Chapter 782: Huai Tree Village

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the Qinhuai River flowed with vapor.

The Jin Ling Commandant's Office garrison was located at Dayanggou in the southeast of the city, west of the Imperial City Forbidden Garden, and east of the Ministry of Revenue's Grain Transport Department and the Ministry of Works' Armory Bureau. It was originally the station of the "Longxiang Guard" of the previous dynasty.

Come to think of it, Jin Ling was different from other places.

During the Daxing years of the previous dynasty, this was the national capital, where all the world's rare treasures gathered. Relying on the Jiangnan water network to control all regions, it stood in opposition to the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom in the north and south.

When the Daxing Dynasty perished, the imperial clan burned the imperial palace. Although the Jin Ling Prince's Mansion was later rebuilt on its foundation, were the vassal princes of this place so easy to be?

Because of its special geography, it was naturally suspected by the capital, so several generations of Jin Ling Princes lived cautiously, and even if they were reprimanded, they never intervened in local affairs.

Therefore, the status of the powerful families and officials in Jin Ling was higher.

When Li Yan and his party stepped on the slippery stone steps and set foot on the bluestone slabs in front of the Jin Ling Commandant's Office yamen, they happened to bump into Battalion Commander Zhou of the Yangzhou Commandant's Office walking out with a saber, together with his personal soldiers, their boot soles all stained with mud.

His eyes were bloodshot, clearly having not slept all night.

"Li Li Shaoxia!"

Seeing Li Yan, his eyes showed surprise, and he forced himself to hold his spirit and arch his hands: "I just submitted the Yangzhou Japanese pirate chaos files to the Jin Ling garrison. Are you here for something?"

Because of the Yangzhou matter, he was very respectful to Li Yan.

Li Yan was just worrying about not having an acquaintance to introduce him, so he told him about the matter.

"Easy enough."

Battalion Commander Zhou didn't say a word, turning around and taking Li Yan toward the Commandant's Office yamen. As for the others, they waited outside to respond.

The Jin Ling Commandant's Office could be considered one of the headquarters in Jiangnan, with a huge scale and very magnificent construction. A "Xiezhi Swallowing Balefulness Stele" stood in front of the gate, used to suppress evil and drive away balefulness, and the roofs of all the buildings were also covered with special "black scale tiles."

The area of this yamen was not small. After checking the waist token, Battalion Commander Zhou walked while introducing in a low voice: "The Commandant's Office here in Jin Ling, apart from monitoring Jianghu people like the Pai Sect and salt smugglers, the most important thing is to guard the 'Yellow Register Treasury'..."

"After opening the sea, Japanese pirates were rampant along the coast, and there were quite a few Dutch pirates landing on shore, so most of the elites were sent to support. Therefore, there was no defense against the monster invasion this time. Fortunately, Li Li Shaoxia beheaded the thieves, otherwise we would all have a hard time..."

As they spoke, they had already arrived at a side room in the back courtyard.

Not long after reporting, a tall and thin battalion commander with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks hurried over.

"Li Li Shaoxia, this is Battalion Commander Zheng of Jin Ling."

"Lord Zheng, this is Li Li Shaoxia Yan, Li Li Shaoxia."

"I have long admired your name..."

This Battalion Commander Zheng on duty was very enthusiastic. After letting people serve tea, he smiled and arched his hands: "Li Li Shaoxia's name shakes the north and south. Your arrival truly makes the humble place shine..."

But after Li Yan explained his intention, he stroked his beard with full hesitation, "This... this official is not convenient to intervene. Battalion Commander Zhou is here, and he is familiar with Jiangnan military affairs, so he must be more capable. This official will not overstep his authority."

After saying this, he actually stood up and took his leave, turning around and walking away.

Li Yan's brow furrowed, and his face immediately became gloomy.

Battalion Commander Zhou was full of embarrassment, whispering: "The Jin Ling Commandant's Office and those two families have a good relationship, so they mostly don't want to provoke trouble. But Li Li Shaoxia, rest assured, this Zheng fellow is not a fool. In the capital, he also doesn't dare to offend."

Sure enough, not long after, a small officer in soap-colored clothes ran over quietly and secretly handed a copied military register to Battalion Commander Zhou respectfully.

Li Yan took it and looked. On the yellowed paper pages, it was exactly the end of the file on Battalion Commander Tian's sudden death case. The front was roughly the same as what Fatty Lin said, and at the end, there was a line of cinnabar annotations:

"Personal soldier Zhou Dayong (Captain), failed to protect effectively, punished with twenty strokes and demoted to squad leader. Mourning for parents, returned to ancestral home, fifty miles east of Jin Ling City, Zhou Family Hollow."

"Failed to protect effectively?"

Li Yan sneered: "Shifting the blame is quite nimble."

"Where is this Huai Tree Village?"

"Not far, it's in the mountains outside Jin Ling City..."

*Sasha sasha~*

Before noon, the gloomy sky began to rain with drizzle again.

Two covered boats traveled through the water in the rain and mist. The banks were densely covered with grass and trees, half of the leaves were yellow, and the peaks were stacked. Everything that met the eye was beautiful scenery.

"Good place..."

Sha Lifei couldn't help but sigh: "This place is really suitable for seclusion."

Wang Fu also nodded and stroked his beard: "That is natural. This is Zhongshan, and nearby is Xuanwu Lake, one of the three famous lakes in Jiangnan. Since ancient times, it has been a place of good wind and water. During the Six Dynasties, it was still a royal garden lake..."

"You gentlemen are joking."

Before he finished speaking, the old boatman in a straw raincoat and hat in front turned around and said: "No matter how good the scenery is, only the nobles look at it with joy. The common people are not so comfortable."

"Oh?"

Wang Fu became interested upon hearing this, "This poor Daoist has heard that this place is also a prosperous place in the whole of Jiangnan, planting rice and raising silkworms, with the people having enough food and clothing."

The old man sighed, "That was before."

"Since the imperial court opened the sea, silk has been in short supply. The masters of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau posted a notice: three silver coins for every loom, and five silver cents for every bolt of silk. It was originally a livelihood with small profits, but now it has become a death warrant."

"I don't know how many people are busy day and night, not even having time to plant fields, and it's only enough to pay the tax silver. Some were even forced to go bankrupt and displaced..."

"This is still ordinary weaving households. Those weaving households with artisan status are even more miserable. Their descendants inherit the status for generations, cannot easily leave the status, cannot leave the workshop, working from morning until late at night. Each person only gets three dou of rice per month. I don't know how many have died of exhaustion."

"This..."

Everyone was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

They originally thought that the country was rich and the people were prosperous after opening the sea, but they didn't expect the people to live even more bitterly.

"A bunch of bookworms!"

Sha Lifei cursed in a low voice: "That bunch of people from the Open Sea Faction didn't say it like that in the capital. Thieves, every one of them is rich, yet they still exploit the people, greedy and never satisfied!"

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Lin Yu, "Fatty, is your family like this too?"

Fatty Lin was silent, then smiled bitterly: "I don't ask much about family affairs."

He didn't lie, but some things could be guessed.

Everyone else did this. If the Lin family's butt was clean, how could they sit firmly in the position of the richest man in Jiangzhe? Perhaps their methods were even more severe.

Thinking of this, Fatty Lin became even more silent.

Seeing this, the others didn't talk about this matter anymore.

"Guests, it's right ahead!"

Soon, the old boatman pointed to the front.

Everyone looked up and saw a mountain hollow near the river bank. The wharf by the river was built with bluestone steps, which spread to under the water, full of mottled time.

The most attractive thing was a huge Huai tree crouching on the hillside, its branches coiled, its branches like jagged ghost claws, its leaves lush and two stories high. Inside the tree hole in the middle, a Land God Shrine was built with bricks and stones, smoked black by incense, and the tree was also tied with red silk for prayer.

"Good fellow, using a Huai tree?" Sha Lifei was somewhat surprised when he saw this.

"This matter is not strange."

Wang Fu stroked his beard and said: "Although Huai is a yin wood, there are always exceptions to everything in the world. It is mostly because it has been worshipped since ancient times and can protect one side."

"The Daoist is right."

The old boatman also nodded and said: "This Huai Old Master in Huai Tree Village is very efficacious. In previous years, there would be temple fairs and sacrifices in the village every ten days, and they would even invite opera troupes, which was very lively. But these years, it has stopped."

"Why?"

"I heard that the village doesn't like outsiders coming..."

Everyone exchanged glances upon hearing this.

After the boat docked, they walked up the hillside along the stone steps and immediately saw seven or eight villagers huddled under the huge Huai tree, holding sickles, bamboo rakes, and other tools in their hands. After seeing them, they immediately stood up, looking unkind: "Who are you? The village doesn't welcome guests!"

Li Yan and the others had traveled north and south, and this situation was not uncommon.

Not all villages were hospitable, because there were quite a few peddlers, monks, and Daoists walking in the Jianghu who were engaged in swindling, so they were very vigilant against outsiders.

But these villagers were clearly different.

Their faces were wooden, their knuckles were pale and stiff, like frozen dead things, especially their eyeballs, as if covered with a layer of gray film that couldn't be wiped off.

Several people exchanged glances, and Sha Lifei immediately stepped forward with a smile: "Is Battalion Commander Zhou Dayong here? We are from Jin Ling and want to entrust him with something."

"Wait."

A villager replied coldly, then turned and walked toward the village.

*Click clack! *

In Long Yan's sleeve, a sound suddenly came. ===== CHAPTER 783 =====