"There are more than 500,000 households in Bashu, why did I come all the way to the wilderness?" Song Jiu asked on horseback. This is not a small number, the population of the entire Song Dynasty in the year before last was only 1.2 million households, including the Jinghu area, and now the so-called Bashu actually only refers to the north of the Yangtze River. Its area is less than one-sixth of the area of the Song Dynasty, and its population density is three times that of the Song Dynasty. Moreover, there are many people in Bashu and Qiang, and the number of mouths that cannot be included in the household register is more, and the actual population may reach more than 700,000, so it will be more than five times the population density of the Song Dynasty.

"Inspector, you have chosen a safe route all the way here. Most of the people have become homeless, and the homeless people also have to eat, and there are only a few options, one is to flee into the mountains, one is to rebel with the rebels and loot everywhere, and the other is to move spontaneously. It turned out that although the population of Bashu was large, they all became homeless people, and they did not cultivate or weave, so many places became wilderness. ”

"So where does the food come from?"

"Bashu is the country of abundance, and all states and counties have some grain reserves, including villages and villages, where the displaced people passed, the villages were reduced to ashes and looted. As a result, the villagers of this village also became homeless people again, and swept towards the next village. Lu Xianggong was uneasy day and night for this matter. Jiang Wenwen said this, with a sad expression on his face. What a good place to be, in the blink of an eye? And he said, "After the chaos, small."

The people predict that there will be less than two people left. ”

Not necessarily, the Song army advanced fast in Hanzhong, did few evils, and where it was still relatively quiet, or Badong, Cao Bin went west along the waterway, and the advance speed was also fast, and Dazhou, Bazhou and other areas were also relatively stable. However, this homeless person is wandering around, like Jianzhou, which was originally stable. did not join the rebellion of the whole division, because of the impact of the displaced people. Turmoil also began after last summer.

But after this riot, the people must have been decimated.

The group quickly came to the gold panning point that Jiang Shushi said.

There is a small liquor shop by the river. They also sold wine and tea, but the houses built by the gold diggers were on the other side of the river, the river was not wide, a small wooden bridge, and then some grass huts were built at the foot of the mountain. Song Jiu couldn't understand it, but Gao Qiong saw it at a glance: "Jiulang, this leader is quite scheming, if there are displaced people, these gold diggers can quickly leave this place." Flee to the mountains and forests behind. ”

Gao Qiong doesn't care, it's a war, it's an inevitable product, but after looking at it all the way, Song Jiu didn't want to speak.

If it continues to develop like this, he doesn't know how the Song Dynasty calmed down Sichuan.

The grass shed is in tatters, but fortunately it is a basin climate here, and it is still very cold in winter, but it is not as cold as Kaifeng. Otherwise, with these straw sheds, half of the people will freeze to death in a winter. But a half-man-high earthen wall was built outside.

Is this an arrangement to prevent officers and soldiers or to prevent displaced people or rebels?

Song Jiu didn't understand. Maybe all three. This reminded Song Jiu of the story before liberation that his grandmother often told him in his previous life, that the people hated the most were not the Japanese people, but some teams of the Kuomintang, and the most loved was the New Fourth Army. The one in the middle is worse than the robber, who really sleeps under the eaves of the people. Therefore, when crossing the river, my grandfather personally went to the front line to deliver salt packets.

But all the way. The New Fourth Army did not see it, and all it saw was the Japanese state. Kuomintang Army.

I sighed secretly in my heart and continued to look. There was a boat on the river, and a lot of goods were unloaded from the boat, and some of the people had gold panning tools in their hands, and they poured into the boat from the river, regardless of their wet clothes.

Seeing that they were drenched all over, Song Jiu couldn't help but shiver, although it was a basin, this was the wax moon, it was still very cold, how could these people stand it. said, "Go over and have a look." ”

The group swarmed away.

When they were seen, the people did not welcome them, but instead withdrew to the river, and some of them actually took up arms. Jiang Wenwen hurriedly shouted loudly: "Folks, don't worry, this is the envoy personally sent by His Majesty. ”

He was so anxious that his head was sweating.

Along the way, Song Jiu didn't talk a lot, and he asked about the people of Bashu. But he can see that this son is not evil and has compassion. For what Lu Xianggong can afford to look up to this hairy boy, he can't think of it, and he doesn't believe that Song Jiu has any good plan to save the bad situation in Bashu. But I can see that this son is very upright, does not disturb the people, and does not accept gifts, at least he can fairly report the situation of Bashu to the emperor when he returns to the capital. If these people don't know what to do, hurt him, and become those big devils under anger, it will be difficult to do.

"Folks, don't worry, I came to Bashu to have a look, mainly to see the displaced people," Song Jiu said, but he was also afraid of accidents, and his eyes were sharp, and he saw that there were some simple knives and bows and arrows in the hands of these people, and there were quite a few people, there were more than a hundred men, and there were some women and children in the distance. Once the conflict starts, it is unbearable to kill, and if you don't kill them, you will kill yourself. Therefore, he has not been dismounted.

A big man walked out and waved his hand: "The people sent by the emperor, disperse, do their own thing, ignore him." ”

Song Jiu didn't expect any kindness, just didn't have any malice, turned over and dismounted, and came to the boat to watch. The emperor asked him to come and see the exiles, so let you see it. The people did not care, but did their own work, and brought down some farm tools, cloth, household utensils, and other miscellaneous items from the boat.

Song Jiu walked up to the big man and asked, "Da Lang's surname?" ”

The punch doesn't hit the smiling person, Song Jiu has a good attitude, and the big man softened again, and replied: "This official brother, Xiaomin's surname is Qiao." ”

"Qiao Dalang, polite."

"Don't dare to be." Dahan was taken aback, this trick was learned by Song Jiu and Lu Duan.

"Why buy these farming tools?"

"Don't hide it, brother, we are all people who fled from all over the world. Niu Shui has been panning for gold since the Tang Dynasty, and there is very little gold sand. If you are lucky, you can get more than 20 taels of gold sand a year, and if you are unlucky, you can only get a few taels of gold sand. ”

Song Jiu nodded, more than 20 taels of gold sand seems to be a lot of numbers, but it is not much, it is gold sand, not gold, and it has to be refined, these gold people obviously do not have this craft, so they must be exploited by businessmen, gold is one or two tens of thousands of yuan, but it is good to be able to give them a few hundred yuan.

Dahan said again: "The soldiers are in chaos, and the soldiers, bandits, people, bandits, and bandits are everywhere, it is my idea. Let the villagers usually hide the gold sand they have come, and only leave a few to trade. See how little we get. There won't be anyone to bother. But it's not a long-term solution, the year has come to an end. I asked them to take out the gold sand and exchange the goods together. Prepare to stop panning for gold after the beginning of the year, and open up wasteland and farm. ”

"Why don't you go back?"

"Where are you going? Either thieves are everywhere, or settle down, because everyone ran away together, some powerful gentry colluded with the officials to tamper with the title deed, and we can only do a trilogy when we go back. It's better to go to Puzhou, what we plan to go to is Puzhou. ”

"Qiao Dalang. Don't be in a hurry, Kang Thorn History has been moved to Yanze and Dongchuan Seven Prefectures Recruitment Security Patrol Envoy, and no longer serves as the post of Puzhou Thorn History. ”

"Is the heavens going to kill us?"

"No, when I came from the capital, the imperial court issued a holy decree to select good officials from the prefectures and counties in western Beijing, and they were reappointed as the governors of Liangchuan one by one. As long as the two thieves of the whole Lu are leveled, Bashu will be peaceful. ”

In fact, Song Jiu's heart was quite unpleasant, and it was inevitable that these people would not miss the benefits of Lu Yuqing. Wang Quanbin and others were also stationed in Yizhou, and it was a miracle that Lu Yuqing was able to stabilize the core of Yizhou and not let it mess up. But who is Kang Yanze? An authentic Hu man. So many Han officials and Han generals are not as good as a Hu person.

I can't say anything about that.

"Moreover, Puzhou is peaceful, and people who have fled from Puzhou will be able to return to their homes. Why do you fight with them for land? ”

"So what are we going to do?"

"Where you come and where you go, it's better than this. You cultivate here first, and it seems that this rebellion will not be quelled in half a year. Plant some crops first. At least you will have food and clothing when you return to your homeland, and if anyone encroaches on your land, I will seal a letter to you and file a lawsuit with the government. It's really not good, don't be afraid of hard work, you contact each other, send a representative to the capital to find me, and I will solve it for you. As he spoke, Song Jiu took out a piece of paper, folded it into more than a dozen parts, tore it, stamped it with a mark, wrote a short line of words, and handed it to Dahan.

"It seems that there are good officials in the imperial court."

"The court is originally a good official, and His Majesty heard about all kinds of Bashu, and he was also worried about Zhongzhong, otherwise he would not have repeatedly sent envoys down to check."

"Your Majesty cares about the people, why don't you transfer this murderous general away."

Song Jiu didn't dare to answer, and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty will give Bashu a fair time, since I am destined to meet you, I will treat you today, so that everyone can have a meal." ”

"So many folks, will you please join us?"

"Yes, please," Song Jiu called four guards, rode to Panshi County, and bought two pigs and halves before it got dark, and carried them back. There are only about a hundred strong men here, including women and children, and there are only four or five people, and two pigs are enough.

Dahan obviously didn't believe that Song Jiuxin was so good, and asked suspiciously: "Brother Guan, what do you want to do when you buy two pigs?" ”

"Qiao Dalang, Your Majesty heard that the Bashu people are everywhere, don't worry, let me come down and take a look, by the way, think about the good strategy, but I don't want to say anything, many areas dare not go deeper, and what to talk about, Da Lang is very courageous, and the origin is also extraordinary, if you have any intentions, can you accompany me to eat a few glasses of water and wine, by the way, talk about what you see and hear?"

"Medium."

There are no good dishes in the wine shop, but fried dried seeds with garlic and roasted vegetables with pork, and the taste is very unpalatable. You can't be picky in this wilderness, Song Jiu reluctantly ate the garlic fried dried seeds, the pork roasted cabbage can't be eaten, it's fishy and shameful, and there is a smell, is it put for ten days and half a month?

"Brother Guan, you haven't suffered a lot, have you?"

"Qiao Dalang, wrong, I have suffered a lot, when I was a child, my parents died, and I was lucky that my three sisters came to take care of me from time to time. But I was a picky eater because I worked hard, so when I saw that my family was about to collapse, I got up again. You can't complain about the court, but see if you have worked hard and whether you have chosen the right path. ”

Gao Qiong bowed his head and said on the side: "This strong man, what Inspector Song said is true, he lives a life like brocade clothes and jade food, and he really came by his own efforts, and there is no help from others. ”

"Then why did the imperial court let you be an inspector?" The Han looked at Song Jiu strangely, the court didn't want to mention it, anyway, because of the Song Dynasty, the people of Bashu were extremely miserable, but the envoy had to send at least a middle-aged man, why did he send a hairy boy? (To be continued......)