"Hello, old man." Yang Peng walked over and greeted with a smile. The old man followed the sound and saw a young man with extraordinary instruments, and saw more than a dozen followers following the young man, and he didn't dare to slack off, so he quickly stood up and bowed: "Childe is good!" The words are full of strong Sichuan accents, and in the Song Dynasty nearly a thousand years ago, the accent of Sichuan people was almost the same as that of modern Sichuan people!

Yang Peng sat down on the big bluestone, and when he saw that the old man was still standing respectfully, he smiled and said, "The old man doesn't have to be nervous, sit down and talk." The old man answered, sat down with half of his buttocks next to the big bluestone, and didn't dare to smoke the dry smoke, so he quickly received it behind his back.

Yang Peng asked, "The old man is a local, right?" The old man couldn't help but smile and said: "Little Lao'er was born in Chengdu, grew up in Chengdu, and has lived in Chengdu all his life!" He glanced at Yang Peng and said, "Childe doesn't look like we're from Chengdu!" Yang Peng said: "I am a merchant from outside. The old man's eyes showed a look that was indeed so.

Yang Peng pointed to the busy dock and asked, "Has the dock here been so busy all along?" ”

The old man looked at the dock in the direction of Yang Peng's finger, shook his head and said, "I wasn't so busy in the past!" It's only been in the past few years that I've become so busy! "Oh? Is it just these years? What is the reason? The old man said, "It's not because of the war!" Since the southern invasion of the Khitans, there have been refugees fleeing to our Sichuan. Our Sichuan people are outstanding, it is the country of abundance, it is needless to say, the most important thing is that there are steep mountains around to protect it, even no matter how powerful people can't get in, we are safe! Back then, at that time in the Three Kingdoms, if Deng Ai hadn't found a small way to sneak attack, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Sichuan in a hundred years with his hard skills! ”

Yang Peng smiled: "The old man still knows Deng Ai? ”

The old man raised his eyebrows, "Of course I do!" Although Xiao Lao'er has never read a book, he often reads and reviews books, Xiao Lao'er not only knows those things in the Three Kingdoms, but also knows the heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, such as Li Yuanba, the first hero of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and those heroes of Wagangzhai! ......," the old man said, his eyebrows fluttering. Yang Peng naturally didn't want to hear this, but he didn't interrupt him. The old man talked for a while, and suddenly realized that he had gone off topic, smiled embarrassedly, and said: "Little Lao'er likes to listen to the commentary of the Sui and Tang Dynasty heroes the most, and he unconsciously talked about it!" Childe, forgive me! ”

Yang Peng said with a smile: "The old man likes the heroes of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and also likes the heroes of the Three Kingdoms? The old man nodded. Yang Peng asked again: "Don't the old people like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui?" The old man said with a blank face: "What are the two of them doing?" Yang Peng laughed, the old man was embarrassed to laugh, and said: "The little old man has never read, so the son laughs!" Yang Peng waved his hand and asked, "I don't know if the old man knows Kou Zhun?" The old man's eyes lit up, "Of course I know, Kou Qingtian!" Yang Peng asked: "The old man thinks that such an official is good, or is it better to be a hero like Li Yuanba and Qin Shubao?" ”

The old man showed embarrassment, picked his head, and said, "This, this, it's all good!" Lao Kou Qingtian, although he can call the shots for our people, but he can only catch a few corrupt officials, if the emperor does bad things and raises taxes, I think Lao Kou Qingtian can't control it, if he insists on taking care of it, the emperor is angry, and he can't keep his own head; And like the Khitans who came in, Lao Kou Qingtian couldn't control it anymore, his knives won the little corrupt officials, and the local ruffians and bullies, but they were really useless in front of the Khitans! Therefore, Xiao Lao'er thinks that heroes like Li Yuanba and Qin Shubao are the best! With them, the bad guys outside can't come in, if the emperor does something bad, they will ......" Speaking of this, he was suddenly shocked, quickly closed his mouth and stopped talking, looked at Yang Peng with some concern, and secretly regretted that he shouldn't have said such a thing in excitement.

Yang Peng smiled and asked, "If the emperor does something bad, these heroes can take the emperor down?" The old man's face turned pale, and he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Little Lao'er definitely doesn't mean that!" ”

Yang Peng smiled: "It's not impossible to say this kind of thing!" The world is not the emperor's family, if they do bad things, naturally anyone can pull them down! When the old man saw Yang Peng say this, he agreed very much, but he didn't dare to say anything on his mouth, and then reminded nervously: "Son, these words are not good to talk nonsense!" If the government hears it, it will be a big crime to raid the house and destroy the door! ”

Yang Peng smiled and said to the old man: "Old man, you said that refugees have been fleeing into Sichuan since the Khitans went south? Seeing that Yang Peng didn't say anything about the rebellion, the old man breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "Yes, in the past few years, the little old man in other places doesn't know, but the population of our Chengdu has increased too much!" There is no room for living in the city, so many firewood and grass huts have been erected outside the city, and the streets and alleys are full of beggars. As soon as there are more people, there will naturally be more goods needed, so in the past few years, the docks have become more and more busy, and those merchants have made a lot of money! When he said the last sentence, the old man's eyes showed a very envious look, but for him, he could only envy it.

"Old man, how many times is the freight now what it is when there were no refugees?" There is a reason for Yang Peng to ask, he can estimate the degree of population increase in Chengdu and even the entire Sichuan according to the increase in freight and large characters, and this increase can be roughly derived from the total population of Sichuan.

The old man thought for a moment and said, "It's probably twice as much." ”

Yang Peng immediately estimated in his heart: 'According to intelligence, Sichuan's pre-war population was five million, and the freight volume tripled, if you simply calculate it, it is five million times three, that is, fifteen million, but considering the convergence effect of Chengdu, the central city, it is inaccurate to multiply three by three, and the population of the entire Sichuan should not reach fifteen million, but there must be a population of 10 million. Yang Peng was very surprised to get this data, you must know that the total population of China is only 65 million, and Sichuan has more than 10 million, which is one-sixth of the total population of China!

Yang Peng's thoughts suddenly turned to grain, if there is not enough food in Sichuan, then after taking Sichuan, the first thing to do is to transport grain into Sichuan, otherwise, the society will inevitably be in turmoil. However, half of the grain purchased from Jiangnan through commercial channels had been consumed in the previous war, and the remaining half was partly transported to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun for disaster relief, and the other part was used to mobilize and deploy several large armies against the imperial court, and there was no surplus grain in the treasury. If Sichuan itself is also short of food, after taking Sichuan, I am afraid that the problem will be very serious.

As soon as Yang Peng thought of this, he asked the old man: "Old man, there are so many refugees in Sichuan, is there enough food to eat?" ”

The old man said angrily: "It's okay if the son doesn't say this, but when he says these little old men, he is very angry!" "What's wrong?" The old man said hatefully: "Our Sichuan has been a country of abundance since ancient times, that's true, every year the wind and rain are smooth and the grains are abundant, not to mention the people who raise Sichuan, that is, the people who raise the entire Jiangnan, that can also be done!" But now there are many people who have no food or clothing, either to beg and become beggars, or to fall into the grass, and a good place is made into a miasma! Yang Peng asked, "Why is that?" Could it be that there has been a natural disaster recently, which has caused a bad harvest? ”

The old man shook his head and said, "Even if there is a natural disaster, it will not have much impact, and we will still have a bumper harvest, thanks to Li Taishou!" Yang Peng knew that the Li Taishou he said was Li Bing, who was ordered to control the water in Xichuan during the Warring States Period, and he built water conservancy projects such as Dujiangyan, and since then Sichuan has become a country of abundance with smooth wind and rain and abundant grains. Not to mention the people of the Song Dynasty, even the people of Sichuan in modern society also have great respect for this Li Bing, and there is a local opera dedicated to praising Li Bing's achievements in controlling the water.

The old man continued: "Last year and this year were bumper harvests, and we have so much grain in Sichuan that we can't even fit it in the warehouse!" Hey, but all this grain is in the hands of the government and the foreign owners, and in order to make money, they hoard all the good grain, and only take out the old grain and sell it at a high price! The family is not very wealthy, and it won't last long before it collapses, and even the family with a good family background has become very difficult! These are not bad, at least they can afford to buy food to survive, many people whose families are already very difficult cannot afford to eat food, and they either become beggars and beggars to survive, or they fall into the grass! ”

Yang Peng frowned and said: "There is a Xuanfu envoy and a pacification envoy in Sichuan, don't these two adults care about the life or death of the people?" The old man couldn't help but scold: "I'll take him two dog officials!" They only care about fighting for power and profit, so they don't care about the life or death of our little people! I really wish there was a thunderbolt that would kill these bitches! ”

Yang Peng said: "Maybe the faces are in the hands of the gentry and wealthy families, and there is not much food in the hands of the government." ”

The old man hurriedly said: "Son, you don't know, the little old man once helped the owner to transport goods to the official warehouse of the Xuanfu Envoy Yamen, and saw with his own eyes that the grain in the official warehouse was piled up, and it was almost unloadable!" ”

Yang Peng frowned and said, "Then the common people who have land at home shouldn't be sad, right?" The old man shook his head, "Wrong! It's harder! The government collects grain and taxes, almost all of them are directed at them! Except for those scholars, most of them have meritorious names and can be exempted from rent and tax, while the merchants, who have money in their hands, as long as they feed the officials, the officials will help them evade taxes! Therefore, the burden of taxation falls on the common people! ”

Yang Peng listened to the old man's words and couldn't help frowning. I suddenly thought of a play called "Yang Bailao" that I had watched, and found that the plot depicted in the play was not fictional, although the play depicted the things of the feudal period, but it was consistent with the basic situation of this era, but I am afraid that the reality of the Song Dynasty far exceeded the plot in that play.

Yang Peng asked, "What do you want the world to look like the most?" ”

The old man grinned and said, "It's useless for us little people to think about it!" Yang Peng smiled: "It's okay to talk about it." The old man looked at Yang Peng suspiciously, and asked, "I said Son, why do you care about these things?" Then his heart moved, and he asked with a look of surprise: "Could it be that Gongzi is Lord Qincha from above?" Yang Peng smiled: "So to speak." When the old man heard this, he was in awe, and quickly got up and knelt down and said: "Xiaomin has eyes and no beads, I don't know if the adults are coming, you have a lot of adults, don't worry about the Xiaomin, just take what Xiaomin just said as a stinky fart put by Xiaomin!" The whole person fell to the ground, trembling.

Yang Peng helped the old man up, and the old man raised his head, his face was full of panic on his old and dry face like the bark of a grain tree. Yang Peng smiled and said, "What you just said is very good, I want to thank you!" The old man thought that he was talking the opposite, and he was so frightened that he was about to kneel, but he was supported by Yang Peng. The old man cried and begged for mercy: "My lord, there is absolutely no malice in what Xiaomin said, Xiaomin does not dare to be dissatisfied with the court, Xiaomin is grateful to the court!" ”

Yang Peng smiled and said: "Don't be afraid, I really think you are right!" Seeing Yang Peng's sincere attitude and kind expression, the old man couldn't help but let go of most of his hanging heart, wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and couldn't help but say: "My lord, you, you are really good!" ”

Yang Peng pulled the old man to sit down again, and said with a smile: "It's still just now, what do you want Chengdu to become, old man, so that you can feel happy?" The old man thought that Yang Peng was the minister of the Qin Mission, and when he saw him so kind, he couldn't help but confide in: "The adults ask, the little people don't dare to hide it!" In fact, the small people don't want much, as long as they can live in peace and happiness! ”

Yang Peng smiled and asked, "What is the life of peace and happiness?" The old man thought for a while and said, "This, that is, the official government and the yamen should not be partial, and they should not bully our common people with the foreign scholars!" Well, they broke the law, and we small people can have a place to seek justice! Also, there is the fact that the taxes and labor of the government are so strong that the small people are almost out of breath! Yang Peng asked, "People like you who work for others also have to pay taxes and serve as servants?" The old man asked in surprise, "My lord doesn't even know, isn't this what the imperial court meant?" Yang Peng said: "I want to hear what you have to say." The old man sighed, sighed, and said, "Our working days are no better than the peasants' lives!" Sometimes it's even worse! If you meet a good owner, that's fine, otherwise, the owner will use all kinds of excuses, similar to paying taxes to the government, etc., to deduct wages, and in the end, I am afraid that only two or three out of ten percent will be in hand! And that's not all, the government will still levy a poll tax and other messy taxes on us......"

Yang Peng asked: "Didn't you say that the owner paid the tax on behalf of the owner, and the salary has been deducted, why do you still have to pay the tax?" ”

The old man shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Where do these little people understand, ask the owner, the owner will be driven away if he is not happy, ask the government, at least he will be scolded, or he will be beaten by the board, and he will even be arrested and imprisoned!" Hey, in short, we little people can't afford to provoke the owner, nor can we provoke the government, so we can only accept it! After speaking, he sighed a few more times.

Yang Peng pondered for a moment and asked the old man, "The officials here, do you think that one is good?" The old man tilted his head and thought for a while, and said, "There are a few adults who are very good to our people, some of whom the small people have seen with their own eyes, and some of whom have heard of it." Yang Peng asked: "What are their names and what official positions they have, do you know?" The old man nodded and said, "Of course I know." Then he said it one by one like a few treasures. Yang Peng was born as an elite special soldier and has a particularly good memory, so the old man said it again, and he remembered it.

The sound of horses' hooves suddenly sounded, and Yang Peng followed the prestige, only to see one of his secret guards galloping towards him. The secret guard ran to the vicinity, reined in his horse, turned over, ran to Yang Peng's side, and bowed: "Master, Mr. Fan sent someone to summon the news, he is waiting for the master in Taibai Building!" "Since there was a Li Taibai in China, countless restaurants have been named after him, and it seems that as long as you name it after him, you can get a little fairy spirit, and it seems to be the case.

Yang Peng stood up, and the old man quickly stood up as well. Yang Peng smiled and said to the old man: "Old man, goodbye!" The old man hurriedly knelt down and bowed: "Xiaomin sends off the adult!" Yang Peng turned and left, followed by the secret guards. The old man didn't dare to raise his head until Yang Peng and his party were far away, looked at their backs, and muttered excitedly: "I have to go back quickly and tell the old woman and children that I have seen the minister!" At this point, he hurriedly got up, and did not even want the dry tobacco pole placed on the side of the big bluestone, and ran towards the house in a hurry, and the foot did not pay attention, and tripped over the stone, and fell into a somersault with a thud, and got up and ran again regardless of the pain.

Yang Peng and his entourage came to the Taibai Building, which was not far from the mansion of the pacification envoy. At this time, it is not long after nightfall, it is the most lively time of the day in the restaurant, only to see the guests outside the restaurant, bustling, the three-storey restaurant is quite beautiful under the reflection of the moonlight, and it really has a little bit of the charm of the palace pavilion. Walk into the lobby, only to see that the lobby is already full of guests, the sound of drinking and fisting comes and goes, there are drunk drinkers who are going crazy, several of them are learning from Li Taibai, holding wine glasses, staggering, singing the poems of celebrities, some drinkers applaud, some show contempt.

Xiao Er greeted Yang Peng and the others, and asked with a smile on his face, "How many guest officers?" Unfortunately, there are no more private rooms! ”

The secret guard who came to inform Yang Peng earlier said: "We came by appointment, and Mr. Fan has booked a private room here!" Xiao Er showed a sudden expression and said: "Mr. Fan has explained, saying that he has invited distinguished guests, presumably there are a few, please come with the little one!" Then he led everyone upstairs. Outside a private room on the third floor, Xiao Er turned around and said, "This is it!" Then he knocked softly on the door, and a man's voice came from the door: "What's the matter?" Xiao Er raised his voice and said, "Mr. Fan, you can wait for the guests to come!" The sound of tables and chairs moving was immediately heard from the door, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps, and then the door was opened with a bang, and a bronzed-skinned young man appeared in front of Yang Peng, who was the envoy who secretly sent to Sichuan on his orders, Fan Yong.

When Fan Yong saw Yang Peng, he showed surprise, took out a piece of broken silver and handed it to Xiao Er, and said, "Go and prepare the best wine and food!" Xiao Er got the silver, his face was full of joy, he agreed without a word, and ran down quickly.

Seeing that there were no outsiders on the left and right, Fan Yong respectfully clasped his fists and bowed: "King Yan." Yang Peng waved his hand, "This is not our place, all etiquette is waived." "Yes." Yang Peng walked in, two secret guards guarded the door, and the others followed.

Yang Peng sat at the top, Fan Yong sat at the bottom of the prime minister, and the secret guards were scattered around the private room to be responsible for guarding.

Fan Yong picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Yang Pengman. Yang Peng picked up the teacup, took a sip, put down the teacup, raised his head and glanced at Fan Yong, and said with a smile: "You don't look good!" Fan Yong sighed, "The things that the son explained have not been eyebrows, and the mood of his subordinates is not good!" ”

Yang Peng asked, "Have you been in contact with An Bing and Zhou Rong?" Fan Yong nodded, frowned, and said: "These two guys are still waiting for the price to sell, not only I have arrived here, but the secret envoy of the imperial emperor and the envoy of Tubo are here!" Hmph, the Tubo people actually want to annex Sichuan, it's really beyond their means! ”

Yang Peng asked, "What conditions did these two guys put forward?" Fan Yong shook his head, "These two still haven't revealed their hole cards!" Both of them were very polite to me, but they just didn't talk about the real issues! "Do you know the negotiations between the envoys of other quarters and these two men?" Fan Yong shook his head and said, "My subordinates have inquired through various channels, but they still haven't gotten valuable information!" The subordinates judged that the two of them deliberately took the opportunity to raise their value! ”

Yang Peng nodded thoughtfully. Fan Yong glanced at it and said, "Childe, with all due respect, I'm worried that the conditions we give may not be as tempting as the conditions given by others!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "That's for sure, the Tubo people promised to give him the title of general for the two of them, which we can't give!" Fan Yong was taken aback and asked, "How did Childe know about this?" Yang Peng said: "I learned about it from Anqian. Fan Yong had already learned about An Qian's identity and Yang Peng's current residence from the secret guards, and when he heard Yang Peng's words, he suddenly realized, and couldn't help but show an ambiguous smile.

Yang Peng said: "It is impossible for us to give them such a high official position, but they themselves should know very well that although others give them good treatment, they are not as strong as my Yanyun!" They can just get the best treatment from others, but in front of my Yanyun army, after all, they can only be flowers in the mirror! Fan Yongshen nodded approvingly, "Childe is right, that's it!" They also saw it, so they didn't dare to offend me in the slightest! He glanced at Yang Peng and said, "King Yan, in fact, as long as the conditions we give are comparable to others, I think they will immediately fall to us!" ......" Yang Peng waved his hand and said categorically: "This opening can't be opened, otherwise what will Yanyun's loyal generals and officials think?" ”

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.