The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 650: The Blood Sacrifice of the Empire

Lin Yu knew that this trip to Yangzhou might really be a one-way trip, just as his wife said.

Thinking that he would never see Chiyoko and Lin Zhenyu again, the giant scratched his head, rubbed his big hands covered with calluses nervously, his face flushed red, and finally uttered a few words.

"Son, recite a poem for your father."

The eight-year-old Lin Zhenyu replied neatly:

"will not."

Lin Zhenyu entered the best school in the capital at the age of five.

After three years, other sons of noble families in his class had already learned to compose poems and essays, and some could even write policy papers of thousands of words.

However, Lin Yu's son still cannot recite the Book of Songs.

When it comes to reading and writing, Zhenyu, like his father, has no talent.

Chiyoko smiled awkwardly: "Why not let his uncle teach him kendo? Zhenyu is suitable for martial arts, but I'm afraid he can't study."

Lin Yu frowned.

Chiyo knew that her husband had always disdained Japanese kendo.

"Whether it's a katana or a goose-feather sword, as long as it can kill the enemy in your hand, it's a good sword, husband, don't you agree?"

Lin Yu still didn't speak.

Chiyoko continued to talk to herself:
"It would be great if Captain Shen was still alive. He taught Zhenyu swordsmanship. I heard that Captain Shen killed Miyamoto Musashi with just one sword strike. Miyamoto Musashi was a famous Western warrior who had no rivals for twenty years."

Lin Yu looked at his chubby son and said thoughtfully:

“It’s good to be able to read after all.”

~~
The mixed-race beauty Fujiwara Chiyoko tried hard to persuade her husband, but in the end it was of no avail.

Lin Yu insisted on going to Yangzhou.

Because the emperor is recruiting new soldiers from all over the country and gathering them in Yangzhou;

Because Lin Yu's good brother is going to Yangzhou;

Because the enemy is there.

The next morning, Chiyoko got up early, packed her husband's luggage, held Lin Zhenyu's hand, and stood at the door to say goodbye.

Lin Yu was the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard and had his own guards. He had three horses, and three guards were behind him leading the horses and carrying weapons and armor.

The first ray of sunlight in the morning fell on the Da Gong Fang where the nobles of the Great Qi lived.

The sound of horse hooves clattered on the bluestone slabs.

Lin Yu faced the rising sun and was about to whip his horse when a childish voice came from behind him:
"Swallows are flying, their feathers are fluttering. My daughter is getting married, and I am seeing her off in the fields. I look forward to seeing her off, but she is too far away to catch my eye. My tears are pouring down my face.

The swallows are flying, swarming with birds. My daughter is returning home, but she is far away. I look out and see, but she is not here. I stand still and weep.

Lin Yu tightened the reins and stopped where he was.

This famous farewell poem, spanning thousands of years, instantly hurt the brave heart of the giant.

Chiyoko looked up at her husband's back. When "Yanyan" from the Beifeng sounded, Lin Yu's tall body trembled slightly.

After a while, he left Da Gong Fang and the group turned into Chaotian Street and disappeared among the ranks of new recruits.

~~~~
In the Great Qi Dynasty, the ultimate fate of military generals was death in battle, and this conclusion has been confirmed by countless people.

Having a good beginning and a good ending is just a luxury.

As Fujiwara Chiyoko said, a general will never die on the battlefield.

Master Zhang once said that there is a price to pay for going against the will of heaven and changing one's fate.

In order to wipe out the Later Jin Dynasty and end the fate of a rising nation, Liu Zhaosun sacrificed his blood and gave up fifty years of his life.

If it weren't for the Wanggongchang explosion, the emperor would have been buried in the Taimiao, and his tablet would have been placed together with those of the Liu family's ancestors, for his son Liu Kan to worship.

Although he didn't die that time, it was no different from death.

After the Wanggongchang explosion, he was no longer himself.

In this sense, Liu Zhaosun fulfilled his oath to Zhenwu Emperor.

Even Liu Zhaosun could not escape his fate, let alone others.

Every period of history, every ethnic group, and every decision has a price to pay.

Zhu Ming's expulsion of the Mongols came at the cost of a comprehensive regression in China's economy and politics.

The taxation system of the Ming Dynasty was a historical regression, and the political structure was a mess.

The price of abolishing the power of the prime minister was to tolerate the continued existence of the chief minister of the cabinet. The superman emperor system only lasted for two generations (Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di) before it collapsed.

When the Manchu Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty, the Han people paid an even more tragic price. In addition to the large-scale massacres and killings that occurred openly, the foreign rule sacrificed the future and destiny of the main ethnic group. The main ethnic group in later generations made ten or a hundred times the effort, but it was still difficult to return to its original status.

Whenever it came to a critical moment, whether to protect the Qing Dynasty or to protect China became a question that every Qing emperor had to seriously consider.

The reason why Empress Dowager Cixi could make remarks like "measure the material resources of China and win the favor of other countries" was not because she was servile and confused - she knew very well that wasting things that did not belong to you was not shameful, it was a skill. Later, Puyi happily established the puppet Manchukuo because of this mentality.

The great cause Liu Zhaosun was pursuing was unprecedented and unlikely to be surpassed. Consequently, the empire would have to pay a huge price.

Simply put, many more people will die in the future.

~~~~~
The planned economy occupied half of the country in Da Qi.

In the Central Plains, North China, Shandong, Liaodong and other places, the utopian system of distribution according to work was implemented.

Unified labor, unified distribution, the empire is responsible for all the birth, aging, sickness and death of the people. Accordingly, everyone must serve the empire from the moment they are born.

In an era of frequent wars and under high military pressure, this system undoubtedly has strong vitality. At least until the country is truly unified, this utopian system will not change.

In the vast areas south of the Yangtze River that had recently surrendered, the Great Qi completely copied the Song and Ming dynasties in politics, and restored the unified revenue and expenditure system of the transport envoys that had been established since the Song Dynasty in economics.

The previous Ming Dynasty's in-kind tax and point-to-point county delivery system, which were extremely inefficient, were abolished.

In order to centralize financial power, the Song Dynasty established the system of transport envoys, which could centrally manage the finances and transportation of money and grain taxes along one or even several routes.

Taxes collected from various prefectures and cities were collected by transport envoys and finally transported to Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty.

This formed a financial management model of unified revenue and expenditure. Later, in order to improve transportation efficiency, monetary financial systems such as tax grain discounts were adopted.

Copper coins were used instead of paying taxes in kind. Transport envoys from all over the country collected all taxes in the form of cash and sent them to the capital. The central government used huge amounts of silver to purchase various physical goods (food, cloth, silk, etc.) on the market. This taxation concept, similar to modern fiscal practice, not only prospered the market and increased people's income, but also made it easier for the central government to control the country's purse strings.

All of this was abandoned during the Ming Dynasty.

The genius Zhu Yuanzhang completely abolished the Song Dynasty's system of transport envoys and ordered each county to send its own taxes to various government offices in the capital.

The return of taxation to the Tang Dynasty's in-kind taxes such as grain and cloth can be said to be a huge historical setback.

As to why Zhu Yuanzhang chose this tax model, only God knows.

It may be due to some kind of perverted desire for control, or it may be due to the unique social and economic environment in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty.

However, one thing is certain: during the Ming Dynasty, the tax system was cumbersome and inefficient, and physical transportation led to an unprecedented increase in reliance on the canal.

The Ming Dynasty was the golden age of the canal.

Now, Liu Zhaosun and his son are determined to cut off this economic lifeline.

This is to defy fate and change your destiny.

There is a price to pay for changing your destiny.

But this time, who will the empire use for the blood sacrifice?

~~~~
Lin Yu met Jiang Liuer and Li Zicheng at the Longshengguan Wharf in Nanjing.

Among the three, Lin Yu is the oldest and has the highest official rank. Jiang Liuer and Li Zicheng both respect Lin Yu very much.

Li Zicheng and Wu Xiao were half fellow townsmen, both from Shaanxi, and were also quite familiar with Lin Yu:
"General Lin, are we the only ones going to Yangzhou this time?"

Lin Yu shook his head slightly.

Jiang Liuer said coldly: "We are only going to assassinate the leader of the Luo Sect. The real tough battle will have to wait for the soldiers to arrive."

Li Zicheng said disapprovingly, "Is it necessary to mobilize such a large force to assassinate a bandit leader?"

Jiang Liuer continued, "Naro has 100,000 followers. The previous batches of Suoyi Guards who tried to assassinate him were all killed, so the emperor only let us go."

"Oh, it seems more dangerous than Taicang."

Li Zicheng took a deep breath and looked up to see a big cat lying on the deck, basking in the sun lazily, looking lazy and comfortable.

"If it's an assassination, Tiger is best at it. He can deliver a fatal blow from behind!"

Li Zicheng was born a hunter and wanted to touch a tiger when he saw one.

He stood up and jumped onto the deck, and while Panasonic wasn't paying attention, he touched the tiger's butt.

"Is it a female?"

"Ouch!"

Songxia roared to the sky, swung his tail like a dragon, pressed Li Zicheng to the deck, let out a low roar, and licked the man's face with his tongue a few times.

A burning pain.

An unprecedented feeling of oppression swept over my body.

Jiang Liuer shouted loudly, and Songxia immediately let go of his prey.

Li Zicheng said with a slight embarrassment:

"What does it eat in Sakhalin?"

Jiang Liuer gently stroked the tiger's jaw and stuffed a piece of meat into its mouth.

"people."

Li Zicheng pretended to be calm:
"Human? Where can I find people to feed it?"

"In the past five years, it has eaten all the hundreds of Cossacks who invaded Sakhalin Island. Now, it is hungry. The emperor asked me to bring it to Yangzhou to eat people."

(End of this chapter)