The monster blocking the road was very particular, and even built a small wooden pavilion and a raised pole.
It's almost like a toll booth.
"Here~ this is the document issued to us by the Ministry of Industry, allowing us to charge fees at the Handan Toll Station." The speaker was a rabbit spirit. He held a document with red eyes and said to Zuo Qianhu. It seems that he is not afraid that Zuo Qianhu is a Jinyiwei.
Next to him there was a wild boar spirit and a pangolin spirit.
Zuo Qianhu took the document with a blank look on his face. The document clearly stated that a group of mountain monsters in southern Handan were allowed to establish a toll station, charging five taels of silver each time for thirty years.
Finally, there should be a seal from the Ministry of Industry.
"Sir, when the Beijing-Luoyang Railway was being built, someone from the Ministry of Industry asked us if we were willing to work. Food, accommodation, and wages were included. Of course we were willing! But after working for a few months, After the railway was built, the Ministry of Industry did not pay us wages, but instead asked us to collect tolls to offset the work."
"We also want cash, but the Ministry of Industry doesn't have it."
"Our local little devil abides by the law and can't hold the Ministry of Industry's thigh with his arms, so we have to do this."
"Master, do you think we should collect this money?"
The rabbit spirit has clear rules and explains things clearly with red eyes.
Zuo Qianhu really didn't know what to say. The officials in the imperial court had so many tricks. Monsters even tricked him into doing coolies.
After finishing the work, he didn't silence him and asked them to collect tolls. It can only be said that the Ministry of Works still has integrity.
"Since there is a document from the Ministry of Industry, this money must be collected, and the railway should also pay it." Zuo Qianhu nodded and said, he has seen all kinds of monsters slain. I have seen people who are extremely vicious and murderous. I've seen people who are as timid as mice and just want to live their own lives.
This is the first time I have seen someone working for the Ministry of Industry like this.
Why didn't you see me when you came? Oh~ When I came here, it was not this route.
"But, they charge too much. Five taels of silver at a time." The conductor went to call the conductor over, and the conductor said: "There are several monster charges behind here, and they are all like this. It is really unbearable!" "
Damn it, how many monsters did the Ministry of Industry deceive when building the railway?
"You have bad intentions. You lied to me that monsters were blocking the road. Just because of this, I will kill you! Don't be ignorant!" Zuo Qianhu was being taken advantage of, and he was not a temperamental person. He faced the train conductor. shouted, then returned to the train.
He wouldn't kill the conductor for such a trivial matter.
"Oh~ This... oh, this is what we have to do." The train conductor also complained in his heart. He found out that Zuo Qianhu loved killing monsters the most, so he wanted to let him kill these monsters blocking the way with a borrowed knife.
The boss of the Ministry of Industry is the same, and the monsters have also been eradicated. If they stay, won't they cause trouble for them on the railway?
How much money do you make every time?
The railway in Daming also belonged to the Ministry of Industry, but it was just a different subordinate department under the Ministry of Industry.
The farce ended just like that. Tang Yan and others also lamented that the people from the Ministry of Industry were so flexible. They were able to build the railway with empty-handed monsters first and then with empty promises.
The conductor paid the money, and the train continued to set off towards the capital. In the evening, the train conductor arranged some side dishes and asked Zuo Qianhu to apologize with a glass of wine.
The journey was uneventful, and we arrived in the capital after dawn.
I have to say that having a train is indeed much more convenient.
The station is in the east of the outer city of Beijing. Once you get off the bus, you can reach the city wall of Beijing. The city wall of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty was very thick, and around the towering city wall, there were factories one after another emitting black smoke. Surrounding the factory are dilapidated thatched houses and mud houses.
Coupled with the muddy and dirty roads, it feels like a slum.
In other words, the slums.
Entering Nancheng from Guangning Gate, you will feel a completely different world from the outside.
The clean and tidy streets and the cement-paved ground can be driven by various steam vehicles. On the roadsides on both sides, along with steam boilers, are various shop signs. What about Ding Yi, ceramics, calligraphy and painting, money shops, snacks, medicine shops, cloth shops, etc.
Pedestrians on the street are bustling, some are selecting goods and bargaining, some are chatting and wandering, while itinerant vendors with shoulder-carrying bags are chasing tourists to sell goods.
There are also performers on the street. To the east, there is a female artist in a pink dress, holding a sanxian in her hand, playing and singing popular songs. To the west, there is a male artist, holding a drum in one hand and playing a wooden board in the other, singing legendary stories.
The smell of fireworks hit our faces along with the cries of sales, making Tang Yan and the other three dizzy.
This is an experience they have never had before. What they see is a real world.
Zuo Qianhu looked calm. For him, this was normal.
Zhang Zichen also saw strange people wearing feather crowns selling alpacas. There was also Ah San, who was wearing a turban, selling lions and elephants.
The outrageous thing is not that they are selling it, but that some people are asking how to maintain this thing and whether it is easy to maintain.
The capital is divided into an outer city and an inner city. The outer city is in the south and the inner city is in the north. In the middle of the inner city is the imperial city. As a royal guard, Zuo Qianhu naturally lives in the inner city. He has a big yard and his family at home.
Along the way, Tang Yan saw many temples and Taoist temples, which had the feeling of "inside and outside the capital, there are stars, domes, and temples, and they are all there."
In general, there are more Taoist temples than temples. There is no way, Jiajing advocates Taoism.
Tang Yan and others rejected Zuo Qianhu's kindness and lived in a nearby temple. The main reason is that there is only one inn in the inner city, and all of them are full.
In addition to the main business of offering incense, these small temples also provide private rooms to accommodate pilgrims.
In other words, it is also a kind of inn.
Food and accommodation naturally cost money, and they are expensive.
After all, those who can scream and bring you food are eminent monks.
Shouldn't this cost more money?
Although the food we eat is vegetarian, vegetarian food can wash away sins.
Shouldn't this cost more money?
No money? Why do you come to the temple if you don’t have money?
The temple where Tang Yan and the others lived was very small, called Jizhai Temple, which had four or five wing rooms.
The hot pot they had for dinner was so delicious and meaty that naturally some monks came to ask about it.
They are full of disrespect for Buddha, disrespect for etiquette, and how can a temple with strict rules be like this...
Then, Tang Yan added more money.
An ingot of gold.
"Donor, aren't you embarrassing this young monk?"
Two ingots of gold.
"Donor, if you really want to eat, why not eat in the backyard, there is no one there."
Three ingots of gold.
"Donor, you are a person who understands Buddhism."
Five ingots of gold.
"I am really lucky to see Bodhisattva today. Bodhisattva, please help yourself."
If a problem can be solved with money, it’s not a problem! Tang Yan's coquettish tricks made several people cook hot pot without any scruples. The aroma of the hot pot floated into the temple, causing the monks to swallow their saliva.
With a "crunch", another wing opened, and a kind-hearted old monk came out of it.
He looked at the fragrant hot pot and said, "Is this old monk lucky enough to get a share of the pie?"
Guess who this bald donkey is?
(End of chapter)
