Crossing the Hutuo River from Zhending to the west, we cross seventy miles to Jingxing. As one of the eight towns in Taihang, Jingxing has been very famous from ancient times to the present. Bai Chongzan guarded it here before he was transferred to Huazhou. several years.
At that time, Emperor Shi Chonggui of Jin Dynasty was captured by the Khitan Northern Captives. Liu Zhiyuan, the great ancestor, also led his army, under the banner of King Qin to help people in trouble, and wanted to go east to Taihang to rescue him. The route he chose was also Jingxing (Tumen). At that time, with the Liao army They also fought a victorious battle in Jingxing, but as a result, they returned to Jingxing. Shortly after returning to Taiyuan, under the planning of executive director Liu Chengyou and others, the yellow robe was added to the body.
As one of the main transportation routes connecting Hedong and Hebei, Jingxing Pass received special attention from the imperial court. From the beginning of the founding of the country, there were heavy troops stationed there. Even during the planning of Liu Zhiyuan and the Han Dynasty princes, if the situation in Hebei was repeated, , then follow Jingxing and guard Taihang to avoid affecting the foundation of Hedong.
However, later, with the support of Liu Chengyou, Zhao Yanshou led the Yan army in the Northern Expedition and successfully captured Youzhou. After that, the Khitan's strength shrank significantly northward and was gradually eliminated from Hebei. Coupled with the pacification of Wei Bo and Du Chongwei, the situation in Jingxing It's not that urgent.
After that, the Han Dynasty's northern defense line gradually consolidated, the situation in Hebei became stable, Jingxing's military status further declined, and the garrison was gradually reduced to the current 500 soldiers.
However, no matter what, the importance of Jingxing still exists here, and with the stability of Hedong and Hebei, commercial uses have also been vigorously developed, and there is an endless stream of travelers.
Guancheng is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is strong and steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. These are its basic attributes. However, standing on the Guan Tower, Liu Chengyou's attention was not on the defense of the city pass.
The stream flows in front of the city gate, winding away, and quickly disappears into the deep mountains and old forests. The sound of the water hitting the walls and colliding continues to echo around the city gate. Looking west, the mountain road leads far away, although it is winding , but the road in the field of vision has obviously been developed and repaired.
There were many tents and posthouses inside and outside the Chengguan, which were crowded with travelers and merchants. Due to the arrival of the emperor, Jingxing Pass was temporarily under martial law, so pedestrians traveling from east to west had to be restrained inside and wait for the opening.
Although the Han Dynasty has abolished most of the customs and taxes within the country, special checkpoints such as Jingxing are still retained. The Third Division also specially dispatched city officials to manage taxation. Except for a part of the tax collected, the rest was turned over to the court. They are all used to strengthen barriers and open mountain roads.
The current Jingxing Pass, in addition to being a military fortress, is also a place for commercial exchanges between Hedong and Hebei, especially Taiyuan and Zhending. Within the pass, an area has also been set aside as a market, not only for business travelers. , the surrounding people would gather here every now and then to exchange goods. After three or four years of this, it became more and more prosperous. According to reports, the number of merchants and common people who gathered in Jingxing every season and autumn exceeded 7,000 at most. , not too much.
"How much customs duties and city taxes can you get every year here in Jingxing now?" Touching the hard and cold wall, Liu Chengyou asked the Jingxing city official who was summoned in front of him.
It must be the first time he saw the emperor, but he was still questioned in such a gentle manner. The city official seemed very embarrassed, his body was tense, and the shrewdness and wisdom that usually managed the city were completely absent.
Seeing this, Liu Chengyou's attitude became even more cordial and said, "Don't be nervous, I'm just asking casually!"
"Your Majesty, the customs duties are more than 3,000 guan, and the city tax is more than 19,000 guan!" The city official calmed down and responded: "In recent years, they have been increasing year by year, and there will be more next year!"
"That's not too little!" Liu Chengyou said with some uncertainty.
"It's quite a lot!" The city official said quickly: "It has been six years since I came to Jingxing. I still remember that at the beginning, the total city tax was only more than 3,000 guan a year. In these years, the public security has been stable, and the court has improved. With the elimination of tariffs in various places, there will be more merchants coming and going, and people will rush to trade in the market, and the tax revenue will also increase unprecedentedly!"
Liu Chengyou did some calculations and found that up to now, the annual income of the Han Dynasty court was only twelve million yuan. By comparison, the tax income of Jingxing was not as miserable as the superficial figures seemed, and could even be considered sufficient.
"What standards are used to collect taxes?" Liu Chengyou asked. Speaking of which, Liu Chengyou really didn't pay close attention.
"According to the regulations of the Third Division, the judgment is based on the carriage, weight, and value of the goods. However, different goods have different tax management!" the city official replied.
"So, it's not easy to be a good tax collector!" Liu Chengyou smiled slightly.
"It's just doing things according to the regulations of the imperial court. There are troops stationed here and the merchants who come and go are very observant. For the ministers and others, it is not a burden!" the city official replied.
Nodding, Liu Chengyou pondered for a while, then suddenly stretched out his hand, pointed at the closed city gate, and said to the general: "Open the gate and unlock it! Those merchants have had a hard time waiting, but there is no need to disrupt the daily order and trade of Jingxing because of me! "
"Yes!" The town general immediately ordered someone to pass on the order.
"Let's go, take me to Guanya to rest!" Liu Chengyou looked at General Jingxing again.
The general is not too old, probably under thirty years old. He has an ordinary appearance, with a few pimples on his face, but his beard is very thick and hairy. The key is that his surname is Sun, and his name is Sun Quanhui, and he is the son of Sun Fangjian.
Paying attention to the buildings and streets in Jingxing City, they were both familiar and unfamiliar. In Liu Chengyou's opinion, they had changed a lot. Liu Chengyou had been to Jingxing twice before, once when he regained Hengzhou (today's Zhending Prefecture) in the early days of the Republic of China and came to inspect the pass. The second time was during the winter tour in the second year of Qianyou. That time, I originally planned to meet with the emperor's uncle, King Liu Chong of Taiyuan, but Liu Chong declined politely.
When I arrived at Guanya, I took a seat and drank two sips of water. Then I saw Sun Quanhui, the general of the town, prostrating himself in the hall and kowtow: "Your Majesty, please punish me!"
Faced with his sudden move, Liu Chengyou was not surprised. There was a flash of amusement in his eyes, and he waved his hand and said: "General Sun, you don't have to be like this? You have guarded Jingxing well, the public security is stable, and the roads are smooth. It is appropriate to give If you show merit, how can you talk about guilt?"
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After hearing this, Sun Quanhui said in a solemn tone: "Your Majesty, I will finally hear about the matter in Dingzhou. My uncle's actions are very serious. I am here to beg for justice to atone for my sins!"
"It doesn't have to be like this! The matter in Dingzhou has passed. I have come to a conclusion and dealt with your uncle!" Liu Chengyou looked at Sun Quanhui with a smile: "Besides, an uncle is an uncle and a nephew is a nephew. I will not get involved. , you don’t have to be uneasy because of this, continue to do your job and do your job, this Jingxing still needs you to be stationed!"
"Get up!"
Hearing what the emperor said, Sun Quanhui was relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and bowed his hands deeply: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is so broad-minded and open-minded. I will shed tears of gratitude in the end!"
Seeing this, Liu Chengyou still had a warm smile on his face and said: "Before I came to Jingxing, I also received a confession memorial from your uncle Sun Fangjin, who also asked me to punish him! You guys, you are so careless and loyal. No matter what, I have a strong balance in my heart, so I won’t act foolishly and suspiciously! Please feel free to relax!"
When Sun Quanhui heard this, he was a little surprised at first, and then said: "Your Majesty is so sincere and sincere, you will be ashamed in the end!"
Regarding Sun's uncle and nephew's voluntary apology, Liu Chengyou still felt very comfortable in his heart. He still said in a friendly manner: "Your father and uncle have made meritorious service to the country, especially the few battles they fought against the Khitan. Boost morale!”
"It is said that during the second capture of Feihu Village, you were the first to conquer the Feihu Village. You personally killed seven barbarians and were injured as a result!" Liu Chengyou's tone was very sure.
Sun Quanhui grinned, and his thick beard trembled, but his expression seemed a little embarrassed: "Your Majesty actually knows the resume of the junior general so clearly!"
Liu Chengyou smiled lightly, that was natural. Everywhere he went, he did his homework in advance.
"I have made great contributions to the Han Dynasty and shed blood for the imperial court. It is too late for me to treat such a heroic hero well, so how can I punish him for his crime?" Liu Chengyou said.
"Your Majesty's kindness will never be forgotten!" Sun Quanhui immediately vowed.