Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 293 An unprecedented golden age drives the scholars and officials of Jiangnan mad!

Cuijiazhuang, Xinchang County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province.

July 13th, morning.

Boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
Is Cui Si home? Is Cui Si home?

With a knock on the door, the voice of Cui He, the village head, rang out outside Cui Si's house.

"coming!"

The Cui family had already gotten up and were washing up. Hearing the noise, Cui Si hurried over and opened the door.

"Uncle, why are you here so early! Come inside and let's talk!"

"No!"

Cui He waved his hand and said, "Just two sentences. I'll leave after I finish explaining. I still have to inform others!"

"What's going on?"

"After lunch, go to the ancestral hall to collect your grain. The government subsidy for our locust-catching work has arrived. One liter of locust nymphs can be exchanged for two liters of grain."

"Really that many? The imperial court is being far too generous!"

The Southern Song Dynasty can be said to be the dynasty in Chinese history that suffered the most locust plagues.

Cui Si is forty-seven years old this year. He has spent most of his life in Shaoxing during the Southern Song Dynasty and has experienced seven or eight locust plagues.

He has a very clear understanding of the locust plague.

The most important thing in dealing with locust plagues is to "eliminate the locust nymphs." This means taking action when the locust plague has just begun and the locusts are still nymphs.

At this time, the locusts are still larvae, only able to jump and unable to fly, making them the easiest to catch.

People will keep a close eye on the fields, and once a locust plague is discovered, they will immediately mobilize people to gather the locusts with large brooms and deal with them.

In response, the imperial court issued a reward.

According to the original laws of the Southern Song Dynasty, one liter of locust nymphs could be exchanged for one liter of grain.

However, the Southern Song court was in financial difficulty, and in practice, it exchanged five liters of locust nymphs for one liter of coarse grain.

With prices dropping so quickly, people's enthusiasm has naturally been greatly diminished.

Although Zhao Shuo's court had long ago issued an order to eradicate locusts, deciding that one liter of locust nymphs would be exchanged for two liters of grain this year, when the order was actually issued, Cui Si still gaped, as if in a dream.

In fact, he has encountered quite a few things that feel like a dream in recent years.

Just by hearing his name, you could tell that Cui Si wasn't very educated. He had been a tenant farmer since his grandfather's generation.

Jiangnan is prosperous, but the annual land rent and taxes account for more than 70% of the total, and Cui Si's family can barely make ends meet.

As a result, seven years ago, the Zhao official from the north came and distributed the land equally.

The Cui family only needs to pay 40% of their income as land tax.

His family suddenly became much better off. They not only had enough to eat and wear, but they also renovated their house, and their lives became more and more promising.

Unfortunately, a small-scale locust plague broke out three years ago.

The scale is small relative to the vast territory; for ordinary farmers, it is a catastrophe.

Cui Si was working in the field when suddenly a swarm of locusts swept in, obscuring even the sun.

Cui Si was terrified and quickly lay down, his whole body pressed against the ground.

Locusts don't eat people, they only eat grass and trees. But how long have they been alive? Don't they know that people can't eat them? After just a few tentative bites, Cui Si's back was already a bloody mess.

After the locusts flew away, Cui Si, ignoring the pain, got up to check his crops. The seedlings, which had grown to over a foot tall, had been completely devoured by the locusts, leaving Cui Si utterly devastated.

However, the government quickly investigated the locust plague and exempted him from autumn taxes.

Is there such a good thing?

After making inquiries, Cui Si learned that the locust plague was not widespread, and in normal years, the Southern Song court would not even bother to lift a finger.

Offering tax exemptions to a small number of farmers who have been affected by the disaster is wishful thinking!

In the current court, all the minor officials are from the imperial examination system. They are literate and eager to be promoted, so they do their jobs with great care.

He had already harvested a good summer crop and paid the summer tax. Although the autumn crop was ravaged by locusts, the imperial court reduced the autumn tax, so the decrease in revenue was not significant compared to before the equal-field system was implemented.

Moreover, he can use this time to replant some melons and beans, and he can make a living.

The following year, a widespread drought occurred, and the imperial court reduced land rent and taxes by half.

Last year's drought was even more severe, and the imperial court exempted him from all land rent and taxes for the entire year.

The first half of this year was already a drought year, and the imperial court not only exempted him from summer land rent and taxes, but also gave him two bushels of relief grain.

Every time the imperial court took measures to deal with the disaster, he was "as if in a dream."

In his opinion, the disaster was not actually that serious, so why did the imperial court have to take such disaster relief measures?

He's been suffering from the disaster for three or four years now, and his standard of living has hardly changed. The only difference is that he hasn't bought many new things for his home, except for a few fewer clothes.

Now, the imperial court has directly doubled the reward for eliminating locusts and given him two liters of grain, which has shocked him even more.

Cui He shook his head and said, "What's this? The imperial court spent a fortune on this disaster relief; the whole country was mobilized. Let me tell you, it's all wheat this time, not a single grain! We're lucky; we've finally encountered a wise and benevolent ruler!"

This era differed from later generations. In the Jiangnan region, the "rice and wheat double cropping" model was implemented, and people had become accustomed to eating noodles.

"So good? It's all wheat! Thank you, Your Majesty. May Heaven bless Your Majesty for a thousand years to come," Cui Si said sincerely.

Cui He said, “Talk is cheap; we need to take action. Look at this, it hasn’t rained for days. This autumn, our villages will probably have no harvest. We don’t need that many people to catch locust nymphs. The imperial court is now recruiting people to build water conservancy projects. Are you going?”

"Go ahead! The imperial court is so generous; if we don't perform corvée labor, are we even human?"

"Not counting corvée labor, the number of people conscripted this time, and the time spent on water conservancy construction, are far greater than corvée labor. The court says it will implement work-for-relief programs. It's not just about working for free, and it's not just about providing food. The monthly wage of one tael of silver will be paid in cash and half in grain."

“Then I have to go even more! I have hands and feet, do you think I can just sit at home and wait to be given alms by the king?” Cui Si said without hesitation.

Cui He nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's good. I'll announce this to the villagers when we collect our grain at noon today. You'll have to take the lead then."

"That's natural."

Actually, there was no need for Cui Si to take the lead.

Zhao Shuo paid very fair wages, and in such a year of famine, this kind of work was extremely rare.

The village men nearly came to blows in their struggle for the right to participate in the water conservancy project. Only after Cui He announced that a portion of the wages would be used to subsidize the men remaining in the village did the crowd quiet down.

Next, Cuijiazhuang left 30% of its male members in the village to guard the village, kill locust nymphs, and prevent a locust plague from breaking out.

After all, the area around Cuijiazhuang suffered a complete crop failure, but other places were not. When a locust plague strikes, the land is barren for miles around, so it is still very necessary to prevent locusts from spreading and causing disaster.

The remaining 70% of the people, led by Cui He, went to build water conservancy projects.

These people not only had plenty of white flour steamed buns every day, but also received wages and food delivered to their homes.

They even improved their lives.

Barley from the Tibetan province, dates from the Arab province, sago from Southeast Asia... these are all grains! Where have these people ever eaten these things before?

Not only did we have a full meal, but we also tasted some new dishes and gained a deep appreciation for the vastness and abundance of our country.

Is this another year of complete crop failure?
They felt that things were better than in a normal year.

In the evening, the villagers gathered together, and the literate people read the newspaper aloud, which reassured them greatly.

Hebei has a bumper harvest! Shandong has a bumper harvest!

Goryeo has a bumper harvest!

An unprecedented harvest in the North India province!
……

Heaven is fair; where there are great disasters, there are also places with abundant harvests.

Apart from the Jiangnan region, the harvests in other provinces of the empire were quite good.

In fact, Zhao Shuo was unaware of such detailed historical events; the imperial court had prepared for the entire Jiangnan region to be affected by the disaster. However, in reality, apart from Fujian and Zhejiang, which had already suffered considerable damage, only Jiangsu province experienced an unprecedented drought.

Moreover, thanks to the successful locust control efforts, this year's locust plague in these three provinces is much milder than in previous years.

The other provinces in the Jiangnan region only have average incomes, so it's entirely possible to allocate some of their grain to support these three provinces.

Furthermore, the empire originally had too much grain, so grain was worthless, and farmers switched to growing large quantities of cash crops.

Now that the Jiangnan region is suffering from disasters, farmers in many places have switched from cash crops to grains.

Although the autumn grain harvest is not yet complete, a rough estimate suggests that the country's total grain output this year is not much different from previous years.

One tabloid even excitedly pointed out that the disaster victims couldn't possibly consume all the grain the court had prepared for disaster relief. Even if the three provinces continued to suffer from the disaster, the court could still provide ample supplies!
Your family has been suffering from disasters all along!

The newspaper office was vandalized by angry citizens that day.

However, this also shows from another perspective that the imperial court had far more resources than it could handle in providing relief for this major disaster.

The arrival of a heavy autumn rain signaled the end of this major disaster.

Not to mention the three disaster-stricken provinces, even the Jiangnan region was filled with cheers!
Despite the severe drought, there have only been a few small-scale locust plagues!

Despite such a massive natural disaster, not a single person starved to death, and the lives of the people were not greatly affected.

So what if there are natural disasters in the future?

The empire is vast; there are always places with bountiful harvests and places suffering from disasters, but overall there is no shortage of food!

With such a wise and enlightened court, it could have easily done what it did this time: when one region is in trouble, help comes from all sides, thus averting the natural disaster!

Almost everyone realized that a brand new era had begun, and an unprecedented golden age had arrived!

……

……

Fengle Tower, outside Yongjin Gate in Hangzhou, on the shore of West Lake.

On the third floor, in a private room.

"Unbelievable, truly unbelievable! Zhao Shuo actually survived this natural disaster unscathed!"

"It's not just that he survived safely; it's that he turned misfortune into blessing. Now, countless people are hoping that he will become emperor! It's just that when he beheaded Xuan Zeng outside the Meridian Gate, people didn't know that he didn't really want to become emperor, so no one dared to start the fight."

"To be honest, he's overthinking things. Things have come to this point, what's there to fear about Mongolia? Believe it or not, if that Mongol Khan dared to oppose his ascension to the throne, the people of Jiangnan would dare to organize a million-strong army and wipe out the entire grasslands!"
"What do you think his reputation will be a hundred years from now? I'm afraid even Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han would be far behind him!"

"How could we have made such a mistake back then and not gone to the West to serve as officials! I'm too old now, it's really too late for me to take the imperial examinations!"

"Is it possible that His Majesty is truly a wise ruler far surpassing Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, and that although we are learned and learned, compared to His Majesty we are like ants compared to the sun and moon? Is everything we have done wrong?"

......"

Bie Zhijie, Zheng Cai, Wang Boda, and Dai Qingke gathered together again, discussing the matter animatedly.

They initially decided to hoard goods to create difficulties for Zhao Shuo's disaster relief efforts. However, the imperial court issued nine measures strictly prohibiting hoarding and speculation.

The scholar's rebellion failed in three years.

Since Zhao Shuo's Khanate did not have a policy of preferential treatment for scholars and officials, these four people really didn't have the guts to test the sharpness of Zhao Shuo's blade.

So, as soon as they got started, they immediately became cowards, buying and selling grain at rock-bottom prices to earn meager profits.

They were simply hoping that the natural disaster would be severe enough to overwhelm Zhao Shuo. Even better if the widespread uprisings among the disaster victims could destabilize Zhao Shuo's rule.

However, only half of their wish was fulfilled.

This natural disaster was indeed the worst in the Jiangnan region in the last thirty or forty years. If it had happened under the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty, there would probably have been countless deaths from starvation, and people would have resorted to cannibalism.

But what about now?
The Zhao Shuo Khanate put on a magnificent show, demonstrating the empire's strength and mobilization capabilities.

Such a massive natural disaster became nothing more than a backdrop to the performance of the Zhao Shuo Khanate!
Even the lives of the disaster victims were not greatly affected.

As it turns out, the Zhao Shuo Khanate was far stronger than the Song Dynasty! As it turns out, the officials of the Zhao Shuo Khanate were more capable and better at governing the country than the original scholar-officials of the Southern Song Dynasty.

What else can they say?
Impressed!

Zheng Cai, Wang Boda, and Dai Qingke were completely convinced and even began to regret not going to the West to become officials of this glorious empire and contribute to this unprecedented prosperity.

Only Bie Zhijie remained silent with a furrowed brow.

He was unwilling to believe that a figure completely different from the sage-king described in Confucianism had established such a glorious achievement.

He was even more unwilling to believe that he, a man who had a chance of becoming a prime minister in the Song state, was now behaving like a clown.

And most importantly, he's old, so even if he wanted to repent, it would be too late!
"Listen to what you're saying!!"

Snapped!
Hearing the three men's words, Bie Zhijie could no longer hold back. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, saying, "Confucius said to achieve benevolence, and Mencius said to uphold righteousness. What does Zhao Shuo's behavior in Japan have to do with benevolence and righteousness? Even if such a person has achieved some minor success, is he worthy of your such adoration? Are you still disciples of Confucius?"

"Not at all, Brother Bie, you are mistaken."

Wang Boda shook his head slightly and said, "Is Confucius greater, or is the Way of Heaven greater? Did Confucius not make any mistakes? Since Your Majesty has achieved such great accomplishments, it proves that your actions were correct. In this matter, I think Confucius was wrong! We Confucianists were wrong!"

He personally oversaw a major disaster that swept across several states.

They knew full well what it meant to be able to eliminate this massive disaster that was spreading across three provinces.

It turns out that Wang Boda was simply blinded by selfishness.

Now, he has completely changed his stance and admires Zhao Shuo to the point of complete awe.

Zheng Cai echoed, "Even if the King has some minor flaws, what do they matter compared to his glorious achievements? In this great calamity, the King saved countless lives. Isn't this the greatest act of benevolence?"

Dai Qingke tugged at Bie Zhijie's sleeve and said, "Stop talking! No matter how eloquently you speak, it doesn't change the fact that His Majesty saved countless lives. We are, after all, Chinese people. We can't criticize our own king for the sake of the Japanese. It's also a teaching of Confucius to speak ill of one's superiors!"

"Oh? Now you all call him 'Your Majesty'? Where were you before?"

Bie Zhijie was already quite depressed lately, and now seeing his three friends suddenly change their stance, he felt his head buzzing and was about to go crazy with anger!

He wanted to continue slandering Zhao Shuo, but didn't know how to begin! For example, a major earthquake actually occurred in Lin'an this year. However, what is such an earthquake, which in the past was enough to prompt the emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach, compared to the disaster in the three provinces?
All language is so pale and powerless in the face of the true strength of the Zhao Shuo Khanate.

He wanted to persuade the three to change their minds, but he had no suitable reason.

He felt like the whole world had abandoned him!

The fault lies not with him, but with the whole world!

Wang Boda, however, had no desire to listen to Bie Zhijie's nonsense any longer. He stood up and said, "We have different paths, so we shouldn't make plans together. We don't need to gather anymore. I'm old and frail. I'll go back to enjoy my grandchildren and try to live a few more years. Let's see how far the prosperous era Your Majesty has built will go!"

Zheng Cai said, "I don't feel old at all, and I want to do something. Next year, I must take the imperial examination. I refuse to believe that with my talent, I won't have a place in this prosperous age!"

Dai Qingke, being the youngest, chimed in, "I'll go too!"

After saying this, the three of them stood up and left the private room.

Only Bie Zhijie sat there, dumbfounded.

He has been abandoned by the entire era!

(End of this chapter)