I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 831 Gujie Station
Gujie Station is located at the foot of a hill five miles north of Liangxiang County.

Shu Youliang and his group rode their bicycles off the official road, turned into a branch road along the gravel road, walked more than a hundred meters, and saw the gate of Gujie Station.

The arched gate was built with an iron frame, with four round wooden signs hanging on the top, with four large characters written on them.

"Gujie Posthouse."

Below the wooden sign, two iron gates were open.

There are two small houses side by side next to the gate, with a small wooden sign that says "Guard Room" hanging on them.

There were two men in uniform standing at the gate. When they saw Shu Youliang and his group riding their bicycles over, smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

The older man in the middle asked, "Why are you staying at the hotel?"

"Yes." Ren Boan came out and answered.

"You are all riding bicycles. How many of you are government officials?"

"We are from the Sinong Temple Rural Survey Team, and we are here to conduct a rural economic survey."

Ren Boan took out his ID and handed it over.

The older man took it and said, "I can tell from your appearance that you are a frequent visitor. You know the rules. The regulations above state that anyone staying at a post station, whether official or private, must register their ID."

"I know. Your military department is very strict and has strict rules! Everyone, please take out your ID cards and register them."

The older man chuckled, "You are wise."

He took the ID cards of ten people, walked a few steps, and handed them into the guard room. There was a man sitting inside, who was registering by swiping the ID cards.

"My last name is Ren, Ren Boan, and I'm the leader of the sixth group of the Sinong Temple Rural Investigation Team. What's your name, brother?" Ren Boan handed a "Luanhe" cigarette to each of the leading man and his assistant.

The two of them took it with a smile, lit it with Ren Boan's lighter, and the three of them started chatting in the smoke.

"My name is Yan Dafu, deputy team leader of the Gujie Station security team, and this is my colleague, Wu Shitou."

Ren Boan pointed at Gujie Station with his right finger and drew a circle.

The Gujie Station is about seven or eight hundred meters in radius and is surrounded by a wire fence more than one meter high. It is surrounded by hills and wastelands, and behind it is a low rocky mountain.

"Brother Yan, is there a lot of people at the post station today? We won't sleep in the woodshed, will we?"

"There are many people here today, but you don't have to sleep in the woodshed. Our Gujie Posthouse is at least a Class B posthouse, and can accommodate more than a hundred people."

Ren Boan smiled, "That's good. Being on a business trip is hard enough, and I have to sleep in the woodshed. I can't do this kind of work anymore."

"That's right. Why should you put yourself in a difficult position when working for an official?"

Ren Boan turned his head and saw a barracks about five or six hundred meters south of the post station, across a narrow river. The barracks were larger than the post station, with walls and buildings, and looked neat and tidy. There was a large flag with the word "Ming" fluttering at the gate.

"Brother Yan, where is it?"

"The barracks of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Gyeonggi Detachment of the Guards Army."

"The barracks of the Guards. We can sleep peacefully that night. We rode these bicycles and attracted many thieves along the way."

"Haha," Yan Dafu laughed, "Brother, your bicycle is a rare item, and everyone will be jealous. But don't worry, in our post station, no one dares to take your bicycle."

"Haha, thank you very much."

Yan Dafu glanced at Ren Boan, Yang Guian, and the four followers of the Pacification Office, his eyes jumping to their waists, then he took the certificate handed out from the window and returned it to Ren Boan.

"Everyone, our post station is located at a strategic point, and there are all kinds of people here. Although everyone has registered their credentials, there are still good and bad people. I can see that you are all true Buddhas, you can hold your ground and hold on. We thank you in advance."

"You're welcome, bro."

Ren Boan took the certificate, answered a question, and led everyone into the gate of the post station.

Walking in the open space between the gate and the main building, Li Xuan pushed his bicycle and looked back at Yan Dafu who was staring at his group's backs, and couldn't help asking.

"Brother Ren, what does this surname Yan mean?"

Before Ren Boan could speak, Shu Youliang replied, "I see the clues."

"Master Shu, what's the clue?"

"It can be seen that Ren Boan and his men are military men, and they carry short guns."

Ren Boan smiled at Li Xuan and said, "Young Marquis, it's okay. There will be too many people talking later, so we will have to call you Li Dalang."

"alright, no worries."

There was a big sign in the open space, with the words "Northern Post Service Group Company, providing you with home-like services!" written on the top.

Below it was an advertisement: "Changfeng carriage, comfortable ride! Lulong Vehicle Manufacturing Factory."

The main building of Gujie Posthouse was a square five-story building. Two people were standing at the door waiting for them.

"Guest sir, how many are there?"

"Ten."

"Can we have a room for two?"

"Okay! Two people in one room. Is there hot water?"

“Yes, we have a boiler at our post station, and we have hot water 24 hours a day.

But we don’t have a steam engine, only an animal-powered water pump, so the upstairs rooms only have cold water. If you want hot water, you can only go to the bathhouse in the backyard. ”

"Okay. Is there a bathroom upstairs?"

"Yes, there is a washroom and a toilet on the first floor."

"The conditions are good."

"You are right, sir. We are certainly not as good as a guesthouse or a hotel, but we are at least a Class B post house. The conditions are definitely much better than those of an ordinary inn.

Besides, our post station was newly built in the second year of Wanli, so all the equipment is still very new.”

The waiter led Shu Youliang and others around to the main entrance.

A nearly three-meter-high wall connects the two sides of the main building, forming a courtyard within a courtyard.

There is a door on the side of the main building leading to the courtyard.

"Don't worry, sir. This door is watched during the day and locked at night. There are also people on duty. It's safe."

"Double doors, it's safe indeed."

"Sir, when you go out, the first thing to consider is safety, and then comfort. Besides, if we don't take good care of you and you lose your belongings, we will have to compensate you.

We must keep a closer eye on it.”

Everyone followed the guy into the yard. It was very spacious, with a layer of cement on the ground, which was very flat and bright.

There was a row of bungalows next to the wall, which were stables, and you could hear the snorting of horses. Next to the stables was a row of sheds, in which were parked five or six carriages, some "special cars" that only seated two to four people, some "ride-along cars" that seated eight to ten people, and some "trucks" fully loaded with goods.

It was now past five in the afternoon, the setting sun was shining, and two more carriages rumbled in, parked, and the horses were unloaded.

Then the carriage was sealed and the horses were taken to the stable to rest.

Behind the yard is the boiler room, with black smoke belching from a chimney.

There is a bathhouse next to the boiler room, and I saw people going in in groups of three or four to take a bath.

Next to the bathhouse is the kitchen, which also has a chimney with smoke coming out and wafting the tempting aroma of food.

Next is the warehouse.

Opposite the stables are two small courtyards, which are the VIP accommodation area. The people who live there are either rich or noble.

The guy brought the group to a corner of the bicycle shed, asked them to park the bicycles inside, and asked someone to find an iron chain, which was passed through the tripods of the ten bicycles, then wrapped around the concrete pillars of the bicycle shed and locked with a click.

"Everyone, take your luggage and we'll go check in."

Entering from the back door into the lobby on the first floor of the main building, which is about four to five hundred square meters in size and has a height of about six meters, it looks very spacious.

On the left is the registration and checkout counter, inside which is a clock with the hands pointing to five forty.

In front of the gate is a rest area with several rows of benches where five or six people sit and smoke.

On the right is the dining room, separated by a screen. I can vaguely see a dozen tables there, each of which can seat four to six people. There are already twenty to thirty people sitting at the table.

After putting the luggage together, Ren Boan began to collect documents.

"I still need to register my ID? Haven't I already registered?"

"Li Dalang, what we just did was the inspection registration, and now it's the check-in registration, which are two different things."

After completing the registration, we were assigned to one of the five rooms on the third floor. After paying the room fee and getting the key, we went up the stairs to the third floor.

There are fifteen rooms in a row in the main building. All of them have windows facing outward and doors facing the backyard. A corridor connects all the rooms on the entire floor. At the end of the corridor are the washroom, toilet and fire emergency stairs.

"310, 311"

Ren Boan distributed the keys to everyone. "Li Dalang and Shu Ye will share a room, and Guian and I will share a room. Everyone, put your luggage away, take a few minutes to rest, and then go downstairs to eat."

"Okay, I've been riding my bike all day and my eyes are glowing with hunger. Hurry up and come out as soon as you've put the food away. Don't waste time. If I'm really hungry, I'll eat people."

After hearing Shu Youliang's words, everyone laughed and opened the door to enter the room.

The setting sun was hanging on the western hilltop, and the orange sunlight spread over the entire backyard, flowing over the half-person-high railing, like a golden blanket spread on the corridor.

Ren Boan stopped and looked around for a few seconds. In the distance, there were fields and mountains, and villages scattered among the mountains and forests. Everything was dyed orange.

The curling smoke adds a few touches to this orange landscape painting.

In less than ten minutes, Shu Youliang and his group sat down at two tables in the restaurant on the first floor.

After Ren Boan completed the check-in procedures and went upstairs, he ordered two tables of standard meals with four dishes and one soup.

As soon as everyone sat down, the waiter was very attentive and set the table and ordered the dishes to be served.

At this time, more than a dozen tables in the restaurant were full of people. Shu Youliang and his group had just sat down for two minutes when there was no seat left.

Later guests were invited to wait in the lounge area next to the counter on the first floor until a table became available.

All of the people present were people who traveled from north to south, including officials on official business trips like Shu Youliang, businessmen, buyers from factories and mines, students on study tours, soldiers, workers and seamen returning home to visit their families.
People from all over the country spoke in different accents, talked about the latest happenings in different places, and expressed their own feelings. The whole restaurant was as lively as a boiling kettle, full of laughter and chatter.

A businessman spoke with a Shandong accent: "This official road is getting easier and easier to travel. I took a boat to Jinzhou Port, then took the land route to Liaoyang. Then I took the official road from Liaoyang to here, and I didn't encounter any pirates or bandits along the way."

His companion laughed, "Why, you still want to meet these idiots?"

"Just kidding, who wants to encounter these evil spirits when going out? I just can't imagine that in just a few years, both land and sea routes have been so peaceful and clean.

The sea route is quiet, I can understand that.

The navy of the Ming Dynasty is beyond reproach. After ten years of raids, pirates have long been wiped out. But the land is also so peaceful, which is really unexpected."

"You are walking on the official road to the capital, which is close to the capital, so it must be peaceful and quiet."

“No, not only the official roads in the capital, but also the official roads in Liaodong and Liaoxi have been pacified.

I walked these two roads with my old boss more than ten years ago. My goodness, there was a bandit every three steps and a thief every five steps. It was hard to guard against. Three of my old friends lost their lives, and my old boss and I also lost half our lives there.

After that, I didn’t dare go there for more than ten years.

This time, I heard from others that the situation there was peaceful and tranquil, so I mustered up the courage to go there.

My goodness, except for a few thieves along the way, the world is peaceful! I couldn’t even dream of it.”

The person at the next table spoke with a Huaixi accent and said, "I think this is the imperial court using both kindness and force. On one hand, the officers and soldiers are clearing out the bandits and robbers back and forth. If they dare to show up, they will be sent to fight.

On the other hand, the people's lives became better. The court took the land from the royal family and nobles, as well as the occupied land from the guards. Many people were assigned to the agricultural reclamation bureau and were given land.

There are so many factories and mines desperately recruiting people, even women and the elderly can find work and earn money to support themselves.

On one side, you will be beheaded if you are caught, and on the other side, there are plenty of opportunities to live. Anyone who is not a fool will know which choice to make."

"That's right. As long as the common people have a way to make a living, who would want to become a bandit?"

A man at the next table spoke with a Shanxi accent, "Also, the court has done a good job in renovating this post station.

The official road was widened, flat and straight. Then the post station was changed into a transport company, and horse carriages were allowed to pass. There were also guard cavalry patrolling the official road day and night, which was convenient and safe.

And this post station, everyone saw it when they came in, with two guardhouses inside and outside, who wouldn't feel at ease when seeing it?"

Everyone agreed.

"Yes, in the past, I had to worry about my head when I went out. Not only was it hard and tiring, but I also had to worry about my life. Now it's good, I have money and can travel all over the world!"

"Haha, yes, nowadays everything can be done as long as you have money."

There were also discordant voices. A student on a study tour snorted, "Humph, the world is going downhill, people are all obsessed with money, and people's hearts are no longer the same as they used to be!"

In response to this sour complaint, everyone just smiled at each other, as if they were hearing the chirping of crickets.

“Why can’t it be used!”

Someone was shouting in a corner of the restaurant, and everyone turned to look.

I saw a male servant in a blue shirt and a small hat, no more than twenty years old, holding a piece of paper and shouting loudly.

Next to him was a young man wearing a brocade robe and a Confucian scarf on his head. His face was flushed and he looked uneasy.

The male servant shouted three times in a row: "Is there still any law? Is Gujie Posthouse still a Daming Posthouse? Is it still under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War?"

(End of this chapter)