Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Xiangyang.

The population surged inside and outside the city.

Because life in the countryside is difficult, especially for the younger ones in the family. Although they can do farm work, they eat too much at their developmental age.

As long as there is no shortage of labor in the family, the young people will go to the city to make a living. Those with relatives join their relatives, and those without relatives go to work together. Most of them will become beggars or gangsters, or they will be dragged into being thieves.

Gyeonggi, Jingdong, Jingxi, Huaidong, Huaixi, Hebei, Shaanxi... thieves are everywhere!

To be precise, the whole country is like this.

For example, Yue Fei is currently suppressing bandits in Zhending, Hebei.

At the beginning of Tong Guan's expedition to Liao, he asked the prefectures in Hebei to recruit troops and recruit brave warriors to defend Liao. Yue Fei not only successfully enlisted in the army, but also directly became the squad leader.

Before these brave warriors went to the front line, local bandits began to cause trouble because the government's tax collection was too harsh.

Tao Jun, Jia Jin and the two thieves started off as small-time gangsters, running around and looting wealthy households in the countryside. Unexpectedly, more and more people took the initiative to join the gang. In ten months, thousands of people gathered, defeated the government troops many times, and went straight to the capital.

When news of the thief came, no one dared to fight.

Yue Fei volunteered and took full responsibility for the operation.

He first sent someone to pretend to be a merchant, and deliberately let the thieves catch the thieves.

Then, Yue Fei led dozens of cavalry out of the city, attacked the bandit camp, pretended to be defeated, and then fought back. The bandits were defeated and fled back to the camp. The soldiers who infiltrated into the bandits took the opportunity to create chaos from within.

By cooperating inside and outside, Yue Fei captured the thieves' leaders Tao Jun and Jia Jinhe alive.

This is Yue Wumu’s first battle!

There are also many bandits around Xiangyang, and they are gathering in the mountains and forests and it is difficult to exterminate them.

Zhang Boring said: "Mr. Sir, there may be many dangers along the way, so we must be on guard."

"Don't be afraid, let's go to Jinzhou." Ju Ming said.

"Golden State?"

The attendants and students were all surprised. They thought Ju Ming was going to Tokyo to go to the Knockout Temple.

"Heading to Jinzhou, I have to do something important." Zhu Ming did not explain too much, but went straight to the inn outside Xiangyang City.

Everyone is wearing 襕shirts. This style of clothing, if the etiquette is strictly followed, can only be worn by Jinshi, Imperial College students, imperial students, and students who are prefecture and county officials.

However, the management is relatively loose, and officials who are idle or dismissed from their posts, and even ordinary subordinates, also like to wear t-shirts as regular clothes.

The innkeeper glanced at me with a more respectful attitude and said, "Please give me a reason."

It is estimated that there are too many thieves and the hotel has become more strict, requiring identity registration first.

But Zhu Ming said, "I'm looking for someone. Where is Liang Yi?"

"It turns out we're looking for Mr. Liang, please wait a moment." The shopkeeper immediately called the waiter.

Liang Yi, Zhu Guoxiang's eldest disciple, left Tokyo with Ju Ming and returned to Yangzhou to report the news. Some time ago, I came to Xiangyang Inn to wait. I had been waiting for more than a month, and I paid the innkeeper to help keep an eye on the "distinguished guests."

Not long after, Liang Yi came downstairs with an entourage. When he saw Zhu Ming, he immediately bowed and said, "Well, sir."

Ju Ming cupped his hands and asked, "Is the boat ready?"

"It's ready," Liang Yi turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Please settle the rent."

After paying the accommodation fee, Liang Yi walked out of the inn and took Ju Ming to the dock.

The largest ship in Daming Township is docked there, with a head and tail length of 28 meters, and some cargo has been loaded.

The shipment was just incidental to cover up others' eyes.

There were twenty-five village warriors on board. Although they were not wearing armor, they all carried bows and arrows.

They pushed away from the river bank, raised the sails, and hung a big "Da Ming" flag.

It was a favorable wind from the southeast and the sailing speed was extremely fast.

After Wudang, the number of water bandits began to increase.

But those water bandits, seeing the "Da Ming Hao" flag, did not dare to come and plunder.

This is the Daming Village smuggling fleet that has developed a reputation over the past few years. A water bandit gang of less than 100 people will die even if they dare to rob.

Zhang Boring and Li Bao became increasingly confused and began to discuss the situation privately.

"What exactly is Mr. Xian going to do? It's mysterious and I don't know." Zhang Bor was confused.

Li Bao also couldn't figure it out: "There are village heroes on the ship escorting the goods, possibly to guard against bandits. But how could it be such a coincidence that we happened to meet him in Xiangyang?"

Zhang Boring said: "They must have been waiting for my husband for a long time. They already knew that my husband was going back."

The two of them still didn't think about rebellion because it was too shocking.

Li Bao said: "I have inquired in Yuezhou and found that even the Yangtze River has water bandits. Unless hundreds of troops are escorted by various ships, they will not dare to travel on the Yangtze River. How could the good-looking Song Dynasty become so bad? Looks like this?"

Zhang Bor said without any scruples: "There are cowardly kings and treacherous ministers at the top, and corrupt officials at the bottom. In today's world, people are in dire straits, so why aren't there so many thieves?"

"It's all because of Fa Liao!" Li Bao was so angry that he smashed the bulkhead with his fist.

But Zhang Bor shook his head: "Three feet of ice cannot be frozen in a day. When Cai Jing was prime minister, he had exhausted the people's power. Otherwise, Wang Fu would have forced thieves to levy his husband's money."

This is true. Cai Jing not only ruined the finances, but also pushed countless people to the edge of bankruptcy.

Wang Fu's forced extortion of money from his husband became the straw that broke the camel's back. There were even small businessmen and small landowners who broke their homes and fled to become thieves, leading their clerks and tenants to rob homes and properties.

If there are more thieves, the government will have to attack them.

The more the bandits are punished, the heavier the taxes and levies become.

A vicious cycle has emerged!

Even the government's cost of transferring finances and taxes has greatly increased, and it is necessary to send double the army to escort them.

Ju Ming took a boat all the way back to Jinzhou City. The summer grain from the five counties of Jinzhou has not been collected yet, and the officials in each county are urging them. There is also a difference between the purchase money, the purchase money, and the free money. Official ships and drafted merchant ships have been waiting at the dock.

"Prefect Zhu is back, Prefect Zhu is back!"

Not far after getting off the boat, some people recognized Ju Ming and immediately cheered and shouted.

In the past ten years, only the two years when Zhu Ming was in charge of Jinzhou did the people live the best life. Public security is very good, prices are relatively stable, and exorbitant taxes are minimal.

People nearby gathered around, greeted warmly, waved and laughed, just like celebrating the New Year.

The students were extremely shocked and admired him. They did not expect Ju Ming to have such an official reputation.

Ju Ming asked a street vendor: "What is the price of food this year?"

The hawker sighed sadly: "Oh, I can't even afford to eat. When the prefect was here, there was a famine, and the price of white rice did not rise above 1,300 fen. This year's summer grain harvest was good, but the price of wheat started at 1,200 fen, and the government demanded grain. Ship it out.”

"Didn't summer grain collect cloth?" Zhu Ming asked.

The vendor said: "This year's summer grain, we don't want silk or cloth. The government only collects grain. It's not the autumn harvest yet, Jinzhou is full of mountains, how can we hand over so much grain?"

Another passerby looked at Ju Ming with expectant eyes: "Did Governor Zhu return to Jinzhou to serve as an official? We are all looking forward to the return of the Governor."

"Don't worry, life will definitely be better." Ju Ming reassured.

I chatted with the people outside the city for half an hour.

On the Han River, Liang Yi took Ju Ming's letter and took a boat straight to Daming Village.

In the letter, Ju Ming made an appointment with his father. On the 30th of this month, Jinzhou and Yangzhou would raise troops at the same time. If you encounter an accident, start early!

When Ju Ming entered the city, more people came after hearing the news.

And I don’t know who spread the rumor that the emperor had transferred Ju Ming back and wanted to be the magistrate of Jinzhou again.

This is really not directed and performed by Ju Ming, it represents a wish of the people. So many people believed it and rushed to tell each other. Even the gentry and merchants were overjoyed.

Nearly a hundred scholars from Jinzhou also came. They had all listened to Ju Ming's lectures, and were the first batch of scholars to study the "Sparse Meanings of University Chapters and Sentences".

"How many passed the exam last year?" Zhu Ming asked.

The scholar Dai Chengsi shook his head: "There is not a single Jinshi in Jinzhou. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, I don't know who can break the precedent."

Ju Ming did not teach them eight-legged essays, and the Jinzhou scholars’ foundation was too weak to improve overnight.

Last year's top pick, He Huan, is the grandson of former prime minister He Zhizhong.

The second person on the list is Wang Juzheng, who was born as a college student and followed Chen Dong to play drums and knock on the temple.

Wang Juzheng refused to accept the appointment of Prime Minister of Anren County.

He was also offered the title of principal of Jingzhou Prefecture School, but Wang Juzheng still refused.

The second-placed candidate refused to accept the official position, which soon became known to Song Huizong.

The emperor personally ordered Wang Juzheng to be the principal of Daming Prefecture and Zhenjiang Prefecture at the same time. As the principal of two governments, this kind of appointment is unprecedented, and he will definitely be promoted faster in the future.

Wang Juzheng still refused to be awarded an official position and was given the opportunity to meet the emperor.

He told Song Huizong that the six thieves were a disaster and the country was exhausted. It was necessary to rectify the administration of officials, promote good ministers, and cultivate themselves. Zhu Meng, who should not be recruited again, must be dismissed. Although Ju Ming's words were excessive, he was loyal to the country and should be recalled to the court to hold important positions.

Song Huizong was furious and told Wang Juzheng to get out!

Wang Juzheng sought benevolence and was benevolent, so he went back to his hometown in Yangzhou to live in seclusion, pioneering new science and becoming a hermit. (This man, in history, served as the Minister of War in the Southern Song Dynasty. He was thrown to Hainan Island by Qin Hui because he advocated resistance to the Jin Dynasty.)

While the scholars were still chatting, merchants from Jinzhou came again, asking whether Ju Ming would come back to be the governor.

Zhu Ming arranged for the students to stay at the inn and went to visit Zhang Gen alone: ​​"Taishan is above, please accept my brother-in-law's greetings!"

Zhang Gen sighed and said: "You are too impatient. You should not have been so fierce in your words when you were on the stage."

Ju Ming smiled and said, "Isn't it because my father-in-law was demoted to Jinzhou as deputy envoy for regiment training because of his fierce words?"

Zhang Gen laughed loudly when he heard this: "We are not from the same family. If we don't join the same family, it doesn't mean we have chosen the wrong son-in-law."

"It's because my father-in-law has been unable to return to office." Ju Ming said.

Zhang Gen asked: "Why are you back? Did the emperor show mercy and pardon your crime?"

Ju Ming said: "Going back to my hometown to visit relatives."

"Alas, the past two years in Jinzhou... don't mention it, it's the same all over the world," Zhang Gen shook his head and lamented, "Unfortunately, success was right, and the emperor really insisted on joining forces with Jin to conquer Liao. Now thieves are everywhere, and food prices have soared. Next year There will be great chaos! Especially Shandong and Hebei, the burden is the heaviest, and I don’t know how many more Song Jiang and Fang La will emerge."

Ju Ming asked: "Does my father-in-law think that the Song Dynasty can wait until the day when the crown prince ascends the throne?"

Zhang Gen sneered and mocked: "It depends on how long the emperor can live. If he lives another twenty years, I am afraid that everyone in the country will rebel, and it will be like the chaotic times in the late Sui Dynasty."

This is comparing Song Huizong to Sui Yang Emperor, without saving any face.