In the first year of Xining, Guanghua County of the province was established as a town, under the jurisdiction of Suixian County. It is next to the Jianshui River and on the main road from De'an Prefecture. It is very prosperous. The post house was built under three big willow trees at the entrance of the town, facing the official road.
Hu Jiaoxiu traveled all the way and came under Wang Xiaolie's rule, and finally felt at ease. I had a good sleep last night and didn't come out of the room until three o'clock in the morning.
The attendant said: "Good morning, bachelor. But do you want some breakfast?"
Hu Jiaoxiu said: "I heard yesterday that the food in this post house is not for everyone. There is a shop selling steamed buns and wontons outside. They are very delicious. Call Chief Zheng, and we will go and have a bowl of wontons before leaving. We will arrive in Suizhou City at noon. , Zhizhou will definitely pick up the wind for us at night."
The personal name is yes. I went to call Zheng Chen, and we went outside to drink wontons.
Not far from the post house, there is a bun shop that also sells wontons. According to the normal schedule, it was already past breakfast time, and there were still more than half people sitting in the shop.
Hu Jiaoxiu said to Zheng Chen: "That one has such a good business, so the taste must be good. It has been hard on the road these days. When we entered Suizhou, we arrived at Wang Xiaolie's territory. It is said that under Wang Xiaolie's rule, the people were happy and the market was prosperous. There was no need to suffer anymore. It was so painful.”
Zheng Chen said: "That's what the bachelor said. Because along the way, except De'an Mansion, which is better, other places are really too chaotic."
The two of them talked, went to the bun shop and ordered a large plate of buns, a bowl of wontons each, and found a seat to sit down.
Hu Jiaoxiu picked up a bun and took a bite, his mouth filled with oil. I couldn't help but praise: "It really tastes good! It's so delicious, it must be fresh meat!"
The owner of the bun shop smiled and said: "I have been doing business here for decades, who doesn't know that I use fresh meat! Today's buns are made of fresh beef bought in the morning, minced into fillings, and then steamed with chicken soup. of!"
Hu Jiaoxiu was surprised: "They say that under the rule of Wang Jieshuai, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, so why are they still killing farm cattle?"
The host smiled and said, "Are you from out of town? The government can't help but slaughter cattle that are more than ten years old here. In Guanghua Town, beef is sold every day."
Hu Jiaoxiu nodded and said to Zheng Chen: "This is the first time I heard that there is a place where cattle are not allowed to be slaughtered. Strange, really strange!"
While talking, I ate the beef stuffed buns, which indeed tasted particularly delicious.
At this moment, several people dressed as farmers entered the store. He said to the host: "Ten buns per person, and a big bowl of wontons, hurry up. When we are full, we need to send food to Suizhou City, so don't miss the time!"
The boy next to him agreed and quickly brought the buns over.
Hu Jiaoxiu heard the farmer's words on the side and couldn't help turning his head to look at him. The buns cost three cents each, ten cents for thirty cents, plus a bowl of wontons for ten cents. With a meal of forty cents, this farmer is quite wealthy.
The host ordered the wontons and brought them to the farmer. He said: "Looking at the burden you have outside, you must go to the city to deliver food."
The farmer said: "Exactly. Our township has collected more than 300 tons of old grain, and we need to hand it over to the county government immediately. I heard that the war in the north is intense, and the army needs food for marching and fighting! We handed over this Batch, go back quickly, you can still choose another time in the afternoon."
The host said: "Yes, I heard that a hundred thousand troops are coming and are going to attack Luoyang City. Even if the Commander-in-Chief has a clever plan, it will not be easy."
"Demon Town Museum"
As he spoke, the host wiped his hands with a sad tone.
After hearing this, Hu Jiaoxiu hurriedly took his master's hand and asked: "I only heard that Wang Jieshuai captured Luoyang City. Where did the 100,000 troops come from?"
The host said: "You are indeed from other places, and you don't know these things. When Commander Jie captured Luoyang, how could the Jin army not save him? A certain Ba Lisu came from Shaanxi with an army of 100,000 people. There was also Liu Lin. , I heard that he is Liu Yu’s son, and he has brought an army of fifty thousand from Kaifeng Mansion. The battle on the frontline is intense!"
Hu Jiaoxiu was taken aback and asked hurriedly: "That's it! How is the battle on the front line?"
The host said: "We are too far away from Luoyang, how would we know? But the fighting continues on the front line, so we can only hand over more food in the rear to prevent the soldiers from going hungry."
Since the question was unclear, Hu Jiaoxiu had no choice but to let his master go. He said to Zheng Chen: "We are here to congratulate the king on his return to Xijing and to visit the imperial mausoleum. Why do you think the people here mean that the Jin army sent a large army to attack Xijing? What should we do? What if we arrive in Luoyang? , wouldn’t it be embarrassing if Wang Jieshuai lost?”
Zheng Chen said: "In this case, we have to hurry up! After dinner, we will go to Suizhou City first and ask Zhizhou how it is now."
Hu Jiaoxiu nodded, hurriedly ate steamed buns, drank wontons, and set off on the road with Zheng Chen.
When we arrived outside Suizhou City, we saw many farmers carrying burdens lining up to enter the city. After asking someone to ask, I found out that the fighting was intense at the front, and that places like Suizhou in the rear collected a large amount of grain and transported it to the front. These farmers did not pick up their own grain. They handed the grain to the township, and then the township hired people to carry the grain into the city. Peasants who carried grain were considered to be serving fifty wages a year, and the government provided them with a breakfast.
Hu Jiaoxiu couldn't help but clicked his tongue when he thought of the peasants who just ate steamed buns and wontons, which cost 40 cents per person. The government spent a lot of money on this breakfast.
For ordinary people, two steamed buns are enough. Hu Jiaoxiu, who is past his prime, can only eat one. Farmers have to work hard and eat a lot of food. One person has to eat ten steamed buns and a large bowl of wontons.
Wang Xiaolie can print money. As long as the banknotes are controlled and inflation is avoided, the government will basically have no shortage of money. In addition, in the past two years, various industries of the government have begun to make money, and the hands of the government have naturally become richer.
In wars in this era, the biggest expense is military rations, and other war supplies actually cost little. Well organized, the economy is not very difficult.
After entering Suizhou, Zhizhou Yin Zheng got the news and hurriedly came out to welcome him. With proper etiquette, Hu Jiaoxiu and Zheng Chen were brought into the state government office.
The guests and the host were seated, and Yin Zheng said: "When the bachelor arrives at De'an Mansion, why don't you send a fast horse to let me know in advance? I will send someone to pick him up."
Hu Jiaoxiu said: "Prefect Chen is busy with affairs. We need to prevent the harassment of Ezhou Kong Yanzhou. Where can we find people? I heard that under the rule of Wang Jieshuai, the country is peaceful and the people are living in peace and contentment. There are no bandits, so we came directly."
Yin Zheng said: "That's true. There are indeed no bandits here. It's natural for bachelors to leave. It's just that you have a hard time on the road."
After chatting for a while, Hu Jiaoxiu asked: "I heard that the Jin people were unwilling to be overrun in Luoyang and sent a hundred thousand troops from Shaanxi to attack? How about the front line?"
Yin Zheng said: "The common people are gossiping, but they should not be taken seriously. Commander Jie occupied Xijing, and Bali Su from Shaanxi brought his own troops. Together with Zheng Jianchong from Luoyang and Zhe Keqiu from Fuzhou, there were a total of 70,000 to 80,000 people. Luoyang invaded. Now that Ba Lisu has reached Shaanzhou, he does not dare to advance any further."
After hearing this, Hu Jiaoxiu asked hurriedly: "Pulling out tens of thousands of soldiers and horses from Lisu is not easy to deal with. Can Commander Ji be able to stop it?"
Yin Zheng said: "Jie Shuai has 100,000 soldiers and horses, so he should be able to stop it. But Suizhou is far away from the front line, so how can I make it clear?"
"That's right." Hu Jiaoxiu nodded, feeling worried.
Zheng Chen said: "This place is too far away from the front line. I'm afraid no one can tell clearly. We'd better hurry up on the road. It should be clear when we get to Ruzhou."
Yin Zheng said: "When fighting on the front line, we all transported grain to Luoyang. You should be right to follow the grain transport team along the way. We Suizhou went to Tangzhou, from Fangcheng to Ye County and then to Ruzhou. You don't have to go there again. Xiangyang, go north via Lushanguan."
Hu Jiaoxiu said: "Until Xiangyang——"
Yin Zheng said: "Commander Jie has arrived in Luoyang. What's the point of going to Xiangyang? I will go to Councilor Chen's place and inform him with official documents."
Hu Jiaoxiu nodded: "That's fine. The Jin army's attack on Xijing is such a big event, so we have to figure it out early. Kong Yanzhou refused to obey the imperial court's control, and the road from Xiangyang to the imperial court was blocked, and many news were unknown."
Wang Xiaolie's army marched north, and Kong Yanzhou's pressure was greatly reduced. In recent days, his rebellion had become more and more obvious.
