Taiyuan, this is a majestic city. In the year of Lu Zhaogong, that is, 541 BC, which was about the fourth year of King Jing of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Xun Wu of the Xing family in the Jin Kingdom led his army to attack Chidi in the north and captured this place. This was the beginning of China.
The pearl of northern farming civilization.
From the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the present, for more than 1,500 years, many places have changed several names, but no matter how this city changes, it always has only two names, either Taiyuan or Jinyang.
Of course, the Xin Mang period cannot be counted. Wang Mang is probably a map master and can always come up with some new tricks on the map.
When Zhang Zhao arrived in Jinyang, it was dusk, and Zhang Zhao was dazzled by the majestic Jinyang City.
He suddenly discovered that the source of confidence for Liu Zhiyuan, Guo Wei and others was the city of Jinyang.
What a majestic city this is!
The circumference is at least more than eighty miles, that is, a single side of the city wall is more than ten kilometers, with eight main gates and sixteen auxiliary gates.
There are six large and small urn cities. There are 77 barriers on the city wall, 61 enemy towers, and countless other horse faces, traps, etc. The widest part of the city wall can accommodate eight horses running abreast without being blocked.
The highest point of the city wall is about three feet, and the trench below the city is more than one foot deep. The wall is made of Sanhe earth supplemented by strips of stone.
The moat is wide and deep, and the surface of the river is sparkling. Just by looking at it, you can tell that if you want to drain such a large river, the amount of work will be unimaginable.
In addition to this outer city, there are two inner cities in Jinyang City, the Tang Palace based on Jinyang Palace and the Hedong Jiedu Office. The walls are also high and thick, and a large amount of grain and grass are stored.
For such a majestic city, even if the outer city is captured and the people in the inner city fight desperately, the time will still have to be calculated on the basis of half a year, while the outer city will probably be calculated on the basis of years.
Zhang Zhao looked up and saw that the towers at the top of Jinyang City were illuminated by the golden light of the setting sun, giving people a sense of coercion as if Mount Tai was flying in front of him.
Zhang Zhao looked around again and saw that the civil servants and generals around him were all shocked. Thinking that if he really led his army to fight, the soldiers would probably think that this city was extremely difficult to break without a fight, and their morale dropped by three points.
"What a majestic city! It borders Tiezhoushan to the north, Taihang to the east, Luliang to the west, and a flat river to the south. It can harvest 100,000 stones of grain. It has four important fortresses and controls the capital city of Wuyuan.
The great ancestors of the great dynasty, Zhuangmiao of the later dynasties, and Shi Jingtang, the leader of the Jin Dynasty, all went south from here to the Central Plains of Dingding, which is amazing!"
Zhang Zhao said with emotion, he remembered that in history, the power of Jinyang City was fully exerted in the early Northern Song Dynasty.
Liu Chong was a scoundrel son and his descendants were all mediocre people. He was able to resist the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty for more than 20 years with only the city of Taiyuan.
But later, such a majestic city was destroyed by Zhao Guangyi.
The God of Chariots was afraid of the majestic city of Jinyang and resented the long-term and tenacious resistance of the army and people of Jinyang City. He said that "when the city is prosperous, it will surrender first, and when it is weak, it will rebel first", so he used the incompatibility of the stars in Taiyuan and Kaifeng as an excuse to destroy Jinyang.
Zhao Er first moved the wealthy gentry and wealthy people in the city to Kaifeng and Luoyang, and then burned the city. What was particularly vicious was that the Song army's burning of Jinyang was not planned, but a spur-of-the-moment move without notifying the people of Jinyang.
When the fire spread, the people did not know it at all. The old and young in the city were burned to death or were trampled on as they fled, resulting in countless deaths.
Later, Zhao Guangyi sent tens of thousands of people to level the top of Xiezhoushan Mountain in the north of Jinyang, which was called "pulling the dragon's horn".
He also ordered the Fen River to be drained and the Jin River to flood the ruins of Jinyang City, prohibiting anyone from living there, and completely destroying Jinyang.
This bitch! Why wasn’t he killed by the Liao army in the Gaoliang River?
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhao became angry and suddenly said to Zhang Cheng beside him: "Today is a feast of a hundred donkeys. I want to have a good meal of donkey meat!"
Zhang Cheng:..
Li Fang over there did not hear the emperor angrily saying that he wanted to eat donkey meat, but thought that the emperor was intimidated by Jinyang's power, so he raised his hand and said to Zhang Zhao.
"Although the most majestic city in the world, it cannot stop the most benevolent Lord in the world! Your Majesty is obedient to heaven and responds to people. Your benevolence spreads all over the world. The heroes of the world worship you when they hear it. Why should you be afraid of this mere city?"
Zhang Zhao felt much better immediately after hearing this. He laughed and continued walking forward. To be honest, he actually had the slightest idea of destroying Jinyang City just now.
The geographical location of this place is simply invincible, and there is a majestic city and tigers. The people nearby are fierce and fierce. In addition, in the past few decades, it has almost become a routine to go south from Jinyang to become emperor. It is indeed difficult to defend the undefeated Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo.
It brought a lot of pressure.
But as soon as Li Fang said these words, Zhang Zhao couldn't help but burst into laughter.
I am not the car god who barely managed to take control of the country after going through many thrills in history, so there is no need for such underhanded tactics.
At Jinyang South Gate and Yingen Gate, Liu Zhiyuan's wife Li Sanniang and his son Liu Chengyou are kneeling at the front, and officials from Hedong are kneeling at the back.
Among them, Liu Chengyou, who was not yet 16 years old, was leading a fat sheep with his upper body naked, like a sheep with its meat uncovered, shivering outside the city gate. It was not cold at all, so he must be scared.
As soon as Zhang Zhao arrived, Liu Chengyou became even more frightened. He trembled as if he had malaria and couldn't even speak.
Li Sanniang was so miserable that she could only take two steps on her knees in place of her son, kowtowed on the ground, and said sadly.
"Your Majesty, the wife of Liu Zhiyuan, the former King of Beiping in the Jin Dynasty, and his second son Liu Chengyou kneel down to welcome His Majesty. I present you an atlas of the twelve states in Hedong and ask for your forgiveness."
In a broad sense, Hedong is approximately equal to most of present-day Shanxi Province.
But in fact, Hedong in general refers to Hedong in a narrow sense, that is, Taiyuan and its jurisdiction include Jinyang, Taigu, Qi, Wenshui, Yuci, Yu, Shouyang, Leping, Guangyang, Qing
Twelve prefectures and counties including Yuan, Jiaocheng and Yangqu.
Zhang Zhao casually opened it and looked at it. In the twelve counties of Hedong, there were more than 97,300 households still alive, with a population of more than 195,000. He couldn't help but frown.
This figure is far lower than the 280,000 households during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, and certainly higher than the 35,200 households during the fall of the Northern Han Dynasty.
Moreover, the actual population must be larger than what is listed in the household register, because in this household register, there are only a little more than two people per household, which is definitely abnormal.
If we look at the normal situation of four to five people per household, there are still more than 400,000 people!
Good guy, in a place as big as Hebei, not counting the six states of You, Yi, Mo, Ying, Ji, and Tan, there are only more than two million people left who have been harmed by Khitan and disasters.
But in Hedong, there are more than 500,000 people in the twelve prefectures and counties of Hedong alone. In the whole of Hedong, there may be around one million people.
It seems that he still takes advantage of his age. If Liu Zhiyuan is about the same age as him, who will win, it will really be a fight!
Li Sanniang actually has the charm of a milf, and she is not very old, just the same age as Zhang Zhao, but Zhang Zhao is not interested in her.
It’s not that he’s not interested. After all, Liu Zhiyuan can be considered a hero, not a playboy like Meng Chang or Li Jing. There’s no need to insult him.
Besides, although Li Sanniang is charming, she is far from the best of eighteen or nineteen-year-old Mrs. Huarui.
Therefore, Zhang Zhao just nodded lightly and waved his hand, "Get up! Although Liu Zhiyuan does not know the time and is arrogant, the fault does not lie with you, mother and son.
In memory of Liu Zhiyuan and the soldiers and civilians of Hedong in fighting against the Khitans in the past, my mother and son went to live in Luoyang. I made Liu Chengyou the Marquis of Shunyi, gave me a house, and gave me an annual salary of 200 guan. Please take good care of your mother!"
Li Sanniang was overjoyed when she heard this. Zhang Zhao's attitude must have meant that he would not embarrass their mother and son, and she immediately kowtowed and burst into tears again.
Liu Chengyou, who was so frightened that he was dumbfounded, only came to his senses at this time. He kowtowed to Zhang Zhao and kept shouting: "Thank you saint for not killing."
....
Zhang Zhao did not go to the Peking Palace where Liu Zhiyuan lived in the Hedong Jiedushi Yamen, but directly moved into the Jinyang Palace, known as the Tang Palace.
It was here that Li Yuan was encouraged by his second son Li Shimin to go south to Dingding Central Plains and start the three hundred years of Tang Dynasty.
Of course, this is no longer the Jinyang Palace of the Sui Dynasty during the Li Yuan period. The original Jinyang Palace has long been dilapidated. The current Jinyang Palace, which seems to be quite suitable for living, was rebuilt by Li Keyong, Li Cunxu and his son.
When Zhang Zhao saw Jinyang Palace, he liked it very much. It was magnificent and majestic. It was located at the end of the Tianlong Mountain Range, and to the southwest was the famous Tianlong Mountain Grottoes.
Although the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes were not well-known in later generations, that was because they were destructively plundered by cultural relic robbers from powerful powers in the 1920s. Later, the Tianlong Temple was burned down by fire, and the grottoes were basically destroyed.
But now, through the work of Gao Huan of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Gao Yang and his son, and the excavations of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes are more beautiful than the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and are as famous as the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang.
Different from this time, that is, the sculpture style of the Tang Dynasty was rigorous and exquisite, the Longmen Grottoes are famous for their lifelike, realistic images and full of life, which are more likely to make people feel peaceful.
After entering the city, of course there will be a banquet for the heroes. Zhang Zhao looked at the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes and Tianlong Temple in the distance. Zhang Zhao said to Li Fang beside him.
“The scenery here is magnificent, the climate is cool, and the Tenryu Temple is majestic and beautiful. It is a good place to escape the summer heat.
Send a message to Tokyo quickly, asking the two empress dowagers, the noble concubine, the king of Jin and the eldest princess of Wei to go to Jinyang."
Zhang Zhao was still a little afraid of Jinyang, so after thinking about it, he simply asked his mother and children to live in Jinyang for a while to strengthen the contact between Zhang Zhou's royal family and the people of Jinyang.
After thinking about it, Zhang Zhao felt that it was not enough, so he called out to Li Fang who was about to draft an edict.
"Let the queen also come to Jinyang, and tell her secretly that when she comes to Jinyang, she will be exempted from the salt and iron tax, silk tax, farm equipment money and other miscellaneous taxes for three years for the people of Jinyang, Taigu and other twelve counties.
The people of Hedong will be exempted from paying Dingkou silver for another three years, and the heavy responsibility of staying in Tokyo will be handed over to the virtuous noble concubine Cao."
The types of taxes at this time were the same as those in the mid-Tang Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn tax system was still implemented. However, in addition to the basic tax on farmland, there were also a large number of additional taxes such as agricultural equipment money, bent money, cowhide tax, and import tax that were levied with the land tax.
Tax.
In addition, there are miscellaneous taxes such as Dingkou money, salt and iron tax, silk tax and other taxes levied on a per capita basis.
At this time, the burden on the common people was very heavy, even the ordinary wealthy households and the local tycoons in Xiaowubao were taxed very heavily.
Because the imperial court is full of unreasonable warriors, it is easy to say that the laws and regulations are often not strictly enforced, but if you dare not pay taxes, you will definitely be executed.
In order to fight against Zhang Zhao, Liu Zhiyuan imposed an astonishing sixteen types of taxes in Hedong. The burden on the residents of Hedong was really too heavy.
Li Fang heard this and thought Zhang Zhao suggested: "The saint has just entered Jinyang and his people's hearts have not yet been stabilized. It is better for the saint to first call Dingkou Yin from Hedong, Yunzhou and other places on the grounds that Liu Zhiyuan has done too much harm to the people in Hedong to stabilize his people's hearts, and wait for the queen."
Once you arrive in Jinyang, you will be exempted from miscellaneous taxes for another three years."
Zhang Zhao nodded after hearing this. It should indeed be like this. The first is to stabilize people's hearts, and the second is to gradually extend kindness. The two superpositions can deepen the impression in the hearts of the people.
Therefore, Zhang Zhao immediately announced to the outside world that twenty-seven states in Hedong, Yunzhou and other places would be exempted from Dingkou silver this autumn.
The reason why there is no one-time exemption for three years is because of fairness and financial pressure.
But just this one-year exemption of Dingkou silver immediately made Jinyang City burst into cheers. Zhang Zhao even heard the cheers in Jinyang Palace far away from the city.
After Li Fang went out, Guo Rong, Guo Jin, Wang Yin, Liu Ci, Li Tao and other generals from Hedong were brought in. Guo Rong was still a little embarrassed, but Zhang Zhao hurriedly waved him over.
"Sanlang, why are you so divided? Come here quickly!"
Guo Rong looked moved, walked about ten steps in front of Zhang Zhao, and suddenly fell to the ground, bursting into tears.
"I have failed your majesty a lot, and I have also failed to live up to my past glory. I also killed and wounded Zhou soldiers under Fuyang City. Although nine deaths cannot atone for my sin, I really have no shame to see the saint again."
Guo Rong was not acting, but showed his true feelings. When he was in Fuyang City, the Zhou army outside was shouting and killing loudly, and the two sides fought hand to hand many times in the damaged south city of Fuyang.
Although Guo Rong showed no mercy, he still felt very guilty in his heart. Seeing Zhang Zhao at this moment, his heart almost collapsed.
Zhang Zhao also sighed, "You Guo Rong heard that your mother was seriously ill, so you didn't covet a high official, a rich salary and a great future, so you rushed back thousands of miles out of filial piety.
He fought vigorously in Fuyang City and did not betray Liu Zhiyuan because of his special relationship with me. This was an act of loyalty.
The reason why I feel so painful right now is that I still have righteousness in my heart. How can such loyal, filial, and righteous ministers be called shameless to see me?"
Guo Rong raised his head and looked at Zhang Zhao with tears streaming down his face, "No matter how loyal and filial I am, I always kill more than a hundred former ministers. It's really uncomfortable."
Zhang Zhao stood up and pulled Guo Rong up, "This is not the fault of Guo Rong alone, it is the fault of us warriors who have killed each other for hundreds of years.
The warriors of the country did not die in the desperate battles to expand the territory and fight against foreign enemies. Instead, many heroes died at the hands of their own people.
I established the Great Zhou Dynasty and restored the rites of the Zhou Dynasty, just to make us no longer kill each other, but to be like the great dynasty, when all the heroes in the world fought for the country!"
Zhang Zhao said this sincerely, and naturally he also said it with deep affection.
Guo Jin, Liu Ci, Wang Yin, Li Tao, etc. all prostrated themselves on the ground and were filled with emotion. Guo Jin especially seemed extremely moved.
"I wish I could have known the saint's mind earlier, otherwise I would never have suffered as much as I did today."
Zhang Zhao let go of Guo Rong and said to him: "Since you feel guilty and uncomfortable, go home and rest for a while. I heard that you just had a son, and you can also enjoy the happiness of family."
Historically, before his wife Liu was killed, Guo Rong had two sons with Liu and one son with his concubine.
But it's not yet the year 951 when Guo Wei and Guo Rong's family were killed, so Guo Rong just gave birth to his eldest son Chai Zongyi.
However, Guo Rong shook his head and said to Zhang Zhao: "I don't want to rest, because your lord is still in She County, and I want to go south to persuade you to come and join me."
Speaking of Guo Wei, Zhang Zhao also nodded and asked a group of Hedong generals in the palace: "Guo Wei, Bai Wenke, and Guo Congyi recruited 10,000 troops in Shexian County, but they have not yet come to Jinyang to plead guilty. What kind of regulations are they?
What do they want to do? Do you know?"
Zhang Zhao originally wanted to ask Guo Rong, but Guo Jin, who was behind Guo Rong, suddenly stepped forward and said to Zhang Zhao: "Since the King of Peking has died, Guo Wei and others, as their subjects, definitely have no intention of resisting.
I thought that Guo Wei, Guo Congyi and Bai Wenke were just afraid of killing the generals of the Zhou Dynasty and did not know how your Majesty would deal with them, so they closed their troops and stood firm.
Now that your Majesty has entered Jinyang, he has committed no crime against the families of the officers and soldiers of the Hedong Army. If he can pardon the crimes of these three people, he can make the army of Shexian County disarm and surrender with just one messenger."
Guo Jin understood what Zhang Zhao meant. He asked Guo Wei and others what the charter was, and he was asking these people if they still had the will to continue to resist.
Mainly because Guo Wei also became emperor in history. Although they had already reached the end of their rope, what if Guo Wei had other ideas?
However, in the eyes of Guo Rong, Guo Jin and others, Guo Wei would only dare to do this unless he was crazy. Even with all the tens of thousands of people in Shexian County and their families still in Jinyang, they would not dare to resist if they were beaten to death.
The reason why they have not come back to surrender now is most likely because they are afraid that Zhang Zhao will take revenge on the Hedong warriors. If Zhang Zhao enters Jinyang and loots and kills their family members, then the three of them will definitely fight to the death.
But now, Zhang Zhao has entered Jinyangqiu without committing any crime, and their worries are completely gone. He can indeed be summoned with just a messenger.
Zhang Zhao nodded with a smile and said to Guo Jin, "I heard that Guo Qing once mourned Liu Zhiyuan for three days in Fuyang?"
Guo Jin knelt down with a puff and said, "Replying to the saint, I am from Jinyang, and I am from the same hometown as the King of Peiping. In the past, they both served as generals under the Emperor Mingmiao of the later dynasty, and I was kind to me, so I should mourn for three days.
"
Zhang Zhao knew very well in his heart that people all over the world were gradually realizing Zhang Zhao's preferences, so they all wanted to pretend to be loyal ministers, so that they could stay in the emperor's heart.
Zhang Zhao is not sure that Guo Jin is just pretending, but this kind of thing can be transformed into a loyal minister even if he is pretending to be a loyal minister.
"You are also a loyal minister! Then I will appoint you and Guo Rong to go south to Shexian County to persuade Guo Wei and three others to come to Jinyang.
Just say that this battle is between me and Liu Zhiyuan, they are loyal to the Lord, and as long as they take off their armor and return, they will forget the past."
After making arrangements, Guo Rong and Guo Jin went to persuade Guo Wei and others. Before Zhang Zhao had a drink of water, Zhang Liecheng and Zhao Pu came in again.
The matter of the report is also very simple, that is, it is an issue that wants the big shots in Hedong to shed some blood.
The residences of Liu Zhiyuan and his close relatives Liu Chong and others were searched, and the work of counting the Jinyang treasury is still going on, but it is expected that the treasures will not be too much.
Because Liu Zhiyuan had bet everything on the decisive battle with Zhang Zhao, he would not leave much property behind.
So Zhang Zhao spent so much money to enter Jinyang City, it's impossible to get nothing, right? The soldiers below are still waiting for rewards.
Although Zhang Zhao is prepared to lose money, he certainly cannot lose too much.
Therefore, the wealthy Hedong clan who strongly supported Liu Zhiyuan, as well as Liu Zhiyuan's confidants like Guo Wei, Bai Wenke, and Wang Jun, would inevitably lose money.
It's just that this matter cannot be done by Zhang Zhao, it has to be handled by the Jinyiwei and the Duzhishe people from the Zhongshu Province.
Zhang Liecheng, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and Zhao Pu, the Duzhishe person, came to report the "blackmail" list to Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Zhao looked at it, crossed out Guo Jin's name, and then clicked heavily on the two names Su Fengji and Liu Zhu.
"These two people were tortured repeatedly and their family property was wiped out. If there is anything hidden, their heads will be at risk!"
Su Fengji was deeply trusted by Liu Zhiyuan and was particularly cruel. On his birthday last year, Liu Zhiyuan asked him to go to the prison to investigate the case, with the intention of asking him to release some prisoners in order to pray for him.
As a result, Su Fengji went to the prison and killed all the inmates in the prison regardless of whether they were minor or serious. Then he clapped his hands and went to report to Liu Zhiyuan refreshed, "The prison is quiet!"
Liu Zhu was similar, cruel and easy to kill. Historically, the Guo Wei family, Guo Rong, and Guo Rong, even the babies, were his handiwork.
What's even more bizarre is that these two people are Liu Zhiyuan's cronies. They are so cruel and easy to kill, but Liu Zhiyuan thinks that they are decisive and relies heavily on them.
Moreover, this time Liu Zhiyuan raised troops and scraped three feet of ground in the east of Hedong. Most of them were done by the same two people. Killing them made the people angry.
Zhang Liecheng immediately understood the meaning of Zhang Zhao's words. Zhang Zhao usually did not easily say who he must kill, but as long as his head was in danger, he would definitely be executed.