The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 234 It’s Different Here

The eunuch and several followers advanced along the official road under the surveillance of the sentries.

After a while, a small village appeared in front of them. There was a circle of farmland around the village, and the crops were growing well. A few farmers were sitting on the edge of the field, bragging and chatting. When they saw the eunuchs and their companions, they did not hide or hide or were afraid. Instead, they pointed at them and seemed to be laughing.

The eunuch recalled what the sentry had said before: if a large group of enemy cavalry arrived, the sentries would still have time to inform the people to evacuate when they fled. But he immediately realized that the people here had already been warned by the enemy army, and they would only be afraid if there was an alarm. Without the alarm, they were not too afraid of the eunuch's small group.

The eunuch rode over and called out from a distance, "Hello, sir. Is this your land?"

The old farmer had laughed at him from a distance, but when he got closer he was struck by the eunuch's gorgeous attire and replied respectfully, "Yes!"

Eunuch: "You haven't suffered from war here?"

The old farmer said, "How could we not have suffered? The year before last was terrible. The Jin invaders came and burned the village. My whole family hid in the mountains and ate grass roots and tree bark for months. We barely managed to hold on until the Jin army retreated."

Eunuch: "The year before last? Then last year and this year..."

The old farmer grinned. "Last year, the pseudo-Jin bandits came, and this year, the real Jin bandits came, but they were all beaten by Marshal Gong. Although my family hid from the soldiers and bandits, we didn't hide in the mountains. We hid in the county town. Marshal Gong provided us with food and water, so life in the city was not hard. As soon as the Jin bandits retreated, we went home to farm, and the agricultural officer taught us new farming methods. Those methods are amazing, and it is said that they were taught by immortals in heaven. Look at how well the crops are growing this year. Hahaha, the immortal method is really amazing. My harvest this year will definitely double."

The eunuch was stunned by what he heard.

I wanted to ask for more details, but found that the old farmer only kept repeating these few sentences over and over again.

This kind of ignorant country man has limited knowledge and cannot ask a specific question.

The eunuch had no choice but to continue moving towards Jiaoshui County...

They passed several villages along the way, and the crops in each village were growing very well. It was already late June, and the harvest was approaching, and the crops in the fields were at their best. The eunuchs couldn't help but feel a little jealous, thinking: It's hard to imagine that there is such a good place in Shandong.

Just by looking at these rural areas, you can tell that the news that King Gong defeated the fake and real gold thieves in succession is not false news.

Although Zhao Gou was well-informed, he also faced a big problem, which was "not knowing whether the news was true or false." In those days, military generals would lie about military intelligence, and civil officials would write memorials to brag about their achievements. People in the central government could easily be deceived by local officials.

Not long ago, when Zhao Gou received the news that Gong Yi had defeated Baliyuanshan and Guwei in succession, he was stunned for a full half incense stick of time, and finally came to the conclusion: This is fake news, just to make fun of me.

But now the eunuch saw the situation in the suburbs of Jiaoshui County with his own eyes and believed it!

If we had lost the battle, the situation here would not be like this.

I don’t know how long I walked, or how many villages I passed that were filled with the scent of harvest, but I finally saw the county town in front of me.

Under the city wall of the county town, there were so many chevaux de frise that there was almost no space for cavalry to gallop around. The whole city looked even spicier than a hedgehog. On the city wall, there were rows of giant crossbows, carrying a chilling murderous aura.

However, at the gate of this murderous city, one can see the hustle and bustle of traffic and the full breath of life.

There were large numbers of ox carts and horse carriages, pulling all kinds of goods, going in and out of the city gate, making it extremely bustling.

In previous cities, the eunuch would shout "Welcome the emperor's order" at the city gate, but here, he could not shout it.

Because the city gate was so busy with traffic and the masses of common people, he felt it was not right to shout "welcome the emperor" here. It seemed more appropriate to shout after entering the city and reaching the palace thief's yamen. So he and his entourage also lined up to enter the city.

In front of the eunuch was a coal cart, carrying at least a thousand pounds of coal, which was heavy. The person in charge of the coal cart was paying the city entry tax.

This kind of tax was very high in the Song Dynasty, but he saw that the city entry tax here seemed very low. With so much coal, the car owner only paid thirty copper coins and entered the city smoothly.

This made him look confused and a little bewildered.

Then it was his turn to enter the city, and the soldier who collected the money looked at him.

The eunuch, invigorated, shouted, "I am an angel who has delivered the imperial decree. You do not have to pay taxes to enter the city."

Soldier: "No matter who you are, you all have to pay taxes. No one has special privileges. But since you don't have any goods, you only have to pay the head tax. It's one copper coin per person. Here you go."

Eunuch: "..."

He was a little angry when he first heard that he had to pay taxes. "You angels, you collect taxes?!" But when he heard that everyone would only pay one copper coin, he calmed down again. "That's too low! What's the difference between this and not paying at all?"
The eunuch couldn't help but ask, "Is the city tax so low here?"

"The True Lord said that to boost commerce and make the city prosperous, we need to lower the city entrance tax, making it more appealing for people to come and shop. The current reduction to one copper coin is just a trial. After a while, when fiscal revenue is sufficient, we'll waive the entrance tax, allowing rural residents to freely enter the city anytime, anywhere. This will make the streets more lively, commerce more vibrant, and benefit what... benefit... oops, I can't remember the rest."

Another city guard nearby laughed and said, "It will be conducive to the vigorous development of all industries."

The guard laughed and said, "Ah, yes, yes, that's what the Master said."

The eunuch was speechless for a few seconds, thinking: I thought the soldiers here could understand this, but it turns out they are just memorizing it by rote.

The eunuch asked, "Why are you carrying this?"

The gatekeeper replied, "The True Lord said that there will often be people like you who have just arrived and have questions. We can answer them right at the city gate, so you don't have to wander around confused and ask everyone you meet."

Eunuch: "..."

The eunuch was speechless for a while, but finally paid the city entry tax of one copper coin per person and walked into Jiaoshui County.

The prosperity in the city is indeed different.

This was clearly just a county town, but it was as bustling as any other prefectural city, with traffic and people thronging the streets. Shops lined both sides of the street, selling everything.

The eunuch couldn't help but wonder, "Why are there so many people here?"

The subordinate whispered, "It seems that people from Mizhou and Weizhou have flocked here and are all crowded into this county town."

The eunuch nodded, thinking: If I were a poor man and heard that the Jin thieves were coming, and asked to choose a place to run to among Mizhou, Weizhou, and Laizhou, I would run here! This looks like a place where decent people hang out. This is what they call "good birds choose the right tree to roost in."

(End of this chapter)