Chapter 260 I like fierce horses the most
The place where Mr. Yu first investigated was not far from Bianjing. He could know the trends in the court at any time. Those officials were all smart people and there was not much resistance. .
But the south is different. Before the Song Dynasty, the north had always been a major grain-producing area.
By the Song Dynasty, due to the loss of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the promotion of Champa Rice, the grain production in the south had exceeded that in the north.
The water system in the south is well developed and is very suitable for rice growth.
The situation of land annexation in the south is particularly serious.
Moreover, the south is far away from Bianjing and the emperor is far away. Even though Hai Wenyou is an imperial envoy with the emperor's orders, the officials in the south are respectful on the surface and add trouble secretly.
Don’t you want to check the land? Then check it out.
A lot of land was found, but all that land was found from the heads of the people.
The common people have more than ten acres of land, and after re-surveying, there are seven or eight acres of hidden land.
The land deeds for the people's more than ten acres of land have not changed, but only 30 to 40 percent of the actual acres are left.
It is useless if the people cry out for injustice. The government officials also force them to make up for the taxes they have paid in these years.
If you don’t make it up, you will be arrested directly.
Hidden has implicated too many people, and it is impossible to arrest them all and hold them accountable.
The official meaning is that those who voluntarily hand over the hidden acres will not be subject to any punishment.
Those found out will be calculated based on the number of hidden acres and will make up for ten years of land tax.
Otherwise you will be held accountable!
Only 30% to 40% of the good land is actually left, and the land tax still has to be paid.
Where are the common people willing to do this!
For a time, the people were filled with resentment, and they cursed Hai Wenyou and the court for being unjust, which almost caused a popular uprising.
Because the petty officials and government servants who went to the countryside to count the fields said to the outside world that they were ordered by the imperial envoy to count the fields.
The infamy was naturally attributed to the imperial court and Hai Wenyou.
Hai Wenyou immediately called a halt after learning about it, thoroughly investigated the matter, and even personally went to supervise and measure the fields that had problems after inventory.
This investigation made Haiwen Youqi very angry. He immediately arrested the government servants and petty officials who were doing the measurement and interrogated who was responsible for the instigation.
But after being caught, those petty officials complained that they were not instigated by anyone and that there was nothing fishy in the process of measuring the land.
Maybe the government officials didn't know how to count and made a mistake during the measurement.
Hai Wenyou even ordered people to punish him, and the petty officials and government servants bit him to death and refused to let go.
Hai Wenyou was so angry that he directly dismissed several officials.
Many officials from Jiangnan signed a petition to impeach Hai Wenyou.
He said that they all followed Hai Wenyou's instructions. Because of the negligence of the petty officials and government officials, Hai Wenyou gave in and wanted to put the blame on them.
Jiangnan is prosperous, and many of these officials are related to officials in Bianjing.
As soon as Zha Zi was sent to Bianjing to impeach Hai Wenyou, many officials in Bianjing wrote letters to impeach Hai Wenyou.
For a time, the matter of inventorying the fields became troubled again.
Zhao Xing was not too surprised by this matter.
The resistance to the inventory of farmland does not lie in Bianjing at all, but in the local area.
The officials in Bianjing made a fuss for a while and then calmed down, but this does not mean that the land inventory can proceed smoothly.
It is inevitable that there will be local resistance.
The next step will be to see whether the father can withstand the pressure and Hai Wenyou’s methods.
…………
In mid-October, the Northern Express arrived in Bianjing, and the officials were delighted after reading it.
Let the Privy Council formulate rewards based on the battle report, order the British Duke to remain on the northern border for the time being, and at the same time order people to publicize the matter.
The reason why the British Duke continued to stay in the north was to see how the Liao Kingdom would react.
However, this incident did not cause much trouble.
After all, what they claimed to the outside world was to destroy two groups of horse bandits who robbed the border.
Since Bianjing is so far away from the northern border, naturally no one pays much attention to it.
Zhao Xing showed a smile after reading the military deployment process in the British public report.
The long-term peace has weakened the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty army, but the combat effectiveness of the Liao army has also weakened.
Coupled with the weakness of the Song Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom did not take the Song Dynasty seriously from top to bottom.
Only then did the British Duke lead his troops to approach him without even noticing it.
Shaking his head, Zhao Xing ignored the matter.
As for whether the Liao Congress would be angry and raise troops, Zhao Xing was not worried.
The Liao Emperor wanted to use the Song Dynasty to weaken Yelu Chongyuan's strength. The Song Dynasty did it. It was too late for him to be happy. How could he send troops to the Song Dynasty.
Unless Yelu Chongyuan is willing to send troops, the Liao Emperor will agree.
But Yelu Chongyuan was not stupid. He was already weaker than the Liao Emperor. If he went to war with the Song Dynasty, no matter whether he won or lost, he would lose troops and generals.
What can we do to compete with the Liao Emperor?
Moreover, the reason why the Liao Emperor was afraid of him was because of the constraints of the Song Dynasty and Xixia, and the Liao Emperor did not dare to use all his strength to deal with him.
If he defeated the Song Dynasty, maybe the Liao Emperor would attack him directly.
……
On the second day of November, it started to snow lightly in Bianjing.
The Xixia bride-to-be team also arrived in Bianjing on this day.
This time Zhao Xing did not go to greet him, but Da Zongzheng of the Zongren Mansion went to greet him on behalf of the royal family and the Minister of Rites. On the fifth day of November, it snowed for several days, and Bianjing was covered in snow.
On this day, the East Palace was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Li Yunchu, the eldest princess of Xixia, entered the East Palace in a sedan chair.
According to the rules, except for the main wife, even if you take a concubine, you can only carry it in through the side door.
However, Li Yunchu is the eldest princess of Xixia after all, and represents the marriage between Xixia and the Song Dynasty, so she still needs to be treated with courtesy.
After Li Yunchu entered the East Palace, he moved into the courtyard next to Shuanglan Pavilion.
This courtyard is connected by three courtyards. It is in the backyard of the East Palace and is second only to Chunhe Palace where Zhang Guifen lived.
In the bedroom of the main room of the courtyard, Li Yunchu was wearing a Xixia wedding dress and sitting on the bed with an uneasy expression.
The little maid knew the painting, looked around and said, "Princess, this room is even more luxuriously decorated than the princess's original room."
"It's just flashy, let people take this away. Take out everything the princess brought and put it on the table." Li Yunchu ordered.
The thought of never having the chance to return to Xixia again, coupled with the unfamiliar environment, made her feel very insecure.
“Yes!”
Hearing this, Zhihua quickly directed the maid to open several boxes.
Li Yunchu is a Xixia native and a princess, so there is no restriction on her bringing maids.
When she was in Xixia, all the dozen or so maids who served her personally were brought with her.
In addition, Zhang Guifen also sent more than a dozen maids to serve here.
When these maids saw the maids brought by Li Yunchu, they took out many Xixia-style ornaments from the boxes and replaced the exquisite porcelain in the room. They looked at each other and did not dare to stop them.
But when Zhihua took out a sheathed scimitar from the box and looked around, he was shocked.
The leading maid hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Concubine, this kind of thing cannot be placed in the bedroom!"
"Who said it is not allowed?" Li Yunchu frowned.
"This is the rule. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sometimes comes to rest in the concubine's room. Sharp weapons that can hurt people are not allowed in the room," the palace maid said.
"Then I have to keep it?" Li Yunchu said lightly.
"This..." The palace goddess looked confused: "The concubine must stay, so I have no choice but to report it."
"Then you can report it."
Li Yunchu didn't care and stepped forward to take the scimitar from Zhihua's hand.
The scabbard of the scimitar is inlaid with many gems, making it more like an ornament.
But when Li Yunchu took out the sword from its sheath, there was no sunlight, and the blade was somewhat reflective.
On the other side, Li Yunchu's maid took out a bow and a pot of arrows from the box.
When the palace maid saw this scene, her expression changed, she bowed and left in a hurry.
Li Yunchu curled his lips and sheathed the knife.
She just heard the palace maid say that Zhao Xing would come to her room to rest, and there should be no weapons in the room, so she did that on purpose.
It would be best if she could scare Zhao Xing into not coming to her room.
After about half an hour, the room was rearranged.
The vases and some ornamental porcelain on the shelves were replaced with Western Xia-style ornaments.
A bow and a pot of arrows hang by the window, as well as a chain made of the teeth of various beasts.
Next to the bed hung a scimitar with a scabbard inlaid with gems.
The good room was decorated in four different ways. It looked very strange, and it also added a bit of a chilling air.
At this time, a Xixia maid hurried in.
"Princess, the Crown Prince of the Song Dynasty is here!"
"This is the Song Dynasty. If you come here with your dowry, you will be a member of the Song Dynasty from now on. There is no need to call His Highness the Crown Prince. Add a big song in front of it!”
Li Yunchu was shocked when he heard this. Before he could speak, Zhao Xing's lazy voice came in.
As soon as the voice fell, Zhao Xing appeared in the room.
“Why are you here?” Li Yunchu exclaimed.
"You are now Gu's concubine, and today is the night of flowers and candles in your bridal chamber. Why can't I come?" Zhao Xing looked at Li Yunchu with a smile.
Li Yunchu’s appearance is somewhat different from that of the Han people. He is wearing a Western Xia style wedding dress with a somewhat exotic feel.
Li Yunchu felt very uncomfortable when Zhao Xing looked at him and glared: "Look again, I..."
"How are you?"
Zhao Xing interrupted her directly and stepped forward. A few steps later, he looked at her with a smile.
“Do you think you did that deliberately to scare Gu?”
As Zhao Xing said, he stretched out his hand to Li Yunchu and said: "Gu was originally planning to come at night. But when I heard the news from the palace maid, I found it very interesting, so..."
Li Yunchu saw Zhao Xing reaching out to touch her face and waving to Zhao Xing's hand.
Zhao Xing reacted quickly, grabbing Li Yunchu's wrist and pulling it hard.
Li Yunchu never expected that Zhao Xing would react so quickly. Without warning, Zhao Xing and his companions rushed towards Zhao Xing.
As soon as Zhao Xing exerted his strength, Li Yunchu turned his back to him and leaned into Zhao Xing's arms. Li Yunchu's arm was pulled diagonally by Zhao Xing and fixed under her neck, tightly controlling her.
When Li Yunchu reacted, he was already under control. His other arm hit Zhao Xing with an elbow, and he was controlled by Zhao Xing again.
"Let me go!" Li Yunchu shouted.
Zhao Xing smiled slightly, leaned into Li Yunchu's ear and whispered: "I like fierce horses the most. It will definitely be a sense of accomplishment to conquer a fierce horse like you."
(This chapter End)