Chapter 847 Song Jiang: My hometown in Shandong is gone? I cant live with my old age anymore?
"Quick! We must transport the tax money out and send it to the capital before the bandits arrive!"
"This is my last contribution to Hebei!"
Under the stern urging of Tao Miao, the prefect of Zhending Prefecture, a group of Western Army soldiers dressed as bodyguards escorted the convoy and hurriedly set off on the road.
This is the tax collected by Hebei West Road recently, but it is not for this year, but for next year's "advance loan", that is, next year's tax has been collected in advance.
The standard rule is to eat the grain of Mao in the year of Yin and the grain of the year of Mao in the year of Yin.
This short-sighted behavior of focusing only on the present and not caring about the future often occurred in subsequent dynasties, but was rare in the Song Dynasty.
It's not that the government is lenient, but that the people's taxes have reached the extreme. After all, Zhu Xi once said, "The ancient methods of engraving are all available in this dynasty." Another official, Chao Shuozhi, complained, "In the Song Dynasty, taxes were dozens of times higher than those of the people."
"Han" "The number of the second tax in the Song Dynasty increased to seven times in the Tang Dynasty"...
The reason why there are so many multiples has been explained earlier. The recruitment system exempted corvee service is a major reason. However, even if the share of corvee service is included, the tax burden in the Northern Song Dynasty was "universal and there was little disagreement." Under such circumstances, it was still
To "borrow" in advance is not sustainable fishing, but direct killing of fish, which will completely drive people to death.
But now Zhending Mansion, as the administrative seat of Hebei West Road, issues such an order precisely because anyone with a discerning eye can see that Hebei will no longer belong to Zhao and Song.
Since it has become the enemy's territory*, why not quickly borrow as much tax as possible and send it to Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River?
The prefect Tao Miao watched the team leave, breathed a sigh of relief, stroked his long beard, and walked towards the tower with a healthy and righteous pace.
As Yanyun's occupation lasted longer and longer, the Liao Kingdom still did not go south to Kou Pass, and actually allowed the richest Nanjing Road to be lost. The world gradually understood two truths.
First, the Liao Kingdom is definitely not as powerful as it used to be. It has even become strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and has no time to take care of itself.
Second, the rural army is really powerful. They were able to recover Yanyun not because they took advantage of the situation when the main forces of the two countries were fighting, but because they really had that ability.
In fact, this should have been seen a long time ago, but many people are subconsciously unwilling to believe and admit it...
That being the case, Tao Miao didn't take any chances.
With him and the few Western troops in the city, it was impossible to defend the city.
What he, the Zhending magistrate, wanted was to attract firepower and allow the team transporting tax money to escape safely from the pursuit of the rural soldiers. By the time the other party reacted, it would be too late.
"I have devoted my loyalty to the country and shall leave my name in history!"
Tao Miao's sleeves were fluttering, and he had the demeanor of a capable minister. His mind had begun to think about how he would be recorded in the history books as a loyal minister who would rather die than surrender. If he did not die in the war and was captured by the local army, he would be executed during the execution.
You must say to the executioner: "Let me die facing south!"
If you bow down to the south and accept the punishment, your posthumous title should be "Zhongzhuang"...
This composure, regardless of life and death, made the soldiers who came forward show some admiration. It was not until the soldiers who should have stayed away came back in front of them with blood dripping and screamed: "The rural army has been killed outside the city.
, surrounded the four directions, we tried to rush out, but we were overtaken by the cavalry, and all the tax money was taken away!"...
Tao Miao's face turned grim and he sighed: "I have a responsibility to the imperial court, but my Zhending Mansion will never be easily captured by the bandit army! Listen carefully, everyone, even if we kill a bandit, we will be loyal to the country. If
If you can defend it for several days, you can severely weaken the enemy's energy. Let everyone see that our Song Dynasty is long and our country will never be touched by forest thieves!"
"Oh! Oh——"
There was a relatively orderly response from all around, and there was not much movement from the defenders. The main reason was that Zhe Keshi and Zhong Shidao had left hundreds of Western troops in Zhending Mansion, and they began to take the opportunity to boost their morale.
"You can't kill any of you, and you can't stop our army even half a step. If you resist stubbornly, you will only destroy yourself!"
But just as the call for mobilization before the war fell, a sharp voice sounded, and a group of people appeared not far away.
Although there were only a hundred people in total, the Western Army was already very wary when they saw the opponent's elite appearance, with strong military uniforms and neat military appearance. Tao Miao gritted his teeth and said, "The Xiang Army is really ambitious. They sent people to infiltrate our Zhending Mansion early on."
Are you done? Thief, tell me your name!"
The leader said in a deep voice: "People from Zhending Mansion! Meng Kang!"
Because Meng Kang is good at building ships, he has now become an important member of the navy. He has been building the navy at the Cangzhou Shipyard. Since then, he has witnessed the Liao army's capture of Zhending Mansion, and this is the first time he has returned.
He couldn't help but be shocked when he saw this. In the past, although Zhending Mansion was not as prosperous as Daming Mansion, it was also a place of governance. Now it has become such a shabby appearance*. There was sadness in his voice: "The foolish king fled to Jinling, the dog
Officials impose strict taxes and taxes. Have you ever thought about the common people? I’m afraid there’s not even a trace of it! How long will the Zhao and Song Dynasties last? Bah! If the Zhao and Song Dynasties do not perish, it’s not allowed by heaven!”
Having said this, Meng Kang turned to the defenders again and shouted: "Folks, this dog officer doesn't care about everyone's lives at all, but you are working hard for him. Is there any truth in this!"
Hearing the familiar local accent and the extremely sad and angry voice, the local defenders looked at each other, and their hands holding the weapons suddenly relaxed: "This is the reason... this is the reason..."
"How dare you, thief! Don't listen to his nonsense..."
Before Tao Miao, who was shocked and angry, could refute, Meng Kang's assistants, Xie Zhen and Jie Bao, shouted: "Special attack camp, attack!"
Compared with the Hook and Sickle Battalion and the Sword and Ax Battalion, the Special Attack Battalion is selected from hunters with high martial arts skills. It has well-equipped weapons and equipment.
Battle of the Gate.
At this moment, the special attack battalion showed its strength. As soon as the two sides fought, the elite Western Army retreated steadily, almost suppressing them one-sidedly.
And when fighting broke out on the city tower, smoke and dust were everywhere below, and the rural troops who had intercepted the tax convoy also moved towards Zhending Mansion to surround them.
"Come and kill with me!
General Shi Wengong took the lead. Seeing the battle above the city wall and the moat below not recovering at all, he immediately galloped on his horse and killed directly towards the city gate.
Half an hour later, Zhending Mansion's stubborn resistance was completely gone.
The Song army had too few available soldiers, not to mention civil servants like Tao Miao. Even if they let Zhe Keshi and Zhongshi Daolai, they were too clever to make a meal without straw. When Meng Kang succeeded in shaking up the already weak morale of the defenders, this battle