The visitor was a native, but he was different from other ordinary natives. He looked shrewd, spoke a non-standard cool language, held a long whip, and cursed.
The appearance of this person made other people retreat far away, and there was a lot of noise in their ears.
Su Qi'an soon knew the identity of this person. Although this person was a native, he was the house servant of the little priest in Tucheng, and his status was much higher than that of ordinary natives.
There are three, six or nine levels of priests, but even the lowest-level priest can be on an equal footing with the county magistrate.
What's more important is that they own a large area of land. For someone like the little priest of Tucheng, the land he owns is no smaller than that of Tucheng.
Not only the land, but all the natives on the land automatically belonged to the little priest and were his domestic slaves.
These domestic slaves have been domestic slaves for generations. Even if they give birth to children, they are also domestic slaves and cannot escape the mark of domestic slaves throughout their lives.
And the little priests of Tucheng were their heaven, and they had to do whatever they were asked to do.
Even if he were to be executed immediately, the Tucheng County Magistrate had no jurisdiction over the matter. Therefore, at certain times, the power of the Tucheng little priest was greater than that of the local county magistrate.
This slavery system has lasted for too long, and even the Great Liang during the founding period was unable to reverse it, let alone the Great Liang that gradually declined.
However, after so many years of submission, the control of Great Liang in the three southern states has made some progress.
For example, the local people living on the land of the little priest in Tucheng, that is, the Liang people who migrated a hundred years ago, are not under the jurisdiction of the little priest.
No matter what crime he committed, he would have to be tried by the local magistrate in accordance with the laws of the Great Liang. It was absolutely impossible for him to be so unscrupulous as before.
There is a reason for the unscrupulousness of this native steward. It turns out that this commoner, because his family is too poor, encountered waterlogging this year, resulting in basically no harvest.
In order to get food for his mother, he had no choice but to borrow grain from the little priest of Tucheng. If the grain was not repaid within the specified time, he would be sold as a domestic slave.
It was because he had this deed of betrayal in his hand that the native steward committed such a murderous act.
The people around him also showed pity on their faces when they saw the young man who was moaning and screaming after being beaten.
Borrowing food from the little priest is, to put it bluntly, a bottomless pit and a usury.
Everyone knows that once you borrow food, that guy will make interest on you, and you will have to pay it back within a few days.
If it were not for the desperate situation, no one would borrow food from the little priest.
The young man struggled and begged the steward, "Spare me. There are still three days left before the time we agreed. If the time is not up, I will repay the little priest for the food after three days."
The young man begged for mercy, but the native steward sneered, still waving the whip in his hand.
"Huh, repay? What are you going to repay? You can't even get ten shi of food, let alone three days, even thirty days! Just accept your fate, your slave is your life. If you try to escape, I'll beat you to death. "
"Ten stones? I obviously borrowed one stone..."
"Humph, stop talking nonsense. The little priest said, ten stones are ten stones. You Takuru are cunning. You will not admit it after eating it. Let's see how I teach you today!"
The young man wanted to defend himself, but the native steward stepped on his face and beat him with a long whip.
The people standing in silence in the distance had somewhat ugly expressions on their faces.
It turns out that what the indigenous steward said was that Takuru is a kind of indigenous language. When translated, it probably means useless beast.
It was an insulting word specifically used for the local Liang people. Although their faces were ugly, they finally dropped their clenched fists.
After all, with the contract of betrayal in hand, if you really want to stand up for this young man, who can get ten shi of food in your hand.
One stone of grain, according to modern estimates, is about one hundred catties, and ten stones is a full thousand catties.
No wonder when it comes to borrowing food, unless you are desperate and beaten to death, you will not be like a little priest borrowing food.
This is too cruel. It is not a loan shark. It is completely costing people's lives. If you borrow a hundred catties, you must pay back a thousand catties.
Su Qi'an was also quite surprised when he heard this.
The native steward was still punching and kicking without restraint. If he didn't stop him, he might be beaten to death in a short time.
Although Su Qi'an didn't want to take charge, the insulting words used by this indigenous manager made Su Qi'an feel uncomfortable.
He sighed, and Tong Zhan beside him understood instantly. Without saying a word, he grabbed the whip of the native steward.
The native steward, who was fighting vigorously, was stopped by others. He was very angry and cursed angrily, "Where is Takulu from? He is seeking death and dares to interfere in the family affairs of the little priest."
As he said that, he exerted great force. After all, I am also a strong man. He didn't believe that I would lose to this group of Takuru in terms of strength.
Tong Zhan didn't let him get used to it, he also exerted force, the whip tightened, and then the tearing sound of the whip could be heard.
Everyone can see this confrontation. Tong Zhan has the upper hand. The native steward's face is red and he is about to burst out his final strength.
Who would have thought that Tong Zhan's grip on the whip suddenly loosened, causing the native steward to stumble and fall into the puddle.
His whole body was covered with mud, and he looked so embarrassed, which immediately caused bursts of laughter.
The indigenous steward's face turned livid, and he slowly got up. His eyes were full of anger, as if he was biting someone. He was about to rush over, preparing to fight with the child and have a showdown.
But at this moment, a deep voice came from the distance, "Muha, step back."
Everyone turned around, and the little priest from Tucheng actually came forward. The laughter just now disappeared instantly.
The little priest of Tucheng was sitting on a bamboo chair, still being carried by a dozen natives. Along the way, the people who were watching unconsciously stepped back a little.
Obviously, everyone is still very afraid of this little priest from Tucheng.
The little priest from Tucheng entered the city probably to appease the rain god's anger and negotiate with the Tucheng county magistrate.
Although Tong Zhan came to the fore, which made people feel happy, the little priest was not easy to deal with, and he was probably going to fall into trouble.
Everyone could foresee Tong Zhan's sad fate in their hearts, and they all stopped talking.
Muha trotted all the way and came to the little priest in Tucheng. He was about to speak, but was stopped by the little priest.
The little priest's eyes swept across the crowd, and naturally fell on Su Qi'an, and said softly.
"You Liang people have an old saying, even if you beat a dog, it depends on the owner. A lesson has been learned. Let's talk about it, Your Excellency."
Being singled out by the little priest, Su Qi'an was not surprised. The person who can serve as the little priest is not an ordinary person. He not only speaks very fluent Liang language, but also knows the ancient Liang people, which is enough to show that this person still has some cultural background. Unfortunately, I also took part in the imperial examination. .
Su Qi'an walked out very calmly. The little priest from Tucheng seemed to be talking to himself and talking to Su Qi'an.
"Well, you are quite talented. If I guess correctly, you should come from a wealthy family in Nanzhou."
"As for me, before I became enlightened, I did participate in the imperial examination held by you Liang people. I was not talented, but I was a scholar. Later, I understood the will of the Rain God, and I no longer care about these things."
Su Qi'an was a little surprised by the words of the little priest from Tucheng, but he didn't show it.
It was as if this little priest really had some magical power and could see into other people's hearts.
Although he was shocked, Su Qi'an didn't believe it. Any monsters and monsters could only be used to deceive ignorant people. If Su Qi'an was frightened by this, he would be damned.
With a smile on her face, Su Qian looked at the little priest in Tucheng and said, "Since the little priest has such abilities, you might as well guess my purpose of coming to Jiaozhou and why I came to Jiaozhou."
"Bold, please address the little priest with honorifics!" Muha beside him immediately scolded him.
Su Qi'an was noncommittal and looked at the little priest with a smile. The two looked at each other, as if they wanted to see through each other.
After a short time of looking at each other, the little priest looked away and said softly, "Your coming and going, everything has its own destiny. What you do cannot be forced. This is your path."
If you change
If you were someone else, you would definitely be deceived by his Shen Shen Nao Bao, but Su Qi'an was sure of it.
This little priest has a strong ability to observe words and colors. He can guess part of the other person's psychological activities through his micro-expressions and hand movements.
To put it bluntly in modern times, this is a mind-reading master. Never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Their intelligence is far beyond your imagination.
Su Qi'an smiled and said nothing. At this time, the little priest of Tucheng said again, "I know that Mr. Qi is powerful. It shouldn't be a problem to spend ten stones of grain to redeem this slave."
"But unfortunately, I am not representing the past, but the Rain God. Mr. Qi's behavior just now, if I don't ask for an explanation, it will be blasphemy to the Rain God, and it is really disrespectful."
"Oh, what do you want, sir? Do you want to punish me on behalf of the so-called Rain God?" Su Qian crossed his arms and showed a playful expression.
However, the little priest of Tucheng shook his head and said softly, "No, there is always a wrongdoer and a debtor. Mr. Qi participated in the cause and effect. Whatever punishment the Rain God will give will come to light in due time."
"The person I want to pursue on behalf of the Rain God is this Takuru."
"Takuru, you should know that if you eat the food of the Rain God, you will have to bear the price. Now the Rain God has issued a decree asking you to serve him."
"Go ahead and cherish this opportunity. It is your blessing to be favored by the Rain God. I believe your mother will be happy for you."
After saying this, the young man who was beaten to a state of disgrace struggled to lie down, with a dagger in front of him.
He picked up the dagger tremblingly, and the little priest's voice sounded again.
"Go! The Rain God is waiting for you."
The young man put the dagger on his shoulder, and Tong Zhan, who was watching this scene, shouted loudly, "Boy, stop!"
The young man in ragged clothes looked at Tong Zhan and Su Qi'an with a look of relief on his face and said softly.
"Thank you for your help. If there is an afterlife, I will die to repay you."
After saying that, the dagger slid and wiped his neck directly. The young man fell down in a daze.
Immediately afterwards, the voice of the little priest of Tucheng sounded long, "Go back, the rain god is with you."
"Swear to be with the Rain God!"
Immediately afterwards, under the fanatical roar of the indigenous steward, the surrounding indigenous people knelt down and worshiped again.
Not to mention how pious he looked, this scene also left many people stunned for a moment.
Some people knelt down and worshiped without realizing it, chanting about the God of Rain.
Su Qi'an watched this scene, the amusement on his face had long since disappeared, and was replaced by an ashen face. Looking at the little priest of Tucheng, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this man is really a master of deceiving people.
