Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

When they arrived at the hotel, Li Youwen invited Ju Ming to the government office for a banquet. All the extra officials dispersed, leaving only a few government officials and county magistrates to accompany him.

The banquet was very sumptuous and probably cost hundreds of dollars.

He was unable to govern Hanzhong for the time being, but Zhu Ming hoped that someone would take care of the infrastructure construction. After a few glasses of wine, Ju Ming said, "I came from Baoxie Road and saw many abandoned mountain and river weirs. Does Brother Penggui have any plans to repair them?"

Li Youwen shook his head and sighed: "As an official, who doesn't want to build water conservancy projects? The taxes and servitude in Hanzhong are already extremely heavy, so it's better not to disturb the people anymore."

"What a pity." Ju Ming sighed.

Shanhe Weir, also known as Xiao Cao Weir, was built by Xiao He and Cao Shen when Liu Bang was trapped in Hanzhong. It was the foundation of Liu Bang's agriculture!

It was built once in the Northern Song Dynasty, more than a hundred years ago, and it was presided over by Xu Ti, a surrender minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

It hasn't been repaired in a hundred years. Just think about it and you'll know how dilapidated it is.

Historically, Wu Jie had to wait until Wu Jie was guarding Hanzhong, and while he was busy resisting the Jin soldiers, he organized the refugees to build water conservancy projects. Then the refugees were resettled and military settlements were implemented. In the year when the mountain and river weirs were repaired, the military settlements alone earned 250,000 shi of grain.

Thirty years later, Wu Jie's younger brother Wu Lin came to repair it again and irrigated hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.

As long as the mountain and river weirs are repaired, Hanzhong will have more than enough military rations, and there will be no need to transport them from central Sichuan.

When Zhu Ming thought of Shanhe Weir, he naturally thought of brothers Wu Jie and Wu Lin.

They are all men of both civil and military abilities.

During the long-term battle, Wu Lin also created his own stacked formations and took the initiative to lead troops to counterattack Shaanxi. Wu Lin sent a partial army from Hanzhong to Guanzhong. He led the main force to fight against the Jin soldiers in Qinzhou (Tianshui). He defeated more than 50,000 Jin soldiers and tens of thousands of Jin soldiers surrendered.

Just when Wu Lin was about to pursue the victory, he suddenly received a retreat order from the court.

The following year, during the Shaoxing Peace Negotiation, not only did the newly acquired land fail to be retained, but Monk Yuan was ceded to the Jin Kingdom. (The monks were originally guarded by the Wu brothers in the southwest of Baoji for decades and fought hundreds of battles. They were not defeated or lost, but they were defeated and ceded. The Southern Song Dynasty lost the outpost from Chencang Road.)

Wu Jie is twenty-three years old this year and has already shown his prominence on the Xixia battlefield, serving as a low-level officer in the Song Army on Jingyuan Road.

Wu Lin is fourteen years old and is about to join the army.

By the way, Shi Bin, the prototype of Jiuwenlong Shijin, was killed by Wu Jie when he attacked Chang'an.

How to get the Wu brothers?

These two people can be used as civil servants. When Wu Jie was guarding Monk Yuan, the people in the Jin Kingdom took the initiative to deliver grain and grass to him. Jin soldiers set up Wu Company to protect the law, violently suppressed the people who were delivering food, and sent a small group of cavalry to intercept and kill him. The people of Fengxiang Mansion continued to transport food to him for several years despite the risk of beheading.

It is not easy for a general to win the hearts and minds of the military, but it is even more difficult to win the hearts and minds of the people. All the Wu brothers have won the hearts and minds of the people.

Alas, it's not easy to deal with. He is already an officer of the Song Dynasty, so he can only capture him and try to recruit him to surrender.

Even Yue Fei is not easy to deal with. Firstly, it is difficult to find people. Tangyin County is so big that finding a farmer requires a large number of manpower. Secondly, Yue Fei is still young, only thirteen years old this year, and he is still working as a farmer at home. If he goes to great lengths to find a boy from a farm family, he will be regarded as crazy.

Famous general, famous general, I only have Li Bao in my hand now.

The prefect Li Youwen was still trying to persuade him to drink. Zhu Ming was slightly drunk and asked, "Brother Peng Gui, can you help me?"

"Please tell me if you succeed." Li You heard this.

Zhu Ming said: "Jinzhou is poor. I want to start an iron smelting industry. Please ask Brother Penggui to provide some smelters and blacksmiths."

Li Youwen laughed and said: "Jinzhou does not produce coal. It has to be smelted with charcoal. It takes a lot of money to transport it out. It can only be used as local agricultural tools in Jinzhou. Don't joke about success. Just mine gold and grow tea in Jinzhou. Don’t waste your time smelting iron.”

Jinzhou produces coal. Like iron ore, it is large in quantity and easy to mine. Disadvantages: Most coal mines are located in deep mountains, and transportation was inconvenient in ancient times. The grade of iron ore is not very high, about 25-35, which is the average level of iron ore in the south.

The situation in Hanzhong was similar. It was also restricted by transportation factors. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that iron was smelted on a large scale.

What is really convenient is Yangzhou. The iron mines are next to the tributaries of the Han River. Unfortunately, there is a lack of coal mines. For the time being, no coal mines have been found, so charcoal can only be used to smelt iron. Large-scale iron mines in the Song Dynasty were already using coking coal.

Only by occupying Xingyuan Prefecture and Yangzhou together can the iron smelting industry in Hanzhong begin to take shape: coking coal is refined in Xingyuan Prefecture and transported to Yangzhou for iron smelting via water.

Ju Ming said: "I have to give it a try and ask Brother Penggui for help."

Li Youwen thought for a while: "I will give it to ten successful households, seven households of blacksmiths, and three households of blacksmiths."

"Thank you!" Zhu Ming raised his glass and said, "Here's a toast to my friend, Brother Gui."

After the banquet was over, Li Youwen dispersed the officials and said drunkenly: "I'm afraid that I have offended Cai Jing by being demoted to Jinzhou, right?"

Ju Ming didn't explain too much and just sighed: "I have shocked the officials in Puzhou and was waiting to show off my skills, but I was recalled inexplicably."

Li Youwen said: "We have successfully talked about mountain and river weirs, so how can I not know the benefits of water conservancy? But Tongpan controls money and food. I have talked about water conservancy many times, but Tongpan has rejected me on the grounds of disturbing the people. That guy is Cai Dang, They only know the common people!"

"The traitor party is causing harm to the country, we should rise up!" Zhu Ming said immediately.

"It's time to rise up!" Li Youwen looked for several wine bottles, finally found some residual wine, and drank it all with the spout in his mouth.

Li Youwen was not as good-for-nothing as he seemed. He also had political ambitions and hated Buddhism so much that he even refused to allow his descendants to ask anyone to perform rituals after his death. In history, he was demoted several times because of his anger and treason against the party, and he was eventually demoted to Guangdong to die in a foreign land.

Offering sacrifices to the lake god when facing the rebels was just a way to boost morale.

Ju Ming said: "Why not let the gentry raise funds to repair the mountain and river weirs in sections?"

Li Youwen shook his head and said, "It's no use. I've tried it. The local gentry doesn't trust officials, and in recent years, prefects have been transferred frequently. They are afraid that I will make money and run away. What's more, there are also the Transportation Department and the Punishment Department above. Once These people also want to make a fortune from dredging mountains and rivers, and the gentry has too many worries."

Ju Ming could only express sympathy. This was a scholar who wanted to do things, but lacked the ability to suppress officials and win the trust of the gentry.

The worst thing is that the Lizhou Road Transportation Department and the Inspection Department have moved the Yamen from Lizhou to Xingyuan Mansion. This prefect is accompanied by a string of provincial officials, all of whom can hinder him from doing business.

Zhu Ming suddenly asked: "By the way, why don't you see the officials from various departments on Lizhou Road?"

Li Youwen explained: "The plank road on the other side of Huangjin Gorge collapsed, and the grain tax from Xixiang County cannot be transported northward. The military grain for the Xixia expedition was delayed, and both the transportation envoy and the deputy transportation envoy were destitute and were demoted. , the new officials have not yet arrived. The transport judge and the inspector have all gone to Huanghuang Gorge to inspect, and are organizing soldiers and civilians to repair the plank road in Yangzhou."

"It's been half a year, and that section of the plank road should have been repaired long ago." Zhu Ming said.

Li Youwen shook his head and said: "With excessive oppression and too many deaths, the people who built the plank road rebelled. Not only did they rebel, they also destroyed the rest of the plank road, otherwise it would not have been delayed until now. This matter did not dare to be reported to the court, and local officials kept suppressing it. .”

"Can the civil unrest be quelled?" Zhu Ming asked.

Li Youwen said: "The imperial envoys and the governor of Yangzhou personally led more than 4,000 rural soldiers and archers, and it took only two months to quell the civil unrest. However, the plank road was broken and the dangerous shoals made it difficult for boats to navigate. The rebellious people could not be pursued, so they could only be allowed to escape. Deep in the mountains.”

"Alas, the world is so difficult." Ju Ming sighed on the surface, but in his heart he was trying to recruit the rebels. Those who fled into the mountains could be placed near Daming Village.

So, Ju Ming asked again: "Who is the punishment envoy of Lizhou Road?"

"Huang Qianshan." Li Youwen replied.

Grass!

The future traitorous minister has no ability to do things and is extremely capable of doing bad things.

The earthquake in Hedong, Shaanxi Province caused the mountains, rivers and valleys to change their positions. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty asked Huang Qianshan to inspect the disaster, but he concealed it and only said it was a minor earthquake. He was promoted to the Minister of Household Affairs for providing disaster relief.

In the second year of Jingkang, Huang Qianshan supported Zhao Gou as emperor, excluded Li Gang, and killed Chen Dong. The rebel army was only sixty miles away from Zhao Gou, and Huang Qianshan still concealed the truth. Zhao Gou was so frightened that he was demoted to Puzhou to collect wine taxes and died on the way for no apparent reason.

With Huang Qianshan on Lizhou Road, it is strange that the mountain and river weirs in Hanzhong can be built.

Li Youwen said angrily: "Only by cutting off the traitors can the government be clean and honest, otherwise everything will not work. Although your Majesty was recruited as a Taoist priest, he never deceived the emperor, and he was a true Taoist scholar. To eradicate Cai Jing, your Majesty must also contribute. , All the upright people in the world must rely on your Majesty."

Zhu Ming cupped his hands and said, "It is our duty to punish the traitors and eradicate the evil!"

Li Youwen stood up unsteadily and shouted: "Here comes someone!"

Someone came in immediately.

Li Youwen said: "Send Zhu Zhizhou to the hotel."

This guy was drunk himself, but he stumbled back to the Yamen's house without help.

After staying in Xingyuan Mansion for several days, Li Youwen finally brought his family and his family to the city after hearing the promise of ten families of craftsmen.

They showed fear and uneasiness. After all, they had to be far away from home and they didn't know what the future would bring. But I heard that I was following the son of Duke Yuan Zhang, and I was somewhat hopeful. The reputation of father and son for their benevolence and righteousness had spread to Xingyuan Mansion.

After boarding the ship, Ju Ming asked the crew: "How many people grow sweet potatoes and corn in Xingyuan Prefecture?"

The soldier said: "The four counties have been planted. Most of them are in the mountainous areas. Rice and wheat are still grown on the flat land."

"What's the price?" Ju Ming asked again.

The soldier said: "If there are more people planting, the price will be lower, and the people in the countryside like it very much. The year before last and the year before last, many people asked for planting at a high price, and one pound of corn can be exchanged for ten pounds of rice. This year it has become commonplace, and it is everywhere. One pound of corn can only be exchanged for seven taels of rice. It will probably be cheaper next year."

"That's very good," Zhu Ming asked, "How are the people of Xingyuan Mansion doing?"

The soldier didn't dare to tell the truth, so he just laughed and said, "It's a good thing."

Ju Ming stopped asking any more questions. He could tell that this person was telling lies.

There is a war in the northwest, and Hanzhong, like Shaanxi, has to supply food and grass to the front line. Although the production of corn and sweet potatoes can be increased, the officials are exploiting it even harder. The prefect Li Youwen did not even straighten out the government offices. How can he restrain the county officials?

What's more, there are still people in Yangzhou who are rebelling, and taxes must be increased to recruit soldiers to quell the rebellion.

The people of Hanzhong will definitely have a difficult life this year.

Corn and sweet potatoes have been planted in the four counties of Xingyuan Prefecture, and most of the three counties in Yangzhou have also spread it. It is estimated that it has spread to Jinzhou. As long as you treat the people well, you can recover quickly.

The top priority is to go to Yangzhou to find Huang Qianshan and place all the escaped rebels in the base camp.

Further downstream of Daming Village, up to the place where the father and son crossed, there is no human habitation along the river. It is completely possible to arrange for the insurgents to farm.