Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 246 0241 [Shi Yuangong's first show of means]

"Big sentence, the surname Zhu has left the city!"

"Follow."

"Yan Liu is following."

Li Daochong has become more and more anxious these days. He has been cut off from two sources of income, and he can only rely on taxes to make money in the future.

Perhaps we can think of a way to increase the taxation of merchants.

Increasing farmers' taxes is a daydream, at least not this year.Excessive taxation and extortion during the catastrophe is purely due to the fact that one's life is too long, and there are prefects on top, so this behavior will definitely be stopped.

He was still looking forward to Cai You's transfer. It would be fine to transfer Zhu Ming or himself.

Unexpectedly, Cai You didn't adjust any of them!

Zhu Ming led people out of the city on horseback, and gradually arrived at the pier. Shi Yuangong and Deng Chun had been waiting for a long time.

The task he arranged was for Shi Yuangong to bring back 20 households, about 100 people.If you recruit some more yourself, you can gather more than a hundred people, which is the standard number of ironworkers in the Song Dynasty.

But there were two or three hundred people standing in front of them!

Most of them are dressed in shabby clothes, but there are also a few who don't seem to be poor, and there are even thirty or forty of them with weapons.

"The prefect is here." Shi Yuangong smiled.

More than a dozen people immediately bowed their hands, and the rest followed suit: "Caomin pay respects to Governor Zhu!"

Zhu Ming smiled and cupped his fists. The more he looked at it, the more surprised he was. Some guys had tattoos on their faces.How could this be an iron smelter?
Shi Yuangong introduced: "Master, this is Tu Shen. He built a furnace to smelt iron. Later, he broke his family and became a thief. He is also a good man. He has more than ten brothers under his command."

"Welcome." Zhu Ming smiled, but his heart became more and more puzzled.

Tu Shen is not very tall in Shandong, but his upper body is extremely burly, and his arms are almost as thick as the thighs of ordinary people.He also carried two iron bones with him. This kind of war hammer is a sharp weapon for piercing armor.

But Mr. Shi Yuan recruited iron smelters, so why does it look like he recruited a criminal gang?

Shi Yuangong said again: "This is Zhang Jin, and he is also a hero. He has seven or eight brothers under his command."

Zhang Jin was much more compliant, just an ordinary strong man with a knife hanging from his waist.

After introducing several people one after another, Zhu Ming communicated with Yan Yuese.Immediately, they drew up a place in the outskirts, let them rest for tonight, and then take a boat to the mine tomorrow.

Zhu Ming called Shi Yuangong aside alone, and asked, "How many people did you bring back?"

Shi Yuangong replied: "49 households, counting the old and young, women and children, a total of 250 and seven people."

Zhu Ming asked in surprise, "Why so many?"

Shi Yuangong did not answer directly, but said: "The iron smelting business in Xuzhou is more complicated than we imagined."

"Tell me carefully." Zhu Ming said.

Shi Yuangong said: "During the reign of Zhenzong, Hebei was often harassed by the Liao State. The imperial court was worried that the Liao people would make weapons, so they strictly prohibited pig iron from Liguo, Laiwu and other prisons from being transported to Hebei. However, daily iron can still be transported to the north, so in the In Xuzhou, many blacksmith shops were newly opened, and pig iron was turned into hoes, iron pots, and iron plows to be transported northward."

"During the Yuanfeng period, a new law was implemented. Ironware must be cast by the government. Even kitchen knives, hoes, etc. can only be made by the government and sold to the people. The blacksmith shops in Xuzhou will either be taken over by the government or go bankrupt. This prohibition lasted until Yuanyou Over the years, even the ban on pig iron has been lifted.”

"In the early years of Daguan, private trading of pig iron was prohibited. Privately smelted iron had to be sold to the government, and then the government sold it to foundry households for making. Therefore, smuggling everywhere was difficult for the government, and government orders were difficult to implement."

"In the early years of Zhenghe, the ban was reiterated. All iron smelting was sold to the government, and the government sold it to the foundry households. Except for daily-use ironware, which can be bought and sold by the private sector, the rest are not allowed to be sold privately. This time the enforcement is extremely strict, especially the Liguojian and Laiwujian. Those caught violating the law were immediately assassinated and exiled to the army.”

After hearing this, Zhu Ming was a little speechless.

In addition to considering border security, the court's repeated tossing was more about harvesting leeks in waves.

Every time there is a ban, the government can harvest it once.Then lift the ban, let the iron smelting and foundry industries develop again, and when the development is almost complete, then issue a ban to harvest.

That statement is too dark, but not too far off.

The imperial court always wanted to end it in person and firmly control the iron smelting and foundry industries to make money.

It was okay for the first ten years, but gradually lost its shape.Instead of making money, the state-run institutions lost money, and the quality of the iron smelted and forged also deteriorated.So it was announced that the ban would be lifted, and private merchants would be allowed to operate, and the imperial court would only be responsible for collecting taxes.

When the private iron smelting and foundry industry flourished, the imperial court became jealous again, and felt that they could do it, so they nationalized it again.

Over and over again, over and over again.

Shi Yuangong continued: "At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, the Xuzhou iron smelting field was all state-owned. Gradually, corruption was rampant, and the income was not enough, so the people were allowed to buy and smelt iron. Then 36 large iron merchants emerged, each rich in millions. After Yuanyou, the prohibition was lifted, and small iron smelters and blacksmith shops sprang up."

"In the early years of Daguan, the ban was reiterated. Although 36 large iron merchants were exploited, they were not hurt. Instead, they cooperated with the government to oppress small iron merchants. Those small iron merchants either went bankrupt or smuggled, and often turned into bandits. .”

"In the past few years, anti-smuggling has been strengthened, and there are more bankrupt fugitives, and groups of three or four gather to become thieves."

Zhu Ming turned his head to look at those iron smelters: "In other words, you recruited more than 200 thieves?"

"It's not all thieves, there are also thieves' families." Shi Yuangong explained.

Isn't that the same thing?

Zhu Ming asked: "How did you win the trust of the thieves? You actually got them all the way to Jinzhou."

Shi Yuangong said: "Xu Churen, the prefect of Xuzhou, behaves like a gentleman."

"Xuzhou prefect actually looks like me?" Zhu Ming became interested.

Shi Yuangong said: "If Taishou Xu is the prime minister, let alone this life, I will not think of rebellion in the next life."

Xu Churen is an old minister in his 60s.

When he was first appointed magistrate of Dong'an County in Yongzhou, the barbarians rebelled. He went to the Dong village alone, and after some gentle and intimidating tactics, he made the barbarian leader withdraw his troops and vowed never to rebel again.

When he was the magistrate of Jinxiang in Jeju, he was recommended to Song Huizong.

Song Huizong asked how the harvest was, and Xu Churen replied that there was a drought of locusts.Song Huizong asked how the thieves were doing, and Xu Churen replied that the thieves were flocking.

Both answers indicate that his political performance is not good.

Song Huizong was very happy when he heard this, thinking that this person would not deceive the emperor, so he was directly transferred to the court as an official.

Xu Churen is also proficient in arithmetic, which is also in line with Song Huizong's appetite.

Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty set up a school of arithmetic and followed Confucius as the patriarch.But Xu Churen said that the way of arithmetic, the Yellow Emperor should be the patriarch.

Song Huizong checked carefully and it can be traced back to the Yellow Emperor, and Taoism can also be traced back to the Yellow Emperor.Sui Longyan was very happy, and within three or four years, he promoted Xu Churen to be the deputy prime minister.

But at this time, Xu Churen went home from his mother's funeral to Ding You, and when he returned to the court, he was already unfamiliar with the emperor.Because of the impeachment of Tong Guan, he was first demoted as a magistrate as a deputy prime minister, and then demoted to a local Taoist temple.

After finally recalling the court, he criticized Cai Jing's policies and was thrown to Yangzhou to be the prefect.

Going around, transferred to Xuzhou last year.

Shi Yuangong said: "After Xu Taishou took office, he immediately ordered the exemption of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. He openly broke with the Xuzhou Tong Judgment. He also urged the trial of unjust cases, punished the county officials, and impeached the county magistrate of Pengcheng for corrupting the law. The county magistrate was demoted. Hebei."

Zhu Ming said with a smile: "Sure enough, it is very similar to me, and the methods are exactly the same."

Shi Yuangong said again: "When I arrived in Xuzhou, Governor Xu was recruiting soldiers from the countryside to suppress the bandits. Within ten months, dozens of thieves were arrested. I came to visit with the documents from the Ministry of Industry and persuaded him to cooperate with me."

"How did you cooperate?" Zhu Ming asked.

Shi Yuangong said: "Those captured thieves can be released without charge as long as they are willing to come to Jinzhou. I also persuaded those exonerated thieves to recruit other thieves together. More than a hundred thieves surrendered themselves. Most of these thieves were iron smelters and blacksmiths. Counting their families, there were more than 200 people. When he took them away, Governor Xu also presented them with a hundred coils. Xu Taishou told me that the common people Pirates are forced by life, and I hope that Jinzhou can live and work in peace."

This guy said it lightly, the process must not be easy.

Those thieves were forced to make it difficult to live by the government, so they gave up their status as good citizens one after another.To convince them to come to Golden State, you must first gain trust, not only in Ju Ming, but also in Xu Churen.

What Shi Yuangong uses is the method of spreading the demon religion!

He invited some doctors, bought a lot of medicinal materials, and went to visit the family members of the thieves.When someone was sick, he was immediately treated by a doctor. He also claimed to be proficient in Taoism, burning talismans and mixing them with potions to drink.

After seeing the doctor for the family of the thieves, he also gave free medical treatment to the nearby people.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of seeing a doctor, they began to publicize Zhu Ming's benevolence and righteousness, and made up stories about Zhu Ming's wise fight against traitors.

After coming and going, he became acquainted with the family of the thief, and gradually gained a reputation among the people, and the people nearby all called him "Shi Taoist".

It wasn't until this time that he took out Xu Churen's official document, saying that as long as he went to Jinzhou with him, not only would he be pardoned for his crimes, but he would also be able to live comfortably from now on.

The family members contacted secretly one after another, persuading the thieves to surrender.

Even among law-abiding citizens, two households followed Shi Yuangong on the road.

Zhu Ming asked, "You didn't confuse people with evil words, did you?"

Shi Yuangong cupped his hands: "Don't dare."

The next day, Zhu Ming personally took those guys and collected some boats to go to the iron mine.

The residential area has been demarcated, but the houses have not been picked up, and even the ground has not been leveled. It is necessary for the iron smelters to cut down trees and weeds to build houses.

Zhu Ming asked, "Do any of you know how to farm?"

More than a dozen people stood up one after another, and the rest couldn't farm.

In this case, there is no need to grant land property.

Zhu Ming said: "Each person will give one hundred yuan, and some food, cloth, and dishes. I will give you a meeting gift. After you build your house, you will start to build the ironworks. The wages will definitely not treat you badly. As for Household registration, there will be officials to handle it later."

Tu Shen asked, "Is there a charcoal field nearby?"

Zhu Ming shook his head: "There is no charcoal field, only a charcoal field."

Tu Shen asked again: "Where is the iron mine?"

Zhu Ming called Su Zhixin who was in charge of prospecting for ore and building a charcoal field: "You lead the way."

The iron ore hadn't been mined yet. When everyone came to a mountain, they saw several iron caps soon.

Tu Shen checked every iron hat, his brows were already furrowed.He took more than a dozen brothers and immediately dug down with a shovel.

The iron ore here is buried very shallow, 30 meters underground.In some places, it can be picked up on the surface, or it will appear after digging three or four meters.

A few pieces were picked up from the ground, and a few pieces were dug out from the ground.

Tu Shen first smashed the observation, then weighed it in his hand, couldn't help shaking his head and said: "Prefect, the iron ore here is unusable."

"Let's use it reluctantly, Jinzhou only has poor mines." Zhu Ming was also helpless.

On the other side of Xuzhou is a rare iron-rich mine in China.

Coal from Xuzhou, which also has low sulfur content, is quite rare in China.

When the two excellent resources collided, Xuzhou naturally became an important iron smelting base.

By the way, the Xuzhou coal mine was discovered by Su Shi.Su Shi made Xuzhou's iron smelting industry flourish, and he also fought against floods, built embankments, and helped the people in Xuzhou.

For a long time, Su Shi was not called Su Dongpo, but was called "Su Xuzhou".

When people in Xuzhou mentioned Su Shi, they kindly called him the old prefect and the old magistrate.

(End of this chapter)