Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 935 This prosperous age is as you wished (The Finale)

In the spring of the second year of Chenfeng in the Great Wu Dynasty, the ice and snow melted, the east wind thawed the ice, and the earth revived.

Outside Bianjing city, the willows were newly green, and wisps of smoke rose from the trees. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Ministry of Rites rang its bell nine times, and all officials paid homage. With the new year coming, the Wu Kingdom court conferred titles on its officials and began to implement new policies.

The Wu Kingdom implemented a policy of light corvée labor and taxes. Su Chen did not want to impose too much corvée labor and taxes on the common people, so he promulgated the "Sixteen Articles of New Policies".

Regarding land tax, the land throughout the empire was divided into nine grades according to fertility, with the lowest grade paying one dou of grain per mu per year and the highest grade paying no more than three dou, a reduction of 30% compared to the old Song dynasty; corvée labor for laborers and artisans was limited to no more than twenty days per year, and the elderly, weak, women, and children were all exempted. As soon as the edict was issued, the officials of the prefectures and counties burned the old records overnight, and the people rejoiced, calling it "Emperor Su's benevolent grain."

The Wu Kingdom also established numerous trading ports to expand foreign trade. For example, the Court of State Ceremonial, in conjunction with the Ministry of Works, set up Maritime Trade Offices in the four ports of Dengzhou, Mingzhou, Guangzhou, and Quanzhou, constructing wharves, warehouses, and customs offices. Ships carrying pepper from the South Seas, ivory from India, and Persian goods arrived one after another, all exchanged for Wu porcelain, Wu tea, Wu silk, and textiles. Furthermore, the Wu Kingdom ordered the Liao Kingdom to establish three border markets, requiring the annual tribute of 30,000 warhorses in exchange for 200,000 catties of tea from Jiangnan and 100,000 pieces of blue-and-white porcelain. With this development, commercial taxes gradually became the primary source of revenue for the national treasury.

In addition, the Wu Kingdom promoted the development of all crafts, and established the "Official Kiln Bureau" under the Ministry of Works, which oversaw the three major kiln areas of Jingdezhen, Yuezhou and Longquan. It had 30,000 craftsmen who specialized in firing blue and white porcelain with dragon and phoenix patterns and carved porcelain with shadow blue patterns. The annual output of the kiln was 3 million pieces, half of which were sold domestically and half were supplied to the trade market, thus stimulating consumption.

The imperial court also established the Jiangning Pharmaceutical Factory, the Suzhou Textile Factory, as well as numerous cement plants, salt fields, and tobacco factories, all of which were controlled by the court. These factories recruited artisans and displaced people, paying them two liters of rice and twenty cash for salt and vegetables per day. Because the court's factories increased national revenue, this system, independent of land and poll taxes levied on the people, also alleviated the burden on farmers.

In terms of education, the Imperial Academy was expanded into the "Imperial Academy," and schools were established in prefectures and counties. The *Thousand Character Classic*, *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*, Euclid's *Elements*, and *Exploitation of the Works of Nature* were popularized; there were also engineering colleges teaching iron smelting, porcelain making, and firearms. All students were exempted from corvée labor and provided with generous allowances of paper and ink. The establishment of so many schools was not purely for the purpose of officialdom and career advancement, but also to increase the availability of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and other disciplines, breaking down the prejudices of the traditional scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant system.

The imperial court further ordered the establishment of "Medical Bureaus for the Benefit of the People" in each prefecture, and dispatched twenty imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to tour the country. "Medical Schools" were established in prefectures and counties, with a three-year curriculum. Graduates were awarded a bronze "Medical Scholar" badge and were permitted to open their own practice. The "Guangji Hospital" was established in Bianjing (Kaifeng), with 500 beds. The establishment of hospitals in various prefectures and counties addressed the problem of people's difficulty in accessing medical care and reduced the mortality rate. The mortality rate among the people dropped by 30% within a year, and the people sang praises of the imperial court.

The Ministry of Revenue established four major granaries in Bianjing, Yangzhou, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, storing three million shi of grain annually. During lean seasons, rice was sold at a stable price; in years of plenty, grain purchases were increased, and the low price of grain did not harm farmers. With full granaries, preparations were made for floods and droughts, the people's hearts were at ease, and the tragedy of starvation in famine years was reduced.

Seeing that the court was lenient with taxes and corvée labor, and that the military was well-funded and powerful, the Zhe clan of Linzhou, the Zhe clan of Fuzhou, and the Wang clan of Fengzhou, among other powerful regional military governors in the northwest, submitted petitions to submit to the emperor. Su Chen still ordered the Zhe clan to hereditarily govern their posts, bestowing upon them golden tiger tallies, and assigning them the responsibility of monitoring the Western Xia and Dangxiang people. Members of the family were also allowed to go to the capital to study and serve as officials.

During this period, Su Chen married Yongqing and bestowed upon her the title of Imperial Concubine; his previous wives and concubines, such as Bai Susu, Peng Jingjing, and Xu Qingwan, were all bestowed the titles of Imperial Concubine and Concubine, and even Liu Monong became a Concubine, holding a noble status.

Originally heartbroken and disillusioned with the world, Empress Zhou Ehuang was encouraged by her younger sister Zhou Jiamin to enter the Wu Kingdom's palace and become one of Su Chen's concubines.

On the night Yongqing entered the palace, Su Chen personally lifted the red veil with a jade ruyi. Looking at Yongqing Zhao Xinyu, who was dressed in a wind-blown robe and wedding gown, he was bright and beautiful. He couldn't help but whisper, "The promise we made under the city walls in the past is fulfilled today. May we be together for a hundred years."

Upon hearing this, Yongqing blushed with shyness, her eyes brimming with tears, but her heart was filled with sweetness. She had finally achieved her wish and married Su Chen.

"Your Majesty, let me help you undress."

Yongqing rose to undress Su Chen, and Su Chen naturally retaliated by removing his own coverings. The two, now naked, entwined themselves in a tender embrace under a silk quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water. Three years passed quickly. Xu Qingwan, Peng Jingjing, Meng Yutong, Zhou Jiamin, and other concubines in the harem all gave birth to princes and princesses. Yang Ling'er, in particular, gave birth to a legitimate prince, the future crown prince, the year after her marriage.

A stable imperial lineage and a sufficiency of successors provide reassurance for the court's development.

In the third year, Su Chen ordered the construction of the Great Wall to be started, connecting the former Qin and Sui Great Walls. This would keep the Khitan and Later Jin people outside the pass and make the country more stable.

This time, Su Chen will learn from the historical lessons of Qin Shi Huang's construction of the Great Wall and Sui Yangdi's construction of the Great Wall. He will not waste manpower and resources by forcibly conscripting men. Instead, he will adopt a new strategy: to recruit local laborers, pay them wages, or use some convicts and prisoners to work and atone for their sins.

In this way, the construction of the Great Wall would not involve whipping the people, leaving countless corpses, and the construction period could be extended. Coupled with good food and medical conditions, the construction of the Great Wall became a much gentler infrastructure project, no longer the kind of project that people feared.

Within a few years, the Wu Kingdom's development was on the right track. The imperial treasury was full, the people were prosperous, more scholars appeared in various places, culture became widespread, the rule of law and morality were combined, a harmonious society was created, and doors were left unlocked at night.

With peace and stability throughout the land, ten years had passed since the founding of the Wu Kingdom.

During these ten years, Su Chen worked tirelessly day and night, personally handling all affairs of state. He first promulgated the "Chenfeng Law" to rectify the laws and regulations, then issued the "New Equal Field Law" to alleviate the people's hardships, and established the "Simplified Rules for Industry and Commerce" to facilitate trade. The imperial granaries were full, the people's granaries were overflowing, there were no starving corpses on the roads, and no abandoned infants in the markets.

The education system was unprecedented: primary and secondary schools were established in every prefecture and county, and the Imperial Academy, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the Medical Academy were established in the capital. The imperial examination system and modern schools operated in parallel, allowing children from poor families to study. Within ten years, a flourishing literary atmosphere emerged, and a large number of talented individuals appeared. Old, deep-rooted, and outdated views were swept away.

Wherever the Wu army went, it was invincible: to the south, it marched towards Dali, where the Duan family surrendered; to the west, it reached Tibet, where various tribes offered up their land. Further west, banners flew, and the Silk Road was reopened in Jiuquan and Dunhuang, camel bells rang again, and trade in jade and silk resumed.

Within ten years, the territory stretched from the easternmost point of the sea to the westernmost point of the Pamir Mountains, from the southernmost point of Jiaozhi to the northernmost point of the Yin Mountains. All the Rong and Di tribes became subjects, and all the tribes revered "Heavenly Khan".

At this time, the Wu Kingdom was experiencing the nascent stages of technological development and flourishing industry and commerce: gunpowder was improved, and cannons became increasingly sophisticated; new looms were manufactured, and silk was produced in abundance; and massive ships sailed to the South Seas. The granaries overflowed with grain, and the national treasury was overflowing with money. With its powerful military and unprecedented economic prosperity, the Wu Kingdom entered a golden age.

Looking back, who could have imagined that Su Chen, a college student who accidentally traveled through time, the son of a disgraced imperial physician in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and someone who should never have appeared in history, would actually become a powerful figure in this era, achieving great feats and leaving behind a name that will be remembered as an emperor for all time!
Standing atop the palace tower, Su Chen gazed upon Bianjing City, its lights blazing and its prosperity dazzling under the night sky. He couldn't help but sigh, "This golden age is just as I wished. I hope it's not just a dream!"

Life is like a dream; who can truly see its essence and distinguish what is real and what is false? As the saying goes: "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, dew, and lightning; thus should they be viewed."

(The End of This Book!)
It's finally finished! What a relief! This book was frequently interrupted due to work and life commitments, and the long delays have disappointed everyone. I'm also very grateful for everyone's support! I'm also preparing a new book, a historical fantasy novel, which I plan to release in September. I hope it won't be so delayed anymore.