Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

In mid-June, while Ju Ming was still waiting for the official ship, Fatty Zheng left Beijing first.

The Daming Village security team who had escorted Dean Zhu were all taken away by Fatty Zheng and sent back to the village to develop peacefully.

Little did they know that Daming Village and the Zheng family were playing smuggling.

Several merchant ships sailed from the Han River into the Golden Water, and Zhang Guangdao personally took charge of the cargo.

Merchant ships and boatmen all came from the Zheng family.

As for the goods on the ship, half came from the Zheng family and half came from Daming Village.

Zhang Guangdao looked at the mountains on both sides of the strait and asked, "Zheng Liulang has never walked here before?"

"I've never been here before. I usually take Baoxie Road. It's too dangerous here." Zheng Liulang's name is Zheng Sui, and he is Fatty Zheng's cousin.

Zhang Guangdao smiled and said: "The more dangerous it is, the greater the profit!"

The Zheng family and Daming Village teamed up for smuggling because they had no choice but to be forced out by the imperial court.

First, the war in the northwest dragged on for a long time. In order to raise money and food, the imperial court ordered the patrol troops to strengthen anti-smuggling. Since Baoxie Road and Chencang Road are the main trade routes out of Sichuan, smuggling inspections are now very strict, and the Zheng family's smuggling route was instantly strangled.

Second, the tea makers of the Zheng family have been bribed, and the green tea frying method has been leaked, and more and more green tea are produced. The local roasted tea market is becoming saturated, and it is difficult to export it legally, so it can only be sold through smuggling. Otherwise, you will have to go to the Tea Horse Company and suffer layer upon layer of exploitation due to tea taxes and overtaxes.

"stop!"

The fleet was stopped by a group of officers and soldiers.

Zheng Sui, however, was not afraid at all and angrily said, "Do you dare to block Duke Yuan Zhang and Zhu Tanhua's ship?"

The officers and soldiers looked at each other, not even daring to ask further questions, and quickly let him go.

In fact, these are mine supervisors.

Since the gold mines were exhausted, they set up private cards to illegally collect taxes from passing business travelers, without any tax collection rights in their hands.

One side is engaged in smuggling trade, and the other side is illegally collecting taxes, so it is better not to cause conflict.

Who in Yangzhou doesn't know that the Zhu family's father and son are the most popular people in front of the emperor.

The fleet swaggered through the private card, and after one day of sailing, it could no longer move forward.

They also hired a smuggler as a guide, who said: "There is a village ahead with only twenty or thirty households, which can barely supplement some food."

The villagers of the Ming Dynasty and the Zheng family's clerks disembarked one after another carrying tea and food on their backs.

Zhang Guangdao carried a long gun and a standard bow and arrow on his back.

Zheng Sui also has a sword hanging on his waist, ready to fight at any time.

Each of them brought more than ten combatants to deal with bandits in the mountains.

Ordinary people carry nearly a hundred kilograms of goods each. Combatants also have to carry forty or fifty kilograms.

The further north you go, the harder the road becomes.

Moreover, the valley is deep and densely forested, and there are countless thieves in the mountains. If you are not careful, you will be attacked.

Small businessmen and hawkers walking along the Tangluo Road must gather at least thirty or fifty people before they dare to hug each other and go on the road together.

In this vast mountainous area, there are no officials even to collect agricultural taxes, presenting a primitive state of anarchy.

After two days of trekking through mountains and rivers, Zhang Guangdao looked ahead and suddenly said: "Everyone, stop and rest. Eat until you are full before continuing."

The guide flattered: "Brother Zhang has a good eye. A few miles ahead, there is a large village called Anjiaping. The people in the village, half civilians and half bandits, often come here to set up ambushes and robberies. One or two miles ahead, the valley is narrow, but the mountains are not It’s steep. Villagers often lie in wait on the mountain and rush down to block the caravan from the front and back.”

Zheng Sui asked: "Can I enter the village?"

The guide explained: "You can enter the village. As long as you pass this ambush site, the villagers will not start robbing anymore, but will barter with the business travelers. The private salt I prepared in advance can come in handy here. One pound Salt can be exchanged for a lot of food. Vendors who often walk this road usually give some extra salt or cloth, which is considered as leaving a sum of money to buy the road, so that they can be safe next time they come back."

"Are they killing people indiscriminately when selling goods?" Zhang Guangdao asked.

The guide said: "As long as there is no resistance, they will not kill people. After all, they have to rely on the mountains to eat. The killings are too ruthless. How can there be traders here? The bandit leader in the village is called Qu Fangping, known as Qu Bodhisattva. It means that he has the heart of a Bodhisattva. He never kills them all, and will leave some food rations for the robbed vendors."

Zhang Guangdao smiled and said, "It's strange that the one who robbed the Tao actually calls himself a Bodhisattva."

After eating, drinking, and resting for a while, Zhang Guangdao ordered to move forward.

He asked the Zheng family's combat personnel to be responsible for protecting the caravan at the front and rear. He led the Daming Village security team to climb the nearby mountains to search the mountains and open a road.

The security team was armed with shields and weapons such as knives or guns. They did not carry wolf mills or the like because it was inconvenient to travel through mountains and rivers.

There was a sentry on the mountain, and while they were resting, they called bandits from the village to ambush them.

The leader of the bandits, Qu Fangping, was lying among the grass and trees, looking at the rattan soldiers below, and muttered: "The idea is a bit tricky, with shields, swords and guns, it's not cost-effective to fight forcefully. Go back to the village, and we'll entertain you!"

The village bandits quietly withdrew, and finally escaped without any danger.

Zhang Guangdao led people over the mountain col, and suddenly saw a clear view ahead, a large flat valley with fertile fields everywhere.

When he led the caravan to the entrance of the village, Zhang Guangdao shouted loudly: "Zhang Guangdao, Xixiang, I am passing by Guibao Land to escort the goods. Please ask Bodhisattva Qu to say a few words in person!"

Qu Fangping just turned thirty this year, but he has more than ten years of robbery experience. Two or three generations of his ancestors have been doing this. This guy had no weapons in his hands and was dressed like a peasant. He raised his hands and said with a smile: "So he is a good man from Xixiang. He only passed by once, or do we have to deal with him often?"

Zhang Guangdao said: "I pass by it every year, and today I came to pay my respects to the pier."

"It's easy to say," Qu Fangping immediately promised. "The food in my village is more expensive, so you don't have to buy it. Every time you pass by, you must leave twenty kilograms of salt and twenty pieces of cloth."

Zhang Guangdao shook his head: "I'm just an errand. The money for traveling is too much and I can't decide what to do. How about ten pounds of salt and ten bolts of cloth? I'll also buy some grain, so I'm sure you'll make a profit."

Qu Fangping carefully looked at their shields, swords and guns, thought seriously for a moment, and asked, "Okay, but next time I come over, can I bring some fairy grain seeds?"

"Fairy food?" Zhang Guangdao had a strange expression.

Qu Fangping said: "I heard from a passing Yangzhou merchant that there was a Duke Yuanzhang in Xixiang County who got immortal food from overseas immortals, and he could harvest it even in barren mountains. You are from Xixiang, so I think you should be able to harvest it. Get the fairy grain seeds.”

Corn and sweet potatoes have been popularized in Yangzhou and Xingyuan Prefecture, but they have not been completely spread to every village.

Many homesteaders are looking forward to getting some seeds.

The guide suddenly laughed: "So that Bodhisattva Qu will know that what we are escorting this time is Duke Yuan Zhang's tea."

Qu Fangping asked in surprise: "Duke Yuanzhang is a disciple of the Immortal, is he also engaged in business?"

Zhang Guangdao said: "Next time I pass by, I promise to bring you fairy food."

Qu Fangping said: "If the fairy food is really that magical, you can come and go from now on, but I don't want half a penny to pay for travel."

The two parties reached a verbal agreement on this, and Zhang Guangdao even went into the village alone and visited Qu Fangping's home, leaving the caravan to rest outside the village.

Qu Fangping admired such courage.

Zhang Guangdao was obsessed with rebellion. When Ju Ming left Daming Village, he had a long talk with him for half the night.

Two guys with a bone on the back of their head exchanged ideas on how to start an army.

This Tangluo Road was their planned route out of the north. The reason is simple. From Guanzhong to Yangzhou, not a single soldier is stationed.

As long as more than a thousand elite troops are dispatched, they can directly attack Xuxi (Zhouzhi) from Yangzhou and capture the county seat by surprise. Then he would look back and follow the large troops on the Baoxie Road to attack Guancheng in the Xie Valley from front to back.

If you can successfully recruit troops in Yuxi, you don't have to go back to Xiegu to pick up the friendly troops. You can go directly to Chang'an!

When he was appointed governor of Yangzhou, Wentong once went to the imperial court and requested hundreds of troops to be stationed in Ziwu Valley and Luo Valley. One is to strictly investigate smuggling, and the other is to eliminate bandits.

But the imperial court turned a deaf ear and had no plans to garrison troops.

Since he was going to take the Tangluo Road to kill Guanzhong, there was another hero on the way. Zhang Guangdao decided to make friends with him and pull Qu Fangping to rebel together.

Hearing that Zhang Guangdao was a member of Duke Yuanzhang and that he was quite courageous, Qu Fangping also wanted to make friends with him.

The two of them drank in the village. At first they talked about Duke Yuan Zhang and immortal grain, and then they talked about martial arts with guns and sticks.

As they chatted in the alley, Qu Fangping reminded: "I'm easy to talk to here, but be careful when you go to Nanshan. There are many thieves there, some in groups of three to five, some in groups of dozens, and there are also sergeants who fled into the mountains. They don't do much either. Farming, all relying on robbery for a living, each one is more sinister than the other."

"Thank you, Brother Qu, for reminding me." Zhang Guangdao said, cupping his fists.

Nanshan is on the Luo Valley side and is part of Zhongnan Mountain.

There is no ancient tomb sect there, only an infinite number of thieves. And with the increasing exploitation by the government, the number of thieves in the mountains is increasing.

Merchants who dared to take the Tangluo Road were transporting goods with their heads in their hands.

If Chencang Road and Baoxie Road had not been checked too strictly, the Zheng family would not have changed their trade routes.

Cai Jing's tea introduction method has been reformed for the third time and is called "Zhenghe Tea Method". It can bring 4 million yuan (a hundred) in revenue to the central government every year. In fact, it returns all the profits of the state and counties to the central government, and at the same time, it embarrasses consumers.

Local officials are also adding fuel to the flames. The Tea Horse Division levies tea taxes, and prefectures and counties impose tea taxes (because of the ban on Chuanxia 4th Road, tea taxes are not outrageous).

In some places, late spring old tea can only sell for more than 20 Wen per catty, but the tax levied by the government on tea farmers can reach 80 Wen per catty. So the price was raised, which made the people at the bottom of the tea-producing areas unable to afford such ridiculously high-priced tea.

What’s even more amazing is that in Shaanxi, most states and counties do not produce tea, but they still require people to pay tea taxes.

Tea smuggling in Shaanxi is extremely serious. Big businessmen hide behind the scenes to transport tea over long distances, and ruffians are responsible for terminal distribution. Once caught, they would randomly prey on big law-abiding people, until they learned that the prefectural magistrate could not continue the investigation.

As long as tea is smuggled across the several hundred miles of Tangluo Road, the profit will be more than 100% in Shaanxi.

After leaving Anjiaping, Zhang Guangdao continued to rush with the goods.

We also encountered some small villages along the way, where we could exchange for food along the way.

The section over the mountain is the most difficult, and it is impossible to move along the river valley. There are also the most thieves there. Because there is no waterway, it is difficult for the government to send troops there.

Groups of thieves generally do not dare to take action when encountering a large caravan of hundreds of people.

Until he was about to enter the valley again, Zhang Guangdao finally encountered a difficult situation.

“Swish swish swish!”

Four arrows were shot from the forest, all of them were military-standard bows and arrows.

Needless to say, some deserters must have turned into bandits.

The security team members of Daming Village advanced cautiously while holding shields. Only one person was hit by an arrow in his calf.

The Zheng family's security guard was shot in the abdomen with an arrow.

The other two arrows missed.

Before the thief could fire another arrow, Zhang Guangdao shouted: "Form up!"

The combatants did not carry much, mainly food, and they had almost finished eating by this point. When they heard the order, they moved closer like a reflex, forming a mandarin duck formation and slowly moving forward.

The person carrying the tea leaves hurriedly turned sideways, quickly put down the goods, and pulled out the spear from the shelf.

"Throw darts!"

Zhang Guangdao gave an order, and the spears with long arms were thrown into the forest randomly.

The hit rate of this kind of throw is extremely low because the target cannot be seen at all.

A scream came out, probably some unlucky guy had been hit by a dart.

Although no casualties were caused, Zhang Guangdao took the opportunity to rush into the forest.

He drew his bow and set up an arrow, advancing in coordination with the mandarin duck formation.

"kill!"

The thieves no longer hid, but actually appeared on their own initiative, and even used the terrain to double-team them.

No matter the villagers of Ming Dynasty or the clerks of the Zheng family, although they were all trembling with fear, no one ran away.

Because before setting off, he had been warned repeatedly and only the brave ones were selected.

The only way to escape in the mountains is to be killed by bandits, eaten by wild animals, or starve to death due to lack of food.

They relied on the cargo sacks and picked up various weapons to prepare for resistance. Some people simply picked up rocks and threw them.

Zhang Guangdao spotted the guy with the thief's head and quickly drew his bow and shot.

An arrow hit him, but unfortunately he was not killed, but just shot in the shoulder.

Zhang Guangdao let the Yuanyang Formation rush to one side while he rushed to the other side alone.

The thief was hit by an arrow and fell down. Just as he was being protected by his men and getting up, the Yuanyang Formation had already rushed closer.

Although there is no wolf follower, the sword and shield hand protects the front, and the spear behind him stabs repeatedly. But the thieves are in a mess and have no structure. Not everyone is a deserter, most of them are farmers who cannot bear to be exploited.

With just one charge, the thieves here collapsed, and their leader was stabbed to death with random shots.

Zhang Guangdao rushed to the other side, raised his gun and knocked down the three people in an instant. He has had better food this year, and he doesn't have to worry about trivial matters. He can concentrate on practicing martial arts every day, and his ability to kill has improved a lot.

The more than twenty thieves here saw that Zhang Guangdao was so brave that they were so frightened by Zhang Guangdao that he turned around and ran away.

"Kill the thief!"

Zheng Sui, who had been guarding the goods, suddenly became more courageous. He picked up a knife and led people to pursue Zhang Guangdao.

Seven bandits were killed on the spot and thirteen were captured.

Zhang Guangdao was too lazy to interrogate and directly ordered: "Kill all alive, cut off the heads and pile them together. Brother Zheng, I don't know much about literacy. If you carve words on the tree, just engrave 'Xixiang Zhang Guangdao kills thieves here'. Don't dare to do it again next time If you come to grab it, you have to consider whether your neck is stiff or not!"

The Zhu family and his son were enjoying happiness in the capital, but Zhang Guangdao was working hard in Zhongnan Mountain.

Zhu Guoxiang laid the foundation for Daming Village. Zhang Guangdao did not develop step by step. Instead, he made his own decision and chose to partner with the Zheng family for smuggling.

Along the Tangluo Road, a single smuggling trip would yield a net profit of more than a thousand dollars - which could be transported back to Guanzhong for private salt on the return trip, and both tea and salt, two hugely profitable commodities, would be made available.

But we need to fight hard. We were ambushed by thieves just now, and one person was seriously injured and four were slightly injured.