Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 39 Slave

Chapter 39 Slave
As soon as I stepped into the South Courtyard, a familiar stench hit me in the face.

The old people in the law school are particularly familiar with this smell.

The door leading to the South Courtyard is very small, as if it was just a small hole dug out in the courtyard wall. Someone of Taozi's stature would have to lower his head and lean sideways to get in.

After entering the door, there is a "瓮院" similar to a 瓮城, or a small courtyard surrounded by walls with three doors, leading to different directions.

But at this moment, the ground of the Weng Courtyard was filled with people, some were lying down, some were lying down, and some were leaning against the wall. They all looked like corpses, motionless.

The new clerks were really frightened by this scene.

"Brother Taozi!!"

Then a "corpse" suddenly came back to life, struggled to get up, staggered a few times, stabilized its body, and limped to Liu Taozi.

"Yao Xiong?!"

Several other classmates recognized him and spoke in surprise.

The person in front of him is Yao Xiong, who used to be domineering in the law school.

But he has changed a lot.

His whole body seemed to have shrunk. Originally, he was not fat, but he still had some flesh. Now, he was just a skeleton.

His cheeks were sunken, his cheekbones were more prominent, his eyes were dull, and his hair and beard were messy.

No one could connect the tyrannical Yao Xiong with the talking pile of bones in front of them.

"Brother Taozi."

Yao Xiong spoke again, but his voice was filled with tears. Before he could utter a word, tears had already flowed.

Hearing this familiar name, several people got up one after another and supported each other.

Liu Taozi looked at the people in front of him one by one.

The classmate couldn't help but ask, "What happened? Why did everyone become like this?"

Yao Xiong was about to explain.

"What are you doing?!"

A sharp and piercing voice came from a distance. Yao Xiong trembled all over, fear flashed in his eyes, and he subconsciously wanted to lie on the ground, but Taozi grabbed him.

Taozi raised her head and looked into the distance.

A man pushed the door open roughly and stared at everyone fiercely.

This guy is not very old, maybe in his early twenties.

He was short and thin, wearing an ill-fitting black official uniform. His walking posture was extremely uncoordinated, making him look weird and artificial.

This reminded everyone of the disciples in the Scripture Study Room, but compared with the people in the Scripture Study Room, this person's affectation was not natural and there was some deliberate imitation.

He had a whip wrapped around his waist, wrapped around it several times, which looked even more out of place.

His sinister eyes examined the people in front of him and finally fell on Taozi. He rolled his eyes and covered his nose with one hand.

"Nowadays, they really accept everyone."

"Are you the new officials?"

One person stepped forward and said, "Yes, we just passed through."

"Don't come near me!! Stay away!!"

The man immediately screamed.

The clerk was stunned and took a few steps back in embarrassment.

The man's eyes were full of contempt, "Don't you know to take a bath and wash yourself?"

"My name is He Xingseng. There are 26 officials in the South Courtyard, and I am the leader."

Everyone bowed again and called him Mr. He.

He glanced at Yao Xiong who was standing next to Tao Zi, "Everyone, don't think that you can be so impressive just because you have passed the exam and are here."

"You have only passed the examination, and you are not considered officials."

"The number of 26 clerks is the rule of the imperial court and cannot be changed. The current county clerks have reached the required number. Unless a clerk is promoted and leaves a vacancy, you will all be on standby here."

"But don't worry, everyone. Here, you will have food and drink, and you can serve the Lord."

As He Xingseng was speaking, he suddenly shouted.

"Nursha!!"

Then a dark-skinned, curly-haired, wet guy ran out from the inner room and came to He Xingseng with a flattering smile on his face.

"Mr. He! What do you want me to do?"

"New people are coming. Tell them the principles of doing things."

After He Xingseng finished speaking, he yawned, turned around and left.

The moment He Xingseng left, Nurxia's back straightened up and his face became ferocious.

"Damn it! You came here so late at night. Did you crawl all the way here?"

"Sir, we."

"Shut up!!"

He roared, "You only need to remember one thing, shut your mouth and don't talk!"

"No matter what you are told to do, no matter where you go, don't ask, just do it, and don't tell anyone else what you did!!"

"If anyone dares to disobey, ah, you have also read the law. Those who disobey the superiors will be lashed with twenty lashes! If they do it again, they will be caned with sixty sticks! If they repeat the offense and do not change, they will be beheaded!!"

Yao Xiong shuddered all over and subconsciously touched the whip marks on his body.

"Mr. He is so kind and generous! He is willing to teach you. You should be grateful to him!!"

"Also, Mr. He likes cleanliness. There is a well over there. He washes me often!"

After yelling, the man yawned again and turned back.

The courtyard was quiet. The newcomers just now were motionless at this moment, as if they were stiff. Liu Taozi pulled Yao Xiong aside, and the two sat down together. The other students from the Law School also crawled to their side.

Liu Taozi looked at them and asked, "Where are the others?"

"No more."

Yao Xiong opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end he just shook his head.

Everyone was silent.

The atmosphere was even more suffocating than in the law studio.

"Bang!!"

Someone pushed open the gate and saw a clerk walking in arrogantly, followed by two dazed "clerks".

Sanli strode forward, not caring about the people lying on the ground, and walked straight into the door opposite.

As for the other two, they seemed to be falling apart. They fell directly to the ground and were unwilling to move.

After a while, another person walked out from the inner door, looked at everyone, and pointed at Yao Xiong.

"You, you come and take two people with you to the South City Gate to serve as an errand boy for me."

Yao Xiong struggled to stand up, pursed his lips, but simply bowed his head. He looked at the rest of the people, and there was avoidance and pleading in everyone's eyes.

Yao Xiong was helpless. Taozi stood up and pulled his classmate next to him.

"Let's go."

Yao Xiong led them away.

While walking on the road, Yao Xiong finally spoke.

"They are all dead. Killed by exhaustion."

"If they die, we can just recruit another batch."

Yao Xiong's eyes were filled with despair, "There is no way out here, we are just waiting to die here."

"We are responsible for everything and we don't give them time to rest. The meals they provide are worse than those in the law school. If they disobey us, we will be severely beaten."

"Even if you do nothing, you can't escape. If Monk He gets upset, he'll come to the courtyard to cause trouble and beat and humiliate you at will."

"There is no salary, nothing. Brother Taozi, this is not being an official, this is being a slave. We are here to be slaves to these scattered officials."

"A few days ago, someone tried to escape and was beheaded for the crime of killing someone."

"I once questioned He Xingseng, and he said: If he dies, he dies. It's not worth mentioning. If he dies, we can just find someone else to replace him."

This made the classmate beside him tremble with fear, "Brother Taozi, this is not the same as what Lu Jijiu said."

"Are you looking for him?"

The corner of Liu Taozi's left eye twitched, and a hint of ferocity flashed in his eyes.

"No need."

The three of them said nothing more and continued on their way.

Arrived at the South Gate.

You are not allowed to go out at night, let alone go to the city gates, so there is no need to record your passing.

And they came here to verify today's registration.

There will be four copies of the registration for passing through the station, one for the inner city and the other for leaving the city, two for entering the city.

What they have to do is to compare these processes to make sure there are no problems.

The policies of Da Qi are quite complete and have no loopholes. The place where you are going will be indicated on the pass, and the destination will also be registered. After the final comparison, you will know who has been where and where they are now.

Yao Xiong was telling them how to work, but Liu Taozi spoke up.

"Have you ever been into the inner room?"

“I have been in.”

Yao Xiong obviously didn't want to recall the experience of entering the inner gate.

Liu Taozi asked again: "Do you know which room He Xingseng lives in?"

Yao Xiong trembled all over and looked at him in astonishment.

"Brother Taozi, the county government office is full of soldiers inside and outside, and the defense is strict. There is a noble person in the government office."

"where does he live?"

"He likes cleanliness and lives in the room on the far left, where he lives alone."

Liu Taozi nodded and patted Yao Xiong on the shoulder.

"I didn't like you in the past. I don't like bullying."

"Don't do this again in the future."

Yao Xiong was still a little confused.

"Brother, what are you going to do?"

"do nothing."

Everyone was busy for more than an hour, finished these things, and then went to the county government office.

It was already extremely dark and the road was almost invisible.

The cold wind whistled past, and Yao Xiong swayed in the wind, as if he would fall down at any time.

His classmates supported him and led him back to the county government office step by step.