I studied in modern times

Chapter 1081 Beijing View
The next morning, Wang Daqiang led a squad of militiamen to pick up Yang Wenhuai as agreed.

This group of militiamen was small, only about thirty people.

But everyone was leading a Yunnan horse.

As trade between the Dali Kingdom and the five southwestern tribes with Guangxi and Jiaozhou became more and more frequent.

This type of dwarf horse, originating from the southwest, is now commonly found in Guangxi and Jiaozhou.

Everyone who has used it says it's great!
This type of horse is particularly well adapted to the local geography, terrain, and climate.

Whether it's rugged mountains or steep mountain roads, the Yunnan horse can traverse them with ease.

And it's very cheap!
At the official border market, a horse costs only twenty strings of cash!

Compared to the Qingtang and Dangxiang horses, which often cost tens or even hundreds of strings of cash, this price is incredibly cost-effective.

Most customers who moved south could afford it.

Wang Daqiang bought three horses: one for his own riding, one for draft horses, and one for his brother-in-law and father-in-law to carry equipment and provisions when they went into the mountains to pan for gold.

Besides horses, Wang Daqiang also brought seven or eight donkeys and mules with him.

These livestock carried all sorts of bundles on their backs.

When Yang Wenhuai saw these militiamen, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "What brave men!"

Although he had never been on the battlefield, he could still tell whether a soldier was good or bad.

These militia soldiers in front of me are all strong and robust; even in Bianjing (Kaifeng), they would be considered top-notch recruits.

Moreover, their weaponry was also very complete.

They all carried horn bows on their backs, and horizontal swords or broadswords at their waists, with a set of leather armor on their horses.

Clearly, they were all military equipment.

This greatly increased Yang Wenhuai's sense of security, but he also couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Inspector Wang, is there any danger at this so-called [Jiaxu]?"

Wang Daqiang chuckled and replied, "Reporting back to Anfu is just a precaution!"

"After all, Jiaozhou is not a peaceful place!"

Since last year, chaos has gradually broken out in Jiaozhou.

Large numbers of salt smugglers from Jiangnan West Road, Jiangnan East Road, and even Huainan Road chose to go south to Jiaozhou to start their businesses because the imperial court began to lift the salt ban.

They all shared the idea of ​​"growing bigger and stronger, and creating new glories".

In particular, the salt smugglers of Jiangnan West Road were all elite soldiers trained under the great tyranny of Jian Zhoufu and his son during the Yuanfeng era.

Each and every one of them possesses exceptional technical skills and formidable professional expertise.

These guys usually work in groups of a dozen or so, and they usually pretend to be merchants, and they will interact with people in the same capacity as merchants under normal circumstances.

Then, using this disguise, they secretly hid cane sugar, or even more profitable icing sugar, among the goods for smuggling.

This makes it particularly frequent for these guys to double-cross each other.

Thanks to these people, the danger level in the wild is getting higher and higher.

If you're not careful, these people will plot against you.

Those who fall into their hands rarely have a good ending.

Those who were lucky died on the spot.

If you're unlucky enough to be captured, you're in big trouble—either you'll be sold to some chieftain's sugarcane field as a laborer, or your hands and feet will be cut off and you'll be thrown into the deep mountains.

Although it's unlikely that these strongmen would attack an imperial envoy—that would be a huge scandal.

But we must be wary!

Yang Wenhuai responded with an "oh," but didn't take it to heart.

He had already inquired with Wang Daqiang yesterday—Najiaxu is located more than fifty li northeast of Nanguan Town.

Not too far!

Moreover, there are hardly any people left in the area now—they've either been killed or their lands divided up by the chieftains.

All the houses were burned to the ground.

Today, the area is nothing but ruins.

……

Just as Yang Wenhuai had predicted.

They encountered no danger along the way, and even rarely saw any merchants or travelers.

Especially after crossing the border of Guangyuan Prefecture and entering the territory of Qiyuan Prefecture.

There are hardly any villages left. Occasionally, you might encounter a few local Dong people, but when they see a large group of people on horseback from afar, they immediately move away, seemingly in fear.

So, without incident, Yang Wenhuai and his party arrived at the outskirts of Jiaxu before noon—in front of a large mountain that the locals call 'Jiadong'.

Because the weather is just too hot.

Therefore, after consulting with Yang Wenhuai, Wang Daqiang chose a burned-down village at the foot of the mountain, intending to find a shady spot to rest and eat after entering the village.

But once they entered the village, everyone's expression changed.

Not only because the ground was covered in charred black soot from the fire.

Even the wells that were seen had been filled in and blocked with stones.

What's even more shocking is the mound of earth found in the center of the village, in front of an ancient tree that had been destroyed by fire.

One of Yang Wenhuai's guards, out of curiosity, stepped forward and kicked the mound of earth.

Immediately, the soil around the mound fell down, exposing what was buried inside—heads piled up one after another in a specific way!

At a glance, there are at least dozens!
And they've all turned to bones!

Inside the grotesque skull, empty eye sockets stare straight ahead!

It's chilling!

Several timid attendants screamed.

Meanwhile, the militiamen stood aside, unconcerned and even enjoying watching their terrified followers.

"It's just a few heads, isn't it?"

"What's so strange about that!"

What haven't these people seen?

Many of them even participated in the battle to encircle and annihilate Li Changjie, the false Grand Tutor of Jiaozhi.

That is the real Shura field!
The battlefield was truly littered with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed like rivers!

Compared to that, a mere few dozen skulls are nothing!
Looking at the skulls, Yang Wenhuai recognized what the mound of earth was.

Jingguan!

An ancient but effective means of deterring enemies and other potential enemies.

Since the time of the Three Kings, it has been repeatedly used by famous generals and ministers throughout history.

It proved to be extremely effective!
However, in the history of the Song Dynasty, it was rare to build a Jingguan (a mound of corpses) against the enemy.

Because the scholar-officials felt that this was very unrighteous.

and so……

"Cai Yuanchang, why did you punish this so-called 'Jiadong Barbarian' so severely?"

"What did the Jia Dong barbarians do to make Cai Yuanzhang so angry?"

This puzzled Yang Wenhuai.

Is there something wrong with the feng shui in Guangxi?

Cai Yuanchang's predecessor, Zhang Zihou, also went on a killing spree here, with heads rolling everywhere.

Even scholars and gentlemen were slaughtered by hundreds or thousands.

To this day, Shihlin criticizes him as a "blood-handed butcher"!
Cai Jing and Cai Yuanchang, who succeeded him, not only did not stop, but became even more ruthless.

If this matter were to reach Bianjing, who knows what kind of uproar the public opinion in the literati would cause!

It's likely that Cai Jing and Cai Yuanchang will forever bear the infamy of being called "butchers" and "executioners."

Thinking this, Yang Wenhuai asked, "Inspector Wang, I was in a hurry yesterday and didn't have time to ask in detail..."

"Why are the Jia Dong barbarians being besieged and suppressed by government troops?"

"The government troops even built a mound of skulls here... This is no small matter..."

Wang Daqiang scratched his head and said, "Reporting to Anfu, this humble official is not quite sure either..."

"All I know is that it seems to be a rebellion..."

"rebellion?!"

What rebellion is this chieftain in the remote mountains plotting?

Even if it was a rebellion, wasn't such a brutal suppression a bit too much?

If the crows of the capital knew this, even if Cai Jing was a civil official, he would surely be attacked by the whole group!
After all, benevolence and righteousness are the foundation of a scholar's character!

(End of this chapter)