Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Thanks to the excessive issuance of coins by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, prices in various parts of the southeast have soared, and even a few coins cannot afford to be spent.

Song Huizong had discovered a rule that it was cheaper to buy food in small towns than in counties. If you eat it at a farmer's house, you can save more.

Moreover, money is different from money. The purchasing power of serious copper coins is very strong, but when it is used as ten or twenty coins, people will despise it.

He didn't dare to stay in Muzhou for a long time, and he didn't dare to go to the south if there were rebels, so he could only go west along the river.

He got a broken bowl and looked for farmers when he was hungry.

For just a few pennies, you can buy a meal and squat in front of a farmer's house to make a fool of yourself. As for what you buy, it depends on what the farmer eats. Sometimes there is only a bowl of wild vegetable soup.

After dilly-dallying like this for two or three days, he reached the fork of the river. Song Huizong followed the Shouchang River to the southwest and soon arrived outside Shouchang County.

This place is also under the jurisdiction of Muzhou, and the county magistrate has received an official document exempting Fuzhou from taxes and miscellaneous taxes.

The wealthy households in the county were afraid of the peasants' rebellion and siege, so they took the initiative to help publicize the policy and sent people to spread the news in all the villages and towns.

Song Huizong did not go into the city or even eat outside the city. It was cheapest to buy food from farmers.

More than ten miles away from the county seat, Song Huizong was tired and hungry. He found a village and immediately inquired about the village school.

When I came to the village school, the teacher had learned Zhengyin, so there was no barrier to communication.

Secondly, the village school teachers know etiquette and are scholars, so they can speak better than the ignorant villagers.

The village school teacher Sanlai was in better condition, and the food he ate was slightly better, and sometimes he didn't even take his money.

Sure enough, Mr. Village School Master confiscated the money for today’s meal.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was so itchy that he drew a sketch of a landscape.

The village school teacher admired him so much that he stayed at Song Huizong's home. In the evening, he boiled water for bathing, provided him with a set of clean clothes, and called the wealthy local people in the village.

The local rich man was also an arty person. He wanted to discuss poetry with Song Huizong, but he was immediately impressed and fell to the ground. This gentleman was extremely generous. He took out two large sums of money with high purchasing power and begged Song Huizong to leave ten pairs of calligraphy treasures.

The deal was completed and both parties felt it was a good deal.

Song Huizong put on clean clothes and had money in his luggage. He felt refreshed when he went on the road the next day.

But nothing happened when he looked like a beggar, but he ran into trouble as soon as he put on clean clothes.

Just when Song Huizong crossed the mountains and reached the boundary of Longyou County, several bandits suddenly appeared.

"That man, please keep the money you bought for the road!"

These bandits were also miserable. They were all dressed in rags and the weapons in their hands were in shape.

Song Huizong also had a simple knife modified from a kitchen knife in his hand. Seeing that he was blocked from the front and back, he immediately picked up the simple knife... threw it away, knelt down and shouted: "Hero, spare your life!"

A bandit approached, snatched Song Huizong's baggage, kicked him to the ground, and soon took out the copper coins with bright eyes: "It's good money, not a coward to pawn off."

"Get out of here!" said another bandit.

Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty rolled and crawled forward as if he had been pardoned.

"Wait!" another bandit shouted.

Song Huizong did not dare to run anymore, and stood obediently and waited for his fate. He was too weak from running around for days and couldn't run fast at all. If he didn't obey, he would probably be overtaken and killed.

The bandit looked around: "Your accent sounds like you're not from here?"

Song Huizong bought food and communicated with people along the way. He also had to ask for directions along the way. He was already familiar with the dialect here and could roughly understand it, but he couldn't speak it himself. He had to try his best to imitate: "My hometown is in Huainan."

"Who are you talking about?" The bandit couldn't understand.

"Huainan." Song Huizong repeated.

The bandit still didn't understand what he was hearing. He picked up Song Huizong's thin arm and muttered: "It's white and tender. I'm afraid he can write and do math. The village master will definitely like it when he sees it. Take it back to the village!"

"Spare your life! Hero, spare your life..." Song Huizong was horrified and regretted that he did not wear tattered clothes.

This is the northern mountainous area of ​​Longyou County. Although the "Longyou Merchant Gang" has not yet been formed, its geographical conditions are destined to have a lot of business in the past.

When there are more merchants, there will naturally be more bandits!

The leader of the village is a young man named Xue Su. He is a robber that belongs to his family. He inherited his father's business and became the boss only a few years ago.

Seeing Song Huizong, Xue Su actually clasped his fists and said, "Mr. disturbing."

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty bowed in return: "I dare not."

Xue Su said: "Although sir, he is a prostitute, he behaves like a scholar. To be honest, sir, I have also read books by saints and sages, and I have great respect for scholars all over the world."

"Easy to say, easy to say." Song Huizong couldn't figure out what the other party was thinking.

Xue Su shouted: "Invite my mother quickly!"

Not long after, a woman in silk clothes appeared and solemnly offered the Wanfu salute to Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty: "Sir, Wanfu, my humble surname is Zeng."

"I've seen the lady." Song Huizong didn't dare to look at her for fear of angering the bandit leader.

Xue Su asked his men to kill chickens, prepare wine, and prepare food for the guests.

Mrs. Zeng even lit the stove to make tea herself and asked, "I wonder where your fairyland is, sir?"

Song Huizong had already memorized the lines: "My ancestral home is Lianghuai, and I went to Tokyo to wait for a vacancy. I was only in my forties when I was able to get a small official position. That foolish king fled south last year, and I followed him in confusion, specifically to collect money for the treacherous minister Cai You. Ship. When I arrived in Hangzhou, I was arranged to go to Yanguan County to help organize the salt tax. When the New Dynasty army came, the salt burners killed the chief officer. I was so frightened that I ran away overnight and wanted to go to Jiangxi to join my old friend."

"My husband has seen the world," Zeng said with great admiration. "My husband was also a good man when he was young, but because he hated the county magistrate, he had to turn into a bandit. The slave was originally an official in Quzhou, but he was killed by a foreigner. A merchant bought it, but when he was traveling through Longyou, he was robbed by bandits. The merchant abandoned the goods and ran away, but the slave went up the mountain to follow his late husband."

Song Huizong thought of his wandering all the way and couldn't help but sigh: "We are all the same people who have fallen from the world!"

Zeng said: "Although the slave is an ominous person, he has also read poetry and taught dogs to read the books of sages. In the past, the court was unruly, and the fallen grass was forced by the bandits. Recently, I heard that the new dynasty captured Hangzhou, and most of the ignorant king is dead. Now, heroes from various prefectures and counties are rising up, and this is the time for good men to show their talents. My son wants to start an uprising in Longyou, and my husband is driving south from Tokyo with him. He must be knowledgeable and knowledgeable. I wonder what he thinks of the current situation?"

Come again?

Before, I was forced to rebel just as a minions, but now I have to be a strategist for others!

Xue Su sat next to him with his sword pressed, staring with bright eyes, obviously wanting to know what Song Huizong was doing.

Song Huizong did not dare to talk nonsense. He combined what he saw along the way and organized his words: "Li Bao attacked Hangzhou from the sea and did not have many troops. Therefore, he had no time to go south to attack the prefectures and counties. He had to go north to clear out Liang Shicheng's river defense first. Once the river defense was destroyed, The soldiers from the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River can cross the river in large numbers. Nowadays, there are many people in various states and counties who are revolting. They are taking advantage of the arrival of the Jianghuai army to occupy the city in order to sell it at a good price in the new dynasty."

Zeng became more and more satisfied and praised: "Sir, you are indeed well-informed, and you can explain the situation in the southeast in just a few words. When my son raises an army, where should we go?"

Song Huizong said: "Muzhou general judge Han Ju has recovered the soldiers in Tongguan Mountain. Their soldiers and horses are strong and cannot be provoked. I heard that there are also people in Wuzhou raising troops, I am afraid they are not easy to deal with. If your son succeeds in raising troops in Longyou, he should send them I sent a letter to contact Muzhou and Wuzhou, and formed an alliance with the masters of those two places to advance and retreat together. How is the reputation of the Longyou County magistrate?"

Xue Su said angrily: "The county magistrate was promoted by the Hunjun last year. He exploited the people to no extent and made it difficult for business travelers to go there. As a result, the number of caravans has decreased, and the business in my village has become difficult!"

"In this case, you can sneak into the county in disguise, kill the county magistrate, stand on your own initiative, and then replace it with the Mingzi flag of the new dynasty," Song Huizong said. "After occupying the county, immediately post a notice to calm the people, promising to reduce taxes for merchants, and then exempt farmers." The taxes and miscellaneous taxes. In this way, all farmers and merchants will be happy, and they will obey you. I also selected a few notorious old officials to kill, and recruited strong men inside and outside the city as soldiers with their heads. Remember that after entering the city, do not indulge Soldiers must plunder and plunder, otherwise they will be driven out by the wealthy households."

Xue Su himself thought about the process of raising troops, and excitedly took Song Huizong's hand and said, "Sir, you are really a great talent. If I become rich in the future, I will never forget your kindness. Please stay and be my counselor!"

Song Huizong bit the bullet and said: "I dare not say goodbye."

Although this guy was well fed and hungry, and had lost his appearance after sleeping in the open air, he still behaved in a dignified manner. Mrs. Zeng liked him more and more as she sat next to him.

How can there be such a cool person among bandits?

Two days later, Xue Su first asked his subordinates to disguise themselves as woodcutter and enter the city, and then he personally disguised himself as a businessman and took action.

The Longyou County Magistrate was also on guard, carried out strict inspections, and discovered weapons in the goods on the spot.

Xue Su drew his sword and killed two people in a row. Xizuo also started to attack the soldiers inside and outside the gate.

The gate guards instantly collapsed, and one person even knelt down and wished to surrender.

Then they attacked the county government office, and the officials fled one after another. The county magistrate was caught and killed while scaling the wall.

Song Huizong was invited to the city, and Xue Su asked him to write a notice to calm the people. Even if he deliberately hid his clumsiness, the notice was written with great literary talent.

Then, Song Huizong went to clean up the money and account books, and was responsible for managing the officials who came back one after another.

Everything was done in an orderly manner, and even the old officials sincerely admired it.

After working until midnight, Song Huizong went to the county government hotel to sleep. Xue Su also arranged for two maids to take care of him.

Lying on the bed, Song Huizong cursed in his heart: "This foolish county magistrate is really a waste, and he was easily attacked by a group of bandits! No wonder the bandits can destroy everything in Sichuan, I think Sichuan officials are all such people who are just sitting on the corpse."

After tossing and turning for a long time, Song Huizong decided not to leave for the time being. There was no suitable place to go anyway.

It's better to use his current false identity, and maybe he can get an official position in the new dynasty. Anyway, not many officials have seen him.

Even though some officials had met the emperor before, they could not recognize him now because they were far away and did not dare to look directly at the emperor.

Just thinking about his concubines and belongings in Hangzhou made Song Huizong feel distressed, and he would probably have a hard time in the future.

The next morning, Song Huizong had just gotten up and opened the door to see Xue Su standing outside.

Xue Su held the disciple ceremony with a respectful attitude and asked: "Now that Longyou County has been conquered, please teach me how to capture Quzhou City as well."

Still want to hit Zhoucheng?

Song Huizong is no longer able to complain. Do you want to help you win the small half of the southeast?