Chapter 32 Near Baguan

Zhao Kuangyin, who was standing at the gate of the forage yard, had already seen the third batch of grain smuggled into Dazhou territory in tax evasion.All these were transported by the Gang of One River, Three Mountains and Eighteen Mountains through the secret passages of rivers and lakes, avoiding eleven government taxation and tax inspection gates along the way.Although the Gang of One River, Three Lakes and Eighteen Mountains opened several secret passages, and set up three points on the border between Dazhou and Southern Tang to transfer and store grain.But the amount of food smuggled in was far from satisfying Zhao Kuangyin.There are only a dozen or so small stacks in the forage field in front of me, which is enough for a small county town to use for three or four days at most.It is estimated that the grain and pasture conditions at the other two points will not be much better than here.

"It seems that I overestimated the ability of one river, three lakes and eighteen mountains to transport undercover. The scale of this sneaky thing can't be compared with the open and honest thing. I knew they only had such a great ability. Back then Why bother to go to great lengths to cut off their food routes? It can be seen that the memorials reported by the state government and county government also contain a lot of false elements, and they must have pushed many losses and deficits caused by their own reasons to the whole river, three lakes and eighteen On the mountain. If I have the opportunity to approve and deal with the memorials of various local governments in the future, I must not only look at the surface, but to find out the root cause and discard the superficiality. The foundation of a country lies in the people's livelihood, and the prosperity of the people leads to the prosperity of the country." Zhao Kuangyin said Shi felt in his heart that it later became his decision-making method for governing the country, and it affected many emperors in the Song Dynasty.Therefore, even in the extremely weak and chaotic Southern Song Dynasty, the royal family's management of officials at all levels was extremely strict, and the common people were given a generous policy as much as possible.According to historical records, even in the weak Southern Song Dynasty, the salary of a skilled employee was higher than that of the magistrate.

Just as Zhao Kuangyin was galloping in reverie, a fast horse ran straight into the grain and pasture field, spraying foam and neighing when reined in, it could be seen that it was extremely tired from running.The one who came galloping was the envoy in front of the palace, and the reason for galloping so thousands of miles was that Zhao Kuangyin was given the Golden Dragon Royal Card by Emperor Shizong of Zhou.The Golden Dragon Royal Card is a unique token that appeared in the late Tang Dynasty. It only represents one meaning - "quick return".This token is generally not used. It will only be used by the emperor's urgently recruited generals stationed abroad when there is a crisis in the capital or a major change in the country.

Zhao Kuangyin didn't panic after getting the Golden Dragon Royal Card, but first asked the messenger in front of the palace who delivered the token, what major event happened in the court when he sent the order to leave the capital?Is there any abnormality in the inner palace? After learning that there was no abnormal situation in the capital, Zhao Kuangyin estimated that Zhou Shizong asked him to rush back because of the current domestic food shortage and skyrocketing food prices, and it might be related to the secret book he left for Zhou Shizong.Because as far as Zhou Shizong's temperament is concerned, he is used to solving problems in the most direct and simple way, and the current situation really requires such a thunderous method.

The sudden increase in taxes in the Southern Tang Dynasty was a real attack, although no swords were used.Western Shu mobilized troops to stockpile food on the Zhou-Shu border, showing signs of northern invasion.Although the Northern Han was weak, but during the Northern Expedition of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Northern Han was not seriously injured, and its strength was still there. It is very likely to take this opportunity to counterattack.Although the Liao Kingdom has suffered new defeats in a row, if they knew about the critical situation of the Great Zhou at this time, they would regroup their forces to take revenge on the Great Zhou.

To sum up all the above situations, restoring the market state as quickly as possible and ensuring food supply and stability are the fundamentals to ease the situation.At the same time, increasing military reserves and strengthening the military defense forces on the borders of all parties can destroy the wolfish ambitions surrounding all powers.But the problem is that all of this requires money, a sum of money that cannot be met by all the treasury.However, Zhao Kuangyin's secret compromise method can not only raise this fund, but also collect a lot of materials that can be used by the army, such as copper, tin, iron and other metals.The only question is to see if Chai Shizong has the courage to do this and how to do it.

"Continue to urge one river, three lakes and eighteen mountains to deliver grain, and they should be paid no less. The grain transported here must not be put on the market without my order. The grain and pasture field will be taken over by the imperial army from today, with the highest The military ranks are strictly guarded, so don't make any mistakes." Zhao Kuangyin hastily ordered a few words to his generals, and then he took a team of personal guards and messengers in front of the palace together on the road. Zhao Kuangyin knew that Sejong Chai Rong summoned him back this time to discuss the specific operation of getting the Buddha's money.The instigator of this method was actually Zhao Pu, who mentioned this method in the letter he asked Zhao Kuangyi to forward to himself.But both Zhao Pu and Zhao Kuangyin know that although this method is effective and quick, it is very difficult to operate and will definitely encounter obstacles and resistance from many sides.It can be said that it can't be done well, and it will only offend many people and be hated by some people if it is really done.So at that time Zhao Pu just mentioned it in passing as a joke in the letter, and Zhao Kuangyin was just a small means to show his wisdom and talent in front of Chai Rong, so he left the secret.

However, the situation later turned out to be wrong. The general situation of the country had reached a precarious state, and other measures could not see real results in time.Therefore, taking the Buddha's wealth, which was thought to be impossible, has now become the only feasible way.Zhou Shizong is a courageous person. He has not carried out this matter until now, but issued a golden dragon amulet to summon himself to go back. It is very likely that he wants to put this huge embarrassment on himself. However, Zhao Kuangyin was very calm. After leaving the secret book, he thought that this suggestion might really need to be implemented one day, so he had already repeatedly considered the specific operation method of expropriating Buddha's wealth.Fortunately, during this trip, he went around the Jianghu gangs and local government offices, gained a lot of knowledge and experience, and benefited a lot, and finally came up with a method of exerting great pressure and squeezing slowly.

This method is: taking advantage of Chai Rong's return from the battle, the soldiers who died in battle will need to be rescued, and the soldiers who returned from the battle will also need a place to heal and recuperate, so that all ministries will send soldiers to temples all over the country. Let them guard the spirits of the soldiers who died in battle while healing and recuperating. In addition, they also supervise whether the monks in the temple are doing their best to save the dead. The royal family did this to let the dead who served the country loyally rest in peace, and to win people's hearts so that the latecomers would be more heroic in killing the enemy.So this move is understandable, even Queen Fu can't raise any objections.

However, the temple is a clean place, and many murderers are stationed at once, which not only disturbs the monks' recuperation, but also hinders the believers from offering incense and worship, and even breaks the Buddhist rules and offends the Buddha.In that way, the temple will not look like a temple, and the monks will not look like monks, and the offerings and incense gold of ordinary pilgrims will also be cut off.Generally, under such circumstances, some temple abbots who are aware of current affairs will definitely take the initiative to negotiate conditions in order to maintain the temple.Even if some temple abbots are stubborn, soldiers and generals can secretly persecute them during their stay and squeeze out money quietly.

Given the current situation in Dazhou, as long as it is feasible, Chai Rong must do it.And no matter whether Zhao Kuangyin has a proper method or not, he will eventually put the blame on his back, and he only wants things to be successful and the general situation to turn around.But Zhao Kuangyin already had a plan in mind, and he had a clear strategy to implement, and he only hoped to rush back to the capital as soon as possible to share the master's worries.Therefore, it can be said that there is a very tacit understanding between the monarchs, and it can also be said that they are evenly matched. But there is one thing that is going on at this time that neither Chai Rong nor Zhao Kuangyin could have expected, that is, several big pockets have already been laid on Zhao Kuangyin's only way back to Beijing.The stabbing mark on the pocket is Zhao Kuangyin, and the purpose is five hundred taels of gold. People die for money, this sentence is most suitable for assassination, no matter whether it is the assassin or the assassin who dies in the end.Those pockets along the way came from different assassination sects in the rivers and lakes, bringing together a large number of assassin masters.Although they each chose different pocket locations and set their own most effective assassination methods, their ultimate goal was the same, to get the five hundred taels of gold from the master's family. Such a high price of dark gold is extremely rare in Jianghu, which is enough to make some gangs get rid of assassination and turn to normal business.So in just a few days, the news of making a lot of money has already been circulated in the assassination.Of course, only such a high amount of dark gold can drive so many assassins to deal with the commander of the Great Zhou Imperial Army; only such a high amount of dark gold can make many assassins do their best to lay down their lore pockets.In the several pockets along the way, no matter in terms of scale or form, it can be seen that the assassins all have the intention of going all out and not killing endlessly. Zhao Kuangyin didn't know the danger he was facing, so he led his men to leave the grain and pasture field in Huaibei and headed straight for the capital.In order to avoid setbacks on the road, they took the official road, and in a hurry, they didn't carry too many practical items with them, so they could only walk along the official road.In this way, you can stop at the official station to rest, replenish applications, and replace horses. I rushed for a day on the road and missed Gaoze County, the first stop where I should rest on the official road.Seeing the red sun setting in the west and the night falling, fortunately, Baguan Station is not far ahead, and we should be able to arrive in time for another meal. Baguan has nothing to do with it, only a long and narrow valley road.Because at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuanba, the best man in the world, rode here alone to block the enemy by three thousand, so he called this place Baguan.The official small inn here is remote and simple, and usually there are only sporadic messengers and escorts resting there.But for those who often live and sleep in the army, this is already a rare luxury. Baguan Station is located in a spacious place in the valley road, facing the mountains and backing the mountains, so it is rare to be exposed to the sun all year round.Moreover, the surrounding mountains are bare and rugged, with no vegetation, lack of water and no production.This means that the government has food supplies delivered regularly all year round, so they built a post station here. Ordinary people would never build houses in this kind of place. Just as Zhao Kuangyin's group of people rode their horses into the valley road, the gold-plated dragon stick inserted obliquely on the side of his saddle made a dull "buzz", like a dragon chant.Panlong warns, there is danger here!Zhao Kuangyin immediately reined in the horse, and then looked around vigilantly. As soon as Zhang Jindai, who was closely following him, saw Zhao Kuangyin's state, he immediately waved his hand and gave orders.So a team of imperial guards immediately formed four different forms of protective circles, enclosing Zhao Kuangyin in the middle. The valley road was very quiet, except for the occasional cry of toads in the dark.A ray of breeze blows from the depths of the valley road, bringing a little coolness, which makes the passers-by who are hot and sweaty all the way feel very comfortable. But Zhao Kuangyin didn't feel this way, when the breeze brushed over his face, more sweat broke out from his body.This sweat is caused by tension, but also by accumulating energy.When the breeze blew, there was a faint smell of blood, which indicated that not only danger existed in the valley road, but also killing had already taken place.It's just that he doesn't know why the killing started, let alone whether the killing has anything to do with him. At this moment, a horse ran over in small trots from afar.The man on the horse was crumbling with blood all over his body, and looked seriously injured.Judging from his clothes, this person was dressed in the attire of a station official, and he should have escaped from the Baguan station in front.Could it be that some bandits seized the goods and property stopped at the station, and bloodbathed the Baguan Station?No, to be able to build a station in this remote and dangerous place, there must be enough forces to protect the station.Moreover, post stations like Baguan Station are mainly used for messengers to change horses and officials to take a break, and valuable materials will not be stored here.Bandits from far and near also know that such a post station is not worth stealing. "Stop, who is it?! If you get any closer, you will shoot arrows." A bodyguard shouted loudly, stopping the horse from moving forward. The man on the horse seemed to have been awakened, and quickly sat up straight and waved his hands: "Don't shoot the arrow, don't shoot the arrow, I'm Baguan Yicheng. You are the guards of the imperial guards of the capital, are you? General Zhao is here? I have something important to report." "Which General Zhao are you asking?" Zhao Kuangyin's guards were cautious. "Of course, General Zhao, the commander of the imperial army, is inspected in front of the hall." Yicheng replied. Zhao Kuangyin and Zhang Jindai looked at each other, they both felt a little strange, how could this postman be covered in blood, and how did he know that Zhao Kuangyin would pass by at this time?