While he was busy with industrial and mining construction, Ouyang Xuan did not forget to prepare for war. He always paid attention to the bandits' movements. A few days have passed since the last time the bandits were defeated, but the Wanjiaping bandits have not come to retaliate. This is really strange according to Xiong Ben's character of seeking revenge. According to the secret sentry report sent by Cao Ergou, the bandits in Wanjiaping have significantly strengthened their vigilance during this period. Previously, the personnel from Liuli Village could only quietly sneak close to the bandits' stronghold for detection. Now, the bandits in Wanjiaping are more than ten miles away. On the mountain road, bandits will be chased away by outposts. If they are not careful, the bandits will chase them with knives and bows, and they will not be able to detect any information about Wanjiazhai. Cao Ergou had no choice but to send people to lurk outside the patrol range of the bandits and closely monitor the mountain road from Wanjiaping to Liuliba, in order to get the news as soon as the bandits attacked.
Six days after setting off, Huang Dagen and Dong Hu returned to Liuliba. In just six days, the two of them had obviously lost weight and become dark and haggard. In addition to traveling through mountains and ridges with food and shelter, they also encountered Mongolian army rangers in the plains below the mountains. It was early in the morning, and the two of them had just descended from the mountain. When they were preparing to head towards Hengyuan Town on the plain ahead, Dong Hu, a sharp-eyed man, spotted a herd of horses grazing on the river beach in the distance. It looked like there were about twenty horses in size. Huang Dagen estimated that the hundred-man team that attacked the bandits in Wanjiazhai had dispersed, leaving this ten-man team to conduct reconnaissance and looting.
In order to prevent complications, the two did not enter Hengyuan Village. Instead, they stayed away from the Mongolian cavalry and took a remote path until they reached Chongqing Fucheng. During this trip, the two of them brought back two pieces of news, one good and one bad. The good news is that although Pan Tongzhi was doubtful about the report of the two men, after Huang Dagen presented the mink skin and saw Dong Hu's full Qiang face, he rolled his eyes and confirmed the content of the merit letter. At that time, Pan Tongzhi appointed Ouyang Xuan to inspect Liuli on behalf of Ouyang Xuan, and renamed the grain collection team as Liuli Village Collection Team, placed it under his control, took charge of matters in the surrounding mountains, and reported it to the relevant department for record. Yu Zhu was still a member of the arresting team, and a supporting team was added. Huang Dagen and Cao Ergou were the supporting teams respectively. Yang Xiucai was the accompanying scribe during the inspection. He also commended Lu Dezhi and other mountain people for their loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. , and the remaining meritorious personnel will be rewarded by Ouyang Xuan himself. Pan Tongzhi also ordered his scribes to further expand on Yang Xiucai's brilliant letter, such as: "Our envoys planned to lead mountain bandits and Tatar soldiers to fight. The mountain bandits killed and injured hundreds of people, and the Tatar soldiers died and injured dozens of people; our department's newly opened The territory covers a hundred miles, and the giant bandits in the mountains came to attack and were defeated, killing and capturing more than 200 bandits." Huang Dagen was asked to sign his name on it, and to sign on behalf of Ouyang Xuan. Pan Tongzhi's saucy operation really opened Xiaohuo Changhuang Dagen's eyes. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It turned out that being an official in the imperial court was so easy, all he needed to do was brag.
Ouyang Xuan took the official document from Chongqing Mansion brought back by Huang Dagen and read it carefully. He understood "to take charge of all matters in Liuliba and control the grain collection team", which meant that he was fully responsible for Liuliba and the grain collection team, but he was very confused about the position of Liuli inspection. Yang Xiucai explained: "Brother Xuan, this patrol is the official responsible for public security in the state and county. The county captain is responsible for city security, while the patrol is responsible for rural security. The main responsibility is to tour the countryside and arrest bandits. The imperial court is mostly in the states at the junction of the two countries. Inspections were set up in the county and forts. They were now set up in this place where Tibetan and Han people lived together, and they were also responsible for patrolling the borders. With this appointment, Pan Tongzhi still asked Brother Xuan to wipe out the giant bandits, suppress the mountains and reject the Western Tibetan tribes. Invasion".
The good news about Ouyang Xuan and others being promoted to noble positions can boost the morale of everyone in Liuliba. The bad news is that Pan Tongzhi was greedy for profit. It turns out that although Liuliba has been regarded as Zhengshuo by the imperial court since the Tang Dynasty, it has only been under nominal jurisdiction since the founding of the Song Dynasty, and the effective governance of the imperial court has never reached this place. Pan Tongzhi now reports more than a hundred miles in the mountains, including Wanjiaping, as his military achievements in opening up territory. Since ancient times, the expansion of territory has been a great achievement, but effective governance requires the mountain people to pay grain taxes as proof. But when it comes to levying grain taxes in this mountain, not to mention that the Wanjiaping bandits will never allow the imperial forces to enter the mountain, the mountain people in other villages will obviously not agree, even the people in Liuli Village will not agree. The government's exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes will definitely make the mountain people angry, unanimously oppose it, and even side with the Wanjiaping bandits.
After Huang Dagen finished his story, Lu Dezhi, who was standing next to Dong Hu, asked Ouyang Xuan with a worried expression: "Brother Xuan, does your promise not to requisition food still count?"
"Forget it! As long as I, Ouyang Xuan, am here, this promise will be valid. However, taxes on industry, mining, and commerce must be collected according to the amount," Ouyang Xuan said.
"This is nature, this is nature," Lu Dezhi and Dong Hu replied hurriedly. For the mountain people, food and prey are what they have earned through hard work, and they must keep their promise not to tax. However, there was no industry, mining, and commerce in the mountains. Now that Ouyang Xuan and others have established them, taxation is appropriate. For Ouyang Xuan, although there is abundant grain in the mountains, the transportation cost is extremely high due to inconvenient transportation. If it is transported to the plains under the mountains, there will be little left after deducting the cost, which is really not cost-effective. In the future, the development of industry and mining will bring huge financial resources. For example, if you use grain in the mountains, you can just buy it with money.
The matter of grain tax will no longer be mentioned now. After Ouyang Xuan and everyone congratulated each other, he ordered Huang Dagen and Dong Hu to have a good rest, and then brought the herbs and Lu Dezhi they collected to Yu Zhu's residence. On the return trip, since the items they brought had been sent to Pan Tongtong and the food and water were basically exhausted, Huang Dagen and Dong Hu's burdens were greatly reduced. The two of them spent more time in the mountains where Artemisia annua grew, and collected enough Artemisia annua to bring back. In front of Yu Zhu's hospital bed, Ouyang Xuan asked Yang Xiucai to convince Chongqing Mansion. When he heard that Ouyang Xuan was promoted to the post of inspection, Yu Zhu struggled to get up to congratulate him, but Ouyang Xuan supported him. He said emotionally: "Brother, there is no need to be so polite. Because of your humility, I am lucky enough to get this position. You still need to give me a helping hand when you recover." "Brother Xuan, there is no need to be humble. You have received this appointment because of public expectations. We will serve you to the death," Yu Zhu said. The sincere emotions in the words of the two people were clearly seen by Lu Dezhi on the side. He couldn't help but sigh: "Brothers are of the same mind and can cut through gold, so why worry about my failure in Liuliba!"
Because Yu Zhu was in bed to recuperate, Ouyang Xuan was already the de facto leader in the eyes of everyone. Although the Chongqing Mansion appointed Liuli to inspect this time, it was Pan Tongzhi's plan to drive away wolves and tigers. If Ouyang Xuan and others were killed, Pan Tongzhi's wish to eliminate dissidents would be fulfilled; The officials have good leadership, and their contributions are certainly indispensable. But it also legally confirms Ouyang Xuan's status in Liuliba, which will bring great convenience to his next reform measures.
