Yulin City is located between the Loess Plateau and the Mu Us Desert. It is surrounded by Tuofeng Mountain to the east, Yuxi River to the west, overlooking the Hetao to the north, and shielding Sanqin in the south... It is definitely a battleground for military strategists.
Because Yulin City's military position was so important, in the 22nd year of Chenghua, the 5th year of Hongzhi, and the 10th year of Zhengde, the Ming Dynasty carried out three large-scale expansions of Yulin City, regardless of manpower, material and financial resources, known as the "Three Expansions" Yulin! '
After the expansion, Yulin City is four miles and fifty-five feet long from east to west, three miles and twenty-five feet wide from north to south, and has a circumference of fourteen miles and one hundred and sixty feet... The city is three feet six feet high and two feet eight feet wide. The wall is made of rammed loess inside and covered with bluestone outside. It is indestructible!
There are four city gates in the east, south, west and north. There is a two-story tower on the top of the city gate. There are three grabens outside the city gate. The rest include Wengcheng, turret, female wall, horse road, Tibetan soldier cave... …It’s all there!
"Leaning on the mountains and rivers, with dragons and tigers perched, one man in charge, and ten thousand men unable to open the door, the most important town in the northwest is truly well-deserved!" Qin Feng couldn't help but be shocked when he saw the majestic appearance of Yulin City for the first time.
No wonder Yulin City has never been captured by the enemy in the more than two hundred years since its establishment. With such an iron wall and the world-famous Yulin elite soldiers, as long as the commander is not too lazy, he can hold on to the city.
After sighing with emotion, Qin Feng and others rode into the city. They found that the streets in the city were very clean, with many shops on both sides, and business was booming. All the passers-by were wearing new clothes, and they looked very wealthy. As for the beggars carrying bowls and begging for food, they all looked very wealthy. can not see.
"I didn't expect that Yulin City would be so prosperous, even three points better than Suide City."
"It's quite prosperous, but it's a bit strange. In the year of great disaster, there are hungry people everywhere. Why is there not a single beggar here?"
"Okay, official business is important, let's go report first!"
After making some inquiries from passers-by, the group quickly found the General Military Mansion in Yulin Town. They made a report at the Chengqi Office at the gate, and then took the official documents to stay in the military store in the city.
Military stores are institutions specially used by frontier troops. They are either set up once every twenty miles or thirty miles away. As long as you hold official documents, you can eat, sleep, and exchange horses for free!
Of course, the free meals provided must be of very average quality.
Now that Qin Feng had plenty of money in his pocket, he didn't want to offend his stomach, so he gave up the free meals and took Mouzi, Dong Tianbao and others to the streets, planning to find a restaurant to indulge themselves in luxury and taste local delicacies.
There are many restaurants in Yulin City, among which Zui Chun Restaurant is the most famous. It is located on Chengnan Street and has four floors. It has carved beams and painted roofs, cornices and horns, and is extremely gorgeously decorated.
"Three guests, welcome!"
"Open a cleaner elegant room, put a good banquet on the table, and choose your signature dishes!"
"Okay, please come to the elegant room at Tianzi No. 9 for three distinguished guests!"
Qin Feng and others entered Zui Chun Building, and a young waiter came forward to greet them. His face was full of smiles, but his smile was unnatural, and he could barely write the words "forcing a smile" on his face.
The store owner should be happy when customers come to his door, but why does he look like this?
Maybe the little guy has something going on at home and is feeling depressed!
Qin Feng and others didn't think much about it. They sat down in a clean and bright room on the second floor of the restaurant and ordered a table full of food and drinks: hand-caught mutton, braised Yellow River carp, Sixi lion's head, and a handful of food. Elbow... Then several people shook their cheeks, raised their back molars, and started to eat hungrily.
After eating and drinking enough, I called the boy to pay the bill.
"A few guests, a total of twenty taels of silver!"
"Well, two liang, man, did you make a miscalculation?"
"That's right, it's only two taels of silver."
Qin Feng and others looked at each other. It was not that the price was too expensive, but that the price was too cheap.
You know, this is a year of great disaster, and the price of food is ridiculously high. Take polished rice as an example. It used to be one tael of silver and two shi, but now it is four taels of silver and one shi. It has increased eight times, and it is still going on. Growing.
The prices of grains, vegetables, and meat have all skyrocketed, so the price of dining in restaurants must have also gone up.
Qin Feng and others estimated that the banquet just now cost at least ten taels of silver, or even more... Now that the young man only needs two taels, I'm afraid he won't even be able to get his capital back, right?
And looking at the little guy’s appearance, he looks weird, there must be something hidden in it!
"Man, why are the food in your restaurant so cheap?"
"Replying to the guests, General Bing has managed the city well. Yulin City is prosperous and rich. Food, vegetables, beef and mutton are all cheap, and the food in the restaurant is naturally cheaper. This is all the result of General Bing!"
"Haha, you can't even coax a three-year-old child with your words. To be honest, what is going on?"
"Well..."
The boy was hesitant and refused to tell the truth... Seeing this, Qin Feng took out a small piece of silver and handed it over.
"Tell the truth as I reward you, otherwise we will come here to eat every day and eat big meals, and be careful to ruin your restaurant."
"Don't, don't... Oh, these guests are definitely not from Yulin City. They don't know the situation here. I will tell you..."
Under coercion and inducement, the young man finally told the truth. It turned out that all of this had something to do with the upcoming inspection by Yang He, the governor of the three sides.
The Governor is here for inspection, what should I do?
Naturally, the governor is allowed to see a prosperous and prosperous Yulin City with stable border defenses, clear administration, sufficient treasury!
The problem is, what should we do if the border defenses in the Yulin area are not stable, the administration is unclear, the treasury is insufficient, and life is not prosperous?
Simple, just pretend that the border is solid, the officials are clear, the treasury is sufficient, and the country is prosperous.
Ten days ago, Jiang Ranglian, the commander-in-chief of Yulin Town, did several things:
First, the residents in the city were ordered to clean the streets and alleys without any domestic garbage. If there were any damaged areas on the city walls, craftsmen were also asked to work day and night to repair them.
As for the huge cost of repairing the city wall, it was all borne by the residents themselves, and the General Military Office did not allocate a penny.
The second is to order the residents in the city to wear new clothes when going out. If there are no new clothes, buy them. If you can't afford them, borrow them. If you can't borrow them, steal them... Anyway, those who have to wear them act like a dog. It looks like living a prosperous life.
Anyone who dares to wear patched clothes on the street will be severely punished if caught!
The third is to mobilize the army and drive all the hungry people and beggars in Yulin City fifty miles away. If they don't leave, they will be beaten to death!
The fourth is to order shops and restaurants in the city to reduce prices by four-fifths, and are not allowed to close or refuse customers. Violators are also severely punished.
…
Ever since, after such operations, Yulin City has undergone earth-shaking changes. From the original poverty-stricken people, it suddenly became "prosperous and prosperous".
The problem is that such a change looks good on the surface, but it has caused suffering to the residents in the city, and they cannot afford to offend the General Military Mansion, so they can only endure it in secret.
"No wonder when I enter the city, I always feel weird when I see the streets are clean and everyone is wearing new clothes. It turns out it's fraud and false prosperity!" After listening to the waiter's explanation, Qin Feng finally figured it out. At the same time, I thought of a person, the famous Emperor Sui Yang in history.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was so happy about his success that in order to prove to the foreign envoys that he was running the country well and that the Central Plains was prosperous and prosperous, he forcibly ordered the people to wear new clothes when going out. Even the vendors selling vegetables on the streets had to pave the floor with dragon beard mats. , and also wrapped the trees on both sides of the street with silk, pretending to be prosperous.
Whenever there are Hu envoys passing by a restaurant, the owner must warmly invite them to dine in the restaurant, let them eat and drink without charging a penny, and brag about it, praising "the holy king is alive and governing the country well." …
What Jiang Rang, the commander-in-chief of Yulin, did was similar to that of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty!
Doing this is unconscionable, what the fuck... In his heart, after scolding the general, Jiang Rang's ancestor, for eighteen times, Qin Feng and others left Zuichun Tower.
When I paid the bill, I paid ten taels of silver according to the original price. The restaurant owner and the waiter were very grateful and grateful.
After leaving the restaurant, the group walked around Yulin City for a few times. As expected, as the young man said, there was false prosperity everywhere.
The more we look at this situation, the more angry we become, but anger is of no use at all. If you want to change this evil world, you will have to become a particularly high official with particularly great power.
For the first time in his life, Qin Feng had a great desire for power!
"Brother Feng, don't be angry. There are so many things that confuse right and wrong in this world, it's hard to be angry at all."
"Yes, Brother Feng, don't be angry, I know a good place where you can go and relax!"
"There?"
"Wuliang Temple!"
