Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Just when the troops in the north and south of the Yangtze River were intensified, Bai Chongyan, Min Zishun, and Ling Guxu finally came back from Guangnan.

Because they had such a close relationship with Ju Ming, although their birth certificates were not destroyed, they were all escorted to Guangnan for editing and management.

After the peace talks, the court agreed to release him, but the journey home was very tortuous.

First, he planned to take Jinghu Lake, which was the closest road, but he heard that Prime Minister Zhong had rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor, and would kill any Confucian scholar who did not convert to Manichaeism. So he changed his route back to his hometown from Jiangxi, but when he crossed Meiling, he was told by the guards that the road ahead was impassable and that there was also a bandit rebellion in southern Jiangxi.

We had no choice but to go around from Fujian to Jiangdong to board the ship.

Then we landed early in Huaixi because Wuchang had been occupied by bell thieves. (At this time, Wuchang was in Ezhou in later generations, and Ezhou was in Wuchang in later generations.)

The three of them went all the way to the west and found that the magistrates of Macheng and Huangpi counties had already laid down.

The west side of their jurisdiction was occupied by the Red Bandits, and the south side was occupied by the Bell Bandits. Being caught between the two major bandits, they lived in fear all day long. Officials no longer dare to go to the countryside to collect taxes, for fear that one bad move will trigger a popular uprising.

Among Ju Ming's newly occupied territories, Anzhou was relatively well populated.

The county towns of Anlu, Xiaogan, Yingshan and Yingcheng are obviously more densely located. These places originally belonged to Jinghu North Road, but are now placed under Xiangyang Prefecture by Zhu Guoxiang, and the humanities and customs are more towards Huaixi.

Entering the boundary between Suizhou and Yingzhou, the style immediately changed drastically.

There are resettlement villages everywhere, and the government does not need to worry too much here.

Most of them were wealthy families who fled from the south, bringing their own money, food and loyal servants. After obtaining a small piece of wasteland, the rich had to cultivate it themselves. The slaves were free to cultivate the wasteland, and the masters and slaves could help each other.

"Under successful rule, there are no refugees!" Bai Chongyan exclaimed.

Ling Guxu said: "Looking at it from this point of view, Mr. Zhu will definitely win the world!"

Min Zishun said: "The prosperous land in the southeast has not yet regained its vitality, but the taxes are still heavy. The Song Dynasty court has no regrets at all."

Ling Guxu said: "I heard that there are bandits everywhere in Shandong and Hebei. The court needs to suppress bandits, so naturally it has to impose heavy taxes to raise troops."

"If we continue with such brutal expropriation, there may be a second Fang La in the southeast." Bai Chongyan lamented.

All the way to Xiangyang, the people along the way were very poor.

Even the rich families who fled from Zhong Xiang's territory did not have much property left when they arrived north of the Yangtze River, and they had to go to the fields to reclaim wasteland in order to continue to live.

But what is visible to the naked eye is a kind of order.

The most precious thing in troubled times is order. Only with this can there be hope and people's hearts will stabilize.

When passing by a reclaimed village, I saw many scholars weeding beans. Although he is wearing the cheapest brown clothes, his identity as a Confucian scholar can still be recognized.

Bai Chongyan stepped forward to bow to him and couldn't help but ask: "Why are you gathering here to open up wasteland instead of going to a certain official position?"

The Confucian scholars returned the favor one after another, and one of them said: "We all fled from Jinghu. After crossing the Yangtze River, our family fortune was gone. We originally planned to go to Xiangyang to seek employment, but there is no shortage of the Prime Minister and the Grand Marshal. Officials. Hearing that we are all scholars, the Generalissimo also took good care of us and gave us some bean seeds, money and books. He also said that the imperial examination would be resumed in three years, so that I could study while cultivating the wasteland."

Another scholar said: "They also raised troops to rebel. Zhu Xianggong and Marshal Zhu cared about the people and cherished the scholars more than the Song Dynasty court. On the other hand, the bell thief is simply a monster in the world. This beast is unpopular and will inevitably die. The clan is destroyed!”

After further questioning, I found out that all these scholars had their families broken up and their families were destroyed. Many of their parents, brothers, wives, and children were killed.

In a family of ten, only three or four people could escape across the Yangtze River alive. They had despaired of the Song Dynasty court, and they were disgusted and resented that Zhong Xiang now pinned all their hopes on the Zhu family and his son.

The Confucian scholars came from different states and counties. They got together because they went to Xiangyang to seek officials, and then they took their families to cultivate wasteland here.

While they were talking, their family members brought food, and each family sat in the fields to eat.

There were also children coming with books. A scholar was responsible for teaching the children to read and write in the soil with branches.

The remaining scholars, holding their rice bowls in hand, gathered together to study "The Meaning of Great Learning Chapters and Sentences". They had read "The Great Learning" before, but now they understood it again, compared it with traditional commentaries, and soon started a heated discussion.

Ling Guxu looked at the simple thatched house in the distance, at the boy lying on the ground writing with branches, and at the Confucian scholar who was covered in dirt but studying knowledge. Suddenly, his eyes were sour and he felt the urge to cry.

In this reclamation village, there were not only scholars, but also ordinary farmers, and some were domestic slaves and tenants who had fled with the scholars.

They were also assigned to wasteland, and now they were eating in the fields, and they came one after another with their rice bowls in hand. Although I don't understand knowledge, I like to watch the excitement and find it interesting for my husband to study.

There were also some children from lowly backgrounds who gathered around to follow the Confucian scholars to learn how to read.

Bai Chongyan, Ling Guxu, and Min Zishun were all very moved, ate some dry food, and continued on their way with their wives and personal entourage.

In the blink of an eye, they entered the reclamation area where the army was located, and the scene here was different.

Ju Ming allowed the army to conduct exercises for five days, and the rest of the time could go home to open up wasteland. There were soldiers taking off their armor everywhere. Some soldiers were given dozens of acres of land that they could not grow on their own. Each family was assigned a refugee to farm the land for them.

The refugees in the military reclamation areas have the hardest work. They cannot devote all their energy to reclaiming wasteland for their own families, and they have to allocate time to cultivate the soldiers' wasteland.

But there are also discounts. For wasteland reclaimed by soldiers, taxes will be exempted for three years, and 20% will be levied in the fourth year, with an increase of 10% every year thereafter. The wasteland reclaimed by nearby refugees is exempted from taxes for two years, and only 30% is levied in the third year, and then increases by 10% every year until it is fully levied.

Moreover, during the tax reduction and exemption period, various miscellaneous taxes are also exempted.

Both soldiers and civilians were full of energy, and their faces were filled with hope for a better life.

The people in the reclamation area, whether they are soldiers, Confucian scholars, or ordinary people, once the wasteland is cultivated, they will be the most loyal people!

When Min Zishun asked about the land reclamation policy, everyone smiled and answered, only saying that they would have a good life in the future, not mentioning that they were so tired that they lay down and fell asleep every day.

Arriving in Xiangyang with great emotion, Ju Ming warmly received him: "The three brothers are finally back. They will serve under my command for the time being. After the summer harvest, Jiangling and Zhijiang are conquered, and you can then serve as officials in those two places."

Although Ju Ming did not interfere in political affairs, he had the power to temporarily appoint and remove officials in the newly occupied territory, so he did not have to wait for Hanzhong to make decisions on everything.

"Are you going to attack Jiangling after the summer harvest?" Bai Chongyan asked, "I see that various counties are opening up wasteland on a large scale. Is there still food for the war?"

Ju Ming said: "Although the land here is vast and sparsely populated, there are many large households, and a lot of wheat is grown. As long as the scale of the war is controlled, the food will definitely be able to sustain it, not to mention that Sichuan will transport food. The people who reclaim the wasteland, We should be able to be self-sufficient in one year without having to borrow food from the government. We can collect a small amount of land tax in two years, and we should be completely stable in three years."

Min Zishun asked: "Will the imperial court bring troops to conquer?"

Ju Ming smiled and said: "I would be merciful if I didn't fight them. How could they dare to fight me? There are uprisings all over Hebei and Shandong. It will take at least a year to quell the war there. And it will definitely not be completely wiped out. A large number of rebels fled into the mountains and the officers and soldiers left. They will come out for activities again."

"This way the overall situation is settled," Bai Chongyan said happily, "Once the reclamation of the southwestern Jingxi Road is successful and our army has enough food and grass, we will not be afraid of more officers and soldiers coming."

Ju Ming asked: "How is the situation in Guangnan?"

Ling Guxu said: "Guangdong is relatively stable, but there are also sporadic bandits. Guangxi has been fighting in the past two years, mainly against Fang Qifu, and some Yao people. Fang Qifu was driven into the mountains and did not dare to come out. I dare not come out. When they came back, there was also turmoil in southern Jiangxi. As for the southeast, Zhu Meng stayed in the capital, but his father was still doing evil in the southeast. Officials in the southeastern states and counties were all students of Zhu Meng and his son, and Zhu Meng and his son were called the emperors of the Southeast. "

Min Zishun said angrily: "It caused such chaos, but Zhu Meng and his son are still favored. This Song Dynasty should be destroyed!"

Not to mention people's disfavor, even God can't bear to see it.

Not long ago, there was another major earthquake in the north, which affected Kaifeng, Hedong, and Shaanxi.

Wang Fu, who was still struggling to protect his position, was impeached by the ministers because of the earthquake, and he also asked the emperor to issue an edict for his crimes.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty refused to admit his mistakes and refused to issue the imperial edict.

But the emperor couldn't bear the pressure. Not only was Wang Fu dismissed as prime minister, he was also beaten to the end and thrown into a Taoist temple.

Cai Jing resumed his position as prime minister. Since he was blind and could not see, all official duties were handled by Cai Tiao and Cai Ji.

Cai Chi, in particular, read official documents to Cai Jing and helped Cai Jing write instructions. This young man in his twenties was the real prime minister of the Song Dynasty.

Cai You still served as the Privy Councilor, finding fault with his younger brother all day long, and even asked the emperor to execute Cai Ji.

The party struggle in the Song Dynasty opened a new version and turned into a battle between father and son.

Except for those who were highly trusted by the emperor, the officials promoted by Wang Fu were ostracized and retaliated by Cai Jing. A series of high-level personnel changes affected local states and counties, making the already chaotic Song Dynasty court even more chaotic.

He Su, who successfully impeached Wang Fu and dismissed him as prime minister, was also demoted to the local magistrate.

This move brought great popularity to He Su, and scholars all over the world regarded him as a spiritual leader.

At the same time, Li Gang wrote to the court, announcing that he had severed ties with his father-in-law Zhang Gen and was determined not to go to Hanzhong to become a traitor.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Longyan Dayue, transferred Li Gang back to the capital to replace He Su as censor Zhongcheng.

Li Gang is not only Zhang Gen's son-in-law, but also has a strong foundation in the Li family, so he will not be too involved because of this relationship!

Over in the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Dashi took refuge with Emperor Tianzuo.

Emperor Tianzuo then conquered the Jugudili tribe. With an army in hand, he felt that he could do it and decided to send troops to recapture Yanyun.

Yelu Dashi tried hard to persuade him to no avail, so he fled with 300 cavalry, proclaimed himself king halfway, and started another period of his life.