Northern Dynasties

Chapter 140 Draw a knife to help
In mid-August, the autumn harvest is coming to an end, and there are more and more people walking in the fields.

Many villagers have completed the most important harvest work of the year, but they have no time to stop and rest, and they have to husk and process the millet as soon as possible.

The freshly harvested grains are still undefeated. If they are processed immediately, the consumption will increase. However, small households only use this harvest to meet the rent adjustment, and there is no surplus grain to store up for later.

At this time, the ridges along the Luoshui River are also the busiest time, busy all night processing the grains transported here from the surrounding villages.Of course, these grain processing is not free, and one stone of grain can get six buckets of grain, which is considered benevolence and righteousness.

But the villagers have no choice. If they do not send the grain to Dugong for processing and process it at home, it will take time and effort and may not be able to catch up with the government's collection period.

Moreover, the end of the autumn harvest does not mean that the year's farming work is over, and the land must be plowed quickly to prepare for the sowing of winter wheat and other overwintering crops.Repairing the house, digging the cellar, accumulating salary to prepare for the cold, etc., go round and round, and there is no time to breathe after a year.

On the riverside road upstream of Luoshui River, a group of pedestrians rode on horseback.These people are all dressed in plain hakama pleats, the stand-up collar around the neck, the leather belt around the waist, and the places where the hands and feet are bound are all black, and they wear small black gauze crowns.

Wearing such uniform clothes makes people feel different from ordinary passers-by at first glance, and awe is secretly aroused in their hearts.

On the road ahead, there was a pontoon bridge erected on a tributary of the Luoshui River. Because there was no bridge foundation support, the bridge deck was only rickety and shallow on the river.

There are several monks standing at both ends of the pontoon bridge. These monks are all powerful and holding sticks, looking like Vajra Arhats in the murals of statues.

They guarded both ends of the pontoon bridge, scanning the passing pedestrians sternly, asking for fares from the pedestrians, and checking their luggage at the same time. If there is too much cargo, they have to cross the bridge in batches, and the fare for crossing the bridge is natural. It's one trip at a time.

In the past, most of the pedestrians were from the village near Zuo, so the price of the bridge toll is naturally not too high, it is nothing more than a few handfuls of millet and bean or a few chickens.Even so, several large baskets next to the monks were also filled with all kinds of rural goods.

The team of knights approached here, and the villagers who lined up to cross the bridge saw it and avoided it wisely, not wanting to cause trouble.

The leading knight, who looked like a weak crown, waved his hand to reject the concessions of the villagers, and ordered the followers behind him to dismount and line up to cross the river.

"Excuse me, old man, why is the bridge here controlled by Samana?"

Glancing at the monk guarding the bridge, the young man curiously patted a fellow villager carrying a big bamboo basket in front of him and asked.

Seeing the young man's dignified manner, the fellow did not dare to be negligent. After hearing the words, he quickly replied: "The name of this river canal is Ejiaogou, and the water flows rapidly. In the past, many people drowned. None of the bridges will last long. It is only due to the suppression of the Master Gao De of Pushan Temple that the evil dragons dare not do evil, and this pontoon bridge is built for the villagers to cross..."

The young man nodded after hearing the words, and then asked again: "I came from the south, and I saw Dushui order notices on many Jindu bridges along the Luoshui River. As long as the villagers can recognize the notices, they can be exempted Ferry fare, why don’t you see it here?”

"Clouds cover the moon on the [-]th day of August, and snow lights up the lights on the [-]th day of the first lunar month! The old man has heard of this month's decree. I see. I don’t know where the idiots in the village are spreading rumors and deceiving people!”

When the fellow heard this, he said angrily, while a passerby sitting on a truck next to him laughed and said, "The old man has lost his knowledge and blames others for cheating. I am coming from Weibei and have passed through Baishui. There is no need to spend to cross the river and cross the bridge. I heard that the envoy of the court sent a virtuous official Dushui envoy to take over the bridges on the Luoshui River, so there is such an order."

The young man immediately became interested when he heard this, and approached him and asked, "I'm a knowledgeable person in the village, so I don't know what kind of affairs this Dushui sage is in charge of? How many decrees have been made to benefit people?"

"Of course I know. The envoy of Dushui is the captain of Shuiheng in ancient times. The canals, bridges, and weir wells are all within the management. It is the Hebo of this waterway. Fish and shrimps must obey orders!"

The merchant became interested when he heard people's questions, and showed off his knowledge, but after seeing the monks at the bridge, he sighed: "It's a pity that the Fa-rectification of this world has disappeared, and the gods of mountains and rivers have to make way for these ghosts and evil spirits." The old farmer is stupid, saying that evil dragons harm people is not because the Pushan Temple dammed the river upstream, used water to make paper, and the old bridges on the river were all destroyed and demolished by those monstrous monks..."

When the man spoke up to this point, he immediately noticed a few vicious eyes staring at him, and quickly closed his mouth, not daring to speak nonsense.

When the young man heard this, his face sank, and he retreated to the team without speaking.

Not long after, it was the turn of the merchants to cross the river. Because there were too many goods on the carts, they had to be transported in batches. After several round trips, they had to charge two bolts of cloth for the bridge.

Although the merchant's expression was ugly, but seeing the ferocious appearance of the monks holding the shackles, he could only laugh dryly and said, "Bodhisattvas build bridges to benefit the people, and believers should also accumulate merit. Masters have worked hard!"

While complimenting him, he offered cloth goods at the same time, so he was let go.

Soon it was the turn of the knights to cross the river. The young man was not in a hurry to cross the river. He looked at the first monk and asked, "What is the standard for collecting bridge fees here and measuring people?"

The monk looked at everyone without showing any fear, but said: "Building a bridge to benefit the village does not count the cost. But the bodhisattva is so kind, and the villagers need to spread the Dharma sincerely. Everyone depends on their hearts. If their hearts are not sincere, they will naturally not shelter them."

When the young man heard this, he sneered, pointed at the monk with a knife, and said, "The mage has been protecting the bridge and protecting the Dharma all day long, so he must be sincerely paying respects to the Buddha. I have a sharp knife in my hand, can the mage protect you from the Buddha?"

Hearing this, the monk's expression changed abruptly, he immediately drew back for more than ten feet, and then wanted to call out to his companions.

At this time, the white-robed old monk who was collecting bridge funds hastily stepped forward and said, "Your guests have extraordinary bearing, presumably they are officials? Although a certain monk is a Buddhist believer, he is also a good citizen of the state and county. How dare he hinder the officials' itinerary?" ! Officials please go with me!"

While talking, the old monk personally stepped forward and led the horse to the bridge.The young man took another look at the startled people up and down the bridge, and then withdrew his saber, leaving half of the men and horses guarding here, and only after crossing the other side of the river did the left guards cross the bridge.

"These monstrous monks, who confuse the village and defraud the villagers, are especially dissatisfied with their wealth. They actually block the river as a danger and profit from it. They really deserve to die! After this trip, we must report to them and strictly investigate such demon monks and village thieves!"

After crossing the bridge, the young man looked back at the floating bridge and cursed bitterly.

The young man's name is Mao Shijian, he is the youngest son of Mao Ya, a wealthy man in the north, and was recommended by Zhou Huida's son Zhou Ti as the official of Dushui.When recruiting soldiers to return to the office before, many of them died and had not yet been officially recruited into the army. This time, they were ordered to go north along the Baishui River to inspect the canal.

It has been a few days since the Dushui Government Office started its work, and all the measures taken have achieved some results in the downstream area south of Baishui.But from Baishui upwards, it has not been touched yet.

The first is naturally because the time to do things is still short, and the second is the stubbornness of the countryside above Baishui.Especially the latter, as Mao Shijian saw along the way, the pontoon bridge occupied and operated by the Buddhist temple before was just one of them.

What's more, in some Luoshui subdivisions where the imperial decrees are beyond the reach, some local tyrants or Jihu tribes even erected fences along the canals to prevent villagers from diverting water or fishing.

It was also after being personally on the scene and witnessing it with his own eyes that Mao Shijian realized that the previous boss’s so-called water control required both benevolence and firmness.All kinds of strange and exotic feelings in the upper part of Luoshui are not only due to the breeding of evil spirits in the village, but also because of the rule of the king.

The tenacious control of the village by the mighty Hu chiefs is only concentrated along the river Luoshui.As for the reason, it is much deeper. Although the Dushui Government Office is dedicated to water control, it needs to solve many persistent problems in order to achieve this goal.

Mao Shijian could only bear his resentment in his arms at the moment, and continued to go up Hebei.

When he walked to a manor in front of him, he saw several slaves in front of the manor fighting a man. The man who was beaten was a fellow from Qiaonan who had met once before.

"stop!"

Mao Shijian was a young man who was a chivalrous man. When he saw the slave bullying the old man, he couldn't hold back any longer. He rode his horse and roared loudly.

Seeing that he had many followers, several slaves dared not be presumptuous for a while, but the villager still grabbed a slave's trouser leg and said in a trembling voice: "I beg you for the horseshoe, please... those preserved fishes are all the same." More than a hundred catties, although it is not expensive, but I only want an old knife! My dog ​​was recruited into the village regiment, without a knife, he can't survive!"

"What are you doing to bother me about your own household affairs! Is it because I'm greedy for fishy things? Downstream thieves search for catches, and what they bid is the land price. Want knives? Dreaming!"

The Haonu kicked the old farmer to the ground with a look of disgust. Seeing that Mao Shijian and the others hadn't left, he gave his companion a wink, and the companion turned around and fled to the village.

When Mao Shijian saw that the slave was using the water to buy fish and meat from the township, he was immediately outraged, and said angrily, "The downstream government collects fish according to the current price. How dare you cheat! You return the old man's fish. , I will replace him with him!"

"Where did you come from, the wild road fools? This town is where you foreigners run wild?"

The slave became even angrier when he heard the sound, but when he saw Mao Shijian and the others armed with knives, they dragged the fellow's legs and retreated into the manor.

Mao Shijian was full of evil fire all the way, seeing that this slave was still so vicious, he couldn't restrain himself, drew his knife in his hand, leaped forward, and slashed at the slave: "Don't talk about this town, Luo I am in charge of the water, both up and down the water! If you are a slave and rebellious, die!"

When the knife was slashed, the slave faced the sharp blade and was sent flying for several feet, and he was already dead when he landed.

At this moment, nearly a hundred servants also rushed out of the manor. Seeing this scene, they were furious and rushed forward, brandishing their weapons: "The villains from He Township, dare to disturb our manor!"

(End of this chapter)