Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 141 0136 [The world will be chaotic]

Baishitou between the upper and lower Bai villages cannot be called a town, at most it is a grass market.

Because the Northern Song Dynasty gave a strict definition to "town": if the people do not gather to form a county, but those who pay taxes are called towns, or they are supervised by officials.

Baishitou is too small, and the government is too lazy to send tax collectors.

In Xiegu Town, where agriculture is in decline, the business tax is comparable to that of Xixiang County.

The Guochuan Town that I passed by before was even more fierce, and the commercial tax revenue was more than that of Xixiang County, with an average of more than 3500 per year!
Everyone came to the Weihe River Basin by boat, landed and changed to the next official ship that was handed over.

But I saw those delivery soldiers chatting with a group of refugee-like soldiers.Those soldiers held weapons in their hands, even bows and arrows on their backs, their clothes were torn, and they actually had seven or eight war horses.

As soon as Zhu Ming and others landed, the soldiers gathered around and sold their goods enthusiastically: "My lords, do you want to buy some weapons for self-defense? The ones in our hands are all decent ones. These war horses are also good horses in the army. Just take the whole one."

what's the situation?
In broad daylight, they actually set up a stall to sell weapons and war horses.

What's even more nonsense is that the officers and soldiers of the delivery shop are right next to them, watching those soldiers engage in illegal trade with hippie smiles.

Li Hanzhang took a fancy to a horse, and said critically: "Although your horse has a big frame, you have neglected to take care of it, and it has already lost weight from hunger."

The owner of the war horse said: "I don't have anything to eat myself, how can I feed the war horse? Can you buy a war horse that doesn't lose fat, like this, for ten bucks?"

"That's true," Li Hanzhang smiled, "I bought this horse."

In front of officials and officers and soldiers, the two parties paid money with one hand and delivered goods with the other hand, trading war horses in an aboveboard and illegal manner.

Ju Ming couldn't help asking: "Are you all locals?"

The soldiers didn't hide anything: "I'm a local. I was transferred to be an archer in the frontier army. We were not allowed to go home for several years. This year, I was so hungry that I fled back from the army. I just wanted to buy some food in exchange for money. "

"Don't the frontier soldiers pay them? Why are they still hungry?" Zhu Ming asked.

The soldier replied: "The military salary is also paid, but the payment is not complete. Even if the military salary is paid in full, it is not enough to pay taxes, and it has to be owed to the court."

After Zhu Ming inquired carefully again, he found out that these soldiers originally belonged to the archer sequence of Fengxiang Mansion.

According to the previous regulations, archers like them only need to follow the forbidden army when they go out to fight, and they don't need to leave their hometown at ordinary times.Tong Guan was messing around, dispatching a large number of local archers to defend the northwest frontier, and never mentioned returning home.

Even, they were allocated fields in the frontier.

An archer can be divided into two hectares of land.The cavalry also gave money to buy horses, and also got [-] acres of horse farms.These are called Archer Camps and are completely tax-free.

A soldier can pick up two hectares of land free of tax, which seems to belong to good governance.

But how is it possible?

First of all, the two hectares of land are newly laid frontier land, which needs to be reclaimed and cultivated.

Secondly, even if there is no need to open up wasteland, the local population is sparsely populated and there are not enough tenants to recruit.

In the end, Cai Jinglai made a lore!

Due to active preparations for war, more and more archers were transferred to border areas, and military expenditures increased exponentially.

Cai Jing then implemented the "Biaobu Law" to collect grain from urban and rural Fangguo households in frontier states and counties, and doubled the collection of frontier archers!The military pay for the archers was not enough, which resulted in the military pay that the soldiers received was not fucking enough to pay taxes.

In addition, the tenants who were recruited by the archers for farming also chose to flee because of the need to pay exorbitant donations.The highest record of the camp tenants on the East Road side is that 40% escaped within three months.

Zhu Ming was dumbfounded, and confirmed, "Are the frontier soldiers starving?"

"I'm not hungry, why are we risking our lives and fleeing back?" those soldiers asked back.

Zhu Ming has nothing to say. He is aware of historical events. Next year, Song and Xixia will go to war.Moreover, it was Xixia who took the initiative to attack, and the reason why Xixia attacked first was because of the information that the frontier army of the Song Dynasty was short of food.

Whose pocket did so much military pay and rations go into?
Zhu Ming asked again: "Aren't you afraid of being arrested by the government when you fled back to your hometown?"

"It's a big deal to be a thief." Those soldiers answered naturally.

"Good ambition." Zhu Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In the early Southern Song Dynasty, there were the so-called "Four Generals of ZTE", namely Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, and Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun is the archer here. A few years ago, he was recruited to guard the border in Tianshui, Gansu Province. At this time, he has fled back to Fengxiang Mansion to be a thief.

So, it is easy to die if you stay in the frontier, but you can still live as a thief if you escape. In the future, there will be opportunities to wash your identity, and you can even become a famous general of ZTE.

"My lords, board the ship!"

Li Hanzhang led the horse to the boat, and said to Zhu Ming with a smile: "This horse is worth buying, and it can be recovered with a little care. We need to find a place to erase its official seal."

Zhu Ming said: "The frontier army is starving, what does Saburo think?"

Li Hanzhang said with emotion: "I am a juren, what else can I think? I can only sympathize with these archers and not report to the officials to arrest them."

Chen Yuan walked towards the official ship, then turned to look back at the deserters with a gloomy and ugly expression.It is impossible for him to criticize deserters, but he just hates corrupt officials and corrupted Song's army.

Suddenly, a few horses from the Xiang army of the government rushed forward under the leadership of the officer.

Due to the military policy of the Song Dynasty, there was no central dispatch order, and local troops could only send troops within ten people.

There were more than a dozen deserters, and they had weapons and horses. Facing the government's arrest, they drew their swords and bows to meet them.

The deserters shot out a few arrows, and the cavalry of the Xiang army stopped one after another, watching the deserters leave on the frontier.

Who is so willing to work hard?

Just expel these deserters, don't do business in broad daylight, and deal with it casually later.

Standing at the bow of the boat, Ju Ming looked at the "Officials and Thieves Chasing Battle" on the shore, and couldn't help saying, "What I saw today is amazing!"

Bai Sheng said: "Chen Dutou (Chen Ziyi) has joined the army on Qinfeng Road, and I don't know how he is doing."

Zhu Ming said: "He is different. He has his own horse and weapons, and he has martial arts skills. He must be better than ordinary archers. At least... he should be able to eat enough."

Gu San smiled and said: "It's too miserable if you can only eat enough. His family already has money."

"See if he can survive for a few more years, maybe he can make great achievements." Zhu Ming couldn't help laughing.

Shi Biao said: "I can't believe anyone else, I just follow Dutou."

The former convenience is the county seat of Mei County, which is dilapidated and sparsely populated.The commercial tax that the county can collect is only half of that of Xiekou Town under its jurisdiction (Xiekou Town belongs to Mei County).

Official ships didn't even bother to stop here, and sailed all the way to Zhouzhi (Zhouzhi) further east.

This is the big city, where business travel is like weaving.

Caravans traveling from Hanzhong to Guanzhong had several routes to take, and most of them gathered in Yulu.

There are also many thieves!

Zhu Ming slept in the posthouse outside the city that night, and heard noises coming from the south in the middle of the night.He put on his clothes and went out to check. He saw torches lit up on the small river in the south, and then the thieves landed ashore and headed straight for the caravan camp that had not been visited during the day.

When the incident happened suddenly, the caravan ran away in a panic. The thieves grabbed the goods and loaded them into the boats, then swaggered back to the southern mountainous area.

Professional robbery, too fast.

Zhu Ming took the cornucopia out of the stable, and when he got close on horseback, the thieves had already boarded the boat.

That night, there were loud cries.

Zhu Ming went to inquire and learned that there were no casualties, but some goods were robbed, causing several small businessmen to lose everything.

Borrowing a torch, Zhu Ming checked the situation carefully.

Most of the business travellers, waiting to pay tolls, sleep in camps provided by the government, which are protected by wooden fences.

"What did you find?" Li Hanzhang also came, and he also planned to kill the thief.

Zhu Ming pointed to the broken part of the fallen fence: "Three-quarters of the broken part is flat, and it was sawed open beforehand, and there are thieves inside the investigation. I guess, some tax collectors colluded with the thieves."

"For ordinary things, go to sleep first." Li Hanzhang yawned and went back to the post house, and said as he walked, "It is estimated that many of the thieves in the mountains are deserters, and they were also forced by the government. I only feel sorry for the merchants who were robbed. You have worked so hard to transport the goods, but you have suffered such bad luck."

"Ugh!"

Ju Ming shook his head and sighed.

The real big businessmen are all transported by ship.

The shore is full of small caravans, carrying a few hard-earned money on their shoulders, but the goods are robbed by thieves.

Xue Daoguang stood at the gate of the post house with a stick in his hand: "This world is not peaceful, the more exploited by the government, the more thieves will escape into the deep mountains."

Zhu Ming asked: "Master Taoist, if one day the world is in chaos and you can't even eat enough, will you still think about cultivating Taoism and becoming an immortal?"

"Let's talk about it." Xue Daoguang didn't want to communicate with Zhu Ming, he was afraid that he would ruin his morality again.

Two days later, the official ship arrived in Xianyang.

There is no chance to appreciate Chang'an City, unless Zhu Ming gets off the boat and rides south.It belongs to the largest city in the Northwest, so it must have a bustling scene.

Along the way, Ju Ming's knowledge has greatly increased, and he has a better understanding of the Shaanxi region.

When changing boats in Xianyang, Zhu Ming rode his horse to the countryside, met farmers and inquired about their living conditions.

He also took out a bamboo pen filled with ink and recorded it on the spot. This operation started when he left Xingyuan Mansion.

A farmer said: "It's good if you don't starve to death, but I'm afraid you will be turned into a servant."

Zhu Ming asked: "Is the immunity from labor available here?"

The farmer said: "The exemption fee must be paid, and the guards must be rotated."

Wang Anshi's exemption method is to let the people spend money to pay for the servants.Up to now, the servants have been restored, and the exemption money has not been collected, but it has increased the burden on the people.

In fact, when Wang Anshi was still alive, the immunity method had changed.

At the beginning, it was stipulated that the collection should not be imposed on fourth- and fifth-class households, but in a daze, everyone had to pay, and the big households passed the burden of servants to the small people.

After walking around the countryside in the suburbs, Zhu Ming went to Xianyang city again.

City residents also had a hard time in those days. Cai Jing's "Exhibition Purchase Law" has been extended to this point, which is equivalent to paying an additional poll tax, and the tax burden of citizens is getting heavier.

The "purchasing method" was to raise rations for the frontier army. As for where the money went, I'm afraid even ghosts don't know.

Returning to the posthouse in the evening, Zhu Ming ate some food and took a pen to summarize what he had seen and heard along the way.

From Xingyuanfu to Xianyang County, including the income, expenditure and liabilities of citizens, townspeople and farmers, the data are listed in the form of tables.

At night, Chen Yuan knocked on the door again.

Seeing that Zhu Ming was writing, he didn't disturb him, but just watched carefully from the side.

A piece of data made Chen Yuan's scalp tingle.

He felt that Da Song was like a gunpowder keg, which would explode if touched by sparks.

(End of this chapter)