Under the setting sun, Hengyuan Village looked even more dilapidated than last time. Ouyang Xuan walked closer and realized that what he felt was not an illusion. I saw marks of cuts from knives and axes everywhere inside and outside the village, and many houses in the village were damaged. The house where I, Li Shuang, Yu Zhu and others had also been burned down.
After inviting everyone to see Du Fu and other squires in the village, Ouyang Xuan explained to them the purpose of entering the village. After two days of carrying heavy loads on a secret trail in the mountains, the group was already exhausted. Ouyang Xuan planned to rest here for one night and then borrow a boat to go to Chongqing Fucheng early tomorrow morning. When Du Fu heard Ming's intention, he asked his son Du Daquan to lead Huang Dagen to arrange accommodation and take a boat tomorrow morning. This time we went to Hengyuan Village again. It had only been more than a month since the officers and soldiers of the grain collection team introduced the Mongolian cavalry into the mountains, but Ouyang Xuan saw that Du Fu had become much older. During the conversation, Ouyang Xuan learned that when Hengyuan Village received the warning, most of the villagers took their belongings and fled nearby to hide in order to avoid the killings of the Mongols. Sure enough, after the Mongolian centurions who failed to attack Wanjiaping came out of the mountain, they killed everyone on sight in order to vent their anger. The few old and weak people in Hengyuan Village who were unwilling to leave were slaughtered by the Mongolian army. It was learned from Du Fu and others that the Mongolian army did not return the same way after massacring the village, but went straight to Qiongzhou and Yazhou.
After the Mongolian army left, the residents of the Hengyuan village gradually returned to the village. However, due to the massive destruction by the Mongols, their livelihoods were difficult. In addition, the damage to the wall of the village attracted small groups of bandits from nearby to attack and harass them from time to time. They were also afraid that the Mongols would return and the population of the village was reduced. They either moved to nearby mountains or fled to other places to make a living. Some even went to Wanjiaping to join the bandits. When Ouyang Xuan and others arrived more than a month ago, there were still more than 500 people in the village, but now there are less than 400 people. Fortunately, the summer grain has just been harvested recently and there is no shortage of food, so the residents in the city can barely survive. However, after this turmoil, all the cattle and farm tools in the village were lost, and there was insufficient seed. As a result, the area sown for autumn grain was much smaller than in previous years. There will definitely be a shortage of grain this winter and next spring. Ouyang Xuan was silent after hearing this. Liuli Dam was a vast area and could accommodate the people of Hengyuan Village. However, the secret path leading from Liuli Village to the outside of the mountain could not be crossed by non-strong people. Even if the villagers are willing, it is impossible to move all the people from Hengyuan to Liuliba. If only the strong laborers are moved, the remaining villagers will starve to death even if they are not killed by bandits. At present, only by vigorously developing industry and mining, building more guns, breaking the blockade of the Wanjiaping bandits, and building a fortress in Hengyuan Village when conditions are ready, can we gain a firm foothold in this plain area and protect the people. It is said that although the plain area where Hengyuan Village is located has few minerals, it has convenient transportation and crops are harvested twice a year. It has been a fertile land since ancient times. If the Perak Army wants to grow stronger, it must develop down the mountain. However, before going down the mountain, it must have a complete plan to defend against the Mongols.
Before setting off on the second day, Du Fu led Du Daquan to Ouyang Xuan and said: "Inspector, Sir, the world is in chaos. Quan Zi has been practicing medicine with me for many years. I would like him to follow you, so as to protect me and keep the incense of the Du family alive." ...." Du Fu's words made Ouyang Xuan very happy. People who know medicine are social elites in any era. They are especially precious in troubled times, especially in the vast Jiguan Mountain. Although there are many herbal medicines, people who know medicine are But very few of them agreed immediately and asked Du Daquan to accompany him to Fucheng immediately.
After the looting by the Mongolian army, the commercial activities that were originally the basis of the prosperity of Hengyuan Town have come to a complete halt, so that there are many idle ships parked on the river next to the village. With Du Fu's full support, Hengyuan Village lent three large boats and six small boats to the Pili Army this time, which were still spacious after loading the merchant team and mountain goods.
When the boat arrived at Yongqu Township, Ouyang Xuan asked the fleet to dock for a while, and he went straight to Old Man Wang's shack. Old man Wang was not at home. After searching around to no avail, Ouyang Xuan left some dried meat and other mountain goods before continuing on his way. He plans to take Old Man Wang to Liuliba for retirement after defeating the Wanjiaping bandits in the future.
Since this trip was going down the river, and the sailors were all experienced in Hengyuan Village, the boat trip was fast and stable, and no member of the trade team suffered from seasickness. However, there are still sporadic water bandits appearing along the way. However, the water bandits saw from a distance that the trade fleet was neat, with many people and weapons, so they only dared to watch from a distance. Shortly after noon, the fleet arrived at Chongqing Mansion.
After getting off the boat, seeing that it was still early, Ouyang Xuan asked everyone to go separate ways. He took Huang Dagen to visit Pan Tongzhi, and asked Wang Youfu, Zhu Tiaozi, Dong Hu and others to go to various trading houses in the city to sell mountain products. Before going to the government office, Ouyang Xuan arranged for someone to quietly deliver a gift to Pan Tongzhi - a tiger skin. This tiger skin was not only complete, but also larger than usual, with the word "王" clearly visible on the forehead. Although he knew that bribery was a common practice in the Southern Song Dynasty officialdom, Ouyang Xuan still kept the matter extremely confidential. On the one hand, he was deeply opposed to this trend in his heart, and on the other hand, he was now the leader of the Thunderbolt Army. There is no harm in willing this trend to spread to Liuliba and doing such shady things quietly and in a low-key manner.
When Ouyang Xuan and Huang Dagen arrived at the government office to meet with Pan Zongzhi, Pan Zongzhi, who had received the benefits, was not as strict as before, but he still looked businesslike and sounded a bit serious when he spoke. He said to Ouyang Xuan and the others: "I am very pleased to know that you and others defeated the Wanjiaping gang! I have ordered the clerk to report the situation to your superiors. You must continue to work hard to serve the imperial court." After saying this Finally, he gave a few words of encouragement, but he never mentioned whether to reward him. According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, Liuliba's killing of hundreds of thieves this time was a great achievement, and the reward should be extremely generous. Ouyang Xuan was not surprised or disappointed by this. He originally did not expect the Chongqing Mansion to give him a reward, but he just felt that the bureaucratic system of the Southern Song Dynasty was really rotten.
Ouyang Xuan suppressed the slight anger in his heart and raised the salt problem in Liuliba and the mountains to Pan Tongzhi, hoping to be given a salt guide or official certificate to buy salt in Qiongzhou. In ancient times, important materials such as salt and iron were subject to a monopoly system, called the salt and iron monopoly. Anyone who bought and sold without official permission would be beheaded. Perhaps because of his guilt over Ouyang Xuan and others getting no reward for killing bandits, or perhaps because of the effect of the tiger skin, Pan Tongzhi hesitated for a long time before agreeing to Ouyang Xuan's request. According to the normal system, the sale of salt should be approved by a special official agency, and Chongqing Prefecture does not have the authority to approve salt quotations. However, since Mongolia invaded Sichuan many times, the prefectures and counties around Chengdu have long been in ruins. Even Chongqing Prefecture has not had a prefect for a long time and was replaced by Pan Tongzhi. The functions of salt industry monopoly were also performed by the study clerks of Chongqing Prefecture.
After accepting the valuable mountain goods sent by Huang Dazhong, the next process of handling the salt purchase paperwork went smoothly. With a stroke of his pen, the clerk who handled the paperwork directly gave Liuliba the paperwork to buy two thousand kilograms of salt. After all, he had to do a favor to take advantage of others. "Anyway, the poor people in the mountains can't afford it," he thought. .
