I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 231 Li Shishi Growing Up
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"No destruction, no construction?"

'Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back?'

Zhao Yu understood after a moment's thought: Zhang Chun meant that even if Jiangnan was reduced to ruins and the Zhao Song Dynasty was temporarily weakened, the bad habit of the Jiangnan gentry group should never be tolerated.

Zhao Yu remained silent for a moment.

Did Zhao Yu and the other time travelers not know that as long as commerce and foreign trade are vigorously developed, the land tax stolen by the gentry can be recovered with commercial tax and customs tax?
How can it be? !
Zhao Yu and the other time travelers knew the complete course of history. How could they not know how great the potential of commerce and foreign trade was? How could they not know that land tax would eventually be completely abolished? They were very clear that if commerce and foreign trade developed well, the money collected from land tax would not even be a fraction of the commercial tax and customs tax.

Even so, after discussion, Zhao Yu and the other time travelers still believed that the two new policies must be implemented.

We cannot allow all the benefits to be monopolized by the gentry, making local powerful families increasingly wealthy and powerful while the imperial court becomes increasingly poor and weak. Ultimately, a strong local government and a weak central government would lead to the demise of the Song Dynasty, which I will not elaborate on further.

It is said that only by implementing the two new policies, especially the latter, which abolished the poll tax, can the general public truly gain freedom. They can enter factories if they want to, and become businessmen if they want to. Otherwise, they would be firmly bound to their place of origin by the poll tax and would not be able to go anywhere.

Given the current financial resources of the Zhao Song Dynasty, it was impossible for them to abolish the poll tax all at once.

If Zhao Yu and his ilk still wish to free the people and direct the vast labor force to industry and commerce, they can only first transfer the heavy burden on themselves to the gentry who can withstand the pressure.

Once the Song Dynasty completes its transformation and industry and commerce have developed, land taxes can be gradually reduced.

Zhao Yu's idea was to try to completely abolish the land tax during his lifetime.

For a long time, the two biggest burdens weighing on the heads of the vast majority of Chinese people have been the poll tax and the land tax.

If Zhao Yu and his ilk can help the vast majority of Chinese people remove these two mountains, even if the gentry smear Zhao Yu in the future, when the information cocoon is opened a thousand years later, someone will surely exonerate Zhao Yu for this.

In other words, Zhao Yu and his companions' time travel allowed them to eliminate poll taxes and land taxes for the vast majority of Chinese people nearly a thousand years ahead of schedule, so their time travel wasn't in vain.

Besides wanting to achieve this lofty ideal, Zhao Yu and his people insisted on implementing the two new policies for another very practical reason: they had to defeat, no, crush the Jiangnan gentry group.

Zhao Yu and Zhang Chun were well aware that throughout history, subsequent dynasties—the Southern Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing—had all been wary of the Jiangnan gentry group.

The Jiangnan region was economically developed, and its gentry owned vast amounts of land and wealth, controlling the local economic lifeline. They accumulated enormous wealth through land consolidation and commercial operations, but in order to protect their own economic interests, they often resorted to methods such as concealing land holdings and delaying tax payments to resist and evade taxes, thus damaging the imperial court's fiscal revenue.

At the same time, the monopoly and unfair competition of the gentry in the Jiangnan region in the commercial field also seriously affected the economic order and fiscal revenue of the imperial court.

On the other hand, the gentry families of Jiangnan wielded immense power. They formed alliances and intermarried, creating local political influence. They also entered officialdom through the imperial examinations, forming interest groups in the court and influencing its decision-making.

Meanwhile, the gentry in Jiangnan colluded with local officials to interfere in local affairs, making it difficult for the imperial court's policies to be effectively implemented in "their territory."

Furthermore, the gentry held high prestige in the local area and played an important role in mediating civil disputes and organizing public welfare undertakings, earning them a high level of public trust.

Therefore, when the government's policies harmed the interests of the gentry, the gentry in Jiangnan often incited the people to resist, causing social instability.

To put it simply, the gentry of Jiangnan united to form a clique and seriously interfered in politics. Moreover, in Jiangnan, the gentry were far more influential than the emperor.

If the Jiangnan gentry group is not curbed, the imperial power may be in danger.

Take the early Southern Song Dynasty as an example.

After Qin Hui gradually gained power in the court, he colluded with the Jiangnan gentry group in order to consolidate his own position.

—In the selection and appointment of officials, Qin Hui would tend to promote officials who came from Jiangnan gentry families or had close ties with the Jiangnan gentry group. These officials would often protect the interests of the Jiangnan gentry group in the local areas, and at the same time, they would follow Qin Hui's lead in the court. The two sides formed a political community of interests.

With the support of the Jiangnan gentry group, Qin Hui, during his tenure as prime minister, gradually placed his cronies in important positions in the court by monopolizing power and eliminating dissidents. This made the decision-making process of the Southern Song court largely under his control, and even Emperor Zhao Gou was wary of Qin Hui to some extent.

Legend has it that after Qin Hui's death, Zhao Gou said, "Today I am finally free from having a knife in my boot."

This claim stems primarily from Qin Hui's tyrannical and domineering nature, wielding immense power. Qin Hui served as prime minister for a long period in the Southern Song court, forming cliques, excluding dissidents, and exerting tremendous control over the government, even threatening imperial authority.

But if you think about it carefully, without the support of the powerful Jiangnan gentry group, how could Qin Hui alone have threatened Zhao Gou?
There is even a theory that the peace negotiations with the Jin Dynasty were also pushed by the Jiangnan gentry group behind the scenes, and that Yue Fei was killed by the Jiangnan gentry group because Yue Fei carried out land reforms in the north, which threatened the interests of the Jiangnan gentry group.

Of course, this statement is suspected of being an attempt to whitewash Zhao Gou.

However, it cannot be denied that the Jiangnan gentry group possessed considerable power and unfathomable influence. Their tentacles were deeply rooted in every inch of Jiangnan's land and every economic artery, even penetrating the high walls and deep courtyards of the imperial court. Like a giant whale lurking beneath the surface, they did not show their power, but could manipulate events and influence the political situation at crucial moments.

Zhao Yu knew that if he did not curb the power of the Jiangnan gentry group and allowed them to grow stronger, even if they did not dare to threaten his imperial power, he could not guarantee that the imperial power of his sons and grandsons would not be threatened by them.

The key point is that if Zhao Yu wanted to develop commerce and foreign trade, he couldn't bypass the wealthy and geographically advantageous Jiangnan region. Without defeating the Jiangnan gentry group, Zhao Yu's reforms would likely benefit these local strongmen, allowing them to grow stronger and become a greater threat to the Zhao Song dynasty, himself, and his descendants' imperial power.

More importantly, the Jiangnan gentry refused to cooperate with the court in implementing the two new policies. Jiangnan had a population of 50 million, but could not provide the labor force needed for the reform.

It was precisely because of these considerations that Zhao Yu and his followers were willing to "raise bandits" in order to implement the two new policies. One of their goals was to break the monopoly of the Jiangnan gentry group over Jiangnan and its obstruction of reform, release the huge labor force in Jiangnan, and open up Jiangnan, the most important market of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

In short, the Jiangnan gentry group was not only a hidden danger to the Zhao Song Dynasty and the imperial power of Zhao Yu and his descendants, but also a stumbling block to the development of the Zhao Song Dynasty and Zhao Yu's reforms. They were definitely a thorn in the side of Zhao Yu and his people.

What made Zhao Yu and Zhang Chun even more eager to eliminate the Jiangnan gentry group was that they actually dared to band together to resist the court's implementation of the two new policies. Even with the threat of Song Jiang's rebel army and public opinion, they remained obstinate and acted as if the court could do nothing to them.

It's no wonder that Zhang Chun advocated that it would be better to reduce Jiangnan to ruins and greatly deplete the national strength of the Zhao Song Dynasty than to compromise with the Jiangnan gentry group.

To be honest, Zhao Yu was quite tempted by Zhang Chun's proposal. The Jiangnan gentry group was too arrogant. If they weren't taught a lesson they would never learn, they might even become more brazen because of Zhao Yu's retreat, continuing to interfere in politics, continue to steal the wealth of the Song Dynasty and its people to strengthen themselves, and continue to hinder the development of the Song Dynasty.

Furthermore, it was now the sixth year of the Hongwu reign, which was 1106. There were still nearly ten years before the rise of the Jin Dynasty in history. The Western Xia, the biggest external enemy of the Song Dynasty, had been eliminated by Zhao Yu, and the Liao Dynasty had also been weakened by Zhao Yu. They should not dare to have any intention of moving south again. It can be said that the Song Dynasty had almost no external threats. Therefore, even if a huge upheaval like the Fang La Rebellion broke out, which could severely damage the Song Dynasty's national strength, the Song Dynasty would have enough time to recover and it should not affect the fate of the Song Dynasty.

Furthermore, by exposing the hidden dangers of the Song Dynasty now and removing all the malignant tumors, the Song Dynasty's national strength should be restored by the time the Jin Dynasty rises and the Liao-Jin War begins. If everything goes smoothly, the Song Dynasty at that time may be even stronger, perhaps more than ten times stronger.

Zhang Chun likely shared this view, which is why he advised Zhao Yu to seize the opportunity and wipe out the Jiangnan gentry group in one fell swoop.

There's no rush to make a decision on this matter.

After all, Zhao Yu would definitely need to implement the two new policies in the Central Plains first, then Hebei, Hedong, and the Northwest. Once the entire north was reformed, it would be timely to launch a general offensive against the south.

Zhao Yu shared his thoughts with Zhang Chun.

Zhang Chunda strongly supported this, saying, "Once the people of the north have all benefited from the new policies and their lives have improved, their rumors will be dispelled. At that time, the people will force them to accept the court's reforms, and the court will take advantage of the situation to push forward, and great things will surely be accomplished."

Zhao Yu grunted and said, "Even so, if they delay our Great Song for another year or two, their crime cannot be forgiven."

Zhang Chun laughed and said, "If those people hadn't been so blind back then, and had been willing to risk their lives rather than their wealth, allowing Song Jiang and the others to march south and seize all their ill-gotten gains for the national treasury, it should have been able to make up for the court's losses."

Zhao Yu sighed softly, "If that day ever comes, it will be my people who suffer."

There's no way around it; the wheels of history keep turning, and someone always has to bear the pain of change.

Zhao Yu knew that if the country wanted long-term stability and prosperity, it had to be brave enough to face and solve those deep-rooted problems, even if the process was full of thorns and accompanied by suffering and sacrifice.

Zhao Yu gazed at the night outside the window. The moonlight, like water, filled the entire room, as if even this cool glow was silently telling the story of the past and the future.

Seeing that Zhao Yu was still preoccupied and clearly worried about the future of the Song Dynasty, Zhang Chun's eyes lit up and she said, "Your Majesty, how about I teach Shishi to serve you? To help you relax?"

Zhao Yu was taken aback: 'Shishi? Li Shishi?!'

In Zhao Yu's memory, Li Shishi was still that little girl with a bit of baby fat on her face. How did they end up talking about serving him in bed?
Zhang Chun knew that Zhao Yu wasn't faking it; he was surrounded by beautiful women and had no shortage of them. Li Shishi often appeared by Zhao Yu's side, so much so that Zhao Yu didn't notice the changes in Li Shishi.

Zhang Chun said with a smile, "She has been in the palace for almost seven years and is already a grown woman. If she doesn't serve the emperor soon, there will be gossip about her in the palace. I would be a bad mistress."

When Zhao Yu heard that Li Shishi had been in the palace for almost seven years, he realized that she must be a grown woman by now.

This matter really needs to be addressed quickly, otherwise it could indeed affect Li Shishi.

Kita is a perfect example.

Two years ago, Kita suddenly came to Zhao Yu with red eyes and said to him, "Does Your Majesty still remember what you promised me?"

Zhao Yu was taken aback, wondering what he had promised her.

Fortunately, just as he was about to speak, Zhao Yu remembered that he had promised Kita that he would take her in when she grew up.

Zhao Yu immediately changed his tune, saying, "How could I forget? It's just that you're still young."

Kita said angrily, "I'm sixteen, long past the age to serve you in bed. Besides, how am I young?"

After saying that, Kita puffed out her already quite large breasts to tell Zhao Yu that they were not small.

Zhao Yu looked at Kita's chest and realized that what she said was true; she was indeed not young anymore.

Seeing that Zhao Yu was speechless, Kita continued, "But Your Majesty has been slow to choose me, making me a laughing stock. Now everyone outside is laughing at me for being delusional, saying that Your Majesty has long forgotten me and told me to stop daydreaming. I am unwilling to suffer this injustice, so I have come to ask Your Majesty to fulfill your promise."

What could Zhao Yu say? Out of respect for Ma Xiaojiao, Zhao Yu specially set aside one night to accept Kita's advances.

From Kita, Zhao Yu learned that in the eyes of the palace servants in his harem, sixteen years old was the best age to serve the emperor. Of course, it was fine if it was earlier, but it couldn't be too late. If one was still not serving the emperor by the age of eighteen, then one was considered an old maid. If one was still not serving the emperor by the age of twenty, then one's life was basically over, and the possibility of a comeback was not great. After all, if one had not been able to serve the emperor by the age of twenty-five, one would have to leave the palace.

It was because of Kita's reminder that from then on, when Zhao Yu looked for new women to serve him, he would give priority to women over twenty years old, in order to prevent excellent virgins from leaving his harem.

Therefore, in the past two years, Zhao Yu has not taken in any of the women who have just come of age around him, such as Li Shishi, Zhao Yuannu, Wang Zhongduan, and Xu Poxi, who are among the five famous courtesans, as well as Liu Mingda, the empress of Emperor Huizong of Tang.

Kita is a feisty and thick-skinned person. When she reached a certain age, she came to Zhao Yu on her own. But Li Shishi and the others are different. They are thin-skinned. If I don't want them, they might really be held back by me.

Zhao Yu thought to himself, "It's time to take them all in."

Thinking of this, Zhao Yu said to Zhang Chun, "Let's do it tomorrow night. I'll instruct the lady-in-waiting to not arrange for anyone else to attend to me. I'll reserve the whole night for her."

Although Zhao Yu had quite a few activities tonight, it certainly wouldn't make a difference if he slept with Li Shishi again.

But no matter what, Li Shishi was Zhang Chun's personal maid and had served Zhao Yu for so many years. Just like Kita, Zhao Yu had to give her a proper first night and honor her.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chun, on behalf of Li Shishi, thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness towards Shishi..."

……

(End of this chapter)