Beishuozhou, Pingthi Town.
A donkey cart stopped at the entrance of the town.
The old slave driving the car quickly jumped out of the car and tied the reins to a dead tree nearby.
The man's face was dark and covered with wrinkles, one layer after another. He hurriedly saluted the people in the car, "Sir, the road ahead is not going to be easy for a donkey cart."
The man sitting in the car has big shoulders and a round waist. He also has folds, but his folds are at the neck, going round and round. He sits on the car like a hill.
He opened his eyes slightly and glanced at the small village in front of him.
He shook his head slightly and then got out of the car.
When he got off the donkey cart, everyone in the donkey cart breathed a sigh of relief.
The old slave looked into the distance, "Do I need to wait for your disciples?"
The fat man shook his head, raised his head, and motioned to the old slave to lead the way.
The old slave led the fat man into the village. He walked in front, but he still had to face the fat man head-on and did not dare to turn his back to him. His walking posture was quite strange.
"In the past, we were considered a big town. King Gao was still stationed here. At that time, there were more than a thousand households in our town."
"Look at those places, they are all old towns from the past."
The old slave pointed to the distance, which was outside the town. He could see the remains of many buildings that had been burnt to pitch black. It could be seen that there might be a wall, several houses, and some living people there.
The fat man hummed, not sure if he heard it.
The villages and towns were deserted.
The road is high and low, and there are potholes everywhere. The old slave is not lying. If you drive a donkey cart through here, your intestines may be shaken out.
These houses all have an obvious military style, with large courtyard doors and double doors that can pass cars.
Walking along the road, the village was deserted and extremely quiet.
"Gah!!"
Suddenly a crow screamed loudly. The old slave was stunned, trembled all over, and did not dare to speak anymore.
They walked forward like this for a long time, and finally came to a luxurious courtyard.
The walls of the courtyard were extremely high. Although they were dilapidated, they could not conceal their former glory. Seeing the courtyard, the fat man's complexion finally improved a lot.
The servant walked forward and knocked gently on the door.
"who???"
A frightened question suddenly came from inside the door.
The voice was also trembling.
The old slave hurriedly said: "It's me, I brought him back!"
"Is it really you?"
"How do you prove that?"
Another voice came from the door. The old slave's eyes widened, he thought for a moment, and then said: "I have been with the master for more than twenty years."
The door was slowly opened.
They were two young men, holding sticks. They looked at the old slave warily, and then at the fat man behind him. They finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly let them in, then closed the door.
Walking into the courtyard, there were many people gathered in the courtyard, both old and young. They looked flustered at the moment, moving in and out, carrying things.
The atmosphere in the courtyard was a bit scary.
When they walked into the inner courtyard, they finally saw the owner of the courtyard.
The man was also tall and round, and he was sitting in a high position. There were many women gathered around him. These women were all crying at the moment and saying something, but the man stood still.
The fat man saluted him gently.
The servant said: "Master, this is the great wizard Xu Gong I invited from Shuocheng. He is very capable."
The head of the family stood up, saluted the other party, and invited the other party to sit down next to him.
After the other party took his seat, the owner's expression was still very grim.
"Do you know the purpose of asking you to come?"
"Know."
The head of the family sighed, "What a disaster from heaven, I never thought of it. Master Xu, you must help us!"
"As long as you can avoid this disaster, I will give you whatever you want. My family's property has been owned by several generations. If you want ten carts of wheat grain, I will give it to you!!"
Xu Gong shook his head calmly, "I'm not here for money."
"Nowadays, evil spirits are causing harm, and you are not the only one. We are invited from all over the country to perform practices to drive them away."
"I'm a straight person. If I can't successfully exorcise ghosts, I won't take any money. If I can, I won't ask for much. I will only take what I deserve."
The head of the family nodded quickly, "Okay, okay, you are really an expert!"
Hearing these words, the woman next to him couldn't help shouting: "My beloved! Don't be stubborn anymore, leave quickly!"
"Yang Shanzhi from Yangcun has been running away for several days. I haven't heard of anyone staying in Yuanyang, so why should we? It's still too late to go to Zhaoyuan now."
"Shut up!!"
The head of the family was furious. He raised his head with a ferocious expression, "I won't leave! I'm different from them. I didn't become powerful overnight. I am the family property of several generations. My family has been here before King Gao was born.
It’s over, don’t say too much!”
He pulled the wizard aside and said, "You cast the spell now!"
"No matter how much you want, I'll give it to you!!"
Wizard Xu nodded and immediately began to take out his magic weapon.
His magical weapon is very simple. It is just a bone with a hole punched in it and some unknown bits and pieces tied together. He also brought some powder with him. When he wiped it on his face, his whole temperament changed.
It's different.
"Do you have a black dog here?"
"some."
"Are there any peach trees?"
"some."
"Prepare something for me"
The wizard gave instructions. For some reason, after this person arrived, the panic in the courtyard calmed down a lot. Everyone dropped what they were doing and started preparing for him.
Someone brought a big black dog, and the wizard had its teeth knocked out, and everyone was asked to take one.
Someone cut down a peach tree and made a wooden stick from the peach tree, and asked people to follow his orders and hit the ground with the wooden stick.
Then, he began to perform.
He sang very hard.
This song does not belong to Xianbei, Han, or Gaoche, and probably no one can understand what he is singing.
He danced and sang, and made those people hit the ground with wooden sticks and roar loudly.
The spellcasting continued, and the head of the family calmed down at this time.
The wizard worked very hard. Given his size, he was sweating profusely in a moment, but he did not stop.
Fortunately, his disciples caught up with him, and the fat man asked them to take his place.
I worked so hard for three days.
The wizards finally stopped.
The head of the house held his hand and burst into tears.
"If it weren't for Mr. Xu, the inheritance of these generations would have been destroyed in my hands!"
The fat man was panting and extremely tired, but he did not rush to ask for money. He ordered: "After I leave, I will bury those teeth under the stone in front of the village. I will send someone to look at it every day. If the location of the stone is found,
If it changes, then send someone to find me again."
The head of the house was stunned for a moment and nodded repeatedly.
Just when he was preparing to hold a banquet to entertain the wizard, someone suddenly ran in. After the man ran in, he fell in front of the head of the family.
"Master! Someone knocked on the door. Someone knocked on the door."
Everyone was immediately frightened and shouted. The head of the house was so frightened that his face was livid. The wizard took a deep breath.
"Don't be afraid."
"When I go out, you stay in the courtyard and don't move around."
The wizard strode towards the door.
The head of the house did not dare to speak, so he asked everyone to pick up wooden sticks and be on guard.
The wizard led his disciples and walked quickly to the door, where rhythmic knocking was still heard.
The wizard took a deep breath and opened the door suddenly.
There were several people standing outside the door.
A man stood in the middle, wearing official robes and smiling, and beside him stood several soldiers holding horses.
The wizard hurriedly forced out a smile and saluted them, "I've seen the officials. I came here to do something for a good person. They are inside."
The wizard and his disciples quickly gave up their positions.
The official was a little stunned and looked at him, "Who is doing the work? Whose token is he holding? From Zhaoxuan Temple? Or from Tai Zhuling?"
The wizard hurriedly rummaged through his body and said, "It's the cards dealt by Taizhu. Here, here."
He handed over the token respectfully, looked at the officials in front of him with a kind face, and obeyed absolutely.
"Getting through."
"Here, here, we belong to Shuozhou, not Beishuo."
"I see, you are useless even if you are from Yecheng. This place is under the jurisdiction of Beishuo."
"Yes, that is."
The official checked for a long time and found no problem, so he returned the token to him.
"If you want to come here to cast spells in the future, remember to submit your application to the officials first. Beishuo and Shuo are now two places, and you cannot travel between them at will."
"I understand, thank you for reminding me."
A few of them nodded, and the wizard breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave.
The old slave suddenly poked his head out of the backyard and asked loudly.
"Xu Gong!!"
"Have the ghosts been driven away??"
The smile on Wizard Xu's face immediately solidified.
He slowly looked at the old slave in the distance, his lips moved, and he didn't know what words he said.
He looked at the official in front of him again.
The official looked straight at him with a straight face.
"You're here to cast a spell to drive away ghosts, right?"
In the inner courtyard, slaves stood on both sides, looking horrified and sobbing softly.
The head of the family, Wizard Xu, several of his disciples, and several young disciples were all squatting on the ground at this moment, not daring to speak.
The knight pushed the door in from the outside and returned to the young official again.
"Sun Jun, you really cast a spell to curse us."
Li Sun looked at the people in front of him and was silent for a long time.
"Why did we become ghosts?"
"Cheng'an Guicha?"
Wizard Xu quickly raised his head and said, "The superior has misunderstood! I'm here to pray, it's a normal ritual!!"
"If this is a formal ritual, why should I leave you here?"
Sun Li frowned. While the two people next door were worried about internal Buddhist and Taoist issues, Daqi had already completed the institutionalization and included it in the law. Even the wizards' spellcasting and divination were divided into legal ones.
Illegal.
These wizards cannot call themselves wizards just by putting on something. They need to be certified by Zhaoxuan Temple and other departments before they can have the right to cast spells. At the same time, they cannot perform curses, resist temples and other rituals. Well, there are also requirements for divination, and divination of heaven and earth is not allowed.
For natural events, only divination is allowed that does not exceed the scope of the person.
It's just that it's still the same problem and no one follows it.
The military system of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the legal system of the Northern Qi Dynasty became the precursor foundation of an extremely powerful empire.
Hearing the wizard's excuse, the head of the family looked at him in shock, and the wizard quickly blinked at him.
The owner of the house had no choice but to lower his head.
"That's right, I'm just praying for blessings."
Sun Li shook his head, "According to the law, if you try to use witchcraft to fight against the temple, I should punish your clan."
"However, the scale of the sacrifice is too small. You should still be able to survive. Take these people away and send them to the county town."
The knights stepped forward, grabbed the wizards and family heads who were illegally casting spells, and walked out. The rest of the people just cried and did not dare to speak.
After these people were taken away, Li Sun looked at everyone.
He took out the order book from his pocket.
"According to the order of General Anxi, I will be stationed in the town and serve as a township official. My surname is Sun."
"The general has ordered that the land equalization system be implemented in the two prefectures, and all cultivated land will be returned to the temple. It will be redistributed according to the decree issued in the second year of Tianbao."
"The specific decree is as follows: Under the rule of Daqi, registered citizens, regardless of gender, can receive land from the age of 18. The land granted is open land, men are 80 acres, women are 40 acres, and oxen are 60 acres. Each household is limited to 4!"
"An additional 20 acres of mulberry or hemp fields will be granted."
"Official and military households reserve cultivated land according to their grade, and cannot exceed the limit!"
"Whenever a family is granted land, a male will serve in the military, and if the male serves, the family will be organized into a military household, and additional grants will be granted based on the grade of the military household."
Sun Li read the edict loudly.
But the people standing in front of him were just crying and crying at the moment. Even the domestic slaves were like mourning their heirs. They didn't understand what happened.
All they knew was that ghosts were coming.
I heard that wherever the ghost messengers go, there are rivers of blood and mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Sun Li was not angry and began to investigate the family's land deed status.
Most of the farmland in this village is in the hands of this family. Of course, the people in the village are also in their hands and have farmed it for them for generations.
The woman was somewhat knowledgeable, and she understood what Sun Li said.
At this moment, he cried and retorted: "My dear family has never stolen or robbed. We have worked hard for generations to have the current family property. Why did the general bully us, a small family, and take away our houses and land?"
Li Sun ignored her and just waved his hand, "How can you argue with us ghosts?"
There are only about a hundred households in the village in name, but if you include those Tibetans who have no place of origin, there are about three hundred households.
This is a large amount, especially in frontier fortresses, which is particularly valuable.
In the following days, Li Sun went from house to house. He selected two literate people from the common people and asked them to work with him. They first registered the cultivated land in and outside the village.
There is not much arable land in the frontier fortress, climate, war, and countless other reasons.
But it has not reached the point where people must starve to death. There is not much arable land here, but the population is also not large. The main reason for starving to death is that there are too few ghosts.
The former old slave is now leading Sun Li around various places.
"You see, the owners over there belong to the family. This place was originally given to six of us for farming. One of us injured his leg last month and died."
Sun Li nodded and immediately started writing.
The old slave was a little afraid of Li Sun at first, but he found that this ghost who was rumored to be a murderer had a pretty good attitude towards his servants. He was far less vicious than his own master, and he didn't hit anyone.
After two days together, the old slave was no longer so afraid.
He looked at Sun Li writing with envy, his eyes filled with light.
Li Sun glanced at him and laughed, "Do you know how to read?"
"I don't know, I don't know. Those who can write are not ordinary people. You will definitely be something extraordinary in the future!"
"Hahaha, it's nothing. There is a school in the county. You can learn to write for only 40 yuan. You can let your son learn it. After he knows how to write, he can go to the law school. After he comes out, he can also learn to write.
Be an official!"
The old slave shook his head, "I don't dare, I don't dare, he can't read."
Sun Li didn't say much. After registering the place, he walked back. The old slave hesitated for a moment and said tangledly: "Sir, if you want this land, can you still use me?"
"My home is close to here."
"It's not for me, it's for granting it to you. I see you are quite old. Juntian has been around since the previous dynasty. It has been implemented for so long. Don't you know?"
The old slave was a little surprised, "I've never heard of it."
Li Sun pursed his lips and touched his chin, "These cultivated lands are to be granted to you. You will understand later."
The old slave was still a little confused.
Sun Li sent people to summon the people in the village.
There were so many people that neither the official office nor the master's home could accommodate them.
Sun Li had no choice but to find a high ground outside the village and let everyone gather here. Most of the people were frightened. In the past, every time they were gathered here, they were arrested and sent to serve.
Sun Li no longer read the edict, but used the simplest words to inform everyone about the situation.
After he explained it over and over again, the old slave suddenly understood it!
This means becoming a tenant to the government!
However, this is a good thing.
In the past, I worked as a tenant to the master, leaving enough food to keep them hungry, and the rest of the food had to be given to the owner of the land.
But now, they only need to pay enough land tax, and the rest can be kept. It is said that it is 1 out of 15, and the cloth and armor shield can be converted. If it can be realized, that would be really good!! At least a few fewer people will die next year.
It’s a baby!
Everyone was very excited when they heard what Li Sun said, but they didn't believe it all. After all, this was a ghost.
Sun Li came in person to register the people present and prepare for the issuance to be issued again.
After such a busy day, at night, Li Sun couldn't even lift his hands due to soreness.
The old slave was busy and then followed him towards home.
"Sir, they all say that they can't understand what the ghost officials say. How come I can understand what you say?"
"Many people come from Cheng'an and their speech is difficult to understand. I am a local. I used to work as a civilian husband in Wuchuan."
"Ah? Wuchuan! Oh! I'm so familiar with it. I have two relatives who went there."
Sun Li looked at him with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll leave the cultivated land over there to you. Go home early."
The old slave's mind was exposed, his face turned red immediately, and he hesitated.
Just when Sun Li was about to leave, the old slave suddenly asked: "Sir."
"You said before, are you really allowed to go to the school in the county?"
"sure."
"real??"
"Hey, I didn't know how to read before. I also learned it in a school in Wuchuan. Look, don't you want to be an official now? Why, you want to go too?"
"My little son has been smart since he was a child."
"Forty dollars, food and accommodation are included there. If you want him to go, I can send him there."
"I don't understand. Why would the general do this?"
"do what?"
"He gave us fields and said we could study. Many people say that the general is like a mandrill, with a green face and fangs, and he is good at eating people."
Sun Li thought for a moment.
"I haven't seen the general. I don't know if it has a green face and fangs. However, I heard people say that mandrills are not good at eating people."
"Good food ghost."
Chapter completed!