"Looking at your accent, you're not from the north. Could it be that you're from Jinghu?" Looking at the vendor, Liu Chengyou said. Although it was a question, Liu Chengyou's tone was unusually sure.
The vendor's rough face suddenly showed a flattering expression, and said: "You must be a distinguished nobleman, and you can even hear the villain's accent so accurately. The younger one is indeed from the south, but he is not from Jinghu, but from Jinghu. A native of Puqi County."
"Puqi County!" Liu Chengyou was slightly surprised and chuckled: "That still belongs to Ezhou!"
Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for Liu Chengyou to remember all the prefectures and counties in the country, but he has been studying the Jiangnan area recently. As the key target of the Southern Expedition, Ezhou naturally came into his sight, and Puqi was a small county in the southwest of Ezhou and adjacent to Yuezhou. It was named after the dense planting of cattail grass in the territory.
"The officials are really good, even a small place like Puqi knows about it!" The stall owner just missed giving Liu Chengyou a thumbs up.
Looking at this man, he was about forty years old, with rough skin and calluses on his hands. He was dressed in ordinary clothes and his exposed muscles looked strong.
Liu Chengyou still asked curiously: "Since you are from Puqi, how did you come to Tokyo?"
Seeing Liu Chengyou interrogating him about his family affairs, the old man did not dare not answer, or even meet his eyes, so he could only tell the truth: "About seven years ago, the imperial court sent a large army to pacify Hunan, fight in Baling, and fight in surrounding prefectures and counties. Recruiting civilian men, a small misfortune...Oh, I am lucky enough to be selected to go to Baling City to serve the imperial army..."
From his words, Liu Chengyou could imagine how tyrannical Wang Shi was when he conquered Hunan. The people of Puqi, who belonged to the Southern Tang Dynasty, were also within the scope of recruitment. At that time, Han Tong did not seem to be afraid of causing diplomatic disputes. Of course, Tang general Liu Renfan expressed great indignation afterwards, but the Southern Tang court did not dare to let out a single fart.
When Liu Chengyou heard this, he became more and more interested and said with a smile: "So, the victory of the imperial court in the Battle of Baling is also due to your contribution, brother!"
"The noble man is joking! Breaking the city and killing the enemy is the merit of the soldiers. The younger ones just helped cut firewood and carry supplies. There is no merit at all!" The old man shook his hand.
"Hey, the soldiers are doing battle, and you are doing hard work. You are also serving the imperial court. Each has its own role!" Liu Chengyou also laughed.
As he spoke, Liu Chengyou took the initiative to walk beside him, and he wisely stood up and gave up his low stool to him. Liu Chengyou was not polite, he sat down directly, looked at the old man sitting cross-legged on the ground, and continued: "According to the court's system, you should be rewarded after the war!"
Hearing this, the old man sighed and said, "It is our luck that ordinary people like us can survive on such a cruel battlefield and save our lives."
"My brother's limbs are intact, he is really lucky!" Liu Chengyou nodded and acknowledged his statement.
"I would also like to thank the gods and Buddhas for their blessing, and thank the villain for being sent to fill the trench!" the old man said: "Therefore, how dare we expect rewards from the court. Only with little luck can we return home safely, and there are many Those who went with me, alas..."
Hearing his emotion, Liu Chengyou immediately asked: "From your tone, it seems that there is something hidden? Could it be that the court's subsequent pensions have not been implemented in place?"
When he asked this question, Liu Chengyou's tone suddenly became harsh, which startled the old man. Seeing this, he felt a little dazed again and hesitated to answer. He seemed to have said something that he shouldn't have said. His eyes flickered a few times, and he lowered his head subconsciously and said, "You are too talkative! I don't know anything!"
Obviously, this old man did have some discernment and knew that this was probably a high-ranking official of the imperial court, or even one of those legendary imperial envoys who investigated the public sentiment. However, looking at this posture, it is different from the rumors. It is domineering and too ostentatious.
But no matter what, you shouldn’t keep talking too much to avoid getting into trouble.
Paying attention to his reaction, Liu Chengyou regained his warm smile and said: "Brother, you don't have to be scrupulous. I won't speak bluntly. I am an official responsible for listening to the people's sentiments and visiting incognito. Now that I have started, let me continue. …”
Hearing this, the old man's face changed drastically, and he subconsciously looked around, with a bitter look on his face, and said, "Young man really doesn't want to cause trouble!"
Liu Chengyou was still smiling: "But you have already provoked me! Let me tell you this, what you just said may have been unknown to the court before, but as long as the court wants to investigate, the results will definitely come to light and be crystal clear. I just want to start from Get some information from your mouth to avoid setbacks..."
The old man replied with intention, then go and check it yourself, why bother embarrassing a little person like him. But after paying attention to Liu Chengyou's eyes, he hesitated for a moment, and then took the initiative: "Actually, it's not a big deal. After the war, most of the former military civilians received rewards. It's just that people like us who belong to Jiangnan Kingdom only received rewards. I bought some rations to change my hometown."
"The official statement is that we ask for it from the Jiangnan court. It is understandable when you think about it. After all, we were not the subjects of the Han Dynasty at that time!" The old man sighed: "Like a villain who is lucky and can go home safely, he is satisfied . However, some people are dead, some are disabled, and the family has lost a strong laborer. It is obviously impossible to ask the Jiangnan court for pensions..."
"Damn it!" Hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou rebuked angrily: "In the whole world, the people of Jiangnan are also the people of the Han Dynasty and the people of the emperor. What's more, since they served the king and sacrificed their blood for the Han Dynasty, , the pension should be in place!"
Seeing that Liu Chengyou was angry, he was also startled, but after talking, he carefully echoed: "My lord, what you said makes sense."
Obviously, some of his words were insincere, and perhaps he still felt that Liu Chengyou took it for granted.
Liu Chengyou's mood was not easily affected. He quickly calmed down and smiled again. Seeing that he was a little embarrassed, he regained his relaxed tone and said, "Don't you think this is far-fetched? Logically speaking, after the war you should It's time to go back to Puqi, so why did you end up in Tokyo?"
When Liu Chengyou asked about this, the old man obviously relaxed a little and responded: "When I was in the army, I met my son-in-law. At that time, he was a soldier of the Forbidden Army and a very senior officer. After the war, I gave my daughter to After marrying him, when the army went on the Northern Expedition, after consideration, we decided to return to Tokyo with him as a family and settle down from then on..."
Nodding slightly, Liu Chengyou looked at the old man's stall and said: "For those who participated in the Battle of Yuezhou, up to now, not to mention becoming a battalion officer, a hundred generals are always more than enough! Why bother a woman like you? , setting up a stall and selling cattail fans in this hot summer? Could something have happened?"
Hearing this, the old man was slightly startled, and then said in an emotional tone: "The officials are really smart. My son-in-law was originally promoted to a hundred generals, but he died in the battle during the Northern Expedition. Alas..."
"It turns out they are the family members of the martyrs of the Northern Expedition, and they deserve respect!" Liu Chengyou said with cupped hands.
"I don't dare to take it! I don't dare to take it!" Seeing this, the old man said quickly.
"The Ministry of War shouldn't have withheld your family's pension, right?" Liu Chengyou said again.
"No, they will be paid in full soon!" the old man replied: "Everyone knows how kind the emperor is to his soldiers. Besides, my son-in-law is also an officer, so I won't blame him."
After hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou pondered for a moment and said, "With the death of my good son-in-law, there is one less pillar in the family. I'm sure there will be some difficulties in making a living in the past three years."
The old man Shuo said: "Tokyo is the capital after all, but the villain's family is quite lucky. They have a square foot of land and a roof on their head, so they have a roof over their heads. The pension left by the son-in-law is to support the children. The family People still need expenses to make a living, and my son has grown up and needs a wife. When I was in Puqi, I still had some weaving skills, so I made some cattail fans to sell..."
Liu Chengyou listened to these trivial matters, but he was very serious and continued to ask: "Only sell these cattail fans?"
"Of course not!" The old man shook his head, with a shrewd look on his face again: "It's not summer anymore, the weather is hot, and every family needs to be fanned to relieve the heat, so we specialize in cattail fans to catch up with the season. Normally, even the little ones get them. Some baskets, baskets, and bamboo utensils to sell..."
It can be said that this is a very ordinary small craftsman in Tokyo.
Liu Chengyou also smiled: "It seems that I have a craft, so I should be very good. How is the business now? How much can I earn in a day?"
The old man responded: "To be honest with the officials, the hot summer is coming. Recently, I can get up to a hundred coins a day at most. In the past, there were forty or fifty coins. Alas, it is a pity that summer will always pass, and I am not the only one selling fans... "
"That's a lot!" Liu Chengyou's mood improved again and he asked, "What's the price you pay for buying grain now?"
"A dou of rice costs thirteen or four cents!"
"Thirteen Wen, isn't the imperial court's price set at Twelve Wen?" Liu Chengyou asked.
"..."
After chatting with this old man for two full minutes, Liu Chengyou stood up and smiled at him: "I gained a lot from talking to this old man. I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. I have delayed you for so long. You should be compensated, and if you have done something good, you should also be rewarded."
Before Liu Chengyou finished speaking, the old man hurriedly said: "This official just wants to avoid causing trouble and is satisfied. How dare you ask for a reward!"
Liu Chengyou smiled and said: "Don't worry, I promise you, as long as you do your business, no one will cause trouble for you. You should still be rewarded! Let's do it this way, if you can have hundreds of coins at the most in a day, I will give it to you One hundred and ten cents."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Dejun, who was waiting, quickly took out his wallet to pay.
"I'll take my leave first! I'd like to thank Haihan for interrupting you! I wish you a prosperous business and see you soon!" Liu Chengyou smiled at him again, then turned around and left leisurely.
Looking at Liu Chengyou's group, the old man was sweating profusely. He quickly collected the money, closed the stall, and went home without paying attention to the inquiries of the curious people around him.
Since then, the old man has never sold anything in the East Market, but moved to the South Market. This is probably the shrewdness of ordinary citizens, but it seems a bit naive.
From the beginning to the end, Liu Chengyou never asked his name. In Liu Chengyou's eyes, this old man represents a kind of person.
