At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

Later, when the skills of these apprentices have matured, we can open a second dock, so that up to four Viking longships can be launched each year. "

"How long will it take?" Feng Sen asked, "Give me a specific time."

The old boatman wiped the sweat off his head, swung his ax and continued to chop the wood in front of him. Feng Sen waited for a long time before he said slowly: "Next spring, it's almost there. I can write a few letters and call some boatwrights I know from Beihai, but accordingly, we hope to obtain the status of a bannerman."

"Of course." Resisting the urge to reach out and flick the shiny forehead, Feng Sen said with a cold face, "I will set up a special general guard near Hamburg, and I hope they won't let the I'm disappointed."

Chapter 215 Baojia System and Paper

"Baojia system?" Sitting around the table, Wang Sima frowned and asked, "Why does this sound a bit like Qin Fa?"

"This is the Qin law, but it is a relatively mild Qin law." Feng Sen took out a piece of paper from the small box next to it. "Now that we have good quality paper, the household registration yellow book can be made, and the Baojia system has a basis for implementation."

"However, the Qin law is so strict that even Chen She, Wu Guang and others revolted. If we use this Qin law, don't we follow in the footsteps of this Qin law?" It makes the common people doubt and hate each other, the flesh and blood are separated, and everyone cannot trust each other, and it will only cultivate a wicked people over time."

"Although the Qin law is strict, it is not without its advantages. There are both evil and good laws." Feng Sen shook his head and said, "My Baojia system is to take the essence and discard the dross, with five households as one guarantee, ten Guaranteed as a Jia, each Bao has a Baochang, and each Jia has a Jiachang.

In the Qin law, ten households are a team, and if one person commits a crime, the ten households will be cut in half. However, our Baojia system first reduces the number of people. caused resentment.

Secondly, not all crimes are linked to crimes, but only hiding deserters and evading military service will be linked to the sentence, and the rest will not be linked to the sentence, and the penalty for consecutive sittings is not beheading, but rod punishment and hard labor. "

"But why?" Wang Sima stood up, and even asked a little out of composure, "Is it impossible to implement the Lizheng system? Since the current Lizheng system can be implemented, why use this Baojia system? Reporting to each other will only persecute the simple people into treacherous people, why? The solidity of mountains and rivers lies in virtue, not in danger, Jieshuai."

"Treacherous people do not necessarily harm the country, and honest people do not necessarily benefit the country." Feng Sen walked slowly to Wang Sima's side, held his shoulders, and made him sit down. "There are fewer treacherous people and more honest people. It does not necessarily mean that the country is strong, and high morality does not necessarily mean that the country is strong. Wang Sima is still calm."

Wang Sima sighed, and sat back on the chair again: "Jie Shuai, Qin Fa can live in peace for a lifetime, and the death of the first emperor will destroy the country. The Chinese language is virtuous to the people. There is no war for 17 years and no tax collection. 400 years of history! Do you want to be the emperor of Qin? Do you want to be Chinese?"

Standing up, Feng Sen walked to the lattice window covered with a layer of window paper, closed the window to block the howling night wind outside, and the flickering candlelight finally stabilized.

"Wang Sima, without Qin, how can there be Han, and without Confucianism, how can there be law?" Feng Sen sat opposite Wang Sima, and handed over the book about the Baojia system in his hand, "The Baojia system is only for conscription and catching robbers. , Under the Baojia system, when necessary, there are more than 5 people in Saxony, and I can even enlist [-] people to fight.

At that time, with the soldiers as the tip of the sword, the Eight Banners as the edge of the sword, and the body of the sword as righteousness and bravery, it will be a sword for slaying dragons. We are here in danger, and when we don't need this sword, we can cast it again. Isn't it bad that the body of the sword is a plow? "

"I understand." Wang Sima's face suddenly became a little painful, "But Jieshuai, the harshness of Qin's laws does not lie in how harsh the laws are, but that the monarch does not use morality and morality to consolidate the country, but uses power and skill to govern the country. This is the most terrifying thing.

If you want to use Qin law, of course you can. What I am most afraid of is that you will be deceived by Qin law and think that you can govern the country with Qin law. This is the most terrible thing. "

Feng Sen interrupted Wang Sima's words, and said solemnly, "I have already decided, and I will implement it with the Baojia system."

"But......"

"Stop it!" Feng Sen patted his arm, "I've already decided that this law is much looser than the Qin law, and it will be abolished after we stabilize the world."

After finishing speaking, Feng Sen turned around and walked out the door, but the footsteps were much harder than before.

Seeing Feng Sen's back, Wang Sima struggled, and suddenly he stood up abruptly: "Jie Shuai, the household registration book is busy, and one of the scribes who came from the Central Plains that day was Wei Xunzhi, the son of Jingzhao Wei, can I let him do this?"

There was a pause in his footsteps, and Feng Sen seemed to continue walking without any emotional fluctuations, leaving only a sentence, "You are the marching commander, you make arrangements." He left the room, and the empty door faced the cold starry sky.

Sitting blankly in the room, Wang Sima stared blankly at the flickering candle, the wrinkles on his face deepened a little.

…………

Wei Xunzhi did a good job. After getting the manpower arranged by Wang Sima and Feng Sen, he immediately started the implementation of the Baojia system. According to Feng Sen's attitude of governing a big country like cooking a small fish, he only implemented it in Magdeburg and Hamburg. Excluding the population of the Eight Banners, the total population of the two places is only more than 1.

Hamburg is Feng Sen's old base. The big forces on the land have basically been eliminated, while Magdeburg's local population has dropped sharply due to the war and the Sorbs. There is no foundation in the local area, and we can only follow the arrangements.

Five families have one guarantee, ten guarantees and one Jia, and the appointment of Jiachang and Baochang has been quickly arranged. At this point, Feng Sen has adopted a representative system, that is, five families vote for Baozhang, and ten Baozhang vote for Jiazhang. Jiazhang is limited to two years and cannot serve consecutively.

Chief Jia needs to undertake the responsibilities of catching robbers, adjudicating civil matters, paying taxes, and allocating labor, but the advantage is that he does not have to perform labor. In this way, except for the Eight Banners system and cities, in rural areas, ten armors form a township, and five townships form a county. This is the three-level structure of county-township-jia designed by Feng Sen.

Soon, two townships were added under the county of Hamburg, and one township under the county of Magdeburg.

Under the armed suppression of the Eight Banners, most of the opposing opinions disappeared, and the implementation of the Baojia Law was carried out in cities and villages in an orderly manner. It has entered the field of vision of many businessmen.

"You mean, such a piece of paper only needs ten deniers? This is exactly the same as the price of a page of papyrus, and even a lot lower." Sitting on the second floor of a tavern in Magdeburg, Two businessmen sat on the floor, admiring a piece of yellow paper stained with ink.

Picking up this piece of paper, a businessman with a big belly folded it carefully, even pressed hard at the fold and unfolded it, and repeated this many times. If it was papyrus, it would have been broken long ago. However, the miraculous Seris paper in front of him miraculously kept its original shape, except that there was a crease at the half fold.

"How can it be so soft?" Another businessman snatched the Seris paper from the big belly, and laid it flat on the table. "It won't roll inward! What a magical paper, what a magical kingdom!"

"I have a plan, why don't we just sell all the goods here, use the money to buy a box of ceris paper, ship it back to Rome, and then we sell it to the Pope at the price of three deniers per page, the priest Master Zong will definitely like it very much.”

"But..." Looking at the ambitious companion in front of him, the big-bellied businessman spread his hands, "They said that they won't sell food until they meet their own needs, and they are about to sell it, and it may take two or three months. .”

"Then let's wait and sell our goods here, we must be the first to buy!" The businessman stroked the rough surface of the yellow paper, as if stroking his lover's face, the greed in his eyes couldn't be more intense.

Chapter 216 Bridge, Egypt

With the warmer weather and the end of population migration, the number of merchant ships and awning boats entering and leaving the port of Hamburg on a daily basis has decreased a lot.

Now is the time for spring plowing, and everyone needs to carry out spring planting, especially with the spread of new plows and manure. In the area of ​​the Elbe River, the core of Feng Sen's rule, most of the territories and manors have begun to use manure to make heavy plows. The labor time in the field has also greatly increased.

Although the business in spring is in a small low period, there will still be many merchant ships entering and leaving on the market day held every ten days.

Just at this moment, a Viking longship flying the Hamburg flag slowly passed the guarded Alster Estuary and headed for the port of Hamburg.

Edmond leaned on the straight mast, his body swayed gently with the waves, and stared straight at the pier in front of him. After joining Belvshka's caravan, he ran the triangular trade route about three or four times. , Every time I go back to Hamburg, the pier in front of me is very different.

The crude log walkway before has now been replaced with a straight plank walkway connected with wooden nails and wedges, and painted with a layer of pine tar. Emond straddled the side of the boat and stepped on the plank walkway. The harsh "squeak" sound from last time has disappeared.

Led by his accompanying companion, Edmond walked along the long plank road. On one side of the plank road, on a dusty construction site, a medium-sized sawmill had begun to take shape.

"What a big change." Edmund scanned the port up and down, his voice was very unique, it sounded like firewood crackling in a stove.

It cost four Deniers to rent an old horse-drawn carriage, and the group headed towards Hamburg. This time, sitting in the open carriage, Emond twisted his body a little restlessly. It was his first time meeting the mighty Duke of Saxony, and he had to make a good impression on that lord.

After the end of the Saxony War, King Siegfried of Denmark had to cede land and pay compensation and signed the Treaty of Holstein to cede more than half of the territory to Charlemagne, and Charlemagne also saw that the funeral was not too big. The Fenner sisters sealed the territory of Jutland.

After Arvo became the Earl of Lübeck, Belvshka needed to help Arvo and Fenner deal with the affairs of the territory. Fenner was better. Belvshka handled it all by himself, and he really didn't have time to deal with Feng Sen's caravan affairs, so he promoted a deputy to replace him, and this person was Edmund.

Edmund is a small lord in Britain, belonging to the Kingdom of Northumbria. He is a real small lord with only a village with a population of a dozen or so households. In terms of living standards, his life is not as good as that of a Byzantine yeoman.

Originally life was fine, but when the Viking pirates invaded, the village was directly slaughtered. Only he escaped by chance, but the leader was gone, the title was taken away, and more than 70 gold coins were blown away. Who can ask for reason.

Can only cast a thief.

Surprisingly, the young man did a good job running the business. Since January this year, they have run the North Sea Triangle trade three times, and he led the team twice without any mistakes. After careful consideration, Belvshka finally decided to report to Feng Sen, asking him and Edmond to meet him.

That's why Emond came to Hamburg.

The carriage crossed the gate of Hamburg City from the dirt road while bumping, and finally came to the city of Hamburg. The bumpy feeling of the carriage immediately improved a lot. Edmond seized the opportunity to carefully look at the Hamburg City in front of him.

The neatly arranged white walls and black tiles seem to be a straight street measured with a ruler, and the sidewalks and horsewalks are deliberately distinguished. Most importantly, there is no shit on the street!This is really surprising. Could it be that His Excellency the Duke spent money to hire a group of people to pick up shit?

In the past, he used to sleep on the big bunk at the pier. This was the first time Edmund came to Hamburg, and it was too different from the fortress in his impression.

Shouldn't it be stacks of towers and crowded shacks, a three-story wooden building standing on a dirt road paved with human and animal excrement, and the smell of sweat seems to never go away?

Finally, Edmund's carriage stopped in front of an artificial ditch passing through the city, and the water of the Alster River was passing through Xingyefang from the ditch and flowing into the Elbe River from the west.

The groom reined in the reins and pointed to the ditch in front of him: "This is the General Canal, we can't get there, you have to go by yourself."

After handing over to the soldiers in front of the wooden bridge, Edmond soon received a reply: "Sir Edmond, Your Excellency the Duke, please enter the waiting room and wait a while, he will be able to receive you soon."

Walking through the brand-new wooden bridge, Edmond stared at the general's mansion, and couldn't help but sigh that it was really neat with white walls and black tiles. It was originally a simple and monotonous style, but for some reason, there was a peculiar style. beauty.

Edmund had to admit that His Excellency the Duke was probably a believer with a rather simple life, because his mansion did not build expensive high-rise buildings at all, except for the three-story pagoda that was under construction, but judging from the cross on the top of the tower, it should be a church.

Following behind an attendant, Edmond, who almost stumbled over the threshold, finally walked cautiously into the waiting room. The waiting room is next to Feng Sen's new study. There are two benches in the hall, and a small coffee table is placed in front of the bench. The new coffee table made of black cedar has already had a lot of light yellow stains on it.

Sitting awkwardly on the bench, Emond stared blankly at the tea table and water glasses in front of him, waiting for the call of fate. Just when he stood up for the third time to adjust his appearance and practice self-introduction silently, a knock on the door interrupted his movements.

"Sir Edmond, Your Excellency the Duke, please." The jerky and stiff Saxon voice sounded.

Turning around, Emond just wanted to thank politely, but the words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't speak. This is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life. She has black hair, black eyes, bright eyes and bright teeth. She looks only in her 20s. He is old, and has clear and regular features, a nose is a nose, eyes are eyes, and he is more beautiful than the princess of Northumbria.

This skin has the texture of marble, but also is as smooth as pudding, and the face is plump just right. Could this be a goddess who came out of ancient Greek mythology?

Can a maid in the Duke's house be so beautiful?The tension in Edmond's heart increased a bit.

Mrs. Ma stared at the stuck barbarian boy in front of her with some doubts, and carefully recalled the Saxon language she had learned in her mind. She didn't say anything wrong, could it be that she didn't hear clearly?

"Sir Edmond?"

"Ah, yes, yes." Edmond straightened his clothes as if he had just woken up from a dream, "Please lead me the way."

--------

ps Madam Ma is 35 years old this year

ps2 was cleaned yesterday, so there is only one chapter, there will be another chapter later tonight

Chapter 217 All good chapter names are named by dogs

Mrs. Ma opened the door of the study room, and after Edmond nodded his thanks to the exotic beauty, he stepped over the threshold and entered the door.

This new study room was built not long ago. Compared with the previous study room, it is obviously much larger. In the middle of the study room is a huge rectangular desk, made of oak, and a pen holder carved out of marble. The bear skin hanging on the wall and the bound papers on the bookshelf add a lot of book fragrance and civilized atmosphere to the whole room.

In the room, Edmond first saw a dark-skinned heroic young man, standing in front of the Duke unconvinced, while the Duke, with a bruised face, pinched his ears to lecture him, but at this time the lecture had come to an end, and the somewhat delicate young man left after only saying the last two sentences.

Only then did Edmund get a chance to get closer, and approached the Duke at close range, covered his left chest, and saluted: "Aslin Edmund from Northbria sends his greetings to you, Your Excellency the mighty Duke of Saxony."

"I've kept you waiting, please sit down." Feng Sen put on a gentle smile and pointed to the chair beside him.

Edmund nodded, and sat down with half of his buttocks next to the chair. Only at this time did he have the opportunity to take a closer look at this powerful duke who almost single-handedly quelled the Saxon War.

His Excellency the Duke is still very young in terms of facial features, at most 20 years old, but a short hard black mustache has appeared on his chin and the corners of his lips. His black hair is tied into a high bun on his head. He does not wear a headdress or a turban like other Han people, but is tied with a square crown, which looks a bit casual.

But Your Excellency the Duke is really tall. In this era when the average height is less than 1.7 meters, the average height of those Seris people who are 1.7 meters and 1.9 is already very tall, but the man in front of him seems to be almost [-] meters tall, and he is half a head taller than Edmond even when he is sitting.

"I heard Bervshka mention you." Feng Sen put the two pieces of paper on the table into a small box beside him, smiled and said to the nervous Saxon youth in front of him, "I have always believed in others. He said that you have more than tripled the sales of beer in Suffolk by yourself?"

"Yes, it's just a small business trick." Emond waved his hands modestly, "I just gave away a batch of beer for free to the lords in Suffolk who love to show off and ridicule most on Christmas Eve." In the next few days, our beer was wiped out in just two weeks."

"Very smart." Feng Sen snapped his fingers, "I hope you can keep such a smart mind... Are you literate?"

"I can't read." Emond replied with some shame.

Feng Sen persuaded him, "You are in charge now, so you have to study."

Edmund rubbed his hands in fear: "I also really want to learn some characters, but the business of the caravan is too busy."

"Do I want you to study the classics of Heavenly Father and become a priest who is in charge of teaching them in the School of Scholastics? I just let you learn characters roughly and be able to read. You say that you have a lot of work, so how can you compare with me? I read often, and I feel that I have benefited a lot."

Feng Sen went to the bookshelf, took out two booklets, and handed them to him, "It's just spring, you can stay in Hamburg for a few more days, I have opened a small literacy class here, and you will learn from it. "

Edmund bit the bullet and took the two booklets, feeling like his brain was going to explode, and Belvshka couldn't read a few big characters, so why did I suddenly want to start reading?

Looking at the book in his hand, Edmund's original frowning expression suddenly changed. He gently stroked the wooden book cover, and then opened it, and pages of slightly yellowed paper appeared in front of him. What paper?

Smooth and soft, not curled inward, and very flexible.

"My lord, this is?"

"This is Siris paper." Feng Sen picked up the booklet, "How much do you think the cost of this paper is?"

"300 deniers?"

"It's high, guess again."

"200 deniers?"

"It's high, keep guessing."

"I really can't guess." Edmond shook his head honestly.

"Five deniers." Feng Sen clapped the pamphlet in his hand, "A whole book, do you understand what I mean? In the land of Britain, countless priests and bishops are suffering from not having enough paper to copy the sun worship scriptures, and a roll of papyrus that costs less than 5 silver coins in Egypt can be worth 10 deniers when shipped to Britain.

My paper is not only foldable, but also very soft and tough, unlike papyrus, which is brittle and difficult to carry. It has no other disadvantages except that it is not waterproof. In this way, the price of Cyris paper, which is better than papyrus, is only 80 de Neil, do you understand? "

Edmund's breathing became heavy immediately.

…………

The refugees walked on the winding muddy road, with dirty, rotten puddles and muddy soil under their feet. Seen from mid-air, they looked like a group of ants moving before the heavy rain.

They were dressed in shabby clothes, their faces were tired and numb, and the gray clouds in the sky shrouded them, and it might rain heavily at any time.

The refugees from the Franks carried a bag containing what little they had left: a few clothes, a little food and water.

A woman was leading a small boy. Their bodies were covered in mud, their faces were still stained with mud, their mouths were wide open, but their cries were so hoarse.

Her children have been reduced to bones, but at this moment they can only move forward numbly.

The longest among them has been away for almost a month. The years of Saxony wars not only destroyed the local economy of Saxony, but also affected the farmers on the Frankish land.

Many farmers had their land taken away because of bankruptcy or the death of their husbands/sons in battle. If the benevolent priest hadn't appeared, I'm afraid they could just stay where they were and wait to die.

On the side of the muddy road, a young priest was half-kneeling on the side of the road, and an old man was lying on his back, holding the priest's hand in his right hand, staring at the gloomy clouds in the sky with his eyes wide open.

"Priest Fredges." The old man said with difficulty, "How long will it take us to arrive?"