Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

After walking along the Baoshui River for many days, we will soon arrive at Guochuan Town, which is west of Taibai County in later generations.

This is one of the four important towns in Yi County. The other three important towns are Xiegu, Qingqiu and Hengqu.

Guochuan Town and Xiegu Town, firmly blocking Baoxie Road, are both garrisoned by troops.

At the same time, there are also those responsible for tax collection.

People were already queuing up to pass the customs. Zhu Ming planned to queue up honestly, but the official delivering the official document said: "My lords, just follow me."

So, all the scholars started to jump in line...

The official was wearing official clothes and took out his badge and documents. The tax collector took a casual look at it and gestured to let the official go.

The official said again: "These are our candidates from Lizhou, and they are going to Tokyo to take the exam."

The tax collector did not dare to neglect and went to check it in person.

After casually checking the two judicial notices, the tax collector didn't bother to look at them anymore and just said: "My gentlemen, please pay your taxes and pay your taxes."

Juren cannot be exempted from tax, and he did not take official ships or cars at this time.

The tax rate is 2%, and customs declaration and inspection are required.

However, it is somewhat honorable to lift people, and they cannot be inspected by tax collectors. As long as the goods they bring are not much, a few tokens are enough.

By the way, if the law is strictly followed, officials in the Song Dynasty also had to pay commercial taxes. From the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty to its demise, the central court issued repeated orders not to allow officials and powerful officials to evade taxes, let alone use official ships to transport goods to avoid taxes.

Since it requires repeated orders, it means repeated prohibitions.

"How much?" Zhu Ming asked in a low voice.

Bai Chongyan is very experienced: "One hundred yuan is enough. We don't bring much goods, so we can just show off. By the way, this place belongs to the boundary of Fengxiang Prefecture. It only accepts gold, silver and copper coins, and does not recognize the Sichuan-Shaanxi Fourth Road." Iron money. I exchanged some copper coins in Yangzhou and handed them over to Dalang as well."

"Thank you." Zhu Ming didn't know how to be polite.

Soon it was Bai Chongyan's turn, and he took out two strings of copper coins: "Enough a hundred, two people."

The tax collector immediately let it go without stopping the cornucopia to collect more.

Chen Yuan wore a Dongpo scarf, and Xue Daoguang was dressed as a Taoist priest. They mixed with Ju Ren, and they all passed the test smoothly by giving them some money.

Ju Ming led the horse through the checkpoint and turned around to observe carefully.

When I found those business travelers behind me, not only did they have to carefully check their goods, but they even had to search their bodies. There are also dedicated female tax officers who are responsible for checking passing women.

Once you carry too much money with you, you will have to pay taxes on that money!

Gold, silver, copper and iron coins are also subject to a 2% toll. Unless you can produce an official business contract to prove that the money you bring is income from the sale of official goods - this is another loophole for tax evasion. Big businessmen with connections can easily issue tax exemption certificates.

It was not until the fourth year of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty that the whole country was in a money shortage. In order to encourage currency circulation, the imperial court canceled the tax on metal currency.

Ju Ming looked back at Guancheng. To be precise, it was an earth and stone village stuck at the exit of the valley.

Perhaps it was because in the peaceful years, there were not many soldiers guarding the gate, and some were probably eating their pay. The soldiers were lazy, wearing no armor, not even leather armor. They sat or stood crookedly, and most of the soldiers did not even carry weapons.

Ju Ming felt that he could easily win this level with only a hundred elite soldiers!

"There is an inn in front, where you can have a good night's sleep." Bai Chongyan said.

After passing Guaguan, the front suddenly opens up, and you can even see large paddy fields.

There was also a delivery shop. The Yangzhou official who was responsible for delivering official documents went to the delivery shop to make some contacts. Soon he went to the inn and said to all the scholars: "My dear sirs, I have agreed on the official ship for the delivery shop. It will arrive tomorrow." And I can take a boat.”

"Thank you!" Min Zishun expressed his thanks on behalf of the scholars.

The official said with a smile: "We are all from Yangzhou, so it doesn't matter."

He is just a small messenger, and among the candidates who are rushing to take the exam, there are many wealthy people from Yangzhou, so of course he has to be easy to fawn over.

Bai Sheng took the cornucopia to the stable and got some fodder to supplement nutrition.

Ju Ming ate something casually and then went back to the guest room to sleep. He was really exhausted from the journey.

He could vaguely feel that Chen Yuan was a little dissatisfied with him.

Lectures were given along the way, with Chen Yuan as the principal and Zhu Ming as the assistant.

What Chen Yuan talked about was all truth, while Ju Ming mixed in all sorts of personal things, such as deliberately misinterpreting destiny that day.

"Bang bang bang!"

There was a knock on the door, and Ju Ming stood up and opened the door.

Chen Yuan walked in, poured himself a bowl of cold water to quench his thirst, sat down and said, "Da Lang, I will give lectures in the future, can you please stop talking nonsense?"

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Okay, listen to sir."

With this attitude alone, Chen Yuan knew it was perfunctory, and sighed: "Da Lang's words and actions remind me of Ao Xianggong (Wang Anshi)."

"Young man is not talented and dare not compare with Wang Jinggong." Zhu Ming said quickly.

Chen Yuan said: "Although I have never met Wang Jinggong, I have heard it often mentioned by the elders in my family. Dalang is very similar to Wang Jinggong. They are both extremely intelligent and can read the scriptures at a young age. Wang Jinggong is familiar with the scriptures and can be said to be one of the classics' meanings. The great scholar of the time deliberately misinterpreted key points. He misinterpreted the meaning of the scriptures for the sake of reform, so why did Dalang misinterpret the meaning of the scriptures?"

Ju Ming took out the small jar of tung oil he carried with him, poured some on the silk cloth, slowly wiped the sword, and asked: "Sir, how do you like this sword?"

"Magic weapon." Chen Yuan had seen Ju Ming's sword when he was in Daming Village.

Ju Ming said nonchalantly: "My ambition is to become a general and become a prime minister, so as to bring peace to the world for the imperial court. Sometimes, my husband thinks that I am misinterpreting the meaning of the scriptures, but I feel that I am right. Even if it is wrong, it is not a big mistake."

Chen Yuan asked: "Do you want to be the second Mr. Ao?"

Zhu Ming flicked his sword and said: "Whether it was Fan Wenzheng or Wang Jinggong, their reforms failed to touch the sore point of the Song Dynasty. The sore point of the Song Dynasty was the administration of officials. If the administration of officials is not clear, no matter how good the new law is, it will turn into bad governance. Fan Wenzheng I don’t dare to rectify the officialdom, and Wang Jinggong doesn’t dare to rectify the officialdom. I think I can give it a try. This sword is sharp and can kill corrupt officials!"

Chen Yuan said: "The Song Dynasty did not kill scholar-bureaucrats."

Ju Ming sneered: "Then start with me, even the scholar-bureaucrats can be killed!"

Chen Yuan was horrified: "You are trying to make an enemy of the scholars in the world, fearing that this will bring disaster."

Zhu Ming asked: "You have read the books of saints and sages, but you become a corrupt official, harming the country at the top and harming the people at the bottom. Is such a scholar worthy of being called a scholar-official? Mencius said that he has heard of the execution of a husband, Zhou, but has not heard of regicide. . Even a foolish king can be killed for being ignorant, but a scholar cannot be killed for being corrupt and perverting the law? Are scholars more noble than kings?"

Chen Yuan was speechless because Ju Ming had sufficient reasons and was based on Mencius.

Ju Ming pointed to the iron spear and mace placed in the corner, and then pointed to the bow and arrow on the table: "I will use these three weapons to kill the enemy. And the sword in my hand will be used to kill corrupt officials from now on! Thirty years' time , I want to be the prime minister, bring peace to the world and clarify the world for the Song Dynasty!"

This is all nonsense, and he has been the prime minister for thirty years.

However, Chen Yuan was shocked by Ju Ming's ambition and thought that he was really a loyal man for the country and the people. He admired and worried at the same time: "It's great that Dalang has such a heart. But Wang Jinggong's lesson is not far away and he is very caring." Don’t make the same mistake again, as it will be difficult to deal with if it triggers a party dispute.”

Ju Ming said: "The failure of Wang Jinggong's reform and even the triggering of party strife was due to the lack of clear government officials. Of course I will not repeat the same mistakes."

The meaning of this passage is that at the beginning of the reform, in the name of rectifying the administration of officials, all opponents were driven out of the court and those who worked hard were promoted to fill their positions. As long as the reforms are effective, there will be no party strife while I am alive.

Zhang Juzheng did this.

Chen Yuan shook his head: "You are trying to be a powerful minister, and your reputation will be ruined after your death!"

Ju Ming was righteous and awe-inspiring: "If a man wants to settle the world, he will not hesitate to die and destroy his family, so why do he care about his reputation after death? His achievements will be judged by future generations."

This guy stands with a sword in his hand, his acting skills are perfect, and he seems to have a strong and strong character.

Chen Yuan was silent for a while, then bowed and said: "I am not as good as me in having lofty ambitions for success. From now on... just take care of yourself, and be sure to guard against arrogance and impetuosity."

"Hahaha!"

Zhu Ming suddenly smiled playfully again: "Sir, please sit down quickly. I was just joking and joking. Now I haven't even passed the Jinshi exam, so why are I talking about the Prime Minister's Reform?"

Chen Yuan smiled at him and said: "I feel more reassured that you are such a lazy scoundrel. You must be more tactful and cunning than Wang Jinggong. People who are too upright will find it difficult to become prime minister, let alone reform."

No longer complaining about Ju Ming's misinterpretation of the scriptures and disrupting his lectures, Chen Yuan immediately left with a smile.

Ju Ming continued to clean his sword patiently, and then maintained his bow, arrows, iron spear and mace.

That night, have a good sleep.

The next day, we took an official boat and went up the Baoshui River. After passing the flat area, we had to disembark again.

Climbing over mountains and ridges, from the valley where the Baoshui River flows, we enter the Xieshui Valley.

After walking all the way to Xiegu Town, we can finally take a boat again.

The commerce in Xiegu Town is quite prosperous, but in sharp contrast is the large official shipyard outside the town that is in decline.

Chen Yuan was very interested in shipbuilding due to the influence of his teacher. He said: "The shipbuilding business here has existed in name only, and many nearby residents have fled with their homes broken. Nowadays, there is a shortage of official ships on Qinfeng Road, and ship prices are extremely high. We can build ships here." There are too many ships to use, so we have to recruit ships from the private sector.”

Xiegu Shipbuilding, the largest shipyard in the northwest region, began to fail as early as the Qingli period.

Bao Zheng and Bao Qingtian also wrote in a memorial that they could build 600 ships every year. In addition, they were also responsible for building bridge-foot boats, accounting for one-fifth of the country's total shipbuilding. However, the Shaanxi Prefecture Army passed on all the tasks that the local government needed to complete to the shipyards. For example, the shipyards provided the wood for river construction and the wood transported to the capital.

Misfortunes in shipyards can only be passed on to the people.

Through on-the-spot investigation, Bao Qingtian found that almost all of the large households in the surrounding areas had been transferred and could not deliver the lumber. Each household had to lose 1,200 yuan. There were many people who were bankrupt. In every wealthy family, at least two or three people were exiled because they were unable to pay their dues.

When Bao Zheng went to school, it was already seventy years ago!

He looked like a ghost at that time, so you can imagine what the situation was like at this time.

Not only was the Xiegu Shipyard destroyed, but there were no big houses in the surrounding areas, and ordinary people fled every year. Large tracts of farmland are abandoned, and no one dares to cultivate them, for fear that they will be transferred accidentally.

In the town of Qianyaoxie Valley, there is a very prosperous business, and all of them rely on collecting business taxes to make a living - this is the exit of Baoxie Road.

Ju Ming stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the farmland on both sides of the bank where weeds were growing wildly. He murmured to himself: "The landowners here are having a hard time. I guess there are no big landowners anymore. It's a pity that there are not enough people and craftsmen to recover quickly. Shipyard.”