Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"Ju Ming, the magistrate of Hanyuan County, has met Prefect Yuwen!" Ju Ming bowed.

"Success does not require formality," Yu Wenchang smiled and bowed, "Please sit down."

Yu Wenchang was very young, just over thirty years old. He was not promoted to a non-commissioned officer, but was awarded an officer by grace.

His father, Yuwen Changling, had long served in ethnic minority and border areas. Even though he was promoted to the supervisory censor, he still took the initiative to be transferred to the frontier, and then was promoted to the minister of household affairs and the governor of Kaifeng.

When Cai Jing came to power, Yuwen Changling was immediately demoted and served as magistrate (prefect) in Qingzhou, Hangzhou, and Yuezhou.

A few years ago, he died of illness while serving in Yuezhou.

Because his father had offended Cai Jing, after Yuwen Chang Enyin became an official, he worked for nearly ten years, but was thrown into the idle state of Lizhou.

We are both demoted at the end of the world, so why should we have known each other before.

Although they had never met each other before, Yuwen Chang naturally felt that Ju Ming was close to him: "The statement in the residence newspaper is unclear. I only know that Cheng Cheng was banned from studying and writing. How did he offend the officials?"

"Maybe it has something to do with Hua Shi Gang." Ju Ming explained briefly.

"Alas," Yu Wenchang sighed, "my father was demoted from the prefect of Hangzhou to the prefect of Yuezhou precisely because of his obstruction of Hua Shi Gang. When my father was the prefect of Kaifeng, he offended the traitors and became the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He also offended the Ministry of Household Affairs. Traitors will find it difficult to return to Beijing from other places."

Zhu Ming cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has served the country and the people, and I admire you greatly."

In history, Yu Wenchang's experience was much worse than that of his father.

He made outstanding achievements in Lizhou and was promoted to the Tea Horse Secretary of Fulu, Chengdu. He also had outstanding political achievements in the Tea Horse Division, but cut off some people's financial resources and was thrown to Kuizhou, a place full of barbarians. He died of illness while serving in Kuizhou.

Yu Wenchang didn't like to be playful and went straight to the point: "Lizhou only has one county, and it is inevitable that there will be discord between the magistrate and the magistrate. It is better to do this, I will try not to interfere in the civil administration of Success. As for other things, I will also try not to interfere. If there is a conflict, , resolve through negotiation. How about it?"

This attitude is low enough. As the governor of the state, he does not need to say hello to Ju Ming at all.

"We should follow what the prefect said," Zhu Ming thought it was feasible, and added, "I am a newbie here and don't know what is going on in Lizhou. Please give me some advice."

Yu Wenchang couldn't help but sigh: "Well, the affairs of Lizhou are nothing more than appeasing the barbarians and buying horses from each other."

Ju Ming asked: "Why is the prefect sighing?"

Yu Wenchang explained: "Lizhou originally used cloth to buy horses with an annual quota of 2,100 guan, and the magistrate was responsible for this. Later, a tea farm was set up and changed to trading tea for horses, which was affiliated to the Chengdu Fulu Tea Horse Company. The magistrate was not allowed to interfere. The annual quota was also increased to 4,000 guan. Lizhou bought horses, and there were more than a thousand horsemen and soldiers, which was a lot of money. The Tea Horse Company bought horses with empty coupons, and the Yi people were also resentful."

The "horse soldiers" mentioned here are not soldiers who fight on horseback, but Xiang troops who specialize in escorting tea horses.

They are like civilians with no fighting power at all. Moreover, all kinds of empty wages are enough for one or two hundred people.

Decades ago, when the new law was reformed, 520,000 guan were borrowed from the Transshipment Department and 200,000 guan from the Changping Department, specifically for horse buying in Lizhou. Now not a penny has been returned, and it is completely a bad debt. Even the horse money was often not given, and the barbarians were given direct payment to make up the money.

At the same time, Sichuan tea plantation owners were driven into bankruptcy in large numbers.

Tea and horses eat all kinds of food. After eating, the imperial court eats the tea households, and after eating the tea households, the barbarians eat.

Again, where the hell did the money go?

Zhizhou no longer has the right to intervene in this kind of matter, it is all managed by the tea-horse system.

Yu Wenchang said: "The barbarians sold their horses but could only get white coupons. They were naturally dissatisfied and robbed the Han people more and more. That's why I reorganized the Xiang army and fully prepared the troops to fight to prevent the barbarians from rebelling." "

Ju Ming said: "If the Tea Horse Division is not in order, no matter how much we take precautions, it will be useless."

Yu Wenchang said: "I have gone to the imperial court, maybe there will be a change."

The Chengdu Tea Horse Company went too far, and Yu Wenchang's memorial was sent to the court. Shu officials took the opportunity to promote it in tandem. Therefore, in history, Yu Wenchang was actually transferred back to his hometown to manage the Fulu Tea Horse Company in Chengdu.

After his rectification, the results were remarkable, but he was soon transferred again.

People take political interest, and in just a few years, they become rotten again.

Yu Wenchang added: "The Dali Kingdom requested to build a city and mutual trade south of the Dadu River. The city can be built by Lizhou. I rejected it before. They actually used the new king to succeed and sent an envoy to Tokyo to raise the matter again. Previous article When I go to the court to inquire, I have stated my interests. Maybe the court will send an envoy next year. If you succeed in meeting the envoy, you must sternly refuse."

Ju Ming asked: "Isn't it good to build cities and trade with each other? Not only can it increase Lizhou's tax collection, but it can also expand the power of the government and Han people to the area south of the Dadu River."

"Who doesn't want to expand the territory?" Yu Wenchang shook his head repeatedly, "If the Song Dynasty had strong soldiers and horses, I would go to the south of the Dadu River to build the city myself without the request of Dali State. But now that the soldiers are exhausted and the people are exhausted, the battle of Xixia Before the battle is over, I heard that the traitors are instigating another attack on Liao. In the southwest, how can there be any more border troubles?"

Ju Ming said: "That's true."

Yu Wenchang continued: "Once the government builds a city south of the Dadu River, the barbarians will inevitably face a formidable enemy, and friction will continue from then on. And the Dali Kingdom can also use mutual trade to find out the reality of Lizhou, and sooner or later there will be a large-scale invasion of the north. The barbarians in the south serve as a barrier to resist the Dali Kingdom and build cities to trade with each other. This will not only anger the barbarians, but also attract the covetousness of the Dali Kingdom. If they do this, it is very likely that the barbarians will join forces with the Dali Kingdom. They have made an appointment to attack Lizhou together! "

Today's Sichuan officials are taking the initiative to stir up barbarian rebellions, and then quell the rebellions for meritorious service and promotions.

Yu Wenchang could completely accept Dali's request, build cities and trade with each other to gain political achievements, and then get promoted and leave. As for border troubles in the future, that is a matter for the successor and has nothing to do with him, Yu Wenchang.

But Yu Wenchang did not do this. He was thinking about the long-term interests of the country.

There is really no other good way. There are only a few hundred Xiang troops in Lizhou who can fight, but there are hundreds of thousands of barbarians in the south. If the barbarians are provoked and pushed into the arms of Dali, there will be no peace in the southwest.

It was Yu Wenchang who determined the strategy for dealing with Shengyi and the Dali Kingdom, and there was no trouble throughout the Southern Song Dynasty.

Therefore, a hundred years later, someone still wrote a poem: The border west of the Jade Ax River is quiet, and the people of the state prefer to praise Yu Wenchang.

"Take good care of your subordinates and don't let them harm the people," Yu Wenchang reminded. "There are not many Han people in Lizhou, but government exploitation is becoming more and more serious. Every year, Han people go bankrupt and flee, seeking refuge with the surrounding barbarians. Leading the barbarians to plunder the Han people.”

Ju Ming said: "I will take good care of the county officials, but what about the tea and horse administration? They will definitely exploit the people."

Yu Wenchang was speechless and could only shake his head secretly.

There is a dispatched agency of the Tea Horse Division in Lizhou, and neither the prefecture nor the county magistrate can control it. When they took advantage of the free wages of horse soldiers and had insufficient manpower, they would order local officials to forcibly recruit civilians.

After a long silence, Yuwen Chang said: "Just do your part."

Ju Ming said yes.

Yu Wenchang suddenly smiled and said: "Gather your followers, and I will take you out of the city to have a look."

Zhu Ming called Bai Sheng, Zhang Boring, and Li Bao, and rode four horses to wait at the Yamen.

Not long after, Yu Wenchang also led the horse out, followed by several followers.

Everyone drove south and soon came to a small riverside town.

Yu Wenchang immediately rode outside the town and said: "This is Hanyuan Town, and there is Tongwang Town to the east. The barbarians from the south trade with each other in these two towns. As for the five tribes of barbarians in the west, they go directly to the state city. trade."

Ju Ming asked: "What are the origins of the five barbarian tribes? Why do they all have Han surnames?"

Yu Wenchang said: "I can't tell clearly, but they are definitely not Han people. Their customs and habits are completely different. In the Tang Dynasty, they were called Two-faced Qiang. They may be Qiang people who learned to speak Chinese. The five tribes of barbarians are extremely cunning. If I have an army of five thousand , we must destroy the five tribes of barbarians first. How can we allow others to sleep soundly beside the couch!"

The five tribes of barbarians are really right next to the couch, the closest to the Han people's settlement, and there is no natural barrier in the Dadu River.

"Are the five barbarians extremely brave in battle?" Zhu Ming asked.

Yu Wenchang shook his head: "They wear leather armor, and their weapons are only earthen bows and earthen guns. They are not very powerful in fighting in the wild. But they mostly live in the mountains and build stone fortresses. There are often several fortresses in a village. Those fortresses are not strong either. It is difficult to attack, but casualties are inevitable. To capture a village, ten or twenty people must be killed or injured. How can I have so many troops to use up?"

This is a bit embarrassing. The five tribes of barbarians are tortoises. When they encounter officers and soldiers, they hide in their turtle shells and cannot come out.

Those simple and small stone castles can use artillery to teach them how to behave. There is no need to use heavy artillery. A field artillery weighing one or two hundred kilograms can defeat the bunker with just a few shots.

Ju Ming asked: "Can I use a rock dump truck?"

Yu Wenchang asked: "Will success lead to the construction of a trebuchet?"

"You can give it a try, it shouldn't be difficult." Ju Ming said.

Yuwen Chang smiled and said: "If we succeed, we can build a few of them. From now on, if the five tribes of barbarians dare to plunder, they will use trebuchets to smash their stone forts."

Ju Ming asked again: "Rice is grown along the river?"

Zhu Ming asked about the Han River, which is also the Liusha River. Hanyuan County in the Song Dynasty was not on the edge of the Dadu River, but in the middle reaches of the Han River.

Yu Wenchang said: "Rice and rapeseed are grown by the river, and corn and sorghum are grown on the dry land."

Ju Ming said: "I brought some corn and sweet potatoes, which can be planted in dry land, especially in mountainous areas."

"I have also heard about corn and sweet potatoes, and they can be planted in Lizhou next year." Yu Wenchang was quite happy.

Everyone continued riding south until they came to the Dadu River. Ju Ming asked, "From Hanyuan Town to here, the people's clothes seem to be different."

Yu Wenchang said: "We are all familiar with the barbarians. They can speak Chinese and learn to grow rice. There are more than two thousand households here who are familiar with the barbarians. They have compiled Baojia and are willing to obey the government's orders. However, they have been exploited by the officials for a long time and have long complained. , I tried my best to appease him after I took office, but there are always subordinate officials who work against him."

"Have you changed your Chinese name to Han surname?" Zhu Ming asked.

Yu Wenchang said: "Only Li Zheng and Baojia Chang have Han names and surnames, and they pay taxes according to a fixed amount every year."

Ju Ming knew what to do as the first step: to persuade the barbarians here to grow corn and sweet potatoes, and at the same time punish the subordinates who exploited them. After obtaining the approval of the familiar people, they were given Chinese names and surnames, and then the households were compiled to integrate the people.