Under the scorching sun, the wind and waves come from afar and blow on people. They don't feel cool at all, but are unbearably hot.

Jiangningfu is a famously hot place.

At this season, the wheat fields have been harvested, and clusters of golden color are dotted among the green rice.

Zhai Jin couldn't help but sigh: "The wealth in the southeast is better than Luojing, and even further than Hebei."

Zhai Jin was from Luoyang and had a rich military career. He was already the number one general in the west of Beijing during the Xuanhe period and was the prefect of Luojing in the first year of Jingkang.

In the third battle between the Song and Jin Dynasties, Zhong Han's army went south to the Yellow River. When it arrived at Luojing, it was Zhai Jin who was stationed in Luoyang.

Zong Han's army could not attack Luoyang, so he changed his route and entered Nanyang and took Xiangyang.

He also assisted Zhao Ning in intercepting Zong Han's army heading north in Luoyang, and supplemented the imperial army to participate in the Battle of Shangdang.

Because of his meritorious service, he was recommended by Zong Ze to be the military commander of Hebei West Road, and his brother Zhai Xing was the military envoy of Hebei West Road, cooperating with Chen Gui to comprehensively establish the defense depth of Hebei West Road.

Zhai Jin was deployed to the southeast and will next be responsible for the rectification of the Xiang army in the southeast, which shows Zhao Ning's determination for the stability of the southeast.

Zongze said to Zhai Jin: "Jiangdong is densely populated, has rivers like a network, and has prosperous agriculture. It is one of the most important tax areas in the Song Dynasty!"

Zhai Jin asked curiously: "Mr. Zong, you are from eastern Zhejiang. How do the two Zhejiang roads compare?"

Zongze said: "Liangzhe Road is more densely populated than Jiangdong, with more rivers and more developed commerce, especially tea gardens and handicraft workshops."

Northerners like Zhai Jin are quite curious.

The southeastern part of the Song Dynasty mainly refers to the two Huaihe Rivers, the two Jiangsu provinces, and the two Zhejiang provinces.

The two Huaihe Rivers have the largest amount of farmland, with 97.36 million acres on paper, but in fact it exceeds 100 million acres.

Liangjiang refers to Jiangnan East Road and Jiangnan West Road. In addition to wheat, there is also a large amount of rice grown here, and the yield is extremely high.

Especially Jiangxi, with a population of nearly 10 million.

At this time, the population of Jinghu North Road and Huaidong Road was only over three million.

Of course, the most densely populated area in the Song Dynasty was Liangzhe Road, with more than ten million people living up to its name.

Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Yuezhou are all big cities, and Mingzhou was one of the most developed places for coastal commerce in the Song Dynasty.

Zhai Jin didn't know the whole picture, but when he came to Jiangdong and entered Jiangning Mansion, he clearly felt the wealth here.

The yield per acre of rice fields that can be seen with the naked eye is much higher than the yield of wheat per acre in the north, and there are dense rivers and abundant water sources.

In some places, he also saw a combination of paddy fields and hillsides, which could feed cattle, raise fish, grow rice, and provide abundant grass for livestock to eat.

Zongze continued: "The "Nongshu" written by Chen Min is actually aimed at the south and can be used in many places."

"No wonder the imperial court had to deploy heavy troops in Shaanxi to attract gold thieves to move westward. This southeastern land is indeed the top priority of the country."

"Now there are people with evil intentions in the southeast." Zongze lamented, "There is no peace in the country. The north is already poor, but it has to shoulder the heavy responsibility of fighting against the Jin Dynasty. If the south is unwilling to join in, it will be impossible to regain the lost territory."

Zhai Jin said: "Why is the South unwilling to contribute?"

Zongze said: "I am from eastern Zhejiang, and I was born in the south. The people in my hometown are simple, love my homeland, and want to repay the kindness of the country. How can the southerners be unwilling to contribute?"

yes!

Zongze is from the south. How could the southerners be unwilling to contribute?

Zongze was 67 years old. He could have enjoyed his old age in the south, but he reported to the imperial court and decided to join the army when the building was about to collapse.

The land of Jiangdong has had outstanding people and famous generals since ancient times. It is by no means a place where people are greedy for life and afraid of death.

Zhai Jin asked: "Then why is Jiangdong so troubled?"

"The superficial reason is that His Majesty severely punished loan borrowers in Xiangyang Mansion. There are probably many landlords and gentry in Jiangdong who borrow money, but the root cause is some selfish people who are trying to distort public opinion and influence the court!"

Zongze glanced ahead, and Jiangning City had come into view.

Zhai Jin said: "Mr. Zong, the scouts came to report that the counties in Jiangning Prefecture are not at peace, and I'm afraid the situation in other prefectures is also very bad."

"I believe there is no shortage of loyal people in Jiangning. If anyone dares to cause trouble to the country, the knife in my hand can kill both golden men and thieves!"

As he spoke, he had already arrived outside Jiangning City.

Zhai Jin led people forward to report.

Li Wei, the guard of Jiangning City, came to block the road: "This is Jiangning City, who is your Excellency?"

Zhai Jin was riding on the horse, and the adjutant next to him said: "This is Zhai Jin, Zhai Shuai, the new Jiangdong economic envoy of the imperial court!"

Li Wei was puzzled and said: "I haven't heard that there is an economic and strategic commander-in-chief in Jiangdong."

Zhai Jin got off his horse and walked in front of Li Wei.

Li Wei was so frightened that he took two steps back. Zhai Jin said coldly: "Are you scared now?"

Li Wei looked left and right, then looked at the people Zhai Jin had brought, and with a drum in his heart, he said: "Let me go to the transfer department and the prefect's office first to report."

"No need, we have to enter the city directly now. From now on, Jiangdong's military and political affairs will be under my command."

This Li Wei is just a small guard, so naturally he cannot be in charge of this. He is not familiar with the new guy, so he said: "Please wait for a moment..."

Zhai Jin lost his patience and slapped him, causing Li Wei to stagger two steps. The expressions of Li Wei's men suddenly changed and they all drew their swords.

Zhai Jin's men also drew their swords one after another.

"Why! You are so courageous! If you dare to draw your sword against Jing Lue, do you know that according to the new military law of the Song Dynasty, I can kill you right now!"

Everyone looked at each other in shock when he scolded him.

Zhai Jin waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Anyone who dares to block us when entering the city will be executed!"

In this way, no one dared to stop him anymore, and Li Wei led his people to retreat aside.

Zhai Jinxian led his people in, and Zongze was surrounded by the main force, following closely behind.

After entering the city, move forward quickly.

Soon Zongze and Zhai Jin saw people beating people on the street and saw the words on the wall.

There was another group of people ahead, holding knives and sticks, and seemed to be knocking on the door from door to door.

"Hurry up and pay the money! Otherwise, next time the gangsters come to your house, there will be no one to protect you!"

A bearded man said viciously.

"You, the next family, collect all of this street! And over there, we have to complete the task today!"

Zhai Jin was shocked. At this time, all kinds of monsters and monsters came out to harm the tiger.

"Go and get them!"

Immediately, more than twenty soldiers were dispatched and arrested the person.

That big beard is quite arrogant.

Zongze asked: "Why do you want to plunder people's wealth?"

The bearded man said arrogantly: "I am from Jiangxing Society, and we are here to collect protection fees. Jiangning City has not been peaceful recently!"

"Who gave you the power to collect it?"

The bearded man said again: "Old man, which yamen are you from? How dare you interfere in my affairs!"

"Bold!" Zhai Jin yelled angrily from the side.

The bearded man laughed and said, "Do you know who is behind our Jiangxing Society?"

"who is it?"

"The boss of our Jiangxing Society is Liu Biao. The richest man in Jiangning Mansion is backed by Lu Sicao. Where did you come from? How dare you act wild here!"

Zongze was furious: "What a rampant gangster! Come on, chop him down!"

Before the bearded man could react, a strong soldier dragged him over. Before he even shouted, he swung the big knife and the bearded man's head rolled to the ground.

When the others saw this, they were so frightened that they dared to collect protection money, and immediately turned around and ran away.

Zongze raised his eyes and saw that the prosperous Jiangning City was now in such chaos. He said sadly: "Quickly separate the ten cities and act separately. Anyone who dares to disturb the civil order and beat and hurt others will be punished without success."
Chapter completed!