Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Jinzhou, where Ju Ming was in charge, was affiliated with Jingnan Road, and the road administration was located in Xiangyang.

However, there is only one fortune judge in Xiangyang. As for the transportation envoy and deputy envoy, their offices are in Luoyang.

This is because both Jingxi North Road and Jingxi South Road are affiliated to Jingxi Road, and there is only one Jingxi Road transfer department, and Luoyang is where the traffic management of Jingxi North Road is.

For Ju Ming, this was good news. Without the pressure of the transfer envoy and deputy envoy, he could get things done more smoothly.

Of course, there are still Tixing envoys and Changping envoys, and they all work in Xiangyang.

Jinzhou has jurisdiction over five counties, namely Xicheng, Xunyang, Hanyin, Shiquan and Pingli.

Among these five counties, Xunyang and Hanyin belong to the middle counties, and the other three are all lower counties. This shows that Jinzhou is generally very poor.

Zhu Ming did not hide his whereabouts. After the Lantern Festival, he took an official ship to go to his post.

After passing the boundary of Xixiang County, we entered Shiquan County.

The north bank of the Han River is Raofengling, also known as Raofengling.

At the foot of Raofeng Ridge, there is Raofeng Pass.

The wall is in dilapidated condition and has not been repaired for at least a hundred years. Hmm... I should have also repaired it. Just use mud to cover the crack. It won't fool people, but it can fool ghosts.

Ju Ming ordered the official ship to dock and rest at Raofengguan tonight.

There was a delivery shop here. When the soldiers knew that Zhizhou was coming, they immediately received him warmly. Immediately, military officers and tax collectors also came to greet him after hearing the news.

Ju Ming led people straight to Guancheng and asked as he walked: "What is your military position?"

The officer followed carefully: "If you return to the prefect, I will be your general."

Ju Ming stopped when he heard this: "A gate city is only guarded by one Yu Hou?"

The officer said: "My job is not to guard the gates, but to patrol for thieves and smugglers. We are all patrol troops."

"How many people do you have?" Ju Ming asked.

The officer quickly lowered his head and said, "Twenty-five people."

Ju Ming knew it was fake at first glance: "Tell the truth, otherwise I will ask you to gather troops for inspection."

The officer said: "Including me, there are only six soldiers."

Zhu Ming wanted to laugh when he heard this. Six soldiers guarded one gate and were also responsible for arresting thieves and smugglers. This is too serious to be free of charge!

Ju Ming asked again: "How much is your monthly military pay?"

The officer replied: "Six hundred coins."

Ju Ming didn't ask any more questions. It would be difficult to pay out the six hundred military pay on time.

In this time of crisis, it is possible to make a living by making extra money.

They can't stop the smuggling gangs. Most of them work with the tax collectors to collect the smugglers' benefits and then turn a blind eye.

Here you can also go to Chang'an through Ziwu Valley, and there are two routes. One is the old road built by Wang Mang, and the other is the new road built by Wang Shennian (Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties). Smuggling has never ceased since ancient times. From the Han Dynasty to the Republic of China, it was a paradise for smugglers. The merchants even repaired the plank roads on their own initiative.

Ju Ming became the magistrate of Jinzhou, and Zhang Guangdao was already making plans to open up a new smuggling route.

Take a boat from Daming Village along the Han River, pass Raofeng Pass to Shiquan County, then cross Maling Pass and enter Chihe River, then go north along the Chihe River and cross mountains and ridges into Ziwu Valley.

This route is more difficult to walk than the Tangluo Road, but after leaving the mountain, it is close to Chang'an, and it can also train the village warrior's marching ability.

Ju Ming glanced at the dilapidated Guancheng and the feeble soldiers and stopped asking.

He climbed onto the wall, took out his binoculars, and carefully observed the surrounding terrain.

Immediately, he handed the telescope to Zhang Boring.

Zhang Bor watched carefully for a while, then handed the telescope to Li Bao and said: "Repair and strengthen the wall, and then send 500 soldiers to garrison it, and we can block the east exit throat of Hanzhong. It is best to build some more piers in the nearby mountains. If we cooperate with the fort, we only need 3,000 men. Even if there are 100,000 troops in Hanzhong, they can't even think of passing through."

"Three thousand people can only block it for a while. We need a naval force to do it, and Shiquan County also has to garrison troops." Zhu Ming said.

It is normal for only six soldiers to be stationed in such an important place, because the Song Dynasty has been in peace for a long time.

Let's put it this way. Historically, Tong Guan led an army to attack Liao Dynasty. When he reached the front line of Hebei Province, he discovered that the defense fortifications in Hebei Province during the Song Dynasty were in disrepair and could no longer be used. This is true for the Song and Liao borders, let alone the hinterland of Hanzhong.

While observing with a telescope, Li Bao pointed to the mountains on both sides of the river and said: "In the mountains along the river, build a pier every few miles. In the northwest and southwest of Raofeng Pass, build a mountain stronghold each, which can completely block the throat of Hanzhong." die."

Zhang Boring and Li Bao naturally had no idea what Ju Ming wanted to do. They were purely discussing military topics.

Bai Sheng was not interested in this. He only looked around curiously and listened to their chat with half understanding.

Liu Shiren was a new member of the team and served as Ju Ming's secretary. He rolled up his sleeves and looked at the river. My ears were not resting, and I listened to everything without missing a word.

After chatting for a while, I was too lazy to linger.

Ju Ming reboarded the ship and arrived at Shiquan County before dark.

"Ms. sir, Governor Zhu is here!" He rushed into the backyard of the county government office.

"Got it, let's arrange for the handymen to clean the hotel." Mr. Su continued to write furiously.

He was writing a letter to the Chengdu Fulu Envoy, admonishing Sichuan civil and military officials not to engage in border provocations and not to treat barbarians harshly.

One hundred thousand Lunan barbarians rebelled. Although it cost countless money and food, it took 30,000 Western troops to put them down. However, Zhao Yu's promotion due to his military exploits made Sichuan officials see a shortcut, and they all wanted to cater to the emperor and prime minister's great success.

As a result, local officials deliberately mistreated ethnic minorities and even resorted to reforming native land and returning them to exile.

If the barbarians do not resist, then the reform is successful, and the officials have the credit for opening up the territory. If the barbarians resist, then deploy troops to suppress them, which will help quell the rebellion.

Next year, the Mianzhou Yi (Mianyang) rebellion will be provoked. Unfortunately, the Sichuan Xiang army is so bad that officials want to make meritorious deeds but cannot do so.

Historically, when Su Yuanlao heard about this incident, he wrote to Sichuan officials and gave a detailed plan to quell the rebellion. Sichuan officials refused to listen and finally asked the imperial court to come forward and sent a capable general. He actually used the same method as Su Yuanlao and quickly suppressed the rebellion.

At the end of the day, everyone is happy and everyone has made a contribution.

Because after the chaos was quelled, they really changed their ways and returned to their old ways.

Sichuan officials were stimulated by this and treated the barbarians even more harshly. They wanted to force all the barbarians to rebel, and then they would be promoted for their meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion.

As for the heavy burden on the people due to the war, this is not within the scope of officials' consideration.

After writing the letter, Su Yuanlao put down the pen and asked: "Can the prefect check into the hotel?"

The personal attendant said: "I live in a post house outside the city. It is better for my husband to go out of the city to greet me. Don't bear the crime of neglecting the superior."

Su Yuanlao packed up his clothes and left the back house. When he went to the county government hall, he found that the subordinate officials and subordinate staff were ready and waiting for him to lead the team out of the city.

"Let's go." Mr. Su Yuan said calmly.

Su Yuanlao chooses to lie down, do his serious work well, and then don't care about anything else - it doesn't matter in this life, and it is extremely difficult to get promoted.

His parents died when he was young, and he was adopted as Su Che's grandson.

He became famous when he was young, but it has been wasted so far.

Liang Shicheng claimed to be Su Shi's illegitimate son and asked for Su Yuanlao's articles just to solidify his relationship. Su Yuanlao refused and offended the eunuch.

Arriving outside the post house, Elder Su shouted: "Mr. Su Yuanlao, the magistrate of Shiquan County, is bringing the county officials to welcome the prefect!"

After shouting twice, Ju Ming stepped out of the room, and the officials bowed and greeted him.

Elder Su said: "Please invite the prefect into the city."

Before Zhu Ming took office, he inquired about the situation in Jinzhou and said with a smile: "I have admired the name of Magistrate Su for a long time. When I saw him today, he was very charming and worthy of being a queen of a famous family."

Su Yuanlao cupped his hands and said, "I have long admired the name of the prefect."

For a half-lying person, basic etiquette is enough, and he will not flatter the superior.

What's more, he is almost forty years old and is still just a county magistrate. And Ju Ming was already the magistrate of the state when he was less than twenty years old. Can Mr. Su be able to balance his mind? I just get angrier the more I think about it.

The crowd gathered around Ju Ming as he entered the city, sounding gongs along the way to clear the way, attracting people to the streets to watch.

When they arrived at the door of the hotel, Su Yuanlao said: "The food has been prepared. Since the county is poor, there will be no banquet to entertain the prefect."

Shiquan County is quite poor, which is a valid reason.

The more Elder Su behaved like this, the more Ju Ming felt that he could communicate. He took his hand and said, "Others can leave. Magistrate Su, please have a meal with me."

He immediately dismissed all the officials and dragged Mr. Su into the hotel.

Su Yuanlao had no choice but to drink with Ju Ming.

Ju Ming arranged for the family members and entourage to have dinner in another room.

After drinking two glasses of wine, Ju Ming said, "There are only two of you in this room. Brother Ziting can speak freely."

Su Yuanlao smiled and said: "What do you want from the prefect?"

"Of course it's a matter of governing the people." Zhu Ming said in a sincere tone.

Elder Su said: "Hua Shi Gang must stop."

Ju Ming asked: "The Hua Shi Gang in Jinzhou was donated by local officials, right?"

Su Yuanlao nodded and said: "The transport envoy ordered Jinzhou to donate white gum incense, and the officials in each county ordered the people to go to the mountains to collect incense regardless of whether it was cold or hot. The people who were recruited were miserable."

White gum is a kind of resin, which can activate blood circulation and relieve pain, clear away heat and detoxify.

But as a tribute to Hua Shi Gang, it is not because of its medicinal effect. But when making elixirs, you need to burn incense and meditate. White gum incense is one of the raw materials for making elixirs.

Ju Ming immediately said: "The first thing I did when I took office was to order the five counties of Jinzhou to stop donating flowers and stones."

Su Yuanlao was quite surprised. Although he heard that the Zhu family and his son had a good reputation, they were of the lucky generation after all. He did not expect that they would actually give up Hua Shigang for the sake of the people.

Su Yuanlao reminded: "Song Sheng, the transshipment envoy to the west of Beijing, is Cai You's wife and brother."

Ju Ming sneered: "Don't say he is Cai You's brother-in-law, he is Cai Jing's brother-in-law. What am I afraid of him doing?"

"The prefect is so arrogant, I admire you so much." Elder Su finally smiled.

When Ju Ming returned to Yangzhou last winter and passed by Luoyang, he happened to encounter the Tai Chi Palace being built there.

In order to please the emperor, Song Sheng, who was the transport envoy, went to personally supervise the construction of the Taoist temple.

Moreover, Song Sheng also used cow ashes to smear the walls just to make the outer walls of the Taoist temple smoother and more beautiful.

Kill the cow, kill the cow, kill the cow!

In various villages near Luoyang, cattle were being slaughtered and their bones sent to paint Taoist temples.

Countless people cried loudly and reluctantly killed their cattle.

There are not enough cow bones, and some officials have suggested digging up human bones in cemeteries to replace them!

Then, Song Shengzhen ordered the graves to be dug up to retrieve the bones, and human ashes were used as painting materials for Taoist temples.

This guy has caused outrage in Luoyang.