"If anyone is willing to go to the border, I will appoint him as an envoy of peace and instruction, and his official rank will be promoted to Grand Marshal." Zhao Huan promised them high-ranking officials to see how these ministers would react.
This is a huge temptation, Taiwei, it's a lucrative position.
Li Qingyuan, who had been jumping up and down just now, jumped out and said, "I am willing to go."
Li Qingyuan knew that he was not favored by the emperor as one of the four ministers of the Ministry of War. He was lucky to have been able to keep this official position in his lifetime. In addition, due to his age, his career was basically stopped.
The emperor gave me this opportunity, so how could I not seize it? So I jumped out first.
As expected, Zhao Huan was very satisfied: "Okay, pass the order to Li Qingyuan, I appoint you as the Shanxi Pacification Envoy, and thoroughly investigate the acts of treason and betrayal of compatriots in the northwest!"
Li Qingyuan was overjoyed and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, I obey your order!"
Kuixian, Shanxi.
Located at the junction of Song and Mongolia, it was originally part of the Song-Xia border. Kui County is located in a desolate area, but its economy is very prosperous because it was the largest trading post between Song and Mongolia.
Kuixian accounted for nearly one-third of the trade between the Song Dynasty and Mongolia in the northwest.
However, it was not long before this place was plundered by the Mongolian cavalry.
Kui County was located at the junction of Hengshuigou and Taoxian Town. Since both Hengshuigou and Taoxian Town had garrisons, and Kui County was located in the heart of these two areas, an enemy attack would be like walking into a trap.
Therefore, Han Shizhong did not set up defenses in Kuixian County, but he never thought that because of this, Kuixian County was brutally robbed by Mongolian cavalry.
The Mongolian soldiers robbed livestock and grain, kidnapped women, raped and killed people, committing all kinds of atrocities. The head of the Kuixian County magistrate was even hung outside the government office.
When the garrisons in Hengshuigou and Taoxian Town received the news that their roads were cut off and rushed to Kuixian, they found that the Mongolian cavalry had already fled far away.
This posed a problem: how did the Mongols know that there were no troops stationed in Kui County? A spy must have reported it, so the imperial court issued an order strictly prohibiting the people of the Song Dynasty from trading with the Mongols.
However, border trade is the foundation of Kuixian County. If trade is stopped, it will be a fatal blow to Kuixian County, which is originally located in a desolate area.
So many people dared to take the risk and continue to trade privately with Mongolia. They exchanged Song Dynasty tea and porcelain for the other side's cattle, sheep and horses, and then transported the cattle, sheep and horses to the inland.
As the imperial court continued to introduce a series of harsh policies, the underground smuggling business became increasingly covert.
The newly appointed magistrate of Kui County, Zhou Guitong, was a man of great resolution and decisiveness. He led a group of yamen runners to send the smugglers to jail.
What do ordinary people fear most? It has always been the same: people fear officials.
What these people feared most was the officials. They looked at their wives and children who were staring at them, and then at their empty rice jars. So they gritted their teeth, picked up two large bags of tea from the table, quietly left the city in the dark, and came to the mountains behind Kui County.
There are also cautious Mongolian people in the back mountain. They carefully lead their cattle and sheep, waiting for buyers to appear.
At three o'clock in the night, people from Kui County appeared, carrying tea, porcelain, and even iron pots, and quietly conducting transactions with them.
After they got what they needed, the Song people led his two sheep, and the Mongolian people disappeared into the night with two bags of tea.
When the people of the Song Dynasty excitedly led their cattle and sheep into the county town, the yamen runners who had been lying in ambush on both sides appeared.
The yamen runners put iron chains around the civilian's neck and sent him to the yamen jail.
Over 700 people were arrested in Kui County at once, and the once bustling and bustling county suddenly became a desolate and dilapidated place. Many wealthy merchants began to relocate, further depressing the county.
The principle of "the law does not punish the masses" is obviously not applicable here. With so many people arrested, how to deal with them becomes a problem.
"Sir, how should we deal with these smuggling people?" asked the bailiff, looking at the crowded county jail.
Zhou Guitong was also scratching his head. The daily food expenses for so many people were enough to burden the government office.
Take them all to the lobby, I will interrogate them strictly!" Zhou Guitong said this and walked out of the county jail.
"Awesome!" This was a customary shout during court sessions, exerting psychological pressure on the prisoners. Some of the more timid ones immediately peed their pants and fell to the ground, trembling as if they had been electrocuted.
"It's so unfair!" Then he burst into tears, with snot and snot running down his face.
With a loud bang, Zhou Guitong slammed the gavel: "Stop making noise! Who is kneeling? Tell me your name!"
The common people sifting through the chaff below began to wail: "Sir, please spare my life. I am Ning Erzhu, and I live in Ningjia Village. I used to work as a handyman at the imperial market, but after the market was closed, I was left unemployed. I only have two acres of thin land at home, and I can't make ends meet, so I had to resort to smuggling."
Zhou Guitong slammed the gavel again: "I am asking you, have you collaborated with the Mongols and informed them of our Great Song garrison intelligence?"
Ning Erzhu immediately panicked and knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Excellency, I am wronged, Your Excellency. I have never even left the county town, how could I know anything about the garrison? I just wanted to use those two pounds of tea to trade for a few sheep, and then take them to the black market to exchange for some silver so that I could buy some rice for my family. I am wronged!"
Zhou Guitong was a little impatient. This person didn't seem to be lying. He slammed the table again: "Come on! Drag him away. Next one!"
The guy brought up had a face full of flesh and a beard as thick as iron. He was quite the tough one. Usually when the yamen runners caught these smugglers, the people were as obedient as lambs. But this one was different. He dared to challenge the yamen runners, but in the end he was outnumbered and was captured.
The guy put his hands in his sleeves, wiped his nose with his sleeves, and then stood there motionless.
"Kneel down!" Zhou Guitong slammed the gavel.
The gavel was effective, usually causing the prisoners below to shudder mechanically with each strike. However, the man standing before him was different; he remained expressionless.
The yamen runner beside him was furious. This was too disrespectful. He raised his board and swung it at the knee joint of the iron-bearded man: "Why don't you kneel down when you see the county magistrate?"
The iron-bearded man knelt down reluctantly, but there was no fear in his eyes as he looked at Zhou Guitong.
Zhou Guitong stopped banging the gavel; such punishment had little effect on him. In fact, the iron-bearded man had been well-treated by the yamen runners when he entered the yamen, but he was incredibly resistant and remained silent.
"Name, place of origin, and reason for smuggling?" Zhou Guitong simply asked him directly.
The iron-bearded man seemed to enjoy this straightforward approach. He finally spoke: "Niu Shigeng, from Niujiagou. I'm the only one in my family. We lost our land and couldn't make ends meet, so I traded an iron pot for a cow."
Zhou Guitong was shocked. A cow was worth far more than a dozen iron pots, yet this man only used one pot to exchange for a cow. "Tell me, how did you make the exchange?"
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