Unlike the affluence of Yuzhou City, there are many beggars on the main road in Yuezhou City. They are either paralyzed on the ground, or they pretend to beg in groups to treat their family members, or they simply lie down on the ground to sleep.

There was a broken earthenware bowl in front of him.

In any case, these are just the normal conditions of begging. Passers-by don't even bother to take a look at their poor acting skills. And they treat the beggars indifferently. One meal a day is enough. If they pay too much attention, it will

Counterproductive.

However, something strange seems to be happening in the city unknowingly these days. Ordinary people in the city are not aware of it, but it is making a fuss among the beggars.

Many beggars have disappeared inexplicably.

Some people have tried to report to the official, but what will happen if they report? Their lives are no longer their lives, and the government does not care. One more thing for the official is worse than one less thing.

Don't the beggars know? They know that few of the missing beggars are their own relatives, and they only report to the police to protect themselves.

Yuezhou City Magistrate County Office.

The prefect, who was wearing a blue embroidered mandarin duck, with a big belly and two extremely ridiculous mustaches, was enjoying the most wonderful meal of summer night in the backyard.

There is one person and one table. On the table are a plate of peanuts, a plate of crispy radishes, a plate of pickled cabbage, and five taels of small knives. Beside him is a copper pot with boiling water rolling around, which has been pickled for a long time and

The perfectly timed pickles are steaming in the pot.

The prefect picked up a peanut and threw it into his mouth, then took a sip from the knife in the wine cup and closed his eyes with satisfaction.

"Sir, the bosses outside the mansion have come to pay the next quarter's tribute."

The butler who walked straight in from outside the mansion came to the prefect and whispered in the ear.

The prefect opened one eye and glanced sideways at the housekeeper, pretending to be confused.

"Huh? Didn't I just hand it over last month? I have already sent the tribute to the capital by the Water Transport History Department. Now they are here to hand it over to me. Don't they want me to lose my head? Let them come over!"

The chief steward nodded and hurriedly left the backyard. Not long after, five middle-aged men followed them, each holding a small wooden box in their hands. After being arranged to sit down by the prefect, the few of them relaxed slightly.

The prefect took out a piece of tender tofu, cut it piece by piece with the knife at his side, threw it into the boiling water, and said slowly:

"My bosses, why are you trying to harm me? The tribute grains were just delivered to the capital last month and you just delivered them now. You must know that what you are holding is not tribute grains, but my head, the prefect."

The action of cutting the tofu by hand never stops, it is very elegant and cautious. The cut tofu is almost the same size, and the force of the knife is just right, not a piece of tofu is cut apart.

"Yes, yes, the prefect taught you a lesson very well, so the common people came to see you to plead guilty, and also pay the tribute for next month."

Dali's tribute grain is paid every six months, just like the common people pay grain, and a system of taking one out of thirty is implemented. The landlords and farmers are the same, and the merchants collect silver. If the revenue in half a year is less than one hundred taels, there is no need to pay tribute grain, and if it is more than one

The part of one hundred taels is taken as one of twenty.

After the new Kang Emperor Li Dai took the throne, he made great efforts to reform. Compared with the previous king Yan Kang Emperor Li Dan, the tax revenue was reduced by nearly half.

The landowner and shopkeeper at the table opened the small wooden box he brought, which contained a lot of white silver. It seemed that it had been agreed upon, and each box contained one hundred taels.

The prefect waved his hand, and the thin and stooped accountant hurried over with a ledger, recording the amount of silver sent by each person. The prefect said while cutting the tofu.

"You must remember it for your master. This is tribute food. If you miss one or two, you will lose your head."

Then he called the servant and said:

"Pour some wine for the shopkeepers and my boss."

Several people took their seats one after another, and the kitchen brought a variety of wine and food, which was a dazzling array.

The prefect closed his eyes slightly, shook his head and hummed:

"After eating pickles and rolled tofu, I, the emperor, am not as good as me."

After almost finishing the wine and finishing the food, a middle-aged man stood up with a lewd smile and his eyes rolling around.

"Hey, hey, Mr. Wu, are there any fresh lambs recently? I'm waiting for a few people to get one."

The prefect Wu Nan took a bite of the steaming hot tofu, glanced at it and said:

"Yes, yes, what quality do you want?"

"It's best if it's a little lamb. How about its appearance? It just needs to make everyone laugh. We don't pick."

The other people nodded and said yes with a smile.

Magistrate Wu Nan said:

"Okay, but this little lamb is a bit risky. You also know that the Boy's Gang has noticed Yuezhou, and there are people from their Boy's Gang here. Please pay attention. After dinner, I will ask the housekeeper to write a letter. You

Just let the trustworthy people go to the Shehuo team, Boss He, to lead the sheep."

Several people looked happy and happily finished the extraordinarily sumptuous meal. Under the leadership of the chief steward Wu Youping, they took a letter and left the prefect's Yamen.

After a while, the chief steward Wu Youping said softly:

"Sir, have the Shehuo team been too blatant recently? There have been nearly 30% fewer beggars in the city."

Wu Nan, the prefect, did not care about the ancient well.

"Is a beggar a human being? He just passed away with casual prevarication. The social fire team traveled all over the country. Such strange things are not common."

Humming a little tune, he waved his hand to signal the butler to leave. He was eating delicious pickles and rolled tofu alone, with many thoughts in his mind.

"Heiyun Mountain, Anxing Army, news recently came from the capital. His Majesty the Emperor personally issued an order to suppress the bandits, and he even did not hesitate to use the Pingsha Army in Rongzhou Military Town. The general Zhao Yunxin is only inferior to that person.

There is nothing I can do to protect you."

Wei Zigeng gave the secret book to Xu Yue, but he was illiterate. Although he had a younger brother who had read a little bit and could help him understand it, for Wei Zigeng who had actually practiced this gun manual, he wanted to send the Buddha to the West with the intention of sending him to the West.

, he decided to spend this period of time first so that Xu Yue could ask him if he didn't understand anything.

Today, the sun is shining brightly, Xiaoman is about to enter, and the weather is gradually getting hotter.

Next to the river, Xu Yin was practicing calligraphy under a tree. Wei Zigeng bought Xu Yin the Four Treasures of the Study and some classical books. Although they were not high-quality goods, they only cost less than fifty Wen, which was far less than Xu Yue's "Overlord Unloading".

The gun music of "A" was very precious, but after all, it was something that beggars like them, who had never had a meal for a while, could afford it.

After repeated evasion, Xu Yin gave Wei Zigeng an IOU and vowed to repay the money in the future. Wei Zigeng had no choice but to accept it.

"Oh, by the way, there is a Shehuo troupe performing in the city today, should we go and take a look?"

Xu Yue, who was practicing his marksmanship with a bamboo pole, stopped and said to Xu Yin, who was practicing calligraphy, and Wei Zigeng, who was meditating and breathing.

Shehuo troupes are extremely rare in their area. According to legend, they came from outside the Great Wall of the Western Regions. The troupe leader travels around the world with a group of people, animals and some strange things. He passes by a place to set up a tent to perform. Some people will never see him in his life.

to something like this.

Several people immediately became interested. Even Xu Yin, who usually only knows how to read and write, couldn't suppress the restlessness in his heart.

Seeing that the two agreed, Xu Yue threw away the bamboo pole in his hand and said:

"Let's go. If you don't go now, there won't be a good seat."

The three of them left immediately and rushed towards the city.

"Don't you need to call me Old Man Xu?" Wei Zigeng asked.

"No, he never wants to join in the fun."

Seeing Xu Yin nodding, Wei Zigeng didn't think too much.

They had arrived early enough, and there were still nearly two hours before the Shehuo team performed. However, at this time, there were already several circles of people sitting in the open space in the square, and people were arriving one after another with benches and food.

After waiting and waiting, and the weather was a bit sultry, Wei Zigeng simply untied the wine gourd, raised his head and drank a few mouthfuls, and then handed it to Xu Yue and Xu Yin brothers. After getting along for a period of time, the three of them became very good friends.

.

Two days ago, he went to another wine shop, and with the same method, the wine shop owner was not so evil and filled his wine gourd with nearly ten jars of wine. If Wei Zigeng himself couldn't stand it, the boss might really

The wine gourd was full, and in the end I felt a little sorry, so I paid the shopkeeper a few coins.

Finally, the tent outside the Shehuo team was opened, and there were men and women inside the fence of the Shehuo team. They were wearing various makeup, walking on stilts, or rolling, which made everyone exclaim.

.

There are several cages covered with cloth in the fence, so you can't see what's going on inside. You can only hear the roars coming from the cages.

"Dear fellow villagers and elders, I have traveled south and north, eaten food from hundreds of families, and drank water all over the world. I thank you elders for allowing me to see people with their eyes. Without further ado, let's start our performance. Everyone is welcome.

Those who have money support a money business, and those who have no money support a personal business!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of applause, followed by the sound of suona and harp, and the cloth on the cage was pulled open.

Seeing this scene, everyone took a breath. There were many animals in the cage that they had never seen before. To be precise, they had never seen such weird animals.

Leopards with two heads, tigers without tails, and deformed animals with cats and dogs sharing the same body.

At the sound of a whistle from the animal trainer of the Shehuo team, the deformed animals began to jump over the fire ring in an orderly manner, and made some suspicious movements that made people laugh.

The animals at both ends, which may not be cats or dogs, began to bite a piece of meat. The tiger without a tail would fall down comically after taking two steps, and there was a chorus of applause and cheers.

This made Wei Zigeng and the others feel uncomfortable, and Xu Yin's stomach was even more turbulent.

"This...I can feel that this is no ordinary animal."

Xu Yinqiang endured the discomfort and tried his best to speak.

Everyone threw copper coins into the fence with exclamations. Some wealthy young men even gave some broken silver or silver ingots. They thought it was interesting and would not be stingy with the money in their hands.

At this moment, the squad leader rolled out three more cages covered with black cloth. Everyone's eyes were attracted to them, and they thought to themselves, "Is there anything else fun?"

Under everyone's gaze, the short class leader smiled and dropped the black cloth covering the cage.

The whole place was silent, a dead silence, you could hear a needle drop.

"This...this...this is a person!"
Chapter completed!