A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 17 Selling Myself to Bury My Husband
"Please show it to the public."

The knight had a serious expression on his face and did not dismiss himself just because of a few words from Village Chief Wang.

Chang'an City is the capital, and entry and exit are strictly checked. Especially now that Xue Ju from Longyou has led an army of 100,000 to invade Jingzhou, the security in Chang'an City has become even tighter.

Village Chief Wang, who often worked at the Wannian County Government Office in Chang'an City, was familiar with the rules and immediately took out the official certificate he had prepared long ago.

A public certificate is a pass, equivalent to a temporary ID for public officials. It is issued by the state and stamped with the official seal. It is generally valid for 30 days. Compared with the pass that ordinary people need to apply for, it is more convenient and faster.

To enter Chang'an City, one must either show a public certificate or a pass. Without them, one cannot enter. The inspection is stricter than the temporary residence permit and border pass inspection in the past, and the punishment is also more severe. Those who cross the border privately will be sentenced to one year in prison, and those who cross the border illegally will be punished one level higher.

Mayor Wang produced his official certificate issued by the Yongzhou government office, and the knight carefully examined it. "The militia recruited from Chang'an and Wannian counties have been ordered to assemble at the Third Bridge west of the city and are not allowed to enter the city."

"If you have something to do, you can enter the city with this official certificate, but other civilians cannot."

The knight was impartial in his duties. He was a deputy captain of the Zuo Wuhou Guard, a ninth-rank official, the lowest rank in the official rank. However, the village chief was just a minor official outside the official rank.

Village chief Wang nodded, thanked them and returned to the team.

"Can't I enter Chang'an City either?" Li Yi asked.

"You don't have a public identification card or a police station, so you can't enter the city. I didn't expect the rules to suddenly become strict, otherwise I would have applied for a public identification card for you in advance." said Village Chief Liu.

As the village chief, Li Yi is also half a public servant. He can also conduct official inspections, which is much more convenient than going through the police station.

If it is a pass, the people of the capital must be reviewed and issued by the Shangshu Province. The pass must not only report the age, hometown, reason for going out, destination, slaves, livestock, major property, etc. of the person going out,

The four neighbors who are involved in the guarantee must sign as guarantors, and they must prove that the people, animals, and property taken away are of legal origin. They must also find a close male relative to guarantee the loss. If the person does not return for the next tax payment or service, this close relative will have to bear the responsibility.

The personal application and the guarantee materials from neighbors and relatives must be reviewed by the village head and the head of the village, and signed if they are true. Then they are sent to the township and county, and after review at each level, they are reported to the state and province.

After all levels have been reviewed and confirmed, the permit will be finally stamped and issued.

However, the validity period of the pass is only 30 days. If it expires while you are away from home, you must apply for an extension at the local state government office.

Compared with the public inspection by public officials, the application procedures are much more complicated.

Li Yi looked at the towering Chang'an City,
I didn't expect that I was not qualified to enter. It was a bit like the feeling when I first arrived in Shenzhen and looked at the prosperous Hong Kong across the street, but couldn't get through without a pass.

Guo Erlang was holding the precious stewing cup in his arms, but he couldn't wait to go to Chang'an City to find Du Ruhui. He also had a public certificate.

But he couldn't take Li Yi into the city.

"It's okay. Next time, after I have completed the official verification, I will go with my second uncle to visit Du Bingcao." This was all Li Yi could say.

So everyone went their separate ways. Li Yi followed the village chief Wang and two hundred men to Sanqiao, while Guo Erlang entered Chang'an city alone.

Sanqiao is located sixteen miles west of Chang'an City and south of the Han Jianzhang Palace. It was named after the three temporary bridges on the Caohe River south of the Jianzhang Palace.

This place is the western gate of Chang'an. To the northwest is the Wei River. Xiwei Bridge and Zhongwei Bridge are both must-pass places leading to Longyou and Shuofang.

Under the scorching sun, everyone rushed to Sanqiao.

An hour later, we finally arrived at Sanqiao. As it was close to the capital, there were post stations, barracks, warehouses, workshops, and a market held every other day.

This year, a large number of starving people from Longyou, Shuofang, Zhongyuan and Shannan fled to Chang'an and settled in this area.

A large number of straw huts were built densely.

"The imperial court did not allow the hungry people to approach Chang'an within 15 miles, so many hungry people who fled to Chang'an in Guanzhong gathered in Sanqiao, Baqiao, Changlepo, Xianyang and other places."

Village Chief Wang pointed to the large area of shacks and said, "These areas were originally important water and land ports in Chang'an. They needed a lot of laborers to load and unload goods every day. There are also many workshops in these areas that need a lot of manpower."

The victims were able to find some way to make a living in these places, and with the help of the relief provided by the court and the nobles, they were able to barely survive.

"Didn't the imperial court order the localities to check household registration, resettle refugees, and even select fake monks and Taoists to return to secular life? With so many refugees, why didn't the imperial court resettle them in various parts of Guanzhong instead of simply distributing land to them and letting them settle down and register?"

Township head Wang just smiled.

"How could it be that easy? Although the 800-li Guanzhong Plain is rich, as the capital, most of the farmland is in the hands of the royal family, nobles, noble relatives, temples, powerful people, and landlords. There are also many fields used as public fields, military fields, official fields, school fields, and official fields.

There was very little land left to distribute to the people. The capital area was small and densely populated, so the court issued an order that each adult in the wide townships should be granted 100 mu of land. However, in the capital area, the amount of land was only half of that in the wide townships.

The full 50 mu of land you were granted last time was actually all Guo Erlang doing to help you out. Otherwise, you would have been granted 30 mu at most.

Now these refugees all come from outside the Great Wall. Local governments are unwilling to grant them land, and there is not much land to grant. Once the disaster is over, these refugees often have to return to their hometowns.

Furthermore, these people are hungry refugees who have fled famine and cannot even fill their stomachs. Even if they are given a few acres of land, they have neither seeds nor farm tools or oxen. They don’t even have a place to stay. How can they farm in peace?

They are definitely still wandering around, so few officials will do such a thankless task."

If local officials settled the refugees and registered them, it would mean more taxes and labor service. But if these people ran away, who would pay the land tax and labor service?
As a result, the situation Li Yi saw now was that on the one hand, the imperial court required local officials to register households and check the population, while on the other hand, a large number of foreign refugees gathered near Chang'an.

"These refugees are a real headache for the government, but the nobles and powerful people love them very much. You can also go and pick some, you can hire refugees as long-term or short-term workers, or even recruit them as your tenants. If you find someone suitable, you can also buy slaves or maids.
The more disasters and wars there are, the easier it is for the nobles and powerful to expand their power.

In peaceful times, hiring a good farmhand was not easy. You had to pay at least 12 dan of grain a year, plus food and lodging, and two sets of clothes. But now, if you are a little ruthless, as long as you provide food and lodging, and give 30 to 50 dan of grain a year, you can recruit the best young and strong farmhands, and you can pick and choose any one you want.

Young girls in their twenties and young brides in their twenties could take home one or two millets at a time, and they could pick any one they wanted.

One or two stone of millet could buy a young and strong slave.

Even if Li Yi's family owned fifty acres of land, he could simply pick a capable refugee family and bring them back to work as tenants. He wouldn't have to pay them wages, but could simply give them the harvest from ten acres of land as wages. He could lend them some food for now, and then deduct the money from his own ten acres after the harvest.

In short, there is a lot of room for maneuver.

This is a bit like when the foreign trade business was booming in later generations, factories were short of workers and bosses couldn't recruit anyone, so they could only keep increasing wages and benefits. But when the recession came, a large number of workers became unemployed, and the bosses who still had business at this time began to pick and choose workers in various ways, and even reduced wages and benefits.

Due to the influx of a large number of refugees, Sanqiao, which was originally a rural area on the outskirts of the city, became increasingly dirty and messy. It was once the site of the Zhang Palace built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It was so magnificent that it was even larger than the Weiyang Palace and was known for its thousands of doors and windows.

right now,

It's dirty and messy,
After finding the assembly camp, contacting the relevant officials, and handing over the 100 able-bodied men and 100 middle-aged men of Yusu Township to them, Township Chief Wang's mission was considered completed.

"You can't enter Chang'an City today, but you can visit Sanqiao Market. It happens to be market day today. Sanqiao Market used to be famous for trading grain, oil, medicine, and cloth, but recently the Kou Ma Market has been very popular."

The reason why Kouma Market is so popular is actually because of the influx of a large number of refugees, which has led to the flourishing of human trade here.

"I'll take you to see it."

The place where human beings are traded is together with the places where cattle, horses, mules and donkeys are sold. Many human traffickers openly sell slaves, both male and female, young and old.

"Are these all slaves? I heard the imperial court forbids the oppression of good people, right? Where do all these slaves come from?" Li Yi was a little shocked to see so many living people, treated like livestock, as commodities, clearly marked with prices and sold openly. "In fact, oppression of good people has been prohibited in all dynasties, but now, the imperial court turns a blind eye to this and does not strictly enforce the law."

All dynasties have prohibited the oppression of good people into lowly people. In fact, it was mainly to ensure that the population subject to tax and labor service would not be lost. In the court household registration, there were good people and lowly people. Good people were registered households, and most of them were subject to household taxes and labor service.

Slaves were of low status, especially private slaves, who did not pay taxes or serve in the military.

But now the world is in turmoil, with fourteen people proclaiming themselves kings and emperors and establishing their own reign titles. Many things are no longer strictly controlled. The original registered households have fled due to famine or war, or sold their children and wives due to poverty, or even sold themselves into slavery.

The imperial court did not care about these illegal acts.

For the nobles and powerful, this turbulent period is actually their most comfortable time. The nobles and powerful, like the country, have to enslave a large population if they want to be strong. There is no such good opportunity in peaceful times.

Village head Wang suggested that Li Yi seize the current good opportunity and not miss it.

A young male slave in his twenties or thirties generally cost around twenty bolts of silk, which was worth seven thousand two hundred yuan, less than one ounce of gold, or two dan of rice. A maidservant was much cheaper, costing perhaps fifteen or sixteen bolts of silk.

Those in their forties and fifties are much cheaper, and children in their teens are also very cheap.

Comparing the prices with those of cattle and horses nearby, Li Yi was surprised to find that a Ding slave was only worth the price of a horse, a Ding maid was almost the price of a mule, and a man in his forties or fifties, or a teenager in his teens, was only worth the price of a cow.

These basically still have slave contracts, making transactions convenient.

Some people squat on the roadside and sell them to their families or themselves, which is even cheaper.

A young woman was kneeling on the ground, holding two young children. A straw was stuck around the necks of all three of them. In front of them lay a man who seemed to be breathing, but also seemed to be dead.

Insert the bid to sell the first,

Selling herself to bury her husband, she was willing to sell herself and her two sons to her benefactor to be slaves and servants, and to work like cows and horses, as long as it cost a thousand coins to buy a thin willow coffin to bury her husband.

One thousand coins, at the current grain price, is less than three dou of rice.

It can actually buy food for three people.

The woman looked to be in her twenties, with disheveled hair, dirty face, and a thin body that was a little shapeless. It was hard to tell her real age at first glance, but her facial features were still pretty.

Wang Xiangzheng saw Li Yi stopped in front of the family and whispered, "This woman is probably only about twenty-four or twenty-five. Although she is very thin, she should be able to recover after half a year of rest. She has given birth to two children, so she is quite fertile.
You can buy one and get two for free now, it's only one thousand coins, so you won't lose out. Women can wash clothes, cook, raise silkworms, weave cloth, and make clothes. The younger ones can also herd cattle and sheep.
But I'm afraid she might get sick. I don't know what disease the man has, and if she dies soon after taking him home, it would be a big loss."

These words were cold and heartless, but they were also the truth.

Perhaps because of this, there were many onlookers, but no one was willing to pay a thousand dollars to buy a thin coffin for her husband to take advantage of this opportunity.

One adult and two children, if they were normal slaves, they would be worth one or two taels of gold, but these three were so thin that everyone was worried that they might have caught a disease.

"Mom, I'm hungry." The younger child, about four years old, cried out in hunger. The older one, probably six or seven, knelt behind his father, his eyes somewhat numb.

Li Yi felt very sad when he saw this scene. He thought of his two children, who were also this old.

"Let's go. In troubled times, human lives are worthless. There are too many such incidents. I don't know how many people are taken to the mass graves here every day."

Li Yi squatted down and said, "Your husband is still breathing."

The woman didn't even raise her eyelids. "The day before yesterday, I went out to carry heavy loads. When I came back at night, I had a headache, a fever, chills, and body aches. By morning, I couldn't speak, had no breath in my mouth, and my lips and mouth were blue and purple.
My family is originally from Henan. We fled here due to the war in our hometown. We had no money to pay for my husband's medical treatment.
Now I can only put my head up for sale to get him a coffin to rest in peace."

Li Yi observed the man carefully and found that he was indeed barely breathing. He touched him and found that his body was burning hot and he was still running a high fever.

He started having a high fever the day before yesterday and it has been going on for two days. Not to mention that he has no money, even if he did, with today's medical technology, it would probably be impossible to save him.

When the man died, the orphan and his widowed mother were left with a very difficult time surviving in this foreign land. The woman sold the family of three into slavery at a low price in order to survive.

Especially since the two children are so young.

If it was just a high fever caused by ordinary heatstroke, and it was at the initial stage, Li Yi would have some antipyretics, but it was too late now.

"Mom, Aye is dead," the woman's eldest son suddenly cried.

The woman put her trembling hand to her husband's nose, and sure enough, he was no longer breathing. She lowered her head to his chest, and there was no heartbeat either.

The woman cried, and the two children cried too.
Li Yi was crying and his heart was blocked.

"I'll buy him a coffin and bury him."

When the woman heard this, she pulled her two children and kowtowed to him.

Village Chief Wang pulled him aside and said, "Wuyi, think carefully. These three people may be cheap, but if they get sick, it will be all in vain. You won't get anything."

"They are so pitiful, I'll help them if I can. My family really needs someone to do the laundry and cooking."

There was a shop selling coffins at Sanqiao. The woman chose the cheapest one made of thin willow wood and asked for only one thousand coins. Li Yi paid the money and found two refugees nearby. He bought two steamed buns for each of them for forty coins.
It almost caused a fight among a group of refugees to fight for this opportunity.

Two lucky refugees carried two steamed buns and helped carry the body to a mass grave. They dug a hole and buried the body. There was not even a tombstone, just a small mound of earth.

The woman brought her two children and cried as they saw him off. The funeral was very simple, but he was finally buried in peace.

In total, Li Yi spent 1,080 coins.

When he left Sanqiao, he spent another two hundred coins to buy ten Hubings, two each for Li Yi, Township Chief Wang, and their mother.

The three of them were indeed very hungry, so they took the Hu pancake and gobbled it up in big mouthfuls.

"Eat slowly, don't choke,"

The sun sets in the west,

Li Yi sighed, and then he and Village Chief Wang rode on a mule and took the three women back. The three of them ate Hu Bing as they walked, crying as they ate.

Village Chief Wang looked at the three women following behind him and shook his head, "You are still too kind-hearted."

Li Yi said: "The immortal way values life and is boundless in saving people. The Taoist sect regards saving lives as the highest merit. Although I have returned to the secular world, human life is the most precious and is worth a thousand gold."

Village Chief Wang reminded him, "You'd better take them to see a doctor. If they are sick, get them treated immediately. If these two children were healthy, they would be worth seven or eight thousand coins. You've found a great bargain."

Li Yi smiled bitterly. The three of them had only spent 1,080 coins, which was less than ten coins per pound. Now the pork weighed 151 pounds.

No wonder people say it is better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in troubled times.

(End of this chapter)