The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 68 But that’s not enough!

The next morning.

Su Ming walked into the inn where Guo Jing was staying, ordered a pot of tea in the lobby, and waited quietly for him to come down.

After a few cups of tea, Guo Jing went downstairs and saw Su Ming sitting in the hall. He immediately smiled with surprise and came up to him, "Teacher, why are you here?"

"Do you think this is a chance encounter? Sit down."

Guo Jing showed a trace of embarrassment on his face, realizing that he had asked an idiotic question, and sat down as he was told.

Su Ming shouted towards the counter, "Boss, two bowls of noodles, please."

The waiter at the side put the rag on his shoulder and ran to the kitchen, "Okay!"

Then, Su Ming poured a cup of tea and handed it to Guo Jing. "Your pace is much slower than I expected. Did you encounter any problems on the way?"

Guo Jing took the teacup with both hands. He did not try to hide anything. His expression was a little complicated. "Yes, I encountered a lot of things on the way. The Central Plains is much more complicated than the desert."

Su Ming raised the corner of his mouth slightly and put down the teacup, "Tell me about it."

"From Zhangjiakou to Jin's Zhongdu, there were bandits along the way. I encountered dozens of them along the way. The situations of these bandits were also very different. Some were bandits from mountain strongholds, and some were people who were forced to do unprofitable business because they had nowhere else to go."

"anything else?"

Guo Jing sighed, his eyes flashing with numb faces, his heart seemed to be blocked by something, "The people at the bottom have a very hard life, many of them have lost their land and become tenants, but in my eyes, to put it nicely, they are tenants, to put it bluntly, they are no different from slaves on the grassland."

There was a hint of surprise in Su Ming's eyes. The fact that this kid could think of this showed that he had grown a lot. If one looked at it from the perspective of a man of the world, these things were normal and had nothing to do with them.

But Guo Jing's thinking angle is not that of a gangster. It is more like looking at the problem from the perspective of a ruler, even if this ruler is still very immature and cannot see the main contradictions and problems.

Su Ming's expression returned to calm, and he looked at him calmly, "Is that all?"

At this moment, the waiter's voice sounded from behind, "Sir, the noodles are here!"

Guo Jing was about to speak when his stomach growled. He smiled awkwardly, looking very embarrassed.

Su Ming laughed dumbly and said in a gentle tone, "Eat the noodles first, and I'll find a place to test you later."

Two bowls of noodles were brought to the table. One bowl was full, fragrant and generous in portion, but the only drawback was that there was no chili pepper. Chili pepper was not introduced into the country until the Ming Dynasty and is not available now.

After breakfast, Su Ming took Guo Jing for a stroll in Zhongdu City. Along the way, Guo Jing looked at the various goods on the roadside stalls and was amazed, just like a bumpkin who had just entered the city.

Seeing his expression, Su Ming immediately smiled and said, "If you want to buy it, buy it. Don't you have money?"

Hearing this, Guo Jing's face turned red with embarrassment, and he said awkwardly, "Teacher, I have almost spent all my money, and I only have the money for the trip left, so let's forget it." Su Ming was slightly startled, "I remember that before you left, you brought a lot of gold and silver treasures with you? Did you spend it all so quickly?"

Guo Jing explained, "Teacher, I met many poor families on the road, and I distributed them all."

Su Ming's mind was moved. "How many people can you help with your little money? There are too many poor people in this world. Can you help them all?"

Guo Jing shook his head. "I can't just pretend not to see it. They live a very hard life, even harder than the herdsmen on the grasslands. The Khan often said that the Jin Kingdom was powerful and rich, with endless money and food. But if they were rich and powerful, why did the people live such a hard life? Teacher, Jing'er has been thinking about it for a long time and still can't figure it out. Please help me solve this puzzle."

Su Ming turned around and glanced at him, "This is not the place to talk, follow me."

Soon, the two came to a restaurant, booked a private room by the window on the second floor, and ordered a table of food.

Su Ming picked up the wine glass and took a sip slowly. "You should first tell me what happened on the road. Once you are done, I will give you the answers."

Guo Jing recalled carefully and said solemnly, "Teacher, I found that the Jin Dynasty is not as powerful as I imagined. The people at the bottom are suffering. Local bandits are emerging one after another. The government is unable to control them. The powerful have annexed the land and the poor have no place to live. This is too similar to the end of the dynasty in history that Teacher once talked about."

"Furthermore, the Mongols are rising in the north of Jin, and the Song is in the south. Even if these two countries are not Jin's opponents for the time being, once they join forces, Jin will inevitably be destroyed."

Su Ming smiled softly and looked at him with approval, "Not bad, you can see the big picture from the small details. It is worth my years of teaching you this."

After so many years of training Guo Jing, the results have finally come to fruition, but it is still not enough!
"Are you done?"

"Teacher, I'm done."

Su Ming put down his chopsticks and said solemnly, "Okay, now I will answer your question. The Jin Kingdom is so powerful, why do the people at the bottom live so hard?"

"The Jin Dynasty was corrupt, with corruption rampant from top to bottom. This was the first reason. Local gentry colluded with officials and made up all sorts of excuses. A large part of the taxes paid by the people was not received by the Jin Dynasty court. This was the second reason."

"Third, the Jin Kingdom seems strong now. There were rumors back then that if the Jurchens were less than 10,000, they would be invincible. The Jin Kingdom has been established for nearly a hundred years, but its combat effectiveness has been declining year by year. The younger generation of disciples are unwilling to endure hardships and indulge in pleasure, and their military strength has declined sharply. Otherwise, the Song Kingdom in the south would not have thought of launching a northern expedition."

After listening to this, Guo Jing fell into deep thought. He felt that the current situation of the Jin Kingdom was very similar to that of the Song Kingdom during the reigns of Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong. The Song Kingdom was also at its peak of national strength at that time. However, even during this period, there were many peasant uprisings within the Song Kingdom. His ancestors' Liangshanpo uprising and Fang La were both living examples.

When he saw the miserable plight of the lower-class people in the Jin Dynasty, he felt that one day, these people might rebel just like his ancestors had done. They worked hard all year round but could not even fill their stomachs or feed their families. They could not survive, so wouldn't they rebel?

What the teacher said just confirmed Guo Jing's guess.

Guo Jing was silent for a moment, then stood up and bowed respectfully to Su Ming, "Teacher, I am grateful for your instruction."

Su Ming glanced at him and shook his head secretly. This kid hasn't thought enough and hasn't seen enough. It's not yet time for him to develop a sense of responsibility and ambition. Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the country. Even if he doesn't want to go down this path, he will force him to go down this path.

The orthodox Han people live in the south. When they arrive in the south and see the different scenery, perhaps then the fantasy in their hearts will be shattered, and that will be the time for real transformation.

(End of this chapter)