Chapter 262 I like fierce horses the most
The place where Yu Xianggong started his investigation was not far from Bian Jing, so he could know the developments in the court at any time. Those officials were all smart people, and there was not much opposition.
But it is different in the south. Before the Song Dynasty, the north has always been an important grain-producing area.
By the Song Dynasty, due to the loss of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the promotion of Champa rice, grain production in the south had surpassed that in the north.
The south has a well-developed water system, which is very suitable for rice growth.
The situation of land annexation in the South is particularly serious.
Moreover, the south was far away from Bian Jing, and the emperor was far away. Even though Hai Wenyou was an imperial envoy carrying out the emperor's orders, the officials in the south were only respectful on the surface, but secretly caused trouble.
You want to check the land? Then go ahead.
A lot of land was found, but all of it was seized from ordinary people.
The common people had more than ten acres of land, but after re-measurement, seven or eight acres of hidden land were found.
The land deeds of the people's more than ten acres of land did not change, but the actual land area was only 30% to 40% left.
It was useless for the people to cry out for justice, as the yamen runners forced them to pay the taxes they had underpaid in those years.
If they don’t make up for it, arrest them directly.
Yintian has implicated too many people, and it is impossible to arrest all of them and bring them to justice.
What the government meant was that those who voluntarily handed over their hidden land would not have to bear any punishment.
Those found out during the inventory will be calculated based on the number of hidden acres of land and used to make up ten years of land tax.
Otherwise you will be held accountable!
Not only is only 30% to 40% of the good land left, but we also have to pay additional land taxes.
The people are not willing to do that!
For a time, people were filled with resentment and cursed Hai Wenyou and the imperial court for being unjust, which almost led to a civil uprising.
Because the petty officials and yamen runners who went to the countryside to measure the land all told outsiders that they were checking the land on the orders of the imperial envoy.
The blame was naturally put on the court and Hai Wenyou.
When Hai Wenyou learned about this, he immediately called a halt to the operation, conducted a thorough investigation of the matter, and even personally went to supervise the measurement of the fields that had problems after being cleared.
This investigation made Hai Wenyou very angry, and he immediately arrested the surveying runners and clerks and interrogated them to find out who was behind this.
However, after being arrested, those petty clerks and yamen runners cried out their innocence, saying that they were not instructed by anyone and that there was no foul play in the process of measuring the land.
It is possible that the yamen runners did not know how to count and made a mistake during the measurement process.
Hai Wenyou even ordered people to torture them, but those petty officials and yamen runners refused to give in.
Hai Wenyou was so angry that he directly dismissed several officials.
Many officials in Jiangnan jointly wrote a letter to impeach Hai Wenyou.
They said that they were all doing it according to Hai Wenyou's instructions, and that because the petty clerks and yamen runners were negligent and things went wrong, Hai Wenyou tortured them into confessing, and wanted to put all the blame on them.
Jiangnan is a prosperous region, and many of these officials have connections with officials in Bianliang.
As soon as the impeachment letter against Hai Wenyu was sent to Bian Jing, many officials in Bian Jing wrote letters to impeach Hai Wenyu.
For a time, the issue of land inventory caused a stir again.
Zhao Xing was not too surprised by this matter.
The resistance to the land inventory was not in Bian Jing, but in the local areas.
The officials in Bianliang had been making a fuss for a while, but the situation calmed down. However, this does not mean that the land inventory can be carried out smoothly.
It is inevitable that there will be resistance at the local level.
Next, it depends on whether my father can withstand the pressure and Hai Wenyou's methods.
…………
In mid-October, news of victory from the north arrived in Bian Jing, and the emperor was very pleased after reading it.
He asked the Privy Council to formulate rewards based on the battle report, ordered the Duke of England to continue to stay in the northern border for the time being, and at the same time ordered people to publicize the matter through notices.
The reason why the Duke of Ying was allowed to stay in the north was to see what reaction the Liao Kingdom would have.
However, this incident did not cause much stir.
After all, what was announced to the outside world was only the annihilation of two gangs of horse bandits that were plundering the border.
Since Bianjing was so far away from the northern border, naturally no one among the people cared much about it.
After reading the British Duke's report on the deployment of troops, Zhao Xing smiled.
The long period of peace weakened the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty army, but the combat effectiveness of the Liao Dynasty army was also weakened.
Coupled with the weakness of the Song Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom, from top to bottom, did not take the Song Dynasty seriously.
This is why the British officer led his troops to approach without noticing.
Shaking his head, Zhao Xing didn't care about the matter anymore.
As for whether the Liao Kingdom would be angry and raise troops, Zhao Xing was not worried.
The Emperor of Liao wanted to use the Song Dynasty to weaken Yelu Chongyuan's power. The Song Dynasty did it, and he was so happy that he couldn't even wait to send troops against the Song Dynasty.
Unless Yelu Chongyuan is willing to send troops, the Liao Emperor will agree.
But Yelu Chongyuan was not stupid. His strength was originally weaker than that of the Liao emperor. If he went to war with the Song Dynasty, he would suffer heavy casualties regardless of whether he won or lost.
What can we use to compete with the Liao Emperor then?
Moreover, the reason why the Liao emperor was afraid of him was because he was restrained by the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia, and the Liao emperor did not dare to use his full strength to deal with him.
If he defeated the Song Dynasty, the Liao Emperor might attack him directly.
……
On the second day of November, it started snowing lightly in Bianjing.
The Western Xia wedding procession also arrived in Bian Jing on the same day.
This time Zhao Xing did not go to welcome him, but the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan Court went to welcome him on behalf of the royal family and the Minister of Rites. On the fifth day of November, it snowed for several days in a row, and Bianjing was covered in silver.
On this day, the East Palace was decorated with lights and the Xixia Princess Li Yunchu entered the East Palace in a bridal sedan chair.
According to the rules, apart from the main wife, even concubines can only be brought in through the side door.
However, Li Yunchu is the eldest princess of Western Xia after all, representing the marriage between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty, so she still needs to be treated with courtesy.
After Li Yun first entered the Eastern Palace, he lived in the courtyard next to Shuanglan Pavilion.
This courtyard is connected by three other courtyards. It is larger than the backyard of the Eastern Palace and second only to the Chunhe Palace where Zhang Guifen lived.
In the bedroom in the main house of the courtyard, Li Yunchu, wearing Xixia wedding clothes, sat on the bed with an uneasy look on his face.
The maid Zhihua looked around and said, "Princess, this room is even more luxurious than your original room."
"It's just flashy. Have someone take out all the things this princess brought and put them on display." Li Yunchu ordered.
The thought that she would never have the chance to return to Xixia, coupled with the unfamiliar environment, made her feel insecure.
"Yes!"
Upon hearing this, Zhihua quickly instructed the maid to open the boxes.
After all, Li Yunchu was a Xixia person and a princess, so there was no restriction on her bringing a maid with her.
When she was in Western Xia, all the dozen or so maids who served her personally were brought with her.
In addition, Zhang Guifen also sent a dozen palace maids to serve here.
When the palace maids saw the maid brought by Li Yunchu taking out many Xixia-style ornaments from the box and replacing the exquisite porcelain in the room, they looked at each other and did not dare to stop her.
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, saying, "Concubine, this kind of thing cannot be placed in the bedroom!"
"Who said it's not allowed?" Li Yunchu frowned.
"This is the rule. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sometimes comes to the concubine's room to rest, and no sharp weapons that can hurt people are allowed in the room." said the maid.
"Then why do I have to keep it?" Li Yunchu said lightly.
"This..." The palace maid said in embarrassment: "If the concubine insists on staying, I can only report it."
"Then you should report it."
Li Yunchu didn't care at all and walked forward to take the scimitar from Zhihua.
The scabbard of the scimitar is inlaid with many gems, making it more like a decoration.
But when Li Yunchu drew the sword from its sheath, even though there was no sunlight, the blade was still 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 face changed, she bowed and hurried away.
Li Yunchu curled his lips and sheathed his knife.
She did that on purpose because she just heard from the palace maid that Zhao Xing would come to her room to rest and there must not be any weapons in the room.
It would be best if Zhao Xing could be scared so that he wouldn't dare to come to her room.
After about half an hour, the room was rearranged.
The vases and some ornamental porcelain on the shelves were replaced with Xixia-style ornaments.
Near the window hung a bow and a pot of arrows, and a chain made of the teeth of various beasts.
Next to the bed hung a scimitar inlaid with gems in its scabbard.
The nice room was decorated into a weird shape, which not only looked very strange, but also added a bit of solemnity.
At this time, a Xixia maid hurried in.
"Princess, the Crown Prince of Song is here!"
"This is the Great Song Dynasty. You came here with the dowry, so you will be people of the Great Song Dynasty from now on. You can call me Your Highness the Crown Prince. There is no need to add the word Great Song Dynasty in front of it!"
Li Yunchu was shocked when he heard this, but before he could say anything, 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 my concubine now, and today is our wedding night. Why can't I come?" Zhao Xing looked at Li Yunchu with a smile.
Li Yunchu's appearance is somewhat different from that of Han people. She wears a Xixia-style wedding dress, which has a bit of exotic charm.
Li Yunchu felt uncomfortable being stared at by Zhao Xing, and glared at him: "If you keep looking at me, I..."
"How are you?"
Zhao Xing interrupted her directly, took a few steps forward and looked at her with a smile.
"Do you think you can scare me by doing that on purpose?"
Zhao Xing said, extending his hand to Li Yunchu, saying: "I was originally planning to come at night, but when I heard the palace maid's message, I found it very interesting, so..."
Li Yunchu saw Zhao Xing reaching out to touch her face, and waved her hand to hit Zhao Xing's hand.
However, Zhao Xing reacted quickly, grabbed Li Yunchu's wrist and pulled it hard.
Li Yunchu never expected Zhao Xing to react so quickly. He was caught off guard and was dragged by Zhao Xing, and Li Yunchu pounced directly on him.
Zhao Xing exerted some force, and Li Yunchu turned her back to him and leaned into Zhao Xing's arms. Zhao Xing pulled Li Yunchu's arms diagonally, fixed them under her neck, and held her tightly.
By the time Li Yunchu reacted, he had already been controlled. He stretched out his other arm and elbowed Zhao Xing, and was controlled by Zhao Xing again.
"Let me go!" Li Yunchu shouted.
Zhao Xing smiled slightly, leaned close to Li Yunchu's ear and whispered, "I like fierce horses the most. It must be a great sense of accomplishment to conquer a fierce horse like you."
(End of this chapter)