On the bank of Huanshui in the north of the state city, Du Zhongxiao and Zhizhou Yang Zi looked at a piece of undulating earthen bags together, and said: "I heard the villagers say that there are the most bronzes and oracle bones unearthed in this area, and it is very likely that Yindu is located." Zhizhou can assign manpower to guard this place, and then hire some manpower to dig here slowly. There is no urgency to do this kind of thing, but it should be done slowly and attentively. ”

Yang Zi also wanted to earn some credit for this matter, nodded again and again, and instructed Anyang Magistrate County to recruit local big households and discuss together.

Everything was arranged, Yang Zi returned to the state city, leaving the county lieutenant of Anyang here to listen to Du Zhongxiao's orders.

Du Zhongxiao sat on a chair and watched the county lieutenant lead people to guard the surroundings and divide the place into several blocks.

Tao Qiqi, who was on the side, saw that Du Zhongxiao was idle, and stepped forward and said: "Official, Sun Ran, who was detained last time, has been tearing up with the monks there recently because he received the deposit from Ciyuan Temple. He had no choice but to see the officials. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "You bring him to see me." ”

Sun Ran waited aside, and after a while, he followed Tao Seventeen and saluted Du Zhongxiao.

Du Zhongxiao said: "You received the deposit from Ciyuan Temple, and now the bell casting can't be completed, just return the deposit to the temple, what is the trouble!" ”

Sun Ran complained again and again: "Official, it's not that you don't pay it back, it's that you don't have the money to pay it back-"

Du Zhongxiao's face sank: "You spent the deposit, do you complain about others?" I don't have any money in my hand, so I borrow it! ”

Sun Ran said: "Official, it's not a small one who spent the deposit, it's wronged!" The deposit collected was used to collect copper. I don't want to collect the bronze, the last time I was included in the official mansion, there is no way to say, where is the deposit to return to the masters of Ciyuan Temple! ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The bronzes you received are all forbidden, naturally there is no official, what is there to say about this matter!" ”

Sun Ran arched his hand again and again: "Official, when the little one collected those bronze objects, he didn't know that they were forbidden. In addition, many of them are ordinary utensils, and there are very few ritual utensils such as bells and tripods. ”

The bronzes that came out of Sun Ran's house last month are actually not ceremonial, most of them are ordinary bronzes such as spears, and even some are contemporary bronzes. However, since he broke the law, where would the errand officials who did the work be kind enough to distinguish it with him, of course, all the things were confiscated.

Du Zhongxiao knows this, but what can he do? It is absolutely impossible for the government to repay the deposit for Sun Ran, and Du Zhongxiao has no reason to pay out of his own pocket, so this matter has to be pressed on Sun Ran.

Seeing Sun Ran pestering there, Du Zhongxiao said, "What do you want?" The deposit in the temple cannot be relied upon. ”

Sun Ran said: "The little one knows that the deposit can't be relied upon, and he doesn't think about the money of the black masters." However, doesn't the villain still have the craft of casting bronze? Please ask the officials to tell the masters in the temple that the deposit will be accepted in advance, but it is best to ask them to pay some more money to buy copper to cast the bell. ”

Du Zhongxiao couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "Your own losses still have to be made up by the temple." Okay, you go and ask the master in charge of this in the monastery to come over, and I'll talk to him. First of all, in the front, whether the temple is willing or unwilling has nothing to do with me. ”

Sun Ran thanked him for his kindness, and together with Tao Seventeen, he hurriedly went to find the monk who came to ask for the debt. Ciyuan Temple is a big temple, the incense is prosperous, there is no shortage of money, and I really want to cast a bronze bell, Du Zhongxiao said, eight or nine times out of ten will agree. Sun Ran said no, because he is now a criminal and has no trust.

After a cup of tea, Tao Qiqi and Sun Ran came back, followed by a fat monk and a small novice.

When he arrived in front of Du Zhongxiao, the monk stepped forward and saluted: "Old man Fajing, I have seen the bachelor." ”

Du Zhongxiao saw that this monk was kind and kind-eyed, and he looked like a good man, so he guessed that he was a good guest in the temple. The people who go to the temple are all kinds of people, and this is considered a specialized talent.

After returning the salute, Du Zhongxiao said: "Master, I heard that you asked Sun Ran next to you to cast a bronze bell, I don't know if there is such a thing?" ”

Fajing clasped his hands together: "Back to the bachelor, this is indeed the case." The temple had previously given him a fixed amount of money, and he had agreed to deliver it this month, but he didn't want things to change. Master Sun Shi did not comply with the law and violated the law, and was punished to work in the official workshop, and he could not cast the bronze bell. The monks are kind to others, and it is not difficult for the temple to be the master of Sun Shi, as long as he returns the fixed money of fifty guan, the matter will be over. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Shicai Sun Ran said that he bought bronze ware with a fixed amount of money, but he was lost and he couldn't pay back the fixed money." ”

Fa Jing said: "Official, Sun Shi wants to pay us back the money, or give us the bronze bell on time, isn't this the truth?" If you don't give money or bells, the temple can only report to the official. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "What's the use of you reporting to the official?" He is now in custody. I think so, your temple will pay some more money to buy enough copper to cast the bell, and let Sun Ran cast the bell for you according to the front, how about ending this matter? I'm here to call the shots, and I'm allowed to do it with his family. ”

Fa Jing hesitated for a moment and said, "If the bachelor is in charge, this matter can be done." It's just a few hundred catties of copper, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to buy it for a while. ”

Hearing this, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help frowning. He only knew that Sun Ran cast bronze bells for the monks, but he didn't expect it to be so big, weighing hundreds of catties. If this is the case, Sun Ran's guy will definitely lie, where is the confiscated copper for a few hundred catties?

After thinking for a while, Du Zhongxiao said: "Master, the bronze bell weighing hundreds of catties is inevitably too big-"

Fajing said: "There are hundreds of monks in this temple, covering an area of several acres, and it is not such a big bronze bell, so everyone can't hear about it." ”

Du Zhongxiao turned around and asked Sun Ran, who was standing on the side: "Can you really cast a bronze bell of several hundred catties?" Don't let the masters accept the bronze, but you can't cast it, how can I explain to the masters? ”

Sun Ran arched his hand: "Don't hide it from the officials, the small one has cast a big bell before." If there is brass, it will be cast. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Okay, then it's decided." Master, your temple will pay to buy copper and let Sun Ran cast the bell. If Xiangzhou can't buy it for a while, you can go to Luzhou next to it. It's a big state there, and it shouldn't be difficult to buy. ”

Fa Jing's face was embarrassed, and he hesitated for a while before saying: "Don't hide it, the small temple is in Xiangzhou, and with the permission of the predecessor Zhizhou, you can cast a copper bell and buy copper in this state." Copper is a forbidden thing, if there is no official in Luzhou to answer, how dare you go there to buy it? ”

There are copper objects sold on the market, but copper itself is not allowed to be bought and sold casually, and it is a forbidden thing. Ciyuan Temple is a big temple, Xiangzhou has preferential policies for them, and Luzhou next to it may not be. Moreover, Luzhou is the location of the transshipment envoy, and the management is more strict.

Du Zhongxiao looked at Fa Jing and said lightly: "You can figure out how to do this by yourself, you don't have to ask me." ”

After speaking, he ignored the law and watched intently at the busy people led by the county lieutenant of Anyang not far away.

Copper is hard to come by, but copper money is easy. Although iron coins are used on Hedong Road, it is not forbidden to use copper coins like Chuanxia. There are five or six catties of copper coins for one foot, and a few hundred catties of copper are just dozens of copper coins. At this time, the value of copper coins was not high, and people often turned copper coins into bronze casters, so I don't believe that these monks couldn't think of this way. Of course, this is illegal, because now that the iron money process is up, Du Zhongxiao is too lazy to pay attention to it.

One is the copper ban, and then there are too many copper coins on the market, resulting in the purchasing power of copper coins being too low, which is an abnormal situation. Du Zhongxiao is different from other officials, if he has the opportunity, he still wants to change this situation.