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Text Chapter 378 Shaanxi Fans

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    Ren Liang listened to the shouting from behind and secretly praised Chao Yong's sophistication. An unexpected incident made Chao Yong gain a lot.  ¡ù¡ù

    ¡°After today, the story of the prince¡¯s love for the people will spread throughout the northwest.

    This matter that Chao Yong agreed to has almost no impact on the overall situation.  Xixia launched an invasion of 400,000 troops. I am afraid that all the salt producers have gone out to fight. Even if Xixia is still making salt, the border soldiers and horses must be heavily guarded, and the salt dealers will not be able to bring in much salt.

    How could such a prince be a simple warrior who used an insignificant thing to win the hearts of the people?  Of course, it is also possible that the prince was simply out of love for the people.  If this is the case, it will be even more of a blessing to the people of the world.

    Although the people behind did not know what happened, they heard the people in front shouting and started shouting too.

    Only when I arrived at the government office did I become pure.

    Ren Liang had already prepared a banquet in the side hall and invited the prince to take a seat.

    After having enough wine and food, Ren Liang invited the prince to serve tea in the lobby.

    Chao Yong and Ren Liang exchanged a few pleasantries and then said, "Mr. Ren previously served as a transshipment envoy in Shaanxi. He must be very familiar with this green salt matter. I would like to ask Mr. Ren to help me clear up my doubts."

    Ren Liang said: "Green salt is produced in the Yanzhou and Lingzhou areas of Xixia. Because of its green color, it is called green salt. The quality of this green salt is pure and beautiful, and Xixia is rich in green salt, so the price is very low. Therefore, the people in the northwest are more  I am willing to use green salt. If the imperial court had not banned the sale of green salt, I am afraid that not a pound of salt from Jiechi in Hedong would be sold in the northwest.

    Because the production of green salt in Xixia is very large, once it is allowed to be traded freely, Xixia can make a lot of money.  Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, the sale of Xixia green salt was prohibited, and those who smuggled green salt would be executed.  However, because there are many Fan people in various areas of Shaanxi, they are poorer and relatively easy to live with.  They prefer green salt which is cheap and tasty.  As a result, many things happened, and many Fan people who had surrendered to the Song Dynasty defected to Xixia, so the ban was lifted several times.

    After Li Yuanhao founded the country, he defeated the Song army at Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan and Dingchuanzhai, forcing the Song Dynasty to negotiate peace.  In Li Yuanhao's credentials, the Song Dynasty allowed Xixia to sell 100,000 azurite salt to the Song Dynasty every year.  However, Ouyang Xiu, Bao Zheng and others believed that this ban should not be imposed, so Song Shenzong only agreed to a few sales places where green salt could be traded in a quantitative manner.  The attitude towards green salt is still mainly prohibition.  "

    When Chao Yong heard this, he couldn't help but shook his head and said: "They are afraid that money will flow into Xixia, but they agree to give Xixia coins. Isn't this self-deception?"

    Ren Liang couldn't explain the Song Dynasty, so he could only continue: "After Song Shenzong, the Song Dynasty's policy towards Xixia has not changed much. Even though Tong Guan continued to use troops against Xixia in the past few years, the market was still a symbolic deal.  Green salt.¡±

    Chao Yong asked curiously: "Then why did that man say there were so many smugglers of green salt?"

    "In the early years, most of the smugglers of green salt were unscrupulous businessmen, because Xixia green salt was cheap and of good quality. Therefore, despite repeated orders from the court, the phenomenon of smuggling was still serious. In the past two years, some generals under Tong Guan's command have  Therefore, the problem of smuggling green salt has become more serious.¡±

    Speaking later, Ren Liang shook his head helplessly.

    Chao Yong frowned and said: "Didn't Tong Guan always want to pacify Xixia? How could he let his subordinates become enemies?"

    Ren Liang said: "In the first year of Xuanhe, Tong Guan asked Liu Fa to send troops to attack Lingzhou, the hinterland of Xixia. As a result, Liu Fa was defeated. He lost one hundred thousand troops. When Liu Fa, the natural god general, died, Tong Guan knew that he could not destroy Xixia, nor could he  Then he used troops against Xixia, and then he thought about taking back the Sixteenth State of Yanyun and becoming the first eunuch prince. The moths under his command also started selling green salt to make a profit."

    "Didn't anyone report it?"

    Ren Liang said: "This matter was tacitly approved by the Song Dynasty. The monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty were focused on planning to unite the Jin Dynasty to attack the Liao Dynasty, and all the savings in the treasury in recent years were consumed by building palaces. In order not to delay the major event of the alliance with the Jin Dynasty to attack the Liao Dynasty, the Song Dynasty spent the past two years  They are all plundering the people to raise military funds to conquer the Liao Dynasty. The hundreds of thousands of Western troops consume 20 to 30 million yuan every year. The Song Dynasty hopes that the Western Army can solve the problem of money and food. "

    Chao Yong stared and said: "The Western Army consumes 20 to 30 million guan every year?"

    After Daliang destroyed the Song Dynasty, the income gained from plundering the homes of Cai Jing and other treacherous officials far exceeded Su Yuanjing's original expectations.  More than 50 million yuan in gold, silver and cash alone were confiscated, as well as countless mansions, properties and valuables.

    Chao Yong originally thought that the money could support him for two to three years, but he didn¡¯t expect Northwest to waste so much money.

    Ren Liang nodded and said: "There are about 300,000 forbidden troops in the northwest, and the salary alone is five million guan a year. Transporting grain from the Central Plains to the northwest is very expensive, and the cost of purchasing military rations every year exceeds 10 million guan, and it also needs to be repaired.  The number of soldiers and armor will not be less than 25 million yuan, and half of the Song Dynasty's taxes were spent on Shaanxi Sixth Road."

    Chao Yong didn¡¯t expect to capture the northwest and recruit the most capable Western Army in the Song Dynasty, but he also found aA big money maker.

    But this is a headache for the prime ministers, so let¡¯s leave it to them.

    Chao Yong couldn¡¯t figure out the reason, so he stopped thinking about this issue and asked instead, ¡°Is Liu Fa known as a natural god general?¡±

    Ren Liang nodded and said: "Yes, but this title is not what he calls himself, but what Cha Ge, the king of Xixia Jin, said, and it spreads between the two countries. Liu Fa led his troops in battle, winning more than he lost, and defeated the king of Xixia Jin twice.  Brother Cha, let Brother Cha lament that Liu Fa is a natural-born general. When the two armies are fighting, they have to avoid Liu Fa's front. He became famous earlier than Lao Zhong, the general manager. In those years, Xixia people were frightened. Unfortunately, in the first year of Xuanhe, Tong  He underestimated the enemy and forced Liu Fa to lead his troops deep into the hinterland of Xixia. Otherwise, General Liu Fa and Mr. Lao Zhongjinglue were stationed in the northwest, and Xixia would not have dared to invade. "

    Chao Yong naturally did not believe that Xixia would not invade if there were two people in charge, but to be able to receive Ren Liang's comments like this also shows Liu Fa's reputation.

    "Mr. Ren has served in Shaanxi for many years. He must know a lot about the northwest. I wonder what Mr. Ren can teach me?"

    Ren Liang thought for a while and said: "Since the prince asked, I will boldly say a few words. If there is anything wrong, please forgive me."

    Chao Yong smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if you say it, Mr. Ren, there is no need to avoid taboos. I come from a rough background, so everyone can just go straight."

    "When talking about Shaanxi, we have to talk about the Ban people. After the decline of the Tang Dynasty, Shaanxi was controlled by Tubo. The Han people in the territory were all transformed by Tubo and formed tribes. It was not until the Song Dynasty captured Shaanxi that these tribes began to be Hanized again. The Six Routes of Shaanxi were actually the Song Dynasty  The five roads that can be fully controlled are Yongxing Army, Fuyan Road, Huanqing Road, Jingyuan Road, and Qinfeng Road. Xihe Road was originally controlled by Qingtang Qiang, although during the Xining period, Wang Shao captured Xi, Min, and Qiang.  Tao Jizhou, but it only took more than ten years to capture Qingtang City. Therefore, many places on Xihe Road were still controlled by many tribes. The only thing the Song Dynasty could control was the state capital.  Provoking the surrounding tribes can bring chaos to Xihe Road, especially when there is still a Tubo prince, Yima Dangzheng, who is the prince of the Qingtang Qiang. The Qingtang Qiang could not be exterminated for more than ten years, but they are still among the Tubo tribes.  It is very prestigious. If this person takes the opportunity to cause trouble, I am afraid that Xixia will not be able to get rid of it. At that time, the Qingtang Qiang occupied the Huangshui River Basin and was very prosperous due to the Silk Road. It could affect the strategic balance of the Song Dynasty and Xixia. "

    Chao Yong was surprised and said: "Looking at it this way, I'm afraid this Yima party will not miss the opportunity to restore the country."

    Ren Liang nodded and said: "I'm afraid that's the case, but it would be better for the Yi Ma Party to conquer the country than to let Xixia seize the Hehuang area."

    "What Mr. Ren said is that it is better than fat Xixia. Mr. Ren continues."

    "As for the other five routes, during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, Shaanxi was divided into four routes: Qinfeng, Jingyuan, Huanqing, and Yanyan. It was said to strengthen defense, but in fact it was not without the intention of guarding against generals. After all, Shaanxi had hundreds of thousands of troops stationed.  The Song Dynasty was most concerned about military commanders having too much power and was divided into four factions. However, it often happened that the four factions did not respond to each other. This incident probably caused more harm than good. Most of the tribes in these four factions were Tubo.  The Han people have basically returned to Han life in recent years. However, the few real Fan tribes are still unruly, especially in areas close to Xixia.  Li Yunduo once defected with more than 10,000 people."

    Chao Yong said: "Is their defection still a problem of the Song Dynasty?"

    Ren Liang nodded and said, "That's what the prince said. It's probably because the imperial court imposed heavy taxes and their lives were unsustainable, or the border officials bullied the Fan tribe, causing them to defect. Then there's the issue of national defense strategy. In order to defend against the Xixia  After the invasion, the Song Dynasty built a large number of forts. Building forts required a lot of wood, and many Fan people felt that the trees in the mountains had spiritual powers. Many Fan people were dissatisfied with the wanton deforestation. In addition, some border officials hired people to cut down a large number of trees.  The wood was sold to the mainland for profit. A few years ago, some tribes rebelled by killing woodcutters. Many tribes had salt wells, but those tribes were controlled by salt in the Song Dynasty.  I was forced to give up my salt well, so I was naturally dissatisfied."

    This can be regarded as different beliefs. The Han people may also laugh at the ignorance of the Han people, how can the trees have spirits.

    Chao Yong thought for a while and said: "The court's taxation problem is easy to solve. Now I, Daliang, have exempted all exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, leaving only commercial taxes. The burden on the people is very light. Building forts is for military purposes, and I can make the decision to stop it. But for Yanjing,  The issue involves the court¡¯s finances and needs to be discussed by the court.¡±

    Ren Liang nodded and said: "I'm afraid the imperial court will not agree to hand over the salt wells to the Ban people. The quality of Rong salt in the northwest is also very good, and some are even as good as green salt. The salt industry was also a major source of tax revenue in the Song Dynasty, with the highest amount of salt a year.  Forty million guan, usually 20 to 30 million guan. Now that the court has exempted us from excessive taxes, this salt profit is even more important. "

    Chao Yong was stunned and said: "Salt is so profitable?"

      Ren Liang nodded and said: "The imperial court controls the sale of salt. The price of salt is only a few cents per catty, but it is sold to merchants for dozens of cents. The common people are indispensable for eating salt, so the profits are naturally huge."
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