Chapter 7
The twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month is the auspicious day chosen by the imperial court for the La Festival. All the people of Yan State got up early today to prepare for cleaning, sacrifices, and pray for good weather in the coming year. After the La Festival, they can prepare New Year's goods.
Lin Shuge was called to inspect the sacrificial work early in the morning. Some items needed for worshiping the gods had to be handled with extra care and must be kept clean and tidy.
"Brother Huai Ting, I heard that the Duwei Mansion is going to hold a hunting festival today. There are many prey in the dense forest outside the city. When we have a day off, I will take you to hunt for fun."
Dingyuan County was different from other counties because it was located on the border and often had to fight with foreign races. It had a military team parallel to the county's administrative system, and the highest military commander was called the Duwei.
The entire Dingyuan County had a Duwei Mansion stationed on the border to guard the northwest, so the people lived a relatively peaceful life.
"Really? I'll wait for good news then." Lin Shuge replied while arranging the memorial service procedures with the servants.
"Of course. How could I lie to you? I know an official from the Duwei Mansion. I went with him last year and hunted a fox. I used the fox skin to make clothes. I'll show it to you someday."
"Erlang, have you ever dealt with the Duwei Mansion?"
"There are quite a lot of them. Although they are not under the jurisdiction of our county governor, they have to buy farm tools and seeds from us. Some soldiers," he gestured to the east again, "have criminals exiled to the northwest to farm, and our county government will also help register the population."
"What about the Captain?"
"I have never met the commander-in-chief in person, but I have heard that his surname is Zhao, he has made great military achievements, and the court relies on him very much," Zhou Du saw that there was no one around, so he quietly ran to Lin Shuge's ear and said, "But I heard that the commander-in-chief has a grudge against our county governor."
"What do you mean by that?"
Zhou Du was about to speak when a police officer suddenly ran in and said, "Clerk Zhou, Clerk Lin, there is a disturbance in Guanshi. The county magistrate has ordered you two to go check it out first."
Guanshi was a border market set up by the imperial court for trade with surrounding ethnic groups.
County Magistrate Li should be presiding over the sacrificial ceremony at this moment. The La Festival requires the county magistrate to lead the county magistrate and the village elders to worship the community gods, so he probably cannot be free at this moment.
"We will go right away, you lead the way." Lin Shuge and Zhou Du exchanged glances. Today was the La Festival, but someone was making trouble, and it was possible that something bad might happen.
The customs market was set up in the east of Ganzhou County. People were busy coming and going in the market. From time to time, foreigners with high noses and deep eyes would talk with the local people, speaking poor Mandarin. They traveled between the Western Regions and Dingyuan City, selling spices and jewelry from the Western Regions, and more importantly, buying the exquisite silk and porcelain here and selling them to nobles from various countries in the Western Regions.
A loud shout seemed to break through the sky, "I liked this first, how dare you snatch it from me."
The people and merchants who were trading goods stopped what they were doing, stopped to listen, and some even gathered towards the source of the sound.
The merchant who just roared had curly hair and green eyes, like a Huihe. He was staring at another foreign merchant. The merchant was dressed elegantly and was calm. He turned the ring on his hand and said, "You said that the one you like first is yours."
The object they were fighting over was an exquisite Shu brocade with graceful patterns and bright colors. When the sun shone on it, it seemed to be glowing with brilliance.
The Uighur man originally wanted to use this Shu brocade to please Uighur Lady Yanshi in order to obtain official certificates for trade with the Yan Dynasty, and he had already contacted the maidservants around Lady Yanshi. Today, a merchant in Guanshi Trade saw someone selling Shu brocade, and he was quick to rush in and wanted to buy it from the local merchant. However, he met a competitor, who even wanted to fight him after a disagreement.
The two men were arguing, and the merchant selling Shu brocade saw that there was profit to be made, so he immediately said that the one with the highest bid would win. The Hu merchant, who was dressed in luxurious clothes, always added a penny to his price, which was simply bullying.
The Uighur merchant started fighting in a rage, and when Lin Shuge and the other two arrived, they saw him being captured by the soldiers and pinned to the ground.
"Sir, I took action because he was too bullying." The Uighur merchant said his name was Dabu. His face was covered in dust and his green eyes seemed to be spitting fire as he looked at the Hu merchant.
"People in Guanshi are causing trouble and should be expelled from the border according to the law," Lin Shuge glanced at the two of them, but saw that the Hu merchant's eyes were wandering, as if he was hiding away.
"Wait, what's your name? Where are you from? Do you have any instructions for entering Guan City?"
Guanchuan is the certificate for border trade.
The man stammered, "I am from Wusun, my name is Xing Mi, this is Guan Chuan, please look, sir."
Lin Shuge gave Zhou Du a look, took the certificate, and looked Xing Mi up and down sharply, which made him tremble and sweat profusely.
There's something wrong with this person.
Zhou Du understood what was going on and immediately ordered people to disperse the people. He also asked the officers around him to ask the county lieutenant to bring people over. This matter was not that simple.
The county lieutenant is in charge of the public security of the entire county, and he is afraid that if something really happens, the two of them may not be able to handle it.
Lin Shuge took a look at the certificate given by Xing Mi, which listed the names of the people who were allowed to enter the customs to trade, their nationalities, the goods they were selling, and the seal of the person who issued the certificate, which was Cui Lingshi Cui Yan.
Lin Shuge looked at Zhou Du and asked, "How many passes does the Wusun people pass in a month?"
"Wusun has always been friendly with our Great Yan. Their number is larger than that of other countries' tribes. Generally speaking, there are only two dozen people in a month. By the way, the Wusun Guanchuan was approved by Cui Lingshi. He should know it, but he is still reflecting on it behind closed doors. This..."
Lin Shuge looked at Xing Mi, "You are a Wusun. You want to come to Dayan to sell furs. How much did you sell? How much tax did you pay? Who did you sell the goods to?"
"My Lord, the furs I sold were not top-quality goods. I only got ten gold coins. Yes, ten gold coins. The tax... the tax has been paid... paid..."
When people lie, they won't look directly at the other person and their voices will become louder and louder, which is a sign of guilty conscience.
"The tariff rate in our dynasty is 10%, and you paid one gold in tax. Am I right?" Lin Shuge had cold eyes but a smile on his lips.
He said to the soldier beside him, "Go and ask the tax collector to come."
This man won't cry until he sees the coffin.
When Xing Mi heard that the tax collector was going to be called, her legs went weak and she fell to the ground. "My Lord, my Lord, I know I was wrong. I was just confused for a moment..."
Dabu beside him laughed out loud, "Sir, I paid the tax. I sold the jeweled Persian carpet today and earned a total of 20 gold coins. I paid 2 gold coins in tax."
Xingmi's eyes were bloodshot.
The tax collector arrived a moment later. Lin Shuge smiled and said, "I'm sorry to bother you. This merchant from Wusun said he had paid one gold in tax today. Is that true?"
The tax collector looked at Xing Mi and said, "Reporting to Mr. Lin, I have never seen this person come to pay the customs duties." Then he looked at Dabu next to him and said, "I have seen him and he paid two gold coins in taxes."
"Do you have anything else to say? Who are you? Who sent you to come to Dayan? Where are your accomplices?"
Xing Mi suddenly fell silent.
Zhou Du said angrily: "Is he a spy? An accomplice, he actually has an accomplice."
"Such a big commotion in the market today, it might be a diversion, or a bigger conspiracy." Ganzhou County is in a sensitive location, so we have to be careful.
"If you tell the truth, I might be able to keep your body intact. If you are stubborn, I wonder if you have heard of a kind of punishment called "a promotion."
Lin Shuge helped him up, and Zhou Du beside him pulled his arm. Lin Shuge smiled at him soothingly, and then said, "Use flexible mulberry paper, stick it on the prisoner's face, and pour water on the paper. The paper will become soft and moist, and the person will have difficulty breathing."
He looked at Xing Mi's eyes that suddenly widened in fear, "Do you think that this will free the prisoner? How can it be so easy? Of course, they add layer after layer of mulberry paper until the prisoner suffocates to death. Do you know how many layers of paper the average person will last?"
Xing Mi's face turned pale as he looked at Lin Shuge's picturesque face. No, this is not a human, this is the Jade-faced Shura.
It had been cloudy for the past few days, but today was a rare sunny day. It was past noon, and Lin Shuge looked up at the sun above his head, thinking that the La Festival ceremony must have ended. He turned around and said softly, "Five sheets, no one has ever been able to last more than five sheets. Although paper is expensive, you should feel lucky to have used it on you."
"I said, I said, I am from Wusu. Because I am fluent in Chinese, someone promised me a lot of money a few days ago and gave me Guanchuan, saying that he could take me into Ganzhou County. He only needed me to make a fuss in Guanshi. I was greedy for money, so I agreed to it."
"Apart from these, what about you? What is your own purpose?" This person was talking to him in a mixed tone.
Xing Mi felt as if a thorn was on his back, trembling like a sieve, and knelt down with a plop, "I... I have selfish motives. The sale of horses and weapons is strictly prohibited in Guan City. I came here to gather information..."
Changing his gentle demeanor, Lin Shuge asked sternly, "You want to smuggle weapons and sell them back, right?"
The foreign races are fierce and have always coveted the Central Plains. Throughout history, all dynasties have strictly prohibited the smuggling of weapons across the border. The imperial court spent a lot of effort on cultivating land and guarding the border, and spent countless manpower and financial resources to build this important border town to protect the well-being of the people, and countless soldiers died on the battlefield.
If someone with ulterior motives took advantage of the situation, smuggled weapons to foreign races, and used them to kill their own people, no matter how much they beat their chests and stamped their feet in grief, they would not be able to save the situation.
"Lingshi Lin, the county lieutenant has arrived." The officer came to report, interrupting Lin Shuge's thoughts.
"Greetings, Lord County Lieutenant."
The county lieutenant was tall and had the aura of a warrior. "No need to be polite, Lin Lingshi, Zhou Lingshi, you told people to say that a spy was caught here, is that true?"
"It's true. This man's name is Xing Mi, and he is from Wusun. According to his confession, this man and his accomplices are working together to smuggle and sell weapons. And the accomplices have a bigger purpose. I'm afraid they want to spy on the news and do something bad. Please immediately block the city gates and arrest the accomplices."
The county lieutenant was shocked. It would have been fine if there was just some trouble during the La Festival today, but if there really was a spy coming to spy on military intelligence, the county magistrate would definitely punish him for dereliction of duty. The best way is to catch the spy and make him do meritorious service while serving his sentence.
"Thank you both, I will immediately seal the city gates, take him away, and interrogate him strictly."
Immediately, soldiers came forward and tied up Xingmi's hands and took him away. The group left quickly, and for a moment, only Lin Shuge, Zhou Du and Dabu were left.
Zhou Du and Dabu stared at each other.
"Sir, I am willing to pay the fine. I am indeed at fault for what happened today. I am willing to pay the fine to atone for my crime."
In this dynasty, some crimes could be offset by paying a fine. It seems that Dabu was well versed in the laws of the Yan Dynasty.
"Just pay the fine to me. You probably can't leave the city today. Find a place to rest."
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