With just one look at the father and son, Zhang Guangdao had already determined the situation.
Unless you have a broken brain, you would send out such a conspicuous operation, are you afraid that others will not notice the abnormality?
More like a wild monk escaping from the temple!
The Buddhist precepts in the Song Dynasty were not so strict. They did not prohibit monks from eating meat, and they did not require monks to shave their heads. It can be seen from the paintings of the Tang and Song Dynasties that monks at that time mainly had short hair, and layers of precepts were arranged for monks.
We have to wait for Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, Ju Ming was carrying weapons, and they were swords controlled by the imperial court, which made Zhang Guangdao a little curious.
"Are you leaving?" Zhu Ming asked.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "Let's go."
Staying in the village was not an option. After a brief exchange, the father and son agreed to go to Nabai Market together.
Zhang Guangdao called two men from the village and brought some chickens, ducks, fish and linen cloth, and took them to the market town to sell them, intending to return in exchange for some necessities such as salt.
Zhu Ming nodded when he heard this: "It makes sense, then erase it."
"You are indispensable." Zhang Guangdao said.
Zhu Ming was too lazy to chase and went on his own. After walking for a while, he turned around to check and found that the thin horse was following him again, and even lost his temper and deliberately nibbled on the rapeseed flowers.
Ju Ming deliberately followed him and said, "Corrupt officials deserve to die."
"It's just a stick." Ju Ming said.
Generally speaking, those with an area of more than 400 acres belong to the first-class households, also called upper households. Those with less than 400 acres belong to the second, third, and fourth-class households, also called middle households. The remaining fifth class belong to the lower households. (
Note: Some families may have hundreds of acres of land, but they have only 10 or 20 people in the family, and sharing it can only provide food and clothing.)
As for government errands, people work as errands for the government.
Zhu Ming took off the sword and took it in his hand. He pressed the handle of the sword wrapped in a sweater and said, "Brother Zhang, do you want to buy a pen? This is a high-quality Hu pen. A pen is worth at least a hundred dollars."
But the actual operation quickly goes wrong!
Officials organized a number of households into groups so that the really big households could escape, and they specifically targeted those who had no backers.
Zhang Guangdao sneered at this and sneered: "What benefits can you get from farming? My great-great-grandfather used to be a third-class household, but when he had to do errands in front of the government, he had no choice but to break up his family and flee to the mountains."
Zhu Guoxiang was very surprised because there was about a pound of shrimps there.
The thin horse flinched in fear. Ju Ming stroked his mane and comforted him: "It hurts, please bear with it."
Passengers were disembarking one after another, only a few here and there, all carrying goods bought from the market.
Zhang Guangdao let out a low roar and pushed the thin horse to the ground. Lu Wang and Ding Dafang also rushed forward and pressed the horse's body.
After walking for a while, Zhang Guangdao couldn't help but ask: "You two really want to find a place to stay?"
Zhang Guangdao suddenly hugged the horse's neck with his arms and urged: "Do it!"
Zhu Guoxiang said to the old shrimp seller: "Let's take a look."
Baishitou is not big, just a street along the river, with shops on both sides of the street.
Since it is a New Year gift for relatives and children, the packaging must be exquisite.
Zhang Guangdao had never read a book and did not know how to read. He was looking straight at the brush box.
The horse probably still remembered the taste of the soldering iron, but this time it was disobedient and kept pacing to avoid the red-hot poker.
The shopkeeper thought about it seriously: "Sixty-five cents, no more. If anyone else comes to sell the leather, they will definitely not pay this price. Only Brother Zhang Wu has this kind of face."
"I believe it." Zhang Guangdao chuckled.
Zhu Ming, Zhu Guoxiang and his son followed Zhang Guangdao to buy salt.
The place where the official seal was was quickly burnt to black.
This beast must not be brought into the city. Even without the official seal, the origin cannot be explained. Anyone with a discerning eye will know there is something wrong at a glance.
Zhang Guangdao looked at Ju Ming's hand pressing the sword, then looked at the brush box, shook his head and said, "It's too expensive. There are also pens for sale in the Bai market, and a brush only costs ten cents."
The father and son just pretended not to hear and sped away from the shrimp stall.
At first, Li Zheng was selected from among the households and was responsible for collecting taxes and so on. In the early Song Dynasty, this was a good job, and he could make money. Gradually, it turned into a nightmare, because he could not collect enough taxes, and Li Zheng had to make up the shortfall with his own money.
"Not sure." Zhu Ming didn't do much research on prices in the Northern Song Dynasty.
"A certificate of submission?" Zhu Guoxiang didn't understand.
Although the horse was skinny and skinny and had not taken in salt for several months, so it probably didn't have much strength left, Zhang Guangdao's strength was still staggering.
Zhu Ming smiled and said: "It's a sword, can you believe it, Brother Zhang?"
"This is a picked-up horse. I hand it over to the government when I encounter it." Zhu Ming explained.
Ding Dafang immediately went home and brought firewood, took out the fire sickle to light it, and burned the poker to use as a soldering iron.
Zhu Guoxiang stopped moving forward, put down his backpack, and took out a writing brush: "Actually, we are businessmen. We were robbed by bandits on the way, and we finally escaped. Look at this writing brush, it is the remaining goods after being robbed."
The shrimp seller was an old farmer. Due to his accent, I didn't understand much, but he could guess that Ju Ming was asking about the price. He immediately grinned and said, "This is all I have left. You can take the four cents."
Ju Ming took the poker and walked to the side of the thin horse.
There was a sizzling sound, and the thin horse kicked its hooves wildly in pain, unable to break free from Zhang Guangdao's arms.
One is due to the increasingly serious horse shortage, and the other is due to rising prices and inflation.
At the suggestion of Prime Minister Han Qi, Li Zheng's unlucky job was cancelled, and related affairs were handled by the upper and middle households in turn. There were strict regulations on how many people were needed for an errand, how many places were allocated to the first-class households, and how many people were allocated to the first-class households.
How many places are there for second-class households? Even if we share it equally, we won’t go bankrupt.
Zhang Guangdao glanced at the horse's butt and deliberately reminded: "The mark must be wiped off, be careful of lawsuits."
Ju Ming looked back at the village and smiled coldly: "I'm afraid the whole village is a den of thieves, an outpost of a bandit village on the riverside. Of course, they are also real farmers. They farm when the farming is busy and rob when the farming is slack. This is
It was normal in remote areas in ancient times.”
The boatman didn't say much, but sent them off enthusiastically.
Zhang Guangdao chuckled and said: "The government is worried about not catching the horse thief. You said you were going to sacrifice the horse, but the official came and took the stolen goods."
There is a ferry near the market town, and a wooden boat is parked on the shore.
The five of them stood at the ferry and waited for about half an hour before the boatman slowly brought the guests to the shore.
The two men from the village who were traveling together were named Lu Wang and Ding Dafang.
Zhang Guangdao took the fine deer skin into a shop on the street and patted the deer skin directly on the counter.
The shopkeeper looked carefully, pointed at something and said: "This place is broken."
Zhang Guangdao said to Ding Dafang: "Go and get some firewood."
These words made Zhang Guangdao even more convinced that the father and son were monks who had returned to secular life, and that the high-end brushes were probably stolen from the temple.
Counting Ju Ming and his son, a total of five people set out.
Zhang Guangdao heard this and praised: "Business cannot be done without benevolence and righteousness. This is so well said. Brother Zhu is indeed a scholar!"
The ferry slowly sailed to the other side. Before disembarking, Zhang Guangdao said, "Write it down in my account."
When Zhu Ming saw the other party opening the skylight and speaking openly, he also revealed a little bit of information: "To be honest with the Zhang family brother, my father and son want to settle down, buy a few acres of land, marry a wife, have children and spread the family."
Zhu Guoxiang asked his son in a low voice: "How many RMB is half a pound equivalent to?"
Many farmers selling local goods choose to trade outside the market or sell their goods along the street.
"Submit your name." Zhu Ming said.
Zhang Guangdao said with a smile: "This beast is interesting and understands human nature. Why don't you sell it to me and take away half of the money. Don't think it's a small amount of money. It's too hungry and thin. You'll have to take good care of it when you take it home."
Ju Ming looked a little embarrassed: "I don't have a penny on me."
The price of salt in mountainous areas is quite expensive. A pound of salt costs 20 Wen. However, in a place with convenient transportation, a pound of salt costs 10 Wen, which is a lot.
Zhang Guangdao smiled generously and said, "I'll pay for the boat."
After struggling for a long time, the thin horse regained its freedom and ran a long way out of breath.
Ju Ming stood on the left side of the horse's buttocks and pressed the poker on the official seal.
"Forget it if you don't buy. Buying and selling cannot be done with justice." Zhu Ming smiled.
Zhang Guangdao didn't waste any words, took the money and left directly.
Zhang Guangdao's deer skin could only be exchanged for a few kilograms of private salt.
Three pennies per pound of shrimp somewhat subverted Ju Ming's understanding of commodity prices in the Song Dynasty.
Many wealthy families, who were designated as righteous, went bankrupt and sold their sons and daughters.
This phrase comes from "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" and would not come out for hundreds of years. It is quite suitable for Zhang Guangdao, a bandit.
The price of horses fluctuated greatly during the Song Dynasty. Anyway, the prices became more expensive as the horses went further back.
Baishitou is a market town. Today happens to be market day, and the noise of the market can be heard from a long distance.
According to different levels of prosperity, the standards for classifying households are also different in different places.
"You deserve to die!" Zhang Guangdao gritted his teeth.
Ju Ming explained: "Privately erasing the official seals of military horses is a first-class felony. Even if we are officials of the government, erasing the official seals is still a crime. Once we become sinners, we are just as good as thieves and bandits, and no one needs to be afraid of the other."
"
After a while, the tongs were already burning red. Zhang Guangdao bent down to pick it up, handed it to Ju Ming and said, "Let's do it."
"Good riddance!"
It's about ten miles from here to Baishitou. Perhaps the villagers come and go frequently and have already carved a path along the river, so there is no need to go through thorns along the way.
Zhu Ming wanted to inquire about the price, so he stepped forward and asked, "How do you sell these shrimps?"
In feudal society, people eat people without spitting out their bones.
Since he didn't know the price, he didn't rush to buy or sell. He went to the market to inquire about it first. Ju Ming politely refused to sell the horse.
The terrain here is obviously much flatter, the area of arable farmland has greatly increased, and the population has become denser.
The old farmer thought they were too expensive, so he quickly shouted: "Three cents, take away the three cents, there really can't be any less!"
…
Zhu Guoxiang asked in a low voice: "Where did this person come from? Why did he help us erase his official seal?"
This ferry is neither big nor small. It can accommodate twenty or thirty people when it is fully loaded, but if there are so many people, it will probably capsize.
Therefore, a small landowner with more than 300 acres of land was assigned to be a luncha yamen. Since he could not complete the task, he had no choice but to abandon his fixed property, take only some floating wealth, and escape to a foreign land with his family overnight. And he
The abandoned fields were also divided among the really big families in the village.
"Bah!"
"Are things so cheap in the Northern Song Dynasty?" Zhu Guoxiang whispered.
Zhang Guangdao continued to test: "It looks more like a knife."
Not far after getting off the boat, before reaching the market, Ju Ming saw a river shrimp seller.
Zhang Guangdao frowned and said: "I know it's broken, the hole made by the arrow. Please give me a fair price. I, Zhang Wu, have no grudges against Lao Bai. Do you, the shopkeeper, still want to lower my price?"
Zhu Guoxiang suddenly realized: "Is this Orion a bandit in the mountains?"
In front of the store, there are some fixed stalls where you can set up stalls to sell things, but you need to pay a stall fee.
What, you said to buy private salt?
Sorry, this store sells private salt.
The common people who paid taxes to the Song Dynasty government were strictly divided into five classes.
The thin horse actually followed him onto the boat, and the boatman quickly shouted: "You have to pay for the animals!"
Zhu Ming said: "I'm afraid it's because the purchasing power of copper coins is high."
Zhu Guoxiang said: "We have this plan."
Ju Ming passed by a stall selling brooms: "How much does one cost?"
Because legal salt shops can only be found at county-level markets at least, and salt shops outside county towns all sell private salt.
For example, Zhang Guangdao's great-grandfather used to be a third-class household, and his family owned more than 300 acres of land. When the official came, he not only calculated the land, but also pointed to the objects in the house and said, this broom is worth 50 guan, and that table is worth 100 guan.
.In the end, Zhang Guangdao’s great-grandfather had a huge fortune and properly concealed his status as a first-class household, so he should be responsible for this dispatch.
However, Zhang Guangdao seemed to have no shortage of money and bought a full twenty kilograms this time.
Zhang Guangdao looked at the scenery from left to right, and glanced at Ju Ming's back from time to time. After walking for a while, he suddenly asked: "Brother Zhu is carrying a gun and a stick?"
Zhang Guangdao tried to send an invitation: "How about coming to the mountains with me? There are many good men in the mountains."
Zhu Ming and his son carried precious brushes with them, had short hair, and wore tattered and weird clothes. In Zhang Orion's eyes, they looked more and more mysterious. They might be strange people with great abilities in traveling around the world.
The boatman recognized Zhang Orion and immediately laughed: "No need, no need."
"Ahead is Baishitou!" Zhang Guangdao said, pointing to the other side of the river ahead.
Zhang Guangdao crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at the flames without saying a word.
The Hu pen is placed in a small brown box with golden text on the box. It looks like it is worth a lot of money at first glance.
The stall owner said: "Five articles."
Five cents is considered a rip-off. At the price given to outsiders, a broom can be sold for three cents at most.
Zhu Ming went to ask the meat seller, and then the chicken seller. The father and son walked along the street to inquire about the prices, and finally got a clearer understanding.
Finally, Zhu Ming asked Zhang Guangdao in a low voice: "Is there any wealthy family nearby? I want to sell that Hu pen."
(Thanks to EBITDAD, Iron Blood Banner Captain, Cry Madman, Gu Jianshan and all the brothers for their rewards and votes.)
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