King of Song

Chapter 721 Final Chapter My country is like a poem and a picture

The dead are like husbands, never giving up day and night!
I didn't feel it before, but since I turned 30, Zhao Zhao feels that time goes by really fast!
Especially when people around you keep leaving, you will feel more and more that life is short and time is in a hurry, and the word is not an exaggeration at all.

In the second year of Zhengtong, Mrs. Meng passed away. Zhao Zhao named the old grandmother as Mrs. Wu and buried her grandly.After five years of orthodoxy, Uncle Cao Guo passed away in his twilight years.

One year later, after six years of peaceful and happy old age, Empress Dowager Cao passed away.Zhao Zhao was so sad that he kept filial piety for his aunt according to the etiquette system, and then buried him in Yongzhao Mausoleum together with Emperor Renzong.

Eight years later, in the spring of the 14th year of Zhengtong, Zhao Zhao will go to Yongzhao Mausoleum again. A person who is important to his life and the Song Dynasty is dying.

Di Qing, a famous general of a generation and Emperor Renzong's most loyal courtier, has come to the end of his life.

Looking at the old and haggard Di Qing on the hospital bed, Zhao Zhao felt very uncomfortable. He held Di Qing's hand, not daring to let go, for fear that if he let go, the old man would never return.

If it hadn't been for his 20 years of loyalty and unremitting search, how could he have the opportunity to know his life experience, return to the royal family, and then sit on the throne?
Now that the old man has come to the end of his life, Zhao Zhao feels very sad and even more guilty. 38 years ago, Di Qing became a living dead, and has been secretly dedicated to finding and protecting the blood of the Song Dynasty royal family.For this reason, he took off the golden mask bestowed by Emperor Renzong himself and became a man in the iron mask.

Zhao Zhao promised him that when he ascended the throne, he would personally put on the golden mask for him.But when the time really came, he was not allowed to do so.If the world knew of Di Qing's existence, many of Zhao Zhao's previous actions would appear deliberate, even a bit despicable, which might affect Emperor Renzong's reputation, and more royal scandals would be exposed.

For an emperor who had to drive away from the capital at the beginning of his enthronement, this would hurt his majestic and upright image, and it would be detrimental to the stability of his rule.Ever since, Di Qing chose to sacrifice again, and he was still a shady living dead.

Until today, at the last moment of his life, Zhao Zhao felt guilty as before.

But Di Qing said nonchalantly: "Officials, the most proud thing in this veteran's life is not the great military exploits in the Northwest, the suppression of Nong Zhigao's rebellion, but the recovery of the official family you. Destroy Xixia, restore Yanyun, the success of generations The dream has finally come true, the spirit of the late emperor in heaven must be very pleased, the old minister has lived up to his trust, and can calmly go to see the late emperor."

"Di Gong..." How many years have passed, and has the emperor who ruled the world ever shed tears?This is the second time since the death of Empress Dowager Cao.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to be sentimental. The old minister is very pleased and satisfied to see the power of the Song Dynasty in his lifetime. Now it is time to see Emperor Renzong." Di Qing smiled, and his old face was full of gratified smiles.

"Officials, since the father-in-law said so, don't be sad, let the father-in-law go calmly!"

"Okay!" Zhao Zhao turned to Princess Qinghe and said, "Where's the golden mask?"

Princess Qinghe immediately presented a box, inside which was wrapped in red silk was the glorious golden mask!
Holding it in his hand, Zhao Zhao couldn't help trembling a little. After pondering for a long time, he said, "Mr. Di, it's 14 years late. I'll bring it to you today, so you can feel at ease."

"Okay, so the old minister can go to see the late emperor in a heroic manner, and I am still the mighty Di Hanchen back then!" Di Qing smiled again, and he had no regrets at all if he could fulfill this wish before he died.

Zhao Zhao picked up the mask with both hands, and slowly put it on Di Qing's ravine face. For a moment, his lifeless eyes suddenly became heroic. Under the mask was the frightening General Di.

After a while, the heroic spirit disappeared, his eyes gradually began to loosen, his dry and thin hands slipped down, and a generation of famous generals passed away like this!In Di's mansion, there was a loud cry, and two lines of hot tears fell from the corners of Zhao Zhao's eyes.

On the next day, Zhao Zhao announced in the court hall that Di Qing would be conferred the posthumous title of Prince of Heyang, and that his grave would be moved to be buried in Yongzhao Mausoleum (actually a burial).

As soon as the imperial decree came out, there was an uproar. Di Qing had been dead for decades, so why was he suddenly crowned king?Di Yong has made great achievements in guarding Youzhou these years, so it is reasonable to be named a Duke.But in any case, it is not possible to chase after his father, right?There is also the honor of being entitled to the Taimiao, which is generally the honor of the prime minister and civil servants. How can a warrior who was born as a thief and an army have this qualification?
Some people were not convinced, and the two censors came forward to impeach them, but no one expected that the officials, who had always been generous and open-minded, were furious and demoted the two censors to remote areas.All the courtiers were shocked, and some wanted to persuade them, but after hearing some faint news from some veterans, they all fell silent.

They were very glad that their memorials were not handed in. Di Hanchen was fully qualified to be crowned king, and those two censors deserved to be unlucky.

After Di Qing was buried, Zhao Zhao personally went to Yongzhao Mausoleum to pay homage.After seeing off an old man, Zhao Zhao felt a little heavy, and decided to go on a tour to relax.

Jiangning, Zhao Zhao decided to go to Jiangning to revisit his old place, where he first came to this world!

As soon as they heard that they were going to Jiangning, Meng Ruoying, Gu Yuelun and Mu Sihong all clamored to revisit their old places, Zhao Zhao had no choice but to take them along.

There is no large group of people and imperial ostentation, only a few personal guards, and the guards of Mingyuezong are secretly protecting, so they went to Jiangning in low clothes and private visits.

Today's Great Song Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. Whether it is territory, military strength, economy, or culture, there have been many changes.In the first year of Zhengtong, after Hexi was recovered, Jing Sili and Zhao Yuankai led their troops into the Western Regions, and took two years to bring the north and south of Tianshan Mountain into the territory of the Song Dynasty.Anxi Duhufu and Beiting Duhufu reappeared, and the western border of the Central Plains Dynasty reached Congling again.

As for the south, after five years of orthodoxy, the small land of Jiaozhi was about to move again, and the general Guo Kui led the army again.This time, after defeating the main force of Jiaozhi in Bailianjiang, Da Song Shengsheng chased to the seaside of Champa and beheaded the King of Jiaozhi.The Song army immediately moved to bring the entire Indochina Peninsula into the territory of the Song Dynasty.

When returning to his teacher, Guo Kui accidentally discovered that the local rice yield was very high, so he introduced it to the Song Dynasty. Champa rice began to be widely planted in the southern states and counties of the Song Dynasty, and the output increased a lot.

As a result, Dali in the southwest was attacked by the Song Dynasty on both sides, and its living space became smaller and smaller, and it was often harassed by Tubo tribes.In the ninth year of orthodoxy, Dali Baoding Emperor Duan Zhengming surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and the land in the southwest belonged to the Song Dynasty. Zhao Zhao immediately canonized him as the King of Dian and asked Duan Zhengming if he had a nephew named Duan Yu. I don’t know if he would Six Meridians Excalibur?
Tubo on the plateau was still falling apart, and Dong Zhan, who was a little stronger, had been proclaiming his vassals to the Song Dynasty and keeping himself safe.Zhao Zhao is not interested in attacking the plateau, ruining the lives of soldiers, and blindly expanding the territory. The current Song Dynasty does not need this. Zhao Zhao does not want to be infamous for being militaristic.

As for the territory of the Northeast, it stopped at the Sixteen States of Yanyun and was garrisoned by Di Yong. Over the years, a solid line of defense had been built.Zhao Zhao no longer has any ambitions for the territory, but the 16-year-old prince Zhao Hong has ideas. With the continuous development of the Song Dynasty navy, Shen Kuo gradually improved and installed firearms on sea ships.

Zhao Hong thought about it, and sent the fleet to teach the King of Korea a lesson. Don't think that across the ocean, you can be arrogant and don't take Da Song seriously.Then you can also attack Liaodong by the way. Wanyan Aguda and Gu Dongping are very interested in there and are willing to be the pioneers.

Zhao Zhao did not object to his son's behavior, and even said that since he was going to attack at sea, he could consider the four large islands further east of Koryo, and Da Song didn't mind adding a few more states and counties there.

As for the Liao Kingdom, it has long been worse than before, and its existence does not threaten the Song Dynasty at all.On the contrary, it effectively contained other nomadic peoples in the north, causing them to fight each other, and greatly eased the pressure on the border defense of Song Dynasty.

However, the economic and cultural invasion carried out by the Song Dynasty by means of mutual market trade was very effective, and the Liao Kingdom's dependence on the Song Dynasty had reached a very high level.Zhao Zhao was very happy, and also paid attention to reciprocity. Every year, he would send some Longjing tea to Beijing. It is said that Empress Dowager Xiao liked it very much.

Zhao Zhao and others originally traveled by water by boat, but after arriving in Sizhou, the waterway was blocked.With the rapid economic development of the Song Dynasty, the exchange of materials between the north and the south became more frequent, and the demand for goods delivery was also higher.Although the canal has been dredged several times and even widened, it still seems to be out of reach.

Fortunately, the Hanshui River in the Ezhou generation has been renovated, and the materials from the two lakes and Shu can choose to be transferred from the Yangtze River to the Han River, land in Xiangyang, and be transported to various parts of the Central Plains.

Seeing that the Sizhou Canal was busy, Zhao Zhao and others abandoned their boats and went ashore, heading south by dry road.Many cities and towns along the way are full of gongs and drums, and the popularity of the Dasong Agricultural Bank is already very high.There was nothing wrong with the original intention of Wang Anshi's Young Crops Law, but if it was implemented in his way, problems would inevitably arise.

After several years of research and reform, the Agricultural Bank with the characteristics of the Song Dynasty, an advanced financial institution, came into being.Replacing the Changping warehouse with a bank also completely broke the relationship between young crop money and officials' performance.How the people want to borrow and how the banks want to lend, they simply have no way to intervene.

As for the immediate boss of the Dasong Agricultural Bank is the Dasong Household Department, which is separated from the three divisions and managed independently.With the incorporation of Dali, a large amount of Yunnan copper was mined, coupled with wet copper smelting, the plight of copper shortage in the Song Dynasty was improved to a certain extent, and the quantity and quality of copper coins gradually increased.Coupled with the implementation of the improved version of "Jiaozi" (paper money), the finance and economy of the Song Dynasty gradually improved.

In this way, policies that Wang Anshi could not achieve at the beginning, or that were counterproductive, can be gradually improved and implemented.

Coupled with the expansion of a large amount of territory in the northwest and south by the Song Dynasty, more and more refugees began to be relocated to reclaim the land instead of being incorporated into the Xiang army.The Song Dynasty did not need to raise so many grandchildren, and the expansion of the territory also meant that more local officials were needed. With the progress of the reform, the number of new departments that needed to be opened gradually increased.

Zhao Zhao took the opportunity to fine-tune the administrative system of the Song Dynasty. The checks and balances were not completely broken, but the problem of redundant officials was somewhat improved.The most important thing is that people's lives are gradually improving. Zhao Zhao, who is traveling in micro-service, is very pleased to see this situation.

The grief of Di Qing's death was also relieved, and he traveled all the way to Jiangning.It has become the most prosperous city in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the Song Dynasty, as well as the economic and cultural center.

The area of ​​the city is expanding, and the banks of the Qinhuai River are more prosperous than ever.Wang Anshi retired and returned to his hometown. He never served as the magistrate of Jiangning for the second time. Xuanwu Lake also escaped the fate of being surrounded by the lake for land reclamation. Now it is a place with excellent scenery in Jiangning City.

Standing by the Xuanwu Lake, Zhao Zhao couldn't help but sigh with emotion. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, he had a very simple wish.Looking at the scenery on the Zijin Mountain, reciting poems and composing Fu by the Xuanwu Lake, looking for flowers and willows on the Qinhuai River, who ever wanted to play tricks on others, and became the emperor of the Song Dynasty in a daze.

Now standing by the Xuanwu Lake, I want to write a poem but I have no clue, I can't brew any emotions at all.Since you can't do it yourself, then listen to others...

Zhao Zhaoxin walked by the Xuanwu Lake, and Li Cheng followed quietly with Mingyue Dark Guard until he stopped in front of Fenghe Courtyard.

Li Cheng looked up, and a middle-aged man seemed to be giving a lecture. The content seemed to be "Biography of Huozhi" in Tai Shigong's "Historical Records", and the audience was a group of fifteen or sixteen-year-old schoolchildren.The schoolchildren have a half-knowledge, half-comprehension, but fascinated by listening.The middle-aged man talked eloquently and eloquently, and he enjoyed it very much.

Zhao Zhao just watched and listened like this, without stepping forward to disturb.The teachers and students over there were very involved, and they never noticed that there was an audience around.

The middle-aged man didn't see Zhao Zhao until half an hour later, when the class was over and the schoolchildren dispersed.He was slightly surprised at first, then dropped the scroll in his hand and hurried over to greet him.

Zhao Zhao waved his hand and asked with a smile, "Is Yuan Ze okay after a long absence?"

Who is the middle-aged man who is not Wang Yu who is teaching the class?It's just that he has changed from a handsome young man to an old man in his 40s.

Wang Yu said: "Thanks to the officials' family, everything is fine!"

"Is your father alright?"

"It's okay, it's just that I'm getting old, my eyes are blurry, and my ears are back!" Wang Yu said: "It's also thanks to the government's kindness that my father came to Jiangning for treatment and recuperation, and even granted him a residence in Fengheyuan."

"Does the prince like it?"

Wang Yu said with a smile: "I like it, but my father was frugal all his life. He saw the waves of Xuanwu Lake every day, and he sighed that it would be great if the lake could be abandoned to make fields!"

"Haha!" Thinking of this, Zhao Zhao couldn't help laughing. Even though history and the trajectory of life have changed, Wang Anshi's heart of death in the lake is still alive!

Zhao Zhao then asked: "Just now I heard you talk about the "Biography of the Cargo Colony", and you have a lot of research on the way of wealth economy? Then tell me, should we hide wealth from the people or hide wealth from the country?"

Wang Yu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Zhao Zhao and laughed.When the two met for the first time, Wang Yu asked this question.

"Actually, as long as agriculture and commerce develop and the people are prosperous, changes will naturally take place imperceptibly. Why bother to encourage growth? If one is not careful, it will backfire." Wang Yu sighed: "In the past, my father and I were too anxious and superficial."

"Hmph, it's really not easy to make Yuanze bow his head and admit his mistake!" Zhao Zhao said with a smile, "Go to Bianliang, the vacancy of the servant of the household department has not been filled, and you are the only one left!"

"Uh……"

Happiness came too suddenly, or it was due to other reasons, Wang Yu was a little stunned on the spot.

"Why? Don't you want to?" Zhao Zhao smiled, Wang Yu specially taught by the Xuanwu Lake, the purpose is to attract his attention, showing that he still has the intention of becoming an official.Ming Yuezong reported the news early, and today he came to Xuanwu Lake to meet Wang Yu and fulfill his dream.

Wang Yu said: "Thanks to the high opinion of the officials, I can't ask for it. I should have obeyed immediately, but..."

Zhao Zheng followed Wang Yu's gaze and saw that Wang Anshi, who was nearly seventy years old, was walking tremblingly, followed by a little old man who was almost sixty years old.

The little old man looked dull and silly, but he was extraordinarily courteous and respectful to Wang Anshi, which was completely different from the treacherous and cunning Lu Huiqing in the past.

When Zhao Zhao came to the throne, he had cleaned up Zhao Xu's remnants, and most of them were punished, and people like Han Qi also committed suicide.But Lu Huiqing was an exception, and disappeared from Bianjing as if the world had evaporated.

Unexpectedly, 14 years later, he would appear in Jiangning, next to his former mentor and life-and-death enemy Wang Anshi.

"Don't blame the officials. It's not that he didn't know and didn't report. He has suffered a lot from living outside these years. His brain has been broken, just like a stupid child. When my father found out, he was being bullied by beggars. It's really pitiful." Wang Yu said: "He seems to remember my father, and then asked for help, and my father took him in, please forgive me!"

"Do you still hate him?"

"Hate?" Wang Yu shook his head: "It's been so many years, is there any meaning to hate? He deserved what he did. What else do I hate?"

"Okay!" Zhao Zhao ordered: "My lord will be taken care of by the Jiangning Mansion. You can go to Bianjing. I believe your lord also hopes that you can complete his uncompetitive career."

Zhao Zhao knew that Wang Yu was no longer what he used to be. Today he is more mature and open-minded, and he can really be worthy of a great responsibility.After speaking, Zhao Zhao turned around and walked away.

Wang Anshi, who was old and dim-eyed, stood at the intersection, staring blankly at the direction Zhao Zhao was leaving, unable to hold back his tears!

"Teacher, why are you crying?" Lu Huiqing, who is almost 60 years old, has a childish voice in her tone, which is very funny, but also very sad, or she deserves it!

Zhao Zhao looked back at Xuanwu Lake, the wind was sunny and the scenery was just right.The flow of people is like weaving, playing to their heart's content, the vendors on the street are trying their best to sell, and the business is booming...

Men and women, young and old, all had happy smiles on their faces. Zhao Zhao was relieved and filled with emotion.

This is my subjects, happy and happy; this is my country, picturesque!
……

Back at the Meng Mansion, which had been converted into a palace, the three concubines who had become mothers were swinging in the courtyard, their hearty laughter almost exactly the same as back then.

For a moment, Zhao Zhao had some illusions, as if he had returned to 21 years ago.

Under the swing frame, the dew is thick and the flowers are thin, and the sweat is light and the clothes are transparent.The beauty leans against the door and looks back, but sniffs the green plum!

……

(End of the book)

　Tomorrow will finish writing this testimonial and some clarifications.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)