People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 462: Return to Beijing in the th Year of the Qingli Period
Zhao Jun spent the New Year of the eleventh year of the Qingli period in Shaanxi. After entering Guanzhong from Sichuan, he went to Chang'an first.

As it happened, the day coincided with the New Year, so he simply spent the New Year in Chang'an.

Compared with the prosperity of Kaifeng Prefecture and Bianliang City, Chang'an, even though it was once the capital of the Tang Empire, also gives people a feeling of desolation.

In addition to the towering ancient city walls with countless traces of time remaining on them, they still tell the world about its former prosperity.

The rest of the place can only be described as horrific.

The palace was burned down, and the houses of the people in the city were dilapidated and old. Many local people's homes could not be said to be penniless, but they could be considered poor.

After all, as the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an once assumed political, economic, military and other responsibilities, and thus prospered.

But after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Chang'an and Luoyang were almost deserted. Historical records show that "in the two capitals, six or seven out of ten palaces, residences, and neighborhoods were burned down", which shows the great impact of the war.

By the beginning of the Song Dynasty, nine out of ten houses in the two capitals were empty. The huge cities were empty of people.

In addition, the Guanzhong region had experienced hundreds of years of turmoil from several great dynasties, including the Qin and Han dynasties and the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and its ecological environment had already been severely damaged. Naturally, it was unable to assume the responsibility of being the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty.

For this reason, Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to continue to establish his capital in Kaifeng, the capital of the Later Zhou Dynasty, instead of moving the capital to other places.

Now, after decades of development, Guanzhong's ecological environment has recovered a little, and the population has slowly grown. Naturally, the people need a big city to undertake Guanzhong's commercial activities.

However, the business situation in Chang'an City is still very poor. Except for a few vendors in the East Market, the rest of the place is either a dilapidated residential area or even a wasteland.

You have to know that this is inside Chang'an City. If there was wasteland in Kaifeng City, countless people would have rushed over to occupy the place. How could they let it be left empty?

From here you can see how dilapidated Chang'an is now.

Seeing this situation, Zhao Jun wanted to use the same old trick again and plan the construction of Chang'an City just like he planned the city of Beiping, recruiting people into the city to build houses, thereby promoting urban development.

But when Fan Xiang handed him the data statistics of Guanzhong, he knew that this strategy was not working.

This tactic can be used in Youzhou Prefecture because Youzhou, as the Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom, has the largest population, reaching over one million, close to two million, most of whom are Han people.

In the Battle of Xijin, Fan Zhongyan only repelled the Liao army, and the city of Beiping was only damaged by the war, but the Han people's base in the entire Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun was not affected.

Guanzhong is different.

Soil erosion, natural disasters and man-made disasters, frequent wars during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and the persistent problem of food shortage led Sima Guang to say, "There is famine in Guanzhong, nine out of ten houses are empty, and displaced people are everywhere on the roads."

During the Tang Dynasty, the registered population in Guanzhong exceeded 319 million. If the unregistered unregistered people are included, the number would be at least 400 to 500 million.

By the Northern Song Dynasty, the population of Guanzhong had dropped to 53, and the registered population of the thirty states in the entire Shaanxi Province was only 290 million. This shows how bad the situation in Guanzhong was due to the dual factors of war and ecological environment destruction.

The only good news is that in recent years the imperial court has been working on population restoration and ecological environment governance. Through the efforts of the past few years, both the population and the number of fields have increased.

However, the current population size is still unable to support the construction of Chang'an City. Unless people are recruited from the Central Plains, there will inevitably be a labor shortage.

It will also affect the farming and water conservancy construction in Guanzhong.

For this reason, Zhao Jun had to temporarily postpone this plan and focus on restoring the ecological environment in Guanzhong.

As long as the forest and grassland areas are cultivated, soil and water loss is prevented, and the land can be cultivated for farming, the population will naturally increase slowly.

“It’s still due to insufficient population.”

When Zhao Jun left Shaanxi Road in the eleventh year of the Qingli period, he put away the paper and pen he was using for recording and sighed.

He has recorded too many problems that need to be solved in the past two years.

But things have different urgency and importance. Some things can be done right away, while others are long-term plans and cannot be rushed.

So we still have to take it step by step.

The disadvantage of Guanzhong is that its ecological environment has not yet recovered and cannot support such a large population. Only by managing the ecological environment well can the problem of Guanzhong's decline be solved.

But there is another way, which is to repair the road and run the train as soon as possible.

Due to the poor ecological environment in Guanzhong, frequent droughts and serious food crises, the population has not been able to increase.

For example, "Zizhi Tongjian" records that in the third year of Jinglong of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty, "there was famine in Guanzhong, and a dou of rice cost one hundred coins. Cattle died when transporting grain from Shandong, Jiang and Huai to the capital." This shows how serious the food shortage problem in Guanzhong was.

But if the roads are repaired and there are trains and canals to deliver grain to Guanzhong, then the food problem can be solved, and people can be directly transferred from the inland areas to migrate to Guanzhong.

This situation was very common in ancient times. The most famous example was the movement of people from Huguang to Sichuan. With so many people, many things could naturally be done quickly.

In January of the eleventh year of the Qingli period, after the Chinese New Year, Zhao Jun went north from Guanzhong to Yan'an Prefecture to continue inspecting local environmental issues.

His original plan was to inspect Yongxingjun Road, then go to Qinfeng Road, including Lanzhou, Qingtang and other places, and finally go north to Yinchuan and go to Ningxia to see the current situation in the northwest.

As a result, while he was still halfway there, before even reaching Qinfeng Road, he heard the news of Zhang Shixun's death in early February.

The old man didn't survive last winter and passed away at the end of the year.

Strictly speaking, the court had no intention of letting Zhao Jun go back. After all, he was still on tour. When Wang Sui died, he was on his first tour of the world and was not allowed to come back either.

This time just tell him the news.

But along with the news of Zhang Shixun's death there was another thing - Li Di was also terminally ill and it was estimated that he would not last long.

Considering that Li Di was his younger brother and served as his right-hand man with Xia Song in the Constitutional Yuan, and also because of his relationship with Li Xiaoji, it would be unreasonable not to go back to see the old man off for the last time.

Therefore, Zhao Jun had to cancel his plan to go to Qinfeng Road and Ningxia and turn back halfway.

Fortunately, he has finished inspecting most places now. The two-year journey is enough for him to travel through most of the Song Dynasty. Currently, only Qinfeng Road and the Northwest have not been visited, so it cannot be said that he has given up halfway.

The team was already in Huanzhou at the time, and temporarily went south back to Guanzhong. Then in late February of the eleventh year of the Qingli period, they took a boat down the Yellow River and headed towards Bianliang.

It was spring, with flowers blooming. The Yellow River had not yet reached its flood season, and the water level was neither high nor low. In order to ensure Zhao Jun's safety, the ships sailed very slowly and all moved along the river bank.

The result was that despite traveling day and night, it still took almost ten days to finally arrive in Bianliang.

It was already early March.

There are very few ships on the upper reaches of the Bian River from the Biankou of the Yellow River to Kaifeng. In the past, this was the upper reaches of the canal, mainly transporting grain and fodder to Guanzhong.

However, Guanzhong became dilapidated and commercial activities gradually came to an end, and it later became the waterway of Hebei Yongji Canal and Bianhe River.

However, in recent years, the Song Dynasty dug a canal from Huazhou to Bianliang, which resulted in no one being willing to take the long detour to the upper reaches of the Bian River and then to Bianliang. As a result, the Bian River gradually declined. Although it cannot be said to be in decline, it is not as prosperous as it used to be.

In March, the weather is getting warmer and even a little hot.

Zhao Jun stood at the bow of the boat, with Li Xiaoji's forehead covered with sweat. According to the clerk from the Jinzouyuan, Li Di was almost on his deathbed and it was unknown whether he could hold on until they arrived.

At noon, the green mountains on both sides of the river slowly turned into an endless plain, and then you can see a lot of forests, villages and farmlands. In the southeast, a huge and magnificent city came into view, and the first thing you saw was the tall buildings outside the city.

Buildings are rising from the ground, streets are crisscrossing, and bicycles and rickshaws can be seen from time to time on the concrete roads. There are even electric poles in many places nearby, with wires connecting every household.

"I didn't expect that Bianliang has changed so much in just two years since I left."

Zhao Jun was very surprised.

What he saw in the local area was completely different from what he saw in Bianliang.

The local area is backward and feudal.

Bianliang was changing with each passing day. It was only three years ago that Zhao Zhen lit up the imperial palace, and three years later the city of Bianliang was already full of lights.

Such a difference does make people feel unreal.

It is just like Shanghai in the 1920s during the Republic of China period was like other places. Shanghai was full of lights and wine, while other places were suffering.

Although the people of the Song Dynasty were not destitute, they could even be said to be enjoying peace and prosperity, and the people could afford to eat.

But this itself is a manifestation of difference.

Soon the city was getting closer and closer, and in the distance, at the ferry outside the city, a large group of carriages were parked.

Ships are no longer allowed to dock in the city. Various warehouses and docks have been built outside the city. Many factories and workshops are gathered outside the city. The city has become completely commercialized.

Now, in the entire Bian River, apart from a fleet of merchant ships coming from Guanzhong, there is only Zhao Jun's fleet, and that merchant ship is still behind them.

When Zhao Jun's fleet arrived at the dock outside the city, the dock did not look very lively.

Since the canal in the direction of Huazhou has taken over most of the transportation work of the Bian Canal in the past, only a small number of merchants from Guanzhong and Shanxi now use the canal transportation.

Some porters were sitting lazily at the dock waiting for work. When they saw the fleet coming, they all stood at the dock.

But they were soon stopped outside by government officials and were not allowed to approach.

Not long after, Zhao Jun's fleet entered the dock. He had a lot of stuff, with more than 300 guards, and the cargo hold was full of supplies. Jiang Dalang went to ask the workers to move things from the other side.

Fan Zhongyan, Yan Shu, Xia Song, Cai Qi, Song Shou and Jiang Tang went to greet them.

Zhao Jun walked down from the deck.

Several people stood on the shore. Yan Shu smiled and waved to them, "Hanlong, this way."

"Uncle Lari"

Zhao Jun looked over and couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.

After not seeing each other for two years, Yan Shu's temples were already gray, and even his beard was gray and white, and his face looked increasingly old.

Unlike Lu Yijian, Lu Yijian was both his teacher and his enemy.

Because Lü Yijian had harmed Zhao Jun in his early years, Zhao Jun at most learned some of Lü Yijian's conspiracies and tricks, but he did not particularly respect him, and even had a hint of hostility towards him.

But Yan Shu was different. As the first person to communicate with Zhao Jun and the one who silently supported him behind the scenes for many years, Yan Shu would not go against Zhao Jun like Lu Yijian did, and he would also teach Zhao Jun how to govern the country in many cases.

The relationship between the two was like that between a student and a teacher, more like friends or relatives. Zhao Jun usually addressed others as "Mr. So-and-so" or "Mr. So-and-so", but he always called Yan Shu "La Ri Shu".

This is also one of the bonds of their relationship.

However, Zhang Shixun died of illness, Li Di was also on his deathbed, and Yan Shu was 61 years old this year and had entered old age. Historically, he would have died of illness in another four years.

Although Zhao Jun didn't know exactly when he passed away, he felt sad to see him getting older.

"I haven't seen you for two years. You've become a little darker. I miss you every day."

Yan Shu patted Zhao Jun's shoulders with both hands and said with emotion: "I didn't expect you to be gone for another two years. Time waits for no one."

"I have read the official's and your letters to me. I hope everyone is in good health."

Zhao Jun greeted.

Fan Zhongyan smiled bitterly and said, "The year before last and last winter were not easy for everyone. I also got sick and almost died. We are both over 60 years old, and I don't know how long I can live."

"Okay, don't say such things when you just met."

Yan Shu interrupted and said, "Han Long has been traveling hard all the way, let's go into the city first."

"How's Retro Prince?"

Zhao Jun asked as he walked.

Cai Qi shook his head and said, "Not very well. He fell ill once last year, and his condition worsened this year. He also used penicillin made by the government, but the effect was not very obvious."

Zhao Jun sighed, "Penicillin is not a panacea. It can only treat common bacterial infections. Many diseases are viral infections, so antibiotics are useless. Especially for the elderly, whose body functions are deteriorating, there is nothing we can do about it."

"Yes."

Several prime ministers all looked sad.

The Constitutional Council was established in October of the third year of Jingyou, which was October 1036 AD. Now it is the eleventh year of Qingli, which is the beginning of 10 AD, exactly fifteen years. In October this year, it will usher in the fourth election.

During these fifteen years, five prime ministers have passed away one after another, and the rest are at least sixty years old and above, a group of old men. It is unknown how many people will be left in another ten years.

It cannot be said that the rabbit dies and the fox mourns, it can only be said that I can empathize with him.

After all, they once possessed the greatest power and stood at the top of the world, but they could not escape the baptism of time and were inevitably filled with reluctance.

Some people may say that you have so much power, what else can you not satisfy?

But you have to know that the reason they have such great power is that they have fought their way out of the encirclement of thousands of troops. It is the result of their own efforts.

After having all this, naturally you don’t want to lose it.

pity.

Time is fair.

Even if you are an emperor, you cannot escape the passage of time.

(End of this chapter)