The thin bamboo strips hitting the palm of your hand will not hurt your skin or flesh. At most it will cause a little redness and swelling, but it will hurt.
In fact, this little pain is nothing to Ying Xiaozheng.
He could face the things his biological mother threw at him without making a sound even when his head was broken and bleeding, and he could also face the pain of bamboo strips hitting his palms without even frowning.
But when Xue Ji hit Ying Xiaozheng's palm, a bamboo stick fell on the child's palm and she shed tears.
When Ying Xiaozheng saw Xue Ji's tears, tears began to flow involuntarily and he kept crying and admitting his mistakes.
Xue Ji did not stop and hit Ying Xiaozheng's palms hard with the bamboo strips. Finally, the bamboo strips broke. Ying Xiaozheng's palms were swollen and she was crying out of breath.
Ying Xiaozheng cried and shouted: "Aunt, I was wrong. I won't dare to do it again."
Xue Ji threw away the broken bamboo strips in her hand, hugged the grown child, and cried until her voice was hoarse: "If something happens to you, what will your uncle and I do? What do you want us to do?! Your uncle and I raised you to this age? If something happens to you, what will we do!"
Xue Ji cried incoherently and kept repeating the same words.
Ying Xiaozheng, who has grown taller, is held in the arms of his short aunt, as if he has returned to the age when he could still be protected in his aunt's arms.
Apart from crying, Ying Xiaozheng's mind was blank.
"From childhood to adulthood, I have never been able to do anything with him. Only Xue would spank his little butt hard and correct his behavior." Zhu Xiang sighed, "Luckily, Xue is here."
Li Mu rolled his eyes at Zhu Xiang and said, "Other families have strict fathers and kind mothers, but yours is the opposite."
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Isn't this great?"
Li Mu sighed. Never mind. Zhu Xiang is just that kind of person. There is no hope. Just ignore him.
Wucheng was far away from the heartland of Qin State. Although Qin laws had been implemented, the local characteristics of freedom and laxity were still retained.
The Qin State's hinterland extremely suppressed commerce. Wucheng was located on the edge of the Yangtze River waterway, with the coastline not far away, connecting the north-south trade lines, and commercial trade had always been prosperous.
Li Mu was able to support himself by acting as the "protector" of the merchants, and occasionally doing some business himself.
It would be impossible for business to corrupt the army in ancient times, because in ancient times, soldiers and bandits were inseparable, and soldiers could even be more brutal than ordinary bandits, making more money through plundering.
If it's completely a pool of mud, it can't get any worse, and naturally there's no question of corrosion.
By doing business and being self-sufficient in a bloodless way, and satisfying the financial needs of the generals and soldiers, Li Mu's team can be said to have good "military morality" in the Warring States Period. Even the killing of ordinary soldiers gradually decreased, and they had the idea of not "draining the pond to catch all the fish".
As for the possibility that doing business might reduce combat effectiveness, that is impossible under Li Mu.
Now there were wars everywhere, and after Li Mu had enough supplies, he trained a group of elite soldiers who only needed to be trained. The rest of the scattered soldiers only needed to obey the command of the army, and command them to charge forward when lives were needed.
Anyway, most of the soldiers in the six countries are like this. The Qin soldiers eat a little more than them and are a little stronger than the ordinary soldiers of the six countries. Maybe their combat effectiveness is even higher.
In addition to collecting protection fees and doing business, collecting business taxes is also an important way for Li Mu to make money.
In ancient times, commercial taxes were not important, not because they did not want to benefit from them, but because commercial taxes were difficult to collect.
Modern organizations have the convenience of computers and the Internet, and merchants also have many ways to evade taxes. With the administrative capabilities of the ancient court, it was completely impossible to find out how much business a merchant had done and how much money he made, and to collect taxes based on net profits.
When the cost of collecting taxes was far higher than the taxes themselves, the ancient imperial court had no choice but to give up this source of income.
This is partly why the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was adopted. Farmers were tied to the land, and land meant people, which made it easier to collect taxes.
In ancient times, the most convenient way to collect business taxes was to use the "checkpoint tax". This was the tax that Li Mu was collecting now.
Li Mu and Zhu Xiang said they were going shopping, but it soon turned into a parade in the market to discuss the location of setting up customs taxes.
Which checkpoints are set up on the Yangtze River waterway, which checkpoints are set up on the official road, how much tax is collected when entering the city, how to collect taxes on market stalls... When Li Mu was in Yanmen County, he fought with the Northern Hu during wartime and also conducted border trade with the Northern Hu during peacetime, so he had some experience.
Zhu Xiang only had some experience in the market and did not know much about taxation. But now he was half the governor of Wu County, so he had no choice but to study with Li Mu.
"Although the late king allowed me to use the taxes of a land to support the army, I will hand over these things sooner or later. How can you not learn?" Li Mu saw Zhu Xiang's headache and sighed, "You are the governor of Wu County."
Zhu Xiang said: "Zheng'er is now the governor of Wu County... Okay, okay, I will learn."
Seeing Zhu Xiang's attitude of avoiding the real job, Li Mu said, "Now that Zichu has become the King of Qin, you can be more relaxed."
Zhu Xiang was puzzled: "Huh?"
Li Mu looked away: "Nothing. Do you want to bring some food to comfort Zheng'er?"
Li Mu changed the subject, and Zhu Xiang followed suit: "Okay. Recommend me a restaurant."
Li Mu took Zhu Xiang to the restaurant he often went to.
Because Li Mu had to support his army and many refugees were pouring in, Wu County also issued a ban on alcohol, prohibiting the use of grain to make wine. Restaurants only sold fermented glutinous rice water, using fermented glutinous rice as a substitute for alcohol.
Before serving the food, Zhu Xiang and Li Mu had a full meal. Zhu Xiang drank a bowl of fermented glutinous rice water, which tasted slightly sour but was quite thirst-quenching.
Zhu Xiang liked the hustle and bustle, so Li Mu found a seat near the window on the first floor, separated by a screen. This would block the sight of people around him and allow Zhu Xiang to listen to the diners chatting.
The food sold in this restaurant is rather exquisite, and most of the diners are wealthy businessmen or scholars.
Zhu Xiang said to Li Mu, "You won't find such a lively restaurant in Xianyang."
Li Mu said: "The Qin King is a bit strict in his management."
In Qin, officials could only rush home after get off work and did not dare to host banquets outside. In Qin's restaurants, people could only eat according to the rules, and it was impossible to enjoy themselves.
Zhu Xiang often sighed in his heart that the restaurants in Qin were like canteens, the kind that only provided meals.
Wu County has a strong commercial atmosphere. People in the streets and alleys wear gold and silver to compete with each other for wealth, and there are many people who act extravagantly.
Li Mu didn't like extravagance, but he needed to collect taxes, a lot of taxes. So he turned a blind eye to those who showed off their wealth, and recorded them with the other eye so that he could collect more taxes.
Zhu Xiang sighed inwardly at Li Mu's actions.
In ancient times, if merchants did not find a backer, they would be blackmailed and exploited by officials. They were the money bags of officials and the court. That is why officials and merchants colluded.
This is why Lu Buwei was eager to make use of the rare goods.
When it became customary for Qin's academies to recruit scholars, these merchants became the main candidates for "poor scholars".
They have no status now, but they are very rich. When studying can lead to becoming an official, they can provide several family members who have completed their studies to serve as officials in the court, thus transforming from businessmen to officials.
In fact, the colleges and universities have nothing to do with the real common people. Because even if Zhu Xiang gritted his teeth and set up a free college in Wujun, they would not send their family laborers to study full-time.
Zhu Xiang thought of his previous life, when he helped poverty alleviation cadres search the mountains for junior high school dropouts who were hidden by their parents, and this extinguished his unrealistic enthusiasm.
Being able to allow people from poor families who were not originally able to become officials to become officials, injecting new life into the closed bureaucratic system, and allowing different classes to collide to avoid being dominated by one hand, this is progress. Zhu Xiang was content.
While drinking fermented glutinous rice water, Zhu Xiang listened to the merchants around him talking about sending their children to study in Wujun Academy, and a genuine smile of relief appeared on his face.
Seeing the smile on Zhu Xiang's face, Li Mu's face, which had become increasingly serious since he became the commander-in-chief of Southern Qin, also broke into a smile, vaguely resembling the look he had in Handan.
"Do you want to go for a walk around the academy?" Li Mu asked with a smile.
Zhu Xiang said, "After you finish eating, hurry up and bring food to Zheng'er. We can talk about the school tomorrow."
Li Mu said slowly: "I meant to visit the academy later, but I didn't say today or tomorrow, don't be so anxious."
Zhu Xiang was silent for a while, then said in a complicated tone: "Li Mu, you have become a bad person. You were not like this before."
Li Mu laughed.
The food in the restaurant tasted no better than what Zhu Xiang cooked himself, because Zhu Xiang had more seasonings and spices on hand.
But eating out is all about trying something new, there's no need to compare yourself to others. Besides, when he's at home, he doesn't like to cook anything too elaborate, and as long as you can afford it, you can eat this kind of food at a restaurant.
Li Mu treated everyone to a meal, and Zhu Xiang pointed at the most expensive dishes and indulged himself in the pleasure of taking advantage of the local tyrants.
After eating about 80% full, Zhu Xiang brought a lotus leaf-wrapped pickled fish, the restaurant's specialty, to comfort Zheng'er's wounded heart.
Xue Ji didn't like eating outside food, so Zhu Xiang and Li Mu went to a silk shop to buy some good silk for Xue Ji.
Although Zhu Xiang did not specifically offer craftsmen, several generations of Qin kings had continuously rewarded Zhu Xiang with useful craftsmen in his family. The craftsmen who made jewelry in his family were all disciples of the royal craftsmen in the palace, and they looked down on things from outside. Only the local silk could make Xue Ji like it a little.
It was too troublesome to dye his hair with ink, so Zhu Xiang always liked to wear various "barbarian-style" hats when he went out, and then draw his eyebrows with carbon powder to cover up his white eyebrows.
There were many barbarians in Wu County, and there were all kinds of strange people. His dress would not attract other people's attention. Only some people who looked down on the barbarians would deliberately oppose him.
There are such troublesome people in every era and every place.
Zhu Xiang encountered this when he was buying silk. He was criticized by a man who was probably a scholar, who told him to give up the selected silk, saying that the barbarians should give way to the people of the Central Plains.
Zhu Xiang was wondering whether to reveal Li Mu's identity to slap him in the face, or to simply tear off his hat and toss his hair in a dashing manner to slap him in the face. At this moment, a businessman who was eating with him across a screen stood up and argued for him against this man from the Central Plains.
Li Mu held his arms throughout the entire process and did not even touch the long sword at his waist.
After getting used to using the sword, Li Mu's attire became less and less like that of a Central Plains scholar. He stopped wearing a sword and started wearing a sword instead.
"What are they saying? I don't quite understand." Zhu Xiang scratched his ears and cheeks.
Because he had a good memory, he had a strong talent for languages and was fluent in six languages. But the two of them spoke with a thick accent and it was really hard to understand.
Li Mu said: "If you don't understand, how can I understand?"
Zhu Xiang sighed.
Li Mu looked at Zhu Xiang, who was obviously the protagonist of this farce but treated himself as an audience member ready to watch the fun, and sighed in his heart, and went to find the shop owner.
"If there is a dispute in the store and we can't solve it ourselves, we can ask the city clerk to make the decision," Li Mu said. "I'll pay for it."
The shopkeeper agreed immediately after hearing this and intervened to ask the two guests to stop arguing. He immediately went to ask the city clerk to make the decision.
When the scholar from the Central Plains heard that they wanted to invite the market official, his face immediately changed and he left cursing.
The businessman stood with his hands on his hips, looking triumphant.
Zhu Xiang came closer: "What were you arguing with him about?"
The merchant's tone lost its accent, and he spoke in standard elegant language: "Let's argue with him about the Book of Poetry. Since he claims to be a Central Plains person who is proficient in the Book of Poetry and the Book of Documents, I will compete with him in the Book of Poetry."
After saying this, he bowed to Zhu Xiang and said, "I am Fuqiu, your student, and I pay my respects to you, Master."
Zhu Xiang: “Huh?”
Li Mu raised his eyebrows and asked, "A student from Xianyang Academy?"
The merchant said, "Yes. I am originally from Yue. I went to Xianyang Academy to study for a few years. After I returned home with my teacher, I was taken back by my family and inherited the family business."
Zhu Xiang frowned in thought, then suddenly relaxed his brows: "I remember you, Fuqiu. When you said goodbye to me, I asked you if you needed any help."
This disciple was one of the disciples of the Xianyang Academy who followed him from Xianyang to Shu, from Shu to Qianzhong County, and all the way to Wu County. He was also one of Zhu Xiang's first "strange students" who appeared on his favorability list.
After entering Qin, Zhu Xiang stayed indoors and seldom communicated with others, so the list of favorability was not updated much. Basically, they were just casual acquaintances with half a heart, who at most gave Zhu Xiang one heart and provided him with some repeated spice seeds. Zhu Xiang had not gotten any benefits from the system for a long time.
Zhu Xiang brought many students. Since Fuqiu, there were several names that Zhu Xiang had never heard of that were on his favorability list. However, Zhu Xiang did not teach students individually, so these students only had one heart at most, which was regarded as respect for Zhu Xiang, the teacher.
So is Fuqiu.
Anyone who can be on his favorability list will have an impact on history. Regardless of whether the impact is positive or negative, they should always be considered talented, so Zhu Xiang will include them in the talent candidate list.
When Fuqiu was "kidnapped" by his family, Zhu Xiang came forward to ask Fuqiu's wishes and expressed his willingness to help him resolve the matter.
But Fuqiu said that since his parents were still alive, he should not travel far away. He was the eldest son in the family, and since his parents had come to see him, he should also fulfill his filial duty.
Fuqiu was a typical Confucian disciple, and the word "filial piety" was very important to him, so Zhu Xiang did not interfere.
Unexpectedly, I met him by chance today.
Zhu Xiang looked at Fuqiu and smiled, "It seems that you are doing well, so I feel relieved. Hurry up and hand over the family business to others. I am waiting for you to come back and realize your ambitions."
Fuqiu was very excited to see Zhu Xiang remember him. When he heard Zhu Xiang encourage him, he became even more excited and his face flushed, just like he was drunk after drinking fermented glutinous rice in the restaurant.
In fact, Fuqiu saw Zhu Xiang in the restaurant and he knew him. But after many years, Zhu Xiang had a few more vertical wrinkles between his eyebrows, and Fuqiu's memory also faded a lot, so he didn't dare to recognize him.
Fuqiu followed Zhu Xiang to the place where silk was sold, and only when he heard Zhu Xiang talking about "Zheng'er" did he confirm it. Just as he was about to pay a visit to Zhu Xiang, he found someone insulting Zhu Xiang.
If Fuqiu had not been a businessman for a few years, his temper would have improved a lot. When Fuqiu was still a Confucian scholar, he would not have discussed poetry with such people, but would have drawn his sword and fought with them before talking about reason.
"Are you busy? If not, come to my house and have a seat." Zhu Xiang found that Fu Qiu's name was always on the favorability list and his pixel avatar had not faded, so he greeted him warmly.
He knew that although Fuqiu returned home to do business, he must not have neglected his studies. This kind of perseverance could be encouraged more.
Li Mu sighed and said, "Stop talking. Your student can hardly breathe."
Zhu Xiang was full of questions.
Li Mu glanced at the shopkeeper who probably guessed something from the "Xianyang Academy" he mentioned, put down the money for buying silk, picked up the silk in one hand, and left with Zhu Xiang in the other.
"Follow me." Li Mu said to Fuqiu.
Fuqiu quickly turned around and asked his followers to go back, and he followed excitedly.
The followers looked at their steady master, who was jumping like a rabbit, and their mouths opened into an "O" shape.
When Li Mu and Zhu Xiang went out shopping, the carriage and guards followed behind them.
As they were about to leave, the carriage drove out from the corner like magic.
After Li Mu pulled Zhu Xiang onto the carriage, he said to the coachman, "Drive faster, Zhu Xiang's identity has been exposed."
The groom's face turned pale and he immediately waved the whip.
Once Duke Zhu Xiang's identity is exposed, the streets nearby will definitely become extremely congested.
Zhu Xiang joked, "Am I so popular? I won't leave a story of 'watching Zhu Xiang to death' for future generations, will I?"
Li Mu frowned: "Watching the killing?"
Zhu Xiang said: "There were too many people who loved me. When I went out, I was surrounded by them. It was hard to breathe, and then I suffocated to death."
Li Mu said angrily: "If they really dare to surround us, I will draw my sword. According to the Qin Law, anyone who attacks an official can be beheaded on the spot."
Seeing that Li Mu couldn't take a joke, Zhu Xiang said hurriedly: "Watching me doesn't mean attacking me. I'm just joking, don't take it too seriously."
Li Mu was very serious. He thought this move was really possible.
Zhu Xiang was still known as a god in Southern Qin. Once, someone in Xianyang City dared to propose using the god-child Zheng'er to make elixirs, and who knows what he might do to the "living god" Zhu Xiang.
People who seek immortality have poor brains and are capable of doing anything.
Seeing that Li Mu was still serious, Zhu Xiang quickly changed the subject and said to Fu Qiu, "How have you been recently? It turns out that the businessman sitting at the table next to me is you. Is your son going to enter the Wujun Academy? You are proficient in "Book of Songs" and "Book of Documents", and you are best at "Book of Songs". I think your son should be good too."
Fu Qiu blushed and said, "I dare not say that I am proficient or expert, but I just know a little bit."
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Don't be modest. I'm not praising you, I'm just telling you the truth."
Li Mu wanted to roll his eyes. Zhu Xiang was used to telling the truth, and those who heard Zhu Xiang's "truth" were either very angry or very excited.
He glanced at Fuqiu and began to hold his breath again.
The person in front of me is the second type.
When Fuqiu heard Zhu Xiang's recognition of him, he was so excited that he almost fainted.
Although he returned home that day out of filial piety, he was very distressed that he could no longer receive Zhu Xianggong's teachings, and he often woke up from his dreams.
Fortunately, he ignored the opposition and followed Lin Gong and Lu Gong to the State of Chu to do cotton cloth business, which can be regarded as doing his part for his mentor.
(End of this chapter)