Chapter 8

In Shaanxi, the names of various strongholds are often followed by the characters 砦, 寨, or 堡. Although 砦 and 寨 sound the same, they have different meanings. 砦 is made of stone, 堡 is built with rammed earth walls, and 寨 is surrounded by wooden fences. This is the most basic distinction. However, over time, the three terms have become increasingly confused, especially 砦 and 寨. If there is a difference, it is between civilian and military use. Some 寨 and 堡 are specifically for military purposes, while others are inhabited by many civilians and have commercial areas, such as Qingjian City northeast of Yan Prefecture, where civilian and commercial use now outweighs military use.

Zhaoguanzhai is located on the front line, but not at the very front. It is situated between Baoan Army and Yan Prefecture. This is an era of low speed and efficiency. For example, it takes seven to eight stages to travel from Yan Prefecture to Baoan Army, which is about 200 miles. One stage is 30 miles, and a slow caravan can only travel 30 miles a day. Therefore, it takes seven to eight days to cover these 200 miles.

Therefore, supplies must be replenished at Zhaoguanzhai, so there are some inns, taverns, and shops.

Some people stop to rest, but others continue to travel at night under the moonlight, especially those who cannot be exposed.

Wang Ju quietly waited outside the east gate of the fort.

Looking at the lights inside the fort, the three of them felt somewhat drowsy.

They were very tired, having not slept since early yesterday morning.

However, the two women watched as Wang Ju bought some baozi and filled a water pouch, then had the driver take the carriage out of Zhaoguanzhai without saying a word.

Wang Ju chuckled, "Ladies, you know the hardships of the world now, don't you?"

The young woman smiled slightly.

This child was saying that she should not have been so naive and ventured out.

However, upon arriving here, she felt a bit more at ease, and her every move exuded an indescribable grace.

Perhaps this was what nobility looked like, Wang Ju thought to himself. Suddenly, he said, "Let's go."

The convoy wound out of Zhaoguanzhai, and the cargo on the carts was not much, so the speed would be fast.

Wang Ju instructed the driver to stay at the back of the convoy.

The convoy noticed them, but seeing that they were an old man, two women, and a young boy, they did not pay much attention. They even thought they were a family because their clothes were somewhat tattered and dirty.

The two women exchanged glances, both showing signs of regret. Pian'er's lips moved, but the young woman shook her head, signaling her not to speak.

"Zhao Niangzi, you rest, I will rest too. Pian'er, you keep watch in the first half of the night, and I will take the second half. We will also let Xia Weng rest for a while."

Pian'er's regret deepened, and her lips moved as if to say, "If we had done this that day, even if we had traveled at night, nothing would have happened."

Wang Ju ignored their thoughts and fell asleep.

The young woman said, "He is still a child."

"He is a little demon."

The two women laughed softly together.

"Madam... Niangzi, you should rest too."

The young woman nodded and lay down to sleep. Pian'er sat on the cart, looking at the mountains under the moonlight.

In the mountains, several dark figures were watching them.

"Is the young boy asleep? Should we go up?"

"No, didn't you see the convoy in front?"

"What should we do?"

"Hou San, you go back to the fort and report to Yu Zhaizhu. Shui Laoer, you will have to endure some hardship and follow them, don't lose them."

"They are in an ox cart."

"I will give you money, go to Zhaoguanzhai and buy a donkey to follow them."

"It's so late, where can I buy a donkey?"

"Money can make a ghost push a millstone, can't you do this little thing?"

Another dusk arrived.

The ox cart finally reached Yan Prefecture. Despite the distance of only 100 to 200 miles, this speed was already quite fast. Of course, there was something faster, several times faster—horses. But where could they get horses, and none of them knew how to ride.

Wang Ju stared at Bao Ta Shan.

A red holy land.

He reminisced for a moment, but the place had changed. He was looking at the city defenses on the mountain, with towers almost completely built on the summit, forming a strong outer defense for Yan Prefecture. In ancient times, how much manpower and resources must have been spent to build them?

Suddenly, he thought of an animal: a turtle!

At this moment, Zhao Nianu suddenly bent down to straighten his clothes. From a distance, it seemed as if they were hugging. The scent of the woman kept wafting into Wang Ju's nose.

"Zhao Niangzi, what are you doing?"

"Be quiet, I see someone I know."

"Does Yan Prefecture have someone you know?" Wang Ju immediately sat up... This meant that Zhao Niangzi was lying!

"I will tell you later."

However, the soldiers at the city gate had already let them through, and Zhao Nianu sat up.

Wang Ju continued to stare at her.

"Little brother, please rest assured. You saved my life, and I will repay you with my life. I will not harm you."

But Wang Ju's suspicions arose again.

Under Zhao Nianu's guidance, the driver, Old Xia, stopped in front of an inn. An innkeeper looked at them in surprise, "Zhao Niangzi, what happened?"

"Something happened." Zhao Nianu quickly went inside, took out a string of coins, and gave them to Old Xia. Wang Ju immediately followed, as there were still people from Zhu Qingdong's household in the city.

Inside, there was indeed a young maid, who was crying in the room.

"Yun'er, stop crying."

"Yes, Madam... Niangzi." If she had written "Madam," Wang Ju would have suspected, but she only said "Madam" and quickly retracted it, which Wang Ju did not notice.

"Change and wash up, I will go find a carriage."

"Do not be disrespectful to Madam... Niangzi," Yun'er said.

The second "Madam" made Wang Ju somewhat puzzled. What was this "Madam"?

After resting for one night, the four of them set off again at the fifth watch the next day. Wang Ju had intended to explain, but the young woman was very cooperative and did not ask any questions.

"It seems that this Zhao Niangzi is a reasonable person, but why did she come to the border between Song and Xia? I thought I had met a fool?" Wang Ju wondered, but he was now sitting in a luxurious carriage.

...

The carriage headed south, and the entire Yan Prefecture was in turmoil.

Later, the peace treaty between Song and Xia was highly criticized. However, the truth was that after several years of war, the national treasury could not bear the burden. Wang Yaochen calculated that the military expenses for the three routes of Hebei, Hedong, and Shaanxi were 11,970,000 before the war and 930,000 after the war, resulting in a loss of 11,000,000 for just one year. How many routes did the Song Dynasty have? If calculated this way, the total loss from the war could reach 200 to 300 million.

This was the official figure, but in reality, the heavy taxes imposed by officials led to small-scale peasant uprisings in many places, and the national reserves before the war were completely depleted.

However, how many civilians knew the truth?

Therefore, what people saw was that at the time when the Liao and Xia wars were imminent, the court, in this favorable opportunity, reached an extremely humiliating agreement.

Moreover, several envoys were weak, not even going to Xingqing Prefecture in Western Xia, but staying in Youzhou. They then accepted some bribes from the Western Xia people and shamelessly allowed Li Yuanhao to propose various conditions. The court granted 130,000 bolts of silk, 50,000 taels of silver, and 20,000 pounds of tea annually, and for the Qianyuan Festival, 10,000 taels of silver, 10,000 bolts of silk, and 5,000 pounds of tea. For the New Year, 5,000 taels of silver, 5,000 bolts of silk, and 5,000 pounds of tea. For the mid-winter festival, 5,000 taels of silver and 5,000 bolts of silk, and for the birthday, 2,000 taels of silver and 1,000 bolts of silk (a total of 255,000). Additionally, they allowed the exchange of 100,000 stones of blue salt in the capital.

Just 100,000 stones of blue salt could bring Western Xia at least 200,000 strings of cash in pure profit. Salt was not expensive, but it was due to the Song Dynasty's salt monopoly. Western Xia benefited, while the Song Dynasty's salt policy lost 200,000 strings of cash, making a total loss of 400,000. Thus, ministers opposed it.

In the end, the exchange in the capital and the trade of blue salt were unresolved, but under the weak performance of the envoys, a lot of blue salt was still openly traded in the market until Mocang Epeng invaded Quye River, and the court officially banned blue salt.

The envoys were Shao Liangzuo, Zhang Shiyuan, Zhang Zishao, and Wang Zhenglun.

And the commander of Baoan was Shao Liangzuo.

It is easy to imagine the capabilities of this commander.

One day, he was sitting in his office when he was informed that many Qiang people had killed a group of bandits and had come to claim their reward.

"Oh, that's good."

He quickly had the Qiang people brought in.

But when the Qiang people placed the heads, Shao Liangzuo was stunned.

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