Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Luanping, Chengde, Chifeng, Kuancheng, Qinglong, Suizhong, Jinzhou, Yixian... these places were all under the jurisdiction of Dading Prefecture and were temporarily assigned to Liaoning Province by Ju Ming.

Without him, the population is too small.

Only Dadingfu City (the central capital of the Liao Kingdom) and Jinzhou were still somewhat decent, while the rest were all destroyed.

Most of the territory under the jurisdiction of this mansion was formerly the territory of the Xi clan.

Ever since the leader of the Xi tribe betrayed the Kingdom of Jin and proclaimed himself emperor, the central area of ​​Dading Prefecture had become a mess. Then the Han leader Zhang Jue rebelled against the Jin in the Liaoxi Corridor and devastated the southeastern part of Dading Prefecture.

Then came the Mingjin battle.

Today, 45% of the people living in Dading Prefecture were moved from Liaodong by the Jin Kingdom, 45% were moved by the Ming Dynasty from Liaodong, and only 10% were people whose origins were here.

It is equivalent to directly changing the inhabitants of this land in twenty years!

There are also many prefectures and counties where people have died or fled, but have not been replenished by migration. There are few people and many wild animals.

Zong Wu and his party encountered wild beasts seven times just from Miyun to Chengde.

Two of them were tigers. They stood far away on the roadside, watching people come and go. If only a few people pass by, tigers will most likely pounce on them, and many humans have been eaten by wild beasts.

At Fuguyi, Zongwu encountered a caravan going south.

The caravan also hired a few veterans as bodyguards. The leader said to Zong Wu: "This place used to be very wealthy, as you can tell by the name Fuguyi. Now there are only a dozen households left. They were all secretly hidden by Jin Guo when he was clearing the country. They went into the mountains and returned home. Not far to the north, there used to be a naturalized county. Now it is no longer available. There are only about a hundred households in and outside the county. I don’t know when the county will be re-established. "

Having said this, the leader of the caravan took out a tiger skin: "Not long ago, a tiger came into the city looking for meat and bit a child to death. The people jointly beat him to death. This time I went to the north to do business, and it happened to be a good harvest. If my husband likes that tiger skin, I can sell it at a low price."

Zong Wu shook his head: "This thing is ominous and has the lives of children on it."

"Then I will transport it to Zhending Mansion and sell it. Yanshan Mansion will definitely not be able to sell it at a high price." The merchant carefully put away the tiger skin.

Zong Wu asked: "Are you going to Linhuang Protector's Mansion to do business?"

The merchant said: "Linhuang is too far away. I will sell the tea to Dadingfu City and then come back. The merchants will then resell the goods to the grassland."

"Are the Han and Han people living together in Dading Fucheng?" Zong Wu asked again.

The merchant said: "They are all from Liaodong. Some are from the Jin Kingdom, and some are from the Ming Dynasty. Most of them are Bohai people, followed by Han children, and the least Jurchens. They all speak Chinese with a Liaodong accent, mixed with Some northern Han accents.”

Zong Wu asked about other information, and the merchant told him in detail, which gained him a lot of knowledge.

Continuing to set off and arriving around Dading Mansion, Zong Wu found that the population here was actually larger than that of Yanshan Mansion.

This was a deliberate move by the imperial court. The Bohai and Han people moved to Liaodong and merged them into the new Northern Han people to control the Linhuangfu grassland further north.

I heard that there were imperial envoys going to the grassland, and three caravans approached them, saying they wanted to accompany Zong Wu.

Salt, tea, and ironware are all controlled commodities. Transporting them to the grassland requires a license, and a maximum limit is set every year. Cloth and the like don't matter, they can be sold on the grassland.

While Zong Wu was on his way, he communicated with businessmen.

"Can the grassland tribe rob the caravan?" Zongwu asked curiously.

The tea merchant smiled and said: "With Yue Duhu guarding Linhuang Mansion, how can the grassland tribes dare to rob the merchants of the Ming Dynasty? They are not tired of living!"

The merchant selling salt said: "Now it is a guard system. The grassland tribes are all assigned to pastures and no longer attack each other. A caravan has arrived, and they are very enthusiastic. They kill sheep one by one to entertain us."

The so-called "guard system" here is actually a combination of the Tang Dynasty's protective system and the Qing Dynasty's alliance and flag system.

The Duhufu has areas directly under its jurisdiction, and the people living in the areas directly under the jurisdiction do not belong to any tribe. They are all registered as households by the Duhufu. Mainly cultivated land, with a few grazing areas.

The areas under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate outside the direct jurisdiction were divided into several wards (leagues), and each wards were divided into several wards (banners).

The chief of the guard is the commander-in-chief of the capital. The governor-general recommends candidates from among the chiefs of various ministries and can serve after obtaining the approval of the imperial court. The commander of the station is the commander, and the candidate is recommended by the commander of the guard, and can be appointed after obtaining the approval of the governor.

The tribal form still existed, but gradually it was divided into administrative districts.

It is strictly prohibited to attack and rob each other in any guard station.

If there is a dispute between the institutes, it will be mediated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Protectorate. If mediation fails, the dispute can be brought to the Protectorate.

If there is a dispute between the guards, it will be mediated by the Duhufu. If mediation fails, force will be required to intervene. The military intervention of the Duhufu failed, and the central court would definitely take action.

In addition, the people in the areas directly under the jurisdiction of the Duhufu, except for the families of the garrison, were all herdsmen and slaves from various ministries.

They were an exploited class in the original tribes. When the Protectorate was first established, all ministries were ordered to send enough people. The chiefs sent herders and slaves over, and the Protectorate freed them and gave them farmland or pasture.

Therefore, although the people in the areas directly under the jurisdiction of the Duhufu came from various grassland tribes, they were extremely loyal to the imperial court.

They are a stable source of tax revenue and troops, and are the foundation for the long-term existence of the Protectorate!

The Linhuang Protectorate where Yue Fei was located mainly had four areas directly under its jurisdiction, namely Xianzhou (the ancestral state of the Liao Kingdom), Raozhou, Fengzhou, and Wuzhou.

In terms of administrative names in later generations, they are: Bahrain Left Banner, Bahrain Right Banner, Wengniute Banner, and the area along the river from Tongliao to Shuangliao.

All the land suitable for farming has been occupied!

Within the directly-governed areas, 70% of the population is farming and 30% is raising livestock. But regardless of farming or animal husbandry, they are all part-farming and half-pastoral, divided according to their main source of income.

Zongwu entered the territory of Fengzhou (Wengniute Banner) and saw a lot of farmland along the river. The clothes and hairstyles were all Han Chinese.

If it weren't for the local farmers who spoke Khitan so much, Zong Wu would have thought he was in Han territory.

These Khitan-speaking farmers and herdsmen were very enthusiastic when meeting the Han people.

After listening to the merchant's introduction and learning that Zong Wu was sent by the emperor, the farmers and herdsmen knelt down one after another.

The vast majority of them were formerly slaves, and a few were low-level shepherds.

Now that I have my own farmland and pasture, I am afraid of losing it all. They actively separated themselves from the grassland tribes and even considered themselves Han Chinese.

There was no need for the Duhufu to force him to do so. He just imitated the Han people in dressing up and combing their buns. Only the language could not be changed for the time being.

"The Yi and Di surrendered, thousands of miles apart, it was like a prosperous age!" Zong Wu couldn't help but sigh.

A prosperous age must be achieved through force.

And thanks to the Liao-Jin War, the population of the grasslands was drastically reduced. There was only a small population left, and they were drawn to fight by the Kingdom of Jin. He not only went to Mobei to fight, but also fought against the Ming Dynasty, which reduced the population of the grassland to less and less.

By the time Yue Fei was ordered to establish the Linhuang Protectorate, the grassland was already vast and sparsely populated, and it was easy to set aside areas under direct jurisdiction.

Then they set up guard stations, divided pastures, and relocated tribes.

From beginning to end, no tribe resisted, because everyone was able to get enough pasture.

The real ruling dilemma will still be tens or hundreds of years later. At that time, the population of various ministries will increase and the pasture will gradually become insufficient, and conflicts will inevitably be resolved through foreign wars.

The Fengzhou garrison had already sent Pegasus to report the news. A few days later, when Zongwu arrived at Changtai Post, Yue Fei led a group of cavalry to greet him.

"Linhuang Protector Yue Fei, together with the civil and military officers of the Protectorate, pays homage to the angel!" Yue Fei dismounted and bowed.

In addition to a group of generals behind him, there are also civil servants from the Protectorate, such as Chief Shi Li Geng.

Perhaps because he had been an official in the grassland for a long time, this long history also had good riding skills and could even fight wearing armor at critical moments.

Zong Wu was led by Yue Fei to Linhuang Duhufu City, where they entertained him with wine and meat. After the banquet dispersed, only the two of them were left.

Yue Fei was originally promoted by Zongze, and Zongwu was Zongze's grandnephew. The two were naturally close, and they developed a friendship over a meal.

After everyone left, Zong Wu said to Yue Fei: "Pengju, your title has not been promoted this time."

Yue Fei was stunned for a moment, a little stunned.

Zong Wu said: "That's why your Majesty sent me to give the reward. Your Majesty also asked me to send a message, saying that he wanted Peng Ju to lead the army for a few more years. Moreover, the situation this time is special. If Peng Ju is promoted to the county magistrate, he may attract many generals. dissatisfied."

If someone else were to deliver the message, Yue Fei would definitely feel resentful, but Zong Wu's identity was different.

Yue Fei couldn't help but said: "I obey your Majesty, but the generals under my command..."

Zong Wu said: "For the soldiers under Peng Ju's command, the imperial court will increase the rewards. Even the civil and military personnel left behind in the Linhuang Protectorate will be rewarded this time to thank them for their hard work in the grasslands."

"Then there's nothing more to say." Yue Fei actually still felt a little resentful.

However, when the rewards were given the next day, all Yue Fei's resentments disappeared.

In front of all the soldiers, Zong Wu read out the imperial edict:

"... Confessed Yue Fei to the title of Prime Minister, increased the number of 3,000 households in the city, and 2,000 households in the real estate, and promoted him to the champion general. He was given a flying fish suit, a set of precious armor, a horse branch, and a royal horse. One horse, three thousand silver dollars, posthumously named Yue Fei's grandfather..."

After reading the imperial edict, everyone was shocked.

First angry, then confused, and finally delighted.

The title of Marquis remained unchanged, but the title became Marquis of Xiang, named after Yue Fei's hometown of Xiangzhou.

Let’s talk about the Feiyu suit. The Ming Dynasty designated it as a suit given by the Duke, and now it is also a super-level reward for Yue Fei.

In the Song Dynasty, the champion general belonged to the third rank of Wusan. In the Ming Dynasty, it became the third rank of the military rank. After that, there were only three generals: Hussar, Fuguo and Zhenguo.

In terms of military rank, Yue Fei was promoted two levels in a row.

This thing seems of little use to outsiders, but for generals, it is second only to titles and military positions.

With the rank of Champion General, if he joins forces with another general next time, even if the other general has a higher title than Yue Fei, as long as the military positions of both parties are equal, Yue Fei can automatically become the commander of the coalition - provided that the court does not appoint a commander.

Moreover, after the military rank is promoted, the military position can also be promoted faster.

What's more, the name Champion General has a special meaning.

In addition, Yue Fei's grandparents, parents, and wife were all given honorary official positions and titles.

Absolute imperial grace!

Zong Wu pointed at the royal horse and introduced with a smile: "Yue Duhu, this is your Majesty's favorite war horse. The emperor named it 'Coal Ball'."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone burst into laughter when they heard the horse's name.

Zong Wu put away his smile and said to the generals: "Your Majesty has only given names to two war horses. One is called Cornucopia and the other is Briquettes."

The generals stopped laughing when they heard this. They knew about the cornucopia. When they looked at the briquettes again, their eyes instantly became different.

Zongwu said: "This horse spear is 16 feet (5 meters) long. It took three years to make. It was originally your majesty's imperial weapon. On the spear shaft, there is also an imperial name engraved."

Yue Fei took the horse spear with both hands and liked it very much. He looked for the words engraved on the spear shaft and found two words: Liquan!

Zongwu said: "Your majesty calls it the Liquan magic spear."

Yue Fei waved it for a while and praised: "Good spear! Good spear!"

Zongwu pointed to the armor and said: "This armor is called Tianpeng armor, which corresponds to Pengju. Not to mention that the outer layer is cotton armor, the armor plates inside are all repeatedly cold forged by skilled craftsmen. It is half lighter than ordinary armor, but its protective ability is comparable to heavy cotton armor."

After the introduction of the horse, armor, and spear, the generals' eyes were shining.

Damn the county lord, whoever wants it can take it, how can it compare to such a simple in the emperor's heart?