In the middle of the night, the stars in Luoyang's sky were especially bright. Many commoners wore an extra layer of clothes and came out to stroll and eat snacks.
The people who set up the stalls kept smiling. No one collected protection fees, only management fees.
Before Li Longji arrived in Luoyang, the merchants in Luoyang had to pay protection fees in addition to taxes and management fees.
In the past two days, as long as the weather was good at night, the stalls and shops would receive a 10% discount when serving customers.
The 10% discount was not given at the end of the meal. Instead, it was given based on the cost of the meal.
The protection fees they paid were returned. The people who collected the protection fees had accounts.
After receiving the protection fees, they would lend money, buy land, or rent it from tenants.
They did not collect much rent from tenants, afraid that no one would rent it.
They were working in the underworld and doing business in the legal world at the same time.
When they were arrested, their properties were confiscated. As for the small fries who followed them, they were sentenced and punished. Some of them were released after being whipped twice.
The protection fees collected were returned to the people who paid them without interest. Even so, everyone was happy.
They regained what they had lost. It was a huge sum of money, more than a tax refund.
In their happiness, they decided to give a 10% discount during the new year until the first lunar month.
Of course, the price would still increase during the new year. They would give another 10% discount compared to last year.
Newcomers from other places could enjoy a 15% discount with their new certificate of origin.
They did not have much money. As they had just arrived, the discount was considered snatching customers.
Once a newcomer ate well and got used to it, there was a high chance that they would return in the future. It was difficult to buy a repeat customer with money!
Children ran around and were not afraid of being abducted. The people who could abduct them were now abducted.
Petty thieves were also not seen. The yamen spread the word that whoever dared to cause trouble for them would be punished.
They had just dealt with a group of officials. If they did not manage them well, would they be dissatisfied with Her Majesty? Provocation?
Therefore, all the commoners in Henan were happy. They did not snatch things from the monasteries.
The people who believed in Buddhism and Taoism were waiting. They did not add incense to the monasteries. It was not that they did not believe in Buddhism, but that they did not believe in monks and Daoists.
…
In the city where Pirunuhan was, everyone was eating when the snow suddenly became heavier.
The bonfire party ended abruptly for some reason. Everyone checked the situation and began to clear the snow on the streets.
The snow was transported to the southeast outside of the city. In winter, there were many west and northwest winds. If the snow was piled up in the northwest, it would be blown by the wind and move to the foot of the wall.
With the city around, there was no hope of using the snow to block the wind.
The captives who were not injured, or whose injuries were relatively light and did not affect their work, were placed in the most tiring positions.
While the others pushed the snow together, they loaded it, and the horse-drawn sledges were brought outside the town, where they overturned and unloaded the snow from the side.
Zhang Xiaosong's men helped out. It snowed until dawn, so they took turns to come and rest when the snow was thicker.
The Winged Knights did not move. They were only responsible for sending out reports, unless there were special circumstances.
There were a total of 120 of them. 20 of them were originally in the city, and 100 of them were with Zhang Xiaosong's group.
"Drink tea, green tea!" Pirunughan boiled water on the stove in his room for the tea, and put the tea leaves into the pot.
"Thank you!" Jia Guixing thanked him. The child was very enthusiastic.
Pirunughan poured himself a cup and looked at the tea. "Everyone agreed that since we have a city, we must protect it."
"Yes!" Jia Guixing echoed.
"This city is our home. We must keep the streets clean, clean the horse and sheep feces in time, and wash the urine with water.
In fact, we know that the heavy snow will not crush the houses, horses, cows, and sheep pens. It will be easier to clean after the snow stops.
But we are afraid that the snow on the road will freeze and be hard to remove, and our home will look dirty.
We will not betray the Tang Dynasty. Only the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty and Brother Dongzhu will repair the city for us.
They said that you have good weapons. Once we become enemies, you will immediately take action and eliminate the leader.
I tell you, we do not have a leader who is unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty. We only have people who are unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty. Then, no matter who they are, we will eliminate them ourselves. "
Pirunughan spoke to Jia Guixing like an adult. There was no leader who was unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty. If the leader wanted to do something bad, he would be eliminated and replaced.
"Your leader is not angry?" Jia Guixing was stunned and asked.
"This is what our leader, the patriarch, said. The patriarch is the leader.
The patriarch is wise. He said that as long as we are loyal to the Tang Dynasty, we will get many times more benefits than if we betray the Tang Dynasty, and we will not be exterminated.
The patriarch warned us that if we betray the Tang Dynasty, we will be exterminated. No matter how far we run, the Winged Knights will chase us to the end. "
Pirunughan held the cup with both hands and turned it. It was a little hot.
"If it is too far, we may not go. Dongzhu will do it himself."
Jia Guixing could see that he was deliberately asked to come here. The patriarch had arranged this through the child's pledge of loyalty.
It was not the child's behavior before. When the snow was heavy, Pirunughan was called away for a period of time. When he came back, he led Jia Guixing into the house.
Jia Guixing did not see through it. He believed that the patriarch could guess that he would judge the situation.
"Will Brother Dongzhu really fly to a faraway place to kill people?"
Pirunughan asked. This was what he wanted to know.
"Yes. In the future, if there is a chance, I will take you to see Dongzhu. Dongzhu is gentle to his own people.
Before the end of this year, a large number of soldiers and things will arrive. You can live in peace.
As for you, because you can talk to Dongzhu, your status in the tribe will rise. You can't bully others like this. "
Jia Guixing first told him the truth. At the same time, he was afraid that the child would be too arrogant.
"I won't, because I don't usually use my status as the grandson of the patriarch to bully others," Pirunughan promised.
Jia Guixing was speechless.
He lowered his head and drank his tea. He did not want to say anything.
"I have brothers, but I am being groomed as the future patriarch. I want to learn from Brother Dongzhu."
Pirunughan was no longer modest. He told the other party that his status was different from the other brothers.
Even so, he had to work hard to learn.
"I think that's fine!" Jia Guixing admitted. This child was truly smart and could endure hardship.
In this tribe, you could not be the patriarch just because you wanted to. If you did not agree with the majority, you might be killed.
The child was already so old, but he already knew how to improve himself. Was there anyone more knowledgeable than Li Dongzhu in the world?
Once he learned from Li Dongzhu, he would not only gain knowledge, but also status.
The people working outside, including the patriarch, did not know the conversation between the two in the room.
The patriarch only asked his grandson to speak, but his grandson knew how to find a backer.
When the time came, even if other people were stronger in some aspects, would he dare to kill Pirunughan and become the patriarch? Would he ask Li Yi if he agreed?
Li Yi had a purpose in grooming children. If the children of the tribe were well groomed, it would be beneficial to the unity of the people of the Tang dynasty.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
