On the official road leading to Luozhou, slaves in tattered clothes were diligently pushing tricycles and dumping soil. Official craftsmen held swords and wore iron helmets, instructing the slaves to dump cement on the ground.
Occasionally, a slave died of exhaustion. Or someone could not bear it and rebelled, wielding a spade in the face of the craftsmen who were looking after them.
"stop!"
A sharp arrow came through the air and hit the center of his forehead.
The life disappeared, and the corpse fell stiffly.
The other slaves just glanced at it, then withdrew their numb eyes and continued working.
Not far away, a knight came on horseback and stopped in front of the attacked craftsman.
"Old Zhao, this is the second time this month."
"Okay, okay, I owe you two meals." The craftsman named Lao Zhao waved his hand impatiently.
The knight chuckled, got off his horse, walked to the corpse, and called for people to come over.
"Drag them into the pit and burn them all."
"yes."
Soon, several soldiers dragged the body away.
Old Zhao smacked his lips and said, "It's not okay to go on like this. More than 400 people have died this month, and I have to ask for more people from my superiors again."
The knight said: "You only care about this section of Fuchang Road. What are you afraid of? I heard that the old man who is working with you in Shou'an has killed more than a thousand people this month."
Old Zhao said with emotion: "When we were building roads in Guanzhong a few years ago, I thought it was nothing to kill a few Turkic dogs. In recent years, the slaves have become mixed, and their hearts have softened. They always want to take care of one or two."
"You should give up on this idea." The knight warned: "Last time, a craftsman showed kindness to take care of the slaves, which resulted in the rebellion of more than two thousand slaves. The imperial court was the last to put an end to it. Don't make the same mistake again."
"Oh, I know." Old Zhao rubbed the corners of his eyes and said helplessly: "But when will this end? I heard that the big cities in the Central Plains have begun to build roads, and thousands of people may die every day."
"We are not from the Tang Dynasty." The knight said nonchalantly: "Besides, wouldn't you save energy by returning to Guanzhong now?"
"That's what happened. It's just that there are not enough slaves." Old Zhao said: "I'm afraid you don't know that after the cement road and rail carriage road in Guanzhong were built, the superiors calculated that more than 30,000 slaves died, and the fire burned
It was not put out for seven days and seven nights."
"Oh." The knight sat down and looked at Lao Zhao, "Then what?"
"Isn't it cruel?" Lao Zhao asked back.
The knight said disdainfully: "I'm afraid you have never been to the North. There, it was even worse when our brothers and sisters from the Tang Dynasty were bullied by the prairie people."
Lao Zhao pursed his lips and said with a wry smile: "I made you laugh."
The knight took off his iron helmet, revealing a resolute face. This man was a veteran. Due to injuries, he retired from the regular army and was transferred to supervise the slaves building roads.
"Everyone has a kind heart, which is understandable, but you have to know that these grassland slaves will not miss your kindness. In those years, I followed Duke Wei to attack the Turks in the north. Along the way, I saw that the people in the prefectures and counties were all broken and injured. They
They suffered at the hands of the Turks and were looking forward to our rescue day and night. Without His Majesty’s sage wisdom, how could they escape from the sea of suffering.
These Turkic dogs must die, otherwise the northern border will never be peaceful."
"But here, there are also Xueyantuo people, Uighurs, and Khitan people." Old Zhao said.
"Oh, what do you know? These people were once Turks, they just belong to different tribes. Well, drink when you have time, and I will explain it to you."
"You just miss my wine." Lao Zhao snorted.
While the two were talking, they saw a large number of people approaching not far away.
"What's going on?" The knight frowned and ordered someone to go and inquire.
Not long after, the soldier returned and said, "Those people went to Luozhou to settle down."
"Anjia?" the knight asked, "from Fuchang?"
"yes."
Lao Zhao was puzzled: "Why do they want to settle down in Luozhou? Their household registration is not there, or do they plan to work as tenant farmers?"
The knight thought for a while, shook his head and said: "Forget it, we can't control this."
The group of people, old and young, men and women, all carried their burdens and supported them on their way. When they saw the slaves building the road, they stayed far away.
Watching this group of people leave, Lao Zhao didn't say anything. Everyone has their own choice. There must be reasons for leaving home.
Among the crowd, a few children dared to come out only after they had been away from the slaves for a long time.
"Aye, what are those people doing?" a little girl asked.
"Don't talk too much, go to your mother's place."
"Oh." The little girl pursed her lips and slipped into the crowd.
Several young men cut off the rear and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that they were far away from the Turkic slaves.
"Are those the slaves who built the road?"
"It should be."
"The imperial court has the ability to build roads, why doesn't it help us?"
"Si'er, don't talk nonsense." The leading man said: "Those are slaves. If they die, they will die. The court will not care about them."
"What's the use of building roads?" The young man named Si'er curled his lips and said, "It won't keep us fed and clothed."
"Stop talking, we will have a field when Luozhou is settled."
"Will it succeed?"
Several men showed worried looks.
The group crossed Guzhou and entered Luozhou, resting in Tingyi outside Shouan City. Here, they found that many other people from the same country were also there.
"Fourth son, you take your mother and sisters-in-law to rest and take care of Xiaoye Xiaokui. My eldest brother and I will go find some food and come back." The third child said to the fourth brother.
"I see."
The third child and the eldest child got up to look for food. The fourth child and the lame second child helped my mother, sister-in-law and nieces to find an open space to rest.
When the people next to them saw them, they smiled and asked, "Are you from Guzhou too?"
"Yes." The lame man showed an honest smile, looking a little reserved.
Opposite him, a group of people in simple clothes were sitting. Most of them were men, and there were only two women. Although these people looked ordinary, the lame man still did not dare to talk too much with these people.
Because, until they sat down, they realized that no one else dared to gather around this group of people. Most people looked at them with curiosity or surprise.
The lame lad had never seen much of the world, but he felt that this group of people did not look like they had left their hometown to come to Luozhou.
Because he found that the group of people seemed to be sitting loosely, but in fact they were all surrounding the man and two women in the center.
The man is very young, with some stubble around his mouth, and is wearing black clothes with moiré patterns. Although the two women are plainly dressed, they don't behave like country servants.
The person who just spoke to him was a bearded man.
The lame man withdrew his gaze and took care of his wife and sisters-in-law to rest.
At this time, the girl named Xiaokui was attracted by the fragrant pastries over there, and her mouth watered as she looked at them.
"Sister, that little girl is almost crying." Wei Dante gently touched Wei Puti's sleeve.
Although the two girls were dressed in casual clothes, their beauty and temperament could not be concealed. Surrounded by Li Zhiyun, they were quite enviable.
When Li Zhiyun and Wei Puti heard this, they turned around and saw the little girl. She seemed to be frightened, and she was afraid of being discovered for doing something bad, so she hurriedly hid in her mother's arms.
Li Zhiyun said: "Zhang Xingcheng."
"exist."
The bearded man's name is Zhang Xingcheng. He was born in the Zhang family of Zhongshan. He experienced the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty and served as an official under the Sui Dynasty and Wang Shichong. After being surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he did very well in the local area and had outstanding political achievements. Li Zhiyun promoted him to the position of imperial censor.