Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 119 Investigation ([-])

Shao Shude stayed in Yinzhou for seven days.

During the seven days, I mainly talked with Song Le, and met with bureaucrats at all levels in Yinzhou by the way, so that everyone could get to know the new commander-in-chief.On the last day, he inspected the state soldiers outside Yinzhou Pass.Although there are only 500 people, their importance as the armed forces defending the place is self-evident.

In Shao Dashuai's conception, Zhizhou soldiers, foreign town troops, and government troops are strictly separated, and the tasks cannot be confused.In today's war-torn world, many feudal town commanders also drag state soldiers into the battlefield and fight everywhere.Let's not talk about whether this will lead to emptiness in the state and be taken advantage of by the enemy. Their combat effectiveness alone is not as good as that of the government army or the outer town army, because the equipment and treatment are far inferior.

State soldiers, what Shao Shude asked of them was to defend the city, suppress bandits, suppress riots, and nothing else.Similarly, Yajun is not an armed force guarding places, but a mobile field corps.Someone in Shao also absolutely didn't want the Yamen to serve as garrison missions, because this would make their combat effectiveness and military discipline rapidly decline.

What kind of combat effectiveness can the garrison troops who have been fighting in the security war for a long time have?The Ya army is prepared for the big scene, it is the decisive force, and it is a sharp knife inserted into the heart of the enemy.

The matter of the foreign town army is more troublesome.With the communication technology of this era, it is inevitable and necessary to deploy troops in dangerous passes or key cities.Moreover, this kind of army needs a complete structure, and the generals must have rich experience and the right to make decisions on the fly. Apart from not being able to intervene in local civil affairs, they have almost full power.

The Outer Town Army, of course, is also a field force, but it is a field force that makes the coach not at ease.The strategic army of Yudole City, with five thousand cavalry, is self-contained. Whether or not he listens to Jie Shuai's words, the general will decide with one word, and he will have to plan slowly in the future.

The Wuwei Army currently exists as a government army.Before being stationed in Suizhou, appoint military envoys, deputy envoys and other officials at all levels, and return to Xiazhou after the two-year period expires. The day arrived at Duyu Hou Si Shangzhi.The usual training of the troops will be in charge of the coaches and the capital coaches, but the coaches have no command power.

He learned this method in Hedong, and they did it very well.If the generals in the three cities of Jinyang do not lead the army, they will have no military power.Shao Shude intends to start with the Wuwei Army and the Tielin Army first, to see how the generals respond, and then decide on the next move.

Although he has a high prestige in the army, the possibility of his subordinates rebelling is very low.But when it comes to wealth and life, one cannot be too cautious.What's more, institutionalized things have little resistance to their own implementation at this time, and they can be accepted by everyone.If his heirs carry it out again, it will be very difficult.

Some things must be done early!

The market in Longquan County, Suizhou is more prosperous than before.Most of the immigrants from Guanzhong were resettled in Longquan and Dabin counties, followed by Suide and Chengping counties. There are some river valleys, but there are still many mountains, far from being comparable to the previous two big brothers.As for Yanfu County, there is too little land, and more than [-] households have been resettled in three years, almost in a state of being forgotten.

There are also many sergeant families in Longquan County, all of whom moved here in the early days.Those who are able to build houses in the city are cheap at the beginning, and they can be bought for almost ten or even twenty coins. There are partial houses, kitchens, and halls.But now the price of this kind of house has risen to more than 30 yuan. Some soldiers are reluctant to spend this money, or have not saved the money, so they can only build a house outside the city or buy a ready-made house. The price has also risen, about More than ten millets, or twenty or thirty dendrobium millet will do.

But now that the commander-in-chief has gone to Xiazhou, the sergeant families who moved later will basically go there to settle down.It is conceivable that housing prices in Xiazhou will rise again.

Shao Shude has no house in Suizhou.Backyard with his wives and concubines, he lived in the backyard of the government office, now in Xiazhou. He usually lives in the commander's mansion, but he also has his own house, which is the wedding house given to him by Zhuge Shuang - the No. 1000 mansion in Xiazhou, worth [-] yuan Many times.

"Back then in Fengzhou, a certain person lived in a dilapidated house that was about to collapse when the snow was too heavy. Unexpectedly, after several years, there was such a good fortune." Looking at the crowds in twos and threes on Zhoucheng Street, Shao Shude said with emotion: "In the future, we must consider the people. The soldiers have money to buy houses, and the people have land. However, the houses are too simple and need to be improved."

The four prefectures of Xia and Sui have vast land and few people, and the land needed for the common people to build houses has never been a problem.Those who have their own land, such as [-] mu, usually have a five or six mu house garden.According to the rules established during the Northern Anniversary, farmers built houses in the garden, planted mulberry dates, and opened vegetable beds.Therefore, the land is not the problem, the key is that the tax is too heavy, so that people have no spare money to renovate the house or build a new house.

But that’s what Songun politics is like.Raise more than [-] professional warriors who are not engaged in production. If you don't exploit the common people, then you can only exploit outsiders, such as the miscellaneous captives on the grassland.In a few days, he planned to ask Chen Cheng to go to Xinqin and have a secret talk with Zhe Zongben to see how he speaks.

Their family should also want to gain the allegiance of these tribes, and they are even willing to send troops together.The conflict between the two sides lies only in who gets the biggest spoils.

Shao Shude continued to stroll on the street, and because of the large group of soldiers huddling around, the people dodged one after another, which made him a little embarrassed, so he turned into a shop that seemed to have not been opened for a long time, and asked, "Customer From where?"

"Come from Jinyang." A middle-aged man with a pale face replied.

"What is sold in the store?"

"Silverware, fine cloth, silk, medicinal materials, rouge."

"Is there anyone who buys the cloth?" Shao Shude was a little surprised.

This thing is cotton cloth, and the price is quite expensive. When Qiu Weidao gave himself a reward for the first time, he had two pieces of fine silk.In the practice of silk, it is basically sold on the basis of the ruler.This kind of "luxury" is bought by people, so it really means that there are already a group of rich people with spending power in Suizhou, most of whom are military officers' families, right?

"Your Majesty still manages the government well, Suizhou is stable, and thousands of hectares of land have been reclaimed. I may not realize it now, but in a few years, it will definitely be very different."

"Do you know someone?" Shao Shude asked with a smile.

"Clothed in purple, surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, there is no second person in Suizhou."

"What's the situation in Hedong now?"

"This year is better. In the past two years, they have been looted by Shatuo soldiers and horses, and the people have suffered terribly."

"If you can't make it through, you might as well go west to Suizhou and Yinzhou. Shao can't guarantee anything else, it's still possible to make this world peaceful."

The middle-aged man was also a little touched when he heard the words.In today's world, peace is the most rare thing.As long as the world is peaceful and there is no looting by rogue soldiers with poor military discipline, he is sure to make his business continue to grow.

"What do merchants from Hedong usually come to Suizhou to purchase?" Shao Shude asked again.

"Brown cloth, cowhide, deer leather, livestock, bird feathers, miscellaneous tendons, white glue, felt, medicinal materials, wax, honey, etc. Most of them are medicinal materials, livestock and leather."

"Three years ago, there were very few merchants from other places." Shao Shude said.

"Suizhou's household registration is getting richer, and it's too safe and stable. Someone comes to sell goods." The middle-aged merchant replied: "Since I come to sell goods, I will buy some when I return. I can't run away empty."

Shao Shude nodded.He sent people to open horse shops in nearby towns. In addition to selling horses, he would also buy local commodities and even people. People are the most scarce "commodities" in Xia Sui today, second only to food.

"There are many shops in the city, but it's a little messy. This is a mistake. If a market is set up outside the city, and a commissioner is set up to control it and collect taxes uniformly, what do the merchants think?" Shao Shude asked.

"I am willing." The merchant smiled wryly, and said, "When you open a shop in the city, you have to pay for the goods coming in and out. Even the subordinate staff..."

He didn't say any more, but Shao Shude understood.Centralized trading markets are not only convenient for the entry and exit of goods, but also more standardized in management.But in the city, almost everyone wants to come to eat and ask for Naka, there are so many corrupt officials in the state and county.

Why not set up another city!There are fewer people to exploit, and the most important thing is that it is more convenient to collect taxes by yourself.

Suizhou is not only short of food, but also short of money and silk.And business has always been the main source of government cash taxation.Considering that Suizhou is located in an important place, with the four prefectures of Yanyan to the south, and the east and the middle of the river across the river, a bazaar is set up here. If it can be managed well, it can indeed attract many people to come and trade, and collect a lot of money. Tax.

Song Le talked with himself a few days ago.He was born in the Song family of Xihe in Hedong, and someone in his family was doing business. The many inside stories he told opened the eyes of Shao Shude, a warrior who has been fighting and killing.

In short, due to the relatively turbulent society in the late Tang Dynasty, it was very common for businessmen to form groups in order to protect their own interests.Generally, merchants dealing in similar commodities gather together and say "go".The big line is divided into small lines, with line heads, to monopolize prices, to resist the government's levy, and to meet the demands of the military leaders.Members of the guild also meet regularly for sacrifices, recruit self-guards, and are equipped with bows, knives, armor and horses to deal with bandits or rebellious soldiers on the road.

Don't underestimate this power.A few years ago, when Dou Han held the festival in Jinyang, there were soldiers making trouble, so he borrowed [-] yuan from several big banks to give rewards.Why didn't he just grab it?One is that these merchants have official protection umbrellas, and the second is also because they have armed forces.Zhaoyi's rebel army plundered the three cities of Jinyang, and was killed by more than a thousand square citizens. Are these "Fang citizens" really ordinary citizens?

"City" is originally a place where businesses gather.The "citizens" who can kill more than a thousand Zhaoyi soldiers must have a strong bow and crossbow, a big sword and a long spear.These military weapons were originally strictly controlled by the government, but in this era of lax management, merchants can easily "scourch" things from the government's arsenal.

I still remember when Lan and Shi Erzhou sent ordnance to the Tiande army stationed in Zheluping. First of all, the quantity they sent was wrong, and then the quality was also uneven. There must be a lot of tricks in it, maybe it was stolen and sold to merchants up.

If Shao Shude wanted to sell commodities from the Xia and Sui prefectures, such as a huge amount of livestock, he couldn't get around these powerful chambers of commerce.In fact, it's time to get in touch with them.Businessmen only want to make money, and they don't want to have a lot of armed guards, which will only increase the cost. They are very eager for a stable social environment.If I can continue to provide a stable order and gain a reputation, I believe that Suizhou can be made into a distribution center for one or several types of commodities.

With so many livestock in Xia Sui, wouldn't it be nice to have a livestock distribution market?The later Song Dynasty bought so many cattle and horses from Xixia every year, which shows that the people in the mainland are still very interested in these grassland specialties. The price is low and competitive!Life is not easy, no one's money comes from strong winds, my cattle sell for two to three thousand yuan, and you sell for four to five thousand yuan, in terms of business, the winner is already divided.

Of course, the grassland captives in Xia and You must be controlled first, otherwise where would the cattle and sheep come from?This soldier seems to have to go out.Well, let's see if Tuoba Sigong comes to Xiazhou first.

(End of this chapter)