Xiongzhou officials, Zhang Qi and Ma Huaide looked at Ding Lingde, and couldn't make up their minds. Liu Ji's official document said that this was a person sent by the Privy Council, asking Xiongzhou and Zhang Qi to cooperate with him in doing things. However, there is no mention of what exactly he wants to do and how to do it.

Ma Huaide said: "The general came to Xiongzhou, I don't know what to do?" How can we help? ”

Ding Lingde arched his hand: "The captain sent the subordinate to do only one thing." It is to make the Khitans hate the people who fled south, and if there are soldiers and horses in winter, they will go to them. It's hard to say this, it's easy to say it's simple, it's just a matter of hard work. ”

Zhang Qi listened, looked at Ding Lingde, and said: "If you can do this, no matter how many people come from the Khitan, they will not come back!" I wonder what kind of means the general will use? How many accompaniments do we have to send? ”

Ding Lingde said: "I first came here, where do I know? I also asked the yamen to send a few people who were lively and smart, and follow me. After three or five days, I knew the things in this area and understood the temperament of the Khitan chief in the north, so that I could do things. ”

Ma Huaide thought for a while and said, "It's not easy for the people in the yamen to find a new face. It was still Captain Zhang who was selected from the army, and I ordered the yamen to cooperate secretly. If the general needs anything, just tell me. ”

Ding Lingde smiled and said a little embarrassedly: "It costs money to do this kind of thing, please ask the two of you to borrow one or two hundred yuan to start." ”

Zhang Qi smiled when he heard this: "It's not difficult. I will allocate 200 yuan from the army to you, and I don't have to pay for it from the Xiongzhou Yamen. If you can really do this, let the Khitans attack the people fleeing south, and I will definitely be able to let them have no return! ”

Ding Lingde hurriedly thanked him and said, "Captain, this matter is to do your best and obey the destiny of heaven." ”

Zhang Qi nodded, and said no more. In Liu Jilai's official document, he had already said that the Privy Council had a strict order, and the Khitan army must not be allowed to come and go freely this winter. Zhang Qi, who was stationed in Baozhou and Xiongzhou, was the most likely place for the Khitan to come, and he was particularly concerned about this matter.

After the railway was repaired to Baozhou, it did not stop, and it was repaired all the way to Xiongzhou. The railway runs along the north bank of Nanyishui and comes all the way to the east. The ferry port twenty miles west of Xiongzhou City, the north side was selected as the station, and it was very lively for a while.

The area is crisscrossed by rivers and filled with ponds and marshes. Where there are people who cultivate, water is diverted, and where there are no people, there are reeds everywhere. Between the selected station and the ferry, large patches of reeds are being burned and a road is being built.

Right next to the ferry, a new store suddenly opened in the past two days, in addition to having rooms for travelers, it also sells wine and food. The liquor in this shop is never mixed with water, and it is extremely violent. The taste of the food is also delicious, and the price is not expensive, and the business is very good.

The person who opened the store was Ding Lingde, and he brought a few soldiers from Zhang Qi to work as a small servant. In addition, the people from the Xiongzhou official office arranged by Ma Huaide were also under his jurisdiction, and an intelligence network was established.

In the evening of this day, Meng Xuezhu and Wei Xin arrived outside the store, and when they saw that the ferry boat was still opposite, they said, "It's still early, let's go into the store and drink two glasses of wine." I heard that the wine in this shop is good, and the food tastes good, so go in and taste it. ”

When I entered the store, I saw that it was still early and there were no customers. A few people found a seat to sit on, and called the little servant.

Ding Lingde recognized these people as the Khitan people who came south a few months ago, so he walked up by himself. He came here to open a shop in order to be familiar with the local geography, know the local people, and try his best to make the Khitan people remember these people. Of the more than 300 families that fled south, all the leading figures have been recorded, but these people don't know about it.

Meng Xue said: "I heard that the wine in the store is good, so I called a corner." Also, what are your specialties? Don't be expensive! ”

Ding Lingde smiled and said, "Okay, good." The most popular dish to accompany the wine is braised tofu, which is made up of large pieces of dried tofu and marinated in a soup pot with braised pork. It is full and has a meaty taste, and it is excellent to drink. ”

Meng Xue said: "Okay, then let's have a plate of braised tofu, and a few pickles, and we will drink." ”

Ding Lingde said: "Baozhou has a train, and fish from Dengzhou are sold here. The fish in the sea is not like what we usually eat, it is more meaty, and there are fewer spines, and it is very good to fry it. Ladies and gentlemen, would you like to have a plate? ”

Meng Xuezhi shook his head: "We ordinary people, we don't know how difficult it is to earn a penny, where can we afford to eat those?" The host's house, as long as it is cheap and filling, there are some dishes that taste better. We ate and drank. ”

Ding Lingde smiled and ordered the little guy on the side to serve the food as instructed.

When the wine and food came up, Meng Xuexue and everyone drank two glasses. Ding Lingde had nothing to do, turned around again, and stood aside.

Seeing that everyone put down their wine glasses, Ding Lingde said: "I don't know where a few people came from?" Why do you want to cross the river? ”

Meng Xue said: "The railway is being built in the north, and we will work there. I've been away from home for a long time, so let's go home together today. It's still early, so let's drink two glasses of wine here and go to the cold. ”

Ding Lingde nodded: "I see." Working in the north, I don't know how easy it is to make money? ”

Meng Xue said: "It seems that those of us who are in the prime of life have done heavy work, and we have one hundred and twenty wen a day. In addition, there are also two meals a day, morning and evening, which is still good. If you do it for dozens of days, you can get a few dollars. ”

The land here is vast and sparsely populated, and the railway has been built here, in addition to the army who repairs the road, it is necessary to hire local people to work. Because there are few people, the wages paid are high. Even in Kaifeng City, odd jobs are only about 100 wen a day, and they don't care about food. Meng Xuezhi has 120 yuan a day in cash, and he is in charge of two meals, which is already a very good treatment.

Since the start of the construction of the railway station, almost all the young and middle-aged people within dozens of miles have crowded to work near the station, and Meng Xuexuan and others are no exception. Such an easy day to make money, I don't know how many times I have encountered it in my life, how can I miss it?

After a few words of gossip, Ding Lingde said: "A few guest officials, are you the Khitan people who came from the north in the summer?" ”

Meng Xuezhu couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he heard this, and asked, "Why did the master say that?" ”

Ding Lingde said: "When listening to you, some of them are different from us Song people. Although the accents are similar, some words are different. ”

Meng Xuezhi nodded: "Yes, we are from the Khitan, but we are all Han people, not Khitan people." Uncle, we live in the Great Song Dynasty, and we are naturally the people of the Song Dynasty. ”

Ding Lingde nodded again and again: "What I said is that you are now in the Song realm, and you are naturally Song people." In the days of the Song Dynasty, I don't know if I had a good time with you in the Khitan, or was it not good? ”

Meng Xuezhi said: "We are poor people and have no savings. When he arrived in the Song Dynasty, the yamen borrowed farm tools and good seeds, and now it is naturally much better than before. Not to mention anything else, hundreds of families can eat their stomachs, where did they dare to think before! ”

Wei Xin said: "Yes, everyone can eat enough of the food borrowed from the yamen. And these loans on credit do not require interest, and they will be repaid in the coming year. Taxes were exempted for another three years, which is of course much stronger than before. ”

Borrowing money without interest is a very big discount in this era. For the poor, there is no money left over to lend, and there is no interest, which is equivalent to the loss of the borrower. For the rich and rich, lending money is to make a profit, and borrowing money is risky.

The government of the Song Dynasty lent money to the people extensively. However, there are generally special conditions to have a mortgage. The seedling loan is special because the mortgage is the green seedlings in the field, which is more risky. And it is a seedling loan, which is also interest-rated, and it is not low. Xiongzhou's loans to the people who fled south without interest were already a preferential measure.

A few people were chatting and gossiping, talking about the current situation of these people who had fled south. Ding Lingde listened to them one by one, and thought in his heart how to integrate this information so that the Khitan people regarded them as a thorn in their side. The purpose of this matter is to let the Khitans attack these people in winter, and not run to other places. How to make the Khitans hate them? Naturally, the more comfortable they lived, the more the Khitans hated them.

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