In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 563: Goryeo's Big Event

When they arrived, they immediately took long pieces of wood from the cart and nailed them to the shore.

Soon everyone realized that the Goryeo officials in Tongzhou City were preparing to build a fence along the river to completely block their way to Tiezhou.

Because of the guards during the day, the people didn't dare to run away, but at night some people still dared to run over.

Now the Goryeo officials in Tongzhou found it difficult to stop the movement, so they began to build wooden walls and fences, hoping to build a wall several dozen miles high outside the city to block the Goryeo people's way to the west.

At the same time, along the Cheongcheon River east of Tongzhou, the Goryeo people also began to build wooden fences.

You know, Goryeo's territory was previously located south of the Cheongcheon River, and later it gradually occupied the north of the Cheongcheon River.

They now plan to use the Cheongcheon River as the boundary and close the south bank with all their strength, thereby blocking the people's way to the north.

"What's going on? Is the road going to be closed?" Just as Park Dayong was stunned, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

Park Dayong looked back and saw that several households nearby had come to him. They were sitting on the ground and talking in low voices.

"I heard that more and more people have fled north in recent years. The court is worried that if this continues, there will be no one north of the Cheongcheon River, so they started to block the river and the road."

"The court has set up a neighborhood tax. Anyone who evades it is harming others." A man named Park Ji-hae shouted.

Park Dayong's expression froze.

Many strange taxes appeared in the late Goryeo period.

The most terrifying thing is the neighborhood tax. If your neighbor runs away, you will have to pay the tax on his behalf.

There was also the bone tax, which meant that if someone died in the family, one had to pay a tax; and there was also the yellow mouth tax, which meant that if there was a child in the family, one had to pay a tax.

These three taxes did not appear until the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

But because the Song Dynasty occupied their five states, a large number of people fled to the Song Dynasty states, and the neighborhood tax was promulgated last month.

The neighborhood tax was introduced decades in advance, but the impact has not yet been seen.

Goryeo introduced the neighborhood tax during the Yuan Dynasty mainly because the revenue was not enough to support the operation of the imperial court and they could not levy taxes indiscriminately.

Now they are introducing a neighborhood tax, mainly to prevent population escape and allow neighbors to report and monitor each other.

They learned this trick from people in the Song Dynasty, and it seems to be quite successful.

Since the neighborhood tax was introduced, it has become harder to run away because neighbors will keep an eye on their neighbors.

What if you run away, do I have to pay your taxes?

I have to say that the Koreans’ tactic of inciting the masses to fight against each other was quite cruel.

Park Dayong glanced at Park Zhihai, who was his cousin. They were from the same village and their two families were neighbors.

Park Ji-hae was very unhappy with the Song people. It was said that he had fought in the Song army and served as a laborer, but the wages promised by the Song army were a little less than what he would pay.

But some people also said that Song Jun gave a lot and Park Ji-hae gambled it away himself.

Of course, no one cares about this kind of old matter now. Anyway, Park Zhihai is against fleeing to the Song people.

But it was useless for him to think like this, as many people at the scene still wanted to go to Song Ren's place.

"I heard someone talking about this in a teahouse in the city yesterday." Suddenly, a man named Cui lowered his voice and said, "The Song people in Tiezhou impose a 30% tax rate, and their production is higher than ours. In the past, they distributed land, and those who didn't have land could store seeds, cattle, farm tools, and seeds. The Song people provided them for free."

Park Zhihai immediately said: "A 30% tax rate is not low."

"The Song people had high yields and had someone to teach them how to farm." Cui said, "Besides the 30% tax rate, there was nothing else."

"I heard that if you cultivate the land for ten years, it will belong to you."

"That's right. After ten years of farming there, the fields will be yours."

Everyone was talking about it, and most of them were looking forward to it.

Park Dayong also heard it clearly, and he heard it more than once.

It does sound much better than theirs. The Song people's fields had high yields and low taxes, and after ten years of cultivation, the fields would belong to them and could be passed down to their sons and grandsons.

Most people at the scene were longing for the days of the Song people, except Park Ji-hae who kept speaking ill of the Song people.

He said that the Song people looked down on the Koreans and that the Koreans would be bullied there. He also said that the Song people only paid 20% tax there, while the Koreans paid 30%, which was obviously oppression of the Koreans.

Park Zhihai's statement still affected some people, and soon some people in the crowd began to follow suit. They were just thinking about the good things about Song Ren, but then they turned around and followed Park Zhihai in saying bad things about Song Ren.

Park Dayong listened quietly without saying a word.

For some reason, looking at the tribesmen around him talking at the same time, he suddenly felt that these people were a little sad.

Park Dayong once fought with the Song army together with Park Zhihai.

He knew that the Song army was not as Park Ji-hae said.

Song Jun also gave money to Park Zhihai, but Park Zhihai lost it in gambling. In order to avoid being scolded by his wife, he could only say that Song Jun withheld money. Park Dayong also gritted his teeth and helped him cover it up, letting Song Jun take the blame.

But what made Park Ji-hae most angry was not this, but that after the war, Park Ji-hae wanted to take his whole family and follow the Song army to Cheolju.

At that time, the Song army wanted the more adult males in the family, the better.

Park Ji-hae's father died early and his son was still young, so the Song army rejected him but chose Park Dayong.

Park Dayong's father was only 38 years old at the time, so he had two strong men in the family. The key point was that Park Dayong fought with the Song army for half a year and learned a small amount of Chinese, and could even write his own Chinese name.

However, Park Dayong's wife was pregnant at the time, and he was afraid of traveling long distances, so he also rejected Song Jun's request to immigrate.

Because Park Dayong was selected and Park Zhihai was rejected, he was very angry and naturally hated Song Jun.

Park Dayong sat quietly watching Park Zhihai's performance, and felt sad for his own people.

The tribesmen were illiterate and just blindly followed what others said. They believed whatever Park Zhihai said.

The key is that this emotion is contagious.

At the beginning, everyone praised the good things about the Song people, and everyone yearned for the Iron State of the Song people. But with Park Ji-hae's instigation, after a while, many people started to talk about the bad things about the Song people.

Park Dayong felt inexplicably a little irritated.

Just then, his seventeen-year-old eldest son Park Young-hoon came to him holding a bunch of wheat ears.

"Dad, dad——"

"Uh." Park Dayong immediately looked at his son lovingly: "Take a break. It's quite hot today."

Park Young-hoon put down the wheat ears and sat next to his father.

He seemed to have no interest in what others were saying. He raised his head and looked in the direction of Tiezhou with a thoughtful look on his face.

Park Dayong knew why after just one look.

The blacksmith Song's family from the same village fled to Cheolju several years ago. The blacksmith's daughter was only thirteen years old at the time, and Park Young-hoon had a good relationship with her. If the blacksmith's family had not fled, Park Young-hoon would have gotten married, and I would have had a grandson.

Park Young-hoon longed for Cheolju and missed his daughter from the Song family. Alas, Park Dayong sighed deeply. When the Song army wanted him to go, he refused. Now it would be difficult for him to go again.

Then he suddenly noticed his son Park Young-hoon staring at the ground.

He followed his son's gaze and saw a small reptile on the ground slowly crawling towards him.

Park Young-hoon looked at the reptile, and after a moment, an expression of extreme disgust appeared on his face.

Then he stretched out his foot, and with a bang, he crushed the reptile into pieces.

Then, as if he was still not satisfied, he stomped his feet a few more times.

"What are you doing?" Park Dayong had never seen his son so violent.

"Bugs." Park Young-hoon said unhappily.

Park Dayong said unhappily, "It didn't provoke you? It won't bite you?"

Park Young-hoon thought for a moment, looked up at Park Ji-hae who was chattering beside him, and said slowly: "Some people are like bugs. Although they don't bite, they are really annoying to look at. I wish I could step on them to death."

Park Dayong was stunned and looked at his son in surprise.

I never thought that my young son could say such profound words.

And Park Young-hoon seems to hate Park Ji-hae.

Park Ji-hae was his uncle, and he had never revealed such emotions before, and for a moment Park Dayong felt that his son was a little strange, as if he didn't know him.

The farm work was not finished that day when Park Young-hoon came over and said he was going to school.

Park Dayong nodded silently.

He had followed the Song army in the past and knew that literacy was important. In addition, the Koreans who could recognize Chinese characters in recent years found it easier to deal with the Song people, so he saved money every year and let his son go to school.

My son is studying with an old Korean teacher in the city. The Korean not only teaches Korean things, but also Chinese characters.

The fee is not high, just one stone of rice per year.

Park Dayong saved money from his food rations just to let his son read more.

Looking at his son's performance today, Park Dayong felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't say anything.

After leaving the grain field, Park Young-hoon quickly returned to Tongzhou City.

He went home to clean up first, then ran to school with his books.

Mr. Li was a private school teacher. He held his class at home and had only eight students, all of whom were teenagers like Park Young-hoon.

His fees are not high, and this is also a place where ordinary people can study.

But Park Young-hoon knew his own limitations. All officials in Goryeo were hereditary, so it would be useless for him to read more books. The only benefit was that it would broaden his horizons and make him understand the truth. It would make him realize that some humans are like insects. Although they will not bite, they must be stepped on to death.

After a while, they arrived at Mr. Li's house.

The classmates also arrived one after another.

Mr. Li is over 40 years old. It is said that he had fought with the Song army in his early years, mainly helping the Song army with translation because he was proficient in Chinese.

But unfortunately, he didn't get a job as an official in Goryeo.

During the reign of King Gwangjong of Goryeo, the imperial examination system was conducted mainly to suppress the power of the wealthy and powerful families. At that time, the power of civil officials began to rise, which soon aroused the dissatisfaction of military officials, leading to mutinies and unrest. After the military officials came to power, the imperial examination system was also suppressed.

For example, now that the military official Cui Yi is in power, there is no imperial examination at all. He basically has the final say, and apart from hereditary appointments, appointments are made at random.

Moreover, the number of people who passed the imperial examinations in Goryeo was extremely small. From the reign of Emperor Guangzong to the 958 years before the dictatorship of military officials (1170-19), about 20 people were admitted every months, which means, on average, about one person was admitted every month.

This kind of imperial examination cannot be compared with the Tang and Song dynasties of the same period, so it is basically impossible for scholars of ordinary backgrounds, such as Mr. Li and Park Young-hoon, to enter the officialdom through the imperial examination.

After 1170, military officials came to power and suppressed civil officials. Cui Yi's ancestors and grandchildren inherited the throne for several generations and controlled the country. He also allowed his cronies to inherit the title of lord and enjoy high positions. They managed the dynasty together and shared the wealth and power of Goryeo.

The imperial examination system has long since disappeared.

"Sit down, everyone." Mr. Li saw the students arriving and gestured for everyone to sit down with a smile.

The students chatted with each other for a while and then sat down.

Park Young-hoon sat at the front row, looking expectant.

Compared to studying, he likes Mr. Li's history lectures the most, whether they talk about the past or the present, especially the current situation in Goryeo and what happened in the Song Dynasty, which are what he and his friends like to listen to the most.

"Something big happened in Goryeo recently, which may affect many people in the country." Mr. Li started talking as soon as he sat down. The first sentence aroused the excitement of his friends.

What Mr. Li was talking about was the family affairs of Choi Yi, a powerful official in Goryeo.

"Cui Yi's two early wives did not give birth to a son for him. Only his concubine Rui Lian gave birth to two illegitimate sons, Wan Zong and Wan Quan."

Cui Yi was also a weirdo. He didn't want to make his son his successor, but planned to cultivate his son-in-law Jin Ruoshen. Therefore, he exiled his two sons and made them monks.

As the friends were listening with great interest, Mr. Li said, "So you all understand that in my Goryeo Dynasty, high-ranking officials were hereditary, and low-level officials either relied on connections or bought their positions with money."

"Especially at the top, if someone changes, there will be bloodshed."

Cui Yi's father Cui Zhongxian was a powerful official in the previous generation, and he also had a younger brother named Cui Yi.

Before Cui Zhongxian's death, Cui Yi's supporters prepared a mutiny and sent people to convey a false order, asking Cui Yi to go visit his father, and then ambushed Cui Yi on the way to kill him.

Unexpectedly, someone informed the secret, allowing Cui Yi to take the initiative.

Mr. Li began by reminding his friends of two things. First, Goryeo officials were all hereditary. Second, any change in high-level officials would inevitably be bloody, and brothers were no exception.

When the friends heard this, they all had thoughtful expressions on their faces.

Many people present had brothers, and Park Young-hoon also had a younger brother. He had a very good relationship with his younger brother, and it was obviously hard for him to imagine why brothers would kill each other.

But Mr. Li also said that when you reach this position, you may do the same.

Everyone said no, and some said they had a very good relationship with their younger or older brother.

Mr. Li laughed and stopped talking about this topic.

Mr. Li then said that Cui Yi originally wanted his son-in-law Jin Ruo to be the successor.

But Jin Ruoxian was too stupid. He had a bad relationship with his wife, Cui Yi's daughter, and ended up being cuckolded.

Mr. Li said at this time: "Jin Ruo first doesn't know how to deal with his relationship with his wife. Since he is regarded as the successor, he should appease his wife, lower his status, and wait for the succession. After he takes the position, he can do what he wants to do."

But Jin Ruoxian only knew how to spend his time in debauchery and was not on good terms with his wife, who, out of anger, had an affair with a slave in the mansion.

For fear that Jin Ruoshen would be discovered, Jin Ruoshen's wife and slaves took the initiative and secretly informed Jin Ruoshen that he was planning a rebellion to seize the throne.

Cui Yi killed his son-in-law who was the successor without hesitation.

"After her son-in-law died, Cui Yi had no choice but to first consider her grandson, Jin Ruoer's son Jin Yu, and then consider her two sons as successors."

He specifically called his two sons back to his side, and then chose the second son Wanquan and changed his name to Cui Hang.
(End of this chapter)