"There are not a few packs left, save some smoke."

Zhu Guoxiang lit Huazi, took a puff of cigarette, and handed it to his son, looking blankly at the other side of the Han River.

The Chinese cigarette that came out of the car was consumed quickly, and the father and son smoked whenever they were free to relieve the pressure and confusion in their hearts.

Zhu Ming didn't dislike the saliva on the filter, took it and took a sharp sip, handed it back and said, "I'm afraid it's the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty or the Southern Song Dynasty, and it's okay at other times." But ......" Zhu Ming said with a heartless smile, "War also means opportunities, maybe we can still be emperors." ”

"To put it mildly, will you fight?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming said: "I have studied the "New Book of Discipline and Effectiveness" and "The Actual Record of Military Training", and I have also studied the history of the development of firearms, and I am familiar with the famous examples of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign wars. ”

"I can understand it, it's just on paper." Zhu Guoxiang made a summary.

Zhu Ming pursed his lips and acquiesced in this matter, there was nothing to refute.

He does belong to the army on paper, although he is keen to play with armor, but he does not know the slightest actual combat move, and the sword of more than 30,000 yuan is no different from a woodcutter in his hand. As for the war, he was very familiar with the battle examples and formations, and the actual operation only stayed at fighting with a few gangsters.

After the father and son took turns smoking a cigarette, Zhu Ming patted his ass and stood up: "Continue to walk along the Han River, you will always meet the village." ”

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "What is the development status of the Hanzhong Basin in the Song Dynasty?" ”

Zhu Ming explained: "This is the time period for scoring. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Hanzhong was sparsely populated. Later, the southeast tea was banned, and only Sichuan-Shaanxi and Guangnan tea could be bought and sold freely. In addition, the Sichuan Basin was overpopulated, and a large number of Shuzhong people migrated to Hanzhong, where tea was widely cultivated in various parts of Hanzhong. ”

"And then?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming continued: "Later, Wang Anshi changed the law, and the southeast tea could be traded freely, but the Sichuan-Shaanxi tea was purchased and sold by the imperial court because of the opening of the river, and it was specially used to replace horses. As the saying goes, Hanzhong buys tea, and Xihe Yima. Since then, Hanzhong's commerce has gradually withered, and the population has become smaller and smaller. ”

Zhu Guoxiang said confusedly: "Why didn't I understand? ”

Zhu Ming explained in detail: "The imperial court's unified purchase and sale of tea led to heavy losses for tea owners. When the imperial court purchased from tea farmers, it not only lowered the purchase price, but also forcibly collected good tea as bad tea. The big businessmen colluded with officials to monopolize the tea market with shoddy products. Hanzhong in the Northern Song Dynasty mainly cultivated tea, especially in mountainous areas. The tea market withered, and the common people could not have enough to eat, so they had to flee to other places. ”

"Can't you change to growing food?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming said: "First, there are many mountainous areas in Hanzhong, and the grain production in these mountainous areas is very low; Second, what should be planted in the field is not something that farmers say will change. The government is registered as a tea farm, and even if you change to grow grain, you will still be taxed according to the tea planted. The barren mountainous areas could not produce a few grains of grain in the first place, and they had to collect high taxes according to the cultivation of tea, and the peasants not only had no income, but also had to pay taxes every year. In addition, Hehuang and Shaanxi often fought wars, and the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes in Hanzhong were heavier, and the common people could not afford them at all. Therefore, although the Hehuang Kaibian opened the land for the Northern Song Dynasty, it also made the people in the Hanzhong Mountains miserable. ”

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "Has the Southern Song Dynasty recovered?" ”

"No, until the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, Sichuan tea has always been in a state of ban," Zhu Ming shook his head and said, "And at the turn of the two Song Dynasty, the northern part of Hanzhong belonged to the front line, with frequent wars, heavier taxes, and more serious population loss." ”

Zhu Guoxiang was quite pleased and praised: "Your historical knowledge is quite solid. ”

Zhu Ming opened the conversation: "My undergraduate thesis was to explore the impact of the ban on tea in Sichuan in the Song Dynasty on the population and economy of Hanzhong. It's actually interesting to study those historical details. Take Wang Anshi and Cai Jing as examples, a reformist minister and a traitor through the ages, but comparing their tea policies, we can find some very interesting phenomena. ”

"How?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming said: "Wang Anshi implemented a new law to lift the ban on southeast tea, so that southeast tea can be bought and sold freely. His intentions were good, but he was afraid of repeating the mistakes of the Qingli New Deal, so he did not dare to let go of the reform of the rule of officials, resulting in the city change law becoming empty talk. The original intention of the Law was to crack down on commercial monopolies and mergers and protect the interests of small and medium-sized businessmen. When it was implemented, it became an official to control the market, small and medium-sized businessmen were heavily indebted and went bankrupt, and tea farmers were affected and fled with their families. ”

And after Cai Jing came to power in the Huizong Dynasty, the two tea law reforms were very effective. Cai Jing's tea introduction system seems to have restored the ban, but it retains part of Wang Anshi's trade law. In this way, all parties can benefit, and it has been used until the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. ”

Zhu Guoxiang shook his head and said: "A new policy cannot benefit everyone, and Cai Jing's tea law must have suffered losses." ”

Zhu Ming said: "Cai Jing's tea method increased the income of the imperial court and increased the profits of tea merchants. Where do all these profits come from? Of course, it is to abolish and merge the tea regulatory agency and abandon the unified purchase and sale of tea, thus reducing administrative overhead and corrupt processes. At the same time, small and medium-sized businessmen are excluded, and tea farmers are still the target of exploitation. ”

"I understand, streamline the government department and administrative links, so that there are fewer officials lying on it to suck blood. It also guarantees the interests of big businessmen and big bureaucrats, so that the policy can be favorably supported," Zhu Guoxiang commented, "It seems that Cai Jing still has some means, not the faint officials in the novel who only rely on calligraphy to please the emperor." ”

Zhu Ming said with a smile: "It's not a dumb official, but it's definitely a corrupt official." Cai Jing formulated and implemented the tea introduction method, and he and his henchmen relied on tea to attract a lot of money. In the past, officials at all levels were greedy together, and even small officials in the countryside could make a fortune, but after the reform, they became big officials and were qualified to be greedy. ”

Under Cai Jing's tea law reform, the state's fiscal revenue increased, the important ministers of the court were also satisfied, and the big merchants and the big tea owners also profited, and Song Huizong naturally regarded Cai Jing as a treasure.

Zhu Ming waved his sword to split the thorns and weeds, and said as he walked: "All the reforms of Cai Jing are, to put it bluntly, to make money." Make money for the court, and make money for yourself. Sometimes it can be crooked, but more often it makes people angry. For example, the monetary reform, to make the ten dollars when the people's fat, the people's ointment. The common people were not stupid, so they melted down the small money and changed it to larger coins with higher value, and the money market was even more chaotic. ”

The father and son continued to talk about Cai Jing's reform, mainly because Zhu Ming was talking about it, and Zhu Guoxiang was praising him.

Although Zhu Guoxiang listens to a lot of content, he likes this way of father-son communication. Unlike before, when talking and talking, there were disagreements, and chatting always turned into gags and complaining about each other.

Zhu Guoxiang began to reflect, he thought that he cared about his son very much, but he didn't care about his son's thoughts at all.

He used to think that his son didn't have any serious skills, and it was useful to know a bunch of history. If you really like this aspect, you can go to graduate school and take a doctorate, and engaging in self-media is the most unambitious.

Now, his son seems to be more capable than he thought.

……

Crossing the tenth day.

On both sides of the Han River, the mountains are stacked and green.

In a few hundred years, it would have been a pleasant hike.

It's a pity that the traffic is inconvenient at this time, the thorns and weeds are overgrown by the river, and it is even more cold at night, and the father and son are still in a state of semi-starvation.

Due to the lack of oil and salt, Zhu Ming felt that his physical strength had decreased significantly, and his physique, which had been improved during the crossing, was almost unable to hold on.

They walked along the banks of the Hanshui River and encountered several groups of boats, but none of them docked. There are really too many water bandits and bandits, and the boatman doesn't want to get involved, what if he is lured over and robbed?

At noon on the tenth day, father and son finally found the house by the river.

It was more than 30 thatched huts scattered in the foothills, and it was supposed to be a village in the past. But it is clearly dilapidated, and some of the walls have collapsed, and it seems that no one has lived in it for a long time.

Ju Ming quickened his pace and walked towards the thatched huts.

Zhu Guoxiang stopped halfway, stood in front of a free-growing tea tree, and said to his son who was walking in front: "This is an abandoned tea mountain. ”

Zhu Ming observed the surroundings when he heard this, and found that the place he regarded as a grove actually stood tea trees.

Those tea trees grow luxuriantly, and due to the lack of human pruning, some have even grown to two meters tall.

Wild grasses are everywhere, mixed with tea trees, and I don't know how many years it has been abandoned.

Zhu Ming muttered: "The tea farm is deserted, the population is withering, if this is Xixiang County, then you can continue to have a precise time." It should be after the opening of the river and before the Jin army goes south. Earlier than this time period, tea farms flourished all over Hanzhong. Later than this period, the Jin soldiers ravaged Shanxi, and a large number of people fled to Hanzhong, and the population would not be so sparse. Of course, if it is in the Southern Song Dynasty, I don't know much about the situation in Hanzhong in the Southern Song Dynasty. ”

Zhu Guoxiang was surprised: "Remember so clearly? ”

Zhu Ming pretended to be forced: "It's just a basic operation, the shame of Hehuang Kaibian and Jingkang is a big event." ”

"What emperors did you have during this period?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming said: "Song Shenzong Zhao Xu, Song Zhezong Zhao Xu, Song Huizong Zhao Ji, Song Qinzong Zhao Huan. ”

"Wang Anshi's change, it seems that Song Shenzong is supporting, right?" Zhu Guoxiang's historical knowledge is very limited, and if he wasn't more familiar with Wang Anshi, he wouldn't even know the name of Song Shenzong.

Zhu Ming nodded and said: "It's Song Shenzong, if you travel to that time, it's the best, you can take the imperial examination and deal with many famous ministers." If you travel to the Huizong Dynasty, alas...... It's hard to put into words. ”

Discerning the passage between the tea trees, Ju Ming chopped through the weeds and moved forward, and soon came to several thatched houses.

There is even a small yard in front of the house, but the fence wall is broken.

The yard was also overgrown with weeds, and Zhu Ming swung his sword to chop for a while, and found a bamboo dustpan among the weeds.

Squatting down and reaching out to pinch it, the bamboo strips of the dustpan were directly pinched, and they had been abandoned for too long, and they had been completely weathered and decayed.

Zhu Guoxiang looked at the collapsed door panel and said, "There is no one here, we had better not enter the house, beware of the earthen wall collapsing." ”

"I'll have to go in and see if I can find a pot." Zhu Ming said.

Father and son stepped into the house cautiously, one after the other.

There is a dining table in the hall, which is the table of eight immortals that has been popularized in the Song Dynasty. The desktops are already mossy, and this is not a year or two.

There are some miscellaneous items scattered on the ground, which must have been left over from the houseowner's move.

After wandering around for a while, he didn't find any items available, so Zhu Ming turned around and walked towards the side room again.

This is clearly the kitchen, and at a glance you can see the earthen stove, and the ground in front of the stove has unknown small mushrooms.

"Good stuff!"

Zhu Ming's eyes lit up, and there was a clay pot on the stove.

One of the can ears was missing, and the other could ear was still tied with hemp rope.

A clay pot with missing ears, this is all the harvest, the father and son left with the jar in their hands, and finally they could cook wild vegetable soup and drink.

With joy, Zhu Ming returned to the river with the can, and suddenly heard a neighing sound similar to the barking of a horse from the nearby tea garden.

"Arima!" Zhu Guoxiang said.

"Someone!" Zhu Ming was overjoyed.

(Thank you Penguin Boss, Gu Jianshan, Long Teng and all the brothers for their tips and votes, thank you for your support!) ）