Zhang Jun sat at the door, squinting his eyes slightly and basking in the autumn sun. The sun was warm and felt particularly comfortable on my body.
The owner of the inn passed by the door, looked at Zhang Jun's appearance, raised his hands and said, "Has your sunbathing gone well, guest?"
Zhang Jun opened his eyes, saw that it was his master, and nodded.
Nothing happened, the master stood aside. He said: "My guest has been here for two days, but I haven't seen any business. Are you waiting for someone?"
Zhang Jun said: "I came from the north. I heard that silk in Dengzhou was cheap, so I came to buy it. Unfortunately, I stayed here for two days and asked everywhere, but couldn't buy any goods. They all said that after the war, where are you now? And silk?"
The host said: "That's not the case! Jin Bing was born in a bitter and cold land. How could he have seen the good things of us Song people? They occupied Dengzhou and robbed all the silk and silk around them. Besides, we are in troubled times now. , silk and silk can be stored as much as gold and silver."
Zhang Jun nodded. Sighed.
At this time, silk was not only a raw material for making clothes, but also used as gold and silver. Like gold and silver, silk and silk were called light goods. Businessmen traveling long distances often carry them with them as their principal.
Dengzhou is strategically located, surrounded by large plains, and can barely be considered a land of plenty. In addition, Xiangyang in the south has a lot of silk and silk. However, Zhang Jun just used this as an excuse. Although he couldn't buy it, he didn't worry.
The host said: "Actually, it's not that Dengzhou doesn't have silk, but it's usually not available."
"Why?" Zhang Jun raised his head and asked casually.
The owner said: "Nowadays, silk and silk are all in the government. Where can you find them on the market? Zhizhou is a smart man. He knows that in troubled times, silk and silk are valuable things, and most of them are collected into the government treasury. Even if there are some on the market, they will soon be sold out. The government will take it away."
Zhang Jun nodded: "It makes sense."
Silk is used to make clothes, but these clothes are not worn by ordinary people. At this time, the common people wore cloth. The so-called common people refer to ordinary people. Not cotton, of course, but linen.
In these extraordinary times, like gold and silver, silk and silk are also being collected by the government and wealthy families.
The host said: "However, if the guest wants to buy official poplin silk, there is a way."
Zhang Jun smiled and said: "Government business is the most difficult to do. Is there any way?"
The host said: "It depends on how much money you have. If you use copper coins, I'm afraid it won't work. But if you use gold and silver, it's different."
Zhang Jun thought for a while and then understood what his master meant. When it comes to storing silk, it cannot be compared to gold and silver. If you hold gold and silver, even the government will sell silk and silk to you.
Seeing his master looking at him, Zhang Jun shook his head: "Knowing that I have a large amount of gold and silver, why would the government sell me silk and silk? They have soldiers, so why not just rob me? Buying without capital is a really good deal. .”
The host laughed after hearing this: "What did you say, guest! Zhizhou is a conscientious person and would not do such a thing."
Zhang Jun just smiled and did not answer. Buying silk is just my excuse, there is no need to say more.
The owner didn't leave. Zhang Jun was moved in his heart and asked: "I heard that the Jin soldiers attacked Dengzhou and the looting was not serious. Since the time of Jingkang, the court has discussed moving the capital here and gathered a lot of supplies. Now there should be a lot of supplies in the official treasury of Dengzhou Like a mountain, right?"
The host shook his head: "Although the looting was not heavy, valuable things were still taken away. What was left in the official treasury were mostly swords, guns, bows and crossbows, and none of them were valuable. How many soldiers and horses can one state raise? For the magistrate of the state Not much use.”
Zhang Jun nodded secretly after hearing this. What Wang Xiaolie cares about most is the swords, guns, bows and crossbows that exist in Dengzhou. Wang Xiaolie didn't care about the gold and silver treasures. With weapons and people, there is force. In troubled times, with force in hand, what can't be snatched away?
Speaking of this, the host sighed: "My third son used to work in the government and was familiar with the current magistrate. Now he has the support of the magistrate and is an official. It's a pity that business travel in Dengzhou is blocked and the market is depressed, but there is no How much is at hand."
According to the Song Dynasty system, middle and upper-class households had to serve as servants. The owner has an inn in a prosperous part of the city, so it is inevitable that someone will work as a government official. However, being able to establish a relationship with Zhizhou is a blessing. But judging from the owner's appearance, he didn't make much money in front of this official.
Zhang Jun said: "In troubled times, surviving one's life is a blessing. When the Jin soldiers retreat, everything will happen naturally."
The host shook his head after hearing this: "How can the Jin army retreat? Last year, when the Jin army attacked, I could clearly see that they were extremely fierce. The little old man has lived for more than fifty years, and has he never seen such a fierce army? I, the Song Dynasty Their army is incomparable!"
After saying that, he looked into the distance, as if recalling the scene of that day.
Zhang Jun didn't take it seriously. Everyone said that the Jin Army was strong, but I had never seen it. Wang Xiaolie's army defeated the Jin army twice in a row. He had seen a lot. Dengzhou is located to the south, and no strong army from the Song Dynasty was stationed here before. This old man is too short-sighted.
After a while, the master said: "That day when the Jin army arrived in Dengzhou, they only fired a few arrows at the top of the city, and then the officers and soldiers scattered in all directions. The Jin army occupied the huge city of Dengzhou without even killing anyone. .So powerful, how to resist!"
Zhang Jun said: "That's because there are no qualified generals in the city and they dare not fight. If the city gate is closed tightly, I don't believe that the Jin army can capture it. There are people and ordnance in Dengzhou city, how can the Jin army fly in?"
After hearing this, the host looked Zhang Jun up and down. He shook his head: "Have you ever been a soldier? Do you know how to fight? The officers and soldiers in the city knew they couldn't defeat the Jin soldiers and fled early. What do you, a commoner, know?"
Zhang Junhun didn't care and looked at his master with a smile.
After conquering Taiyuan, especially after defeating Kaifeng Mansion, the Jin army encountered almost no obstacles in moving south. In Hedong and Hebei, there were still some cities that the Jin army could not capture. After crossing the Yellow River, the Jin army was almost unstoppable. Many times when they arrived in front of the city, they would shoot one or two arrows at the city, and the Song army would obediently open the city gate and surrender. Truly invincible.
In the eyes of many people in the Song Dynasty, the Jin army was like a demon and unstoppable. When I heard that the Jin Army was coming, I just ran away quickly without any thought of resisting. This was the time when the Jin army was at its strongest and had not suffered a defeat.
Is the Jin Army really that powerful? Not necessarily. But it is in full swing, and it does have a great impact on combat effectiveness. Rational analysis shows that the Song Army's manpower and material resources are not weaker than that of the Jin Army. As long as they really have the courage to fight against the Jin Army, the Jin Army cannot achieve such great results. But war is often not rational. What is shown on the battlefield is often far from what is analyzed.
From being defeated at the first touch, to slowly starting to dare to confront the Jin army later, and then evenly matched later, the changes in the Song Dynasty came step by step. Historically, first Monk Yuan and then Huang Tiandang, these two great victories dampened the Jin Army's vigor and gave the Song Army confidence. There are more generals who are willing to stand up and fight to the death with the Jin army. Little by little, the situation on both sides changed.
