A dilapidated fortress stood on a slope. On the stone wall, there were only two or three soldiers leaning weakly against the crenellations. The military flag of the Song Dynasty also drooped on the flagpole like a rag.
A prison camp was gathered on the south side of the fortress, and it was still guarded by several Xiang troops. Song Wen and others were immediately startled when they appeared, until Song Wen took out the piece of military affairs of the Sanya Forbidden Army that Gao Qiu gave him.
Only then did he nod and bow down to let them in.
Although the waist card only has the rank of Yuhou, the front minister of the palace, there are no white servants in the court, so how can there be any simple role that can represent the palace of the palace commander outside?
Song Wen directly asked to see the Guanying here, and then he knew why his father was bullied by the two officials Zhang Doujian and Tuan Lianzhi in Water Margin, but he didn't even dare to fart...
It sounds bluffing, but he is actually a big prison boss!
Guanying, a man in his forties with a rumpled face, bowed respectfully to the young Marquis Yu: "May I ask my little brother's name? What business is being done here in the Palace Commander's Mansion? If you want to see Du Yu in the Military Household Office,
When the time comes, I will go to the fortress to spread the word..."
Song Wen cupped his hands and replied: "No need, the Lord Commander is busy with official duties these days. During the Jingzhe drill, the officials seemed to be somewhat interested in the naval forces training in the Bianhe River in Yujin Garden... The Lord Commander happened to be sent to the northern market to purchase a piece of water."
To batch the goods, please tell me to check out the local customs and specialties along the way, and occasionally take a look at the naval forces in the coastal areas here."
The Guanying asked cautiously: "Then...why doesn't the little brother bring the official certificate from the Palace Commander's Palace?"
The Commander-in-Chief's Office represents the Third Yamen and the Privy Council when they come out to inspect the border troops or local armies. It must be a general with a commanding rank, right? Or it must be led by a civilian official from the Ministry of War or the Privy Council. No matter what, it won't be a small person's turn.
The Marquis of Yu brought some of his soldiers out for a walk in civilian clothes!
Song Wen's heart moved. Old Guanying, with his wrinkled face, was really scheming! He was wary...
"Hahaha... Mr. Guanying is overly worried. I am in charge of a lot of business and farms for the Lord Marshal! This time I came out to go to the farm to purchase cattle for the village... I came to this part of Dezhou just for the purpose.
I want to see the specialties here and see if I can buy and sell them back for profit!"
Mr. Guanying breathed a sigh of relief, that's right!
Who in the world doesn’t know that the current celebrity in the imperial court, Gao Taiwei and Gao Dianshuai, is a master at commanding Xiang troops and even the Forbidden Army, farming, working on infrastructure and doing business, but he knows nothing about training soldiers and reorganizing the army...
So this young guy is just a manager, but he must be Gao Qiu's confidant.
Guan Ying suddenly realized and said with his hands raised: "Look at my foul-mouthed and rude little brother... It's just... Alas, Qingzhou all the way to Dengzhou Mizhou is so poor that there is nothing! Bohai Pirates
It has been noisy for decades, and from time to time it goes ashore or sneaks along the coast to plunder... The area around the Dengzhou Navy Station is relatively peaceful, with specialties... There are some salted fish, but where can I get into Bianliang?
The mouth of the nobles?"
Song Wen suddenly asked: "In ancient times, people from Qi State burned mountains and cooked the sea along the coast of Dengzhou, and then used the cooked sea salt to trade goods with other countries. Is this still happening now?"
The official sale of salt and iron has been a taboo in all dynasties! Guanying was stunned for a moment, thinking that Gao Qiu wanted to use the imperial army to smuggle private salt, right? Even if he was the emperor's brother-in-law, he was afraid that this was a way to commit suicide? Those
It’s strange that the civil servants who supported Jiangnan salt merchants had to kill Gao Qiu...
"This...this...the trees near the coast have been cut down for firewood over the years. Maybe...maybe some lawless people boil the sea to get salt, but they are all sneaky hahaha..."
Song Wen understood as soon as he heard it. Those officers and soldiers of the guard station and the Xiang army were afraid that he was the private salt dealer, but they could only do it secretly, otherwise they would starve to death with the little food and salary given by the court.
.
Song Wen smiled and said: "How far is it from the seaside?"
The Guanying was shocked and hurriedly advised: "Little brother, please don't walk on the beach casually. There are too many pirates and thieves. In my opinion, it is better to go to the guard station and ask Du Yuhou to send some soldiers to escort you to check?"
The reporter said...there are only some unruly fishermen there, all of them are wild and untamed, extremely poor, and there is no business to do!"
Song Wen increasingly felt that there was something fishy between the Hushangou Guard Station and Dingyuan County, but he didn't care if there was anything fishy. He wanted to see... to see what the state of Song Dynasty's coastal defense was like? Look here again.
How is the environment and people's base?
At least now it seems that the Shandong Peninsula is a real backcountry, even more desolate and barren than Taoshan County, and seriously underpopulated. But those who have some connections have all fled to the Central Plains and the inland Xuzhou further south.
Frequent harassment by pirates and bandits, plus every time there was tension or even war on the Song-Liao border, Hebei Road and Shandong Province would be drained of money and food from the people, making it increasingly desolate.
In other words, Qingzhou is relatively prosperous, but the closer it gets to the coast, the more desolate it becomes.
Dingyuan County and this garrison are located between Qingzhou and Dengzhou, some distance from the Liao Kingdom. It is not so much to defend the Liao people, but to connect the official roads of Qingzhou and Dengzhou, and occasionally to deter pirates.
The role of bandits in calming the mainland.
Song Wen said: "How are the people living here all the way to Dengzhou? I think there seems to be a lot of abandoned farmland here. Why doesn't the government encourage farmers to farm?"
The old Guanying gave a wry smile: "Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, there has been no peace in Hebei Liang Road and Jingdong Road... I don't know how many people died from the beatings! Later, when things became more settled, those Bohai people started to fight again.
It's so noisy. Now the taxes of the imperial court... Alas, although they are poor, Jingdong is not an important border area... so some of the money and food that can be reduced or exempted at the border must be paid in full here, and the people are running away more and more.
There are so many! In our prison camp, most of them are refugees who have escaped from being imprisoned in the near vicinity... There is nothing we can do!"
Song Wen chatted with Lao Guanying for a while. In the afternoon, Lao Guanying, who still had two meals a day, insisted on inviting Song Wen to dinner. Song Wen reciprocated and gave Lao Guanying two bottles of Tiandichun. Hearing the price of the drink
...But the old manager was shocked. He put it away and refused to drink it. He probably wanted to wait until the end of the year to give gifts to Shangguan and treat guests before taking it out.
Song Wen was delighted when it came to the table... Sure enough, there was the specialty of Jingdong East Road, salted fish.
The sea breeze blew the salted fish out of the steam and still had a fishy smell. There were also a few kinds of pork and vegetables. Old Guanying asked his attendants to pour rice wine for Song Wen and said with a little shame: "We are from a remote place, so there is nothing wrong with it."
Entertain little brother, you are a nobleman from the colorful world of Bianliang... and the confidant of Lord Palace Commander, it is our good fortune to be able to make friends with you! Old Li respects my brother..." This chapter has been completed!