[Plane] History of the struggle of the lords

The carriage was swaying, and Wen Le was lying on Wen Run's lap with his feet up, reading the letter slowly.

Many people who are embarrassed to speak have no face to speak, the Elder Master and the Second Master are clever, they wrote letters and stuffed them into Wen Le's hands before leaving, as if the words expressed in the words had nothing to do with their faces. The paper was full of lions who were not looking for the margins, and Wen Le was stunned to laugh.

Crumpled up the letter paper in his hand and threw it into a corner, Wen Le shook his head and sighed as he opened the other letter: "How do you think Erbo and Uncle's brains are growing? Knowing that I am just a county guard for Fuchun, how could I They all wrote letters asking me to find officials from Huaiyang for Wen Xianmin and Wen Xianli. Even if I really became emperor, I wouldn’t be able to use such a high official, right?”

Wen Run glanced at the official documents spread out on the low table, and was leisurely peeling walnuts for Wen Le, and smiled softly when he heard the words: "The mouth is really getting worse. If they ask too much, you just can't see it." If they send you a letter to ask questions, you can tell them the truth at worst, and after a few times, they should be self-aware.”

In fact, Wen Le just complained and complained, but he was not angry at all, as if he was watching a joke in his heart.Seeing that Wen Run's hands were moving all the time, he calculated in his mind, closed his eyes and opened his mouth wide, like a chick waiting to be fed: "Ah—"

Wen Run touched his lips, took a handkerchief with the other hand to wipe it, picked up the small plate of nuts on the table and carefully poured it into the bottomless pit.

Wen Le was so satisfied that she couldn't even open her eyes, she chewed and chewed, and then twisted into a ball like a swimming snake because she felt so happy.

Seeing this, Wen Run felt as if his heart would melt away. This journey was different from the first time they left Dadu. At that time, the team was small and there were not enough carriages, so the three brothers all sat in the same carriage. .Both Wen Run and Wen Le didn't talk too much and took a deep route, but Wen Xianlian was a chatterbox, he couldn't stop talking, the atmosphere in the car was enlivened by him, and the relationship between the three brothers also changed because of that time. get closer.

But this time, there are nearly 200 guards brought by this convoy. Most of these people are helpless children and women. They were all put in smoothly. Fortunately, these women and children don't seem to have the arrogance and coquettishness of the famous family, but this may also be because they are not aristocratic ladies who eat temper tantrums. They all had a hard life, and most of the women took on some private jobs of embroidery and weaving at home, so that they could evade taxes and support their children by the way.

It's really different to have a woman. Wen Le has never eaten a raw meal or a big cake dried into a stone. A pretty good meal.

Due to the diverse population, they did not walk slowly this time like last time, but because of the remote distance, when they left Lin'an Mansion, it was already the season of spring.

After eating the walnuts, Wen Le yelled out through the car door, "Where are you?"

The coachman quickly replied: "My lord, the convoy has already entered the territory of Fuchun, but it's getting late today, if we don't rest on the spot, then the Lost Forest not far ahead will have to travel through the night."

In fact, the locals in Fuchun don't call that piece of forest the Lost Forest. The forest has its own ecological balance. There aren't too many poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, but they all exist.After passing through this forest, the ordinary convoy can reach the city gate of Fuchun County after two or three hours of catching up.There is no way, Fuchun is too small, the distance between this border and the urban area is similar to the distance between Dadu and the suburbs of Dadu.But this kind of distance is not easy to joke in the eyes of the ancients. Ordinary farmers who live outside the Lost Forest can only walk to the city if they want to enter the city. They often have to walk carefully for a whole day to enter the city. In the nearby villages, there are many people who have never been to the county town in their life. When Wen Le did the census in order to gain power, he knew a thing or two about the situation in the vicinity.

It would be too unsafe to drive at night with so many women.He acted a little more boldly than before. He directly took out the immune potion and mixed it with a bunch of medicinal materials and ordered Lonicera to fry it for everyone to eat. He only said that it was a good prescription prescribed by the doctor in Fuchun City for them to improve. resistance.In fact, all these women who are willing to leave Dadu and go to Fuchun with him to find their husbands have already given up. After the prince loses power, the old people they left behind will inevitably be squeezed out by the emperor. It is not easy for them to work hard and pull their children to grow up.Now that there is an opportunity to improve their lives and the future, these people who have lost confidence in life will undoubtedly develop a strong executive power for this.Because of their intelligence and obedience, Wen Le has established a good relationship with the crowd along the way. At the beginning, most of the prince's guards were so good that they could become the other half of those upstarts. Of course, few of these women are dull. Most of them come from good backgrounds, have received a good education and have considerable independent thinking, but these people without exception were mercilessly abandoned by their mothers after the collapse of their small families. Apart from whether the child can adapt to Fuchun's life, there is usually no more reluctance.

Wen Le likes them quite a lot. If it weren't for this era that pays too much attention to the distinction of status, he probably would have recognized several god-sisters.He can make do with the matter of night travel, but with a group of people who are powerless, it seems unnecessary to take risks in order to travel.

He remembered that there was a village not far from here, and Dachunyi's confiscated property was also near a small Zhuangzi. There were also a few tenants here when the free grain seeds were distributed, so he sent people to look for it separately. To find out if there is a village, let the team go to the village to rest for the night, and then walk through the lost forest to return to Fuchun the next morning.

Not long after, the guards who were looking for the village came back with their horses, saying that there was a village a quarter of an hour to the east. The horse team turned around and headed in that direction again.

The sky was getting dark, and the crescent moon quickly hung in the sky. The people who entered the village were thankful that they didn't rush on their way, and began to search around for farmhouses where they could stay.

Quite a few women were embarrassed to go to other people's houses to sleep, so they proposed to lay out mattresses in the carriage to rest collectively, including Webster who was unwilling to stay overnight after seeing the layout of the village.Wechsler monopolized the largest carriage, but such an allocation of carriages was not enough to sleep, and the men could only borrow them except those who stayed behind.

The village has always been very quiet. Occasionally, the barking of the watchdog can be heard inside the low earth dam wall. The group lingered for a long time and decided to split up. Wen Le did not let too many people follow, and brought a few guards and servants with him. He knocked on the door of a farmyard.

The villagers were usually not asleep at this time, the courtyard door was quickly opened, and the head of a middle-aged man poked out from inside. His skin was a bit rough and black and yellow, his eyes were dusky, and he looked like an honest person.Seeing that Wen Le and the others were well dressed, he first ignored his timidity and asked cautiously, "What's the matter, gentlemen?"

Wen Le comforted him with a smile and said: "Brother, we are going to Fuchun City. It was too late today to pass the Mizong Forest, so we came to the village to find a place to stay. I wonder if you can let me and Elder brother staying overnight?"

The man looked at Wen Run with some hesitation. After all, compared with the white and tender Wen Le, the dark-skinned Wen Run with sharp-edged features is obviously more aggressive, but the next second he was caught by a more gentle smile on Wen Run's face After being defeated, he couldn't help letting go of his guard and retreating: "Come in, have you eaten yet? I don't have any good food at home. If you don't mind, let's come and eat some."

While chatting with him, Wen Le looked left and right at the furnishings in his farm house. The sun has been sunny these few days, and there are still a few baskets of rice under the eaves, which were probably taken out to dry during the day.The courtyard is so dark that you can’t see much else. There is a large water tank not far away. Next to the water tank are a few tubers that look like sweet potatoes. They are half-washed, and they are not ready to eat until this hour. , I think this family is usually very busy, and now spring is about to start, and every household of planting is on the agenda, no wonder.

Wen Le's smiling face made it easy for people to let go of their guards. He asked, "Why is it that big brother's family has dinner at this hour?"

The farmer rubbed his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "The field is a bit far from home. I'm busy planting seeds these days."

"The rice you planted?" Wen Le nodded, "Sister-in-law is really lucky. It's better to be busy at this time. After the summer rice harvest is over, I'm willing to be busy even if I'm busy."

The farmer laughed happily: "What you said is that the grain barn that was harvested from planting rice last year was full. If you save some food, you can save some to sell later. When I have money in the future, I will buy a piece of rice myself." If the land is planted, the mother-in-law can live a better life."

The farmer's surname is Li, and there is a wife at home who cooks good dishes, and the aroma can be smelled from afar.

Uncommon guests came, and the hostess became even more busy. She even cut some marinated bacon for cooking. The thin slices were only steamed, and the smell of the meat filled the yard. The room was a bit dark. Originally, only one oil lamp was lit, but Wen Le and his team brought a lot of candles, which made the room brighter.With the light on, Wen Le looked at the dishes on the table, a stack of slightly white bacon, a plate of fried seasonal vegetables, a pot of radish soup, and a bowl of yellow and orange scrambled eggs, which can be said to be quite rich up.

A few guards went to the convoy to bring back some dry food. They said it was dry food, but in fact it was white rice cakes bought during a stopover in the last town, as well as plum vegetable sauce and pickled vegetables that most of them brought, and they gathered some more bowls .White flour cooking cakes are not common in the countryside. They usually eat staple foods such as corn and scorpions. Now, although there is rice and no worries about being full, the couple still treasure the cooking cakes. Pick the best plate and set it up.

After the hostess finished cooking, she was blushed by Wen Le's praise, and hid in the back room shyly and happily. It's big, the courtyard is clean, the rice is delicious and the eggs are good, in short, even a rough guy can't help but praise his face, his face is black and red, and he happily cleaned up the cleanest room overnight to entertain Wen Le and the others.

The couple hurriedly boiled boiling water for Wen Le and the others to wash. Wen Le chatted with him while thanking him, and casually asked: "The tide has returned in the past few days. Brother Li won't go to the yard to take the millet back." Is it?"

The farmer surnamed Li was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's going to be harvested tomorrow, and it's tiring to move in and out, not to mention it will be heavier tomorrow after leaving it like this overnight."

Wen Le was a little puzzled: "Is there a grain store in the county that is collecting grain?"

"Where is it? There is a grain repayment store. There is not much left this year except the rent. How much money do you get from selling it. That is tax grain."

Wen Le paused for testing the temperature of the water, and looked up at him: "If I remember correctly, Fuchun City is exempt from agricultural tax."

Old Li laughed foolishly, rubbing his nose: "I know this, oops, it's a lot less than before, and the officials still did good things. But those tax officials said that it's not agricultural tax, it's food tax, It’s not as much as before.”

"No, Brother Li, what the yamen canceled was the agricultural tax, but it didn't increase the grain tax either. They shouldn't have come to collect taxes from you."

"How do we know this!" Lao Li looked a little flustered, and waved his hand at him: "Don't talk about this, which one in the village doesn't pay, and if you don't pay, there will be no land to plant next year, and the whole family will be hungry."

After he finished speaking, he didn't dare to say much, and left in a hurry. Wen Le stood outside the door in a daze for a while, his face suddenly became quite ugly.

Wen Run heard it too, but he wasn't surprised, instead he leisurely adjusted the water temperature for Wen Le.The guards shared the hot water and went to rest separately, and there were only the two of them in this room.

Wen Le sat on the bed. Compared to the decoration of the Hou's mansion, this house was nothing more than a thatched shed. The tiles on the roof were burned with earth, and they had to be covered with other things to cover them.The walls are made of stone mixed with yellow mud, and there are a lot of wooden sticks on the outside of the house, which looks like a new house.The bed and table in the room are also new, with clean bedding. Although simple, they are not messy.

Wen Run twisted a veil for him, folded it into a cube and touched his face: "Wash your face and feet, it's time to sleep in a while."

Wen Le sighed for a long time, took the cloth towel, filled with thousands of frustrations in his heart, he wiped his face casually, just like that and started to be in a daze again, the expression on his face made Wen Run's heart ache.

But when he was on the edge of a dead end, Wen Run would not easily solve it. Governing a piece of land is not something that can be easily solved with ideals.All of Wen Le's reforms in Fuchun went very smoothly. It's one aspect of his own luck, but this kind of good luck can't be maintained forever, right?He has to suffer some setbacks so that he won't suffer a bigger loss in the future.

In addition to frustrating management mistakes, Wen Le still couldn't help doubting in his heart.

He is a person who thinks a lot, and people who think too much tend to be suspicious. Wen Le's suspiciousness is quite serious. Even if it is a relationship like Wen Run and Webster's, before he is open and honest, Wen Le will give himself up when interacting with them. Leave a way out.What's more, those local officials who have only dealt with them for a few years after arriving in Fuchun?Although people like Mai Lingtong and Dala are submissive and obedient under his control on the surface, after all, they are native Fuchun locals. If it is about the network, it is very likely that Wen Le himself does not have their convenience.When Da Chunyi gained power back then, they had tried their best to assist him. Now that Wen Le is in charge, it is impossible to use these people without any grudges in their hearts at the beginning.

Because of this, he understands the emperor's actions against Wen's family a little bit. It's really a helpless thing to have one emperor and one courtier. Suspicion, doubt whether the other party is loyal or dedicated, in short, any situation can be included in the investigation needs.

This is what happened now, Wen Le canceled the agricultural tax himself, but he had only passed Fuchun for a few months, and when he came back, he found that someone was quietly collecting it under another name.Whether to slap him in the face or not is secondary, the most important thing is that all the doubts that have been suppressed because of the precept of employing people who are not suspicious and others not using them suddenly all surged out at this moment, making him want to take revenge on the society.

Wen Run washed his feet when he was in a daze, and soaked himself in hot water. When he came back and undressed and was about to go to bed, he found that he was still in a daze, and he was a little discouraged.

"It's getting late, take a rest, don't think too much." Wen Run put his arm around Wen Le's shoulders, persuaded him softly, and then stretched out his hand to untie his belt.

Wen Le felt a little wronged for some reason, and couldn't help complaining: "Did I treat them badly? It's only been a long time since I came to Fuchun, and my treatment in the yamen has been improved by almost [-]%. When I was a few years old, I even prepared the dowry for that girl. The dilapidated house Dala used to live in was replaced by a new one, and even those who didn’t suit me, I never treated them badly..."

Wen Run laughed, rubbed his head, and said, "What are you thinking about? The matter has not yet been settled. It may be that those tax officials are deceiving themselves. You are thinking everything is wrong now. If you check It has nothing to do with them to come out, it depends on what you do when the time comes."

Wen Le was dragged cross-legged into the blanket by him and hugged in his arms. She lay on her warm chest and listened to the sound of her heartbeat. She couldn't stop worrying in her heart.

He knew that his problem was not good, but he couldn't help being suspicious. He always felt that Mai Lingtong and the others had other intentions in private, but this kind of speculation was all groundless.If they were really wronged, it would be too hurtful.

After thinking about it, he didn't have a better idea, instead he was so worried that he couldn't sleep.Wen Run also had to give up sleep to coax him, so they could only agree to get up early the next day to see who came to collect taxes.

Because something was on his mind, it was still dark when Wen Le opened his eyes, and even the roosters were silent and did not crow.Breathing the morning air, he rolled out of the warm arms that held him, stared at the beams on the roof for a while, and was so bored that he wanted to snap his toes to play.

Wen Run sleeps soundly. He usually doesn't snore, and his sleeping position is quite good. He can only roll over in one night. Because Wen Le disturbed him until late last night, he slept very hard in the morning. He didn't notice when he got out of bed.

Wrapped in a few clothes casually, Wen Le opened the door, and was immediately forced to close by the cold wind.Trembling on the spot for a while, he ran back to the bed and got under the covers.The good thing about the cold weather in Fuchun is that it is not as exaggerated as Dadu's. Covering with a few quilts will usually warm you up, unlike Dadu's, where there is no brazier in the house and your nose is so cold that your nose will fall off.

Wen Run was bumped and bumped by him, and opened his eyes in a daze. He was stunned for a while, then turned his head to look at the window paper that was not transparent, narrowed his eyes in frustration, and hugged Wen Le: "Wake up!" gone?"

Wen Le pushed him: "Don't sleep, get up and talk to me."

"...What are you going to say?" Wen Run yawned without losing his temper, closing his eyes and chatting with him while resting his mind.

The two of them ground their teeth for a while, and when the sleepiness passed, the rooster started to crow, Wen Run got up from the bed and said, "Get up, I'll dress you, I feel your belt seems to be tied wrong."

Wen Le is a complete third-class cripple in life, because he can't understand the aesthetics of this era, it is difficult for him to dress according to Wen Run's dressing standards to suit his appearance, so as long as Wen Run can catch up with him, normal Wen Le Clothes are generally resolved by him.Wen Run likes soap color the most, followed by goose yellow. These two colors have nothing in common. I don’t know why his tastes are so different, but he is not bad. Some time ago in Dadu, Wen Le saw it with his own eyes. The old man pulled a piece of rich peony-style silk and satin to make his jacket. All in all, Da Lichao's eyes were quite open to the men.

But he prefers the more restrained color of navy blue, so he is often laughed at by them saying that his vision is getting worse every year.Wen Le still remembers the moment when he just woke up, the pile of fat in his body was wrapped in a large pink-green jacket. If there was a mirror at that time, he would be able to record how much it hurt his eyes.

Halfway through their clothes, the two of them heard the sound of splashing water coming from outside the courtyard, and knew in their hearts that the master's family had already woken up.The farmers are actually working very hard. They rested so late yesterday and still have to get up so early in the morning. Especially in these busy farming seasons, there is almost no free time in the day.

Suddenly, the gate in the yard was knocked heavily, and Li Dahan's voice sounded immediately: "Come on, come on, don't knock, don't knock, there are guests at the head of the house!"

As the door creaked open, he changed his tone and greeted the visitor with a flattering tone: "Master Shentu is here so early? The taxes and food are all ready, so you call someone to come in and help you?" go out."

The voice of the person who came was very thick, and one could tell that the weight would not be too light: "Stop talking nonsense, the person who knocked on the door just now was still yelling, and I don't want to pay you. Tell me early, I have to run for a fucking errand." You pointed your nose and scolded you."

Wen Le was taken aback, the voice sounded familiar.

He quickly gave Wen Run a wink and asked him to go out and have a look. After all, because of going to sea all the year round, Wen Run didn't deal with many small officials in Fuchun, so it was more convenient than Wen Le himself.

Wen Run nodded, and quickly opened the door to go out. Wen Le, who was hiding behind the door, happened to hear Li Dahan's voice apologizing: "I'm really sorry, I'm really sorry, the villain didn't intend to be disrespectful, it's because he came to the house last night There are a few distinguished guests, the sound of the adults knocking on the door is a bit loud, and the villain is worried that they will be woken up."

"Do you still have distinguished guests in this poor place?" Shentugu smiled wryly, and ordered the people behind him to come forward to check Li Dahan's grain basket, his brows furrowed and his face became ugly: "What kind of millet is this, it's dripping wet, don't you Will it be soaked in water?"

Li Dahan rubbed his hands guilty, how could he dare to agree, he quickly shook his head and said: "How dare you, how dare...the tide has resurfaced these days, there is no way around it, the barn is full of insects, and these small taxes and grains were spread out on their own initiative yesterday Open it and let it dry..."

Shen Tugu sneered and fiddled with the grain in the basket: "You are smart, if you still add water like this next time, I will fine you a whole stone. You made a note of it for me, this time I will not be held accountable."

Dahan Li heaved a sigh of relief, cursing the little son of a bitch in his heart, wiped off his cold sweat and wanted to thank him, when he heard the wooden door of the side room open with a creak, that black face that was a little scary when he was not smiling The man walked out slowly, looking at himself with a half-smile.

Wen Run knew this person who came to collect grain. This person was called Shen Tugu, and he was a tax official near Fuchun City. He had met this person a few times when he went to the Yamen before.

In the past, Shen Tugu might have recognized Wen Run, but because of going to sea, Wen Run is now much darker than before, and at most he only felt a little kind-hearted for a while.

When an outsider suddenly appeared during the illegal tax collection, Shen Tugu was a little nervous, but when he regained his senses, he felt that he probably thought too much. If he was really a person in the yamen, then there was absolutely no reason to live in a farmer's house.He calmed down, but because of his warm and gentle aura, he didn't dare to neglect easily, but asked cautiously: "This young master is...?"

Li Dahan hurriedly introduced: "Sir, this is the distinguished guest who came to my house last night."

Wen Run nodded to Li Dahan, staring at the basket full of grains, knowingly asked: "What are you two doing?"——