From Zhending to Tokyo, the distance is not too far, the straight-line distance is only about 700 miles, and the road is flat, the river canal is smooth, and it is basically along the route of Liu Chengyou to chase the Liao army to the south.

In addition to the Fourth and Fifth Armies that were split by Liu Chengyou and stationed in Mo and Qi, the remaining nearly 10,000 soldiers were divided into two divisions of water and land to escort goods south. Ma Quanyi was appointed by Liu Chengyou to deploy the waterway march, and together with Sun Li, he led the first and second armies to return first, and the shipping was always time-saving and labor-saving compared with land transportation.

And Liu Chengyou himself, he and Guo Rong and Xiang Xun took the land route, and the speed of the march was very slow, and going to Tokyo was only the purpose, and the process was what Liu Chengyou wanted to see. Since the army was sent to Jinyang, the four months of Rong Ma have been devoted to the military and politics, but Liu Chengyou has never taken a good look at this great river and mountain.

From Zhending to the south, through Zhaozhou, into Xingzhou, all the way slowly walking, and then all the way with a heavy heart. The damage to the country caused by the war is too serious, and the bones are exposed in the wilderness, and there is no rooster crowing for thousands of miles, which is probably the truest portrayal. Along the way, I saw devastation, deserted villages, broken walls, famine, and epidemics. Large areas of uninhabited villages and towns, where poor people gather to become thieves......

In a bleak and desolate environment, some people can still be seen along the way, lonely and even numb tending to the fields. Farming is engraved into the bones of the Chinese people, no matter how difficult the environment is.

When entering the territory of Xingzhou and passing through Neiqiu County, I stayed overnight. This is a typical county with constant soldiers, less than 600 households in the whole county, and less than 200 households in the city, the sparse population can be seen, the people are poor, but the exorbitant taxes are not a lot at all.

Ordered Guo Rong and Wei Renpu to visit again, the county magistrate was appointed by Xue Huairang, the envoy of the Anguo Army, who was originally a military ruffian, and when he took office, he carried forward the style of "peeling the skin", acting as a prestige and blessing, and apportioning at will.

In this era, even a small county magistrate has a lot of power, especially those appointed by the warlords of Jiezhen, who also have the power of life and death.

This Neiqiu chief, who has only been in office for a month, has only been in office for a month, and when he first arrived, he took it upon himself to exempt the summer and autumn taxes, and did not make the people of Neiqiu happy for a few days, and began to set up various names. What city tax, house tax, entry and exit tax is just that, and what bridge tax is also involved. You must know that the landform in the inner hill presents a three-dimensional structure, with mountains, hills, and plains each accounting for one, and there is no slightly larger river, let alone a bridge......

The most interesting thing is that others apportioned miscellaneous taxes and collected them on a per-time basis, but the Neiqiu county magistrate collected them on an annual basis, and forcibly let the people in his jurisdiction fill up as an "annual member". The question is, how long he, the county magistrate, can be a question. However, the county magistrate has also achieved a certain degree of "fairness", the poor receive less, and the rich collect more.

In the station, after listening to the report, Liu Chengyou was silent, but his mood was a little complicated, he held back for a while, and looked at a few people in front of him: "What do you think?" ”

"The hardships of the people can be seen from this!" Xiang Xun sighed and said.

"Since the Tang Dynasty, etiquette and music have collapsed, the program has often been mourned, the legal system has been lacking, the feudal towns have been autocratic, the local government has been abolished, the martial arts have been in power, the people have been abused, and the chronic disease has been deep. Now that the Han Dynasty is newly created, it is necessary to reconstruct the economy, determine the regulations, and Fazhou County, so as to determine the world......" Wei Renpu thought about it and said calmly.

The expression on Guo Rong's face was richer, and his gaze was very cold: "This Neiqiu should be killed." ”

Liu Chengyou calmed down, shook his head, and let out a long sigh, as if he had infinite emotion: "This world has been chaotic for too long......"

"It's been chaotic for too long, so the people are determined, if the court can sweep the world and eliminate the chaos, then the people's hearts will be attached!" Wei Renpu said with certainty.

Got up and wandered around the room for a few steps, looking confused. His real mood at the moment was only one sentence: the revolution has not yet succeeded, and comrades still need to work hard. If you want to say how worried Liu Chengyou is about the world and cares about the people, it is not likely. However, looking at the broken mountains and rivers and sinking into the community, the mood is always uncomfortable and a little sentimental.

"Chief Neiqiu, it's just a nameless person, what's the benefit of killing it, let's do it." After a while, Liu Chengyou raised his hand, and his voice was cold: "Instead of killing a small evil, it is better to eliminate a big evil!" ”

They are all outstanding people, so they naturally heard the meaning of Liu Chengyou's words, Guo Rong looked at Liu Chengyou's back and asked, "Is Your Highness trying to deal with Xue Huairang?" ”

"From Wang Shouen in Luzhou, to Bai Zairong in Zhenzhou, and now Xue Huairang in Xingzhou, if you rely on such people to defend Zhou Town and maintain the community. This country is going to die sooner or later! Liu Chengyou said coldly. That's a lot of talk!

Xue Huairang is also a martial artist with the characteristics of the times, who has been in the army for more than 30 years, fought bravely, served in several states, never practiced good governance in the local area, was greedy, and only collected money.

In the anti-Liao period before, the speculation was successful, and he led the crowd to expel the Hu soldiers, occupy the Zhouzhou, and take refuge in the Liu family. Then, things got started. Originally, Liu Duo, the defender of Xingzhou, had already expressed his submission to Liu Chengyou, but was killed by Xue Huairang to lead the army north to the city. At that time, although Liu Chengyou was angry, in order to take into account the overall situation, he was temporarily appointed as Xing and Huan to inspect it.

However, this Xue Huairang probably heard some bad news, and while accepting Liu Chengyou's appointment, he sent someone to Kaifeng with gifts to express his submission to Liu Zhiyuan. Then, after the kind words of a minister, he was appointed as the envoy of the Anguo Army, and the three states of Xing, Wei and Ci......

The appointment of the emperor is much more effective than the appointment of Liu Chengyou, the prince. Then, Xue Huairang let go and began to play his usual style.

gathered grain to accumulate wealth, and also set up various names, one of which was the most unbearable for Liu Chengyou. Zhao Yanshou's Northern Expedition to Youyan, Liu Chengyou and the Liao Army competed, and this fight gathered money and grain in the name of supporting Liu Chengyou's Northern Expedition.

However, Liu Chengyou has never even seen a grain or a copper plate. Doing things under the banner of him Liu Chengyou, his reputation has been ruined, and he has not seen any benefits, where can Liu Chengyou not be angry?

"However, this Xue Huairang is the emperor's appointed envoy of the festival, if he takes it down without authorization, he can't explain it to the court and His Majesty." Wei Renpu still said with some scruples.

"Since the Eastward Departure, have I been doing less to assert myself?" Liu Chengyou waved his hand: "Don't worry about a lot of debts, left and right, with the public opinion of the court now, if you go back, you will inevitably have a ...... of admonition."

Although Liu Chengyou's ears and eyes are not very sensitive at this time, he still has heard about the situation in Kaifeng City, and when he said this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but grin a trace of sarcasm.

Turning his head to look at Wei Renpu, seeing that he wanted to speak and stopped, Liu Chengyou raised his hand and said: "Xue Huairang has committed a crime, how heavy is the sin, but now in this world, he can only let it go?" In the past, they were too tolerant of such people, so that they had nothing to fear. Is murder a sin? Is covetousness a sin? Even if you rebel, you can still save your life! Blindly being gentle will only corrupt and weaken the discipline of the imperial court. ”

Liu Chengyou said coldly: "At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Son of Heaven and the ministers did the things of Huairou, and I will establish this majesty, and I will do this wicked person!" Take this Xue Huai to open the knife! ”

Seeing Liu Chengyou's expression, Wei Renpu opened his mouth, but after all, he didn't give any more advice, he could feel that Liu Chengyou couldn't suppress it. sighed silently, he actually wanted to remind Liu Chengyou that in fact, killing Bai Zairong was not a big problem, but this Xue Huairang, no matter what he did, was it all a party or Liu Zhiyuan......