Chapter 39: There Are No Good People in Yongchang Dynasty (1)
Third Master, someone is blocking the way!
Outside the carriage, Li Jinglong whispered against the window.
Zhu Yunxi suddenly became curious, opened the curtain and looked out.
On the official road, which had been washed away by the flood and was soaked by the sun and was muddy and cracked, two old ladies in ragged clothes and disheveled hair were sitting on a small bench, standing in the middle of the road.
There are good roads for horse-drawn carriages.
Although they were in plain clothes, there were more than a hundred people guarding the front and rear, all of them were burly men. On the road from Kaifeng to here, Xiao Xiaoxiao, a thief hiding in the countryside, saw him from a distance and ran away.
Why did we get to this place, where two old ladies sitting on small stools with their heads lowered dared to block the road?
Surprised, I felt a little funny in my heart.
What's going on? Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, go and ask, don't scare people!
Li Jinglong gave a look, and a guard from the front stepped forward, "Hey, old lady, what are you doing sitting here? You're blocking our way!"
The two old ladies looked up feebly, their orange peel-like faces expressionless. Only when they looked at the motorcade, there was some sparkle in their eyes.
Hey, I... what am I asking you? Why are you blocking this? The guard was anxious and was about to curse, but when he remembered that His Highness was watching from behind, he immediately changed his words.
One of the skinny old ladies lowered her head again and stretched out her skinny hand.
The other one grinned and said two words, give money?
The soldier was stunned, what money?
Road money!
What kind of fare?
Money for this road!
How much does this road cost!
Passing money!
The guards were dumbfounded, their eyes were like bells, and the flesh on their faces were trembling. They, the guards of the majestic Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty, were actually stopped by two old ladies who asked them for passing money!
What's even more surprising is that these two old ladies really dare to ask for it?
Are they tired of living together?
The guard looked at the team behind him and didn't curse anyone. Why should he give you passing money?
Don't even think about leaving if you don't! The two old ladies retracted their hands, folded their arms and lowered their heads, sitting on the small bench.
Here...........
The guards were so angry that they were trembling all over. After the flood, there was only such a good road, but they were blocked and there was no way around it.
Believe it or not, I will let the carriage crush you to death! The guard said in a low voice and fiercely.
The old lady rolled her eyes and said, "You're crushing me to death. If you can't go more than ten miles, the official will catch up with you."
Another old lady said, "Young man, can you afford to go to court to take people's lives just to pay for the road?" She said to the convoy, "A convoy as big as yours is a big deal, so why bother?"
Emotionally, these two old ladies regarded Zhu Yunxi and his party as passing businessmen.
But they didn't want to think about it. Floods were everywhere in the Central Plains, and disaster relief was going on everywhere. How could any merchants pass by?
Youdao can't explain why a scholar meets a soldier, but he can't tell a soldier when he meets someone who is not afraid of death!
The guard was so angry that he gritted his teeth and looked into the distance. There seemed to be a figure flickering. It must be a whistleblower. If they were really violent here, maybe they were really evil people and reported it to the official first.
Even if you don't report it to the official, if hundreds of people rush out to block it, it will be even more difficult!
Hey, what's going on in front, can you do it? The guard was thinking about it, and the officer behind him was pulling his neck and yelling.
After the convoy stopped, the guards began to be alert. Although the swords and guns were still hidden, the bows and arrows in the carriage were already set, and the sword and axe-hands also held the handles.
Damn it, you didn't read the almanac when you went out! The guard cursed and said angrily, "How much do you want?" After saying that, he started to take money from the purse.
The old lady stretched out a slap, five cents...
If you don’t have any copper coins, take it and get out! The guard threw down a silver dollar and left quickly!
Well, the two old ladies’ eyes were straightened.
He looked up at the guards and then at the silver coins. One of them picked them up, took two swiss steps, and he didn't even want the bench anymore, so he ran away.
The other one also ran away and chased. Hey, why did you take them all?
The guard trampled the benches to pieces, gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Damn you, you are a fool. I'll save it to buy you a coffin. If His Highness hadn't been here, I would have..."
A small episode passed, and the convoy continued to move forward slowly.
Wanting money? Zhu Yunxi leaned against the car window and smiled, how brave is this? Dare to block the road and ask for money!
With this group of people, ordinary people couldn't even hide in time, but the two old ladies blocked them directly. It's strange!
This kind of thing is actually common in the countryside! Li Jinglong was walking outside the carriage and said with a smile, let alone a year of great disaster, even in peacetime, there are people guarding the official road and following the passing merchants to ask for money!
What if I don’t give it? Zhu Yunxi asked with a smile.
If you don’t give it, you really won’t be able to get through. Li Jinglong laughed and said, if you provoke a group of people, and a whole village is blocked, it’s not a matter of just three melons and two dates! Otherwise, just dig a few holes on the road to let the big cars pass.
If you can't get through, it will be even more troublesome!
This is also true. It is better to have more things to do than to have less things to do when you are out. It is better to spend some money than to have an accident.
The countryside at this time was not as gentle as in later generations. Now the people are strong and united.
Xie Jin stood beside Zhu Yunxi and said, "You are unruly!"
You can’t be considered unruly. You only rely on mountains and rivers! Li Jinglong smiled, the third master has never traveled far away, and you few have little experience among the people. There are different levels of common people, and not everyone is honest. Scholars
It is said that the rich are well aware of etiquette, but some places are poor and not so simple!
Those who blocked roads and asked for money were quite good. In some places, they farmed during the day, and at night the father, brother and brother-in-law would work together to rob the merchants. The lone merchants would be killed directly and thrown into the ravine, or they would secretly dig old graves.
Not to mention outsiders, they also fight in their own village over trivial matters. Moreover, the people in the village bully their own people even more than outsiders!
Zhu Yunxi smiled and listened silently, then smiled and said, you know so much!
I just lived a few more years! Li Jinglong laughed and said, when I was training in Hebei, three archers went for a walk on someone else's farm. I heard that they just stole two chickens, and three of them were killed.
They didn't even come back, they were all beaten to death!
At that time, it was Mr. Fu who was in charge of the military training. In a rage, he wanted to wash away the village, but guess what?
Zhu Yunxi was fascinated by what he heard. What happened next?
Later, someone advised Mr. Fu not to kill people indiscriminately, otherwise no one would be able to explain why the prince would blame him. So, they thought of leading troops into Zhuangzi and arresting the leader.
But when we got there, the county magistrate, patrolling and inspecting, and a few old men in their seventies, sat directly at the entrance of the village and pointed at Marshal Fu. God damn, if you dare to arrest anyone, just step over our corpses!
There is no king's law yet! Xie Jin said angrily, what happens next?
Forget it! Li Jinglong smiled and said, we heard that it was stealing chickens, but the people in the village and the local officials said it was a waste of women.
Hahaha! Zhu Yunxi laughed out loud, it is the season of peace, otherwise, the whole village will be in peace!
Or how can we talk about the prosperous Ming Dynasty? Li Jinglong laughed.
Hearing this, Tie Xuan rolled his eyes angrily.
What does this have to do with the prosperous age? The officers and soldiers dared to kill in private, which shows that the village does many other things on weekdays! Tie Xuan hummed, if I were to directly send troops to surround the village, I would definitely catch the culprit!
Xie Jin smiled and said, you are biased. What if you really ruined the women of the people?
While everyone was talking and laughing, suddenly the front of the motorcade stopped again.
What happened? Li Jinglong was immediately furious.
The guard in front had a grimace on his face, Sir, damn, someone is blocking the way!
This time it’s not an old lady, but an old man. Behind the old man there is a group of people, all holding hoes and shovels!