You have truly caused me great suffering!

Inside the Kunning Palace in the Imperial City, the lights were dim.

The hall was filled with a warm fragrance, and although it was autumn, it felt like springtime.

This year, there was no grand celebration for the Mid-Autumn Festival, so Chen Shao did not hold a banquet. Instead, he simply gathered his children and concubines for a family feast in Zhong Lingxi's palace.

The youngest children had already been taken back to sleep, but Lingniang refused to leave and was fast asleep in Li Yumei's arms.

Jin Le'er and Chun Tao leaned against the corner of the wall, side by side, chatting about their private matters.

As usual, Chen Shao sat with Li Shishi and Zhong Lingxi, feeling somewhat sentimental as the years passed by so quickly.

Nung, moon and new moon.

If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that you and Su Shi lived in almost the same era.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival of the ninth year of the Xining era of Emperor Shenzong of Song, he picked up his pen and wrote "Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Moon Be Bright?", which was only a little over fifty years ago.

The bleak autumn wind blows again today, but the world has changed.

The present and fifty years ago are completely different eras.

In just fifty years, the world has changed dramatically. Under their leadership, the world has sped ahead and can never return to the era they once lived in.

In the future, the changes will become more and more significant, and the next era will be the era of coal and iron.

But what will never change is the deep-rooted kinship ties that the people of the Central Plains yearn for—a bond of kinship that allows people to live long and share the beauty of the moon.

Thinking of this, he reached out and hugged Shishi and Huanhuan's soft waists tightly, and the two leaned on his shoulders in perfect harmony.

The west wind blows fiercely, and wild geese fly south.

The soldiers marched in the spring and returned in the autumn, crossing the Hebei homeland where they had started their careers. Although most of the soldiers were from the Hetao region, most of Yue Fei's officers were from Hebei.

The autumn wind carries the heroes home in glory, but in reality, there are not many fellow villagers to be seen.

The Jin army twice invaded the south, causing great suffering to the people of Hebei. Most of the people crossed the Jingxing Pass and fled to Hedong, where the army was strong and Chen Shao was stationed.

They never returned after that trip. Because of the generous relocation policies, some people settled in Yunnei, while others went to Youyan.

The land in Hebei was recovered relatively late, and by the time it was recovered, it was already a desolate wasteland, with less than one-tenth of it remaining.

The fertile fields of Hebei were mostly used as rewards for meritorious soldiers.

War is so terrible; it can change everything that is deeply rooted, even the deepest feelings for one's homeland.

People always have to consider survival first before pursuing anything else.

Including Yue Fei, everyone was in a good mood after winning the battle, though not bad either.

Fortunately, His Majesty summoned us, and we were able to go to Jinling to present our victory report, which was a very exciting event.

When they arrived at Chenqiao Post Station, an old servant in blue was waiting for them on the official road outside the town.

Although he was dressed as an old servant, he recognized the battle flags and, seeing the central army arrive, he raised his arms and shouted loudly.

A junior officer rode up on horseback and said, "Old man, what are you shouting about here for?"

"My eldest son, Zong Ze, is an old friend of your esteemed general. He has come to invite me to meet him. Please inform him of this."

"Zong Ze?" The military officer dared not be negligent. Although he was from the Hetao region, he knew of Zong Ze's great name.

A short while later, Yue Fei arrived on horseback. Upon seeing the old man, he leaped down from his horse, clasped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Commander Liang, where is Elder Zong?"

"Da Lang has always lived in Bianliang City. When he heard that Pengju had led his army back victorious, he specially asked me to wait for him on this inevitable road."

"Thank you for your help!"

After saying this, he instructed Zhang Xian to continue leading the troops on their way, while he himself, along with Xu Qing and other personal guards, followed the old steward to Bianliang.

In the first year of Jianwu, the Great Jing moved the capital, and it was thought that Bianliang would fall into ruin.

But it's not too bad. Although it's not as prosperous as it was during the Song Dynasty, it has still maintained its basic structure.

The population has decreased by 30% because without mandatory support, this place simply cannot support the four or five million people.

Zong Ze's manor was in the suburbs, not in the city. He had cultivated a plot of farmland in the courtyard.

He was sunbathing at the door, with the month's newsletter on his chest. Without the threat of the Jin army and the troubles of the Song Dynasty, the old man was in pretty good shape.

The Great Jing Dynasty was practically a savior for the old men, many of whom had died from exhaustion during the Jingkang Incident. But because the Great Jing Dynasty expelled the Tartars, they were able to live a few more years.

Hearing the sound of horses' hooves, Zong Ze stood up, leaned on a cane, and went outside.

Yue Fei leaped off his horse, clasped his hands in greeting, and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Excellency!"

"I am but a humble country bumpkin, how could I possibly deserve such a kind word?" Zong Ze chuckled and said, "I heard you swept across the northern deserts, good, good indeed, congratulations."

When Yue Fei saw that his complexion was even better than it had been three years ago when he was fighting the Jin in Hebei, he was genuinely happy and helped him into the courtyard.

Although the courtyard was simple, there were quite a few servants in it, and the old servants were dressed neatly. There were even a few horses and three cows, so it was clear that the old man's family was not living in poverty.

In fact, based on his contributions back then, although he was not promoted or given a title when the Great Jing was established, he was allocated 700 mu of land.

It may seem like a small amount, but it actually qualifies for the second tier of progressive taxation.

This was actually very important to Zong Ze, because he had already spent all his family wealth from his official career when he recruited volunteers in Hebei.

This is what makes the Great Jing Dynasty unique: even if you were a Song official from beginning to end and never served as an official in the Great Jing Dynasty, as long as you made contributions during the resistance against the Jin Dynasty, you would still be rewarded according to your merits.

In the emperor's words: "The Great Jing is the great Jing of the Central Plains and China. As long as you have made contributions to China, the Great Jing will be generous in its rewards."

Zong Ze said impatiently, "Tell me quickly about the situation in the northern desert."

After Yue Fei sat down, he recounted to him in detail everything from the training of troops in the Hetao region to his own spring campaign and his impromptu decision to conquer the northern desert.

Zong Ze nodded repeatedly, his heart filled with longing, and said sincerely, "Pengju, what I see in this great report every day is peace and prosperity. I originally thought it was just praise and boasting about a golden age. But after asking all the passing merchants, I learned that it is mostly true."

"You are lucky to live in such a prosperous era and to be able to contribute to the country while you are still young and strong. You should cherish this opportunity."

Yue Fei nodded emphatically.

Zong Ze sighed, "Back then, I thought I had seen through the current emperor, but now I realize how shallow I was."

Yue Fei nodded and said, "His Majesty is indeed an unparalleled and great ruler."

"Li Boji is building a city in Baidao. Did you see him during your spring campaign?"

"Lord Li is now in charge of Baidao, building fortresses to block Yinshan, and cultivating land to ensure the people's well-being. When we led our troops out of Yinshan, we met with him for half a day and he earnestly instructed us to establish merits."

Zong Ze was very pleased. "Li Boji has finally realized his ambitions. He is better than me. When the Song Dynasty was about to fall, he was able to travel to the Northwest and Hedong, traveling thousands of miles to see for himself."

Yue Fei glanced at the old general and said, "Your Excellency is just getting old; otherwise, you would surely have achieved great things like Minister Li."

This world is indeed the prosperous age that ambitious people like Zong Ze have always dreamed of.

Zong Ze, with his magnanimous heart, pointed to the Great Jing Report and said, "Success doesn't have to be mine. Just being able to hear about it and see it is enough to make me happy."

He then asked some questions about the army's firearms. Hearing Yue Fei's explanation, Zong Ze was even more astonished; those cannons were indeed so powerful.

No wonder that in recent years, the surrounding barbarians have submitted to us, and two of them have even voluntarily submitted.

The area of ​​Jiaozhi has always been a troublesome place, encroaching on and disrupting the border year after year.

Because of its insufficient national strength, the Song Dynasty devoted most of its energy to dealing with the western bandits and northern barbarians, and thus became more lenient towards them.

The officials of the Song Dynasty were not unaware of this; they simply pretended not to know.

Now, Jiaozhi has been incorporated into the country and established as Annam Road. This year, the Central Plains suffered a severe drought, and they even ate rice from Annam.

These things sounded like heavenly books to the veteran officials of the Song Dynasty; they were things they had never dared to imagine before.

Even the most beautiful dreams couldn't imagine such a situation. At most, they could reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun and destroy the Western Xia, which would be the greatest achievement they could envision.

"If I weren't so old, I would really like to travel around and see the world!"

Zong Ze sighed. He didn't regret that he had helped create this prosperous era, but he regretted that he couldn't personally visit the beautiful landscape.

In the late spring and early summer of this year, he forced himself to go to Yanjing (Beijing), where he touched the mottled city walls, where traces of the great battle were still faintly visible.

For 160 years during the Song Dynasty, countless emperors, ministers, officials, and military generals longed to reclaim Yanjing, but it is still not a bulwark for the Han people.

The reason is not because it failed to recover, but because it expanded its territory northward by thousands of miles!
What a magnificent and stirring sight!

Such a beautiful land, such a prosperous age, how could it not move heroes to tears?
-
Japan.

After the Heian-kyo riots, the imperial line was almost wiped out, with only a few members of the imperial family remaining outside the capital escaping the disaster.

However, this incident has completely shattered the so-called unbroken imperial lineage.

Local powerful families no longer obeyed the imperial family, but instead sought to establish their own independent regimes.

As for the rioters, they have not yet been quelled, but without the support of Jing Jun, they are gradually showing signs of exhaustion.

They encountered repeated setbacks during their northward and eastward expansion.

Heihigoro wanted to seek help from Iwami Province, but he couldn't even get into the border of Iwami Province.

They were used to undermine the Emperor's authority; otherwise, who would want to deal with these hairless beasts?

These people's true nature has been unleashed; they have no humanity whatsoever, only bestiality.

As for the situation where powerful clans on Honshu Island were vying for supremacy and establishing their own countries, Daijing chose to leave it alone.

They only cared about Tsukushi Province, which had gold mines, Iwami Province, which had silver mines, and Ise Province, which served as a trading port for the Great Kage.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, the lord of Ise Province received an imperial edict.

He was instructed to send messengers to all nations, demanding that, from this day forward, their local Buddhist temples send monks to Chengtian Temple to obtain the true Buddhist scriptures.

If any country dares to spread heretical Buddhist teachings or disruptive scriptures again, it will be considered an evil nation, and we will surely send troops to destroy it.

This incident caused a great stir, revealing that many of the so-called powerful figures were actually less influential than the local Buddhist temples.

These Buddhist temples had fields, people, soldiers, and even their own weapon-making workshops.

Rather than seeking true knowledge, it was actually a test of obedience.

Ultimately, considering the fate of several dissenting forces, the Mii-dera Temple in Mutsu Province, the Kongōbu-ji Temple on Mount Kōya in Omi Province, and the Kōya-ji Temple in Kii Province all sent monks to Jōten-ji Temple to learn from its teachings.

At this time, Hokkaido Island was not actually considered part of Japan's territory. It had never been effectively governed by the Japanese court and was not part of Japan's "Five Regions and Seven Provinces" system.

Instead, it was controlled by various tribes of the indigenous Ainu people.

These people were called Ezo by the Japanese. Their social structure was based on clans and tribes, and they had no unified monarchy. The Japanese held them in great contempt, saying, "In the north there are Ezo, who are different in appearance and do not know etiquette."

To put it bluntly, they were still in a primitive society, living by catching salmon, hunting bears, and killing whales. These "powers" had no cities, no standing army, and no written language. Their strength was measured by population, abundance of hunting grounds, and authority in rituals. They were not states or military groups.

Buddhism was not introduced there. The Ainu people believed in animism, worshipping spirits such as bears, eagles, fire, and mountains; some later Western novels may have drawn inspiration from this.

Their religious ceremonies are presided over by female shamans and held in natural sacred sites (such as sacred mountains and giant trees), without fixed religious buildings.

When Chen Shaogang found out, he was quite surprised, after all, the Song Dynasty was already quite advanced.

This attempt to test the intensity of their resistance by using the pressure of Buddhism was Yuwen Xuzhong's idea.

Chen Shao immediately approved it.

The result was extremely disappointing; not a single person was willing to take the lead in resistance.

In fact, these local powerful families were still quite unruly, but Da Jing did not choose to directly invade them.

Instead, it incites a mob.
At that time in Japan, which powerful family didn't maintain its rule by exploiting the local people?

For them, if you attack directly, they will rely on the terrain to resist continuously and wear you down.

However, inciting a mob was too underhanded a tactic. Even the Emperor and the Regent were killed by the mob, so they were genuinely afraid.

Seeing that this move had not met with resistance, Yuwen Xuzhong immediately pressed on, suggesting that Ise and Tsukushi send people into the fifteen islands of the Eastern Sea under the guise of trade to survey gold and silver mines.

On the sea, warships escorted a ship in the middle.

After spending half a year overseas, Qu Duan was finally able to return to the Central Plains.

Along with them were the royal families of the three puppet kingdoms of Japan and the three kingdoms of Ryukyu.

They were all going to Nanjing to await the New Year's greetings.

As the tributary system became more sophisticated and ship navigation became safer, it became customary for tribute to arrive several months in advance.

Behind the escorting ships was another fleet carrying gold.

Standing on the deck, Qu Duan had completely overcome his seasickness.

When faced with human willpower, many things must give way.

This time, he has prepared a complete strategy to gradually bring Japan into the Central Plains.

For the past six months, he has been treated like an emperor emeritus in Japan.

But he was never idle. He did not turn a blind eye to the Japanese people's flattery and sycophancy. Instead, he worked diligently and devised a comprehensive plan to destroy the country.

"Congratulations, Duke of Ying! You can return to Jinling and reunite with your family now," the accompanying civil official said with a smile.

Qu Duan nodded politely, but inwardly he was quite unconvinced.

What's so great about reuniting with family? Expanding the kingdom's territory is what he truly strives for.

A true man is born between heaven and earth; he should wield a three-foot sword and establish unparalleled merit.

Especially since we have encountered an enlightened ruler, we are already extremely fortunate, and we must strive even harder to move forward! (End of Chapter)