"Isn't Sister Ren in Han County, Qinling Mountains? Why did she go to Yueyang!" Yue Guanchao thought he could still go to Xijing, but now he heard that Ren Kongque had arrived in Yueyang City, and there was a slight doubt on his face.
"I know what you're thinking? You want to go to Xijing to have another drink with Tang Dayang, right?" Song Siyuan knew exactly what this vulgar man was thinking. When he came back, he went to Xijing and was drunk for a long time. Just got up from the hotel.
"That's right, Brother Dayang and I cherish each other. We don't know when we will see each other again when we return to the Northeast. We will definitely have a good time. Are you really not going to Xijing this time?" Yue Guanchao wanted to rescue him again, but Song Siyuan glanced at the telegram. , took a sip of coffee, and said strangely: "Sister Ren said that the Qinling Mountains are too far and it is not easy to transfer. Yueyang has a subway from Jianghan, which is more convenient for us to transfer." Yue Guanchao took the telegram translation and looked at them Going to places such as the junction of Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou, Huayuan County and Tudong Town in Hunan Province, the group packed their bags and left Fengtian City on a sunny day.
...Xiang Province, Dongting Lake, and Yueyang City are full of brilliant lights, quiet shadows, and the setting sun.
Yueyang City is located on the east bank of Dongting Lake. The white walls of the ancient city's houses are like shells by the lake, surrounded by a broken and damaged city wall. There are many lanes, channels, and arch bridges. The eaves of the houses along the river are raised, and most of them are stilted. If you arrive In the city, it became a horse head gable.
When they arrived at Yueyang City, it was already the end of February and the beginning of March. The spring was bright and the old trees in the ancient city were sprouting and vines were growing wildly. Countless houses were gradually surrounded by green velvet. After the wet and cold winter, this ancient city had already woken up in early spring.
Farther away in Dongting Lake, thousands of huge ships sailed back and forth. Nearby, there were countless ships, sailboats, and even hand-cranked boats moored at the pier. On the edge of the vast lake, isolated islands stood in white. The fish spire, like steel needles and bamboo shoots, pierces the blue sky.
Yueyang Ancient City is close to Dongting Lake, so it is naturally an excellent port. Countless river ships come here to unload their cargo, and then merge into the river. Most of the people on the dock are in rags, carrying sacks that are taller than a person, like ants carrying them. Sesame, walking alone is difficult.
Yueyang Railway Station is located outside the city. When they walked out of the platform, they saw Ren Peacock standing in the hanging teahouse across the street waiting for them.
This time, Ren Peacock didn't wear a veil anymore, and he led them over naturally: "Mei, I'll wait for you."
"Sister Ren, why are you waiting for us in Yueyang? Why don't you just go home and wait for us? We can find it ourselves." Before Yue Guanchao finished speaking, Ren Peacock had already curled up his mouth with a mocking look: " Exiting Yueyang City is the real bloody Xiangxi. Don't even mention entering my house. You will be killed by bandits within two miles of walking out. If you are the only one here, I won't bother to care about you, you little son of a bitch. Life or death, I'm afraid that my sister will be wronged." These words made several people laugh, and the fatigue of the journey gradually dissipated. The three of them followed Ren Peacock into the ancient city, and took a rickshaw to the Diaojiaolou Inn beside the lake and river.
After talking in local dialect, the innkeeper led them to open two guest rooms facing the lake. Bamboo poles were set up in the flower windows, showing the view of Yueyang buildings, lakes and mountains.
After the boss left, Song Siyuan asked: "Sister Ren, are there many bandits in Hunan?"
"There are not only a lot of Yaomei, but there are so many of them, especially at the junction of Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou, every household is a bandit!" Ren Peacock paused and continued to introduce: "I mentioned to you last time in the Qinling Mountains, the Qinling Han The situation of suppressing bandits in the county is even worse than that at the junction of Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou."
"There are several important official roads in the Qinling Mountains. The government can collect tax money from the official roads and is willing to maintain public order. The border between Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou is full of steep wild mountains and crisscrossed ravines. They are also gathering places for Gu people and cave dwellers. The customs of the rural people are Tough, fierce and aggressive, he values integrity over life and death, and likes to see injustice on the road. Even a ten-year-old baby has a knife on his waist. When he sees injustice, he will draw blood from the knife and will not accept it until death."
"The Political Yuan doesn't care?" Song Siyuan was quite surprised. Even children are so tough and untamable, and adults are probably even more cunning.
"Control? How to control?" Ren Peacock lowered his voice: "The border between Sichuan and Hunan and Guizhou, Taohua County in Guizhou Province, Xiu'an County in Sichuan and Sichuan, and Huayuan County in Hunan Province. These places cannot collect taxes and have to pay money. The political yuan of the three provinces don't really want to take care of the maintenance of public order, so they simply don't care about it, leaving it to the gentry and wise people to maintain public order." Speaking of Xiangxi.
In addition to driving corpses, cave girls, and Gu magic, there is another characteristic that cannot be erased, and that is the ruthless soldiers and bandits of Western Hunan!
These places have belonged to the far southwest since ancient times, far away from the core political power of the Central Plains. Most of them are Gu people, cave people, mountain people, and native people from the southwest. The mountains and rivers are not barren, but the production is only enough to survive. I think It's impossible to pay taxes.
From ancient times to the present, as long as the Central Plains dynasty collects high taxes in Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou, it will inevitably be accompanied by rebellion in the southwest. If taxes are not collected, it will be more difficult to control. They simply send exiled officials to serve as provincial governors, and the local guards are heavily guarded. They can do whatever they want. By the time of Zhu Ming's previous dynasty, it only extended downward to prefectures and counties. As for counties and below, the imperial power still did not go to the countryside and relied entirely on the autonomy of chieftains and gentry.
