The sun is shining brightly.
There is no obstruction visible on the bare official road.
There were more than a thousand people, most of them barefoot and with ropes tied around their bodies, walking in teams of five, following the kneeling men.
Their clothes were ragged and there were many bloodstains on their bodies, leaving a long trail of blood on the road.
Knights rode past them on both sides.
"Hurry up!! Hurry up!!"
"The riding whip in the knight's hand made a loud sound. The group used all their strength and continued to move forward, not daring to show any signs of neglect.
Several officials were riding horses and following them.
The looks of this group of prisoners are all kinds of strange, some look like monks, some look like rich people, and some look like barbarians, they are all different, and a hundred flowers bloom.
I saw an older man walking a few steps and suddenly fell down. Several people in front and behind him were almost dragged down as well.
Several riders noticed what was going on here and rushed over on horseback, roaring loudly. The whip suddenly fell on the man. The originally weak man jumped up quickly and returned to normal.
The head was broken and the blood just flowed down, but no one cared.
The accompanying clerk's eyes flashed with unbearability.
He looked at the prison officer who was chatting and laughing with everyone.
"Your Majesty...:...Do you want to restrain your soldiers a little?"
"I see that the man is older and has a gray beard. How could he be beaten so cruelly?"
The junior official broke everyone's conversation. The prison officer looked at him slowly. The prison officer was obviously much older than the junior officer.
The beard is also mixed with some gray.
"Do you feel sorry for him?"
"It's really pitiful."
The prison officer grinned, showing his white teeth.
He stared at the old man for a long time, and then said with a smile: "This guy used to become a monk at the Dashengsong Temple, and he was engaged in the business of longevity treasury."
The clerk was puzzled.
"What is Changshengku?"
"Oh, it's just interest, lending interest."
The official explained seriously, "They just deceive those believers and let them come to them if they encounter any difficulties, saying that they are willing to lend them money and let them do things."
"Then they asked people to take things as collateral."
"Clothes, land, houses, children, wives... even myself."
The official squinted his eyes, "After the money is loaned out, it will increase a little bit every day. It doesn't seem like much, but it can't be accumulated. If it lasts for ten days and a half, hey, let alone the borrowed money.
The mortgaged items are gone, and my whole family has to move in."
"Taking advantage of contracts, colluding with officials, refusing to repay money, seizing mortgages...::. There are also those who act with the officials, pretending to be good people, but they are committing many evil deeds and have no conscience."
The clerk was startled and did not dare to answer.
The prison officer laughed again, "So, they deserve this."
"It doesn't matter if they are beaten to death. I don't know how many people have been killed by these people. They are all responsible for themselves. I indulged the soldiers and gave them a few whippings. This can be regarded as a good deed and meritorious deeds!"
The clerk cleared his throat and continued: "You are right, but the Han Dynasty has its own laws. The law stipulates that prisoners under escort are not allowed to be killed unless they rebel or resist to escape...:. They have already been sentenced.
,
We cannot pass judgment a second time!.::」
The clerk began to recite many laws.
The prison officer pursed his lips, helplessness flashed in his eyes, and shouted to the distance: "Controller! Don't kill me.
Otherwise you will be breaking the law!"
After saying that, he ignored the boy and continued chatting with his colleagues around him.
The clerk then rode to the front to check.
When the little official had gone far away, several old guys around him couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, everything is good, but this new recruit doesn't follow the rules very well. He talks about laws and regulations all day long, and he doesn't understand at all.
I don’t know the dignity and inferiority.”
"As soon as you open your mouth, you are from the law school. If you want to get rid of him, it won't be easy. If a letter is sent to his teacher, you will be finished."
"Who are these people in the law school? This government is not good!"
The prison officer suddenly changed his face, "What did you say? How is the law school? Why is it so bad?"
When Fang Kai opened his mouth, the man was suddenly confused and didn't know what to say. Someone beside him whispered a few words to him, and he suddenly understood.
"Oh, oh, it turns out that your young master has also attended the law school...:. I'm not saying that all the people in the law school are not good, but some people love to preach too much, ahem..."
The prison officer's complexion improved a lot.
The old officer was a little confused and asked: "But, prince, with your status, it is not difficult to hire a few teachers for your children, but why would you send him to the law school? That is not to be an official.
?」
The prison officer glared at him.
"What do you, an old man, know?"
"You still look down on the law school? I can tell you that last year, many law school students passed the exam and became local officials. This time, eight state officials and several county magistrates were fucking
Came out of the Law School."
"In the future, there will definitely be more and more officials who have graduated from law studies. In another twenty years, I guarantee that all the temples will be filled with their people!"
"What do you think I would do if I sent my son there? In the future, he will become a local official, and all his superiors will be his classmates. Wouldn't his life be much easier?"
The old officer suddenly understood.
"yes!"
"Why didn't I think of this? When I go back, I will also let my son enter the law school!"
Hearing his words, the other officers laughed.
"Su Liujin! Forget it!"
"As for your son, who is over 20 years old and can't even write his own name, and still goes to the law school? Let him work in the Chongzhou Army with peace of mind, hone his archery skills, and strive to achieve military success early. There is no doubt that he will have more achievements in the future.
The great way out, such as studying, must not be mentioned."
Everyone was chatting and laughing, and we walked like this for more than a day.
Finally, they came to a mountain pass.
There were already officials and soldiers waiting here.
This place is close to Lingshan and is an important mine in Puyang County.
There are not as many iron mines in the south as there are in the north, and they are not as easy to mine as in the north. However, it is not that there is nothing. For example, there are still iron mines of a certain scale around Puyang in the Central Plains.
This is also one of the few areas in Henan where the Qi State established iron officials in the past.
They handed over the escorted criminals to the other party. After the other party found out the identities of the criminals and signed and stamped them, the officials responsible for escorting them left.
The newly appointed iron officer will be responsible for settling these people.
Not all officials from all over the Central Plains have taken up their posts, and there are still many vacancies. The iron officials here have been filled first.
After all, governing the Central Plains requires a lot of tools.
Although tools and emergency food from Hebei are being continuously sent to Henan, these newly acquired eight states are not small at all, and they require a lot of materials, and a little more local effort is needed.
Especially these tools, in today's Henan Province, are obviously more beneficial to manufacturing and commerce than the slower-performing mulberry industry.
Iron officials have recruited many unemployed people to work in the iron mines. Of course, their working hours or residences are still different from those of the prisoners who come to serve.
At the beginning, officials petitioned, hoping to recruit more people to work in the iron mines.
In Henan, this proposal finally came into use.
The government can provide temporary relief, but it cannot provide relief all the time. People have to find something to do, and manufacturing has become the most suitable thing to do at the moment.
For example, Yuan Biao, the governor of Luozhou, found work for the proletarians by hiring civilian workers to build roads and repair traffic. In the Chongzhou area, the government used iron ore to resettle the people, which can be said to be a reward for one work.
.
The iron officer ordered the sergeants on his left and right to keep a close eye on these new prisoners to prevent any trouble.
Then, he continued to do his own business.
These prisoners were escorted by soldiers to temporary housing.
These people used to be superior.
Some of them are local wealthy families, some are eminent monks in temples, and some are born nobles.
But now, they are all prisoners.
These people are even considered good, but those who do all sorts of evil would never come here alive to work. They would have been beheaded long ago, and died piece by piece.
These were those who passed the trial, escaped the death penalty, and were sentenced to prison terms.
Some of them committed relatively minor crimes and were sentenced to three or four years. As long as they can survive here until that day, they can leave and regain their free status. But there are also those who were sentenced to ten or more years, which is basically
Don't even think about escaping for the rest of your life.
How could they have suffered such hardship in the past? The huge change in their status was difficult for them to accept. However, the swords in the hands of the soldiers around them made them have to accept it.
They didn't even dare to cry.
The normal miners were quite curious and gathered together to stare at these people and discuss them one after another.
A miner pointed at a guy in the distance and exclaimed, "Isn't that guy Zhou Dahu from the south of the city?"
Hearing this, several other fellow villagers looked over quickly and shouted, "It's really him!"
"How did this guy end up like this?"
The expression of the person who just spoke became excited, "How cruel this guy used to be. His servants never gave him money when he went to restaurants in the city. Do you still remember Xing Laowu? It was because the sheep at home nibbled on him a few times.
He hung up the family's crops and beat them for several hours. From then on, the fifth child fell ill and passed away last year."
"Hey, don't tell me, they are still a group of noble people!"
"Look, Sun Tu, the meat seller in the city, is here too!"
"This guy relies on his wealth and has a younger brother who works as an errand, and he is domineering in the city, teasing the women of the people, bullying the good people...: With his body, he is a good digger!"
Because the prisoners seemed to have noticed the untouchables pointing at them in the distance. In the past, these people would not have been worthy of standing in front of them, but now, their status has been reversed.
These things that usually show off their power are now tied with ropes and ready to go to work under the urging of the sergeant.
And those untouchable Guizhou leaders were sitting on top, proudly raising the big cakes in their hands, and some were sitting,
Some were lying down, eating with gusto, and making extremely loud noises for them to hear clearly.
At this moment, Liu Taozi was already leading his subordinates towards Bingzhou.
Zu Ban followed Liu Taozi, holding documents in his hand, looking at them with disdain, and looked at them for a long time.
Then put it away.
"I think this Chen deserves a beating."
"Chen Xiang is taking in people who fled south on a large scale. These evil thieves have all transformed under him and become nobles in the country."
"Oh, Dugu Yongye's sons were all taken in by him. It was said that he admired Dugu Yongye's courage to die for his country.
"This son of Dugu Yongye is also stupid. He doesn't know how to conceal his identity and crosses the river with great fanfare."
Zu Ban cursed in a low voice.
Zu Ban has almost all the shortcomings of the Qi people, including the Qi people's consistent prejudice against the Zhou and Nan people.
Zu Ban said displeasedly: "This fellow just accepted those people. He also spread rumors in various places to smear His Majesty. He even sent people across the Huaihe River to incite the people to rebel. I think he meant this.
I want to imitate the Zhou people and establish a small Qi state in Lianghuai."
Liu Taozi looked calm and did not speak.
Liu Taozi accompanied him in an attack on Chang'an and successfully drove back the Zhou people.
The Zhou people were not willing to continue to quarrel with Liu Taozi, so both sides evacuated separately in Yanzhou.
There are too many places that the Han State needs to relieve at the moment. Yanzhou is too far away from Xiazhou and there are no dangerous places that can be defended. If it is held in hand, the consumption will be beyond the reach of Xiazhou and Lingzhou.
Therefore, the Han Dynasty took the initiative to withdraw from here and focused its energy on Xiazhou.
The Zhou people once again accepted Yanzhou, but they were not happy. This place of Ma Pingchuan could not stop the Han cavalry at all.
All the dangerous places in the Northern Kingdom seem to have fallen into the hands of the Han Kingdom. For future expeditions, we can just use cavalry to charge all the way. This is extremely bad news.
Liu Taozi's situation here is actually not as good as the frequent emergencies everywhere.
The newly appointed governors kept urging the temples, hoping to receive assistance as soon as possible, and the entire Central Plains was in dire straits.
There are many things that need to be done in the temple.
Liu Taozi also needs to return to the capital as soon as possible.
After all, they are kings, and no matter how capable the demons are, there are always things that are not suitable for them to decide.
Liu Taozi said: "Ignore it.
"Chen wanted to use the public opinion of the Buddhists to stabilize the two sides.
"He doesn't dare to take the initiative to attack."
"After all, these things are just trivial matters. If he manages the country's crops, develops people's livelihood, hoards food, and trains soldiers, it will still be a threat to us. But if he continues to indulge in this way and engage in these useless actions, then
Sooner or later he will be captured by me."
Hearing Liu Taozi's confident words, the anger on Zu Ban's face immediately dissipated, and he grinned.
"Your Majesty is right, but I think your Majesty won't be able to catch him."
"oh?"
Liu Taozi was a little surprised, "What does this mean?"
Zu Ban's little eyes narrowed, once again full of malice.
"People of Zhou."
"The Zhou people have lost the Xiazhou defense line this time. Chang'an is in danger. Yuwen Yong is a tough man and will definitely not move the capital away easily."
"And he probably also understood that the Han Kingdom was by no means something he could easily resist.
1
"The gap between Zhou State and Qi State in the past is already huge. Today's Han State is not comparable to Qi State. How can he compete with us?"
"And around Yu Wenyong, there are not all stupid people, there are still a few talented people who can see through it."
"These people should have been able to find out and take action against Chen Guo right now, so they agreed with their interests."
Liu Taozi was even more surprised, "Are you going to attack Chen Guo?"
"Yes, the Zhou people occupied Jingzhou and have been building ships and naval forces there. The reason why Quan Jingxuan was so highly valued at the time was because he was responsible for these things. If the Zhou people wanted to resist, they could only rely on
Use the advantage of the terrain to resist."
"But now, what terrain advantage do they have?"
"Do we need to rely on the terrain of Hanzhong?"
"I think what they can rely on right now is to use the river water to resist us."
"Now Han is exhausted and unable to use its troops. Chen Guo has put all his thoughts on the two Huaihe Rivers and has gathered a large army.
The generals are guarding..."
Zu Ban laughed, "Yu Wenyong sent someone to tell them to form an alliance, and they really believed it."
"The Zhou people may use troops against the Chen people. Yu Wenyong will not be willing to be slaughtered by us like this. He will definitely find a way to struggle. If he cannot defeat us, can he also defeat the Chen people?"
"If we can start from the south and occupy the Chen Kingdom, then the Zhou Kingdom will have a dangerous situation and have the confidence. If Chang'an cannot be defended in the future, then it can use the river as the boundary to confront us from the north to the south, just like in the past.
"
Listening to Zu Ban's analysis, Liu Taozi shook her head slightly.
"I don't think so."
"The Zhou people have no food and cannot send out large-scale troops."
"If you want to destroy Chen State, you will need at least 200,000 troops, or even more."
"How could Yu Wenyong mobilize so many troops? If he is really of this level, we should be the ones to attack, not Chen Guo."
"In addition, Chen Xiang, the emperor of the Chen Kingdom, is by no means fatuous. He has a purpose in everything he does. He will never trust the Zhou people easily. If Yu Wenyong wants to suddenly attack, he will probably see through it."
"The most important thing is that we are just watching from the sidelines. How can Yu Wenyong have the courage to attack Chen Guo?"
Hearing Liu Taozi's words, Zu Ban suddenly became excited.
"Your Majesty, would you like to bet with me?"
"What does grandpa want to bet on?"
Liu Taozi turned around suddenly, but Zu Ban was startled.
"Your Majesty, I have always been timid. Don't scare me like this. I won't risk my life...\n"
He cleared his throat, his face full of expectation, "If your Majesty is right, your Majesty will reward me with the position of prime minister. If your Majesty is right, I will no longer compete for this position, okay??"
Chapter completed!