Although we have just experienced a bandit disaster, we still have to continue with the farm work, and we cannot let the wheat rot in the ground.
If a relative is killed in the family, the only option is to bury it as soon as possible.
There is only one good news: the tax collector will no longer be collecting taxes all day long.
What does the villager’s tax count for?
The Bai family is the one who has been assigned the most!
Lao Bai wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of the unreasonable taxes, so he made sure to ask the county magistrate for his cooperation.
"Mr. sir, do you want to change the wedding date?" Shen Yourong asked.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "I'm afraid it will have to be postponed. The government is recruiting troops to suppress bandits, and we may go to war someday."
"well……"
Shen Yourong sighed.
Her family has planted one acre of wheat, and now it has all been harvested. The new crop will still need to be sun-dried for several days before it is threshed.
After free time, there is not much farm work, just drying wheat every day.
It was a good time to get married, but it was delayed by banditry. Shen Yourong really hated those bandits.
Suddenly, a villager came outside the courtyard. It was Wu Er who wanted to be a client. He hesitated and said: "Ms. Zhu, I... I won't sell my land."
"Come in and sit down." Shen Yourong invited.
Wu Er was quite embarrassed: "I won't sit down anymore. I still have farm work to do. I haven't asked for taxes in the past two days. I want to wait and see, maybe I can fool him."
Zhu Guoxiang comforted him: "It's best not to sell the land. Keep it for your own cultivation. We are all neighbors in the village. Don't say those things that are foreign to you."
"Then...I'm leaving then." After Wu Er said that, he ran away, for fear that Zhu Guoxiang would get entangled.
Even if there is only half hope left, who is willing to sell the land?
Shen Yourong picked up the bamboo rake and turned the threshed wheat back and forth, while Zhu Guoxiang went back to the house to compile teaching materials.
After the bandits are eliminated, the village school should start.
Not long after, Ju Ming came home and walked straight into the house.
Zhu Guoxiang put down his writing brush and asked: "Have you finished registering your names?"
Zhu Ming said: "It's just a matter of registering at the Bai family. To actually sign up, you have to go to the county government office."
Zhu Guoxiang asked curiously: "What kind of armed force is this? Group training? Township bravery?"
Ju Ming said: "Temporarily recruit archers."
"You don't know how to shoot," Zhu Guoxiang said.
Ju Ming explained: "Archers are not archers. You can think of them as police forces. They are found in every county and are managed by county captains. They are responsible for maintaining local security in peacetime. When foreign enemies invade, they have to join the army to fight."
"Are you going to be paid?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.
Zhu Minghao said: "In the past, young people from third-class households had to go to the job market when it was their turn. Later, they were recruited, and they were not paid much. They relied on gray income to make a living. In addition to catching thieves, they basically did all the work. In urban management matters, extortion is also very smooth."
Zhu Guoxiang was speechless for a moment. Relying on a group of urban management officers to suppress bandits was simply nonsense.
Zhu Guoxiang asked: "If, I mean if, you want to rebel one day, the government will also recruit archers to quell the rebellion?"
Zhu Ming nodded and said: "Yes, no matter who the armor soldiers or the village warriors are, they will be temporarily organized into archers. If the magistrate and the archers can't handle it, the patrol troops from the city will be mobilized. As for the patrol troops, what's the point? Called soldiers, they are no better than archers."
Zhu Guoxiang lamented: "No wonder there are so many rebellions, local officials simply have no ability to quell the rebellion."
Zhu Ming said: "There are also Xiang soldiers and rural soldiers in the state. Except for the places near the border, they are all just kind of goods. The Xiang soldiers have almost become handymen, and the rural soldiers themselves make a living by farming."
Next, Zhu Ming went up the mountain every day to learn spear and stick from Zhang Guangdao. A sword is not as good as a long-handled weapon.
It's a pity that there are no bows and arrows.
According to the official laws of the Song Dynasty, bows and arrows were not contraband. However, successive emperors had various supplementary provisions.
Take archers as an example. In the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, they were allowed to bring their own swords, guns, bows and arrows, except for... Sichuan and Shaanxi (Sichuan plus Hanzhong)!
Archers in Hanzhong were not allowed to own bows and arrows, and ordinary people were certainly not allowed to own them.
After a few days, the villagers were no longer so busy, and the archers finally began to gather.
Including the tea farmers on the mountain, the whole village recruited 50 strong men, and all those who had weapons brought their own weapons.
Many villagers sent their children to the riverside and cried and said goodbye.
Zhu Ming didn't like this atmosphere and said with a playful smile: "Dean Zhu, why don't you cry?"
"You are such a thieves, you must be fine. It is the bandits who should cry." Zhu Guoxiang said angrily.
Ju Ming laughed loudly: "That's a good thing to say."
Gu San stood there without saying a word, and Lao Gu didn't speak either. He just patted his son on the shoulder, and then pushed the eyebrow-point knife over.
"Get aboard!"
The Bai family's passenger ship couldn't fit in, so two more small boats were arranged, both of which were the main warships left by the bandits.
Bai Sheng was a talkative person. After boarding the ship, he chatted with others.
"How excited are you?" Zhu Ming asked.
Bai Sheng said happily: "I heard that I went to the county to practice, so that I can learn the skills of fighting formations."
Ju Ming immediately poured cold water on him: "Do you think there is someone in the county who knows how to fight?"
"No one understands?" Bai Sheng asked in surprise.
Ju Ming stopped talking.
Bai Sheng turned to Zhang Guangdao again and asked, "Is it true that no one knows how to fight?"
Zhang Guangdao said: "I guess not."
Bai Sheng suddenly became dejected.
The three boats left the shore and sailed upstream.
The river here does not flow very fast, so Zhu Ming carefully observed the mountains on both sides and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way.
He was also a little excited, finally being able to see the ancient county seat.
Not long after, we entered a tributary of the Han River and arrived at the county town in the afternoon.
Xixiang County is small enough, with the city wall less than four meters high. Ju Ming felt that if he rebelled, he should be able to capture it easily.
There is a railing at the city gate, which is where taxes are collected.
You don't have to pay taxes when entering the city, but you have to pay when leaving the city.
As long as you bring goods with you and the tax is less than 100 yuan, you have to pay the exit tax. As for the goods above 100 yuan, there are other places to collect taxes.
Following the crowd into the city, Ju Ming observed all the way and was soon disappointed.
In the past, when watching low-cost costume dramas, Zhu Ming thought the county town was small and shabby, and thought it was nonsense, but now he found that it was actually very real.
There are not many two-story buildings. Not only are there large thatched houses outside the city, but there are also thatched houses inside the city...
I don’t know what Kaifeng looks like. After traveling through time, Zhu Ming really wanted to visit the Qingming River Scene.
The archer school is located in Beicheng District, and a lot of people have gathered there.
Most of the archers were forcibly recruited from the countryside, and they all looked sad, as if they were waiting to cross the Naihe Bridge.
of course there are exceptions.
There was a young man in his twenties who was riding a horse and was galloping around the school grounds, making strange noises from time to time to show off his riding skills.
Several more young men whistled at the man on horseback, all of them baring their upper bodies to reveal their tattoos.
A bunch of libertines!
"Who is this?" Zhu Ming was quite curious.
Zhang Guangdao said: "Chen Ziyi."
"What's the origin?" Zhu Ming asked.
Zhang Guangdao said: "I don't have much background. I am a son of a country squire. He has learned some guns and sticks and likes to make friends with good guys."
While he was talking, Chen Ziyi came riding on horseback, pointed at Zhang Guangdao and said, "You are a thief who has been wanted by the government for several years, but you still dare to be an archer."
"I've become a good person." Zhang Guangdao didn't look kindly on it, and he probably didn't deal with them very well.
Chen Ziyi dismounted and said, "Come on, let's show a few moves. We didn't know the winner last time. Let's see who has the best spear and stick this time."
Zhang Guangdao said: "You are even better."
Chen Ziyi did not let it go: "You will know after comparing."
Zhang Guangdao repeated: "You are even better."
Seeing that he couldn't fight, Chen Ziyi's interest was greatly reduced. He mounted his horse again and shouted to the frowning archers: "Don't be discouraged anymore, look at me hiding in the stirrup!"
I saw this guy speeding up his charge and suddenly leaning to the right, with his whole body bent on the side of the saddle. Then he straightened his arms downward, keeping his fingertips one or two centimeters away from the ground to demonstrate his balance ability.
"Brother is so capable!"
Several libertines cheered, they all signed up voluntarily.
If we put it in modern times, they would probably be a group of will-o'-the-wisp teenagers, eating and messing around all day long.
However, Zhu Ming saw it warmly. After Chen Ziyi stopped, he quickly walked over to make friends with, um... find a free equestrian teacher by the way.
"Ju Ming, whose courtesy name is Cheng Cheng, please tell me your surname." Zhu Ming cupped his hands and said.
Chen Ziyi cupped his hands and returned the greeting: "Chen Ziyi, courtesy name Yu Fei, nicknamed Feitian Diao. Do you have a nickname?"
Ju Ming said: "No."
Chen Ziyi looked at the sword in Ju Ming's hand: "But he is proficient in swordsmanship?"
Zhu Ming said: "The sword passed down from my ancestors has never been able to learn from my master. My brother's riding skills are superb. I'm afraid I won't be able to find another one even if I search all over Yangzhou. I also have a horse at home. Can I learn a few tricks from my brother?"
riding?"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Chen Ziyi laughed loudly and felt so good flattering him. He immediately patted his chest and said, "I'm not bragging about anything else. I'm just talking about my riding skills. I've searched all over Yangzhou and I can't find anyone else. Come on, come on, I'll do it."
teach you!"
This guy had a bold temperament and immediately handed the reins to Ju Ming.
Zhu Ming got on his horse and sat down. Before he could ride forward, he heard Chen Ziyi shout: "When stepping on the stirrups, only use your forepaws. You are looking for death!"
Um... Ju Ming was a little embarrassed. He killed many mountain bandits on horseback, but he even had problems with basic movements.
One taught carefully, the other learned seriously, and they just started practicing in the school field.
Bai Sheng was quite envious and ran after them, wishing he could ride one too.
We practiced until dusk when someone finally came to set out food and weapons.
You don't have to queue up to get it, just go and pick it up yourself, just like at the vegetable market.
There is even a crossbow.
Ju Ming picked up a handful in surprise, looked at it twice and threw it back. Damn it, the crossbow was already rusted.
Looking at the other weapons, they were all rusty and had probably never been maintained.
No wonder many archers choose to bring their own weapons and use government-issued weapons to fight simply because they think their lives are too long.
