Dou Qiong and the other two escorted the two of them forward at a rather fast pace. If they had been on a good horse, they would have been able to travel more than eight hundred li. Although it was now a civilian road, it was much smoother and wider than the official road of the past.
The official road had already been built by the Imperial Court for the common people. Every year, the common people had to volunteer, and if they didn't work, they had to fork out money. In other words, they had to hire servants or be called laborers.
If they didn't want to work, it was easy to do. They just had to replace them with something else. The Imperial Court's tax was actually passed to the common people, while the tax on merchants was collected in proportion to their assets.
Moreover, the tax on merchants was very irregular. Most of the time, it was calculated according to the population, and this population was calculated according to the agricultural tax. Thus, although the status of farmers was higher than that of merchants, they had to bear a heavy burden of tax. It was not worth it.
After Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan arrived, they began to instigate the imperial court to levy a special business tax. In the beginning, the tax was based on a small percentage. Later on, the normal tax system in history was still not the same, because there was also the rent and tax of the farmers.
In the past few years, collecting the tax on merchants had been very difficult, but even so, the Imperial Court's revenue had clearly increased.
Once Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan stabilized their positions, the tax on merchants began to increase. Last year, when the tax was distributed on a large scale, no one in the Great Tang could stop it. Whether it was the officials, the great clans, or the hidden business consortiums, when faced with these two powerful individuals, there was no other choice but to obediently exchange benefits with them.
Last year's revenue from the national treasury was around one hundred million strings of string of coins, and this year, it would definitely reach two hundred and fifty million strings of coins. It wasn't that the Great Tang was poor. It was the Imperial Court's national treasury and ordinary farmers who didn't have much land that was poor.
In the past, it was divided into two extremes, with the government and merchants on one side and the workers and peasants on the other. Those who controlled absolute resources didn't have to pay much tax.
Now, the tax was collected based on income, and the price was that Zhang Xiaobao, Wang Juan, and Li Longji had to give up the right to distribute the railway. Li Longji appeared depressed and uncomfortable on this point. In truth, he was much better off than before. At the very least, the national treasury and his own internal funds were abundant. But this was how people were. The more they obtained, the more they wanted more.
At that time, Zhang Xiaobao had discussed letting Li Longji wait patiently for a few years. Then, as the resources of the railway increased, the people who made the exchange would naturally know what they had lost.
Wang Juan believed that things would eventually go according to Zhang Xiaobao's plan. Not to mention that people nowadays didn't understand Taidu's economic methods, even if they did, they couldn't beat Zhang Xiaobao. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to cheat so much money back then.
As a result, when the imperial court exploited the commoners to build roads, the commoners were very unwilling to work. If they could slack off, they would. Most importantly, the commoners did not have the strength to work. The imperial court did not provide them with food or drink, and did not even provide them with tools.
Under such circumstances, wanting to fix the road was no different from a fool's dream.
The reason why the road was good now was because the commoners' yearning for a better life in the future was related to the economic foundation they had. It was a kind of spontaneous labor behavior. In addition, there were merchants who helped to pay for it. Everyone had the same goal, so a road that was smoother and more spacious than the official road was produced.
The real macro-control was like this. It was a little worse than the inaction system, but it followed the rules. If you wanted the commoners to do something, you directly ordered them to do it. It was better to provide them with a good policy environment. Then, you would find that the little drops of rain and dew you gave to the commoners, the commoners would give you green willows and red flowers in return.
Of course, the premise of all this was the ratio between the ability and honesty of the people in power. It was not that the more honest the better, and it was also not that the stronger the ability, the better. The balance between the two was the Dao.
The sound of the horses kicking and the wheels rolling could be heard.
Dou Qiong and the other two people were on either side of the carriage. There was no coachman on the carriage. The old man did not know how to drive a carriage. He had never even owned an animal before, so how could he learn how to drive a carriage?
The mule pulling the carriage was not a newcomer. It knew that it had to follow the road and not go to the side. At the same time, it knew that it should try to maintain the same speed as the rider, unless the rider was running too fast.
The child who had never sat in a carriage looked at the scenery on both sides and looked back. He was very excited. The old man was nervous. He already knew that the person he was going to meet was a high official, so high that he did not dare to think about it. He was afraid that he would say something wrong and get his head chopped off. He was even more worried that his grandson would be implicated by him.
So he sat on the coachman's seat, and his grandson sat on the other side. Both of them held the shaft of the carriage tightly with their hands, expressing their nervousness and excitement.
"Little brother, how much longer?" The old man's body moved with the slight jolt of the carriage, and he shouted to the person on the left.
"Don't worry, there is still more than an hour. The mule runs slowly, and the military horses will have already entered the city." The person who was with Dou Qiong shouted to the old man. He was also looking forward to it. Although he knew about the matter of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, they did not know him at all. It was not good to meet them without any reason. If he delayed their business and was known by others, it was very likely that he would be beaten to death.
"Are they easy to talk to? I will be so scared that I can't speak properly. Little brother, you need to help me. "The old man shouted again.
"Okay." The second person began to feel nervous. He was worried that he could not even stand when they met later. How could he help others?
Sure enough, after an hour, the five of them arrived at the city gate of Yizhou. Although it was called a city gate, it was actually very dilapidated. The top of the city wall was bare, and there was a lot of grass growing everywhere. One of the city gates was missing, and the other one was open inwards. The paint on it was peeling off, and it seemed that no one had cleaned it after the rain, so there was a lot of green hair growing on it.
The three horses and one carriage slowed down. There was a team in the city that was heading out. More than half of the team had already left. Dou Qiong could not ask them to return, so she could only wait.
The old man in the carriage looked at the city gate and city wall, and suddenly felt uneasy. He asked, "Little brother, the city is broken, and no one is repairing it? Even if the city gate is installed, it will be fine. "
"I don't know who took the city gate away, but the remaining half should be gone soon. It's good wood, and it can be used to make boats and houses. I suddenly remembered that the missing half of the gate is in the provincial government office. It was divided into two pieces and used as a notice board." The person on the left side of the carriage had a good memory. He actually remembered where the city gate was.
In fact, it was not cost-effective to use the city gate as a notice board. It was not a thin board, but more like a wall. The advantage of using a notice board as a notice board was that it was sturdy and durable. One could even climb a ladder to sleep on it.
Dou Qiong looked at the team that was leaving the city. She knew them, but their business was very big, so she did not have much contact with them. She only nodded occasionally when they met, but now she nodded as well. After nodding, she said to the old man, "Old man, there is no need to be afraid. From Yizhou to the west is Tubo. If someone really attacks, they will have to attack Tubo first.
Old man, where is your hometown? Did you come from Tubo? Otherwise, you should know more. Is there a lot of cannibals in your hometown? "
"It's over there. They said that we have to walk diagonally to the north. I have never been out before, so I turned a big circle while walking. I can't remember how I walked. Are you talking about the cannibals who are always shouting 'la la la la'? Yes, there are some who are chanting Buddhist scriptures. Our place is very chaotic.
If we walk south from the mountains, there are often people who go there and come back. This year, those who are shouting 'la la la' spent a lot of money to find people around us. When we come out, we see them. When we see them … I don't want to tell you. "
The old man who had never been out of his hometown obviously did not have a detailed geographical knowledge. He did not even know where he was. Anyway, he heard that the east was better. Since his son and daughter-in-law came first, he followed them.
While they were talking, the team had already left. Dou Qiong hurriedly urged the horse. When they entered the city gate, they did not encounter anyone who stopped to check or collect the entrance fee. Only poor places would do that. There was no need for that in the Tang Empire.
After entering the city, Dou Qiong dismounted and pulled the mule's halter. He slowed down to avoid bumping into pedestrians. Although the main road in the city was for animals to use, if you did not have special circumstances, you would be severely punished if you hit someone in the middle of the road. Only when there was a military emergency would you be killed. Who asked the person who was hit not to be careful when crossing the main road?
The old man and his grandson could not see anything. The city was different from the outside. The main road was wide, and there were many 'tall' buildings on both sides. They did not know any of the words written on the shop signs.
"Not for people?" The old man asked in surprise.
"Are you talking about the residential area? Behind you, there are shops near the main road. After walking for about 20 minutes, more than a quarter of an hour, we will reach the place. "
Dou Qiong was not a qualified tour guide. Obviously, it was his first time here, but he did not give him a good introduction, such as where there were many local specialties, unique snacks, or scenic spots. He did not say anything.
The old man and his grandson could not see anything, so they did not have the mood to ask anything else. The little fellow was attracted by the fragrance of the roadside restaurant and swallowed his saliva. He had eaten a steamed bun, a bowl of wontons, and a big apple before and did not do anything, but he felt hungry again.
Twenty minutes passed very quickly for the old man and his grandson. Before they had seen enough, they arrived outside the Blue Sea Silver Sand Restaurant. Because Yizhou was one of the important cities of the Tang Empire, the Blue Sea Silver Sand Restaurant was built very high. It had four floors and all the windows were of the same color. The first and second floors were windows directly adjacent to the street, while the third and fourth floors were outer cloisters with canopies above. People could come outside to enjoy the breeze while watching the people below.
Moreover, there were many courtyards behind the main building of the restaurant, and the price was not low. People who paid a little attention to the restaurant knew that the main dish was seafood.
"We are here." Dou Qiong said to the old man.
The old man looked carefully at the restaurant and nodded. "He must be a high-ranking official to be able to eat here."
"His family lives here, and there are other places. I don't know where they are today, so it's not wrong to ask." Dou Qiong walked to the door. It was not open now, so there was no sound of people eating inside.
"Oh! It must cost a lot to stay here for a night, right? "The old man felt that he would never be able to stay here for the rest of his life.
"The restaurant is owned by his family. They don't need to spend money to stay here, so they don't charge for accommodation." The man with Dou Qiong explained.
The old man was confused. "Didn't you say that he is an official? Is he a businessman who lives here? "
"He is an official while doing business. His family was doing business before he became an official. He is the richest family in the Tang Empire. It will be troublesome if he runs out of money one day. His family, Xiao Bao, wants to suppress other businessmen in the Tang Empire. You won't understand even if I tell you. Without Xiao Bao, the Tang Empire will be in chaos with the current development speed. Just remember that they are very powerful and important to us."
"Okay, that's good." The old man really did not understand.
Dou Qiong knocked on the door and said a few words to the man inside. Then she came back and said, "You can go in now. We are lucky today. Xiao Bao and his family live here, so you don't have to go anywhere else. Old man, that man just now promised to find someone from the government to help you transfer your hometown to Yizhou. Then you and your grandson can talk to Xiao Bao and go with the people from the government office.
The little guy will go to school to study, and you will go to the retirement place. You can work but can't stay idle. You can ask someone to arrange things for you to do for fun. "
The old man was waiting for this. It was not a big deal for him, but the most important thing was that his grandson could learn to read. He did not dare to think about it before. Learning to read was a promising person.
Then he thought of Dou Qiong saying that the people from the government office would come. The old man said uneasily, "We will find our own way. There is no need to trouble the government."
"No trouble, no trouble at all. The government office in Yizhou is temporarily taken over by Xiao Bao and his family. There are too many idle people. They can't just eat their salary for free. They are like mules. If they don't work, they will be lazy. Old man, don't be afraid of them. If they dare to give you a hard time, you can report them to the telegraph office.
Speaking of the telegraph office, you can ask them to help you send a report to Henan Province. Then you can ask the local government to help you find your son. As long as they are in Henan Province, or have been there before, and have worked there before, you don't have to worry about losing them. "
Dou Qiong was not afraid of the officials at all. She led the old man and his grandson into the house while talking.
The old man felt like he was in a dream. He could not understand why people were not afraid of officials. When he entered, he saw that it was a big empty room with only two tables. He was even more curious about how the restaurant usually did business. Before he could ask, Dou Qiong said to him, "Many tables have been removed. We will wait here. Learn from me and raise your arm."
After saying that, Dou Qiong raised her arm. The two people with her did the same. The old man was at a loss, but the child found it very interesting.
As soon as they raised their arms, someone immediately came to search them. The knife and coins carried by Dou Qiong and the other two were also taken away. The old man and his grandson had nothing, not even a change of clothes.
The old man understood. It seemed that the person he wanted to meet was relatively timid. He was afraid that they would hurt him.
After sitting in the chair, Dou Qiong reminded him again, "When you see them later, don't get up or go forward. Otherwise, you will be easily killed in the blink of an eye."
"You said that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo were afraid that I would hurt them?" The old man sighed helplessly. He thought that he would not dare to hurt them even if he had a hundred times the courage.
"What Xiao Bao and Cuckoo? It's Xiaobei and the others. If it's Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, then you don't have to worry about us. According to the storyteller, the two of them are very powerful. That's what the storyteller said. Very … powerful."
Dou Qiong obviously did not understand the terms used in some dialects. For example, when he called others' melon ', some people understood the meaning but did not know why he called them that.
Moreover, the meaning of praise and derogatory words could not be judged by the literal meaning. It needed to be judged by the person, the expression and tone of the person when speaking.
Just as Dou Qiong finished speaking, a voice came from behind, "Yes, it's us. We can't beat the Lord. In times of emergency, safety first. Ah, this kind-looking old man is the one who wants to talk to us about important information. Haha, there's also a timid little brother."
Xiaobei was the first to come out. He smiled when he saw people. His eyes looked at the old man and then at the little boy who had not seen much of the world. The little boy's face turned red and he lowered his head. He wanted to hide but did not know where to hide.
Xiaoyuan and the other eight people also came out one after another. They sized up the crowd but did not speak.
The old man's cloudy eyes lit up. Along the way, he had never seen such a beautiful child. Looking at his age, he should not be much older than his grandson, but he was so much taller. It must be related to the good food he usually ate.
"This involves military secrets. Unrelated people, please leave." Xiaobei looked at Dou Qiong and the others with a smile.
Dou Qiong smiled and asked, "You're killing the donkey after it has left the millstone. Where are your brother and sister?"
"My brother is sleeping. Yesterday … I won't tell you what happened. My sister went to sleep after eating. We woke up and came to ask first. There will be rewards for not killing the donkey. You guys go to the back. Someone has prepared the seafood. You guys can rest and drink at the same time, okay? "
Xiaobei pointed at the side door and said to Dou Qiong and the others.
The three of them could not ask for more. After greeting the old man, they went out from the side door to eat, leaving the grandfather and grandson behind to talk.
Xiaobei and the others sat opposite the grandfather and grandson. Someone served them fruit juice and pastries specially prepared for the little boy. In front of the old man was tea.
"Grandpa, you must have worked hard to come all the way here. Speak, we'll listen. We'll deal with what we can. If we can't, we'll look for my brother and sister. Little brother, eat quickly. Once you reach my sister, you'll be home."
Xiaobei held the cup with both hands and spoke to the grandfather and grandson.
The old man was very surprised. He had thought of many things. When he saw people mention Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, he thought about how to say things and not to be afraid.
But no matter what, he did not expect that the people who wanted to talk to him were actually a group of children. Although this group of children looked smarter than his grandson, wore better clothes, and were beautiful, he was serious about what he wanted to say.
But what he was going to say was a big deal. What was the use of a bunch of children hearing about it?
The old man felt helpless in his heart. In the end, he decided to say it. In any case, he would do his best and not worry about anything else.
"You're called Xiaobei? Our place is very far from yours. There is a large area where there are no government offices. There are all kinds of languages. Just like what you said, we also need to go down the mountain to exchange for things to learn. We are poor, and it is not easy to eat salt. The land in the mountain is cultivated, and it does not grow well. There are times when people die when hunting.
"When we come down from the mountain, we walk north for a day. There is a road. On the road, people go there and then come back. We transport cloth, tea, and salt. When we come back from there, we carry other things. There are animal skins, pearls, and seeds.
We can always hear people saying that some group has been killed, or that they can't come back. There are also people who catch slaves. It is very chaotic. We don't have a good life. Do you know? "
After the old man finished speaking, he felt that he had spoken in vain. What did a child know? Just like his grandson, it was useless even if they were one or two years older.
Xiaobei and the others listened very seriously. When the old man stopped, Xiaobei blinked and frowned. He asked Xiaoyuan, "You're talking about the Silk Road that brother and sister talked about, right? Did the Tang Dynasty's caravans go there? "
"Where?" Xiaoyuan couldn't figure out where the old man lived. He said that there were various languages, but did that include dialects? If it was the orthodox language of a race or religion, it would be easy, but there were many dialects. How could he guess?
"Are you stupid? Of course, I'm talking about the Brahmaputra River that sister mentioned before. That's because that's the only place where we haven't deployed troops within a year. The road there isn't easy to travel, and the population is small. Furthermore, it's not under our control.
If we were to go up there, unless we directly pass through Tubo, it's impossible. With the two of them, old and young, do you think my patrolling guards would ignore them after seeing them? If they were to go further north, I don't think they would be able to come back alive. Look at the clothes they're wearing. Even if they weren't eaten by wild beasts, they would have frozen to death. "
Xiaobei said to Xiaoyuan. After that, he asked Xiaozhu, "Is that sister Xiaozhu?"
Xiaozhu nodded. "Yes, the location of their house isn't completely under the jurisdiction of Duoduo. It's under the jurisdiction of India. Actually, India can't control them. What conspiracy can Duoduo have over there? They shouldn't have taken a detour when transporting things. Isn't it better to walk their own path? "
After she finished speaking, the nine children all looked at the old man, waiting for him to answer.
The old man was stunned. He looked at the nine children in front of him and then looked at his grandson. He sighed and said, "It's good to be literate."
At this time, the old man's grandson did not eat the pastries or drink the juice. Instead, he lowered his head deeply. Occasionally, he raised his head to look at the girls in front of him. Then, he continued to lower his head in embarrassment. He seemed very uneasy and uneasy.
The old man gently shook his head. He didn't plan to compare his grandson to others anymore. Slightly relieved, he said to Xiao Bei and the others, "When we came out, we heard people say that there were people shouting 'Ah La La' and 'Ah La La' who were exchanging things with others. You guys are talking about Duo Shi, right?"
"Yes, there are also people called the Abbasid Caliphate, that's them. Allah is the god in their hearts, just like how Buddhists always say 'Amitabha'. We planned to attack them immediately. As for the reason … the reason was very simple. My brother and sister said that they had something good and we needed it, so we attacked.
Their territory is not small. Anyway, even if we don't attack them now, when they feel that they can attack us, they will attack us. Old grandpa, please continue. What do they want in exchange? "
Xiao Bei really didn't want to think of a high-sounding reason.
However, the old man felt that this excuse was very good. I'm better than you. If you have something I need, I'll snatch it from you. That's right.
Then, he said, "Aren't they always there when they are exchanging things? I heard people say that they are going around exchanging things like poisonous snakes and other poisonous things. Other than exchanging things there, they also spend money to find people to help deliver them. Many of the people at the place where we came down from the mountain to exchange things were found by them.
They found people and gave money to their families. They told them that they would come back after helping them deliver the things. The things they delivered were a lot of wood in the mountain. I don't think wood is very useful. I don't know what they are thinking. "
After the old man finished speaking, he nodded vigorously, indicating that he didn't have anything else.
After speaking, the old man was no longer in a daze. It was Xiao Bei and the others' turn to be in a daze. They looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes.
"What's going on?" Xiao Bei muttered, "Using poison? Going into the river or smearing it on weapons? Putting poison in the river, how much would it take to poison the people who drank the water to death? How would they know when we were going to get the water? It would be gone in a rush. Could it be that they have developed the same chemical weapons as us? "
Xiao Yuan chimed in, "Grandpa, do we have an army at the place where you live? Ah, yes. Then it's useless for them to have wood. Don't they know that our artillery can easily destroy walls and camps made of wood? "
Xiao Yuan was talking about the previous small-scale skirmishes and training. Occasionally, the Tang Empire would send artillery support, but it wasn't at the place the old man mentioned. It was further north.
It was impossible that the news couldn't be transmitted. How could the cannibals not know the power of artillery?
"Don't think about it. Tell Brother and Sister to avoid wasting time." Xiao Hai couldn't figure it out and didn't intend to continue relying on the strength of the nine of them to analyze. It would be very troublesome if they made a mistake.
Xiao Bei nodded and said to the old man, "Grandpa, you and little brother wait here. If you want to eat something, get someone to send it here. In a while, someone from the government will come here to handle the procedures for you. We will go find Brother and Sister first. I believe the information you sent will be very useful to us. We will reward you when we are done."
Xiao Bei didn't know if it was useful or not, but he couldn't say it directly. It wouldn't be good to disappoint them.
After speaking, the nine of them got up and left to find Brother and Sister.
Immediately, someone came to ask the grandfather and grandson what they liked to eat. He introduced more than ten dishes for them to choose from.
The old man didn't refuse. He could choose not to eat, but his grandson was hungry. And now he knew very well that Xiao Bao's family was rich, so he couldn't let his grandson suffer. He told the person who asked to arrange a few dishes casually. Then he patted his grandson's head and said, "You must learn well. Did you see those nine brothers and sisters just now? Learn well and you can be like them. "
"Can you bring that one called Xiao Bei home?" The little boy was obviously more mature and knew a lot of things. He had ideas about Xiao Bei.
The old man was shocked and comforted his grandson, "There will be someone better than her in the future. She can't. She … you won't understand even if I tell you. They are not the same person."
The little boy obviously didn't understand the difference in status. He naively thought that everyone in the world was the same. He nodded, but there was a look of disbelief in his eyes.
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