Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Time goes back to autumn.

Zhao Yu traveled all the way south by boat and carriage, but before he reached Xiangyang, he already felt a little desperate.

The abandonment of South Beijing Road is even more serious, and it has returned to the state before Wang Anshi's reform. In the past decades of the Song Dynasty, the continuous immigration and reclamation policy in this area was completely abolished by the two eunuchs Yang Jian and Li Yan.

Of course, it could not have been so completely broken without the support of Wang Fu.

A large number of rural huts were left uninhabited, and entire villages of farmers fled. The remaining landowners could not recruit tenants, so they could only cultivate the most fertile paddy fields, leaving the rest of the dry fields to lie desolate.

But even if the land is not cultivated, it still has to pay taxes to the government. The continuous collection of hidden land rent, husband-free money, and purchase money... has caused the big landowners to make ends meet.

Even many homesteaders began to abandon their soil and run away!

As long as they don't run away, there will be wasteland everywhere and they can farm as they please. A lot of land has only been abandoned for a year or two and can be fully cultivated. Farmers can plant as much land as they want.

But I still had to run because I couldn’t pay the taxes.

Zhao Yu saw many refugees in Xiangyang and took his family to the northwest. He was very puzzled by this and asked the soldiers at the delivery shop: "It's almost late autumn. Why don't the refugees return to their hometowns or stay in Xiangyang to beg for food? Instead, they go to the northwest in droves?"

Pu Bing didn't dare to say anything.

Zhao Yuping retreated from the crowd and scolded: "Speak quickly!"

Pu Bing bravely replied: "There are rumors that the peasants under the Zhu thieves lived a very good life. These refugees fled with their families to Hanzhong to become thieves."

Zhao Yu was stunned, and his views exploded in an instant.

The people under the imperial court help the old and the young to become thieves?

Zhao Yu hurriedly entered the city and went straight to the punishment department on South Jingxi Road. On the way, he met Zhou Yin, the punishment envoy who came to greet him.

"So many people are committing thieves, why don't you stop them?" Zhao Yu asked.

Zhou Yin said with a bitter face: "How dare you stop me? If I stop you today, there will be a civil uprising tomorrow. I'm afraid someone will rebel and seize Xiangyang to offer it to the Zhu thieves."

Zhao Yu said: "You can recruit young people as Xiang troops. This will not only have soldiers to suppress thieves, but also prevent refugees from joining thieves."

Zhou Yin cried and said: "Where is the money and food? The hidden fields in Xicheng have almost arrived in Xiangyang. The people on the southwestern road of Beijing have to pay not only land tax, hidden field rent, but also economic system money. , and you have to pay the husband-free money. The hidden land rent in Xicheng is collected before the official tax, but the local state and county taxes are not collected enough."

"All kinds of taxes, money and food can only be apportioned to rich households, but they refused to pay after several attempts. There was a large family in Suizhou, which owned thousands of acres of fertile land. They were forced so hard by successive apportionments that they led their tenants to raise troops. He rebelled and claimed to be a general who was rebelling against the Qing emperor. The rural soldiers I recruited to defend Hanzhong had to be transferred to Suizhou to quell the rebellion. To this day, the bandits are still hiding in the mountains and have not been wiped out."

Zhao Yu asked: "How many rural soldiers can you recruit?"

Zhou Yin simply opened up and said: "It's not how many soldiers I can recruit, but how much food I have to recruit soldiers. If the imperial court does not close the Xicheng Station, there will never be peace on the southwestern road of Beijing. Even if a red bandit is wiped out, horse bandits will appear again." Thief Yang! I forgot to mention that we are still recruiting Huashi Gang here! Gen Yue has been built, why do we still need Huashi Gang?"

"How many troops can you deploy to suppress the red bandits?" Zhao Yu asked.

Zhou Yin said: "There are only five thousand, no more. This year, rice has been levied several times. Any more levies will force the rich households to rebel. The government can only spend money to buy it. But the local rich households do not want to sell grain. They would rather Even if we transport grain to Hanzhong, we will never sell it to the government!"

Zhao Yu asked curiously: "Why don't rich households sell grain to the government nearby, but instead risk beheading and sell grain to bandits all the way away?"

Zhou Yin gritted his teeth and said: "Thanks to the gift of the current prime minister, iron money was forcibly distributed on the South-West Road of Beijing. The local people were used to using copper coins and regarded the iron money as scrap iron. One stone of rice has increased to 4,000 iron coins. Now I only have in my hand Iron money, but the red thieves use real gold and silver to buy grain. Guess who the rich people will sell grain to? Jinzhou and Yangzhou are both rich in gold and silver!"

Zhao Yu said: "The gold mine in Fangzhou is bigger, where did the gold go?"

"You have to ask Ambassador Chang Ping about this." Zhou Yin sneered.

Zhao Yu gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "Give me a team of government officials!"

Two quarters of an hour later, Zhao Yun led the government officials and went straight to the Changping Division for promotion.

Changping sent Mu Che away, and Zhao Yu roared: "No matter where he is, call him immediately!"

Muche was entertaining guests when he got the news and rushed back immediately: "Meet Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Yu said: "All the gold mined in Fangzhou will be used to buy grain and recruit soldiers."

Muche couldn't help but said, "This is against the rules. I really can't communicate with my superiors."

Zhao Yu said: "Wang Fu asked me to take charge of the money and food for the southwestern army. I can use the money and food at will to recruit troops and suppress thieves, including the gold from the Changping Division on the Southwestern Road of Beijing!"

Mu Che picked out the words and said: "Your Excellency is responsible for the money and grain in the southwest of the Song Dynasty, but this is the southwest of Beijing. Moreover, gold is not money."

"Get it for me and pry open the Changping Treasury!" Zhao Yu was furious.

The officials in front of the government looked at each other, and no one dared to make a move against Chang Ping.

Clang!

Zhao Yu drew his sword out of its sheath and shouted: "Whoever dares to disobey will be punished as a traitor!"

The government officials then took action and held Mu Che on the left and right sides.

Mu Che said anxiously: "President Zhao, we have already shipped gold to Beijing in the summer. There is not much gold left in the warehouse. Even if we take it all out, we won't be able to buy a few grains."

“You can buy as much as you can!”

Zhao Yu turned to Zhou Yin and said: "If we stop the refugees and caravans, we will not allow anyone to go to Hanzhong to become a thief, and we will not allow a grain of grain to leave the southwestern road of Beijing. We will also recruit merchant ships to train the navy, and we will not block the exit of Jinzhou. You’re asking!”

Zhou Yin was already broken: "I really can't afford such a big crime, so I can only go all out. The transfer envoy and deputy envoy were supposed to maintain the situation, but they were demoted by the prime minister, and there is still no news about the new chief. .”

Zhao Yu had no choice but to slow down and bow: "Everything here depends on you."

"I don't dare." Zhou Yin returned the greeting.

Zhao Yu took a boat south to Jiangling. The Jinghu North Road Transfer Department was located here. The Jiangling prefect concurrently served as the transfer judge and was fully responsible.

The prefect of Jiangling was called Bi Jian, and he was the number one scholar in the first year of Shaosheng.

The dignified Number One Duke, who has been an official for twenty-eight years and is still a magistrate, must have been demoted countless times.

Zhao Yu didn't dare to show off in front of this person, and said respectfully: "Before I left the capital, I sent an official document to Jinghu. Has Mr. Zhijin prepared the money and food?"

Bi Jian said: "Six thousand guan of money and eight hundred shi of grain are already in the warehouse and can be transported to Bashu at any time."

"That's it?" Zhao Yu couldn't believe it.

Bi Jian said: "The road to Jinghu is vast and sparsely populated, and there are many barbarians. Heavy taxes have been imposed repeatedly, and the barbarians have started to cause chaos. Fang Qifu, the remnant of Fang La, has raised his troops again in Jingnan, and the transport envoy is personally leading the army to suppress the bandits. Jinghu The two routes have too much time to take care of themselves, how can they still have money, food and soldiers to transport Sichuan?"

Zhao Yu was going crazy, so he tried to use a gentle tone and said: "Please be sure to collect 50,000 guan of money, 10,000 shi of grain, and 5,000 local soldiers, and send them to Shuzhong in the spring of next year."

The champion who had wasted twenty-eight years was so angry that he slammed the table, pointed to the north and said: "Aren't the common people of Zhao Ji, arrogant and extravagant, not human beings? Don't the common people have enough food and clothing? If you want me to forcefully recruit money, food and soldiers, let's give up first. That common man in Tokyo stopped Hanaishizuna!"

Not only did he call the emperor by his name, he also denounced him as a common man. The champion was really powerful.

Zhao Yu said: "Hua Shi Gang, stop immediately!"

Bi Jian sneered: "Stop when you say stop? You have been staying in Jiangling to take charge? As the transport judge of Jingbei Road, I can't stop the prefectures and counties from presenting flowers and stones! Those officials below have gone crazy, and they are all rebels. No matter what, I just want to please the foolish king and traitorous ministers so that I can get promoted!"

Zhao Yu left in despair and wrote a memorial, asking the emperor to cancel the flower and stone outline on Jingxi Road and Jinghu Road.

This is all he can do.

Following the Yangtze River and arriving at Kuizhou Road by boat, Zhao Yu immediately summoned the transshipment envoy Guo Lun.

Guo Lun also called Zhang Shen, the transport judge, who was his cousin-in-law and knew a lot about military affairs.

Zhang Shen said: "Hezhou has been captured by bandits. There are more than 12,000 soldiers and horses on Kuizhou Road. Three thousand are stationed at Jiajiangkou in Dazhou, seven thousand are stationed in Gongzhou (Chongqing), and the remaining two thousand are deployed in There are water villages everywhere.”

Kuizhou Road still looks good, but Hezhou has been lost, and Zhao Yu really can't be happy.

Zhao Yu said: "The terrain in Gongzhou (Chongqing) is difficult and there is no need to station heavy troops. Send four thousand troops to Dazhou and recruit another three thousand troops. You lead 10,000 troops out of Jiajiangkou and pretend to attack Quzhou. If you can regain Quzhou, then Fight hard, and attack slowly if you can't recover. Be sure to contain the bandits in Hezhou and prevent them from advancing westward. It is best to lure the bandits back to Qujiang for rescue. Remember, if the situation goes bad, retreat to the mouth of Jiajiang and save the Kuizhou Road Don’t lose!”

"Yes!" Zhang Shen accepted the order with his hands raised.

Zhao Yu took a boat up the river that day and came to Zizhou Road, where he found that it was in ruins.

The elite soldiers on Zizhou Road were all on guard against the Lunan Yi in the south.

Although the barbarians were successfully suppressed in the past few years, they were not completely conquered, and there were frequent small-scale rebellions.

Hearing that there was a Han rebellion in the north, the Lunan Yi were ready to make a move again. They were so frightened that the troops on the Zizhou Road did not dare to go north. As a result, Hezhou was easily captured by Li Bao.

Zhao Yu felt that he had prestige among the barbarians, so he personally went to Luzhou and sent people to summon the barbarian chiefs.

But the barbarians were very disrespectful and none of them came!

Zhao Yu had no choice but to hand over the affairs and rush to Zitong by boat.

Seeing Huang Gai, Zhao Yu immediately asked: "Why is Jianmen Pass gone?"

Huang Gai threw the blame and said: "The deputy envoy Gao Jingshan has an old relationship with the Zhu thieves. He led all the Jianmen defenders to join the thieves."

"Gao Jingshan is a thief?" Zhao Yu couldn't believe it.

In fact, Huang Gai didn't know, so he said vaguely: "Most likely he has become a thief."

Zhao Yu was very angry: "What do you mean most?"

Huang Gai said: "The main force of the Zhu Thief has arrived at Zitong on the 20th. If Gao Jingshan hadn't been with the bandit, how could the Zhu Thief have passed through Jianmen so quickly?" Then he asked again, "How many soldiers and horses did General Zhao bring? Money and food?”

Zhao Yu painted the cake and said: "After the spring begins, we will have one hundred thousand guan of money, thirty thousand stone grain, and ten thousand elite soldiers!"

Huang Gai had no doubt that he was there: "Then hold on until spring!"