The white market between the upper and lower white villages cannot be called a town, at most it is a grass market.

Because the Northern Song Dynasty gave a strict definition of "town": if the people gather in a county, and those who have taxes are called towns, or they are supervised by officials.

The white market is too small, and the government is too lazy to send tax collectors.

In Xiegu Town, where agriculture is declining, the commercial tax is comparable to that of Xixiang County.

The Yuchuan Town that passed through before was more violent, and the commercial tax revenue was more than that of Xixiang County, with an average of more than 3,500 yuan per year!

Everyone took a boat to the Weihe River valley and landed to change to the next official ship.

But I saw those hand-over soldiers, chatting with a group of refugee-like soldiers. The soldiers had weapons in their hands, even bows and arrows on their backs, their clothes were in tatters, and they actually had seven or eight horses.

As soon as Zhu Ming and the others landed ashore, the soldiers surrounded them and enthusiastically peddled their goods: "Ladies and gentlemen, do you want to buy some weapons for self-defense?" What we have in our hands is all serious. These war horses are also good horses in the army, and one out of ten can be taken. ”

What's the situation?

In broad daylight, he actually set up a stall to sell weapons, and also sold war horses.

What's even more nonsense is that the officers and soldiers of the delivery shop are nearby, smiling as they engage in illegal trade.

Li Hanzhang fell in love with a horse and said critically: "Although your horse has a big skeleton, you neglect to take care of it, and you are already hungry and lose fat." ”

The owner of the war horse said, "I don't have anything to eat, how can I let the war horse be full?" A war horse that doesn't lose weight, like this kind of goods, can you buy it for ten dollars? ”

"That's right," Li Hanzhang smiled, "I bought this horse." ”

In front of officials and officers and soldiers, the two sides handed over money with one hand and delivered goods with the other, and they were illegally trading war horses.

Zhu Ming couldn't help but ask, "Are you locals?" ”

The soldiers did not hide it: "I am a local, I was transferred to be an archer in the border army, and I was not allowed to go home for several years." This year, I was so hungry that I fled back from the army, just wanting to buy some food. ”

"Don't the border army pay the army? Why go hungry? Zhu Ming asked.

The soldier replied: "I also pay the soldiers, but they don't pay them evenly." Even if the military salary is paid, it is not enough to pay taxes, and it has to be owed to the imperial court. ”

Zhu Ming inquired carefully, only to know that these soldiers originally belonged to the archer sequence of Fengxiang Mansion.

According to the previous regulations, only when the forbidden army went out to fight, they archers needed to follow, and they did not have to leave their hometowns in normal times. Tong Guan was foolish, and a large number of local archers were dispatched to the northwest frontier to defend, and he did not mention returning to his hometown at all.

Even, give them a field in the frontier.

An archer can be divided into two hectares. The cavalry also gave money to buy horses, and they could also get fifty acres of horse fields. These are called archer camps and are completely tax-free.

It seems that a soldier can pick up two acres of land that are exempt from paying taxes for nothing, which seems to be good governance.

But how is that possible?

First of all, those two hectares of land are newly laid down border land, which needs to be recultivated and cultivated.

Second, even if there is no need to open up the land, the local population is sparse, and there is not enough tenants.

In the end, Cai Jing came to a lore!

As a result of active preparations for war, more and more archers were transferred to the frontiers, and military spending increased exponentially.

Cai Jing then implemented the "Expression Law" to levy grain from urban and rural households in border prefectures and counties, and doubled the collection on border archers! The archers' salaries were not sufficient, resulting in soldiers receiving not enough to pay their taxes.

In addition, the tenants who were recruited by the archers to farm also chose to flee because of the need to pay exorbitant donations. The highest record for tenants on the other side of Hedong Road was 40 percent of them fleeing within three months.

Zhu Ming was dumbfounded, and confirmed: "The border troops are all hungry? ”

"If we don't go hungry, why are we risking our lives to run back?" The soldiers asked rhetorically.

Zhu Ming had nothing to say at all, he knew about historical events, and next year the Great Song Dynasty and Western Xia would go to war. Moreover, it was the Western Xia who took the initiative to attack, and the reason why the Western Xia took the lead was precisely to get the information that the Great Song Border Army was short of food.

Whose pocket did so much military pay and rations go into?

Zhu Ming asked again: "If you flee back to your hometown, you are not afraid of being arrested by the government?" ”

"It's a big deal to be a thief." The soldiers replied as a matter of course.

"Good ambition." Zhu Ming couldn't cry or laugh.

In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, there were the so-called "Four Generals of Zhongxing", namely Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, and Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun is the archer here, who was recruited to the Tianshui border in Gansu a few years ago, and has fled back to Fengxiang Mansion to be a thief at this time.

Therefore, it is easy to die if you stay in the frontier, and you can still live if you escape back to be a thief, and there will be a chance to clear your identity in the future, and you can even become a famous general in ZTE.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to board the ship!"

Li Hanzhang led the war horse to the boat, and said to Zhu Ming with a smile: "This horse is worth buying, and it can be restored with a little care, and you have to find a place to erase its official seal." ”

Zhu Ming said: "The border army is hungry, what does San Lang think?" ”

Li Hanzhang sighed: "I am a lifter, what else can I think?" You can only sympathize with these archers and not report to the officials to arrest them. ”

Chen Yuan walked towards the official ship, and turned to look back at those deserters, his expression was gloomy and unsightly. He couldn't reprimand the deserters, but he hated the corrupt officials and corrupted the army of the Great Song Dynasty.

Suddenly, a few horsemen rushed towards the army under the leadership of the officer.

Due to the military policy of the Song Dynasty, there was no central order, and the local government could only send troops within ten people.

There were more than a dozen deserters, and they had weapons and horses, and they drew their swords and bows to meet them in the face of the government's capture.

The deserters shot a few arrows, and the cavalry of the Xiang army stopped one after another, watching the deserters from the frontier leave.

Who wants to work hard?

Just expel these deserters, don't do business in broad daylight, and just turn around and deal with it.

Zhu Ming stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the "official thief pursuit battle" on the shore, and couldn't help but say: "What I saw today is breathtaking!" ”

Bai Sheng said: "Chen Dutou (Chen Ziyi) went to Qinfeng Road to join the army, and I don't know how he is doing. ”

Zhu Ming said: "He is different, he brings his own war horses and weapons, and he has martial arts, and he must be better than ordinary archers." At least...... I think I'll be able to eat enough. ”

Gu San said with a smile: "I can only eat enough, that's too miserable, his family is already rich." ”

"Seeing how many years he can survive, maybe he can still make a contribution." Zhu Ming couldn't help but smile.

Shi Biao said: "Don't believe anyone else, I only follow the head." ”

Ahead is the county seat of Yixian, dilapidated and sparsely populated. The commercial tax that can be collected by the county seat is only half of that of Xiekou Town under its jurisdiction (Xiekou Town belongs to Yi County).

The official ships were too lazy to dock here, and sailed further east.

This is the big city, and the business travel is like weaving.

There are several routes for caravans from Hanzhong to Guanzhong, and most of them have to converge at Xuzhong.

There are many thieves too!

Zhu Ming slept in a post house outside the city that night, and heard a commotion from the south in the middle of the night. He put on his clothes and went out to check, and saw the small river in the south lit with torches, and then the thieves landed and went straight to the camp of the caravan, which had not been in the day.

Suddenly, the caravan fled in panic, and the thieves grabbed the goods and loaded them onto small boats, and then swaggered back to the southern mountains.

Professional robbery, too fast.

Juming pulled the cornucopia out of the stable, and when he rode his horse to get closer, the thieves were already on board.

That night, the cry shook the sky.

Zhu Ming went over to inquire and learned that there were no casualties, but only some goods were robbed, resulting in the loss of several small businessmen.

Borrowing a torch, Zhu Ming carefully examined the situation.

Most of the caravans waiting to pay the toll were camped in the camps provided by the government, which were protected by wooden fences.

"What did you find?" Li Hanzhang also came, and he also planned to kill the thief.

Zhu Ming pointed to the broken hole in the fallen fence: "Three-quarters of the fracture is flat, it has been sawn open in advance, and there is a thief's internal response in the field." My guess is that some tax collector colluded with the thieves. ”

"Ordinary things, let's go to sleep first," Li Hanzhang yawned and returned to the post house, saying as he walked, "Those thieves in the mountains, it is estimated that many of them are deserters, and they were also forced by the government." I only pity the robbed merchants, who worked hard to transport the goods, but they were unlucky enough to do such an unlucky thing. ”

"Alas!"

Zhu Ming shook his head and sighed.

The real big businessmen are transported by boat.

The shore was full of small caravans, carrying a few hard-earned money on their shoulders, but the goods were robbed by thieves.

Xue Daoguang stood at the door of the post house with a stick: "This world is not peaceful, the heavier the government's exploitation, the more thieves will escape into the mountains." ”

Zhu Ming asked: "Daoist, if there is a big chaos in the world one day, and you can't even eat enough, will you still think about cultivating the Tao and becoming an immortal?" ”

"Let's talk about it." Xue Daoguang didn't want to communicate with Zhu Ming, he was afraid that he would break his Taoism again.

Two days later, the ship arrived in Xianyang.

Chang'an City has no chance to appreciate it, unless Zhu Ming gets off the boat and rides south. It is the largest city in the northwest, and it must have a bustling scenery.

Along the way, Zhu Ming's knowledge has increased greatly and he has a better understanding of Shaanxi.

When changing boats in Xianyang, Zhu Ming rode to the suburbs on horseback, and when he met farmers, he inquired about their living conditions.

He also took out a bamboo pen filled with ink and recorded it on the spot, an operation that began when he left Xingyuan Mansion.

A peasant said, "It's better not to starve to death, but I'm afraid that I will be forced to do it." ”

Zhu Ming asked, "Is there a law for exemption from military service here?" ”

The peasants said: "The money for exemption from military service must be paid, and the errand service must also be rotated." ”

Wang Anshi's exemption law is to let the people spend money to pay for the service. Up to now, the errand service has been restored, and the exemption money has not been reduced, but it has increased the burden on the people.

In fact, when Wang Anshi was still alive, the exemption law had already turned sour.

At the beginning, it was stipulated that it would not be levied on the fourth and fifth class households, and it became so confusing that everyone had to pay money, and the large households passed on the burden of errand service to the small people.

After going around the countryside in the suburbs, Zhu Ming went to Xianyang City again.

City residents, that time was not easy, Cai Jing's "expression law" has been extended to this point, which is equivalent to paying an additional poll tax, and the tax burden of citizens is becoming heavier and heavier.

The purpose of the "Expression Law" is to raise military rations for the border army, and as for where it is raised, I am afraid that even the ghosts do not know.

Returning to the post house in the evening, Zhu Mingnan ate some food, and summed up what he saw and heard along the way.

From Xingyuan Prefecture to Xianyang County, the data on the income, expenditure and liabilities of citizens, townspeople and farmers are presented in the form of tables.

At night, Chen Yuan knocked on the door again.

When he saw Zhu Ming writing, he didn't bother silently, but just watched carefully from the side.

One by one, the data made Chen Yuan's scalp numb.

He felt that Da Song was a powder keg, and it would explode if it was stained with a little spark.

(End of chapter)