The sweater on Ju Ming's body was already torn, with scratched holes everywhere.
He took off his sweater and cut it into several pieces with his sword. Then he put the sword back into its sheath, carefully wrapped the strips of tattered sweater around the scabbard and hilt, and tied it tightly with a few shoelaces.
The Song Dynasty implemented strict sword control. The Eight-sided Han Sword is definitely a prohibited item and cannot be exposed to strangers!
After hiding their weapons, the father and son followed the sound of horses and walked towards the depths of the tea farm.
After about ten minutes, the two of them looked disappointed - there was indeed a horse there, but there was no trace of humans at all.
It can be seen that the horse has a tall frame and its fur is brown. However, it is very skinny, with every rib protruding, and the horse's belly has been completely deflated, which reminded Ju Ming of the starving Africans in the photo.
A long rope is tied to the horse's head, and the rope is messily wrapped around the tea tree.
With the horse as the center of the circle, the tea trees and weeds in the surrounding area of three to four meters were eaten bare. It is estimated that all the edible ones have been eaten. The horse was eager to break free, so it ran and jumped around, causing the rope to become more and more tangled.
The shorter it is, set it completely next to a tea tree.
Seeing two humans coming, the horse first took a step back in panic, then shook its head as if asking for help.
Ju Ming came closer to check and found that the horse's neck had been strangled with many scars. Some of the scars had scabs, while others had festered, and there were even live maggots swarming in the wounds.
Ju Ming behaved politely, bowed and bowed, and seemed to be a scholar.
The equalization of taxes on square fields is the core content of Wang Anshi's reform.
The farmers seemed to be walking casually, but in fact they secretly surrounded the father and son, ready to attack immediately if an accident occurred.
The leader was a farmer. He seemed to be in his thirties or forties, but also in his forties or fifties. His face was so wrinkled that it was difficult to tell his age.
Finally, the porridge pots were scraped clean, Tian Er's wife went to wash the dishes, Tian San's wife went to feed the chickens, and the men sat in the yard and continued chatting.
The leader of the farmers finally understood and invited them into the village to drink water. He then curiously asked, "Where are you from?"
Zhu Ming asked again: "How far ahead is the county seat?"
The short blade and long handle were separated and placed. When the government found out, they said it was a farm tool. When there was a fight, they assembled it into a simple knife and fought.
Zhu Guoxiang imitated his son and asked, "What's your surname?"
We also encountered many wild animals, but the two of us don’t know how to hunt!
After eating a roasted sweet potato, although he was still hungry, Ju Ming felt strong again. He stood up with his sword and said, "Let's go, Dean Zhu."
This move made those farmers unable to survive.
Zhu Guoxiang introduced himself: "I, Zhu Guoxiang, this is the dog Zhu Ming."
When passing the tea tree in front, he did not forget to eat tea to satisfy his hunger. The horse was obviously starving.
"This horse is quite thin." The farmer said intentionally or unintentionally.
At intervals, the field ridges become slightly wider, and mulberry trees must be planted in the wide areas. First, they can collect mulberry and raise silkworms, which increases farmers' income; second, they can stabilize the field ridges and prevent soil erosion; third, they can prevent others from invading the fields (the mulberry trees are the field boundaries).
, it will be useless to move the field ridge, unless all the roots of the mulberry tree are removed).
Zhu Guoxiang said: "The old rule is to take turns to watch the night."
After cutting all the ropes around the horse's neck, Ju Ming stroked the horse's mane and said, "You are just left to fend for yourself in the mountains. It will be very troublesome for us to take you with you."
"There are words here!" Zhu Guoxiang suddenly shouted.
Hearing the footsteps outside the house walking away, Ju Ming looked through the crack in the door for a while. After making sure no one was there, he whispered: "There is something wrong with this village. When we first entered the village, the eyes of the villagers were too penetrating."
Tian Er returned to his room, took off the hatchet from the wall, took out a stick from under the bed, and connected the hatchet and the stick together.
Ju Ming slapped him in the face and stopped the thin horse who wanted to eat rapeseed.
Once there is any disturbance, it can quickly ignite.
"I also feel something is wrong." Zhu Guoxiang said.
"No chewing!"
After Cai Jing came to power, he immediately restarted Fangtian. To put it bluntly, it was to count the acres of land. For the sake of political performance, local officials pointed to the barren mountains and said it was dry land, pointed to the riverbank and said it was paddy field, and forcibly registered it under the names of ordinary people.
A simple knife is assembled and formed.
Tian San smiled and said: "I'm so skinny that I can't take it back for you to serve? I can only kill it and eat its meat."
The two endured ten days of asceticism over thorns and thorns, and their clothes were all in tatters. Zhu Guoxiang even had a full beard. They both had short hair, and they looked like they had been tortured, or like monks who had gone down the mountain to seek alms.
As a result, the whole country was in chaos, and even the landlords who were not strong enough were forced to abandon their family properties and run away.
Weapons are hidden in every household here, and they are connected with the Xiaobai Yuanwai further upstream. The Xiaobai Yuanwai is responsible for opening up government channels. Therefore, there is no need to pay tea tax on the tea mountains hidden in the mountains. After collecting and steaming the tea leaves, all the tea is used
in the private smuggling trade.
Zhu Ming glanced at the firewood in front of the stove: "There is no need to go out, we are here. Lock the door. If you find something wrong, just light the house on fire. When the fire breaks out, open the door and rush out in the chaos. When you see the house,
Light a fire. Every household in the village has firewood under the eaves, which is easy to ignite. If they dare to mess around, we will play hard and burn down all the houses in the village! By then, the villagers will go to put out the fire. Who will
Do you still have time to chase us?"
Ju Ming stepped forward with his sword in hand and carefully cut the rope. The horse did not struggle and just stood there obediently and cooperated with the action.
The father and son sat down around the fire, while the horse stood beside it and grazed.
One of them glanced at Ju Ming's shoulder intentionally or unintentionally - the sword wrapped in a torn sweater was carried behind Ju Ming's back, with the hilt protruding from his right shoulder.
"It's far away," Tian San pointed to the west. "It's still dozens of miles to Xixiang County. You have to take a boat there. There are mountain roads along the river, and they are winding. It may take two or three days to walk."
The father and son continued to walk along the Han River, followed by a scrawny yellow gelding.
There is too little information and I can't understand it.
The meal is a pot of mixed porridge. There is rice, but there are a lot of bran husks. I don’t know whether the rice was not pounded cleanly, or the bran husks were deliberately left in it to fill the stomach. There are also unknown wild vegetables, which are also cooked in the porridge.
, it looks pretty good with green accents.
Zhu Guoxiang looked at the white maggots swarming around the wound on the horse's neck and silently went to look for herbs nearby.
We haven’t seen the house yet, but the scenery before our eyes is completely different.
"Finally I met a living person." Zhu Ming wanted to cry at this time.
The farmers were wearing short shirts, casually wrapped in linen turbans, and tied with collars on their arms, and were working hard to weed the wheat fields.
The father and son turned around and left, but the horse clung to them and followed them step by step.
Perhaps it was the good luck brought by the horses, but I only walked for three hours this time. Around four or five o'clock in the afternoon, I actually saw bursts of smoke rising from the front.
With such a meager meal, the father and son found it indescribably delicious, devouring it as if they were reincarnated by starving ghosts.
Zhu Guoxiang nodded heavily: "The roasted sweet potatoes are delicious!"
"What should we do if there are too many people? If we are blocked in the kitchen, it will be difficult to escape." Zhu Ming asked.
Just as they were told, the father and son piled straw, bamboo shoots and other flammable firewood around branches, bamboo poles and other good firewood.
Tian Er and Tian San both have wives and children. The youngest daughter is only five or six years old, looking at the stranger with wide eyes and curiosity.
Tian San said: "These two foreigners are probably not ordinary people."
The family only has a few houses, no guest rooms, and not even a woodshed.
Since I finished eating the snacks I brought, I have been eating wild vegetables to satisfy my hunger. Fortunately, I snatched a small deer from the yellow-throated marten on the way, otherwise I would have been malnourished and unable to trek.
Tian San shook his head: "If you really are a Lianjiazi, it's not worth it for a meal of horsemeat. It depends on whether they leave. If they stay for two days and then leave, we won't cause trouble. In a few days, it will be time to pick tea again. Everything will happen."
You must be careful not to make a big fuss and call in the government. Go to the village overnight and inform your brothers about what happened to these two strangers."
Ju Ming did not take action immediately, but said to himself: "If it were the Northern Song Dynasty, the Hanshui horse gang had not yet been customized, and the Hehuang horses were generally used as frontier war horses, and were rarely transported to the prefectures and counties further south.
Even if it was to be transported to Kaifeng, it would be through Tongguan and across the Yellow River. How could it be taken around the Han River? Could it be that we have traveled to the Southern Song Dynasty and this horse is destined for Hangzhou?"
Zhu Ming carefully recalled the information. Perhaps due to the influence of time travel, the relevant papers were quickly recalled. He combined the clues and guessed: "This is a horse bought by the Tea Horse Company from the Hehuang area. It was first sent to Qinfeng Road to buy the horse and file it.
It was then transported to Kaifeng via the Han River and used as a military horse for the imperial army of the Dianqian Division. The character 'A' is the abbreviation of the Dianqian Division number. Some accident occurred during the escort, and the army horse fled to the tea farm and was trapped.
"
When rolling down the hillside, some sweet potatoes had their skin and flesh broken. The father and son picked out the seriously injured ones, built a kiln with soil, and roasted the sweet potatoes in the same way as a kiln chicken.
Ju Ming walked to the left rear of the horse and saw that there were brand marks on its left hip, and there were two brand marks on it.
The horse turned to look at him, as if he understood human nature, and there was a hint of pleading in his eyes.
I was embarrassed to eat too much because the porridge was not enough.
Before I knew it, it was completely dark.
The most important thing is that Ju Ming has a weird accent and I don't know what he is saying.
Arriving at the farmyard, Tian San asked Hun's family to get a ladle of water.
But in the dark of night, Tian Er went out with a simple knife, walked out of the village from the west, and turned into a valley.
Tian San shook his head and sighed: "The tea mountain in front was deserted ten years ago. There are so many good tea trees, no one dares to pick them. If you pick them, you have to pay tax to the government. The tea tax is okay, but I'm afraid it will be excessive.
Miscellaneous donations and errands.”
The dish is a bowl of pickles, which are quite salty. You can drink half a bowl of porridge in one bite.
Zhu Guoxiang was a member of the system and tended to be conservative in his behavior. How could he come up with such a method? He was so shocked that he didn't know how to speak. He held it in for a long time and only gave a thumbs up: "You...are amazing!"
Zhu Guoxiang was silent for a few seconds, nodded and said, "That's okay."
Further away from the river bank, there are some wheat fields at the foot of the hillside. The wheat seedlings are lush and green and the growth is gratifying.
Following them all the way to the river, Ju Ming went to clean the clay pot, took a pot of river water, and put it in front of the horse. The horse quickly lowered its head to drink the water, swaying its tail happily, and already regarded Ju Ming as its master.
When they ate the fragrant roasted sweet potatoes, they were so happy that they wanted to cry.
Tian San invited the father and son to have dinner together, but Zhu Ming and Zhu Guoxiang were naturally disrespectful. They had not tasted rice for a long time.
Ju Ming looked at the yellow gelding and couldn't help but feel soft. He couldn't kill him. He asked his father: "How about letting it go?"
Tian Er said: "That young junior has a weapon wrapped in rags on his back. I'm afraid he is still a very skilled practitioner."
And deep in the tea mountains, there are more people.
"Qiang!"
While the father and son were preparing to set the fire, the Tian brothers were also discussing in the hall.
Zhu Guoxiang explained: "There is an abandoned tea mountain in front of us, and this beast was entangled in the tea tree with a rope. We rescued it from the trap, and it followed us all the time."
The farmer smiled and said: "It's quite human nature."
Ju Ming asked again: "Is there a market town?"
Ju Ming took off the shoelaces wrapped around the sword hilt, drew the sword out of its sheath, and planned to kill the horse.
Zhu Guoxiang thought about it, but there was no good way, so he suggested: "How about we go out to sleep. I see a lot of firewood piled under the eaves on the side of the house. It is not easy to find it hidden inside. If someone comes, we will look for an opportunity to escape. If
If no one comes, we will go back to the kitchen before dawn."
"Since it is a military horse, it cannot be kept by private individuals," Zhu Guoxiang swallowed and said hungrily, "I'd rather kill the horse and eat its meat."
"Even if we don't pick tea, why don't we plant grain fields?" Zhu Ming asked.
When the father and son were drinking water, Tian San asked deliberately: "Where are you going?"
"I'm afraid that the official horse was left over from last year's robbery and escaped to the Waste Tea Mountain and was met by them." Tian San guessed.
In the wheat field, a few figures can be vaguely seen.
The Pu Dao has no fixed system and can come in various shapes. It is a very flexible and free DIY weapon.
Before the other party could speak, Ju Ming bowed and saluted: "Hello fellow fellow, my father and son would like to ask for a drink of water."
Although the control of knives was strict in the Song Dynasty, lawbreakers also had methods to deal with it.
After passing through several rape fields, we are already close to the village. There are about a dozen families living here. They are all thatched houses with earth and stone walls and roofs covered with thatch to protect them from rain.
Zhu Guoxiang has a friend who is from Leshan. He tried his best to imitate: "We came from the south to seek refuge with relatives. We encountered bandits on the way and were tricked by bandits and had our hair cut off. We finally escaped with great difficulty."
Chatting all the way into the village, Zhu Ming was silent the whole time and quietly observed several farmers next to him.
"You mean the grass market?" Tian San replied, "Ten miles up the street, there is a white market. I usually go there to buy salt."
Tian Er asked: "Do you want to snatch it back?"
Tian San suddenly became full of resentment: "It is said that Xianggong Cai is carrying out reforms and making land orders. The bigger households have less and less land, while the small households have more and more land. If the small households can't survive, they have to devote themselves to farming.
The tenants had to either flee into the mountains. By the second year, the big households would also be given lots of land, and any number of mountains and forests would be considered fertile farmland for the rich families. The big households without a backer in the county government also had to break up their homes and flee."
"Let's bake two sweet potatoes." Zhu Ming couldn't bear it anymore, although the 20 kilograms of sweet potatoes would be of great use in the future.
Seeing those farmers standing there stunned, Ju Ming slowed down and spoke again.
Ju Ming tried to slow down his speech: "We came to visit relatives. I heard from the elderly at home that our relatives grow tea here and haven't moved around for decades. But when we came here, the tea mountains along the way were deserted. Where can we find our relatives? From now on.
I don’t know where to settle down.”
Ju Ming said: "The horse is right at the door of the kitchen. If the villagers had evil intentions, they would definitely grab the horse first. As soon as we heard any noise, we would grab the door and run away, leaving the horse to them."
In fact, if you speak slowly, you can still understand the general meaning. Many of the pronunciations of these villagers' languages are close to Shaanxi Guanzhong dialect, and many are pronunciated close to Sichuan Leshan dialect.
Deeper into the Tea Mountain lies a dangerous mountain range.
The lowlands by the river have been cleared, and instead of endless weed forests, there are large areas of golden rapeseed flowers.
Follow the valley and go deep into the mountains, walking for several miles, you will find large areas of tea mountains.
Zhu Guoxiang was so greedy that in his eyes, this army horse was just a piece of barbecue.
Tian Er said: "It's okay to eat meat. I haven't eaten meat for a long time."
This horse is actually quite sensible. After encountering the big bully, it moved along the field ridge obediently.
"Okay, I'll go right away. You can keep an eye on me at home." Tian Er stood up immediately.
The father and son were arranged to rest in the kitchen. Although the conditions were very poor, they would not have to eat or sleep in the open.
The father and son had been discovered a long time ago. As soon as they reached the entrance of the village, several farmers came over.
"My surname is Tian, and everyone in the village calls me Tian San," said the farmer.
The farmers were also observing them, sometimes staring at their backpacks, sometimes looking at their skinny horses.
After the herbs were found, Ju Ming lit a fire and burned the sword. He used the hot blade to dig out the carrion, scraped off the maggots and threw them away. The horse just neighed twice and then stood upright until the herbs were applied.
move.
The first place is a large seal with several characters, the key word being "Qin". The second place is a small seal with only a single character "A".
After chatting for a while, Tian San's brother Tian Er came home and the woman had already prepared the meal in the kitchen.
Earth and stone walls were built at key locations throughout the mountains, and there was a bandit village on the top of the mountain, and farmers also lived in the village.
Smuggling tea is just one of them, and occasionally they also go down the mountain to rob business travelers.
Even, rob the official product!
The official supplies that were grabbed were sold through external channels found by novice members.
In the late Northern Song Dynasty, officials were honest and honest, and the people were simple.