Raozhou City stands twenty miles away. Looking from the mountain, the city walls are tall and solid, the city gates are thick and majestic. Since ancient times, Raozhou City has been a battleground for military strategists. Although the conditions here are difficult, on the contrary, there are many people. Many exiled criminals and serious offenders are sent here.
Because Raozhou City is not only a border town, it also has an iron mine and a coal mine under its jurisdiction, as well as a Grand Canal, which was dug by Emperor Taizu of the Sheng Dynasty two hundred years ago.
Of course, it was not the entire canal that was dug. The canal already existed, but it did not reach Raozhou. Emperor Taizu sent people to build and dig the canal just for the iron mine in Raozhou.
Needless to say, iron can be used to forge ironware and weapons, and coal is also very useful. It can be used to smelt iron and burn fire for heating. That is why Emperor Taizu ordered the construction of a canal to transport these iron and coal.
However, at that time, Raozhou only had one iron mine, and the coal mine was discovered more than ten years ago.
Of course, the coal and iron mines of Dasheng are not only in Raozhou, but also in other places. There are also some other copper and gold mines. Many surrounding countries are salivating over them. Fortunately, Emperor Taizu was powerful. He conquered the world and made the country rich and powerful. However, after so many years, wars broke out from time to time, and the military strength was greatly reduced.
This is also the reason why the neighboring Bi State always coveted Raozhou, and they would fight wars from time to time just to seize Raozhou's iron and coal.
It was not until two years ago that the eldest prince led his troops to attack the State of Bi. The eldest prince had the talent to lead troops, and the State of Bi was severely damaged. It took more than a year for the border city to be stable, and the people's lives became much better.
This is probably also the reason why the second prince was afraid that the late emperor would give the throne to the eldest prince.
When the eldest prince returned to the capital, the second prince could not help but take action. The two factions fought openly and secretly until the eldest prince was defeated...
As for why the late emperor had never appointed a crown prince, Xu Qinyu didn't know.
Not only was the eldest prince executed, he also had a daughter and a son. The daughter was Yan Jie'er, who was three years old this year, and the son was still in swaddling clothes. After the eldest prince was executed, the young prince was accidentally thrown to death by the servant who was guarding him. But this was not an accident, it was obviously the work of the new emperor. The princess lost her husband and young son, and she did not survive, and died with a white silk scarf.
Thinking of this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but sigh in her heart, and secretly glanced at Pei Weixuan again.
He was still holding Yan Jie'er and Feng Ge'er. He was tall and thin, with a rare blush on his handsome face, and he looked sick and weak.
It was precisely because of his appearance that the new emperor did not kill him. He probably thought that this sickly brother who had been in poor health since childhood and took medicine every day would not cause any big waves.
Xu Qinyu looked towards Raozhou City again.
Finally, she arrived. She really didn't want to recall the hardships along the way. It was even more terrible than her days in the welfare home.
Fortunately, it hasn't rained in the past few days, but it's been gloomy and feels like it's going to snow. They have to go into the city before dark. Their winter clothes are already tattered, so they have to go into the city to buy winter clothes and have a good rest.
Ma Liu shouted, "Everyone, cheer up! We've already reached Raozhou. There are only twenty miles left. We'll be there by the afternoon."
Everyone then continued to move forward.
The stove was not cooked for breakfast in the morning, so we all ate pancakes. There were only a few pancakes left, so we were all hoping to have a good meal after arriving in Raozhou City.
After walking for several hours, we finally arrived at Raozhou City.
Looking at Raozhou City from a close distance, the city walls are even more magnificent and heavily guarded. People have to be checked before entering the city. After all, it is a border town and they are worried about spies sneaking in.
It was the first time that Xu Qinyu saw the ancient dynasty, and she was a little excited.
Soon it was their turn. Deputy Captain Chen took out the token and the soldiers guarding the city gate let them in.
After entering the city, Deputy Captain Chen led them to the yamen to find the Sihu.
The Sihu is responsible for managing household registration. When they arrive in the border town, they have to arrange their household registration.
Arriving at the yamen, Wen hesitated, then went to Deputy Captain Chen and said, "Sir, we have no cash on us, only some jewelry. Could you please allow us to go out and exchange some for silver to pay the household registration fee?"
Only then did Xu Qinyu realize that people like them who were demoted to commoners would not be safe even if they arrived in the border town. They would not have to wait for the government to arrange a place for them. If they wanted to stay in Raozhou City or the towns and villages under its jurisdiction, they would need to pay household registration fees. As for how much silver they would need to pay to go to the place they were going, she was not sure yet. If she could not pay the silver, she could only go to some villages that did not require household registration fees.
The villages that do not require household registration fees are all near coal mines or iron mines because people go there because they have no money. Some refugees from previous years were also assigned there, which creates a vicious cycle and makes the poverty even worse.
As for those serious criminals, they were all sent to the coal mines.
Coal mining is the most tiring and dangerous job, and it is easy to result in loss of life. Even if people are paid money, not many are willing to do it. Therefore, since ancient times, serious criminals have been sent to coal mines everywhere to mine coal. Since these people are prisoners, naturally they will not be arranged with household registration, and they are all managed by officers and soldiers of the coal mines.
As for iron mining, although it is hard work, the danger is not high, the pay is high, and there are still many strong laborers willing to do this job.
I just don't know how to pay the household registration fee.
Xu Qinyu didn't understand, but she didn't ask any questions for fear of revealing something.
Deputy Captain Chen nodded, "Madam, go ahead."
After all, she was the former queen, so Deputy Commandant Chen was very polite.
"Mom, let me go with you." Xu Qinyu called out to Wen.
Even she felt that Wen was weak and worried that she would be fooled.
Wen nodded, asked Pei Jianing and Pei Weixuan to take good care of Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er, and then left the yamen.
After leaving the yamen, Xu Qinyu looked around curiously. They had just entered the city and were in a hurry to get on with their journey. In addition, there was a serious criminal in their group who was handcuffed and shackled, so they would always be surrounded by people and it was not convenient for them to stop and look around.
It’s not so urgent now, so I can take a look.
The city of Raozhou cannot be compared with the capital. The capital is more prosperous and the architectural style is obviously different. The houses here are not as exquisite as those in the capital and are a bit rough, but they are also very prosperous. People come and go, walking through the streets and alleys, and peddlers are all busy making a living.
There are all kinds of restaurants, wine shops, inns, grain stores, cloth shops, pharmacies, tea shops, jewelry stores, etc. on both sides of the street, and there are still many businesses doing business.
Xu Qinyu not only paid attention to these, but also to other people and things. They might have to stay in Raozhou City for the next two days. She wanted to see if there was any way to make extra money. She certainly couldn't just sit back and enjoy all the food. Besides, the household registration fee must be quite a lot, and money would be needed everywhere.
She didn't want to be sent to a village near a coal mine or iron mine. Not only was it remote, but the people in the village were also a mixed bunch.
Wen quickly found a larger pawnshop nearby.
After entering, she took out three pieces of jewelry from the lining of her long coat.
A pair of ruby and pearl earrings, a ruby and gold bead headpiece and an emerald jade bracelet.
Looking at the three pieces of jewelry, Wen was worried. After her eldest son was murdered, their whole family was imprisoned. Even when Yu Niang came home, there was no one in their house. The next day, the new emperor exiled them to the southwest and asked them to return home first. When they returned home, there were soldiers following them. The soldiers were fierce and did not allow them to take anything with them. She thought these pieces of jewelry were relatively small, so she secretly hid them in her jacket and took them away.
Originally, he had four items, but on the way, in order to have food and drink, he begged Deputy Captain Chen to help him pawn one of them, and he had already spent all the money.
There were only these three pieces of jewelry left, which could be pawned for a hundred taels at most. A hundred taels was too little in Wen's eyes. After paying the household registration fee, there might not be much left. Wen also didn't want to go to a village or town that was too cheap.
The rubies and gold beads on these jewelry and the jade bracelet were all quite valuable and were pawned for one hundred taels of silver.
The price of a dead body can basically only be obtained by pawning it, and even less by pawning a living body. The shopkeeper did not cheat them.
Seeing this, Xu Qinyu took out the five gold leaves from her jacket and handed them to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, please help me exchange these gold leaves for silver."
These gold leaves should have been secretly sewn into the lining of her clothes by her parents when she married into Prince Shu's palace. She had no idea about it. She was in a state of disarray at the time, with her five senses blocked. After being sent to the palace, she just sat there for a whole night. She only found these gold leaves when she recovered from her illness.
When the original body left the Marquis of Dechang's Mansion and was sent to the prince's palace to get married, her parents should have also told her about the household registration.
But the original body definitely didn't listen, so she had no impression of it.
Mrs. Wen was also a little surprised when she saw her daughter-in-law took out a few gold leaves, "Yu Niang..."
Xu Qinyu sighed softly, "These were something my parents hid on me before I left. I was so closed off during my exile that I didn't even notice these gold leaves. I only discovered them a few days ago. I might as well exchange them for silver. Once we get to the city, there will definitely be places that require silver everywhere, so it will be easier to spend them."
These five gold leaves were worth about fifty taels of silver, which should have been all the assets of my parents. My father earned a monthly salary of four taels of silver, and my mother came from a humble family, so her dowry was modest, and she didn't have any shops to offer as a dowry. Although all other social transactions and meals were paid through the official government account, and my mother received a monthly allowance of two taels of silver, she spent money privately on many occasions, leaving no room for personal savings.
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