White-robed Minister

0002 [People of the Mountains]

early morning.

Xu Lai, carrying dry rations and bedding, and holding a broadsword, silently walked out of the farmhouse courtyard.

He's about to be conscripted into the army.

Qingxi Village is located in a valley on the western foothills of Feixia Mountain.

Every single villager, without exception, was a serf of a landlord from outside the mountains.

The Southern Han regime during the Five Dynasties period pushed Guangdong and Guangxi back to a slave system.

After the Song Dynasty conquered the Southern Han, it quickly issued an edict to free slaves in Guangdong and Guangxi. Those who disobeyed were punished with whippings for minor offenses and exile for serious offenses.

At the same time, the government encouraged the people to reclaim wasteland and provided them with farming tools and seeds. A large number of freed serfs became self-sufficient farmers through land reclamation, and this is how Qingxi Village was founded.

However, the mountain people have always suffered discrimination and were frequently forced to perform corvée labor.

Xu Lai's father's generation originally had four brothers. Two of them died young, and one died in the military, leaving only his father, Xu Yongnian, alive.

Xu Lai's family saw him off at the mouth of the valley, weeping and wailing as if it were their final farewell.

"Father, Mother, Brother, Sister-in-law, Dou Niang, you should go back," Xu Lai said. "It's not like I'm going alone; we can all look after each other."

The women were still wiping away tears.

Xu Yongnian reiterated, "Sanlang, if you encounter thieves, run away. Don't fight them to the death."

Xu Lai nodded: "I know."

After saying that, he turned around and went to meet up with his companions.

Qingxi Village has only about thirty households, and this time they were conscripted ten able-bodied men, which shows how badly they were cheated.

This matter has nothing to do with the government; it's purely the work of a landlord from outside the mountains.

The list of able-bodied men was drawn up by the village clerk, and the actual conscription was carried out by the elders. The village clerk and elders were not officials, but were selected from the upper-class households in the village on a rotating basis. By working together, they could transfer ordinary corvée labor to the villagers.

If the village clerk and the head of the household collude, they can also manipulate the tax collection process.

"Uncle Zhang!"

"cousin."

"Brother Yang."

"..."

Relying on the remaining memories in his body, Xu Lai greeted the other able-bodied men.

His cousin, Bu Chao, was also there; he was twenty-two years old and strong.

Of the ten able-bodied men conscripted from the village, Uncle Zhang was the oldest and a hunter from the mountains, carrying a homemade hunting bow.

Uncle Zhang naturally became the leader.

Xu Lai asked curiously, "Uncle Zhang, aren't you a single-member household? How come you were also conscripted?"

Uncle Zhang said, "I grew up eating food from many families, and the Li family treated me very well. Their eldest son was busy with farm work, and their second son was sick, so I took their place."

After a brief explanation, Uncle Zhang shared his experience with everyone: "The able-bodied men are trained into local soldiers, and the government provides food during training. But they definitely won't be full... Don't be foolishly obedient; slack off when you need to, just go through the motions. If you exert too much strength, you'll be hungry in no time. We don't know how long this mission will last. The dry rations we brought will only last a few days at most."

A burly man named Yang Kui said, "I brought seventy coins. If we run out of dry rations, we can go buy more. Do you have any money?"

"I brought eighty coins."

"I brought one hundred coins."

"I only brought sixty coins with me..."

Everyone has money, but not much.

Xu Lai brought 120 coins, which was considered a lot of money, and his family was worried that he would go hungry.

Too much worry is useless. As the ten strong men walked, their mood gradually improved, and they were even able to laugh and tell dirty jokes.

This was Xu Lai's first time venturing out of the mountains and seeing the world since his transmigration.

The villages along the way were much wealthier than those in the mountains, but the farmers' houses were still thatched huts. If the roofs had tiles, the houses were undoubtedly those of landlords.

"Bang bang bang!"

The sound of shoveling rice stalks being pounded could be heard from time to time, as farmers harvested the late-season rice.

A villager named Yang Peng looked at the rice paddies with envy: "The fields outside the mountains are so fertile; one acre can yield so much rice."

Uncle Zhang chuckled sarcastically, "These village laborers come to our mountains every year. If you ask me, it would be better if the salt bandits robbed them all!"

"Yes, we should rob them all!"

"It would be best to kill them all, and then we can have the paddy fields cleared out."

"..."

The able-bodied men echoed their sentiments, venting their pent-up resentment with words.

After walking along the country path for a while, Xu Lai heard the sound of reading aloud coming from ahead, and he couldn't help but prick up his ears to listen.

I don't quite understand.

It's somewhat similar to the Cantonese dialect at this time, but there are many changes in the details.

"Ancient reading pronunciation?" Xu Lai's interest immediately piqued, and after careful discernment, he roughly guessed that it was reciting the Analects.

The level of rural teachers is very poor, and their pronunciation of reading is not standard.

It's more like... a Northern Song Dynasty version of Cantonese Mandarin.

At this moment, not only Xu Lai looked towards the school, but the other able-bodied men were also attracted by the sound of reading.

Envy shone in their eyes; they too longed to read and write, but there were no teachers in the mountains. Even if there were, the villagers couldn't bear to spend money on paper and pens, let alone those expensive books.

Uncle Zhang said sourly, "It's no use for them to study. I've lived for decades, and the whole village has never produced a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), only one worthless Juren (successful candidate in the provincial imperial examination) who served as an official."

What is a Juren acting as an official?

Xu Lai was confused.

However, judging from the literal meaning, it should mean that he served as a certain type of acting official in the capacity of a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations).

"She" means to act on behalf of someone. For example, a regent.

The shortest route from the mountains to the county town is along the Shixing River (Beijiang River). However, it requires crossing a small river, and the one-way boat fare is one coin.

To save money, the group took a detour further north, where there was a small bridge to cross the river.

In the afternoon, they arrived in the county town.

The city wall of Qingyuan County is short and dilapidated, built entirely of rammed earth, without a single brick.

Xu Lai carefully observed the surrounding terrain and the surrounding streets. He memorized it, knowing it would be helpful for his escape in a critical moment.

"Stop!"

Perhaps because of the presence of salt bandits, the county town was heavily guarded, and they were stopped as soon as they approached the city gate.

After explaining his identity and background, the gatekeeper simply shrugged and said, "The entrance fee is one coin."

These words enraged everyone.

Xu Lai's cousin, Bu Chao, grabbed the gatekeeper by the collar, his eyes red with anger, and said, "My second brother had a finger broken by a rock last year while repairing the plank road. My cousin..."

Bu Chao then pointed at Xu Lai: "My cousin, his older brother, fell into the river and his body was never found. Now they want to conscript us as soldiers, not only without pay, but they also charge us money to report to the city. Do they really think we mountain people are easy to bully?"

Uncle Zhang was even more direct, taking out his bow and stringing it, saying, "Normally, as long as we don't bring goods, we've never heard of being charged money when entering the city. You think we're easy to bully because of the conscripts? If you push us too far, we'll kill you first and then go join the salt bandits!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The remaining able-bodied men raised their broadswords and surrounded the two gatekeepers.

Xu Lai was dumbfounded.

Is it that fierce?

But since we're all in this together, we have no choice but to stand together through thick and thin.

Xu Lai also raised his broadsword and held it to the gatekeeper's neck: "Get out of the way! We need to report to the county government. If you delay the officials' work, you won't save your head even if you have ten!"

The gatekeeper was terrified.

The nearby residents also retreated, watching them in great fear.

"Gentlemen, let's talk this out, let's talk this out..." The gatekeeper's voice trembled as he spoke.

"roll!"

Bu Chao raised his hand and pushed the gatekeeper aside.

This cousin was really strong; he pushed the gatekeeper back several steps.

Ten strong men from the mountains swaggered into the city.

They entered through the north gate and soon arrived at the county government office in the north of the city, where they were stopped again.

A county yamen runner said, "If you're conscripting archers, you should report to the county commandant's office. You're here to recruit local soldiers; you should go to the patrol office. Don't bother the county yamen here."

The able-bodied men looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xu Lai stepped forward and bowed with his hands clasped: "May I ask, sir, where is the Patrol Inspectorate?"

The officer was greatly pleased by the address of "Sir," and his tone softened considerably as he patiently instructed them: "The Patrol and Inspection Office is located at the mouth of the Pujiang River, more than a hundred li from the county seat. It seems they have temporarily set up a camp west of the city these past few days; you may want to go and take a look."

"Thank you for your guidance, sir." Xu Lai bowed again.

Despite appearing polite, Xu Lai actually wanted to curse.

What kind of nonsense is this?

These Song Dynasty officials are all so unreliable; they can't even figure out where to report for duty.

The able-bodied men left the county government office and continued westward.

As Xu Lai exited the west gate, he was about to ask the gatekeeper when he noticed a notice posted on the city wall.

"The Qingyuan County Patrol and Inspection Office hereby approves:"

To suppress salt bandits, secure the borders, and ensure the safety of the people, we are recruiting volunteer soldiers. The salt trade in Guangxi was originally a national interest. However, in recent years, every autumn and winter, groups of dozens or even hundreds of fugitives in southern Jiangxi have been carrying armor, weapons, flags, and drums…”

Xu Lai stared at the notice for a long time.

He discovered that official notices from the Song Dynasty actually used simplified Chinese characters extensively.

Well, to be precise, it should be called a colloquial term.

Cousin Bu Chao laughed, "Sanlang, why are you looking at this? Do you think you can read?"

"Every time I went down the mountain, I would eavesdrop at the school," Xu Lai said casually, making things up.

Anyway, the people in the mountains are illiterate, and they don't know how difficult it is to learn to read by eavesdropping.

He pointed to the notice and said, "The temporary patrol post is indeed in the west of the city, but it's on a sandbar in the southwest. You'll have to go to the riverbank to catch a boat first; the government has already arranged the boats."

Bu Chao's eyes widened: "You really recognize those characters?"

"Mm." Xu Lai nodded.

The other able-bodied men all looked at Xu Lai as if they were observing a monster. Their curiosity and surprise were mixed with a touch of respect.

Respect for literate people.

Even Uncle Zhang, who used to complain that studying was useless, now looked at Xu Lai differently and thought that he could discuss things with Xu Lai in the future.

They walked another two miles southwest and saw a sandbar in the middle of the river with several fishing boats moored on the shore.

Uncle Zhang immediately started cursing: "These idiots, they actually conscripted the Tanka people to operate the boats, their brains are full of dog shit!"

"What's the problem?" Xu Lai asked curiously.

Uncle Zhang whispered, "There are some boat people along the river who have long been bribed by the salt bandits to pass messages to them. Who in the whole county doesn't know that?"

Xu Lai was speechless for a moment.

There were informants among the Tanka people who were involved in salt banditry, and the temporary patrol post was built to guard against these bandits. Why would they forcibly requisition Tanka fishing boats to ferry people across such a crucial crossing?

The group boarded a small fishing boat and soon arrived at the island in the middle of the river.

After landing on the island, Xu Lai became increasingly disappointed.

This dilapidated place hardly resembles a patrol post.

It's a complete refugee camp!

-

(Thanks to pal3, Xuan Yuan Qing Huan, Lei Dong Jiu Tian Zhi Shang, Qidian Ba ​​Bai Wan Da Diao Qi Shi Zong Jiao Tou, Yi Ku Ke Qing Guang Tou Song, Long Xiang Sheng Teng, You Tian Chang Di Jiu, Wo Jia Nv Shen Shi Meng Bi, Yi Bei Xiao Jin Liang Mei Chou, Wo Te Yi De Bu Xiang Shuo, Shen Bai, and many other readers for their generous donations.)

(This book is updated twice a day, at 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM.)

(This chapter is being posted early; there will be an update tomorrow.)