"Ju Ming, the magistrate of Hanyuan County, has met Prefect Yuwen!" Ju Ming bowed.
"Success does not require formality," Yu Wenchang smiled and bowed, "Please sit down."
Yu Wenchang was very young. He had just turned thirty years old. He was not promoted to a non-commissioned officer, but was awarded an official title by grace.
His father, Yuwen Changling, had long served in ethnic minority and border areas. Even though he was promoted to the supervisory censor, he took the initiative to be transferred to the border areas and was promoted to Minister of Household Affairs and Prefect of Kaifeng.
When Cai Jing came to power, Yuwen Changling was immediately demoted and served as magistrate (prefect) in Qingzhou, Hangzhou and Yuezhou successively.
A few years ago, he died of illness while taking office in Yuezhou.
Because his father had offended Cai Jing, after Yuwen Chang Enyin became an official, he worked for nearly ten years, but was thrown into the idle state of Lizhou.
We are both demoted at the end of the world, so why should we meet before?
Although they had never met before, Yuwen Chang naturally felt that Ju Ming was close to him: "The statement in the newspaper is unclear. I only know that Cheng Cheng was banned from studying and writing. How did he offend the officials?"
"Maybe it has something to do with Hua Shi Gang." Zhu Ming explained briefly.
"Alas," Yu Wenchang sighed, "my father was demoted from the prefect of Hangzhou to the prefect of Yuezhou precisely because of his obstruction of Hua Shi Gang. When my father was the prefect of Kaifeng, he offended a traitor and was transferred to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He also offended the Ministry of Household Affairs.
If you are a traitor, you will find it difficult to return to Beijing if you are sent to another place."
Zhu Ming cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty has served the country and the people, and I admire you greatly."
In history, Yu Wenchang's experience was much worse than that of his father.
He made outstanding achievements in Lizhou and was promoted to the tea and horse department in Chengdu. He also made outstanding achievements in the tea and horse department, but cut off some people's financial resources and was thrown to Kuizhou, which was full of barbarians. He died of illness in Kuizhou.
Taking office in the state.
Yu Wenchang didn't like to be playful and went straight to the point: "There is only one county in Lizhou, and it is inevitable that there will be conflicts between the magistrate and the county magistrate. It is better to do this. I will try my best not to interfere in civil affairs. As for other things, I will try my best not to interfere. If there are conflicts,
, resolve through negotiation. How?"
The airs were set low enough. As the magistrate of the state, he did not need to say hello to Ju Ming at all.
"We should follow what the prefect said," Zhu Ming thought it was feasible, and added, "I am a newbie here and don't know what is going on in Lizhou. Please give me some advice from the prefect."
Yu Wenchang couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, Lizhou's affairs are nothing more than appeasing the barbarians and buying horses from each other."
Ju Ming asked: "Why is the prefect sighing?"
Yu Wenchang explained: "Lizhou originally used cloth to buy horses with an annual quota of 2,100 guan, and the magistrate was responsible for this. Later, a tea farm was built and changed to trading tea for horses, which was affiliated to the Chengdu Fulu Tea Horse Company. The magistrate was not allowed to interfere.
The annual quota was also increased to 4,000 guan. Lizhou bought horses and had more than a thousand horsemen and soldiers, which was a lot of money. The tea and horsemen bought horses with empty coupons, and the Yi people were also resentful."
The "horse soldiers" mentioned here are not soldiers who fight on horseback, but Xiang troops who specialize in escorting tea horses.
They are just like civilians with no fighting ability at all. Moreover, they live on empty wages. In fact, one or two hundred people are enough to make a living.
Decades ago, when the new law was reformed, 520,000 guan was borrowed from the Transshipment Department and 200,000 guan from the Changping Department, specifically for horse buying in Lizhou. Now not a penny has been returned, and it has become a total bad debt. Even buying horses
The money was often not given, and the barbarians were given direct payment in exchange for the money.
At the same time, Sichuan tea plantation owners were driven into bankruptcy in large numbers.
Tea and horses eat all kinds of food. After eating, the imperial court eats the tea farmers, and after eating the tea farmers, the barbarians eat.
Again, where the hell did the money go?
The magistrate has no right to interfere in this kind of matter, it is all managed by the tea-horse system.
Yu Wenchang said: "The barbarians sold their horses, but could only get white coupons. They were naturally dissatisfied, and the number of plunderings of the Han people increased day by day. That's why I reorganized the Xiang army and fully equipped it with combat-ready troops to guard against barbarian rebellions." "
Ju Ming said: "If the Tea Horse Division is not in order, no matter how much we take precautions, it will be useless."
Yu Wenchang said: "I have gone to the imperial court, maybe there will be a change."
The Chengdu Tea Horse Company went too far, and Yu Wenchang's memorial was sent to the court, and Shu officials took the opportunity to promote it. Therefore, in history, Yu Wenchang was actually transferred back to his hometown to manage the Chengdu Fulu Tea Horse Company.
After his rectification, the results were remarkable, but he was soon transferred again.
People take political interest, and it only takes a few years for it to become rotten again.
Yu Wenchang added: "The Dali Kingdom requested to build a city and mutual trade south of the Dadu River. The city can be built by Lizhou. I rejected it before. They actually used the new king to succeed and sent an envoy to Tokyo to raise the matter again. Previous article I went to the court to inquire, and I have stated my interests. Maybe the court will send an envoy next year. If you succeed in meeting the envoy, you must sternly refuse."
Ju Ming asked: "Isn't it good to build cities and trade with each other? Not only can it increase taxes in Lizhou, but it can also expand the power of the government and Han people to the area south of the Dadu River."
"Who doesn't want to expand the territory?" Yu Wenchang shook his head repeatedly, "If the Song Dynasty had strong soldiers and horses, I would have built a city south of the Dadu River without the request of Dali State. But now that the soldiers are exhausted and the people are exhausted, the battle of Xixia Before the battle is over, I heard that the traitors are planning to attack Liaoning again. How can there be another border trouble in the southwest?"
Ju Ming said: "That's true."
Yu Wenchang continued: "Once the government builds a city south of the Dadu River, the barbarians will inevitably face a formidable enemy, and friction will continue from then on. And the Dali Kingdom can also use mutual trade to find out the reality of Lizhou, and sooner or later there will be a large-scale invasion of the north. The barbarians in the south are building a barrier against the Dali Kingdom and building cities for mutual trade. This will not only anger the barbarians, but also attract the covetousness of the Dali Kingdom. If they do this, it is very likely that the barbarians will join forces with the Dali Kingdom, and they have agreed to attack Lizhou together! "
Today's Sichuan officials are taking the initiative to stir up barbarian rebellions, and then put down the rebellion and perform meritorious service and get promoted.
Yu Wenchang can completely accept Dali's request, build cities and trade with each other to gain political achievements, and then get promoted and leave. As for the occurrence of border troubles in the future, that is a matter for his successor and has nothing to do with Yu Wenchang.
But Yu Wenchang did not do this. He was thinking about the long-term interests of the country.
There is really no other good way. There are only a few hundred Xiang troops in Lizhou to fight, but there are hundreds of thousands of barbarians in the south. If the barbarians are angered and pushed into the arms of Dali, there will be no peace in the southwestern region from now on.
It was Yu Wenchang who determined the strategy for dealing with Shengyi and the Dali Kingdom, and there was no trouble throughout the Southern Song Dynasty.
Therefore, a hundred years later, someone still wrote a poem: The border west of the Jade Ax River is quiet, and the people of the state prefer to praise Yu Wenchang.
"Take good care of your subordinates and don't let them harm the people," Yu Wenchang reminded. "There are not many Han people in Lizhou, but government exploitation is becoming more and more serious. Every year, Han people go bankrupt and flee, seeking refuge with the surrounding barbarians.
Leading the barbarians to plunder the Han people."
Ju Ming said: "I will take good care of the county officials, but what about the tea and horse administration? They will definitely exploit the people."
Yu Wenchang was speechless and could only shake his head secretly.
There is a dispatched agency of the Tea and Horse Division in Lizhou, which neither the prefecture nor the county magistrate can control. When they use the wages of the horse soldiers and don't have enough manpower, they will order local officials to forcibly recruit civilians.
After a long silence, Yuwen Chang said: "Just do your part."
Ju Ming raised his hand and said yes.
Yu Wenchang suddenly smiled and said: "Gather your followers, and I will take you out of the city to have a look."
Zhu Ming called Bai Sheng, Zhang Boring, and Li Bao, and rode four horses to wait at the state government office.
Not long after, Yu Wenchang also led the horse out, followed by several followers.
Everyone drove south and soon came to a small riverside town.
Yu Wenchang immediately rode outside the town and said: "This is Hanyuan Town, and there is Tongwang Town to the east. The barbarians from the south trade with each other in these two towns. As for the five tribes of barbarians in the west, they go directly to the state city.
trade."
Ju Ming asked: "What are the origins of the five barbarian tribes? Why do they all have Han surnames?"
Yu Wenchang said: "I can't tell, but they are definitely not Han people. Their customs and habits are completely different. In the Tang Dynasty, they were called Two-faced Qiang. They may be Qiang people who have learned to speak Chinese. The five tribes are extremely cunning. If I have an army of five thousand
, we must first destroy the five tribes of barbarians. How can we allow others to sleep soundly beside the couch!"
The five tribes of barbarians are really right next to the couch, the closest to the Han settlements, and there is no natural barrier in the Dadu River.
"Are the five barbarians extremely brave in battle?" Zhu Ming asked.
Yu Wenchang shook his head: "They wear leather armor, and their weapons are only earthen bows and earthen guns. They are not very powerful in fighting in the wild. But they mostly live in the mountains and build stone fortresses. There are often several fortresses in a village. Those fortresses are not strong either.
It is difficult to attack, but casualties are inevitable. To capture a village, ten or twenty people must be killed or injured, how can I have so many troops to use up?"
This is a bit embarrassing. The five tribes of barbarians are tortoises. When they encounter officers and soldiers, they hide in their turtle shells and cannot come out.
For those simple and small stone forts, you can use artillery to teach them how to behave. There is no need to use heavy artillery. A field gun weighing one or two hundred kilograms can defeat the bunker with just a few shots.
Ju Ming asked: "Can I use a rock dump truck?"
Yu Wenchang asked: "Will success lead to the construction of a trebuchet?"
"You can give it a try, it shouldn't be difficult." Zhu Ming said.
Yuwen Chang smiled and said: "If we succeed, we can build a few of them. From now on, if the five tribes of barbarians dare to plunder, they will use trebuchets to smash their stone forts."
Ju Ming asked again: "Rice is grown along the river?"
What Zhu Ming was asking about was the Han River, which is also the Liusha River. The Hanyuan County in the Song Dynasty was not on the Dadu River, but in the middle reaches of the Han River.
Yu Wenchang said: "Rice and rapeseed are grown by the river, and corn and sorghum are grown on the dry land."
Ju Ming said: "I brought some corn and sweet potatoes, which can be planted in dry land, especially in mountainous areas."
"I've heard a little about corn and sweet potatoes, and they can be planted in Lizhou next year." Yu Wenchang was quite happy.
Everyone continued riding south until they came to the Dadu River. Zhu Ming asked: "From Hanyuan Town to here, the people's clothes seem to be different."
Yu Wenchang said: "We are all familiar with the barbarians. They can speak Chinese and learn to grow rice. There are more than two thousand households here who are familiar with the barbarians. They have established Baojia and are willing to obey the government's orders. However, they have been exploited by the officials for a long time and have long complained.
, I tried my best to appease him after I took office, but there are always subordinate officials who work hard and disobey them."
"Can I change my Chinese name to Han surname?" Zhu Ming asked.
Yu Wenchang said: "Only Li Zheng and Baojia Chang have Chinese names and surnames, and they pay taxes according to a fixed amount every year."
Ju Ming knew what to do as the first step. He persuaded the barbarians here to grow corn and sweet potatoes, and at the same time punished the subordinate officials who exploited them. After gaining the approval of the barbarians, he changed their names to Chinese and surnames, and then organized the households to integrate the people.