Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Jinzhou, the post office of the state government.

Shi Yuangong cupped his hands and said, "I don't know what my husband called me for."

Zhu Mingping dismissed the servants and asked Bai Sheng and Deng Chun to guard outside. No one was allowed to approach the door ten steps.

Then, Ju Ming closed the door and said, "I have an important task, and I don't know who to entrust it to. After thinking about it, I think you can handle it."

"But it's according to my husband's orders!" Shi Yuangong knew that the real task was coming. Helping to recruit blacksmiths last year was just a test.

Ju Ming said: "My father is building a paper mill in Yangzhou. You take Deng Chun and Yang Pu with you and go back to Daming Village to form a business brigade. You can carry Yangzhou bamboo paper to sell in central Sichuan. When you return, you can bring back some Shu specialties. That’s it.”

Shi Yuangong asked: "When selling paper, do you have other errands?"

Ju Ming warned: "Start from Yangzhou, pass through Xingyuan Mansion, then go to Lizhou, and go south from Lizhou to Sichuan. Along the way, outline the mountains and terrain, and inquire about the customs. What are the famous families and corrupt officials along the way? The size of the Xiang army, the difficulty of the city's defenses, and whether the people are poor must be recorded in detail."

Shi Yuangong's eyes widened, and then he cupped his hands and said, "Please remember this! It's just..."

"Just what?" Zhu Ming asked.

Shi Yuangong said: "The price of Shu paper is high and it is quite high-quality. Shipping paper from Yangzhou to sell it is just like selling iron to Xuzhou. I'm afraid it will be difficult to recover the money. Or, exchange it for other goods?"

"Otherwise," Zhu Ming shook his head and said, "I wrote to Su County Magistrate (Su Yuanlao) and he said that Shu people like paper from other places very much. The 'Yun-Jun paper' made by my father can be made of Su Dongpo and Wen Yu. The literati and elegant people in Shu will definitely rush to buy it. You went to Yangzhou to select the most exquisite paper and sold it specifically to the wealthy people in Shu."

"Yes!" Shi Yuangong said with cupped hands.

Both Fan Chengda of the Southern Song Dynasty and the "Shu Jianpu" of the Yuan Dynasty complained that the Shu paper was too thick and thick, and a strong laborer could only carry 500 pieces of paper. Sichuan paper is very expensive to sell to other places, purely because of transportation problems. When Hui paper, Chi paper, and bamboo paper are shipped to Sichuan, Shu people love their lightness and fineness, and the price is often more than three times that of Shu paper.

Ju Ming said: "Be careful at all times. If you encounter difficulties, just report my name."

Shi Yuangong bowed his head and said goodbye to his newly married wife last year, and then set off with Yang Pu and Deng Chun.

With Ju Ming's letter in hand, he recruited a team of village warriors and more than 20 young men in Daming Village, and then went to Yangzhou to get bamboo paper.

Zhu Guoxiang is reorganizing Suring Palace, and the newly occupied land last year was ordered to be returned to the farmers. Moreover, farmers only need to repay the principal and low interest for the usurious loans they owe.

As for service, corvee, and transfer, Zhu Guoxiang didn't bother to take care of these taxes. Because the Taoist priests are willing to pay taxes, but the officials are afraid to collect them.

The Yangzhou metropolis was gentle and gentle. He was resentful by this set of operations, but he could only endure it for the time being. He did not dare to go to court to sue Zhu Guoxiang.

Of the 8,000 guan given by the emperor, 3,000 guan were embezzled by the eunuch when he left the capital. Zhu Guoxiang gave dozens more guan to the eunuch who passed the order, and the rest were hacked by our Dean Zhu.

After reading his son's letter, Zhu Guoxiang said to Shi Yuangong: "The first batch of really good paper can only be produced in May, and it will be enough for you to sell it to central Sichuan in June. The bamboo paper produced now is just made of old bamboo The quality of the inferior paper is acceptable, so you can take it to Lizhou and sell it first. Once the good paper is produced, it won’t be too late to sell it to central Sichuan.”

Shi Yuangong understood immediately that not only Zhu Ming was plotting to rebel, but the Prime Minister Zhu Da also had plans.

He immediately took people to Jintan Village and brought all the bamboo paper in stock. He also took the official ship to Xingyuan Mansion for free with the letter from the Zhu family and his son. After waiting for several days in Xingyuan Mansion, he took a free official boat trip up the Han River.

As long as you take the official ship, the goods will not pay toll tax.

The imperial court issued numerous orders to prohibit this kind of behavior, but it was impossible to prohibit it at all. The Zhu family and his son did not feel guilty, because there were too many private cards along the way. The local government had collected taxes indiscriminately, and they used their status as officials to avoid taxes.

While waiting for the official ship, Deng Chun was responsible for guarding the goods, while Shi Yuangong took Yang Pu and others out to inquire about various news every day.

When it was no longer possible to sail on the upper reaches of the Han River, Shi Yuangong and others took the land route and followed the northern end of the Jinniu Road over the mountains and ridges until they reached Lizhou City (Guangyuan) in April.

The current magistrate of Lizhou turned out to be Li Youwen, the former magistrate of Xingyuan, who had also sent several iron smelting households to Ju Ming.

The Western Army, which went to Sichuan to suppress the barbarians, passed through Hanzhong when it returned to Shaanxi. Li Youwen failed to provide the army with sufficient food on time, causing the Western Army to loot the countryside of Hanzhong. In the end, the trouble came to the court. The generals of the Western Army were fine, but Li Youwen was demoted to be the governor of Lizhou.

Shi Yuangong went to visit as Ju Ming's servant, and Li Youwen warmly greeted him: "How are you doing, my dear brother Cheng?"

"Except for a few minor mischiefs, everything goes well for my master," Shi Yuangong said.

After chatting for a while, Li Youwen said: "Listening to your conversation, it seems that you have read a book?"

Shi Yuangong replied: "I am a scholar from Puzhou, and I was once elected. Unfortunately, my family declined, and both my father and brother died. Fortunately, I was taken in by Xianggong Zhu, and now I sell paper for Xianggong Zhu."

"Xiang Zhu disclosed the paper mill?" Li Youwen asked.

Shi Yuangong asked back: "Has the prefect heard of Yuandang Valley?"

Li You heard this and said, "Of course I have heard that it is Wen Yuke's secluded place. Both Sansu and his son have been guests there."

Shi Yuangong said: "Xiangong Zhu made paper near Yuandang Valley, and the raw material used was Yuandang bamboo. Due to seasonal reasons, now only old bamboo makes poor paper. In two months, Hsinchu will be able to make good paper. .I came to Lizhou, and on the order of my master, I specially gave some to the prefect."

This is nonsense. Ju Ming had no idea that Li Youwen was transferred to Lizhou. He also thought that Li Youwen was in Xingyuan Mansion and could pay a visit when Shi Yuan Highway was passing by.

Shi Yuangong took out a pile of bamboo paper. Li Youwen touched it and observed it, and said in surprise: "Compared with leather paper, it naturally seems inferior, but as bamboo paper it is already top quality. Can Zhu Xianggong make a better one?"

"In June or July, I will do it again and bring good paper to the prefect then." Shi Yuangong said with a smile.

Li Youwen was very happy: "Xiangong Zhu is so polite."

He immediately studied ink and picked up a pen, and wrote a poem on bamboo paper called "I am so happy to give Yuandang bamboo paper to Mr. Zhu". When the ink was slightly dry, he handed it to Shi Yuangong: "Please pass it on."

Shi Yuangong collected the poems and asked casually: "What aristocratic families are there in Lizhou? How is the sales of bamboo paper?"

Li Youwen said: "The Wang, Yang and Wu clans are the most prosperous, but they have not produced many Jinshi. They are just local big families. If you want to sell bamboo paper, you can sell it to the Li family in Zhoucheng. Although the Li family has not produced Jinshi is a local businessman with considerable financial resources."

"Thank you for your advice, Grand Administrator." Shi Yuangong said with cupped hands.

After bidding farewell to Zhizhou, Shi Yuangong stayed at the inn. The next day, he visited the Li family and sold all the bamboo paper he brought.

Including the travel expenses, I only made a small profit. If I didn't take the official ship for free, I would probably have to lose money.

Of course, you can sell Lizhou specialties on your return trip.

While purchasing goods, inquire about information.

Lizhou was originally the capital of Lizhou Road, and officials moved to Xingyuan Mansion one after another. But the garrison here still exists. Thousands of Xiang troops are stationed at the throat of Chuchuan to prevent rebels from going north in Shu.

Shi Yuangong made an insinuation and learned that the Lizhou Xiang army had been destroyed.

Most of the Xiang army are engaged in various errands. The rest of the Xiang army and horse army were not full. Needless to say, they were on empty pay. There were not even a few horses left.

Shi Yuangong also went to take a peek outside the school grounds and found that there was not a single soldier inside, who usually did not participate in training at all.

Yang Pu inquired about the addresses of several Xiang Army officers, quietly observed them for two days, and reported back: "The Xiang Army generals here don't even bring weapons with them when they go out, and they are afraid that they will not be as good as the archers of Puzhou in a fight. Lizhou There are not many soldiers at the top of the city, and they hide away from people when encountering the bright sun."

Shi Yuangong recorded on paper: Lizhou is the throat of Sichuan and the place where military strategists must pass. However, the Xiang army here has been idle for a long time and has not practiced once in a year. As a rule, soldiers are not allowed to carry armor, and all military equipment is stored in the staff store. The city is sparsely defended and can be attacked by surprise, thereby controlling Sichuan and Shu.

After waiting for more than half a month, Shi Yuangong looked everywhere and finally returned with Lizhou local products.

When he returned to Yangzhou, he threw the goods to the Zheng family and handed the records along the way to Zhu Guoxiang for safekeeping. After resting for a few days, Shi Yuangong took the good paper from Hsinchu and headed south along the Jinniu Road again.

This time I really went to Shu, and I also asked for news along the way.

After passing Lizhou, there is Jianzhou Jiangge and Cuiwei, but the defense is still empty.

There hasn't been a war here for a long time, and the officers and soldiers didn't take it seriously at all.

The soldiers guarding the gate were lazy and not very strong. They were deprived of their pay, their troop quotas were insufficient all year round, and their usual food and pay were often in arrears, making it difficult for them to go hungry and have a full meal.

The taxes paid by passing merchants had nothing to do with the soldiers, and were all collected by the tax collectors.

On the contrary, the patrol soldiers nearby seemed to have stronger combat effectiveness. They were responsible for inspecting smuggling all year round.

Shi Yuangong recorded: The sword pavilion is dangerous and cannot be defeated, so it must be outmaneuvered. There are less than two hundred soldiers guarding the gate and they are weak. Only the patrol soldiers are worthy of a battle. These sergeants hunt for thieves and smugglers, and they travel in the Shu Mountains all year round. However, if he is greedy for money, he can be deceived and bribed in advance.

It also records the famous families: the Huang family and the Yu family in Jianzhou...

The news about the local wealthy families all comes from hearsay, and it is written down when a few people agree with each other. It may not be consistent with the real situation, but it will not be too far off.

Then record the sentiments of the people: the prefect of Jianzhou is cruel and cruel to the people, corruption among officials is rampant, the people are fleeing every time, and there are many bandits in the mountains. There was a bandit named Huang Er, a branch of the Huang family, who gathered hundreds of people to plunder the place. The government cannot suppress them, but they will flee into the mountains. This bandit has a reputation of being just and righteous. He only robs wealthy households and business travelers, leaving the poor untouched. Can be recruited.

Mr. Shi Yuangong was dragging his feet forward like this. No matter how expensive the Yuandang paper was sold, he probably wouldn't make much money. All his money was used to find out the news.

He also pays special attention to private salt dealers. Among the Sichuan Gorge smuggling team, in addition to smuggling tea, private salt dealers are the most rampant, and they secretly interact with the patrol soldiers.

Shi Yuangong suggested that if they marched into Sichuan, they could recruit private salt dealers along the way.