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. Basically, Liu Chengyou returned south along the route he used to pursue the Liao army.
Except for the fourth and fifth armies that were split up by Liu Chengyou and stationed in Mo and Qi, the remaining nearly 10,000 troops were divided into two divisions, land and water, to escort the goods south. Ma Quanyi was appointed by Liu Chengyou to deploy the waterway march. Together with Sun Li, he led the first and second armies to return first. Shipping by ship was always less time-consuming and labor-intensive than land transportation.
Liu Chengyou himself, along with Guo Rong and Xiang Xun, took the overland route. 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 the army in Jinyang, he spent four months as a soldier, focusing on military affairs, but Liu Chengyou never took a good look at this great river and mountains.
I went south from Zhending, passed Zhaozhou and entered Xingzhou, walking slowly and feeling heavy all the way. The war has caused too much damage to the country. White bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no roosters crowing for thousands of miles. This is probably the most realistic portrayal. What we saw along the way was devastated, with deserted villages and fields, broken walls and ruins, and famine and epidemics rampant. In large areas of uninhabited villages and towns, poor people gathered together to commit robberies...
In a desolate and desolate environment, some people can still be seen along the way, tending their fields lonely or even numbly. Farming is engraved in the bones of Chinese people, no matter how difficult the environment is.
Entering Xingzhou and passing through Neiqiu County, we stayed one night. This is a typical county with constant wars. 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 there are not a lot of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes.
He ordered Guo Rong and Wei Renpu to visit. The county magistrate was appointed by Xue Huairang, the governor of the Anguo Army. He was originally a military ruffian. When he took office, he carried forward the style of "peeling", dominating and dominating, and apportioning officials at will. 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 took it upon himself to waive the summer and autumn taxes. This did not make the people of Neiqiu happy for a few days, and he began to make various excuses. There are only city taxes, housing taxes, and city entry and exit taxes. There is also a bridge tax. You must know that the landforms within Neiqiu have 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 assess 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 act as "annual members." The problem is, how long he can serve as 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 autocratic, 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 settle down 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 should 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 have determined that if the imperial court can bring peace to the world and eliminate troops and 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 this moment is: the revolution has not yet succeeded, and comrades still need to work hard. It is hard to say how much Liu Chengyou worried about the world and the people. However, looking at the broken mountains and rivers and the sinking of the country, I always feel uncomfortable and a little sentimental.
"Head of the Neiqiu, he is just a nobody. What's the use of killing him? Let's just forget about it." After a while, Liu Chengyou raised his hand and said in a cold voice: "Instead of killing a small evil, it is better 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 in Luzhou, to Bai Zairong in Zhenzhou, and now Xue Huairang in Xingzhou, if we rely on such people to protect Weizhou Town and maintain the country, this country will perish sooner or later!" Liu Chengyou said coldly. That’s a very strong statement!
Xue Huairang was also a warrior with the characteristics of the times. He had been in the army for more than thirty years, fought bravely, and served in several states. He never implemented good governance in the local area. He was greedy and only focused on collecting money.
During the previous campaign against the Liao Dynasty, he successfully speculated and led his troops to expel the Hu soldiers, occupy Mingzhou, and join the Liu family. Then the trouble started. Originally, the guard general of Xingzhou, Liu Duo, had expressed his surrender to Liu Chengyou, but Xue Huairang led his army north to deceive the city and killed him. At that time, although Liu Chengyou was angry, he took the overall situation into consideration and temporarily appointed him to inspect Xing and Ming.
However, 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 military governor of the Anguo Army, and he was responsible for the three states of Xing, Ming, and Ci...
The emperor's appointment was much more effective than the appointment of the prince Liu Chengyou. Then, Xue Huairang let go and started to show his usual style.
To gather grain and make money, he also cleverly set up various names, one of which was the most unbearable for Liu Chengyou. During Zhao Yanshou's Northern Expedition to Youyan, Liu Chengyou competed with the Liao army. They gathered money and food in the name of supporting Liu Chengyou's Northern Expedition.
However, Liu Chengyou never saw even a grain or a copper plate. Using Liu Chengyou's name to cause trouble, his reputation was ruined, and no benefits were seen at all. How could Liu Chengyou not be angry?
"However, Xue Huairang is the military envoy appointed by the emperor. If he were to capture him without authorization, 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, he can only let it go? In the past, he was too tolerant to such people, so that There is nothing to fear from others. Is killing a crime? Is corruption a crime? Even raising an army to rebel can still save one's life! Blind tolerance will only corrupt and weaken the discipline of the 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 the 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 trying to persuade him. He could feel that Liu Chengyou couldn't hold it back anymore. With a silent sigh, he actually wanted to remind Liu Chengyou that killing Bai Zairong was not a big problem, but Xue Huairang, no matter what he did, it was all about Jieduan, and he was appointed by Liu Zhiyuan...
