Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

It is impossible to collect all the 62 million military expenditures at one time.

Not possible for a year!

Official ships and horses came out to convey orders as quickly as possible, and all transport envoys received their tasks.

Cai Yi put down the four-hundred-mile urgent document and looked a little ugly.

Based on the number of Dingkou, Guangxi needs to collect 600,000 Guan. Divided evenly, regardless of the main customer, each customer costs about 450 cents.

How can the people at the bottom get it?

In remote areas of Guangxi, many people are still bartering, and they can't even get out a hundred cents!

What's more, even if all officials are not greedy, subordinate officials will still take the opportunity to make money. It is impossible for subordinate officials to work in vain.

If Guangxi wants to collect the full amount of 600,000 guan, the people will have to come up with at least one million guan.

even more.

Cai Yi called all the officials of the Guangxi Transportation Department, took out the official document and said, "Let's go and make arrangements. The imperial court is going to fight, and each road must hand in free money."

All the officials felt a headache after reading the official document.

Guangxi is so poor that the richest man in some remote counties has only a few thousand dollars in total. Even if the rich households were to share the income, they would not be able to share much.

But the imperial court has assigned a task, and no matter how hard they lie down, they still have to pretend to carry out the order.

If the collection is really insufficient, just wait for punishment.

Cai Yi's psychological expectation is to collect 400,000 yuan, and at least 60% of the quota must be completed.

Within a month, all states in Guangxi received the order, which was then conveyed to all counties. The pressure is being applied layer by layer, one level at a time, and the pressure is constantly increasing. After all, state and county officials also have to receive kickbacks.

The task of collecting taxes ultimately falls on the grassroots armor commanders.

The Baojia chief can only push the farmers to death. If they really can't complete the task, they have to pay for it themselves.

A large number of Baojia chiefs and Luncha Yamen were on the run. They couldn't survive this day, and they didn't care about any property. They hid in the mountains with their whole families and became fugitives.

Fang Qifu took the remnants of the Fang La Uprising and fled all the way to Daozhou and Lanshan.

Due to the miasma, only a few hundred people died. The government forcibly levied the husband's money, and immediately provided troops for Fang Qifu, and even Liao people, Yao people, and Wuxi barbarians joined him.

At the border of Jinghu South Road, Fang Qifu actually pulled out thousands of troops, and the uprising quickly spread to the northeast of Guangxi.

Guiling and Fuzhou were successively conquered by rebels of various ethnic groups. More than 20,000 rebels surrounded Hezhou. The magistrate of Hezhou urgently requested Cai Yi for rescue.

Guangxi also has a famous general named Li Gong. Wu Jinshi was born and moved to Rongzhou to be the magistrate of Rongzhou due to his many achievements, and he also had the false title of Zhongzhou Governor.

Historically, Li Gong recruited three thousand soldiers to lead the Qinwang, and led the troops to flee halfway.

He went all the way north from Guangxi, and when he arrived in Hengyang, he had less than 2,000 troops. Tens of thousands of gold soldiers occupied Hengyang, and Li Gong had no choice but to retreat to neighboring counties. As a result, the civil servants refused to let him enter the city and were only willing to provide a little food and grass.

The generals persuaded Li Gong to withdraw his troops, but Li Gong insisted on resisting the Jin Dynasty and eventually died in Hunan.

At this moment, Cai Yi finally collected more than 100,000 yuan. Because Hezhou was surrounded by rebels, he could only use money to quell the chaos, and urgently dispatched Li Gong to suppress it.

…

Seven Star Academy.

More than two hundred students, regardless of class, gathered together and formed a circle around Ju Ming cross-legged.

Zhu Ming said: "Today I have an appointment with you, and if we don't talk about anything else, we will talk about making the country strong and its army strong, and benevolent and caring for the people. Why did Mencius say that those who can expand the territory and enrich the treasury for the king are not good ministers but thieves of the people? Who? Can you tell me why?"

Chen Dong suddenly stood up: "The expansion of territory is at the expense of military force, and the expansion of the treasury is at the expense of the people. It seems that the country is rich and the army is strong, but in fact it is cruel and unkind. He gains temporary domineering power and loses the kingship of a hundred years!"

Zhu Ming nodded and said: "I often say that the words of sages cannot be arbitrarily guessed, but must depend on the era in which the sages lived. The general principles are universal and remain unchanged forever. But there are some principles that need to be adapted. Three emperors and five emperors, a small country with few people, Can it be the same as now?”

"Mencius said that there were no righteous wars in the Spring and Autumn Period, just because all the princes were Xia. Their war was like Guangdong fighting Guangxi. What results could they achieve? It was just a waste of people and money in exchange for their own hegemony."

"Fighting against the Yi and Di is different. It is fighting against foreigners, protecting the Chinese etiquette system, and opening up land for Chinese descendants."

"So Zigong said that Guan Zhong was not a benevolent man. But Confucius said that Guan Zhong helped the world, and the people have benefited from him to this day. Without Guan Zhong, the Chinese people could only wear their left skirts and be enslaved by the barbarians, and they would not commit suicide in Godu. Be known.”

"Do you understand, everyone?"

Lei Guan said: "It is not a righteous war internally, but a righteous war externally."

Ju Ming asked again: "The imperial court plans to attack the Liao Dynasty. Is it a righteous war?"

Lei Guan replied: "Although Song and Liao are brotherly states, the Liao Kingdom has bullied us, the Song Dynasty. Defeating Liao is a righteous war!"

"Is it possible to fight a righteous war?" Zhu Ming asked again.

Wei Liangchen said: "A righteous war must be fought naturally, but one must seize the opportunity. Nowadays, the country is exhausted and the people are poor, just like a seriously ill person. How can you fight with a strong neighbor with a seriously ill body? Even if you want to take back the land occupied by the strong neighbor, It’s time to recover and go again. The imperial court ordered the compulsory taxation of free husband’s money, which is like a seriously ill person smashing the pot and selling iron. So what if he wins? The rice pot has been smashed, what will he eat in the future? He is seriously ill and has no food. If you eat, you will die of illness and hunger sooner or later!”

Ju Ming clapped his hands and said, "This is a wonderful statement!"

Fu Yuanheng said: "If you sell iron, you can defeat powerful neighbors and regain your own land. You can just endure hunger for a while, as long as you live a good life in the future. But will the current Holy Emperor really recuperate after the war? Fang La's remnants will still be there." Before they were all killed, Huashi Gang was restored. And he intensified his efforts to collect economic money in the southeast. The people in the southeast are living in even more hardship. What did this man do?"

Fu Yuanheng's words were the most violent because his home was robbed back and forth by Fang La and officers and soldiers, and after the war, the government confiscated money. Hua Shi Gang has not yet stopped, and his family has to pay for the expedition to Liao Dynasty.

Zhu Ming added: "Mencius said that people have constant sayings, which are all called 'the world and the country'. The foundation of the world lies in the country, the foundation of the country lies in the home, and the foundation of the family lies in the body. What is the meaning of this statement?"

Chen Dong quoted "Shang Shu" and replied: "The people are the foundation of a country, and the foundation is the foundation of the country."

Ju Ming nodded: "So, the two paragraphs of "The University" can be interpreted together..."

"One paragraph is that there are people with virtue, there is soil for those who have soil, wealth for those who have soil, and usefulness for wealth... Therefore, when wealth gathers, the people disperse, and when wealth disperses, the people gather."

"One paragraph is that there is a great way to make money. If there are many people who can make money, there will be few people who can eat it. Those who use it will be sick, and those who use it will be comfortable. Then the wealth will be constant and sufficient."

"The people who make money are the people, so we say that the people who make money are numerous. The people are the foundation of the country. When there are people, there is land, and when there is land, there is wealth. Why is the population of the Song Dynasty prosperous, but the country is in dire straits?"

"It's because there are so many rentiers! The monarchs are gathering money, and the officials are greedy. We have to pay annual coins and support the army. How can the treasury not be empty?"

"Cai Jing and Wang Fu are the prime ministers, who use wealth. In the past, they conquered Xixia, and later they went north to conquer Liao. During this period, they also had to pacify Fangla. What's wrong with using them? These battles should be fought, but they cannot be fought like this. If they are not given A breather for the people.”

"If you collect your husband's money now, the wealth gathered by the people will be dispersed."

"The people are the foundation of the country, and if the people disperse, the country will be in chaos. That's why there is a saying that if a family is benevolent, a country will prosper; if a family gives in, a country will prosper; if one person is greedy and violent, a country will cause chaos. Who is the 'one person'? This king of the country also!"

The students nodded one after another. They were all dissatisfied with the emperor and his ministers.

Even local students were divided among their families this time, and they really didn't like the emperor.

But that's all I can do and I don't dare to say more.

Li Bao suddenly said: "I'm afraid I have to change to another official."

The teachers sitting nearby suddenly changed their expressions when they heard this. Fan Zhiming coughed and said, "Be careful what you say!"

Zhu Ming handed over to Fan Zhiming: "The country has changed. I want to go north, so I will leave today."

Fan Zhiming wondered: "If you are successfully resettled in Guizhou, what can you do even if you go north?"

Ju Ming said: "If you advise the emperor, if you fail, you will be benevolent."

"Military admonishment" is also admonishment. Of course, if it fails, it will lead to benevolence.

Fan Zhiming was in awe and advised: "Why do you need to be successful? You should keep yourself useful for future generations."

Zhu Ming then said to the students: "I want to go north to help the world. Those who are willing to follow can go, and those who do not want to can stay. Qixing Academy has Fan Tuan training here, so they can continue to study."

"I would like to follow you sir!" Chen Dong stood up first.

Fu Yuanheng was the second to step forward.

Twenty-seven expelled imperial students all chose to follow him.

As for the local students, two of them were willing to follow.

When they find out what Ju Ming wants to do, I'm afraid all of them will be shocked. That's when they will face the real choice.

Over the past year, Ju Ming has been subtly brainwashing and constantly instilling the idea that the people are valued over the monarch.

I have heard that one man, Zhou, was executed, but I have not heard of regicide. This sentence was mentioned many times, not to encourage students to kill the emperor, but to make students weaken their obedience to the emperor.

The effect was pretty good. Even Zhang Bor was often "disrespectful" and complained in private about Song Huizong's various risqué operations.

The ship had been contacted, and Ju Ming left with his entourage and students.

He didn't bother to go to the government to apply to go home to visit relatives. Anyway, the state and county officials were busy collecting taxes and couldn't care about Ju Ming's affairs here.

Zhu Guoxiang also sent someone to deliver a letter, but the letter was still on the way, far less than the imperial official's urgent official document, which was four hundred miles away.

When Ju Ming left Guizhou, Cai Yougang led an army of 150,000 people to the north.

He crossed Lingqu and came to Quanzhou, where he heard that Fang Qifu had resurrected in Daozhou next door. By the time Ju Ming passed Yongzhou, Fang Qifu had already captured Daozhou City and led his army straight to Yongzhou.

The ethnic minorities in Daozhou and Lanshan parted ways with Fang Qifu after the uprising.

Fang Qifu went north, and the rebels of various ethnic groups went south, and soon captured Fuchuan County.

It wasn't until Ju Ming crossed Dongting Lake that Li Gong, a martial scholar, finally led his troops to quell the rebellion.

The two sides fought outside Hezhou City. Li Gong relied on 5,000 miscellaneous soldiers to defeat 20,000 rebels of various ethnic groups with a small victory and a large number.

After regaining Fuchuan County, Li Gong stopped marching. Because the boundary of Hunan lies further north, he could not lead his troops across the border to fight Fang Qifu without the permission of the Jinghu Road Transfer Envoy.

Within two months, Fang Qifu occupied Yongzhou, Quanzhou, and Daozhou, and owned the territory of three states and nine counties.

And he also used the banner of Fang La.

Fang La's rebel army came to life in Hunan, relying entirely on Wang Fu's forced war funds.