The Great Tang General

"Arrogant! Brother-in-law..."

Li Xuan gave an order.

It’s not that he can’t bear it, but that there is no need to bear it.

Although he said he was visiting incognito, he actually came with a purpose.

In this desolate place, there is no other person to be seen, and the disappearance of a few gambling-addicted officers for a few days will not have any impact.

"Oh!"

As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, Pei Ying, who had been patient for a long time, suddenly jumped up. He kicked out with his legs and the officer closest to him was knocked to the ground.

"dare!"

When the remaining two officers reacted and were about to draw their swords, two quick-eyed and quick-handed guards stepped forward, snatched the swords with their bare hands, and easily subdued them.

These bullying officials were no match for the battle-hardened Tian Ce Guards.

"What do you want to do? I am from the imperial court. Do you want to rebel?"

Seeing this, the canal transport clerk stepped back a few steps, pointed at Li Xuan and said tremblingly.

He had been the ferry manager for so many years and had never seen anyone who dared to confront the imperial court.

Those who are blackmailed by him usually have to swallow their anger.

He was not afraid of reporting to the authorities, and he handed over part of the money he extorted to his superiors.

Last time, a businessman went to the government office to sue him, and in the end, all his goods were confiscated.

"You hold chicken feathers as your token of authority, and you still know that you are a member of the imperial court?"

If Li Xuan wasn't the emperor, he would have slapped him in the face long ago.

"You wait!"

The canal transport official uttered a harsh word and prepared to go back for help.

When the county lieutenant brings the detectives and county soldiers here, these unscrupulous businessmen will be brought to justice.

"Oh!"

But the canal transport official was caught up by Pei Ying after he had only taken a few steps.

Pei Ying flew up and kicked the canal official on the back, knocking him to the ground.

"Great! They've rebelled. It's time. The unruly people have rebelled..."

The canal transport official was furious. He got up and wanted to continue running, but was held down by two guards and dragged towards Li Xuan.

"Take them away..."

Li Xuan didn't want to ask this arrogant grain transport official.

"To dare to murder an official is a grave crime that will lead to the extermination of three clans..."

The canal transport official was still clamoring, hoping that Li Xuan would be sensible and release him.

The guards treated his words as fart.

Reptiles don’t know the real dragon, so they dare to speak nonsense.

When the guards dragged the canal clerk and the official to the bank of the Huai River, the clerk thought that Li Xuan wanted to kill him to silence him, and he was so scared that he wet his pants and cried for his parents.

"Sir, I know I am wrong, please forgive me. I will not collect taxes anymore, you can leave without worry..."

"Spare my life..."

The petty clerk in the canal transport department showed his harsh appearance and cowardice to the fullest.

The old ferryman was also very scared, he thought he had encountered a bandit.

He wanted to run, but a Jinyiwei came up to him and stared at him.

What was expected did not happen.

When the grain transport official and three runners were terrified, a boat rowed from the middle of the Huai River to the shore.

Several burly men got off the boat and threw them onto the boat without saying a word. The boat sailed away amid desperate shouts.

Only then did Li Xuan walk towards the ferryman he had met before.

"Please spare my life, my dear. I have nothing but ragged clothes. I will pretend that I have never seen you!"

The old ferryman witnessed Li Xuan's "black robbing black" with his own eyes, and begged Li Xuan for mercy and let him go.

If he didn't have to support his family, he wouldn't be a ferryman here.

"Calm down, old sir! To be honest, I am an official of the imperial court. I heard that there were treacherous people in Huaiyin, so I was ordered to investigate secretly. I just punished the arrogant one."

Li Xuan put his arm on the ferryman's shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

"Ah...are you older than the county magistrate?"

Seeing Li Xuan's gentle attitude, the ferryman was skeptical.

When he saw Li Xuan for the first time, he really felt that Li Xuan was very noble.

"A little bit bigger..."

Li Xuan nodded. He was unfamiliar with the place and needed a guide.

The ferryman saw that he punished the petty officials of the canal transport, so he was very suitable to lead the way for him.

The ferryman, who was so outspoken just now, is now trembling and dares not speak.

"Please, old sir, take us around Huainan."

Li Xuan said, took out a gold coin from his pocket, put it in the ferryman's hand, and said: "This is your reward."

Although the Tang Dynasty had a stockpile of dinars from the Arab Empire due to the war.

But this gold coin is not the dinar of the Arab Empire, but a gold coin designed in the early Tang Dynasty.

Diwu Qi designed a variety of gold and silver coins, which were selected by Li Xuan.

Li Xuan chose the most suitable one.

The back of this gold coin features a plum blossom with several flowers on it.

On the front is a lifelike dragon, very complex.

One pound of gold can be used to make fifty gold coins.

It is approximately equal to 12 grams in later generations.

It is a very large gold coin.

When gold coins appear, the currency of the Tang Dynasty will be linked to gold.

There are several huge gold mining areas in the world, and everyone knows their whereabouts. Li Xuan also knows the specific locations.

In addition to the large gold coins, there is also a type of small gold coins, which are made into 100 pieces per pound.

Next, there are three types of silver coins: large, medium, and small.

Once the monetary system is established, the trend of counterfeit currency can be curbed.

Copper coins will depreciate under the control of the bank and be linked to gold.

Such a monetary system is not absolutely correct.

But it can play an important role before the Industrial Revolution, or even during the Industrial Revolution.

The ferryman was a little confused holding the heavy gold coins in his hand.

Where has he seen this thing before!

It seems to be the legendary gold, but it is too exquisite.

The rough hands feel the gold is hot when holding it.

"Are you really officials sent by the court?"

The ferryman felt dizzy from the impact of the gold coins and asked Li Xuan another question.

"Of course, the emperor is in Linhuai, old sir should know that." Li Xuan said.

"Where are you guys going?"

The ferryman, unable to resist the temptation of gold coins, decided to lead the way for Li Xuan.

"Xuanze Township!"

Li Xuan replied.

"My home is not far away. I need to go home first to let my wife know."

The ferryman proposed this condition.

More importantly, he wanted to return the gold coins to his family. He was an old man, and if anything happened to him, his family would be able to live a good life with the gold coins.

"can!"

Li Xuan agreed, this is human nature.

Some of his guards left the Huaiyin wharf carrying jade, while others carried wrapped weapons and crossbows.

In fact, there was not much jade. Each person carried at most two or three pounds and a small bag, which mainly contained weapons, some dry food and food.

Overall it does not affect progress.

The tower ship temporarily sailed to the center of the Huai River.

Just over a mile away from the Huaiyin Ferry, Liao Zhengrong contacted the hidden inner guards.

Many internal guards can be summoned to protect the emperor in a short time.

Li Xuan now just wanted to see how the people of Huaiyin lived. Then he wanted to find out what role the Huaiyin governor played in it.

It would be shocking if a county was not under control.

The ferryman's name was Zhang Erhe, and he lived in a village about five miles away from the Huaiyin ferry.

The group of people entering the village still attracted a lot of attention.

"Erhe, who are they?"

Some villagers asked Zhang Erhe about the identities of Li Xuan and others.

"They are merchants from other places, coming here to do business. I will lead the way for them."

Zhang Erhe followed Li Xuan's instructions and did not reveal the "identities" of Li Xuan and his group.

"How daring of you!"

The villagers thought it was not a pleasant job.

If things go wrong, Zhang Erhe will be punished by the officials.

“Do all the villagers have farmland?”

Li Xuan was walking on the village road and asked Zhang Erhe.

Looking around, there are thatched houses scattered around, but they are lifeless. The thatch has not been repaired for a long time and looks damaged and messy.

The village road under his feet was also full of chaotic deep and shallow pits.

The children Li Xuan saw were chasing and playing, but in this weather that was about to enter winter, they were not wearing thick clothes. Not only were their clothes patched, but they were also tattered.

There were many elderly people leaning against doors on the street, with disheveled white hair and skinny bodies.

When Li Xuan looked at them, he could see that they did not have the hope and vitality that people from other regions had.

"No, most of the people farm the Wang family's land. After paying the rent every year, they can't even afford to eat. My son and daughter-in-law farm the land, and I work as a ferryman. I earn a couple of bucks a day, which is barely enough to feed my family."

Zhang Erhe was afraid of being poor, so for a piece of gold coin, he took the risk of bringing Li Xuan, who claimed to be an official and had kidnapped the police, to Huaiyin County.

Li Xuan stopped talking.

But Zhang Xun, Wang Yu, Wei Yingwu and others who were traveling with Li Xuan were very surprised.

It is hard to believe that the Supreme Being sets an example by restraining himself and returning to propriety.

To eliminate baseness and turn it into virtue is the greatest feat throughout history.

It is full of vitality and has a prosperous atmosphere.

Yet, in Huainan, a major tax-collecting area, there is such a backward place.

The Tang Dynasty had data statistics a long time ago.

The arable land in every county is enough to feed all the people.

If a natural disaster occurs, the charity granary is fully capable of providing relief.

"If the Supreme Being comes and sees this scene, how should the local officials respond?"

Zhang Xun couldn't help but ask Zhang Erhe.

"There's no way the emperor would come to our remote place. If he did, he would go to Huaiyin County. More than half a month ago, the county magistrate led the laborers to repair Huaiyin County overnight. If you go, you can see that two large granaries have just been built at the north gate of the county government. They are filled with grain to show the emperor that Huaiyin has more than enough grain..."

Zhang Erhe didn't dare to say "old emperor" anymore because the people in front of him might have been sent by the emperor.

He held on to a glimmer of hope that if this group of people broke the tradition of officials protecting each other and eliminated the local county magistrate, the people would live in peace.

There is another thing that Zhang Erhe did not tell Zhang Xun.

A few days ago, the police came to the village and repeatedly ordered that no matter who asked what, no one was allowed to talk nonsense. Otherwise, they would be arrested and thrown into prison and sentenced to death.

"How audacious..."

Zhang Xun was extremely angry.

I thought that only through open and secret investigations could corrupt officials be caught, but I didn't expect that the Huaiyin magistrate's incompetence had become known to everyone.

What exactly does the Huaiyin prefect do for a living?
And there is the Governor of Huainan. Doesn’t he know the duties of a governor?
What’s even more ridiculous is that the Huaiyin magistrate was still trying to get away with it.

Li Xuan's face was gloomy. The situation in Huaiyin was more serious than he had imagined.

These officials only care about food and not about beatings.

Once the truth comes out, Li Xuan will definitely go on a killing spree.

Zhang Erhe's home is also an ordinary thatched house surrounded by a fence.

Li Xuan went into the house to drink some water and saw that the house was bare.

Now Chang'an and Luoyang, the two capitals, have an incomparable abundance of daily necessities and decorations.

But here, not to mention cooking and eating meat, even cooking tofu is a luxury.

Li Xuan also understood that the country was not just a map of the Tang Dynasty in the Ganlu Palace and the Council of State, which was clear at a glance.

The country is too big, and one leaf can block one's view of the mountain.

There are always places blocked by mountains and rivers, places that the censors cannot reach, places where the Royal Guards neglect their duties, and places that are blinded by desires...

Zhang Erhe's children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law all went to work in the fields for the landlords. He just told an old woman that he was taking the guests to Xuanze Township and might not return for several days.

Before leaving, Zhang Erhe stuffed the gold coins into the old woman's hands.

By the time the old woman came back to her senses after looking at the gold coins, Zhang Erhe had already gone far away from home.

Follow the country road to Xuanze Township.

"Does the farmland in Xuanze Township also belong to the Wang family?"

On the way, Li Xuan asked Zhang Erhe again.

"No. It is said that most of the land there belongs to the Xie family. It is close to the big lake and is very good land."

Zhang Erhe replied to Li Xuan.

The land near the water was worth thousands of gold per acre, and the wealthy and powerful families mostly encroached on and robbed each other.

Rich and powerful families all occupied land beyond the household registration regulations.

There was more than one powerful family in a county, and this was a phenomenon that occurred before the lowly were eliminated and the good were promoted.

It is equivalent to saying that Huaiyin County has eliminated the lowly and made the good, and eliminated loneliness.

The term of office of a county magistrate is four years. At least two county magistrates in Huaiyin successively fell into the trap of sugar-coated bullets and became corrupt.

While the powerful can escape the punishment of being exterminated, a county magistrate cannot, and it is possible that he has other cover.

After all, at that time, part of the work of removing lowly people from official positions and turning them into good people was the responsibility of the prefects, with supervision and review by central government officials.

"The fields of those big families are so numerous that they cannot be planted. They are all overgrown with grass. There are no extra people to cultivate them. What's the use of the thousands of miles of fertile land in Huaiyin? The endless fields are like mountains that we Huaiyin people cannot climb over."

The ferryman Zhang Erhe became more and more excited the more he spoke.

The emperor issued good policies.

But the officials did not carry out the order.

Isn't the emperor responsible?

The people thought that the emperor was just talking big but doing little.

"You will get it."

Li Xuan can speak eloquently about anyone.

But he was powerless to argue with an old farmer. He once said in the Tang Monthly that every Tang person should strive for a well-off life.

If the people of Huaiyin saw that issue of "Tang Monthly", they would definitely laugh at it!
Li Xuan believed that the situation in Huaiyin County was by no means an isolated case among the thousands of counties in the Tang Dynasty.

How he wished he had a pair of sharp eyes so that he could catch all those evil spirits.

However, how many counties are moving towards Huaiyin County?

When Li Xuan arrived at Hongze Township, it was already dusk.

Li Xuan stayed at Qingyangli, near Hongze Lake, and inquired about the local situation.

The people in Xuanze Township live and wear the same clothes as those in Zhang Erhe's village.

They were exploited by the powerful Xie family and spent most of their time working for them without any hope.

At the beginning, a whole village fled collectively, and they had no choice.

After Li Xuan took out some money as a reward, several farmers in Qingyangli took Li Xuan and his party in and prepared some corn for them.

"I heard that some villages in Xuanze Township fled to Linhuai collectively. Is that true?"

The owner of the house was a middle-aged man named Niu Shi. While Li Xuan was eating, he took out some beef jerky and some wine.

He asked when he was drunk.

"It is true that a village escaped, but we don't know where they went..."

Niu Shi had never tasted such good wine before. He was confused and ignored the landlord's warning and responded to Li Xuan.

He also wanted to escape, but with his family, he had no chance at all.

Moreover, Xie's servants were wandering around everywhere, and they would definitely not let them escape from Hongze Lake...

……

I have grown one year older. I wish all my readers a happy new year and good health to their families. In the new year, I hope everyone can be healthy, have their dreams come true, and have abundant wealth...

(End of this chapter)