Volume 1 Chapter 13: Boundary Ditch (Part 2)
“Do people in Huaibei eat rice?”
Zhao Jiu walked out of a thatched adobe house, holding a rice jar in his hand, followed by a nervous old man, but he made an empiricist mistake as soon as he opened his mouth. "I see that there are only wheat stacks and bean stalks around here, and very few rice stalks, but why are there so few beans, and there is less flour than rice?"
"Reporting...Reporting to the king."
The old man was trembling with nervousness, while the village head, who had obviously seen through the identity of this great king, could only lie on the ground with his butt sticking out. Helpless, Yang Yizhong, the know-it-all, had to personally take action. "North of the Yellow River, everything depends on river transportation. Huainan's rice and cloth are all transported to Tokyo, so most people north of the Yellow River can eat rice. In addition, wheat is not easy to store, and beans are precious, so people in Huaibei eat steamed bread made of flour early, and then sell beans. When they need to store grain, they store corn for the distant and rice for the nearby."
Zhao Jiu suddenly realized. Combined with the previous data of the Song Dynasty's population of 120 million, he understood that when the population reached a certain level, the social division of labor became more refined, which then led to the development of the commodity economy!
According to Yang Yizhong, it is obvious that the rice in Huainan was naturally circulated and supplemented to the Huaibei area due to its large output; and soybeans were more like cash crops at this time, used to exchange for money; corn, also known as millet, was actually far inferior to rice, flour, and soybeans in terms of output, value, and even taste, but because it was extremely resistant to storage, it maintained a certain value for a long time.
"Is there any millet at home, father-in-law?" Thinking of this, Zhao Jiu turned around and faced the old man.
"No, no!" The old man was already a little confused, and when he saw the 'king' guarded by dozens of cavalrymen, he was so shocked that he couldn't even speak smoothly.
Fortunately, this is the heartland of the Central Plains, and the accent is relatively native to Zhao Jiu, so communication is manageable.
"Prepare some!" Zhao Jiu sighed slightly upon seeing this and returned the rice jar in his hand.
"Thank you, thank you, Your Majesty." The old man was so surprised that he hurried to hug him, not knowing whether he noticed the other party's reminder or not.
Zhao Jiu returned the rice jar and got on his horse without saying much. He paid no attention to the headman who was already trembling on the ground, and slowly left the second village he visited under the protection of a group of Red Heart Knights.
To be honest, Zhao Jiu was feeling very complicated at this moment.
First of all, today he visited two villages next to each other, and the scenes in both places were not as bad as he had imagined... According to his sense of superiority as a modern man, and his imagination of the low productivity and severe class contradictions in ancient times, plus the so-called cruel rural environment in the war years that he learned from those online articles.
Therefore, the village here should be "white bones exposed in the wild, no roosters crowing for a thousand miles", plus "old men climb over the wall, old women go out to look".
But the reality is half and half.
It is true that there was no crowing of roosters for a thousand miles, but there were really no bones exposed in the wild; it is also true that the old woman went out to look, but the old man had not yet climbed over the wall, so he also went out to look... Among them, there was no crowing of roosters, only the old man and the old woman went out to look. It is obvious that this is because this place is too close to the military camp, and the common people have left to avoid possible war disasters.
But at the same time, the roads in the village are neat, and although there are some particularly dilapidated thatched mud houses with local characteristics, suggesting the complete bankruptcy and escape of the owners, overall, the mixed colors of old and new and the vitality that cannot be concealed in most of the houses and courtyards still show that the two villages are still healthy.
In addition, the coarse cloth clothes of the elderly and weak who stayed behind in the village were also clean. The head of the village just now was even wearing a neatly dyed silk straight-sewn suit with hidden patterns.
In short, productivity is low, because internal oppression caused by the war in the north also exists, the gap between the rich and the poor is even more obvious, and the people at the bottom of society can be seen counting the rice in the rice jar to make a living... But as long as the war does not affect this place, it is still a normal countryside.
Besides, when Zhao Jiu was in Mingdao Palace before, he had gone out to see it, but it might be because it was further north, and the surrounding area was mostly the "imperial farm" of Mingdao Palace. He rode on horseback in the early morning and then hurried back. Therefore, it was difficult for this official Zhao to get in touch with the real grassroots style. So much so that in his mind, the Song Dynasty, which had been governed by the Taoist Emperor for decades, was regarded as the scene after the death of Wanli, that is, the end of the world that seemed to be foolish, but in fact it would be broken with a single poke.
But now it seems that this place can be regarded as the Jiajing period at most. The so-called Jiajing Jiajing every family was clean. Because of the exploitation of the self-righteous Emperor Daojun and the corruption of the bureaucrats, it was true that the people were struggling on the brink of bankruptcy, but it seemed that there was still some distance before the whole society got out of control and went bankrupt.
But if we say this, doesn’t it make the Taoist emperor look even more capable? Jiajing’s name also has a “Jing” in it, so he could also be capable, but he didn’t do anything like the Jingkang Shame, did he? !
Of course, considering this official's poor level of historical knowledge and his rough and general imagination, plus the fact that he has never worn the clothes of Jiajing and Wanli, it can be said that his imagination is just wishful thinking!
"Your Majesty is truly a kind-hearted emperor."
Seeing Zhao Jiu unconsciously walking towards the boundary ditch while thinking about random things, Yang Yizhong finally couldn't help but speak . "Knowing that there are bandits ahead, if a war breaks out in winter, the Yingshui and Huaishui rivers will certainly be cut off. Coupled with the winter ice, it is possible that transportation will be difficult for the entire winter, so I reminded the old man to store some corn."
"The old man may not listen, and the world is in chaos. Hebei and Hedong have basically fallen. You said that the Song Dynasty has a population of 100 million to 200 million. At this time, there are more than 10 million or 20 million people suffering from the war. In the future, there will be more than 30 or 40 million people suffering from the war." Zhao Jiu came to his senses immediately, but he spoke slowly without turning his head. "So as the Son of Heaven, doing this little kindness is like a joke..."
"No!" Yang Yizhong quickly corrected himself. "As the saying goes, a gentleman cannot bear to eat his flesh when he hears his voice, and cannot bear to see his death when he sees his life. The government investigates the people's sentiments and understands their sufferings. Although it is just a kind word, it is the benevolence of a gentleman. And how can the benevolence of a gentleman be differentiated between the emperor and ordinary people?"
Liu Yan was standing nearby and wanted to flatter him, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he couldn't think straight, so he could only bite the bullet and add, "Your Majesty, I think so too."
Zhao Jiu, who was standing in front of him, couldn't help laughing when he heard this. He laughed until tears came out. Then he turned around and glanced at the two of them: "Pingfu (Liu Yan) can't say it, so don't say it. Zhengfu (Yang Yizhong) can say it, so you might as well say more... Zhengfu, aren't you worried that if I really go to the Jiegou market, then Li Xianggong will scold you or even punish you? That's why you said it tactfully. It's okay to stroll around the countryside, but don't go into Jiegou. Because as an official, it's meaningless for me to do such things. It's more useful to act like a puppet."
Yang Yizhong, who had a dignified appearance, rarely gave a dry laugh. He did not refute, but rode forward again and immediately resumed his normal dignified demeanor:
"Your Majesty! I am not only afraid of the Prime Minister, I am also worried about your safety... In the market, you cannot ride a horse or show your sword. Not to mention the turbulent times, if there are really daring people, you will be in trouble. Just say that your round-necked red robe, pretending to be a prince, is not enough to fool the country folk. When you get to the market town, it will definitely alarm those who are interested. When your identity is exposed, there are many people, good and bad, so it is inevitable that something will go wrong, and you will not be able to really see anything."
Emperor Zhao nodded slowly and said seriously, "I understand. Zhengfu is trying to persuade me to take off this dress before going!"
Yang Yizhong was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
At the same time, Liu Yan and Liu Pingfu, who were unable to keep up and speak, also looked at the two people in front with strange expressions... Speaking of it, Emperor Zhao is an emperor, and he is good at both civil and military affairs, and he is also good at talking. After all, he is an emperor, and he can't think about it. But in the past few months, Liu Yan has been accompanying the emperor for a long time, and he has discovered that Yang Yizhong, whom he had always thought was a majestic figure, is actually a truly extraordinary person.
Considering that Yang's six generations had been generals, he was a general from a family of generals. He also had a dignified appearance, was tall, disciplined the army, and was also very good at archery and horsemanship. At first glance, he looked like a famous general in ancient times, but how did he learn such a crooked skill of a civil servant? And he, a Jinshi (even if it was a Jinshi from the Liao Dynasty, it was still a Jinshi), did not understand these things at all, so that the emperor said that he was afraid that Liu Pingfu would not speak well.
Just as Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan were lost in their own thoughts, Emperor Zhao over there, after telling a cold joke, saw that the two people on his side and behind him were also lost in their thoughts, but suddenly he seized the opportunity to speed up his horse, and in an instant he ran more than a hundred steps away, heading straight towards the boundary ditch... Yang and Liu were stunned for a moment, then secretly said that something was wrong, and they both reined in their horses and sped up, trying their best to catch up.
Besides, the political meeting in the Buddhist temple ended in the afternoon, so it was already afternoon when they came out. After visiting two villages, it was almost evening. So Yang Yizhong's real intention was to keep saying "nice things" to delay Emperor Zhao and let the matter go.
However, after spending time together, although Zhao Guanjia may not understand Yang Yizhong's cunning mind, he has also become alert. And as an official, he can turn over the table and do whatever he wants at any time... Of course, it is also possible that he was forced by Li Xianggong to be a panda duck and was tired... So he suddenly ran away and acted like a spoiled child.
Back to the present, not to mention that Liu Yan couldn't understand why the emperor, who grew up in Bianliang, the most prosperous place in the world, wanted to play in such a wild town; nor did he mention that Yang Yi was worried that the emperor would get tired of his flattery... Just say that the emperor Zhao was always good at riding horses, and he could ride ahead on the plains. But Yang and Liu and the cavalry behind them couldn't catch up with the good horse under the emperor's crotch because of their armor. Instead, they were getting farther and farther away, so that the two didn't dare to think about it at the end, and just chased desperately.
It was not until sunset that Yang and Liu, with dozens of riders, caught up with Emperor Zhao. They were shocked to find that the emperor did not enter the town. Instead, he stopped his horse on the bank of the Yingshui River in the southwest direction of the town. Then, he looked down at the Jiegou town in a trance.
Yang and Liu did not dare to disturb the official, so they stood up and looked around together.
Let me tell you, this small riverside town in the Central Plains has a ferry connecting to the Yingshui River in front, and a dike formed by piling up earth with wooden fences in the back. It is only a few hundred steps in radius, and there are only dozens of decent large houses. There are also shacks made of grass and trees, forming an open-air market, which is quite simple.
Only at this time the imperial procession stopped several miles away, and young men and women from several villages in between came here to take shelter. There were also some family members and servants of the imperial officials, who brought gold beads and other items to sell, and purchased scarce items such as cloth and food. Therefore, it did seem that there were more people and it was more lively.
At this time, the sun was setting and the market was about to close. Some brave villagers dressed in short jackets were worried about their families and went out of the market in groups of three or five, chatting about what they had seen that day while carefully heading towards the village. However, some merchants and common people kept calling out to the fishermen and boatmen at the ferry, asking them to help them cross the river to the west, as if they had come from the other side of the Yingshui River and were now returning to their homes on the other side.
When he turned around, he saw that the last group of people coming out of the market were obviously the people in charge of purchasing for the imperial court. He saw a few young eunuchs shouting and ordering porters to drive carts out, and they were actually coming towards him along the river bank. When they got closer, he could see clearly in the dim light of the setting sun that they were going to deliver several carts of winter vegetables to the imperial court.
Zhao Jiu stood there for a long time, watching the team approaching from afar. When they were approaching, the leader found something wrong, and then he knelt down hurriedly to greet them. He couldn't help but smile and ask:
"Master Zhang, let me ask you, what kind of vegetables did you buy? Did you pay for them?"
"Reporting to the emperor, Li Xianggong is watching closely, so I dare not refuse to pay. However, this place is too poor and wild, and there is no fresh food except winter vegetables!" When the eunuch Zhang heard the emperor calling him a great official, he was so happy that his soul almost scattered, and he quickly got up to show his merit. "However, I dare not let the emperor and Madam Pan suffer injustice, so I searched for half a day, first found some local fish, and then found a family selling ginger and fermented black beans along the river! I asked clearly, this is a family that escaped from Tokyo City, the taste is authentic, the emperor and Madam Pan will have a feast tonight!"
Zhao Jiu didn't know what ginger and fermented black beans were, but that didn't stop him from laughing uncontrollably while urging the other party to quickly return to the temple where they were.
However, after watching the team disappear in the gradually darkening glow of the early winter sunset, the next moment, the sunset completely set. In the twilight, Emperor Zhao suddenly stopped laughing and became sad.
Liu Yan and Yang Yizhong, who had been keeping an eye on the emperor, noticed this almost at the same time. However, just as Liu Pingfu became increasingly puzzled, Yang Zhengfu, who was good at observing people's expressions and had a better understanding of the emperor, suddenly realized in his heart that the emperor was still worried that the Jin people would send their main force to pursue them. Once the Jin people went south to the Central Plains, this not-so-perfect situation with Huafu would no longer exist.
How to say it? Yang Yizhong recalled his personal experience of fleeing in Hebei in the past, and the things that happened when his family was broken up and his family died, and he couldn't help but feel sad... It can only be said that in the mind of Yang Yizhong, after the official fell into the well, he was really possessed by some monster, and that monster was a kind and good monster.
