The distance from Zhending to Tokyo is not that far, the straight-line distance is only about 700 miles, and the road is flat and the rivers are smooth. It is basically following the route Liu Chengyou followed to pursue the Liao army back south.
Except for the Fourth and Fifth Armies, which were split by Liu Chengyou and stationed in Mo and Qi, the remaining troops were nearly 10,000, divided into land and water divisions to escort the goods south. Ma Quanyi was appointed by Liu Chengyou to deploy the waterway march and led it together with Sun Li. First, the second army returns first, and shipping will always save time and effort than land transportation.
As for Liu Chengyou himself, he and Guo Rong took the overland route to Xiang Xun. The march was very slow. Going to Tokyo was just the purpose, and the process was what Liu Chengyou wanted to experience. After setting off from Jinyang, he spent four months fighting hard, focusing on In terms of military and political affairs, Liu Chengyou never took a good look at this great country.
Went south from Zhending, passed Zhaozhou, and entered Xingzhou. We walked slowly and felt heavy all the way. The war had severely damaged the country. The bones were exposed in the wild and there were no roosters crowing for thousands of miles. This is probably the most realistic portrayal of the journey. What I saw was devastation, deserted villages and fields, ruined walls, famine, and rampant epidemics. Large areas of uninhabited villages and towns, and poor people gathered together to steal...
In a desolate and desolate environment, some people can still be seen along the way, lonely or even numbly tending their fields. Farming and farming are engraved in the bones of the Chinese people, no matter how difficult the environment is.
Entering Xingzhou, we stayed one night when passing through Neiqiu County. This is a typical county with constant fighting. There are less than 600 households in the entire county, and there are less than 200 households in the city. It is obvious that the population is sparse, and the people live in poverty. , but the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes are not much at all.
He ordered Guo Rong and Wei Renpu to visit and found out that the county magistrate was appointed by Xue Huairang, the governor of the Anguo Army. He was originally a military ruffian. He carried forward the "peeling" style when he took office. Those who don't do what they want can be suppressed by the authorities and punished in prison without any scruples.
In this era, even a small county magistrate has great power, especially those appointed by the warlords of Jiezhen, who also hold the power of life and death.
The Neiqiu chief had only been in office for a month. When he first arrived, he decided to waive the summer and autumn taxes on his own initiative. This did not make the people of Neiqiu happy for a few days, and he began to set up various names. What about city taxes, house taxes, and city entrance and exit taxes? That's all, there is also a bridge tax. You know, the landform in Neiqiu has a three-dimensional structure, with mountains, hills, and plains each occupying one part. There is no larger river, let alone a bridge... ..
The most interesting thing is that while others apportion miscellaneous taxes and collect them on a per-time basis, Neiqiu County Magistrate collects them on an annual basis and forces the people in his jurisdiction to serve as "annual members." The problem is, how long he can be a county magistrate is a question. However, The county magistrate did achieve a certain degree of "fairness". The poor received less and the rich received more.
In the station, after listening to the report, Liu Chengyou fell silent, but his mood was a bit complicated. He held it in for a while and looked at the people in front of him: "What do you think?"
"You can see from this how difficult it is to make a living for the people!" Xiang Xun sighed and said.
"Since the Tang Dynasty, rites and music have collapsed, general principles have been lost, laws and regulations have been lacking, vassal towns have become independent, local governance has been neglected, martial men have taken over, and they have abused the people, and the chronic diseases have become deep. Now that the Han Dynasty is newly built, it is necessary to restructure the economy and determine the future. Dianzhang, Fazhou County, to rule the world..." Wei Renpu thought for a while and said calmly.
The expression on Guo Rong's face was richer, and his eyes were cold: "This Nei Qiu leader deserves to be killed."
Liu Chengyou calmed down instead, shook his head, and let out a long sigh, as if he had infinite emotion: "This world has been in chaos for too long..."
"It is true that the chaos has been going on for too long. The people are determined that if the imperial court can bring peace to the world and eliminate the troops and the chaos, then people's hearts will surely follow!" Wei Renpu said with certainty.
He stood up and wandered around the room for a few steps, looking confused. His real mood at the moment was: the revolution has not yet succeeded, and comrades still need to work hard. To say that Liu Chengyou is worried about the world and cares about the people is not necessarily true. But, look Looking at the broken mountains and rivers and the sinking of the country, I always feel uncomfortable and a little sentimental.
"Chief of the Neiqiu, he's just a nobody. What's the use of killing him? Let's forget it." After a while, Liu Chengyou raised his hand and said in a cold voice: "It's better to kill a small evil with words than to eliminate a big evil!"
They are all outstanding people, so they naturally heard the implication of Liu Chengyou's words. Guo Rong looked at Liu Chengyou's back and asked: "Your Highness, you want to deal with Xue Huairang?"
"From Wang Shou'en of Luzhou, to Bai Zairong of Zhenzhou, and now Xue Huairang of Xingzhou, if we rely on such people to protect Weizhou Town and maintain the country, the country will perish sooner or later!" Liu Chengyou said coldly. It’s very heavy!
Xue Huairang was also a warrior with the characteristics of the times. He had been in the army for more than thirty years and fought bravely. He served in several states. He never implemented good governance in the local area. He was greedy and only focused on collecting money.
In the previous campaign against the Liao Dynasty, they successfully speculated and led their troops to expel the Hu soldiers, occupy Mingzhou, and join the Liu family. Then they started to cause trouble. Originally, Liu Duo, the guard of Xingzhou, had surrendered to Liu Chengyou, and Xue Huairang led the army northward. He deceived the city and killed him. Although Liu Chengyou was angry at that time, he took the overall situation into consideration and temporarily appointed him to inspect Xing and Ming.
However, this Xue Huairang probably heard some bad news. While accepting Liu Chengyou's appointment, he sent someone to Kaifeng with gifts to express his surrender to Liu Zhiyuan. Then, through the kind words of a certain minister, he was appointed as the governor of the Anguo Army. Shi, Jiedu Xing, Ming, Ci three states...
The emperor's appointment was much more effective than the appointment of the prince Liu Chengyou. Then, Xue Huairang let go and began to display his usual style.
Various names were created to gather grain and make money, one of which was the most unbearable for Liu Chengyou. Zhao Yanshou's Northern Expedition to Youyan, Liu Chengyou was competing with the Liao army, and these guys gathered money and grain in the name of supporting Liu Chengyou's Northern Expedition.
However, Liu Chengyou has never seen even a grain of grain or a copper plate. Using Liu Chengyou's name to cause trouble, his reputation has been ruined, and he has not seen any benefits. How can Liu Chengyou not be angry?
"However, Xue Huairang is the military envoy appointed by the emperor. If he were to capture him without permission, he would not be able to explain to the court and your majesty." Wei Renpu still said with some scruples.
"Since I came out of the east, have I not made many decisions without permission?" Liu Chengyou waved his hand: "If you have a lot of debt, you don't have to worry about it. With the current public opinion in the court, if you go back, you will inevitably be given a lecture... .”
Although Liu Chengyou's ears and eyes were not very sensitive at this time, he still heard about the conditions in Kaifeng City. When he said this, he couldn't help but curl up with a hint of sarcasm.
Turning his head to look at Wei Renpu, seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Liu Chengyou raised his hand and said: "The crime Xue Huairang committed is so serious, but in this world, we can only let it go? In the past, we were too tolerant to such people, so that Have no fear of others. Is it a crime to kill someone? Is it a crime to commit corruption? You can even raise an army to rebel and still save your life! Being blindly tolerant will only corrupt and weaken the discipline of the imperial court."
Liu Chengyou said coldly: "When the Han Dynasty was first established, the emperor and the ministers were responsible for Huairou's affairs. It was up to me to establish this majesty, and it was up to me to do this evil! Let's use Xue Huairang to do the surgery!"
Seeing Liu Chengyou's expression, Wei Renpu opened his mouth, but after all he stopped admonishing him. He could feel that Liu Chengyou couldn't hold it back anymore. He sighed silently. He actually wanted to remind Liu Chengyou that killing Bai Zairong was not a big problem, but this Xue Huairang, no matter what he did, it was all done by Fang Jiedu, or he was appointed by Liu Zhiyuan...