the world is at stake

"Our military team searched the surrounding area of ​​[-] kilometers, even entered the Shanghai county government, and visited several inspection departments and tax bureaus nearby. They should not come to trouble us within half a year. "

This made everyone snicker and whisper to each other.

The Ming history experts in the team once suggested to take the initiative to make friends with local gentry and officials in order to gain convenience.But after three days of visits, he himself dispelled this idea.

The ancient society was not equal, Zhou Qingfeng and others had to kneel down before meeting the county magistrate.Even ordinary officials are very arrogant, and often have great influence in the countryside, which can destroy the families of ordinary farmers.

Class oppression is too heavy.

Xiao Jinlang led a team to conduct research in more than a dozen village fairs, and after communicating with hundreds of farmers and vendors, he came to the conclusion that if the local green-skinned hooligans and local tyrants and evil gentry were not cleaned up, his team would have nothing to lose. Don't try to do it.

Local officials provide too few public services and charge too much in taxes.Making friends with them is extremely cost-effective and a waste of time.

The first task Zhou Qingfeng received was to lead the military team to clean up the security around Qinglong Town, crack down on the inspection department and other units that hinder commercial development and material circulation, and get rid of all the notorious people .

Old Xiao continued: "In terms of social governance, we plan to provide security, low-cost or even free medical care to nearby villages, so as to improve our reputation and exchange the manpower and material resources of Qinglong Town for my use."

In this regard, Academician Li of the medical team nodded, "There are five doctors in the team, a doctor, three apprentices, and a midwife in the 'Shengguang Village'. We are educating and reforming them to improve their abilities.

In the past three days, we have also visited many villages. The local people generally suffer from malnutrition, poor sanitation, and a lot of skin diseases and intestinal diseases.

These conditions are difficult to improve in a short period of time, but we bring some painkillers, which can temporarily relieve the pain of patients, and can also play a role. "

The medical team brought a lot of surgical instruments and medicines, but the total amount was limited, and it was impossible for ordinary people to use them casually.What they can do is very limited, the emphasis is on education.

Drink hot water as much as possible, manage feces in a centralized manner, drain stagnant water, and eliminate mosquitoes, flies and rodents.If these things are done well, diseases can be reduced by eighty to ninety percent.

The medicine that the medical team can openly use is actually one kind, opium extract.This thing can be planted by itself, the seeds have been brought, and they are already trying to cultivate it.

In addition, there are plant mineral drugs such as quinine, but these special drugs are actually very few and the amount is not much.There are also some proven prescriptions of traditional medicine, which have been screened and transformed by socialism, and can be used when there is a lack of medical treatment.

The medical team has solemnly warned everyone in the team not to eat anything of unknown origin and absolutely not to drink unboiled water.Sanitary conditions in ancient times were quite poor, and it was difficult to get treatment once you got sick.

"Of course, don't be too scared." Xiao Jinlang attaches great importance to medical issues. After all, it concerns everyone's life. "The pharmaceutical team is busy. They have brought a variety of high-yield molds and are trying to purify them. white."

Penicillin, streptomycin, oxytetracycline, there are many types of mold in nature, and the mycin extracted from them is an important means for human beings to fight inflammation and disease.

"However, the purification of mycin is very difficult, so please stay away from Room 51 in the village. The pharmaceutical team has built a crude sterile room there, and our lives depend on whether they can produce highly effective and non-toxic drugs." .”

Everyone in the venue stared at the seven or eight people in the pharmaceutical group, making them feel embarrassed.These are all engaged in scientific research in medical universities, and are good at preparing pharmaceuticals in the laboratory.

When the Yankees were researching penicillin, supplies were plentiful anyway.

But now it’s all right, the supply of sterile glass bottles is limited, alcohol is also a controlled substance, and even the corn steep liquor for cultivating Penicillium is only a few hundred kilograms.

"We can only say our best." The leader of the pharmaceutical group stood up and said, "But scientific development must be rational. The current situation is simpler than imagined. It is really difficult to prepare low-toxic and non-toxic myycin drugs. .”

The notification continues...

"There is not bad news at the moment. For example, the mechanical team has successfully transformed the mill in the village from animal power to water power. We can already obtain a steady stream of cheap power."

Power is something that can never be too much.

Since the Ming Dynasty, although the runoff of the Wusong River has been greatly reduced, there are still dozens of meters of river surface, and the water resources are abundant. 'Shengguang Village' is right by the river, and even has a small pier, as well as two passenger and cargo boats and several sailors.

The mechanical group was the largest in the team, and built a waterwheel as quickly as possible to drive the mill in the village.A lot of teak bearings and wrought iron gears are used in this, which greatly reduces the workload.

Rice milling is just needed in rural areas, but the price of using animal power mills is not low, and it costs a lot to raise a large animal.Some people even would rather their children die of illness than a cow.

On the day the mill in 'Shengguang Village' was built, it began to provide rice and noodle milling services for the surrounding villagers at a low price.

As long as the water flow remained steady, the teak bearings kept lubricated, and the carburized and hardened wrought iron gears functioned properly, the mill could run 24 hours a day.

The mechanical aspect is what the team can do best at present.Mills elsewhere charge half a penny, or two liters of rice, for a bucket of rice.

The rice milling service in 'Shengguang Village' is being promoted, and the price is only one-third of that elsewhere.

Rice milling is also a kind of public service. It can save time and effort, and it will naturally be popular.Academician Li took the initiative to go out for medical treatment in the past three days, so he naturally wanted to promote himself.

There is a lack of medical care and medicine in the countryside, and some patients either suffer or are sent to the county.There are countless people who have lost their homes due to illness.It is like a bodhisattva descending from the earth to have a team that takes the initiative to send doctors and medicines to the door.

Academician Li is in his fifties, with kind eyebrows and good intentions, and his appearance is more dignified than the "shenhanxianpo" who practice witchcraft in the countryside.Generally, headaches and brain fever can't help her, and pregnancy and delivery can save lives.

Rebellion in ancient times was often a routine of using stippling symbols to brainwash and cure illnesses.Just because the people at the bottom are suffering so much, receiving a little favor is like getting nectar from a long drought, and I am grateful.

Academician Li went out to run for two days, and many villagers regarded her as a reborn parent, and countless people kowtowed and knelt down to worship her.What she said was more useful than anything else.

Relying on such successive measures, the reputation of 'Holy Light Village' is spreading rapidly.

Chapter 07

Niu Erye in Qinglong Town died, and his body was in a tea shop outside the town, with a hole in his head.

The porters who drove the carts, the old farmers who went to the fields, the traders who carried burdens, and all the people in the town saw this corpse.The onlookers crowded three floors inside and three floors outside, and they were amazed.

The town's security chief came over to look, only to see brains and broken bones all over the floor, like tofu brains scattered on the mud floor, mixed with red and white.

The Baochang hurriedly sent people to report to the county, and the common people came to watch.How often do you go to the tea shop and ask who killed this villain?

"I don't know, I just heard a thunder, and Niu Erye fell down."

The tea shop is a place where passers-by rest their feet. Boiled water is boiled in the shop, and they sell some crude salted bean refreshments.The boss poured hot water for the guests with a copper pot and talked about the situation of the incident.

"Second Master Niu came out of town with his two relatives. He probably found a good friend to play with. He looked quite smug. He walked past with a figure of eight steps, and everyone else stayed away."

The owner of the tea shop spoke vividly, pointing to the sky and said: "At that time, I greeted him and begged him to extend the interest for this month for a few days.

Niu Erye snorted a few times, didn't say yes or no, took some sweet cakes from my stall and left.Unexpectedly, he walked a few steps, and a thunderbolt chopped him down. "

Wow... When it comes to lightning strikes, the idlers who listened to the story were all surprised.

Looking at Niu Er's corpse with his head exploded, there was no sign of a fight, and he died very suddenly.If it was said that it was struck by lightning, some people really believed it, and they all said that it was all evil deeds and brought about the punishment of God.

Niu Er is the head of the local food department. He is in charge of collecting the imperial government's food tax. He is a small local official.This kind of position is often passed down from generation to generation, forming a local gentry.

It's not scary that the masters in the county are walking like flowing water.The long-term food security in the townships has not changed from generation to generation, and the exploitation of ordinary people is the real blow to the bone.

Niu Er suffered a natural disaster today, and his family came to mourn, shouting to heaven and earth.But it is inevitable that those who are bullied by him on weekdays have to go to the temple to worship, thank God for eliminating harm for the people.

The next day, the county came to catch the head and foreman, and took a few yamen servants to examine the corpse for a long time, and they also felt strange—the human head is extremely hard, even if it is hit with a heavy stick, it often breaks a hole.

But Niu Er's head was completely split, which was definitely not done by human beings.

Wu Zuo has been with the corpse all year round, scoffs at the theory of gods and ghosts, and after hearing the tea shop owner's description, he categorically refuses to believe that it was a lightning strike.

"Yesterday, the sky was clear and there was no rain. Where did the thunder come from?"

"If it was really a lightning strike, the corpse would definitely have scorched black marks. But now there is no such abnormality on the head of the corpse."

"Niu Er is a man who is usually unscrupulous and has many enemies. I'm afraid he will still kill him. I just don't know what method the murderer used to be so vicious?"

Wu Zuo discussed with the head arrester, and then asked the owner of the tea shop, "When Niu Er died, were there other suspects around? For example, asking about Niu Er's daily whereabouts."

The owner of the tea shop hesitated, and the arrester asked sharply: "If the murderer cannot be caught, the county master will ask you."

The owner of the tea shop immediately knelt down tremblingly, kowtowed and begged for mercy, and cried, "When Niu Erye passed by, there were many people coming and going. I can't remember who is suspected. No one asked about Er Ye's whereabouts."

"If you think about it more carefully, it is impossible for such a big case to happen in broad daylight without warning." The arrester shook the chains of the arrester, "If you don't say anything, you are an accomplice. I will send you to prison for a few days , you will know how powerful it is.”

The prison cell of the county government is like hell, if you enter it, you will not die and your skin will peel off.

This misfortune fell from the sky, and the owner of the tea shop was paralyzed by fright.He howled a few times, remembered something, and said, "Before Niu Erye died, Zhou Yuan from Xinhua Village visited. Since I was unfamiliar with him, I deliberately took a few extra glances."

The name 'Holy Light' was too taboo in ancient times, and the team called it 'Xinhua Village'.

"Mr. Zhou is tall and muscular. His clothes look ordinary, but the fabrics are excellent. He also carries a long black parcel. I greeted him for tea, but he ignored him and left."

Tall and strong?

This is so rare in the era of starvation.

The owner of the tea shop stretched his hand over the top, made gestures, and pointed out that Yuanwai Zhou was a head taller than himself, taller than the head catcher from the county.

"Who is Zhou Yuanwai?" The head catcher had no memory of this person.

"He is a foreigner. Not long ago, he bought land in the county and built a village. His subordinates are good at management, and it didn't take long for him to prosper."

In ancient times, there was little population movement, and even vendors who walked the streets and alleys only moved within a fixed area.The owner of the tea shop is guarding the stall outside the town every day, seeing a lot of people coming and going.He said it was a foreigner, definitely not a local.

Wu Zuo collected the corpses, went into the town to investigate, and asked a few shops. Zhou Yuanwai from Xinhua Village really came, not only him, but a group of people in the village.

When asked about the characteristics of these foreigners, they all said that they have "kind faces, generous spending, like to ask questions, and make a lot of purchases, as if they are going out for fun."

Butchers and grain stores in the town have been bought by them and their prices have been raised.

When the case was found out, it froze a bit.

If the suspect is really a foreigner, it doesn't matter if he is taller. Find out where he is staying and find a few more brothers to surround him.

According to the owner of the tea shop, Zhou Yuanwai is not an ordinary person, and all three or four hundred people in the village are under him, so he is definitely a local snake.What's more, there is no evidence to arrest the head.

Wu Zuo also felt that the case was tricky, and Niu Er who died was considered an important figure. He died for no reason, so it was difficult to explain to the county master.But if you really want to provoke the local tyrants for this, the trouble will be even greater.

The head arrester checked whether Niu Er had offended anyone recently, but found that there were more than a dozen rogues on the streets of Qinglong Town missing for no reason.Normally these people would come out to fight the autumn wind if they had no food to eat, but they have not been seen in the past two days.

There were also several families in and outside the town who were involved in the accident. They were all domineering and dignified people, but they were either robbed by bandits or caught fire in their homes.

After careful calculation, the head catcher was surprised to find that it was difficult for him to mobilize any manpower in Qinglong Town - the security chief in this town died of illness in the middle of the night yesterday, and he reported the case to the county the day before yesterday.

The catcher took a few yamen servants around Qinglong Town and found that he was isolated—the grassroots organizations were devastated, they couldn't collect taxes, they couldn't get conscripts, and they couldn't do anything.

But this made Zhou Yuanwai of Xinhua Village even more suspicious. This person was buying goods like iron and charcoal, firewood, rice, grain and oil, and silk and cotton cloth.

In addition to purchasing department stores, Zhou Yuan is also hiring people everywhere, regardless of gender, [-] or [-] is better.If you are smart, you can be older or younger.

Oh, what is the purpose of gathering people and goods in this place?

Wu Zuo realized that something was wrong, restrained Niu Er's body and returned to the county.It was very difficult to catch the head, so he could only bite the bullet and plan to visit the suspect's village.

Now Daming is suffering from disasters everywhere, the imperial court has no time to rescue, and there are countless rebels.These rebels have the same ways, they always want to make troubles and attract foolish men and women to follow.

The head catcher thought that there must be a mystery in Xinhua Village, and planned to go to the thief's nest to inquire, and found hard evidence to report to the county, and the master would definitely be rewarded.He found a peddler to lead the way, took the yamen servants to pretend to be vendors, and headed towards the 'Shengguang Village'.

In the Jiangnan water town, the fields are criss-crossed and the chickens and dogs are heard.Walking halfway, I saw a few small boats moving forward along the river, and many farmers pushed carts carrying grain forward.

"It's not the time to urge grain, where are these grains going to be sent?" Daqi, the head catcher, asked the salesman leading the way.

The shopkeeper reluctantly ran this errand, took a look and said: "'Xinhua Village' has built a water-powered mill, which can grind rice and flour quickly and well, and the price is [-]% cheaper than others.

In addition, Zhou Yuanwai's purchase price of grain in the village was [-]% higher than that of other places. Many nearby farmers were willing to grind the surplus grain and sell it to Zhou Yuanwai. "

Ah... It's strange to stock up on food.

No... Intention of treason!

Those who can be grain merchants must be rich, but headhunters are passionate, and they consciously find a big fat sheep.He asked the shopkeeper again, "Does Zhou Yuan have any fame?"

"I've never heard of it." The salesman shook his head.

"Does he have anything to do with the county government?"

"I don't know. I only know that his village was built not long ago. The people in the village are prosperous and wealthy. I don't know anything else."

Oh, this kind of fat sheep with no fame and no roots, if you don't kill him, who will you kill?The head catcher laughed loudly, "Niu Er's case has been solved, and the murderer is Zhou Yuanwai. This time, he must be forced to break the house."

Hurrying and hurrying, I walked more than [-] miles, from morning to afternoon, and the arresters and others were exhausted before I saw Xinhua Village from a distance.

The shopkeeper who led the way pointed to the head of the village and shouted, "Look quickly, that's Zhou Yuanwai's village."

The catcher looked up, trembling with fright on the spot, his legs were weak and he sat on the ground.

The village is not very unusual, but there is a hot air balloon of the boss floating in the village.The balloons are sewn with multicolored fabrics and float at a height of more than [-] meters, which can be seen from five miles away.

"What is this?" Catcher felt his calf cramp.The yamen servants behind him were also shocked, not knowing what to say.

The shopkeeper was also terribly frightened when he first met him. He felt that he was neither born from a demon nor a fairy descended from the earth. Although he couldn't understand it, he was shocked.

"This thing is called a hot air balloon, the signboard of Xinhua Village. Zhou Yuanwai said that if you want to develop, you have to advertise it widely, and let the world know the benefits of the village, you have to build a spectacle. View

As soon as the hot air balloon was launched, the reputation of Xinhua Village really rose. Who in the ten miles and eight villages doesn't know Zhou Yuanwai's ability?He has credibility when he comes out to do business, so everyone is naturally willing to come to him. "

The head catcher was even more determined, "The rebel, the rebel, the big rebel, has already started to create auspiciousness. This kind of rebel has a lot of plans, and the crime is unforgivable. As long as I report it to the county master, With just this big balloon, the whole family of Zhou can be killed."

But after thinking about it, the head catcher asked the shopkeeper, "How did this strange thing be built? Can Zhou Yuan have spells?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, "It's been said that this is science, and it's by no means some mysterious magical magic. I heard people in the village say that a fire is built under the balloon. When the gas is heated, the ball will fly."

The shopkeeper didn’t understand, but that didn’t prevent him from pretending to understand while shaking his head, and contemptuously contemptuous of other people he had never met before.

Catcher and the others felt their brains were in a daze—is there such a science?Such a rare thing is not auspicious and dedicated to the current saint, but only a signboard of the cottage, which is a waste of nature and disrespectful.

"Come on, let's go into the village and have a look." The head catcher collected himself, feeling that the shopkeeper was not afraid, and he had nothing to be afraid of.Patting the ashes on his buttocks, "I'll go meet that Zhou Yuanwai and see if he's a human or a ghost?"

At the entrance of the village, there is a long line of rice milling teams.

The head catcher was also surprised how these foolish people became so honest, no matter what they did on weekdays, they swarmed up to them.But when he took a few steps forward, a burly man appeared at the entrance of the village and shouted, "Line in line."

The big man is about 1.9 meters tall, and when he shouted, it was like thunder.He was wearing a set of black armor and a semi-closed iron helmet, with a double-barreled flintlock pistol pinned to his waist, holding a wooden shield in one hand and a swinging stick in the other.