Chapter 26

"WHAT?" Zhu Huan, who did not understand Mandarin, asked.

"Frontier... " A flash of inspiration struck Wang Ju. The frontier was not good, especially in the northwest during the Song Dynasty. Not only was the frontier harsh, but when the Song Dynasty first unified the country, the best regions were not Sichuan, as its wealth had been plundered by the Song. Coupled with rebellions and uprisings, the wealth there had vanished like water.

Nor was it the Wu-Yue region, which had maintained a large army and bribed the Song Dynasty, making it a difficult place for the Song to govern. The same applied to Southern Tang.

Nor was it Hebei, Henan, and Shandong, which had been in constant warfare since the An Shi Rebellion, and had not recovered by the time the Song Dynasty unified the country.

It was Guanzhong.

However, due to the northwest wars, the entire Shaanxi region, including Guanzhong, suffered.

But life on the frontier was harsh, yet it was a paradise for adventurers. This was where the bold thrived and the timid perished.

After a moment's thought, Wang Ju said, "Sir Dong, I wonder how your connections are there? If you could spread the word that the Black Bee Bandits are actually Song soldiers from the Weilin Fort, who are now being hunted by the court and hiding in the wilderness by the Zangdi River, but they have accumulated tens of thousands of strings of cash over the years and cannot move this wealth due to the court's pursuit. If someone were to search there, it would be easy to find. The court is about to send the Hu Yi Camp to rotate the soldiers at Weilin Fort. Those with 'Weilin' tattooed on their foreheads are definitely the Black Bee Bandits. If you catch one or two of them, you will know where they have hidden their wealth. What would be the result?"

"Little Master, are you trying to provoke a war between Song and Xia?"

The people along the border feared war the most.

Especially the people of the Song Dynasty, who, regardless of how many humiliating treaties the state signed, preferred peace.

"War between Song and Xia?" Wang Ju wanted to laugh. Did the Western Xia have the heart to start a war now? It was just Weizang Epon bullying the Song for being weak, making some aggressive provocations.

"Would there be a war? The strongest people in our border regions are not in Yanzhou, but in Fulin and Lingzhou. Weizang Epon sent people to cultivate the Quye River, and the people there were unwilling. The Western Xia said, 'If your soldiers do not act, will you dare to act?' Thus, the people lost heart. This is a border wasteland, not clearly within Song territory. If a large number of Western Xia people and soldiers come, how many people will remain? Besides, winter is coming."

Zhu Huan's eyes finally lit up.

Wang Ju's eyes also lit up, and he continued, "Sir Dong, we must remove one harm."

Zhu Huan sighed.

They, the private salt traders, and the corrupt soldiers like Yu Feng, were all in the dark, but Cheng Kan represented the court.

"Sir Dong, it will be difficult to deal with Minister Cheng. Privately, this incident on his watch is very disgraceful, and he will hate us. Publicly, our economy does not depend on the Western Xia, but the Western Xia depends on us. If trade is interrupted, it will not greatly affect us, but the Western Xia will be in dire straits. Without private merchants, the Western Xia's economy and trade will be completely controlled by us. Therefore, some in the court might even hope for more Black Bee Bandits, so that private merchants will not dare to trade with the Western Xia."

"Little Master, you are right, but it must be a collective effort. If one is banned and another is not, who can be banned?"

Zhu Huan clearly had not thought about Li Shun's wealth redistribution, nor did he know about egalitarianism. But the principle was the same. For example, why were the goods of the scholar-official families not taxed? Why were the goods of the powerful families not taxed?

Could the commercial tax policy be effectively implemented? The border regions were so harsh, yet taxes were still collected, and the burden of military service was heavy, along with the disguised exploitation of military farms. How could private merchants be banned? The price difference in salt was so great, how could it be banned? Why was the price difference so great? Please ask the monopoly salt system.

Wang Ju thought for a moment, then shook his head and laughed, saying, "It's simple. Ultimately, the most critical thing is one thing: interest. Why did Han Gong kill General Di's major general Jiao Yong? For no other reason, for authority, and authority is interest. If the Song and Xia were at war at the time, would Han Gong have killed Jiao Yong, who was fighting the Western Xia on the front lines?"

"Little Master, what do you mean...?"

"If Sir Dong gives the court and Minister Cheng enough interest, will Minister Cheng pursue you?"

"Gifts?"

"What kind of gifts?" Wang Ju couldn't help but laugh. Bao Zheng, as the Prefect of Kaifeng, had an annual income of 20,856 strings of copper coins, 2,180 shi of rice, 180 shi of wheat, 10 bolts of silk, 34 bolts of satin, 2 bolts of gauze, 100 liang of cotton, 15 scales of charcoal, 240 bundles of firewood, and 480 bundles of hay.

Cheng Kan, as a Censor-in-Chief, had a salary that was no less. With an annual income of tens of millions, would he care about any gifts?

"Little Master, don't be mysterious."

"What does the Western Xia most want to sell to our dynasty?"

"Blue salt."

"What do they least want to sell?"

"Horses."

"What do they most want to buy from our dynasty?"

That didn't take much thought. Zhu Huan thought for a while and finally came up with it: "Iron."

"It's iron. If not for the large amount of iron ore purchased from various channels in our dynasty, the Western Xia's iron production would probably not even be enough to manufacture weapons."

Zhu Huan still didn't quite understand.

"Why did Weizang Epon cultivate the Quye River?"

"Greedy."

"Not entirely. Some people mock Weizang Epon for cultivating twenty miles of the Quye River and falling out with the Song, which is really laughable. But that's not the case. The Weizang clan is not the Yeli clan, but a large clan. The Weizang tribe is not large, but he relied on his sister and nephew to become the most powerful minister in the Western Xia. There are many who are不服 (discontent). Moreover, this person has a strong desire for power. Before his death, Yuanhao left a message that if the Western Xia became weak in the future, it should attach itself to China and not solely rely on the Khitans. The Khitans are cruel, while China is benevolent, and they receive annual tributes and official titles. If coerced by the Khitans, our country would be in danger. Yuanhao was a man of great talent."

Although Yuanhao was a despicable person, he had to be admitted that he had foresight.

If the Western Xia had not repeatedly rebelled, would the Song Dynasty have concentrated its elite troops in the northwest? In that case, would the Northern Song have fallen, regardless of whether it had a maritime alliance with the Jin? The Northern Song fell, but the Western Xia did not.

However, when the Mongols rose, if the Song Dynasty had not retreated to a corner, would the Mongols have successfully moved south, and with the Western Xia and Song supporting each other, would the Western Xia have fallen? In the end, even the Tangut people disappeared from history. They didn't even match the Uighurs, who, after assimilation, became the large Uighur ethnic group. What about the Tangut people?

"There will be a rare period of peace between Song and Xia. But the death of Empress Weizang seems to be related to Weizang Epon. Therefore, many people in the country are不服 (discontent). He is a powerful minister, but he also needs to form alliances and win support. The Western Xia is poor, and the treasury has limited funds. Cultivating twenty miles of the Quye River, this is the width, but there is also the length, actually over a thousand hectares of farmland. In a country, this is not remarkable, but in the hands of one person, it would bring great wealth. This is the real reason he disregarded the deteriorating relations with the Song and cultivated the Quye River."

"Is that so..." Zhu Huan's mouth opened, was it right or wrong? This kid was thinking too much.

"Are you saying the soldiers at the checkpoint at Changcheng Ridge are Weizang Epon's people?"

"Not exactly. If that were the case, it would be troublesome. No matter how short-sighted he is, he would not allow the trade in horses and goods to flourish, unless our dynasty tacitly allowed him to cultivate the Quye River and reopen the market. I mean, under his influence, will others also become greedy?"

"That's one point. If the first minister acts for his own benefit, regardless of the country, how can we expect others to act for the country?"

"Moreover, our dynasty's ban on trade, though there are private merchants, has made life hard for the Western Xia in recent years."

"Indeed, I heard that the price of silk and cloth has risen there."

"The reason Li Jiqian succeeded in the past was not only due to some policy mistakes of our dynasty, but also because he married into the Yeli clan, gaining their support. However, under the sowing of discord by General Zhong, Li Yuanhao killed Yeli Yusi. Although the Yeli clan is large, it has declined in recent years, like the Weimu clan. Changcheng Ridge is precisely where the Yeli clan's base is located."

Zhu Huan's eyes finally lit up.

"Sir Dong, please remember, the state also disapproves of iron flowing to the Western Xia. Although our dynasty lacks horses, it lacks good horses even more. Apart from a few good horses in the Fushilam region, we can only buy a few Qingtang horses from Tubo. Even in the past, when the market was open, the horses the Western Xia sold to us were small horses from the Khitans or the Zhubu Tartars. Even in the private market, it is rare to find large Heitao horses being sold to us. This is an opportunity. Once a gap is opened, it cannot be closed, just like our commercial tax."

Zhu Huan couldn't help but laugh, "Little Master, you should be a scholar."

This kid is a waste in the northwest; he should be in the court.

Wang Ju's face also showed joy. If this plan succeeds, the Black Bee Bandits will be finished!

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