Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 171 0166 [Dean Zhu, a master of Taoism]

"The eunuch is back!"

A shout from the Guan Tower caused chaos in Guochuan Town.

The officers guarding the place, as well as the tax collectors at the head of the column, all complained incessantly, stopped their work completely, and organized everyone to greet them.

The front line is fighting, and the officials of the two groups in Shaanxi are busy collecting military supplies.

Fang Mao, that dead eunuch, of course didn't dare to blackmail Shaanxi's transfer envoy and Changping envoy. Once something goes wrong and the military plane is delayed, Tong Guan is very likely to kill him directly.

As a result, the small local officials and taxation centers in Shaanxi are out of luck!
Take Guochuan Town as an example, Fang Mao demanded [-] guan, nearly one-seventh of the total annual tax amount.

Jia Zhongfu and Cao Shu, one responsible for guarding the gate and the other responsible for collecting taxes, are kneeling beside the road at this moment, waiting to greet the eunuch passing by.

As the team in front got closer, Cao Shu gradually opened his mouth wide: "Quick... look!"

Jia Zhongfu was kneeling on the ground, bowing his head to greet the eunuch's ancestors, but he also raised his head and looked forward when he heard the words: "Who is so bold to tie up the eunuch?"

It was Deng Chun who carried a stick and walked in the front to open the way.

Several security guards from Daming Village escorted Fang Mao and urged him to hurry.The eunuch was still tied up, only his legs could move, and he walked crookedly.

Cao Shu observed carefully: "Except for Fang Mao, none of the eunuchs were bound, and all the sergeants in front of the palace were there. The leader must be the man in civilian clothes in front. Not only did he arrest the imperial envoy, he was even able to command the eunuchs and the imperial army!" "

Jia Zhongfu was extremely shocked, and said: "Fang Mao was ordered by the emperor to conscript a foreigner, and I heard that the foreigner is the father of Tanhualang. That man in commoner clothes must be the father of Tanhualang, right?"

Cao Shu exclaimed: "As expected of a stranger, he really has the means!"

Zhu Guoxiang took out the confession to check, walked to the front and asked, "Where is the column head in Guochuan Town?"

Cao Shu hurriedly knelt forward and replied, "Here is the little one."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Why are you kneeling on me? Stand up quickly and talk."

Everyone got up quickly, Jia Zhongfu asked: "Dare to ask, sir, what happened?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The eunuch is good at deceiving the emperor, and I have already arrested him. Is it true that this person extorted five hundred pieces in Guochuan Town?"

Cao Shu rolled his eyes and replied, "There is nothing wrong with it, sir, you need to worry about it."

Zhu Guoxiang sneered: "When I want to covet the five hundred guan? You take the money back and sign the receipt."

The Daming Village security team took out five hundred guan worth of gold and silver.

Cao Shu couldn't believe that he could get the money back. There are people in the world who don't love money?
Cao Shu said, "Dare to ask your name, sir."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "My surname is Zhu, and my name is Guoxiang."

Cao Shu asked again, "But Tanhualang's father?"

"Exactly." Zhu Guoxiang nodded.

Cao Shu confirmed that Zhu Guoxiang was a foreigner whom the emperor wanted to enlist, and quickly flattered him, saying: "Five hundred guan are worth nothing, so just take it, Mr. Zhu."

Zhu Guoxiang scolded: "This is the imperial court tax, how can it be used privately? Quickly sign and take the money away!"

When Cao Shu saw that Zhu Guoxiang did not seem to be a fake, and that his appearance was majestic and upright, he couldn't help but feel ashamed of his appearance, and shrank himself to flatter him: "Mr.

This product asked the tax collector to fetch pen and ink, write a receipt and get back the money.

Zhu Guoxiang took everyone to rest in the town, and the business travelers who waited in line to pass the tax card began to discuss and speculate.

A few small businessmen from Yangzhou quickly became directors of the information center. They bragged, "This Mr. Zhu is Tanhualang's father. We all call him Mr. Yuanzhang. Who in the three counties of Yangzhou Don’t know the name of Lord Yuanzhang? He created Junzi tea and passed it on to the common people. Now many big families are growing sweet potatoes and corn. By next year, even small people can grow it, and the mountains can harvest a few stones of grain.”

Another small businessman in Yangzhou said: "Father and son of the Zhu family are all Zhengjun. Tanhualang was conscripted last year, but he didn't want to be a lucky official. He insisted on relying on his ability to pass the imperial examination. I resigned from the official family and did not go to Tokyo to be an official, I would rather stay in Yangzhou to teach farming methods."

"Isn't it stupid to not be an official?"

"What do you know? This is called treating wealth as dung! They are all real gentlemen."

"If they become officials, there will be two good officials, which is better than all corrupt officials."

"That makes sense..."

Jia Zhongfu and Cao Shuma followed along and asked his men to prepare wine and food.

But I heard Zhu Guoxiang say: "You don't need wine, just some meat, and I will pay for the meal."

Jia Zhongfu said hastily, "Some meals are not worth much."

While delivering the meal, they sent someone to inquire about the specific situation.

Those eunuchs and imperial guards started talking nonsense one by one.

Why did Fang Mao not get used to it a long time ago, and said how Zhu Xianggong was bullied.

Besides, Fang Mao made Zhu Xianggong very angry. When Zhu Xianggong shouted angrily, Fang Mao was so scared that he knelt down and begged for mercy.They were also sober after being drunk, and felt that they had done something wrong before, so they teamed up to tie up Fang Mao.

In the evening, when Jia Zhongfu and Cao Shu got the information, they looked at each other in surprise.

Jia Zhongfu said in amazement: "Zhu Xianggong must be a master of the Tao, I'm afraid he really knows the way. Otherwise, how can you make the eunuch kneel down with a shout of anger? Can you wake up the imperial servants and let them bind the Shangguan? "

Cao Shu nodded and said, "That's certainly the case. The officials knew the mystery of Zhu Xiang's fairness and law, so they sent people to conquer it. That guy Fang Mao didn't know anything, and dared to offend a high-ranking scholar. He deserves bad luck!"

That night, they helped to contact the ship, and sent Zhu Guoxiang to board the ship the next day.

Zhu Guoxiang left some food money and gave it casually, but it was actually not enough.

Regardless of whether the meal money is enough or not, it is still admirable.

Cao Shu said: "It is our good fortune to meet such honest and honest scholars."

Looking at the ship going away, Jia Zhongfu was filled with emotion.

The two of them are usually greedy and blackmail merchants, but this does not prevent them from admiring honest people.

Guochuan Town is an important commercial hub. All kinds of deeds about Zhu Guoxiang spread rapidly with the business trips, and even spread to Guanzhong and Hehuang.

And the more rumors became more and more mysterious, Zhu Guoxiang seemed to be able to call the wind and call the rain, and a shout of anger could make the bad guys change their past.

The same thing happened again in Xiegu Town.

Since then, it has been repeated repeatedly, and the stories of the eunuchs and the guards have become more and more mellow, filling in each other's loopholes.

Talking too much, even they themselves began to believe... Who would admit that they were captured by farmers with hoes?

Being reprimanded by an expert and changing his past, at least it will be more face-saving to spread the word.

When he came to Guanzhong, Zhu Guoxiang's forward route was slightly different from that of Zhu Ming. He went to Chang'an.

Because Chang'an officials were also blackmailed by eunuchs.

Except for the transfer envoys, Changping envoys and other local officials, only Yongxing Zhijun did not give money.

Hearing that Zhu Guoxiang tied up the eunuch and returned the gold and silver all the way, Xi Dan, the Zhijun of Yongxing, took the initiative to visit.

The large area in Guanzhong is sometimes called Yongxingjun Road, and sometimes Jingzhaofu Road.

Chang'an and its surrounding areas are sometimes called Yongxing Army, and sometimes Jingzhaofu.

Yongxing Zhijun can be understood as the prefect of Chang'an.

Xi Dan came to condolences with wine and food, and said when they met, "Sir, you are really a master, and you tied that eunuch in a fit of anger!"

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "If you do many unrighteous actions, you will die yourself. Those eunuchs who betrayed their relatives were actually caught by their subordinates."

Xi Dan laughed, not believing Zhu Guoxiang's nonsense at all.

He was also blackmailed by Fang Mao, and when he scolded him angrily, why didn't the eunuch's subordinates wake up?

Zhu Guoxiang must have used some means.

Xidan is not only capable of governing the region, but also has a strategic vision. When he was young, he could write in the palace examination policy theory: "It is easy to win, but difficult to defend. If you know how to win, you must know how to defend." Song Shenzong asked Shenzong to launch wars carefully, If you don't think about how to end it, you can't easily go to war.

When he was an official in the central government, he not only impeached the eunuch, but also prevented Song Huizong from changing the empress dowager.

He was demoted to Chengdu to be an official, and he used gentle means to improve the economy and people's livelihood, and completely quelled the Sichuan rebellion without a single soldier.

Then, continue to be demoted...

Xi Dan was not optimistic about the conquest of Xixia, because the Song army was not prepared enough.

When he was an official in Sichuan, someone induced the two prefectures of Dali to be attached.

Xi Dan knew very well what was going on here, once he accepted the land of the two prefectures, he would definitely go to war with Dali.It is very difficult to win, even if it is won, the people's livelihood in the Southwest will inevitably decline, and there will be a long-term war.Simultaneous wars in the southwest and northwest will surely drag Da Song into a financial black hole.

Therefore, Xi Dan resolutely refused to be attached, and offended all the civil servants and generals who were eager to do meritorious service.

Cai Jing also felt that he had lost the power to expand the territory, and wished to kill Xi Dan.

That night, Xi Dan and Zhu Guoxiang had a long talk.

First, we talked about people's livelihood and economy. I heard that Zhu Guoxiang had brought some new crop seeds, so he asked to buy a few catties of corn and sweet potatoes, which he wanted to promote in Guanzhong.

Chatting and chatting, and talked about the Battle of the Northwest.

Xi Dan worried: "Looking at the current battle situation, it is impossible to destroy Xixia quickly. The best result is to occupy a few important places. It is naturally important to win the battle. But after winning the battle, how It is more important to defend the new land. It is nothing more than building a city, immigrating, solidifying borders, and opening up wasteland. However, in recent years, the people of the real border have regarded the government as an enemy. Some fled back to their hometowns, and some went to Xixia. How can they defend the territory? "

Zhu Guoxiang said: "There is still a mistake in civil affairs."

Xi Dan said: "I have been hated by the officials, and the officials didn't listen to a word of what I said. My husband was confiscated by the officials. If you win the holy family, please remember to persuade your majesty. It is easy to open the frontier and keep the land. It’s not easy, you have to send ministers who are proficient in civil affairs to carefully manage those newly acquired lands before you can make long-term plans. Otherwise, you will inevitably lose suddenly, lose troops, lose money and food, and it will be nothing but joy.”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I will definitely persuade the officials, but as for whether the officials will listen or not, there is no way to make a promise."

Xi Dan said: "It's good to be able to persuade, alas, do your best to obey the destiny."

The old minister was worried, but he had nothing to do with the situation. It was even difficult for him to keep his current official position.

The next day, Xi Dan personally sent Zhu Guoxiang to board the ship, and returned to the carriage coughing and trembling when he could no longer see the shadow of the official ship.

(End of this chapter)