Dou Qiong and the three guarding their grandparents and grandchildren were traveling at a slow pace. Changing a good horse would definitely have to be more than 800 miles in a hurry. Not to mention that it belongs to the civil road now, which is much flatter and wider than the previous official road.
The official roads used to belong to the imperial court to arrange for the people to repair. Every year, the people had to volunteer, and if they didn't work, they would pay. That is to say, the servants in the house were hired, and they could also be called slavery.
I can't think of going to work, it's easy to handle, and replace it with things. The royal tax is actually passed on to the ordinary people, and the merchant's tax is levied in a lump sum in proportion to the assets.
Moreover, business taxes are very irregular. In many cases, the calculation is based on the person, and the calculation of this person is the agricultural tax. Therefore, the person who farms is relatively high in the business, but the tax burden is very serious and not cost-effective.
After Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came, they began to encourage the court to levy special commercial taxes. In the beginning, they collected relatively small proportions. The normal historical two-tax law is not the two-tax law, because there are still rents and taxes from the peasants.
It was not easy to collect business taxes in the previous years, but even if it was not easy, the imperial government’s revenue increased significantly.
When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan took a firm position, commercial taxes began to increase. Until last year's large-scale tax sharing system, no one at Datang could stop it. Regardless of whether it is an official, an aristocratic family, or a hidden commercial coalition, in the face of a strong two people, apart from honestly exchanging interests with them, there is no second way to go.
Last year’s national treasury revenue was 100 million tens of millions of tons, and I believe it will definitely reach more than 250 million tons of money this year. Datang is not moneyless on the whole. It is the imperial treasury and ordinary farming land that does not have money. People from many places.
In the past, it was polarized, with government and business on the side and workers and peasants on the side. The power with absolute resources did not pay much tax.
Now it is levied according to the amount of income. The price is Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan plus Li Longji's resignation of the railway transportation distribution rights. Li Longji is depressed and uncomfortable. In fact, he is much stronger than before. At least the Treasury and his Internal money is abundant, but that's how people are. The more you get, the more you think about it.
Zhang Xiaobao's discussion at that time was to let Li Longji wait for a few years with peace of mind, and then as the resources of the railway increased, he would naturally let those who made the exchange of interests know what was lost.
Wang Juan believes that things will eventually proceed according to Zhang Xiaobao's vision, not to mention that people nowadays don't understand Taidu's economic methods, even if they understand, they can't play with Zhang Xiaobao, otherwise he would not be able to cheat so much money.
Therefore, when the court was building roads, the common people were very reluctant to work. They would be lazy if they could be lazy, and they would work hard if they could. The most important thing was that the common people didn’t have the energy to work. .
Under these circumstances, trying to repair the road is tantamount to idiotic dreams.
The reason why the public is good at the moment is that the people’s yearning for a better life in the future is related to their own economic foundation. It is a spontaneous labor behavior. In addition, there are merchants to help pay, and everyone’s goals are the same. The official road is smoother and more spacious.
The real macro-control is like this. It’s a little worse than inaction, but it follows its laws. You want the people to do what you want, and you directly order them to do it. It is better to provide him with a good policy environment, and then you will find that you have paid for it. Every drop of rain and dew from the people, the people will give you a rosy red.
Of course, the prerequisite for everything lies in the ratio between the ability of the executive in power and the integrity. It's not that the more honest the better, the stronger the better, the better is the balance between the trade-offs.
The horse kicked and the wheels rolled.
Dou Qiong was in front of the three, and the two lived in front of each other. There was no coachman on the carriage, and the old man could not drive a carriage. He hadn't even owned any animals.
The mule pulling the cart is not a new "person". He knows that he has to follow the road and can't walk around. At the same time, he knows how to keep the same speed as the horseman, unless he runs too fast.
The child who had never rode in the carriage looked back at the scenery on both sides, and was very excited, while the old man was nervous. He already knew the person he was going to see was so big that he didn't dare to think about it. I chopped off my head, and worried that my grandson would be affected by myself.
So he sat in the coachman's seat, his grandson on the other side, and both of them held onto the cowl with their hands, expressing their tension and excitement.
"Brother, how long will it be?" The old man's body moved with the slight bumps of the car and shouted to the person on the left.
"No hurry, for more than half an hour, the mule runs slowly, and it has already entered the city with a military horse." The man who partnered with Dou Qiong shouted to the old man, and he was also looking forward to it. It's something, but people don't know him at all. It's not good that there is no reason to go to see them. If they delay their business, they may be killed when they are known to others.
"Are they good to talk? I'm so scared that I can't speak well for a while, my little brother wants to help." The old man shouted again.
"Okay." The second person became nervous, worried that when they met for a while, he would not even be able to stand, and would help others to speak
Sure enough, half an hour later, five people came to the city gate of Yizhou. They said it was the city gate, but it was actually dilapidated. The top of the city wall was bald, and there was a lot of grass growing in various places. Knowing where it went, the other one was slid inward, the paint on it was gone, and it seemed that no one had wiped it after being exposed to the rain, and there were a lot of green hairs.
The speed of the three horses and one cart slowed down, and there was a team in the city coming out, and more than half of the staff had passed. Dou Qiong could not let the family return, so he could only wait.
The old man in the car looked at the city gate and the city wall, and suddenly became unreliable in his heart, and asked: "My little brother, the city is broken and no one repairs it? Even if the city gate is installed."
"I don’t know who took the city gate. The remaining half should be gone. Good wood, boats, and house repairs are all done. I suddenly remembered that the missing half was in the government office gate, which was divided into two parts. Block, as a notice board." The person on the left of the carriage has a good memory, and he remembers where the city gate is.
In fact, the city gate is not economical to use as a notice board. It is not a thin board. It is similar to a wall. The advantage of using it as a notice board is that it is strong and durable, and even climbs up a ladder to sleep.
Dou Qiong looked at the team going out of the city for a few moments and knew him, but they had a lot of business, and they didn’t usually have much contact. They just nodded occasionally when they met. Now he nodded, after nodding, he said to the old man: "Lao Zhang doesn’t need to be afraid, from Yizhou to Going straight to the west is Tubo. Someone really wants to fight Tubo first. When we get here, our cannons will be put on, and the city gate is useless.
Lao Zhang, where is your hometown? It’s not from Tubo, right? Otherwise, you should know more things, do you have a lot of cannibalism? "
"It's over there. I said I was going to walk diagonally to the north. I never came out. I made a big circle when I walked. I can't remember how I walked. Are you shouting, pulling, or pulling? Yes, there are also Buddhist chants. Our place is very messy.
Going south from the mountain and going a little farther, people often pass by and some come back. People who shout ala ala have spent money to find a lot of people around us this year. When we came out, we saw and saw... I I won't tell you. "
The old man who had never traveled far away obviously didn't have more detailed geographical knowledge, and he didn't even know where he belonged. Anyway, he heard people say that the east is better, and his son and daughter-in-law come first, so he will follow.
The time for talking was finished. Dou Qiong hurried his horse. When he entered the door, he didn't meet anyone who stopped the inspection or collected the city fee. It was only if there was no confidence and poor place to act like that. Now, there is no need in Datang. .
Entering the city, Dou Qiong got off his horse, took the lead of the mule, and slowed down to avoid hitting pedestrians. Although the main road in the city is for cattle to go in the middle, if there is no special situation, you will be punished very seriously if you run into a person in the middle of the horse. Only when you encounter a military emergency, you will be killed in vain. Who will be hit? Don't look at it when you cross the main road.
The grandfather and grandson could not see it anymore. The city was different from the outside. The main road was wide and lined with "tall" buildings. They did not recognize the words written on the signs and fronts of the shops next to each other.
"Don't live?" the old man asked in surprise.
"Are you talking about a private house? In the back, there are shops near the main road. Walk for another twenty minutes, that is, a quarter of an hour longer, which is considered to be a place."
Dou Qiong is not a qualified tour guide. It is obvious that when people come here for the first time, they don't give them a good introduction. For example, where there are many local specialties, unique snacks, or where there are scenic spots, he doesn't say anything.
The grandfather and grandchildren couldn’t see it, so there was no need to ask about other things. The little guy swallowed because of the scent wafting from the roadside restaurant. He ate a steamed bun, a bowl of wontons, and a big apple before. He didn't do much exercise at all, but he felt hungry again.
Twenty minutes or so has passed very quickly for both my grandchildren and grandparents. They arrived outside the Bihai Yinsha Restaurant before seeing enough. Because Yizhou is considered to be one of the important "cities" of the Tang Dynasty, Bihai Yinsha was built very high. There are four floors, all glass windows, the first and second floors are directly adjacent to the street, and the third and fourth floors are the outer corridors. The tents above can let people who eat outside come out to blow the air and watch the crowds of life below.
Moreover, there are many courtyards behind the main building of the restaurant, and the charges are not low. Anyone who is a little concerned about this knows that its main dish is seafood.
"Here." Dou Qiong said to the old man.
The old man took a closer look at the restaurant and nodded: "If you can eat here, it really is a high official."
"He lives here, there are other places, I don't know where it is today, it's always right to ask." Dou Qiong walked towards the door, now it is closed, and there is no sound of diners inside.
"Oh...! A lot of money for one night, right?" The old man felt that he would never be able to live in for the rest of his life.
"The restaurant belongs to their family. They don't spend money to live on their own, and they don't charge money for accommodation." The person with Dou Qiong explained.
The old man was confused: "Isn't it an official? You live here as a businessperson, right?"
"When you are an official, you do business. His family did business before he became an official. It is the richest family in Datang. If his family has no money one day, it will be troublesome. Xiaobao of their family will suppress other Datang merchants. , Tell you that you don’t understand. Without Xiaobao, Datang will be chaotic at the current development speed of Ann. Just remember that they are very powerful and important to us."
"Okay, great." The old man really didn't understand.
Dou Qiong had knocked on the door, said a few words to the insider, and came back to greet him: "You can go in. Good luck today. Xiaobao and the others live here and don’t have to go to other places. Mr. Zhang, the man just agreed to find the government. People from here, help you transfer your hometown to Yizhou, and then you talked with your grandson and Xiaobao, and walked with the people from Yamen.
The little guy goes to school to study, you go to a place where you are old-aged, and you can work but can't stay idle, and you can also let people arrange for you to do things as a livelihood. "
This is what the old man is waiting for. I can say that it is mainly grandchildren who can learn to read. I didn't dare to think that literacy is a promising person, and the ancestral grave will be smoked.
When Dou Qiong said that the people from the Yamen came over, the old man said awkwardly: "We will find the past by ourselves, so we don't have to trouble the officials."
"No trouble, no trouble at all. The Yizhou government is now temporarily taken over by Xiaobao. There are many idlers. It is not possible to eat for nothing. Just like mules, you will be lazy if you don’t work. Don’t be afraid of them, they dare to give you. If you make a face, you go to the telegraph office to report it.
Speaking of the Telegraph Bureau, you can ask them to help send a report to Henan Province, and then ask the local government to help you find out where your son is, famous and original, as long as they are in Henan Province, or have been to Henan Province, and have worked. , You are not afraid to throw it away. "
Dou Qiongsi was not afraid of official officials, and said while leading his grandparents and grandchildren into the door.
The old man was in a dream and couldn’t understand why the people didn’t fear officials. When he entered the door, he saw a big room, empty, with only two tables. He was even more curious about how restaurants usually do business. Without waiting for him to ask, Dou Qiong told him:" Many tables have been evacuated. Let’s wait here, learn from me, and raise our arms."
After speaking, Dou Qiongping raised his arms, and the two people with him did the same. The old man was at a loss in middle school, and the children found it very interesting.
They just raised their arms, and someone came to search their bodies immediately, and took away the knives carried by the three Dou Qiongs, as well as the coins. The grandson and grandson had nothing, and they couldn't even find a change of clothes.
The old man understands. It seems that the person he wants to meet is less courageous, afraid that he and others will harm him.
After sitting on the chair, Dou Qiong reminded: "Wait when you see someone, don't get up, and don't come forward, otherwise you will be easily beaten to death in the blink of an eye."
"You said Little Treasures and cuckoos are afraid that I will do something to them?" The old man sighed helplessly, thinking that he would not dare to lend himself a hundred guts.
"What Xiaobao and Juanjuan? It's Xiaobei and the others. We don't need to worry about us if we change into Xiaobao and Juanjuan. I heard that the two of them are powerful thieves. That's what the storyteller said, the thieves... are powerful."
Dou Qiong obviously didn't understand some dialects too much, just like when he called others Guwazi, people in some places understood the meaning but couldn't know why it was called that way.
Moreover, commendation and derogation can not only be seen in the literal meaning, but also in the person to whom they are directed, as well as the expression and tone of the speech.
As soon as Dou Qiong's voice fell, a voice came from the back: "That's right, it's us, we can't beat adults. In extraordinary times, safety comes first. Ah, this kind-eyed grandfather is looking for someone who tells us important information. Haha, there is a little brother who is not brave."
Beckham wandered out first, smiled when he saw people, looked at the old man, and stared at the little boy who has never seen anything in the world. He blushed and lowered his head. He wanted to hide but didn’t know. Where to hide.
The eight Xiaoyuan people also came out one after another and looked at them, but they didn't speak.
The muddy eyes of the old man lit up. I have never seen such a beautiful child all the way here. He should not be much older than his grandson, but he is a lot taller. It must be the same as usual. The good related.
"Involving military secrets, irrelevant people wait to avoid it." Xiaobei looked at Dou Qiong and the three with a smile.
Dou Qiong smiled and asked, "You are killing the donkey, how about your brother and your sister?"
"My brother was sleeping. Yesterday... I didn’t tell you what’s going on. My sister went to bed after eating. We woke up and came to ask first. If you don’t kill the donkey, there are rewards. Go to the back. Someone makes seafood, you guys. Drink while resting, okay?"
Beckham pointed to the side door where he had just entered, and said to Dou Qiong and the three of them.
The three of them couldn't ask for it, and greeted the old man, went out from the side door to eat good food, leaving the grandson and grandson to talk about things.
The nine Xiaobei sat across from his grandson and grandson. Someone brought juice and cakes specially prepared for the little boy. Tea was in front of the old man.
"Grandpa has been working hard all the way, let's talk, let's listen, we can deal with it, if we can't deal with it, we will find my brother and sister, younger brother, eat quickly, when it comes to sister, this will be regarded as home."
Xiaobei held the cup with both hands and talked to the grandfather and grandson.
The old man was very surprised. He thought about seeing many kinds of little treasures and cuckoos that others kept talking about, thinking about how to say things, and don't be afraid.
But in any case, it was unexpected that it was a group of children who wanted to talk to him, although these children looked smarter than their grandsons, they wore better clothes, and were beautiful.
But what I want to talk about is a major event, what good is it for a group of children to hear it
A sense of powerlessness was born in his heart, and the old man decided to say it anyway.
"Your name is Xiaobei? We are far away from you. There are no government offices in a large area. We have everything to say. Like what you said, we also need to go down the mountain and exchange things with people to learn. We are poor and we don’t eat salt. It's easy. The ground has been on the mountain, it doesn't grow well, and there are dead people hunting.
Going down from the mountain, walking north, walking for a day, there is a road, and someone will come back on the road, luck with cloth, tea, and salt, and wait to come back from there, put on other things, there are animal skins, There are pearls and seeds.
I can always hear someone say which team was killed, there are people who can’t come back, and the people who captured the slaves, it’s messy, we’re not doing well, you know? "
After the old man finished speaking, he thought he was talking for nothing. What do the children know? Just like my grandson, even one or two years older is useless.
But the nine people of Xiaobei listened very seriously. When the old man stopped, Xiaobei blinked and frowned, and asked Xiaoyuan, "Is this the Silk Road mentioned by brother and sister? Our caravan in Datang Did you go from there?"
"Where?" Xiaoyuan didn't analyze where the old man lived. He said it was in various languages. The question is, does it include dialects? If the orthodox race or religious language is easy to handle, there are too many dialects. Where can I guess
"Stupid, I'm talking about the place on the Brahmaputra River mentioned by my sister, because there is only a year ago where we have not deployed an army, the roads are not easy, the population is small, and it is not Let us take care of it.
If you change to the above, unless you go directly to Tubo, it is impossible. Just like them, the old and the young, do you think the people patrolling in my house will ignore them after seeing them? If it is further north, I don't think they can come alive by themselves. Look at the clothes they wear. Even if they are not eaten by wild beasts, they will freeze to death. "
Xiaobei said to Xiaoyuan, and then asked Xiaozhu: "Is it sister Xiaozhu?"
Xiaozhu nodded: "Yes, the location of their home is not entirely under the control of polyesophagus, but under the control of India. In fact, India can't control it. What kind of conspiracy can there be too much food? They shouldn't go around when they are transporting things. Is the road bad?"
After she finished speaking, the nine children looked at the old man together, waiting for the old man to answer.
The old man was stunned, looked at the nine children in front of him, then at his grandson, and sighed: "Literacy is great."
The old man's grandson did not eat pastries or drank juice at this time. Instead, he lowered his head deeply and occasionally raised his eyes to look at the few girls across from him, and then continued to lower his head embarrassedly, looking very embarrassed and uneasy.
The old man shook his head slightly, not intending to compare his grandson with others, and said to the nine Xiaobei with a little relief: "When we came out, we heard people say on the road that there were people shouting ala ala there specifically to talk to others. People exchanging things, is it what you said to eat more?"
"Yes, there are also people called Da Shi, they are, Allah is the god in their hearts, just like Buddhism always says Amitabha. We plan to fight them and start a war right away. The reason is very simple. Brother and sister said they have good things. We Need it, so just hit it.
Their place is not small, anyway, we don't hit them now, and we will come when they think they can hit us. Grandpa, you continue to say, what are they changing? "
Beckham really doesn't want to think about high-sounding reasons.
The old man thinks this excuse is very good. I am better than you. You have what I need. I will beat you to grab it. That's right.
Then he said: "They are not always there when changing things. I heard people tell you about changing things, changing poisonous snakes, and other poisonous things. In addition to changing things there, they also spend money to find someone to help deliver them. Many people in the place where we came down from the mountain to change things were found by them.
Find people, give money to the families of those who are looking for, and tell them that they will come back when they have delivered the things. The things they sent are a lot of wood in the mountains. I think wood is useless and I don’t know what they think. "
The old man nodded vigorously after speaking, meaning that he had nothing else.
After speaking, the old man didn't froze, and began to change into Xiaobei's nine people in a daze. Looking at each other, what they saw in the eyes of others was all puzzled.
"What's the matter?" Beckham murmured, "Use poison? Go down to the river or smear it on the weapon? Put poison in the river, how much do you have to put to poison the person who fetches the water? What do they know about us? Time to fetch water? It's gone after a flush. Did they develop the same chemical weapons as ours?"
Xiao Yuan followed: "Do we have an army where Grandpa lives? Ah, yes, it's useless if they want wood. Could they not know that our army's artillery fire can easily destroy wood walls and camps?"
Xiao Yuan was talking about the previous small-scale friction warfare training. Occasionally, Datang also had artillery support, but it was not in the conflict where the old man said, but further north.
The news is impossible to pass, the power of the artillery is so powerful that cannibalism is not clear
"Don't think about it, tell your brother and sister, so as not to waste time." Xiaohai couldn't guess, and didn't plan to continue to rely on the power of nine people to analyze it. It would be very troublesome if something went wrong.
Xiaobei nodded and said to the old man: "Grandpa, you and your little brother are waiting here. If you want to eat, you will be sent to you. Someone from the government will come here to do the formalities for you. Let's go find Brother and sister, I believe the information you sent is very useful to us. I will give you a reward when it's finished."
Beckham also doesn't know whether it's useful or not, but you can't say it directly. It will be bad if people's hearts are chilled.
After speaking, the nine people got up and left, looking for their brothers and sisters.
Immediately someone came over to ask the grandparents what they like to eat, and introduced a dozen samples to let them choose.
The old man did not refuse, he could not eat, but his grandson was hungry, and he now understands that Xiaobao has money in his family, and he can’t suffer from his grandson. Tell the inquirer to arrange something at will, and then touch his grandson’s head. , Said: "You must study hard. Have you seen the nine brothers and sisters just now? Study hard to be like them."
"Can you take that guy named Xiaobei home?" The little boy was obviously relatively early and knew a lot, so he started Xiaobei's idea.
The old man was startled and comforted his grandson: "There will be something better than her in the future. She can't. She... You don't understand after you say it, it's not the same person."
The little boy obviously didn't understand the difference in status. He simply believed that everyone in the world was the same, nodded, but his eyes were filled with unbelief.
※※※※
When Xiaobei and the others found the place where his brother and sister lived, Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao, who had already received the news, were standing at the door of the house and waiting.
"Stunned, brother, I'm so stunned today, we didn't analyze what the grandfather said." When Xiaobei saw his brother and sister, he complained immediately, as if he thought he was stupid.
"Tell me, what did Grandpa mention?" Zhang Xiaobao asked with a smile.
The nine children began to speak one sentence at a time. After speaking, they looked at their brothers and sisters and waited for answers.
As a result, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan frowned.
"You do your own things first, I will discuss with your sister and tell you later." Unable to guess for a while, Zhang Xiaobao told his younger siblings.
The nine little guys left helplessly, leaving Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan staring at each other.
The two returned to the house, rolled out the military map and locked the position.
"Here, there will be a fight at noon tomorrow, but it belongs to India. Many cannibals are not in the right place on the Tubo side. What do they do in the theoretical jurisdiction of India? They will also collect poisonous things and wood."
Wang Juan pointed to the place on the map and said to Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao yawned, thought about it, and said: "It is estimated that they feel that they have no hope of victory, so they committed suicide by taking poison while playing ***, which caused international public opinion and made me scared of Datang."