Chapter 145 Li Jun: Brother, If You Don’t Abandon Me

"Brother, the mountains are full of refugees now, and the common people can't survive!"

Li Jun sighed and took a gulp of wine.

"Since we can't survive, why don't we become bandits?" Liu Tang's tuft of red hair burned like flames under the bonfire, and he said in a muffled voice: "Robber some wealthy families, rob the rich and give to the poor, wouldn't that be fun?"

Li Jun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's not that southerners like us don't have the courage to rebel, but Jiangnan is not like Shandong. Rebellion is very difficult. The mountains are all big and rarely visited. Only bandits can rob some money and food. Mountain bandits have no way out! If you become a bandit, you can only go to Poyang Lake. Who cares about the lives of people in the mountains!"

"Southern China and northern China are indeed different."

Chao Gai recalled the scenes along the way and nodded, saying, "We have come all the way from Shandong. Bozhou is no different. After crossing the Huai River, the geography and climate are completely different. In Lu'an and Jinzhai, there are endless mountains. If there is no land, there is no food. If we want to rob a rich man, there is no place to rob."

Geography determines the development of history. There is a reason why Shandong has been home to many bandits since ancient times.

At this time, Tong Wei and Tong Meng sighed together: "We brothers have been selling salt with our father since we were thirteen or fourteen years old. We have traveled all over the country. The officials wanted to arrest us, and the big salt lords would not tolerate us. We could only carry 20 to 30 kilograms of private salt each and sell it to those escaped households in the mountains. We worked so hard but could not earn a few copper coins. To be honest, our life was worse than that of the tenant farmers in the countryside."

"Later, I followed Brother Li Jun and became a private salt dealer on the Yangtze River. Life became better. At least I didn't have to worry about food and drink. But it's still difficult to have enough food and clothing!"

"Why is it so difficult to fill your stomach these days?"

Since Cao Jie wanted to lure them to the mountain, it was naturally a good thing for him to hear that they were living a difficult life. However, he was still very confused, so he asked:

"I see you have quite a bit of salt left in your cellar, worth thousands of coins. How come you can't make any money?"

"To be honest, brother, this contraband salt is actually easy to sell, but... I, Li Jun, am quite capable on the river, but now that I'm on land, I'm like a fish out of water, unable to move freely! Nowadays, salt checkpoints have been set up in various places... Alas! It's hard to put it into words!"

Salt, iron and tea were all industries monopolized by the imperial court.

The imperial court set up checkpoints to investigate illicit salt trading, but they did not consider that if the price of official salt was lowered, the smuggling of private salt would naturally cease.

The problem is that the price of private salt is only a few cents per pound, while the price of official salt is several times higher.

Official salt is not only expensive but also black in color and has an earthy smell. Private salt is not only cheap but also not very bitter.

Therefore, faced with huge profits, some unscrupulous businessmen risked their lives to smuggle goods by water and land to interfere with the official monopoly market.

As a result, the government salt could not be sold and tax revenue decreased day by day, so huge amounts of money were spent to set up checkpoints.

This method only conducts inspections but does not impose taxes, and the original intention is good.

However, many soldiers on the high tower of Yanguan looked into the distance and saw the arrogance of the civil and military officials who were checking the pass. The people involved in the trafficking came in groups, so they fled in all directions when they saw them from afar.

Those who carried the salt on their backs were chased and whipped by the salt officials. They would be let go if they were paid, but would be prosecuted if they refused.

When the city gate catches fire, innocent people are affected as well. All legitimate merchants and travelers passing by are also searched and thus also suffer from exploitation.

Those officers and soldiers who joined forces to plunder often returned with a full load and looked at each other with joy, but the common people suffered.

However, the imperial court only received one-tenth or one-twelfth of the tax revenue, while the bulk was taken up by corrupt officials at all levels.

With such chaotic politics, I wonder what those people who eat meat are doing?
"Alas! Every place has its own difficulties!"

Cao Jie recalled the surrounding terrain in his mind again and shook his head helplessly. From the topographic map of China, in the green plains in the east, only the Dabie Mountains (ancient Hengshan Mountains) stood between the Huai River and the Yangtze River.

This is an ideal strategic vantage point.

Occupying the Dabie Mountains, the city can overlook the Huanghuai Plain to the north, cross the Yangtze River to the south and attack the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain, attack Yangzhou, an important town on the south bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the east, and threaten Jiangxia (Wuhan), the central city of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to the west. Its strategic position is very considerable.

But in fact, most places in the Dabie Mountains were developed relatively late. Until the Ming Dynasty, there were records in history books that "from Lu'an to the west there are only deep mountains and forests." The surrounding areas were even poorer and could barely make ends meet.

In this case, Dabie Mountains is obviously not suitable as a base for rebellion.

Without land, there is no food; without food, there are no people; without people, what can you use to dominate the world?

The Jieyang Ridge is the southernmost tail of the Dabie Mountains.

"Brother Li Jun, brothers Tong Wei and Tong Meng, to be honest, we are indeed preparing to rebel."

Cao Jie said openly, "Now everyone in Shandong knows that Chen Xizhen rebelled in Yizhou. In fact, Liangshan was ready to rise up two years ago, but we judged that the time was not ripe and it would be difficult to succeed, so we endured it. We are just waiting to gather elite soldiers and generals, and then we will do something big together, so that the world will change, and the people can afford salt and have no worries about food and clothing."

"Brother is very ambitious."

Li Jun stood up and bowed again: "Thinking of me, Li Jun, my biggest dream in this life is just to become a big salt smuggler, so that the poor people in Jiujiang can afford to eat private salt and make a fortune for myself. I never thought about the people of this world. Brother, please accept my bow."

Cao Jie held him up with both hands. "The rich help the world, the poor take care of themselves. Brother Li Jun, are you willing to lend me a helping hand to change the world?"

"elder brother!"

Li Jun did not bow this time, but knelt down and kowtowed: "Brother, if you don't abandon me, I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."

"Good! Great! My Liangshan Lake is also eight hundred miles long and connected to the Yellow River, so there are many brave warriors in the water. My seventh brother of the Ruan family is also a brave warrior in the water..."

Cao Jie pointed at Ruan Xiaoqi and praised.

Ruan Xiaoqi grinned, "Because our family lives near Liangshan Lake, the three of us brothers have developed good swimming skills. Unfortunately, our souls are not compatible with water, and we are still a little short of the mark. Now that brother Li Jun, the river dragon, has come up the mountain to join us, we finally have a real water general."

"Seventh brother, I dare not show off my skills in front of an expert."

"Hey! We in Liangshan never envy talented people, and my brother knows how to use people. Brother Li Jun will definitely do something when he comes to the mountain. I see that brothers Tong Wei and Tong Meng are also good men in the water. I wonder if you are willing to come to the mountain together to join us?"

Tong Wei and Tong Meng regarded Li Jun as their elder brother, so they did not hesitate and immediately knelt on the ground, clasped their fists and said: "Of course we will go up the mountain with brother Li Jun. You can't chase us away."

"Haha, come on, come on, we have three brothers today, let's drink a bowl of wine. Congratulations to brothers Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng!"

"Congratulations, brother!"

The night is dark and the river is surging.

The picturesque mountains and rivers, and so many heroes at the time.

(End of this chapter)