, "My lords, you should know what I did before."

"You're Judge Mustang," Charles said.

"Yes." Hai Wen unfolded one of the files, "You landlords have committed many crimes over the years, ranging from making false accounts and collecting taxes indiscriminately, to murdering and robbing people, and even tax evasion, I remember them all. After saying this, many people were breathless, and the man with the rosy nose even jumped up and shouted: "Fuck you, I gave you money!"

"You gave me money, and I did promise you not to pursue those matters for the time being, but that doesn't mean I won't keep records." Haiwen patted the file in his hand, "Now I'm the mayor, and I'm the judge. What to do is up to me."

"You can't have two jobs, it's against the law!" cried the sharp-tongued thin man!

"As an agent, you can." Haiwen said, "When the judge is temporarily absent, the mayor can handle the case on behalf of the judge—do you know the laws of the principality better than me?"

Most of the people below were silent, or whispering; Big Charles let out a dissolute laugh, and then poured himself a drink leisurely; the smiling cat had put down the chicken leg in his hand at some point, wiped his hands clean, and pressed the hilt of his sword .

The candlelight radiated a gloomy light, and night owls were screaming outside the window; the night was cold in late autumn, and the cold wind flowed through the cracks in the window, making the atmosphere more dignified.Haiwen tapped the table rhythmically with his fingers, waiting for the landlords' reply.

"I think you're trying to scare us." said the old man with a big belly, pointing at Haven with his thick finger with a gold ring on it, "Even a baron can't try all the farmers at once, we have the right to find the chief You can take the time to start a lawsuit with you. Haven Ambleside, don't forget that you are just a bought officer, and you are nothing. Guess how much you spent? Five hundred? one thousand?"

After he finished speaking, an old man with a sick face next to him coughed, he first spit thick phlegm on the ground, and then said: "I think you really consider yourself an adult, you can ask the baron, is he willing? Baron Mustang will try us farmers? If we are all sentenced, who will he collect taxes from? Who will take care of the farm? Damn, if you dare to sentence us today, we will dare to complain to the Baron tomorrow! Let's see who judges whom!"

Big Charles also spoke, and he made a sincere gesture to persuade Haiwen: "What everyone said is indeed the truth, Haiwen, I can understand that you are eager to do things, but you can't do things like this, right? Everyone Are you a friend, wouldn’t it make everyone look ugly if you bring out the old rotten things? Let’s talk about business and make a fortune together, I think it’s the best.”