On this day, Li Zicheng led 800 soldiers and horses to wander around Lantian County, Xi'an Prefecture, Xu Xiake led the road in front, and continued to introduce: "Boss, this Qinling Mountains are small to say, between the Guanzhong Plain and the Hanjiang River Valley in the south, is the watershed of the four rivers of Jialing River, Luohe, Weishui and Hanjiang, stretching for four or five hundred kilometers from east to west, and more than 100 kilometers wide from north to south. ”

"In general, it starts from Kunlun Mountain in the east, passes through Longnan and southern Shaanxi, and reaches Dabie Mountain in Shanxi and Zhangbaling in Henan in the east. According to the trend of the mountain range, it can be roughly divided into three sections: west, middle and east. The secret base we established belongs to the eastern section, located near Mount Taihua in Huazhou. ”

However, in the face of Xu Xiake's eloquent talk, Li Zicheng was drowsy and couldn't lift his spirits, and interrupted Xu Xiake a little boringly: "Hey~ Mr. Xu, where is this?" How did you get your brothers to this place where birds don't? ”

Suddenly, Xu Xiake realized that he was too teachable. Although the talk is sprinkled and gushing. However, for this boss who is not good at reading, it seems too boring and boring.

As soon as Li Zicheng's words fell, this thought flashed through Xu Xiake's mind, and then replied: "Boss, we are now near Lantian County, Xi'an Prefecture. The reason why he talked about the Qinling Mountains in a long way and brought the brothers here is because the southeast of Lantian County is the middle section of the Qinling Mountains, which is also called Zhongnan Mountain, with dense forests and dense streams. ”

Hearing this, Li Zicheng perked up, and suddenly came to his senses, and couldn't help asking, "Zhongnan Mountain?" That, Mr. Xu, it is rumored that there are many hermits in Zhongnan Mountain, and there are countless masters, is it true? ”

The world only knows Zhongnan Mountain, but few people know that Zhongnan Mountain is part of the Qinling Mountains? Not only did Li Zicheng's interest increase greatly, but even the simple and rude Liu Fangliang was excited, and then asked: "Mr. Xu, I heard that Zhongnan Mountain is one of the birthplaces of Taoism, are there many martial arts masters?" ”

Hearing these inquiries, Xu Xiake saw Li Zicheng and Liu Fangliang's bright eyes showing the same light of hope, so he knew why the two asked like this? What's the idea? couldn't help but smile, and didn't answer in a hurry, but said slowly: "Boss, Captain Liu, the middle section of the Qinling Mountains can be subdivided into Sifangtai, Shouyang Mountain, Zhongnan Mountain, and Dongguang Bald Mountain and other peaks. There are indeed a large number of hermits who live in it. However, as for whether there are martial arts masters, I really don't know. ”

As soon as the words fell, seeing the two of them showing disappointment, Xu Xiake explained: "After all, I am not a person who practices martial arts, even if I meet a martial arts master, it is in vain, and I can't distinguish between high and low." ”

"Blind and happy!" Liu Fangliang grumbled, and then muttered, "Then what are you bringing us here for?" It's boring to talk so much nonsense. ”

was complained about and didn't understand what he meant, Xu Xiake was not angry, but smiled very generously.

At this time, Li Guo, who followed closely behind on horseback, said: "Big head Liu, why don't you open your mind?" After leaving the Qinling Mountains, along the way, the boss explained that this operation was to commit crimes, taking advantage of the weakest garrisons of the government in various places to attack some small and medium-sized towns. Imitate the secret places of Mabitshan, Xinglong Mountain and Taihua Mountain, store the ill-gotten gains and grain, collect the exiled victims from all over the country, secretly cultivate our own forces, and establish a secret stronghold to prepare for future uprisings. ”

Wake up the person in the dream with a word, Liu Fangliang suddenly realized, remembering the explanation of the boss when he came out of the mountain, all the actions are centered on the famous mountains in Shaanxi, around the attack on nearby towns, to feed the war with war, to feed the people with war, to relieve the people, and secretly accumulate strength!

Thinking of this, Liu Fangliang couldn't help but say, "Oh... I understood that the terrain of Jungnan Mountain is dangerous, dense forests, and streams are all over, which is the most suitable for the life of the victims of the disaster. ”

At this moment, Li Zicheng looked to the southeast, looked at the hazy peaks, lush forests, and said: "Yes, compared to other places, the climate here is more suitable and more suitable for growing crops." Without the heavy taxes of the imperial court and the exploitation of officials, even if the natural disasters in Shaanxi are severe, the victims we have collected will be able to tide over the difficulties and still have surpluses. ”

The words evoked Xu Xiake's memories, and his face showed emotion, and then said: "What the boss said is exact. As the saying goes, natural disasters and man-made disasters are born together, and the former only accounts for 30%. The key root cause of the chaos in the world and the people's misery is the heavy taxation in the imperial court, and the more and more official food is levied on the people. It overwhelmed the people, let alone survived natural disasters. ”

Memories come in like a spring. Remembering all over the north and south of the river, Xu Xiake saw more, understood more in detail, and felt more profound, and couldn't help but say further: "The finances of the imperial court, the expenditure of the war and the collection of military food, most of which come from the people, are collected from the people. Even if there were no natural disasters in Shaanxi and Henan, the people everywhere would be overwhelmed and rebelled one after another. ”

With such a heavy question, Li Zicheng has not really thought about it seriously. Although he doesn't know much about history, Li Zicheng still knows some things, such as the fact that there were a lot of official financial resources in ancient times, why was it so tight in the Ming Dynasty?

Thinking of this, Li Zicheng also asked: "Hey, Mr. Xu, as far as I know, things like salt, iron, coal and other things belong to the official operation of the imperial court, and these businesses are very profitable, how can the imperial court have less silver?" ”

Li Zicheng's idea was very simple, and without waiting for Xu Xiake to answer, he asked again: "Don't say anything else, just talk about the salt administration, this is a lot of income, enough for war food expenses." ”

Xu Xiake nodded, then showed a helpless look, and said in a deep voice: "Boss, you are right. With salt and iron alone, the tax and silver collected from them were enough for the vast majority of the imperial court's expenses. However, since the previous dynasty, the salt administration of Lianghuai and Jiangnan was controlled by Zhu Changxun, the king of Fu. As a result, the finances of the Ming Dynasty were reduced by more than half. ”

"Also, in places like Jiangnan, as well as in the Central Plains, some powerful and wealthy people have backers and conceal their land and property and do not report it, or only report a small part. Therefore, the financial revenue of the imperial court could only be passed on to the common people of Li and imposed heavy taxes. ”

At this moment, Li Zicheng had a trace of understanding in his heart, and from Xu Xiake's narration, he heard a trace of resentment. Understand why Xu Xiake is not interested in the official career examination? It turned out that everything was lost, and he completely lost confidence in this Ming Dynasty.

Another point, Li Zicheng felt that the reason why Xu Xiake followed him and assisted him with all his strength was to see hope from what he did. Especially when he was in Yuzhong County, he had a very high reputation among the people, and the rebel army he led could be called a teacher of benevolence and righteousness.

At this time, a trace of the memory of "Li Hongji" appeared in Li Zicheng's mind, and he asked instead: "Hey, by the way, Mr. Xu, I remember that the Ming Dynasty practiced military reclamation and border garrison in parallel, why did the border army stationed in the Jiubian region often mutinied?" It stands to reason that compared to ordinary people, the border army has surrendered much less grain on the land reclaimed, so how can they be short of food? ”

Xu Xiake's sighing expression became more and more intense, and he said helplessly: "Boss, you don't know, the border army reclaims the land and is self-sufficient, it stands to reason that it is indeed a good policy, which not only reduces the financial burden of the imperial court, but also develops the border. ”

However, with the passage of time and the accumulation of time, the system of military reclamation and tuning has long deteriorated, and those fertile fields have been privately divided among the generals, and the soldiers have become tenant farmers who farm, which has greatly reduced the combat effectiveness of the border garrisons and laid hidden dangers. As soon as the harvest is not good, the soldiers will go hungry and there will be mutiny. ”

"Oh... So it is no wonder that there are so many mutinous troops in various places, and there are not much fewer than the rebellious peasants. Li Zicheng suddenly realized, and nodded to himself.