Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

The eight people from Defang walked for a few days without any haste, and stayed in the small town inn at night. They sat around the table and ordered a few hot dishes to eat. Defang waved and Xiaoer ran over." Sir, what else do you need?"

"There is no need. I would like to ask, where is the further south?"

"Guest officer, what are you guys going south for?"

"We came from the capital city and wanted to play along the way to see where the scenery is good and the food is delicious. It's worth a visit."

"It turns out that there are a few dirt roads and trails in the south besides the official road, but it will be a bit bumpy if you drive in a carriage, and there are forests around, so there is nothing to see. If you walk along the official road for an hour, you can enter Yong In the city, there are some stone carvings of the Liang and Han Dynasties in the city, but there are a few famous small shops in the city that are worth visiting, such as Xu's Fried Corners, Xianxiang Zamian, and Rolled Sugar Rice Cake, so you can eat it well."

Defang looked at Concubine Di with a smile and said, "That's great, I'm going to be happy when I leave the capital."

"Father!" Ling'er said, "I want to eat it all!"

Defang nodded, "Of course, of course, Daddy will buy it for you until your stomach is round, hehehe" and then asked, "Little brother, what about outside the city?"

"If you go out of the city and go south, you can see the wheat fields in the suburbs. The wheat produced in that area is very full, and the rice noodles in Yongcheng are bought from there. If you go forward for more than [-] miles, you will arrive at Heitugang."

"Black soil hill? What is that place?"

"Heitugang is a suburb far from Yongcheng, and it is about forty or fifty miles away from the city. The rice produced there is shiny and the steamed rice is delicious. There is also a steamed bun shop there. Wine-scented steamed buns, don't you know?" Have eaten it, many people go out of the city to buy it there, and it is very convenient for Yongcheng to go directly to Heitugang. Ten years ago, the imperial court ordered the government to pay for the construction of a stone road leading directly to Heitugang. The rice produced can be sold for a lot of money.”

"Oh? The imperial court ordered the government to build roads for Heitugang?"

"Yeah, I heard that a court lady from an unknown dynasty was buried in the mass grave at that place. Think about it, the mass graves are full of poor people buried in straw mats, but she has a coffin. So a thief was recruited, and one day, the thief dug up her coffin and stole the broken silver inside. The people who came here to burn incense were surprised to see the exposed coffin, so they went up to look, but found a wooden sign on the coffin. Outside the coffin, there were some words written on it, which seemed to say that she gave birth to a royal heir, and may God have mercy on her. After the government learned about it, it reported to the court, and the court ordered the government to reorganize the mass graves. They also sent people to rebuild the palace lady’s tomb, erected an unnamed stone tablet, and paved a stone road leading to Yongcheng, and the most surprising thing is that the imperial court also issued an order to reduce the tax on Heitugang.”

"There is such a thing?" Defang was very surprised

"Yes," Xiao Er said, "Guest officer, the emperors of our Great Song Dynasty were all benevolent kings. The great ancestor founded the Great Song Dynasty without bloodshed, and treated the royal family of the former dynasty well, and the current emperor rebuilt the grave for this former court lady." Tombs, paving the way and reducing taxes, I dare say, apart from our Great Song Dynasty, there is no monarch of that dynasty who has such a broad mind and tolerance."

Defang nodded, "What my second brother said is that our Great Song Dynasty founded the country with benevolence and virtue. The king not only sympathizes with the soldiers, but also treats the people kindly. Anyone who sincerely submits to our dynasty will be treated with courtesy by His Majesty."