The city guard officer walked up to Su Qi'an, stretched out his palm, and just landed on his shoulder. Suddenly, from behind him, several burly men appeared behind him.
There were no words, just standing there, an amazing sense of oppression came over me.
A low voice sounded, "Servant, are you looking for trouble?"
In an instant, the city guard's expression changed. He was able to guard the city for many years without incident because of his extremely keen adaptability.
He soon knew that the kind-faced young man in front of him was definitely not an ordinary person.
The outstretched palm was retracted in an instant, and the face that was still menacing just now was replaced by a full smile in the blink of an eye.
He bowed and smiled apologetically, "As a kid, I know that with your wise, mighty, and extraordinary bearing, sir, he must be a famous figure."
"It's because I was blind and offended sir. Please don't blame me sir."
As he spoke, the city guard took out a bag of money from Su Qi'an and others and handed it over respectfully.
The speed of the transformation was so fast that Su Qi'an was a little surprised. This city guard was very knowledgeable and flexible, and there was no trace of dissatisfaction at all.
Su Qi'an was somewhat interested in this person, but he did not accept the money handed over by the government servants.
Su Qi'an would not be in trouble with a mere yamen officer, so he took this opportunity to instantly understand the situation in Jiaozhou Tucheng.
Su Qi'an said softly, "The city gate charges are the rules. I don't look down on these things, so I'll reward you as a reward."
"Don't you want to make up for your mistakes? Tell me about the situation of the Jiaozhou priest, especially the little priest who just passed by."
When the city guard heard what Su Qian said, he felt relieved.
Listening to Su Qi'an's tone, he was able to conclude that the man in front of him must be a young man from a wealthy family. Read the book
And it is very likely that he is from Nanzhou. After all, only outsiders do not know the status of Jiaozhou priests.
Even people like them who live in the local area do not dare to call the so-called priests by their names in person.
The young man in front of him was not afraid at all, which was enough to show that he had quite a lot of power behind him.
The city guard was very happy that he had changed his attitude just now.
Otherwise, I might die without knowing how.
The city guard nodded and said, "I don't know what to call this young master."
My surname is Qi. Su Qian said calmly.
"Okay, Master Qi, the priest who passed by just now is a priest in Tucheng. His status is even higher than that of the Tucheng County Magistrate."
"Master Qi should know that although the three southern states are divided into three levels: state, county and county, the only one that can really be implemented is Nanzhou where Master Qi lives."
"As for Jiaozhou, it's only in name. The area that can really be controlled is less than one-tenth of Jiaozhou, which is the city of Jiaozhou, the county of Jiaojun, and a dozen nearby counties, and Tucheng happens to be One of more than a dozen counties.”
"Every other place was divided up by the priests of Jiaozhou."
"There is also a distinction between priests and priests. The priest who passed by just now is a minor priest."
“Above the minor priests, there is the high priest, and above the high priest, there are the elder priests.”
"In Jiaozhou, there are very few elder priests, only three. The rest are twenty or thirty high priests, and nearly a hundred minor priests."
This was the first time Su Qi'an heard such a detailed division. Previously, he heard from Huang Wenyan that the three southern states were under the jurisdiction of priests.
However, the specific levels of priests and priests are not clear. After all, Huang Wenyan is from Nanzhou.
As for the affairs of Jiaozhou and Yuezhou, most of them just listened to the stories of some businessmen.
As for the specifics, it is unknown. Although the three states in the southern border appear to be one.
But in fact, since Nanzhou has gradually come under control and followed the direction of Daliang, even Nanzhou officials are not very clear about the specific situation of the two states.
The three states basically do not interfere with each other. In addition, the borders are mountainous and have many peaks. Most people will never leave Nanzhou throughout their lives.
Naturally, contact was cut off.
Su Qian nodded and whispered, "Continue."
The city guard continued, "Master Qi, if you want to enter the city, you must not have any trouble with the little priest of Tucheng. If possible, it is best to take a detour."
"This is not because I underestimate Master Qi's strength, but in the territory of Jiaozhou, the status of a priest is greater than that of a county magistrate."
"A strong dragon will not suppress a local snake," Master Qi also saw just now. The natives along the way said unceremoniously to the piety of the Tucheng priest. As long as that man gave the order to let these natives die, they would not be afraid. hesitantly. "
"By the way, I would like to remind Master Qi that Jiaozhou is no better than Nanzhou. Although I don't know why Master Qi came here, the priests of Jiaozhou are the faith in their hearts and the gods in their hearts."
"They are the so-called incarnations of gods. They have no names. If you encounter them on the road, be sure not to point at them or shout loudly, otherwise you will encounter a lot of trouble."
This reminder is still very useful to Su Qi'an. Just now, I almost wanted to ask, what is the name of this little priest in Tucheng? There is no way he doesn't have a name.
Now it seems that it is no wonder that these natives worship these priests so much, and it is not unreasonable.
They package themselves as so-called incarnations of gods, without names, and are uniformly codenamed priests, which increases the sense of mystery.
This feeling, from Su Qian's modern perspective, is that of a pure cult organization.
It's just that in this backward and ignorant southern Jiaozhou, totem worship and all kinds of weird natural weather were exploited by these priests with ulterior motives, making it a fertile soil for natural reproduction.
After hundreds of years of development, it is estimated that this group of priests has already had a reasonable institutional arrangement.
It is very difficult to destroy them, but Su Qian has no such idea at the moment.
After all, he is not overflowing with the Holy Mother's heart, so how can he cause trouble for himself.
He has only one principle in coming to the south: to develop his own power silently. Whether it is priests or local officials, it is best not to provoke him.
If you have to get on a pole, don't blame Su Qian for being rude.
The city guard Yamen said so much, which was of great help to Su Qi'an.
At least I probably have some understanding of the current situation in Jiaozhou, so I won't be like a headless fly.
After listening to the story of the city guard, Su Qi'an said hello and led everyone into the city.
Watching Su Qi'an enter the city, although the city guard's face was much relaxed, he felt a sudden uneasy feeling in his heart for some reason.
Looking at Su Qi'an's back, he always felt that this peaceful Tucheng seemed to be causing an uproar because of the arrival of these outsiders.
The city guard shook his head and suppressed his uneasiness. He was just an ordinary city gate guard. Even if something happened, the county magistrate would be there to take care of him. So what does it have to do with him.
Soon, he returned to his usual casual appearance.
When Su Qi'an entered the city, what appeared in front of him was quite simple, even dilapidated.
Compared with the county towns in Xizhou, it is completely different. There are no so-called restaurants or inns in Tucheng.
Even if there is one, it is surprising. It is made of sheets of bamboo, and it is not high, only about three or four floors.
Outside the eaves of the bamboo building, a flag was fluttering in the wind, and the name of the restaurant and inn was clearly written on it, but no matter how you looked at it, it felt a little inappropriate.
This is pretty good. Most of the surrounding houses and shops are made of mud fired into bricks, and the roads are also full of potholes.
After a rain, the ground was covered with mud and ditches of all sizes.
From time to time, you can see some wheelbarrows stuck in the mud and countless figures busy.
To be honest, this Tucheng is not as good as Su Qi'an's Dongshan Village. From this aspect, we can also see Jiaozhou's backwardness.
Su Qi'an entered the city and
Instead of going straight to the Tucheng County Government Office, I found a vendor on a higher ground and sat down at a small stall.
No matter how barren or lively the place is, such small vendors are often the gathering place for news sources.
There were many farmers and craftsmen who came to greet them. Although most of them were bragging, they could also hear the news about what happened in Tucheng recently.
For example, due to a sudden violent storm some time ago, basically all the food grown in Tucheng was ruined.
This year's harvest may not be very good. It is said that this is because it angered the rain god in the sky. The Tucheng County magistrate could only invite a nearby priest to come and practice the harvest.
If the rain god's anger cannot be appeased, the food harvest will not be harvested this year, and the tax revenue may increase by 20%.
They have a lot of grievances about tax collection. They work hard all year round to barely have enough to eat. This year we are encountering such terrible weather. If the tax rate is increased by 20%, they will not be able to survive.
They are very angry, but they can only complain in private. Now they only hope that the little priest of Tucheng can really calm the anger of the Rain God and let them overcome the current difficulties.
The increased taxes are not just for farmers, but also for all walks of life.
All of this is to complete the above tasks, but just to complete the above tasks, do you not care about the life and death of ordinary people?
Some people were advising them to keep their voices down. If they were overheard, they would be beaten.
Su Qi'an, who was sitting next to the stall, said nothing and silently drank the water in his hand.
He, Su Qian, had no control over these matters, and it was not his turn to do so. He could only be a bystander, silently watching the development of the situation.
After staying at this stall for a while, Su Qian was ready to get up and leave.
Now that I've heard enough, it's time to look for and have a chat with the Tucheng County Magistrate.
Just when Su Qi'an was about to leave, suddenly, from the muddy road next to him, a figure hit the table in front of Su Qi'an with a bang.
Suddenly, the table in front of him fell into pieces. Fortunately, Su Qian reacted quickly and stepped aside without hurting him.
Looking around, he saw that the man in front of him was a local citizen. He was young, probably less than twenty, but his condition was not very good.
Covered with injuries and his hair disheveled, he struggled to get up slowly.
Just as he stood up, a long whip in the distance instantly wrapped around his neck, and with a strong force, he fell to the ground.
At the same time, a low and non-standard sarcastic voice sounded, "Run, you are running, you signed the contract of betrayal and you still want to run? Damn you guy."
