PDLP Chapter 71 Patrol
Chapter 71 Patrol
The documents on the desk in the barracks were covered in a layer of dust, which Lin Ziping examined and categorized one by one.
A map marked as a map caught Lin Ziping's attention. Thinking it was a map of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he quickly opened it. However, it was only a rough sketch, without contour lines or latitude and longitude. It only outlined the geographical location of Fuchun County and Zezhou with a few strokes and casually drew the mountains and rivers of Fuchun County.
How can there be a river? Wasn't it said that there are no rivers in Fuchun County?
Lin Ziping leaned closer to examine it carefully. After seeing the name of the river, he was taken aback and murmured, "The Yellow River..."
The room was somewhat dark, so Lin Ziping lit a candle and peered closely at the light, examining it inch by inch. It was indeed the Yellow River, truly the Yellow River! Although it was just a name, Lin Ziping still felt a surge of joy and looked even more closely, hoping to find a connection between it and the river he knew so well.
Unfortunately, the map was too rough and only showed a part of the area around Fuchun County, making it difficult to discern. Disappointed, Lin Ziping gathered it up and put it away neatly. Considering that there are no rivers in Fuchun County now, the map was probably from the past.
If the river flowing through Fuchun County is indeed the Yellow River, then it is not surprising that it has changed its course. After all, there are many records of the Yellow River changing its course throughout history. The most famous example is the Yellow River changing its course during the reign of Wang Mang. This situation only improved during his lifetime, but the government still spent a lot of effort and energy on the management of the Yellow River.
Given the current level of productivity and development, it would be very difficult to achieve any improvement.
Lin Ziping kept working and soon cleaned up a portion of the documents. These documents basically recorded the number of times Fuchun County had conscripted soldiers over the years, the whereabouts of those people, the requisition of military rations, and other information. They were all documents from many years ago and had little reference value for the current situation.
The two rooms next to it, one of which is an armory, with swords, spears and halberds lying around, many of which are already rusty.
The other room was a storage room, which Lin Ziping tidied up and placed a soft couch inside, intending to lie down and rest there when he had nothing to do.
On the third day, Lin Ziping reported to the third shift early in the morning. The constable who had reported the situation to Inspector Chai at Maomao Mountain last time was already waiting at the door.
Lin Ziping, remembering that Inspector Chai called him Xiao Shi, stepped forward with a smile, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Officer Shi."
“My surname is Shi, and my given name is Yong. Officer Lin, you can just call me Xiao Shi. Inspector Chai told me about you and asked me to wait for you here today,” Shi Yong said to Lin Ziping, clasping his hands in greeting.
“I’m new here and still have a lot to ask you. Don’t call me Officer Lin anymore. I think you’re a few years older than me, so I’ll call you Brother Shi, and you can just call me Ziping,” Lin Ziping said.
"Haha, that's great! I'll take the honor of being called Brother Shi." Shi Yong scratched his head and said with a smile, "It just so happens that I'm on patrol these two days, so you can come with me."
Lin Ziping clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Then thank you very much, Brother Shi. Should I go in and tell Inspector Chai?"
"Inspector Chai and Clerk Zhang have gone to Magistrate Feng's place. He told me to wait for you here," Shi Yong said, waving his hand. "Put your sword on and come out with me."
Lin Ziping tucked the knife into his waistband and followed Shi Yong out.
"Ziping, you need to be careful in the east and west of the city. These areas are inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles. The south and north of the city are inhabited by common people. The north of the city is a mixed bag, inhabited by all sorts of people. If you encounter any trouble, don't confront them head-on. There are several families living in the south of the city, just turn a blind eye to them."
Lin Ziping nodded earnestly and looked at Shi Yong with gratitude. Thinking of the group of people who chased his carriage when he first entered the city, he asked, "Brother Shi, when I first entered the city, I saw a group of people chasing a carriage. What were these people doing?"
Seeing Lin Ziping's expression, Shi Yong's smile deepened. He patted Lin Ziping's shoulder and said, "Ziping, you're quite observant. That carriage you mentioned must be from out of town."
Lin Ziping became even more respectful and asked with a puzzled look, "I hadn't noticed that, but Brother Shi, do you differentiate between people from other places and locals?"
“Of course, those are all locals gathered at the city gate. Those who can afford to ride in carriages are either rich or noble. To put it nicely, they are refugees, but to be precise, they are shameless beggars. How could they afford to offend these people? Outsiders don’t understand the situation. If they slow down, they will surround them and rob them, or even kidnap them.” Shi Yong lowered his voice as he said the last few words.
"This...don't the people who were robbed report it to the authorities?" Lin Ziping asked, puzzled.
"What are you wearing?" Shi Yong asked meaningfully.
Lin Ziping wanted to ask more questions, but Shi Yong didn't want to say anything more and took a few quick steps forward. Lin Ziping wisely shut his mouth and followed his pace.
Along the way, people greeted Shi Yong, offering him vegetables or flatbread. Lin Ziping soon couldn't carry any more and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Shi, what... what should we do with this?"
Shi Yong seemed to only then realize what was happening. He took Lin Ziping's things and went to a place in the south of the city. He pushed open the door and went in, while Lin Ziping hesitated outside the door and did not go in.
"Stone, come back for lunch." A woman's voice came from inside the door.
"Mother, I'm not coming back. My other brother is waiting outside." That was Shi Yong's voice.
"What's the big deal? Call him over. Where are you new here?" The voice grew closer, and Lin Ziping straightened up.
"You're with our Stone, huh? You look so refined and clean-cut." The woman came out of the door and looked Lin Ziping up and down.
Lin Ziping was a little embarrassed, unsure of what to do with his hands, and could only give a silly smile.
“Mother…” Shi Yong also came out and called out helplessly to the woman, “We still have things to do.”
Shi Yong's mother looked at Shi Yong, then turned to Lin Ziping with a smile and said, "Young man, come to our house for dinner with Shi Yong in the future. Your aunt will cook delicious food for you."
Lin Ziping said, "Okay, Aunt Shi."
Shi Yong waved to Aunt Shi and then left with Lin Ziping.
"Stone, is this an official business?"
"Stone, what is this?"
……
Shi Yong smiled but did not respond. After walking away, he said to Lin Ziping, "I grew up here. These are all uncles and elders from the neighborhood."
Lin Ziping didn't speak, but nodded.
"Those were all gifts from the neighbors, so it was hard to refuse," Shi Yong added.
Lin Ziping paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Brother Shi is a local and knows a lot of people."
Seeing that Lin Ziping was sensible, Shi Yong said, "My family has always lived in Fuchun, and I've been here for over twenty years. If you ever need anything, just come to me, haha..."
As they spoke, the two arrived near the city gate. Soon after, a ragged man approached and handed Shi Yong a bag, saying respectfully, "Master Shi."
Shi Yong weighed the bag in his hand and handed it to Lin Ziping, saying, "Take this for now."
Lin Ziping took it and squeezed it. It was hard and probably silver. He was shocked. He could forgive the cakes and vegetables earlier, but now they were giving him silver, and right there on the street. Was bribery really this blatant these days?