As soon as the Japanese pirates left, the imperial court strictly guarded water transportation.
With the ship escorted by the General Water Transport Corps, Xu He and others had a smooth journey.
After stopping and stopping along the way, we finally arrived in Tongzhou after more than 20 days.
As soon as he got off the boat, Xu He was startled. The eyes of the regimental camp commander stationed in Tongzhou were red. They were waiting at the canal ferry. After Xu He and others got off the boat, they waved with their hands, and five hundred people came out of the boat. Caller.
These people moved the things out of the ship and loaded them into the carriage that had been prepared.
"Mr. Xu, our Mao Junmen told us that it would be inconvenient for you to follow the carriage into the city, so the Junmen ordered us to postpone our departure for one day, and then all these things will be delivered to your house!"
The so-called Xu He's house naturally does not exist.
Mao Yao's intention should be to send it directly to Xu Song!
But there were too many things and they were too eye-catching, so my kind and considerate brother asked someone to send them quietly the next day.
"..."
From this look, it turns out that the Mao family has sent many things to Beijing. This shows their experience.
…
On the afternoon of the next day, Xu He and his party finally arrived in this world, the political center of China...Beijing.
Looking at the towering city wall so close at hand, Wu Decao raised his head and sighed: "Although I am not here to take part in the examination, I have been to Beijing once in my life, and it is worth dying!"
After speaking, he pointed to the city gate and said, "Master Xie, after we enter through this gate, will we be at the feet of the emperor?"
Xie Liangcai once lived with Xie Daozhi in Beijing for two years, so he was very familiar with Beijing. He laughed and said, "Where are you from? Is this Luocheng?"
Xu He asked puzzledly: "Luocheng?"
Never heard of it!
Xie Liangcai said: "I'll tell you about it as we enter the city."
It turns out that the ancients built cities with rammed earth, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. But there was a problem. Once it rained, the rainwater washed away the city walls, which could easily cause collapse.
In the BC Yuan Dynasty, Wang Qingrui of Qianhu proposed to "weave with reeds from bottom to top."
To put it bluntly, it is to use reed curtains to cover the bottom net and put a layer of raincoat on the city wall.
Because a large amount of reeds was needed, a shady field was set up outside the city, and every year "reeds were collected to cover the city, amounting to a million!"
Later, in the Wei Dynasty, although the city walls were covered with raincoats, they would still be washed away by rainwater and cause the city to collapse. After Yingzong moved the capital, he changed the earth city into a brick city.
But the underworld outside the city has remained.
"A few years ago, in order to guard against bandits, His Majesty planned to build an outer city outside the entire city of Beijing. As a result... there was no money."
"In the end, only a long and narrow wall from east to west was built outside the south city, and the yin field was included in it. It was renamed Luocheng!"
After a few people finally entered the city, they found that behind the tall and majestic city wall, there were many low shanties.
"Rich people don't live here!" Xie Liangcai said, "Go forward and enter Chongwen Gate. Rich people all live in the inner city!"
Xu He looked around and saw that the shops on both sides of the street were still neat, but the houses in the alleys were much more dilapidated.
And what's different from the south is that the ground here is covered with livestock excrement, and the air is extremely dry. After a carriage passes by, smoke and dust rise up, and the smell of excrement makes Xu He very unaccustomed!
When we arrived at Chongwen's gate, there were tax collectors from the Ministry of Household Affairs, checking the passers-by.
Riding horses like Xu He's, they looked like they were not ordinary people. The clerk just glanced at the packages containing their luggage and let them go into the city.
Xu He discovered that except for luggage, if you bring anything else into the inner city, you will also be taxed.
As soon as he entered the city, he found that under the foundation of the city wall, a hundred or so people were being yoked with wooden shackles!
These people could only stand. They probably hadn't eaten or drank for a long time. They were sleepy, tired and hungry. Two or three of them fell down in front of Xu He.
Xie Liangcai sighed and said, "Don't look at it, you're tax evader."
"Tax evasion? You still need to wear a wooden shackle? The wooden shackle weighs at least twenty kilograms!" Ding Ze said in surprise.
"It's not unusual. Burning pots is not allowed in the city!" When he said this, he was afraid that everyone would not understand, so he explained: "Burning pots means making wine!"
It turns out that not everyone can make wine in Beijing. The imperial court designated eighteen wine merchants to sell alcoholic beverages to the outside world and pay taxes uniformly. In the end, the wine and vinegar noodle bureau ended up in the pockets of the wine and vinegar noodle bureau. Naturally, it was a small project for the emperor to make money. .
The tax on brewing wine is very heavy. Generally, small breweries want to make money and make a living. They often wear pig urine bubbles on their chests at night and secretly climb over the city wall to avoid taxes.
This is "carrying moonshine."
This business is very hard and dangerous. They press their backs against the city wall, use their hands and feet like later generations to climb rocks, just kicking and clawing at every raised place on the city wall, climbing up little by little.
When he got to the city, he met the shopkeeper who bribed the defenders at a high price, kept the wine, and finally lowered himself down with a rope.
"Are these all people who carry illegal liquor?" Xu He asked.
Xie Liangcai nodded and said: "Absolutely, nine times out of ten!"
When Ding Ze saw those people, he thought of the folks from Tuancha. He said with a dark face: "The imperial court really wants to make money!"
Hearing this, Xie Liangcai turned around and said seriously: "Ding Ze, this is not Hailing. You must be measured in what you say and do. Don't cause trouble for your young master!"
When Ding Ze heard this, he shut up and stopped talking.
Fortunately, there are no unscrupulous tax collectors like those in bloody movies and TV dramas descending from the sky.
Xie Liangcai sent Xu He and others all the way to Xu Song's garden alley in Nancheng. After approaching the Garden Alley of the Ministry of Justice and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he took the servant chief and went to the shoulder pole alley under the south wall.
Huayuan Hutong is very convenient for going to court. After entering Zhengyang Gate, turn left and bypass the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Therefore, many big shots in the court live here.
Nanchenggen is close to Xuanwumen and is convenient, but compared with Huayuan Hutong, it is far inferior. However, not just any official from the capital can live here. The great nobles generally live here.
When Xu He and the others arrived at Huayuan Hutong, they saw a group of twenty or thirty people, some carrying boxes and cages, and some leading horses. They had long attracted the attention of the gatekeepers of the surrounding mansions and the officials who came to visit the boss.
"Who is it? When you come to Huayuan Hutong, you are surrounded by people! This is not a small thing!"
"Didn't you see? What are you carrying? He must be a relative of one of them!"
"Hey, I'm looking at you heading towards Xuge's mansion!"
At this time, Wu Decao stepped forward and pulled the door knocker.
After a while, the small door next to it opened and his head popped out. When the man saw Wu Decao, he was surprised and said: "Brother Yaochen! Xiaohe..."
Xu Peng ran out of the courtyard in surprise and hugged Xu He tightly!
The officials who just spoke were all stunned when they saw this scene: "Isn't that the steward of Xu Ge's hometown...?"
"That's right! Last time I went to visit, this guy didn't even open the door!"
"Who is this person from Xu Ge's hometown? It can't be Xu Feng, Mr. Xu Ge's legitimate son, right?"
"maybe!"
