Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 327 0322 [News Exposure]

According to the normal trajectory, Zhang Gen should have been reinstated a long time ago, because he recruited Zhu Ming as his son-in-law, and now he is still the deputy envoy of the Jinzhou regiment.

Zhang Gen was cheated miserably by Ju Ming!
In June, summer grains are entering warehouses one after another.

Zhang Gen approached Han Zhao, the magistrate, and suggested, "Prefect, the number of thieves in the counties of Jinzhou is increasing day by day, so we must recruit township soldiers to prevent chaos."

Han Zhao said: "Let the counties recruit their own archers. There is no need to recruit soldiers from the villages to increase expenses."

"What if there is civil unrest? Archers can't prevent it." Zhang Gen expressed his worries.

Han Zhao tried his best to maintain a respectful attitude, and said with a smile, "Brother Chang is worried."

But Zhang Gen was very angry: "Since the imperial court decided to attack Liao, Jinzhou has increased the collection and purchase, and buying money, and forced the exemption of husband's money in various counties. The people are miserable, and there are many people who broke their homes and fled. [-] to [-]% The crowd of Xiaos gathered together as bandits, how could they not recruit local soldiers to strengthen their defenses?"

Han Zhao wept poorly and said, "Kucang has no money, Brother Zhichang, don't talk anymore."

After another nonsense, Han Zhao sent Zhang Gen away.

As the deputy envoy of Tuanlian, like Bie Jia and Sima, Zhang Gen usually has no real power and must get the consent of Zhizhou to do things.

When Zhu Ming was the prefect of Jinzhou, he allowed Zhang Gen to prepare his troops, and even "purchased" new soldiers.

Zhang Gen took the opportunity to train 500 Xiang army infantry. Although the food and pay were not enough, the soldiers could barely make ends meet.

After Han Zhao took office, the situation took a turn for the worse.

Because Zhizhou didn't take care of things very much, the recorder joined the army and began to withhold food and pay. The infantry of the 500 Xiang Army had to find work for themselves, and put the newly bought armor into the staff storehouse to eat ashes.

Now the imperial court is going to fight a war and ordered all parties to transport money, food and equipment.

Han Zhao planned to organize the 500 Xiang army infantry, together with other Xiang army conscripts, into a gang army to escort various supplies to Xiangyang.

Zhang Gen worked hard for two or three years in military training, but it was all in vain!
The government is taking merchant ships by force because there are too many things to transport.

The merchants were miserable, and they missed the days when Zhu Ming was the prefect.

No matter how strong Zhu Taishou is, most of the time he is reasonable.They were also given a lot of rewards when they were asked to transport grain back to other places for disaster relief. The goods they went there were tax-free, and all kinds of illegal tax cards were ordered to be removed.

But now the prefect Han, usually doesn't seem to care about things, but doesn't treat merchants as human beings at all.

Without saying anything, the merchant ships and boatmen were forcibly recruited without any payment, and they did not say when the ships would be returned.It is estimated that the goods brought back when returning to the voyage are also private goods transported back to the prefect, and the profits obtained have nothing to do with the merchants.

……

A farmer crossed the river by boat and asked where the county government was located along the way.

When they really arrived at the county government office, facing the officials in front of the government office, the peasants panicked and dared not speak.

The clerk in charge of receiving the certificate was not there, so Gui Xiao knew where to be lazy.The official in front of the yamen said unhappily: "If you want to sue the officials, beat the drums first, and come up with a complaint!"

The farmer faltered and said, "I...I didn't file a complaint."

The official in front of the yamen said: "If you don't have a complaint, you can go away. Don't come to amuse me."

The farmer backed away and said, "I just want to ask, if I report the villain for rebellion, can I not pay my husband's money? My family really has no money."

The originally impatient yamen official regained his energy in an instant: "Who wants to rebel? Say it!"

The farmer said: "I went to the mountains to collect herbs in the spring. Once I walked far and climbed to the top of the mountain to rest. I saw a lot of people practicing, wearing iron armor and holding weapons. They didn't look like bandits. I thought about it, I'm afraid Someone is going to rebel."

"Which mountain and which village?" the Yaqian official asked hurriedly.

Although the farmer was afraid, his eyes were full of cunning, and he asked again: "If it is really a rebellion, I will report and make meritorious service, can I not pay my husband's money?"

"No, no, tell me quickly!" the yamen official urged.

The farmer began to hesitate. He was afraid that the officials in front of the government would swallow up his credit, and he was also afraid that the officials in front of the government's guarantee would be empty words.Although he was frightened and uneasy, he still bit the bullet and said, "I...I want to see the official."

"Hey, you guys still don't believe me," the Yaqian official finally stood up, "Come in with me, and I'll take you to see the official."

Why is the officer so nice?
Not to mention the county magistrate, the master book can't be seen, just take the farmer to see the secretary.

The secretary is called Shao Yi, and he is having a headache during this time.He was about to complete the tax collection task assigned by the county magistrate, but only if he and his subordinates did not reach out.

It is impossible not to reach out, so the gap is still very large.

"What are you doing here?" Shao Yi knew the yamen official.

The Yaqian official stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Someone wants to rebel."

"what?"

Shao Yi's hand holding the pen trembled, both excited and frightened.

Excitement is very likely to make meritorious service, and suppressing rebellion may be promoted from official to official.

I am afraid that it is very likely to be unlucky. Now that the government is extorting money, if a Fang La and his like appear, the heads of the county government officials will have to move.

Shao Yi urged: "Tell me the details."

The farmer couldn't tell the difference between officials and officials, so he quickly told the truth: "I went to the mountain to collect herbs, climbed up from the bottom of the cliff, and saw many people practicing."

Shao Yi asked, "Can you wear armor?"

The farmer nodded: "Yes."

Shao Yi asked again: "Which village is it in which town?"

The farmer said: "Renhe Township, Huizeli. It used to be called Tiehualiang, but later it became Tiemao Village..."

"Bullshit!"

Shao Yi interrupted directly, and angrily reprimanded: "If you dare to make a false accusation, I will take you into prison and beat you!"

The farmer finally panicked: "I'm telling the truth..."

"Go away!" Shao Yi shouted.

The officials in front of the Yamen were also startled, and they picked up sticks and were about to beat them.

The farmer was so frightened that he fled the county office in a panic, and only stopped after running out of the city, never daring to come back to report to the government.

The official in front of the yamen swallowed his saliva and said, "Tiemao Village...is...the side of Taishou Zhu's iron smelting field."

"Don't talk nonsense," Shao Yi hurriedly looked out of the door, and warned, "How could the prefect Zhu rebel? You are not allowed to utter a single word."

The official in front of the yamen said in a panic, "I know, I know."

Shao Yi sent the Yaqian officials away, and the more he thought about it, the more something went wrong.

On the side of the iron smelting yard, merchants were allowed to go there before, but in the past year, the access to the mountain has been closed, saying that they are afraid that the new iron smelting technology will leak out.

Is the prefect Zhu really going to rebel?

Shao Yi was so out of his mind that he waited until he got off work, and immediately went to the state government to look for Guo Wenzhong.

Guo Wenzhong is the second-in-command of the state government bureaucrats. Like Shao Yi, he was selected by Zhu Ming himself.

"Brother Guo, let's go to my house and talk about something important." Shao Yi said in a low voice when they met.

Guo Wenzhong didn't know what was going on, so he pretended to be indifferent and followed Shao Yi home.

Asking his wife to stay outside the study and not allowing anyone to approach, Shao Yi pulled Guo Wenzhong into the house: "Third Brother, have you been to Tiemao Village in the past year?"

Guo Wenzhong shook his head: "I haven't been there, how can I have so much free time?"

Shao Yi said: "A farmer came to sue the officials, saying that he went to the mountains to collect medicine. He saw many people practicing in Tiemao Village. The soldiers are all ready!"

Guo Wenzhong's expression became serious, and he remembered many doubts, but he still didn't believe that the Zhu family and his son would rebel.

Shao Yi asked: "Do you want to tell the prefects and counties?"

Guo Wenzhong shook his head: "Don't talk nonsense. Even...even if you really want to rebel, what good will it do us if you reveal it? The credit is all the officer's, how much can we get? If you really rebel and take the city, you I will be retaliated against for reporting, and I am afraid that my head will be lost. If I do not report, we may be able to be appointed officials because of our relationship with the prefect. I can find an opportunity to recruit An to be an official."

"It makes sense." Shao Yi was immediately convinced.

They have no future as civil servants, and they will be like this for the rest of their lives.

Moreover, they have experienced Ju Ming's methods, and if they don't rebel, it will be a disaster if they rebel.If you go to report now, you will die miserably afterwards, so it is better to follow Zhu Ming.Whether successful or not, play by ear.

Liu Shiren is the village head of Tiemao Village. Since the access to the village was closed, he often came to the city to play, and from time to time he invited the state and county officials to have a drink.

Entering the city again, Liu Shiren invited Wang Jia to drink, but Guo Wenzhong also came.

"Don't go to the tavern today, but come to my house to taste new wine!" Guo Wenzhong warmly invited.

Liu Shiren followed good example and went to Guo's house waving a folding fan.

After a few glasses of wine, I started rambling.

Guo Wenzhong winked quietly, and Wang Jia immediately tried to persuade him to drink.

"Drinking like this is not an elegant thing, let's drink it slowly," Liu Shiren didn't fall for the trick, and directly reached out to seal the wine glass, "Do you two have something to talk about today?"

Wang Jia sighed: "I really miss Taishou Zhu. Once he leaves, Jinzhou will be in a bad shape."

"Yes," Guo Wenzhong said with emotion, "I heard that the prefect manages Guizhou, and he doesn't know when he will be able to recover. It would be great if he could come to Jinzhou to be an official again. Now this prefect Han seems to be approachable, but he He is extremely difficult to get along with, and often punishes us as officials. He doesn’t have a charter himself, but blames us for not doing things well.”

Liu Shiren smiled and said, "How do I know when Xianggong will recover? Let's wait for the officials to calm down."

Wang Jia asked: "If the officials are not calm, wouldn't the eunuch have to stay in Guizhou for the rest of their lives?"

Liu Shiren said, "Maybe so."

Guo Wenzhong asked: "The prefect never thought of coming back by himself?"

Liu Shiren immediately woke up: "Why are you coming back?"

Guo Wenzhong deliberately showed his tone: "Although the cliffs in Tiemao Village are high, they can still be climbed. Brother Liu must leave someone on guard, so that no one will spy on the new iron smelting method."

Liu Shiren had already understood, and cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Brother Guo, for reminding me that I usually arrange people to watch the situation. I'm afraid someone just deserted."

Guo Wenzhong said: "Whenever you need help, brother Liu just let me know."

"Definitely." Liu Shiren nodded and smiled.

After drinking the wine, Guo Wenzhong personally sent Liu Shiren out.

Returning to the room again, Wang Jia was speechless and said, "It seems that the matter is true, I never imagined that Governor Zhu would have such thoughts."

Guo Wenzhong said: "Tiemao Village can make soldiers, and even sold some to the state. I don't know how much they have accumulated in secret. If hundreds of elite soldiers are quietly trained, how can Jinzhou City be defended? What's more, the old lair of Zhu Taishou and his son In Yangzhou, the soldiers there may have trained more. The officials in Yangzhou and Jinzhou are completely unprepared, and if they attack, the two states will fall. I am afraid that by then the entire Hanzhong will have the surname Zhu."

Wang Jia was actually a little excited: "Maybe Zhu Taishou can be the emperor."

"The spirit of the Great Song Dynasty is endless." Guo Wenzhong shook his head.

But Wang Jia said: "Although he can't do it all, without Taishou Zhu, I'm still looking at the gate. How can I have the scenery today? What's more, there are civil disturbances all over the world, and even Jinzhou is also full of thieves. Officials are still collecting taxes. To collect money, people may rebel one day. It is a rebellion anyway, and we are fine if Zhu Taishou rebels. Don't rebel, if you come into the city, you and I will have our heads cut off."

Both of them are senior officials of the state government and do not directly participate in tax collection.

You must also earn money, but the main thing is to earn money for filial piety, or to get benefits for doing things for others.

In fact, they really hate excessive taxation, because it is not conducive to making money in the long run, and it may cause civil unrest someday.

Guo Wenzhong also thought about it, planning to trap and kill Zhu Guoxiang.

But Zhu Guoxiang has not been to Jinzhou for a long time, even if Zhu Guoxiang can be killed, what if Zhu Ming attacks with troops?When the time comes, those who participate will undoubtedly die!

Guo Wenzhong took a chance and said: "Perhaps these are all speculations, and Tiemao Village is only practicing village courage."

Holding the same idea, there is Bai Jiaerlang.

Zhang Guangdao recruited too many villagers for his military training. Although the training had already been changed to every five days, Bai Chongwu, as the prefect of Xixiang County, still heard some "rumors".

Bai Chongwu couldn't believe it, and chose to pretend to be ignorant, hoping that Zhu Guoxiang was just training soldiers to guard against bandits.

They are all acting like turtles, dragging their heads back as much as possible, and trying to think about the best.

Just like Zhong Xiang, who has been preaching in Wuling County for more than ten years, he was cautious in the first few years, and gradually he was too lazy to cover up.

The officials in Wuling County all pretended to be deaf and dumb, hoping that Zhong Xiang only wanted to make money, and would not necessarily gather people to rebel—if they dared to break the window, they would force Zhong Xiang to rebel against him!
(End of this chapter)