CHAPTER 681: CHAPTER 546 SENDING OFF THE BRIDE, SOUTHERN BORDER TOWN

Standing beneath the northern slope and gazing at the formidable natural barrier ahead, Yang Zhenshan finally understood the saying, "One man guards the pass, ten thousand are unable to break through."

The angle of ascent up the mountain was nearly seventy degrees; the imposing pass towered atop a hundred-meter-high ridge. Let alone riding horses or driving carriages, even if a person were to climb, reaching halfway would be enough to exhaust one considerably.

Of course, that referred to ordinary people. However, even Martial Artists coming here could only obediently climb upwards unless they were Innate Martial Artists.

This was the official road. Aside from it, there were also small paths that could bypass Jianxia Pass, but those paths required traversing over cliffs and precipices. People could manage, but horses and carriages surely could not.

Fortunately, the guards and servants of the Yang family were all Martial Artists. Although it took quite an effort to push the horse carriage up the slope, they did not end up exhausted.

Upon arrival at the gate of the pass city, several soldiers in tattered armors were on guard duty, and a few officials appeared to be collecting a transit tax, with many commoners lining up awaiting entry into the city.

Yang Zhenshan looked on with a slight frown.

Throughout this journey, he had truly witnessed just how impoverished the poor regions of Da Rong were.

He had seen the plight of the indigent in Liaodong before, but the hardship in Liaodong differed from Yun Gui’s. In Liaodong, with vast land and sparse population, most commoners had their own farmland. Life for the few tenants was rough, yet not to the extent of being unbearable, at least under circumstances free from natural disasters and calamities.

In Yun Gui, there were many mountains and the soil was infertile. The lives of the people were even more difficult.

Furthermore, officials in Yun Gui were even more rapacious and extortive. Even without making a point of understanding their specific practices, Yang Zhenshan had heard of numerous exorbitant taxes and levies along the way.

Take this Jianxia Pass in front of him, surprisingly collecting a transit tax.

"Dad, they look so pitiful!" Ming Zhao rode up beside Yang Zhenshan, expressing pity as she looked at a group of laborers coming out from the city, each carrying heavy loads.

These laborers were unknowingly shouldering unknown items, each with a large hemp sack on their backs. Judging by their walking posture, the weight seemed considerable.

They were escorted by government officers both fore and aft, each officer looking sinister, driving the laborers as if they were herding livestock.

The mountain paths were difficult to navigate, making it impossible to transport goods by carriages and horses. They could only rely on mules or human porters.

For the average commoner, conscript labor was virtually a death sentence. Making a single trip could likely cost them their lives.

Yang Zhenshan’s party was clearly not to be trifled with; with numerous carriages and well over a hundred elegant and wealthy-looking guards and attendants.

Thus, as the laborers approached, the escorting officers immediately shouted out.

"Move aside, move aside! Don’t block the way of the nobility!"

The leading officer, while chiding the laborers, also cast a fawning smile towards Yang Zhenshan and his party.

Yang Zhenshan looked at the laborers, among them even a few teenagers.

"What work do you do?" Yang Zhenshan asked.

The officer approached, bowing and scraping, "Replying to the noble one, I am a constable of the Jianxia Prefecture’s Tea and Horse Department, and these are the goods we’re transporting for the department!"

The Tea and Horse Department was a unique government office in southwestern Da Rong, originally tasked with only trading tea for horses. Now, it also monopolized salt, iron, sugar, tea, and various essentials required by the citizens.

The original intention of Da Rong to expand the Tea and Horse Department’s monopoly was to promote trade in the southwestern region and provide various necessities to the people in the mountains.

However, as time passed, the Tea and Horse Department instead became an agency for exploiting the people. They arbitrarily conscripted laborers, colluded with wealthy merchants to trade a variety of goods, and also set up unauthorized checkpoints to collect tolls.

As a result, the people in the southwestern region could not only not get cheap tea and salt, but they also had to bear the burden of heavy labor.

Yang Zhenshan was not very familiar with the dealings of the Tea and Horse Department, but he could imagine the Department’s harshness towards the people.

As for rectifying the Tea and Horse Department, let’s not even joke about that; it was near impossible.

Forget Yang Zhenshan; even if Emperor Yanping sought to reform the Tea and Horse Department, it would likely take over a decade to see any results.

This was not simply about dealing with a batch of corrupt officials; it required a complete overhaul of the Tea and Horse Department, followed by its rebuilding, and a severe crackdown on collusion between officials and merchants.

Local officials also needed to be drastically disciplined.

Let’s put it this way: to change the predicament of the southwest, it was necessary to overturn and rebuild the government offices of the three provinces—Yun Gui, Tibet, and Nanyun—and to appoint genuinely honest and incorrupt officials during reconstruction.

Yang Zhenshan could clean up officialdom in Chongshan Town, but that didn’t necessarily mean he could do so in the three southwestern provinces. This was because Chongshan Town served military purposes, with great autonomy granted to the governor and General, whereas in the three southwestern provinces, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t even deal with a County Magistrate.

The difficult situation in the southwest was certainly not something one person could change. It required the concerted effort of the whole court and a decade’s endeavor to bring about change.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t want to meddle in others’ affairs. Although these laborers were pitiable, there wasn’t much he could do to help.

Perhaps he could now order these officers to release the laborers, but he couldn’t stay here indefinitely. Once he left, these officers might treat the laborers even more brutally.

Moreover, Yang Zhenshan was not saintly; he wasn’t one to be distressed by worldly sufferings.

After asking just once, he rode his horse toward the gates of Jianxia Pass.

"Make way!"

Ahead, Li Chang was already driving away the officials collecting the pass-tax.

"May I ask who this distinguished person is?" The officials still tried to inquire about their identities and origins.

Li Chang, mounted on horseback looking down upon them, glared, "Marquis Jing’an is passing through, clear the way immediately!"